JP3564175B2 - Article transfer device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
[Industrial applications]
The present invention relates to an article transport device driven by fluid pressure.
[0002]
[Prior art]
A guide rail, a mover straddling the guide rail, and a ball rolling member made of an abrasion-resistant material provided on each of the opposing surfaces, and the ball is inserted between the ball rolling members to move the ball. A transport device for guiding the movement of a child is already known, for example, from Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 63-126615.
The above-mentioned proposed article transport device guides the movement of the moving element by balls rolling between ball rolling members made of wear-resistant material, and thus has an advantage that the moving surface has a small wear and a long life. Since it is necessary to provide an arc-shaped rolling surface on which the ball rolls on a ball rolling member made of an abrasion-resistant material, the processing is troublesome and the ball rolling member becomes expensive. Problem.
[0003]
In addition, when there is an obstacle during the movement process, the transport device needs to bend the guide rail in a horizontal direction and / or a vertical direction in order to avoid the obstacle. Since the ball rolling member has a direction of bending due to the arc-shaped rolling surface, it is difficult to bend the guide rail. If the ball is forcibly bent, the guide rail is distorted and the moving element moves smoothly. There is a problem that can not be.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The present invention focuses on the fact that a piano wire formed by drawing is inexpensive, has wear resistance, and has relatively good cross-sectional accuracy. In addition, it is an object of the present invention to provide an article conveying device in which a sliding portion has little wear.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention for solving the above problems includes a guide rail, a cylinder tube attached to the guide rail, a piston movable in the cylinder tube, and the piston extending across the cylinder tube along the outer peripheral surface thereof. In the article conveying device provided with a movable member that moves linearly and curvedly in synchronization with the guide rail, the guide rails are provided on both sides in the longitudinal direction, with V-shaped guide portions, and on opposite surfaces of these guide portions. Each of the cut-out insertion grooves having a width of the opening smaller than the diameter, a piano wire having a circular cross section inserted by protruding a part of the outer peripheral surface into these insertion grooves, and a mounting provided on the cylinder tube. and a mounting groove for loosely fitted parts, the moving element is, in its longitudinal ends provided with a these piano wire in contact with the guide, on one side of the movable element guide, piano It is characterized that it is an adjustment guide having an eccentric shaft for adjusting the gap between.
[0006]
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the adjusting guide includes a roller rotatably attached to the eccentric shaft, and an eccentric cap that includes the eccentric shaft and is fixed to the mover. By rotating the eccentric cap, the gap between the roller and the piano wire can be adjusted.
[0007]
Further, in order to solve the same problem, in these article conveying apparatuses, the insertion groove is formed to have a substantially square cross-section in which the width of the opening is smaller than the diagonal line, and a piano wire having a square cross-section is formed in these insertion grooves. One corner is provided so as to protrude outside; and the insertion groove has a substantially hexagonal cross section or a regular octagon in cross section narrower than a width between a pair of opposing sides, and the insertion groove has a regular hexagonal cross section. Alternatively, a regular octagonal piano wire is provided so that one side thereof is entirely protruded from the insertion groove, and the guide is provided with a guide surface which comes into surface contact with the projecting side of the piano wire.
[0008]
Further, in order to solve the same problem, these article conveying apparatuses are characterized in that a plurality of guide rails and a plurality of cylinder tubes are connected in the axial direction.
[0009]
[Action and effect of the invention]
When the pressure fluid is supplied to and discharged from the pressure chamber of the cylinder tube partitioned by the piston, the piston reciprocates in the cylinder tube, and the moving element moves in synchronization with the piston, so that the moving element conveys a desired article. be able to.
In this case, the guides provided on both sides of the movable element move while abutting on the piano wire inserted into the insertion groove of each guide surface of the guide rail, so that the movable attitude of the movable element is stabilized and moves smoothly. . In addition, since the guide wire is less worn by the piano wire and its life is extended, and a commercially available piano wire can be used as it is, a transport device having a long life can be made inexpensive.
Since the width of the above-mentioned insertion groove is formed as a broken circle or a substantially square whose opening width is smaller than the diameter or the length of a diagonal line, a piano wire having a circular or square cross section inserted into these insertion grooves may fall out of the insertion groove. There is no.
[0010]
Further, the adjustment guide includes a roller rotatably attached to the eccentric shaft, and an eccentric cap that includes the eccentric shaft and is fixed to the mover, and rotates the eccentric cap. By fixing, it is possible to adjust the gap between the roller and the piano wire to absorb a manufacturing error therebetween.
[0011]
Furthermore, since the cross section of the piano wire is a regular hexagon and a regular octagon, all sides of the piano wire are projected from the insertion groove, and the guide is provided with a guide surface that is in surface contact with the projected side of the piano wire, so that wear of the guide portion is further reduced. can do.
