JP7673002B2 - Flow path opening and closing device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a flow path opening and closing device that opens and closes a flow path.

As described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, a flow path opening and closing device is equipped with a motor, and operates the motor to raise and lower or rotate a movable body to open and close a flow path through which fluids such as water or gas flow. The movable body is a liftable door body installed on a water gate or a rotating valve body installed on a water pipe, and when opening and closing a flow path, the movable body needs to be moved with a specified range of torque. If the torque to move the movable body is insufficient, excessive strain is placed on the motor, causing the motor to burn out, etc., and if the torque is excessive, damage to the movable body, etc. occurs. For this reason, conventionally, the appropriate torque for moving the movable body is calculated, and the flow path opening and closing device is designed to generate torque of that magnitude.

The flow path opening and closing device also has a power transmission mechanism made up of gears and other components, and the rotational force of the motor is transmitted to the movable body via the power transmission mechanism. The gears and other components that make up the flow path opening and closing device are coated with lubricating oil to prevent seizure, etc.

JP 2005-171557 A JP 2018-112216 A

Since the viscosity of the lubricating oil decreases with increasing temperature and increases with decreasing temperature, when the temperature is high, the torque applied to the movable body from the flow path opening and closing device increases, and when the temperature is low, the torque applied to the movable body decreases. Therefore, depending on the environment in which the flow path opening and closing device is installed, a phenomenon may occur in which the torque applied to the movable body exceeds or falls below the allowable range depending on the season or time of day.

One possible solution to prevent motor burnout and other problems resulting from this phenomenon is to provide two motors with different output torques, and a clutch that selects which of the two motors will be able to apply a rotational force to the movable body.
In this case, however, the number of parts constituting the flow path opening and closing device increases, causing a problem of complicated design.
The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and has an object to provide a flow path opening and closing device that can respond to changes in lubricating oil temperature while suppressing the complexity of the design.

The flow passage opening and closing device according to the present invention, which is in line with the above-mentioned objective, comprises a drive source, a control means for controlling the operation of the drive source, and a power transmission mechanism for transmitting the rotational force of the drive source to an external movable body, and opens and closes a waterway by moving the movable body. The drive source comprises first and second motors with different torque magnitudes, and the power transmission mechanism has a sun gear to which the rotational force of the first motor is input, an internal gear to which the rotational force of the second motor is input, and a planetary gear means provided with a planet carrier that outputs rotational force toward the movable body, and the control means adjusts the magnitude of the torque for raising and lowering the movable body by switching between a first state in which the first motor is operated and the second motor is stopped, and a second state in which the first motor is stopped and the second motor is operated.

The flow path opening and closing device according to the present invention has a drive source equipped with a first and second motor with different torque magnitudes, a power transmission mechanism having a sun gear to which the rotational force of the first motor is input, an internal gear to which the rotational force of the second motor is input, and a planetary gear means provided with a planetary carrier that outputs the rotational force toward the movable body, and a control means that adjusts the magnitude of the torque that raises and lowers the movable body by switching between a first state in which the first motor is operated and the second motor is stopped, and a second state in which the first motor is stopped and the second motor is operated, and therefore can respond to changes in the temperature of the lubricating oil without providing a clutch or the like (i.e., by suppressing the complexity of the design).

1 is an explanatory diagram of a flow path opening and closing device according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing how the movable body is raised in the first state. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing how the movable body is raised in the second state.

Next, with reference to the attached drawings, an embodiment of the present invention will be described for understanding the present invention.
As shown in Fig. 1, a flow channel opening and closing device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a drive source 11, a control means 12 for controlling the operation of the drive source 11, and a power transmission mechanism 13 for transmitting the rotational force of the drive source 11 to an external movable body G, and is a device for opening and closing a water channel by moving the movable body G. A detailed description will be given below.

As shown in FIG. 1, the driving source 11 includes a motor 14 (first motor) and a motor 15 (second motor) with different torques (rotational moment) connected to an external power source (not shown). In this embodiment, the motors 14 and 15 each have a brake function, the rotation speeds of the motors 14 and 15 cannot be changed, and the motor 14 generates a torque greater than the torque generated by the motor 15. There are no particular limitations on the type of the motors 14 and 15 (e.g., whether they are AC motors or DC motors). A control means 12 including a CPU, memory, etc. is connected to the motors 14 and 15.

