JP7573868B2 - Automatic door system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an automatic door system.

As is well known, automatic door systems are widely used, for example, in which a door body is provided in an opening formed in a wall of a building, etc., and when a user is detected by a sensor provided near the opening, the door body automatically slides open or closed, allowing users to pass through efficiently (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

The automatic door system described in Patent Document 1 generally has a motor in the drive unit, and the motor moves the door body to open and close the opening.

JP 2006-197750 A JP 2016-199900 A

However, in door devices using such motors, when the door body is opened or closed, a driving noise is generated as the motor is rotated, so there is a limit to how quietly the automatic door device can be operated.
Furthermore, as the door body becomes larger, the output of the motor needs to be increased, making it difficult to reduce the size of the drive unit of the automatic door system.

To solve these problems, the inventors invented an automatic door system that uses an elastic member (sometimes called artificial muscle) that contracts when electricity is passed through it (Patent Document 2). This elastic member has the property that it heats up and contracts when electricity is passed through it, and the contractile force disappears when the electricity is stopped.

However, this technology had the problem that a large amount of electricity was required to contract the expandable member because the expandable member to which electricity was applied was very long. This required a large power supply. Furthermore, because the expandable member has the characteristic of contracting when heated, there was also the problem that it took a long time to heat up if the expandable member was very long. In other words, there was also the problem that the contraction response took a long time and it was difficult to control the contraction response.

The present invention was made in consideration of the above problems, and the object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved automatic door system that can operate more efficiently.

In order to solve the above problems, according to one aspect of the present invention, an automatic door device is provided that includes at least one door body, an opening/closing expandable member that is long and has one end connected to the door body and the other end fixed to the outside of the door body, and that contracts in the opening direction of the door body when electricity is applied, a power supply unit that supplies power to the opening/closing expandable member, and a control unit that controls the power supplied from the power supply unit to the opening/closing expandable member, and the opening/closing expandable member is divided into a plurality of current-carrying sections along its longitudinal direction.

Here, the cross-sectional area of the current-carrying section connected to the door body may be larger than the cross-sectional area of the current-carrying sections.

The door may further include an acceleration telescopic member that is shorter than the opening/closing telescopic member, has one end connected to the door body and the other end fixed to the outside of the door body, and contracts in the opening direction of the door body when electricity is applied, and has one end detached from the door body. The power supply unit may supply power to the acceleration telescopic member when the door body is activated.

The cross-sectional area of the acceleration expansion member may be larger than the cross-sectional area of the opening/closing expansion member.

According to another aspect of the present invention, an automatic door system is provided that includes at least one door body, an opening/closing telescopic member that is long, has one end connected to the door body and the other end fixed to the outside of the door body, and contracts in the opening direction of the door body when electricity is applied, an acceleration telescopic member that is shorter than the opening/closing telescopic member, has one end connected to the door body and the other end fixed to the outside of the door body, and contracts in the opening direction of the door body when electricity is applied and has one end detached from the door body, a power supply unit that supplies power to the opening/closing telescopic member and the acceleration telescopic member, and a control unit that controls the power supplied from the power supply unit to the opening/closing telescopic member and the acceleration telescopic member, and the power supply unit supplies power to the acceleration telescopic member when the door body is activated.

Here, the cross-sectional area of the acceleration expansion member may be larger than the cross-sectional area of the opening/closing expansion member.

The above aspects of the present invention make it possible to operate automatic door systems more efficiently.

1 is a front view showing a configuration of an automatic door system according to a first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a front view showing the automatic door system in a fully open state. FIG. 11 is a front view showing the configuration of an automatic door system according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the movement of the expandable member according to the first embodiment. FIG. 11 is a plan view showing the movement of the expandable member according to the second embodiment. FIG. 13 is a plan view showing the movement of the expandable member according to the third embodiment. FIG. 13 is a plan view showing the movement of the expandable member according to the fourth embodiment. 4 is a graph showing an example of current supply control. 4 is a graph showing an example of current supply control.

The preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the attached drawings. Note that a numerical range expressed using "~" means a range that includes the numerical values written before and after "~" as the lower and upper limits. Numerical values indicated as "greater than" or "less than" are not included in the numerical range.

1. First embodiment
(1-1. Overall configuration of the automatic door system)
First, the overall structure of an automatic door system 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 1 and 2. Figure 1 shows the automatic door system 1 in a fully closed state, and Figure 2 shows the automatic door system 1 in a fully open state. The automatic door system 1 comprises a door body 10, a rail 20, an opening/closing expandable member 30, a power supply cable 40, electrodes 41-45, an actuator unit 50, and a stopper 60.

The door body 10 includes a door panel 11, plates 12 and 13, and rollers 14 and 15. The door panel 11 is a panel that opens and closes the opening 300 (see FIG. 2) by moving in the opening direction (the direction of the arrow 100) or the closing direction (the direction opposite to the arrow 100). The opening and closing operation of the door panel 11 is performed by the expansion and contraction of an opening and closing expandable member 30, which will be described later.

Plates 12 and 13 are attached to the upper end of the door panel 11. Rollers 14 and 15 are rotatably attached to plates 12 and 13. Rollers 14 and 15 move on rails 20. This causes the door panel 11 to open and close.

The opening/closing expandable member 30 generates heat when electricity is applied, and contracts in the opening direction of the door body 10 (in the direction of the arrow 100) due to the heat generated. When electricity is stopped, the opening/closing expandable member 30 loses its contraction force (torque). In this specification, the term "expandable member" refers to an object that has the property of contracting or expanding by reversibly changing its shape (including molecular-level twisting) or other form when electricity is applied, and includes, for example, a monofilament (e.g., nylon 6) twisted into a coil, a conductive polymer, a shape-memory alloy, a carbon nanotube, a fiber having a predetermined shape, etc.

One end of the opening/closing expandable member 30 is connected to the door body 10, more specifically, to the plate 12. The other end of the opening/closing expandable member 30 is connected to an electrode 45 fixed to a fixed end 200. Here, the fixed end 200 is a fixed member located on the upper side of the opening direction end of the door body 10 in the fully open state. Furthermore, the opening/closing expandable member 30 is divided into four current-carrying sections 31 to 34 by the electrodes 41 to 45. The current-carrying sections 31 to 34 can be independently energized. Of course, the number of current-carrying sections is not limited to this example (four) and may be more or less than four. The current-carrying section 31 is connected to the door body 10, more specifically, to the plate 12, and the current-carrying section 34 is fixed to the fixed end 200. The current-carrying sections 31 to 34 contract in the opening direction of the door body 10 (in the direction of the arrow 100) when energized.

The power supply cable 40 is connected to each of the electrodes 41 to 45, and supplies power from a power supply unit (described later) to the opening/closing expandable member 30 via each of the electrodes 41 to 45. Here, as described above, it is possible to supply electricity to the current-carrying sections 31 to 34 independently. The electrode 41 is provided on the plate 12, the electrode 45 is provided on the fixed end 200, and the electrodes 42 to 44 are provided at equal intervals between the electrodes 41 and 45. Of course, the position of the electrodes is not limited to this example, and as described above, the number of current-carrying sections is not limited to four.

The actuator unit 50 incorporates a power supply unit, a control unit, and a spiral spring. The power supply unit supplies (energizes) power to each of the current-carrying sections 31-34 via the power supply cable 40 and each of the electrodes 41-45. The control unit controls the operation of the power supply unit. The control unit is composed of hardware such as a CPU, ROM, and RAM. A spring cable 51 extends from the spiral spring, and this spring cable 51 is connected to the plate 12 of the door body 10. The spiral spring biases the plate 12, i.e., the door body 10, in the closing direction, and moves the door body 10 in the closing direction when the opening/closing expandable member 30 loses its contractile force.

