Slip ring device and electric brush member

Abstract

To improve space performance of an apparatus in which a slip ring device is incorporated by suppressing an increase in size of the slip ring device due to multipolarization.SOLUTION: The brush device is provided with a slip ring 20 provided with a plurality of belt-like first conductive parts 24 spaced from each other, a brush support member 30 relatively displaceable along the first conductive parts 24, and a brush member 40 supported by the brush support member 30 and provided with second conductive parts 48 to be individually brought into contact with the first conductive parts 24, and the brush member 40 is provided with ridges 46 extending in the aligning direction of the first conductive parts 24 and the second conductive parts 48 are provided on the projecting surfaces 46A of the ridges 46 to be spaced from each other so as to correspond to the first conductive parts 24.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a slip ring device and an electric brush member. [Background technology]

[0002] Slip ring devices used in rotating electrical machines such as electric motors and generators have a slip ring member attached to the rotating shaft and an electric brush member attached to a fixed member such as the casing of the rotating electrical machine. The conductive portion of the slip ring member, where the brush member comes into contact, is composed of an individual conductive spring piece for each pole attached to an electrical insulating member on the fixed member side, or an individual conductor tip that is movably provided for each pole on an electrical insulating member and spring-biased toward the slip ring member (for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-54962 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2023-166194 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In conventional slip ring devices and brush members, the more poles a slip ring device has, the larger the brush member becomes, due to the structure of the conductive part of the brush member, and therefore the larger the slip ring device itself. For this reason, incorporating a multi-pole slip ring device into the joints of rotating electrical machines or robots reduces the space efficiency of these devices. This hinders efforts to reduce the size and improve the functionality of devices that incorporate slip ring devices, such as rotating electrical machines and robots.

[0005] In view of the above background, an object of the present invention is to prevent the size of a slip ring device from increasing due to the increase in the number of poles, and to improve the space performance of equipment in which the slip ring device is incorporated. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problem, one aspect of the present invention is a slip ring device comprising a first member (20, 120) having a plurality of first conductive portions (24, 124) in the shape of a strip spaced apart from one another, a second member (30, 130) that is relatively displaceable along the first conductive portions, and a third member (40, 140) that is supported by the second member and has a plurality of second conductive portions (24, 124) that are to individually contact the first conductive portions, the third member having protrusions (46, 146) extending in the alignment direction of the first conductive portions, and the second conductive portions are provided on the convex surfaces (46A, 146A) of the protrusions at intervals so as to correspond to the first conductive portions.

[0007] According to this aspect, by providing multiple second conductive portions at intervals on the convex surface of the protrusion so as to correspond to the first conductive portions, the increase in size of the third member due to the increase in polarization is suppressed, and therefore the increase in size of the slip ring device is suppressed.

[0008] In the above aspect, the second conductive portion may include a metal coating deposited on the convex surface.

[0009] According to this aspect, the inter-electrode pitch of the second conductive portion can be reduced by using a metal film forming technique.

[0010] In the above aspect, the contour of the convex surface may be a smooth surface.

[0011] According to this aspect, even if the position of the third member relative to the first member changes slightly, the conductive connection between the first conductive portion and the second conductive portion is maintained.

[0012] In the above aspect, the third member may further include a connector (50, 150) and a conductive portion (52, 152) extending from the second conductive portion to the connector.

[0013] According to this aspect, the conductive connection between the connector surface-mounted on the third member and the second conductive portion is achieved compactly and reliably.

[0014] In the above aspect, a spring member (38, 138) that biases the third member toward the first member may be provided between the third member and the second member.

[0015] According to this aspect, the reliability of the second conductive portion being in conductive contact with the first conductive portion is improved.

[0016] In the above aspect, the protrusions may be made of an elastomer material.

[0017] According to this aspect, the reliability of contact between the second conductive portion and the first conductive portion is improved without the need for a spring member.

[0018] In the above aspect, the first member may be disk-shaped, and the first conductive portions may be arranged concentrically.

[0019] According to this aspect, the pancake type slip ring device is properly configured.

[0020] In the above aspect, the first member may be cylindrical, and the first conductive portions may be arranged on an outer circumferential surface of the first member so as to be spaced apart in the axial direction.

[0021] According to this aspect, the drum-type slip ring device is appropriately configured.

[0022] In the above aspect, the second conductive portion may be provided in a recessed groove (46B) formed on the surface of the protrusion of the third member.

[0023] According to this embodiment, the attachment strength of the second conductive portion to the ridge is improved.

