JP2000291334A - Operation support device and door opening and closing mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an operation support device and door opening and closing mechanism which reduce costs for mounting them on a cabinet body and facilitate electric wiring by reducing the number of mounting places (positions). SOLUTION: An operation support device 1 has a transmission gear 4, which can rotate according to the drive force of a motor 3, and first and second projecting members 6a and 6b, which advance alternately in accordance with the rotation direction of this transmission gear 4 and can abut on first and second opening and closing members respectively. The first projecting member 6a is advanced by rotating the transmission gear 4 in the first direction (shown by an arrow A) to release the first opening and closing member, and the second projecting member 6b is advanced by rotating the transmission gear 4 in the second direction opposite to the first direction. This can release the second opening and closing member.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is applied to an opening / closing member for releasing an internal space of a housing or shielding the housing from the outside. The present invention relates to an operation assisting device and a door opening / closing mechanism that are optimal for assisting operation of two opening / closing members.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Some home electric appliances and furniture with a revolving door or drawer have a front surface of the door or drawer held on a housing body side by using an attractive force of a magnet or the like. The front of such doors and drawers (hereafter,
The opening / closing member is attracted to the housing body by the attraction force of the magnet when closed, so that it can be securely closed with a small force, and when closed, a constant closing force is maintained. Therefore, it can be applied to many products because it can solve the problem that the door and the drawer open naturally even if there is some vibration.

[0003] Such an opening / closing member closed by a constant closing force can be normally opened without much difficulty, but, for example, when holding an object in both hands and opening the opening / closing member with one finger. Sometimes, it doesn't open easily. In such a case, it is common to place an object in hand once and then perform an operation of opening a door or the like again, which is a troublesome operation for the user.

[0004] This kind of opening / closing member needs to satisfy both an element for maintaining a reliable closed state and an element for enabling easy opening operation. From the viewpoint of maintaining the closed state reliably, It is undeniable that it is necessary to have a certain closing force. Therefore, it is desired to provide an opening and closing mechanism which can be easily opened while having a certain closing force.

The present applicant has developed a motor actuator described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-17548 as an apparatus for making such complicated operations as easy as possible (see FIG. 11). The motor actuator includes a motor 301, a speed reduction mechanism 302 that reduces and transmits the driving force of the motor 301, a rod 305 having a rack 304 that meshes with a pinion 303 at the last stage of the speed reduction mechanism 302, and a rod 305. And position detecting means 306 for detecting a position. When the user touches a switch mechanism provided on a door (not shown) of the motor actuator, the motor 301 is energized, and the driving force of the motor 301 causes the rod 305 to move forward (FIG. 11).
In the direction of the arrow N).

By this operation, the motor actuator assists the opening operation of the door arranged in front of the motor actuator (for example, the door is pushed out to the front surface to release the locked state by the attraction of the magnet). In particular, it is convenient to attach it near the door of the refrigerator body.

[0007]

However, in recent years,
The number of doors and the number of drawers have been increasing as refrigerators have increased in capacity and diversified in applications (refrigeration, freezing, tilting, etc.). Therefore, if the above-described device is mounted according to the number of doors and the number of drawers, there is a problem that the cost increases and it is difficult to secure a mounting place. Further, there is a problem that electrical wiring becomes complicated.

[0008] The present invention reduces the number of mounting locations (locations) when mounting on a housing of a refrigerator or the like with a large number of doors or drawers, and thereby reduces the cost of the entire refrigerator, the apparatus, and the mounting. It is another object of the present invention to provide an operation assisting device and a door opening / closing mechanism that facilitates electrical wiring.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, an operation assisting device according to the present invention comprises a transmission gear rotatable according to the driving force of a motor, and a transmission gear alternately corresponding to the rotation direction of the transmission gear. A first and a second protruding member that can move forward and directly or indirectly abut against the first and second opening / closing members, respectively, by rotating the transmission gear in the first direction. Advancing the projecting member to assist the operation of the first opening / closing member, and rotating the transmission gear in a second direction opposite to the first direction to advance the second projecting member. , To assist the operation of the second opening / closing member.

According to another aspect of the present invention, in the motion assisting device according to the above aspect, the first and second projecting members are arranged at positions opposed to each other across the transmission gear so as to engage with the transmission gear. The rotation of the transmission gear in the first direction causes the forward operation of the first projection member and the retraction operation of the second projection member to be performed simultaneously, and the rotation of the transmission gear in the second direction causes the second projection member to rotate. The forward operation and the backward operation of the first protruding member are performed simultaneously.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided the motion assisting device according to the first aspect of the present invention, wherein the first protruding member is advanced to a front end and the second protruding member is retracted to a rear end.
State, a second state in which the second projecting member is advanced to the front end, and a first projecting member is retracted to the rear end, and a third state in which the first and second projecting members are not advanced and retracted together. And detection means capable of detecting the above.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided the operation assisting apparatus of the above-mentioned invention, wherein the detecting means is provided with three magnets arranged on the same circumference on the axial side surface of the transmission gear, and capable of opposing the three magnets. It consists of two Hall ICs arranged at fixed positions.

According to another aspect of the present invention, in the motion assisting device according to the above-mentioned inventions, the motor is a bidirectionally rotatable motor, and an operation restricting portion for restricting a retreating operation of the first and second projecting members is provided. Provided.

According to another aspect of the invention, a door opening and closing mechanism includes a motor capable of bidirectional rotation, a transmission gear rotatable in accordance with a driving force of the motor, and a transmission gear alternately rotating in the direction of rotation as the transmission gear rotates. By moving the transmission gear in a first direction with respect to the frame of the housing having the two opening / closing members closed with a constant closing force. Advancing one of the two protruding members so that one of the opening and closing members can protrude forward, and rotating the transmission gear in a second direction opposite to the first direction. By 2
The other one of the protruding members is advanced so that the adjacent opening / closing member can be protruded forward.

The motion assisting device of the present invention uses a driving force of a motor, for example, a motor capable of bidirectional rotation, to rotate a transmission gear bidirectionally, and causes the first and second protruding members to move in accordance with the rotation direction. The two opening and closing members are alternately advanced to assist the operation of the two opening and closing members. Accordingly, by attaching the present device to a portion between the two opening / closing members, such as a frame of a housing, the operation of the two opening / closing members can be assisted by one device.

Further, by arranging the first and second projecting members at positions opposed to each other across the transmission gear, the first and second projecting members can be alternately advanced with a compact configuration. Becomes Further, the detecting means detects two states, that is, two states in which one of the protruding members is advanced to the front end and the other is retracted to the rear end, and a state in which both the protruding members are not advanced or retracted (origin position). If the detection can be performed, it is possible to control the protrusion members to be stopped at accurate positions.

Still further, when the detecting means is constituted by three magnets arranged on the same circumference of the transmission gear and two Hall ICs arranged opposite to the three magnets, the above-mentioned detecting means can be realized with a small number of parts. It becomes possible to do. In addition, if the operation restricting portion for restricting the retreating operation of the first and second protruding members is provided, even if the motor runs away due to poor position detection or some other cause, the internal movement due to the retraction of the protruding member is reduced. It is possible to prevent the mechanism from being destroyed.

The above-described door opening / closing mechanism rotates the transmission gear bidirectionally using the driving force of a bidirectionally rotatable motor, and alternately moves the first and second protruding members in accordance with the rotation direction. An operation assisting device that assists the operation of the two opening / closing members by moving forward is installed on the frame of the housing, and the two opening / closing members are pushed out alternately according to the bidirectional rotation of the transmission gear. Therefore, it is possible to assist the operation of two adjacent opening / closing members only by attaching one device to a narrow portion such as a frame.

[0019]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a first embodiment of an operation assisting device and a door opening / closing mechanism according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, a case where the drawer is simply attached to a storage case having double doors will be described as an example, but the drawer may be attached to a casing having vertically adjacent drawers. And also
Instead of two doors, one door may be used. In particular, the present apparatus has become particularly large in recent years, the weight of the door is heavy, and the effect is high when the apparatus is attached to the door part of the refrigerator held on the main body side by the attractive force of the magnet.

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an internal configuration of an operation assisting device 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
The structure of the motion assisting device 1 is roughly divided into a case 2
And a DC motor 3 that can rotate both, and the DC motor 3
A gear train 5 including a transmission gear 4 rotatable in accordance with the driving force of the transmission gear 4, and first and second protruding members 6a and 6b which alternately advance in the rotation direction as the transmission gear 4 rotates. It has a configuration. Details of these components will be described later.

The operation assisting device 1 having such a structure is mounted on a frame of a housing having two opening / closing members, and is for opening these two opening / closing members (doors). For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the motion assisting device 1 includes a frame 61 of a storage case 60 in which two so-called double doors 51 and 52 are provided side by side on the same plane.
, The doors 51 and 52 are attached so as to facilitate the opening operation.

