Electric differential actuator

Abstract

The invention provides an electric differential actuator. The electric differential actuator comprises a shell, a differential adjusting assembly and a driving assembly. Wherein the differential adjusting assembly comprises an input rod located in the shell and an output rod connected with the input rod, and when the input rod rotates, the output rod can be driven to move in the axial direction of the input rod; the driving assembly comprises a driving piece and an actuating piece rotationally connected with the driving piece, the driving piece and the actuating piece are both arranged in the shell, the actuating piece is in sliding connection with the end, away from the output rod, of the input rod in the axial direction of the input rod, and when the actuating piece is driven by the driving piece to rotate, the input rod can be driven to rotate together. And the output rod is further driven to move along the axial direction of the input rod. According to the arrangement of the electric differential actuator, high-precision control over the output rod can be achieved without adopting a speed reducer, and the product cost is reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of actuators, and in particular to an electric differential actuator. Background Art

[0002] Electric actuators have different requirements in different application scenarios. Some application scenarios require both the control accuracy of the actuator and a large thrust, which makes the design of electric actuators difficult. Taking the application field of coating as an example, the coating die head includes an upper die head, a lower die head and a sandwiched gasket. During the coating process, the coating thickness is easily affected by factors such as slurry temperature or viscosity, resulting in uneven thickness. The coating thickness needs to be adjusted. In the prior art, a differential actuator is usually set on the coating die head for adjustment.

[0003] Most of the differential actuators currently used in coating dies are implemented using stepper motors, single trapezoidal / ball screws, and linear encoders. Since the coating process requires the final control accuracy to reach μ level and requires a large thrust, and the lead of a single screw cannot be made too small, the motor torque requirement is high, and a reduction mechanism is usually added. However, there is an inevitable backlash in the reducer and other transmission parts. In order to solve the control accuracy problem caused by the backlash, an expensive linear encoder is required for auxiliary feedback to achieve the target control accuracy. In the coating die, the differential actuator needs to be replaced frequently, and the cost of the differential actuator using this design is relatively high. Therefore, it is necessary to design a low-cost and high-control accuracy electric differential actuator. Summary of the invention

[0004] The present application provides an electric differential actuator, which includes a housing, a differential adjustment assembly and a drive assembly; the differential adjustment assembly includes an input rod located in the housing and an output rod connected to the input rod, and when the input rod rotates, the output rod can be driven to move along the axial direction of the input rod; the drive assembly includes a driving member and an actuating member rotatably connected to the driving member, the driving member and the actuating member are both arranged in the housing, the actuating member is slidably connected to an end of the input rod away from the output rod along the axial direction of the input rod, and when the actuating member is driven to rotate by the driving member, the input rod can be driven to rotate together, thereby driving the output rod to move along the axial direction of the input rod.

[0005] Furthermore, an accommodating cavity is formed at one end of the actuating member facing the input rod, and one end of the input rod away from the output rod extends into the accommodating cavity of the actuating member to be slidably connected with the actuating member.

[0006] Furthermore, the input rod is slidingly connected to the actuator by means of a spline.

[0007] Furthermore, the differential adjustment assembly also includes a fixing nut, which is fixedly connected to the housing, the input rod has a first connecting portion and a second connecting portion located on one side of the first connecting portion, the diameter of the first connecting portion is larger than the diameter of the second connecting portion, the fixing nut is threadedly connected to the first connecting portion, and one end of the output rod extends into the fixing nut and is threadedly connected to the second connecting portion.

[0008] Further, the input rod includes a third connection part connected to the first connection part, the third connection part and the second connection part are respectively located at two ends of the first connection part, the diameter of the third connection part is smaller than the diameter of the first connection part, and the input rod extends into the accommodating cavity of the actuator through the third connection part to be slidably connected to the actuator.

[0009] Furthermore, the electric differential actuator also includes a motion transmission component and a coupling, the motion transmission component includes a fixed part and a connecting rod, the fixed part is fixed to the actuator, one end of the connecting rod is connected to the input rod through the coupling, and the other end is slidably connected to the fixed part; when the actuator is driven to rotate by the driving member, it can drive the fixed part, the connecting rod and the input rod to rotate together, and the connecting rod can slide relative to the fixed part.

