JPS597041B2 - actuator - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an emergency drive actuator that is provided with a gas spring inside as a drive source.

Conventional actuators, such as pneumatic, hydraulic, and electric, are known as actuators used to drive fire doors, stop valves, etc. only in emergencies, but all of these conventional actuators have a unique structure. Not only is it complex and requires a large amount of installation space, but it also requires, for example, pneumatic sources, hydraulic sources, power sources, etc. to be in continuous operation at all times in case of an emergency, which increases operating costs. Furthermore, since it requires pneumatic/hydraulic piping, electric wires, etc. to connect the drive source and the actuator, the cost of incidental equipment is high, and in many cases, multiple actuators must be driven by one drive source. Because of this structure, if one drive source fails, the plurality of actuators cannot be driven as one, and therefore has drawbacks such as poor reliability in emergencies. .

For example, in a stop valve that uses spring force stored in a coil spring, it is necessary to shorten the valve closing time and improve the closing performance when closing the valve, so the coil spring, which is the spring dog, is compressed. It is necessary to accumulate a certain amount of force, which makes the entire device complex and has the drawback of being susceptible to strength constraints.

By providing a gas spring inside as one driving source, the present invention enables driven parts such as fire doors and stop valves to be driven at extremely high speed within a predetermined operating time, and at the same time reliably with a substantially constant driving force during the operating period. It is an object of the present invention to provide an actuator that can be driven in a manner that eliminates the above drawbacks.

The structure for this purpose includes a piston fitted in a cylinder so as to be slidable over a predetermined distance, a piston rod connected to the piston so as to be able to move integrally with the piston, and a piston fitted in the cylinder that uses the pressure of the gas stored inside the cylinder. A gas spring that urges the piston in the - direction is engaged with the piston rod, and when the gas spring is compressed to accumulate pressure, the piston is engaged against the accumulated pressure. and a locking means that is activated by an external signal to unlock the locking means and cause the piston rod and the piston to slide in the one direction mentioned above. is transmitted directly or indirectly to the driven part to drive it.

Next, one example will be described.

FIGS. 1A and 1B are a longitudinal sectional view and a longitudinal sectional view taken along the line X--X of an embodiment of the actuator of the present invention, and FIG. 2A
, B are enlarged cross-sectional views showing an embodiment of the gas spring used in the actuator before and after operation, respectively.

In FIG. 1A, 1 is an actuator, which includes a rectangular cylindrical actuator main body 2, a hollow cylindrical cylinder 3 with one end open fixed to the right and left end surfaces of the actuator main body 2, respectively, and an actuator. It has an outer shell made up of a housing 4.

A piston 5 is fitted inside the cylinder 3 so as to be slidable within a predetermined area, and the internal space of the cylinder 3 is defined by the piston 5 into a pair of cylinder chambers 3a and 3b.

Reference numeral 6 denotes a piston rod as a displacement transmitting member, which is fixed to the left end surface of the piston 5 and sequentially inserted through the center holes 7a and 8a of a guide member 7 and a stopper member 8, respectively, which are provided at the connection portion between the actuator body 2 and the cylinder 3. , further passes through the left end surface of the actuator main body 2 and extends into the inside of the actuator housing 4 .

The guide member 7 and the stopper member 8 are composed of disks having substantially the same shape, and each has a plurality of (for example, four in this embodiment) through holes 7b, 8b spaced apart at equal intervals on a circumferential line with a predetermined radius.
are perforated respectively.

Reference numeral 9 denotes gas springs, which are disposed in plural numbers (for example, four in this embodiment) between the left end surface of the piston 5 and the stopper member 8, and are arranged to move the piston 5 in the right force direction in FIG. 1A. It is strong.

Gas spring 9 is connected to cylinder 10 as shown in FIG. 2A.
The right end surface of the hollow cylindrical adjusting member 11 screwed onto the outer circumferential surface of the right end portion of the piston 10 is brought into contact with the left end surface of the piston 5. The piston rod 13 is inserted through the through hole 7b of the guide member 7 and fitted into the cylinder chamber 3a.

