JP7738892B2 - Thumb turn device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a thumb turn device that rotates a thumb turn using a motor.

For example, in recent years, thumbturn devices that rotate the thumbturn using a motor have been used on residential doors and other devices for reasons of security and convenience. For example, in the thumbturn device described in Patent Document 1, the thumbturn is integrally connected to the thumbturn shaft via a thumbturn main body member. The thumbturn main body member is rotatably inserted into a thumbturn connector connected to a motor and engages with the thumbturn connector via a cam. When the thumbturn is rotated by the motor, the thumbturn main body member and the thumbturn connector engage via the cam and rotate integrally with the motor. The motor then rotates in the reverse direction, returning the thumbturn connector to the position it was in just before rotation and disengaging the thumbturn main body member from the thumbturn connector. As a result, when the thumbturn is manually rotated, the force acting on the thumbturn connector does not act on the thumbturn main body member via the cam, allowing the thumbturn to be rotated with little force.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2019-143405

However, the thumbturn device described in Patent Document 1 has a complex structure, requiring a cam to be installed between the thumbturn main body and the thumbturn connector in order to rotate the thumbturn with a small force, and the motor must be rotated in a predetermined direction and then rotated in the opposite direction to release the cam engagement.

The present invention was conceived to solve the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide technology that can improve the manual operability of a thumb turn device that rotates a thumb turn by driving a motor, using a simple structure.

In order to achieve the above object, one aspect of the present invention is a thumbturn device comprising: (1) a thumbturn, a thumbturn shaft, an intermediate shaft connecting the thumbturn and the thumbturn shaft so that they rotate together; a motor; a thumbturn connector having a hollow hole through which the intermediate shaft is rotatably inserted and rotating in response to the drive of the motor; a clutch ball disposed between the intermediate shaft and the thumbturn connector; a biasing member biasing the clutch ball toward the thumbturn connector; a recessed portion provided on the intermediate shaft capable of accommodating the clutch ball and the biasing member; and an engaging portion provided on the inner surface of the hollow hole of the thumbturn connector and engaging with the clutch ball.

When the thumbturn device configured as described above is rotated by driving the motor, the clutch ball is urged toward the thumbturn connector by the urging member, engaging with the engagement portion, and the intermediate shaft and thumbturn connector rotate together. Furthermore, when the thumbturn device is rotated manually without driving the motor, the clutch ball moves into the accommodating recess against the urging member and disengages from the engagement portion. This prevents the force acting on the thumbturn connector from acting on the intermediate shaft, allowing the thumbturn to be rotated with less force. Therefore, the thumbturn device configured as described above has a simple structure that uses the urging force of the urging member to move the clutch ball back and forth, improving the manual operability of the thumbturn.

(2) In the thumbturn device described in (1), it is preferable that the biasing force of the biasing member is set so that when the motor is driven to rotate the thumbturn linkage, the clutch ball protrudes from the accommodating recess and engages with the engaging portion, and when the motor is not driven and the thumbturn linkage is not rotated, the clutch ball retracts into the accommodating recess in response to the rotation of the intermediate shaft, disengaging from the engaging portion.

The thumbturn device configured as described above retracts the clutch ball into the receiving recess by manually rotating the thumbturn, allowing the engagement between the intermediate shaft and the thumbturn connector to be easily released without using electrical power.

(3) In the thumbturn device described in (1) or (2), it is preferable that it has a battery that supplies power to the motor.

The thumbturn device configured as described above can rotate the thumbturn with little force without having to reverse the motor after rotating it with the motor, thereby reducing the frequency with which the motor is energized and suppressing battery consumption.

(4) In the thumbturn device described in any one of (1) to (3), it is preferable that the thumbturn device has a first on/off switch, a second on/off switch, and a third on/off switch, the thumbturn link has a first operating part that operates the first on/off switch in response to its own rotation, and the intermediate shaft has the second on/off switch and a second operating part that operates the second on/off switch.