The stopper 60 is a member that abuts against the left end of the electrode 42 when the door body 10 is in a fully closed state (the state shown in FIG. 1). The stopper 60 is a member that prevents the electrode 42 from moving further leftward (in the closing direction) from the fully closed state position. Details will be described later, but for example, when the door body 10 is moved in the opening direction from the fully closed state, electricity is first applied to the current-carrying section 31. This causes the current-carrying section 31 to contract, and at this time, the current-carrying sections 32 to 34 are pulled by the current-carrying section 31. If the current-carrying sections 32 to 34 are extended, the contraction force of the current-carrying section 31 will decrease. The stopper 60 is provided to prevent such a decrease in the contraction force. In other words, by providing the stopper 60, the current-carrying sections 32 to 34 are prevented from extending while the current is being applied to the current-carrying section 31. The stopper 60 may also be provided for the electrodes 43 and 44. Note that the stopper 60 does not prevent the electrode 41, plate 12, etc. from moving in the opening direction.

(1-2. Operation of the automatic door system)
Next, the operation of the automatic door system 1 will be described with reference to Figures 1, 2, 4 and 8. Figure 4(a) shows the state of the opening/closing expandable member 30 when the automatic door system 1 is in a fully closed state, and Figure 4(b) shows the state of the opening/closing expandable member 30 when the automatic door system 1 is in a fully open state. Symbols A to D in Figure 8 indicate current-carrying sections 31 to 34, and numbers 1 to 6 indicate time sections. The vertical axis of graphs L1 to L4 indicates the amount of current carried. In other words, the larger the value on the vertical axis of graphs L1 to L4, the greater the amount of current carried.

First, we will explain the operation when the automatic door system 1 changes from a fully closed state (Figs. 1 and 4(a)) to a fully open state (Figs. 2 and 4(b)). For example, when a sensor (not shown) detects a user, the control unit first energizes the current-carrying section 31 (time period 1 in Fig. 8). This causes the current-carrying section 31 to contract in the opening direction of the door body 10, and the door body 10 moves in the opening direction by the amount of contraction of the current-carrying section 31. In other words, the automatic door system 1 is activated.

The specific amount of current may be adjusted as appropriate according to the characteristics of the opening/closing expandable member 30, the weight of the door body 10, and the like. Here, the amount of current required to contract the current-carrying section 31 is smaller than the amount of current required to contract the entire opening/closing expandable member 30. Furthermore, the time required for the current-carrying section 31 to generate heat is also shorter, so the contraction response is faster and the contraction response is easier to control. Furthermore, since the movement of the electrode 42 in the closing direction is suppressed by the stopper 60, the current-carrying sections 32 to 34 do not extend due to the contraction of the current-carrying section 31. This prevents the contraction force of the current-carrying section 31 from decreasing. As shown in FIG. 8, the other current-carrying sections 32 to 34 may be electrified to the extent that the current state can be maintained. In this case, the stopper 60 for the electrodes 43 and 44 is not required. Furthermore, in the time section 1, the automatic door device 1 is activated at rest, so a larger contraction force is required than in the other time sections. Furthermore, it is preferable to activate the automatic door device 1 as soon as possible. Therefore, in time section 1, a current larger than that applied to other current sections in other time sections may be applied to current section 31. In this case, the contraction force of current section 31 becomes larger, so the automatic door device 1 can be started up earlier. In addition, the effect of the stopper 60 becomes greater.

Then, the control unit applies current to the current section 32 (time period 2 in FIG. 8). This causes the current section 32 to contract in the opening direction of the door body 10. Here, the amount of current required to contract the current section 32 is smaller than the amount of current required to contract the entire opening/closing expandable member 30. The control unit applies current to the current section 31 to the extent that the current can be maintained. The other current sections 33-34 may also be energized to the extent that the current can be maintained. This causes the door body 10 to move further in the opening direction by the amount of contraction of the current section 32.

