JP2000084883A - Chucking device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To carry out the chucking action and elevating action continuously by the drive of one hydraulic cylinder, while making entire structure simple and compact and preventing the generation of the fouling and mis-action by a dust. SOLUTION: Right/left slide rails 8, 8 for guiding the movement to the chuck action direction of a pair of fingers 1, 1 in response to the advance/retreat movement of the cylinder rod 4a of an air cylinder 4 and right/left rail guides 9, 9 for guiding the movement to the elevating action direction of a pair of fingers 1, 1 after holding a work W are formed integrally with the right/left facing parts 2a, 2a of a gate type base stand 2 installing the air cylinder 4.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an industrial robot mounted on a production line for various products and a transport line for various components, etc., for grasping and lifting various products and components to obtain desired products. The present invention relates to a chucking device used when transferring to a location.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a chucking device of this type, for example, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 60-80891 and Japanese Utility Model Application
What is described in -8081 publication etc. is known. The conventional chucking devices described in these publications, etc., pinch and pinch a plurality of fingers to a pinched object via a link mechanism by moving a cylinder rod, which is a movable member of one fluid pressure cylinder, forward and backward. The operation in the release direction (hereinafter, referred to as chuck operation) and the operation in the ascending / descending direction (hereinafter, referred to as elevating operation) are continuously performed.

[0003]

However, in the conventional chucking device having the above-described structure, a link mechanism is used as an interlocking mechanism between the movable member of the fluid pressure cylinder and a plurality of fingers, so that a strong chucking device is required. In order to obtain a strong holding force and strong mechanical strength, the structure of the link mechanism is likely to be complicated. Further, the use of a link mechanism having a complicated structure tends to increase the size of the entire apparatus. Furthermore, since the link mechanism and the fingers are exposed, there is a problem that dust or the like adheres to them and becomes soiled, or that dust or the like intrudes into an operating portion such as a fulcrum, resulting in malfunction.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and has as its object to construct a single fluid with a simple structure, compact structure, and no contamination or malfunction due to dust or the like. An object of the present invention is to provide a chucking device capable of continuously performing a chucking operation and a lifting / lowering operation via a forward / backward movement of a pressure cylinder.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, a chucking device according to the present invention comprises a plurality of fingers and a pair of fingers which are fitted to right and left sides of the fingers to hold the object. The left and right slide rails that guide the relative movement in the pinching and unpinching directions with respect to, and the left and right slide rails are fitted to guide the movement of a plurality of fingers within a certain range in the ascending and descending directions. A left and right rail guide portion, a finger spring that moves and biases each of the plurality of fingers in the holding direction along the left and right slide rail portions, and a movable member that moves forward and backward along the upward and downward directions of the fingers. And a movable member of the hydraulic cylinder, and when the movable member is extended, the finger resists the urging force of the finger spring. While holding at the release position, allowing the finger to move in the holding direction by the urging force of the finger spring with the retreating movement of the movable member, and allowing the finger to hold the object to be held in the holding direction. An oblique cam for raising the finger together with the retreating of the movable member when the movement is restricted, and the left and right slide rails and the left and right rail guides are formed integrally with the left and right opposing parts of the portal base. And the fluid pressure cylinder is attached to the portal base.

In the chucking device of the present invention having the above structure, a plurality of fingers are relatively moved along the right and left slide rails via the finger spring and the oblique cam simply by moving the movable member of the hydraulic cylinder forward and backward. A series of operations for transferring an object to be clamped (hereinafter referred to as a work) such as a chuck operation for moving and a lifting operation for moving a plurality of fingers up and down along left and right rail guides, is performed continuously. Can be performed.

Here, in the present invention, the left and right slide rails for guiding the relative movement of the fingers and the left and right rail guides for guiding the lifting and lowering of the fingers are opposed to the left and right sides of the portal base on which the fluid pressure cylinder is mounted. The structure which is formed integrally is adopted. That is, a double rail structure is adopted as a configuration for the chucking operation and the raising and lowering operation of the finger, and the double rail is formed integrally with the left and right opposing portions of the portal base having high strength. . This makes the whole device simple and compact,
The gate base also serves as a cover function for covering components such as fingers, finger springs, and oblique cams, thereby suppressing the occurrence of contamination due to the attachment of dust and the like and the occurrence of operation failure due to the entry of dust and the like into the operation unit. .

In the present invention, the biasing force of the finger spring can be adjusted so that the force for holding the work by the finger can be arbitrarily adjusted according to the type and content of the work.

Further, in the present invention, a chucking device is provided between a movable member of a fluid pressure cylinder and an oblique cam by interposing an elastic body such as a coil spring which is elastically compressed and deformed in the moving direction of the movable member. When a robot is turned or moved by an industrial robot or the like to transfer it, even if an impact is applied, the necessary and sufficient work clamping force can be reliably applied to the finger, and the shock during the transfer is absorbed and reduced. can do.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional front view of the entire chucking device according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a side view thereof.
As shown in these figures, the chucking device is roughly divided into a pair of fingers 1, 1 and a double rail structure (described later) for moving and guiding the pair of fingers 1, 1 in the chuck operation direction and the elevating operation direction. ), Finger springs 3, 3 for urging the pair of fingers 1, 1 to move in the direction of clamping the work W, and a vertical direction at the center of the gate type base 2. And an oblique cam 5 connected to the lower end of a cylinder rod 4a serving as a movable member of the air cylinder 4.

