JP2008155309A - Apparatus for sucking workpiece - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an apparatus for sucking a workpiece, which apparatus can use a suction pad even in a horizontal state. <P>SOLUTION: A cover body 40 is arranged on the back surface of the suction pad 10. The cover body 40 comprises a pressing portion 41a for pressing a brim closed contact edge portion 11a from the back surface side of the suction pad 10 toward the workpiece W, which brim closed contact edge portion 11a is a peripheral edge of a brim portion 11 of the suction pad 10 and is to be brought into close contact with a workpiece W. In this configuration, when a hollow space 18 to be sucked becomes a vacuum state, the brim closed contact edge portion 11a is gripped by the workpiece W and the pressing portion 41a of the cover body 40, and the workpiece W does not come off even when the suction pad 10 is used in the horizontal state. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a workpiece suction device that includes a suction pad and sucks a workpiece with the suction pad.

  Conventionally, a technique for attracting a workpiece to a suction pad, maintaining the suction state, and transferring the workpiece to a predetermined position is well known (for example, see Patent Document 1). Such a transfer technique is also employed in a production line in an automobile manufacturing factory, and a work suction device for transferring a work such as an automobile window glass in the factory has already been proposed.

  The workpiece suction device includes a frustoconical dish-shaped suction pad made of an elastic material, and a suction device connected to the suction pad. In such a configuration, the peripheral edge of the annular flange portion related to the suction pad is pressure-bonded to the work surface, the suction device is operated, and the suction air space in the suction pad shielded by the work surface is in a vacuum state. The work is sucked to the suction pad. By using such a workpiece suction device, the workpiece can be transferred to a desired position quickly and without damaging the surface.

JP-A-6-39768

  However, the conventional configuration described above has a limitation in the use mode of the suction pad. That is, the suction pad that is in a state of being flat with respect to the surface of the horizontal workpiece is pressure-bonded from above and sucked in such a state to attract the workpiece to the suction pad. Needed to be transported to. In other words, it is necessary to always use the suction pad in the vertical direction. For example, it is impossible to use the suction pad in the horizontal direction during transfer to hold the workpiece. This is because when the suction pad is used in the horizontal direction, the heel portion of the suction pad is flexible, so that the work is displaced vertically downward by its own weight, and accordingly, there is a gap between the work and the suction pad. This is because the low-pressure state of the sucked air space is disturbed, and the work is eventually dropped from the suction pad.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a workpiece suction device that can suck and hold a workpiece even when the suction pad is in a horizontal orientation.

  The present invention includes a flexible and dish-shaped suction pad, the peripheral edge of the suction pad is pressure-bonded to the surface of the work, and the suction air space in the suction pad shielded by the work surface is below atmospheric pressure. In a workpiece suction device in which a workpiece is attracted to a suction pad when a predetermined low-pressure state is reached, the flange contact edge that is in contact with the workpiece at the periphery of the suction pad is directed from the back side of the suction pad toward the workpiece. A pressing portion that presses the suction pad, and includes a hard cover body that is connected to a support member that supports the suction pad and is fixed to the back surface of the suction pad. Then, it is a workpiece | work adsorption | suction apparatus characterized by the said collar part contact | adherence edge part being clamped by the workpiece | work and the press part of a cover body.

  In such a configuration, when the peripheral edge of the flange portion of the suction pad is pressure-bonded to the surface of the workpiece, and the suction air space is in the low pressure state, the flange portion of the suction pad is bent toward the suction air space side, A collar contact edge that is in close contact with the workpiece is formed on the peripheral surface, and the suction pad and the workpiece are strongly attracted. As described above, when the collar close contact edge is formed and the suction pad is retracted, the workpiece and the cover body come close to each other, so that the pressing portion of the cover body connected to the support member is relatively The back surface of the flange close contact edge is pressed in the work direction, and the flange close contact edge is strongly sandwiched between the pressing portion and the work. In this way, when the collar contact edge is sandwiched between the pressing part and the workpiece, the collar does not bend due to the weight of the work even if the suction pad is turned sideways. Since the workpiece is strongly pressed against the workpiece, no gap is formed between the workpiece surface and the tip of the suction pad that disturbs the low-pressure state of the sucked air space. As a result, the airtightness of the sucked air space is stably secured, and the work can be held without dropping while the suction pad is in the horizontal direction. In addition, making the suction pad sideways means that the opening surface formed at the tip of the suction pad is along the vertical direction, in other words, making the central axis of the suction pad substantially horizontal. The work includes various products and intermediate products that have been conventionally transferred. Further, the cover body is harder than the suction pad, and it is preferable that the cover body is made of, for example, a hard resin material or a metal material. Moreover, examples of the predetermined low pressure state equal to or lower than the atmospheric pressure include a vacuum state, but the present invention is not limited to this, and any low pressure state capable of properly adsorbing a workpiece may be used.

