JP2000131007A - Touch sensor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily adjust the neutral position of a probe and to highly accurately maintain the neutral position. SOLUTION: A probe unit 12 is freely movably maintained at the front end of a shank 11 by way of an adapter 13 and the probe unit 12 is energized forward by a compressed coil spring 34. The probe unit 12 is formed by fixing a disk plate 33 at the rear of a conductive probe 31 via a nonconductive bush 32. On the plate 33, three V-grooves 35 positioning with equal angles in the front and a penetration hole 36 penetrating the front and back surfaces are provided. In the adapter 13 three bolt holes 39 for screwing in single end studs 38 fixing a sphere body 37 at one end and a fitting hole 41 fitting a pin 40 are formed at the position corresponding to the V-grooves 35 and the penetration hole 36 of the plate 33. The single-end studs 38 have an cylinder part 38a and a male screw 38b and the bolt hole 39 has a fitting part fitting the cylinder part 38a and a female screw part 39b fitting the male screw part 38b.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a touch sensor for contacting a stylus with a blade or a workpiece in machining to electrically detect the position of the blade or the workpiece.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional touch sensor of this type is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 63-93505. FIG.
Is a partial cross-sectional view of the touch sensor, in which a flange portion 1a of a contact 1 having conductivity is held inside a sensor body 2, and a rear surface of the flange portion 1a has conductivity provided on the sensor body 2. It is urged forward by the compression coil spring 3. And, between the flange portion 1a of the contact 1 and the cap portion 2a of the sensor main body 2, three spherical bodies 4 are provided.
Are arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction, and these spheres 4 are fixed to the flange portion 1a by bonding or the like.

When the contact 1 comes into contact with a work or the like, the current can flow through the work contact 1 and the spring 3 to detect the contact.

[0004]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional example, the spherical body 4 is provided with the compression coil spring 3 on the cap 2a.
When a strong impact is applied to the contact 1 due to an operator's operation error, a runaway of the machine tool, or the like, the sphere 4 comes out of the contact portion 5 such as a concave portion, and There is a problem that the neutral position of the child 1 shifts and the accuracy cannot be maintained.

Further, since the spherical body 4 is fixed to the flange 1a by bonding or the like, an adjusting jig is required when adjusting the neutral position of the contact 1, and there is also a problem that the number of steps is increased.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems,
An object of the present invention is to provide a touch sensor that can easily adjust a neutral position of a stylus and can maintain the neutral position with high accuracy.

[0007]

According to the present invention, there is provided a touch sensor according to the present invention, wherein a conductive stylus which comes into contact with a workpiece during use and electrical insulation are maintained on the outer periphery of a base of the stylus. A disk-shaped plate fixed and fixed thereto, a sensor main body movably accommodated so as not to slip out of the plate forwardly, and a biasing means provided on the sensor main body and biasing the rear surface of the plate forward. In the touch sensor, three adjusting bolts for adjusting a neutral position of the stylus are screwed into bolt holes of the sensor main body so as to abut against a front surface of the plate from an axial direction. .

Further, the touch sensor according to the present invention comprises a non-conductive stylus which comes into contact with a workpiece during use, a non-conductive flange integrally provided on the outer periphery of a base of the stylus, and A touch sensor comprising: a sensor body movably housed so as not to come out of the sensor body; and urging means provided on the sensor body to urge the rear surface of the flange forward. The fan-shaped conductive plate is fixed in a substantially disc shape through four grooves, and three conductive adjusting bolts for adjusting the neutral position of the stylus are provided among the four grooves. The two plates that are screwed into the bolt holes of the sensor body so as to contact the plates on both sides between the three grooves from the axial direction, and that are located through the remaining grooves, Four of the above plays except between the plates Characterized in that but connecting the detection means for detecting that a conductive or non-conductive by the adjusting bolt.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described in detail with reference to the embodiments shown in FIGS.

