JPS5923823B2 - Engines for toys and models - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an engine for toys and models that operates using pressurized gas such as compressed air as a power source.

Generally, in toys such as cars and airplanes that are equipped with model engines that push pistons with the pressure of pressurized gas and generate rotational force, even if the supply of pressurized gas stops and the pressing force on the pistons disappears, the drive shaft or It is preferable that the rotation of the output shaft of the engine does not stop immediately, but continues for a while due to inertia, as this will extend the running or flight distance of the toy.

However, in conventional engines, in order for the output shaft to continue rotating when the supply of pressurized gas is stopped, the piston must be reciprocated via a crank rod connected between the output shaft and the piston. First, at that time, the frictional force between the cylinder and the piston acted as a resistance that hindered the rotation of the output shaft.

An object of the present invention is to provide a toy and model engine that can extend the running distance and flight distance by allowing the rotation of the output shaft to continue for a longer period of time without causing such resistance.

Therefore, the present invention includes a cylinder into which pressurized gas is fed from a pressurized gas source, a piston that is driven by the pressurized gas within the cylinder, and a crank rod that rotates an output shaft by the movement of the piston. In the engine for toys and models, the piston and crank rod are not connected, and when the piston moves under the pressure of pressurized gas, the end of the crank rod is on the pressure receiving center line of the piston and the end surface of the piston. It is configured so that it comes into contact with the

With this configuration, while pressurized gas is being fed into the cylinder, the piston and the crank rod in contact with it are pushed down to rotate the output shaft, while when the piston stops being driven by the pressurized gas, the crank rod Since the output shaft moves up and down without being constrained by the above-mentioned resistance, the output shaft can continue rotating without being subjected to the above-mentioned resistance.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of an engine for toys and models according to the present invention, and shows its overall configuration.

In the figure, 1 is a cylinder containing a piston 2 (Figure 3), 3
is an upper case member 3 formed integrally with the cylinder 1;
a and the lower case member 3 detachably connected thereto.
a crankcase with a hollow structure consisting of b; 4 a rotary output shaft for taking out the engine output; 5 a bearing for the output shaft 4; 6
is an air tank that is a pressurized gas source, 7 is an injection valve 8 and a safety valve 9
10.11 is a flexible pipe that forms an air supply path for pressurized gas.

2 to 4 show the structure of the engine main body portion of the above embodiment.

Pressurized gas is fed into the cylinder 1 from an air tank 6 through a pipe 10 connected to its upper end.

The piston 2, which is pushed down and driven by pressurized gas within the cylinder 1, has a flexible flange 12 on the outer peripheral edge of its pressure receiving surface 2a, which is in close contact with the inner surface of the cylinder.

This flexible flange 12 has the same function as a piston ring to maintain airtightness.

In this embodiment, the piston 2 is formed so that its lower end surface is conically recessed, and the curved upper end 13a of the crank rod 13 comes into contact with the center thereof.

That is, the piston 2 and the crank rod 13 that rotates the output shaft 4 by the movement of the piston are not connected, and the conical recess 2b is formed at the lower end of the piston 2.
Since the upper end 13a of the crank rod 13 is formed into a curved surface (for example, a hemispherical surface) that matches the center of the recess 2b, when the piston 2 descends under the pressure of the pressurized gas, 13 a 75: The crank rod 13 comes into contact with the four parts 2b of the piston 2 on the pressure receiving center line of the piston 2, and the crank rod 13 is pushed down.

The lower end of this crank rod 13 is connected to the crank case 3.
Crank plate 1 fixed to the end of the output shaft 4 protruding inward
4 by a pin 15, and when the crank rod 13 is pushed down, the output shaft 4 is rotated via the crank plate 14.

The supply of pressurized gas into the cylinder 1 is stopped by the air supply valve device 16, which will be described later, just before the piston 2 reaches the bottom dead center, so the pressure on the piston 2 by the pressurized gas is also stopped. The output shaft 4 continues to rotate due to the inertia of a flywheel 55 (FIG. 3) attached to its outer end.

