JP2002079486A - Opening and closing chuck - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To appreciably thin-shape an opening and closing chuck having a pair of holding members openable and closable parallel to the direction of drive of a cylinder mechanism. SOLUTION: A pinion 11 for synchronizing the movements of pistons 6A and 6B of a pair of cylinder mechanisms 2A and 2B is arranged in a recessed portion 13 formed between the pair of cylinder mechanisms in a chuck body. The opening of the recessed portion 13 is covered with a guide member 4 for guiding a pair of holding members 3 parallel to the direction of drive of the cylinder mechanisms 2A and 2B. The guide member 4 journals one end side of a shaft 11a of the pinion 11.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an opening / closing chuck attached to an arm or the like of an industrial robot and used for holding and transporting an object such as a work.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As an opening / closing chuck attached to an arm or the like of an industrial robot and used for holding and transporting an object such as a work, a chuck disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-38881 shown in FIG. 6 is known. The chuck 50 is provided with a pair of cylinder mechanisms 52, 52 arranged in parallel with each other in a substantially rectangular chuck body 51, and a piston 54 in a cylinder hole 53 of the cylinder mechanisms 52, 52 is provided.
Are driven in opposite directions, a pair of gripping members 55, 55 (only one of which is shown in FIG. 6) for gripping the target object is a rail-shaped guide member provided at the center of the chuck body 51. Guided by 56,
The gripping members 55, 55 are connected to the cylinder mechanisms 52, 52.
The opening and closing drive is performed in a direction parallel to the drive direction of. In order to synchronize the operations of the pistons 54, 54, a pinion 58 that meshes with a rack 57 provided on the pair of pistons 54 is provided between the pair of cylinder holes 53. ing. In the opening / closing chuck 50, the thickness t between the surface of the chuck body 51 on which the gripping member is assembled and the surface facing the surface is reduced without being affected by the axial length of the cylinder hole. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the thickness T of the entire chuck to a certain extent.

However, in the opening / closing chuck 50, the upper end of the shaft 58a of the pinion 58 must be supported by the chuck body 51 and the guide member 56 must be provided on the chuck body 51. Due to the relationship between the length and the thickness of the guide member 56 on the axis, it is extremely difficult to further reduce the thickness of the entire chuck. Further, in the opening / closing chuck 50, since the pinion 58 needs to be attached to the chuck body 51 by the shaft supporting member 59, the configuration of the entire chuck is complicated.
It is complicated to assemble.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an opening / closing chuck in which a pair of gripping members are opened and closed in parallel with a driving direction of a cylinder mechanism, to further reduce the thickness of the entire chuck. It is in. Another technical object of the present invention is to simplify the structure of the chuck and simplify the assembling at the same time as reducing the thickness of the entire chuck.

[0005]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, an opening and closing chuck according to the present invention comprises a pair of cylinder mechanisms arranged side by side in a substantially rectangular chuck body in parallel with each other, and each of the cylinder mechanisms. A pair of gripping members that are driven to open and close in opposite directions by the pistons in the cylinder bore, a pinion that meshes with a rack provided on the pair of pistons, and synchronizes the operation of the pistons, and the chuck body. Assembled, guides the pair of gripping members in a direction parallel to the driving direction of the cylinder mechanism, a guide member formed in a rail shape long in the opening and closing direction of the gripping member, the pinion, The chuck body is disposed in a recess provided between a pair of cylinder mechanisms, and the opening of the recess is covered with the guide member. Is characterized in that is pivotally supported one end of the shaft of the pinion to.

In the opening / closing chuck having the above-described structure, one end of the shaft of the pinion is supported by the guide member, and unnecessary space in the chuck body is omitted. Therefore, the chuck body itself can be thinned. Thus, the entire chuck can be further thinned. Further, since one end of the shaft of the pinion is supported by the guide member, it is not necessary to separately mount the pinion and the guide member on the chuck body, and they can be performed simultaneously. It is possible to omit a member for supporting the shaft of the pinion and to increase the efficiency of assembly, thereby simplifying the structure and simplifying the assembly.

