Chain drive device and door opening / closing mechanism

Abstract

[Problem] To provide a highly versatile chain drive device and a door opening / closing mechanism with which it is possible to easily and freely change the delivery direction without changing the overall orientation or adding another mechanism. [Solution] The chain drive device includes: a chain member (110) which can be driven forward and backward and is composed of a pair of chains which are meshed with each other and integrated; a chain guide mechanism which guides the chain member (110) in a rigid state from a first chain accommodation part (131); and a drive mechanism which drives the chain member (110) forward and backward. The chain guide mechanism has: a fixed guide part (120) which is continuous with the first chain accommodation part (131); and a swing guide part (140) which is disposed to be swingable with respect to the fixed guide part (120).

Description

Chain drive device and door opening / closing mechanism

[0001] The present invention relates to a chain drive device and a door opening and closing mechanism that have a chain member that can be driven to move back and forth freely, a chain storage section that stores the chain member, a chain guide mechanism that guides the chain member and leads it from the chain storage section to a rigid state, and a drive mechanism that drives the chain member back and forth.

[0002] Known examples of drive devices that generate a pressing force include a chain member that can be driven to move back and forth, a chain housing that houses the chain member, a chain guide mechanism that guides the chain member from the chain housing to a rigid state, and a drive mechanism that drives the chain back and forth. For example, a chain drive device disclosed in Patent Document 1 is configured such that a pair of interlocking chains (chain members) that can move back and forth interlock with each other and become one unit as the chain moves forward, but disengage and branch as the chain moves backward. Another known example is a chain drive device disclosed in Patent Document 2 that is configured such that a chain that can be bent in one direction but cannot be bent in the other direction is paid out in a straight line.

[0003] Japanese Patent No. 6673011 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2020-2988 Japanese Patent No. 7253697

[0004] While these known chain drive devices are capable of generating a pressing force in the payout direction by a linearly paid-out chain member, they require a storage section to store the paid-out chain member, and when the pressing direction changes, for example, when used to open or close a door element having a hinge shaft, it is necessary to change the posture of the entire chain drive device, including the storage section that stores the chain member, or to add another mechanism such as a link mechanism to change the payout direction, resulting in a problem of complex equipment. Also, as in Patent Document 3, a device is known in which the paid-out chain is rigidified into a curved shape specifically for opening and closing a door element having a hinge shaft, but because the pay-out direction and the pressing direction do not match and the angle increases as the pay-out progresses, the bending rigidity when rigidified is required to be extremely high, and there are also problems with the pay-out trajectory being fixed to a certain radius of curvature, resulting in poor versatility.

[0005] The present invention aims to solve these problems by providing a highly versatile chain drive device that can easily and freely change the payout direction without changing the overall posture or adding other mechanisms, and a door opening and closing mechanism that uses the same.

[0006] The present invention provides a chain drive device having a chain member that can be driven freely back and forth, a chain accommodating section that accommodates the chain member, a chain guide mechanism that guides the chain member and leads it to a rigid state from the chain accommodating section, and a drive mechanism that drives the chain member back and forth, wherein the chain guide mechanism solves the above problem by having a fixed guide section that is continuous with the chain accommodating section and a swingable guide section that is arranged to be swingable relative to the fixed guide section. The present invention also provides a door opening and closing mechanism that uses a chain drive device to open and close a door element that is rotatably connected to a main body by a hinge shaft, the chain drive device having a chain element that can be driven to move back and forth, a chain storage section that stores the chain element, a chain guide mechanism that guides the chain element and leads it to a rigid state from the chain storage section, and a drive mechanism that drives the chain element to move back and forth, the chain guide mechanism having a fixed guide section that is continuous with the chain storage section and a swingable guide section that is arranged to be swingable relative to the fixed guide section, the fixed guide section being connected to the main body, and the tip of the protruding side of the chain element being connected to the door element, thereby solving the above problem.

[0007] According to the invention of claim 1, the chain guide mechanism has a fixed guide portion connected to the chain accommodating portion and a swingable guide portion arranged to swing relative to the fixed guide portion, so that the payout direction can be easily changed by swinging the swingable guide portion without changing the overall posture or adding any other mechanism. According to the configuration of claim 2, the swing center of the swingable guide portion coincides with the rotation center of the sprocket, so that there is no need to swing the drive mechanism when the swingable guide portion swings, making it even easier to change the payout direction. According to the configuration of claim 3, the chain members have a pair of chains that mesh together and are integrated, so that the paid-out chain members are rigid regardless of the swing direction, further increasing the degree of swing freedom.