Then, the control unit applies current to the current section 33 (time period 3 in FIG. 8). This causes the current section 33 to contract in the opening direction of the door body 10. Here, the amount of current required to contract the current section 33 is smaller than the amount of current required to contract the entire opening/closing expandable member 30. The control unit applies current to the current sections 31 and 32 to the extent that the current state can be maintained. The other current section 34 may be energized to the extent that the current state can be maintained. This causes the door body 10 to move further in the opening direction by the amount of contraction of the current section 33.

Next, the control unit applies current to the current section 34 (time period 4 in FIG. 8). This causes the current section 34 to contract in the opening direction of the door body 10. Here, the amount of current required to contract the current section 34 is smaller than the amount of current required to contract the entire opening/closing expandable member 30. The control unit applies current to the current sections 31-33 to the extent that the current can be maintained in the current state. This causes the door body 10 to move further in the opening direction by the amount of contraction of the current section 34. Through the above process, the automatic door device 1 is fully open, as shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 4(b). During time period 5, the control unit applies current to all current sections 31-34 to the extent that the current can be maintained in the current state (i.e., fully open). When the user is no longer present (has passed through the automatic door device 1), the control unit stops applying current to the current sections 31-34 (time period 6). As a result, the contraction force in energized sections 31 to 34 disappears, and the power spring returns the automatic door device 1 to the fully closed state. If a user is detected again when the automatic door device 1 returns to the fully closed state, the operation from time segment 1 described above can be repeated.

In order to make the opening operation of the automatic door device 1 smoother, the power supply may be switched gradually as shown in graphs L1' to L4' in Figure 9.

As described above, according to the first embodiment, the opening/closing expandable member 30 is divided into multiple current-carrying sections 31-34, so the amount of current required to contract each of the current-carrying sections 31-34 can be reduced. Furthermore, the time required for the current-carrying sections 31-34 to generate heat is shortened, so the contraction response is faster and easier to control. This makes it possible to operate the automatic door device 1 more efficiently.

2. Second embodiment
(2-1. Overall configuration of the automatic door system)
Next, the overall configuration of an automatic door system 1 according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 3 and 5. Descriptions of components common to the first embodiment will be omitted.

As mentioned above, a large contraction force is required when starting the automatic door device 1, and it is necessary to start it as quickly as possible. Therefore, in the second embodiment, the cross-sectional area of the current-carrying section 31 connected to the door body 10 is made larger than the cross-sectional area of the current-carrying section 32.

More specifically, the opening/closing expandable member 30 is divided into current-carrying sections 31-32 by electrodes 41-43. Electrode 41 is provided on the plate 12, electrode 43 is provided on the fixed end 200, and electrode 42 is provided between electrodes 41 and 43.

The current-carrying section 31 is connected to the door body 10, more specifically, the plate 12, and is shorter than the current-carrying section 32. Furthermore, the current-carrying cross-sectional area of the current-carrying section 31 (more specifically, the cross-sectional area perpendicular to the length direction) is larger than the current-carrying cross-sectional area of the current-carrying section 32. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, the current-carrying section 31 is composed of multiple short elastic members 31a. This increases the current-carrying cross-sectional area of the current-carrying section 31. The current-carrying cross-sectional area may be increased by making the opening/closing elastic members 30 that constitute the current-carrying section 31 thicker.

In this way, in the second embodiment, the cross-sectional area of the current-carrying section 31 connected to the door body 10 is made larger than the cross-sectional area of the other current-carrying sections 32, so that a large current can be passed through the current-carrying section 31 when the automatic door device 1 is started. Furthermore, the current-carrying section 31 is shorter than the current-carrying section 32. Therefore, a large contraction force can be generated in the current-carrying section 31 early, so that the automatic door device 1 can be started early. The length ratio between the current-carrying section 31 and the current-carrying section 32 can be adjusted as appropriate depending on the characteristics required of the automatic door device 1, but for example, the current-carrying section 31 may be about 1/10 to 1/20 of the current-carrying section 32.