The storage case 60 serving as the housing is
When closing the doors 51 and 52 serving as opening and closing members, magnets 53 and 54 are provided on the main body side so as to ensure that the doors 51 and 52 can be closed with a small force and to maintain the closed state. Alternatively, when the door 52 is closed, an iron piece (not shown) provided on the doors 51 and 52 is attracted.

Then, the closed door 51 or 5
2 can be opened by pulling the handle 51a or 52
At this time, the user's hand touches a predetermined position of the handle, and at the same time, the sensors (not shown) provided on the handles 51a and 52a operate to operate the first and second movement assisting devices 1. The two projecting members 6a and 6b perform a projecting operation, and the door to be opened is slightly opened. For example, when the user touches a predetermined portion of the handle 51a of the door 51, the first projecting member 6a of the movement assisting device 1 performs a projecting operation, and the door 51 is released from the attraction force of the magnet 53 by the projecting operation. , The door 51 is slightly opened. That is, this assists the operation of the door 51 in a predetermined range of the entire operation range.

Also, the user can handle the door 52 with a handle 52a.
, The second projecting member 6b of the movement assisting device 1 performs a projecting operation, and the door 52 is released from the attraction force of the magnet 54 by the projecting operation, and the door 52 is slightly opened. That is, this assists the operation of the door 52 in a predetermined range of the entire operation range.

As described above, the operation assisting device 1 of this embodiment rotates the transmission gear 4 in both directions by using the driving force of the bidirectionally rotatable DC motor 3 shown in FIG. Accordingly, the first and second projecting members 6a, 6b are alternately advanced to assist the operation of the two opening / closing members (doors 51, 52). The two doors 51 and 52 can be operated simply by attaching one of the present apparatuses to the apparatus. Therefore, it is possible to keep the cost of mounting and the like low and to make the electrical wiring easy.

Hereinafter, the structure of the operation assisting device 1 for realizing such an operation will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 1 schematically described above and further to FIG. 3 which is a developed view thereof. In FIG. 1, some reference numerals are omitted in order to prevent the drawing from being complicated.

The operation assisting device 1 includes a DC motor 3 and a gear train 5 including a transmission gear 4 in a case 2 formed by covering and fixing the upper case 2a so as to cover the lower case 2b. A first and a second protruding members 6a and 6b arranged to be engaged with the transmission gear 4 at positions opposed to each other with the transmission gear 4 interposed therebetween, and a part of a drive circuit (see FIG. 4) of the present apparatus. And a circuit board 7 to be used.

The DC motor 3 is a drive source for alternately moving the first and second projecting members 6a and 6b forward, and is capable of bidirectional rotation. This DC
The motor 3 is mounted obliquely in the case 2 so as to have an angle of about 45 ° with respect to the first and second protruding members 6a, 6b, and the motor 3 is provided upright on the lower case 2b. It is stored horizontally in the wall 8. For this reason, the motion assisting device 1 of the present embodiment includes the protruding members 6a, 6b
Space-saving configuration in the sliding direction.

The motor holding wall 8 is formed so as to surround three sides around the DC motor 3, and the other one is formed by using the inner wall of a corner portion of the peripheral wall of the case 2, and
It surrounds the motor 3. The motor holding wall 8
Has a state in which the side facing the upper case 2a is completely open, and a notch 8a is formed in one of the three surfaces described above.

The DC motor 3 is housed in the motor holding wall 8 so as to be dropped into the motor holding wall 8 from the open side of the motor holding wall 8 described above, and in this state, the DC motor 3 is transferred to the lower case 2b. It is held in the case 2 by covering the upper case 2a. At that time, in the notch 8a,
A motor output shaft 9 and a bolt 10 protruding in the same direction as the motor output shaft 9 are fitted into the motor output shaft 9.
The motor 3 is positioned. The distal end of the motor output shaft 9 projects from the notch 8a into the internal space of the case 2.

The distal end of the motor output shaft 9 protruding from the notch 8a is connected to the worm 12 via the connecting plate 11.
Are fitted and fixed. The tip of the worm 12 is formed in the concave portion 1 of the bearing portion 13 erected on the lower case 2b.
3a is rotatably loosely fitted in 3a. This recess 13a
The thrust of the worm 12 is received. For this reason,
The motor output shaft 9 and the worm 12 rotate integrally while being supported by the recess 13 a of the bearing 13. The worm 12 is a part of the gear train 5, and the driving force of the DC motor 3 is increased by rotating the motor output shaft 9 and the worm 12 integrally.
It is transmitted to.

The DC motor 3 held in the motor holding wall 8 as described above is connected to the circuit board 7 by the lead wires 14a and 14b, and is connected to the circuit pattern on the circuit board 7 and this circuit pattern. It is connected to an external control device 16 also serving as a power supply and a control means via a lead wire (see FIG. 4). Therefore, the DC motor 3
Are driven and controlled by an external control device 16.

The other ends of the lead wires 14a and 14b, one ends of which are connected to the DC motor 3, are connected to a first guide wall 18a continuous with the motor holding wall 8 and a second guide wall standing upright on the lower case 2b. 18b and the worm 12
Is drawn out to the circuit board 7 side through the lower side. In addition, in the part of the path from the worm 12 to the circuit board 7,
A protection wall 18c for preventing the lead wires 14a, 14b from being caught in the transmission gear 4 is provided on the lower case 2b. The lead wires 14a, 14b pass between the protective wall 18c and the wall 18d hanging from the upper case 2a.

The rotational driving force of the DC motor 3 configured as described above is simultaneously transmitted to the first and second projecting members 6a and 6b via the gear train 5. The gear train 5 includes a worm 12, a friction gear 19 that engages with the worm 12, an intermediate gear 20 that engages with the friction gear 19, and a transmission gear 4 that engages with the intermediate gear 20.
It is composed of When the worm 12 rotates integrally with the motor output shaft 9, the rotational force is transmitted to the transmission gear 4 via the friction gear 19 and the intermediate gear 20. The detailed configurations of the friction gear portion 19 and the intermediate gear portion 20 will be described later.

First and second protruding members 6a, 6b
Are arranged at positions facing each other with the transmission gear 4 interposed therebetween, and the rack teeth 21 a, 2
1b. These first and second protruding members 6a and 6b are, as shown by solid lines in FIG.
The state in which both ends protrude from the case 2 by 15 mm is the origin position. Then, when the transmission gear 4 rotates from the state held at the origin position, one of the first and second protruding members 6a and 6b advances in the direction of arrow C along with the rotation direction, and at the same time, the other protrudes. It retreats in the direction of arrow D.

The first and second protruding members 6a, 6b are controlled by the operation restricting portions 26a, 26b, which will be described later, to prevent the DC motor 3 from retreating in case of runaway. I have. The locking of the transmission gear 4 caused by the operation restriction causes the protrusion member 6
The other forward movements a and 6b are also restricted.

When the transmission gear 4 rotates in the first direction (the direction indicated by the arrow A in FIG. 1), the first protruding member 6a receives the rotation and advances from the origin position in the direction indicated by the arrow C. On the other hand, at the same time, the second projecting member 6b retreats in the direction of arrow D from the origin position. In the present embodiment, the forward / backward distance between the projecting members 6a and 6b from the origin position is set to 20 mm. This distance (stroke) is optimal according to the equipment to which the motion assisting device 1 is attached. It can be changed as appropriate.

By the above-described operation, the first projecting member 6a comes into contact with the door 51 and projects the door 51 forward, thereby assisting the operation of the door 51 in a predetermined range of the entire operation range. This operation is to release the door 51 from the holding force of the magnet 53. Therefore, the user can open the door 51 without the resistance of the magnet 53. In the present embodiment, the first protruding member 6a is brought into direct contact with the door 51 to project the door 51 forward. However, the first protruding member 6a is brought into indirect contact with the door 51 via another member. You may do it.

As described above, when the opening operation of the door 51 is assisted by the forward movement of the first projecting member 6a, the second projecting member 6b retreats in the direction of arrow D. In the present embodiment, the first protruding member 6a is at the front end (position advanced 20 mm forward from the origin position) as described later.
When the second protruding member 6b moves to the rear end (a position retracted 20 mm rearward from the origin position) until the second protruding member 6b moves, the movement is detected and the driving of the DC motor 3 is stopped.
Then, immediately after that, the DC motor 3 is reversely rotated. Thereby, the first and second protruding members 6a, 6b are returned to the origin positions.

On the other hand, when the transmission gear 4 rotates in the second direction (the direction of arrow B in FIG. 1) in response to the rotation of the DC motor 3, the second protruding member 6b receives the rotation and moves from the origin position. It advances in the direction of arrow C. On the other hand, the first protruding member 6a retreats from the origin position in the direction of arrow D.

By the above-described operation, the second projecting member 6b comes into contact with the door 52 and projects the door 52 forward, and the first projecting member 6a assists the door 51 in the same manner as the door 51. It assists operation in a predetermined range of the entire operation range.

