JPH0120562B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention relates to a clutch device for an electric telescopic antenna installed in an automobile or the like, and particularly to an improvement in a driving force transmission means.

[Technical background of the invention and its problems] There are various conventional clutch devices for electric telescopic antennas of this type, but a typical one is a clutch device that rotates by receiving driving force from a motor. The clutch plate and the driven clutch plate connected to the load are brought into pressure contact, and when the antenna is extended or retracted, a driving force is applied to the antenna side by the clutch force, that is, the friction transmission force between the active clutch plate and the driven clutch plate. If the driven clutch plate is in a stopped state when the antenna is extended or retracted, the active clutch plate is put into a slip state, and then a limit switch or the like is operated to stop the rotation of the active clutch plate. It's summery.

In order to obtain the required clutch force, a large number of concave and convex portions are usually formed on the pressure contact surfaces of the driving clutch plate and the driven clutch plate.

In the conventional clutch device configured as described above, the transmission of driving force from the motor side to the antenna side depends solely on frictional transmission between the driving clutch plate and the driven clutch plate. Therefore, a sufficiently large pressing force is required between the driving clutch plate and the driven clutch plate. For example, if the load required to extend the antenna is approximately 7.5 kg, a clutch plate with unevenness on the pressure contact surface will weigh approximately 20 kg.
A clutch plate with no unevenness on the pressing surface requires a pressing force of approximately 30 to 50 kg.
As a result, a large and strong spring is required to ensure the above-mentioned pressure contact force, which forces the device to be large-sized.In addition, both clutch plates may slip when overloaded, that is, when the antenna extension/retraction operation is completed. The drawback was that the accompanying sliding noise produced a large amount of noise.

[Purpose of the invention]

The purpose of the present invention is not only to accurately transmit the driving force from the motor side to the antenna side, but also to enable the device to be made compact since the pressure contact force on the clutch portion is minimal, and to ensure that the clutch is It is an object of the present invention to provide a clutch device for an electric telescoping antenna which can reduce friction between parts, reduce the load on a motor, and generate very little sliding noise and noise.

[Summary of the invention]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is characterized by the following configuration. That is, an intermediate gear is rotatably provided on one side of a main drive rotating body that is rotatably fitted into the main shaft and rotates in response to driving force from a motor, with an axial center different from that of the main shaft. A clutch gear, which has a gear portion that meshes with the intermediate gear in one part and a clutch disc portion in the other part, is fitted into the main shaft so as to be freely rotatable. Then, the clutch plate is fitted onto the main shaft so as to be in contact with the disc portion of the clutch gear and rotate together with the main drive rotating body. Then, the clutch plate is brought into pressure contact with the disk portion of the clutch gear by a pressure contact means such as a spring. Further, a driven rotary body having a gear portion on its inner circumferential surface that meshes with the intermediate gear is fitted into the main shaft so as to be rotatable relative to the motive rotary body, and the driven rotary body transmits information from the motive rotary body. The driving force applied to the retractable antenna is applied to the retractable antenna. Further, when the driven rotating body stops rotating upon completion of the antenna expansion/contraction operation, the clutch plate is deviated in a direction in which the clutch plate is separated from the disc portion of the clutch gear against the pressing force of the pressing means.

In this way, the intermediate gear that meshes with the gear portion provided on the inner peripheral surface of the driven rotor and the clutch gear that meshes with this intermediate gear constitute a so-called speed increasing mechanism, and at the speed increasing end of this speed increasing mechanism, A clutch plate that rotates integrally with the main rotating body is pressed into contact with the disk part of a clutch gear to obtain a clutch force, and this clutch force prevents the rotation of the intermediate gear when the antenna is extended or retracted, thereby driving the main rotating body. The force is directly transmitted to the driven rotating body through the intermediate gear that is prevented from rotating, and when the antenna expansion and contraction operation is completed, the clutch force is released and the clutch gear rotates freely. It is characterized by the fact that it is made to do so.

[Embodiments of the invention]