Therefore, the crank rod 13 moves to the upward stroke, and raises the piston 2 with its upper end 13a in contact with the recess 2b of the piston 2. When the piston 2 passes the top dead center and moves to the downward stroke, the supply air Valve device 16 opens to supply pressurized gas into cylinder 1, causing piston 2 to descend again.

The output shaft 4 of this engine continues to rotate as the above strokes are repeated, but since the piston 2 and crank rod 13 are not connected, the pressurized gas source (
When the supply of pressurized gas from the air tank 6) stops,
After the piston 2 is pushed down to the top dead center by the crank rod 13, it remains at the top dead center position due to the frictional force between the flange 12 of the piston 2 and the inner peripheral surface of the cylinder 1.

Therefore, the output shaft 4 can continue rotating for a longer period of time due to inertia without causing the piston 2 to reciprocate (compared to when the piston and crank rod are connected).

This has the effect of increasing the running or flying distance of the toy.

Furthermore, compared to the conventional structure in which a piston and a crank rod are connected, a connecting pin is not required, the number of parts is reduced, and assembly is easy.

In the present invention, the reason why the upper end 13a of the crank rod 13 is brought into contact with the piston 2 on the pressure receiving center line of the piston 2 is to cause the piston 2 to reciprocate in a well-balanced manner. Not limited to what is shown in Figure 4, the lower end of the 5th stone 2 and the crank rod 13
Any shape or structure may be used as long as the upper end thereof comes into contact with the pressure receiving center line.

Next, the structure and operation of the embodiment will be explained with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4 again.

As shown in FIG. 3, an air supply valve device 16 is provided in the bearing 5 of the rotating shaft 4 as part of an air supply path from an air tank 6, which is a pressurized gas source, to the cylinder 1.

That is, a chamber 16a connecting one end of the pipe 11 and a chamber 16b connecting one end of the pipe 10 are communicated by a valve passage 16c, and the valve passage 16c is opened and closed by a ball valve 16d. There is.

The ball valve 16d is disposed at the tip of a valve rod 17 that is disposed within the bearing 5 parallel to the rotational output shaft 4 and movable in the axial direction.

The end of the valve rod 17 protruding into the crankcase 3 is
A cam 18 formed on one side of the crank plate 14 is configured to make surface contact with the crank plate 14.

As shown in FIG. 5, this cam 18 is rotated at a rotation angle θ corresponding to the forward stroke of the piston 2 at the crank plate 14 so as to open the air supply valve device 16 during the forward stroke (downward stroke) of the piston 2. It is formed with a predetermined cam lift scale at the location.

In FIG. 3, 19I/'i is an exhaust port with a diameter equal to the outer diameter of the valve rod 17.

This is the sixth point where the ball valve 16d blocks the valve passage 16c.
In the state shown in the figure, the exhaust passage 20 formed as a gap around the outer periphery of the valve rod 17 is provided to communicate with the chamber 16b.

That is, the exhaust passage 20 and the chamber 16b are configured to communicate with each other by a gap between the exhaust port 19 and the small diameter portion 17a of the valve rod 17.

In FIG. 3, reference numeral 21 denotes a discharge port for the exhaust gas exiting the exhaust path 20 mentioned above.

Further, numeral 22 in FIG. 3 is a guide tube with which the left end of the pin 15 that connects the crank rod 13 and the crank plate 14 comes into contact.

This is formed as a cylindrical body concentric with the rotation locus of the pin 15 and is fixed to the crankcase 3.

This guide tube 22 serves to prevent the pin 15 from coming out of the hole in the crank plate 14.

Furthermore, 23 in FIG. 3 is a sound producing nozzle, which is located at the bottom of the cylinder 1 and slightly above the flange 12 of the piston 2 that has reached the bottom dead center position, as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. It opens at the position of.

