JP2002346868A - Cylinder block positioning device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Problem] To provide a cylinder block positioning device capable of securely holding a cylinder block at a predetermined position. SOLUTION: The cylinder block positioning device 20 includes:
A supporting structure 21, an elevating body 22 provided on the supporting structure 21, an elevating mechanism for driving the elevating body 22, and an elevating body 22
A driving mechanism 43 for moving the insertion members 41 and 42 in synchronization with each other in a direction away from each other; a pressing member 70 capable of contacting the upper surface 1a of the cylinder block 1; An actuator 75 for pressing the pressing member 70 against the cylinder block 1 by lowering the pressing member 70 toward the cylinder block 1 is provided. When the elevating body 22 rises from the lowered position, the actuator 75 moves the pressing member 7 until the insertion members 41 and 42 are completely removed from the cylinder hole of the cylinder block 1.
0 is continuously urged toward the cylinder block 1.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cylinder block positioning device for holding a cylinder block at a predetermined position, for example, when machining a cylinder block of an engine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an engine production line, a cast cylinder block is conveyed to a deburring stage by a conveyor, fixed at a predetermined position, and deburred on the side of the cylinder block by a deburring tool provided on a robot or the like. May be done. At the time of this processing (at the time of deburring), it is necessary to hold the cylinder block in order to prevent the cylinder block from moving. For this reason, conventionally, a stopper mechanism for stopping the cylinder block at a predetermined position and a device for holding the cylinder block have been used.

[0003]

A cylinder block conveyed by a conveyor is generally stopped at a predetermined position by a stopper mechanism. However, it is inevitable that the positioning accuracy is reduced due to wear of the components constituting the stopper mechanism, or increase in the play of the stopper mechanism. If the positioning accuracy of the cylinder block decreases, the processing accuracy also decreases.

As means for fixing the cylinder block at a predetermined position, for example, as described in JP-B-8-11345, a positioning device having a large number of positioning arms inserted into all the cylinder holes of the cylinder block. Has been proposed. However, this prior art requires a positioning arm to be inserted into all four cylindrical holes, so that the structure is complicated. In addition, in this conventional technique, the rigidity of the positioning arm is small with respect to the force applied from the side of the cylinder block. Therefore, when processing the side of the cylinder block with a robot or the like, the cylinder block may move due to the force applied from the side. There is also.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a cylinder block positioning device which can surely hold a cylinder block at an accurate position.

[0006]

A cylinder block positioning device according to the present invention includes a lifting member provided on a support structure and a lifting mechanism for driving the lifting member in a vertical direction. The cylinder block is placed on the conveyor with the opening end of the cylinder hole facing upward. A first insertion member which can be inserted into one of the cylinder holes of the cylinder block and which can be brought into contact with and separated from the wall surface of the cylinder hole; A second insertion member is provided that can be moved toward and away from the wall surface of the hole. The first and second insertion members can be synchronously moved in directions away from each other by the drive mechanism. Further, the cylinder block positioning device of the present invention has a pressing member movable vertically. This pressing member is
It is driven by an actuator such as an air cylinder, and can be pressed against the upper surface of the cylinder block by being lowered toward the cylinder block.

[0007] Preferably, the first and second actuators are provided when the elevating body is lifted from a lowered position.
Until the insertion member comes out of the cylindrical hole, the pressing member is urged toward the cylinder block to continuously press the cylinder block.

In the present invention, the first and second insertion members include a pair of support pieces provided at an interval in the axial direction of each cylindrical hole, and these support pieces are provided on the wall surface of the cylindrical hole. It is good to constitute so that it may contact.

Further, in the present invention, the first and the second
The insertion member of (1) is in contact with the wall surface located on the far side of each cylindrical hole at two points in the circumferential direction, and connects a line connecting these points with the center of the cylindrical hole, and the center of each cylindrical hole. Is preferably in the range of 45 ° ± 15 °.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 6 shows one example of a plurality of cylinder blocks 1 (four in the illustrated example).
Cylindrical holes 2a, 2b, 2c, and 2d. A bearing cap portion 4 (only a part is shown) is formed on the bottom surface 3 side of the cylinder block 1. The cylinder block 1 is conveyed horizontally by a jig 12 provided on a pallet 11 of a conveyor 10 with the opening ends of the cylindrical holes 2a to 2d facing upward.