[0024] According to this aspect, in order to solve the above problem, one aspect of the present invention is an electric brush member (40, 140) that has an insulating base material (42, 142) having a protrusion (46, 146) extending in a predetermined direction, and a plurality of conductive portions (48, 148) arranged at intervals from each other on a convex surface (46A, 146A) of the protrusion along the extension direction of the protrusion.

[0025] According to this aspect, the increase in size of the electric brush member due to the increase in the number of poles is suppressed. [Effects of the Invention]

[0026] According to the above-described aspect, it is possible to suppress an increase in size of the slip ring device due to the increase in the number of poles, and to improve the space performance of the equipment in which the slip ring device is incorporated. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0027] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a first embodiment of a slip ring device and an electric brush member according to the present invention; [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a brush member according to a first embodiment; [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is an overhead perspective view showing a brush member according to a first embodiment; [Figure 4] 1. An enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV of FIG. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a second embodiment of a slip ring device and a brush member according to the present invention; [Figure 6] 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line VI-VI of FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a modified example of the slip ring device of the first embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0028] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of a slip ring device and an electric brush member according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0029] (Embodiment 1) 1 to 4 show a slip ring device 10 of embodiment 1. The slip ring device 10 of embodiment 1 is a pancake-type slip ring device. As shown in FIG. 1, the slip ring device 10 has a disk-shaped slip ring member 20 (first member), a brush support member 30 (second member), and a brush member 40 (third member) supported by the brush support member 30.

[0030] The slip ring member 20 is rotatable, for example, around a central axis C1 extending in the vertical direction. The slip ring member 20 includes a disk body 22 made of an electrically insulating material and a plurality of first conductive parts 24 formed on the upper surface of the disk body 22 in the shape of strips spaced apart from one another in the radial direction.

[0031] The first conductive parts 24 are arranged concentrically around the central axis C1 at a predetermined interval, in other words, at a predetermined inter-pole pitch, in an annular shape. As a result, the first conductive parts 24 have individual conductivity, are aligned in the radial direction of the slip ring member 20, and extend in the same direction as the movement (rotation) direction of the slip ring member 20.

[0032] The brush support member 30 is disposed so as to be displaceable relative to the slip ring member 20. The brush support member 30 is located above the slip ring member 20 and includes a flat plate portion 32 extending parallel to the disk body 22. The flat plate portion 32 supports a brush member 40 in a suspended manner by a rod member 34, which will be described later.

[0033] The brush member 40 (electric brush member) is located between the slip ring member 20 and the flat plate portion 32, and as shown in Figures 2 to 4, has a rectangular parallelepiped base portion 42 (insulating base material) that is long in the radial direction of the slip ring member 20. The base portion 42 is a molded product made of electrically insulating resin, and has a lower surface 42A that faces the slip ring member 20.

[0034] At both longitudinal ends of the base 42, i.e., at both radially separated ends of the slip ring member 20, there are formed mounting holes 44 that penetrate vertically. Each mounting hole 44 has a countersunk portion 44A at its lower end, which tapers downward. As shown in Figure 4, the rod member 34 is configured as a countersunk screw with a countersunk head 34A at its lower end and a male thread 34C at its upper end.

[0035] The rod member 34 is inserted into each mounting hole 44 from below, and this insertion causes the countersunk head 34A of the rod member 34 to fit into the countersunk portion 44A of the mounting hole 44. This makes the bottom surface 42A of the base 42 flush with the bottom surface 34B of the countersunk head 34A, preventing the rod member 34 from interfering with the slip ring member 20.

[0036] A through hole 32A is formed in the flat plate portion 32 at a position corresponding to each rod member 34, penetrating the flat plate portion 32 in the up-down direction. The upper end of the corresponding rod member 34 is inserted into each through hole 32A so as to be slidable in the up-down direction. The male threaded portion 34C of the rod member 34 passes through the through hole 32A and includes a portion located above the flat plate portion 32. A double nut 36 is threadedly engaged with the portion of the male threaded portion 34C located above the flat plate portion 32.

[0037] A compression coil spring 38 is provided between the flat plate portion 32 and the base portion 42 so as to surround each rod member 34. The compression coil spring 38 biases the brush member 40 relative to the brush support member 30 toward the slip ring member 20.

[0038] As shown in Figures 3 and 4, the base 42 is integrally formed with a rib 46 that protrudes from its lower surface 42A toward the slip ring member 20. The rib 46 extends linearly between the mounting holes 44 at both ends of the base 42 in the alignment direction of the first conductive parts 24, i.e., in the radial direction of the slip ring member 20. The rib 46 has a semicircular or similar cross-sectional shape and is equipped with a convex surface 46A that forms a smooth contour. Here, a smooth contour refers to a surface with a continuous contour slope (slope of the tangent), such as a curved surface.

