JP5867867B2 - Cylinder port connection structure - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a structure for connecting a speed controller or the like to a port of a fluid pressure cylinder such as an air cylinder.

  A connection member having a tubular portion at the tip of a speed controller (speed control valve) or a pipe joint is connected to a port of a fluid pressure cylinder such as an air cylinder (pneumatic cylinder) in order to control the speed of the cylinder.

  A male screw is formed in a connection portion between the connection member and the port (see, for example, Patent Document 1). On the other hand, an internal thread is formed at the port of the fluid pressure cylinder. Then, the connecting member is connected to the port of the fluid pressure cylinder by screwing the male screw of the connecting member into the female screw of the port.

JP-A-5-202906

  However, when connecting the connecting member to the port of the fluid pressure cylinder, it is necessary to screw it with a tool such as a spanner. For this reason, particularly when the work space for handling the tool cannot be easily secured, it is very difficult to attach or replace the connection member.

  In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide a connection structure capable of easily connecting a connection member such as a speed controller to a port of a fluid pressure cylinder.

  The present invention relates to a connection structure in which a connecting member having a pipe portion is connected to a port communicating with the cylinder space in the cylinder tube of the fluid pressure cylinder, and the cylinder tube is made of metal, and the tip of the pipe portion An accommodation part that accommodates a part is formed in the port, and the accommodation part of the port includes a fixing member that prevents the connection member in which the tip part is accommodated from falling off.

  According to the present invention, the pipe part of the connecting member is pushed into the port, the tip part of the pipe part is accommodated in the accommodating part of the port, and the connecting member is prevented from falling off by the fixing member. Can be connected. Therefore, when attaching and detaching the connecting member to the port, a tool such as a spanner is not required as in the prior art. Therefore, it is not necessary to secure a work space for handling the tool, and work such as attachment and replacement of the connection member is facilitated.

In the present invention, the tube portion has a non-circular cross-section, in the housing unit, Ru with a non-circular cross section corresponding to the non-circular cross-section.

Thereby , a connection member can be connected to a port with a rotation stop. If there is no need to prevent rotation, both the tube portion and the accommodating portion may have a circular cross section.

  In the present invention, for example, the fixing member is preferably a member that engages with a notch formed on an outer surface of the port.

  In this case, for example, it is preferable that the fixing member is engaged with the notch by an urging force. Thereby, the fixing member does not easily fall off from the cut, and the connecting member can be stably connected to the port.

  Furthermore, in the present invention, it is preferable that the port is provided on a resin member fixed to the cylinder tube.

  For example, the resin member is preferably a cover that closes an axial opening of the cylinder tube. In this case, the resin member on which the port is formed and the cover can be integrated.

The schematic cross section which shows embodiment which concerns on the port part connection structure of the cylinder of this invention. The perspective view which shows embodiment which concerns on the port part connection structure of the cylinder of this invention. The perspective view of a speed controller.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment according to a cylinder port portion connection structure of the present invention will be described.

  Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, an air cylinder 10 as a fluid pressure cylinder includes a circular cylinder tube 11, and both side openings in the axial direction are closed by covers 12 and 13. The front cover is the head cover 12, and the rear cover is the rod cover 13.

  Here, the cylinder tube 11 is made of a metal such as stainless steel, aluminum, or copper. The head cover 12 and the rod cover 13 are formed by injection molding of a thermoplastic resin such as polyphenylene sulfide (PPS), polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), nylon, polyphthalamide (PPA), ABS resin, polycarbonate (PC). It is a thing.

  The cylinder tube 11, the head cover 12, and the rod cover 13 are fixed to each other. For example, they are fixed by insert molding as described in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2011-196458.

  And the piston 14 which can move along the axial direction of the cylinder tube 11 by the fluid pressure (this embodiment air) is accommodated in the internal space of the cylinder tube 11. The piston 14 divides the internal space of the cylinder tube 11 into two cylinder chambers (cylinder sections) 15. The piston 14 is integrally provided with a rod 16 that is penetrated and supported by the rod cover 13, and the rod 16 is configured to advance and retract as the piston 14 moves.