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a first embodiment. A stylus unit 12 has a cylindrical adapter 13 at a front portion of a cylindrical shank 11 gripped by a main shaft of a machine tool or the like. Attached. The shank 11 is formed of a conductive material. For example, two batteries 14 are accommodated in the shaft hole 11a of the shank 11, and a conductive cap 15 is screwed to the rear end of the shaft hole 11a. A compression coil spring 16 having conductivity is arranged between the battery 14 and the cap 15, and the cathode of the battery 14 is electrically connected to the shank 11 via the compression coil spring 16 and the cap 15. And
A rubber cover 17 is fixed to a front end surface of the adapter 13 via a base 18 with fixing bolts (not shown).

At the front of the shaft hole 11a of the shank 11, a non-conductive washer 22 having a contact member 21 for contacting the anode of the battery 14, and a non-conductive member 25 having wires 23a, 23b and a resistor 24 embedded therein. And a spring seat 27 holding the contact member 26 are sequentially fitted forward. A light emitting diode 28 is attached to the non-conductive member 25 via the hole 11b of the shank 11, and the contact member 26
Is the electric wire 23b, the light emitting diode 28, the resistor 24, the electric wire 2
It is connected to the anode of the battery 14 via 3a and the contact member 21.

On the other hand, the stylus unit 12 is a conductive stylus 3
A non-conductive bush 32 fixed to the outer peripheral surface of the rear end of the stylus 31 by bonding or the like;
Disk-shaped plate 3 fixed to the outer peripheral surface of the device by bonding or the like
And 3. The stylus 31 is movably inserted into the small-diameter hole 13 a at the front of the adapter 13,
Is movably disposed in the large-diameter hole 13b at the rear of the adapter 13. A compression coil spring 34 having conductivity is arranged between the contact member 26 and the stylus 31, and the stylus 31 is urged forward by the compression coil spring 34 and is electrically connected to the contact member 26. .

Here, as shown in the perspective view of FIG. 2, three V-grooves 35 passing through the center are formed at an equal angle on the front surface of the plate 33, and one through hole is formed in the plate 33 in the axial direction. 36 is formed, for example, so as to be located in one V-groove 35. As shown in the partially exploded sectional view of FIG. 3, the adapter 13 has three bolt holes 39 for screwing a single screw bolt 38 that fixes the sphere 37 to the front end face.
One fitting hole 41 for fitting the pin 40 is formed at a position corresponding to the V groove 35 and the through hole 36 of the plate 33, respectively.

The single screw bolt 38 is for adjusting the neutral position of the stylus unit 12, and the sphere 37 is fixed to the single screw bolt 38 by welding or the like. Single screw bolt 38
Has a cylindrical portion 38a at the front and a male screw 3 at the rear.
8b, and a hexagonal hole 38c at the rear end face. On the other hand, the bolt hole 39 of the adapter 13 has a single screw bolt 3
8 and a female screw portion 39 into which the male screw portion 38b of the single screw bolt 38 is screwed.
b. And the pin 40 is the plate 3
3, and has a length that penetrates the through hole 36 of the plate 33 while being fitted and fixed in the fitting hole 40.

When the single screw bolt 38 is screwed into the bolt hole 39 and the pin 40 is fitted and fixed in the fitting hole 40, the sphere 37
Fits into the V groove 35 of the plate 33 and presses the plate 33, that is, the stylus unit 12 rearward against the urging force of the compression coil spring 34. The pin 40 penetrates through the through hole 36 of the plate 33 and regulates the rotation of the plate 33, that is, the stylus unit 12.

When positioning the stylus 31 at a neutral position in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction, that is, when performing centering, a jig is fitted into a hexagonal hole 38c of a desired single screw bolt 38 and the single screw bolt 38 is inserted. Rotate 38. When the single screw bolt 38 is rotated clockwise, the single screw bolt 38 advances and presses the plate 33, and the tip of the stylus 31 is moved to the single screw bolt 3.
Move to the same side as 8. When the single screw bolt 38 is rotated counterclockwise, the tip of the stylus 31 moves to the opposite side of the single screw bolt 38.

On the other hand, when adjusting the neutral position of the stylus 31 in the axial direction, that is, the length of protrusion, all three single screw bolts 38 are evenly rotated. When all the single screw bolts 38 are rotated clockwise, the single screw bolts 38 advance, and the stylus 31 integrated with the plate 33 moves rearward. When all the single screw bolts 38 are rotated counterclockwise, the single screw bolt 38 moves backward, and the stylus 31 integrated with the plate 33 moves forward following the urging force of the compression coil spring 34.