[0012]
In addition, since the cross section of the piano wire is circular, square, regular hexagon, and regular octagon, and has no directivity with respect to bending in the horizontal and / or vertical directions, the cross section of the reinforcing material is a non-regular polygon or the like. Unlike the one having the complicated shape, the guide rail can be easily bent without being distorted by the bending.
[0013]
Further, since a plurality of guide rails and a plurality of cylinder tubes are connected in the axial direction, it is easy to form a long transfer device, and it is possible to further reduce the cost.
[0014]
【Example】
FIGS. 1 to 5 show a first embodiment of the present invention. This article transport apparatus comprises a guide rail 1 and a cylinder tube 2 having a desired length, a piston 3 movable in the cylinder tube 2, and a cylinder. And a movable member 4 that can move over the tube 2 along the outer peripheral surface thereof.
The guide rail 1 has a projecting portion 7 having a mounting groove 6 with a narrow opening in the longitudinal direction of the upper surface, a bypass hole 8 for fluid piping in an intermediate longitudinal direction, and a V in the longitudinal direction of both side surfaces. The guide portions 9, 9 each have an insertion groove 10, which is partially open on the opposing surfaces of the guide portions 9, 9 (see FIG. 3), and a fixing groove 11 in the longitudinal direction of the lower surface. , Are integrally formed by an extruded material of aluminum or aluminum alloy.
The insertion groove 10 is formed in a cutout circular shape having a smaller opening width than the diameter, and a piano wire 12 having a circular cross section is inserted into each of the insertion grooves 10 with a part of the outer peripheral surface protruding from the opening. . These piano wires 12 may be embedded integrally when the guide rail 1 is extruded, or may be inserted into the fitting groove 10 after the guide rail 1 is formed, and at least both ends or desired portions are fixed by appropriate means. Good.
[0015]
The cylinder tube 2 has a mounting portion 13 provided with a groove at a wide end portion in the longitudinal direction of the outer peripheral surface, and is integrally formed by extruding a non-magnetic material. The guide rail 1 is assembled to the guide rail 1 by loosely fitting into the groove 6, and is slightly movable with respect to the guide rail 1 on a plane substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction due to a gap between the mounting groove 6 and the mounting portion 13. I have.
The piston 3 has a magnet coupling 14 in which annular magnets and yokes are alternately arranged in the axial direction, and annular adapter plates 15 on both sides in the axial direction attached to a rod 17 by nuts 16. A piston packing 18 is fitted in a packing groove provided on the outer peripheral surface of each adapter plate 15 so as to slide on and seal the inner peripheral surface of the cylinder tube 2.
[0016]
The mover 4 includes a hollow body 20 having both ends straddling the cylinder tube 2 close to the protruding portion 7, and a magnet coupling mounted inside the body so as to be slightly movable in the axial direction by retaining rings 23, 23. 21 and adapter plates 22 and 22 on both sides in the axial direction thereof. The magnetic coupling 21, like the magnetic coupling 14, alternately includes an annular magnet and a yoke which are partially cut off in the outer periphery in the axial direction. It is configured as arranged. In addition, scrapers 24, 24 slidably contacting the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder tube 2 are fitted into mounting grooves provided in the adapter plates 22, 22.
[0017]
The body 20 has a plurality (four in the illustrated example) of screw holes 20a for installing an article such as a work (not shown) on the upper surface, and has a fixing guide on one side of the lower surface. The fixing guide rollers 25, 25 constituting the fixing guide rollers 26, 26 constituting the adjusting guides are mounted on the other side, respectively.
The fixing guide roller 25 includes a shaft 29 fixed to the body 20 by a mounting screw 28, and a roller 30 rotatably mounted on the tip of the shaft. (See FIGS. 2 and 3).
The adjusting guide roller 26 shown in detail in FIGS. 4 and 5 includes an eccentric cap 32, a hole 33 a and a shaft 33 whose axis is eccentric relative to the outer diameter of the eccentric cap 32, A roller 34 is rotatably attached to the tip, and by rotating the eccentric cap 32, the gap between the roller 34 and the piano wires 12, 12 can be adjusted. It is fixed to the body 20 by 28 (see FIG. 1).
The rollers 30 and 34 are formed of a material having wear resistance.
[0018]
In the first embodiment, the mounting portion 13 of the cylinder tube 2 in which the piston 3 is inserted is loosely fitted in the mounting groove 6 of the guide rail 1, and the movable member 4 is installed on the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder tube 2. The guide rollers 25, 25, 26, 26 attached to the mover 4 are assembled by contacting the outer peripheral surfaces of the piano wires 12,... Of the guide rail 1. The cylinder tube 2 is attached to the guide rail 1 and the movable member 4 so as to be slightly movable on a plane substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction.
