Telescopic device and test device equipped with the same

Abstract

To provide a test apparatus that can be compactly installed, and that has an extensible device in which a spacing between universal joints is effectively extended and reduced.SOLUTION: In an excitation apparatus, an actuator 10 disposed between cross shaft joints 11 and 13 which are connected to a base 101 and a support base 103 is extended and contracted by rotation of a nut 41 to slide a ball screw shaft 17 in a forward / reverse direction, whereby excitation is implemented. The excitation apparatus includes a rectangular plate 20 that oscillates between the base side and the actuator side and about an X axis 21 and a Y axis 23. On an inner side of the rectangular plate, a space 25 housing one end of the ball screw shaft without restraining movement of the one end is opened.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a telescopic device that realizes the necessary expansion and contraction with a compact structure and a test device equipped with the same.

Background Art

[0002] As a test device that uses a plurality of sets of telescopic devices that adjust the separation distance between the universal joints provided on both ends by the driving force of a drive source, for example, a driving simulator described in Patent Document 1 is known.

[0003] In this driving simulator, by using six sets of telescopic devices, a top-side support base that supports a vehicle cockpit with respect to a base is tilted in six degrees of freedom such as in the XYZ directions, pitch direction, roll direction, and yaw direction. It is designed to achieve movement.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] However, in such a telescopic device, in order to effectively operate the support base side with respect to the base side, after securing the telescopic distance, in order to meet the needs of saving space and improving workability, it is necessary to reduce the areas of the support base side and the base side and lower the overall height.

[0006] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a test device that can be compactly installed, together with a telescopic device that effectively expands and contracts the separation distance between universal joints.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] One aspect of the invention of the telescopic device for solving the above problems is a telescopic device installed so as to be interposed between a first connected member and a second connected member, and telescoping in the separating direction of the first connected member and the second connected member to adjust the separation interval, comprising: a first universal joint connected to the first connected member; a second universal joint connected to the second connected member; a device base connected to the first universal joint and supporting the posture with respect to the first connected member so as to be freely changeable; a slide member extending in the separating direction of the first connected member and the second connected member and slidably held by the device base in the longitudinal direction, and having an opposite end to the device base connected to the second universal joint so as to be freely changeable in posture with respect to the second connected member; and a slide mechanism receiving a driving force for sliding the slide member in the longitudinal direction from a driving source and sliding the slide member in the longitudinal direction. One or both of the first universal joint and the second universal joint have two sets of rotation axes in a direction orthogonal to the sliding direction of the slide member, and a swing member that swings about the rotation axis portion; a first shaft support member that rotatably supports the first rotation axis portion of the swing member and is fixed to the first connected member or the second connected member; and a second shaft support member that rotatably supports the second rotation axis portion of the swing member and is fixed to the device base or the opposite end of the slide member to the device base. The swing member is formed such that a space for accommodating an end portion of the slide member opens in the extending direction of the slide member so as not to restrict the movement of the slide member that slides and swings.

[0008] One aspect of the invention of the test device for solving the above problems is a test device in which at least three or more sets of the above telescopic devices are installed, comprising a substrate member of the first connected member and a top plate member of the second connected member, and characterized in that the separation interval between the substrate member and the top plate member is changed for each telescopic device to change the posture of the top plate member with respect to the substrate member.

Effects of the Invention

[0009] According to one aspect of the present invention as described above, the slide member can be slid until the end portion side is accommodated within the opening space of the swing member of the universal joint. Conventionally, the size of the universal joint was added to the length of the slide member, but the separation distance between the universal joints can be reduced by the amount of the sliding movement into the opening space, and by detaching the end portion of the slide member from within the opening space of the swing member and sliding it, the same separation distance between the universal joints as in the conventional case can be ensured.

