JPS63195501A - Contact detector - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a compact, inexpensive device which securely operates to an external force in many directions and does not breaks owing to operation by providing a gap below the internal surface of a protection cover. CONSTITUTION:This detector is equipped with a support plate 1 made of a ring-shaped pressure conductive rubber switch mounted on the surface of the support plate 1 in contact, a pressure plate 3 which presses a sensor 2 from the opposite side from the support plate 1, a rod contactor 4 fixed to the pressure plate 3, a rubber casing 5 which covers the sensor 2 and pressure plate 3 and is fitted to the support plate 1, and the protection cover 6 which covers the rubber casing and has a loose hole for projecting the contactor 4 to outside and is fitted to the support plate 1, and the gap is provided below its internal surface. Consequently, when the external force operates on the contactor 4, the pressure plate 3 moves and part of the pressure plate 3 presses the sensor 2, which detects a body contacting the contactor 4. The casing 5 is affected by the motion of the pressure plate 3, but the cover 6 limits motion exceeding a specific range to prevent the casing 5 from breaking and the support plate 1 from separating.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Industrial Application] This invention relates to a contact detection device, and more specifically, to a contact detection device, which detects danger when a moving body such as a vehicle approaches an object such as a structure by a predetermined distance or more. The present invention relates to a contact detection device used to detect, for example, that the

[Conventional technology]

As a conventional contact detection device using a pressurized conductive rubber switch, those shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 are known. This is applied to the bumper of an automatic guided vehicle, and has a function to detect when a person or object comes into contact with the bumper of an automatic guided vehicle. That is, pants 1'
A main body 100, a reinforcing plate 101 as a load supporting means that covers the front surface of the bumper main body 100, a pressurized conductive rubber switch 102 extending from the front of the reinforcing plate 101 to both sides of the bumper main body 100, and an outer skin cover. 103. The bumper main body 100 is composed of an outer cushion material 100A having a relatively high elastic modulus in the compression direction and an inner cushion material 100B having a relatively low elastic modulus. Further, a belt-shaped sheet 104 is provided on the back surface of the outer skin cover 103. As shown in FIG. 10, the pressurized conductive rubber switch 102 includes a plate-shaped pressurized conductive rubber 102A made of silicone rubber mixed with conductive particles, carbon fibers, etc. Flexible electrodes 102B, 102B are formed of Todo wires arranged at a certain distance from the opposing surfaces of the electrodes, and an insulating outer cover 102C, which can be made of silicone rubber, for example.
Both flexible electrodes 102B, 102 are integrally coated with
It is constructed by connecting each lead wire to B.

Further, when the external force acting on the surface, in the figure, the upper and lower surfaces in a direction perpendicular to those surfaces, exceeds a predetermined value and the electrical resistance value of the pressurized conductive rubber 102A rapidly decreases, the electrode 1
While acting to bring about conduction between 02B and 102B,
Removal of the external force acts to interrupt the conduction.

[Problem to be solved]

The device shown in the conventional example mainly detects contact by the action of an external force perpendicular to the upper and lower surfaces shown in FIG. Met.

In addition, in a device that uses a pressurized conductive rubber switch as the sensing part and detects contact by fixing this sensing part to the sensing surface, the object is not detected until it comes into contact with the sensing part. Since contact is detected after coming into close proximity to a surface, a collision between the object and the sensing surface may damage the object or the like. In the conventional example shown in the figure, the object on the other side is protected from impact damage by using a cushioning material, but this has the disadvantage that the structure of the detection device becomes complicated and large, and the cost increases. there were.

Therefore, this invention has developed a pressurized conductive rubber switch that operates reliably not only against pressure applied from a certain direction but also against external forces from multiple directions, is compact, does not increase cost, and does not cause damage due to activation. The purpose is to provide equipment.

