JPS63307701A - Electric lever device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make it possible to output an electric signal without intervention of gear engagement and also to apply the title lever device for driving a plurality of members of a working machine by a method wherein said lever device is constituted in such a manner that the rotation of a lever is transmitted to a sensor as the movement of a pusher. CONSTITUTION:A pusher 32 which moves in accordance with the rotation of a lever 20, a controlling member 34 which controls the shifting of said pusher 32 in the direction of the lever and a spring 36, which energizes the pusher in the direction of the lever, are provided. Besides, an output device 37 is formed into a linear stroke type sensor 37 with which the pusher 32 can be engaged. As a result, the rotation of the level 20 can be transmitted to the linear stroke type sensor 37 through the shifting of the pusher 32. Also, the pusher is shifted in the position controlled by the control member 34 by the force of the spring 36 when the lever 20 returns to the neutral point. As a result, an electric signal can be outputted without intervention of gear engagement, and also the title device can be applied for the driving of a plurality of members of a working machine.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION <Industrial Application Field> The present invention relates to an electric lever device that is installed in various working machines and has an output device that outputs an electric signal according to the amount of rotation of the lever.

<Prior Art> FIG. 10 is a side sectional view showing this type of conventional electric lever device, and FIG. 11 is a view taken in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 10. In this prior art, a shaft 2 having a large diameter portion and a small diameter portion is integrally provided at the lower end of a lever 1, and the shaft 2 is rotatably supported by a support 4 via a bearing 3. . A helical spring 5 is provided between one small diameter portion of the shaft 2 and the support body 4.
is attached, and the lever 1 is biased by the helical spring 5 so as to return to the neutral position. A fan-shaped member 6 is integrally provided on the other small diameter portion of the shaft 2, and a gear 7 is formed on the peripheral edge of the fan-shaped member 6. A gear 8 is arranged to mesh with this gear 7, and this gear 8 is integrally attached to an operating shaft 10 of an output device, ie, a rotary potentiometer 9, which outputs an electric signal according to the amount of rotation of the lever 1. The operating shaft IO is rotatably supported by the support 4, and the case of the potentiometer 9 is integrally provided with the support 1.

Then, the operator grasps lever 1 and, for example,
When the shaft 2 is rotated in the direction of arrow 11 in the figure, the shaft 2 rotates integrally against the force of the helical spring 5, and the fan-shaped member 6 integrally rotates around this shaft 2 portion. A gear 8 rotates through the lever 7, an operating shaft 10 rotates integrally with the gear 8, and an electric signal corresponding to the amount of rotation of the lever 1 is output from the potentiometer 9. This electric signal is inputted to a controller (not shown) that performs various processes, for example, and is further outputted from the controller as a drive signal for driving the working machine members.

Also, when the operator returns lever 1 to the neutral position,
The force of the helical spring 5 is also added to rotate the shaft 2, and the lever 1 returns to the neutral position.

<Problems to be solved by the invention> By the way, in the prior art configured as described above,
An electric signal corresponding to the amount of rotation of the lever 1 is output through the engagement of the gear 7.8, and a gap is created between the teeth of the gear 7 and gear 8 that mesh with each other. , the amount of rotation of the lever 1 is transmitted to the potentiometer 9 through the gap between the gears 7 and 8, making it difficult to ensure good followability. For example, during a series of operations such as the neutral state of the lever 1 → a predetermined rotation of the lever 1 → the return of the lever 1 to the neutral position, a hysteresis loop is likely to be formed according to the above-mentioned gap, that is, when the lever 1 returns to its original position. It may not return to the neutral position correctly, which tends to cause deterioration in operating performance.

If the arrangement is made so that the gap is minimized to prevent the formation of such a hysteresis loop, even a slight rotation of the lever 1 will cause the potentiometer 9 to output an electrical signal, which means that the area where the lever 1 is in its neutral position will be output. There is no dead zone that forms, and the stability of the steering wheel cannot be achieved.

For this reason, in this conventional technology, gear 7
．． The position of each member, including the engagement of 8, must be adjusted with high precision, making manufacturing and assembly complicated, and
There are problems in terms of operability.

In addition, in this conventional technology, an electric signal related to the drive of one work equipment member is output from the potentiometer 9 in response to one operation of the lever 1, so that the drive of multiple work equipment members can be performed. If this is taken into consideration, a plurality of electric lever devices shown in FIG. 10.11 must be installed in parallel, and in such a case, the size of the entire device will be increased.

