JP2008254904A - Expanding body and gripping device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an expanding body capable of improving durability of a reinforcement layer joint part and a gripping device having the expanding body. <P>SOLUTION: The cylindrical expanding body 7 used for the gripping device 1 for gripping a component and expandable by fluid is at least provided with at least one reinforcement layer 11 comprising an elastic body 11A and reinforcement cords 11B and with a skin layer 15 comprising an elastic body. On the expanding body circumferential direction cross section, a dimension (J) between joint cords which is the shortest distance between the reinforcement cords 11B adjacent to each other via the reinforcement layer joint part 11J jointed when the reinforcement layer 11 is molded to form a cylindrical shape is set larger than 0 mm and smaller than a dimension (A) between alternate cords which is the shortest distance between the alternate reinforcement cords 11B. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a cylindrical inflatable body that can be inflated by a fluid, and a gripping device that grips a component with the inflatable body by injecting fluid into a sealed space between a body body and the inflatable body.

  Conventionally, various proposals have been made on a gripping device for gripping parts or the like (for example, an engine cylinder block, a cylindrical pipe, a photosensitive drum). For example, by embedding a reinforcing cord inside the inflatable body that constitutes the gripping device, the range of use can be expanded (for example, it can be used even at high pressure), and a component having a large mass can be used. A transportable gripping device is disclosed (for example, see Patent Document 1).

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, in the expanding body 100, an improvement in weather resistance such as ozone resistance and chemical resistance is provided outside the reinforcing layer 101 formed by the elastic body 101 </ b> A and the reinforcing cord 101 </ b> B, or The outer skin layer 103 is provided for the purpose of improving durability such as prevention of breakage due to exposure of the reinforcing cord and improvement of wear resistance.
JP-A-8-333077 (2nd page-3rd page, Fig. 3)

  However, in the inflatable body 100 used in the above-described conventional gripping device, the reinforcing layer joint portion 101J that is joined when the reinforcing layer 101 is formed into a cylindrical shape is formed in a state in which the end portions are attached to each other. The present situation is that the inter-joint cord dimension (J), which is the shortest distance between the adjacent reinforcing cords 101B in the reinforcing layer joint portion, is wider than that between the other adjacent reinforcing cords 101B (B).

  As a result, the effect of reinforcing the reinforcing layer 11 with the reinforcing cord 11B is weakened, and elongation or the like is likely to occur. Therefore, the durability of the reinforcing layer joint portion 101J is lowered, and the expansion body 100 is damaged. It was often.

  Then, this invention is made | formed in view of such a condition, and it aims at providing the expansion body which can improve the durability of a reinforcement layer joint part, and a grasping apparatus provided with this expansion body. And

  Based on the situation described above, the inventors analyzed the inter-cord dimensions of adjacent reinforcing layers, the distance between every other cord, and the like. As a result, it has been found that the adhesiveness and durability of the reinforcing layer joint can be improved by defining the inter-joint cord dimension (J) which is the shortest distance between adjacent reinforcing cords at the reinforcing layer joint.

  First, the invention according to the first feature of the present invention is a cylindrical expansion body that is used in a gripping device for grasping a component and can be expanded by a fluid, and includes at least one reinforcing layer including an elastic body and a reinforcing cord. And a reinforcement layer joint part that is provided on the outer side (radially outer side) of the reinforcement layer and is joined together when the reinforcement layer is formed into a cylindrical shape in the circumferential cross section of the expansion body. The joint cord dimension (J), which is the shortest distance between adjacent reinforcement cords, is greater than 0 mm and smaller than the distance (A) between the cords, which is the shortest distance between alternate reinforcement cords. Is the gist.

  Here, the components refer to various components such as engine cylinder blocks, cylindrical pipes, photosensitive drums, foods, cosmetics, and medical supplies.

  According to such a feature, the joint cord dimension (J) is larger than 0 mm and smaller than the inter-cord cord dimension (A), so that it is possible to make it difficult for the reinforcing layer joint portion to generate elongation or the like. Therefore, the durability of the reinforcing layer joint part can be improved. As a result, it is possible to extend the life by suppressing the damage of the expansion body.

  Another aspect of the invention is characterized in that the outer skin layer is made of the same material as the elastic body in the reinforcing layer.