Even if there is a manufacturing error between the mover 4 and the guide rail 1, by rotating the eccentric caps 32, 32 of the adjustment guide rollers 26, 26, the rollers 30, 30 and 34, 34 are moved. The movable element 4 can be stably supported by the guide rail 1 and can move.
In this case, since the cylinder tube 2 can slightly move with respect to the guide rail 1 and the moving element 4, the cylinder tube 2 comes into contact with the piano wire 12,... Will not be a hindrance.
[0019]
In the first embodiment, when compressed air is supplied to and exhausted from the ports (not shown) into the pressure chambers on both sides of the piston 3, the piston 3 reciprocates in the cylinder tube 2 and is provided on the piston 3 and the moving element 4. The moving element 4 reciprocates in synchronization with the piston 3 by the attraction force of the magnet couplings 14 and 21. Therefore, a desired article can be transported by the moving element 4.
In this case, since the movable member 4 is supported by the piano wires 12,... By the rollers 30, 30, 34, 34 provided on the movable member 4, the movable member 4 is stably positioned along the guide rail 1 and the cylinder tube 2. Move with. Therefore, the moving posture of the movable element 4 is stable regardless of the installation posture of the work.
[0020]
The guide rail 1 includes a piano wire 12 having a circular cross section inserted into an insertion groove 10 provided on each surface of the guide portions 9, 9, and guide rollers 25, 25, 26 provided on the movable member 4. , 26 are in contact with the rollers 30, 30, 34, 34, so that even if the guide rail 1 is formed of a relatively soft material such as aluminum or an alloy thereof, the wear of the guide portion is small, so that the transport device has a long life. It can be long.
Moreover, since the piano wire 12 can use a commercially available thing, it is inexpensive, and since the cross-section precision is good, the movement of the moving element 4 can be guided accurately.
Further, depending on the installation location, the transport device may need to bend the guide rail and the cylinder tube horizontally and / or vertically to avoid obstacles.
In the first embodiment, since the sections of the piano wires 12,... Are circular and have no directionality for bending, the guide rail 1 can be bent easily without distortion.
[0021]
FIG. 6 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. Each of the guide portions 37, 37 (only one of which is shown) of the guide rail 36 of the second embodiment has a substantially square shape in which the width of the opening is smaller than the diagonal line. Insertion grooves 38,... Are formed, and piano wire 39 having a square cross section is inserted into these insertion grooves 38,.
The other configuration and operation of the second embodiment are the same as those of the first embodiment, and thus detailed description is omitted.
In this case, when the intersection angle of the pair of surfaces of the guide portion 37 is made a right angle as shown in the figure, and each side of the piano wire 39 having a square cross section matches the horizontal plane and the vertical plane of the guide rail 36, the guide rail 36 is easier to bend in the horizontal and vertical directions.
[0022]
FIG. 7 shows a third embodiment of the present invention. Piano wires having a regular hexagonal cross section are provided in insertion grooves 43 provided in guide portions 42, 42 (only one is shown) of a guide rail 41 of the third embodiment. Are inserted in such a manner that one of the sides protrudes out of the insertion groove 43 from the opening, and the width of the opening of each insertion groove 42 is made shorter than the width between two opposing sides. This prevents the piano wire 44 from coming out of the insertion groove 43. The rollers 30, 34 have rolling surfaces that make surface contact with the protruding sides of the piano wires 44,.
Other configurations and operations of the third embodiment are the same as those of the first embodiment except that the protruding sides of the piano wires 44,... And the rolling surfaces 30a, 34a of the rollers 30, 34 are in surface contact. Detailed description is omitted.
[0023]
FIG. 8 shows a fourth embodiment of the present invention. Piano wires having a regular octagonal cross section are provided in insertion grooves 48 provided in guide portions 47 (only one is shown) of a guide rail 46 of the fourth embodiment. Are inserted in such a manner that one side thereof is entirely protruded from the opening to the outside, and the width of the opening of the insertion groove 48 is smaller than the width between two opposing sides. This prevents the piano wires 49,... From coming out of the insertion grooves 48.
The other configurations and operations of the fourth embodiment are substantially the same as those of the third embodiment, and thus detailed description will be omitted.
[0024]
When the length of the transfer device is long, it is necessary to connect a plurality of guide rails and cylinder tubes formed to a desired length.
FIGS. 9 and 10 show a fifth embodiment of the present invention in which a plurality of guide rails 51 and cylinder tubes 52 each having a desired length are connected.
