Electric Actuator

Abstract

To provide an electric actuator in which a rotation shaft is connected to a shaft of a water supply controller of a different type.SOLUTION: An electric actuator (10) includes a rotation shaft (50) rotated by a motor (38) via a transmission mechanism, and is installed at the water supply device. A prism part (138) is formed on the top edge of a shaft (128) of the water supply device, a connector 300 includes a pair of leg parts (302) which clamps opposing side faces of the prism part by clamp parts (304), includes step parts (306) severally formed on inner faces of the leg parts above the clamp parts, and the pair of leg parts is connected by a connection part (308) at the top edge. An upper part (308b) of the connection part is fitted with a slit (70) at the bottom edge of the rotation shaft. A stopper (326) is integrally installed on the connection part with a spacing to both faces of the upper part (308b). When the slit (70) covers the upper part (308b), the rotation shaft is fastened from outside by the stopper (326).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 15

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an electric actuator, and more particularly to an electric actuator that is attached to a water supply control device having a displacement mechanism that controls water supply by displacing a valve body or a partition body, for example, to operate the displacement mechanism of the water supply control device. [Background technology]

[0002] One example of this type of conventional electric actuator is disclosed in Patent Document 1. Patent Document 1 discloses an automatic opening and closing device that is attached to an existing water faucet or water supply weir and automatically opens and closes the water faucet or water supply weir.

[0003] Another example of this type of conventional electric actuator is disclosed in Patent Document 2. Patent Document 2 discloses a water supply device with an electric actuator already integrated therein.

[0004] In order to solve the problems of Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, the applicant of the present invention proposed an electric actuator shown in Patent Document 3. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 8-70716 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 8-275684 [Patent Document 3] JP 2017-192367 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] The electric actuator of Patent Document 3 can be made smaller and less expensive, so it is desirable to utilize this advantage in as wide a range of applications as possible.

[0007] SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT EMBODIMENTS Therefore, a primary object of the present invention is to provide a novel electric actuator.

[0008] Another object of the present invention is to provide an electric actuator that can be attached to different types of water control devices. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] 1. Working Example is an electric actuator attached to a water supply control device having a displacement mechanism that controls water supply by the displacement of a valve body or a partition body that is linked to the rotation of a shaft, and operates the displacement mechanism, the actuator comprising: a main body case; a motor provided within the main body case; a transmission mechanism provided within the main body case for transmitting the drive of the motor; a rotating shaft that is rotated by the motor via the transmission mechanism and has a lower portion extending below the main body case; and a connector for connecting the rotating shaft to the shaft, the connector having a pair of legs for connecting to an upper end of the shaft and a connecting portion connecting the pair of legs at their respective upper ends, and further comprising a slit formed at the lower end of the rotating shaft into which a part of the connecting portion fits. The slit is formed by a pair of slit forming parts arranged on both sides of the connecting part with the base end sandwiched therebetween, and the connecting tool has grooves formed by the stoppers and the connecting parts on both sides of the connecting part and receiving the pair of slit forming parts, and the width of the groove is relatively wide at the upper end and narrows toward the bottom. It is an electric actuator.

[0010] 1. Working Example Now, the electric actuator (10: is an example of a part to be exemplified in the embodiment. However, this is not intended to be limiting.The electric actuator (300, 300A, 300B, 300C, 300D) is attached to a water supply control device having a displacement mechanism that controls water supply by displacement of a valve body or a partition body linked to the rotation of a shaft, and operates the displacement mechanism. The electric actuator includes a main body case (20), a motor (38) provided in the main body case, a transmission mechanism (42, 40, ) provided in the main body case and transmitting the drive of the motor, a rotating shaft (50) rotated by the motor via the transmission mechanism and having a lower portion extending below the main body case, and connectors (300, 300A, 300B, 300C, 300D) for connecting the rotating shaft to the shaft. The connector (300, 300A, 300B, 300C, 300D) has a pair of legs (302, 302A, 302B, 302C, 302D) for connecting to the upper end of the shaft, and a connector (308, 308A, 308B, 308C, 308D) for connecting the pair of legs (302) at their respective upper ends. A slit (70) is formed at the lower end of the rotating shaft (50) into which a part of the connector (308b, 308bA, 308bB, 308bC) fits. The slit is formed by a pair of slit forming parts (78) arranged on both sides of the connecting part with the base end (78a) in between, and the connector has a groove (328A) formed by the stopper (326A) and the connecting part on both sides of the connecting part to receive the pair of slit forming parts, and the width of the groove is relatively wide at the upper end and narrows toward the bottom. .

[0011] 1. Working Example According to the present invention, since the rotating shaft can be connected to the shaft by using the connector, the electric actuator can be applied to water supply control devices of various types corresponding to various shafts. do.

[0012] Second Working Example teeth, An electric actuator is attached to a water supply control device having a displacement mechanism that controls water supply by displacing a valve body or a partition body that is linked to rotation of a shaft, and operates the displacement mechanism, the electric actuator comprising: a main body case; a motor provided in the main body case; the drive mechanism is provided in the main body case and includes a transmission mechanism for transmitting the drive of the motor, a rotating shaft that is rotated by the motor via the transmission mechanism and has a lower portion extending below the main body case, and a connector for connecting the rotating shaft to the shaft, the connector has a pair of legs for connecting to the upper end of the shaft and a connecting portion connecting the pair of legs at their respective upper ends, and further includes a slit formed at the lower end of the rotating shaft into which a part of the connecting portion fits, the slit being formed by a pair of slit forming portions disposed on both sides of the connecting portion with the base end in between, the connector has grooves formed by the stopper and the connecting portion on both sides of the connecting portion and receiving the pair of slit forming portions, and the clearance between the outer circumferential surface of the slit forming portion and the inner surface of the groove is narrowed toward the base of the stopper, It is an electric actuator.

[0013] Second In the embodiment, the electric actuator (10: a reference number illustrating a part illustrated in the embodiment but not intended to be limiting; the same applies below) is attached to a water supply control device having a displacement mechanism that controls water supply by displacement of a valve body or a partition body linked to rotation of a shaft, and operates the displacement mechanism. The electric actuator includes a main body case (20), a motor (38) provided in the main body case, a transmission mechanism (42, 40,) provided in the main body case and transmitting the drive of the motor, a rotating shaft (50) rotated by the motor via the transmission mechanism and having a lower portion extending below the main body case, and connectors (300, 300A, 300B, 300C, 300D) for connecting the rotating shaft to the shaft. The connectors (300, 300A, 300B, 300C, 300D) have a pair of legs (302, 302A, 302B, 302C, 302D) for connecting to the upper ends of the shafts, and connectors (308, 308A, 308B, 308C, 308D) for connecting the pair of legs (302) at their respective upper ends. A slit (70) is formed at the lower end of the rotating shaft (50) into which a part of the connector (308b, 308bA, 308bB, 308bC) fits. The slit is formed by a pair of slit forming portions (78) arranged on either side of the connecting portion with the base end portion (78a) in between, and the connector has a groove (328A) formed by the stopper (326A) and the connecting portion on either side of the connecting portion to receive the pair of slit forming portions, and the clearance between the outer peripheral surface of the slit forming portion and the inner surface of the groove becomes narrower toward the base of the stopper.

[0014] Second Working Example According to By using the connector, the rotating shaft can be connected to the shaft, so that the electric actuator can be applied to water supply control devices of various types corresponding to various shafts.

[0015] Third Working Example teeth, an electric actuator attached to a water supply control device having a displacement mechanism for controlling water supply by the displacement of a valve body or a partition body linked to the rotation of a shaft, and for operating the displacement mechanism, the actuator comprising: a main body case; a motor provided within the main body case; a transmission mechanism provided within the main body case for transmitting the drive of the motor; a rotating shaft rotated by the motor via the transmission mechanism and having a lower portion extending downwardly of the main body case; and a connector for connecting the rotating shaft to the shaft, the connector having a pair of legs for connecting to an upper end of the shaft and a connecting portion connecting the pair of legs at their respective upper ends, a slit formed at the lower end of the rotating shaft into which a part of the connecting portion fits, the slit being formed by a pair of slit forming portions disposed on both sides of the connecting portion with a base end therebetween, the connector having grooves formed by a stopper and the connecting portion on both sides of the connecting portion for receiving the pair of slit forming portions, and further comprising a bolt for tightly contacting the slit forming portion and the stopper; It is an electric actuator.

