JP2001048010A - Linear guide device for locator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a linear guide device for a locator which can enhance extensiveness of a moving range and attain reduction of a cost. SOLUTION: Right/left rails 22, 21 of a linear guide device 19 are provided in parallel by opening to the sideward formed in a U-shaped section. A rack 23 extended over the total length of the left rail 21 is juxtaposed in its sideward, and a rack tooth 24 is directed to the sideward. Both the rails 21, 22 and the rack 23 are supported by a support plate 25, to fixedly hold a separating distance between both the rails 21, 22. A pinion 41 meshed with the rack tooth 24 is provided in a locator 2, and the pinion 41 is connected to a motor 43 through a reduction gear 42. A slide block 44 is provided in a leg part 18 in the locator 2 which is slidably supported to the rails 21, 22. The slide block 44 is supported to the rails 21, 22 through a linear guide 45 in an upper/lower surface of the slide block.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a locator linear guide device used in an assembly factory or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a locator 101 as shown in FIG. 5 has been used when welding a component such as a reinforcement to an object such as a vehicle body or a door in an automobile assembly plant. The locator 101 is provided in a plurality, and is configured to support the object at a plurality of places. The locator 101 is supported by a linear guide device 102 provided at a lower end portion.

The linear guide device 102 includes a main body base 111, a flat plate-shaped shaft base 112 laid on the main body base 111, and a pair of rails 113 extending apart from the shaft base 112. 113 and each rail 11
Lower-opening slide block 1 that fits over the upper part 3
14 and a support base 116 on which both slide blocks 114 and 114 are provided on the lower surface and on which leg portions 115 of the locator 101 are supported.
Is slidably supported along the rail 113 by a linear guide 117 provided on a side surface of the slide block 114.

The linear guide device 102 includes:
A moving mechanism 121 for moving the locator 101 is provided, and the moving mechanism 121
A drive motor 122 provided in the
A ball screw nut 125 connected to the ball screw nut 125 via a pulley 123 and a belt 124.
Are screwed together, and both ends are formed by ball screws 126 fixed to the shaft base 112. As a result, the ball screw nut 125 is rotated by the drive motor 122 so that the ball screw nut 1 is rotated.
25 and the support base 116 supporting the ball screw nut 125 are configured to be moved along the ball screw 126 so as to move the locator 101. For example, when welding the right door after welding the left door , The configuration is such that even if the position where the door is supported by each locator 101 is changed, this can be handled.

[0005] The linear guide device 102 is provided with resin covers 131, 131 for covering the rails 113, 113 and the upper surface of the support base 116 over both sides of the shaft base 112 over the entire length. In addition, it is configured such that a problem caused by adhesion of welding debris or the like generated at the time of welding to the linear guide 117 can be prevented.

[0006]

However, in the linear guide device 102 described above, the locator 101
Is constituted by a ball screw 126 and a ball screw nut 125.
When the movement range of the locator 101 is greatly expanded to perform welding of different types of vehicles, the ball screw 126 must be extended. At this time, in the linear guide device 102, since the ball screw nut 125 moves with the ball screw 126 fitted outside the ball screw 126, the connection fitting is fitted outside the butted portion of the ball screw 126 and the extension ball screw 126. Cannot be extended. It is also conceivable to weld the butted portion. However, as the ball of the ball screw nut 125 moves, a screw groove formed in a helical shape on the peripheral surface is inserted into both ball screws 12.
In 5,125, welding had to be performed in a matched state, and the welding operation was extremely difficult. Further, it is conceivable to use a ball screw 126 having a long overall length.
As described above, due to the structure in which the ball screw nut 125 is fitted and moved, the ball screw 126 cannot support a middle part of the ball screw 126, and there is a concern that a problem due to bending may occur.

