JPS6367710B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a return-to-zero counter using a character wheel.

This type of conventional counter incorporates multiple character wheels, a shift mechanism, a zero return mechanism, and a drive mechanism including gears and pulleys for transmitting rotational motion to the character wheels into a single main body frame. Therefore, if the overall size is constant, no matter how the specifications of the equipment to which the counter is installed change, it will be connected to the character wheel, digit feed mechanism, zero return mechanism, and character wheel. There are no changes to the drive mechanism, and only minor changes are required, such as the mounting position of the drive mechanism to the main body frame, the size of the pulley, and the position of the mounting feet on the main body frame. However, in actual production, it was necessary to prepare many types of parts in advance and assemble them from the beginning, combining them as appropriate for each specification. For this reason, parts management at mass production sites has been difficult, and productivity has been extremely poor.

In order to solve this problem, the present invention divides the main body frame of the counter into two frame parts that can be easily combined, and one frame part has a plurality of character wheels and a first character wheel that rotates. Incorporate mechanical parts that do not require changes even when the specifications of the equipment change, such as transmission gears, shift mechanisms, zero return mechanisms, etc., and incorporate drive mechanisms including drive gears and pulleys into the other frame part. However, to explain this based on the example shown below, in FIGS. 1 to 6, A should be combined with the first frame (middle frame), and B should be combined with the first frame A. The second frame (bottom frame) and C are cover frames to be attached to the first frame A as necessary, and these are all made of synthetic resin with a certain degree of flexibility. shall be. The first frame A has a rectangular shape, and two pairs of circular protrusions A ₁ and A ₂ are provided on the outer surfaces of the opposite side walls of the short sides.
A pair of protrusions A ₃ and through holes A ₄ and A ₅ are formed. 1, 2, and 3 are rotatably mounted on a support shaft (not shown) inserted through a through hole _A4 of the first frame A, and are equipped with gear parts 2a, 3a and heart cams 1b, 2b, 3b for zero return. A character wheel 4 of a well-known structure having a carry toothed portion (not shown) is rotatably mounted on the spindle, has a flange 4a having the same outer diameter as the character wheel 1, and has a flange 4a. The character wheel 1 is configured to be able to idle relative to the character wheel 1 only when the character wheel 1 is restrained by a force exceeding a predetermined value by a click mechanism (not shown) interposed between the character wheel 1 and the side surface of the character wheel 1 in contact with the character wheel 1. 5 and 6 are through holes A ₅ of the first frame A.
The pinion 5 is a shift pinion that is rotatably mounted on a support shaft (not shown) that is inserted into the pinion 5.
is capable of meshing with the carry tooth section of the character shaft 1 and is always meshed with the gear section 2a of the character wheel 2, and the pinion 6
can mesh with the carry tooth section of the character wheel 2, and is always meshed with the gear portion 3a of the character wheel 3. The above-mentioned carry tooth section, gear parts 2a, 3a, and carry pinions 5, 6 constitute a carry mechanism,
Since such a carry mechanism is well known, further explanation of the detailed structure will be omitted. 7 is rotatably mounted on the support shafts of the shift pinions 5 and 6, and has a zero return pawl 7b that can come into contact with the arm 7a and the heart cam 1b of the character wheel 1, and a zero return pawl 7b that can come into contact with the heart cam 2b of the character wheel 2. A zero return member 8 having a zero return claw 7c that can be brought into contact with the zero return claw 7c and a zero return claw 7d that can be brought into contact with the heart cam 3b of the character wheel 3; , 7c, 7d are biased so that the zero return member 7 rotates in a direction away from each heart cam 1b, 2b, 3b;
9 is slidably mounted on one side wall of the first frame A while being guided by a pair of protrusions A ₃ , A ₃ so as to be held therein, and abuts on the arm 7 a of the zero return member 7 . The zero return member 7, the spring 8, and the zero return rod 9 constitute a zero return mechanism. Next, the second frame B is shaped to match the first frame A, and when the second frame B and the first frame A are combined, a circular shape is formed on the side wall of the first frame A. An upright wall having a through hole _B1 into which the protrusion _A2 can fit, a pair of mounting feet _B2 , and a worm that is rotatably mounted when the second frame B and the first frame A are combined. It has a worm 10 as a driving gear meshed with the gear 4. 11 is a pulley fixed to the rotating shaft 10a of the worm 10. Furthermore, the cover frame C is the first frame A.
a through hole C ₁ into which a circular protrusion A 1 formed on the side wall of the first frame A can fit when the cover frame C and the first frame A are joined to the _side wall; It also has a lens 12 fitted in a window _C2 formed in the top wall.

Since the counter according to the present invention is configured as described above, the first frame A, the second frame B, and the cover frame C are prepared separately, and the first frame A has a plurality of character wheels, a worm gear, and a shift wheel. mechanism and zero return mechanism, a worm 10 and a pulley 11 on the second frame B, and a cover frame C.
If the lenses 12 are assembled in advance,
By just joining the first frame A and the second frame B, you can easily obtain a zero return type counter similar to the conventional one, and by attaching the cover frame C to this, only one row of numbers will appear on the top. You can get a covered counter that appears enlarged. In this case, it is preferable that the zero return member 7 is attached to the first frame A so that it can be replaced. Also, the first frame A, the second frame B and/
Alternatively, the connection to the cover frame C can be made in a snap-fit manner. That is, as mentioned above, each of these frames has a certain degree of flexibility, and the circular protrusions A ₁ and A ₂ have tapered portions as shown in FIG. , from the state shown in Figures 2 and 3, bring them closer together and align them, then press them firmly to form a circular protrusion.
Due to the presence of the tapered part of A ₂ , the second frame B
The upright wall is once bent outward, and the moment the through hole _B1 and the circular protrusion _A2 meet, they fit together and the upright wall returns to its original state, joining the first frame A and the second frame B. is completed. The first frame A and the cover frame C are connected in the same manner.