After adjusting the neutral position of the stylus 31 in all directions in this manner, the single screw bolt 38 is fixed to the adapter 13 by bonding. Then, the cover 17 and the base 18 are passed through the stylus 12 and arranged on the front end surface of the adapter 13, and the base 18 is fixed to the adapter 13 with fixing bolts.

When the touch sensor having such a configuration is used, as shown in FIG.
Is attached via the holder 43. At this time, the stylus 31
Is electrically insulated from the adapter 13 and the shank 11 by the bush 32, so that the stylus 31 is
While not touching 4, the light emitting diode 28 is turned off.

When the stylus 31 comes into contact with the measured object 44, the stylus 31, the measured object 44, the machine body 42, the holder 43 and the shank 11 conduct as indicated by the arrow. At this time,
The shank 11, the cap 15, the compression coil spring 16, the two batteries 14, the contact member 21, the electric wire 23a, the resistor 24, the light emitting diode 28, the electric wire 23b, the contact member 26, the compression coil spring 34, and the stylus 31 also conduct. The electrical closed circuit is completed. As a result, the light emitting diode 28 is turned on, and the touch sensor detects that the stylus 31 has come into contact with the object 44 to be measured.

In the first embodiment, the single screw bolt 38 is used.
Is screwed into the female screw portion 39b of the bolt hole 39, so that the centering of the stylus 31 can be easily performed by rotating the desired single screw bolt 38.
By rotating the three single screw bolts 38 equally, it is possible to adjust the protruding length of the stylus 31. Therefore, the neutral position of the stylus 31 can be adjusted only by rotating the single screw bolt 38, and the adjustment work becomes easy.

Further, since the cylindrical portion 38a of the single screw bolt 38 is closely fitted to the fitting portion 39a of the bolt hole 39,
There is no play between the male screw portion 38b of the single screw bolt 38 and the female screw portion 39b of the bolt hole 39, and the centering of the stylus 31 can be maintained with high accuracy. Further, since the pin 40 restricts the movement of the plate 33 in the radial direction and the rotation direction, even when a strong impact is applied to the stylus 31, the sphere 37 is kept in the V groove
5 and the centering of the stylus 31 does not become abnormal.

In the above-described first embodiment, the V-shaped groove 35 is provided in the plate 33. However, a hemispherical groove may be used instead of the V-shaped groove 35. Further, the sphere 37 is fixed to the single screw bolt 38, but may be a hemisphere instead of the sphere 37. Further, the single screw bolt 38 is fixed to the adapter 13 by bonding or the like, but may be fixed by a fixing screw (not shown) screwed to the adapter 13.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the stylus unit 51 of the second embodiment, and FIG. 6 is a front view of the stylus unit 51 of the first embodiment.
A stylus unit 51 and a signal detecting means (not shown) are provided. The stylus unit 51 is made of ceramic, synthetic resin, or the like, or a non-conductive stylus 52 having a non-conductive coating on a conductive material, and a non-conductive stylus 52 fixed to the outer peripheral surface of the rear end of the stylus 52. A flange 53 and four conductive plates 54a to 54d fixed to the front surface of the flange 53 by bonding or the like.

The plates 54a to 54d have a fan shape and are arranged in a substantially disc shape in a state of being electrically insulated through four grooves 55a to 55d. Three grooves 55a-
55c has the same shape as the V-shaped groove 35 of the first embodiment,
The remaining groove 55d is for merely electrically isolating the plates 54a and 54d. The shape in which the plate 54a and the plate 54d are arranged via the groove 55d is similar to the shape of the plate 54b or the plate 54c. A through hole 56 similar to the through hole 36 of the first embodiment is formed in the flange 53 and the plate 54b.

Here, the plate 54c and the plate 54d
Are provided with terminals 57a and 57b, respectively, and these terminals 57a and 57b
7 is electrically connected to signal detection means for detecting conduction or non-conduction. Thereby, when the stylus unit 51 is in the neutral position, the groove 55
Since three spheres 37 are fitted into a to 55c, the plates 54a to 54d conduct through the three spheres 37, and an electrically closed circuit is completed between the terminals 57a and 57b, and signal detection is performed. The means detects the conduction state. When the stylus 51 contacts the DUT 44 in such a state, the stylus 51 tilts to separate at least one sphere 37 from the grooves 55a to 55c, and the circuit between the terminals 57a and 57b becomes non-conductive. Therefore, the signal detecting means can detect that the stylus 51 has come into contact with the measured object 44.

