JP4534254B2 - Lifting cabinet - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an elevating hanging cupboard in which a storage unit for storing articles is suspended from above.

Conventionally, this type of up-and-down hanging cupboard has been used in home kitchens and the like. For example, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, an elevating mechanism unit including a driving unit is installed in an outer case corresponding to an outer frame, and a belt is disposed between the elevating mechanism unit and a storage unit disposed. Such a connection mechanism is connected, and the storage unit is moved up and down using the rotational driving force of the drive unit.
JP 2001-87061 A

The lifting cabinet shown in Patent Document 1 is mainly used in a home kitchen or the like, but the structure of raising and lowering in a storage unit in a general home has a problem in safety. or other products such as cutting board is sandwiched between, walk to the rise of the storage portion, such as a child hanging in the housing portion, usually situation unpredictable occurs at. In addition, when an overload condition is reached in which a stored item exceeding a specified value is placed in the storage unit, a problem occurs that a load exceeding the specified value is applied to the lifting mechanism unit and the coupling mechanism.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is possible to ensure these situations even if other objects hit the storage section, the storage section is overloaded, or an external force is applied to the storage section. It is an object of the present invention to provide a lift cabinet that can detect and take necessary measures.

The lifting / lowering cabinet of the present invention has a cantilever that extends linearly to a mechanism that connects a storage unit that stores stored items and a drive unit that lifts and lowers the storage unit, and a tip of the cantilever. and a detecting means provided, this detector is constituted by those that detect the weight of the received material or collision or an external force to the housing portion.

  In this case, the detection means is whether the weight of the storage items stored in the storage unit or whether an external force is applied to the storage unit such as a cutting board or a person hanging on the storage unit. Can be detected. Therefore, for example, the raising / lowering operation of the storage unit by the drive unit can be immediately stopped based on the output from the detection means.

  According to the lifting / lowering cabinet of the present invention, it is necessary to reliably detect these situations even if other items hit the storage unit, the storage unit becomes overloaded, or external force is applied to the storage unit. It is possible to take appropriate measures.

  Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of a lifting and lowering cabinet according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  In FIG. 1 to FIG. 3 showing the mechanism part of the lifting cabinet, reference numeral 1 denotes an outer frame provided at an appropriate place in the home kitchen, which is formed in a box shape whose front and lower sides are opened. Reference numeral 2 denotes a storage which is a bottomed storage unit capable of storing various storage items, and the storage 2 is moved up and down inside the outer frame 1 along the inner surface of the outer frame 1 ( It can be moved up and down. In addition, the storage 2 may be formed in, for example, a basket shape so that the stored items can be visually recognized from the outside.

  Reference numeral 3 denotes an elevating mechanism provided between the storage 2 and the ceiling surface of the outer frame 1. The elevating mechanism 3 connects a motor 5 that is a drive source for raising and lowering the storage 2, a winding drum 7 that is connected to the rotating shaft 6 of the motor 5, and a connection between the winding drum 7 and the storage 2. A pair of belts 8A and 8B having one end connected to the outer periphery of the winding drum 7 and the other end connected to the right and left upper portions of the storage case 2, and the belts 8A and 8B. A pair of pulleys 9A and 9B that are suspended from each other and support mechanisms 10A and 10B that are located on the left and right upper portions inside the outer frame 1 and that support the pulleys 9A and 9B in a movable manner.

  As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, one support mechanism 10A is provided corresponding to the belt 8A and pulley 9A on the right side of the outer frame 1, and is a cantilever 11A extending linearly. A spring 12A for supporting the cantilever 11A from the ceiling surface of the outer frame 1 and an inclination sensor 18A provided at the tip 13A of the cantilever 11A are provided. Similarly, the other support mechanism 10B is provided corresponding to the belt 8B and the pulley 9B on the left side of the outer frame 1, and cantilever 11B extending linearly, and this cantilever 11B is connected to the outer frame 1 A spring 12B as an urging means suspended from the ceiling surface and an inclination sensor 18B provided at the tip portion 13B of the cantilever 11B are provided. The pulley 9B and the support mechanism 10B are disposed symmetrically with the pulley 9A and the support mechanism 10A shown in FIGS.