The thumbturn device configured as described above uses a first operating unit provided on the thumbturn connector to turn the first on/off switch on and off in response to the rotation of the thumbturn connector. Additionally, a second operating unit provided on the rotating cam turns the second on/off switch and third on/off switch on and off in response to the rotation of the rotating cam. Therefore, the thumbturn device configured as described above can detect the positions of the thumbturn connector and intermediate shaft with a compact structure.

(5) It is preferable that the thumbturn device described in (4) has a control unit, and when driving the motor to lock or unlock, if at least one of the first on/off switch, the second on/off switch, and the third on/off switch cannot be switched on or off, the control unit executes a retry process of rotating the motor in the opposite direction to when it was driven, and then rotating the motor in the same direction as when it was driven.

When the thumbturn device configured as described above drives the motor to rotate the thumbturn, if any of the first through third on/off switches cannot be switched on or off, the device first rotates the motor in the opposite direction to when it is driven, and then rotates the motor in the same direction as when it is driven. This automatically corrects the clutch ball malfunction and allows the thumbturn to rotate normally electrically.

Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to realize technology that can improve the manual operability of a thumb turn device that rotates a thumb turn by driving a motor, using a simple structure.

1 is an external perspective view of a thumb turn device according to the present invention; FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the thumb turn device shown in FIG. 1 . 3 is a diagram showing the internal structure of the thumb turn device shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the thumb turn rotation structure. FIG. 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating a manual locking operation. 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating an electric locking operation. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the switching of the on/off states of each switch. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of a control procedure for an electric locking (unlocking) process. 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating an electric locking operation in an abnormal state.

Next, one embodiment of the thumbturn device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. This embodiment discloses a thumbturn device that is attached to the entrance door or interior door of an ordinary home or office, and opens and closes the lock by rotating the thumbturn manually or with a motor.

(External configuration of thumb turn device 1)
1 is a perspective view of the appearance of a thumb-turn device 1. The thumb-turn device 1 has a rotatable thumb-turn device 3 mounted in a box-shaped case 2. Below the thumb-turn device 3 is a lock/unlock button 4 for inputting a lock command or an unlock command.

(Internal configuration of thumb turn device 1)
Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the thumb-turn device 1 shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a diagram showing the internal structure of the thumb-turn device 1 shown in Fig. 2. Fig. 3 is a view of the thumb-turn device 1 as seen from the rear side. In Fig. 3, appropriate members are omitted to facilitate understanding of the internal structure. Fig. 4 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the thumb-turn rotation structure.

As shown in Figure 2, the thumb turn 3 is rotatably attached to the case 2 using a stopper ring 8, with the shaft portion, which has a polygonal (in this embodiment, rectangular) insertion portion 3a at the tip, inserted into an insertion hole 2a opened in the case 2.

As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the case 2 houses a rotation mechanism 6 for automatically rotating the thumb turn 3. The rotation mechanism 6 includes a rotating cam 12, a thumb turn shaft 11, a thumb turn shaft spring 13, an attachment mount 10, a worm wheel 14, a clutch spring 15, a pair of clutch balls 16, 16, a worm gear 17, a motor 18, a worm wheel detection switch (hereinafter referred to as the "WH detection switch") 19, an unlock detection switch 20, a lock detection switch 21, and a control board 22.

The rotation mechanism 6 operates using a battery 5 as its power source. The battery 5 may be a dry cell battery or a rechargeable battery. The thumbturn device 1 may not have a built-in battery 5 and may instead receive power via a power supply line.

As shown in Figure 2, the rotating cam 12 is rotatably supported at both ends by the insertion portion 12h and the retaining plate 2c. Starting from the thumb turn 3 side, the rotating cam 12 comprises an insertion portion 12h, a cam portion 12i, a clutch portion 12d, and an insertion portion 12e. The rotating cam 12 connects the thumb turn 3 and the thumb turn shaft 11 so that they rotate integrally. The rotating cam 12 is an example of an "intermediate shaft."

As shown in Figures 2 and 4, the rotating cam 12 has a first fitting hole 12a on the insertion portion 12h side, into which the insertion portion 3a of the thumb turn 3 fits tightly. The thumb turn shaft 11 has a polygonal (square in this embodiment) insertion portion 11a. The rotating cam 12 has a second fitting hole 12b on the insertion portion 12e side, into which the insertion portion 11a of the thumb turn shaft 11 fits tightly.