[0039] A plurality of second conductive portions 48 are provided on the convex surface 46A as strips made of a metal film deposited by electroless plating or the like. The second conductive portions 48 are provided at predetermined intervals in the radial direction of the slip ring member 20 at a predetermined inter-electrode pitch along the longitudinal direction of the rib projection 46 so as to correspond to each of the first conductive portions 24. The second conductive portions 48 can be easily formed with a small inter-electrode pitch using metal film forming technology. The second conductive portions 48 have a shape that follows the surface shape of the convex surface 46A of the rib projection 46. In other words, the second conductive portions 48 also have a smooth contour, just like the convex surface 46A of the rib projection 46.

[0040] 3, grooves 46B corresponding to each second conductive portion 48 are formed in advance on the surface of the protrusions 46 at the same pitch as the inter-electrode pitch of the second conductive portions 48. Each second conductive portion 48 is formed so as to fill the corresponding groove 46B. This improves the adhesion strength of each second conductive portion 48 to the protrusions 46.

[0041] 3, the second conductive portion 48 protrudes outward from the recessed groove 46B by a predetermined amount to ensure reliable conductive contact with the first conductive portion 24. This protrusion can be adjusted by adjusting the thickness of the metal coating that constitutes the second conductive portion 48.

[0042] Each second conductive portion 48 individually and resiliently makes conductive contact with the corresponding first conductive portion 24 because the base portion 42 is biased toward the slip ring member 20 by the spring force of the compression coil spring 38. This improves the reliability of the second conductive portion 48 making conductive contact with the first conductive portion 24.

[0043] The second conductive portion 48 contacts the surface of the first conductive portion 24 with a surface having a smooth contour similar to the convex surface 46A of the protrusion 46, so that conductive contact between the second conductive portion 48 and the first conductive portion 24 is maintained even if the brush member 40 is tilted slightly around the axis extending radially of the slip ring member 20, i.e., back and forth.

[0044] 1 and 2, a surface-mount connector 50 is mounted horizontally (right-angle type) on the top surface 42B of the base 42. As shown in FIG. 1, a connector 56 (socket) connected to a plurality of flexible lead wires 54 (flat cables) is removably inserted into the connector 50.

[0045] The base 42 is provided with conductive portions 52 that correspond to each second conductive portion 48 and extend from the second conductive portion 48 through the lower surface 42A, front surface 42C, and upper surface 42B of the base 42 to the connector 50. Similar to the second conductive portions 48, the conductive portions 52 are formed of a metal coating that is applied to the lower surface 42A, front surface 42C, and upper surface 42B of the base 42 by electroless plating or the like.

[0046] This allows the conductive connection between the connector 50 and the second conductive portion 48 to be made compactly and reliably.

[0047] In this way, the second conductive portion 48 and the conductive portion 52 extend three-dimensionally on the surface of the base portion 42 of the three-dimensional resin molded product having the ribs 46. Such second conductive portion 48 and conductive portion 52 can be formed by a technique equivalent to the circuit formation technique used in three-dimensional substrate molding technology.

[0048] According to the slip ring device 10 of the first embodiment, the base 42 including the ribs 46 and all of the second conductive portions 48 are integrally formed, which allows the brush member 40 to be made smaller than conventional brush members. In particular, the longitudinal dimension of the brush member 40, which is the arrangement direction of the second conductive portions 48, can be made smaller than conventional brush members. This makes it possible to prevent the brush member 40 from becoming larger due to the increased number of poles.

[0049] This allows the slip ring device 10 including the brush member 40 to be miniaturized, and improves the space efficiency of equipment in which the multi-pole slip ring device 10 is incorporated.

[0050] (Embodiment 2) 5 and 6 show a slip ring device 100 of embodiment 2. The slip ring device 100 of embodiment 1 is a drum-type slip ring device. As shown in FIG. 5, the slip ring device 100 has a cylindrical (drum-shaped) slip ring member 120 (first member), a brush support member 130 (second member), and a brush member 140 (third member) supported by the brush support member 130.

[0051] The slip ring member 120 is rotatable, for example, around a central axis C2 extending horizontally. The slip ring member 120 includes a cylindrical body 122 made of an electrically insulating material and a plurality of first conductive parts 124 formed on the outer circumferential surface of the cylindrical body 122 in the shape of strips spaced apart at regular intervals in the axial direction.

[0052] The first conductive parts 124 are arranged coaxially and annularly at a predetermined interval, in other words, at a predetermined inter-pole pitch, around the central axis C2. As a result, the first conductive parts 124 have individual conductivity, are aligned in the axial direction of the slip ring member 120, and extend in the same direction as the movement (rotation) direction of the slip ring member 120.