The present invention has been made in view of the actual situation in the prior art described above, and its purpose is to be able to output an electric signal according to the amount of rotation of a lever without intervening gear engagement, and to An object of the present invention is to provide an electric lever device that can be suitably adapted to drive a working machine member.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve this object, the present invention provides an apparatus that includes a lever and an output device that outputs an electric signal according to the amount of rotation of the lever. A pusher that moves according to the above-described lever direction, a regulating member that restricts movement of this pusher in the above-mentioned lever direction, and a spring that biases the pusher in the above-mentioned lever direction, and an output device that the pusher can engage with. The structure consists of a linear stroke type sensor.

Since the present invention is configured as described above, the rotation of the lever is transmitted to the linear stroke type sensor through the movement of the pusher, and when the lever returns to neutral, the pusher is regulated by the force of the spring. It is possible to move to a position regulated by the member and output an electric signal without intervening any gear engagement.

Further, the dimension until the pusher and the linear stroke type sensor engage forms a dead zone of the lever, and this dimension can be easily set, so the dead zone can be easily set to a desired value.

Further, the neutral return position of the lever is always constant at the position where the pusher is regulated by the regulating member, and no hysteresis loop is formed due to rotation and return of the lever.

In addition, without providing multiple levers etc., in other words, one
Since a plurality of pushers and a linear stroke type sensor that engages with the pushers can be provided around one lever, it is suitable for driving a plurality of working machine members.

<Example> Hereinafter, the electric lever device of the present invention will be explained based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram including a cross section showing one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the arrangement of pushers, and FIG.
Figures 4 and 5 are front and side views respectively showing the internal configuration of the linear stroke type sensor that forms the electric circuit of Figure 3. 6 are explanatory diagrams showing an example of the arrangement form of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 1, in this embodiment, the lever 20 is
It consists of a rod 21 and a presser plate 22 which is integrally fixed to the lower end of the rod 21 and has a gently curved lower surface, and this lever 20 is a universal joint that allows rotation in 3606 directions. strut 24 through int 23
Supported by A thread is formed at the lower end of the column 24, and the column 24 is screwed into a screw hole formed in a casing 26 forming the main body through a sealing material 25. The casing 26 consists of an upper lid 27 and a box body 28 into which the upper lid 27 is integrally fitted.
8 is provided with a recess 29, a ventilation hole 30 communicating with the recess 29, and a filter 31 disposed in the ventilation hole 30.

Then, as shown in FIG.
(not shown here), four linearly movable pushers 32 are arranged so as to surround it. This pusher 32 is
It is provided so as to pass through the upper lid 27 of the casing 26 via a sealing material 33, and a large diameter portion 34 is provided at the lower end of the upper lid 27 of the casing 26.
The large diameter portion 34 has a protruding portion 35 that protrudes downward. The large diameter portion 34 of the pusher 32 described above is connected to the upper lid 27.
In other words, the upper lid 27 constitutes a regulating member that regulates the movement of the pusher 32 in the lever 20 direction. In addition, a pusher 3 is provided inside the casing 26.
A spring 36 is provided that biases the pusher 2 in the direction of the lever 20. One end of the spring 36 engages with the large diameter portion 34 of the pusher 32, and the other end engages with the bottom of the box body 28 of the casing 26. ing.

Further, an output device that outputs an electric signal corresponding to the pusher 32, that is, a linear stroke type sensor 37 is provided.
It is arranged. This sensor 37 is arranged so that its gear shaft 38 is located inside the casing 26, and furthermore, it is arranged so that it has a clearance 39 between it and the protrusion 35 of the pusher 32 to form a dead zone for the lever 20. In addition, a threaded portion 41 is formed around a guide portion 40 that guides the actuating shaft 38.The sensor 37 is configured so that the threaded portion 41 of the guide portion 40 is connected to the box of the casing 26 via the seal member 25a. It is attached to the casing 26 by being screwed into a threaded hole formed in the body 28. The threaded portion 41 of the guide portion 40 described above constitutes means for making the dimension of the clearance 39 variable.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the sensor 37 described above includes an electric circuit having a switch 42 for detecting the neutral position of the lever 20 and a variable resistance section 43. This sensor 3
The internal structure of 7 is as shown in Fig. 4.5.
8 and a slider 44, 45 which is movable in the vertical direction as shown in FIG.
6. A conductor 47 that the slider 44 can selectively contact and that the slider 45 constantly contacts, a resistor 48 that is connected to the conductor 47, and a conductor 49 that the slider 45 constantly contacts. It has become a thing that has. In addition, the conductors 46 and 47 and the slider 4
4 constitute the switch 42 shown in FIG. 3 mentioned above, and the conductor 47, the resistor 48, the conductor 49 and the slider 45 constitute the variable resistance section 43 shown in FIG. 3.

As schematically shown, each sensor 37 is connected via a lead wire 50 to a control device or controller 51 that performs various signal processing.