  In the cantilever 11A, a base end portion 14A on the opposite side of the tip end portion 13A has a hinge structure, and the base end side of the hinge is fixed to the upper right side surface of the outer frame 1, thereby the base end portion 14A. Is provided so as to be rotatable around the center. Further, a hole 15A is provided near the tip 13A of the plate-like cantilever 11A, and a central shaft 16A of the pulley 9A is pivoted to a bearing portion (not shown) provided on the front and rear wall surfaces of the hole 15A. Be supported. Accordingly, the pulley 9A is provided so as to be movable with the cantilever 11A with respect to the outer frame 1, and is supported rotatably with respect to the cantilever 11A.

  Similarly, the cantilever 11B has a hinge structure with a base end portion 14B on the opposite side of the tip end portion 13B, and the base side of this hinge is fixed to the upper right side surface of the outer frame 1, thereby It is provided so as to be rotatable around the end 14B. Although not shown in FIG. 3, a hole (not shown) is provided near the tip end portion 13A of the plate-like cantilever 11B, and a bearing portion (not shown) provided on the front and rear wall surfaces of the hole 15A. 2), the central shaft 16B of the pulley 9B is pivotally supported. Accordingly, the pulley 9B is provided so as to be movable with the cantilever 11B with respect to the outer frame 1, and is supported rotatably with respect to the cantilever 11B.

  The springs 12A and 12B as the urging means oppose the weights of the storage 2 and the storage S stored in the storage 2 so that the tip portions 13A and 13B of the cantilevers 11A and 11B are connected to the ceiling surface of the outer frame 1. It biases to the side (upper side). Therefore, when the load applied below the storage 2 increases, the inclination angles α1 and α2 of the cantilevers 11A and 11B with respect to the horizontal plane H increase, and conversely, when the load applied above the storage 2 increases. The inclination angles α1 and α2 of the cantilevers 11A and 11B become smaller. The tilt sensors 18A and 18B are based on the base ends 14A and 14B of the cantilever beams 11A and 11B, and the tilt angles α1 and α2 of the center axes 16A and 16B of the cantilever beams 11A and 11B and the pulleys 8A and 8B. It arrange | positions in the position which can be detected. The inclination sensors 18A and 18B here are not only the load applied to the storage 2 from the inclination angles α1 and α2 of the cantilevers 11A and 11B, that is, the weight of the storage S, but also the collision of other objects with the storage 2. It is the most preferable detection means that can detect both external force and external force. In addition, as a detection means, the thing of the weight of the storage 2, the collision to the storage 2, or the external force to the storage 2 may be detected.

  And here, a motor 5 and a winding drum 7 are provided as a drive unit for raising and lowering the storage 2, and belts 8 </ b> A and 8 </ b> B, pulleys 9 </ b> A and 9 </ b> B are connected as a mechanism for connecting the drive unit and the storage 2. Support mechanisms 10A and 10B are provided. The inclination sensors 18A and 18B as detection means are provided on the cantilevers 11A and 11B constituting the support mechanisms 10A and 10B, respectively.

  FIG. 4 shows an electrical configuration of the lifting / lowering cabinet shown in FIGS. 1 to 3. In the figure, the control means 31 controls the operation of the motor 5 connected to the output port, the display unit 32 such as an LED or LCD, and the notification unit 33 such as a buzzer. Inclination angle calculation means 35 for converting detection outputs (for example, voltages) from the inclination sensors 18A and 18B into values corresponding to the inclination angles α1 and α2 of the actual cantilever beams 11A and 11B, and the inclination angle calculation means 35 It is determined whether or not the inclination angles α1 and α2 calculated in step 1 are within a pre-stored allowable range, and if the inclination angle α1 and α2 are out of the allowable range, an abnormality determination unit 36 that outputs an abnormality signal, and the abnormality An abnormality control means 37 is provided for receiving any abnormality signal from the determination means 36 and controlling any or all of the motor 5, the display section 32, and the notification section 33. In addition to the tilt sensors 18A and 18B, an operation unit 34 such as various switches for instructing the raising / lowering operation of the storage 2 is connected to the input port of the control means 31.

  The inclination sensors 18A and 18B in this embodiment continuously output voltages corresponding to the inclination angles α1 and α2. As an example, FIG. 5 shows the relationship between the output voltage of the inclination sensors 18A and 18B and the inclination angle. Is shown in the graph. For example, when the inclination angles α1 and α2 change by 15 °, the output voltages of the inclination sensors 18A and 18B change by 171 mV. Here, 1LSB (Least Significant Bit) of the A / D converter built in the tilt angle calculation means 35 is 5000 mV / 256≈20 mV / LSB, assuming that the operating voltage of the microcomputer as the control means 31 is DC 5V. Become. Therefore, the change of 171 mV corresponds to 171 mV / 20 mV≈8LSB in the A / D converter, and the control means 31 can sufficiently discriminate the change if the inclination angles α1 and α2 are about this level. Note that the inclination sensors 18A and 18B may output, for example, current continuously or in pulses, or output voltage pulses.