Also, in the linear guide device 102, the covers 131, 131 for covering the rails 113, 113 and the upper surface of the support base 116 must be provided on both sides of the shaft base 112 over the entire length, which increases the cost. At the same time, there is a problem that the scaffold on the upper surface of the support base 116 is occupied by the covers 131, 131.

The rail 113 is configured to be fitted into the slide block 114, and has a smaller section modulus than that of the slide block 114.
As a result, the rigidity is reduced.
The rigid and flat shaft base 112 that supports the entire length of the shaft 13 becomes indispensable, which has been an obstacle to cost reduction.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of such conventional problems, and has as its object to provide a linear guide device for a locator capable of improving the expandability of a moving range and reducing costs. Is what you do.

[0010]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a locator linear guide device for supporting a locator slidably. Opened rails having a U-shaped cross section are spaced apart from each other on a pair of floors and extend in parallel, and racks extending over the entire length of the rails are arranged side by side along the rails. A pinion that meshes with the rack teeth formed on the rail, and a slide block that is inserted into each of the rails and slidably supports the locator on the rail. The slide block is provided on the upper and lower surfaces of each slide block. A linear guide supported on the rail was provided.

That is, the rail on which the locator is slidably supported is open to the side, so that problems caused by the intrusion of falling objects such as welding chips can be prevented. The rail is formed in a U-shaped cross section, and the section coefficient can be increased by inserting a slide block. Further, the slide block is supported by the rails from above and below by linear guides provided on the upper and lower surfaces thereof. In addition, the moving mechanism for moving the locator includes a rack arranged side by side on a rail, and a pinion provided on the locator, and arranges another rack on an extension of the rack, and By arranging another rail on the extension, the moving range of the locator is extended.

Further, in the linear guide device for a locator according to the second aspect, the both rails and the rack are supported at a plurality of positions by a support plate extending in a direction intersecting the two rails.

That is, the pair of rails and the rack are connected while being supported by the support plate, are unitized, and have increased rigidity. Since the distance between the two rails is maintained, the connectivity with other units is enhanced.

Further, in the linear guide device for a locator according to claim 3, the rack is disposed with the rack teeth facing sideways.

Thus, a mounting surface for mounting the rack on the support plate can be secured, and the mounting operation can be easily performed from above. In addition, adhesion of falling objects such as welding debris to the rack teeth is prevented.

In addition, in the linear guide device for a locator according to claim 4, both rails and the rack are supported on one end of the both rails, and the other end of the other rail and the rack are mounted. A connecting plate to be connected in a placed state was provided.

That is, a connecting plate for supporting both rails and the rack is provided at one end of the both rails, and the other end of the other rail and rack is placed on the connecting plate. Connection can be made, and the ease of rail connection is improved.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows that in an automobile assembly plant,
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a state in which components such as a reinforcement are attached to the vehicle body 1, and shows a state where the vehicle body 1 is supported by a plurality of locators 2,.

The locator 2 has an arm 11 extending upward, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, and a cylinder 12 is provided at the tip of the arm 11.
A locating pin 13 for supporting the vehicle body 1 extends from the cylinder 12, and the locating pin 13 can be moved in the Z direction by the cylinder 12. The arm 11 is provided with an L-shaped bracket 14.
The movable pin 15 is movably supported by the horizontal beam section 15 through the through hole, and is configured such that the locate pin 13 can be moved in the Y direction (see FIG. 2). The horizontal rail 15 is supported by a post 16, and the post 16 is erected on a support base 17. A leg 1 is provided on the lower surface of the support base 17.
Projections 8, 18 are provided, and both legs 18, 18 are slidably supported in the X direction by a linear guide device 19 according to the present invention.