In the opening and closing chuck according to the present invention, each gripping member has an arm connected to a piston of a corresponding cylinder mechanism, and the arm is guided by a guide member for gripping an object to be gripped by the gripping member. The mounting piece is attached to the gripping surface side of the slide member to be mounted, and the mounting piece is fixed to the gripping surface side of the slide member by mounting screws that are screwed in from the sliding direction of the gripping member. You can be. The fixing by the mounting screw from such a direction is not limited to the thinning of the sliding member by the length of the mounting screw as in the case of the fixing by the mounting screw in the direction of the pinion shaft, and the sliding member can be fixed within a possible range. It is possible to make it thin inside.

In the present invention, position detecting magnets can be provided near both ends of each piston, and one magnetic detecting switch mounting groove can be provided on each of both side surfaces of the chuck body. Even when only the switch mounting groove on one side of the body is available, it is possible to detect that the piston is at any of the positions at both ends by housing two magnetic detection switches in one switch mounting groove. . Therefore, the operating position of the chuck can be detected only by providing one switch mounting groove on each side surface of the chuck body, and the chuck is made thinner than when two switch mounting grooves are provided in a narrow space. be able to.

[0009]

1 to 4 show an embodiment of an opening / closing chuck according to the present invention. The opening / closing chuck according to this embodiment comprises a substantially rectangular chuck body 1 and the chuck body 1. A pair of fluid pressure driven cylinder mechanisms 2A, 2B arranged in parallel with each other, a pair of gripping members 3, 3 driven to be opened and closed by the pair of cylinder mechanisms 2A, 2B, and a pair of gripping members A guide member 4 for guiding the third and third members 3 and 3 in a direction parallel to the driving direction of the cylinder mechanisms 2A and 2B is provided.

The pair of cylinder mechanisms 2A and 2B are formed with a pair of cylinder holes 5A and 5A formed in the chuck body 1.
B, pistons 6A and 6B slidably fitted in the cylinder holes 5A and 5B, and the respective cylinder mechanisms 2A and 2B.
Ports 18 and 19 for supplying and discharging compressed fluid to and from the end portions 7A and 7B with ports for closing one end sides of the cylinder holes 5A and 5B, and the cylinder holes 5A and 5B.
Is constituted by end members 8A and 8B that air-tightly block the other end of the end member. The pair of cylinder mechanisms 2A, 2B are connected to the respective ports 18, 1 of the ported end members 7A, 7B.
By supplying and discharging the compressed fluid through 9, the respective pistons 6A and 6B are reciprocated in opposite directions.

In this embodiment, when a compressed fluid is supplied from the port 18 located on the left side in FIG. 2, the compressed fluid is supplied to the inside of the pressure chamber 25A on the side of the ported end member 7A of the left cylinder mechanism 2A. The right cylinder mechanism 2B communicating with the flow passage 20 communicating with the pressure chamber 25A.
Flows into the pressure chamber 26B on the opposite end member 8B side. On the other hand, from the port 19 located on the right side, the pressure chamber 25 on the side of the ported end member 7B of the cylinder mechanism 2B is provided.
B and the flow passage 2 communicating with the pressure chamber 25B.
The pressure fluid in the pressure chamber 26A on the side of the end member 8A on the opposite side of the cylinder mechanism 2A from the cylinder mechanism 2A is discharged, whereby the pistons 6A and 6B are driven in mutually opposite directions. Conversely, when compressed air is supplied from the port 19, the compressed air flows into the pressure chamber 25B on the end member 7B side with the port of the cylinder mechanism 2B and the pressure chamber 26A on the end member 7A side of the cylinder mechanism 2A. Pressure chamber 25 on the side of ported end member 7A of cylinder mechanism 2A
A and the pressure chamber 2 on the end member 8B side of the cylinder mechanism 2B.
The compressed fluid from 6B is discharged, whereby the pistons 6A and 6B are driven in opposite directions.