  The cover body is dish-shaped and fixed to the back surface of the suction pad, and its inner peripheral surface is in close contact with the back surface of the suction pad. The structure which is a press part which presses an edge part is proposed.

  With this configuration, when the suction air space is in the low pressure state, the entire cover body supports the suction pad from the back side of the suction pad. And the cover body can be strongly and stably clamped.

  The workpiece suction device of the present invention includes a pressing portion that presses a collar contact edge that is in contact with the workpiece at the periphery of the collar of the suction pad from the back side of the suction pad toward the workpiece. A hard cover body that is connected to a support member that supports the pad and is fixed to the back surface of the suction pad, and when the suction air space is in a predetermined low pressure state that is equal to or lower than the atmospheric pressure, Since it is configured to be sandwiched between the pressing part of the cover body, even if the suction pad is turned sideways, the collar part will not bend due to the weight of the work and the collar contact edge will be strongly pressed against the work. Therefore, a gap that disturbs the low-pressure state of the sucked air space is not formed between the workpiece surface and the tip of the suction pad, and the airtightness of the sucked air space is stably secured. For this reason, it becomes possible to hold | maintain a workpiece | work with a suction pad being turned sideways, and it becomes possible to perform a transfer operation | work in this suction state. Thereby, the outstanding effect which a transfer operation can adapt smoothly to the complexity of a workpiece | work shape or the diversification of a production site will arise.

  In addition, when the cover body has a structure in which the inner peripheral surface thereof is in close contact with the back surface of the suction pad and the peripheral portion of the cover body is a pressing portion that presses the flange contact edge portion, When the suction air space is in a predetermined low pressure state, the entire cover body supports the suction pad from the back side of the suction pad. It becomes possible to support, and there exists an effect which can maintain the state which the workpiece | work adsorb | sucked reliably.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1, in a car manufacturing factory, a work suction device 1 for transferring a work W such as a window glass for a car in the factory is employed. The workpiece suction device 1 includes a suction device 2 and a suction pad 10 connected to the suction device 2.

Hereinafter, the suction device 2 will be described.
The suction device 2 has a function of reducing the pressure by sucking the inside of the suction pad 10, and is connected to a known vacuum pump 3, an air pipe 4 connected to the vacuum pump 3, a known power source 9, and the power source 9. A control unit 5 and a control unit 6 communicating with the control unit 5. More specifically, the control unit 6 includes a vacuum breaking valve 7 and a vacuum switching valve 8. Here, the air pipe 4 is connected to the vacuum switching valve 8. The valves 7 and 8 are controlled to be opened and closed by the control unit 5, so that the inside of the suction pad 10 can be sucked through the air flow passage 28 connected to both the valves 7 and 8 or the suction can be stopped. It is said. A known technique is suitably used for such a suction device 2. Of course, the suction mechanism of the suction device 2 may be another mechanism.

Next, the suction pad 10 and the support member 50 connected thereto will be described.
As shown in FIG. 3 and the like, the outer shape of the suction pad 10 is a truncated cone shape, and has a concealed dish shape as a whole, and an annular flange 11 that forms the periphery of the suction pad 10 and a center that forms the center portion thereof. The flat part 12 is comprised. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, the flange portion 11 corresponds to a portion that is inclined outward at the periphery of the suction pad 10, and the central flat portion 12 has a bottom portion at the center portion of the suction pad 10. This corresponds to a flat part.

  Further, the suction pad 10 is molded by an elastic material, and at least the flange portion 11 has flexibility. In addition, as an elastic material, a synthetic rubber material is mentioned, for example.

