Patent Grant
9199364
The present invention relates to a torque driver with a marker, obtained by adding a marking function to a torque driver.
As a torque driver with a marker which is obtained by adding a marking function to a torque driver, there has been proposed a torque driver made to discharge a marking ink when a screw member such as a screw or a bolt is tightened until a set torque value is reached (Patent Literature 1).
According to the torque driver with a torque limiter described in the patent literature, when the set torque value is reached, the torque limiter configured by a pair of friction plates that idle a bit engaged with a bit engagement hole such as a cross-shaped hole formed on a head of a screw member and a hand grip section of the driver, and the like is activated. Along with such an idling operation, one of the above-described friction plates is caused to vibrate along an axial direction thereof. By utilizing the vibration of this friction plate, an ink is allowed to be discharged.
According to the conventional torque driver with a marker, the marking ink is discharged by the idling operation such that an operator holding the hand grip section of the driver further continues to turn the driver after the set torque value is reached. Thus, a discharged amount of the marking ink may be varied depending on an idling angle. A density difference therefore may occur in the marking, resulting in inconsistent densities.
An object of the present invention is to provide a torque driver capable of bringing a marker into direct contact with a surface of a fastener member such as a screw to perform marking.
Referring to an embodiment shown in
According to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) When a screw is tightened while holding the case of the torque driver and the set torque value is reached, the marker disposed on the side surface of the bit is moved forward, so that a marking section at the marker tip portion is brought into direct contact with a head of a screw to perform marking.
(2) According to an invention according to claim 2, the marker can be moved forward smoothly by utilizing repulsive magnetic forces of permanent magnets as the marker activating section.
(3) According to an invention according to claim 3, by utilizing a screwed configuration of a multiple-thread screw as the marker activating section, a rotative force thereof can be smoothly converted into a translatory movement in an axial direction, whereby the marker can be reliably moved forward.
(4) According to an invention according to claim 4, by utilizing a cam configuration as the marker activating section, a rotative force thereof can be smoothly converted into a translatory movement in an axial direction with a simple configuration, whereby the marker can be reliably moved forward.
(5) According to an invention according to claim 5, the marker is supported between an activating member and the bit through a spring, whereby a policy error or the like can be absorbed and thus the marker can be moved forward without a failure.
(6) According to an invention according to claim 6, the marker can be removed and attached easily and marking can be performed at a position easy to see since the marking is performed on a surface of the screw head.
(7) According to an invention according to claim 7, it is possible to prevent the marking section at the marker tip portion from being dried by putting a cap on when not in use.
The present invention will be described below based on embodiments shown in the drawings.
A torque driver with a marker (hereinafter, abbreviated simply to a “torque driver”) 1 includes: a case 10 formed in a tubular shape with a bottom so as to serve as a hand grip section; a main shaft 20; a torque limiter section 30 disposed within the case 10; a marker activating section 40 disposed at a tip portion of the case 10; a marker section 50 having a marker 54 to be moved in an axial direction by the marker activating section 40; and a coupler 60 to which a bit 70 is attached in a replaceable manner, to which the marker section 50 is internally attached, and with which the main shaft 20 is coupled. A tip portion of the bit 70 is engaged with a bit engagement hole 82 formed on a head 81 of a screw 80 as a fastener member.
When the torque driver 1 of the present embodiment is turned in a predetermined tightening direction while holding the case 10, a tightening torque is transmitted to the bit 70 attached to the coupler 60 through the torque limiter 30 and the main shaft 20. As a result, the tightening of the screw 80 is started. When a set torque value is reached, the torque limiter 30 is then operated so that the main shaft 20 and the case 10 are rotated relative to each other.
By utilizing the relative rotation between the main shaft 20 and the case 10 caused by the operation of the torque limiter 30 when the set torque value is reached, the marker activating section 40 brings a marking section 53 provided at a tip of the marker 54 into contact with the head 81 of the screw 80 so as to perform marking.
The torque limiter 30 is configured such that a toggle rest 31 disposed on a back surface within an inner diameter portion 11 of the case 10 in a manner such that it is incapable of rotating in the axial direction and a toggle seat 32 incapable of rotating with respect to the main shaft 20 and capable of moving in the axial direction for example by being spline-engaged with the main shaft 20 passing through a central axis portion are disposed so as to be opposed to each other and a plurality of toggles (not shown) each formed in a rod shape are disposed on opposing surfaces of the toggle rest 31 and the toggle seat 32. Toggle recesses (not shown), with which ends of the toggles to be in abutment, are formed on the opposing surfaces of the toggle rest 31 and the toggle seat 32 so as to be opposed to one another. As the relative rotation between the toggle rest 31 and the toggle seat 32 proceeds, the opposing toggle recesses approach toward a direction at which they directly face one another. As a result, the toggles disposed between the opposing toggle recesses stand up along the axial direction, thereby causing the toggle seat 32 to move in the axial direction toward the side of the bit 70.
