JPH039992B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to an actuator used to automatically operate, for example, a lock/unlock lever of an automobile door lock.

(Prior art) Conventionally, as an actuator used for this type of automobile door lock, etc., for example,
There is something like the one described in the -47551 publication.

In this conventional actuator, since deceleration is performed by a spur gear train, there is a problem that in order to obtain a set reduction ratio, the number of gear trains is inevitably increased and the overall size becomes large.

Further, after the operation is completed, the final gear is returned to its original position using the bending force of the elastic body, so there are problems such as abnormal noises even after the operation is completed and the structure is complicated.

Therefore, the applicant has filed a separate patent application for an actuator that solves the above-mentioned problems by combining a planetary gear device and an electromagnetic clutch (Japanese Patent Application No. 75852/1989). 60−
No. 220242)).

The present invention relates to an improvement of an actuator using such a planetary gear device and an electromagnetic clutch.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In the actuator of the above-mentioned prior application, a planetary gear device is constructed by a sun gear, a planetary gear meshing with the sun gear, and first and second internal gears meshing with the planetary gear. The sun gear is connected to a rotational drive means such as a motor, the first internal gear is connected to the case via an electromagnetic clutch, and the second internal gear is connected to the output means of the actuator. By the operation, by fixing the first internal gear to the case, output can be taken out from the second internal gear, and by cutting off the connection between the first internal gear and the case, the first internal gear can be output. The internal gear is designed to be able to idle.

In this type of actuator,
During operation, by preventing the first internal gear from rotating by the meshing force of the electromagnetic clutch, all the rotational force transmitted to the sun gear is transferred to the second internal gear. Therefore, unless an electromagnetic clutch with a strong meshing force is used, the first internal gear will slip and rotate with respect to the case, and the output of the second internal gear will decrease. There is a problem.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve these problems and provide an actuator that can be reliably operated even with an electromagnetic clutch having a small meshing force.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In the present invention, a sun gear, a planetary gear that meshes with the sun gear, and first and second internal gears that mesh with the planetary gear and are rotatable relative to each other. A planetary gear device is provided in a case, and the sun gear is connected to rotational drive means, the first internal gear is connected to the case via an electromagnetic clutch, and the second internal gear is connected to output means. , by the operation of the electromagnetic clutch, the first internal gear is fixed to the case, so that output can be taken out from the second internal gear, and the connection between the first internal gear and the case is cut off. In the actuator which allows the first internal gear to idle, both ends of a coil spring wound around a cylindrical part integral with the case are bored in a part of the outer periphery of the armature in the electromagnetic clutch. The first internal gear is characterized in that it is continuously and loosely fitted into the engagement hole formed in the first internal gear and the engagement hole bored in a part of the outer periphery of the first internal gear.

(Function) In the present invention, when the electromagnetic clutch is not excited, when the first internal gear is rotated in one direction, one end of the coil spring comes into contact with one side edge of the engagement hole. The coil spring is rotated in the same direction, and the other end of the coil spring comes into contact with one side edge of the engagement hole of the armature, so that the armature is also integrated with the coil spring and the first internal gear. rotated in the same direction.

Even when the first internal gear is rotated in the opposite direction, the first internal gear, coil spring, and armature are integrated as one body, just by reversing the direction. Rotate and rotate.

Therefore, if the electromagnetic clutch is not energized, like the actuator in the earlier application mentioned above,
When the second internal gear is rotated by an external force, the first internal gear can freely rotate.

When the electromagnetic clutch is energized, the first
When the internal gear is rotated in one direction, one end of the coil spring comes into contact with one side edge of the engagement hole, and one end of the coil spring is rotated in the same direction, but the other end of the coil spring is rotated in the same direction. The coil spring is attracted to the field core side of the electromagnetic clutch and comes into contact with one side edge of the engagement hole of the armature, which is braked, and is prevented from rotating, so the coil spring gradually wraps around the cylindrical part.
The first internal gear is securely fixed to the case by the frictional force caused by the winding.

That is, when the first internal gear rotates slightly, the coil spring wraps around the cylindrical portion, and the first internal gear is prevented from rotating thereafter.

When the first internal gear is rotated in the opposite direction, one end of the coil spring is prevented from rotating by the armature, the other end of the coil spring is slightly rotated by the first internal gear, and the coil spring is rotated in the cylinder. The first internal gear is then wrapped around the inner gear, and the first internal gear is prevented from rotating further.

