JP2000052162A - Automatic fixing device for elastic ring - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an automatic fixing device capable of automating the work of fixing an elastic ring to a component and manufactured at low costs to be compact. SOLUTION: This automatic fixing device is provided with an elastic ring discharging unit 7 for discharging elastic ring one by one from a discharge port 3a located above a component, a guide cap 8 having a tapered portion for receiving the elastic ring dropped from the discharge port and temporarily fixing the same, a chuck unit 9 having a hand 18 for gripping the guide cap, and a vertically moving slide unit 12 for reciprocating the chuck unit from the position of the tapered portion facing the discharge port to the position of placing the guide cap on the component. After the guide cap having the temporarily fixed elastic ring is placed on the component, the hand is opened to release the gripping of the guide cap, then the hand is closed when the chuck unit is lowered again after it is raised, and the elastic ring on the tapered portion is transferred to the component side while being expanded by the edge part of the hand.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic elastic ring mounting apparatus for mechanically mounting an elastic ring such as an O-ring or a seal ring in a fitting groove of a component.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in order to achieve a liquid-tight state between members which are fitted to each other, such as a drain plug for closing a drain hole opened in a bottom surface of a casing forming an oil reservoir, the two members must be connected to each other. Generally, an elastic ring such as an O-ring is interposed. That is, an O-ring mounting groove is formed on the outer periphery of the part to be internally fitted, and the O-ring is mounted here.

[0003]

In this case, the mounting of the O-ring in the fitting groove of the component is usually performed manually. Specifically, the O-ring is spread by hand or the like, fitted into the part, and pushed to the mounting groove so as to push out places.
Since this operation requires a great deal of effort, it is very tired to perform this operation in a large amount, and such operation steps are complicated and require skill in an assembly line by a flow operation, so that it is difficult to adopt the operation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above situation, and has a small and inexpensive elastic ring automatic mounting apparatus which can be installed in a small space of an assembly line without performing complicated control. The purpose is to provide.

[0005]

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the above object, the automatic elastic ring mounting device of the present invention is configured as follows. That is, an elastic ring discharge unit that discharges the elastic rings one by one from a discharge port provided above a component to which the elastic ring is to be mounted, and a tapered portion that receives and temporarily fixes the elastic ring that drops from the discharge port. Guide cap, a chuck unit having a hand that can be held between the outlet and the component and that can hold the guide cap in an upright position, and a taper portion of the guide cap from the upper end position facing the outlet, An elevating slide unit that linearly reciprocates the chuck unit to a lower end position where the guide cap is mounted on the component 11, and after the guide cap temporarily fixed with the elastic ring is mounted on the component, To release the grip of the guide cap, then raise the chuck unit and then lower it again. Characterized in that so as to transfer to the component side while expanding the elastic ring on the tapered portion by the edge portion of the sliding contact hand the tapered portion.

[0006]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the elastic ring automatic mounting apparatus according to the present invention is installed in parallel with a base plate 1 installed on a work table such as an assembly line via a stand 2 above the base plate 1. The elastic ring mounting plate 3, the plurality of O-rings 4 are stored in a line, and the stock bar 5 is vertically arranged on the elastic ring mounting plate 3, and the tip of the stock bar 5 is directed downward. The tip surface is larger than the outer diameter of one O-ring 4 from the upper surface of the elastic ring mounting plate 3,
And a bar mounting unit 6 for fixing so as to be floated to a degree smaller than the outer diameter of the two pieces, and a front end of the elastic ring mounting plate 3 by extracting one O-ring 4 on the elastic ring mounting plate 3 one by one. An elastic ring discharge unit 7 for transporting to the discharge port 3a provided in the hopper, a guide cap 8 for receiving the inner circumference of the O-ring 4 discharged from the discharge port 3a,
A chuck unit 9 capable of holding and releasing the guide cap 8, a component mounting table 10 located on the same axis with respect to the discharge port 3 a and installed on the upper surface of the base plate 1, and the guide cap 8 from the discharge port 3 a. An elevating slide unit 12 that can reciprocate up and down between the components 11 mounted on the component mounting table 10.