[0010] Therefore, it is possible to effectively reduce the separation distance between the universal joints of the telescopic device while extending it, and the test device can be installed compactly using the telescopic device.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0011]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

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Figure 8

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Figure 10

Figure 11

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail. FIGS. 1 to 11 are diagrams for explaining a vibration device which is an example of a test device equipped with a telescopic device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0013] In FIGS. 1 and 2, the vibration device (test device) 100 is configured to function as a hexapod that constitutes a part of a driving simulator, and is installed between a base (substrate member, base, first connected member) 101 installed in a test room or the like and a support base (top plate member, second connected member) 103 that fixes the cockpit of the driving simulator or the like above it. Six sets of actuators (telescopic devices) 10 are interposed and individually supported. The vibration device 100 is configured such that six sets of actuators 10 expand and contract according to control signals from a host computer (not shown) of the driving simulator, and adjust the separation distance between the installation locations, thereby tilting the support base 103 with respect to the base 101 in the XYZ directions, pitch direction, roll direction, and yaw direction to realize six-degree-of-freedom movement. Here, in the present embodiment, a vibration device 100 having six sets of actuators 10 will be described as an example, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, it goes without saying that by providing three or more sets of actuators 10, the support base can be supported so as to be displaceable with respect to the base.

[0014] This vibration exciter 100 is fabricated in a structure in which both end portions 10e of two sets of actuators 10 are connected to and supported by support blocks 101B and 103B near the apex angles 101Ta and 103Ta (see FIG. 8) of triangles 101T and 103T that face each other with the approximate centers of the base 101 and the support base 103 in common. This vibration exciter 100 is fabricated such that the triangle 103T of the support base 103 is rotated 60° (see FIG. 8) with respect to the triangle 101T of the base 101, and the both end portions 10e of every two sets of actuators 10 are installed on the support blocks 101B and 103B so as to be interposed between the apex angles 101Ta and 103Ta adjacent in the forward and reverse rotation directions from one of the apex angles 101Ta and 103Ta, and each of the six sets of actuators 10 is arranged between the base 101 and the support base 103. As a result, this vibration exciter 100 can support the support base 103 supported by the base 101 while changing it to a desired posture and a stable state or vibrating it by adjusting the separation intervals between the both end portions 10e of the six sets of actuators 10 respectively.

[0015] And, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, for the actuator 10, a cross universal joint (first universal joint) 11 is installed on the support block 101B of the base 101, and the device base 15 is supported such that its posture with respect to the base 101 can be freely changed. A cross universal joint (second universal joint) 13 is installed on the support block 103B of the support base 103, and the upper end portion 17e of a ball screw shaft (slide member) 17 that is held slidably in the longitudinal direction on the device base 15 is supported such that its posture with respect to the support base 103 can be freely changed. In other words, the actuator 10 supports the posture of the support base 103 with respect to the base 101 so as to be freely changeable.

[0016] As shown in Fig. 5, the cardan joint 11 on the base 101 side is fabricated in a shape where a pair of X - axes 21 project from the centers of both parallel sides 20a on one side of the rectangular plate 20, and a pair of Y - axes 23 project from the centers of both parallel sides 20b on the other side of the rectangular plate 20. The pair of X - axes 21 are rotatably supported by bearings 27b in a pair of bearings (second shaft support members) 27 which are erected on the upper surface of the base 101 at intervals in the X - axis direction in the drawing. The pair of Y - axes 23 are rotatably supported by bearings 29b in a pair of bearings (first shaft support members) 29 which are erected on the lower surface of the apparatus base 15 at intervals in the Y - axis direction in the drawing.

[0017] Thus, the vibration exciter 100 can support the apparatus base 15 of the actuator 10 such that the attitude of the rectangular plate 20 functions as a rocking member with respect to the base 101 and can be freely changed by the bearings 27 and 29 of the base 101 and the apparatus base 15 respectively rotatably holding the X - axis 21 and the Y - axis 23 of the cardan joint 11 (rectangular plate 20).

[0018] The cardan joint 13 on the support base 103 side is, similar to the cardan joint 11, such that a pair of X - axes 31 of the cross - shaped member 30 are rotatably supported by bearings 37b in a pair of bearings 37 which are erected on the lower surface of the support base 103 at intervals in the X - axis direction, and a pair of Y - axes 33 of the cross - shaped member 30 are rotatably supported by bearings 39b in a pair of bearings 39 which are erected at intervals in the Y - axis direction at the upper end portion 17e of the ball screw shaft 17.