[0016] Third Working Example So,The electric actuator (10: a reference number illustrating a part illustrated in the embodiment but not intended to be limiting; the same applies below) is attached to a water supply control device having a displacement mechanism that controls water supply by displacement of a valve body or a partition body linked to the rotation of a shaft, and operates the displacement mechanism. The electric actuator includes a main body case (20), a motor (38) provided within the main body case, a transmission mechanism (42, 40,) provided within the main body case for transmitting the drive of the motor, a rotating shaft (50) rotated by the motor via the transmission mechanism and having a lower portion extending below the main body case, and connectors (300, 300A, 300B, 300C, 300D) for connecting the rotating shaft to the shaft. The connector (300, 300A, 300B, 300C, 300D) has a pair of legs (302, 302A, 302B, 302C, 302D) for connecting to the upper end of the shaft, and a connector (308, 308A, 308B, 308C, 308D) for connecting the pair of legs (302) at their respective upper ends. A slit (70) is formed at the lower end of the rotating shaft (50) into which a part of the connector (308b, 308bA, 308bB, 308bC) fits, and the slit is formed by a pair of slit forming parts (78) arranged on both sides of the connector with the base end (78a) in between, and the connector has grooves (328A) formed by the stoppers (326A) and the connector on both sides of the connector to receive the pair of slit forming parts. Bolts (368, 370) hold the slit forming portion and the stopper in close contact.

[0017] Third Working Example According to By using the connector, the rotating shaft can be connected to the shaft, so that the electric actuator can be applied to water supply control devices of various types corresponding to various shafts.

[0018] Fourth An embodiment is an electric actuator according to any one of the first to third embodiments, The upper end of the stopper extends beyond the proximal end of the slit-forming portion.

[0019] Fourth Working Example , the upper end of the stopper (326A) exceeds upwardly the base end (78a) of the slit forming portion (78).

[0020] Fourth Working Example According to Since the stopper has an upper end that extends upward beyond the base end of the slit-forming portion, damage to the rotating shaft at or near the base end of the slit-forming portion can be prevented. Effect of the Invention

[0029] According to this invention, by using a connector, the rotating shaft can be connected to the shaft, not only can the electric actuator be applied to various types of water supply control devices, but also, since it is equipped with a restraining means, damage to the rotating shaft can be prevented even when high torque is required.

[0030] The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the embodiments with reference to the drawings. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0031] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing an electric actuator according to an embodiment of the present invention installed in a water supply device and a drainage device in a farm field; [Diagram 2] 1 is a diagram showing the appearance of an electric actuator according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the internal structure of the electric actuator of FIG. 2. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged view showing the main gear periphery in FIG. 3. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is an illustrative view showing an example of a first adaptor. [Figure 6] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a state in which the electric actuator of FIG. 2 is attached to a water supply valve. [Figure 7] FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view showing a main part of the embodiment. [Figure 8] 8A and 8B are diagrams showing an example of a connector, in which FIG. 8A is a perspective view and FIG. 8B is a front view. [Figure 9] 5 is a diagram showing the electric actuator shown in FIG. 2 to FIG. 4 attached to another water supply device using a connector. FIG. [Figure 10] FIG. 13 is an illustrative view showing an example of a second adaptor. [Figure 11] FIG. 13 is an illustrative view showing an example of a third adaptor. [Figure 12] 10 is an illustrative view showing one example of a procedure for connecting the rotating shaft of the electric actuator and the shaft of the water supply device via a second actuator in the embodiment shown in FIG. 9. [Figure 13] FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a main part of the embodiment. [Figure 14] 14A and 14B are diagrams showing another example of a connector, in which FIG. 14A is a perspective view and FIG. 14B is a front view. [Figure 15] 15 is an illustrative view showing an example of a procedure for connecting the rotating shaft of the electric actuator and the shaft of the water supply device in the embodiment of FIG. 9 via the connector shown in FIG. 14. [Figure 16] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a restraint device. [Figure 17] FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing another example of a connector. [Figure 18] 18 is a diagram showing the state in which the electric actuator shown in FIGS. 2-4 is attached to the water supply device of the embodiment in FIG. 9 using the connector shown in FIG. 17. [Figure 19] 19 is a diagram showing a first modified example of the restraint device shown in FIG. 16, in which FIG. 19(A) is a perspective view and FIG. 19(B) is a sectional view. [Figure 20] 2-4 is attached to the water supply device of the embodiment of FIG. 9 using the connector of the embodiment of FIG. 19. FIG. [Figure 21]21A and 21B are diagrams showing a second modified example of the restraint device shown in FIG. 16, in which FIG. 21A is a perspective view and FIG. 21B is a sectional view. [Figure 22] 22(A) is a perspective view of a third modified example of the restraint device shown in FIG. 16, and FIGS. 22(B) and 22(C) are schematic views showing attachment of the restraint device of this embodiment to a connector. [Diagram 23] 23(A) is an illustrative diagram showing a first modified example of the connector shown in FIG. 14, FIG. 23(A) is an oblique view, and FIG. 23(B) is an illustrative diagram showing the state in which the rotating shaft of the electric actuator and the shaft of the water supply device are connected via the connector of this embodiment. [Figure 24] 24A and 24B are diagrams showing a second modified example of the connector shown in FIG. 14, in which FIG. 24A is a perspective view and FIG. 24B is a plan view. [Diagram 25] FIG. 25 is an illustrative view showing a state in which the rotating shaft of the electric actuator and the shaft of the water supply device are connected via the connector of the embodiment shown in FIG. 24. [Figure 26] FIG. 25 is a diagram showing a modified example of the connector of the embodiment shown in FIG. 24. [Figure 27] 27A and 27B are diagrams showing a third modified example of the connector shown in FIG. 14, in which FIG. 27A is a perspective view and FIG. 27B is a plan view. [Figure 28] FIG. 28 is an illustrative view showing a state in which a rotating shaft of an electric actuator and a shaft of a water supply device are connected via the connector of the embodiment shown in FIG. 27. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0032] 1, an electric actuator 10 (hereinafter simply referred to as "actuator 10") according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a motor 38, a main gear 40, a rotating shaft 50, etc., and is attached to a water supply control device such as a water supply valve to operate a displacement mechanism of the water supply control device. In this embodiment, the actuator 10 is used in a farm water supply and drainage system 100 (hereinafter simply referred to as "system 100"), and is attached to both a water supply device 104 and a drainage device 106, which are examples of a water supply control device. That is, the actuator 10 is used as both a first electric actuator that operates a first displacement mechanism included in the water supply device 104, and a second electric actuator that operates a second displacement mechanism included in the drainage device 106.

[0033] First, the system 100 will be described. As shown in Fig. 1, the system 100 is a field facility for managing water in a field 102 by remote control or automatic control based on a pre-stored program, and is applied to a field 102 such as a paddy field in which a water supply device 104 and a drainage device 106 are installed. The field 102 is divided into a plurality of cultivated areas by ridges, and the water supply device 104 and the drainage device 106 are installed for each cultivated area.

[0034] The water supply device 104 is a device for controlling the water supply to the cultivated area (field 102), and has a displacement mechanism (first displacement mechanism) including a valve body, a partition body, etc. In this embodiment, the water supply device 104 uses an alfalfa-type water supply valve of the generally widespread R&R type (a type in which the shaft moves up and down with the shaft rotation).

[0035] Briefly described with reference to Figs. 1 and 6, the water supply device 104 includes a cylindrical valve box 120. The upper half of the valve box 120 is covered with a dome-shaped cap 122, and a plurality of water outlet windows 124 are formed in the upper part of the side wall of the valve box 120 so as to be aligned in the circumferential direction. A bearing 126 having a female thread formed on the inner peripheral surface is provided at the upper end of the valve box 120, and a shaft (valve shaft) 128 having a male thread formed on the outer peripheral surface is screwed into this bearing 126 so as to penetrate the cap 122. A disc-shaped valve body 130 having a water stop rubber 130a on the lower surface is provided at the lower end of this shaft 128. A valve seat 132 having a water passage port 132a is provided at approximately the center inside the valve box 120. When a rotational force about the axis is applied to the shaft 128, the shaft 128 and the valve body 130 move up and down by the feed screw mechanism, and the water passage port 132a of the valve seat 132 is opened and closed. That is, the water supply device 104 of this embodiment is provided with a first displacement mechanism including a valve body 130 that moves up and down as the shaft 128 rotates.

[0036] Such a water supply device 104 is disposed, for example, in a water supply manhole 108, and attached to the downstream end of a branch pipe 112 branching off from an irrigation water pipeline 110 or an irrigation water channel. An actuator 10 is attached to the water supply device 104 via a first adapter 60, which will be described later, and the displacement mechanism (shaft 128 and valve body 130) of the water supply device 104 is operated by this actuator 10.

[0037] On the other hand, the drainage device 106 is a device for controlling drainage from the farm field 102, and has a displacement mechanism including a valve body or a partition body that displaces in response to the rotation of the shaft. In this embodiment, a water outlet having a water level setting function is used as the drainage device 106. Such a drainage device 106 is disposed, for example, in a drainage basin 114, and attached to the upstream end of a drainage pipe 118 that extends to a drainage channel 116. An actuator 10 is also attached to the drainage device 106 as described below, and the displacement mechanism of the drainage device 106 can be operated by this actuator 10.

[0038] 1, the water supply device 104 is disposed at one end of the field 102 and the drainage device 106 is disposed at the opposite end, but the positions of the water supply device 104 and the drainage device 106 can be changed as appropriate. For example, the water supply device 104 and the drainage device 106 may be disposed in close proximity to each other.