As shown in FIG. 2, the mounting mount 10 is attached to the door D using a mounting pin (not shown). The thumbturn device 1 is fixed to the door D with the connecting portion 11b of the thumbturn shaft 11 inserted into the mounting mount 10. The connecting portion 11b is connected to a deadbolt (not shown) of the door D. The thumbturn shaft spring 13 is compressed within the second fitting hole 12b and biases the thumbturn shaft 11 to maintain the connection between the connecting portion 11b and the deadbolt (not shown). This thumbturn device 1 can operate the deadbolt (not shown) in response to the rotation of the thumbturn 3, thereby locking and unlocking the door D.

As shown in Figures 2 and 4, the worm wheel 14 has a hollow hole 14b through which the rotating cam 12 is rotatably inserted. The worm wheel 14 is rotatably attached to the outer peripheral surface of the clutch portion 12d, abutting against the step between the cam portion 12i of the rotating cam 12 and the clutch portion 12d.

As shown in Figure 3, the gear 14a on the outer circumferential surface of the worm wheel 14 is connected to the motor 18 via the worm gear 17, and rotates as the motor 18 is driven. That is, when the motor 18 rotates in the first direction K, the worm gear 17 rotates in the locking direction (counterclockwise in the figure) L, and when the motor 18 rotates in the second direction -K opposite the first direction K, the worm gear 17 rotates in the unlocking direction (clockwise in the figure) -L. The worm wheel 14 is an example of a "thumb turn connector."

A housing hole 12f is formed through the clutch portion 12d of the rotating cam 12 in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the rotating cam 12. The housing hole 12f houses a clutch spring 15 and a pair of clutch balls 16, 16. The housing hole 12f is an example of a "housing recess." The clutch spring 15 is an example of a "biasing member." The housing hole 12f has an inner diameter approximately the same as the diameter of the clutch ball 16, and guides the clutch ball 16 along the radial direction of the rotating cam 12 (clutch portion 12d). The pair of clutch balls 16, 16 are disposed in the openings at both ends of the housing hole 12f and are biased outward (towards the worm wheel 14) by the clutch spring 15 disposed within the housing hole 12f.

As shown in Figures 2, 3, and 4, the worm wheel 14 has engagement grooves 141a, 141b, 141c, and 141d formed on the inner surface of the hollow hole 14b that engage with the clutch balls 16. The engagement grooves 141a, 141b, 141c, and 141d are examples of "engagement portions." The engagement grooves 141a, 141b, 141c, and 141d are formed long from the open end of the hollow hole 14b along the axial direction of the worm wheel 14 so that the rotating cam 12 can be inserted into the worm wheel 14 via a pair of clutch balls 16, 16. The engagement grooves 141a, 141b, 141c, and 141d are formed at 90° intervals around the circumference of the hollow hole 14b. The engagement grooves 141a, 141b, 141c, and 141d are hemispherical and have a diameter approximately the same as that of the clutch ball 16, allowing them to engage with the clutch ball 16 without any gaps.

The spring force (biasing force) of the clutch spring 15 is set so that when the motor 18 is driven to rotate the worm wheel 14, the clutch balls 16, 16 protrude from the accommodation hole 12f and engage with the engagement grooves 141a, 141b, 141c, and 141d. However, when the motor 18 is not driven and the worm wheel 14 is not rotated, the clutch balls 16, 16 retract into the accommodation hole 12f in response to the rotation of the rotating cam 12, disengaging from the engagement grooves 141a, 141b, 141c, and 141d. Therefore, when the thumb turn 3 is rotated by the motor 18, the rotating cam 12 rotates smoothly in response to the rotation of the motor 18, and when the thumb turn 3 is rotated manually, the rotating cam 12 rotates smoothly in response to the rotation of the thumb turn 3.