The stock bar 5 has a stock portion 5a having an outer diameter slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the O-ring 4, a flange portion 5b formed at the base of the stock portion 5a, and an axial direction of the flange portion 5b. An annular groove 5c formed in the middle part is provided integrally, and the stock part 5a is elongated in the axial direction so as to store a plurality of O-rings 4 in a line. Further, an upper portion of the bar mounting unit 6 is provided with a mounting plate 6a in which an annular groove 5c of the stock bar 5 is inserted from the front and a flange portion 5b is installed on an upper surface thereof, and a handle 6b capable of detachably fixing the stock bar 5 to the upper surface. And Stock part 5a
When the O-ring 4 located at the lowermost end is attached to the bar attachment unit 6, it comes out of the tip of the stock portion 5 a by its own weight and comes into contact with the upper surface of the elastic ring mounting plate 3.

As shown in FIG. 4, the elastic ring discharge unit 7 has a cylinder rod 13a on the opposite side of the discharge port 3a of the elastic ring mounting plate 3 along the plate surface direction of the elastic ring mounting plate 3. A double-acting first pneumatic cylinder 13 installed so as to be able to move forward and backward, and an extraction plate 14 arranged on the upper surface of the elastic ring mounting plate 3 and having a cylinder rod 13a attached to an upwardly bent portion,
It comprises. An O-ring 4 is provided on the front end side of the extraction plate 14.
A semicircular receiving portion 14a substantially equal to the outer diameter of
The receiving portion 14a can retreat from the stock bar 5 by the expansion and contraction of the cylinder rod 13a, or can reach the discharge port 3a just below the stock portion 5a. Also,
A first directional control valve 15 that can selectively supply compressed air from the compressor C shown in FIG. 6 is connected to each of the expansion chamber and the compression chamber of the first pneumatic cylinder 13.

The chuck unit 9 is a pair of right and left arms 17 and 17 arranged and supported so as to swing horizontally about a vertical axis at a front portion of a cylinder case 16, and a first arm portion 17a protruding forward of the case. A large diameter of the guide cap 8 attached to the front end of each of the L-shaped arms 17, 17 integrally having a second arm portion 17b facing the inside of the case and the first arm portion 17a. A pair of hands 18, 18 capable of gripping the portion 8b from the left and right directions
And a double-acting second pneumatic cylinder 20 having a cylinder rod 20a connected to each of the second arm portions 17b via a pin 19 and capable of moving forward and backward. The hand 18 is made of a material having a high coefficient of friction, such as synthetic resin or rubber, in order to reliably grip the guide cap 8. A portion of the hand 18 that comes into contact with the large diameter portion 8 b of the guide cap 8 has the large diameter. It is formed in a semicircular concave portion 18a corresponding to the shape of the portion 8b. In addition, the air chamber on each of the extension side and the contraction side of the second pneumatic cylinder 20 has a structure shown in FIG.
Is connected to a second directional control valve 21 which can selectively supply compressed air from the compressor C.

As shown in FIG. 7, the guide cap 8 is formed with a tapered portion 8a tapering from the upper end of the large diameter portion 8b in a continuous manner. Smaller than inner diameter and large diameter part 8
The outer diameter of b is set slightly larger than the inner diameter of the O-ring 4 within an allowable range of elastic deformation. And
A concave portion 8c having a depth substantially equal to the length H of the fitting portion 11a of the component 11 is formed on the bottom surface of the large diameter portion 8b, and the guide cap 8 is formed at the base of the fitting portion 11a of the component 11. The fitting portion 11a can be covered so as to expose only the ring mounting groove 11b. The component 11 shown in the present embodiment is a drain plug, but any component such as a valve spool on which the O-ring 4 and the seal ring are mounted can be used. The guide cap 8 and the component mounting table 10 corresponding to the shape are prepared. You should do it.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the elevating slide unit 12 is provided with a vertical rail 22 installed on the front of the stand 2 and slidably fitted to the vertical rail 22 so that the chuck unit 9 is mounted on the front. Slider 2 fitted with
3 and a vertically movable cylinder rod 25 connected to one side surface of the slider 23 via a crossbar 24.
a) and a double-acting third pneumatic cylinder 25 having a. A third direction switching valve 26 that can selectively supply compressed air from the compressor C shown in FIG. 6 is connected to each of the air chambers on the extension side and the contraction side of the third pneumatic cylinder 25.

