JP2002280239A - Rotating non-contact connector and non-rotating non-contact connector - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide an optical element while receiving power supply by combining a rotating transformer or a fixed transformer with a coupling means of an optical element and providing a power system with a buffer function of a power storage means. It is intended to enable non-contact data transmission by means of. SOLUTION: The rotary non-contact connector according to the present invention comprises:
Rotary transformer (1) and light emitting element provided on rotor (3)
(8) Or light receiving element and light emitting element or light receiving element fixedly arranged
(11), while receiving power supply to the rotor (3) side by the rotating transformer (1), while transmitting data between the light emitting element (8) and the light receiving element (11), the rotating transformer ( The power output end of 1) is bisected, one end (1a) is directly connected to the electric circuit section (9), and the other end (1b) passes through the electric storage means (12), and then the electric circuit section
Connected to (9).

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a rotary type non-contact connector and a non-rotational non-contact connector. In the case of a rotary type non-contact connector, a rotor of a rotary transformer is provided with a rotating light emitting element or a light receiving element. Electric power is supplied to the electric circuit section for driving and controlling the rotating side light emitting element or light receiving element from the outside via a rotating transformer, and in the case of a non-rotating non-contact connector, the light emitting element or light receiving element on the power supply side The present invention relates to a novel improvement for performing one-channel or multi-channel signal transmission by a non-contact optical communication system by, for example, supplying electric power from an external source via a transformer to an electric circuit unit for driving the device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, signal transmission between a fixed side and a rotating side is performed, for example, by using a gimbal mechanism having a plurality of rotating shafts or a one-way mechanism.
The rotating-side device mounted on the rotating table of the shaft and the fixed-side device are connected and connected by a rotary joint (slip ring), a contact connection type connector, and a direct connection wiring that eventually results in a contact connection type connector. I was Non-contact data transmission / reception from the fixed side to the rotating side, despite the fact that the development of infrared communication technology has made considerably easier the transmission and reception of data among the wireless wiring technologies, despite the recent development of infrared communication technology However, since it was difficult, power wiring remained after all, and it was difficult to achieve complete wireless communication. An optical connector optical coupler in which a light emitter and a light receiver are combined has been used for non-contact data transmission / reception, but has a similar problem.

[0003]

The transmission of signals between the fixed side and the rotating side has been performed as described above, so that the following problems exist. That is, among the connection methods between the fixed side and the rotation side, the connection method using the contact type connector and the direct connection wiring method generate harmful resistance due to the twisting of the wiring and the rigidity of the wiring even if only a finite angle rotation is performed. There was a problem that was inevitable. In addition, the rotary joint (slip ring) method has a large size,
There were problems such as high cost and low environmental resistance. In addition, when using multiple channels for data transmission with the required transmission / reception capacity, the use of a modulation type infrared communication element will reduce the data transmission speed and, consequently, the transmission capacity and increase the price. Otherwise, there is a problem of interference between channels.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and a rotary transformer for a rotary non-contact connector for transmitting and receiving signals between a fixed device and a rotary device. A light emitting element (or light receiving element) on the rotating side is provided on the rotator or its connecting member to constitute a data system for transmitting (receiving) signals of the rotating side device, and the power system is transmitted from the fixed side via a rotating transformer. It is configured to supply power. Also, for a non-rotational non-contact connector that transmits and receives signals between two devices that are non-contact but whose relative position does not change, the two devices or their respective connection members are opposed to each other. In this state, a light emitting element (or light receiving element) is provided on one side and a light receiving element (or light emitting element) is provided on the other side to constitute a data system for transmitting and receiving signals between two devices, and a power system is provided between two non-contact devices. A transformer having a minute gap is configured to supply power from one side to the other side. It is an object of the present invention to provide a rotary non-contact connector and a non-rotational non-contact connector which perform one-channel or multi-channel signal transmission by an optical communication system in a non-contact state.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A rotary contactless connector according to the present invention comprises a rotor having a rotor transformer winding;
A rotating transformer comprising a ring-shaped stator having a stator transformer winding concentric with the rotor; a rotating light emitting element or rotating light receiving element provided on the rotor; and a rotating light emitting element or rotating light receiving element. A fixed-side light-emitting element or a fixed-side light-receiving element, which is disposed opposite to the element and has a fixed arrangement, so that power can be supplied to the rotor side by the rotary transformer for performing optical communication, and the power output end of the rotary transformer is divided into two. One end is directly connected to the electric circuit unit, and the other end is configured to be connected to the electric circuit unit after a power storage unit including a capacitor or a storage battery,
The rotating side light emitting element or the rotating side light receiving element is configured to be provided at a center position of the rotor, and the rotating side light emitting element or the rotating side light receiving element is a concentric circle other than the center position of the rotor. A plurality of rotation-side light-emitting elements or a plurality of rotation-side light-receiving elements are provided along a radial direction of the rotor. A first fixed body having a transformer winding, a second fixed body disposed opposite to the first fixed body and having a second transformer winding, and a first light emitting element or a light receiving element provided on the first fixed body. And a second light receiving element or a light emitting element provided on the second fixed body, and a first fixed body or a second fixed body on a power-supplied side via magnetic coupling between the transformer windings for performing optical communication. To supply power to the first fixed body Has an electric circuit unit for driving a first light-emitting element or a light-receiving element in a second fixed body, so that power is supplied to the electric circuit unit via the first transformer winding or the second transformer winding. In addition, the power output end of the first transformer winding or the second transformer winding is divided into two and one end is directly connected to the electric circuit unit, and the other end is formed of a battery or a storage battery. After passing through the means, it is configured to be connected to the electric circuit unit.