As shown in FIG. 2, the jig 12 holds the pallet 1
1, a mounting bracket 15 provided on an upper end of the mounting bracket 15, and a plurality of guide pins 17 provided on both sides of the mounting bracket 15.
And so on. The cylinder block 1 is held at a substantially predetermined position on the pallet 11 by fitting the bearing cap portion 4 to the reference metal fitting 16. The guide pin 17 prevents the cylinder block 1 from tilting in the direction in which it falls. The pallet 11 is temporarily stopped by a stopper mechanism (not shown) at a deburring stage of an engine production line.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, a cylinder block positioning device 20 includes a columnar support structure 21 built on the side of the conveyor 10, an elevating body 22 provided on the support structure 21, A pair of left and right guide rails 23 extending in the vertical direction, a lifting mechanism 25 (shown in FIG. 2) for moving the lifting body 22 in the vertical direction, and the like are provided. Lifting mechanism 2
An example of 5 is a fluid pressure cylinder such as an air cylinder, which can move the lifting / lowering body 22 from a rising position shown in FIG. 1 to a falling position shown in FIG.

The elevating body 22 includes a mounting board 31 having a linear bearing 30 (shown in FIG. 2) fitted to the guide rail 23, a sub-frame 32 provided on the mounting board 31,
A pair of left and right guide bushes 3 provided on the sub-frame 32
3 and a pair of upper and lower guide members 34 provided on the sub-frame 32 and extending in the horizontal direction.

This cylinder block positioning device 20
Are a first insertion member 41 and a second insertion member 42 extending below the elevating body 22, and these insertion members 41 and 42
Are provided in synchronization with each other in a direction away from each other and in a direction approaching each other. The first insertion member 41 is inserted into the first cylindrical hole 2 a of the cylinder block 1,
Is inserted into the third cylindrical hole 2c. These insertion members 41 and 42 are brought into contact with the wall surfaces 6a and 6c of the cylindrical holes 2a and 2c by the driving mechanism 43 as described below.

The insertion members 41 and 42 have a shaft shape extending in the axial direction of the cylindrical holes 2a and 2c. As shown in FIG. 1 and the like, the first insertion member 41 includes a pair of support pieces 45 and 46 provided at an interval in the axial direction of the cylindrical hole 2a. The second insertion member 42 also includes a pair of support pieces 47 and 48 provided at an interval in the axial direction of the cylindrical hole 2c.

The driving mechanism 43 synchronously moves the first insertion member 41 and the second insertion member 42 inserted in the cylindrical holes 2a, 2c in directions away from each other, thereby causing the insertion members 41, 42 to move. They are pressed against the wall surfaces 6a, 6c of the cylindrical holes 2a, 2c.

The driving mechanism 43 is provided with the guide member 34.
Slide members 51 and 52 that can move in a horizontal direction independently of each other along the axis, an air cylinder 53 that is an example of a drive unit that drives one slide member 51, and a drive unit that drives the other slide member 52. An air cylinder 54, which is an example, and a synchronization mechanism 55 that synchronously moves the slide members 51 and 52 by the same distance in opposite directions are provided. The first insertion member 41 is fixed to one slide member 51, and the second insertion member 42 is fixed to the other slide member 52.

The synchronization mechanism 55 includes one of the slide members 51.
, An engagement member 61 such as a roller provided on the other slide member 52, and a link 62 engaged with the engagement members 60 and 61. The link 62 is connected to a shaft 63 provided on the sub-frame 32.
Can be turned around. Therefore, the air cylinder 5
When each of the slide members 51 and 52 is driven along the guide member 34 by the third and third members 54, respectively.
Will move the same distance in the opposite direction in synchronization with each other.

As shown in FIG. 4, the first and second insertion members 41, 42 have cylindrical holes 2a, 2 into which they are inserted.
c can be in contact with the wall surfaces 6a, 6c located farther from each other at two points A, B in the circumferential direction, respectively. Moreover, these points A and B and the centers C1 and C2 of the cylindrical holes 2a and 2c.
M1 and M2 connecting the center and the center C of each cylindrical hole 2a and 2c
The angles θ1 and θ2 between the line M3 connecting the lines C1 and C2 are desirably 45 degrees, respectively, and are practically within the range of 45 degrees ± 15 degrees.

A pressing member 70 is provided on the lower surface side of the elevating body 22. The pressing member 70 faces the upper surface 1a of the cylinder block 1. The pressing member 70 is connected to the connecting member 7.
1 are attached to the lower ends of a pair of left and right guide rods 72. A spherical joint 73 is provided between the pressing member 70 and the connecting member 71 so that the pressing member 70 can be inclined with respect to the connecting member 71 within a certain angle range.