[0039] Furthermore, the system 100 in this embodiment is a system including a plurality of cultivated areas, and in addition to the actuators 10 attached to the water supply devices 104 and drainage devices 106 installed in each cultivated area, a parent unit that only performs communication is installed, and the remaining actuators 10 are considered child units. The parent unit is wirelessly connected to a remote control terminal owned by the user, such as a smartphone, tablet terminal, PDA, or PC, via a network such as the Internet. Meanwhile, the child actuators 10 are wirelessly connected to the parent unit directly or via other child units by a wireless communication method conforming to a specified low-power wireless standard, and are wirelessly connected to a remote control terminal owned by the user via the parent unit. can be.

[0040] It is advisable to use cloud computing for this wireless communication. For example, information acquired by each actuator 10 (information on the state of the water supply device 104 or the drainage device 106, such as the opening and closing degree of the valve body, and sensor information such as the field water level and air temperature) is transmitted to a cloud server as needed and stored. A user can access the cloud server from a remote control terminal to check the information acquired by each actuator 10, and manage the water in the field 102 by remotely controlling each actuator 10 using the remote control terminal.

[0041] However, the system 100 does not necessarily have to be a system that spans multiple cultivated areas, and the field 102 to which the system 100 is applied may be a field in which at least one water supply device 104 and one drainage device 106 are installed.

[0042] Next, the configuration of the actuator 10 will be specifically described. As shown in Figs. 2 to 4, the actuator 10 includes a main body case 20 formed of synthetic resin such as hard polyvinyl chloride. The main body case 20 includes a cylindrical side wall 22 and a top wall 24 that seals the upper end of the side wall 22. The lower end of the side wall 22 is tapered in a stepped manner, and this tapered portion becomes a fitting portion 26 that is fitted into an upper opening of a first adapter 60, which will be described later. The height dimension of the main body case 20 is, for example, 300 mm, and the outer diameter of the main body case 20 is, for example, 200 mm.

[0043] A solar cell panel 28 is attached to the upper surface of the top wall 24 of the main body case 20. The solar cell panel 28 is a rectangular package of multiple solar cells made of reinforced glass, a sealing material, etc., and is supported by a holder 30. The holder 30 is formed of metal, resin, or the like, and includes, for example, a rectangular frame 30a provided so as to cover the periphery of the solar cell panel 28, and a support plate 30b provided on the lower surface of the frame 30a and bent at a predetermined angle.

[0044] The main body case 20 accommodates a control panel 32, an antenna 34, a storage battery 36, a motor 38, a main gear 40, etc.

[0045] Although not shown, the control panel 32 is provided with a control section including a CPU and memory, a wireless communication section for wirelessly communicating with other devices, and a switch for the main power supply, etc. The CPU of the control section is responsible for the overall control of the actuator 10, and controls the driving of the motor 38, etc., based on a control program stored in the memory. The wireless communication section wirelessly communicates with external devices, such as a remote control terminal owned by the user and other actuators 10, via the antenna 34, as described above.

[0046] The storage battery 36 stores the power generated by the solar panel 28. The motor 38 is driven by the power stored in the storage battery 36, that is, the power generated by the solar panel 28. A small gear 42 is provided at the tip of an output shaft 38a of the motor 38, and the main gear 40 is connected to the small gear 42 to receive driving force from the motor 38 and rotate around its axis.

[0047] In this embodiment, a motor with an encoder is used as the motor 38. The encoder of the motor 38 outputs a pulse signal corresponding to the direction of rotation and the number of rotations of the output shaft 38a to the CPU of the control unit. The CPU of the control unit calculates the position of the valve body 130 of the water supply device 104 or the partition body 142 of the drainage device 106, etc., based on the pulse signal input from the encoder, i.e., the direction of rotation and the number of rotations of the output shaft 38a. In other words, the encoder is used as a position detection unit that detects the position of the valve body 130 or the partition body 142, etc. However, the position detection The encoder functioning as a part does not necessarily have to be provided in the motor 38, but the encoder can also be provided in the main gear 40 to calculate the position of the valve body 130 or the partition body 142, etc., based on the rotation direction and number of rotations of the main gear 40. Furthermore, the control panel 32 is provided with a current value detection part such as a current sensor (current transformer) that detects the motor current value, and the detection data in the current value detection part is input to the CPU of the control part.

[0048] The main gear 40 is a double-boss type gear, and has a cylindrical shaft portion (boss portion) 40a extending in the vertical direction, and a disk-shaped gear portion 40b having gear teeth formed on the outer circumferential surface. A disk-shaped first bearing 44, which also serves as the bottom wall of the main body case 20, is provided at the lower end of the side wall 22 of the main body case 20, and a disk-shaped second bearing 48 supported by a plurality of support portions 46 is provided above the first bearing 44. Both ends of the shaft portion 40a of the main gear 40 are rotatably held by the first bearing 44 and the second bearing 48.

[0049] A substantially cylindrical rotating shaft 50 is inserted into the shaft portion 40a of the main gear 40. In other words, the rotating shaft 50 is provided so as to pass through the axial center of the main gear 40. A coupling portion 50a is formed at the lower end of this rotating shaft 50, which is non-rotatably connected to the shaft 128 of the water supply device 104 or an upper end portion 308b (described later) of a connector 300 (described later), or the like.

[0050] Further, a key groove (first key groove) 40c extending along the axial direction is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the shaft portion 40a of the main gear 40, and a sliding key (first sliding key) 50b that fits into the key groove 40c is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the rotating shaft 50 so as to extend along the axial direction. Due to the sliding key structure consisting of such key groove 40c and sliding key 50b, the rotating shaft 50 rotates together with the rotation of the main gear 40, and is able to slide in the axial direction relative to the shaft portion 40a of the main gear 40.

[0051] Here, a spline structure or a serration structure may be used as a method for providing a rotating shaft that rotates with the gear and can slide in the axial direction of the gear. However, with a spline structure or a serration structure, it is necessary to cut multiple projections and recesses extending along the axial direction on the outer peripheral surface of the rotating shaft, and also to cut multiple projections and recesses on the inner peripheral surface of the gear shaft, which increases the manufacturing cost. Therefore, in this embodiment, the sliding key structure with the above-mentioned simple structure is adopted, because this allows the manufacturing cost to be significantly reduced.

[0052] However, since the rotating shaft 50 moves up and down while rotating, i.e., a torsional force acts on the rotating shaft 50, simply adopting a sliding key structure may result in the rotational balance of the rotating shaft 50 becoming poor, causing the rotating shaft 50 to malfunction.

[0053] Therefore, in this embodiment, a first thrust bearing 52 is provided between the lower surface of the gear portion 40b of the main gear 40 and the upper surface of the first bearing 44, and a second thrust bearing 54 is provided between the upper surface of the gear portion 40b of the main gear 40 and the lower surface of the second bearing 48. As the thrust bearings 52, 54, a known thrust ball bearing or the like may be used.

[0054] By providing the thrust bearings 52, 54 in this manner, the rotating shaft 50 can move up and down while rotating in a well-balanced manner even while adopting a sliding key structure, and the rotational torque during operation, i.e., the load on the motor 38, can be reduced. This is particularly effective when tightening (at the end of the closing operation) when the load is at its maximum. This allows the motor 38 to be made smaller and to consume less power (electricity saving). Furthermore, the reduced rotational torque also improves the durability of the main gear 40, bearings 44, 48, and rotating shaft 50.

[0055] That is, by combining the sliding key structure with the thrust bearings 52, 54, This makes it possible to reduce manufacturing costs and to operate the rotating shaft 50 smoothly.

[0056] As described above, the driving force of the motor 38 is applied to the rotary shaft 50 via the small gear 42 and the main gear 40, and these gears 40, 42 constitute a transmission mechanism.

[0057] Incidentally, since the efficiency of reducing the motor load of the actuator 10 of this embodiment is greatly increased and the effect of reducing the motor load by the thrust bearings 52, 54 has already been confirmed by the inventors, a detailed explanation of this will be omitted.

[0058] Although not shown, the field 102 is appropriately provided with sensors such as a water level sensor, such as an ultrasonic sensor, for detecting the field water level, a temperature sensor for detecting the air temperature, a pressure sensor for detecting the air pressure, a moisture sensor for detecting the soil moisture, etc. Sensor information, such as the field water level and air temperature, detected by each sensor is input to the control unit of the actuator 10.

[0059] Next, an example of a first adaptor 60 for attaching the actuator 10 to the water supply device 104 will be described with reference to FIG. 5. As shown in FIG. 6, the first adaptor 60 includes a cylindrical portion 62, a brim-shaped first connection portion 64 that protrudes outward from the upper end of the cylindrical portion 62, and a ring-shaped second connection portion 66 that protrudes inward from the lower end of the cylindrical portion 62 and has a through hole 66a in its center. A plurality of bolt holes (not shown) are formed in the first connection portion 64 and aligned in the circumferential direction. A plurality of bolt holes (not shown) are also formed in the second connection portion 66 and aligned in the circumferential direction. The bolt holes of the second connection portion 66 may be elongated holes that are long in the circumferential direction.