  A port 21 is formed in each of the head cover 12 and the rod cover 13. Each port 21 communicates with each cylinder chamber 15 through a through hole 11 a formed in the cylinder tube 11. Each port 21 is connected to a speed controller (speed control valve) 31 that is a connection member by a connection structure according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  Referring also to FIG. 3, the speed controller 31 includes a tubular body 32, a protrusion 33 that is integrated with the body 32 and protrudes in an elbow shape from the body 32, and an axis of the protrusion 33 is used as a rotation axis. And a pipe joint portion 34 provided rotatably. The pipe joint portion 34 is provided with a so-called one-touch joint mechanism, and is connected to a tube communicating with a high-pressure air supply source (not shown).

  The body 32 has a connection portion 35, which is a tube portion that is exposed from the bottom and connected to the port 21, at the distal end portion, and includes a generally circular tubular metal member 36 as a whole. The body 32 is configured to be rotatable with respect to the metal member 36. The metal member 36 is made of a metal such as stainless steel, aluminum, or copper. The metal member 36 incorporates a variable throttle and a check valve connected in parallel to the variable throttle, although not shown. A knob (operating unit) 37 that adjusts the aperture amount of the variable aperture by rotating is exposed on the upper portion of the body 32.

  The speed controller includes a meter-in type for controlling the amount of supplied air introduced into the cylinder chamber and a meter-out type for controlling the amount of exhaust air derived from the cylinder chamber. The speed controller 31 may take any form.

  The connection part 35 with the port 21 of the speed controller 31 has a circular pipe part 35a. A groove part 35b for arranging the O-ring 38 is provided continuously from the circular pipe part 35a to the inner side in the axial direction. And the chamfered part 35c by which the outer surface of the two places was chamfered planarly in the part of the axial direction outward side from the groove part 35b of the circular pipe part 35a is formed, and becomes a substantially oval cross section. ing. Further, a groove portion 35d for engaging the fixed piece 40 is formed on the outer side in the axial direction of the circular pipe portion 35a. In addition, the cross section of the axial direction inner side part of the circular pipe part 35a is a circle with a little small diameter compared with the outer diameter of the part in which the chamfered part 35c was formed.

  Each of the ports 21 is configured to have a receiving portion including a through hole having a shape corresponding to the connecting portion 35 as a whole. The through hole of the port 21 has a substantially oval cross section with two outer surfaces chamfered in a flat shape so as to have a cross section that is the same as or slightly larger than the generally oval outer cross section of the circular pipe portion 35a. A chamfered hole 21a is formed. A small diameter hole 21b having a large cross section equal to or slightly larger than the circular outer cross section of the axially inner side portion of the circular pipe portion 35a is continuous on the axially inner side of the chamfered hole portion 21a of the port 21. Is formed.

  Further, a cut 22 is formed on the outside of the port 21 above the chamfered hole portion 21a. The notch 22 is configured so that the fixed piece 40 can be engaged. The fixed piece 40 has a thin plate shape as a whole, and includes a grip portion 41 that an operator grips with a finger and an extending portion 42 that extends from the grip portion 41 to a pair on the left and right. A bent portion 43 having a “U” shape is formed at the tip of the extending portion 42, and the overall height of the bent portion 43 when free is higher than the height of the groove portion 35d. Thus, when the fixed piece 40 is inserted into the groove portion 35d through the notch 22, the fixed piece 40 is not easily dropped from the groove portion 35d by the urging force of the bent portion 43 contracted in the height direction.

  In the air cylinder 10 configured as described above, the speed controller 31 is connected to the port 21 as follows.

  The operator first pushes the connection portion 35 of the speed controller 31 into the port 21 from above. As a result, the circular pipe portion 35 a of the connection portion 35 enters the chamfered hole portion 21 a of the port 21, and the O-ring 38 disposed in the groove portion 35 b of the connection portion 35 enters the small diameter hole portion 21 b of the port 21. As a result, the speed controller 31 is temporarily connected to the port 21.

