JPH11257452A - Displacement enlarging mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enlarge microdisplacement with high precision though structure is simplified and reduced in size. SOLUTION: After microdisplacement inputted to a first arm 40 on the rearmost side is enlarged four times by arms 40 and 41 by using this principle, output to a spool is effected through the second contact part 48 of a second arm 41 positioned on the frontmost side. A displacement enlarging mechanism 31 to effect enlargement consists of a displacement enlarging mechanism 31 to perform the enlargement comprises a body 32; and a plurality (four) of the arms 40 and 41, and is simplified in structure and reduced in size.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a small displacement enlarging mechanism for mechanically enlarging a minute displacement.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a servo valve or the like used in an aircraft switches a spool by means of a solenoid or hydraulic pressure. However, such solenoids and hydraulic pressure stop accuracy is not very high. The driving force was not so large. For this reason, a driving means capable of generating a large driving force with high accuracy has been long-awaited, and practical use of a driving means using a giant magnetostrictive element has been studied. However, in the driving means using such a giant magnetostrictive element, the elongation of the giant magnetostrictive element itself is very small, for example, only about 1 micron per 1 mm. If this is done, the total length of the giant magnetostrictive element will be about 500 mm, and the entire driving means will be very large and heavy. For this reason, it has been considered to reduce the size of the driving means using the giant magnetostrictive element, while enlarging the elongation (displacement) of the giant magnetostrictive element by a displacement enlarging mechanism.

[0003]

Here, various mechanisms have been proposed as mechanisms for expanding such displacement. However, all of these mechanisms have a complicated structure and are large in size. Cannot be used at all.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a displacement enlarging mechanism which is capable of enlarging a minute displacement with high accuracy while having a simple structure and a small size.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a main body, at least one first arm connected to one end of the main body, the first arm being capable of swinging back and forth around the one end, At least one second arm that is alternately arranged with the arm in the front-rear direction and that has the other end connected to the main body and that can swing in the front-rear direction about the other end; and the other end of the first arm A first contact portion provided on the front side surface of the second arm and in contact with the rear side surface of the central portion of the second arm located immediately before; and a first contact portion provided on the front side surface of one end of the second arm and located immediately before A second contact portion in contact with the rear surface or the output member of the central portion of the arm;
This can be achieved by sequentially expanding the forward displacement input to the rear side surface of the central portion of the arm using this principle and outputting it to the output member.

When a forward input displacement is applied to the rearmost arm, for example, the rear side surface of the central portion of the first arm, the first arm swings forward about one end. At this time, the first contact portion provided on the front surface of the other end of the first arm has the second contact portion disposed immediately before the first arm.
The rear surface of the central portion of the arm is pushed forward. At this time, the forward displacement of the first contact portion, that is, the forward displacement of the central portion of the second arm, is input to the first arm. The first displacement from the swing center (one end) of the first arm
The distance is multiplied by the value obtained by dividing the distance to the contact portion by the distance from the center of the swing to the point of application of the input displacement (the central portion). When the displacement enlarged to the predetermined magnification is applied from the first arm to the second arm in this manner, the second arm swings forward around the other end, and the one end of the second arm A second contact portion provided on the front side pushes a central rear surface of the first arm disposed immediately before the second arm toward the front. At this time, similarly to the above, the displacement toward the front of the second contact portion, that is, the displacement toward the front of the center of the first arm, is different from the displacement input to the second arm.
The distance from the swing center (the other end) of the second arm to the second contact portion is multiplied by a value obtained by dividing the distance from the swing center to the point of application of the displacement (the center). . In this way, the displacement input to the rearmost first arm is expanded a plurality of times, and then output to the output member from the second contact portion of the frontmost second arm. Is a value obtained by multiplying all the magnifications of the respective arms. As described above, since the enlargement mechanism can be constituted only by the main body and the plurality of arms, the structure can be simplified and the whole can be reduced in size. In addition, since the distance from the swing center to the contact portion and the distance from the swing center to the action point where displacement is input can be easily and precisely defined, the magnification in each arm is made high. The total magnification can be easily increased to a high magnification by increasing the number of arms.