Each of the pistons 6A and 6B is provided with racks 9A and 9B which mesh with a pinion 11 to be described later such that their teeth face each other.
The pistons 6A, 6A are inserted into the cylinder holes 5A, 5B.
Rack openings 10A and 10B for mutually engaging the racks 9A and 9B of B with the pinion 11 are provided in parallel with the axial direction of the cylinder holes 5A and 5B.
Seal members 16 are attached to both ends of the pistons 6A and 6B, respectively, so that the compressed fluid does not flow out of the pressure chambers of the cylinder holes 5A and 5B.

Permanent magnets 27 for position detection are mounted near both ends of each of the pistons 6A and 6B, and one magnetic detection switch mounting groove 1a is provided on each of both outer side surfaces of the chuck body 1. , 1a, the operating positions of the pistons 6A and 6B can be detected by magnetic detection switches (not shown) housed at positions near both ends. This allows
Even when only the switch mounting groove 1a on one side of the chuck body 1 can be used, the detection that the piston is located at one of the two ends is performed by housing two magnetic detection switches in one switch mounting groove 1a. Therefore, the operating position of the chuck can be detected simply by providing one switch mounting groove on each side surface of the chuck body, and the chuck can be used in comparison with the case where two switch mounting grooves are provided in a narrow space. In this embodiment, the permanent magnet 27 can be made thinner by the pistons 6A and 6B.
Are inserted into insertion holes provided near both ends of the piston 6A so as not to hinder sliding of the pistons 6A and 6B.

Between the pair of cylinder mechanisms 2A and 2B inside the chuck body 1, the pinion 11 meshing with the racks 9A and 9B of the pistons 6A and 6B is rotatably disposed on the peripheral surface. ing. This pinion 1
1 is a rack opening 10 of the cylinder holes 5A and 5B.
A, 10B through the rack 9 of each piston 6A, 6B
A and 9B mesh with each other to synchronize the movements of the pistons 6A and 6B.

The chuck body 1 includes the pinion 1
A concave groove 12 is formed on one surface side of the outer surface orthogonal to the axis direction 1 in parallel with the driving direction of the pair of cylinder mechanisms 2A and 2B. A recess 13 for rotatably housing the pinion 10 is provided at the center of the recess 12.
And one end of a shaft 11 a of the pinion 11 is pivotally supported by the chuck body 1 at the inner bottom of the recess 13.

The guide member 4 formed in a single rail shape extending in a direction parallel to the driving direction of the pair of cylinder mechanisms 2A, 2B in the groove 12 closes the opening of the recess 13. , And the pair of gripping members 3, 3 are both assembled to the guide member 4. The guide member 4 is fixed to the pinion 11 by a shaft support hole 4 a provided at the center of the mounting surface side of the chuck body 1.
The shaft 11a of the pinion 11 is rotatably supported directly by the shaft 11a, whereby the shaft 11a of the pinion 11 is supported by the chuck body 1 and the guide member 4.

The pair of gripping members 3, 3 have a linear bearing 14 provided with a large number of steel balls 14a, and are assembled so as to be guided by a guide member 4, and are slide members 3a for gripping an object to be gripped. , 3a and the cylinder mechanism 2A,
2B and a portion that does not interfere with the guide member 4 are provided with arms 3b, 3b extending in parallel to the direction of the other gripping member, and the slide members 3a, 3a
The gripping members 3, 3 are slidably mounted on the guide member 4 as a whole by being mounted so as to sandwich both longitudinal side surfaces of the guide member 4 via the support member 4.