An inner peripheral screw 12 is formed at a tip portion of the inner diameter portion 11 of the case 10, and a spring seat 33 is screw-joined therewith. A torque value setting spring 34 for setting a torque value is disposed between the spring seat 33 and the toggle seat 32. The set torque value can be changed by adjusting an axial position of the spring seat 33. In addition, an inner peripheral groove portion 13 is formed at the tip portion of the inner diameter portion 11 of the case 10, and a C-shaped member 34, for example, is engaged with the inner peripheral groove 13 so as to prevent the spring seat 33 from coming off.
The toggle seat 32 is biased against the toggle rest 31 by the spring force of the torque value setting spring 34. Thus, if the bit 70 is removed from the screw 80, a load is eliminated and the toggle seat 32 thereby approaches to the toggle rest 31 while being rotated together with the main shaft 20 in a reverse direction. As a result, the toggles are slanted toward an orthogonal direction with respect to the axial direction of the main shaft 20. Note that the torque limiter 30 is not limited to the configuration employing the rod-shaped toggles. The torque limiter 30 may have a configuration such that: a steel ball is used; one of toggle recesses formed on the toggle rest 31 and the toggle seat 32 is used as a cam recess; the other is used as a steel ball fitting recess into which the steel ball is fitted with allowance; and the steel ball is partially fitted into the cam recess and the steel ball fitting recess. With this steel ball system, the steel ball comes into contact with a cam face formed in the cam recess, and the toggle seat 32 is moved in a forward direction when the steel ball being in contact with the cam face is moved toward the toggle seat 32 along the cam face.
An activation principle of the marker activating section 40 according to the present embodiment is such that in a case where magnetic poles of opposing permanent magnets are set to the same pole (the south pole and the south pole, or the north pole and the north pole) with one of the magnets being fixed in the axial direction and about the axis of the main shaft 20 and the other magnet being movable in the axial direction and about the axis of the main shaft 20, the other magnet receives no repulsive magnetic force from the one of the magnets and no repulsive force receding along the axial direction from the one of the magnets if a phase shift exists between the opposing permanent magnets in a direction about the axis, but the other magnet generates a moving force for moving in a direction receding along the axial direction of the main shaft 20 due to the repulsive magnetic force if the above-described phases coincide to each other.
As shown in
A plurality of first permanent magnets 45a are fixed on the partition wall 42 at regular intervals along a concentric circle (radius r) with a shaft center being at its center, for example, so as to face the front chamber 43a. The first permanent magnet 45a sets the magnetic pole facing the front chamber 43a to the north pole, for example. Moreover, third permanent magnets 45c are fixed on the above-described concentric circle so as to be adjacent to the first permanent magnets 45a. The magnetic pole position of this third permanent magnet 45c is arranged so as to be opposite to that of the first permanent magnet 45a. In the present embodiment, the magnetic pole of the third permanent magnet 45c facing the front chamber 43a is set to the south pole opposite to that of the first permanent magnet 45a. As a material for the fixed section 41, a non-magnetic material such as a synthetic resin is used at least for the partition wall 42.
A through hole 42a for the main shaft 20 to be passed therethrough is formed in an axial center portion of the partition wall 42, and the main shaft 20 having passed through the through hole 42a of the partition wall 42 extends to the anterior side of the fixed section 41.
An activating member 46 is provided into the front chamber 43a. The activating member 46 is provided so as to be incapable of rotating about the axis of the main shaft 20 and capable of moving in the axial direction thereof. The activating member 46 has a substrate 47 formed in a disk shape and two activating rods 48 each in a cylindrical shape, for example, extending in the axial direction toward the anterior side from the front surface side of the substrate 47. A through hole 47a for the main shaft 20 to be passed therethrough is formed in the substrate 47. The activating rods 48 are disposed symmetrically with respect to the shaft center so as to enter parts of the through hole 47a. The parts of the activating rods 48 entering the through hole 47 are referred to as engaged protruding threads 48a.
As shown in
In screw fastening, although the fixed section 41 is rotated past a second position at which the set torque value is reached starting from a first position at which no load is applied to the activating member 46, the fixed section 41 activates the marker section 50 so that marking can be performed when the position of the fixed section 41 reaches the second position.
A plurality of second permanent magnets 45b are disposed on the substrate 47 of the activating member 46 facing the partition wall 42 at the same intervals along a circle with the same radius r as those of the first permanent magnets 45a so as to be opposed to the first permanent magnets 45a. The magnetic pole of the second permanent magnet 45b facing the first permanent magnet 45a is set to the same magnetic pole as that of the first permanent magnet 45a, e.g., the north pole. As a material for the substrate 47, the activating member 46 employs a non-magnetic material such as a synthetic resin at least for the substrate 47.