[0010] Furthermore, the actuating member has an accommodating cavity at one end thereof facing the input rod, the fixing member is fixed in the accommodating cavity of the actuating member, the connecting rod extends into the fixing member and can slide relative to the fixing member in the actuating member.

[0011] Further, the driving member is arranged on a side of the actuating member away from the input rod; or

[0012] The driving member and the actuating member are rotationally connected through the cooperation of a transmission assembly, and the driving member and the actuating member are located on the same side of the transmission assembly.

[0013] Furthermore, the electric differential actuator also includes a manual adjustment member fixedly connected to the actuating member, and the manual adjustment member is at least partially exposed outside the housing.

[0014] Furthermore, the actuating member is disposed in the housing and is rotatably connected relative to the housing.

[0015] The electric differential actuator of the present application drives the rotation of the actuator through the driving member, thereby driving the input rod to rotate to differentially adjust the output rod. The positions of the driving member and the actuator in the housing will not change, and the input rod slides relative to the actuator along the axial direction of the input rod in the housing. The setting of the electric differential actuator of the present application can achieve high-precision control of the output rod without using a reducer, thereby reducing the cost of the product. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on the provided drawings without paying creative work.

[0017] Figure 1 A three-dimensional schematic diagram of an electric differential actuator provided in one embodiment of the present application.

[0018] Figure 2 for Figure 1 Schematic cross-section of an electric differential actuator.

[0019] Figure 3 A cross-sectional schematic diagram of an electric differential actuator provided in another embodiment of the present application.

[0020] Figure 4 A cross-sectional schematic diagram of an electric differential actuator provided in yet another embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] The technical solution of the present invention will be described clearly and completely below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0022] The present invention is further described in detail below through specific implementation examples in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0023] See also Figure 1-2 An electric differential actuator 100 provided by an embodiment of the present application includes a housing 10, a differential adjustment assembly 20 and a driving assembly 30; the differential adjustment assembly 20 includes an input rod 21 and an output rod 22 connected to the input rod 21, and when the input rod 21 is driven to rotate, the output rod 22 can be driven to move along the axial direction of the input rod 21; the driving assembly 30 includes a driving member 31 and an actuating member 32 rotatably connected to the driving member 31, the driving member 31 and the actuating member 32 are both arranged in the housing 10, the actuating member 32 is slidably connected to the end of the input rod 21 away from the output rod 22 along the axial direction of the input rod 21, and when the actuating member is driven to rotate by the driving member 31, the input rod 21 can be driven to rotate together, thereby driving the output rod 22 to move along the axial direction of the input rod 21.

[0024] The electric differential actuator 100 of the present application drives the rotation of the actuator 32 through the driving member 31, thereby driving the input rod 21 to rotate to perform differential adjustment on the output rod 22. In this embodiment, the positions of the driving member 31 and the actuator 32 in the housing 10 will not change, and the input rod 21 slides relative to the actuator 32 along the axial direction of the input rod 21 in the housing. The arrangement of the electric differential actuator of this embodiment can achieve high-precision control of the output rod 22 without using a reducer, thereby reducing the cost of the product.

[0025] In one embodiment, the differential adjustment assembly 20 further includes a fixing nut 23, which is fixedly connected to the housing 10. The input rod 21 has a first connection portion 211 and a second connection portion 212 located on one side of the first connection portion 211, the diameter of the first connection portion 211 is larger than the diameter of the second connection portion 212, the fixing nut 23 is threadedly connected to the first connection portion 211, and one end of the output rod 22 extends into the fixing nut 23 and is threadedly connected to the second connection portion 212. Specifically, the fixing nut 23 is in the shape of a multi-diameter column, and comprises a first column 231, a second column 232, and a supporting column 233 connecting the first column 231 and the second column 232, wherein the diameter of the supporting column 233 is greater than the diameter of the second column 232, and the diameter of the second column 232 is greater than the diameter of the first column 231; one end of the first column 231 away from the second column 232 extends from the shell 10 to the outside of the shell 10, and the supporting column 233 is supported on the side wall inside the shell 10 so that the second column 232 is located inside the shell 10; the fixing nut 23 is fixed inside the shell, and the specific fixing method is not limited in the present application.