The guide rails 51, 51 are attached to a base 53 inserted in fixing grooves 11, 11 provided on the lower surface by bolts (not shown). The part 7 is not provided.
The cylinder tubes 52, 52 have their end faces abutting via packing (not shown), and the connecting brackets 55, 55 abutting on both sides of the base of the mounting portions 13, 13 are connected to bolts 56, 55 passing through the brackets. Are tightened by nuts 57, and bolts 58 passing through the grooves (see FIG. 2) of the mounting portion 13 are tightened by nuts 59 to be connected. And the nut 59 prevent displacement in the axial direction. Reference numeral 60 in FIG. 10 denotes a plate that suppresses the opening of the magnet coupling 21 having a circular shape provided on the movable element 4.
[0025]
The other configuration and operation of the fifth embodiment are the same as those of the first embodiment. Therefore, the same reference numerals are given to the same main parts in the drawing, and the detailed description is omitted.
Further, the piano wire attached to the guide rail 51 is not limited to the piano wire 12 having a circular cross section as shown in the figure, but is a piano wire 39 having a square cross section, a piano wire 44 having a regular hexagonal cross section, or a piano wire having a regular octagonal cross section. Of course, line 49 could be used.
In the fifth embodiment, since a plurality of guide rails 51 and cylinder tubes 52 each having a desired length are connected in the axial direction, it is easy to form a long conveying device, and furthermore, it is more inexpensive. Can be something.
The guide rail 51 does not have to be continuous over the entire length of the moving element 4 in the moving direction, and may be connected by a piano wire at a slight interval. Is easy to bend.
[0026]
The piston and the moving element in each of the transfer devices are configured to move synchronously by the magnetic coupling.However, the transfer device of the present invention is not limited to the magnetic coupling, and the piston is not limited to the piston. Well-known mechanical connecting means can be used to connect the moving member and the moving member by a connecting member passing through a narrow groove provided in the cylinder tube.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a partially longitudinal front view showing a main part of a first embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG.
FIG. 3 is an enlarged view showing a contact state between a piano wire and an adjustment guide.
FIG. 4 is a half vertical sectional view of an adjusting guide roller.
FIG. 5 is a plan view of the same.
FIG. 6 is an enlarged view showing a main part of the second embodiment.
FIG. 7 is an enlarged view showing a main part of the third embodiment.
FIG. 8 is an enlarged view showing a main part of a fourth embodiment.
FIG. 9 is a front view showing a main part of a fifth embodiment.
FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along line BB of FIG.
[Explanation of symbols]
1, 36, 41, 46, 51 Guide rail 2, 52 Cylinder tube 3 Piston 4 Mover 9, 37, 42, 47 Guide part 10, 38, 43, 48 Insertion groove 12, 39, 44, 49 Piano wire 25 fixed Guide rollers 26 adjustment guide rollers 30, 34 rollers

Claims (5)

A guide rail, a cylinder tube attached to the guide rail, a piston movable in the cylinder tube, and moving linearly and curvedly along the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder tube in synchronization with the piston along the outer peripheral surface thereof An article transport device having a moving element
The above-mentioned guide rails have V-shaped guide portions on both sides in the longitudinal direction, and oval-shaped insertion grooves formed on the opposing surfaces of these guide portions, each having an opening having a width smaller than the diameter. A piano wire having a circular cross section inserted by protruding a part of the outer peripheral surface into the groove, and a mounting groove for loosely fitting a mounting portion provided on the cylinder tube ,
The moving element includes guides on both sides in the longitudinal direction thereof, which are in contact with these piano wires, and the guide on one side of the moving element has an eccentric axis for adjusting a gap with the piano wire. Has become
An article conveying device, characterized in that: The adjustment guide includes a roller rotatably attached to the eccentric shaft, and an eccentric cap that includes the eccentric shaft and is fixed to the mover. The roller is rotated by rotating the eccentric cap. And the gap between the piano wire and
The article conveying device according to claim 1, wherein: The width of the insertion groove is substantially square in cross section where the width of the opening is narrower than the diagonal line, and piano wires having a square cross section in these insertion grooves are provided with one corner protruding outside.
The article conveying device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The insertion groove has a cross section of approximately a regular hexagon or a regular octagon narrower than the width between a pair of opposite sides of the opening, and a piano wire of a regular hexagon or a regular octagon in section is inserted into one of the insertion grooves. And protrude from
The guide has a guide surface that comes into surface contact with the protruding side of these piano wires,
The article conveying device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: A plurality of guide rails and cylinder tubes were connected in the axial direction, respectively.
The article transport device according to claim 1, wherein:

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