[0006]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of a rotary non-contact connector and a non-rotation non-contact connector according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In FIG. 1 to FIG. 4, the reference numeral 1 denotes a rotary transformer as a non-contact power supply device, and the rotary transformer 1 is a hollow (solid) rotor 3 having a rotor transformer winding 2. And the outer peripheral position concentric with the rotor 3 (in the drawing, the outer peripheral position is shown in order to express the case where the rotor is inside the stator, but it is established even when the rotor is outside the stator. (In some cases, the inner peripheral position may be included, and its configuration is also included).

A non-magnetic bearing 6 is provided on the inner wall (outer wall in the case of the inner circumferential position) of the annular stator 5, and the non-magnetic bearing 6 is provided between the annular stator 5 and the rotor 3. It is arranged in. In some cases, the non-magnetic bearing 6 is not used. In such a case, the rotor 3 is connected to the rotating member of the device to which the present connector is applied, and the annular stator 5 is fixed to the device to which the present connector is applied. The rotor 3 and the annular stator 5 can be aligned with each other.

A holding plate 7 is provided at one end of the rotor 3 so as to cover a hollow portion thereof, and one or a plurality of rotation-side light emitting elements 8 (light receiving elements are also possible) are provided on the holding plate 7. An electric circuit section 9 for driving the rotation-side light emitting element 8 (a light receiving element is also possible) is attached to an end of the rotor 3, and the electric power can be received from the outside via the rotary transformer 1. It is configured to be able to. The electric circuit section 9 can be provided on a rotating member of a device to which the present connector is applied other than the rotor 3.

The electric power from the outside via the rotary transformer 1 is supplied to the electric circuit 9 directly and after passing through the electric storage means 12.
It is needless to say that power can be supplied to not only the light-emitting and light-receiving elements but also other general equipment on the rotating side (not shown). The power storage means includes a power storage device such as a capacitor or a storage battery such as a battery. Therefore, the power storage unit 12 has a buffer function for the power system, and the state in which the rotation angle sensor 300 and the rotation-side general device 301 are connected to the rotary transformer 1 in FIG. 1 has a configuration as shown in FIG. That is, power from the outside is supplied to the electric circuit unit 9 via the power storage unit 12 and stored in the power storage unit 12, and the power from the power storage unit 12 passes through the electric circuit unit 9 and the rotation-side light emitting element 8 and the rotation Side general equipment 301 can be supplied. Therefore, the power output end of the rotary transformer 1 is divided into one end 1a and the other end 1b, one end 1a is directly connected to the electric circuit section 9, and the other end 1b is
Is connected to the electric circuit section 9 via the.

A fixed member 1 is provided outside the annular stator 5.
0 is provided so as to cover the rotor 3 and the annular stator 5;
One or a plurality of fixed-side light-receiving elements 11 (light-emitting elements are also provided) are provided at positions on the fixing member 10 optically opposed to the rotation-side light-emitting elements 8 (light-receiving elements are also possible). The fixing member 10 can be attached to the ring-shaped stator 5 or to a fixed side of a device (not shown).

An external electric power is sent from the outside to the electric circuit section 9 via the rotary transformer 1, and drive signals as various data are transmitted from the electric circuit section 9 to the rotation side light emitting element 8 (hereinafter, referred to as “rotary light emitting element 8”).
When the rotation side is supplied to the light emitting element, the rotation side light emitting element 8 emits light based on this drive signal, and this optical signal is received by the fixed side light receiving element 11 (hereinafter, the fixed side is set as the light receiving element). The transmission of data from the rotation-side light emitting element 8 to the fixed-side light receiving element 11 is performed by optical communication, and the same operation as a mechanical connector or a slip ring can be performed in a non-contact state. The light emitting element 8 and the light receiving element 11
Can be reversed, and can be installed side by side, so that multi-channel bidirectional optical communication is possible.
Further, a signal from any one of the rotation side light emitting element 8 and the fixed side light receiving element 11 can be taken out to the outside via the rotor transformer winding 2 and the stator transformer winding 4.