[0019] Thus, the vibration exciter 100 can support the attitude of the ball screw shaft 17 of the actuator 10 such that the cross - shaped member 30 rocks with respect to the support base 103 by the bearings 37 and 39 of the support base 103 and the ball screw shaft 17 respectively rotatably holding the X - axis 31 and the Y - axis 33 of the cardan joint 13 (cross - shaped member 30). In other words, the vibration exciter 100 can support the attitude of the support base 103 with respect to the ball screw shaft 17 of the actuator 10 such that the attitude can be freely changed.

[0020] Here, in the vibration device 100 of the present embodiment, as an example, the case where the rectangular plate 20 is disposed only on the cross universal joint 11 on the base 101 side of the actuator 10 will be described, but the present invention is not limited to this. Needless to say, it may be disposed in place of the cross universal joint 13 on the support base 103 side, or may be disposed on both of them.

[0021] The device base 15 includes a housing member 15a that rotatably holds a nut (ball case) 41 constituting a rotary ball screw 40 (for example, manufactured by THK Co., Ltd.) together with the ball screw shaft 17 at one end side. A bearing 29 that rotatably holds the Y-axis 23 of the cross universal joint 11 on the base 101 side protrudes toward the base 101 side at the other end opposite to the housing member 15a.

[0022] In the rotary ball screw 40, the nut 41 is rotatably held by the housing member 15a of the device base 15 on the base 101 side. On the support base 103 side, a bearing 37 that rotatably holds the Y-axis 33 of the cross member 30 is formed to protrude from the upper end portion 17e toward the support base 103 side. The ball screw shaft 17 is slidably held in the nut 41.

[0023] Although not shown in the figure, the rotary ball screw 40 has a spiral screw groove (spiral groove) shape for rotatably accommodating a plurality of balls (ball group) on the outer peripheral surface of the ball screw shaft (spiral groove structure shaft) 17 and the inner peripheral surface of the nut 41. When one of the ball screw shaft 17 and the nut 41 rotates relative to the other, the balls accommodated in the spiral groove are pushed out in one direction, and the other of the ball screw shaft 17 and the nut 41 slides in the opposite direction.

[0024] Further, the actuator 10 is provided with a servo motor (drive source) 49 such that the nut 41 (ball screw shaft 17) of the rotary ball screw 40 rotatably held by the device base 15 on the base 101 side and the drive rotation shaft are in a parallel posture. The device base 15 is fixed so as to integrally rotate coaxially with the drive rotation shaft of the servo motor 49, a pulley 43 fixed so as to integrally rotate coaxially with the drive rotation shaft of the servo motor 49, a pulley 45 fixed so as to integrally rotate coaxially with the nut 41, and a belt 47 wound around the pair of pulleys 43 and 45 to transmit the drive rotation force of the servo motor 49 to the nut 41, and functions as a drive force conversion mechanism.

[0025] Thereby, the actuator 10 can slide the ball screw shaft 17 in the forward and reverse directions by driving and controlling the servo motor 49 to rotate the nut 41 of the rotary ball screw 40 forward and backward, and can advance and retreat the ball screw shaft 17 toward the support base 103 side with respect to the device base 15 (nut 41) on the base 101 side to expand and contract the overall length.

[0026] At this time, the actuator 10 supports the cross shaft joints 11 and 13 on both ends according to the expansion and contraction of the overall length with respect to the base 101 and the device base 15 (nut 41 of the rotary ball screw 40), and the support base 103 and the upper end portion 17e of the ball screw shaft 17 of the rotary ball screw 40 so that their relative postures can be freely changed, functions as a vibration exciter 100, and can realize the operations of inclination and vibration excitation with six degrees of freedom.