The guide rod 72 is inserted into the guide bush 33 extending in the vertical direction, and
Thereby, it can be moved in the vertical direction along the guide bush 33. When the pressing member 70 is lowered toward the cylinder block 1 by the actuator 75, the pressing member 70 presses the upper surface 1a of the cylinder block 1.

The actuator 75, which is a fluid pressure cylinder such as an air cylinder, moves the elevating body 22 from the lowered position shown in FIG. 3 to the intermediate position shown in FIG. 5, ie, the first and second insertion members 41 and 42. The pressing member 70 is kept in the cylinder block 1 until it comes out of the cylindrical holes 2a and 2c.
, So that the upper surface 1a of the cylinder block 1 is kept pressed.

Next, the operation of the cylinder block positioning device 20 will be described. The cylinder block 1 is transported to the deburring stage by the conveyor 10 and stops at a predetermined position. The elevating body 22 is lowered to the position shown in FIG. 3 by the elevating mechanism 25 with respect to the stopped cylinder block 1, whereby the first insertion member 41 is inserted into the first cylindrical hole 2a, and the second insertion member 42 Is inserted into the third cylindrical hole 2c.

Thereafter, when the air cylinders 53 and 54 operate, the insertion members 41 and 42 move in the directions away from each other. As a result, as shown by two-dot chain lines in FIG. 4, the respective support pieces 45, 46, 47, 48 of the insertion members 41, 42 make the wall surfaces 6a, 6c located on the far sides of the respective cylindrical holes 2a, 2c. At two points A and B in the circumferential direction. Line segments M1 and M2 connecting these points A and B to the centers C1 and C2 of the cylindrical holes 2a and 2c, respectively, and the cylindrical holes 2a and 2c.
The angle θ between the line segment M3 connecting the centers C1 and C2 of 2c
1, θ2 is approximately 45 degrees.

Thus, the upper supporting pieces 45, 47 are provided with the cylindrical holes 2a. External tension clamps are formed at four locations on the upper side with respect to the wall surfaces 6a, 6c of the 2c, and the lower support pieces 46, 48 are formed.
However, external clamps are formed at four places on the lower side with respect to the wall surfaces 6a and 6c. Thereby, the cylinder block 1
In the longitudinal direction (the direction of arrow X in FIG. 6) and the width direction of the cylinder block 1 (the direction of arrow Y in FIG. 6), and the torsion of the cylinder block 1 is also prevented. These insertion members 41, 42 are provided in the respective cylindrical holes 2a, 2c.
Since the cylinder block 1 is supported by a span S longer than the distance L (shown in FIG. 4) between the centers C1 and C2, the positioning accuracy in the X and Y directions can be sufficiently improved.

Since the angles .theta.1 and .theta.2 are slightly different depending on the inner diameters of the cylindrical holes 2a and 2c, the center value (target value) is 45 degrees, and in practice 45 degrees. ± .20 degrees, preferably 45 degrees. So that it falls within the range of ± 15 degrees. By doing so, the wall surfaces (arc surfaces) 6a, 6c of the cylindrical holes 2a, 2c
, The function of positioning the cylinder block 1 in the X and Y directions can be exhibited.

After the positioning of the cylinder block 1 in the X and Y directions is performed by the insertion members 41 and 42, the pressing member 70 is lowered by the actuator 75, and the upper surface 1a of the cylinder block 1 is pressed by the pressing member 70. Thereby, the vertical direction of the cylinder block 1 on the jig 12 (the direction indicated by the arrow Z in FIG. 6)
Is stopped.

Thus, the X, Y, Z of the cylinder block 1
After the positioning in the three directions is accurately performed, the side surface 1b of the cylinder block 1 is machined by the deburring tool 80 (only a part is shown in FIG. 2) held by the robot. At the time of this machining, the cylinder block 1 is held by the insertion members 41 and 42 and the pressing member 7
Since the cylinder block 1 is pressed onto the jig 12 by 0, the cylinder block 1 can be prevented from moving while being processed by the deburring tool 80 or the like, and can be processed with high accuracy. .

Thereafter, the lifting body 22 is raised by the lifting mechanism 25. During this ascent, the actuator 75 is not actuated until the elevating body 22 moves from the lowered position shown in FIG. 3 to the intermediate position shown in FIG. 5, that is, until the insertion members 41 and 42 are completely removed from the cylindrical holes 2a and 2c. As the air pressure is continuously supplied, the pressing member 70 is urged toward the upper surface 1a of the cylinder block 1 and the cylinder block 1
Is being held down.