[0053] The brush support member 130 is disposed so as to be displaceable relative to the slip ring member 120. The brush support member 130 is located above the slip ring member 120 and includes a flat plate portion 132 that extends parallel to the cylindrical body 122. The flat plate portion 132 supports a brush member 140 in a suspended manner by a rod member 134, which will be described later.

[0054] The brush member 140 is located between the slip ring member 120 and the flat plate portion 132 and has substantially the same structure as the brush member 40 used in the pancake-type slip ring device 10.

[0055] The brush member 140 (electric brush member) has a rectangular parallelepiped base 142 (insulating base material) that is long in the axial direction of the slip ring member 120. The base 142 is a molded product made of electrically insulating resin, and has a lower surface 142A that faces the slip ring member 120.

[0056] At both longitudinal ends of the base 142, i.e., at both ends spaced apart in the axial direction of the slip ring member 120, there are formed mounting holes 144 that penetrate vertically. Each mounting hole 144 has a countersunk portion 144A at its lower end that tapers downward. As shown in Figure 4, the rod member 134 is configured as a countersunk screw with a countersunk head 134A at its lower end and a male threaded portion 134C at its upper end.

[0057] A rod member 134 is inserted into each mounting hole 144 from below, and this insertion causes the countersunk head 134A of the rod member 134 to fit into the countersunk portion 144A of the mounting hole 144. This makes the bottom surface 142A of the base 142 flush with the bottom surface 134B of the countersunk head 134A, preventing the rod member 134 from interfering with the slip ring member 120.

[0058] Through holes 132A that penetrate the flat plate portion 132 in the up-down direction are formed in the flat plate portion 132 at positions corresponding to the rod members 134. The upper end of the corresponding rod member 134 is inserted into each through hole 132A so as to be slidable in the up-down direction. The male threaded portion 134C of the rod member 134 includes a portion that penetrates through the through hole 132A and is located above the flat plate portion 132. A double nut 136 is threadedly engaged with the portion of the male threaded portion 134C that is located above the flat plate portion 132.

[0059] A compression coil spring 138 is provided between the flat plate portion 132 and the base portion 142 so as to surround each rod member 134. The compression coil spring 138 biases the brush member 140 toward the slip ring member 120 relative to the brush support member 130.

[0060] As shown in Figure 6, the base 142 is integrally formed with a ridge 146 that protrudes from its lower surface 142A toward the slip ring member 120. The ridge 146 extends linearly between the mounting holes 144 at both ends of the base 142 in the alignment direction of the first conductive parts 124, i.e., in the axial direction of the slip ring member 120. The ridge 146 has a semicircular or similar cross-sectional shape and is equipped with a convex surface 146A that forms a smooth contour. Here, a smooth contour refers to a surface with a continuous contour slope (slope of the tangent), such as a curved surface.

[0061] A plurality of second conductive portions 148 are provided on the convex surface 146A as strips made of a metal film deposited by electroless plating or the like. The second conductive portions 148 are provided at predetermined intervals from one another in the axial direction of the slip ring member 120 at a predetermined inter-electrode pitch in the longitudinal direction of the rib protrusion 146 so as to correspond to each of the first conductive portions 124. The second conductive portions 148 can be easily formed with a small inter-electrode pitch using metal film forming technology. The second conductive portions 148 have a shape that follows the surface shape of the convex surface 146A of the rib protrusion 146. In other words, the second conductive portions 148 also have a smooth contour, just like the convex surface 146A of the rib protrusion 146.

[0062] Each second conductive portion 148 individually and resiliently makes conductive contact with the corresponding first conductive portion 124 because the base portion 142 is biased toward the slip ring member 120 by the spring force of the compression coil spring 138. This improves the reliability with which the second conductive portion 148 makes conductive contact with the first conductive portion 124.

[0063] The second conductive portion 148 contacts the surface of the first conductive portion 124 with a smooth surface similar to the convex surface 146A of the protrusion 146, so that conductive contact between the second conductive portion 148 and the first conductive portion 124 is maintained even if the brush member 140 is tilted slightly around the axis of the slip ring member 120, i.e., back and forth.

[0064] A surface-mount connector 150 is mounted horizontally (right-angle type) on the top surface 142B of the base 142 (see FIG. 5). As shown in FIG. 5, a connector 156 (socket) connected to a plurality of flexible lead wires 154 (flat cables) is removably inserted into the connector 150.