  In another aspect of the invention, a fluid is injected into a sealed space between a cylindrical body body in which a passage through which a fluid passes is formed and a cylindrical expansion body that can be expanded by the fluid, thereby expanding the body. A gripping device for inflating a body and gripping a component, wherein the expansion body is provided on at least one reinforcing layer composed of an elastic body and a reinforcing cord, and on the outside (radially outer side) of the reinforcing layer, The joint cord dimension (J), which is the shortest distance between adjacent reinforcement cords via a reinforcement layer joint portion joined together when molding the reinforcement layers into a cylindrical shape, is provided at least in the circumferential direction of the expansion body. It is larger than 0 mm and smaller than the distance between the cords (A) which is the shortest distance between the other reinforcing cords.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the expansion body which can improve durability of a reinforcement layer joint part, and a holding apparatus provided with this expansion body can be provided.

  Next, an example of the gripping device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description of the drawings, the same or similar parts are denoted by the same or similar reference numerals. However, it should be noted that the drawings are schematic and ratios of dimensions are different from actual ones. Accordingly, specific dimensions and the like should be determined in consideration of the following description. Moreover, the part from which the relationship and ratio of a mutual dimension differ also in between drawings is contained.

(Configuration of gripping device)
First, the configuration of the gripping device according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1A is a partially exploded perspective view showing an exhaust state of the gripping device according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 1B is a partially exploded view showing an air supply state of the gripping device according to the present embodiment. It is a perspective view.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a gripping device 1 includes a cylindrical body body 5 in which a passage 3 through which a fluid such as air passes is formed, and a cylindrical expansion body 7 (so-called tube) that can be expanded by the fluid. By injecting a fluid into the sealed space, the expansion body 7 is inflated and a component (for example, a cylinder block of an engine or a cylindrical pipe) is grasped.

  The passage 3 formed in the body body 5 is branched inside the body body 5, and includes an upper passage 3 </ b> A that extends to the top of the body body 5, a side passage 3 </ b> B that extends to the side of the body body 5, and the body It is comprised by the internal channel | path 3C extended to the sealed space of the main body 5 and the expansion body 7. FIG.

  Such a gripping device 1 inserts the expansion body 7 (the entire tube) in the gripping device 1 into the hole of the component, for example, when gripping a component with a hole. Thereafter, the expansion body 7 is expanded by injecting a fluid through the passage 3 into a space in which the body main body 5 and the expansion body 7 are sealed. The component can be grasped by pressing the inner peripheral surface of the hole of the component with the outer peripheral surface of the expanded body 7 that has expanded.

(Configuration of the expansion body)
Next, the configuration of the above-described expansion body will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the expansion body according to the present embodiment in the circumferential direction of the expansion body, and FIG. 3 is a developed top view of the expansion body according to the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the expanding body 7 includes at least one reinforcing layer 11 made of an elastic body 11A and a reinforcing cord 11B, and an inner elastic layer provided inside the reinforcing layer 11 and made of the same material as the elastic body 11A. 13 and an outer skin layer 15 which is provided on the outer side of the reinforcing layer 11 and is made of the same material as the elastic body 11A or a different material (elastic body).

  The elastic body 11A, the inner elastic layer 13, and the outer skin layer 15 are preferably selected from chloroprene rubber (CR) and the like. Of course, the outer skin layer 15 may be selected from ethylene-propylene rubber (EPDM) different from the elastic body 11A. The reinforcing cord 11B is preferably selected from nylon, steel cord and the like.

  The reinforcing cord 11B may be a radial cord indicating that it is parallel to the axial direction of the body 5 as shown in FIG. 3 (a). As shown in FIG. 3 (b), It may be a bias code indicating that the body body 5 is inclined at a predetermined angle θ (for example, 20 degrees) so as to cross each other.

  In order to manufacture the expansion body 7, in order to fold the expansion body 7 outward, first, the outer skin layer 15 is wound around a molding drum (not shown). Next, the reinforcing layer 11 is wound so as to cover the outer skin layer 15. Next, the tubular elastic body 7 is manufactured by winding the inner elastic layer 13 so as to cover the reinforcing layer 11 and vulcanizing the unvulcanized expanded body with a vulcanizer (not shown). Can do.

  Here, the inner joint portion 13J joined when the inner elastic layer 13 is molded into a cylindrical shape, the reinforcement layer joint portion 11J joined together when the reinforcing layer 11 is molded into a cylindrical shape, and the outer skin layer 15 are tubular. The outer skin joint portion 15J that is joined when the two are molded is formed in a state in which the end portions are attached to each other. Of course, the inner joint portion 13J and the outer skin joint portion 15J may overlap (ie, overlap) in the expanding body radial direction.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the joint cord dimension (J), which is the shortest distance between the reinforcing cords 11B adjacent to each other through the reinforcing layer joint portion 11J in the circumferential cross section of the expanding body, is greater than 0 mm, and the joint cord It is smaller than the inter-cord cord dimension (A), which is the shortest distance of every other reinforcing cord excluding the inter-dimension (J) (0 <J <A). In particular, the dimension (J) between the joint cords is preferably larger than 0.1 mm and smaller than 0.4 mm.