The motion assisting device 1 has a detecting means 22 for detecting each state of the first and second projecting members 6a and 6b. In addition, each state is the first state in which the first protruding member 6a advances to the front end and the second protruding member 6b retreats to the rear end, and the second state in which the second protruding member 6b advances to the front end. This means a second state in which one protruding member 6a is retracted to the rear end, and a third state in which the first and second protruding members 6a, 6b are aligned at the origin position.

The detecting means 22 for detecting the three states of the first and second protruding members 6a and 6b includes three magnets 2 arranged on the same circumference on the side surface in the axial direction of the transmission gear 4.
3a, 23b, 23c and these three magnets 2
Two Hall ICs arranged on the circuit board 7 so as to be able to face two of the three ICs 3a, 23b and 23c.
24a and 24b, and the circuit board 7 on which the Hall ICs 24a and 24b are installed and fixed.

The circuit board 7 includes the transmission gear 4 and the upper case 2a.
It is supported by the space between. With this configuration, the two Hall ICs 24a and 24b on the circuit board 7
Are disposed to face the magnets 23a, 23b, and 23c provided in the main body.

As shown in FIG. 4, the Hall ICs 24a and 24b are electrically connected to the external control device 16 by a circuit pattern on the circuit board 7 and a lead wire soldered and fixed to the circuit pattern. . That is, the Hall IC 24a is connected between the power supply Vcc of the control device 16 and the ground GN.
D (ground) and the first sensor output unit 16a. On the other hand, the Hall IC 24b is
The power supply Vcc of the control device 16 and the ground GND (ground) are connected by commonly using the circuit pattern and the lead wire, and the second sensor output portion 16b in the control device 16 is connected. As shown in FIG. 4, the control device 16 also serves to supply power to the DC motor 3, and controls the rotation of the DC motor 3 based on signals sent from the Hall ICs 24a and 24b. ing.

The Hall ICs 24a and 24b detect the magnetic signals from the magnets 23a, 23b and 23c described above, and output the detected signals to the control device 16. The output from each of the Hall ICs 24a and 24b is at a low level ("") when a magnetic signal is detected by facing each of the magnets 23a, 23b and 23c.
L "), and each of the magnets 23a, 23b, 23
When the magnetic signal is not detected and no magnetic signal is detected, the signal is output at a high level ("H"). The control device 16
By detecting whether the output from each of the Hall ICs 24a and 24b is a low level ("L") or a high level ("H"), the first and second protrusion members 6a and 6 described above are detected.
b), and recognizes the DC motor 3 based on this information.
Control drive. In this embodiment, an active-low system is used, but an active-high system in which high and low are reversed may be adopted.

On the other hand, three magnets 23a, 23b,
As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 5, 23c are arranged at equal intervals on the same circumference of the transmission gear 4. When the first and second protruding members 6a, 6b are in the above-described three states, one or two of these three magnets 23a, 23b, 23c face one or both of the Hall ICs 24a, 24b. It is arranged to be. That is, when both the projecting members 6a and 6b are at the origin positions, the magnet 23a faces the Hall IC 24a, and the magnet 23c faces the Hall IC 24b.
For this reason, in the state at the origin position (third state),
The outputs from both Hall ICs 24a and 24b both become low level ("L"). At this time, the magnet 23
The magnet 23b disposed between the two a and 23c does not face either of the Hall ICs 24a and 24b.

When the transmission gear 4 rotates in the direction of arrow A (first direction) from the third state, the first projecting member 6a advances in the direction of arrow C and the second projecting member 6b Recedes in the direction of arrow D. At this time, magnet 2
3a and 23c are respectively separated from the Hall ICs 24a and 24c in the direction of arrow E, and the magnet 23b is
Approaching 4b. When the first protruding member 6a moves to the front end and the second protruding member 6b moves to the rear end, the magnet 23b
4b, and the first state described above is attained. In the first state, the output from the Hall IC 24a is at a high level ("H"), and the output from the Hall IC 24b is at a low level ("L"). That is, Hall I
No magnet is opposed to C24a, and magnet 23b is opposed to Hall IC 24b.

As described above, when the operation assisting device 1 of the present embodiment enters the first state, the DC motor 3
Are rotated in the reverse direction so that the first and second projecting members 6a, 6b
Is returned to the origin position, that is, the third state. Then, the magnet 23a faces the Hall IC 24a and the magnet 23c faces the Hall IC 24b.
The output from each of the Hall ICs 24a and 24b at this time is
Both become low level ("L"). The control device 16 stops the DC motor 3 in response to the detection result, whereby the first and second protrusion members 6a and 6b are held at the origin positions.

After returning to the origin position as described above, D
When the transmission gear 4 is rotated in the direction of arrow B (second direction) by the driving force of the C motor 3, the second projecting member 6b advances in the direction of arrow C, and the first projecting member 6a is moved in the direction of arrow C. D
Retreat in the direction. Then, the magnets 23a and 23c
Move away from the Hall ICs 24a and 24b in the direction indicated by the arrow F, respectively. At this time, the magnet 23b is connected to the Hall IC 2
Approach 4a. When the second protruding member 6a moves to the front end and the first protruding member 6a moves to the rear end, the magnet 23b is
4a, and the above-described second state is attained. In the second state, the output from the Hall IC 24a is at a low level ("L"), and the output from the Hall IC 24b is at a high level ("H"). That is, Hall I
The magnet 23b faces the C24a, and the magnet does not face the Hall IC 24b. As a result, the control device 16
The C motor 3 is stopped. After that, the control device 16
The C motor 3 is rotated in the reverse direction to return the both projecting members 6a, 6b to the original position.

The control device 16 receives the above-mentioned detection signal and controls the driving of the DC motor 3 based on the signal. In the case of initializing (originating = setting the first and second protruding members 6a and 6b to the third state), the outputs from the two Hall ICs 24a and 24b are received at the first energization, and the output pattern is used. The rotation of the DC motor 3 is controlled.

When the states of the first and second protruding members 6a and 6b can be determined by the patterns in the first, second and third states, the driving of the DC motor 3 is adjusted in accordance with the states. What should be done is. That is, in the first state, the transmission gear 4 is driven by the driving of the DC motor 3.
Is rotated in the direction of arrow B to retract the first projecting member 6a and advance the second projecting member 6b. Then, the first and second protruding members 6a, 6b
Is driven to the origin position, and when the outputs from the Hall ICs 24a and 24b both become low level ("L"), the driving of the DC motor 3 is stopped. By doing so, initialization can be performed.

On the other hand, in the second state, the first protruding member 6a is advanced by rotating the transmission gear 4 in the direction of arrow A by driving the DC motor 3, and
The projecting member 6b is retracted. Then, the first and second protruding members 6a and 6b are driven to the origin position,
When the outputs from the Hall ICs 24a and 24b both become low level ("L"), the drive of the DC motor 3 is stopped. By doing so, initialization can be performed. In addition, when the origin is found at the first energization, the driving of the DC motor 3 is not necessary.

When the outputs from the Hall ICs 24a and 24b are both at a high level ("H"), the state does not correspond to any of the first, second and third states. That is, one of the protruding members 6a and 6b is slightly protruding forward, and the other is slightly retreated. In this case, for example, the first protruding member 6a is advanced and the second protruding member 6b is retracted by rotating the transmission gear 4 in the direction of arrow A by driving the DC motor 3. At this time, the output of the Hall IC 24b is low level ("L").
Operate until.

When only the output of the Hall IC 24b is at a low level ("L"), the first and second protruding members 6a and 6b are in the first state at this time. The control device 16 drives the transmission gear 4 in the direction of arrow B by rotating the DC motor 3 in the reverse direction, retreats the first projecting member 6a, and advances the second projecting member 6b. Then, the first and second protruding members 6a, 6b
Is driven to the origin position, and when the outputs from the Hall ICs 24a and 24b both become low level ("L"), the driving of the DC motor 3 is stopped. By doing so, initialization can be performed.

When the transmission gear 4 is rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow A by driving the DC motor 3 in a state that does not correspond to any of the first, second and third states, the Hall IC
In some cases, the outputs of 24a and 24b may both be low level ("L"). In that case, since the initialization has been completed at that time, the control device 16 stops the DC motor 3. In the present embodiment, the above-described initialization method is used, but the initialization may be performed by another method.

The driving force of the DC motor 3 configured as described above is transmitted through the gear train 5 to the first and second protruding members 6a and 6b at a reduced speed.
The direction in which the friction gear portion 19 in the gear train 5 is pushed into the case 2 with respect to the projecting members 6a, 6b during the operation of the first and second projecting members 6a, 6b, or the direction in which the friction gear portion 19 is pulled out from the case 2. In the event that excessive force is applied to the device, the device has a structure for releasing the force. That is, the friction gear portion 19 is
, The receiving gear 19a engaged with the worm 12, and the receiving gear 20a of the intermediate gear 20 and the rotating shaft 32
A feed gear 19b rotatable integrally with the receiving gear 1
The friction member 19c is arranged so as to be integrally rotatable with the rotation shaft 9a and frictionally engages with the rotation shaft 32. The stop member 19d is attached to the rotation shaft 32 and regulates the axial movement of the feed gear 19b. .