  Further, when the abnormality determination means 36 outputs an abnormality signal, the abnormality control means 37 controls the motor 5, which is an output section, the display section 32, and the notification section 33 in accordance with the operation state of the motor 5. It has become. That is, when the abnormality control means 37 receives an abnormality signal during the operation of the motor 5 and thus the storage case 2, it immediately shuts off the power supply to the motor 5 and stops the motor 5. Further, even when an abnormal signal is received while the motor 5 is stopped, the power supply to the motor 5 is interrupted so that the user cannot raise or lower the storage 2, and the display unit 32 and the notification unit are also provided. 33 is operated to notify the user by light or sound that the storage 2 is overloaded.

  Next, the effect | action is demonstrated about the said structure. While a predetermined operating voltage is applied to the control means 31, the control means 31 outputs the output voltage from each of the inclination sensors 18A and 18B regardless of whether there is an instruction to raise or lower the storage 2 via the operation unit 34. The inclination angles α1 and α2 of the cantilever beams 11A and 11B are constantly monitored.

  More specifically, when the storage 2 that is not supplying power to the motor 5 is stopped, the tilt angle calculation means 35 receives the output voltage from the tilt sensors 18A and 18B, and the tilt angle calculation means 35 tilts the cantilever beams 11A and 11B. α1 and α2 are calculated, and the abnormality determination means 36 determines whether or not these calculated values are within the allowable range of the tilt angles α1 and α2 when the motor 5 is stored in advance. At this time, if the values of the actual inclination angles α1 and α2 calculated by the inclination angle calculation means 35 exceed the set allowable range, the abnormality determination means 36 determines that the load is overloaded, and the abnormality control An abnormal signal is output to the means 37. The abnormality control unit 37 receives the abnormality signal from the abnormality determination unit 36 and continues to operate the display unit 32 and the notification unit 33 until the actual values of the inclination angles α1 and α2 fall within the allowable range, While notifying the user that light 2 is overloaded by light or sound, the power supply to the motor 5 is cut off so that the storage 2 is not raised or lowered.

  On the other hand, when the actual values of the inclination angles α1 and α2 are within the allowable range, when the lift switch of the operation unit 34 is pushed, for example, power is supplied to the motor 5 of the lift mechanism unit 3. Here, when the central shaft 6 of the motor 5 rotates in the forward direction, one end side of the belts 8A and 8B is wound around the winding drum 7, and the storage 2 hung on these belts 8A and 8B becomes the outer frame 1. Ascend along the inner surface of the. Conversely, when the central shaft 6 of the motor 5 rotates in the reverse direction, one end side of the belts 8A and 8B is released from the winding drum 7, and the storage 2 descends along the inner surface of the outer frame 1. .

  The control means 31 converts the output voltages taken from the inclination sensors 18A and 18B into values of the actual inclination angles α1 and α2 by the inclination angle calculation means 35 immediately before the storage 2 starts the raising / lowering operation. Is temporarily stored until the lifting operation is completed. The inclination angle calculation means 35 takes in the output voltage from the inclination sensors 18A and 18B from the start to the end of the lifting / lowering operation of the storage 2 and calculates the actual values of the inclination angles α1 and α2 during the operation of the motor 5. Then, the calculation result is output to the abnormality determination unit 36, and the abnormality determination unit 36 determines that the actual inclination angles α1 and α2 calculated by the inclination angle calculation unit 35 are within an allowable range during operation of the motor 5 (this In this case, for example, it is determined whether or not it is within ± 15 ° with respect to the initial value.

  At this time, for example, when a child hangs in the storage 2, the inclination angles α1 and α2 of the cantilevers 11A and 11B greatly vary in the plus direction with respect to the initial values. Further, when another object such as a cutting board is sandwiched between the storage 2 and the outer frame 1, the tension of the belts 8A and 8B is lost, and the inclination angles α1 and α2 of the cantilevers 11A and 11B are set to the initial values. On the other hand, it fluctuates greatly in the negative direction. In any case, if the values of the actual inclination angles α1 and α2 calculated by the inclination angle calculation means 35 deviate from the allowable range during the operation of the motor 5 due to these factors, it is determined that there is an abnormality and the abnormality control means. An abnormal signal is output to 37. The abnormality control means 37 receives the abnormality signal from the abnormality determination means 36 and immediately cuts off the power supply to the motor 5 and stops the raising / lowering operation of the storage 2.