  Thereafter, the operator inserts the fixing piece 40 into the groove portion 35 d through the notch 22. This reliably prevents the speed controller 31 from falling off the port 21. At this time, the connecting portion 35 of the speed controller 31 and thus the metal member 36 are prevented from rotating with respect to the port 21, but the body 32 can be rotated to the port 21.

  And when removing the speed controller 31 from the port 21, the operator should just pull out the fixing piece 40 from the groove part 35d, and pull out the speed controller 31 upwards.

  Because of such a connection structure, a tool such as a spanner is not required when attaching or removing the speed controller 31 as in the prior art. Therefore, it is not necessary to secure a work space for handling the tool, and work such as attachment and replacement of the speed controller 31 is facilitated.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described with reference to drawings, this invention is not limited to this. For example, the case where the connecting member connected to the port is the speed controller 31 has been described. However, the connection member is not limited to the speed controller, and may be any member that has a tubular connection portion with the port, such as a pipe joint or various valve members.

  The case where the speed controller 31 is an elbow-shaped variable speed type has been described. However, the shape and form of the speed controller are not limited, and may be a straight shape or a constant speed shape.

  Moreover, the case where the chamfering part 35c was formed in two places on the outer surface of the circular pipe part 35a of the connection part 35 was demonstrated. However, the anti-rotation mechanism of the connecting portion 35 is not limited to this, and the outer surface of the portion where the chamfered portion 35c of the circular pipe portion 35a is formed as a non-circular cross section, and the chamfered hole of the port 21 is matched to this cross section. What is necessary is just to define the cross-sectional shape of the part 21a. Further, when it is not necessary to prevent the connection part 35 from rotating, the chamfered part 35c is not formed, and the cross section of the chamfered hole part 21a of the port 21 may be a simple circle.

  Further, the case where the port 21 is formed integrally with the head cover 12 and the rod cover 13 has been described. However, the port 21 may be formed in a resin member that is fixed to the cylinder tube 11 separately from the head cover 12 and the rod cover 13. Further, the port 21 may be formed of a metal member fixed to the cylinder tube 11 or one integrated with the cylinder tube 11.

  Further, the case where the fixed piece 40 is engaged with the groove 35d by the urging force has been described. However, the fixed piece 40 may be engaged with the groove 35d regardless of the urging force. The fixing member of the present invention is not limited to a flat plate such as the fixing piece 40, and may be a member having a bar shape or a line shape.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Air cylinder (fluid pressure cylinder), 11 ... Cylinder tube, 11a ... Through-hole, 12 ... Head cover (resin member, cover), 13 ... Rod cover (resin member, cover), 14 ... Piston, 15 ... Cylinder Chamber, 16 ... Rod, 21 ... Port, 21a ... Chamfered hole part, 21b ... Small diameter hole part, 22 ... Notch, 31 ... Speed controller (connection member), 32 ... Body, 33 ... Projection part, 34 ... Pipe joint part 35 ... Connection part (pipe part), 35a ... Circular pipe part, 35b ... Groove part, 35c ... Chamfer part, 35d ... Groove part, 36 ... Metal member, 37 ... Knob (operation part), 38 ... O-ring, 40 ... a fixing piece (fixing member), 41 ... a gripping part, 42 ... an extension part, 43 ... a bending part.

Claims (5)

A connection structure for connecting a connecting member having a pipe portion to a port communicating with a cylinder space in a cylinder tube of a fluid pressure cylinder and the outside,
The cylinder tube is made of metal, and an accommodating portion that accommodates a distal end portion of the tube portion is formed in the port,
A fixing member for preventing the connection member in which the distal end portion is housed in the housing portion of the port ;
The tube portion connecting structure according to claim 1, wherein the tube portion has a non-circular cross section, and the housing portion includes a non-circular cross section corresponding to the non-circular cross section . The cylinder port portion connection structure according to claim 1 , wherein the fixing member is a member that engages with a notch formed in an outer surface of the port. The cylinder port part connection structure according to claim 2, wherein the fixing member is engaged with the notch by an urging force. The port part connection structure of a cylinder according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein the port is provided on a resin member fixed to the cylinder tube. The cylinder port portion connection structure according to claim 4 , wherein the resin member is a cover that closes an axial opening of the cylinder tube.