The receiving gear 19a is arranged coaxially with the feed gear 19b. The receiving gear 19a has an oval center hole so as to engage with a friction member 19c whose outer periphery is cut into a D-shape, and both operate as an integral member against rotation in the circumferential direction. Feed gear 19b
The central hole is formed in an oval shape, the engaging portion 32a of the rotary shaft 32 having the same shape as the central hole is fitted, and the feed gear 19b
The rotary shaft 32 and the rotary shaft 32 are configured to operate as an integral member with respect to rotation in the circumferential direction. The rotating shaft 32 is connected to the upper case 2
a rotatably supported at one end by a bearing recess 31a provided at the lower case 2b.
1b is rotatably supported.

In the normal operation, the friction gear portion 19 having the above-described structure causes the rotation of the receiving gear 19a to rotate by the frictional force of the friction member 19c.
And the rotation is transmitted from the feed gear 19b to the intermediate gear portion 20. That is, when the receiving gear 19a receives the rotation of the worm 12, the rotation is transmitted from the feed gear 19b to the intermediate gear portion 20 while reducing the speed.

The rotation shaft 32 and the friction member 19
c is integrated by the frictional force as described above. For this reason, when the rotational force transmitted from both the protruding members 6a and 6b is equal to or more than a predetermined torque, the friction member 19c slides, and the rotational force is not transmitted to the DC motor 3 side. The gear is prevented from being damaged.
In addition, the rotation from the DC motor 3 side is
a, 6b, when the two projecting members 6a, 6a,
When a force that prevents the rotation of the DC motor 3 acts, such as when the 6b collides with the operation restricting portions 26a, 26b, the friction also acts, and the receiving gear 19a idles.

With this configuration, the first protruding member 6
When the door 51 is protruding forward, the door 51 is operated in the closing direction by manual operation or the like, and the first protruding member 6a is
In the direction indicated by the arrow D in FIG.
When the door 52 is moved in the closing direction by manual operation or the like when the second projecting member 6b is projecting forward, and the second projecting member 6b is moved rearward, transmission is performed by the operation of the projecting members 6a, 6b. Even if the gear 4 rotates in the direction of the arrow A or B and the force is transmitted to the feed gear 19b, if the rotational force is equal to or more than a predetermined torque, DC
It is not transmitted to the motor 3 side.

It should be noted that such friction gear portion 19
The overload prevention mechanism of the first embodiment is designed such that when the control device 16 breaks down and the drive control of the respective projecting members 6a and 6b becomes impossible,
1, 52, or each projecting member 6
The protrusion members 6a, 6b stopped at the protruding position by manually moving only the members a, 6b.
Also returns to the origin position.

The first or second projecting member 6
a, 6b by pulling them toward the near side, etc.
When the protruding members 6a, 6b move in the direction of arrow C in FIG. 1, ie, forward, with excessive force, the operation of the protruding members 6a, 6b causes the transmission gear 4 to rotate in the direction of arrow A or B. Also in this case, when the rotational force is equal to or more than the predetermined torque, the rotational force is not transmitted to the DC motor 3 side. That is, even if the doors 51 and 52 are closed with a strong force, or if the protruding members 6a and 6b are pulled toward the near side by an excessive force, the receiving gear 19a idles and the tooth tips of the respective gears are damaged. Is prevented.

The intermediate gear portion 20 is for transmitting the driving force of the DC motor 3 to the transmission gear 4. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the intermediate gear portion 20 includes a receiving gear 20a that engages with the feed gear 19b of the friction gear portion 19, and a feed gear 20b that engages with the transmission gear 4. Receiving gear 20a and feed gear 20b
Are integrally formed and rotatably supported by a fixed shaft 33 provided in the case 2. Then, when the receiving gear 20a receives the rotation of the feed gear 19b of the friction gear portion 19, the receiving gear 20a and the feed gear 20b rotate integrally. In addition,
The fixed shaft 33 may be a rotating shaft that rotates integrally with the intermediate gear unit 20.

The transmission gear 4 simultaneously transmits the driving force of the DC motor 3 to the first and second projecting members 6a and 6b,
One of the first and second protruding members 6a, 6b is advanced,
This is the last gear of the gear train 5 that retracts the other. The transmission gear 4 is rotatably fitted on the outer periphery of both the convex shaft 2c formed on the upper case 2a and the convex shaft 2d formed coaxially with the convex shaft 2c of the lower case 2b. Cylindrical shaft portion 4a to be inserted and the feed gear 20 of the intermediate gear portion 20
b. The gear portion 4b is formed by a linear rack tooth portion 21 formed on a rack member 34a that constitutes a part of the first protruding member 6a.
a, and also engages with the linear rack teeth 21b formed on the rack member 34b forming a part of the second protruding member 6b. The transmission gear 4 is rotatably supported on the case 2 by fitting the cylindrical shaft portion 4a into the convex shaft portions 2c and 2d.

The transmission gear 4 configured as described above is used to
When the motor 3 rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow A in FIG. 1 by the driving force of the motor 3, the first projecting member 6a is operated in the direction indicated by the arrow C, that is, forward. At the same time, the second projecting member 6b is moved in the direction of arrow D, that is, backward. When the transmission gear 4 is rotated in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 1 by the driving force of the DC motor 3, the second protrusion 6b is moved in the direction of arrow C, that is, forward. At the same time, the first projecting member 6a is moved in the direction of arrow D, that is, backward.

The transmission gear 4 has two projecting members 6.
There are provided three magnets 23a, 23b and 23c which are a part of detecting means for detecting the positions of a and 6b, that is, detecting the above three states. Then, these magnets 23a, 23b, 23c face the two Hall ICs 24a, 24b installed on the circuit board 7, respectively, so that the first projecting member 6a is at the front end and the second projecting member 6b is formed. A first state in which the rear end is located, a second state in which the second projecting member 6b is located at the front end, and a third state in which the first projecting member 6a is located at the rear end. Each state can be detected. Magnet 23
a, 23b and 23c are arranged at equal intervals on the same circumference of the transmission gear 4.

The Hall ICs 24a and 24b are connected to the transmission gear 4
When the magnets 23a, 23b, and 23c move and come to opposing positions due to the rotation of
The state is changed by the magnetism output from 3b and 23c, and a detection signal is output. The result of this detection is
C 24 a and 24 b are transmitted to the control device 16.
The control device 16 performs control to stop the DC motor 3 in response to sensor outputs from the Hall ICs 24a and 24b. For this reason, the motion assisting device 1 includes the first protruding member 6.
The DC motor 3 is stopped when a operates to the front end and the second protruding member 6b operates to the rear end, or when the second protruding member 6b operates to the front end and the first protruding member 6a operates to the rear end. It has become.

Further, in the present embodiment, after the DC motor 3 is stopped by the above-described operation, the control device 16 controls the DC motor 3 to rotate in the reverse direction, so that the transmission gear 4 is rotated with the previous rotation. Is rotated in the reverse direction to control the first and second protruding members 6a and 6b to return to the origin positions. Therefore, when closing the doors 51 and 52 manually or the like, the doors 51 and 52 do not hit the protruding members 6a and 6b, respectively.

In the motion assisting device 1 of the present embodiment, three magnets 23a, 23b, 23c are used to detect three states of the two projecting members 6a, 6b.
Although two Hall ICs 24a and 24b are provided, other detection means such as one using a photoelectric element may be used instead of the Hall ICs 24a and 24b. Also,
The number of magnets may be four or more.

In the present embodiment, the magnets 23a, 23b and 23c are arranged at equal intervals as described above, but need not be arranged at equal intervals. By not using equal intervals, it is possible to perform two protruding operations having different strokes. That is, by appropriately changing the arrangement angle of the magnet, the two projecting members 6
The slide movement distances of a and 6b can be set as appropriate. Also,
By providing in advance a plurality of (four or more) holding portions for installing the three magnets 23a, 23b, and 23c, three of the holding portions are provided at the installation locations of the three magnets 23a, 23b, and 23c. Can be selected as Therefore, the projecting members 6a, 6b can be more easily formed.
Can be set as appropriate.

The first protruding member 6a is connected to the guide rail 35a provided on the upper case 2a and the lower case 2a.
The rack member 34a slidably moves along the guide rail 35b provided on the rack member 34b, and a protrusion bar 37a having a circular cross section and having one end fixed to the rack member 34a and slidably moved together with the rack member 34a.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the rack member 34a has a rack tooth portion 21a which engages with the transmission gear 4, a guide groove 38a into which the guide rail 35a is slidably fitted inside, and a guide groove 38a. A guide groove 38b into which the rail 35b is slidably fitted inside. The rack member 34a slides forward and backward along the guide rails 35a and 35b as the transmission gear 4 rotates.