  In addition, the central flat portion 12 of the suction pad 10 is provided with a through hole 13 that penetrates along the central axis k of the suction pad 10, and the through hole 13 is connected to a metal and cylindrical presser fitting 20. A metal fitting 25 is attached. Specifically, the presser fitting 20 and the connection fitting 25 are screwed along the central axis k, and the flange portion 26 formed at the end of the connection fitting 25 is the central flat portion 12 of the suction pad 10. The groove 15 is formed in the groove 15. Further, the flange portion 22 formed at the end portion of the presser fitting 20 is configured to abut on the hole end of the through hole 13. With such a configuration, the suction pad 10 is sandwiched between the presser fitting 20 and the connection fitting 25 and fixed so as not to fall off.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2 and the like, a hard cover body 40 is disposed on the back surface of the suction pad 10 so as to cover the suction pad 10. As a specific attachment mode, a through hole 48 along the central axis k disposed at the center of the cover body 40 is externally fitted to the connection fitting 25, and is a plate shape disposed on the back surface of the cover body 40. The presser fitting nut 30 is fastened and fixed to the suction pad 10 in the stacking direction.

  Further, the cover body 40 is molded along the shape of the suction pad 10 and has the same shape as the bottom of the suction pad 10. More specifically, when the inside of the suction pad 10 is in the atmospheric pressure state, the cover body 40 is in close contact with the flange portion 11 and the central flat portion 12 of the suction pad 10 as shown in FIG. A flange 41 and a cover center flat part 42 are provided. In addition, the cover body 40 which concerns on a present Example is comprised with the metal material.

  By the way, the tip of the connection fitting 25 protruding to the back side of the suction pad 10 constitutes the air flow passage 28 (see FIG. 1), and when the suction device 2 is operated, the air passage 27 and the presser foot of the connection fitting 25 are pressed. The suction pad 10 can be sucked through the air passage 21 of the metal fitting 20 to form a low pressure state.

  The support member 50 according to the present invention is configured by the presser fitting 20 and the connection fitting 25 that support the suction pad 10.

  In the configuration described so far, in order to attract the workpiece W to the suction pad 10, first, the peripheral edge of the flange portion 11 related to the suction pad 10 is pressure-bonded to the surface of the workpiece W as shown in FIG. 3. Then, the suction device 2 is operated to bring the suction air space 18 in the suction pad 10 and shielded by the workpiece W into a vacuum state. Then, as shown in FIG. 4, the suction air space 18 is in a vacuum state while the suction pad 10 is deformed, and the work W is sucked to the suction pad 10. Note that, when the suction air space 18 reaches a vacuum state, a flange contact edge 11a that is in close contact with the surface of the workpiece W is formed on the periphery of the flange 11 of the suction pad 10 (see FIG. 5). ).

Next, the main part of the present invention will be described.
The positional relationship between the suction pad 10 and the cover body 40 is set as follows. That is, as shown in FIG. 5, the suction pad 10 and the cover body are arranged so that the front end of the cover body collar portion 41 related to the cover body 40 is located on the back surface portion of the collar portion adhesion edge portion 11 a formed at the time of workpiece adsorption. Forty sizes and shapes are designed respectively. In addition, let the front-end | tip part of the cover body collar part 41 contact | abutted to the back surface part of this collar part contact | adherence edge part 11a be the press part 41a which concerns on this invention.

With the configuration described so far, the adsorption process of the workpiece W will be described again.
As shown in FIG. 3, when the suction device 2 is not operated and the suction air space 18 is in the atmospheric pressure state, no negative pressure is generated in the suction pad 10. The original shape is maintained, and the collar contact edge 11a is not formed and the workpiece W is not attracted.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, when the suction device 2 is operated and the sucked air space 18 is in a vacuum state, the flange portion 11 is bent toward the sucked air space 18 due to the negative pressure in the suction pad 10. With this deformation, the flange close contact edge portion 11a is formed. Then, the entire suction pad 10 is elastically stretched along the central axis k direction, and the work W and the cover body 40 are brought close to each other, so that the pressing portion 41a of the cover body 40 connected to the support member 50 is used. However, the back surface part which concerns on the said collar part contact | adherence edge part 11a will be pressed relatively to the workpiece | work W direction. As a result, the flange close contact edge portion 11a is strongly sandwiched between the pressing portion 41a and the surface of the workpiece W. When the collar close contact edge portion 11a is sandwiched between the pressing portion 41a and the workpiece W as described above, even if the suction pad 10 is oriented sideways with respect to the vertical direction as shown in FIGS. Since the flange 11 is not bent and the flange contact edge 11a is strongly pressed against the workpiece W, the low pressure of the suction air space 18 between the surface of the workpiece W and the tip of the suction pad 10 is reduced. There are no gaps that disturb the condition. As a result, the airtightness of the sucked air space 18 is stably secured, and the workpiece W can be held without dropping while the suction pad 10 is kept sideways.