The first, second, and three-way switching valves 15, 21,
Numeral 26 is configured as an electromagnetic switching type as shown in FIG. The input part of the sequence controller 27 includes a start switch 28 operated by an operator, a first sensor 29 of a limit switch type for sensing the most advanced position of the extraction plate 14, and a lower end position of the case 16 of the chuck unit 9. Limit switch type second sensor 30 for sensing and case 16
Is connected to a limit switch type third sensor 31 for detecting the rising end position of the sensor.

The sequence controller 27 controls each of the first, second and third pneumatic cylinders 13, 21 and 26 in accordance with the flowchart shown in FIG. That is,
First, in step 1, the sequence controller 27 determines whether or not the operator has turned on the start switch 28. When the start switch 28 is turned off, all the directional control valves 15, 21, 2 are turned off.
6 is placed at the position I shown in FIG. At this time, the cylinder rod 13a of the first pneumatic cylinder 13 contracts and retracts the extraction plate 14, and the cylinder rod 20a of the second pneumatic cylinder 20 also contracts, grips the guide cap 8 with the hand 18, and Cylinder rod 25 of pneumatic cylinder 25
a is extended and the hand 18 (chuck unit 9) is set to the rising end position so that the tip of the tapered portion 8a of the guide cap 8 faces directly below the discharge port 3a.

When the start switch 28 is turned on, the first directional control valve 15 is switched to the position II, and
As shown in FIG.
4 is advanced, and one O-ring 4 is discharged from the outlet 3a. The O-ring 4 falls under its own weight and is received by the tapered portion 8a of the guide cap 8 waiting just below the discharge port 3a. In step 2 of FIG. 8, the first sensor 29 detects the operation of the extraction plate 14, and when the receiving portion 14a of the extraction plate 14 reaches the most advanced position as shown in FIG. The switching valve 15 is returned to the position I to retract the extraction plate 14, and at the same time, the third direction switching valve 26 is switched from the position I to the position II to switch the cylinder rod 25a of the third pneumatic cylinder 25.
Is contracted to lower the hand 18 as shown in FIG. That is, the guide cap 8 has O
The ring 4 moves toward the component 11 located immediately below while being temporarily fixed, and is placed so that the concave portion 8c covers the fitting portion 11a of the component 11.

When the second sensor 30 detects in step 3 that the hand 18 has reached the lower end position, the second directional control valve 21 is switched to the II position and the second directional control valve 21 is switched to the II position as shown in FIG. The hand 18 is opened by extending the cylinder rod 20a of the second pneumatic cylinder 20, and the guide cap 8 is released. At the same time, the third directional control valve 26 is returned to the position I and the cylinder rod 2 of the third pneumatic cylinder 25 is
5a is extended, and the hand 18 is raised as shown in FIG.

When the third sensor 31 detects that the hand 18 has reached the rising end position in step 4, the second directional control valve 21 is returned to the position I and the second direction switching valve 21 is moved to the second position as shown in FIG. Cylinder rod 20 of pneumatic cylinder 20
a is contracted and the hand 18 is closed. At the same time, the third direction switching valve 26 is switched to the position II again to lower the hand 18.

Since the hand 18 is closed with the guide cap 8 released as shown in FIG. 13, the entire circumference of the two recesses 18a is larger than the circumference of the large diameter portion 8b of the guide cap 8. Is also shorter. In this state, the hand 18
Guide cap 8 which protrudes into recess 18a when is lowered
As the outer diameter of the guide cap 8 increases from the tapered portion 8a to the large diameter portion 8b, the hand 18 resists the contraction force of the second pneumatic cylinder 20. Then, it is pushed down and descends, and slides down to the large diameter portion 8b. At this time, as shown in FIG. 15, the O-ring 4 temporarily fixed to the tapered portion 8a of the guide cap 8 is pressed by the lower edge of the concave portion 18a of the hand 18 descending from above, in the direction of the arrow, that is, And elastically deform in the expanding direction to ride on the large-diameter portion 8b of the guide cap 8, and eventually, as shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 7, when the hand 18 reaches the lower end position, the hand 18 is transferred to the ring mounting groove 11b formed on the component 11, and the automatic mounting of the O-ring 4 on the component 11 is completed.