When the piston 2 moves below this nozzle 23,
The pressurized gas discharged through the nozzle 23 generates a sound to provide a simulated engine sound effect.

The operation of the engine of the above embodiment is as follows.

First, pressurized air is stored in the air tank 6 using a simple pump 40 as shown in FIG.

Pressurized air is fed into the air tank 6 by connecting the exhaust tube 41 of the pump 40 to the injection valve 8 of the valve unit 7 and moving the handle 42 up and down several times.

Furthermore, if the air pressure inside the air tank 6 exceeds a predetermined pressure,
The safety valve 9 opens to lower the pressure and protect the air tank 6.

Also, after filling the air tank 6 with an appropriate amount of pressurized air, the exhaust tube 41 of the pump 40 is removed from the one-man valve 8, but at this time, the piston 2 is moved in the backward stroke (ascending stroke).
Finally, the valve rod 11 has moved to the left in FIG. 3, the ball valve 16d has closed the air supply valve device 16, and the pressurized air in the air tank 6 has been stopped in the chamber 16a.

Next, in this state, if you push the traveling object, flying object, etc. to which the engine is attached to give it momentum, the inertia of the flywheel 55 or propeller 62 (Fig. 10), etc., which is attached to the rotary output shaft 4 will The piston 2 rises and the engine starts.

As the piston 2 rises, the crank plate 14 and the valve rod 1
When the piston 2 first reaches the top dead center and then begins to descend, the cam 18 of the crank plate 14 starts operating.
The air supply valve device 16 is opened by the valve rod 17 pushed by the valve rod 17 .

Therefore, the pressurized gas that has reached the chamber 16a of the air supply valve device 16 from the air tank 6 through the pipe 11 is sent into the piston front chamber of the cylinder 1 through the pipe 10,
The piston 2 that has passed the top dead center is pushed down to advance the forward stroke.

Just before the piston 2 reaches the bottom dead center, the crank plate 14
When the cam 18 reaches its terminal end 9, the valve rod 17, which is no longer restrained by the cam 18, is pushed back to the left in FIG. 3 due to the pressure difference between the chamber 16b and the crank chamber 3c. Device 16 closes.

At the same time, the small diameter portion 17a of the valve rod 17 displaced to the left opens the exhaust port 19 and the chamber 16b is opened as shown in FIG.
and the exhaust path 20 communicate with each other.

On the other hand, at the same time as the piston 2 reaches the bottom dead center, a portion of the pressurized gas in the cylinder 1 is released through the nozzle 23 located above the pressure receiving surface 2a, producing engine noise.

Thereafter, the piston 2, which has passed the bottom dead center, is pushed up by the crank rod 13, which rises due to the inertia of the flywheel 55, and proceeds on a backward stroke.

Exhaust gas accompanying the rise of the piston 2 flows from the pipe 10 to the chamber 16b.
and is discharged into the exhaust passage 20 through the exhaust port 19,
Almost no resistance is generated in the backward stroke of the piston 2.

Thus, when the piston 2 reaches the top dead center, the crank plate 14 and the rotating shaft 4 have made one revolution, and an output of rotational movement is obtained on the output shaft 4.

The piston 2 that has reached the top dead center thereafter repeats the above-described operation and reciprocates.

This engine can be started by applying rotation to at least the piston 2 through the output shaft 4 to such an extent that the piston 2 passes through its top dead center.

Further, the stopped state can be maintained by forcibly stopping the rotation of the output shaft 4 and stopping the piston 2 at a position between passing the bottom dead center and not reaching the top dead center.

Compressed air of around 2 atmospheres is used as the pressurized gas to be introduced into the air tank 6, but the pressure is slightly higher than atmospheric pressure (
The engine can be operated even at a pressure of around 1 or 2 atmospheres.

Moreover, carbon dioxide gas or other gas can also be used instead of air.

Next, in the above engine, a valve unit 7 is installed in the middle of the pipe 11 to enable replenishment of pressurized gas.