The linear guide device 19 includes a pair of left and right rails 21 and 2 extending in the X direction (see FIGS. 1 and 3).
The two rails 21 and 22 are provided in parallel at a distance from each other, and are formed in a U-shaped cross section that opens to the side. As shown in FIG. 4, racks 23 extending along the entire length of the left rail 21 are provided alongside the left rail 21 on the side of the left rail 21. The rack teeth 24 are formed on the side portions, and the rack teeth 24 are disposed so as to face sideways. The rails 21 and 22 and the rack 23 are supported at a plurality of locations (see FIG. 1) by a support plate 25 extending in a direction orthogonal to the rails 21 and 22 to form a unit 26. Are supported on the floor 27 via plates 25,.

As shown in FIG. 4, the support plate 25 has a protrusion 3 projecting upward between the rails 21 and 22.
1 and left and right extending portions 32, 33 extending laterally from the lower edge of the projecting portion 31. The two extending portions 32, 33 and the projecting portion 3
Each of the rails 21 and 22 is fixed to a corner portion of the rail 1, and the distance between the rails 21 and 22 is kept constant. The length of the left extension 32 is
It is set longer, and at the tip of the left extension 32,
The rack 23 is fixed to the upper mounting surface 231 with bolts 232, and the distance between the rails 21 and 22 and the rack 23 is kept constant.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2, the locator 2 is provided with a pinion 41 meshing with the rack teeth 24 of the rack 23 at a lower end portion of a rotating shaft 441. It is connected to a motor 43 via a speed reducer 42 fixed to the support base 17. here,
The rack teeth 24 of the rack 23 with which the pinion 41 meshes,
The rotation shaft 411 of the pinion 41 can be extended upward. Thus, the speed reducer 42 and the motor 43 can be arranged vertically, so that space can be saved as compared with the case where the speed reducer 42 and the motor 43 must be placed horizontally. The locator 2 is provided with slide blocks 44, 44 slidably inserted into the rails 21, 22 through the legs 18, respectively. Rail 21,
22 is slidably supported. On the upper and lower surfaces of each of the slide blocks 44, 44, linear guides 45, 45 for supporting the slide blocks 44, 44 on the rails 21, 22 are provided. It is configured by a bearing mechanism including a concave groove 46 formed in the inner side surface of the 22 in the length direction and a ball 47 moved along the concave groove 46. Thus, the pinion 41 is rotated by the motor 43 and the pinion 41 is moved along the rack 23 so that the locator 2 can be moved along the rails 21 and 22.

At one end of each of the rails 21 and 22 (left side in FIG. 4), there is provided a connecting plate 51 for fixing the rails 21 and 22 and the rack 23 in a supported state. The connection plate 51 is formed in the same cross-sectional shape as the support plate 25, and has a protruding portion 52 and left and right extending portions 53 and 54. Further, the connection plate 51 is formed thicker than the support plate 25, and a connection area 55 for connecting with the other rails 21a, 22a and the other end of the rack 23a mounted thereon is secured. . It should be noted that in FIG.
1 via the left and right rails 21a, 22a and the rack 23.
A state is shown in which another unit 26a made of a is connected.

In the present embodiment having the above-described configuration, the left and right rails 21 and 22 of the linear guide device 19 for slidably supporting the locator 2 are opened laterally as shown in FIG. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a problem caused by a fallen object such as welding debris at the time of welding the vehicle body 1 entering the linear guide 45 beforehand. This eliminates the need for a cover that covers the rails 21 and 22, and reduces the cost associated with the abolition of the cover, compared to the conventional case where the cover that covers the left and right rails 21 and 22 must be provided over the entire length. In addition to the above, the support base 17 of the portion occupied exclusively by the cover can be used as a scaffold, and workability can be improved. In addition, it is also possible to bridge the plate between both rails 21 and 22 and use it as a scaffold.

