CN-122003560-A - Actuator indicator and actuator

Abstract

The invention relates to an actuator indicator (10) for an actuator of an automation technology, comprising an actuator indicator comprising an indicator gear (11) and an indicating unit (12), wherein the actuator indicator is configured to indicate an operating position of an output of the actuator by means of the indicating unit, wherein the actuator indicator is configured to be used in a potentially explosive environment, wherein the actuator indicator has an indicator housing (13) with a non-impact-resistant viewing window (13.1) for checking the operating position of the output, wherein the indicator gear has a power limiting device configured to limit a mechanical power that can be transmitted to the indicator gear by mechanical friction in the indicator gear to within a limiting value.

Inventors

• B. Ingenhofen
• R. Grenz

Assignees

• 欧玛里斯特有限责任两合公司

Dates

Publication Date

20260508

Application Date

20240821

Priority Date

20231010

Claims (9)

1. 1. An actuator indicator (10) for an actuator (1) of an automation technology, comprising: An indicator gear mechanism (11) comprising a plurality of toothed parts (11.2), such as gears, worms or screw nuts, and associated support elements (11.3), such as shafts, axles or screws; And an indication unit (12), wherein the actuator indicator is configured by means of the indication unit to indicate an operating position of an output (20) of the actuator, Wherein the actuator indicator is configured to be used in a potentially explosive environment, It is characterized in that the method comprises the steps of, The actuator indicator has an indicator housing (13) with a viewing window (13.1) for checking the operating position of the output, Wherein the indicator gear has a power limiting device (11.1) configured to limit the mechanical power that can be transferred to the indicator gear by mechanical friction in the indicator gear to within a limit value, Wherein the power limiting means comprises a predetermined breaking point designed to fail when a limit torque is reached.
2. 2. The actuator indicator of claim 1, Wherein the power limiting device (11.1) is configured to: limiting the temperature rise caused by mechanical power in the indicator gear mechanism (11).
3. 3. The actuator indicator of claim 2, Wherein the amplitude of the temperature rise is limited to within 40 kelvin, in particular to within 35 kelvin.
4. 4. An actuator indicator according to any preceding claim, Wherein the bearing element (11.3) of the indicator gear has a taper (11.31) which is designed to fail at a limit torque, And/or Wherein the bearing element of the indicator gear is constructed in multiple parts, wherein two adjacent parts (11.32) of the bearing element are rotationally fixed by means of a shear bolt, wherein the shear bolt (11.4) is constructed to fail under a limiting torque, or wherein two adjacent parts (11.32) of the bearing element are rotationally fixed by means of a form-locking connection, wherein the form-locking connection is constructed to fail under a limiting torque, And/or Wherein the gear wheel of at least one toothed part (11.2) of the indicator gear (11) is designed to fail at a limit torque, And/or Wherein the rotary positive-locking connection (11.7) between the bearing element (11.3) and the tooth part (11.2) is designed to fail under a limiting torque.
5. 5. The actuator indicator of claim 4, Wherein the tooth part (11.2) and the support element (11.3) each have a heat capacity and a thermal conductivity, Wherein a standard operation of the output (20) has an operating duration and generates an operating rotational speed in the indicator gear mechanism, Wherein the tooth part and the bearing element are configured such that, during standard operation, when a limit torque is applied in the indicator gear mechanism, a temperature rise due to mechanical friction is limited to within a limit value by a heat capacity and a thermal conductivity.
6. 6. An actuator indicator according to any preceding claim, Wherein the indicator gear mechanism (11) is arranged in an indicator housing (13).
7. 7. An actuator (1) of an automation technology, comprising: An output (20) for operating a fitting, such as a valve; a motor (30) configured to drive the output; an electric operating circuit (40) for operating the motor; An actuator gear mechanism (50) configured to transfer and convert the force or torque of the motor to an output, It is characterized in that the method comprises the steps of, The actuator (1) having an actuator indicator (10) according to any of the preceding claims, Wherein the actuator indicator is coupled to the actuator gear (50) or the output (20) by an indicator gear (11), wherein the indicator gear is configured to translate a movement of the actuator gear or the output into a positioning of an indication element of an indication unit, Wherein the actuator is configured to be used in a potentially explosive environment.
8. 8. The actuator according to claim 7, Wherein the actuator (1) has an actuator housing (60), the actuator housing (60) having at least one actuator housing chamber (61), Wherein the actuator gear mechanism (50), the motor (30), the electrical operating circuit (40) and the output (20) are arranged in a housing chamber, Wherein the indicator housing (13) is flush with the actuator housing (60), in particular dust-proof.
9. 9. The actuator according to claim 7 or 8, Wherein the actuator indicator is of modular design or of replaceable design.