As shown in Figure 3, the WH detection switch 19, unlock detection switch 20, and lock detection switch 21 are on/off switches and are arranged on the outside of the worm wheel 14. The WH detection switch 19 is an example of a "first on/off switch." The unlock detection switch 20 is an example of a "second on/off switch." The lock detection switch 21 is an example of a "third on/off switch."

As shown in Figure 3, the WH detection switch 19 has a detection roller 191. As shown in Figures 3 and 4, engagement recesses 142a, 142b, 142c, and 142d that engage with the detection roller 191 are provided at 90° intervals around the circumference of the outer circumferential surface of the worm wheel 14. The outer circumferential surface of the worm wheel 14 that has engagement recesses 142a, 142b, 142c, and 142d is an example of a "first operating part."

As shown in Figure 3, the WH detection switch 19 is OFF when the detection roller 191 engages with any of the engagement recesses 142a, 142b, 142c, and 142d, as indicated by the solid line in the figure. On the other hand, the WH detection switch 19 is ON when the detection roller 191 does not engage with any of the engagement recesses 142a, 142b, 142c, and 142d, as indicated by the dashed-dot line in the figure.

As shown in Figure 4, the rotating cam 12 is provided with a cam piece 12c that operates the unlock detection switch 20 and the lock detection switch 21. The cam piece 12c protrudes radially outward from the cam portion 12i. The cam piece 12c is an example of a "second operating portion."

As shown in Figure 3, the unlock detection switch 20 and the lock detection switch 21 are arranged on the path of movement of the cam piece 12c, and are turned ON when pressed by the cam piece 12c, and are turned OFF when not pressed by the cam piece 12c. The unlock detection switch 20 is located in a position where it can detect the unlocked position of the rotating cam 12. The lock detection switch 21 is located in a position where it can detect the locked position of the rotating cam 12.

(Electrical configuration of the thumb turn device)
5 is an electrical block diagram. The control board 22 is a well-known microcomputer equipped with a CPU 221 and a memory 222. The control board 22 is electrically connected to the battery 5, the motor 18, the white light detection switch 19, the unlock detection switch 20, the lock detection switch 21, and the lock/unlock button 4.

Memory 222 stores various programs. Memory 222 also stores various data and is used as a temporary storage area when executing control programs. For example, when CPU 221 receives a locking or unlocking instruction via lock/unlock button 4, it reads and executes a program from memory 222 to control thumbturn device 1. CPU 221 is an example of a "control unit." Note that control board 22 may also be an example of a "control unit."

(Operation description: manual locking operation)
Next, the operation of the thumb turn device 1 will be described. First, the manual locking operation, in which the thumb turn 3 is rotated to manually lock the door, will be described. Figure 6 is a diagram illustrating the manual locking operation. In Figure 6, the line type and hatching have been adjusted to clarify the positional relationship between the rotating cam 12 and the worm wheel 14.

For example, as shown in Figure 6(a), when the thumb turn 3 is in the unlocked position, the rotating cam 12 is positioned so that the cam piece 12c presses the unlock detection switch 20 but does not press the lock detection switch 21. At this time, the pair of clutch balls 16, 16 are biased by the clutch spring 15 and engage with the engagement grooves 141a, 141c. In addition, the detection roller 191 is engaged with the engagement recess 142a of the worm wheel 14, and the WH detection switch 19 is not pressed.

As shown in Figure 6(b), when the thumb turn 3 is manually rotated in the locking direction without driving the motor 18, the worm wheel 14 engages with the worm gear 17, restricting its rotation. Therefore, when rotational torque is applied to the rotating cam 12 from the thumb turn 3, the pair of clutch balls 16, 16 retract into the accommodation hole 12f against the clutch spring 15, disengaging from the engagement grooves 141a, 141c. As a result, the rotating cam 12 rotates independently in the locking direction L within the hollow hole 14b of the worm wheel 14.

As the rotating cam 12 rotates, the cam piece 12c no longer presses the unlock detection switch 20, switching the unlock detection switch 20 from ON to OFF. Meanwhile, because the worm wheel 14 does not rotate, the detection roller 191 remains engaged with the engagement recess 142a, and the WH detection switch 19 remains OFF.