In these cases, the main braking force of the first internal gear is obtained by the frictional force caused by the coiled spring wrapped around the cylindrical portion, and the meshing force of the electromagnetic clutch is generated when one end (or the other end) of the coiled spring Since all that is needed is a force sufficient to stop the other end (or one end) of the coil spring when it is rotated by the first internal gear. The electromagnetic clutch can be made significantly smaller and of lower capacity compared to a braking force that relies solely on the meshing force of the electromagnetic clutch.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described based on the accompanying drawings.

1 to 7 show a first embodiment of the present invention.

1 is a hollow box-shaped case; 2 is a lid plate that closes the front opening of the case 1;

A motor 3 serving as a rotational drive means is provided approximately in the center back of the case 1, and the front end of a rotating shaft 4 that projects forward from the center of the front surface of the motor 3 is as follows.
It is fitted and supported within a bearing cylinder 5 fixed to the cover plate 2.

A sun gear 6 is firmly fitted onto the rotating shaft 4, and a disc 7 is pivotally fitted in front of the sun gear 6.

Three planetary gears 8 are attached to the rear surface of the disk 7, and a shaft 9
They are each pivotally connected to each other at equal intervals in the circumferential direction.

Each planetary gear 8 has a first gear 8a that meshes with the sun gear 6, and a second gear 8b whose number of teeth is 1 less than that of the first gear 8a, which are coaxially integrally formed. It's summery.

A first internal gear 10 is pivotally fitted onto the outer periphery of a boss portion 3a formed on the front surface of the motor 3 so as to be coaxial with the rotating shaft 4.

At the front of the first internal gear 10, each planetary gear 8
Internal teeth 10a are formed to mesh with the first gear 8a, and an enlarged diameter flange 10b is also formed at the rear portion of the motor 3 so as to be relatively rotatable.

An electromagnetic clutch 11 is provided between the outer periphery of the motor 3 and the case 1 behind the first internal gear 10 .

This electromagnetic clutch 11 includes a field core 13 fixed to a case 1 and provided with a coil 12 wound around a motor 3;
3 and the first internal gear 10, an armature 14 is fitted around the outer periphery of the motor 3 so as to be rotatable and slightly slidable in the axial direction.

An enlarged diameter groove 14a is formed on the inner circumference of the armature 14 and has a diameter slightly larger than the outer diameter of the motor 3 and opens toward the rear.Furthermore, on the rear end surface of the armature 14, a friction plate made of a magnetic material is formed. 14b is fixed.

Thus, by energizing the coil 12,
By magnetically attaching the friction plate 14b to the field core 13, the armature 14 can be fixed to the case 1 so as not to rotate, and by stopping the energization to the coil 12, the restraint of the armature 14 is released and the armature 14 is fixed to the case 1 so as not to rotate. can rotate freely.

A coil spring 16 which is wound around a cylindrical portion 15 formed by the outer periphery of the motor 3 and is integral with the case 1 and has a diameter-expanding habit is housed in the diameter-expanding groove 14a of the armature 14.

After extending in the radial direction, both ends of the coil spring 16 are bent forward at right angles, and the bent ends 1
6a, 16b.

Both bent ends 16a and 16b are connected to the armature 1.
4, and a fan-shaped engagement hole 17 bored in a part of the outer periphery of the front surface of the first internal gear 10;
The engagement hole 17 and the engagement hole 18 of the same shape and size are loosely fitted in succession, and normally both the engagement holes 17,
18, respectively.

On the outer periphery of the bearing tube 5 between the disc 7 and the cover plate 2, a second internal gear 19 and a first internal gear 1 are arranged.
It is fitted onto the outside so that it can rotate relative to 0.

At the rear of the second internal gear 19, each planetary gear 8
Internal teeth 19a that mesh with the second gear 8b are formed, and a protruding piece 19b facing in the radial direction is also connected to a part of the outer peripheral portion.

In this embodiment, the number of internal teeth 19a is the same as the number of internal teeth 10a in the first internal gear 10.

Thus, the sun gear 6, the planetary gears 8, the first internal gear 10, the second internal gear 19, etc. form a planetary gear device A.

A vertical operating rod 20, which serves as an output means, is provided through the left side of the case 1 so as to protrude upward from the case 1.

The operating rod 20 has a connecting portion 20a connected to a rod (not shown) or the like at its upper end, and is guided by an appropriate guide piece 21 provided inside the case 1 to be slidable in the vertical direction. .