As in the first embodiment, a stopper 60 is provided. The stopper 60 is a member that comes into contact with the left end of the electrode 42 when the door body 10 is in a fully closed state (as shown in FIG. 1). The stopper 60 prevents the current-carrying section 32 from extending when the current-carrying section 31 is contracting. In particular, in the second embodiment, a large contraction force is generated in the current-carrying section 31, so the effect of the stopper 60 is great.

(2-2. Operation of the automatic door system)
Next, the operation of the automatic door system 1 will be described with reference to Figures 3 and 5. Figure 5(a) shows the state of the opening/closing expandable member 30 when the automatic door system 1 is in a fully closed state, and Figure 5(b) shows the state of the opening/closing expandable member 30 when the automatic door system 1 is in a fully open state.

First, we will explain the operation when the automatic door system 1 goes from a fully closed state (Fig. 3, Fig. 5(a)) to a fully open state (Fig. 5(b)). For example, when a sensor (not shown) detects a user, the control unit first applies electricity to the current-carrying section 31. This causes the current-carrying section 31 to contract in the opening direction of the door body 10, and the door body 10 moves in the opening direction by the amount of contraction of the current-carrying section 31. In other words, the automatic door system 1 is activated.

Here, the control unit can pass a current through the current section 31 that is greater than the amount of current passed through the current section 31 in the first embodiment. In addition, the current section 31 is shorter than the current section 32. This allows a large contraction force to be generated in the current section 31 early, allowing the automatic door device 1 to be started up early. The specific amount of current may be adjusted as appropriate depending on the characteristics of the opening/closing expandable member 30, the weight of the door body 10, etc.

Here, the stopper 60 prevents the electrode 42 from moving in the closing direction, so that the current-carrying section 32 does not extend due to the contraction of the current-carrying section 31. This prevents the contraction force of the current-carrying section 31 from decreasing. Note that current may be passed through the current-carrying section 32 to the extent that the current state can be maintained.

Next, the control unit applies current to the current section 32. This causes the current section 32 to contract in the opening direction of the door body 10. The control unit applies current to the current section 31 to the extent that the current can be maintained in the current state. This causes the door body 10 to move further in the opening direction by the amount of contraction of the current section 32. Through the above process, the automatic door device 1 is fully open as shown in FIG. 5(b). The control unit applies current to all current sections 31-32 to the extent that the fully open state can be maintained. It is also possible to stop the current flow to the current section 31. In this case, the current section 31 extends due to the force of the spiral spring, so that the reversal operation is performed earlier. To be more specific, when the user is no longer present (has passed through the automatic door device 1), the control unit stops the current flow to the current section 32. This causes the contraction force of the current section 32 to disappear, and the spiral spring returns the automatic door device 1 to the fully closed state. If a user is detected again when the automatic door device 1 returns to the fully closed state, power is again applied to the current-carrying section 31. At this time, the current-carrying section 31 is in an extended state, so the reversal operation (reopening operation) is performed quickly.

As explained above, according to the second embodiment, a larger contraction force can be generated when the automatic door system 1 is started, so the automatic door system 1 can be started earlier and the contraction force required for the entire opening operation of the automatic door system 1 can be reduced. This makes it possible to operate the automatic door system 1 more efficiently.

<3. Third embodiment>
(3-1. Overall configuration of the automatic door system)
Next, the overall configuration of an automatic door system 1 according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 1 and 6. In the automatic door system 1 according to the third embodiment, the opening/closing expandable member 30 of the automatic door system 1 according to the first embodiment is replaced with an opening/closing expandable member 30 and an acceleration expandable member 80 shown in Figure 6. Descriptions of components common to the first embodiment will be omitted.