  If the joint cord dimension (J) is 0 mm, the elastic body 11A does not enter the joint cord dimension (J), and the durability is lowered. Further, if the joint cord dimension (J) is larger than the inter-cord dimension (A), the effect of reinforcing the reinforcing layer 11 with the reinforcing cord 11B is weakened, and elongation or the like is likely to occur. The durability of the layer joint portion 11J may be reduced.

  In order to further improve the durability of the expansion body 7, the reinforcing layer joint section 11J is preferably arranged so as to be shifted from the inner joint section 13J and the outer skin joint section 15J in the circumferential direction of the expansion body.

(Action / Effect)
According to the expansion body 7 and the gripping device 1 according to the present embodiment described above, the joint cord dimension (J) is larger than 0 mm and smaller than the inter-cord cord dimension (A). Since it is possible to make it difficult for the layer joint portion 11J to generate elongation or the like, the durability of the reinforcing layer joint portion 11J can be improved. As a result, it is possible to extend the life by suppressing the damage of the expansion body.

  In addition, the reinforcement layer joint portion 11J is arranged so as to be displaced from the inner joint portion 13J and the outer skin joint portion 15J in the circumferential direction of the expandable body, so that the joint portions can be prevented from overlapping in the expandable body radial direction. The durability of the expanded body can be further improved.

  Furthermore, by further providing the inner elastic layer 13, the durability of the expansion body 7 can be further improved, and the life of the expansion body can be extended by preventing damage to the expansion body.

(Modification 1)
Although the expansion body 7 according to the above-described embodiment has been described as being used in the gripping device 1 that grips a part by pressing the inner peripheral surface of the hole of the part, it can be modified as follows. Note that portions different from the gripping device according to the above-described embodiment will be mainly described. FIG. 4 is a partially exploded side view showing the gripping device according to the second modification.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 (a) and 4 (b), the slide-type gripping device 21 is inflatable with a ring-shaped body body 25 in which a passage 23 through which a fluid such as air passes is formed. And a cylindrical expansion body 7 (so-called tube).

  A bush 29, a packing 31, and a spring 33 are provided inside the body body 25. Further, the left end portion of the expansion body 7 is sealed to the body main body 25 by the crimping ring 35, and the right end portion of the expansion body 7 is sealed to the body main body 25 by the crimping ring 37.

  The slide-type gripping device 21 inserts the expansion body 7 (the entire tube) in the gripping device 21 into the hole of the component, for example, when gripping a component with a hole.

  4A, the body ring 25 and the expansion body 7 are sealed at the same time as the caulking ring 35 positioned on the passage 23 side moves to the other caulking ring 37 side. The expansion body 7 is expanded by injecting fluid into the space through the passage 23.

  4 (b), the caulking ring 37 located on the other side of the passage 23 moves toward the caulking ring 35 located on the side of the passage 23 and simultaneously expands with the body main body 25. The inflatable body 7 is expanded by injecting a fluid through the passage 23 into a space where the body 7 is sealed.

  The component can be grasped by pressing the inner peripheral surface of the hole of the component with the outer peripheral surface of the expanded body 7 that has expanded. Thus, the expansion body 7 may be used for the slide-type gripping device 21 that grips a part by expanding at the same time as the caulking ring moves.

(Modification 2)
Although the expansion body 7 according to the above-described embodiment has been described as being used in the gripping device 1 that grips a part by pressing the inner peripheral surface of the hole of the part, it can be modified as follows. Note that portions different from the gripping device according to the above-described embodiment will be mainly described. FIG. 5 is a partially exploded perspective view showing the gripping device according to the first modification.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the gripping device 41 includes a ring-shaped body body 45 in which a passage 43 through which a fluid such as air passes is formed, and a cylindrical expansion body 7 (so-called tube) that can be expanded by the fluid. It is roughly composed of

  The upper end portion of the expansion body 7 is folded back toward the outside of the expansion body 7, and the folded portion is sealed to the body main body 45 by the caulking ring 47 </ b> A. Similarly, the lower end portion of the expansion body 7 is folded back toward the outside of the expansion body 7, and the folded portion is sealed to the body main body 45 by the caulking ring 47B.

  The gripping device 41 causes the expansion body 7 to expand by aligning the expansion body 7 with the position of the outer peripheral surface of the component and injecting fluid through the passage 43 into a space where the body main body 45 and the expansion body 7 are sealed. .