[0026] In one embodiment, an accommodating cavity 321 is provided at one end of the actuator 32 facing the input rod 21, and one end of the input rod 21 away from the output rod 22 extends into the accommodating cavity 321 of the actuator 32 to be slidably connected with the actuator 32. The input rod 21 and the actuator 32 may be slidably connected by splines, and the input rod 21 at least partially extending into the actuator 32 may move relative to the actuator 32 along the axial direction of the input rod 21, but may not rotate relative to the actuator 32, that is, the rotation of the actuator 32 may drive the rotation of the input rod 21.

[0027] Specifically, the input rod 21 includes a third connection portion 213 connected to the first connection portion 211. The third connection portion 213 and the second connection portion 212 are respectively located at two ends of the first connection portion 211. The diameter of the third connection portion 213 is smaller than the diameter of the first connection portion 211. The input rod 21 extends into the accommodating cavity 321 of the actuator 32 through the third connection portion 213 to be slidably connected to the actuator 32.

[0028] The actuator 32 and the driving member 31 are both arranged in the housing 10, wherein the driving member 10 is fixed relative to the housing 10, and the actuator 32 is rotatably connected relative to the housing 10 via a bearing 33, that is, the relative position of the actuator 32 in the housing 10 cannot be changed, but the actuator 32 can rotate around the axis of the actuator 32 in the housing 10.

[0029] In one embodiment, the electric differential actuator 100 further includes a manual adjustment member 40 fixedly connected to the actuator 32, and the manual adjustment member is at least partially exposed outside the housing 10. The user can manually control the manual adjustment member 40, so that the electric differential actuator 100 can be differentially adjusted by controlling the manual adjustment member 40 in addition to being driven by the driving member 31. Specifically, the driving member 31 is a motor, that is, the electric differential actuator 40 can be differentially adjusted by electric control or by manual operation. The outer surface of the manual adjustment member 40 can be provided with a texture to facilitate manual adjustment by the user and increase friction.

[0030] In one embodiment, the manual adjustment member 40 is disposed around the outer wall of the actuator 32 , the driving member 31 is disposed on a side of the actuator 32 away from the input rod 21 , and the manual adjustment member 40 is located between the driving member 31 and the output rod 21 and is partially exposed outside the housing 10 .

[0031] In one embodiment, the actuator 32 includes an actuator portion 321 and a mounting portion 322 connected to the actuator portion 321, the actuator portion 321 is slidably connected to the input rod 21, the driving member 31 is rotatably connected to the mounting portion 322, and the manual adjustment member 40 is fixed to the outer wall of the mounting portion 322. The diameter of the mounting portion 322 is smaller than the diameter of the actuator portion 321. By fixing the manual adjustment member 40 on the mounting portion 322 with a smaller diameter, it is difficult to control the manual adjustment member 40 with a slight force, which helps to improve the precision control of the manual adjustment member 40 when it is manually adjusted.

[0032] See also Figure 3 , an electric differential actuator 100a is provided in one embodiment of the present application. The electric differential actuator 100a of this embodiment is Figure 2 The difference between the electric differential actuator 100 in the embodiment is that the driving member 31a and the actuator 32a are rotationally connected through the transmission assembly 34a, and the driving member 31a and the actuator 32a are located on the same side of the transmission assembly 34a. This embodiment is conducive to reducing the length of the electric differential actuator 100a and is suitable for different scene requirements.

[0033] Specifically, the actuator 32a includes an actuator portion 321a and a mounting portion 322a connected to the actuator portion 321a, wherein the diameter of the actuator portion 321a is larger than the diameter of the mounting portion 322a; the transmission assembly 34a is a pulley assembly, wherein a driving wheel is mounted on the mounting portion 322a of the actuator. One end of the mounting portion 322a away from the actuator portion 321a passes through the housing, and the manual adjustment member 40a is mounted on the outer wall of the portion of the mounting portion 322a passing through the housing, and is completely exposed outside the housing, which allows the user to more conveniently use the manual adjustment member 40 for manual adjustment.

[0034] Of course, the transmission component 34a is not limited to being a pulley component, and may also be a gear meshing component, for example.

[0035] See also Figure 4 , an electric differential actuator 100b is provided in one embodiment of the present application. The electric differential actuator 100b of this embodiment is Figure 2 The difference between the electric differential actuator 100 in the embodiment is that the electric differential actuator 100b also includes a motion transmission component and a coupling 60b, the motion transmission component includes a fixed member 71b and a connecting rod 72b, the fixed member 71b is fixedly arranged with the actuating member 32b, one end of the connecting rod 72b is connected to the input rod 21b through the coupling 60b, and the other end is slidably connected to the fixed member 71b; when the actuating member 32b is driven to rotate, the fixed member 71b, the connecting rod 72b and the input rod 21b can be driven to rotate together. Among them, the connecting rod 72b can be slidably connected relative to the fixed member 71b.