For example, as shown in Figure 6(c), when the rotating cam 12 rotates to the locked position, the cam piece 12c presses the lock detection switch 21, switching the lock detection switch 21 from OFF to ON. Even at this time, the worm wheel 14 does not rotate, so the detection roller 191 continues to engage with the engagement recess 142a, and the WH detection switch 19 remains OFF.

To manually rotate the thumb turn 3 from the locked position to unlock, simply perform the above steps in reverse.

(Electric locking operation)
Next, the electric locking operation in which the motor 18 is driven to rotate the thumb turn 3 from the unlocked position to the locked position will be described. Figure 7 is a diagram illustrating the electric locking operation. In Figure 7, the line type and hatching have been adjusted to clarify the positional relationship between the rotating cam 12 and the worm wheel 14.

The electric locking operation operates in the same way as the manual locking operation, except that the motor 18 is driven to rotate the worm wheel. Therefore, this section will focus on the operations that differ from the manual locking operation, and will omit explanations of operations that are similar to the manual unlocking operation as appropriate.

The pre-operation state shown in Figure 7(a) is the same as the pre-operation state shown in Figure 6(a), so a detailed explanation will be omitted. When a locking command is received via the lock/unlock button 4, the motor 18 rotates in the first direction K, and the worm wheel 14 begins to rotate in the locking direction L. Because the pair of clutch balls 16, 16 are biased by the clutch spring 15 and engaged with the engagement grooves 141a, 141c, the rotating cam 12 rotates integrally with the worm wheel 14 in the locking direction L.

As the rotating cam 12 rotates, the cam piece 12c no longer presses the unlock detection switch 20, switching the unlock detection switch 20 from ON to OFF. Furthermore, as the worm wheel 14 rotates, the detection roller 191 disengages from the engagement recess 142a and is pressed against the outer circumferential surface of the worm wheel 14. As a result, the WH detection switch 19 switches from OFF to ON.

For example, as shown in Figure 7(c), when the worm wheel 14 and rotating cam 12 rotate to the locked position, the cam piece 12c presses the lock detection switch 21, switching the lock detection switch 21 from OFF to ON. Additionally, the detection roller 191 engages with the engagement recess 142d, switching the WH detection switch 19 from ON to OFF.

To unlock the door by driving the motor and rotating the thumb turn 3 from the locked position, simply perform the reverse of the above steps.

(Turning each switch on and off)
Fig. 8 is a diagram illustrating the on/off state of each switch. Fig. 8 shows the on/off states of the WH detection switch 19, the unlock detection switch 20, and the lock detection switch 21 when the thumb turn 3 (rotating cam 12) is in the unlock position (unlocked position), when the thumb turn 3 (rotating cam 12) is moving from the unlock position to the lock position (intermediate position), and when the thumb turn 3 (rotating cam 12) is in the lock position (locked position).

During manual locking (unlocking) and power locking (unlocking) operations, the on/off state of the WH detection switch 19 changes depending on whether the worm wheel 14 is rotating, but everything else is the same. Therefore, when the thumbturn device 1 rotates the thumbturn 3 using the motor 18, it monitors whether there is a malfunction in the worm wheel 14 or rotating cam 12 based on the on/off states of the WH detection switch 19, unlock detection switch 20, and lock detection switch 21, and if there is a malfunction, it controls the rotation of the motor 18 to perform power locking (unlocking) processing to correct the malfunction.

(Electric locking (unlocking) process)
Fig. 9 is a flowchart showing an example of the control procedure for the power locking (unlocking) process. Fig. 10 is a diagram explaining the power locking operation in an abnormal state. When the thumbturn device 1 receives a locking instruction via the locking/unlocking button 4, the CPU 221 of the control board 22 reads an operation program from the memory 222 and executes the power locking (unlocking) process shown in Fig. 9. Note that although the process in Fig. 9 is performed by the CPU 221, it may also be described as "performed by the thumbturn device 1."