The slide member 3a is provided with a groove 15 for fitting into the guide member 4, and two groove walls opposed to both longitudinal side surfaces of the guide member 4 in the groove 15 are provided.
The linear bearing 14 is provided. The linear bearing 14 of this embodiment has two loop holes 14 formed so as to draw a substantially elliptical shape in the slide member 3a.
b, 14b is a circulation type in which a large number of steel balls 14a are rotatably inserted into each other. When the gripping member 3 moves, each steel ball 14a rotates and moves so as to circulate in the loop hole 14b. It is. In addition, this linear bearing 14
The circulating type is not limited to such a circulating type, and may be of any configuration such as a linear type in which a plurality of steel balls or cylindrical rolling elements are attached to grooves.

The arm 3b is connected to the slide member 3a.
And the corresponding pistons 6A and 6B, and the driving force of these pistons 6A and 6B is
a, 3a to perform the opening and closing drive. The arms 3b are provided with corresponding drive pistons 6A, 6B by fitting a drive pin 30 provided on the surface facing the chuck body 1 into a fitting groove 17 provided substantially at the center of each of the pistons 6A, 6B. The driving forces of the pistons 6A, 6B are transmitted to the arms 3b, 3b through the driving pins 30, 30, respectively.

The cylinder mechanisms 2A and 2B need only maintain the airtightness of the pressure chambers 25A, 25B, 26A and 26B. In the range in which 17 moves, openings are provided in the cylinder holes 5A, 5B so that the fitting grooves 17, 17 are always exposed so as not to hinder the movement of the drive pins 30, 30.

The arm 3b has, on one end thereof,
An attachment piece 31 is provided for attachment to the gripping surface side of the slide member 3a, and is fixed to the gripping surface side of the slide member 3a by an attachment screw 32 screwed in from the sliding direction of the gripping member 3. . By doing so, if the slide member 3a has a thickness that allows the mounting screw 32 to be screwed in while maintaining a suitable strength, the slide member 3a is made as thin as possible. As in the case of fixing with the mounting screw 32 in the direction of the pinion shaft 11a, the slide member 3a
The thickness of the chuck is not limited by the length of the mounting screw, and the thickness of the entire chuck can be further reduced.

In the opening / closing chuck having the above structure, a pair of gripping members 3, 3 are driven to open and close by supplying and discharging compressed fluid to and from the cylinder mechanisms 2A, 2B through the ports 18, 19. In this opening / closing chuck, since one end of the shaft 11 a of the pinion 11 is supported by the guide member 4, a member for supporting the shaft of the pinion, which is conventionally required, can be omitted. Since a small space can be omitted, and the chuck body 1 itself can be made thinner, the entire chuck can be made even thinner. In addition, since the pinion 11 and the guide member 4 can be attached to the chuck body 1 at the same time, a member for supporting the shaft of the pinion, which has been conventionally required, can be omitted. Efficiency can also be achieved, and the overall structure can be simplified and assembly can be simplified.

Further, the arm 3b, 3b is mounted on the gripping surface side of the slide member 3a, 3a by the mounting screw 32 which is screwed in the grip member 3, 3 from the sliding direction of the grip member 3, 3. As a result, the slide member 3
Since the thickness of the sliding member 3a is not limited by the length of the mounting screw 32, the sliding members 3a, 3a can be reduced in thickness, and the magnetic detection switch mounting grooves 1a, 1a are formed outside the chuck body 1. The thickness of the chuck body 1 can be reduced by providing one on each side surface of the chuck, so that the chuck as a whole can be further reduced in thickness.

In the above embodiment, each piston 6A,
In the range in which the respective fitting grooves 17, 17 move as the 6B is driven, openings are provided in the cylinder holes 5A, 5B so that the fitting grooves 17, 17 are always exposed. However, it is not always necessary to do so, and a lead hole having a width that allows the drive pins 30, 30 of the arms 3b, 3b to be slidably inserted into the cylinder holes 5A, 5B is used to drive the pistons 6A, 6B. The configuration may be such that the drive pins 30 are provided in the direction only in the moving range length in the direction to minimize the exposure of the pistons 6A and 6B.