[0036] The end of the actuator 32b facing the input rod 21b is provided with a receiving cavity, the fixing member 71b is fixed in the receiving cavity of the actuator 32b, the connecting rod 72b extends into the fixing member 71b, and can slide relative to the fixing member 71b in the actuator 32b. This embodiment further improves the stability of product adjustment by adding a motion transmission component.

[0037] It should be noted that Figure 4 The electric differential actuator 100b in the embodiment may also adopt a structural design in which the driving member and the actuating member are located on the same side of the transmission assembly. The specific structure may be designed according to actual conditions.

[0038] In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "installation" and "connection" should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium, or it can be the internal communication of two components. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0039] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, rather than to limit it. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the aforementioned embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions described in the aforementioned embodiments, or replace some or all of the technical features therein with equivalents. However, these modifications or replacements do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. An electric differential actuator, characterized in that: The electric differential actuator comprises a housing, a differential adjustment component and a drive component; The differential adjustment assembly includes an input rod located in the housing and an output rod connected to the input rod, and when the input rod rotates, the output rod can be driven to move along the axial direction of the input rod; The driving assembly includes a driving member and an actuating member rotatably connected to the driving member, the driving member and the actuating member are both arranged in the housing, the actuating member is slidably connected to one end of the input rod away from the output rod along the axial direction of the input rod, and when the actuating member is driven to rotate by the driving member, the input rod can be driven to rotate together, thereby driving the output rod to move along the axial direction of the input rod.

2. The electric differential actuator according to claim 1, characterized in that: An accommodating cavity is formed at one end of the actuating member facing the input rod, and one end of the input rod away from the output rod extends into the accommodating cavity of the actuating member to be slidably connected with the actuating member.

3. The electric differential actuator according to claim 2, characterized in that: The input rod is slidably connected to the actuating member by means of a spline.

4. The electric differential actuator according to claim 1, characterized in that: The differential adjustment assembly also includes a fixing nut, which is fixedly connected to the housing. The input rod has a first connecting portion and a second connecting portion located on one side of the first connecting portion. The diameter of the first connecting portion is larger than the diameter of the second connecting portion. The fixing nut is threadedly connected to the first connecting portion. One end of the output rod extends into the fixing nut and is threadedly connected to the second connecting portion.

5. The electric differential actuator according to claim 4, characterized in that: The input rod includes a third connection portion connected to the first connection portion, the third connection portion and the second connection portion are respectively located at two ends of the first connection portion, the diameter of the third connection portion is smaller than the diameter of the first connection portion, and the input rod extends into the accommodating cavity of the actuator through the third connection portion to be slidably connected to the actuator.

6. The electric differential actuator according to claim 1, characterized in that: The electric differential actuator also includes a motion transmission component and a coupling. The motion transmission component includes a fixed part and a connecting rod. The fixed part is fixed to the actuating part. One end of the connecting rod is connected to the input rod through the coupling, and the other end is slidably connected to the fixed part. When the actuating part is driven to rotate by the driving part, the fixed part, the connecting rod and the input rod can be driven to rotate together, and the connecting rod can slide relative to the fixed part.

7. The electric differential actuator according to claim 6, characterized in that The actuator has an accommodating cavity at one end thereof facing the input rod, the fixing member is fixed in the accommodating cavity of the actuator, the connecting rod extends into the fixing member and can slide relative to the fixing member in the actuator.

8. The electric differential actuator according to claim 1, characterized in that: The driving member is disposed on a side of the actuating member away from the input rod; or The driving member and the actuating member are rotationally connected through the cooperation of a transmission assembly, and the driving member and the actuating member are located on the same side of the transmission assembly.

9. The electric differential actuator according to claim 1, characterized in that: The electric differential actuator further comprises a manual adjustment member fixedly connected to the actuating member, and the manual adjustment member is at least partially exposed outside the housing.

10. The electric differential actuator according to claim 1, characterized in that: The actuating member is disposed in the housing and is rotatably connected relative to the housing.

Images