An example of its detailed structure is shown in FIG.

A passage 73 having joints 71 and 72 to which the pipe 11 is connected is provided in the base 70, and an injection valve 8 and a safety valve 9 are connected to the passage 73.

The injection valve 8 has a valve seat 81 formed at the inner end of the injection port 80,
A disc-shaped valve body 82 is brought into close contact with this.

The valve element 82 is always in close contact with the valve seat 81 to close the injection port due to the pressure difference between the inside and outside.

By injecting pressurized gas with a higher pressure than the internal pressurized gas through the injection port 80, the valve body 8 only at that time.
2 opens, thus the injected pressurized gas flows through the air supply valve 1
As long as the air tank 6 is closed, the air will flow back into the air tank 6 and be stored there.

In addition, 84 in the figure is a restraint part provided close to and inside the valve body 82 that is in close contact with the valve seat 81 in order to prevent irregular movement of the valve body 82 when pressurized gas is injected. is provided with one or more ventilation holes 85.

Next, in the safety valve 9, a valve seat 91 is formed at the upper end of a through hole 90 communicating with the passage 73 of the base 70, and a disc-shaped valve body 92 is brought into close contact with the valve seat 91.

The valve body 92 is pushed downward by a spring 93 that sets the upper limit pressure of the pressurized gas.

In the figure, 94 is a discharge port.

That is, when the pressure of the pressurized gas supplied through the injection valve 8 exceeds the force of the spring 93, the valve body 92 opens and releases the pressurized gas, thereby maintaining the safety of the system.

Finally, with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10, an example of use of the engine shown in FIGS. 1 to 6 will be described.

FIG. 9 shows an example of use as a power device for a traveling toy 50 such as a car.

This is constructed by meshing a pinion 54 attached to the output shaft 4 with a driven gear 52 added to the axle 53 of the driving wheel (rear wheel) 51 of the traveling toy 50.

The engine cylinder 1, crankcase 3, and air tank 6 are installed on the chassis plate of the traveling toy 50.

In this usage example, since the total weight of the engine is not so important, it is preferable to attach a flywheel 55 and a pinion 54 to the output shaft 4 as a pair, as shown in FIG.

Next, FIG. 10 shows an example of use as a power plant for a model airplane 60.

That is, on the head of the main frame 61 of the model airplane 60 /
A pair of cylinder 1 and crankcase 3 are fixedly attached, and a propeller 62 is directly attached to output shaft 4.

The air tank 6 is added to the lower part of the main frame 61 at the center of gravity where the front and rear weights are balanced.

In this example of use, the propeller 62 serves as a flywheel.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is an overall perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a plan view of the main body of the engine, Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line ■-■ in Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 is an IV in Fig. 3. -IV line sectional view, Figure 5 is a perspective view of the crank plate, Figure 6 is an enlarged sectional view of the air supply valve device,
Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a pump used to introduce pressurized air into an air tank, Fig. 8 is a sectional view of a valve unit, and Figs. 9 and 10 are perspective views showing examples of use of the engine according to the present invention. be. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1...Cylinder, 2...Piston, 4...Output shaft, 6...Air tank (pressurized gas source), 7...Valve unit 7), 10.11...Pipe, 13. ...Crank rod, 16...Air supply valve, 17...Crank plate.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A cylinder into which pressurized gas is fed from a pressurized gas source, a piston driven by the pressurized gas within the cylinder, and a crank rod that rotates an output shaft by the movement of the piston. In the engine, the piston and the crank rod are not connected, and when the piston moves under the pressure of pressurized gas, the end of the crank rod comes into contact with the end surface of the piston on the pressure receiving center line of the piston. An engine for toys and models, characterized in that it is configured as follows. 2. The toy and model engine according to claim 1, wherein the end surface of the piston is formed into a conical recess, and the end of the crank rod is formed into a curved surface that matches the center of the recess.