[0008] According to the invention of claim 4, the center of swing of the swing guide part coincides with the center of rotation of the sprocket, so there is no need to swing the drive mechanism when the swing guide part swings, and the extension direction can be changed more easily, making it possible to construct a compact door opening and closing mechanism.

[0009] 1 is a perspective view of a chain drive device according to one embodiment of the present invention when being vertically reeled out. FIG. 1 is a view with some components removed. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a chain drive device according to one embodiment of the present invention when being vertically reeled out. FIG. 3 is a view with the chain member removed. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a chain drive device according to one embodiment of the present invention when the reeling direction changes. FIG. 6 is a view with some components removed. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a chain drive device according to one embodiment of the present invention when the reeling direction changes. FIG. 8 is a view with the chain member removed. FIG. 9 is a perspective view of FIG. 10. An explanatory view of opening and closing a door element. An explanatory perspective view of a door opening and closing mechanism according to one embodiment of the present invention. An enlarged explanatory view of the vicinity of the chain drive device of FIG. 12.

[0010] Examples of the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 10. However, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments.

[0011] 1 to 10 , a chain driving device 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a chain member 110 consisting of a pair of chains (first chain 111, second chain 112) that are driven to be able to move back and forth and that mesh with each other to form an integrated unit, chain housings (first chain housing 131, second chain housing 151) that house the chain members, a chain guide mechanism that guides the chain member 110 from the chain housings to a rigid state, and a drive mechanism that drives the chain member 110 to move back and forth. The chain housings include a first chain housing 131 that houses the first chain 111, which is one of the pair of chains, and a second chain housing 151 that houses the second chain 112, which is the other of the pair of chains. The chain guide mechanism has a fixed guide portion 120 continuous with the first chain accommodating portion 131 and a swingable guide portion 140 arranged so as to be swingable relative to the fixed guide portion 120, and the fixed guide portion 120 is integrally configured with the first chain accommodating portion 131 that accommodates the first chain 111 and is fixedly attached to each other, and the swingable guide portion 140 is integrally configured with the second chain accommodating portion 151 that accommodates the second chain 112 and is fixedly attached to each other.

[0012] The drive mechanism includes a drive shaft 161 and a sprocket 162 that rotates integrally with the drive shaft 161 and engages with the first chain 111 at a location where the chain member 110 is in a rigid state. In this embodiment, the swing center of the swing guide portion 140 is configured to coincide with the rotation center of the sprocket 162. Note that the rotation center of the sprocket and the swing center of the swing guide do not necessarily have to coincide. The first chain accommodating portion 131 and the second chain accommodating portion 151 are provided with a first accommodating guide groove 132 and a second accommodating guide groove 152, and when the chain member 110 is retracted, the first chain 111 and the second chain 112 are guided by the first accommodating guide groove 132 and the second accommodating guide groove 152, respectively, and are accommodated separately.

[0013] The swinging guide portion 140 is provided with swinging guide grooves 141 that pull the first chain 111 and the second chain 112 in from both directions and guide them to a rigid state. The fixed guide portion 120 is also provided with a fixed guide groove 121 that connects the first housing guide groove 132 of the first chain housing portion 131 and the swinging guide groove 141 of the swinging guide portion 140. In this embodiment, the pins of the first chain 111 and the second chain 112 are provided to protrude in both width directions, and are configured so that the pins of the first chain 111 and the second chain 112 are engaged with and guided by the first housing guide groove 132, the second housing guide groove 152, the swinging guide groove 141, and the fixed guide groove 121.

[0014] In the chain driving device 100 of this embodiment, the drive shaft 161 rotates and the sprocket 162 unwinds the second chain 112, causing the first chain 111 and the second chain 112 to be pulled out from the first chain housing 131 and the second chain housing 151 and guided by the swing guide groove 141 to be rigidly unwound upward. The swing guide part 140 swings about the rotation axis of the sprocket 162 that engages with the first chain 111, thereby changing the unwinding direction of the chain member 110 or following changes in the unwinding direction. The sprocket 162 is driven by a drive motor and a reducer connected to the drive shaft 161. However, because the swing center of the swing guide part 140 coincides with the rotation center of the sprocket 162, the position of the drive shaft 161 does not change, so the heavy drive motor and the reducer can be fixedly disposed in the same manner as the fixed guide part 120 and the first chain housing 131.