In the above embodiment, the driving pins 3
The drive force of the cylinder mechanisms 2A, 2B is transmitted to the grip members 3, 3 by the levers 0, 30, and the levers 3a, 3a of the grip members 3, 3, but is not necessarily limited to such a configuration. Needless to say, the driving force of the cylinder mechanism can be transmitted to the gripping member by using any means. In this case, it is important to adopt a structure that does not affect the thickness reduction of the entire chuck.

In the above embodiment, the gripping member 3
At one end of the arm 3b, there is provided a mounting piece 31 for mounting on the gripping surface side of the slide member 3a.
b is attached to the gripping surface side of the slide member 3a by an attachment screw 32 that is screwed in from the sliding direction of the gripping member 3 (see FIG. 4).
In the case where there is a spatial margin between the groove bottom of No. 2 and the surface of the slide member 3a, or when the overall thickness of the chuck can have some margin, a configuration as shown in FIG. it can.

That is, in the opening / closing chuck shown in FIG. 5, instead of the mounting piece 31 of the arm 3b, the arm 33b is formed in a plate shape extended by the length of the slide member 33a, and the extended portion is formed as a slide member. A configuration is adopted in which a mounting screw 34 screwed from the outer chuck body 1 side is attached to the surface of the 33a facing the chuck body 1. Since the configuration and operation other than the above in the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 are substantially the same as those in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the same reference numerals are given to the corresponding parts, and the description thereof will be omitted. Is omitted.

[0028]

As described above in detail, according to the opening / closing chuck of the present invention, since one end of the shaft of the pinion is supported by the guide member, unnecessary space of the chuck body is omitted, and the chuck body is omitted. Since the body itself can be thinned, the entire chuck can be further thinned. In addition, since the guide member supports one end of the pinion shaft at the same time, the pinion can be mounted and the guide member can be mounted at the same time, so that the conventionally required member for supporting the pinion shaft can be omitted. The efficiency of assembly can be improved, and the structure can be simplified and the assembly can be simplified.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of an opening / closing chuck according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway sectional view of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a side sectional view of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a side sectional view showing an embodiment different from FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a conventional opening / closing chuck.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 chuck body 1a switch mounting groove 2A, 2B cylinder mechanism 3 gripping member 3a slide member 3b arm 4 guide member 5A, 5B cylinder hole 6A, 6B piston 9A, 9B rack 11 pinion 11a shaft 13 recess 31 mounting piece

Continued on the front page F term (reference) 3C007 DS01 ES03 ES09 ET01 ET10 EU04 EW14 HS12 3C033 HH22 HH30 3F061 AA01 BA03 BA09 BB01 BB10 BC05 BD01 BF14

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A pair of cylinder mechanisms arranged in parallel with each other in a substantially rectangular chuck body, and a pair of cylinders driven to open and close in opposite directions by respective pistons in cylinder holes of the respective cylinder mechanisms. A gripping member, a pinion that meshes with a rack provided on the pair of pistons and synchronizes the operation of the pistons, and is mounted on the chuck body, and the pair of gripping members are parallel to the driving direction of the cylinder mechanism. An opening / closing chuck having a guide member formed in a rail shape elongated in the opening / closing direction of the gripping member, wherein the pinion is disposed in a recess provided between a pair of cylinder mechanisms in the chuck body. Opening and closing the concave portion with the guide member, and supporting the guide member at one end of a shaft of the pinion. H. 2. The opening and closing chuck according to claim 1, wherein
Each gripping member includes an arm connected to a piston of a corresponding cylinder mechanism, and the arm is attached to a gripping surface side of a slide member guided by a guide member for gripping an object to be gripped by the gripping member. Wherein the mounting piece is fixed to the gripping surface side of the slide member by a mounting screw which is screwed in from the sliding direction of the gripping member. 3. The open / close chuck according to claim 1, wherein magnets for position detection are provided near both ends of each piston, and one magnetic detection switch mounting groove is provided on each side surface of the chuck body. thing.