Each of the rails 21 and 22 is formed in a U-shaped cross section, and has slide blocks 44 and 44 therein.
Is configured to be inserted. For this reason, the rails 21 and 22 are formed in a quadrangular prism shape, and the slide blocks 44 and 44 are formed in a U-shaped cross section which is fitted to the rails 21 and 22 in comparison with a conventional rail. The section modulus of 21 and 22 can be increased. As a result, the rigidity of the rails 21 and 22 extending to the floor 27 can be increased, so that there is no need for a rail-reinforcing shaft base that supports the rails 21 and 22 over the entire length as in the related art. Cost reduction can be achieved.
In this embodiment, the case where both rails 21 and 22 are fixed to floor 27 via support plates 25... Has been described as an example. Since the rigidity can be ensured, the rails 21 and 22 may be directly fixed to the floor 27.

Further, the slide blocks 44, 44
Are linear guides 45 provided on the upper and lower surfaces thereof,
Since the slide blocks 44 are supported by the rails 21 and 22 from above and below via the rails 45, the load of the slide blocks 44 and 44 is lower than when the slide blocks 44 and 44 are supported from the sides by the linear guides 45 and 45 provided on the side surfaces. The maximum load can be increased.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 4, another rack 23a is provided on the extension of the rack 23,
The other rails 21a,
By disposing the locator 22a, the moving range of the locator 2 can be extended. At this time, the locator 2
Is constituted by a rack 23 arranged side by side on the rails 21 and 22 and a pinion 41 meshing with the rack teeth 24 of the rack 23.
The pinion 41
Only by controlling the pitch of the rack teeth 24 to such an extent that the locator 2 does not come off. Specifically, even if a slight gap is formed between the racks 23 and 23a, the movement of the locator 2 is not hindered. , The moving range of the locator 2 can be extended. Therefore, the moving mechanism of the locator 2 is constituted by the ball screw and the ball screw nut, and when the ball screw is extended, the ball of the ball screw nut moves at the butt portion of the ball screw and is formed spirally on the peripheral surface. The range of movement of the locator 2 can be easily expanded as compared with the related art in which welding must be performed in a state where the thread grooves match. In addition, due to the structure in which the ball screw nut moves with the ball screw nut fitted outside, even if a long ball screw is used, it cannot support the middle part, and a problem due to the bending of the ball screw may occur. As compared with the related art, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of a defect.

The left and right rails 21 and 22 and the rack 23 are connected to each other while being supported at a plurality of positions by a support plate 25, thereby forming a unit 26 and increasing rigidity. Therefore, the rigidity of the unit 26 can be increased while reducing the cost, as compared with the case where the two rails 21 and 22 are connected by a flat plate-shaped shaft base. Since the distance between the two rails 21 and 22 and the rack 23 can be kept constant, the connectivity with the other unit 26a can be improved.

Further, in this embodiment, the rack 23 is fixed with the rack teeth 23 facing sideways.
The mounting surface 231 for mounting the rack 3 to the support plate 25 can be secured, and the bolt 232 can be easily mounted from above. Further, it is possible to prevent the falling objects such as welding chips from adhering to the rack teeth 24. This allows
A cover that covers the rack 23 is not required, so that costs can be reduced due to the abolition of the cover, and a portion dedicated to the cover can be used as a scaffold, thereby improving workability.

In addition, a connecting plate 51 for supporting the rails 21 and 22 and the rack 23 is provided at one end of each of the rails 21 and 22. As shown in FIG. The connection can be made with the other rails 21a, 22a and the other end of the rack 23a placed on the left and right extending portions 53, 54 of the 51. Therefore, the rails 21a and 22a can be used without using other members such as connection fittings.
a can be connected, and the ease of rail connection can be improved.

[0031]

As described above, in the linear guide device of the locator according to the first aspect of the present invention, the rail is formed in a U-shaped cross section so that the slide block is inserted therein. Is configured. For this reason, it is possible to prevent a problem caused by entry of a fallen object such as welding debris into the rail, so that a cover for covering the rail is not required. As a result, compared to the conventional case where the cover covering both rails had to be provided over the entire length, the cost can be reduced due to the abolition of the cover, and the portion dedicated to the cover is used as a scaffold. Operability can be improved.