As shown in FIG. 6, this controller 51 is connected to a driver circuit 53 that outputs a signal to drive a solenoid valve 52 that controls an actuator that drives a working machine member that is a movable member that constitutes a working machine. . As shown in FIG. 6, a switch 42 built into the sensor 37 is connected to a power source 54 of a driver circuit 53. As shown in FIG.

In addition, if one industrial machine is, for example, a hydraulic excavator that constitutes a construction machine, the above-mentioned work machine components are a boom, an arm, a packet, a revolving body, etc., and the above-mentioned actuator is a boom that rotates the boom. The solenoid valve 52 is a boom solenoid valve that controls a boom cylinder, an arm cylinder that rotates an arm, a bucket cylinder that rotates a packet, a rotation motor that rotates a rotating structure, etc. These are the arm solenoid valve to control, the packet solenoid valve to control the packet cylinder, and the swing solenoid valve to control the swing motor.

In the embodiment configured as described above, when the lever 20 shown in FIG. The pusher 32 located on the left side in the figure moves downward through the presser plate 22 against the force of the spring 36. and,
The protrusion 35 of the pusher 32 is the operating shaft 3 of the sensor 37.
8 and further moves, the sliders 44 and 45 shown in FIG. 4 move integrally with the movement of the actuating shaft 38 in the direction of the arrow 56 in FIG. 4. The slider 44 is connected to the conductor 46.
47, the switch 42 shown in FIG. 6 is turned on, and the power supply 54 shown in FIG. 6 is turned on, and also,
By connecting the slider 45 to the resistor 48 and the four conductors, an electrical signal corresponding to the amount of rotation of the lever 20 is output to the controller 51, and a signal corresponding to the electrical signal is sent from the controller 51 to the driver circuit 53. A drive signal is output from the driver circuit 53 to the drive section of the electromagnetic valve 52, which drives an actuator (not shown) and drives the corresponding work machine member in accordance with the amount of rotation of the lever 20. Note that when the lever 20 is rotated in the direction opposite to the direction of the arrow 55 in FIG. is driven in the direction of

When the lever 20 is returned to its original neutral position, the pusher 32 is moved through the return force of the spring 36 shown in FIG.
moves upward to a position where its large diameter portion 34 is regulated by the upper lid 27 of the gauging 26, and along with this, the sensor 37
The actuating shaft 38 is also moved upward to the position shown in FIG.
As a result, the sliders 44 and 45 shown in FIG. 4 have a positional relationship as shown in FIG.
5 separates from the resistor 48, and then the slider 44 moves away from the conductor 47.
The switch 42 is turned off when the switch 42 is moved away from the center. When the slider 45 separates from the resistor 48 in this way, a signal is output from the sensor 37 to the controller 51 to set the corresponding work equipment member in the neutral position, and the solenoid valve is activated in accordance with the output signal from the driver circuit 53. 52 returns to the neutral position, and then the above-mentioned switch 42 is turned off, thereby turning off the power source 54 and stopping the driving of the driver circuit 53.

When the lever 20 is rotated in the direction perpendicular to the arrow 55 in FIG. 1, that is, in the vertical direction perpendicular to the left-right direction in FIG. An electrical signal is output from the sensor 37,
It is possible to drive another work implement member different from the work implement member described above.

For example, in the case of the above-mentioned hydraulic excavator, the lever 20
The boom can be driven by rotating in the left-right direction in FIG. 2, and the packet can be driven by rotating in the vertical direction.

In the embodiment configured as described above, the pusher 32 moves as the lever 20 rotates, and the pusher 3
Due to the movement of the operating shaft 38 of the sensor 37 in conjunction with the movement of 2,
In other words, the electric signal corresponding to the amount of rotation of the lever 20 is sent to the sensor 3 without intervening any 'i-'-' I system combination.
It can be output from 7.

In addition, the operation of the pusher 32 and the sensor 37llll1tI3
8 (dimension until they almost fit together, i.e. clearance 3
9 forms a rest zone against the rotation of the lever 20,
By appropriately rotating the threaded portion 41 of the guide portion 40 of the sensor 37, this clearance 39 can be easily set to a desired value, that is, the dead zone can be easily set to a desired value. Although the dead zone can be easily set to a desired value in this way, in this embodiment, the spring 36
Since the pusher 32 is urged upward and the pusher 32 is in contact with the presser plate 22 of the lever 20, no play occurs.

Furthermore, in the neutral return position of the lever 20, the pusher 32 is always at a constant position regulated by the upper lid 27 of the casing 26, that is, the regulating member. There is no formation, and stable operability can be obtained.

Furthermore, by providing two pairs of pushers 32, that is, four pushers 32, for driving two work equipment members around one lever 20, the two work equipment members can be driven, and the device can be made smaller. Can be done.