[0060] As shown in FIG. 6, when the actuator 10 is attached to the water supply device 104 using the first adaptor 60, the fitting portion 26 of the main body case 20 is fitted into the cylindrical portion 62 of the first adaptor 60, and the first connection portion 64 of the first adaptor 60 is bolted to the bottom wall of the main body case 20 of the actuator 10. Also, the second connection portion 66 of the first adaptor 60 is bolted to the cap 122 and the bearing 126 of the water supply device 104. At this time, by making the bolt hole formed in the second connection portion 66 a long hole that is long in the circumferential direction, the first adaptor 60 and the actuator 10 can be adjusted in angle in the circumferential direction relative to the water supply device 104. Furthermore, the upper end portion of the shaft 128 of the water supply device 104 protrudes upward from a through hole 66a formed in the second connection portion 66 of the first adaptor 60, and is non-rotatably connected to the coupling portion 50a of the rotating shaft 50 of the actuator 10.

[0061] 7, a slit 70 constituting a coupling portion 50a is formed at the lower end of the rotating shaft 50. The slit 70 receives the shaft 128 of the water supply device 104. That is, at the upper end of the shaft 128, for example, by cutting out the sides of a cylinder, a pair of opposing side surfaces 134 fit into the slit 70, that is, an inner surface 72 defining the slit 70 sandwiches the side surfaces 134, thereby non-rotatably connecting the shaft 128 to the rotating shaft 50 of the actuator 10.

[0062] However, the upper end of the shaft 128 may be formed as a square prism having a pair of opposing side surfaces 134 that fit into the slits 70 of the rotating shaft 50 .

[0063] In water supply device 104 having actuator 10 attached thereto in this manner, when a user uses a remote control terminal to send an operation instruction (control signal) indicating full close, full open, or an arbitrary opening degree to actuator 10, the control unit (CPU) of actuator 10 drives motor 38 in response to the operation instruction. The driving force of motor 38 is transmitted to main gear 40 constituting a transmission mechanism, and main gear 40 rotates, and rotating shaft 50 also rotates. As a result, a rotational force is applied to shaft 128 connected to rotating shaft 50. Shaft 128 to which the rotational force is applied is rotated by a feed screw mechanism consisting of itself and bearing 126. The rotary shaft 50 moves up and down so as to penetrate the shaft portion 40a of the main gear 40 in accordance with the up and down movement of the shaft 128. This allows the up and down movement of the shaft 128 to be absorbed without requiring a large space in the vertical direction.

[0064] Furthermore, as shown in Fig. 7, a relatively deep countersunk hole 74 is formed above the slit 70 of the rotating shaft 50. This countersunk hole 74 receives a retaining bolt 136 attached to the upper end of a connector 300 in the embodiment of Fig. 9 described below. Furthermore, at the position of this countersunk hole 74, the rotating shaft 50 is formed with female threads 76 at two different positions in the axial direction of the rotating shaft 50 so as to penetrate the peripheral side surface of the rotating shaft 50 which defines the countersunk hole 74.

[0065] Next, an example of a connector 300 for attaching the actuator 10 to a water supply device of another type will be described with reference to Fig. 8. It should be noted in advance that the dimensions, height, width, spacing, etc. of each part described below are all examples and are not limiting.

[0066] Connector 300 is made of a metal such as steel, and is arch-shaped (gate-shaped) when viewed from the front (FIG. 8(B)), with an overall width W of 37 mm, height H1 of 55 mm, and thickness T1 of 17 mm. Connector 300 includes a pair of legs 302 that face each other with a gap between them. The lower ends of legs 302 are connected to square pillar portion 1 at the upper end of shaft 128 of water supply device 104 as described below. 7) formed on the opposite inner surfaces of the clamping portion 304. The distance G1 between the opposite inner surfaces of the clamping portion 304 is 14.0 mm, and the height H2 of the clamping portion 304 is 18 mm.

[0067] A step 306 is formed on the inner surface of each leg 302 above the clip 304. In this embodiment, the distance G2 between the opposing inner surfaces of the step 306 is 24 mm. The height H3 of the step 306 is 10 mm.

[0068] The upper ends of a pair of legs 302 of the connector 300 are connected to each other by a connecting portion 308. The connecting portion 308 is composed of a lower portion 308a, which has the same thickness as the legs, and an upper portion 308b, which is integrally formed thereon and has a thickness T2 (13 mm) thinner than the thickness T1 of the lower portion 308a, and has an overall height H4 of 17 mm. The height of the upper portion 308b alone is 13 mm. A female thread 310 is formed in the center of the width of the connecting portion 308, extending from the upper portion 308b to a part of the lower portion 308a. This female thread 310 is used to attach the above-mentioned retaining bolt 136.

[0069] Furthermore, a countersunk hole 312 is formed above the lower surface of the lower portion 308a at the center in the width direction of the connecting portion 308. This countersunk hole 312 is formed to a depth of 10 mm, and receives a male screw 144 formed at the upper end of the shaft 128, which will be described later.

[0070] Here, an embodiment in which the actuator 10 shown in FIGS. 2-4 is applied to a water supply device 104 of a different type from that of the embodiment in FIG. 6 using this connector 300 will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0071] First, in the embodiment of FIG. 9, a second adaptor 314 and a third adaptor 316 shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 are used.

[0072] The second adaptor 314 in FIG. 10 is made of a metal such as aluminum, and includes a disk portion 318 and a wall 320 rising from the upper surface of the disk portion 318. A female thread 321 is formed in the wall 320. A thread 321 is formed in the center of the disk portion 318 for passing the shaft 128 of the water supply device 104 through. 10, the disk portion 318 is formed with a screw hole for attaching the second adaptor 314 to the water supply device 104 shown in FIG.

[0073] 11 is also made of a metal such as aluminum, and has a similar configuration to the first adapter 60 shown in FIG. 5. That is, the third adapter 316 includes a cylindrical portion 324 and a flange-shaped connecting portion 326 that protrudes outward from the upper end of the cylindrical portion 324. Since the third adapter 316 is coupled to the second adapter 314 as described below, a hole 325 is formed in the cylindrical portion 324 at a position corresponding to the female thread 321. However, unlike the first adapter 60, the lower end of the cylindrical portion 324 does not have a bottom surface, but is open.

[0074] The second adapter 314 and the third adapter 316 are assembled as shown in FIG.

[0075] The water supply device 104 shown in Fig. 9 is of a type in which the valve is directly opened and closed with a handle (not shown), and does not have a flat upper surface like the water supply device 104 in the embodiment in Fig. 6. Therefore, in this embodiment, when no water pressure is applied, the handle is removed, the screws (not shown) in the bearing lid part above the water supply valve are removed, and replaced with a specified hexagonal post 138. For example, if the bearing lid part has four screws, the first one is changed to a hexagonal post 138. For example, if the relevant screws have six screws, every other one, a total of three, are changed to hexagonal posts 138.

[0076] Since a female screw is formed on the upper end of each hexagonal support 138, a male screw is used to attach the disk part 318 of the second adaptor 314 shown in Fig. 10 to the upper end of the hexagonal support 138. In this state, the upper end of the shaft 128 shown in Fig. 9 passes through the through hole 322 of the disk part 318 of the second adaptor 314 and is exposed above the disk part 318, and the upper end of the water supply device 104 can be made flat.

[0077] In this state, next, as shown in FIG. 12(A), the connector 300 shown in FIG.

[0078] The upper end of the shaft 128 is formed as a rectangular columnar portion 140, for example as shown in Fig. 12, and a pair of opposing side surfaces 142 are formed. However, the side surfaces 142 may be formed by cutting the side surfaces of a cylinder, similar to the side surfaces 134 shown in Fig. 7, and a male thread 144 is formed extending upward from the upper surface of the rectangular columnar portion 140. Then, a nut 1146 (a round nut in this embodiment, but a square nut may also be used) is screwed onto the upper end of the male thread 144, the nut 146 is received in the stepped portion 306 of the connector 300, and the pair of side surfaces 142 of the rectangular columnar portion 140 of the shaft 128 is disposed within the clamping portion 304 of the connector 300. However, this positioning work is performed by screwing the nut 146 onto the upper end of the male screw 144, and then from the side of the connector 300, i.e., from the front (FIG. 8(B)) or back side of the connector 300, placing the nut 146 on the step portion 306 and the pair of side surfaces 142 inside the clamping portion 304. This state is shown in FIG. 12(A). At this time, the tip of the male screw 144 has not yet entered the countersunk hole 312, and the side surfaces 142 of the rectangular column portion 140 of the shaft 128 have not yet entirely fit inside the clamping portion 304.

[0079] Next, the nut 146 is turned to move it toward the base end of the male screw 144. Then, since the position of the nut 146 is restricted by the stepped portion 306 of the connector 300, the male screw 144 is relatively displaced upward as the nut 146 is turned, and the shaft 128 is also displaced upward, resulting in the state shown in FIG. 12(B). In this state, the tip of the male screw 144 enters the countersunk hole 312, and since the nut 146 is restricted by the stepped portion 306, the male screw 144 does not fall out of the countersunk hole 312. In addition, the side surface 142 of the rectangular column portion 140 of the shaft 128 is completely contained within the clamping portion 304.