As shown in Figure 9, when the thumb-turn device 1 receives a locking command, it first determines whether the rotating cam 12 is in the unlocked position (S1). As shown in Figure 10(a), when the rotating cam 12 is positioned so that the cam piece 12c presses the unlocking detection switch 20, the unlocking detection switch 20 is ON. In this case, as shown in Figure 9, the thumb-turn device 1 determines that the rotating cam 12 is in the unlocked position (S1) and rotates the motor 18 in the first direction K (S2).

As shown in Figure 10(b), when the motor 18 rotates in the first direction K and the worm wheel 14 begins to rotate in the locking direction L, the rotating cam 12 rotates integrally with the worm wheel 14 in the locking direction L while the pair of clutch balls 16, 16 engage with the engagement grooves 141a, 141b. The detection roller 191 then disengages from the engagement recess 142a and is pressed against the worm wheel 14, switching the WH detection switch 19 from OFF to ON. Furthermore, the unlock detection switch 20 is no longer pressed by the cam piece 12c and is switched from ON to OFF.

In this case, as shown in Figure 9, when the WH detection switch 19 is switched from ON to OFF (S3), the thumb turn device 1 stops the motor 18 after a certain period of time has elapsed (S4).

As shown in Figure 10(c), if the pair of clutch balls 16, 16 retract into the accommodation hole 12f against the clutch spring 15 before the motor 18 stops, the worm wheel 14 and rotating cam 12 will be disengaged. In this case, as shown in Figure 10(d), even if the worm wheel 14 rotates to the locked position in response to the rotation of the motor 18, the rotating cam 12 will not receive rotation from the worm wheel 14 and will not be able to rotate to the locked position. As a result, the lock detection switch 21 will not be switched from OFF to ON. Furthermore, the detection roller 191 of the WH detection switch 19 engages with the engagement recess 142d, switching from ON to OFF.

As shown in Figure 9, if the lock detection switch 21 is not ON (S5: NO), the thumbturn device 1 adds 1 to the number of retries n (S9) and rotates the motor 18 in the second direction -K (S10).

As shown in Figure 10 (d), when the motor 18 rotates in the second direction -K, the worm wheel 14 rotates in the unlocking direction -L. As the worm wheel 14 rotates, the detection roller 191 disengages from the engagement recess 142d and is pressed against the worm wheel 14. This switches the WH detection switch 19 from OFF to ON.

As shown in Figure 9, when the WH detection switch 19 is switched from OFF to ON (S11: YES), the thumbturn device 1 stops the motor 18 after a certain period of time has elapsed (S12). This causes the worm wheel 14 to return to the position it was in before the power locking operation began, as shown in Figure 10(e). Then, the detection roller 191 engages with the engagement recess 142a, and the WH detection switch 19 is switched from ON to OFF.

As shown in Figure 9, when the WH detection switch 19 is switched from ON to OFF (S13: YES), the thumbturn device 1 determines whether the number of retries n is a specified number (e.g., 4 times) (S14). If the number of retries n is not the specified number (S14: NO), the thumbturn device 1 returns to processing S1.

As shown in Figure 10(e), even if the motor 18 is rotated in the second direction -K and the worm wheel 14 returns to the unlocked position, if the clutch balls 16, 161 do not engage with any of the engagement grooves 141a to 141d, the rotating cam 12 will not return to the unlocked position. In this case, neither the unlock detection switch 20 nor the lock detection switch 21 is pressed by the cam piece 12c, and they are turned OFF.

As shown in Figure 9, when both the unlock detection switch 20 and the lock detection switch 21 are OFF, the thumbturn device 1 determines that the rotating cam 12 is not in either the unlocked or locked position (S1: NO, S7: NO) and rotates the motor 18 in the first direction K (S2). The thumbturn device 1 performs the process from S2 onwards in the same manner as above, and attempts to rotate the thumbturn 3 again using the motor 18. The processes of S10 to S13 and S2 are an example of a "retry process."

As shown in Figure 10(f), when the motor 18 rotates again in the first direction K and the worm wheel 14 rotates again in the locking direction L, the pair of clutch balls 16, 16 engage with the engagement grooves 141a, 141c, causing the rotating cam 12 to rotate integrally with the worm wheel 14 in the locking direction L. When the worm wheel 14 rotates, the detection roller 191 disengages from the engagement recess 142a, and the WH detection switch 19 is switched from OFF to ON. As shown in Figure 10(g), when the motor 18 rotates in the first direction K for a certain period of time and the rotating cam 12 and worm wheel 14 rotate to the unlocked position, the lock detection switch 21 is switched from OFF to ON.