Next, FIGS. 5 to 9 show the rotation side light emitting element 8.
And the light receiving range of the fixed-side light receiving element 11 are indicated by r and R, respectively. Each optical element 8, 11
Can be provided at the position of the rotation center P one by one to use for one channel. However, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, there are four rotation-side light-emitting elements 8 (or rotation-side light-receiving elements) and the fixed-side light-receiving element 11
Are arranged at concentric circumferential positions other than the rotation center position P, as shown in FIG.
May be provided along the radial direction. In the case of FIG. 5, the four rotation-side light emitting elements 8 are 2.1, 2.2,
2.3 and 2.4, respectively, are Channel 1, Channel 2, Channel 3, and Channel 4. The light emission output range on each fixed-side light receiving element 11 is indicated by a radius r. Four rotation-side light-emitting elements 8 are required because of four-channel output request. To prevent interruption of data reception and suppression of interference, a light receiving element having a radius R at a vertex of a regular hexagon around the rotation center P is required. Hereinafter, six fixed light receiving elements 11 having a radius of 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5, and 3.6 are required. As shown in FIG.
When the light-emitting element 1 starts to enter the circle of the fixed-side light-receiving element 3.2 due to the rotation, 2.2 of the rotating-side light-emitting element 8 that was in the circle of 3.2 has been completely removed at that time. 3.2 of what was the output of channel 2 until now,
This time, the switch is switched by a switching signal from the electric circuit unit 9 so as to output the channel 1 (2.1 of the light emitting element 8). Similarly, if the output of the light receiving element is sequentially switched in accordance with the rotation of other channels, data communication can be performed without interruption or interference of the output signal of each channel. In FIG. 5, R ≧ r when the output r of the light emitting element is smaller than the input range R of the light receiving element.
FIG. 6 shows a case where r> R, which is the reverse of the above. Similarly, if the output of the light receiving element is sequentially switched by the electric circuit section 9 in accordance with the rotation angle, optical communication becomes possible.

Next, in the above-mentioned case, the case of full rotation is shown, but in the case of finite angle rotation, the form in which the output from the rotation side device is two channels is shown. In the case where the two channels are on the same circumference, as shown in FIG. 7 as R ≧ r, three fixed light receiving elements 11 are provided, and the center fixed light receiving element 11 is made to correspond to the rotation angle, and Switch to perform optical communication. FIG. 8 shows a case where r> R, but this case is also possible. In the above-described embodiments, the rotation-side light emitting element 8 is installed on the rotation-side device and the fixed-side light-receiving element 11 is installed on the fixed-side device. The fixed-side light receiving element 11 is
When the rotation-side light emitting element 8 is installed in the fixed-side device, FIG.
In this case, the rotation side may be regarded as the fixed side, and the fixed side may be regarded as the rotation side, so that bidirectional optical data communication is possible. FIG.
8 and FIG. 8 show the case where the rotation-side light-emitting elements 8 are on the same circumference, but the two-channel light-emitting elements are not on the same circumference but one on each of two concentric circles, that is, in the radial direction. In the case of installation along, the same is possible as shown in FIG. As described above, the light-emitting and light-receiving elements are appropriately installed, and the output of the light element is appropriately switched by an electronic switching circuit or the like of the electric circuit unit 9 so that infrared light or the like, which is a non-contact data transmission method including two-way communication, is used. Optical communication becomes possible. From the above, a rotary type non-contact connector can be obtained by combining the non-contact power supply device and the non-contact data communication device.