[0027] Here, in the vibration device 100 of the present embodiment, a case where a slide mechanism is mounted that includes a rotary ball screw 40 and slides the ball screw shaft 17 in the axial direction without rotating it in the longitudinal direction will be described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the ball screw shaft 17 can be replaced with a male screw shaft (helical groove structure shaft) having a male screw (helical groove shape) formed on its outer peripheral surface, and a female nut having a female screw (helical groove shape) that engages with the male screw formed on its inner peripheral surface is rotatably held. Thus, a slide mechanism can be adopted that slides the male screw shaft in the forward and backward directions while rotating it forward and backward.

[0028] And, as shown in FIG. 5, this actuator 10 has a housing space 25 that opens widely so as to have an inner peripheral surface 20i that is substantially parallel inside the parallel side surfaces 20a and 20b of the rectangular plate 20. As shown in FIG. 6, this rectangular plate 20 allows the movement of the base side 101 side end portion of the ball screw shaft 17 that slides in the vertical direction in response to the relative rotation of the nut 41 of the rotary ball screw 40 to enter the housing space 25 without being restricted.

[0029] In particular, as shown in FIG. 7(a), the rectangular plate 20 rotates forward and backward about the Y-axis 23 that is rotatably supported by the bearing 29 on the base 101 side, integrally with the bearing 27 of the device base 15 that rotatably supports the pair of X-axes 21. Therefore, it is not necessary to widely secure the space between the inner peripheral surfaces 20i of the housing space 25 between the pair of X-axes 21, and the ball screw shaft 17 does not contact the inner peripheral surface 20i of the housing space 25 as it is.

[0030] Further, as shown in FIG. 7(b), for this rectangular plate 20, a pair of Y-axes 23 are rotatably supported by a bearing 29 installed on the base 101 side. Integrally with the bearing 27 of the apparatus base 15, the base-side 101-side end of the ball screw shaft 17 swings within the accommodation space 25. Therefore, it is necessary to widely secure the inner peripheral surface 20i of the accommodation space 25 between the pair of Y-axes 23 by the amount of this swing. In short, the rectangular plate 20 is manufactured so that the movement of the base-side 101-side end of the ball screw shaft 17 that swings integrally with the bearing 27 of the apparatus base 15 is not restricted and does not come into contact with the inner peripheral surface 20i of the accommodation space 25. That is, the cross-axis joint 13 on the support base 103 side is configured as a so-called general-purpose universal joint that uses a cross member 30, while the cross-axis joint 11 on the base 101 side is configured as a hollow cross-axis joint that uses a rectangular plate 20 having an accommodation space 25 formed and having X-axis 21 and Y-axis 23. The base 101-side end of the ball screw shaft 17 of the rotary ball screw 40 can be swingably accommodated within the inner accommodation space 25 that opens in the extension direction of the ball screw shaft 17.

[0031] Thereby, as shown in FIG. 8, the actuator 10 supports the support base 103 with the cross-axis joint 11 connected, and allows the cross-axis joint 13 connected to the base 101 to move (enter) the base 101-side end of the ball screw shaft 17 of the rotary ball screw 40 into the accommodation space 25 of the rectangular plate 20.

[0032] For this reason, the vibration device 100 can have a more compact structure than the vibration device 200 (see FIG. 9) that supports the support base 203 so that the posture with respect to the base 201 can be freely changed with the conventional actuator 210 shown in FIG. 11 interposed. The base 101 and the support base 103 of the vibration device 100 can also have a smaller area than the base 201 and the support base 203 of the vibration device 200, and the required installation space can be made compact.

[0033] Here, the conventional actuator 210, briefly described, is made with a structure similar to that of the cross-axis joint 11 of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 11. Cross-axis joints 211 and 213 are connected so as to be able to freely change the posture of the support base 203 with respect to the base 201. This actuator 210 rotates and moves up and down the ball screw shaft 217 rotatably supported by the nut 241 to which the rotary ball screw 240 is fixed to the base body 215, by the rotational driving force of the servo motor 249 transmitted via the pulleys 243, 245 and the belt 247, thereby changing the separation distance between the cross-axis joints 211 and 213 and changing the posture of the support base 203 with respect to the base 201.