Here, in the normal state, the guide member 7 and the stopper member 8 are brought into contact with each other with a predetermined rotational phase shift as shown in FIG. Therefore, the through hole 7 of the guide member I
The piston rod 13, which has been inserted through the hole b, comes into contact with the right end surface of the stopper member 8 and is locked therein.

The internal space of the cylinder 10 includes a piston 12 and a partition wall member 1.
4 into a pair of cylinder chambers 10a, 10b and an air transport chamber 15, both cylinder chambers 10a, 10
b is filled with high pressure gas, for example, and both cylinder chambers 10a, 10b are filled with a through hole 1 bored in the piston 12.
Since the cylinder chambers 10a and 10b communicate with each other through the cylinder chambers 2a, the high-pressure gas can freely flow back and forth between the two cylinder chambers 10a and 10b.

As a result, the piston 12 and the piston rod 13 are pushed leftward in the figure by the high pressure gas in both cylinder chambers 10a, 10b with a pushing force equal to the product of the pressure of the high pressure gas and the piston rod 13.

Reference numeral 16 denotes an adjustment screw for adjusting the spring characteristics of the gas spring 9, and as will be described later, the adjustment of the cylinder 1 of the piston 12 depends on the volume of the adjustment screw 16 entering into the cylinder 10.
The relationship between the relative displacement with respect to 0 and the gas pressure change rate in the gas chamber 15 can be variably adjusted.

The initial spring force (initial biasing force) of the gas spring 9 is variably adjusted by the screwing length of the adjusting member 11 into the cylinder 10.

The actuator housing 4 has a guide protrusion 4a therein for guiding the left end of the piston rod 6 of the piston 5.
The left end of the piston rod 6 is slidably fitted into the bottomed hole of the guide protrusion 4a and guided in the left and right directions in FIG. 1A.

Reference numeral 17 denotes a hook member rotatably supported on a shaft 18 in the actuator housing 4. When the hook member 17 is rotated counterclockwise in FIG. The piston rod 6 is locked by engaging with a groove 6a formed on the circumferential surface, and the displacement of the piston rod 6 in the right direction in the figure is restricted.

Reference numeral 19 denotes an L-shaped lever that is pivotally supported on a shaft 20 provided in the actuator housing 4, and when the lever is rotated in the counterclockwise direction in Figure 1, it is planted at the tip of the arm 19a. The pin 21 contacts the hook portion 17a of the hook member 1T, and the hook member 17
Press upward.

The other arm portion 19b of this L-shaped lever 19 is pulled and tensioned in the direction of the spring contraction force by a spring 22 stretched between its tip and the inner wall of the actuator housing 4, and therefore the L-shaped lever 19 is The mold lever 19 is applied with a rotational force about a shaft 20 in a counterclockwise direction in FIG. 1A.

Reference numeral 23 denotes a plunger solenoid mechanism attached to the lower wall of the actuator housing 4. By energizing the solenoid 23a, the plunger 23b in contact with the other arm 19b of the L-shaped lever 19 moves upward. Then, the L-shaped lever 19 is rotated clockwise about the shaft 20.

In addition, in the above-mentioned configuration device, the groove portion 6a of the piston rod 6
and the hook portion 17a of the hook member 17, and the L-shaped lever 19.
, and the spring 22 constitute locking means, and the plunger solenoid mechanism 23 constitutes lock release means.

Reference numeral 24 denotes a rotary arm as a displacement transmitting member, which is held within the actuator body 2 so as to be rotatable within a predetermined range.
A pin 6b planted on the surface is engaged with the pin 6b.

This rotating arm 24 includes driven parts 2 such as fire doors and stop valves.
5 is attached, and in the case of a stop valve, the valve shaft is rotated as the rotary arm 24 rotates, and the valve portion is driven to open and close.

Next, the operation of the above-mentioned component device will be explained.