The function of the counter after assembly is the same as that of the conventional counter, and when the pulley 11 connected to the power source of the device via the belt is rotated, the worm 1
The character wheel 1, which should display the first digit, is rotated through the zero and worm gear 4, and at the final stage when it completes exactly one rotation, the tenth digit should be displayed via the shift pinion 5. The character wheel 2 is rotated by an angle corresponding to one character, and when the character wheel 2 completes one revolution, the character wheel 3 which is to display the hundredth digit is similarly rotated by one character via the digit feed pinion 6. The count number will be displayed.
If the zero return rod 9 is pushed down, the zero return member 7 is rotated around the support shaft against the spring 8, and the zero return claws 7b, 7c, 7d and the heart cam 1 are rotated.
b, 2b, 3b, each character wheel 1,
2 and 3 are simultaneously rotated to the zero display position.
When the pressure on the zero return rod 9 is released, all related elements return to the illustrated positions due to the elasticity of the spring 8.
Since these various effects are well known, further detailed explanation will be omitted.

FIG. 7 shows the second frame B shown in FIG.
This is an example in which the counter device is the board or frame itself of the equipment to which it is attached. That is, this substrate or frame B' has an upright wall B' ₁ that supports the first frame A and a rotating shaft 1.
A worm 10 and a pulley 11 are provided, which are attached through the worm 10 and the pulley 11, and the first frame A, which has been assembled as described above, is attached to a board or frame in a snap-fit manner by the presence of the hook portion _B'2 .
It can be used immediately by simply connecting it to B′. C' is a cover of the device with a window to which the lens 12 is attached. According to this embodiment, since the second frame is not required, only the assembly shown in FIG. 2 needs to be manufactured as a so-called counter, which is extremely convenient for mass production.

The above is just an example, and the structure and shape of each frame, the character wheel to be incorporated in the first frame, the power transmission mechanism, the shift mechanism, the zero return mechanism, the drive mechanism to be incorporated in the second frame, etc. , it is possible to employ various conventionally known structures, and is not limited to the embodiments. Note that the installation position of the zero return rod 9 may be changed depending on the equipment to which the counter is installed, such as the right side, left side, or middle of the first frame, so the zero return mechanism may be installed on the second frame B. It may be made to include.

As described above, according to the present invention, only the counter components that do not require changes even if the specifications of the equipment to which the counter is to be attached change are incorporated into a single frame to form a unit, and other counter configurations can be assembled into a unit. A conventional counter can be constructed simply by incorporating the elements into separate frames and connecting them in a snap-fit style, which not only makes it easier to downsize the counter body, but also allows the type of counter to be changed from the conventional structure. This makes it possible to significantly reduce the amount compared to conventional methods, and mass production through automation becomes extremely easy. Therefore, the manufacturing cost of the counter body can be significantly reduced. Furthermore, according to the present invention, it is now possible to move drive elements such as pulleys, which were conventionally inseparable as a counter device, to the side of the equipment to which the counter is attached, increasing the degree of freedom in installing these drive elements. However, there is also the advantage that the space of the equipment can be used effectively. Furthermore, by appropriately selecting the combination of each unit, it is possible to rationally assemble many types of counters, and in this case, since the basic performance as a counter is substantially determined by the first frame unit, the second Regardless of the combination with the frame unit, a counter device of constant quality can always be provided.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a partially cutaway front view showing an embodiment of the cover unit, Fig. 2 is a partially cutaway front view showing an embodiment of the first frame unit, and Fig. 3 is a partially cutaway front view showing an embodiment of the second frame unit. FIG. 4 is a side view of the first frame shown in FIG. 2, FIG. 5 is a plan view of FIG. 2, and FIG. 6 is a side view of an embodiment of the counter according to the present invention. , FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing another embodiment of the counter according to the present invention. A...first frame, _A1 , _A2 ...circular protrusion,
A ₃ ... protrusion, B ... second frame, B ₁ ... through hole,
B'...Device board or frame, C...Cover frame, _C1 ...Through hole, C'...Device cover,
1, 2, 3... letter wheel, 4... gear, 5, 6...
Digit pinion, 7... Zero return member, 8... Spring, 9... Zero return rod, 10... Drive gear, 1
1...Pulley, 12...Lens.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A rectangular cylindrical middle frame with a plurality of character wheels and a shift mechanism for the character wheels attached to the inside and a plurality of protrusions formed on the left and right outer surfaces, and a mounting portion that snap-fits onto the protrusions. and a drive mechanism capable of rotating the shift mechanism; a cover frame equipped with a lens for viewing the character wheel and a mounting portion that snaps onto the protrusion; A counter characterized in that the drive mechanism and the shift mechanism are connected by attaching a bottom frame.