[0015] The operation of the chain driving device 100 configured as described above when opening and closing a driven member D having a hinge axis H will be described. As shown in FIG. 11 , the chain driving device 100 is fixed to a fixed member, and the driven member D is fixed to the tip of the chain member 110 of the chain driving device 100. The driven member D is configured to rotate about the hinge axis H, and when swung downward, the tip of the rigid portion of the chain member 110 of the chain driving device 100 in the state shown in FIGS. 1 to 5 is connected to the inside of the driven member D in the swung downward state. From this state, the drive shaft 161 rotates and the second chain 112 is unwound by the sprocket 162, whereby the first chain 111 and the second chain 112 are pulled out from the first chain housing 131 and the second chain housing 151, guided by the swing guide groove 141, and unwound upward in a rigid state in which they are integrally engaged, pushing up the driven member D.

[0016] Because the driven member D swings upward while rotating about the hinge axis H, the tip of the chain member 110 connected to the driven member D rises upward and moves toward the hinge axis H, gradually tilting the pushing direction. The swinging guide unit 140 swings about the rotation axis of the sprocket 162 that engages with the first chain 111, so the unwinding direction also tilts in conjunction with the upward swing of the driven member D, thereby achieving smooth operation. The sprocket 162 is driven by a drive motor and a reducer connected to the drive shaft 161, but in this embodiment, the swing center of the swinging guide unit 140 coincides with the rotation center of the sprocket 162, so the position of the drive shaft 161 does not change, and therefore the heavy drive motor and reducer can be fixedly disposed in the same manner as the fixed guide unit 120 and the first chain housing 131.

[0017] As shown on the right side of Figure 11, when the driven member D is swung significantly upward (the state shown in Figure 6-10), only the swing guide portion 140 and the second chain housing portion 151 swing around the rotation axis of the sprocket 162, causing a significant inclination in the upward pushing direction. When the driven member D swings downward, the second chain 112 is pulled in by the sprocket 162, in the opposite manner to the above, and the first chain 111 and the second chain 112 are guided by the swing guide groove 141 and move from their rigidly engaged state to a separated state, and are housed in the first chain housing portion 131 and the second chain housing portion 151.

[0018] In this embodiment, the fixed guide groove 121 and the swinging guide groove 141 are partially overlapped and have a thickness that allows them to engage with the protruding tip end and link plate sides of the pins of the first chain 111, respectively, thereby preventing any unguided sections from occurring as the swinging guide portion 140 swings. While the swinging of the driven member D has been described above as an example, this application is not limited to this, and a separate drive mechanism may be provided to actively swing the swinging guide portion to change the payout direction. While the lengths of the housed portions of the first chain 111 and the second chain 112 shown in Figures 1-3 and 6-8 are depicted as the same length for convenience of illustration, they naturally differ when housed and when extended. Furthermore, the overall lengths of the first chain 111 and the second chain 112 and the size of the housed portions can be changed as appropriate depending on the stroke of their reciprocating motion.

[0019] In the above embodiment, the swinging guide part 140 is configured so that the payout direction of the rigid part is inclined toward the first chain housing part 131 of the first chain 111, but depending on the application, it may be configured so that it is inclined toward the second chain housing part 151 of the second chain 112. Also, in the above embodiment, the second chain housing part 151 is configured to swing integrally with the swinging guide part 140, but a flexible guide member may be provided between the swinging guide part and the second chain housing part so that only the swinging guide part swings.

[0020] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the chain member 110 is configured as a pair of chains (first chain 111, second chain 112) that mesh with each other to form a single unit. However, it is also possible to use a chain member that can be made rigid with a single chain, such as a push-pull chain or a no-back bend chain, and configure the oscillating guide portion so that the payout direction of the chain member is inclined to the opposite side of the first chain accommodating portion 131, thereby omitting the second chain accommodating portion.

