JP2002333002A - Compound actuator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a compound actuator capable of miniaturizing an actuator by eliminating external piping for operating a driven side actuator itself and saving space. SOLUTION: The compound actuator 1 is provided with a cylinder 2 and an oscillating actuator 3 attached to tips of piston rods 8a and 8b of the cylinder 2 and driven by the cylinder 2. The piston rods 8a and 8b have rod holes 9a and 9b comprising axially piercing air passages in their interiors. The cylinder 2 has a plurality of ports 14a and 14b for the oscillating actuator and air conduits 16a and 16b slidably inserted in the rod holes 9a and 9b and communicated with the ports 14a and 14b supplying and exhausting compressed air. The oscillating actuator 3 has a function of operating by the compressed air supplied and exhausted through the rod holes 9a and 9b.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a composite actuator.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A composite actuator in which a linear actuator and a swing actuator are combined into one, and one actuator drives (moves) the other actuator itself has been conventionally known. In a composite actuator, if air pipes for operating the actuators on the driving side and the driven side are individually connected to each other, not only the piping work becomes complicated, but also the actuator on the driven side moves. Sometimes, the pipe connected to the driven actuator moves,
This hinders smooth operation of the adjacent actuators and the like, and causes troubles in the piping itself.

Conventionally, to solve these problems, there has been a structure shown in FIGS. A conventional composite actuator 50 shown in FIG. 5 includes a piston rod 55 attached to two pistons 58a and 58b of a linear motion cylinder 51.
a, 55b are fixed to one end of the piston rod 55a,
By attaching the swing actuator 53 to the other end of the 55b via the connecting plate 54, the swing actuator 53 can be driven by the direct acting cylinder 51 in the axial direction of the piston rod. Air pipes 56a and 56b are attached to the swing actuator 53 via a connection plate 54. The air pipes 56a and 56b are connected to the cylinder body 5 of the linear motion cylinder 51.
2. An air conduit insertion hole 57 also serving as an air flow path provided in
a and 57b are slidably inserted into the air conduits 56a and 5b to operate the swing actuator 53.
6b.

However, in the prior art shown in FIG. 5, a thin air conduit 56 is provided separately from the piston rods 55a and 55b.
Since the a and 56b are exposed outside the cylinder body 52, there is a possibility that the air conduits 56a and 56b may be damaged due to some collision from the outside when the composite actuator 50 is operated. Further, since the cylinder body 52 of the linear motion cylinder 51 needs a space for providing the air conduit insertion holes 57a and 57b, there is a problem that downsizing of the linear motion cylinder 51 is impaired.

A conventional composite actuator 60 shown in FIG. 6 has hollow piston rods 65a and 65b fixed to pistons 68a and 68b projecting from both ends of a cylinder body 62 of a linear motion cylinder 61, and the hollow piston rod 65a , 65b via a connecting plate 64 to which a swing actuator 63 is attached, and to the other ends of the hollow piston rods 65a, 65b, an external pipe for supplying and discharging compressed air is attached. The oscillating actuator 63 is driven in the axial direction by the linear motion cylinder 61 and the hollow piston rods 65a, 65
The swing operation is performed by the compressed air supplied and discharged through the hollow holes 67a and 67b of the 5b.

However, in the conventional composite actuator 60 shown in FIG. 6, since the compressed air is supplied / discharged through the hollow holes 67a and 65b of the hollow piston rods 65a and 65b, hollows are provided from both ends of the cylinder body 62 of the linear motion cylinder 61. The structure is such that the piston rods 65a and 65b are protruded, so that hollow piston rods 65a and 65b longer than the axial length of the cylinder body 62 are required, and a hollow is formed on the side of the cylinder body 62 opposite to the swing actuator 63 side. A space for projecting the piston rods 65a and 65b is required. Since external pipes for supplying and discharging compressed air to and from the swing actuator 63 are attached to the outer ends of the hollow piston rods 65a and 65b, troubles in the external pipes due to movement of the external pipes at the time of driving, external pipes There is a problem that extra power is required to move the.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and its technical problem is to eliminate external piping for operating the driven-side actuator itself, thereby saving the same. An object of the present invention is to provide a composite actuator that can save space and reduce the size of the actuator.

[0008]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a composite actuator according to the present invention has at least two components.
A first actuator constituted by a cylinder having a piston slidably housed in two parallel cylinder holes and a cylinder having one end fixed to the piston and the other end protruding from the cylinder hole, and a piston rod Attached to the protruding end from the cylinder hole at
A composite actuator including a second actuator driven in the axial direction of the piston by the cylinder, wherein the piston rod has a rod hole serving as an air flow passage penetrating in the axial direction therein, and the cylinder includes: Second
A plurality of ports for actuators, and an air conduit which is slidably inserted into the rod hole and communicates with the port for supplying and discharging compressed air, wherein the second actuator supplies and discharges through the rod hole. And a function of operating with compressed air.