Further, according to the structure of the second aspect, even if the first and second arms swing repeatedly, these arms are not damaged, and can be used for a long time. . Further, if the first and second arms and the main body are integrally formed as described in claim 3, assembly work and the like are not required, and the device can be manufactured simply and inexpensively.
Further, according to the structure of the fourth aspect, the handling becomes easy, and even if a part is damaged, it can be dealt with only by replacing the part. further,
According to this configuration, it is possible to output a high-precision large driving force. In addition, the configuration as described in claim 6 is suitable for an aircraft servo valve or the like that requires light weight and small size.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1, 2 and 3, reference numeral 11 denotes a fluid valve such as a servo valve used for an aircraft or the like. The fluid valve 11 has a valve case 13 in which a valve chamber 12 is formed. In this valve chamber 12, there is a cylindrical body.
The cylindrical body 14 has a plurality of ports 15 connected to fluid passages (not shown). A spool 16 corresponding to an output member is accommodated in the cylindrical body 14 so as to be movable in the axial direction.
When the shaft 16 moves in the axial direction, the ports 15 communicate with each other or are shut off. A cap 17 for closing a front end opening of the valve case 13 is fixed to a front end of the valve case 13, and a spool 17 is provided between the cap 17 and the spool 16.
A spring 18 for urging the shaft 16 rearward in the axial direction is provided. The above-described valve case 13, the cylindrical body 14, the spool 16, the cap 17, and the spring 18 constitute the fluid valve 11 as a whole.

This fluid valve 11, specifically, a valve case
A displacement amount generating means 21 is fixed to the rear end of the cylinder 13, and the displacement amount generating means 21 is a closed-end cylindrical case 22 having a closed rear end.
And a cylindrical coil 23 housed and fixed in the case 22.
And a columnar giant magnetostrictive element 24 inserted into the coil 23 and having a rear end fixed to the case 22. Here, the giant magnetostrictive element 24 is formed of a ferromagnetic material containing a small amount of a noble earth metal, for example, terbium (Tb), and a substantially hemispherical pressing portion 25 is provided on the front end face. When the value of the current supplied to the coil 23 changes, the axial length of the giant magnetostrictive element 24 changes. The above-described case 22, the coil 23, and the giant magnetostrictive element 24 constitute the displacement amount generating means 21 as a whole.

Reference numeral 31 denotes a displacement magnifying mechanism housed in the valve case 13 between the spool 16 of the fluid valve 11 and the giant magnetostrictive element 24 of the displacement generating means 21. The spool 16 of the fluid valve 11 corresponding to the output member is provided, and the displacement amount generating means 21 using the giant magnetostrictive element 24 is provided at the rear. The displacement magnifying mechanism 31 has a main body 32 positioned and fixed to the valve case 13, and the main body 32 has at least one disk-shaped body.
, Here two first segments 33 and at least one, here two second segments 34, which are arranged in a coaxial relationship immediately before the first segments 33, respectively. As a result, the first and second segments 33 and 34 are alternately overlapped in the front-rear direction. In addition, adjacent first and second segments 33 and 34
Ring-shaped spacers 35 are interposed therebetween, and the spacers 35 and the first and second segments 33 and 34 are coaxially arranged. The first and second segments 33 and 34 and the spacer 35 are connected to each other by a fastener (not shown). Such a spacer may be formed integrally with the first and second segments. The first and second segments 33 and 34 and the spacer 35 described above constitute the main body 32 as a whole.

The first and second segments 33 and 34 are formed with first and second slits 38 and 39 each having a substantially rectangular shape penetrating in the front-rear direction, and are respectively formed in the first and second slits 38 and 39. The first and second arms 40 and 41 each have a substantially rectangular width slightly smaller than the width of the first and second slits 38 and 39, and a length slightly shorter than the length of the first and second slits 38 and 39, respectively. It is stored. As described above, the first and second arms 40 and 41 are housed one by one in the first and second segments 33 and 34, respectively.
As described above, at least one (two in this case) is provided by the same number as the first and second segments 33 and 34, and the first and second arms 4 are provided.
In 0 and 41, the first and second segments 33 and 34 are alternately arranged in the front-rear direction, and thus are similarly arranged alternately in the front-rear direction. And these first arms 40
One end of the first arm 40 extends in the width direction of the first arm 40 and both ends are the first.
The first pin 42 fixed to the segment 33 is inserted,
On the other hand, the other end of the second arm 41 extends in the width direction of the second arm 41 and the second end is fixed to the second segment 34.
Pin 43 is inserted. As a result, one end of the first arm 40 is attached to the main body 32, more specifically, to the first segment 33 by the first pin 42.
, So that the first arm 40 can swing back and forth about one end (first pin 42), and the second arm 41.
Is connected to the main body 32, more specifically, the second segment 34 via the second pin 43, so that the second arm 41 is centered on the other end (the second pin 43). It can swing back and forth. When the first and second arms 40 and 41 are rotatably connected to the main body 32 via the first and second pins 42 and 43 in this manner, the first and second arms 40 and 41 are provided.
Even if is repeatedly rocked, the arms 40 and 41, in particular, the connecting portions are not damaged, and can be used for a long time. Also, the first and second segments 33, which are connected to each other in a state where the main body 32 is alternately overlapped in the front-rear direction,
34, and these first and second segments
If the first and second arms 40 and 41 are connected to 33 and 34, respectively, the handling becomes easy, and even when a part is damaged, the part, that is, the broken segment
It can be dealt with simply by replacing 33, 34 or arms 40, 41.