[Means for solving problems]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a sensor consisting of a ring-shaped pressurized conductive rubber switch that is placed in contact with the surface of a support plate, and a pressing plate that can press the sensor from the side opposite to the support plate. a rod-shaped contact that is temporarily fixed to the pressure; a rubber outer cover that covers the sensor and the pressure plate and is attached to the support plate; The protective cover is provided with a rigid protective cover, and has a void below the inner surface of the protective cover.

[Effect]

In this invention, when an external force is applied to the contact, the pressure plate to which the contact is fixed moves, and due to the movement of the pressure plate, a part of the pressure plate presses the sensor to detect that an object has contacted the contact. The rubber cover is also affected by the movement of the contactor and the pressure plate, but the protective cover restricts movement beyond the specified range and prevents damage to the rubber cover or contact with the support plate. Peeling is prevented.

〔Example〕

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, a sensor 2 consisting of a ring-shaped force/pressure conductive rubber switch is placed in contact with the surface of a support plate 1, and a sensor 2 is pressed from the side opposite to the support plate 1. A support plate 1 is provided with a press plate 3 that can be moved outwardly, a rod-shaped upright contact 4 fixed to the press plate 3, and a hole 5A that covers the sensor 2 and the press plate 3 and allows the contact 4 to protrude to the outside. It is provided with a rubber outer skin 5 to be attached. The support plate 1 is made of a steel plate IA covered with a rubber material IB, and the sensor 2 is
It has the same configuration as the pressurized conductive rubber switch 102 shown in the figure. Although the sensor 2 has the same structure as shown in FIG. 10, it is not limited to this. For example, it may be made of a flexible material such as plain woven conductive wire, copper foil or other metal foil, or conductive elastomer. In addition to being able to form an electrode, a piezoelectric element made of polyvinylidene fluoride, vinylidene fluoride, trifluoromodified tyrene copolymer, plastic-based ceramic composite material, etc. can also be used in place of the pressurized conductive rubber. Further, as the pressing plate 3, it is preferable to use a rigid iron plate or a plastic material. Suitable materials for forming the contactor 4 include iron, aluminum, and plastic. For the rubber skin 5, chloroprene-based vulcanized rubber was used. The bottom surface of this rubber skin 5 is adhered to the rubber material IB of the support plate 1.

A protective cover 6 is provided on the surface of the rubber sheath 5 with a predetermined gap l to cover the rubber sheath 5 and have a play hole 6A for allowing the contacts 4 to protrude to the outside, and is attached to the support plate 1.

In the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 configured as described above, when an external force is applied to the contactor 4 in a direction that causes it to fall down, the pressure plate 3 to which the contactor 4 is fixed is tilted, causing the pressure plate 3 to tilt. A part of it will press the sensor 2. At this time, when an excessive external force is applied to the contactor 4, the compressed side hits the sensor 2 and the support plate 1, but the opposite side is pulled upward in the drawing, and this causes the bonding surface of the outer rubber 5 to the support plate l. Although there is a risk that the outer rubber 5 may be peeled off or the portion of the outer rubber 5 covering the pressure plate 3 may be damaged, the movement of the contact 4 is restricted within a predetermined range due to the presence of the protective cover 6. That is, the pressing plate 3 that is about to be pulled upward is prevented from rising beyond a predetermined level due to the gap 1 in the protective cover 6 and the existence of the play hole 6A. Even if a part of the press plate 3 is pulled up above the gap 1, it will collide with the upper inner surface of the protective cover 6 and the contact 4 will not fall any further, or if the contact 4 collides with the peripheral edge of the play hole 6A. Contact 4 cannot be better described. In this embodiment, the sensor 2 is configured to detect when the electrical resistance between the upper and lower electrodes 102B, 102B becomes less than 5Ω.