As mentioned above, a large contraction force is required when starting the automatic door system 1, and it is necessary to start as quickly as possible. Therefore, in the third embodiment, a so-called catapult-type start-up is used.

More specifically, an electrode 41 is provided on the plate 12, and an electrode 42 is provided on the fixed end 200. The opening and closing expandable member 30 connects the electrodes 41 and 42. In addition to the opening and closing expandable member 30, electrodes 91 and 92 and an acceleration expandable member 80 are provided. The electrode 91 is in contact with the plate 12 (the end on the closing direction side) when the automatic door device 1 is in a fully closed state. The electrode 92 is fixed at any position on the upper part of the door body 10. The acceleration expandable member 80 connects the electrodes 91 and 92. The length of the acceleration expandable member 80 is shorter than that of the opening and closing expandable member 30. In addition, since the electrode 91 is in contact with the plate 12, one end of the acceleration expandable member 80 is in contact (connected) with the door body 10. Here, it is preferable that the cross-sectional area of the current passing through the acceleration expandable member 80 is larger than that of the opening and closing expandable member 30. In this case, a larger contraction force can be generated in the acceleration expandable member 80. In the example of FIG. 6, the acceleration expansion member 80 is composed of multiple short expansion members 80a. This increases the current-carrying cross-sectional area of the acceleration expansion member 80.

(3-2. Operation of the automatic door system)
Next, the operation of the automatic door system 1 will be described with reference to Fig. 6. Fig. 6(a) shows the state of the opening/closing expandable member 30 and other components when the automatic door system 1 is in a fully closed state, and Fig. 6(b) shows the state of the opening/closing expandable member 30 and other components when the automatic door system 1 is in a fully open state.

First, the operation when the automatic door device 1 changes from a fully closed state (Fig. 6(a)) to a fully open state (Fig. 6(b)) will be described. For example, when a sensor (not shown) detects a user, the control unit first applies electricity to the acceleration expansion member 80. This causes the acceleration expansion member 80 to contract in the opening direction of the door body 10. This causes the electrode 91 to push the door body 10, or more specifically the plate 12, in the opening direction. After the acceleration expansion member 80 has completely contracted, the electrode 91 (i.e. the acceleration expansion member 80) detaches from the plate 12.

Here, when the cross-sectional area of the acceleration expansion member 80 is larger than that of the opening/closing expansion member 30, the control unit can pass a current to the acceleration expansion member 80 that is larger than the amount of current applied to the current section 31 in the first embodiment. In addition, the acceleration expansion member 80 is shorter than the opening/closing expansion member 30. Therefore, a large contraction force can be generated in the acceleration expansion member 80 early, and the automatic door device 1 can be started early. The specific amount of current can be adjusted appropriately depending on the characteristics of the acceleration expansion member 80, the weight of the door body 10, etc.

Next, the control unit applies electricity to the opening/closing expandable member 30. This causes the opening/closing expandable member 30 to contract in the opening direction of the door body 10. Since the door body 10 is biased in the opening direction, the amount of electricity passing through the opening/closing expandable member 30 can be reduced. Through the above process, the automatic door device 1 is fully open as shown in FIG. 6(b). The control unit applies electricity to the opening/closing expandable member 30 to the extent that the fully open state can be maintained. When the user is no longer present (has passed through the automatic door device 1), the control unit stops applying electricity to the opening/closing expandable member 30. This causes the contraction force of the opening/closing expandable member 30 to disappear, and the automatic door device 1 returns to the fully closed state due to the spiral spring. If a user is detected again when the automatic door device 1 returns to the fully closed state, electricity can be applied again to the opening/closing expandable member 30.

As explained above, according to the third embodiment, a larger contraction force can be generated when the automatic door system 1 is started, so the automatic door system 1 can be started earlier and the contraction force required for the entire opening operation of the automatic door system 1 can be reduced. In addition, the structure of the expandable members (and the wiring connected to them) that open and close together with the door body 10 can be simplified. This makes it possible to operate the automatic door system 1 more efficiently.