Each of the pair of fingers 1 shown in FIG.
As shown in (a) to (d), it is composed of a finger main body 1A and a work holding piece 1B fixed thereto (see FIG. 1). Rail grooves 1a, 1a are formed on both sides of the finger body 1A in the width direction, and a spring holding hole 1b for fitting and holding the finger spring 3 is provided at a central portion between the rail grooves 1a, 1a. Have been. Further, an inclined cam groove 1c serving as a follower of the inclined cam 5 is formed at the tip of the finger body 1A in the moving direction for the chuck operation. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, an adjusting screw 6 and an adjusting screw fixing screw 7 for adjusting the urging force of the finger spring 3 are provided at the rear end of the finger body 1A in the moving direction.

As shown in FIG. 2, the pair of fingers 1 and 2 are fitted into the left and right opposing portions 2a and 2a of the
Left and right slide rails 8, 8 for slidingly guiding the relative horizontal movement of the workpiece W in the clamping / releasing direction.
The right and left slide rails 8, 8 are fitted to each other to guide the pair of fingers 1, 1 in the ascending and descending directions within a predetermined range in a grooved manner. 9 are formed. The left and right slide rails 8 and 8 and the left and right rail guides 9 and 9
The double rail structure described above is configured.

As shown in FIG. 1, the air cylinder 4 has a cylindrical cylinder liner 4b fixed to an upper side connecting portion 2c of the portal base 2 so as to protrude upward therefrom. The upper end of the cylinder rod 4a is fixedly connected to a piston 4c which is fitted in the cylindrical cylinder liner 4b via a packing 10 or the like in an airtight manner. The cylinder rod 4a is connected to the cylindrical cylinder liner 4 above or below the piston 4c via the port 4d or 4e.
b to supply compressed air to the other port 4e or 4d.
When the air is discharged from the hopper, it is moved up and down.

FIG. 4 shows two sides of the oblique cam 5 connected to the lower end of the cylinder rod 4a of the air cylinder 4.
As shown in (a) to (d), inclined cam projections 5a, 5a are formed to engage with the inclined cam grooves 1c, 1c of the pair of fingers 1, 1 to guide relative movement in the inclined direction. And a cylinder rod 4 in the center.
a through-hole 5b and a cylindrical recess 5c communicating with the through-hole 5b and opening downward.

A male screw portion 12 is integrally formed at the lower end of the cylinder rod 4a extending into the recessed portion 5b through the central through hole 5b of the oblique cam 5, and is screwed to the male screw portion 12. The spring receiving member 11 is fixed via a nut 13. A coil spring 14 is interposed between the spring receiving member 11 and the bottom surface of the concave portion 5b of the oblique cam 5 as an example of an elastic body capable of being elastically deformed in the advancing and retreating direction of the cylinder rod 4a. It is attached to the protruding part (male screw part) 12.

Next, the operation of the chucking device configured as described above will be described. Normally, as shown in FIG. 1, the cylinder rod 4a of the air cylinder 4 moves forward to the lowermost end. In this state, the pair of fingers 1, 1 are moved to the clamping release position against the urging force of the finger springs 3, and are held at that position by the function of the oblique cam 5.

In this state, the piston 4 of the air cylinder 4
By moving c upward, the oblique cam 5 is moved backward in the direction of the arrow x in FIG. 5 via the cylinder rod 4a. A pair of fingers 1 and 1 are moved by the finger springs 3 and 3
And moves horizontally along the left and right slide rails 8 in the holding direction y, y with respect to the work W,
As shown in FIG. 5, the work holding pieces 1B, 1B
Will be clamped from the left and right.

As shown in FIG. 5, a pair of fingers 1,
When the work holding pieces 1B, 1B hold the work W, the horizontal movement of the pair of fingers 1, 1 is regulated. In this state, when the inclined cam 5 is further moved backward in the direction of the arrow x via the cylinder rod 4a of the air cylinder 4, the pair of fingers 1, 1 and the left and right slides in FIG. The rail portions 8, 8 move up and down in the direction of arrow x1 along the left and right rail guide portions 9, 9, and as shown in FIG. 6, the work W is lifted from the mounting surface S such as a conveyor conveyance surface.

Then, the work W is lifted to a certain position, and the left and right slide rails 8, 8 are moved to upper ends 9e, 9e of the left and right rail guides 9, 9, as shown in FIG.
, The upward movement of the pair of fingers 1, 1 is stopped. Even in this state, as shown in FIG. 8, the cylinder rod 4a of the air cylinder 4 keeps moving backward until the stroke end is reached.