Figures 1 to 7 a and b are views showing one embodiment of the present invention, in which Figure 1 is an external perspective view showing the entire clutch device, Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view, and Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view. Figure 4 is a partial perspective view with a part cut away,
Figure 5 is a diagram showing the relationship between the rotational forces of each part, Figure 6a,
7b and FIGS. 7a and 7b are diagrams showing the clutch release means. In FIGS. 1 to 4, reference numeral 1 denotes a pipe-shaped main shaft, which is rotatably fitted into a fixed support (not shown) installed in the base of the antenna driving device. A main rotating body 2 is rotatably fitted into the main shaft 1. The main rotating body 2 has a substantially disk shape as a whole, and has a gear portion 3 formed on its outer peripheral surface to receive a driving force from a motor (not shown). Reference numeral 4 denotes an intermediate gear made of a small gear, which is rotatably provided on one side of the main drive rotating body 2 with a different axis from the main shaft 1. 5
is a clutch gear, which is fitted into the main shaft 1 so as to be rotatable relative to the main drive rotating body 2. A gear portion 5a that meshes with the intermediate gear is formed on the outer periphery of the shaft cylinder of the clutch gear 5, and a clutch disk portion 5b is formed integrally with the shaft cylinder at the end of the shaft cylinder. 6 is a first clutch plate, and 7 is a second clutch plate. These first and second clutch plates 6 and 7 are approximately ring-shaped, and are connected to the disk portion 5 of the clutch gear 5.
The annular portion is attached to rotate together with the main rotating body 2 with the annular portion in contact with both sides of the rotary member b. That is, each of the clutch plates 6 and 7
Projecting piece 6 bent in a dogleg shape at 180° different positions
a, 6b and 7a, 7b are provided respectively, and these protruding pieces are provided as 6a, 7a and 6b, 7b.
They are engaged in cut grooves 10 and 11 of the main drive rotating body 2 with spacers 8 and 9 interposed therebetween, respectively. The spacers 8 and 9 have shallow V-shaped grooves on their abutting surfaces with the protruding pieces, and have cut grooves 1 on both end surfaces.
The grooves 10 and 11 are accommodated in the grooves 10 and 11 so as to be able to slide freely in the axial direction of the main shaft 1.

On the back surface of the first clutch plate 6, a coil spring 12a whose base end is supported by the main drive rotating body 2,
The tips of 12b and 12c are pressed together. Also the second
On the back side of the clutch plate 7, there are protrusions 14a, 14b,
14c is formed, and projections 15a, 15b, 1 formed on the inner bottom surface of the driven rotary body 13 are formed on the back surface thereof.
5c is in pressure contact. The protrusions 14a to 14c,
15a to 15c have gently sloped surfaces so that no significant resistance is generated during sliding.

The driven rotating body 13 has a cylindrical shape with a bottom, and is fitted into the main shaft 1 so as to be rotatable relative to the main rotating body 2. A gear portion that meshes with the intermediate gear 4 is formed on the inner circumferential surface of the peripheral wall of the driven rotor 13 that fits around the outer circumference of the main drive rotor 2. Further, a gear portion 16 is formed on the outer periphery of the driven rotary body 13 for transferring a drive cord for driving the telescopic antenna.

A push nut 17 is fitted into the tip of the main shaft 1, which protrudes through the center hole of the driven rotor 13, while being pressed by a cap 18. Thus, the position of the driven rotor 13 in the axial direction with respect to the main shaft 1 is regulated by the push nut 17.

Next, the operation of the apparatus configured as described above will be explained. When a motor (not shown) is rotated forward or backward to extend or contract the antenna, the main rotating body 2 rotates forward or backward.
Then, the rotational force of the main rotating body 2 is directly transmitted to the driven rotating body 13 mainly through the intermediate gear 4, and as a result, the driven rotating body 13 rotates together with the main rotating body 2. That is, the driven rotary body 13 is loaded with the drive cord for driving the antenna, but the first and second clutch plates 6, 7 are connected to the coil springs 12a to 12c and the driven rotary body 13.
Since the clutch gear 5 is held under pressure by the protrusions 15a to 15c and is in pressure contact with the disc portion 5b of the clutch gear 5, the clutch gear 5 is prevented from rotating relative to the first and second clutch plates 6, 7. ing.
Therefore, the intermediate gear 4 meshing with the clutch gear 5 is prevented from rotating with respect to the main drive rotating body 2, and performs only a revolution operation integrally with the main drive rotating body 2. Therefore, as a result, the main rotating body 2, the intermediate gear 4, and the clutch gear 5
Then, the first and second clutch plates 6, 7 and the driven rotating body 13 all rotate integrally. In this way, the drive cord is transferred by the gear section 16 as the driven rotor 13 rotates, and the antenna expands or contracts.