In a specific embodiment of the present invention, in the compound actuator, a port for a second actuator is provided on a cover on the head side of the cylinder hole, and the air conduit is provided on the cover with a degree of freedom in an inclined direction. It is desirable that a gasket is connected in an airtight manner, and a rod packing is provided between the air conduit and the inner peripheral surface of the rod hole into which the air conduit is inserted.

The composite actuator according to the present invention has a rod hole serving as an air flow passage through which the piston rod penetrates in the axial direction. The cylinder includes a plurality of ports for a second actuator, An air conduit that is slidably inserted into the rod hole and communicates with the port that supplies and discharges compressed air, wherein the second actuator is operated by the compressed air supplied and discharged through the rod hole. The external piping for operating the driving-side second actuator itself can be eliminated, and there is no need to separately provide a compressed air flow path for operating the second actuator in the cylinder that is the driving-side actuator. Therefore, the size of the actuator can be reduced.

Further, unlike the conventional actuator (see FIG. 6), the composite actuator according to the present invention supplies compressed air to the rod hole of the piston rod without projecting the hollow piston rod from both ends of the cylinder body of the direct acting cylinder. Since it is possible to supply and discharge, it is possible to shorten the length of the piston rod of the drive-side actuator, and to provide a space for projecting the hollow piston rod on the side of the cylinder body opposite to the side of the second actuator. Is eliminated, so that the size of the actuator can be reduced.

[0012]

1 to 4 show an embodiment of a composite actuator according to the present invention. The composite actuator 1 comprises a cylinder 2 and a second actuator (the second actuator driven by the cylinder 2). Swing actuator) 3
And The cylinder 2 includes a cylinder body 5
And two cylinder holes 6a and 6b provided in parallel so as to penetrate the cylinder body 5;
pistons 7 slidably housed in a and 6b, respectively
a, 7b, and piston rods 8a, 8b having one ends fixed to the pistons 7a, 7b and the other ends protruding from the cylinder holes 6a, 6b. The swing actuator 3 is attached to a protruding end of the two piston rods 8a and 8b from the cylinder hole via a connecting plate 4.

The cylinder body 5 has two cylinder ports 11a, 11b connected to external piping.
And through-holes 11c, 1 that allow the cylinder chambers on both sides of the piston 7a to communicate with the cylinder chambers on both sides of the piston 7b, respectively.
1d, and the ports 11a and 11b are respectively connected to cylinder chambers on both sides of one piston 7a.
The ends of the two cylinder holes 6a and 6b on the head side are closed by disk-shaped covers 13a and 13b, respectively, and the ends of the cylinder holes 6a and 6b on the rod side guide the piston rods 8a and 8b. Hollow cylindrical guide 1
Blocks 5a and 15b respectively. The covers 13a, 13b and the guides 15a, 15b have O-rings 20 and 21 respectively fitted in annular seal grooves provided on the outer peripheral surface thereof in order to maintain airtightness between the covers 13a, 13b and the cylinder holes 6a, 6b. . In addition, the guides 15a, 15b
In order to maintain airtightness between the piston rods 8a and 8b, a rod packing 25 is fitted into an annular packing groove provided on the inner peripheral surface thereof.

As shown in FIG. 2, the covers 13a and 13b have stepped through-holes 23a and 23b at the center thereof, and a large-diameter portion outside the through-holes 23a and 23b has a swing actuator port. External pipes are connected to the ports as 14a and 14b. Above piston rod 8
a and 8b respectively have rod holes 9a and 9b serving as air flow paths penetrating in the axial direction therein.
9b is a rod packing 22 provided on the inner peripheral surface of the rod holes 9a, 9b with air conduits 16a, 16b formed of pipes.
Through the airtight and slidable. The outer diameter of the air conduits 16a, 16b is equal to the rod holes 9a, 9b.
Of the small diameter portion of the stepped through holes 23a and 23b, and one end thereof is enlarged so as to be larger than the inside diameter of the small diameter portion. 26 has a groove in which it fits.

The air conduits 16a and 16b are inserted into the small-diameter portions from the large-diameter portions of the through holes 23a and 23b. , 23b, by fitting the retaining ring 26 into the groove at the stage where it abuts the side wall of the small diameter portion,
The air conduits 16a and 16b are attached to the covers 13a and 13b so as to have a degree of freedom in the inclination direction.
The cover 13a, 13b is connected to the air conduit 16a, 1
6b, the through holes 23a, 23b
An annular seal groove is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the small-diameter portion, and an O-ring 24 is fitted into the seal groove.

As shown in FIG. 4, the swing actuator 3 has a body 3 attached to a connecting plate 4.
1, a cylinder hole 32 provided so as to penetrate the body 31, a piston 33 with a rack slidably housed in the cylinder hole 32, and the body 31 meshing with a rack of the piston 33 with a rack. The accommodated pinion 34 and the pinion 34 protruding from the body 31
And a swing table or the like on which a work or a tool is attached is fixed to the output shaft 35. Since the piston chambers on both sides of the piston 33 communicate with the rod holes 9a and 9b of the piston rods 8a and 8b, respectively, the compressed air is alternately supplied and discharged from the rod holes 9a and 9b. The rack-mounted piston 33 reciprocates in a linear direction, and the output shaft 35 swings and rotates by a pinion 34 meshed with the piston 33.