  Next, a modification will be described with reference to FIG. The same components as those described above are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is simplified or omitted.

  The suction pad 10 according to the modified example is provided with the first press fitting 32 made of metal and cylindrical in the through hole 13 arranged in the center. A flange portion 34 is formed at an end portion of the first presser fitting 32, and the flange portion 34 is press-fitted into the engagement groove 17 disposed at the center of the suction pad 10. With this configuration, the suction pad 10 is fixed to the first presser fitting 32.

  Further, a metal-made cylindrical second presser fitting 45 is attached to the first presser fitting 32. An annular concave groove 35 is formed on the end face of the first presser fitting 32, and an O-ring 36 is accommodated in the concave groove 35. Thereby, airtightness is secured between the first presser fitting 32 and the second presser fitting 45.

  Further, an end surface of the second presser fitting 45 that is wider than the first presser fitting 32 is in contact with the back surface of the cover body 40. The second presser fitting 45 is provided with a screw hole 46, and the first presser fitting 32 is provided with a screw hole 33 connected to the screw hole 46. Then, the mounting screws 47 and 47 are inserted into the screw holes 33 and 46 in the contact state as described above, whereby all the members are tightened in a laminated manner. The first presser fitting 32 and the second presser fitting 45 constitute the support member 50 ′ according to the present invention.

  In this modified example, when the suction device 2 is operated, the suction air space 18 in the suction pad 10 is sucked through the air passage 38 of the second presser fitting 45 and the air passage 37 of the first presser fitting 32 to be in a low pressure state. Can be formed.

  In the above-described configuration described so far, the suction pad 10 and the cover body 40 have substantially the same shape, and the inner peripheral surface of the cover body 40 is in close contact with the back surface of the suction pad 10 in a surface contact manner. When the sucked air space 18 is in a vacuum state, the entire cover body 40 supports the suction pad 10 from the back side of the suction pad 10. For this reason, even if the suction pad 10 is set to the horizontal orientation, the flange close contact edge portion 11a is strongly and stably held between the workpiece W and the pressing portion 41a of the cover body 40.

  The embodiment described so far is not limited to this, and can be appropriately changed without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, the shape of the cover body 40 is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and the design can be changed as appropriate as long as the configuration includes at least the pressing portion 41a.

1 is a conceptual diagram of a workpiece suction device 1. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the workpiece suction device 1. FIG. It is a vertical side view of the workpiece | work adsorption | suction apparatus 1. It is a vertical side view which shows the state which used the suction pad 10 sideways. It is an enlarged view which expands and shows the collar part contact | adherence edge part 11a in FIG. It is a vertical side view which shows the workpiece | work adsorption | suction apparatus 1 which concerns on a modification.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Work suction apparatus 2 Suction apparatus 10 Suction pad 11 Gutter part 11a Gutter part contact | adherence edge 18 Suction | inhalation air space 40 Cover body 41a Press part 50, 50 '

Claims (2)

Provided with a flexible and dish-shaped suction pad, the collar periphery of the suction pad is pressure-bonded to the surface of the workpiece, and the suction air space in the suction pad shielded by the surface of the workpiece is in a predetermined low pressure state below atmospheric pressure Then, in the workpiece suction device that attracts the workpiece to the suction pad,
It has a pressing part that presses the collar contact edge that is in contact with the workpiece at the periphery of the collar of the suction pad from the back side of the suction pad toward the workpiece, and is connected to a support member that supports the suction pad. A hard cover body fixed to the back of the suction pad,
A workpiece adsorbing device, characterized in that when the suction airspace is in a predetermined low pressure state equal to or lower than atmospheric pressure, the flange contact edge is sandwiched between the workpiece and the pressing portion of the cover body. The cover body is dish-shaped and fixed to the back surface of the suction pad, and its inner peripheral surface is in close contact with the back surface of the suction pad,
The work suction device according to claim 1, wherein a peripheral edge portion of the cover body is a pressing portion that presses the flange close-contact edge portion.

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