The first permanent magnets 45a in the fixed section 41 and the plurality of second permanent magnets 45b in the activating member 46 are relatively rotated between a first (phase) position at which they are shifted from one another about the axis and a second (phase) position at which they directly face each other. The first permanent magnets 45a and the second permanent magnets 45b are arranged such that they are placed at the first phase position in a non-fastened state where the screw 80 is not being tightened and at the second phase position in a tightening completed state at which the torque limiter 30 is activated. At the first phase position, the second permanent magnets 45b directly face the third permanent magnets 45c, thereby being magnetically adsorbed thereto by the magnetic force.
More specifically, the tightening torque is increased along with the tightening of the screw 80, and the torque limiter 30 is operated when the set torque value is reached. As a result, the case 10 held by an operator is rotated in the tightening direction with respect to the main shaft 20. Thus, the fixed section 41 integrally fixed with the case 10 is rotated about the axis with respect to the activating member 46. As a result, the third permanent magnets 45c being magnetically adsorbed to the second permanent magnets 45b at the first phase position are moved by breaking the adsorption force with the second permanent magnets 45b due to the magnetic force, and the phase is then changed to the second phase position at which the first permanent magnets 45a and the second permanent magnets 45b directly face one another. When the fixed section 41 reaches the second phase position, the plurality of first permanent magnets 45a and the plurality of second permanent magnets 45b directly face one another. Thus, a repulsive force is generated between the same poles of the permanent magnets, thereby moving the activating member 46 toward the anterior side along the axial direction with the engaged protruding threads 48a being guided by the long groove portions 22a of the main shaft 20.
According to the present embodiment, tips of the activating rods 48 are at the same position with the tip of the main shaft 20 in the first phase position. In the second phase position, however, they reach positions more anterior than the tip of the main shaft 20, thereby pushing the marker 54 of the marker section 50 toward the anterior side in the axial direction.
The marker section 50 of the present embodiment is disposed within the coupler 60, which is removably fixed at the tip portion of the main shaft 20, and on a side surface of the bit 70.
As shown in
Fitting grooves 63a into which the two activating rods 48 protruding from the long groove portions 22a of the main shaft 20 are fitted are formed on an inner peripheral surface of the coupler 60 on the side of the posterior end thereof.
In an inner diameter portion 64 at a tip portion of the coupler 60, there is formed an angle hole into which the bit 70 formed in a hexagon shank as shown in
In the present embodiment, the marker section 50 includes: an ink tank section 52 for accommodating an ink, removably attached to a posterior end of an elongated cylindrical marker main body 51; and the marker 54 having the marking section 53 with an application member such as felt being attached to a tip of the marker main body 51 as shown in
The marker 54 places the ink tank section 52 between a posterior end of a bit main body 71 of the bit 70 and the tips of the activating rods 48 inside the coupler main body 61. Then, a first spring 55 formed by a coil spring is disposed between the ink tank section 52 and the posterior end of the bit main body 71, and a second spring 56 formed by a coil spring is disposed between the ink tank section 52 and the activating rods 48. The marker 54 is thereby held without rattle. A spring constant of the second spring 56 is set to be larger than that of the first spring 55. Therefore, when the second spring 56 moves toward the anterior side of the activating rods 48 in the axial direction, the marker 54 is moved and transferred toward the anterior side in the axial direction while compressing the first spring 55. At the moment when the set torque value is reached, the activating rods 48 are moved toward the anterior side in the axial direction so as to perform marking by the marker 54. Furthermore, if the case 10 and the main shaft 20 are returned to the first phase position, the first permanent magnets 45a and the second permanent magnets 45b are returned to their original phase from the second phase position to the first phase position. The activating rods 48 are also returned to the original position together with the marker 54 due to the spring force of the first spring 55.
The marker 54 of the present embodiment is configured such that the ink is passed through the inside of the marker main body 51 and marking is performed on the head 81 of the screw 80 by the seeping ink to the marking section 53 at the tip thereof. Thus, the clogging of ink does not occur.
In the bit 70, a first marker guide groove 72 with a generally-semicircular cross-section, into which the marker main body 51 is slidably fitted, is formed on one side surface of the bit main body 71 along the axial direction over the entire length of the bit main body 71.
In the present embodiment, the marker main body 51 is disposed by utilizing the first marker guide groove 72 formed on the side surface of the bit main body 71. Thus, the marker 54 can be disposed easily, there is no need to form, in the bit, a shaft hole for an ink as in a conventional technique, and the marker main body 51 can be attached with simple processing such that the first marker guide groove 72 is formed.