  Since the vibration from the motor 5 is transmitted to the cantilever beams 11A and 11B during the raising / lowering operation of the storage cabinet 2, the tilt angles α1 and α2 of the cantilever beams 11A and 11B detected by the tilt sensors 18A and 18B are The vibration slightly increases or decreases. Therefore, it is preferable to set the permissible range during operation of the motor 5 as a value that allows for a vibration amount rather than a slight variation in the inclination angles α1 and α2 that can normally occur (that is, when the motor 5 is stopped). Set larger than the allowable range). In this way, it is possible to prevent as much as possible the possibility that the abnormality determination means 36 makes an erroneous determination due to the vibration of the motor 5.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the storage 2 as a storage unit for storing the storage items S and the drive unit (the motor 5 and the winding drum 7) for raising and lowering the storage 2 are connected to the belts 8A, 8B, The pulleys 9A and 9B and the support mechanisms 10A and 10B are connected to each other, and the support mechanisms 10A and 10B which are one of the connecting mechanisms are connected to the cantilever beams 11A and 11B extending linearly and the cantilever beam 11A. , tilt sensor 18A as the detecting means provided at the tip of 11B, and a 18B, the tilt sensor 18A, 18B, the detection and the weight of housing material S, a collision and an external force other of the repository 2 Consists of what can be done.

  In this case, the inclination sensors 18A and 18B are not limited to the weight of the storage item S stored in the storage unit 2, but can be applied to the storage unit 2 by another object such as a cutting board or a person hanging on the storage unit 2. Whether or not is added can be detected. Therefore, based on the outputs from the inclination sensors 18A and 18B, for example, the lifting / lowering operation of the storage 2 by the motor 5 as a drive unit can be immediately stopped, or a warning can be urged to the user by sound or light. Therefore, even if another object hits the storage room 2, the storage room 2 becomes overloaded, or external force is applied to the storage room 2, these situations can be reliably detected and necessary measures taken. Is possible.

  In this embodiment, the cantilever beams 11A and 11B are provided as the support mechanisms 10A and 10B so that the inclination angles α1 and α2 change according to the load applied to the storage case 5, and the cantilever beams 11A and 11B Since 11B is provided with the tilt sensors 18A and 18B, it can be stored by using the tilt sensors 18A and 18B well while having a simple structure in which the support mechanisms 10A and 10B are simply added to the existing lifting mechanism 3. It is possible to detect the weight of the object S and the collision and external force of other objects on the storage 2 with the same inclination sensors 18A and 18B.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the said Example, A various deformation | transformation implementation is possible. For example, in this embodiment, a pair of left and right support mechanisms 10A and 10B and corresponding inclination sensors 18A and 18B are provided so that even if only one side of the storage case 2 becomes overloaded, it can be determined that there is an abnormality. However, only one or three or more of these may be provided. Further, how to process the abnormal signal output from the abnormality determining means 36 is not limited to the embodiment and may be arbitrarily selected.

It is a front view which shows the whole structure of the raising / lowering hanging cupboard in one Example of this invention. FIG. 2 is an enlarged front view of the tilt sensor in FIG. 1 and its periphery. It is a perspective view of the principal part in FIG. 1 same as the above. It is a block diagram which shows an electrical structure same as the above. It is a graph which shows the relationship between the output voltage of an inclination sensor, and an inclination angle same as the above.

2 Storage (storage section)
5 Motor (drive unit)
7 Winding drum (drive unit)
8A, 8B belt (mechanism to connect)
9A, 9B pulley (connecting mechanism)
10A, 10B Support mechanism (mechanism to connect)
11A, 11B cantilever
18A, 18B Tilt sensor (detection means)
S Storage

Claims (1)

A housing part for housing the stored items, the mechanism for connecting the drive unit for raising and lowering the housing portion includes a cantilever extending in a straight line, and a detection means provided at the distal end of the cantilever, This detecting means detects the weight of the stored item, the collision with the storing unit or the external force, and the lifting / lowering cabinet.

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