As shown in Figure 9, after the thumbturn device 1 rotates the motor 18 again in the first direction K (S2), the WH detection switch 19 is switched from OFF to ON (S3: YES), and after rotating the motor 18 for a certain period of time (S4), if it determines that the lock detection switch 21 has been turned ON (S5: YES), the motor 18 has positioned the thumbturn 3 in the locked position. Therefore, the thumbturn device 1 resets the number of retries n (S6) and ends processing.

If the WH detection switch 19 does not switch from OFF to ON (S3: NO) even when the motor 18 is rotated in the first direction K (S2), it is highly likely that the worm wheel 14 is not rotating. Therefore, the thumb turn device 1 stops the motor 18 (S8) and performs the process from S9 onwards.

If the WH detection switch 19 remains OFF (S11: NO) even when the motor 18 is rotated in the reverse direction (S10), there is a high possibility that there is an abnormality in the drive system. Also, if the motor 18 is rotated in the reverse direction (S10) and the worm wheel 14 rotates in the unlocking direction -L (S11: YES), but the worm wheel 14 stops before returning to the position it was in before the power locking operation began (S12, S13: NO), there is a high possibility that there is an abnormality in the drive system. In these cases, the thumbturn device 1 executes error processing (S15) and ends processing after processing S6. Error processing may include, for example, notifying the error by audio or visual display, or notifying the management company that manages the thumbturn device 1.

(summary)
As described above, in the thumbturn device 1 of this embodiment, when the motor 18 is driven to rotate the thumbturn 3, the pair of clutch balls 16, 16 are urged toward the worm wheel 14 by the clutch spring 15 and engage with the engagement grooves 141a, 141c, causing the rotating cam 12 and worm wheel 14 to rotate integrally. Furthermore, when the thumbturn 3 is manually rotated without driving the motor 18, the pair of clutch balls 16, 16 move into the accommodation hole 12f against the clutch spring 15 and disengage from the engagement grooves 141a, 141c. This prevents the force acting on the worm wheel 14 from acting on the rotating cam 12, allowing the thumbturn 3 to rotate with less force. Therefore, the thumbturn device 1 of this embodiment improves the manual operability of the thumbturn with a simple structure that uses the spring force of the clutch spring 15 to advance and retract the pair of clutch balls 16, 16.

In addition, the thumb turn device 1 of this embodiment retracts the pair of clutch balls 16, 16 into the accommodating hole 12f by manually rotating the thumb turn 3, so the engagement between the rotating cam 12 and the worm wheel 14 can be easily released without using electrical power.

In addition, the thumbturn device 1 of this embodiment can rotate the thumbturn 3 with little force without having to reverse the rotation of the motor 18 after rotating the thumbturn 3 with the motor 18, thereby reducing the frequency with which the motor 18 is energized and suppressing consumption of the battery 5.

In addition, the thumbturn device 1 of this embodiment turns the WH detection switch 19 on and off in response to the rotation of the worm wheel 14, using the outer peripheral surface on which the engagement recesses 142a to 142d of the worm wheel 14 are provided. Also, the cam piece 12c provided on the rotating cam 12 turns the unlock detection switch 20 and lock detection switch 21 on and off in response to the rotation of the rotating cam 12. Therefore, the thumbturn device 1 of this embodiment can detect the positions of the worm wheel 14 and rotating cam 12 with a compact structure.