First, in a normal state, the solenoid 23a of the actuator 1 is not energized and the plunger 23b is at the lower limit of movement in FIG. 1A.

Therefore, the L-shaped lever 19 is pulled by the spring 22 and is at the rotation limit position in the counterclockwise direction in the figure, and the pin 21 abuts the hook portion 17a of the hook member 17 and moves the hook member 17 counterclockwise. It is pushed up to the rotation limit position in the direction.

As a result, the hook portion 17a of the hook member 17 engages with the groove portion 6a of the piston rod 6, and the piston rod 6 is immovably locked at the left force sliding limit position (non-operating position) in FIG. 1A. .

Therefore, the rotary arm 24, in which the notched groove 24a engages with the pin 6b of the piston rod 6, is at its rotation limit position in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 1A, and the driven portion 25 is in a non-driven state.

In the above state of the driven part 25, the piston rod 1
Since the left end of the piston 3 is in contact with the stopper member 8 and is locked, the piston 12 remains in the position shown in FIG. Although the displacement to the left in FIGS. 1A and 2A is restricted, and on the other hand, the cylinder 10 is also biased with a force equal to the above pressing force in the right direction in FIGS. 1A and 2A. First, it abuts and is locked to the left end surface of the piston 5 via the adjustment member 11.

Therefore, the piston 5 is biased to the right by the resultant force of the above-mentioned forces from each gas spring 9, and therefore the hook portion 17a of the hook member 17 is pushed into the groove 6a of the piston rod 6.
Although it is urged rightward by a force equal to the above-mentioned resultant force from the inner wall of the piston rod 6, its rotation in the clockwise direction in FIG.

Next, assume that it becomes necessary to drive the driven portion 25.

In this case, when the above emergency situation occurs, the solenoid 23
A is energized to excite it.

As a result, the plunger 23b is moved upward by the magnetic force and rotates the L-shaped lever 19 clockwise in FIG. 1A against the spring 22.

As a result, the pin 21 is attached to the hook portion 17a of the hook member 17.
The arm portion 19a, which had been in contact with the arm portion 19a to restrict the rotational displacement of the hook member 17, rotates in the direction of the clockwise force, so that the hook member 17 is released from the rotational restriction and rotates around the shaft 18 as shown in FIG. 1A.
It is in a state where it can be rotated in the direction of the clockwise force.

Here, since the piston rod 6 is urged in the right direction in FIG. 1A by each gas spring 9 as described above,
As soon as the hook member 17 becomes freely rotatable, it is unlocked and is slid at high speed to the right in the figure by the spring force of each gas spring 9.

That is, since the piston rod 13 of the gas spring 9 is held in contact with the stopper member 8, each cylinder 10
is displaced while pressing the piston 5 in the right direction via the adjustment member 11.

In this case, as the cylinder 10 is displaced to the right, the volume of the cylinder chamber 10a decreases, while the volume of the cylinder chamber 10b increases. It flows into the cylinder chamber 10b through the cylinder chamber 10b.

As a result, as the cylinder 10 moves, both cylinder chambers 1
The total volume of 0a and 10b increases by the volume of the piston rod 13 that has moved out of the cylinder 10.

Therefore, as the piston 5 is displaced to the right, the spring force of the gas spring 9 will gradually decrease, but the amount of change in this spring force can be arbitrarily varied by the screwing amount of the adjustment screw 16, as described later. By adjusting the amount of change to a small value, like an actuator using a conventional coil spring, the driven part 25 is driven with a moderate driving force at the start of operation, but the driving force becomes extreme as it approaches the end of operation. This does not cause the inconvenience that the driven portion 25 cannot be reliably driven due to a drop in the driving force.

As described above, the hook member 17 is unlocked from the piston rod 6 and the piston rod 6 is connected to the gas spring 9.
When the pin 6 is displaced to the right in Fig. 1A by the spring force, the pin 6
a pivot arm 24 that engages the piston rod 6 via b;
is rotated at high speed in the clockwise direction in FIG. 1A along with the displacement of the piston rod 6.