<4. Fourth embodiment>
(4-1. Overall configuration of the automatic door system)
Next, the overall configuration of an automatic door system 1 according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 1 and 7. In the automatic door system 1 according to the fourth embodiment, the opening/closing expandable member 30 of the automatic door system 1 according to the first embodiment is replaced with an opening/closing expandable member 30 and an acceleration expandable member 80 shown in Figure 7. Descriptions of components common to the first embodiment will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 7, the fourth embodiment is a combination of the first to third embodiments. More specifically, one end of the opening/closing expandable member 30 is connected to the door body 10, more specifically to the plate 12. The other end of the opening/closing expandable member 30 is connected to an electrode 46 fixed to the fixed end 200. Furthermore, the opening/closing expandable member 30 is divided into five current-carrying sections 31 to 35 by the electrodes 41 to 46. The current-carrying sections 31 to 35 can be independently energized. Of course, the number of current-carrying sections is not limited to this example (five), and may be more or less than five. The current-carrying section 31 is connected to the door body 10, more specifically to the plate 12, and the current-carrying section 35 is fixed to the fixed end 200. The current-carrying sections 31 to 35 contract in the opening direction of the door body 10 (in the direction of the arrow 100) when energized.

The cross-sectional area of the current-carrying section 31 is larger than the cross-sectional area of the current-carrying sections 32 to 35. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7, the current-carrying section 31 is composed of multiple short elastic members 31a. This increases the cross-sectional area of the current-carrying section 31. The cross-sectional area of the current-carrying section 31 may be increased by making the opening/closing elastic members 30 that constitute the current-carrying section 31 thicker.

In addition to the opening/closing expandable member 30, electrodes 91, 92 and an acceleration expandable member 80 are provided. The electrode 91 is in contact with the plate 12 (the end on the closing direction side) when the automatic door device 1 is in a fully closed state. The electrode 92 is fixed at any position on the upper part of the door body 10. The acceleration expandable member 80 connects the electrodes 91 and 92. The length of the acceleration expandable member 80 is shorter than that of the opening/closing expandable member 30. In addition, since the electrode 91 is in contact with the plate 12, one end of the acceleration expandable member 80 is in contact (connected) with the door body 10. Here, it is preferable that the cross-sectional area of the current passing through the acceleration expandable member 80 is larger than that of the opening/closing expandable member 30. In this case, a larger contraction force can be generated in the acceleration expandable member 80. In the example of FIG. 7, the acceleration expandable member 80 is composed of multiple short expandable members 80a. This increases the cross-sectional area of the current passing through the acceleration expandable member 80.

(4-2. Operation of the automatic door system)
Next, the operation of the automatic door system 1 will be described with reference to Fig. 7. Fig. 7(a) shows the state of the opening/closing expandable member 30 and other components when the automatic door system 1 is in a fully closed state, and Fig. 7(b) shows the state of the opening/closing expandable member 30 and other components when the automatic door system 1 is in a fully open state.

First, the operation when the automatic door device 1 changes from a fully closed state (Fig. 7(a)) to a fully open state (Fig. 7(b)) will be described. For example, when a sensor (not shown) detects a user, the control unit first applies electricity to the acceleration expansion member 80. This causes the acceleration expansion member 80 to contract in the opening direction of the door body 10. This causes the electrode 91 to push the door body 10, or more specifically the plate 12, in the opening direction. After the acceleration expansion member 80 has completely contracted, the electrode 91 (i.e. the acceleration expansion member 80) detaches from the plate 12.