A second embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. shows the horizontal bar 7 attached. Reference numeral 8 in the drawings below in Figure 2
indicates the lead wire of sensor 2. The structure after removing the contactor 4 and the protective cover 6 is as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. The structure is basically the same as that shown in FIG. In this embodiment, a mounting plate 9 is provided at the base end of the contactor 4.
, and the mounting plate 9 is formed in the rubber outer skin 5 with a mounting hole 5.
It is attached to the press plate 3 via B. The protective cover 6 is constructed as shown in FIG.

Next, a comparison between one without the protective cover 6 and one with the protective cover 6 is shown in the following table. Sample 1 is not provided with the protective cover 6, and is obtained by removing the protective cover 6 from the embodiment shown in FIG. Sample 2 is the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 except that a protective cover 6 is provided so that no gap l is formed at all, and sample 3 is the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 in which the gap l is set to 31fi.

In addition, sample 4 has a gap 1 of 3, and the contact 4 is bent to form a bent part 4A, and this bending angle is 4.
It is set to 5 degrees.

Sample 1: Easy to break under high load Sample 2: Sharp horizontal sensitivity due to no gaps Sample 3:
Horizontal sensitivity improved due to gap Same level as without cover Sample 4: Vertical sensitivity improved *Horizontal load and vertical load refer to horizontal and vertical to the support plate.

As shown in the above table, in the case without the protective cover 6, the bond between the rubber sheath 5 and the support plate l peeled off under high loads, and the rubber sheath 5 itself was damaged. In samples 2 to 4, the rubber outer skin 5 was normal even under high load.

Samples 3 and 4 were excellent in detection sensitivity.

〔effect〕

As explained above, according to the present invention, there is provided a sensor comprising a ring-shaped pressurized conductive rubber switch that is placed in contact with the surface of a support plate, and a pressure plate that can press the sensor from the side opposite to the support plate. a rod-shaped contact fixed to the pressure plate; a rubber outer cover that covers the sensor and the pressure plate and is attached to the support plate; Since the protective cover has a space below the inner surface of the protective cover, when an object hits the contact 4 and tries to knock it down, the pressing plate also operates to ensure that the sensor is activated. be able to. Furthermore, the presence of the protective cover restricts the movement of the press plate and the contact within a predetermined range, thereby preventing the rubber outer skin from peeling off or being damaged. Further, since there is a gap between the protective cover and the rubber outer cover, when a horizontal load is applied to the contact, the detection sensitivity is higher than that of a contact without a gap. In addition, in the case where the contact is bent from the middle to form a bent portion, the detection sensitivity in the vertical direction is significantly improved. In other words, when a load is applied from the vertical direction to a contact that only stands up vertically,
There was a problem that the load was applied to the entire surface of the internal sensor (the pressure-receiving area became large), and the load was dispersed, resulting in a significant deterioration in detection sensitivity. When a load is applied perpendicularly to the tip, the lever principle works, and part of the pressing plate presses the sensor, and the opposite side rises, resulting in a significant improvement in detection sensitivity.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a II; 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line V-V in FIG. 4, FIG. 6 is a plan view of the protective cover, FIG. 7 is a side view of the contact, and FIG. Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line ■-■; Fig. 9 is a sectional view showing a conventional example;
FIG. 10 is a sectional view showing the structure of the pressurized conductive rubber switch. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1...Support plate, 2...Sensor, 3...Press plate, 4...Contact, 5...Rubber skin, 6...Protective cover, 6A...Free hole, l. ...Void.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A sensor consisting of a ring-shaped pressurized conductive rubber switch that is placed in contact with the surface of a support plate; a press plate that can press the sensor from the side opposite to the support plate; and a press plate. A rubber outer cover that covers the sensor and the pressure plate and is attached to the support plate; A rigid outer cover that covers the rubber cover and has a play hole that allows the contact to protrude outside and has a rigidity that allows it to be attached to the support plate. A contact detection device comprising: a protective cover, and having a gap below the inner surface of the protective cover. 2. The contact detection device according to claim 1, wherein a bent portion is formed by bending the contactor projecting to the outside.