When the second sensor 30 detects again that the hand 18 has reached the descending end position in step 5, the I position of the second directional control valve 21 is maintained and the hands 18, 18 are moved. While closed, the third directional control valve 26
Only the position is returned to the position I, the hand 18 is raised, and a series of mounting operations is completed. Therefore, the hand 18 rises while holding the large-diameter portion 8b of the guide cap 8, and the tip of the tapered portion 8a faces directly below the discharge port 3a.
Is returned to the initial position shown in FIG. 5, and the operator stands by at that position until the operator turns on the start switch 28 again.

The above description is merely an example of the embodiment of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to this. For example, first, second,
Rather than electrically controlling the third directional control valves 15, 21, 26, a pneumatic pilot operated type is used, and the first, second, and third sensors 29, 30, 31 are used.
As air switches, these directional control valves 15, 21,
It is possible to replace the sequence controller 27 by assembling the logic circuit for 26 so that the flowchart shown in FIG.

The timing of starting the mounting operation of the O-ring 4 is not detected when the operator manually turns on the start switch 28 but is detected by detecting that the component 11 is mounted on the component mounting table 10. A configuration may be adopted in which a start command for the mounting operation is issued, or a time sequence system in which a series of operations such as the removal of the O-ring 4 by the extraction plate 14 and the raising and lowering of the hand 18 are performed at regular intervals. Is also good.

[0021]

As described above, according to the present invention, the work of mounting the elastic ring is performed mechanically, so that the work efficiency is improved as compared with the conventional manual operation, and the elastic ring is not damaged. Mounting work can be performed accurately. In addition, this automatic mounting device is small because the elastic ring temporarily fixed to the guide cap is transferred and mounted on the component only by the linear movement of the hand that reciprocates between the discharge port of the elastic ring and the component. And can be manufactured at low cost.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of an automatic elastic ring mounting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the same.

FIG. 3 is a right side view of the same.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along arrows (A)-(A) of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along arrows (b)-(b) of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a pneumatic circuit diagram.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing a guide cap and components.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram when the elastic ring is received by the guide cap.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory view when a guide cap to which an elastic ring is temporarily fixed is placed on a component.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the chuck unit.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram when the hand with the guide cap released reaches a rising end position.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory view of the operation of the chuck unit.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram when the hand is transferring the elastic ring on the guide cap to the component side.

FIG. 15 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part in FIG.

FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram when the hand reaches a descending end position.

17 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part in FIG. 16;

[Explanation of symbols]

 3a outlet 4 elastic ring 7 elastic ring discharge unit 8 guide cap 8a taper section 9 chuck unit 11 parts 12 elevating slide unit 18 hand

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An elastic ring discharge unit 7 for discharging elastic rings one by one from a discharge port 3a provided above a component 11 to which an elastic ring 4 is to be mounted, and an elastic ring falling from the discharge port. A guide cap 8 provided with a tapered portion 8a for temporarily fixing; a chuck unit 9 provided with a hand 18 positioned between the discharge port and the component and capable of holding the guide cap in an upright posture; and a taper of the guide cap A vertically moving slide unit 12 for linearly reciprocating the chuck unit from a raised end position where the portion faces the vicinity of the discharge port to a lowered end position where the guide cap is placed on the component, and the elastic ring is temporarily fixed. After placing the guide cap on the part, open the hand to release the grip on the guide cap, and then raise Lowering the hand, closing the hand at this time, and transferring the elastic ring on the tapered portion to the component side while expanding the elastic ring on the tapered portion by the edge portion of the hand sliding on the tapered portion; .