[0065] 6, conductive portions 152 are individually provided in the base 142 in correspondence with each second conductive portion 148, extending from the second conductive portion 148 through the lower surface 142A, front surface 142C, and upper surface 142B of the base 142 to the connector 150. Similar to the second conductive portions 148, the conductive portions 152 are formed of a metal coating deposited on the lower surface 142A, front surface 142C, and upper surface 142B of the base 142 by electroless plating or the like.

[0066] This allows the conductive connection between the connector 150 and the second conductive portion 148 to be performed compactly and reliably.

[0067] In this way, the second conductive portion 148 and the conductive portion 152 extend three-dimensionally on the surface of the base portion 142 of the three-dimensional resin molded product having the ribs 146, as in the first embodiment. Such second conductive portion 148 and conductive portion 152 can be formed by a technique equivalent to the circuit formation technique used in three-dimensional substrate molding technology.

[0068] According to the slip ring device 100 of the second embodiment, the base 142 including the ribs 146 and all of the second conductive portions 148 are integrally formed, which makes it possible to make the brush member 140 smaller than conventional brush members. In particular, it is possible to make the longitudinal dimension of the brush member 40, which is the arrangement direction of the second conductive portions 148, smaller than conventional brush members. This makes it possible to prevent the brush member 140 from becoming larger due to the increased number of poles.

[0069] This allows the slip ring device 100 including the brush member 140 to be miniaturized, and improves the space efficiency of equipment in which the multi-pole slip ring device 100 is incorporated.

[0070] The present invention has been described above in terms of its preferred embodiments, but as can be easily understood by those skilled in the art, the present invention is not limited to such embodiments and can be modified as appropriate within the scope of the invention.

[0071] For example, the first conductive portion 24 does not necessarily have to be annular, but may be arc-shaped extending over a predetermined rotation angle range, as shown in Figure 7. This is also applicable to a drum type. The slip ring device 10 of the present invention is also applicable to a linear type in which the first conductive portion 24 extends linearly.

[0072] The protrusions 46, 146 may be made of an elastomer material by two-color molding, etc. In this case, the compression coil springs 38, 138 can be omitted.

[0073] The slip ring devices 10, 100 of the present invention may be configured such that the slip ring members 20, 120 are fixed in position and the brush members 40, 140 rotate relative to the slip ring members 20, 120.

[0074] Furthermore, not all of the components shown in the above embodiments are necessarily essential, and they can be selected as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0075] 10: Slip ring device 20: Slip ring member (first member) 22: Disk 24: First conductive part 30: Brush support member (second member) 38: Compression coil spring 40: Brush member (third member) 46: protrusion 46A: Convex 46B: Concave groove 48: Second conductive part 50: Connector 52: Conductive part 54: Lead wire 56: Connector 100: Slip ring device 120: Slip ring member (first member) 122: Cylinder 124: First conductive part 130: Brush support member (second member) 138: Compression coil spring 140: Brush member (third member) 144: Mounting hole 146: protrusion 146A: Convex 148: Second conductive part 150: Connector 152: Conductive part

Claims

1. a first member having a plurality of first conductive portions in the shape of strips spaced apart at regular intervals from one another; a second member that is relatively displaceable along the first conductive portions; and a third member that is supported by the second member and has a plurality of second conductive portions that are to be individually brought into contact with the first conductive portions; A slip ring device in which the third member has a protrusion extending in the alignment direction of the first conductive portions, and the second conductive portions are arranged on the convex surfaces of the protrusions and spaced apart from each other so as to correspond to the first conductive portions.

2. 2. The slip ring apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second conductive portion comprises a metal coating deposited on the convex surface.

3. 3. The slip ring device according to claim 1, wherein the contour of the convex surface is a smooth surface.

4. 3. The slip ring device according to claim 1, wherein the third member further comprises a connector and a conductive portion extending from the second conductive portion to the connector.

5. 3. The slip ring device according to claim 1, further comprising a spring member disposed between the third member and the second member for biasing the third member toward the first member.

6. 3. The slip ring device according to claim 1, wherein the ridges are made of an elastomer material.

7. 3. The slip ring device according to claim 1, wherein the first member is disk-shaped, and the first conductive portions are arranged concentrically.

8. 3. The slip ring device according to claim 1, wherein the first member is cylindrical, and the first conductive portions are arranged on the outer peripheral surface of the first member so as to be spaced apart in the axial direction.

9. 3. The slip ring device according to claim 1, wherein the second conductive portion is provided in a recessed groove formed in a surface of the protrusion of the third member.

10. an insulating substrate having protrusions extending in a predetermined direction; an electric brush member having a plurality of conductive portions arranged on the convex surface of the ridge at intervals along the extension direction of the ridge;

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