[0034] Therefore, for example, when functioning as a hexapod that constitutes a part of a driving simulator, as shown in FIG. 10, in the case of test conditions where the support surface that supports the test object vibrates between the lower height Hb (Ba, Bb) and the upper height Ht (Ta, Tb) around the height Hn at rest (Na, Nb), the conventional vibration device 200 needs to secure space in the height direction together with the installation areas of the large-area base 201 and the support base 203, whereas the vibration device 100 of the present embodiment can compactly reduce the space in the height direction together with the installation areas of the base 101 and the support base 103.

[0035] Thus, in the vibration device 100 equipped with the actuator 10 of the present embodiment, the base 101 side end of the ball screw shaft 17 of the rotary ball screw 40 can be moved into the accommodation space 25 of the rectangular plate 20 of the cross-axis joint 11. Even when having the same function as the conventional actuator 200 and having a compact structure, the installation location can also be made compact.

[0036] The scope of the present invention is not limited to the illustrated and described exemplary embodiments, but also includes all embodiments that bring about equivalent effects to those intended by the present invention. Furthermore, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the combinations of the features of the invention specified by each claim, but may be specified by any desired combination of each of the disclosed specific features.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0037] 10……Actuator (Expansion and Contraction Device) 11……Cardan Joint (First Universal Joint) 13……Cardan Joint (Second Universal Joint) 15……Device Base 15a……Housing Member 17……Ball Screw Shaft (Slide Member) 20……Rectangular Plate (Swing Member) 20i……Inner Peripheral Surface 21……X Axis 23……Y Axis 25……Accommodation Space 27, 29……Bearings 30……Cross Member 41……Nut 43, 45……Pulleys 47……Belt 49……Servo Motor 100……Vibration Device 101……Base (Substrate Member, Base, First Connected Member) 103……Support Stand (Top Plate Member, Second Connected Member)

Claims

1. A slide member, a device base for holding the slide member slidably in the longitudinal direction, a slide mechanism that receives a driving force for sliding the slide member in the longitudinal direction from a driving source and slides the slide member in the longitudinal direction, a swing member having at least one set of rotation axes in a direction orthogonal to the sliding direction of the slide member and swinging about the rotation axes, a support member for rotatably supporting the rotation axis of the swing member, characterized by comprising: The swing member is formed such that a space for accommodating an end portion of the slide member opens in an extending direction of the slide member so as not to restrict movement of the slide member that slides and swings. The telescopic device is characterized in that.

2. The slide member is formed on a spiral groove structure shaft having a spiral groove formed on an outer peripheral surface side having a circular cross section, The slide mechanism is configured to convert a rotational driving force received from the driving source into a linear driving force by utilizing the spiral groove shape of the spiral groove structure shaft and slide the spiral groove structure shaft in the axial direction. The telescopic device according to claim 1, characterized in that.

3. The slide mechanism includes a group of balls that are rotatably accommodated in the spiral groove shape of the spiral groove structure shaft, a ball case that forms a spiral groove shape for rotatably accommodating the group of balls on an inner peripheral surface side facing the outer peripheral surface of the spiral groove structure shaft to maintain the accommodated state of the group of balls, and a driving force conversion mechanism that positions the ball case in the axial direction of the spiral groove structure shaft and rotatably holds it around the outer periphery of the spiral groove structure shaft, and receives a rotational driving force from the driving source to rotate the ball case. The telescopic device according to claim 2, characterized by comprising.

4. A motor for rotating a rotation axis is disposed at an adjacent position of the spiral groove structure shaft as the driving source, The driving force conversion mechanism includes a driving force conversion mechanism that transmits the rotational driving force of the motor to the ball case by winding a belt around a pair of pulleys that are coaxially rotated with respect to the rotation axes of the ball case and the motor, respectively. The telescopic device according to claim 3, characterized in that.

5. A test device in which at least three or more telescopic devices according to any one of claims 1 to 4 are installed, comprising a substrate member of a first connected member and a top plate member of a second connected member, A test apparatus characterized by changing a separation interval between the substrate member and the top plate member for each of the expansion and contraction devices to change the posture of the top plate member with respect to the substrate member.

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