Further, the rail is formed in a quadrangular prism shape, and the slide block is formed to have a U-shaped cross section which is fitted to the rail. it can. As a result, the rigidity of the rail extending to the floor can be increased,
Unlike the related art, there is no need for a rail reinforcing shaft base that supports both rails over the entire length, and cost can be reduced.

Further, since the slide block is supported from above and below via linear guides provided on the upper and lower surfaces thereof, there are cases where the slide block is supported from the side by linear guides provided on the side surfaces. In comparison, the maximum load of the load can be increased.

Further, by disposing another rack on the extension of the rack and disposing another rail on the extension of each rail, the moving range of the locator can be expanded. At this time, the moving mechanism for moving the locator includes a rack arranged side by side with a rail, and a pinion that meshes with the rack teeth of the rack. By simply controlling the pitch of the rack teeth, the movement range of the locator can be extended without hindering the movement of the locator. Therefore, the moving mechanism of the locator is constituted by the ball screw and the ball screw nut, and when the ball screw is extended, the ball of the ball screw nut moves at the butt portion of the ball screw and is formed in a spiral shape on the peripheral surface. Compared with the conventional method in which the welding must be performed with the thread grooves aligned, the moving range of the locator can be easily extended. In addition, due to the structure in which the ball screw nut is fitted and moved, even if a long ball screw is used, the ball screw nut cannot support the middle part, and a problem may occur due to the bending of the ball screw. This can prevent the occurrence of inconvenience as compared with the above.

In the linear guide device of the locator according to the second aspect, the pair of rails and the rack can be connected by a support plate to form a unit, and the rails are connected by a flat shaft base. The rigidity of the unitized linear guide device can be increased while reducing the cost as compared with the case where the linear guide device is used. Since the distance between the two rails can be kept constant, the connectivity with other units can be improved.

Furthermore, in the linear guide device of the locator according to the third aspect, a mounting surface for mounting the rack on the support plate can be secured, and the mounting operation can be easily performed from above. In addition, it is possible to prevent falling objects such as welding chips from adhering to the rack teeth. This eliminates the need for a cover that covers the rack, which can reduce costs associated with the abolition of the cover, and can utilize a portion dedicated to the cover as a scaffold, thereby improving workability.

In addition, in the linear guide device for a locator according to claim 4, a connecting plate for supporting the both rails and the rack is provided at one end of the both rails, and the connecting plate is provided on the connecting plate. The connection can be made with the other rail and the other end of the rack mounted. Therefore, the rails can be connected without using other members such as connection fittings, and the ease of rail connection can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a use state of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing the locator of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a side view of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a main part of the linear guide according to the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a front view showing a conventional locator.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Body 2 Locator 19 Linear guide device 21 Left rail 22 Right rail 23 Rack 24 Rack teeth 25 Support plate 27 Floor 41 Pinion 44 Slide block 45 Linear guide 51 Connecting plate

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A linear guide device for a locator for slidably supporting a locator, comprising a pair of floor-opened U-shaped rails spaced apart from each other and extending in parallel with each other, and extending over the entire length of the rails. The racks extending along the rails are arranged side by side along the rails, while the locator is inserted into each of the rails with a pinion that meshes with rack teeth formed on the rack, and the locator is slidable on the rails. A linear guide device for a locator, comprising: a slide block that supports the slide block; and linear guides that support the slide block on the rails are provided on an upper surface and a lower surface of each slide block. 2. The linear guide device for a locator according to claim 1, wherein said rails and said rack are supported at a plurality of positions by support plates extending in a direction intersecting said rails. 3. The rack according to claim 1, wherein the rack is disposed with the rack teeth facing sideways.
Locator linear guide device as described. 4. A connecting plate for supporting both rails and the rack at one end of the two rails and connecting the other rail and the other end of the rack with the other end mounted thereon. 4. A linear guide device for a locator according to claim 1, 2 or 3.