In addition, when the thumbturn device 1 of this embodiment drives the motor 18 to rotate the thumbturn 3, if any of the WH detection switch 19, unlock detection switch 20, and lock detection switch 21 cannot be switched on or off, the motor 18 is rotated in the opposite direction to when driven, and then the motor 18 is rotated in the same direction as when driven. This automatically corrects any malfunction of the pair of clutch balls 16, 16, allowing the thumbturn 3 to rotate normally electrically.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various applications are possible without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the above embodiment, the rotating cam 12 has a through-hole 12f, and two clutch balls 16 and one clutch spring 15 are disposed in the through-hole 12f. Alternatively, the through-hole 12f may be a bottomed hole, with one clutch ball 16 and one clutch spring 15 disposed in the hole. Alternatively, the inner surface of the hollow hole 14b may have bottomed recesses disposed 180° out of phase with each other, with one clutch ball 16 and one clutch spring 15 disposed in each recess. However, by disposing a pair of clutch balls 16, 16 and a clutch spring 15 in the through-hole 12f as in the above embodiment, the number of parts can be reduced. Furthermore, because the engagement force when engaging the clutch balls 16, 16 with the engagement grooves 141a to 141d is uniform, the rotating cam 12 rotates more easily within the worm wheel 14 when the thumb turn 3 is rotated.

In S11 of Figure 9, the motor 18 is rotated in the opposite direction to when driven, but the motor 18 may also be rotated in the same direction as when driven, engaging the detection roller 191 with the engagement recess 142c. However, by rotating the motor 18 in the opposite direction as in the above embodiment, the amount of rotation of the motor 18 when locking and unlocking can be kept constant, simplifying control.

The WH detection switch 19, unlock detection switch 20, and lock detection switch 21 do not have to be mechanically turned on/off switches, but may be optical sensors or the like.

The worm wheel 14 may be fitted with a separate member having engagement recesses 142a-142d, with the separate member constituting the first operating unit. Furthermore, the rotating cam 12 may be fitted with a member having operating pieces for operating the unlock detection switch 20 and the lock detection switch 21, with the second operating unit constituting the separate member.

The control procedure shown in Figure 9 may be modified in order, processes may be omitted, or other processes may be added, without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, the reset process in Figure 9 may not be performed.

1 Thumb turn device 11 Thumb turn shaft 12 Rotating cam (an example of an intermediate shaft)
14 Worm wheel (an example of a thumb turn connector)
15 Clutch spring (an example of a biasing member)
16 Clutch ball 18 Motor 12f Housing hole (an example of a housing recess)
141a to 141d: engagement grooves (examples of engagement portions)

Claims (4)

Thumb turn and
A thumb turn shaft,
an intermediate shaft that connects the thumb turn and the thumb turn shaft so that they rotate integrally;
A motor;
a thumb turn connecting body having a hollow hole through which the intermediate shaft is rotatably inserted and which rotates in response to the driving of the motor;
a clutch ball disposed between the intermediate shaft and the thumb turn connecting body;
a biasing member that biases the clutch ball toward the thumb turn connecting body;
an accommodating recess provided in the intermediate shaft, capable of accommodating the clutch ball and the biasing member;
an engaging portion provided on an inner circumferential surface of the hollow hole of the thumb turn connecting body and adapted to engage with the clutch ball;
and
The biasing force of the biasing member is set so that, when the motor is driven to rotate the thumbturn coupler, the clutch ball protrudes from the accommodating recess and engages with the engaging portion, and when the motor is not driven and the thumbturn coupler is not rotated, the clutch ball retracts into the accommodating recess in accordance with the rotation of the intermediate shaft and disengages from the engaging portion.
A thumb turn device characterized by the above. The thumb turn device according to claim 1 ,
A thumbturn device characterized by having a battery that supplies power to the motor. The thumb turn device according to claim 1 or 2 ,
A first on-off switch, a second on-off switch, and a third on-off switch are included.
the thumb turn assembly has a first operating portion that operates the first on/off switch in response to rotation of the first operating portion,
the intermediate shaft has a second operating portion that operates the second on-off switch and the third on-off switch;
A thumb turn device characterized by the above. The thumb turn device according to claim 3 ,
A control unit is provided.
The control unit
When driving the motor to lock or unlock, if at least one of the first on-off switch, the second on-off switch, and the third on-off switch cannot be switched between on and off states, a retry process is executed in which the motor is rotated in a direction opposite to that when driven, and then the motor is rotated in the same direction as that when driven;
A thumb turn device characterized by the above.