In the composite actuator having the above structure, the compressed actuator 2 is fixed to the pistons 7a and 7b by compressed air supplied and discharged from the cylinder ports 11a and 11b.
When the two piston rods 8a, 8b are driven in the axial direction, the swing actuator 3 attached to the piston rods 8a, 8b via the connecting plate 4 is driven in the axial direction. And the swing actuator 3
Is mounted on the two piston rods 8a and 8b, so that the swing actuator 3 can be prevented from rotating around the axial line of the piston rod.

In the composite actuator 1, the piston rods 8a, 8b have rod holes 9a, 9b serving as air passages therein, and the cylinder 2 is provided with a plurality of ports 14a, 14b for a swing actuator. An air conduit 16 slidably inserted into the rod holes 9a, 9b and connected to the ports 14a, 14b for supplying and discharging compressed air.
a, 16b, and the swing actuator 3 is operated by the compressed air supplied / discharged through the rod holes 9a, 9b, so that an external pipe for operating the driven swing actuator 3 itself is eliminated. In addition to this, it is not necessary to separately provide a compressed air flow path for operating the swing actuator 3 in the cylinder 2, which is the first actuator on the driving side, so that the actuator can be downsized.

Also, the composite actuator 1 shown in FIG.
The length of the piston rod of the drive-side actuator is reduced as compared with the case where the hollow piston rods 65a and 65b protrude from both ends of the cylinder body 62 of the direct acting cylinder 61 as in the conventional composite actuator 60 shown in FIG. This eliminates the need to provide a space on the head side of the cylinder body for projecting the hollow piston rod.

Further, the swing actuator port 1
4a and 14b are provided on the covers 13a and 13b that hermetically close the head-side ends of the cylinder holes 6a and 6b, so that the port for the swing actuator can be easily manufactured, and the external piping is connected to the ports. Therefore, the external piping does not move unlike the conventional composite actuator 60 shown in FIG. Further, the air conduits 16a, 16
b is airtightly attached to the covers 13a, 13b with a degree of freedom in the direction of inclination, so that the piston rods 8a, 8b and the air conduits 16a, 16b are twisted due to eccentricity, and the piston rods 8a, 8b move. In doing so, the burden on the air conduits 16a and 16b can be avoided.

A relatively long hollow cylindrical member guides the hollow piston rods 8a, 8b to the rod-side ends of the cylinder holes 6a, 6b and hermetically closes the ends of the rod-side cylinder holes 6a, 6b. Guides 15a, 15b
Is provided, the inclination of the piston rods 8a and 8b can be suppressed.

In the above embodiment, the cylinder 2 for driving the swing actuator 3 has two cylinder holes and two piston rods. However, the number of cylinder holes and piston rods may be increased if necessary. If the number of the cylinder holes and the piston rods increases, the force of the cylinder 2 increases in proportion thereto. Further, in the above embodiment, the swing actuator that swings and rotates the output shaft is shown as the second actuator. However, the present invention is not necessarily limited to this embodiment, and an arbitrary actuator can be used.

[0023]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, there is no need for an external pipe for operating the driven-side actuator itself, and it is possible to save space and reduce the size of the combined actuator. Can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially broken front view showing an embodiment of a composite actuator according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part of a portion indicated by an arrow A in FIG.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part of a portion indicated by an arrow B in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a partially broken side view of a swing actuator portion in the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a partially cutaway front view showing a conventional composite actuator.

FIG. 6 is a partially cutaway front view showing another conventional composite actuator.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Composite actuator 2 Cylinder 3 Swing actuator 8a, 8b Piston rod 9a, 9b Rod hole 14a, 14b Swing actuator port 16a, 16b Air conduit

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A first cylinder comprising a piston slidably housed in at least two parallel cylinder holes, and a cylinder having a piston rod having one end fixed to the piston and the other end projecting from the cylinder hole. And a second actuator attached to a protruding end of the piston rod from a cylinder hole and driven in the axial direction of the piston by the cylinder, wherein the piston rod has an axial direction therein. The cylinder has a plurality of ports for a second actuator, and the cylinder communicates with a plurality of ports for slidably inserted into the rod holes to supply and discharge compressed air. The second actuator has a compressed air supply / discharge through the rod hole. Compound actuator, wherein has a function to operate, that Ri. 2. A port for a second actuator is provided on a cover on the head side of the cylinder hole, and the air conduit is air-tightly connected to the cover with a degree of freedom in an inclined direction. 2. The composite actuator according to claim 1, wherein a rod packing is provided between the rod hole and an inner peripheral surface of the rod hole into which the rod hole is inserted.