The second projecting member 6b is connected to the guide rail 36a provided on the upper case 2a and the lower case 2a.
The rack member 34b slides along a guide rail 36b provided on the rack member 34b, and a protrusion bar 37b having a circular cross section and having one end fixed to the rack member 34b and sliding with the rack member 34b.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the rack member 34b has a rack tooth portion 21b which engages with the transmission gear 4, a guide groove 39a into which the guide rail 36a is slidably fitted inside, and a guide groove 39a. A guide groove 39b into which the rail 36b is slidably fitted inside. The rack member 34b slides forward and backward along the guide rails 36a and 36b as the transmission gear 4 rotates.

In this embodiment, three magnets 23a, 23b and 23c and Hall ICs 24a and 24b
Accordingly, when the rack members 34a and 34b are operated to the rear end, this is detected, and after the detection, as described above, the DC motor 3 is stopped. However, in order to prevent runaway of the DC motor 3 when the detection cannot be performed, the rack member 34 is required.
a, 34b, behind the movement restricting portions 26a, 26b, respectively.
b is provided. These operation restricting portions 26a, 26
“b” is provided at each end of the guide rails 35b and 36b of the lower case 2b.

The operation restricting portions 26a, 26b
Is 5 more than the rear end of the rack members 34a and 34b.
mm (25 mm behind when viewed from the origin position = see FIG. 1), and the rack member 34 in normal operation.
a, 34b so as not to abut. However, these operation restricting portions 26a, 26b are provided at positions where the strokes are slightly smaller than the rear ends of the protruding members 6a, 6b, or are provided at the rear end portions, so that the operations of the protruding members 6a, 6b are constantly regulated. You may make it.

As described above, one end of the protruding rod 37a is fixed to the rack member 34a. Therefore, when the rack member 34a moves, the protruding bar 37a also moves integrally with the rack member 34a. The protruding rod 37a is inserted into an insertion hole 40a provided in the case 2.
The other end is projected outside the case 2.
The other end of the protruding rod 37 a is arranged so as to abut the inside of the door 51 of the storage case 60.

When the transmission gear 4 rotates in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 1 and the rack member 34a moves in the direction of arrow C, the other end of the protrusion bar 37a projects further outward. As a result, the push rod 37a pushes the door 51, which is sucked and held by the attraction force of the magnet 53, forward against the holding force. This allows the door 51
Moves forward and is released from the position holding state.

As described above, one end of the protruding rod 37b is fixed to the rack member 34b. Therefore, when the rack member 34b moves, the protrusion bar 37b also moves integrally with the rack member 34b. The protruding rod 37b is inserted into an insertion hole 40b provided in the case 2.
The other end is projected outside the case 2.
The other end of the protruding rod 37b is disposed so as to abut the inside of the door 52 of the storage case 60.

When the transmission gear 4 rotates in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 1 and the rack member 34b moves in the direction of arrow C, the other end of the protrusion bar 37b projects further outward. As a result, the push rod 37b pushes the door 52, which is sucked and held by the attraction force of the magnet 54, forward against the holding force. This allows the door 52
Moves forward and is released from the position holding state.

As described above, the door 51 or 52 is released from the suction holding by moving the first or second protruding member 6a, 6b forward by the rotational driving force of the DC motor 3. Note that this motion assist device 1
Is a device for operating the doors 51 and 52 only in front of the storage case 60. Therefore, the doors 51, 52
Is driven forward by the motion assist device 1, and then
The user manually opens or closes the doors 51 and 52 further.

As shown in FIG. 6, the case 2 is placed in a state where the upper case 2a is completely covered with the lower case 2b.
It is configured to be fixed with two bolts 41a, 41b (two of which are not shown), and as described above, a box shape for accommodating the DC motor 3, the gear train 5, the both protruding members 6a, 6b and the like inside. It has become. A hole 4 for attachment to the storage case 60 is provided on the side surface of the upper case 2a.
The attachment portion 44 having 4a is formed at three places.

Further, the case 2 has an insertion hole 40a through which the projecting rod 37a of the first projecting member 6a is inserted and removed by cooperation of the upper case 2a and the lower case 2b.
And an insertion hole 40b for inserting and removing the protruding rod 37b of the second protruding member 6b. The lower case 2b is provided with an insertion hole 42 for inserting a lead wire or the like extracted from the circuit board 7.

The operation assisting device 1 according to the first embodiment having the above-described structure includes the frame 61 of the storage case 60.
It is designed to be detachably screwed and fixed. The storage case 60 includes handles 51a of the doors 51 and 52,
When the user grips 52a, the sensors 51b, 5
2b operates, and the drive control of the DC motor 3 by the control device 16 is started (see FIG. 7). In addition,
The sensors 51b and 52b allow the user to use the doors 51 and 52.
A touch sensor is conceivable for detecting that the user is trying to open, but other detection means such as a piezoelectric element or infrared detection means may be provided instead of the touch sensor.

The operation assisting device 1 of the present embodiment is
It is attached to a storage case 60 having so-called double doors 51 and 52 to assist the opening operation of the two doors 51 and 52, but is attached to a housing having two drawer-type doors. The device may be mounted only to drive a double drawer door, or to drive a single pivoting door or drawer door.

The control device 16 includes sensors 51b and 52b which are constituted by the above-mentioned touch sensor and position detection signal.
The operation assisting device 1 is driven or stopped based on the signal from. The control device 16 includes sensors 51b and 52
Upon receiving the signal from b, power is supplied to the DC motor 3. As a result, the driving force of the DC motor 3 is reduced to the gear train 5.
The movement is transmitted to the both protruding members 6a and 6b through the first and second protruding members 6a and 6b, and one of the protruding members 6a and 6b starts to move forward and the other to move backward.

Next, an operation for assisting the opening operation of the doors 51 and 52 of the storage case 60 using the operation assisting device 1 of the above-described embodiment will be described below. The door 5
1 and 52 are attracted and held by the attracting magnets 53 and 54, respectively. On the other hand, it is assumed that the initialization of the motion assisting device 1 has been completed, and the projecting members 6a and 6b are in a standby state at the origin position.

When the user grips the handle 51a to open the door 51 of the storage case 60, the sensor 51b
Works to transmit the detection signal to the control device 16. Then
Electric power is supplied from the control device 16 to the DC motor 3 of the operation assist device 1 via the lead wires 14a and 14b.

When power is supplied to the DC motor 3, the DC motor 3
The motor output shaft 9 of the motor 3 and the worm 12 rotate integrally. When the worm 12 rotates, this rotation is transmitted to the transmission gear 4 via the friction gear portion 19 and the intermediate gear portion 20, and the transmission gear 4 rotates in the direction of arrow A in FIG. The rotation of the transmission gear 4 is the first rotation.
Is transmitted to the rack teeth 21a of the second projecting member 6a and the rack teeth 21b of the second projecting member 6b. By this operation, the rack member 34 of the first protruding member 6a is
a and the protruding rod 37a move integrally in the direction of arrow C, and at the same time, the rack member 34b of the second protruding member 6b.
And the protruding rod 37b retreats in the arrow D direction. Along with this operation, the tip of the protruding bar 37a pushes in the direction of arrow C while hitting the door 51, and moves the door 51 in the opening direction.

As described above, the door 51 is moved by the operation of the first protruding member 6a of the motion assisting device 1 so that the magnet 53
Is moved forward against the position holding force. Then, the first protruding member 6a operates to the front end, and
When the projecting member 6b moves to the rear end, the magnet 23b provided on the transmission gear 4 moves to a position facing the Hall IC 24b on the circuit board 7.

As a result, the Hall IC 24b detects the magnetic signal output from the magnet 23b and changes the output to a low level (L). On the other hand, Hall IC 24a
The magnet 23a which has been opposed to is moved away from the opposed position, and the detection signal shifts from a low level ("L") to a high level ("H"). This change in output is controlled by the controller 1
It is conveyed to 6.

The control device 16 controls the DC based on this signal.
The supply of electric power to the motor 3 is stopped. This gives D
The C motor 3 stops when the first projecting member 6a operates to the front end and the second projecting member 6b operates to the rear end.

After stopping the DC motor 3, the control device 16 immediately supplies power to the DC motor 3 to rotate the DC motor 3 in a direction opposite to the conventional direction. This causes the DC motor 3 to start reverse rotation. Then, the reverse rotation of the DC motor 3 is caused by the worm 12, the friction gear 19, and the intermediate gear 20.
Through the transmission gear 4.