The power transmission mechanism 13 has a planetary gear means 17 to which the output shaft 16 of the motor 14 is connected, a gear 19 to which the output shaft 18 of the motor 15 is connected, and a speed increaser 20 arranged between the gear 19 and the planetary gear means 17. The planetary gear means 17 is provided with a sun gear 21 to which the rotational force of the motor 14 is input, an internal gear 22 to which the rotational force of the motor 15 is input via the gear 19 and the speed increaser 20, and a planetary carrier 23 to which the rotational forces of the sun gear 21 and the internal gear 22 are applied.

The internal gear 22 has outer peripheral teeth 24 and inner peripheral teeth 25, and the speed increaser 20 has a gear 26 meshed with the gear 19 and a gear 27 meshed with the outer peripheral teeth 24 of the internal gear 22. The gear 27 has a larger radius and a larger number of teeth than the gear 26, and the gears 26 and 27 rotate together on the same axis.
The planetary carrier 23 has a plurality of planetary gears 28 each meshing with the internal teeth 25 of the internal gear 22, and an output shaft 29. Each planetary gear 28 also meshes with the sun gear 21.

The power transmission mechanism 13 further includes a gear 30 connected to the output shaft 29, a gear 31 meshed with the gear 30, and a sprocket 32 that rotates integrally with the gear 31. A chain 33 connected to a movable body G is stretched across the sprocket 32. As the sprocket 32 rotates coaxially with the gear 31, the movable body G rises to open the water passage, or falls to close the water passage.

The gears 19, 26, 27, 30, 31, the sun gear 21, the internal gear 22, the planetary gears 28, etc. are coated with lubricating oil.
The control means 12 sends command signals to the motors 14, 15 to control the operations of the motors 14, 15. The control means 12 is connected to a temperature sensor 34 that measures the temperature of the atmosphere in which the flow path opening and closing device 10 is installed.

The control means 12 can detect the temperature measured by the temperature sensor 34, and if the temperature measured by the temperature sensor 34 is equal to or lower than a predetermined temperature T°C, it operates the motor 14 and places the motor 15 in a first state in which the motor 15 is stopped by the brake of the motor 15, thereby raising and lowering the movable body G. In the first state, as shown in FIG. 2, the output shaft 18 of the motor 15 is locked, the internal gear 22 is stationary together with the gear 19 and the speed increaser 20, and the output shaft 16 of the motor 14 rotates, causing the sun gear 21 to rotate. The rotation of the sun gear 21 causes the planetary gear 28 to revolve around the sun gear 21, causing the output shaft 29 to rotate, and the sprocket 32 to rotate together with the gears 30 and 31, causing the movable body G to rise and fall.

On the other hand, if the temperature measured by the temperature sensor 34 exceeds T°C, the control means 12 operates the motor 15 and places the motor 14 in a second state in which the motor 14 is stopped by the brake of the motor 14, thereby raising and lowering the movable body G. In the second state, as shown in FIG. 3, the output shaft 16 of the motor 14 is locked, the sun gear 21 is stationary, and the output shaft 18 of the motor 15 rotates, causing the gear 19, the speed increaser 20, and the internal gear 22 to rotate. The rotation of the internal gear 22 causes the planetary gear 28 to revolve around the sun gear 21, causing the sprocket 32 to rotate together with the output shaft 29, gears 30, and 31, and the movable body G to rise and fall. Thus, the planetary carrier 23 outputs the rotational force of the motor 14 or the rotational force of the motor 15 toward the movable body G.

In this way, the control means 12 raises and lowers the movable body G by switching between the first and second states according to the temperature measured by the temperature sensor 34 in order to keep the magnitude of the torque for raising and lowering the movable body G within a predetermined range even if the viscosity of the lubricating oil applied to the gears 19, 26, 27, 30, 31, etc. changes due to an increase or decrease in air temperature. Therefore, the control means 12 adjusts the magnitude of the torque for raising and lowering the movable body G by switching between the first and second states.