Here, when the cross-sectional area of the acceleration expansion member 80 is larger than that of the opening/closing expansion member 30, the control unit can pass a current to the acceleration expansion member 80 that is larger than the amount of current applied to the current section 31 in the first embodiment. In addition, the acceleration expansion member 80 is shorter than the opening/closing expansion member 30. Therefore, a large contraction force can be generated in the acceleration expansion member 80 early, and the automatic door device 1 can be started early. The specific amount of current can be adjusted appropriately depending on the characteristics of the acceleration expansion member 80, the weight of the door body 10, etc.

In parallel with this, the control unit applies current to the current-carrying section 31. This causes the current-carrying section 31 to contract in the opening direction of the door body 10, and the door body 10 moves in the opening direction by the amount of contraction of the current-carrying section 31.

Here, the control unit can pass a current through the current section 31 that is greater than the amount of current passed through the current section 31 in the first embodiment. The current section 31 is also shorter than the current section 32 in the second embodiment. This allows a large contraction force to be generated in the current section 31 early on, and in combination with the operation of the acceleration expansion member 80, the automatic door device 1 can be started up early. The specific amount of current can be adjusted as appropriate depending on the characteristics of the opening/closing expansion member 30, the weight of the door body 10, etc.

The operation thereafter is as described in the first embodiment. Note that since the door body 10 is biased in the opening direction, the amount of current passing through each of the current-carrying sections 32 to 35 can be reduced.

As explained above, according to the fourth embodiment, the synergistic effect of the first to third embodiments described above makes it possible to operate the automatic door system 1 more efficiently.

Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above with reference to the attached drawings, the present invention is not limited to such examples. It is clear that a person with ordinary knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention pertains can conceive of various modified or revised examples within the scope of the technical ideas described in the claims, and it is understood that these naturally fall within the technical scope of the present invention. For example, an elastic member may be used instead of a spiral spring. Also, the rail 20 may be inclined in the closing direction. In this case, since the door panel 11 will be biased in the closing direction, a spiral spring is not necessarily required.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 automatic door device 10 door body 11 door panel 12, 13 plates 14, 15 roller 20 rail 30 opening/closing expandable member 31-35 current carrying sections 41-46, 91, 92 electrode 80 acceleration expandable member

Claims (6)

At least one door body;
an opening/closing expandable member formed in a long length, one end of which is connected to the door body and the other end of which is fixed to the outside of the door body, and which contracts in the opening direction of the door body when electricity is applied;
A power supply unit that supplies power to the opening and closing telescopic member;
a control unit that controls the power supplied from the power supply unit to the opening and closing extension member,
An automatic door system characterized in that the opening and closing expandable member is divided into a plurality of current-carrying sections along the longitudinal direction. The automatic door system of claim 1, characterized in that the cross-sectional area of the current-carrying section connected to the door body is larger than the cross-sectional area of the current-carrying sections of the other current-carrying sections. The door may be opened in a direction opposite to the door body, and the door may be opened in a direction opposite to the door body.
3. The automatic door system according to claim 1, wherein the power supply unit supplies power to the acceleration expansion/contraction member when the door body is activated. The automatic door device according to claim 3, characterized in that the cross-sectional area of the acceleration expansion member is larger than the cross-sectional area of the opening and closing expansion member. At least one door body;
an opening/closing expandable member formed in a long length, one end of which is connected to the door body and the other end of which is fixed to the outside of the door body, and which contracts in the opening direction of the door body when electricity is applied;
an acceleration expansion member that is shorter than the opening/closing expansion member, has one end connected to the door body and the other end fixed to the outside of the door body, and contracts in the opening direction of the door body when current is applied, and the one end is detached from the door body;
a power supply unit that supplies power to the opening/closing telescopic member and the acceleration telescopic member;
a control unit that controls the power supplied from the power supply unit to the opening/closing extension member and the acceleration extension member,
The power supply unit supplies power to the acceleration expansion/contraction member when the door body is activated. The automatic door device according to claim 5, characterized in that the cross-sectional area of the acceleration expansion member is larger than the cross-sectional area of the opening and closing expansion member.

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