FIG. 10 shows a configuration of a non-rotating type non-contact connector as another embodiment. Now, the first fixed body 10
If 1 is set to the rotating side of the rotary type non-contact connector and the second fixed body 103 is set to the fixed side of the rotary type non-contact connector (or vice versa), each fixed body 101, 10
3 corresponds to the gap between the rotor 3 and the ring-shaped stator 5 in the rotary type non-contact connector, that is, since power is supplied from the second fixed body 103 to the first fixed body 101, The first fixed body 101 is the power supply side. According to this setting, the rotary transformer 1 in the rotary type non-contact connector described above firstly corresponds to the fixed transformer 200, and then the individual components on the rotating side and the fixed side correspond as follows. I have. That is, the aforementioned rotor transformer winding 2 which is a component on the rotation side
Are the first transformer winding 100, the rotor 3 and the holding plate 7 are the first fixed body 101, the rotating light emitting element 8 is the first light emitting element 110, and the electric circuit section 9 is the electric circuit. In the unit 120, the above-described power storage unit 12 including a battery or a storage battery corresponds to the power storage unit 130 including a battery or a storage battery. Similarly, on the fixed side, the above-mentioned stator transformer winding 4 is provided on the second transformer winding 102, the above-mentioned annular stator 5 and the fixed member 10 are provided on the second fixed body 103, and the above-described fixed-side light receiving element is provided. Reference numerals 11 correspond to the second light receiving elements 111, respectively. Therefore, the electric power supplied to the electric circuit unit 120 by utilizing the electromagnetic induction between the transformer windings 100 and 102 is supplied to the first light emitting element 110 via the wiring (not shown) and to another power supply (not shown). It is needless to say that power can also be supplied to the general equipment on the side by the above-described electromagnetic coupling. Also, the first light emitting element 1
10, and a signal from any of the second light receiving elements 111 can be extracted to the outside through the respective transformer windings 100 and 102. As is clear from the above correspondence of the components, the configuration and function of the non-rotating non-contact connector are basically the same as the configuration and function of the rotary non-contact connector, but the light emitting and receiving element for data communication is used. The only difference is that the non-rotating non-contact connector has no change in its relative position, so that it is not necessary to switch the switch if it is simply installed at the opposing position. In the non-rotational non-contact connector, “non-contact” means that the first fixed body 101 and the second fixed body 103 in FIG. 10 correspond to the non-contact surface D where the first light emitting element 110 and the second light receiving element 111 face each other. The term "non-rotational""non-contact" connector means that it can function even in the non-contact state.

In both the rotary type non-contact connector and the non-rotation type non-contact connector, the power via the rotary transformer 1 in the case of the rotary type non-contact connector, and the power via the fixed transformer 200 in the case of the non-rotation type non-contact connector. Both the configuration in which the electric power is supplied directly to the electric circuit section 9 (or 120) and the configuration in which only the electric power after passing through the power storage means is supplied to the electric circuit section 9 (or 120) are adjusted according to the form of the required power consumption. Needless to say, the output power of the rotary transformer or the fixed transformer is included in the configuration in which the output power is supplied to the electric circuit section directly and after the power storage means.

In the case of the rotary type non-contact connector shown in FIGS. 1 to 9, the electric circuit unit 9 on the rotating side, and in the case of the non-rotational non-contact connector shown in FIG. Although 120 has already been described, it goes without saying that an electric circuit section (not shown) exists on the fixed side in the case of a rotary type non-contact connector and also on the power supply side in the case of a non-rotational non-contact connector. . The function of the electric circuit section on the fixed side or the power supply side is the electric circuit section 9 or 1 on the rotating side or the power supply side.
20 is the same as that of FIG. 20 except for the power supply, the emission command or the generation of the light reception signal, and the switching of the optical element based on the rotation angle (switching is only performed in the case of the rotary type non-contact connector). It is not described in the sense that it is not limited. Further, the existence of the power storage means for the fixed-side electric circuit unit input is not limited in the same meaning. 1 to 10 described above, the case where the traveling direction of the communication light between the light emitting / receiving elements is parallel to the axial direction of the rotation axis. The rotation-side light-emitting element 8 provided on the child 3 and the fixed-side light-receiving element 11 provided on the ring-shaped stator 5 are opposed to each other on the surface, so that
Communication may be performed by setting the traveling direction of the communication light between the elements 8 and 11 to be a direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the rotation axis of the rotor 3.

[0017]

The rotary type non-contact connector according to the present invention comprises:
With the above configuration, the following effects can be obtained. That is, since the rotary transformer and the coupling means of the optical element are combined, it is possible to perform data communication between the optical elements in a non-contact manner while being supplied with power from the outside. And the like can be easily and reliably performed without contact. Also,
In the non-rotation type non-contact connector, power supply and signal transmission / reception can be performed in a non-contact manner in a limited state.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a rotary type non-contact connector according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a main part of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a main part of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a main part of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a light receiving range on a fixed-side light receiving element surface and an output range of a light emitting element.

FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram when r> R in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram of R ≧ r in the case of finite angle rotation.

8 is a diagram illustrating a case where r> R in FIG. 7 and illustrates an example of an arrangement in which a light receiving element is installed on a rotating side device and a light emitting element is installed on a fixed side device.

FIG. 9 is an example of the arrangement of light receiving elements when the arrangement of light emitting elements is concentric.