[0080] 12(C), the retaining bolt 136 is attached to the female thread 310 formed in the upper portion 308b of the connecting portion 308 of the connector 300. The retaining bolt 136 has a male thread 136a at the bottom, and a small diameter portion 148 is formed thereon. The male thread 136a is screwed into the female thread 310, thereby attaching the retaining bolt 136 to the upper side of the connecting portion a (upper portion 308b) of the connector 300.

[0081] Then, as shown in FIG. 12(D), the retaining bolt 136 is inserted into the counterbore 74 formed in the rotating shaft 50 of the actuator 10. At this time, the slit 70 (FIG. 7) formed in the lower end of the rotating shaft 50 covers the upper part 308b of the connecting part 308 of the connecting tool 300 as shown in FIG. 12. In other words, the upper part 308b of the connecting part 308 of the connecting tool 300 is sandwiched between the inner surface 72 (FIG. 7) of the slit 70, so that the connecting tool 300 is non-rotatably connected to the rotating shaft 50 of the actuator 10. In this state, the set screw 150 is screwed into one of the two female threads 76 formed on the side of the counterbore 74 of the rotating shaft 50 to hold down the small diameter part 148 of the retaining bolt 136. In other words, the set screw 150 engaged with the small diameter part 148 of the retaining bolt 136 constitutes the locking part. Therefore, the connecting tool 300 will not fall off the rotating shaft 50.

[0082] On the other hand, as described above, the engagement between the nut 146 and the stepped portion 306 prevents the shaft 128 from falling off the connector 300. Furthermore, the side surface 142 of the rectangular column portion 140 of the shaft 128 is clamped by the clamping portion 304 of the connector 300, so that the shaft 128 is non-rotatably connected to the rotating shaft 50 via the connector 300.

[0083] Finally, as shown in Figure 9, the third adapter 316 is attached to the lower end of the actuator 10, and a bolt is screwed through a hole 325 provided in the cylindrical portion 324 of the third adapter 316 into the female thread 321 provided in the wall 320 of the second adapter 314, thereby joining it to the second adapter 314, thereby connecting the connecting parts between the actuator 10 and the water supply device 104, resulting in the state shown in Figure 9.

[0084] In this way, in the embodiment of Fig. 9 as well, the actuator 10 can be attached to the water supply device 104 and operated in the same manner as in the embodiment of Fig. 6. That is, in the water supply device 104 to which the actuator 10 is attached, for example, when a user uses a remote control terminal to send an operation instruction (control signal) indicating full close, full open, or an arbitrary opening degree to the actuator 10, the control unit (CPU) of the actuator 10 drives the motor 38 in response to the operation instruction. The driving force of this motor 38 is transmitted to the rotating shaft 50 via a transmission mechanism, causing the rotating shaft 50 to rotate. A rotational force is applied to the shaft 128 connected to the rotating shaft 50 via a connector 300.

[0085] In the above-described embodiment, in order to prevent shaft 128 from falling off connector 300 by engaging with stepped portion 306 of connector 300, an upwardly extending male thread 144 is formed on the upper end of shaft 128, and a nut 146 is screwed onto the male thread 144. Nut 146 protrudes in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of shaft 128, thereby engaging with stepped portion 306.

[0086] However, the nut 146 may be replaced with a bolt head (not shown). In this case, a female thread (not shown) may be formed extending downward from the upper surface of the rectangular column portion 140 of the shaft 128, a bolt may be screwed into the female thread, and the bolt head may project in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the shaft 128 to engage with the stepped portion 306.

[0087] Connector 300 shown in Fig. 14 is a connector suitable for cases where high torque is required for actuator 10. In actuator 10 of the embodiment, slit 70 is provided at the lower end of rotating shaft 50, and shaft 128 of water supply device 104 or connector 300 is connected non-rotatably by slit 70 (inner surface 72 thereof), so that when the torque for rotating shaft 128 of water supply device 104 must be increased, there is a risk that rotating shaft 50 will tear at slit 70. For this reason, in the next embodiment, connector 300 capable of reinforcing the lower end of rotating shaft 50 is used.

[0088] The connector 300 in Fig. 14 differs from the connector 300 shown in Fig. 8 except for the following points. That is, the overall thickness T3 is thicker than the thickness T1 in Fig. 8, and is, for example, 24 mm. However, the thickness T2 of the upper part 308b of the connector 308 is set to be the same as the thickness T2 in Fig. 8. This is because the upper part 308b needs to fit into the slit 70 of the rotating shaft 50, similar to the embodiment in Fig. 9.

[0089] The reason for making the thickness T3 thick is to form stoppers 326 on both sides of the upper portion 308b, with grooves 328 between them. In other words, grooves 328 are formed by stoppers 326 on the outer side in the thickness direction of the upper portion 308b. The width in the thickness direction of grooves 328 is selected to be the maximum thickness from the inner surface 72 of the slit 70 of the rotating shaft 50 shown in Fig. 7 to the peripheral side surface of the rotating shaft 50, that is, a width capable of receiving the slit forming portion 78 shown in Fig. 15.

[0090] FIG. 15 shows a procedure for connecting the rotating shaft 50 and the shaft 128 using the connector 300 shown in FIG.

[0091] The method of connecting the shaft 128 to the connector 300 shown in Figure 15(A) is as previously described with reference to Figure 12. The method of connecting the rotating shaft 50 to the connector 300 in this state is basically the same as the method described with reference to Figure 12.

[0092] The slit 70 of the rotating shaft 50 is placed over the upper part 308b of the connecting part 308 of the connecting tool 300, and at this time, as shown in FIG. 15(B), the slit forming part 78 of the rotating shaft 50 that defines the slit 70 is inserted into the groove 328 of the connecting tool 300. Therefore, this slit forming part 78 is sandwiched between the upper part 308b and the stopper 326. Therefore, the stopper 326 can restrain the slit forming part 78 that defines the slit 70 of the rotating shaft 50 from the outside. In other words, the stopper 326 constitutes a restraining means that restrains the rotating shaft 50 from the outside at the part of the slit 70. Thereby, even when a high torque is required to rotate the shaft 128 of a water supply control device such as the water supply device 104, the rotating shaft 50 can be prevented from breaking or being destroyed.

[0093] In this way, the stopper 326 functions as a restraining portion that extends upward from the upper surface of the connecting portion 308 of the connector 300 and restrains the slit forming portion 78 of the rotating shaft 50 from the outside. Moreover, since the restraining portion is formed integrally with the connector, there is also the advantage that it is easy to handle.

[0094] In the connector 300 shown in FIG. 14, the height of the stopper 326 (depth of the groove 328) may be a height (depth) that can hold the rotating shaft 50 from the outside in at least a part of the slit 70, but it is preferable that the height (depth) be a height (depth) that can restrain the rotating shaft 50 from the outside over the entire depth of the slit 70.

[0095] As another embodiment of the restraining means for restraining the rotating shaft 50 from the outside at the slit 70, a restraining device 330 shown in FIG. 16 is used. This restraining device 330 is made of a metal such as steel, and has a hole 332 formed in the center. The diameter of this hole 332 is set to a size that allows the rotating shaft 50 to pass through. However, the outer diameter, i.e., the thickness, of the restraining device 330 is arbitrary. However, this may be determined according to the strength required for restraint device 330. The thickness (vertical direction) of restraint device 330 may also be determined according to the strength required.

[0096] In order to use such a restraining device 330, the connecting device 300 is also modified as shown in Fig. 17. In Fig. 17, in the connecting device 300 of this embodiment, the width of the upper part 308b of the connecting portion 308 is narrower than that of the connecting device 300 of the example in Fig. 8. In other words, both sides of the upper part 308b as viewed from the front are cut out, and restraining device receivers 334 are formed on both sides of the front of the upper part 308b.

[0097] Figure 18 shows the state in which the actuator 10 and the water supply device 104 are connected using the connector 300 and the restraint 330. In this embodiment, first, as in the previous embodiment of Figure 9, the second adaptor 314 is attached to the top of the hexagonal support 138. Then, before screwing in the set screw 150, the rotating shaft 50 is passed through the restraint 330, and then the rotating shaft 50 and the shaft 128 are connected via the connector 300 using the procedure described with reference to Figure 11. However, the set screw 150 is not screwed in yet.

[0098] Thereafter, the restraining device 330 through which the rotating shaft 50 has been passed in advance is lowered until it hits the restraining device receiver 334. Then, as shown in Fig. 18, the lower end of the rotating shaft 50 is surrounded by the restraining device 330. Then, as in the embodiment of Fig. 9, the retaining bolt 136 is finally locked with the set screw 150, and as shown in Fig. 18, the third adaptor 316 is attached to the lower end of the actuator 10, and the bolt is screwed into the female thread 321 provided in the wall 320 of the second adaptor 314 through the hole 325 provided in the cylindrical portion 324 of the third adaptor 316, thereby joining to the second adaptor 314, and the connecting portion between the actuator 10 and the water supply device 104 is joined, resulting in the state shown in Fig. 18.