As a result, the driven portion 25 is in a driven state.

In order to return the driven part 25 to the state before driving, first,
The current to the solenoid 23 is cut off to demagnetize it, and the plunger 23b is moved downward.

As a result, the L-shaped lever 19 is pulled by the spring 22 and rotated in a counterclockwise direction about the shaft 20, and the first arm 19
The pin 21 of a contacts the hook portion 17a of the hook member 17 and pushes the hook member 17 upward.

As a result, the hook member 17 is rotated counterclockwise and its hook portion 17a strongly contacts the outer peripheral surface of the piston rod 6.

Next, high-pressure compressed air is supplied into the cylinder chamber 3b of the cylinder 3 from, for example, an air compressor (not shown) through a hole 3' formed in the right end surface of the cylinder 3.

As a result, the pressure within the cylinder chamber 3b increases, and the piston 5 receives the pressure of high-pressure air within the cylinder chamber 3b, compressing each gas spring 9 and displacing to the left.

When the piston 5 slides back to the state shown in FIG. 1A,
Since the hook portion 17a of the hook member 17 is engaged in the groove portion 6a of the piston rod 6, the piston rod 6 is locked in the state shown in the figure.

As the piston rod 6 returns to its left sliding limit position, the rotating arm 24 returns to its counterclockwise rotation limit position in FIG. status will be restored.

Incidentally, the gas pressure decrease caused by the withdrawal of the piston rod 13 from the cylinder 10 gives the gas spring 9 its own spring characteristics, and this spring characteristic can be arbitrarily varied by adjusting the adjustment screw 16.

That is, as the amount of advance of the adjustment screw 16 into the cylinder is made smaller, the amount of pressure decrease relative to the amount of retraction of the piston rod 13 from the cylinder 10 becomes smaller, and the rate of change of the spring force becomes smaller.

Further, with the amount of entry of the adjustment screw 16 into the cylinder 10 set to a predetermined value, the amount of entry of the piston rod 13 into the cylinder 10 itself determines the initial spring force; The larger it is, the more the initial spring is a dog.

Therefore, for example, the screwing length of the adjusting member 11 into the cylinder 10 is shortened, the initial amount of entry of the piston rod 13 into the cylinder 10 is increased, the initial spring force is set to the dog position, and the adjusting screw 16 is screwed out from the cylinder 10. By setting the initial amount of entry of the adjustment screw 16 into the cylinder 10 to a small value, the driven part 25 can be driven with a substantially constant driving force during the driving period, thereby driving the driven part 25 in an extremely short time. can do.

Note that the initial spring force and spring characteristics of the gas spring 9 are determined by the pressure of the high-pressure gas sealed inside, the cross-sectional area ratio of the cylinder 10 and the piston rod 13, and so on. Although it is not necessarily necessary to provide an adjustment mechanism, it is desirable to have a force that includes this adjustment mechanism.

Next, the operation when manually operating the driven portion 25 will be explained with reference to FIG. 3.

FIG. 3 shows a vertical cross-sectional view of the main part of the actuator when the spring force of the gas spring is set to zero.

In this case, the stopper member 8 is rotated by a predetermined angle relative to the guide member 7 so that the through hole 8b of the stopper member 8 is brought into communication with the through hole 7b of the guide member 7.

As a result, the piston rod 13, which had been held in contact with the stopper member 8, is released from the lock, and is inserted through the through holes 7b and 8b, respectively, from the state shown in FIG. 1A into the actuator body 2, as shown in FIG. Extend to.

As a result, the spring force of the gas spring 9 against the piston 5 becomes substantially zero, and the driven 25 can be manually driven to any drive state regardless of the actuator 1.

Next, a modified example of the actuator of the present invention will be explained with reference to FIG.

FIG. 4 shows a longitudinal sectional view of a modified example of the actuator of the present invention.

In the figure, the same components as those in FIG.

