The present invention relates to the structure of an electric screwdriver, more particularly to an electric screwdriver that has both torque adjustment and sensing function.
An electric screwdriver or an electric screw driver is an electric hand tool that relies on an electric motor to provide a rotational driving force to drive a shaft member to output rotational kinetic energy. It is commonly used in equipment with specific torque fastening requirements or torque tightening for products or tools with safety considerations. The target torque of the electric screwdriver is used to tight the screws.
A conventional electric screwdriver generally has a speed reducer and a torque adjuster in addition to an internal electric motor. The speed reducer is connected in-series between the electric motor and the torque adjuster to reduce the output speed of the electric motor and to increase the torque value transmitted to the torque adjuster. The torque adjuster is used to provide a usage of the electric screwdriver to a user by which the electric screwdriver can be adjusted to meet the different requirements of the target torque required for screw tightening to adjust the amount of the target torque output from the electric screwdriver so that the screw can be properly tightened.
A torque adjuster conventionally mounted on an electric screwdriver is a clutch type torque adjuster that uses a knob exposed on the outer surface of the electric screwdriver for the user to turn the knob to adjust the compression length of the compression spring inside. The output shaft is pressed by the compression spring to engage with the input shaft, when the compressing force is large enough, the torque can be transmitted. The output shaft disengages from input shaft when compressed force is smaller than the applied torque from output shaft. According to the description above, we can adjust the knob to change the compressed force of the compression spring to further setup the target torque we want to apply to the screws.
However, since the compressed force of the compression spring output is elastically fluctuating, and adjusting knob that the user can setup can only be used to roughly confirm the value of the torque of the electric screwdriver output, it is impossible to accurately determine the amount of the torque that is actually output when the screw is locked, and therefore needs to be improved.
In view of the fact that the conventional electric screwdriver cannot accurately sense the output torque to be adjusted by the torque regulator contained therein, the present invention provides an electric screwdriver that combines the torque adjustment and the sensing function.
To meet this end, the electric screwdriver with torque adjustment and sensing function provided by the present invention comprising:
an electric motor for outputting a rotational force by a motor shaft;
a torque sensor comprising a transmission shaft that engages rotational force of a motor shaft, a torque sensing component and at least one planetary gear set for speed reducing purpose, the planetary gear set comprising a force output component through which the rotational force being transmitted by the transmission shaft after deceleration; and
a torque adjuster comprising a force input shaft and a force output shaft that can be coupled and separated from each other, the force input shaft being coupled to the torque output component, and the force input shaft and the force output shaft being coupled via a clutch, and a torque output by the force output shaft being controlled by the clutch mutually coupled between the force input shaft and the force output shaft via a spiral compression spring;
wherein the torque sensing component is located between the transmission shaft of the torque sensor and the force output component to sense the output target torque of the force output shaft of the torque adjuster.
According to the present invention, the planetary gear set comprises a first stage planetary gear set and a second stage planetary gear set, a torque input end and a force output end is respectively formed at the both ends of the transmission shaft, the transmission shaft is coupled to the rotational force of the motor shaft via the torque input end and the first stage planetary gear set, the force output component is disposed in the second stage planetary gear set, and the transmission shaft transmits the rotational force after deceleration to force output component via the force output end.
According to the present invention, the first stage planetary gear set comprises a first stage sun gear fixed to the motor shaft, and a plurality of the first stage sun gears surrounding and engaging a periphery of first stage planetary sun gear, for the first stage planetary gear set the torque input end of the transmission shaft is used as a first stage planetary carrier being pivoted to the first stage planetary gear set.
According to the present invention, the second stage planetary gear set comprises: a second stage sun gear fixed on the force output end of the transmission shaft, a second stage ring gear located on a periphery of the second stage sun gear, and a plurality of second stage planetary gears interposed and engaging between the second stage ring gear and the second stage sun gear.
According to the present invention, the motor shaft, the transmission shaft, the force input shaft and the force output shaft are located on the same axial center line.
According to the present invention, the second stage planetary carrier of the plurality of second stage planetary gears is used as the force output component.
According to the present invention, the second stage ring gear is rotated by the sum of the circumferential forces generated when the plurality of second stage ring gears are engaged by the second stage planetary gears.