That is, the distal end portion 12 of the cylinder rod 4a forms a penetrating projection 12 penetrating the oblique cam 5, and the spring receiving member 11 provided on the penetrating projection 12 of the cylinder rod 4a and the oblique cam 5 A coil spring 14 is disposed in a compressed state between the slide rails 8 and the slide rail 8 in FIG. 7 rises together with the oblique cam 5 so that the slide rail 8 contacts the upper end 9 e of the rail guide 9. When the upward movement of the oblique cam 5 is restrained, the coil spring 1
4 undergoes compression deformation.

For this reason, it is possible to absorb and reduce the impact when the work W sandwiched between the pair of fingers 1 and 1 is transferred to a desired location by rotating or horizontally moving the entire chucking device by the coil spring 14. In addition, the transfer operation can be made more reliable and safer.

In the above embodiment, the air cylinder 4 has a structure in which the coil spring 14 is interposed between the lower end of the cylinder rod 4a and the inclined cam 5, but the use of the coil spring is omitted. As shown in FIG. 9, the oblique cam 5 may be directly fixedly connected to the lower end of the cylinder rod 4a. In this case, when the cylinder rod 4a reaches the stroke end, the work W is held by the force applied to the pair of fingers 1, 1.

In the above-described embodiment, the work W is held between the pair of left and right fingers 1 and 1. However, the pair of fingers 1 and 2 are moved in the direction orthogonal to each other.
It is good also as composition which arranged as a set. Further, at least one finger of the plurality of fingers may be a fixed finger that does not move in the direction of pinching / releasing the workpiece, and the other finger may be a movable finger that moves in the direction of pinching / releasing the pinch. .

Further, in the above embodiment, the case where the movable member of the air cylinder 4 is the cylinder rod 4a has been described. However, the cylinder rod 4a side is fixed to the base 2, and the cylinder liner 4b side is used as the movable member. This may be configured to move forward and backward.

[0025]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Only by moving the movable member of the single hydraulic cylinder forward and backward, a series of operations for transferring the work, ie, the chucking operation and the elevating operation, can be continuously performed. Moreover,
As a configuration for the three-dimensional movement guide of the finger necessary for performing such a series of operations, a double rail structure integrally formed on the left and right opposing portions of the portal base is adopted. Therefore, the whole apparatus can be configured simply and compactly. In addition, the use of a gate-type base makes the whole device strong and strong, and the gate-type base also serves as a cover function to cover necessary components such as fingers, finger springs, and inclined cams. It is possible to prevent the occurrence of contamination due to the adhesion of dust and the occurrence of operation failure due to dust entering the operation section.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional front view of the entire chucking device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the chucking device.

FIGS. 3 (a) to 3 (d) are plan, side, front and bottom views of a finger which is a component of the above chucking device.

FIGS. 4 (a) to 4 (d) are a plan view, a front view, and a bottom view, respectively, of an oblique cam which is a component of the chucking device.

FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional front view of an operation state in which fingers hold a work;

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional front view of an operation state in which a sandwiched work is lifted.

FIG. 7 is a side view of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a vertical sectional front view for explaining an operation state at a lifting limit position of the work.

FIG. 9 is a longitudinal sectional front view showing another embodiment of the chucking device according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1: Finger 2: Gate type base 3: Finger spring 4: Air cylinder (example of fluid pressure cylinder) 4a: Cylinder rod (example of movable member) 5: Slant cam 8: Slide rail section 9: Rail guide section 14 : Coil spring (example of elastic body)

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of fingers, and left and right slide rails which are fitted on both left and right sides of the fingers to guide relative movement of the plurality of fingers in a clamping / releasing direction with respect to a clamped object; The left and right slide rails are fitted together to guide the movement of a plurality of fingers in a certain range in the ascending and descending directions, and a plurality of fingers along the left and right slide rails. A finger spring that urges each of the fingers in the holding direction, a hydraulic cylinder having a movable member that moves forward and backward along the upward and downward directions of the finger, and a movable member of the hydraulic cylinder that is connected to the movable member of the hydraulic cylinder. When the movable member is retracted, the finger is held at the clamping release position against the urging force of the finger spring, and -When the finger is allowed to move in the holding direction due to the biasing force of the spring, and when the finger holds the object to be held and the movement in the holding direction is restricted, the finger is moved upward with the retreating movement of the movable member. An oblique cam, the left and right slide rails and the left and right rail guides are formed integrally with the left and right opposing portions of the portal base, and the fluid pressure cylinder is attached to the portal base. A chucking device. 2. The chucking device according to claim 1, wherein the biasing force of the finger spring is adjustable. 3. The moving member according to claim 1, wherein the movable member of the fluid pressure cylinder is elastically moved in the direction of movement of the movable member when the upward movement of the inclined cam is restricted. A chucking device with an elastic body that compresses and deforms. 4. The moving member according to claim 1, wherein the movable member is formed of a rod connected to a piston of the hydraulic cylinder, and a tip of the rod forms a penetrating protrusion penetrating the oblique cam. A coil spring is disposed in a compressed state between the spring receiving member provided at the penetrating projecting portion of the rod and the oblique cam, and the slide rail portion moves up together with the oblique cam to move the slide rail portion to the rail. A chucking device configured to compress the coil spring when the upward movement of the oblique cam is restrained by contacting the upper end of the guide portion.