  The component can be grasped by pressing the outer peripheral surface of the component with the inner peripheral surface of the expanded body 7 that has expanded. Thus, the expansion body 7 may be used for the gripping device 41 that grips the component by pressing the outer peripheral surface of the component with the inner peripheral surface of the expanded expansion body 7.

[Other Embodiments]
Although the contents of the present invention have been disclosed through the embodiments of the present invention as described above, it should not be understood that the descriptions and drawings constituting a part of this disclosure limit the present invention.

  Specifically, the expansion body 7 has been described as including the reinforcing layer 11, the inner elastic layer 13, and the outer skin layer 15, but is not limited thereto, and at least the reinforcing layer 11. And the outer skin layer 15 may be provided.

  From this disclosure, various alternative embodiments, examples and operational techniques will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the technical scope of the present invention is defined only by the invention specifying matters according to the scope of claims reasonable from the above description.

  Next, in order to further clarify the effect of the present invention, a description will be given of results of tests performed using a gripping device including an expanding body according to the following comparative examples and examples.

  In the expansion body according to the comparative example, the joint cord dimension (J) is “0.6 mm (corresponding to the distance from which one reinforcing cord is removed)”. Moreover, in the expansion body which concerns on an Example, the dimension (J) between joint cords is "0.4mm".

  In each of the expanded bodies, the diameter of the reinforcement cord is “0.2 mm”, and the dimension between the reinforcement cords excluding the dimension (J) between the joint cords is “0.2 mm”. In addition, any of the inflatable bodies was attached to the gripping device 1 described in the embodiment.

The durability of the gripping devices according to the comparative example and the example will be described with reference to Table 1.

<Durability>
The number of times until each expansion body was damaged was measured. In addition, when the dimension (J) between joint cords is “0 mm”, the elastic body constituting the reinforcing layer does not enter the dimension between the joint cords, and thus it is easily damaged without performing durability. As a result, the expanded body according to the example did not break even after being used 1 million times, and thus it was found that the expanded body according to the example was superior to the expanded body according to the comparative example.

It is a partially exploded perspective view which shows the holding apparatus which concerns on this Embodiment. It is an expanded body circumferential direction sectional drawing of the expanded body which concerns on this Embodiment. It is an expansion | deployment top view of the expansion body which concerns on this Embodiment. It is a partially exploded side view showing a gripping device according to Modification 1. It is a partially exploded perspective view showing a gripping device according to a second modification. It is an expanded body circumferential direction sectional drawing of the expanded body which concerns on background art.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Grab apparatus, 3 ... Passage, 3A ... Upper passage, 3B ... Side part passage, 3C ... Internal passage, 5 ... Body main body, 7 ... Expansion body (tube), 9A, 9B ... Clamping ring, 11 ... Reinforcement layer 11A: Elastic body, 11B: Reinforcement cord, 11J: Reinforcement layer joint part, 13 ... Inner elastic layer, 13J ... Inner joint part, 15 ... Outer skin layer, 15J ... Outer skin joint part, 21 ... Sliding gripping device, 23 ... passage, 25 ... body main body, 29 ... bush, 31 ... packing, 33 ... spring, 35, 37 ... caulking ring, 41 ... gripping device, 43 ... passage, 45 ... body main body, 47A, 47B ... caulking ring

Claims (3)

A cylindrical expansion body that is used in a gripping device that grips a part and is expandable by a fluid,
At least one reinforcing layer comprising an elastic body and a reinforcing cord;
Provided at the outer side of the reinforcing layer, comprising at least an outer skin layer made of an elastic body,
In the circumferential cross section of the inflatable body, the joint cord dimension (J), which is the shortest distance between the reinforcement cords adjacent to each other via the reinforcement layer joint portions joined when the reinforcement layer is formed into a cylindrical shape, is less than 0 mm. An inflatable body that is large and smaller than the inter-cord cord dimension (A), which is the shortest distance between the other reinforcing cords.   The inflatable body according to claim 1, wherein the outer skin layer is made of the same material as the elastic body in the reinforcing layer. A component that inflates the expansion body by injecting the fluid into a sealed space between a cylindrical body body in which a passage through which the fluid passes is formed and a cylindrical expansion body that can be expanded by the fluid. A gripping device for grabbing
The inflatable body includes at least one reinforcing layer made of an elastic body and a reinforcing cord, and at least a skin layer made of an elastic body provided outside the reinforcing layer,
In the circumferential cross section of the inflatable body, the joint cord dimension (J), which is the shortest distance between the reinforcement cords adjacent to each other via the reinforcement layer joint portions joined when the reinforcement layer is formed into a cylindrical shape, is less than 0 mm. A gripping device which is large and smaller than the distance (A) between the cords, which is the shortest distance between the reinforcing cords.

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