When the transmission gear 4 rotates in the reverse direction, that is, rotates in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 1, the first projecting member 6a moves backward (in the direction of arrow D in FIG. 1), and the second projecting member 6b moves in the direction of arrow D in FIG. It moves forward (in the direction of arrow C in FIG. 1). When the two projecting members 6a and 6b operate to the home position, the magnet 2 provided on the transmission gear 4 is moved.
3a and 23c are Hall ICs 24a and 24 on the circuit board 7.
Move to a position facing b.

As a result, the Hall ICs 23a and 23b
Detects the magnetic signals output from the magnets 23a and 23c, and sets the outputs to low level ("L"). This change in output is transmitted to the control device 16.
Control device 16 stops supplying electric power to DC motor 3 based on this signal.

Thus, the DC motor 3 stops when the first and second projecting members 6a, 6b return to the origin positions. After the door 51 is slightly pushed forward by the movement assisting device 1 as described above, the user manually opens or closes the door 51 when the door 51 is further opened or closed.

On the other hand, when the user grips the handle 52a to open the door 52, the sensor 52b operates to transmit a detection signal to the control device 16. Then, the control device 16
Is supplied to the DC motor 3 of the operation assisting device 1 through the lead wires 14a and 14b. The subsequent operation of the motion assisting device 1 is the reverse of the case where the door 51 is opened. Thus, the operation of the door 52 is assisted in the same manner as the assist of the operation of opening the door 51 described above.

When the user manually closes the doors 51 and 52 due to the failure of the Hall ICs 24a and 24b or the control device 16 or various other reasons (when the doors 51 and 52 are moved in the direction of arrow D in FIG. 1). ), There is a risk that the doors 51 and 52 may hit the tip portions of the protruding rods 37a and 37b of the first and second protruding members 6a and 6b stopped at the front end and the middle position. When the doors 51 and 52 hit the first and second protruding members 6a and 6b when the doors 51 and 52 are closed, the doors 51 and 52 are closed.
The first and second projecting members 6
a, 6b are operated in the direction of arrow D. Then, this first
The transmission gear 4 rotates with an excessive force in the direction indicated by the arrow A or B according to the operation of the second protruding members 6a and 6b, and receives the excessive rotational force to cause the intermediate gear portion 20 and the friction gear portion 19 to rotate. The feed gear 19b rotates.

However, the friction gear portion 19
When the motor receives such an excessive rotation, a large torque is applied to the friction gear 19 because the resistance of the DC motor 3 is large. For this reason, the rotating shaft 32
The friction member 19c slides against the receiving gear 19
The idle rotation of a causes no damage to the tooth tips of the gears.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing the internal configuration of an operation assisting device 101 according to the second embodiment. The structure of the motion assisting device 101 is roughly divided into Case 1
02, a bidirectionally rotatable DC motor 103 and this D
Transmission gear 1 rotatable according to driving force of C motor 103
Gear train 105 including door 04 and transmission gear 10
4, a first and second protruding members 106a and 106b that alternately advance in the direction of rotation with the rotation of 4, and a gear train 107 for a sensor that transmits the rotation of the DC motor 103;
A sensor operating mechanism 108 as a detecting means for operating in response to the rotation of the sensor gear train 107 and detecting the states of the first and second projecting members 106a and 106b;
An operation restricting portion 109 for restricting the amount of protrusion of both protrusion members 106a and 106b is provided.

The operation assisting device 101 having such a configuration is as follows.
For example, similarly to the first embodiment described above, in a storage case 60 in which two doors 51 and 52 having a so-called double door as shown in FIG. 2 are provided side by side on the same plane, the respective doors 51 and 52 are provided. Is provided so as to facilitate the opening operation. Note that the mounting position may be a partition provided between the two chambers as shown by a dotted line, or may be the same as in the first embodiment.

8 and 9, a gear train 105 for door operation includes a worm 111 attached to a motor output shaft 110 of a DC motor 103, and a worm 111
A first gear 113 rotatably mounted on a shaft 112, a first pinion 114 integrally formed on the same shaft 112 as the first gear 113, and a first pinion 11
4, a second pinion 116 provided integrally with the second gear 115, and a transmission gear 104 meshed with the second pinion 116.

The first gear 113 and the first pinion 11
4, a friction mechanism is provided. The friction mechanism includes the protrusion members 106a and 106b.
During the protruding operation of the protruding members 106a, 10
When a force is exerted to push 6b into case 102, it acts to release the force.

This friction mechanism is configured so that the first gear 113 is sandwiched between a disc spring 118 and a disc 118 fixed to a shaft 112, and the rotational force of the DC motor 103 is normally applied by the pressing force of the disc spring 117. To the first pinion 1
14 to the second gear 115 and thereafter. And DC
When the protruding members 106a and 106b which are to protrude are pushed back during the operation of the motor 103, a torque equal to or more than a predetermined value is applied to the friction mechanism, and the disc spring 117
The disk 118 operates to slide on the surface of the first gear 113, thereby preventing an excessive force from being applied to the entire wheel train.

The transmission gear 104 described above meshes with linear gear trains 119a and 120a provided on slider portions 119 and 120 for reciprocating the projecting members 106a and 106b.

The sliders 119 and 120 can reciprocate along guide rails 121 and 122 formed on the case 102. For example, when the slider 119 is viewed, the transmission gear 104 is 8, and slides in the direction of arrow K in FIG. 8 until the end 104 a contacts the operation restricting portion 109.

The sliders 119, 120
Is set such that the protruding members 106a and 106b protrude from the case 102 by about 10 mm.
Note that the stroke length of the protruding members 106a and 106b may be set to an optimum stroke depending on the device to which the motion assist device 101 is attached.

Further, the regulation of the movement length of the slider portions 119 and 120 is controlled not only by the operation regulation portion 109 but also by the sensor operation mechanism 108, so that an appropriate stroke length of the protruding members 106a and 106b can be secured. . This will be described below.

The sensor operating mechanism 108 serves as detecting means for detecting the protruding state of the first and second protruding members 106a and 106b, and detects the rotational force of the DC motor 103 via the gear train 107 for the sensor. It receives and rotates. The gear train 107 for the sensor is an idler 1 that rotates integrally with the second gear 115 described above.
23, and a sensor gear 124 meshed with the idler 123. A magnet 125 is mounted on a circumference centered on a central axis 124a on the axial end face of the sensor gear 124.

The sensor gear 124 and the case 10
2, a sensor mounting plate 126 is provided. The sensor mounting plate 126 has a first sensor 127 a for detecting the magnetism of the magnet 125.
And the second sensor 127b are opposed to each other about the central axis 124a of the sensor gear 124, and
It is provided on a circumference having the same radius as the magnet 125. These magnet 125, sensor mounting plate 1
26, the first and second sensors 127a, 127b, etc., constitute a sensor operation mechanism 108.

In the initial state (the state shown in FIG. 8 is the initial state), one end 125a of the magnet 125 faces the first sensor 127a and the other end 125b is the second magnet 125b. 127b.

When the first sensor 127a and the second sensor 127b detect the magnetism from the magnet 125, their outputs go to a low level ("L"), and when no magnetism is detected, their outputs go to a high level ("L"). "H"). Therefore, in the state shown in FIG.
The outputs of the first and second sensors 127a and 127b both become ("L"). Note that these outputs, that is, the high level (“H”) and the low level (“L”) may be reversed.

By the way, the second gear 115 has a second pinion 116 for transmitting the rotational force of the DC motor 103 to the transmission gear 104, and the second gear 115 has a D gear for the sensor gear 124.
Idler 12 for transmitting the rotational force of C motor 103
3 are integrally mounted, but the DC motor 103
The rotation angle of the transmission gear 104 and the rotation angle of the sensor gear 124 are made different from each other.

That is, while the sensor gear 124 rotates, for example, 180 ° in the direction of arrow G (see FIG.
From the initial state shown in FIG.
25a is opposed to the second sensor 127b and the other end 125b is located at a position opposed to the first sensor 127a). Only rotates. Thus, the rotation angle of the transmission gear 104 and the sensor gear 124
In order to make the rotation angle of the second pinion 115
The gear ratio of the transmission gear 104 and the gear ratio of the idler 123 and the sensor gear 124 are set to optimal ratios.

Thus, the projecting members 106a, 10a
6b, the rotation angle of the sensor gear 124 is made larger than the rotation angle of the transmission gear 104 because the first projection member that performs the projection operation with the rotation of the transmission gear 104. The protrusion amount of the second protrusion member 106a (or the second protrusion member 106b) does not need to be so large, and if the output from the first and second sensors 127a and 127b is to be obtained at the same rotation angle, the first Second sensor-127a, 127
b becomes too narrow, and the projecting members 106a, 1
This is because there is a possibility that it may hinder obtaining an accurate sensor output corresponding to the operation of Step 06b.

In consideration of this point, the rotation angle of the sensor gear 124 is increased in order to make the interval between the first and second sensors 127a and 127b as large as possible. In this embodiment, it is possible to rotate 360 °.