At the other end of the first arm 40, a substantially hemispherical first abutting portion 47 is provided on the front side thereof, and these first abutting portions 47 are provided from the front side of the first arm 40. The height is equal to the thickness of the spacer 35. As a result, the tops of the first contact portions 47 are always at the rear side of the central portion of the second arm 41 disposed immediately in front of the first arm 40 irrespective of the swing of the first and second arms 40 and 41. Is in contact with On the other hand, at one end of the second arm 41, a substantially hemispherical second contact portion 48 is also provided on the front side surface thereof,
The height of these second contact portions 48 from the front side surface of the second arm 41 is also equal to the thickness of the spacer 35. As a result, the tops of the second contact portions 48 are always located at the center of the rear side surface of the first arm 40 located immediately before the second arm 41 regardless of the swing of the first and second arms 40 and 41. (Near the center).
Here, the last arm, here the first arm
The top of the pressing part 25 of the giant magnetostrictive element 24 arranged immediately after the first arm 40 always abuts on the central rear surface of 40,
Also, the second contact portion of the second arm 41 located on the foremost side
The top 48 is always in contact with the rear end of the spool 16 of the fluid valve 11 installed in front of the second arm 41.
As a result, when the giant magnetostrictive element 24 extends in the axial direction and the pressing portion 25 is displaced forward, the displacement is caused by the first and second arms.
Due to the swinging motions of 40 and 41, they are successively enlarged and transmitted to the foremost second arm 41, and then the second contact portion of the second arm 41
Output from 48 to spool 16. Thus, the displacement amount generating means 21 using the giant magnetostrictive element 24 is installed behind the first arm 40 located on the rear side, and the displacement amount generated by the displacement amount If input is made to the rear surface of the central portion, it is possible to output a high-precision and large driving force. Further, as described above, the spool 16 of the fluid valve 11 is installed in front of the second arm 41 located on the foremost side, and the enlarged displacement of the second arm 41 is changed to the second position.
If output to the spool 16 through the contact part 48,
It can be easily used as a servo valve or the like for an aircraft requiring light weight and small size.

Further, in this embodiment, the distance from the swing center (the center axis of the first pin 42) of the rearmost first arm 40 to the top of the first contact portion 47 is determined by the swing center ( The point of action of the input displacement from the center axis of the first pin 42)
The first and second arms 40 and 41 disposed in front of the first arm 40 swing the center of rotation (the first and second arms) so that the value obtained by dividing the distance by the distance to the first arm 40 is 25. , The distance from the center axis of the second pin 42, 43 to the top of the first and second contact portions 47, 48 is input from the center of swing (the center axis of the first and second pins 42, 43). The value obtained by dividing by the distance to the point of application of the displacement (the position where the second and first contact portions 48 and 47 of the second and first arms 41 and 40 disposed immediately after contact) is 2. As described above, since the position and the length are accurately determined, the input displacement is sequentially doubled in each of the arms 40 and 41, and is accurately expanded to a total of 2 to the fourth power, that is, 16 times.