[0099] 18, the restraining device 330 can also restrain the slit forming portion 78 (FIG. 15) that defines the slit 70 of the rotating shaft 50 from the outside. In other words, the restraining device 330 constitutes a restraining means that restrains the rotating shaft 50 from the outside at the portion of the slit 70. This makes it possible to prevent the rotating shaft 50 from breaking or being destroyed, even when a high torque is required to rotate the shaft 128 of a water supply control device such as the water supply device 104.

[0100] However, compared to using a restraining means (stopper 326) that is integrated with connector 300, using a restraining means (restraining device 330) separate from connector 300 has the drawback of being more difficult to attach and remove, but has the advantage that the structure of the connector is simpler, since the restraining portion is formed separately from the connector.

[0101] The restraining means separate from the connector 300 is not limited to the restraining device 330 shown in Figs. 16-18, but may also be, for example, a stainless steel band.

[0102] Fig. 19 shows a modified example of the ring-shaped restraining device 330 of the embodiment of Fig. 16, and the inner diameter of the restraining device 300A of this embodiment is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the slit-forming portion 78 of the rotating shaft 50, and the thickness (vertical direction) is thicker (higher) than that of the restraining device 330 of the embodiment of Fig. 16. Furthermore, in the restraining device 330A of this embodiment, a notch 336 is formed in a part of the circumferential direction, as shown in Fig. 19(A). As shown in Fig. 19(B), the restraining device 330A is formed with a through hole 338 and a screw hole 340 that communicate with each other at corresponding positions across the notch 336. A counterbore 338a is formed at the entrance of the through hole 338.

[0103] When connecting the actuator 10 to the water supply device 104 using the connector 300 as shown in FIG. 18, first, as in the previous embodiment shown in FIG. 9, the second adaptor 314 is attached to the top of the hexagonal support 138 as described with reference to FIG. 18. Then, before screwing in the set screw 150, the through hole The rotating shaft 50 is passed through the restraining tool 330A having the bolt 342 screwed into the screw hole 338 and the screw hole 340, and then the rotating shaft 50 and the shaft 128 are connected via the connecting tool 300 in the procedure described with reference to Fig. 11. At this time, since the inner diameter of the restraining tool 330A is designed to be slightly larger than the outer diameter of the slit forming portion 78, there is an advantage in that the rotating shaft 50 can be easily passed through the restraining tool 330A.

[0104] Thereafter, restraining device 330A, through which rotating shaft 50 has been passed in advance, is lowered until it hits restraining device receiver 334 (FIG. 17). At this time, restraining device 330A can be easily lowered because the inner diameter of restraining device 330A is slightly larger than the outer diameter of slit-forming portion 78. Then, as shown in FIG. 20, the lower end of rotating shaft 50 is surrounded by restraining device 330A.

[0105] Thereafter, bolt 342 is tightly screwed into through hole 338 and threaded hole 340. By tightening bolt 342, notch 336 of restraining device 330A is narrowed and the inner peripheral surface of restraining device 330A is brought into close contact with the outer peripheral surface of slit-forming portion 78 of rotating shaft 50, so that slit-forming portion 78 of rotating shaft 50 is effectively restrained by restraining device 330A.

[0106] At this time, since the thickness (height) of the restraining device 330A is made thick (high), as shown in Fig. 20, the restraining device 330A covers the rotating shaft 50 up to the root or the base end 78a of the slit forming portion 78, so that damage to the base end of the slit forming portion 78 at high torque can be effectively prevented. In other words, the restraining device 330A restrains the rotating shaft 50 from the outside beyond not only the slit forming portion 78 but also the base end 78a of the slit forming portion 78, so that damage to the rotating shaft 50 at or near the base end 78a of the slit forming portion 78 can be prevented.

[0107] Finally, the retaining bolt 136 is locked with the set screw 150, and the third adapter 316 is attached to the lower end of the actuator 10 and joined to the second adapter 314, thereby connecting the actuator 10 and the water supply device 104.

[0108] In the embodiment of Figures 19 and 20, the restraining portion (330A) is formed separately from the connector (300), which has the drawback of being tedious to attach and detach, but has the advantage that the connector has a simple structure.

[0109] In addition, in Figs. 19 and 20, parts corresponding to those in the embodiments described above are designated by the corresponding reference numerals with the suffix "A" and the description thereof will be omitted.

[0110] While the restraining device 330A in the embodiment shown in Fig. 19 has a notch 336 formed in a portion of the circumference, the restraining device 330B in the embodiment shown in Fig. 21 has a split-in-half structure. That is, the restraining device 330B includes a pair of restraining device parts 330Ba and 330Bb, and the restraining device parts 330Ba and 330Bb are respectively formed with a through hole 344 and a screw hole 346, as well as a through hole 348 and a screw hole 350, on both sides of the inner diameter part (hollow part) as shown in Fig. 21(B) for joining the two. These screw holes 344 and 348 may be formed with a counterbore as in the embodiment shown in Fig. 19, if necessary.

[0111] When using the restraining device 330B of this embodiment, the bolt 352 is screwed into the through hole 344 and the screw hole 346, and the bolt 354 is screwed into the through hole 348 and the screw hole 350. In this way, one restraining device 330B is formed.

[0112] The rotating shaft 50 is inserted into the hollow portion of the restraining device 330B in advance while the bolts 352 and 354 are not tightened and are in a loose state. Then, following the same procedure as in the embodiment shown in FIG. 19, the restraining device 330B through which the rotating shaft 50 has been inserted is lowered until it hits the restraining device receiver 334 (FIG. 17), and the loose bolts 352 and 354 are tightened. The inner peripheral surface of the restraining device 330B comes into close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the slit-forming portion 78 of the rotating shaft 50, and the slit-forming portion 78 of the rotating shaft 50 is effectively restrained by the restraining device 330B.

[0113] 19 embodiment is used, the restraining device 330B restrains the rotating shaft 50 up to the base end 78a (FIG. 20) of the slit forming portion 78, effectively preventing damage to the base end of the slit forming portion 78. In other words, the restraining device 330B restrains the rotating shaft 50 from the outside beyond the base end 78a of the slit forming portion 78, not just the slit forming portion 78, so that damage to the rotating shaft 50 at the base end 78a of the slit forming portion 78 or in the vicinity thereof can be prevented.

[0114] In FIG. 21, parts corresponding to those in the embodiments described above are designated by the corresponding reference numerals with the suffix "B" and will not be described.

[0115] Fig. 22 shows a restraint 330C according to another embodiment of the present invention, which is a third modified example of the ring-shaped restraint 330 according to the embodiment of Fig. 16. As shown in Fig. 22(A), restraint 330C according to this embodiment has through holes 356 penetrating the thickness of restraint 330C at opposing positions sandwiching the inner diameter portion of restraint 330C. Except for this point, restraint 330C is similar to restraint 330A according to the embodiment of Fig. 19, and although not shown, screw holes are formed on either side of cutout 336C, and bolt 342C is screwed into the screw hole.

[0116] The restraint 330C in this embodiment is designed to be pre-attached to the connector 300 (FIG. 22(B)). For this purpose, a screw hole 358 corresponding to the above-mentioned through hole 356 is formed in the restraint receiver 334 (FIG. 22(B)) of the connector 300 at a position facing the upper portion 308b.

[0117] 22(C), restraint 330C is placed on restraint receiver 334 so that upper portion 308b of connecting portion 300 fits into the hollow portion of restraint 330C, and bolt 360 is threaded into screw hole 358 through hole 356 of restraint 330C to temporarily secure restraint 330C on top of connecting device 300. At this time, bolt 342C is not tightly tightened.

[0118] In this state, the lower end of the rotating shaft 50 is inserted into the hollow part of the restraining device 330C so that the slit forming part 78 sandwiches the upper part 308b. This covers the outer periphery of the slit forming part 78 of the rotating shaft 50, for example, as in the restraining device 330A shown in FIG. 20. Then, the bolt 342C of the restraining device 330C is tightly tightened. The hole diameter of the through hole 356 does not hinder this tightening. Then, the bolt 360 screwed into the screw hole 358 of the connecting part 300 is tightly tightened.

[0119] When using the restraining device 330C of this embodiment, each of the shafts 128 140 is connected via the connecting device 300 in the procedure described with reference to Figure 11, and in this state, the slit forming portion 78 of the rotating shaft 50 is inserted into the hollow portion of the restraining device 330C which has been temporarily fixed to the connecting device 300 in advance.

[0120] In the embodiment of FIG. 22, the restraining portion (330C) is formed separately from the connector (300). However, since it can be temporarily attached to the connector in advance, even if the restraining portion is separate from the connector, it is easy to handle, and further, the connector can have a simple structure.

[0121] In this embodiment, too, the thickness (height) of the restraining device 330C is made thick (high), so that the restraining device 330C covers up to the base end 78a (FIG. 20) of the slit forming portion 78 of the rotating shaft 50, and therefore damage to the base end of the slit forming portion 78 at high torque can be effectively prevented. In other words, the restraining device 330C restrains the rotating shaft 50 from the outside, not only over the slit forming portion 78 but also beyond the base end 78a of the slit forming portion 78. This can prevent damage to the rotary shaft 50 at the base end 78a of the rotary shaft 50 or in the vicinity thereof.