According to the present invention, the torque sensing component is composed of a strain gauge attached to at least one shrapnel, and the torque adjuster comprises a housing comprising the built-in transmission shaft, the torque sensing component and the second stage planetary gear set, and wherein a fixing disk is fixed in the housing, and the shrapnel attached with the strain gauge is connected to a relatively eccentric position between the fixing disk and the second stage ring gear, for the torque sensing component the fixing disk is used as a fixed end, and for the torque sensing component the second stage ring gear is used as a movable end for sensing the torque.
According to the present invention, a plurality of bolt holes are respectively spaced apart and disposed at the fixing disk toward outer peripheral of the housing, bolts are respectively inserted, bolt head at one end of the bolt is restrained in the bolt hole, and the bolt bar at the other end of the bolt penetrates into the radial wall surface of the fixing disk to fix the fixing disk in the housing of the torque sensor.
According to the present invention, the second stage ring gear is used as the force output element.
According to the present invention, each of the at least one shrapnel generates a bending deformation, the strain gauge is subjected to bending deformation to generate a strain, and the strain is used as a basis for sensing the output torque.
According to the present invention, the spiral compression spring applies a pressing force to keep the force output shaft and the force input shaft being coupled to each other, the torque adjuster further comprises a knob having a given amount of thread advancing path, and the spiral compression spring receives the pushing force from the knob, and adjusts the value of the pressing force applied by the spiral compression spring via the knob.
In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the second stage ring gear is used as the force output element.
According to the present invention, the second stage planetary gear set further comprises a second stage planetary carrier for pivoting the plurality of second stage planetary gears, the second stage planetary carrier is rotated by a rotation angle by a circumferential force generated by the plurality of second stage planetary gears.
According to the present invention, the spiral compression spring applies a pressing force to keep the force output shaft and the force input shaft being mutually connected, and the torque adjuster further comprises a knob for having a given amount of thread advancing path, the spiral compression spring receives the push of the knob and adjusts the pressing force applied by the spiral compression spring via the knob.
According to the present invention, the torque sensing component is composed of a strain gauge attached to at least one resilient member, and the torque adjuster comprises a housing comprising the built-in transmission shaft, the torque sensing component and the second stage planetary gear set, and wherein a fixing disk is fixed in the housing, and the resilient member attached with the strain gauge is connected to a relatively eccentric position between the fixing disk and the second stage ring gear, the eccentric position of the second stage ring gear is such that the at least one resilient member is seated on the periphery of the transmission shaft and parallel to the axial direction of the transmission shaft.
In the above implementation of the present invention, the motor shaft, the transmission shaft, the force input shaft, and the force output shaft may be disposed on the same axial center line.
According to the above technical means of the present invention, the performance that the present invention can be as follows:
1. On the basis of the conventional electric screwdriver that has the clutch type torque adjuster, the new type of electric screwdriver of the present invention is combined with the torque sensor, which promotes the electric screwdriver not only has the function of adjusting the output torque, but also it is equipped with the function of sensing and outputting, so that the controller can record the precise value of the output torque, which is convenient for the operator to determine the correctness of the output torque during fastening, so as to perfect the use requirement.
2. With the force output end of the torque sensor and the force input shaft of the clutch in the torque adjuster used as the shaft interface, the actual output torque of the torque adjuster can be accurately sensed.
In addition, the relevant technical details that can be implemented by the present invention will be explained in the following embodiments and drawings.
Firstly, please refer to
It can be seen from
Further, the torque sensor 2 of the present invention comprises a transmission shaft 21 and at least a planetary gear set for speed reducing purpose pivotally disposed in the housing 20. The planetary gear set in the present embodiment comprises a first stage planetary gear set 31 and a second planetary gear set 32. The transmission shaft 21 has a torque input end 21a and a torque output end 21b. The torque input end 21a is driven by the torque origin M via the first stage planetary gear set 31. Thus, the torque of M is amplified by the first stage with speed reduced into M1, and the first stage speed reduced torque M1 drives the second stage planetary gear set 32 to output a second stage speed reduced torque M2 of output end 21b (described later).
Please refer to
The second stage planetary gear set 32 of the present invention is disposed at the torque output end 21b of the transmission shaft 21, and comprises a second stage sun gear 32c fixed to the torque output end 21b and a second stage planetary gears in the periphery of sun gear 32c, a second stage ring gear 32a disposed at a periphery of the second stage sun gear 32c and capable of properly rotating by itself, a plurality of second stage planetary gears 32b meshed between the second stage ring gear 32a and the second stage sun gear 32c, and a torque output component 39.