Here, the speed increaser 20 increases the rotational force of the motor 15 and transmits it to the internal gear 22 to adjust the rotational speed. In order to make the lifting and lowering speed of the movable body G equal when the movable body G is raised and lowered by the operation of the motor 14 and when the movable body G is raised and lowered by the operation of the motor 15, instead of providing the speed increaser 20, a reducer that reduces the rotational force of the motor 14 and transmits it to the sun gear 21 may be provided to adjust the rotational speed. Note that if a servo motor or the like capable of adjusting the rotation speed is used as the first and second motors, no speed increaser or reducer is required.

In this embodiment, the temperature sensor 34 is designed to measure the temperature of the atmosphere in which the flow path opening and closing device 10 is installed, but the temperature sensor 34 may also be designed to measure the temperature of an object provided near the flow path opening and closing device 10 (for example, lubricating oil stored in a container placed near the flow path opening and closing device 10) or the temperature of the flow path opening and closing device 10 (for example, a housing not shown that contains the planetary gear means 17, etc.).

In addition, instead of employing the temperature sensor 34, an electric quantity detection means may be employed that detects the magnitude of the electric energy (e.g., the magnitude of the current value or the voltage value) supplied from an external power source to the motors 14, 15. In this case, the control means switches between the first and second states according to the magnitude of the electric energy detected by the electric quantity detection means.

Furthermore, instead of employing a temperature sensor 34 or an electric quantity detection means, the control means may be provided with an operated part (e.g., a switch) that is operated by a person to switch between the first and second states, or the control means may be designed to have a calendar function and switch between the first and second states according to the detected date (e.g., switch from the second state to the first state when the detected date becomes November, and switch from the first state to the second state when the detected date becomes April).

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and all changes in conditions that do not depart from the gist of the present invention are within the scope of application of the present invention.
For example, the first and second motors may be motors without a brake function. When the first and second motors do not have a brake function, for example, a brake means for locking the output shafts of the first and second motors may be provided.
The flow passage opening and closing device may be one that rotates a valve body.
The torque generated by the first motor may be smaller than the torque generated by the second motor.

10: Flow path opening and closing device, 11: Driving source, 12: Control means, 13: Power transmission mechanism, 14, 15: Motor, 16: Output shaft, 17: Planetary gear means, 18: Output shaft, 19: Gear, 20: Speed increaser, 21: Sun gear, 22: Internal gear, 23: Planetary carrier, 24: Outer teeth, 25: Inner teeth, 26, 27: Gear, 28: Planetary gear, 29: Output shaft, 30, 31: Gear, 32: Sprocket, 33: Chain, 34: Temperature sensor, G: Movable body

Claims (5)

A flow passage opening and closing device comprising a drive source, a control means for controlling the operation of the drive source, and a power transmission mechanism for transmitting a rotational force of the drive source to an external movable body, the device moving the movable body to open and close a water passage,
the drive source includes first and second motors having different torque magnitudes;
the power transmission mechanism includes a sun gear to which the rotational force of the first motor is input, an internal gear to which the rotational force of the second motor is input, and a planetary gear means provided with a planet carrier that outputs the rotational force toward the movable body,
The control means switches between a first state in which the first motor is operated and the second motor is stopped, and a second state in which the first motor is stopped and the second motor is operated, thereby adjusting the magnitude of the torque that raises and lowers the movable body. The flow path opening and closing device according to claim 1 further comprises a temperature sensor that measures the temperature of the flow path opening and closing device, the temperature of the atmosphere in which the flow path opening and closing device is installed, or the temperature of an object provided in the vicinity of the flow path opening and closing device, and the control means switches between the first and second states according to the temperature measured by the temperature sensor. The flow path opening and closing device according to claim 1, characterized in that the control means is provided with an operated part that is operated to switch between the first and second states. The flow path opening and closing device according to claim 1, characterized in that the control means has a calendar function and switches between the first and second states depending on the detected date. The flow path opening and closing device according to claim 1 further comprises an electric quantity detection means for detecting the magnitude of electric energy supplied to the first and second motors, and the control means switches between the first and second states according to the magnitude of the electric energy detected by the electric quantity detection means.

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