[0021] As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13 , a door opening / closing mechanism according to one embodiment of the present invention is provided in a box 200 having a main body 210 and a door element 220. The door element 220 is rotatably connected to one surface of the main body 210 via a hinge shaft H, and the door element 220 is configured to be opened and closed by the chain drive device 100 described above. In this embodiment, the box 200 is a rectangular parallelepiped and has two hinge shafts H and two door elements 220 on its upper surface. Each door element 220 has a bent portion 222 and is formed to cover the top surface and one side surface of the main body 210, thereby forming a large opening that is continuous upward and to the side. The chain drive device 100 is disposed at both axial ends of the hinge shaft H of the door element 220 and is disposed so as to be receivable in a device receptacle 212 provided at the upper end of the side wall 211 of the adjacent main body 210. With this configuration, a large opening is obtained across the entire width of the door element 220 without being obstructed by the chain drive device 100, and when the door element 220 is closed, the chain drive device 100 does not protrude to the inside or outside of the main body 210, resulting in a compact door opening and closing mechanism with no protrusions.

[0022] The tip of the chain member 110 of the chain driving device 100 is connected to the door element 220, and the fixed guide portion 120 of the chain driving device 100 is fixed inside the device housing portion 212 of the main body portion 210. It is also possible to provide the chain driving device 100 on the inside or outside of the side wall portion 211 of the main body portion 210 without providing the device housing portion 212 in the side wall portion 211, or to fix the fixed guide portion 120 of the chain driving device 100 to the door element 220 side, and connect the tip of the chain member 110 to the main body portion 210 side.

[0023] In this embodiment, the door element 220 is arranged to rotate around a hinge axis H provided on the top surface of the rectangular box body 200, but the door element may be provided on the side, and the axis of the hinge axis may be oriented in any direction, including horizontal, vertical, or diagonal. The box body is not limited to a rectangular parallelepiped, and may have any shape. Furthermore, the object to which the door opening and closing mechanism of the present invention is applied may be any object, such as a building, and the object to be opened and closed may not be an actual "door," but may be any object, such as a "window" or a "shutter."

[0024] DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Chain drive device 110 Chain member 111 First chain 112 Second chain 120 Fixed guide portion 121 Fixed guide groove 131 First chain accommodating portion 132 First accommodating guide groove 140 Swinging guide portion 141 Swinging guide groove 151 Second chain accommodating portion 152 Second accommodating guide groove 161 Drive shaft 162 Sprocket 200 Accommodating box body 210 Main body portion 211 Side wall portion 212 Device accommodating portion 220 Door member 221 Chain connecting portion 222 Bent portion D Driven member H Hinge shaft

Claims

1. A chain drive device having a chain member that can be driven to move freely back and forth, a chain accommodating section that accommodates the chain member, a chain guide mechanism that guides the chain member and guides it from the chain accommodating section to a rigid state, and a drive mechanism that drives the chain member back and forth, wherein the chain guide mechanism has a fixed guide section that is continuous with the chain accommodating section, and a oscillating guide section that is arranged to be oscillable relative to the fixed guide section.

2. A chain drive device as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the drive mechanism has a sprocket that engages with the chain member, and the center of oscillation of the oscillating guide portion coincides with the center of rotation of the sprocket.

3. The chain drive device described in claim 1, characterized in that the chain member has a pair of chains that mesh with each other to form an integrated unit, the chain accommodating section has a first chain accommodating section that accommodates one of the pair of chains and a second chain accommodating section that accommodates the other of the pair of chains, the first chain accommodating section is arranged so as to be continuous with the fixed guide section, and the second chain accommodating section is arranged so as to be continuous with the oscillating guide section.

4. A door opening and closing mechanism which uses a chain drive device to open and close a door element rotatably connected to a main body via a hinge shaft, said chain drive device comprising: a chain member which can be driven to move back and forth freely, a chain accommodating section which accommodates said chain member, a chain guide mechanism which guides said chain member and leads it to a rigid state from the chain accommodating section, and a drive mechanism which drives said chain member to move back and forth, said chain guide mechanism comprising a fixed guide section which is continuous with said chain accommodating section, and a swinging guide section which is arranged to be swingable relative to said fixed guide section, and a tip of said chain member and said fixed guide section are connected to said door element and said main body, said door opening and closing mechanism characterized in that

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