Actuator

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9488248-B2
Application number	US-201314423623-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 19, 2013
Priority date	Aug 29, 2012
Publication date	Nov 8, 2016
Grant date	Nov 8, 2016

Abstract

An actuator includes an output member having an output shaft ( 9 ) rotated about a rotation axis (Ar) thereof, a stationary crown gear ( 5 ) disposed at an input side of the output member and having a plurality of teeth disposed about the rotation axis in parallel, a wobbling crown gear ( 6 ) having a different number of teeth from stationary crown gear ( 5 ) about a central axis (Ac) and meshed with the stationary crown gear ( 5 ), a plurality of drivers ( 4 ) disposed at an input side of the wobbling crown gear ( 6 ) about the rotation axis in parallel in a circumferential direction and configured to displace a portion of the wobbling crown gear ( 6 ) corresponding thereto in the axial direction, and a stopper ( 5 s ) configured to come in contact with a portion of the wobbling crown gear ( 6 ) to restrict inclination of the wobbling crown gear ( 6 ) and configured to restrict a meshing depth of the stationary crown gear ( 5 ) and the wobbling crown gear ( 6 ).

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An actuator comprising:
an output member having an output shaft rotated about a rotation axis thereof;
a stationary gear disposed at one side in an axial direction in which the rotation axis extends with respect to the output member and having a plurality of teeth disposed in parallel in a circumferential direction about the rotation axis;
a wobbling gear disposed between the output member and the stationary gear, having a central axis tiltable with respect to the rotation axis, a different number of teeth from the stationary gear which formed in parallel in a circumferential direction about the central axis, and meshing with the stationary gear;
a plurality of drivers disposed at the one side in the axial direction with respect to the wobbling gear, disposed in parallel in the circumferential direction about the rotation axis, configured to axially displace a corresponding portion of the wobbling gear in the circumferential direction, and configured to incline the central axis of the wobbling gear with respect to the rotation axis; and
a stopper configured to restrict a meshing depth of a tooth of the wobbling gear meshed with any one of the plurality of teeth of the stationary gear by coming in contact with a portion of the wobbling gear and restricting inclination of the wobbling gear during a wobbling process of the wobbling gear, wherein the central axis rotates about the rotation axis while the central axis is inclined with respect to the rotation axis, as the plurality of drivers are sequentially driven in the sequence in which they are disposed in parallel in the circumferential direction,
wherein the output member is engaged with the wobbling gear to be rotated about the rotation axis according to turning of the wobbling gear about the central axis in the wobbling process, and
wherein the stopper is disposed outside in a radial direction of an annular row of teeth constituted by a plurality of teeth of the wobbling gear disposed in parallel in the circumferential direction.

2. The actuator according to claim 1 , wherein the wobbling gear is formed of a ferromagnetic material, and
the driver is an electromagnet.

3. The actuator according to claim 2 , wherein all of the plurality of electromagnets do not come in contact with the wobbling gear as inclination of the wobbling gear is restricted by the stopper.

4. The actuator according to claim 1 , wherein the driver is a hydraulic piston.

5. The actuator according to claim 1 , wherein the driver is a pneumatic piston.

6. The actuator according to claim 1 , wherein the stopper is formed in an annular shape about the rotation axis thereof.

7. The actuator according to claim 1 , wherein a support configured to support the wobbling gear such that the central axis of the wobbling gear is tiltable with respect to the rotation axis, the central axis is rotatable about the rotation axis, and the wobbling gear is turnable about the central axis is provided.

8. The actuator according to claim 7 , wherein the support is a self-aligning unit configured to connect a portion of the wobbling gear on the central axis and a portion of the stationary gear on the rotation axis.

9. The actuator according to claim 1 , wherein the output member has an output gear fixed to the output shaft and having a plurality of teeth disposed about the rotation axis in parallel in the circumferential direction, and
a plurality of teeth disposed about the central axis in parallel in the circumferential direction and configured to mesh with the output gear are formed at the wobbling gear.

10. The actuator according to claim 9 , wherein the number of teeth of the output gear is different from the number of teeth of the wobbling gear meshed with the output gear.

11. An actuator comprising:
an output shaft rotated about a rotation axis thereof;
an output gear fixed to the output shaft and having a plurality of teeth formed in parallel in a circumferential direction about the rotation axis;
a stationary gear disposed at one side in an axial direction in which the rotation axis extends with respect to the output gear, and having a plurality of teeth formed in parallel in the circumferential direction about the rotation axis;
a wobbling gear disposed between the output member and the stationary gear, having a central axis tiltable with respect to the rotation axis, a plurality of input-side teeth disposed in parallel in the circumferential direction about the central axis and meshed with the stationary gear, and a plurality of output-side teeth meshed with the output gear in parallel in the circumferential direction;
a plurality of drivers disposed at the one side in the axial direction with respect to the wobbling gear, disposed in parallel in the circumferential direction about the rotation axis, configured to axially displace a corresponding portion of the wobbling gear in the circumferential direction; and
a stopper configured to restrict a meshing depth of the input-side teeth of the wobbling gear meshed with any one of the plurality of teeth of the stationary gear and a meshing depth of the output-side teeth of the wobbling gear meshed with any one of the plurality of teeth of the output gear, by coming in contact with a portion of the wobbling gear and restricting inclination of the wobbling gear during a wobbling process of the wobbling gear, wherein the central axis rotates about the rotation axis while the central axis is inclined with respect to the rotation axis, as the plurality of drivers are sequentially driven in the sequence in which they are disposed in parallel in the circumferential direction,
wherein at least one of a difference between the number of teeth of the stationary gear and the number of the input-side teeth in the wobbling gear and a difference between the number of the output-side teeth in the wobbling gear and the number of teeth of the output gear is 1 or more, and
wherein the stopper is disposed outside in a radial direction of an annular row of teeth constituted by the plurality of input-side teeth of the wobbling gear disposed in parallel in the circumferential direction.

Assignees

• Mitsubishi Heavy Ind Ltd
• Nat Univ Corp Fukushima Univ

Inventors

• Sonobe Hiroyuki
• Inayoshi Fumio
• Sasaki Hiroyuki
• Takahashi Takayuki

Classifications

• F16H1/321 Primary

  the orbital gear being nutating · CPC title

• F16H1/32

  in which the central axis of the gearing lies inside the periphery of an orbital gear · CPC title