[0122] In FIG. 22, parts corresponding to those in the embodiments described above are designated by the corresponding reference numerals with the suffix "C" and will not be described further.

[0123] FIG. 23 shows a connector 300A, which is a modified version of the connector 300 shown in FIG. 14. In this embodiment, the connector 300A has stoppers 326A on both sides of the upper part 308bA of the connecting portion 308A, separated by a groove 328A. That is, the groove 328A is formed by the stoppers 326A on the outer side in the thickness direction of the upper part 308bA. The width in the thickness direction of the groove 328A is selected to be the maximum thickness from the inner surface 72 of the slit 70 of the rotating shaft 50 shown in FIG. 7 to the peripheral side surface of the rotating shaft 50, that is, a width that can receive the slit forming portion 78 shown in FIG. 15. However, in this connector 300A, the width of the groove 328A is relatively wide at the upper end and narrows toward the bottom. That is, the clearance between the outer peripheral surface of the slit forming portion 78 of the rotating shaft 50 and the inner surface of the groove 328A (the inner surface of the stopper 326A) is narrowed toward the base of the stopper 326A. This increases the degree of adhesion between the outer circumferential surface of the slit-forming portion 78 of the rotating shaft 50 and the inner surface of the groove 328A, allowing the rotating shaft 50 to rotate with a higher torque.

[0124] 23, the height of the stopper 326A is extended above the slit 70 to sufficiently restrain and protect the base end 78a of the slit-forming portion 78. In other words, by covering the base end 78a of the slit-forming portion 78 of the rotating shaft 50 with the stopper 326A, damage to the base of the slit-forming portion 78 during high torque can be effectively prevented. In other words, the stopper 326A restrains the rotating shaft 50 from the outside beyond the base end 78a of the slit-forming portion 78 as well as the slit-forming portion 78, so that damage to the rotating shaft 50 at or near the base end 78a of the slit-forming portion 78 can be prevented.

[0125] However, in the embodiment of Figure 23, the inner surface of stopper 326A is inclined, and a gap is formed between the inner surface and the outer surface of upper portion 308A near the upper end, so that the effect of this (the effect of preventing damage at base end 78a) is limited. However, if the inner surface of stopper 326A is not inclined as in the case of stopper 326 in the embodiment of Figure 14 and the height of stopper 326A is made higher, the effect of preventing damage at base end 78a of slit forming portion 78 is large.

[0126] 14 and the like, the stopper 326A functions as a pair of restraining parts that extend upward from the upper surface of the connecting part 308A of the connector 300A and restrain the respective slit forming parts 78 of the rotating shaft 50 from the outside. Moreover, since the restraining parts are formed integrally with the connector, there is also the advantage that it is easy to handle.

[0127] In FIG. 23, parts corresponding to those in the embodiments described above are designated by the corresponding reference numerals with the suffix "A" and will not be described.

[0128] Fig. 24 shows a connector 300B which is a modified example of the connector 300 shown in Fig. 14. In connector 300B of this embodiment as well, stoppers 326B are formed on both sides of upper portion 308bB of connecting portion 308B of connector 300B, separated by grooves 328B, but the length of stoppers 326B in the width W (Fig. 14(B)) direction is set to be the same as the total length of width W. However, the length in the width W (Fig. 14(B)) direction may be shorter than the total length of width W.

[0129] This connector 300B is also a modified version of the connector 300A of the embodiment shown in FIG. 23. In the connector 300A of the embodiment shown in FIG. 23, the groove 328 is linear in the width W direction, and therefore the inner surface of the stopper 326A is also flat. In contrast, the groove 328B is curved so as to protrude outward in the thickness T3 direction (FIG. 14(B)) at the center in the width W direction. Therefore, A recess 362 is formed on the inner surface of each of the stoppers 326B. As shown in Fig. 25, the curvature of the recess 362 is approximately the same as the curvature of the outer peripheral surface of the slit forming portion 78 of the rotating shaft 50, and therefore the inner surface of this recess 362 conforms to the outer peripheral surface of the slit forming portion 78 of the rotating shaft 50. Therefore, compared with the case where the inner surface of the slit 326A is flat as in the embodiment of Fig. 23, the inner surface of the recess 362 of the slit 326B tightly constrains the outer peripheral surface over the entire circumference of the outer peripheral surface of the slit forming portion 78, so that it is possible to increase the resistance to the stress applied to the rectangular column portion 140 (Fig. 13) by the rotating shaft 50.

[0130] In this way, the stopper 326B functions as a pair of restraining parts that extend upward from the upper surface of the connecting part 308B of the connector 300B and restrain the respective slit forming parts 78 of the rotating shaft 50 from the outside. Moreover, since the restraining parts are formed integrally with the connector, there is also the advantage that they are easy to handle.

[0131] 23, the height of the stopper 326B is extended above the base end 78a of the slit forming portion 78, so that the stopper 326B can cover the base end 78a of the slit forming portion 78 of the rotating shaft 50, preventing damage to the base of the slit forming portion 78 when high torque is applied. In other words, the stopper 326B restrains the rotating shaft 50 from the outside beyond the base end 78a of the slit forming portion 78, and therefore damage to the rotating shaft 50 at or near the base end 78a of the slit forming portion 78 can be prevented.

[0132] In the embodiment of Figures 24-25, stopper 326B is continuous in the direction of width W (Figure 8(B)), but as a modification of this embodiment, a slit may be formed in the width direction of recess 362 from the upper end of stopper 326B to groove 328B, dividing stopper 326B in the width direction.

[0133] According to this modified example, by limiting the points of contact between slit forming portion 78 and stopper 326B, it is possible to adopt dimensions that facilitate the insertion of slit forming portion 78 into groove 328B and further enhance the adhesion of stopper 326B to slit forming portion 78.

[0134] In addition, in Figs. 24 and 25, parts corresponding to those in the embodiments described above are designated by the corresponding reference numerals with the suffix "B" and the description thereof will be omitted.

[0135] The connector 300C of the embodiment shown in FIG. 26 is also a modified version of the connector 300B of the embodiment shown in FIG. 24, and has through holes 364 and screw holes 366 formed at corresponding positions on both ends of the stoppers 326C in the width W direction, and the stoppers 326C on both sides are fastened from the outside using bolts 368 and 370. That is, the recesses 360C of the respective stoppers 326C are pressed against the outer circumferential surfaces of the corresponding slit forming portions 78. This increases the degree of contact between the outer circumferential surface of the slit forming portion 78 and the inner circumferential surface 326C of the slit 326C, so that the resistance to the stress applied by the rotating shaft 50 to the rectangular column portion 140 (FIG. 13) can be further increased.

[0136] The through hole 364, the screw hole 366, and the bolts 368 and 370 function as a fastening means for fastening the stoppers 326C together as the restraining portion. However, the fastening means for performing such a function is not limited to the combination of the through hole, the screw hole, and the bolt, but may be a through hole using the bolts 368 and 370 and a nut (not shown) with the screw hole 366 as a through hole, or may be something like a wire that can be wound around the pair of stoppers 326C to move them inward.

[0137] In addition, if the clearance between the inner surface of each recess 360C of stopper 326C and the circular outer circumferential surface of slit forming portion 78 is increased, slit forming portion 78 can be easily inserted into inner groove 328C of stopper 326C. However, in such a case, it is considered that the restraining effect of stopper 326C is insufficient without fastening means, but if such fastening means is used, a sufficient restraining effect can be obtained.

[0138] However, when the clearance between the inner surface of each recess 362 of the stopper 326B and the circular outer peripheral surface of the slit forming portion 78 of the rotating shaft 50 is not too large, as in the case of the connecting device 300B of the embodiment in Figure 24, a certain degree of restraining effect can be expected, so that it is not necessarily necessary to provide such a tightening means.

[0139] 23, the height of the stopper 326C is extended above the base end 78a of the slit forming portion 78, so that the stopper 326C covers the base end 78a of the slit forming portion 78 of the rotating shaft 50, preventing damage to the base of the slit forming portion 78 when high torque is applied. In other words, the stopper 326C restrains the rotating shaft 50 from the outside beyond the base end 78a of the slit forming portion 78, and therefore damage to the rotating shaft 50 at or near the base end 78a of the slit forming portion 78 can be prevented.

[0140] In this way, the stopper 326C functions as a pair of restraining parts that extend upward from the upper surface of the connecting part 308B of the connector 300B and restrain the respective slit forming parts 78 of the rotating shaft 50 from the outside. Moreover, since the restraining parts are formed integrally with the connector, there is also the advantage that they are easy to handle.

[0141] Furthermore, in the connector 300 of the embodiment shown in FIG. 15 and the connector 300A of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 23-24, fastening means (screw holes 364 and 366 and bolts 368 and 370) like those in the connector 300C of the embodiment in FIG. 26 can also be used.