Description

Actuator indicator and actuator Technical Field The invention relates to an actuator indicator and an actuator for automation technology. Background Actuators can be used for process automation etc., examples being found in DE102004048366B 4. The actuator is typically provided with an actuator indicator for indicating the operating position of the actuator. In potentially explosive environments, the actuator indicators must meet higher requirements in order to be safe to use. For example, dust cannot enter the indicator gear mechanism because this can cause damage to the indicator gear mechanism, and when the actuator is operated, friction within the indicator gear mechanism increases, resulting in excessive temperatures, for example, which can cause ignition of the combustible gas. Impact resistant viewing windows are typically used in accordance with standard EN IEC 60079-0:2018 to ensure that the viewing windows do not shatter. However, such a viewing window is heavy and expensive. Disclosure of Invention It is therefore an object of the present invention to propose an actuator indicator and an actuator which, even without an impact-resistant viewing window, comply with safety requirements such as the standard EN IEC 60079-0:2018. The object is achieved by an actuator indicator according to independent claim 1 and an actuator according to independent claim 7. An actuator indicator for an actuator of a process automation technology according to the invention comprises: an indicator gear mechanism comprising a plurality of toothed parts, such as gears, worms or screw nuts, and associated support elements, such as shafts, axles or screws; and an indication unit, wherein the actuator indicator is configured to indicate an operation position of an output end of the actuator through the indication unit, Wherein the actuator indicator is configured to be used in a potentially explosive environment, Wherein the actuator indicator has an indicator housing with a viewing window for checking the operating position of the output, Wherein the indicator gear has a power limiting device configured to limit mechanical power that can be transferred to the indicator gear by mechanical friction in the indicator gear to within a limit value, Wherein the power limiting means comprises a predetermined breaking point designed to fail when a limit torque is reached. By limiting the mechanical power that can be converted in the indicator gear mechanism, the impact window of the actuator indicator can be omitted. By limiting the power converted in the indicator gear mechanism, it is possible to prevent the temperature from reaching the temperature required for ignition in flammable environments if dust or dirt enters through a defective viewing window. Thus, a decrease in the efficiency of the indicator gear mechanism due to contamination will only result in a moderate increase in temperature during valve operation. Impact resistance may be defined herein by the EN IEC 60079-0 standard in 2018. In one embodiment, the power limiting device is intended to limit the temperature rise caused by mechanical power in the indicator gear mechanism. In this way, even if the viewing window breaks, starting from the highest ambient temperature of the actuator region, it is ensured that the temperature rise does not reach or exceed the ignition threshold of the gas mixture surrounding the actuator. In one embodiment, the temperature rise is limited to a maximum of 40 kelvin, in particular, a maximum of 35 kelvin. This allows a safe distance to be maintained from the ignition temperature of the gas mixture surrounding the actuator under typical operating conditions. In one embodiment, the indication mechanism has a plurality of toothed components, such as gears, worms or nuts, and associated support elements, such as shafts, axles or screws. Wherein the support element of the indicator gear mechanism is configured to fail when the limit torque is reached, And/or Wherein the bearing element of the indicator gear is designed in multiple parts, wherein two adjacent parts of the bearing element are rotationally fixed by means of a shear bolt, wherein the shear bolt is designed to fail under a limiting torque, or wherein two adjacent parts of the bearing element are rotationally fixed by means of a form-locking connection, wherein the form-locking connection is designed to fail under a limiting torque, And/or Wherein the gear of at least one of the tooth parts of the indicator gear mechanism is configured to fail at a limit torque, And/or The rotary positive connection between the support element and the tooth part is configured to fail under extreme torques. For example, the predetermined breakpoint may be implemented by the types and manners described above. In one embodiment, the indicator gear mechanism is disposed in the indicator housing. In this way a compact design of the actuator indicator can be achieved. In one embodiment, the tooth part