For this reason, when the insertion members 41 and 42 are raised, the insertion members 41 and 42 are moved by the wall surfaces 6a and 6 of the cylindrical holes 2a and 2c.
c can be prevented from being caught, and the cylinder block 1 can be prevented from being lifted up integrally with the elevating body 22, and the danger of the lifted cylinder block 1 dropping can be avoided.

The elevating body 22 moves to the raised position shown in FIG. 1, and the pressing member 70 is raised by the actuator 75 to the initial position (the position shown in FIG. 1). After the cylinder block 1 is carried out by the conveyor 10, a new cylinder block 1 is carried in below the elevating body 22, and the above-described series of operations is repeated.

The cylinder block positioning device 20 can be used for other cylinder blocks having two or more cylinder holes, in addition to the cylinder block 1 having four cylinder holes 2a to 2d.

In practicing the present invention, including the above-described embodiment, the form of a cylinder block positioning device, such as a supporting structure, a lifting / lowering body, a lifting / lowering mechanism, an insertion member, a driving mechanism, a pressing member, an actuator, etc. Needless to say, the components of the present invention can be variously modified and implemented without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[0034]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the cylinder block can be securely held at a predetermined position. The present invention has a simple configuration because the insertion member only needs to be inserted into the two cylindrical holes of the cylinder block, and the cylindrical hole has two cylindrical holes.
The cylinder block described above can be used regardless of the number of cylinder holes.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the elevating body rises, the pressing member keeps pressing the upper surface of the cylinder block by the pressing member until the insertion member comes out of the cylindrical hole, so that the pressing member functions as an ejector. Can be
When the elevating body is lifted, the insertion member can be reliably separated from the cylinder block.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the wall surface of the cylindrical hole is pressed by two support pieces provided at intervals in the axial direction of the cylindrical hole, the cylinder is held when the cylinder block is held. The displacement of the block in the torsional direction can be prevented, and the cylinder block can be positioned more accurately.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the cylinder block can be supported by the first insertion member and the second insertion member at a span longer than the distance between the centers of the cylindrical holes, and more accurately. Positioning is possible.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a cylinder block positioning device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the cylinder block positioning device shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing a state where an insertion member of the cylinder block positioning device shown in FIG. 1 is inserted into the cylinder block.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line F4-F4 in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a front view showing a state where the insertion member of the cylinder block positioning device shown in FIG. 1 is being lifted.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a part of a cylinder block and a conveyor.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Cylinder block 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d ... Cylindrical hole 10 ... Conveyor 20 ... Cylinder block positioning device 21 ... Support structure 22 ... Elevating body 25 ... Elevating mechanism 41 ... 1st insertion member 42 ... 2nd insertion member 43: drive mechanism 70: pressing member 75: actuator

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Eijiro Tanabe 580-16 Horikawa-cho, Saiwai-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa F-term (reference) in Mitsubishi Automotive Engineering Co., Ltd. 3C016 BA01 CA05 CB03 CC01 CE04 HA02 HA04 HA06 HA13 HA17 HB01

Claims (4)

[Claims] A support structure; an elevating body provided on the support structure so as to be able to move up and down; an elevating mechanism for driving the elevating body over an ascending position and a descending position; A first plug that can be inserted into one of the cylindrical holes of the block and that can be moved toward and away from the wall surface of the cylindrical hole.
And a second insertion member provided on the elevating body and capable of being inserted into the other cylindrical hole of the cylinder block and capable of coming into contact with and separating from the wall surface of the cylindrical hole. By moving the first and second insertion members synchronously in a direction away from each other,
A drive mechanism for pressing each insertion member against the wall surface of each cylindrical hole, a pressing member provided movably in the vertical direction on the elevating body and capable of abutting on the upper surface of the cylinder block, and the pressing member on the cylinder block. An actuator for lowering the pressing member against the cylinder block by lowering the cylinder member toward the cylinder block. 2. The actuator according to claim 1, wherein the pressing member is attached to the cylinder block until the first and second insertion members come out of the cylindrical holes when the elevating body rises from the lowered position. 2. The cylinder block positioning device according to claim 1, wherein the cylinder block is continuously pressed and pressed. 3. The first and second insertion members include a pair of support pieces provided at intervals in the axial direction of each cylindrical hole, and these support pieces abut against the wall surface of the cylindrical hole. The cylinder block positioning device according to claim 1, wherein: 4. The first and second insertion members are respectively in contact with the wall surfaces located on the far side of each cylindrical hole at two points in the circumferential direction, and these points and the center of the cylindrical hole. And the line connecting the centers of the cylinder holes is 45 °.
2. The cylinder block positioning device according to claim 1, wherein the position is within ± 15 degrees.