The engagement pin 1 that protrudes rearward from the tip of the protruding piece 19b of the second internal gear 19 is located in the U-shaped side recess 22 formed on the lower front surface of the operating rod 20.
9c is engaged, and this recess 22 and the engagement pin 1
9c, when the second internal gear 19 is rotated counterclockwise in FIG. When the second internal gear 19 is lowered to the locked position and conversely rotated clockwise in FIG. 2, it is raised to the upper limit locking position as shown by the imaginary line in the figure. It's becoming like that.

23 is a slide switch provided along the inside of the left side of the case 1, and the right end of the engagement plate 24 fixed to the front surface of the slider 23a is connected to the operating rod 20.
By fitting into the recess 22 of the slider 23
a can move up and down together with the operating rod 20, and when this slider 23a reaches the lower limit position, the motor 3 is energized in the direction of lowering the operating rod 20, and the electromagnetic clutch 11 is energized. stop the
When the slider 23a reaches the upper limit position, the energization of the motor 3 in the direction of raising the operating rod 20 and the energization of the electromagnetic clutch 11 are stopped.

Reference numeral 25 denotes a bellows-shaped protective cover whose upper end is fixed to a proper position above the operating rod 20 and whose lower end is fixed to the case 1.

Next, the operation of this first embodiment will be explained.

When the actuator is used as an operating means for a car door lock, the connecting portion 20 of the actuating rod 20
Connect one end of the rod (not shown) to a, and connect the other end of the rod to the lock/unlock lever (not shown) of the door lock.
so that the door lock is locked by moving the operating rod 20 from the unlocked position to the locked position, and the door lock is unlocked by moving the operating rod 20 from the locked position to the unlocked position. .

After the coil 12 of the electromagnetic clutch 11 is energized from the state shown by the solid line in FIG. 2 by operating an appropriate switch installed in the driver's seat, or at the same time, the rotating shaft 4 is connected to the motor 3 as shown in FIG. Electrification is applied so that it rotates in a clockwise direction (hereinafter, clockwise or counterclockwise refers to the direction in FIG. 2).

Then, armature 14 is connected to field core 1.
3, the armature 14 is fixed to the case 1.

Further, due to the operation of the motor 3, the rotating shaft 4 and the sun gear 6 rotate clockwise, and the planetary gear 8 rotates clockwise around the sun gear 6 while rotating counterclockwise along the internal teeth 10a and 19a. revolve in the direction.

At this time, due to the difference in the number of teeth between the first gear 8a and the second gear 8b in the planetary gear 8, the first internal gear 10 moves counterclockwise and the second internal gear 1
9 are each given a relative rotational force in the clockwise direction.

At first, since the load applied to the operating rod 20 is large, the second internal gear 19 stops and only the first internal gear 10 rotates counterclockwise.

Then, from the state shown in FIG. 6, the left side edge 18a of the engagement hole 18 pushes the left bent end 16a of the coil spring 16 counterclockwise, as shown in FIG.

At this time, the armature 14 is attracted to the field core 13 and stopped, so the right bent end 16b of the coil spring 16 comes into contact with the right edge 17a of the engagement hole 17 and stops, and the coil The spring 16 gradually wraps around the cylindrical portion 15.

When the first internal gear 10 is stopped by the winding of the coil spring 16 around the cylindrical portion 15,
All of the rotational force of the motor 3 is transferred to the second internal gear 19.
, and the second internal gear 19 is rotated clockwise. Since the reduction ratio at this time is extremely large, the second internal gear 1 is controlled by the small output motor 3.
9 can be rotated sufficiently.

As the second internal gear 19 rotates clockwise, the operating rod 20 and the slider 23a of the slide switch 23 are moved from the unlocked position to the locked position, thereby locking the door lock.

When the operating rod 20 and the slider 23a reach the locked position, the motor 3 and the coil 1 of the electromagnetic clutch 11 are closed.
2 is stopped.

Then, armature 14 is connected to field core 1.
3, the armature 14 is separated from the coil spring 1
Due to the restoring force of 6, the bent ends 16a, 16b are rotated slightly until they come into contact with the side edges 17a, 18a, 17a, 18b of the engagement holes 17, 18, as shown in FIG. move.

If it is desired to return the operating rod 20 to the original unlocked position from this state, the electromagnetic clutch 11 may be energized and the motor 3 may be energized so that the rotating shaft 4 rotates counterclockwise.

Then, the operating rod 20 returns to the unlocked position in substantially the same manner as described above, only that the rotation direction of each part is reversed.

Furthermore, when the door lock is manually operated using a locking/unlocking knob (not shown) or the like from the state indicated by the solid line in FIG. an internal gear 19, a planetary gear 8, a first internal gear 10,
The sun gear 6 and the rotating shaft 4 rotate together by a small angle around the central axis of the rotating shaft 4.