The sensor operating mechanism 108 having such a configuration is described.
The first and second protruding members 106a or the second protruding member 106b are operated according to the protruding operation state of the first and second protruding members 106b.
("H") or ("L") signals are output from the sensors 127a and 127b.

For example, now, from the initial state of FIG.
If the transmission gear 104 comes into contact with the operation restricting portion 109 and a predetermined amount of protrusion is performed, the sensor gear 12
4 rotates 180 °, and in this state, the magnet 125
Is located at a position where one end 125a faces the second sensor 127b and the other end 125b faces the first sensor 127a, the first sensor 127a continues ("L"). Output while the second sensor 12
From 7b, first ("L"), then ("H"), and finally ("L") is output. The control unit determines the change in the output state of the first and second sensors 127a and 127b and controls the DC motor 103. In this case, after a predetermined stage from the initial state, both the first and second sensors 127a and 127b output ("L") again.
06a is stopped.

By such an operation, the slider portion 11
9 and 120 are controlled not only by the operation restriction unit 109 but also by the sensor operation mechanism 108,
In addition, an appropriate stroke length of the second protruding members 106a and 106b can be secured. The relationship between the projection operation of the first and second projection members 106a and 106b and the output of the first and second sensors 127a and 127b, and the control operation of the DC motor 103 will be described later in detail. explain.

The operation assisting device 101 according to the second embodiment is the same as the first embodiment, that is, as shown in FIG. 7, a motor control signal from the control device 16) is given, and the first and second sensors 127a and 127b (corresponding to the Hall ICs 24a and 24b in FIG. 7) respectively provide a control unit. , The respective sensor outputs are output.

Here, the first and second sensors 127 are used.
a, 127b using a Hall IC and a magnet 12
When the magnetism of No. 5 is detected, the output goes to a low level (“L”), and when the magnetism of the magnet 125 is not detected, the output goes to a high level (“H”). Sent to In addition to the output signals from the first and second sensors 127a and 127b, the control unit includes a handle 51a or 52a (see FIG. 2).
The signal output when touching the predetermined part of is input,
The control of the DC motor 103 is performed based on these signals. In addition, if these relationships are shown in a block diagram, the first
This is the same as FIG. 4 used for describing the embodiment.

The control unit 130 (corresponding to the control device 16) shown in FIG.
The DC motor 103 is controlled by receiving a signal from the handle sensor 132 and signals from the first and second sensors 127a and 127b. That is, the control unit 130 includes the first and second handle sensors 131 and 13.
2 (a signal indicating that the user has touched a predetermined portion of one of the two handles), a signal that causes the DC motor 103 to rotate in a predetermined direction in accordance with the signal is received. Output to the motor 103 to rotate the DC motor 103 in a predetermined direction. Also,
The DC motor 103 is controlled by output signals ("H" or "L") from the first and second sensors 127a and 127b. The control operation will be described in detail below.

First, the initial state (the door 51 shown in FIG. 2,
The state in which both of 52 are closed is referred to as an initial state) as shown in FIG. That is, the first and second protruding members 1
06a and 106b are both at the origin position, a state similar to the third state of the first embodiment. In this state, when the user touches a predetermined portion of the handle 52a to open the door 52, for example,
A signal indicating that the handle has been touched to the control unit 130 is output from the second handle sensor 132 provided at a.

Thus, the control unit 130 sends an operation signal to the DC motor 103 to rotate the DC motor 103. At this time, since the control unit 130 receives the signal from the second handle sensor 132, the control unit 130 rotates the transmission gear 104 in the direction indicated by the arrow H so that the second protrusion member 106b protrudes out of the case 102. The DC motor 103 is rotated in a different direction.

The rotational force of the DC motor 103 is controlled by the worm 111, the first gear 113, the first pinion 114,
Transmission gear 10 via gear 115 and second pinion 116
4 to rotate the transmission gear 104 in the direction of arrow H. At the same time, the idler 123 also rotates,
The sensor gear 124 is rotated in the arrow H direction.

When the transmission gear 104 starts rotating in the direction indicated by the arrow H, the slider 120 engaged with the transmission gear 104 slides in the direction indicated by the arrow K, and the second projecting member 106b projects from the case 102. Come.

At the same time as the transmission gear 104 rotates, the sensor gear 124 also starts to rotate, and the magnet 125 attached to it also starts to rotate. In the middle of this operation, the end 104b of the transmission gear 104 has not yet come into contact with the operation restricting portion 109, and the magnet 125
Is one end 125a of the first sensor 127a
It is a position deviated from.

In this state, the first and second sensors 1
Outputs from the first and second sensors 127a and 127b
a becomes “H”, and the second sensor 127 b
Holds (“L”). The control unit 130 receives the output signals from the first and second sensors 127a and 127b, and determines the current rotation direction of the DC motor 103 and which projecting member is in the projecting operation from the signal state. I do. In this case, the first and second sensors 127a and 127b are both set to ("L"),
Sensor 127a becomes ("H") and the second sensor 127b remains ("L"), so that the DC motor 1 is moved in such a direction as to project the second projecting member 106b.
03 is determined to be rotating.

When the end portion 104b of the transmission gear 104 rotates until it comes into contact with the operation restricting portion 109, the second protruding member 106b protrudes by a set stroke. At the same time, the sensor gear 124
180 degrees from the initial state
This is the rotated position. In this state, the second protruding member 106b protrudes from the case 102 by the set stroke (about 10 mm) (the state where the second protruding member 106b has moved to the front end of the first embodiment = the second state). The end 125 b of the magnet 125 has the first sensor 127.
a, and the other end 125a is a position facing the second sensor 127b.

In this operation completed state, the outputs from the first and second sensors 127a and 127b both become ("L"). The control unit 130 receives output signals from the first and second sensors 127a and 127b and performs control based on the signal states. In this case, from the initial state in which both the first and second sensors 127a and 127b are ("L"), in the next stage, the first sensor 127a is ("H") and the second sensor 127b is (" L ″), and then the first and second
The outputs from the sensors 127a and 127b are both ("L"). The control unit 130 goes through a predetermined stage,
Since the outputs from the first and second sensors 127a and 127b are both ("L"), it is determined that the protruding operation of the second protruding member 106b has been completed. By rotating, the second protruding member 106 b is operated to be drawn into the case 102. Then, the state shown in FIG. 8 (initial state) is set again.

As described above, when the user grips the handle 52a to open the door 52, the second projecting member 106b operates to protrude, and the door 52, which has been closed by the attraction force of the magnet 54, is moved by the attraction force. Opened slightly, released from. This allows the user to open the door 52 with a slight force thereafter.

On the other hand, if the user attempts to open the door 51 from such an initial state, the door 52
The operation opposite to the assist of the opening operation is performed. In this series of operations, the output from the first sensor 127a is always ("L"), and the output from the second sensor 127b is ("L") → ("H") → ("L"). )).
The control unit 130 receives such a change in output, and performs control according to each output state.

By the way, the first and second protruding members 1
In the second embodiment, the example in which the stroke lengths of 06a and 106b are set to about 10 mm has been described. This stroke length can be set to an optimum stroke length depending on the object to which the motion assisting device 101 is attached, but is determined in consideration of the attraction force of the door holding magnet.

That is, the stroke length must be longer than the distance at which the attractive force of the magnet for holding the door to the door decreases. As a result, it is possible to prevent the door from being closed again by the suction force after the protruding operation. However, it is not necessary to increase the stroke length unnecessarily. If the stroke is too large, the door may be opened more than necessary by mechanical force when trying to open the door, and the door may hit the user and cause danger. Therefore, for example, it is preferable to provide an upper limit such that the upper limit is set to 1/10 or less of the rotatable range of the door, and to set an optimum value in that range.

In the second embodiment as described above, when the user tries to open the door, which is securely held by the attraction force of the door magnet, while holding the door handle, Since the projecting member performs the projecting operation to release the door from the attractive force of the magnet, the door can be opened with a small force thereafter.

Each of the above embodiments is an example of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. is there. For example, if operable for two doors, the two doors are not double doors, and for example, as shown in FIG.
The present invention can also be applied to a case where 1, 142 are arranged vertically. In this case, the door is also attracted to the main body by a magnet or the like.

FIG. 10 shows an example in which door magnets 143 and 144 are provided on the door side and an adsorbable material 145 such as iron is provided on the storage case side.

When the two doors 141 and 142 are in such a positional relationship, the partition 146 at the boundary between the two doors 141 and 142 is attached to the motion assisting device 1 and 101 described in each of the above embodiments. , And the first projecting members 6a and 106a are used for operating the upper door 141, and the second projecting members 6b and 106b are used for operating the lower door 142. And, each handle 141a, 14
2a, the motor operates and the corresponding protruding member protrudes to move the door 14a.
1, 142 to release the closing force.