Next, the operation of the first embodiment of the present invention will be described. Now, it is assumed that the value of the current supplied to the coil 23 changes and the giant magnetostrictive element 24 slightly extends in the axial direction.
At this time, the elongation (displacement) generated in the giant magnetostrictive element 24 is transmitted to the rearmost first arm 40 which is always in contact with the pressing portion 25, and imparts a forward input displacement to the first arm 40. . As a result, the first arm 40 has one end (the first pin 4
2) swings forward around the center,
The first contact portion 47 of the first arm 40 pushes the central portion of the second arm 41 disposed immediately before the first arm 40 toward the front. At this time, as described above, the distance from the swing center of the first arm 40 to the top of the first contact portion 47 is determined from the swing center to the point of application of the input displacement (the contact position of the pressing portion 25). Since the value divided by the distance of is set to 2,
The displacement of the first contact portion 47 toward the front, that is, the first arm
The forward displacement applied to the second arm 41 immediately before the point 40 is enlarged to the amount obtained by multiplying the displacement input to the first arm 40 by the above-mentioned value of 2, that is, by a factor of two. In this manner, the displacement doubled is moved from the first arm 40 to the second arm.
41, the second arm 41 is connected to the other end (the second pin
43) and swings forward about the second arm.
The second contact portion 48 of 41 pushes the first arm 40 disposed immediately before the second arm 41 forward. Also at this time, as described above, the distance from the swing center of the second arm 41 to the top of the second contact portion 48 is determined by the action point of the input displacement from the swing center (the contact position of the first contact portion 47). ) Is 2, so that the displacement of the second contact portion 48 toward the front, that is, the forward displacement applied to the first arm 40 immediately before the second arm 41 is obtained. Is displaced toward the second arm 41.
Is multiplied by an amount obtained by multiplying the displacement input to the above-mentioned value of 2, that is, by two times. The displacement input to the first arm 40 on the rear side in this manner is enlarged a plurality of times using the principle in each of the arms 40 and 41, in this case, four times in succession, and then positioned at the forefront. Second contact portion 48 of the second arm 41
Is output to the spool 16 at this time, and the enlargement magnification at this time is the same as the enlargement ratio (2 times) in each of the arms 40 and 41 (4 times).
Times) multiplied, and here it is 16 times. When the spool 16 moves forward in the axial direction in this manner, the fluid valve
11 is switched to change the fluid flow. On the other hand, when the giant magnetostrictive element 24 contracts, the spring 18 pushes back the spool 16, the arms 40 and 41, and the fluid valve 11 is switched.

As described above, in this embodiment, since the displacement enlarging mechanism 31 can be constituted only by the main body 32 and the plurality of (four) arms 40 and 41, the structure is simplified, and the whole is reduced in size. can do. In addition, since the distance from the swing center to the abutting portions 47 and 48 and the distance from the swing center to the operation point where displacement is input can be easily specified with high precision, the enlargement of each arm 40 and 41 The magnification can be made high precision, and the total magnification can be easily made high by increasing the number of arms 40, 41.

FIGS. 4 and 5 show a second embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, only one first and second arm 54, 55 extending in the radial direction is accommodated in each of the ring-shaped first and second segments 52, 53 forming the main body 51, and One end of one arm 54 is used as the first segment 52, and the other end of the second arm 55 is used as the second segment 53.
To each other, and further, these first and second
Arc-shaped recesses are provided on both side surfaces of the connecting portion between the arms 54, 55 and the first and second segments 52, 53 to form thin portions 56, 57 having low bending rigidity, respectively. As a result, these first and second arms 54 and 55 have a thinned one end (thin portion 56).
The other end (thin portion 57) is elastically deformed, so that it can swing around these one end and the other end. Here, the thin portion 58 is provided on the front side surface and the rear side surface of the connecting portion between the first and second arms 54 and 55 and the first and second segments 52 and 53, respectively, as in the third embodiment shown in FIG. Alternatively, it may be formed by providing an arc-shaped recess in the. As described above, the first and second arms 54 and 55 are integrally connected to the main body 51, here, the first and second segments 52 and 53, and the first and second arms 54 and 55 and the main body 51 are connected to each other. If the thin portions 56, 57 are formed at the connecting portions of the above, the assembling work for assembling the arms 54, 55 to the main body 51 becomes unnecessary, and the enlargement mechanism can be manufactured simply and inexpensively.
In this embodiment, the first arm 54 is
Since the second arm 55 and the second arm 55 are provided, the final magnification is 2 to the third power, that is, 8 times.
Are disposed on the rearmost and frontmost sides, respectively, so that the displacement from the giant magnetostrictive element 59 is input to the central rear surface of the rearmost second arm 55. Other configurations and operations are the same as those of the first embodiment.