[0142] In the connectors 300, 300A, 300B, and 300C of the previous embodiments, stoppers 300, 300A, 300B, and 300C were formed as restraining parts on both sides in the thickness T1 (FIG. 8) direction, sandwiching the upper parts 308b, 308bA, 308bB, and 308C of the connectors 308, 308A, 308B, and 308C. However, in the connector 300D of the embodiment shown in FIG. 27, such stoppers are not formed.

[0143] That is, in the fastener 300D of this embodiment, a female thread 310D is formed on the upper surface of a connecting portion 308D, and semicircular insertion holes 372 are formed on both sides of the female thread 310D in the thickness T1 (FIG. 8) direction of the fastener 300D. In a plan view, the two insertion holes 372 are similar to the end face shapes of the corresponding slit forming portions 78, and have an inner plane 374 corresponding to a chord and an inner surface 376 that curves outwardly and corresponds to an arc. The planes 374 of the two insertion holes 372 are parallel to each other.

[0144] 27, the hole 372 has a depth equivalent to the length from the base end 78a to the tip of the slit forming portion 78 of the rotating shaft 50 shown in FIG.

[0145] When the connector 300D of this embodiment is used to connect the rotating shaft 50 and the shaft 128, as shown in Fig. 28, the retaining bolt 136 is attached to the upper side of the connector 300D by screwing the male thread formed on the lower part of the retaining bolt 136 into the female thread 310D. The retaining bolt 136 is inserted into the counterbore 74 formed in the rotating shaft 50 of the actuator 10. Then, the slit forming portions 78 of the rotating shaft 50 are inserted into the insertion holes 372. The lower rectangular column portion 140 is then clamped by the clamping portions 304D.

[0146] In this way, the slit forming portion 78 of the rotating shaft 50 is inserted into the insertion hole 372 of the connecting portion 308D, so that the slit forming portion 78 can be restrained from the outside by the connecting portion 308D that forms the insertion hole 372. At this time, the curved inner surface 376 of the insertion hole 372 fits along the outer circumferential surface of the slit forming portion 78, so that the slit forming portion 78 can be tightly restrained from the outside.

[0147] In other words, the connecting portion 308D that defines the insertion hole 372 constitutes a restraining means that restrains the rotating shaft 50 from the outside at the portion of the slit 70. This makes it possible to prevent the rotating shaft 50 from breaking or being destroyed even when a high torque is required to rotate the shaft 128 of a water supply control device such as the water supply device 104.

[0148] In the connector 300D shown in Figures 27-28, the depth of the insertion hole 372 may be sufficient to hold the rotating shaft 50 from the outside at least in a part of the slit forming portion 78, but it is desirable that the depth be sufficient to restrain the rotating shaft 50 from the outside over the entire length from the base end 78a to the tip of the slit forming portion 78.

[0149] More preferably, the curved inner surface 376 (FIG. 27(B)) of the insertion hole 372 is extended upward beyond the base end 78a of the slit forming portion 78. In this way, the curved inner surface 376 of the insertion hole 372 can cover up to the base of the slit forming portion 78 of the rotating shaft 50, and damage to the base of the slit forming portion 78 at the time of high torque can be prevented. In other words, the connecting portion 308D processed so that the curved inner surface 376 of the insertion hole 372 extends upward restrains the rotating shaft 50 from the outside beyond not only the slit forming portion 78 but also the base end 78a of the slit forming portion 78, and therefore damage to the rotating shaft 50 at or near the base end 78a of the slit forming portion 78 can be prevented.

[0150] 27-28, the planar shapes of the slit forming portion 78 and the insertion hole 372 are both semicircular and similar, but the smaller the clearance of the insertion hole 372 from the slit forming portion 78, the greater the restraining force. However, if the clearance of the insertion hole 372 from the slit forming portion 78 is small, it becomes difficult to insert the slit forming portion 78 into the insertion hole 372, so the clearance of the insertion hole 372 from the slit forming portion 78 is made as small as possible within the range that allows the slit forming portion 78 to be inserted.

[0151] In this way, (the curved inner surface 376 of) the connecting portion 308D of the connector 300D that forms the insertion hole 372 functions as a restraining portion that extends upward from the upper surface of the connecting portion 308D and restrains each of the slit forming portions 78 of the rotating shaft 50 from the outside. Moreover, since the restraining portions are formed integrally with the connector, there is also the advantage that they are easy to handle.

[0152] In addition, in the connector 300D of this embodiment as well, as explained above as a modified example of the embodiment in Figures 24-25, a slit corresponding to the depth of the insertion hole 372 may be formed in the width direction of the width W (Figure 8 (B)) of the connector 300D to divide the curved inner surface 376 of the connecting portion 308D.

[0153] The specific values ​​of dimensions and shapes given above are merely examples and can be changed as appropriate according to the needs of product specifications, etc. [Explanation of symbols]

[0154] 10... Electric actuator 20...Main body case 50 …Rotation axis 70 ... Slit 72 ...Inner 74 … Counterbore 76 … Female thread 78 ... Slit forming part 128 ... shaft 104 ... Water supply device (water supply control device) 106 ...Drainage device (water supply control device) 134 ... Side 136 ... Lock bolt 140 … Square column section 142 ... Side 144 ... Male thread 146 ... Nut 148 ... Small diameter 150 ... Set screw 300, 300A, 300B, 300C, 300D...Coupling 302...legs 304 ... Clamping part 306 … Step 308, 308A, 308B, 308C, 308D...Connection part 308a, 308aA, 308aB, 308aC...lower part 308b, 308bA, 308bB, 308bC...upper part 310, 310A, 310B, 310C, 310D... Female thread 312 ... Countersink 322, 338, 344, 348, 356, 364 ... through holes 326, 326A, 326B, 326C ... Stopper 328…Groove 330, 330A, 330B, 330C...Restraints 334 ... Restraint receiver 340, 346, 350, 358, 366 … Screw holes 342, 352, 354, 360, 368, 370...Volts 362, 362C ... Recess 372 ... Insertion hole

Claims

1. An electric actuator is attached to a water supply control device having a displacement mechanism that controls water supply by displacing a valve body or a partition body that is linked to rotation of a shaft, and operates the displacement mechanism, Main unit case, A motor provided in the main body case; a transmission mechanism provided in the main body case and configured to transmit the driving force of the motor; and a rotation shaft that is rotated by the motor via the transmission mechanism and has a lower portion extending downwardly from the main body case; and A connector for connecting the rotating shaft to the shaft, The connector has a pair of legs for connecting to an upper end of the shaft, and a connecting portion for connecting the pair of legs at their respective upper ends, A slit is formed on a lower end of the rotating shaft and into which a part of the connecting portion is fitted, The slit is formed by a pair of slit forming parts arranged on both sides of the connecting part with a base end therebetween, The connecting tool includes a groove formed by a stopper and the connecting portion on both sides of the connecting portion, the groove receiving the pair of slit forming portions, An electric actuator, wherein the width of the groove is relatively wide at the upper end and narrows toward the lower end.

2. An electric actuator attached to a water supply control device having a displacement mechanism that controls water supply by displacement of a valve body or a partition body that is linked to rotation of a shaft, and actuates the displacement mechanism, Main unit case, A motor provided in the main body case; a transmission mechanism provided in the main body case and configured to transmit the driving force of the motor; and a rotation shaft that is rotated by the motor via the transmission mechanism and has a lower portion extending downwardly from the main body case; and A connector for connecting the rotating shaft to the shaft, The connector has a pair of legs for connecting to an upper end of the shaft, and a connecting portion for connecting the pair of legs at their respective upper ends, A slit is formed on a lower end of the rotating shaft and into which a part of the connecting portion is fitted, The slit is formed by a pair of slit forming parts arranged on both sides of the connecting part with a base end therebetween, The connecting tool has grooves formed by stoppers and the connecting portion on both sides of the connecting portion, the grooves receiving the pair of slit forming portions, an electric actuator, the clearance between an outer peripheral surface of the slit forming portion and an inner surface of the groove being narrowed toward a base of the stopper;

3. An electric actuator attached to a water supply control device having a displacement mechanism that controls water supply by displacement of a valve body or a partition body linked to rotation of a shaft, and actuates the displacement mechanism, Main unit case, A motor provided in the main body case; a transmission mechanism provided in the main body case and configured to transmit the driving force of the motor; and a rotation shaft that is rotated by the motor via the transmission mechanism and has a lower portion extending downwardly from the main body case; and A connector for connecting the rotating shaft to the shaft, The connector has a pair of legs for connecting to an upper end of the shaft, and a connecting portion for connecting the pair of legs at their respective upper ends, A slit is formed on a lower end of the rotating shaft and into which a part of the connecting portion is fitted, The slit is formed by a pair of slit forming parts arranged on both sides of the connecting part with a base end therebetween, The connector has grooves formed by stoppers and the connecting portion on both sides of the connecting portion, the grooves receiving the pair of slit-forming portions, and An electric actuator comprising a bolt for tightly contacting the slit-forming portion and the stopper.

4. An electric actuator as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein an upper end of the stopper extends beyond the base end of the slit forming portion.

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