In FIG. 4, the actuator 31 is the actuator 1
The actuator 1 has substantially the same configuration as the actuator 1, but does not have the pin 6b and the rotating arm 24, and has a rod 26 fixed to the lower end surface of the piston 5 as a displacement transmitting member.
different from.

Further, the actuator 31 is of a vertical type, so the rod 26 extends to the lower part of the cylinder 3, and the driven part 25 is attached to the lower end thereof.

Therefore, in this case, the driven portion 25 is not transmitted with the rotational displacement of the rotational arm 24 as in the previous embodiment, but is driven by the rod 2.
Although the actuator 31 is configured to be driven by transmitting the sliding displacement of 6, the operation and function of the actuator 31 are the same as those of the actuator 1 described above.

In each of the above embodiments, the actuators 1 and 31 can also be applied to other systems such as emergency water injection systems for nuclear reactors, emergency brake systems for trains and buses, emergency stop systems for machine tools such as lathes and presses, etc. I can do it.

The fitting state of the gas spring 9 in the cylinder chamber 3a is opposite to that in the previous embodiments, that is, the adjustment member 11 is in contact with the end surface of the guide member 7, and the piston rod 13 is in contact with the end surface of the piston 5. It may also be configured to be held inside.

Furthermore, the number of gas springs 9 is not limited to four, and may be any other suitable number.

As described above, the actuator of the present invention includes a piston fitted in a cylinder so as to be slidable within a predetermined range, a piston rod connected to the piston so as to be integrally displaceable, and a gas fitted in the cylinder and pressurized inside. The piston rod is engaged with a gas spring which urges the piston in the direction of - by the pressure of The piston field is comprised of a locking means that locks in the non-operating position by engagement, and a locking means that is actuated by an external signal to unlock the locking means and slide the piston rod and piston in the above-mentioned one direction. Since the displacement of the cylinder is directly or indirectly transmitted to the driven part to drive it, there is no need to constantly operate a special drive source such as a power source, oil or pneumatic source, and the cylinder is simply moved. With an extremely simple configuration that only houses a gas spring inside, it is possible to reliably drive driven parts such as fire doors and stop valves in an emergency, and gas springs are different from conventional coil springs. On the other hand, since the initial force is set to the same value and the change in force can be kept extremely small during the operation period of the actuator, the driven part can be driven with the desired driving force for a predetermined operation time, and even after the drive is finished, the predetermined driving force is applied. It is possible to reliably drive the actuator at high speed while retaining its power, and by incorporating multiple gas springs, even if one of them fails, the actuator can be operated reliably by the other normal gas springs, making it extremely reliable. It has features such as being able to provide a high-performance actuator.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIGS. 1A and 1B are a longitudinal sectional view and a longitudinal sectional view taken along the line X--X of an embodiment of the actuator of the present invention, and FIG. 2A
, B are enlarged vertical cross-sectional views showing the states before and after operation of one embodiment of the gas spring used in the actuator, respectively, and FIG. 3 shows the main components of the actuator when the spring force of the gas spring is set to zero. FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of a modified example of the actuator of the present invention. 1, 31... Actuator, 3...
Cylinder, 3a, 3b...Cylinder chamber, 5...
... Piston, 6 ... Piston rod, 9
...Gas Sfring, 17...Hook member, 19...L-shaped lever, 23...
... Plunger solenoid mechanism, 24 ... Rotating arm, 25 ... Driven part, 26 ...
・Rotsud.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 A piston fitted in a cylinder so as to be slidable over a predetermined distance; a piston rod connected to the piston so as to be integrally displaceable; gas energized in the direction of
a spring, a locking means that is engaged with the piston rod and locks the piston in a non-operating position by the engagement against the accumulated pressure when the gas spring is compressed and accumulated; and an external signal. a lock release means which is actuated to unlock the locking means and cause the piston rod and piston to slide in the one direction, and directly or indirectly transmits the displacement of the piston rod to the driven part. An actuator characterized by being configured to be driven by