In the second embodiment, even when the machine body 42 and the device under test 44 are non-conductive, the terminals 57a,
7b by detecting conduction or non-conduction between
2 can be detected as having come into contact with the DUT 44. At this time, if the signal detected by the signal detection means is transmitted to the control means of the machine tool via a wireless communication means such as a radio signal or an optical signal or a wired communication means, the automatic operation of the machine tool becomes possible.

[0028]

As described above, in the touch sensor according to the present invention, three adjusting bolts are screwed into the bolt holes of the sensor body so as to abut against the front surface of the plate from the axial direction. The center of the stylus can be centered by simply rotating the stylus, and the protrusion length of the stylus can be adjusted by simply rotating the three adjustment bolts evenly, making it easy to adjust the neutral position of the stylus Become.

The adjusting bolt is provided with a cylindrical portion and a male screw portion. The bolt hole is provided with a fitting portion for fitting the cylindrical portion and a female screw portion for screwing the male screw portion. By inserting a pin provided in the sensor body, the neutral position of the stylus can be maintained with high accuracy.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a positional relationship between a stylus unit and a single screw bolt.

FIG. 3 is a partially exploded sectional view.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a use state.

FIG. 5 is a side view of a positional relationship between a stylus unit and a single screw bolt according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a front view of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a partial cross-sectional view of a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 11 shank 12, 51 stylus unit 13 adapter 31, 52 stylus 32 bush 33, 54a to 54d plate 15, 34 compression coil spring 36, 56 through hole 38 single screw bolt 38a cylindrical portion 38b male screw portion 39 bolt hole 39a fitting Portion 39b Female thread portion 40 Pin 41 Fitting hole 52 Flange 55a to 55d Groove 57a, 57b Terminal

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued from the front page F term (reference) 2F062 AA01 AA99 CC08 DD26 DD31 EE01 EE62 GG63 HH01 HH12 HH21 HH42 2F063 AA01 AA50 CA28 CB03 DA02 DD02 EB02 FA09 2F069 AA01 AA98 DD01 FF01 GG01 GG01 GG01 GG01 GG01 GG06

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A conductive stylus that comes into contact with a workpiece during use, a disk-shaped plate fixed to the outer periphery of a base of the stylus while maintaining electrical insulation, and a plate that does not slip out forward. A touch sensor having a sensor body movably accommodated in the sensor body and a biasing means provided on the sensor body to bias the rear surface of the plate forward, three of which are used to adjust the neutral position of the stylus. A touch sensor, wherein an adjusting bolt is screwed into a bolt hole of the sensor main body so as to abut against a front surface of the plate from an axial direction. 2. The adjusting bolt according to claim 1, wherein the adjusting bolt has a cylindrical portion and a male screw portion, and the bolt hole has a fitting portion for fitting the cylindrical portion and a female screw portion for screwing the male screw portion. The touch sensor as described. 3. The touch sensor according to claim 1, wherein the plate has a through hole in an axial direction, and the sensor main body includes a pin that passes through the through hole and regulates rotation of the plate. 4. A non-conductive stylus that comes into contact with a workpiece during use, a non-conductive flange integrally provided on an outer periphery of a base of the stylus, and a movable portion so that the flange does not slip forward. A touch sensor comprising a housed sensor body and a biasing means provided on the sensor body and biasing a rear surface of the flange forward, wherein four fan-shaped conductive plates are provided on a front surface of the flange. Three conductive adjusting bolts for fixing the stylus in a substantially disk shape through four grooves and adjusting the neutral position of the stylus are provided between three of the four grooves. The two plates, which are screwed into the bolt holes of the sensor body so as to come into contact with the plates on both sides from the axial direction and are located through the remaining grooves, have four plates except between these plates. The plate is electrically connected by the adjusting bolt or A touch sensor, wherein detection means for detecting non-conduction is connected.