Once the antenna completes its extension or contraction motion,
The driven rotating body 13 stops its rotation and exhibits an overload condition. When this happens, the intermediate gear 4 attempts to start rotating in accordance with the relative rotation between the main rotating body 2, which continues to rotate, and the driven rotating body 13, which is in a stationary state. At this time, the rotational force transmitted from the intermediate gear 4 to the clutch gear 5 becomes strong, so
The first and second
The pressing force of the clutch plates 6 and 7 cannot resist the rotational force, and the clutch gear 5 begins to rotate at high speed. Also, at this time, the first and second clutch plates 6, 7
With the clutch gear 5, the state shifts from the states shown in FIGS. 6a and 6b to the states shown in FIGS. 7a and 7b. That is, the projections 6a and 7a of the first and second clutch plates 6, 7,
6b and 7b slide along the V-shaped grooves of spacers 8 and 9, respectively, and the annular portions of clutch plates 6 and 7 are deviated in a direction in which they are separated from disk portion 5b of clutch gear 5. For convenience of explanation, FIG. 7b shows a state in which the annular portions of the clutch plates 6 and 7 are completely separated from the disc portion 5b of the clutch gear 5, but in reality, the clutch force only decreases. It will not be in an open state. In this way, a so-called disengaged state is created, and motor lock is avoided. On the other hand, the first
Since the second clutch plates 6 and 7 continue to rotate together with the driving rotor 2, sliding occurs at the pressure contact portion between the second clutch plate 7 and the driven rotor 13, but the pressure contact force at the pressure contact portion is lower than that of the conventional one. Since it is extremely small compared to other devices, the noise caused by sliding is minimal.

Note that the second clutch plate 7 has protrusions 14a to 14.
c is provided, and the driven rotating body 13 is provided with a protrusion 15a.
15c, the amount of deflection of the coil springs 12a to 12c changes intermittently when the pressure contact portion slides. As a result, the pressure of the first and second clutch plates 6, 7 against the clutch gear 5 changes in a pulsating manner. Continuous sliding friction between the clutch gear 5 and the first and second clutch plates 6, 7 is thus avoided. As a result, the clutch pressure is reduced by the action of the spacers 8 and 9, and seizing of the clutch due to the friction described above can be prevented, and the minimum operating voltage, which conventionally required 8 to 9 V, can be reduced to 6 V or less.

If a limit switch (not shown) is activated when the antenna completes its expansion and contraction operation, the motor will stop rotating, and the rotation of the main rotating body 2, intermediate gear 4, clutch gear 5, and first and second clutch plates 6 and 7 will also stop. do.

In this way, in this device, the driven rotating body 13
An intermediate gear 4 that meshes with a gear portion provided on the inner circumferential surface of the intermediate gear 4 and a clutch gear 5 that meshes with this intermediate gear 4 constitute a so-called speed increasing mechanism due to the relationship of gear ratios. The first and second clutch plates 6 and 7, which rotate integrally with the main drive rotor 2, are brought into pressure contact with the disk portion of the clutch gear 5, which is the end, to obtain a clutch force. Rotation of the gear 4 is prevented, and the driving force of the main rotating body 2 is directly transmitted to the driven rotating body 13 via the intermediate gear 4 whose rotation is prevented. Therefore, the clutching force may be significantly lower than in conventional devices. In other words, since conventional devices do not have a speed increasing mechanism,
For example, frictional transmission is performed at a portion corresponding to the pressure contact portion between the second clutch plate 7 and the driven rotating body 13 of the present device. For this reason, it is necessary to obtain a clutch force that can withstand the load at the pressure welding part.
Extremely large pressure force is required. However, in this device, as described above, most of the driving force of the main rotating body 2 is transmitted to the driven rotating body 13 via the intermediate gear 4.
There is almost no friction transmission at the pressure contact portion between the second clutch plate 7 and the driven rotating body 13. The pressure contact portion merely supports the back surface of the second clutch plate 7 so that the pressing force of the coil springs 12a to 12c acts as a force to press the first and second clutch plates 6, 7 into contact with the clutch gear 5. It is something. The clutch force required between the clutch gear 5 and the first and second clutch plates 6 and 7 is the rotational force applied to the intermediate gear 4 from the gear portion on the inner peripheral surface of the driven rotor 13 during the antenna expansion and contraction operation. It only needs to be large enough to hold it in a stationary state against the force. In this case, as described above, it is sufficient to obtain the clutch force at the disk portion 5b which is the speed increasing end, so a much smaller clutch force is sufficient compared to the conventional device.

According to the test and research carried out by the present inventors, it has been confirmed that a pressure contact force of only 13 kg is sufficient for the present device, whereas the conventional flat plate clutch requires 30 to 50 kg.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the relationship between the rotational forces of each part of this device manufactured on an experimental basis. In FIG. 5, point A is the drive cord transfer gear part 16 of the driven rotary body 13, point B is the gear part on the inner peripheral surface of the driven rotary body 13, point C is the gear part 5a of the clutch gear 5, and point D is the gear part 5a of the clutch gear 5.
and the pressure contact portions of the first and second clutch plates 6, 7 are shown, respectively. The radii of points A to D are 27 mm at point A, 22.8 mm at point B, 6 mm at point C, and 13.5 mm at point D. Now, if the rotational force required at point A is 7.5 kg,
The required rotational force from point B to point C is 8.8 kg for point B and 8.8 kg for point C.
The point is also 8.8Kg, and the D point is 3.95Kg. This D
As mentioned above, it was found that a clutch pressure of 13 kg is sufficient to secure a rotational force of 3.95 kg at a point.