In the present embodiment of the present invention, the torque output component 39 can be formed with a disk-shaped planetary carrier (as shown in
It should be noted that in the present invention when the transmission shaft 21 outputs the speed reduced torque M1 through the first stage planetary gear set 31, the second stage sun gear 32c which pivotally fixed with the transmission shaft 21 will output a secondary speed reduced torque M2 from M1 by meshing with the plurality of second stage planetary gears 32b via the torque output component 39 (as shown in
Further, as shown in
Further, as shown in
In order to properly configure the torque sensing component 4, a fixing plate 43 is fixed in the housing 20 of the torque sensor 2, and a through hole or a pivot hole is formed in the center of the fixing plate 43 for the transmission shaft 21 to pass through. A plurality of engaging slots 43a annularly spaced away and eccentrically located at an eccentric position are disposed on a side disk surface of the fixing plate 43 (as shown in
In this way, a plurality of plate-like shrapnels 41 of the present invention can be disposed in the housing 20 at a time, and the plurality of shrapnels 41 can be radially (or radially) spaced apart and fixed at one end and movable at the other end and arranged at an eccentric position on the periphery of the transmission shaft 21 at intervals. Each of the shrapnel 41 is parallel to the axial direction of the transmission shaft 21, thereby, the middle portion of the body of at least one of the plurality of shrapnels 41 can be utilized to attach the strain gauges 42 so that one of the plurality of shrapnels 41 of the torque sensor 2 can generate a bending deformation during the transmission of the rotational force.
In fact, in order to facilitate assembly and reduce the number of components, the plurality of shrapnels 41 may be integrally formed on the end side of the fixing disk 43 to avoid the arranging of the engaging slot 43a. Alternatively the plurality of shrapnels 41 may be integrated to be formed on the opposite end sides of the second stage ring gear 32a, and eliminating the arranging of the embedded joint 43b in a feasible embodiment.
As shown in
Further, in
In addition, the base shell 30 is provided with a knob 37 at a position away from the end of the force input shaft 44. A plurality of push pins 38 are accommodated in the eccentric annular interval of the knob 37, so that the axial direction of the push pins 38 is parallel to the force output shaft 45. One end of each push pin 38 can receive the push of the knob 37 and move along its axial direction to push the spring pusher holder 35 to move. Further, the end portion of the base casing 30 for engaging the knob 37 by a screw is formed with an annular outer thread 30a, and the internal thread 37a is formed in the knob 37. The outer thread 30a and the internal thread 37a are connected to each other by threading such that the knob 37 can adjust its position on the base shell 30 via the thread advancement amount, thereby pushing the plurality of push pins 38 to press the spring pusher holder 35 to move.
In view of this, the operator can manually adjust the position of the knob 37 to drive the plurality of push pins 38 to press the spring pusher holder 35 to move, and then push the spiral compression spring 36 via the spring pusher holder 35 and to adjust the value of the pressing force P exerted by the spiral compression spring 36 on the spring seat 34, so as to control the value of the force and the timing when the bead disk 33c, the balls 33a and the disk surface 33b (i.e., the clutch 33) are coupled to transmit or separated to disengage the rotational force.
According to the above configuration, as shown in
When the force output shaft 45 of the electric screwdriver is assembled with the screwdriver rod 9 for tightening the construction member 91, especially when the construction member 91 is tightened, the force output shaft 45 will withstand a reaction load M4 from the construction member 9, and the amount of reaction load M4 is larger than the target torque M3, and then it resists the pressing force P of the spiral compression spring 36. At this time, the clutch 33 instantaneously separates the force input shaft 44 from the force output shaft 45, and stops the electric motor 1.
The target torque M3 can be measured via the strain gauge 42 attached to the shrapnel 41. Further, when the operator activates the electric motor 1 to drive the force output shaft 45 to rotate, since the fixing disk 43 in the torque sensor 2 is stationary, in comparison to the second stage ring gear 32a it is acceptable that the plurality of the second stage ring gears 32a mesh and rotate to have a degree of freedom of suitable revolving, thus the plurality of shrapnels 41 disposed between the fixing disk 43 and the second stage ring gear 32a can be connected to the end of the fixing disk 43 as a fixed end, and connecting the end of the second stage ring gear 32a as the slightly movable end so that the restrained second stage ring gear 32a can drive the plurality of shrapnels 41 to generate bending deformation at the moment when the circumferential force of the second stage planetary gear 32b is applied on second stage ring gear 32a. At this moment, the strain gauge 42 attached to the shrapnel 41 can be synchronously subjected to bending deformation to generate strain E, which can be signal transmitted to the control unit of the electric screwdriver (not shown).