Furthermore, by forming three clearances between the pusher 32 and the operating shaft 38 of the sensor 37 as described above,
Even if vibration is transmitted to the lever 20 in the neutral state due to some kind of operation, this vibration will not be transmitted to the operating shaft 38, and therefore no false signal will be output from the sensor 37, resulting in excellent safety. .

Moreover, since the sensor 37 is equipped with a switch 42 that detects the neutral position of the lever 20, even if a failure or noise occurs in the signal system including the controller 51, when the lever 20 is in the neutral position, the above-mentioned power supply 5
4 is turned off, the driving of the driver circuit 53 is stopped, and thereby the solenoid valve 52 returns to the neutral position, and the corresponding work equipment member automatically assumes a configuration corresponding to the neutral state of the lever 20. However, it has excellent safety.

Furthermore, since the vent hole 30 is provided in the gauging 26 as described above, the pressure inside the casing 26 is kept constant regardless of the movement of the pusher 32, and the sensor 37, seal members 25, 25a, 33, etc. No load is applied and it has excellent durability.

Since the box body 28 of the casing 26 is provided with a recess 29, even if water droplets accumulate in the gauging 26 due to a change in ambient temperature, the water droplets will be stored in the two recesses and will be filtered. 31 to the outside, thereby protecting the sensor 37 from water droplets.

Furthermore, since the filter 31 is provided in the ventilation hole 30 of the casing 26, external dust etc. do not enter into the casing 26, and from this point of view, the sensor 37 is protected and
It is possible to protect each sliding part.

Note that when water droplets accumulate in the two depressions mentioned above, the water droplets pass through the filter 31 portion when flowing out of the casing 26, so the filter 31 is washed and the filter 31 is always kept in a clean state. be able to.

FIG. 7 shows a switch 42 built into the sensor 37 mentioned above.
8.9 is an electric circuit diagram showing another example of the arrangement of the variable resistance section 43, and FIGS. 8 and 9 are a front view and a side view, respectively, showing the internal structure of the sensor 37 having the electric circuit shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 8.9, the arrangement of the conductor, resistor, and slider may be changed as appropriate.

<Effects of the Invention> As described above, the electric lever device of the present invention has a structure in which the rotation of the lever is transmitted to the linear stroke type sensor as movement of the pusher. It is possible to output an electrical signal according to the amount of movement, thus eliminating the occurrence of hysteresis loops that occur when gear engagement is involved, as well as setting a desired dead zone, making operation easier than before. safety and safety.

In addition, since one lever can drive multiple pairs of pushers and output electrical signals from the corresponding linear stroke type sensor, it can be well adapted to driving multiple work equipment members. Therefore, the device can be made smaller compared to the conventional method.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is an explanatory diagram including a cross section showing one embodiment of the electric lever device of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a plan view showing the arrangement of the pusher, and 3I7I is provided in the embodiment shown in Fig. 1. Diagram showing the electric circuit of a linear stroke type sensor, Part 1.
5 is a front view, a side view, and a 6
The figure is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the arrangement of the embodiment shown in Fig. 1, Fig. 7 is a diagram showing another example of the electric circuit of the linear stroke type sensor shown in Fig. 1, and Figs. Fig. 7 is a front view and side view showing the internal configuration of a linear stroke type sensor forming the electric circuit, Fig. 10 is a side sectional view showing a conventional electric lever device, and Fig. 1 is A in Fig. 10. It is an arrow view. 20... Lever, 21... Rod, 22...
...Press plate, 23 ... Universal joint, 24 ... Support column, 25.25°a, 33
... Seal material, 26 ... Casing,
27...Top lid, 28...Box body, 29
...Indentation, 30...Vent hole, 31.
... Filter, 32 ... Pusher, 34
...Large diameter part, 35...Protrusion part, 36.
...Spring, 37...Linear stroke type sensor (output device), 38...Operating axis, 3...
...Clearance, 40...Guide part,
41...Screw part, 42...Switch,
43...Variable resistance section. Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 6 Figure 7 Figure 8 Figure 10 Figure 1I Figure

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) In an electric lever device that includes a lever and an output device that outputs an electric signal according to the amount of rotation of the lever, there is a pusher that moves in accordance with the rotation of the lever, and a pusher that moves in the direction of the lever. An electric lever device comprising: a regulating member that regulates movement; and a spring that biases the pusher in the direction of the lever; and wherein the output device comprises a linear stroke type sensor with which the pusher can engage. (2) The electric lever device according to claim (1), characterized in that a universal joint is provided to support the lever so that it can freely rotate through 360°, and four pushers are arranged around the lever.