At this time, the electromagnetic clutch 11 is not energized and the armature 14 is free, so the clockwise rotation of the first internal gear 10 causes the armature 14 to also rotate in the same direction. be rotated to

That is, when the second internal gear 10 is rotated clockwise, the coil spring 16 in FIG.
The right bent end 16b of the engagement hole 18 is pushed clockwise by the right edge 18b of the engagement hole 18, but since the armature 14 is free, the elastic force of the coil spring 16 pushes the left side of the bent end 16b. bent end 16a of
As a result, the left side edge 17a of the engagement hole 17 is pushed clockwise, and the armature 14 is rotated clockwise while maintaining the state shown in FIG. It will be done.

Therefore, when moving the operating rod 20 from the unlocked position to the locked position by manual operation, the operation can be performed with almost no resistance.

Further, due to the same effect, almost no resistance is generated when the operating rod 20 is manually operated from the locked position to the unlocked position.

8 and 9 show a second embodiment of the invention.

In this embodiment, the coil spring 16 is not wound around the outer periphery of the motor 3 as in the first embodiment, but is wound around a cylindrical portion 15' fixed to the case 1.

In addition, as an output means, an output shaft 26 coaxially fixed to the second internal gear 19 is made to protrude from the lid body 2 instead of the operating rod 20 in the first embodiment,
A swinging arm 27 is fixed to the protruding end of the swinging arm 27, so that a rod or the like can be connected to the tip of the swinging arm 27.

Further, the rotation angle of the swing arm 27 is detected by a pair of limit switches 28 and 29 fixed to the lid 2, and the power supply to the motor 3 and the electromagnetic clutch 11 is stopped.

Note that the same members as in the first embodiment are given the same reference numerals, and their explanations will be omitted.

This second embodiment also operates in the same manner as the first embodiment.

(Other modifications) In the first embodiment, by making the number of teeth of the first gear 8a and the second gear 8b of the planetary gear 8 different by one, the first internal gear 10 and the second gear
A differential is generated between the internal gear 19 of the planetary gear and a high reduction ratio. The number of internal teeth of the two internal gears may be made to be slightly different from each other.

(Effects of the Invention) In the present invention, a self-servo mechanism consisting of a coil spring or the like wound around a cylindrical portion integral with the case is provided between the first internal gear and the armature of the electromagnetic clutch. Since most of the restraining force of the first internal gear is obtained from the frictional force caused by the coiled spring wrapped around the cylindrical portion, the electromagnetic clutch itself can be small and of low capacity. It is possible to downsize the entire device and reduce power consumption.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing the main parts of the first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway front view showing the lid removed from the case, and FIG. 3 is the same as in FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional side view taken along line - of FIG. 2, FIG. 5 is a lateral side view taken along line 2 of FIG. 2, and FIG. FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view of a portion similar to FIG. 6, showing a different operating state from FIG. 6, and FIG. 8 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view taken along line - The front view, FIG. 9, is a longitudinal sectional side view taken along the - line in FIG. 8. 1... Case, 3... Motor, 6... Sun gear, 8... Planetary gear, 10... First internal gear,
11... Electromagnetic clutch, 12... Coil, 13...
... Field core, 14 ... Armature, 1
5, 15'...Cylinder part, 16...Coil spring, 16
a, 16b...bent end, 17, 18...engaging hole, 17a, 17b, 18a, 18b...side edge,
19... Second internal gear, 20... Operating rod, 23
...Slide switch, 26...Output shaft, 27...
...Swinging arm, A...Planetary gear system.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A planetary gear device having a sun gear, a planetary gear that meshes with the sun gear, and first and second internal gears that mesh with the planetary gear and are rotatable relative to each other is provided in a case, and the sun gear is connected to the rotational drive means, the first internal gear is connected to the case via an electromagnetic clutch, and the second internal gear is connected to the output means, and the actuation of the electromagnetic clutch causes the first internal gear to rotate.
By fixing the internal gear to the case, the second
The actuator is configured such that an output can be extracted from the internal gear, and the first internal gear can idle by cutting off the connection between the first internal gear and the case, the actuator being integral with the case. Both ends of the coil spring wound around the cylindrical portion of the electromagnetic clutch are connected to an engagement hole bored in a part of the outer periphery of the armature of the electromagnetic clutch and an engagement hole bored in a part of the outer periphery of the first internal gear. An actuator characterized in that the actuator is loosely fitted continuously into the mating holes.