Further, the electric screwdriver of the present invention can sensitively measure the output torque by reading the signal from the strain gauge 42 attached to the shrapnel 41 at the moment of tightening of the power tool component (i.e., amount of the reaction load M4 is larger than that of the target torque M3). The maximum value Mmax of the output torque M3 is recorded. In other words, the maximum value Mmax of the output torque M3 is the current operating torque M3 value of the tightening construction member 91 so that the operator can easily adjust the required target torque through the torque adjuster 3. The target torque M3 is made to determine the correctness of the target torque M3. In the conventional technology, the above-mentioned target torque M3 cannot be accurately measured. However, the present invention can accurately measure the value of the operating torque M3 via the intervening configuration of the torque sensor 2.
Further, in order to cope with the adjustment of the speed reducing ratio, the above-described implementation may be converted so that the torque input end 21a of the transmission shaft 21 of the torque sensor 2 is directly coupled to the motor shaft 11 without the first stage planetary gear set 31 being mounted. In other words, the torque sensor 2 only needs to transmit the speed reduced rotational force by the second stage planetary gear set 32, and the purpose of detecting the output torque of the electric screwdriver can also be achieved.
Please refer to
Further, the second stage planetary carrier 32e′ is formed in a disk shape, and a through hole or a pivot hole is formed in the center thereof for the transmission shaft 21′ to pass through. The second stage planetary carrier 32e′ is formed and pivoted between the plurality of second stage planetary gears 32b′ and the plurality of shrapnels 41′.
The end disk surface of the second stage planetary carrier 32e′ is provided with a plurality of embedded joints 43b′ which are annularly spaced and located at an eccentric position, and the positions of the embedded joints 43b′ correspond to the engaging slot 43a′ on the fixing disk 43′, so that the shrapnel 41′ to which the strain gauge 42′ is attached can be fixed between the corresponding engaging slot 43a′ and the embedded joint 43b′ so that when the output torque M3 ‘ is sensed, the fixing disk 43’ can be used as the fixed end, and the second stage planetary carrier 32e′ is used as the movable end. Further, the plurality of second stage planetary gears 32b′ are pivotally disposed at an equal circumferential eccentric position of the other disk end of the second stage planetary carrier 32e′.
Having been implemented in this manner, particularly during the transmission of rotational force, the plurality of second stage planetary gears 32b′ can apply a rotational force M1′ while mesh with the second stage sun gear 32c′ as the force output end 21b′ of the transmission shaft 21′, it is sequentially restrained by the fixing disk 43′ (fixed end) via the second stage planetary carrier 32e′ and the plurality of shrapnels 41′, so that the plurality of second stage planetary gear 32b′ will only rotate in place, and will not freely revolve around the second stage sun gear 32c′. More precisely, the plurality of second stage planetary gears 32b′ do not freely revolve around the second stage sun gear 32c′, but generate circumferential force to drive the second stage planetary carrier 32e′ (active end) to rotate by a rotation angle ω′ and to enable the plurality of shrapnels 41′ to respectively generate a bending deformation, thereby causing the strain gauge 42′ to generate a strain E′ to sense the output torque M3′.
Meanwhile, the second stage ring gear used as the force output element 32a′ can generate the second stage speed reduced torque M2′ via the engagement of the plurality of second stage planetary gears 32b's. One end of the second stage ring gear (force output element 32a′) can be tightly integrated or integrated with a disk component 32a″. The shaft hole 32d′ in the first embodiment is formed at the center of the disk component 32a″ in order to use the shaft hole 32d′ to axially connect the force input shaft 44′ of the torque adjuster 3′, to adjust the required target torque M3′ via the knob 37′, and to output torque M3′ from the force output shaft 45′ to tight the construction components.
In addition, in the above two embodiments of the present invention, the embodiment in which the fixing plates 43, 43′ are fixed in the housings 20, 20′ of the torque sensor is actually fastened by the bolts 5. Further, as shown in the second embodiment of
The above embodiments are merely illustrative of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, but are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the present invention is subject to the content of the claims defined in the scope of the patent application.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
108210132 | Aug 2019 | TW | national |