On the other hand, in this device, when the driven rotary body 13 stops rotating when the antenna extension/contraction operation is completed, the annular portions of the first and second clutch plates 6 and 7 move in the direction in which they are separated from the disc portion 5b of the clutch gear 5. deviate,
Since the clutch force is released, the load on the motor is significantly reduced during the period from when the antenna extension/retraction operation is completed until the motor stops rotating. Moreover, since the pressing force of the clutch part is reduced, the amount of friction in the clutch part is reduced, which has the advantage of further reducing noise and suppressing the generation of frictional heat.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. For example, in the embodiment described above, the first and second clutch plates 6 and 7 were provided as clutch plates that press against the clutch gear, but the number of clutch plates is not limited to two, and may be three or more. That's fine, or just one piece (on one side) is fine. Further, in the above embodiment, the projections 14a to 14c and 15a to 1
Although the projections 5c are provided, these projections are not necessarily necessary and may be omitted. Further, as the clutch force release means, protrusions 6a, 6b and 7a of the clutch plates 6, 7, as shown in FIGS.
The shape of the clutch plates 6, 7b may be formed into a U-shape, and the portions of the spacers 8, 9 that come into contact with the projecting pieces may be formed into a chevron shape, or as shown in FIG.
Drill holes in the projecting pieces 6a, 6b and 7a, 7b,
The hole may be engaged with the outer peripheral surface of the movable element 19 made of a steel ball or roller. Of course, various other modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

〔Effect of the invention〕

According to the present invention, the intermediate gear meshing with the gear portion provided on the inner circumferential surface of the driven rotor and the clutch gear meshing with the intermediate gear constitute a so-called speed increasing mechanism. A clutch plate, which rotates integrally with the main drive rotating body, is brought into pressure contact with the disc part of the clutch gear, which is the speed increasing end of the main drive rotor, to obtain clutch force.This clutch force prevents the rotation of the intermediate gear during antenna expansion and contraction, and the main drive The driving force of the rotating body is directly transmitted to the driven rotating body via the intermediate gear that prevents the rotation, and the clutch force is released when the antenna expansion and contraction operation is completed. Not only is the driving force transmitted accurately from the motor side to the antenna side, but the pressure contact force on the clutch part is minimal, which allows the device to be made more compact, and the friction on the clutch part is reduced when the antenna is extended and retracted. It is possible to provide a clutch device for an electric telescoping antenna that can reduce the load on the motor and generate very little sliding noise.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figures 1 to 7 a and b are views showing one embodiment of the present invention, in which Figure 1 is an external perspective view showing the entire clutch device, Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view, and Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view. ,
4 is a partial perspective view with a part cut away, FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the relationship between the rotational forces of each part, FIGS. 6 a, b and 7 a, b are diagrams showing the clutch force release means, 8a and 8b and FIG. 9 are diagrams showing clutch force release means according to other embodiments of the present invention. 1...Main shaft, 2...Main rotating body, 3...Gear part, 4...
Intermediate gear, 5... Clutch gear, 6, 7... First and second clutch plates, 8, 9... Spacer, 10, 11
...cut groove, 12a-12c...coil spring,
13...Followed rotating body, 14a to 14c and 15a
〜15c...Protrusion, 16...Gear portion, 17...Push nut, 18...Cap, 19...Movable element.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 A main shaft, a main rotating body that is fitted into the main shaft and rotates in response to driving force from a motor, and a main rotating body that is rotatably provided on one side of the main shaft with an axis different from that of the main shaft. It has an intermediate gear in one part, a gear part that meshes with the intermediate gear, and a clutch disc part in the other part, and is fitted into the main shaft so as to be rotatable relative to the main drive rotating body. A clutch gear, a clutch plate fitted into the main shaft so as to rotate together with the main drive rotating body while in contact with a disk portion of the clutch gear, and pressure contact means for pressing the clutch plate against the disk portion of the clutch gear at a predetermined pressure. , having a gear portion meshing with the intermediate gear on an inner circumferential surface thereof, and being fitted into the main shaft so as to be rotatable relative to the main drive rotating body, and applying a driving force transmitted from the main drive rotating body to the telescopic antenna. a driven rotary body provided as shown in FIG. 1. A clutch device for an electric telescoping antenna, comprising means for releasing the clutch force.