A pair of second marker guide grooves 65 for slidably guiding the marker main body 51 fitted with the first marker guide groove 72 of the bit 70 are formed in the inner diameter portion 64 on the tip side of the coupler 60 so as to be symmetrical with respect to the central axis. Although a single second marker guide groove 65 will suffice for the purpose, since an attachment phase of the bit 70 is limited to one, the attachment phases of the bit 70 are set at two positions by providing one more groove so as to be symmetrical with respect to the central axis.
The marker section 50 with the above-described configuration is configured such that the marker main body 51 is inserted into the inner diameter portion 64 on the tip side of the coupler main body 61 with the marker main body 51 being aligned with the second marker guide groove 65 while the marker main body 51 is fitted into the first marker guide groove 72 of the bit main body 71 and the first spring 55 is placed between the ink tank section 52 and the bit main body 71. Thus, the bit 70 can be replaced easily, and replacement of the marker section 50 or refilling of an ink can be performed easily.
Note that the second spring 56 may be attached on the side of the activating rods 48 in advance or it may be attached to the ink tank section 52.
If the bit main body 71 is inserted into the coupler main body 61 up to a predetermined position, a ball for engagement, for example, is engaged with a peripheral groove portion of the bit main body, thereby preventing the bit main body 71 from coming off. While keeping such a state, the marking section 53 is positioned at a place more posterior than the tip of the bit main body 71 so as to be opposed to the head 81 of the screw 80 with a distance.
As described above, the tightening of the screw 80 is started with the torque driver 1 from the state of
The portion at which the marking is performed is on the head 81 of the screw 80 but lateral to a portion at which the tip portion of the bit 70 is engaged. Thus, it is possible to see the marking position easily and it is possible to perform marking without a failure.
Upon the marking, by pushing the ink tank section 52 through the second spring 56 while compressing the first spring 55, the marker main body 51 is moved toward the tip side. Thus, even when the activating member 46 is moved toward the tip side with the marking section 53 being in contact with the head 81 of the screw 80, the second spring 56 absorbs this excess travel distance made by the activating member 46, thereby preventing breakdown of the marker activating section 40 and the marker section 50.
Moreover, when the torque limiter is activated (when the load torque becomes equal to or smaller than the set torque), the relationship between the case 10 and the main shaft 20 returns to the first phase position and the activating member 46 is returned to the original position by the spring force of the first spring 55 and the attraction force such that the second permanent magnets 45b are attracted to the third permanent magnets 45c by the magnetic force.
When the torque driver 1 with a marker is not being used, a cap 90 is attached to the tip portion thereof so as to prevent the marking section 53 from being dried as shown in
Although the cap 90 is attached so as to cover up to the coupler main body 61, it may be attached so as to cover up to the bit 70 and the marker main body 51.
The tips of the pair of activating rods 48 are in contact with one end of the second spring 56 through a spring seat 58a as shown in
A marker activating section 100 of the present embodiment is configured by a multiple-thread screw portion (spiral screw portion) 101 formed on the inner peripheral wall of the front chamber 43a of the fixed section 41, and a notch portion 103 where a male screw portion 102 to be meshed with the spiral screw portion 101 is formed on the outer peripheral portion of the substrate 47 of the activating member 46. The spiral screw portion 101 of the present embodiment forms a triple-thread lead. As the fixed section 41 is rotated with respect to the activating member 46 from the first position toward the second position, the activating member 46 is projected toward the anterior side, thereby bringing the marking section 53 into contact with the head 81 of the screw 80. Moreover, when the torque driver 1 is removed from the screw 80, the activating member 46 is retracted into the front chamber 43a of the fixed section 41 by the spring force of the first spring 55, thereby drawing the marking section 53 toward the posterior side from the tip of the bit 70.
Although the spiral screw portion 101 has a triple thread, it is not limited thereto. It may have a double thread or quadruple thread or more.
A marker activating section 200 of the present embodiment is configured such that a plurality of cam faces 201 are formed at regular intervals along the circumferential direction on the inner peripheral wall of the front chamber 43a of the fixed section 41 instead of the spiral screw portion 101 in the second embodiment, and cam followers 202 are formed on the substrate 47 of the activating member 46 so as to be opposed to the cam faces 201.
In the present embodiment, as the fixed section 41 is rotated with respect to the activating member 46 from the first position toward the second position, the activating member 46 is projected toward the anterior side due to the abutment of the cam followers 202 with the cam faces 201, thereby bringing the marking section 53 into contact with the head 81 of the screw 80 as with the second embodiment. Moreover, when the torque driver 1 is removed from the screw 80, the activating member 46 is retracted into the front chamber 43a of the fixed section 41 by the spring force of the first spring 55, thereby drawing the marking section 53 toward the posterior side from the tip of the bit 70.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011-267837 | Dec 2011 | JP | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/JP2012/004980 | 8/6/2012 | WO | 00 | 5/2/2013 |
| Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| WO2013/084380 | 6/13/2013 | WO | A |
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