FIGS. 7 and 8 show a fourth embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, a storage space 64 is provided in the valve case 63 between the spool 61 and the giant magnetostrictive element 62, and a substantially quadrangular prism-shaped main body 65 orthogonal to the axis of the spool 61 is disposed in the storage space 64. A first arm 66 extending parallel to the main body 65 behind the main body 65;
One second arm 67 extending parallel to the first arm 66 is provided between the first arm 66 and the first arm 66 (in front of the first arm 66). Then, one end of the first arm 66 and the main body
The other end of the second arm 67 and the other end of the main body 65 are both bent together in an arc and integrally connected together, while the other end of the second arm 65 is bent in an arc together. Connecting portion between first arm 66 and main body 65 and second arm 67
By providing slits penetrating the connecting portion of the main body 65 and the thin portions 68 and 69 respectively, the first arm 66 can swing back and forth around one end,
Further, the second arm 67 can swing back and forth about the other end. Note that the thin portion may be formed by partially cutting off a connecting portion.
The rear end of the spool 61 is loosely fitted in a through hole 71 formed in the main body 65, and the rear end is pressed against the second contact portion 72 of the second arm 67. In this embodiment, the first arm 66 and the second arm 66
Since both 67 were installed one by one, the final magnification was 2
, That is, four times. Other configurations and operations are the same as those of the first embodiment.

In the above embodiment, the first,
Although the displacement is enlarged by setting the total number of the second arms to 2 to 4, the total number of the first and second arms is set to 5
The enlargement ratio may be further increased as the number of the book is increased.
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the enlargement ratio of the first and second arms is uniformly doubled. However, in the present invention, the enlargement ratio may be appropriately selected and determined as needed.

[0019]

As described above, according to the present invention, a small displacement can be enlarged with high accuracy while having a simple structure and a small size.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front sectional view showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a displacement enlarging mechanism.

FIG. 3 is a developed perspective view of a displacement enlarging mechanism.

FIG. 4 is a front sectional view showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a developed perspective view of the displacement enlarging mechanism.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a segment and an arm showing a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a front sectional view showing a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a displacement enlarging mechanism.

[Explanation of symbols]

11 Fluid valve 16 Output member (spool) 21 Displacement generating means 24 Giant magnetostrictive element 31 Displacement magnifying mechanism 32 Main body 33 First segment 34 Second segment 40 First arm 41 Second arm 42, 43 ... Pin 47 ... First contact part 48 ... Second contact part

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A main body, at least one first arm having one end connected to the main body, the first arm being swingable in the front-rear direction about the one end, and arranged alternately with the first arm in the front-rear direction. And the other end is connected to the main body, at least one second arm swingable in the front-rear direction about the other end, and provided on the front side of the other end of the first arm and located immediately before the second arm. A first contact portion abutting on a rear surface of a central portion of the second arm, and a rear surface or an output member provided on a front surface of one end of the second arm and located immediately before; And a second abutting portion which abuts on the rear surface of the first or second arm disposed at the rearmost side. A displacement enlarging mechanism, wherein the output is output to an output member. 2. The first and second arms are connected at one end and the other end, respectively, by pivotally connecting one end of the first arm and the other end of the second arm to a main body via a pin. 2. The displacement magnifying mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the mechanism can swing about the center. 3. An end of the first arm and the other end of the second arm are integrally connected to the main body, and a thin portion is formed at the connection, whereby the first and second arms are connected. 2. The displacement enlarging mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the mechanism can swing around one end and the other end. 4. The main body comprises first and second segments which are connected to each other in a state of being alternately superposed in the front-rear direction and have the same number as the first and second arms, respectively. 1st and 2nd for 2 segments respectively
2. The displacement enlarging mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the arms are connected. 5. A displacement generating means using a giant magnetostrictive element is provided behind a first arm or a second arm located on the rear side, and the displacement generated by the displacement generating means is determined by the first or second arm. 2. The displacement magnifying mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the input is made to a rear side surface of a central portion of the second arm. 6. A spool for a fluid valve corresponding to an output member is provided in front of a second arm positioned on the foremost side, and an enlarged displacement of the second arm is applied to the spool through a second contact portion. 2. The displacement enlarging mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the mechanism outputs the displacement.