Further, in each of the embodiments described above, an example was described in which two doors (opening / closing members) were operable. However, the number of doors is not limited to two, and only one door or the like is provided. Of course, it can also be used for a storage case.

Further, the present invention is preferably applied to an apparatus which is closed with a certain closing force and has an opening / closing member which requires a certain force at the moment of opening. Applicable to products in the field. For example, it is preferable to apply to a refrigerator or a freezer. Taking a two-door refrigerator as an example, a door-mounting type as shown in FIG. 10 is generally used.
When the user grips the handle 141a of the door 141, the first projecting members 6a and 106a operate to release the closing force of the door 141 as described above, so that the door 141 can be opened with a slight force. it can. In addition, in the case of a large refrigerator, a double-door type refrigerator can be seen, and the refrigerator can be mounted as shown in FIG.

In each of the above-described embodiments, an example in which a normal bidirectional rotatable DC motor is used as a motor for operating the first and second protruding members 6a, 6b, 106a, 106b. As mentioned, other bidirectionally rotatable motors, such as stepping motors, may be used. Further, the motor itself may be rotated in one direction, and the transmission gears 4 and 104 may be rotated in both directions by switching the wheel train.

Further, in each of the above embodiments, the first and second projecting members 6a, 6b, 106a, 106b
Has a structure in which the rotational force of the transmission gears 4 and 104 is received by a linear gear to change the rotational motion into a reciprocating motion, but there are various other structures that convert the rotational motion into a reciprocating motion. Conceivable. Further, if it is sufficient to release the door from the suction force on the door by applying a certain pressing force to the door, the slider unit (the first embodiment) as described in each of the above embodiments can be used. In the embodiment, the projecting member is rotatably attached to the final gear (transmission gear) without providing the rack portions 34a and 34b) 119 and 120, and the final gear rotates by a predetermined rotation angle. It is also possible for the projecting member to push the door.

Further, without providing a slider portion or the like or a protruding member as an independent component, for example, a protruding portion is formed in a part of the final gear, and the final gear is rotated by a predetermined rotation angle. It is also possible for the protrusion to push the door. Further, the present invention can be applied not only to the operation assistance in the opening direction of the door but also to the operation assistance in the opening direction through a link mechanism.

[0146]

As described above, the operation assisting device of the present invention uses the driving force of the motor to rotate the transmission gear in both directions, and moves the first and second projecting members in accordance with the direction of rotation. The two opening and closing members are alternately advanced to assist the operation of the two opening and closing members. Therefore, such as the frame of the housing,
By attaching the present device to a portion between the two opening / closing members, when the door on the side to be opened is to be opened, the ejecting member performs an ejecting operation, whereby a desired door can be opened.

Further, by arranging the first and second projecting members at positions opposed to each other with the transmission gear therebetween, the first and second projecting members can be alternately advanced with a compact configuration. And, for example, two adjacent
Even when the space of the partition of the opening / closing members is narrow, attachment is possible.

Further, there are three states: one state in which one of the protruding members is advanced to the front end and the other is retracted to the rear end; When the detection is made possible by the detection means, it is possible to control the protrusion members to be stopped at accurate positions. Therefore, if control is performed to return the two projecting members to the home position after the opening / closing member is released, the operation can always be started from the same state, that is, the state in which the projecting member does not project, and a device with stable operation can be obtained. It is possible to do.

Further, when the detecting means is constituted by three magnets arranged on the same circumference of the transmission gear and two Hall ICs arranged opposite to the three magnets, the above-mentioned detecting means can be realized with a small number of parts. It becomes possible to operate. In addition, if the operation restricting portion for restricting the retreating operation of the first and second protruding members is provided, even if the motor runs away due to poor position detection or some other cause, the internal movement due to the retraction of the protruding member is reduced. It is possible to prevent the mechanism from being destroyed.

Further, the door opening / closing mechanism of the present invention uses the driving force of the bidirectionally rotatable motor to rotate the transmission gear bidirectionally, and alternates the first and second protruding members in accordance with the direction of rotation. An operation assisting device that assists the operation of the two opening and closing members by moving forward is installed on the frame of the housing, and is closed with a constant closing force according to the bidirectional rotation of the transmission gear. Since the two opening / closing members are alternately pushed out, the operation of two adjacent opening / closing members can be assisted only by attaching one device to a narrow portion such as a frame. In addition, it is possible to open the opening / closing member, which cannot be easily opened due to the closing force, with a small force.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an internal mechanism of a motion assist device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an external appearance of a storage case to which the motion assisting device shown in FIG. 1 is attached.

FIG. 3 is an expanded sectional view of the motion assisting device shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a schematic wiring diagram for supplying a control signal to a DC motor and extracting a sensor output from two Hall ICs in the operation auxiliary device according to the first embodiment of the present invention; .

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram for explaining the positional relationship between a transmission gear, first and second projecting members, two Hall ICs serving as detection means, and three magnets and their movements in the motion assisting device shown in FIG. 1; It is.

FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view of the movement assisting device shown in FIG. 1 in a state where the upper case is fixed to the lower case by covering the lower case, as viewed in the direction of arrow VI.

FIG. 7 is a circuit block diagram illustrating control of a DC motor in the operation auxiliary device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing an internal configuration of a motion assist device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a sectional development view of the motion assisting device shown in FIG.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example in which the motion assisting device according to each embodiment of the present invention is mounted on a device having two doors at the top and bottom.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing a motor actuator as a conventional motion assist device.

[Explanation of symbols]

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 operation assisting device 3 DC motor 4 transmission gear 6a first protruding member 6b second protruding member 7 circuit board (part of detecting means) 23a, 23b, 23c magnet (part of detecting means) 24a, 24b Hall IC (Part of detection means) 26a, 26b Operation restricting portions 51, 52 Door (opening / closing member) 60 Storage case (housing) 61 Frame 101 Operation auxiliary device 103 DC motor 104 Transmission gear 106a First protruding member 106b Second Projecting member 107 Gear train for sensor 108 Sensor operating mechanism (detecting means) 109 Operation restricting part 123 Idler (part of detecting means) 124 Gear for sensor (part of detecting means) 125 Magnet (part of detecting means) 126 Sensor mounting plate (part of detection means) 127a First sensor (detection 127b Second sensor (part of detection means) 141, 142 Door (opening / closing member)

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2E052 AA01 BA02 CA06 DA01 DA08 DB01 DB05 DB08 EA02 EA03 EB01 EC01 EC02 GC01 GC05 GD03 KA02 KA13 KA15 3L102 JA01 KA06 KB05 KB23 KB24 5H607 AA12 AA14 BB01 BB04 DD03 CC05 CC05 EE54 HH01 HH06 HH09

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A transmission gear rotatable in accordance with a driving force of a motor, and alternately directly or indirectly contact with the first and second opening / closing members, respectively, and advance alternately in accordance with the rotation direction of the transmission gear. First and second protruding members, and
By rotating the transmission gear in a first direction, the first protruding member is advanced to assist the operation of the first opening / closing member, and the transmission gear is rotated in a direction opposite to the first direction. An operation assisting device which assists the operation of the second opening / closing member by rotating the second projecting member by rotating the second projecting member in a second direction. 2. The first and second protruding members are arranged at positions opposing each other across the transmission gear so as to engage with the transmission gear, and rotate the transmission gear in a first direction. Thereby, the forward operation of the first projecting member and the backward operation of the second projecting member are simultaneously performed,
2. The motion assisting device according to claim 1, wherein the rotation of the transmission gear in the second direction causes the forward movement of the second protrusion member and the backward movement of the first protrusion member to be performed simultaneously. 3. 3. A first state in which the first projecting member is advanced to the front end and the second projecting member is retracted to the rear end, and the second state in which the second projecting member is advanced to the front end. A detecting means is provided which can detect a second state in which the first projecting member is retracted to the rear end and a third state in which the first and second projecting members are not advanced and retracted together. The operation assisting device according to claim 1. 4. The detecting means includes three magnets arranged on the same circumference on the axial side surface of the transmission gear, and two Hall ICs arranged at fixed positions opposing the three magnets. The motion assisting device according to claim 3, wherein the motion assisting device is configured. 5. The motor according to claim 1, wherein said motor is a motor capable of bidirectional rotation, and an operation restricting portion for restricting a retreat operation of said first and second projecting members is provided. An operation assisting device according to any one of the preceding claims. 6. A motor capable of bidirectional rotation, a transmission gear rotatable in accordance with the driving force of the motor, and two protruding members which alternately advance in the rotation direction with the rotation of the transmission gear. By rotating the transmission gear in a first direction with respect to a frame of a housing having two opening and closing members closed with a constant closing force, By moving one of the opening and closing members forward by pushing one of the opening and closing members forward, and rotating the transmission gear in a second direction opposite to the first direction, the two A door opening / closing mechanism, wherein the other of the protruding members is advanced so that an adjacent opening / closing member can be protruded forward.