FIG. 10 is a configuration diagram showing a non-rotating non-contact connector according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a configuration diagram showing a buffer function and the like of a power system according to the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a plan view showing another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Rotary transformer 2 Rotor transformer winding 3 Rotor 4 Stator transformer winding 5 Ring stator 6 Non-magnetic bearing 7 Holding plate 8 Rotation side light emitting element 9 Electric circuit unit 10 Fixing member 11 Fixed side light receiving element 12 Electric storage means 100 1st transformer winding 101 1st fixed body 102 2nd transformer winding 103 2nd fixed body 110 1st light emitting element 111 2nd light receiving element 120 electric circuit part 130 power storage means 200 fixed transformer 300 rotation angle sensor 301 rotation side general equipment

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[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] March 19, 2001 (2001.3.1.
9)

[Procedure amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0009

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

The electric power from the outside via the rotary transformer 1 is supplied to the electric circuit 9 directly and after passing through the electric storage means 12.
It is needless to say that power can be supplied to not only the light-emitting and light-receiving elements but also other general equipment on the rotating side (not shown). The power storage means 12 includes a power storage device such as a capacitor or a storage battery such as a battery. Therefore, the storage means 12
Has a buffer function for the power system, and a state in which the rotation angle sensor 300 and the rotation-side general device 301 are connected to the rotation transformer 1 in FIG. 1 has a configuration as shown in FIG. That is, while electric power from the outside is supplied to the electric circuit unit 9 via the power storage unit 12,
And the electric power from the electric storage means 12 can be supplied to the rotation-side light-emitting element 8 and the rotation-side general device 301 via the electric circuit section 9. Therefore, the power output end of the rotary transformer 1 is divided into one end 1a and the other end 1b.
Is directly connected to the electric circuit unit 9, and the other end 1 b is connected to the power storage unit 1.
2 is connected to the electric circuit section 9.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Akifumi Arai 1879 Oyakyu, Iida City, Nagano Prefecture Inside Tamagawa Seiki Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Hiroyuki Kotabashi 23-3 Noguchi, Komaki City, Aichi Prefecture Central Japan Marco Co., Ltd.

Claims (6)

[Claims] A rotor having a rotor transformer winding (2)
(3), the stator transformer winding (4) concentric with the rotor (3)
A rotary transformer (1) comprising a ring-shaped stator (5) having
The rotating light emitting element (8) or the rotating light receiving element provided on the rotor (3), and the fixed light emitting element or the fixed light emitting element or the fixed light emitting element (8) or the rotating light receiving element which is disposed opposite to the rotating light receiving element. Side light receiving element (11), and configured to be able to supply power to the rotor (3) side by the rotary transformer (1) for optical communication, the power output end of the rotary transformer (1) is divided into two,
One end (1a) is directly connected to the electric circuit section (9), and the other end (1b) is connected to the electric circuit section (9) after passing through a storage means (12) composed of a battery or a storage battery. A rotary type non-contact connector characterized by having such a configuration. 2. The rotary non-contact connector according to claim 1, wherein the rotation-side light emitting element (8) or the rotation-side light receiving element is provided at a center position of the rotor (3). 3. The rotation-side light-emitting element (8) or the rotation-side light-receiving element is provided in a plurality at concentric circumferential positions other than the center position of the rotor (3). 2. The rotary non-contact connector according to 2. 4. The rotation-side light emitting element (8) or a plurality of rotation-side light receiving elements are provided along a radial direction of the rotor (3). Rotary non-contact connector. 5. A first fixed body (101) having a first transformer winding (100), and a second fixed body (101) disposed opposite to the first fixed body (101).
A second fixed body (103) having a transformer winding (102); a first light emitting element (110) or a light receiving element provided on the first fixed body (101); and a second fixed body (103) provided on the second fixed body (103). A second fixed light receiving element or a light emitting element (111), and a first fixed body (101) or a power receiving side through magnetic coupling between the transformer windings (100, 102) for optical communication. The second fixed body (103) is configured to supply electric power, and the first fixed body (101) or the second fixed body (10
3) having an electric circuit unit (120) for driving the first light emitting element (110) or the light receiving element in the first transformer winding (100) or the second transformer winding (102). A non-rotatable non-contact connector characterized in that power is supplied to a circuit section (120). 6. The power output terminal of the first transformer winding (100) or the second transformer winding (102) is divided into two parts, one end of which is directly connected to the electric circuit unit (120), and the other end. 6. The non-rotatable non-contact connector according to claim 5, wherein the connector is configured to be connected to the electric circuit section (120) after passing through a power storage means (130) including a power storage device or a storage battery.