JP2008279555A - Positioning clamping device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable positioning and fixation even with respect to a panel material having a small locating hole. <P>SOLUTION: This positioning clamping device clamps both a panel material having a circular locating hole formed thereon and a panel material having a square locating hole formed thereon. A clamping arm 24 is provided inside a slit 23 of a locating pin 16 fitted to the locating hole, and is moved to a retreat position entering into the slit 23 and to a clamping position for clamping the panel material. A guide member 41 having an arcuate outer peripheral face 45 contacting the locating hole and guide pieces 43 incorporated to radial direction end parts inside the slit 23 is provided outside the locating pin 16. When the clamping arm 24 is moved to the clamping position, after the guide pieces 43 are slid along the panel material, the panel is clamped between a workpiece support face 22 and the clamping arm 24. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a positioning clamp device that positions and clamps a panel material by fitting a locating pin into a positioning hole formed in the panel material, and particularly positions the panel material regardless of whether the positioning hole is a round hole or a square hole. The present invention relates to a positioning clamp device which can be made.

  An automobile body is formed by joining a plurality of panel materials by spot welding. When spot welding is performed, it is necessary to position and clamp various panel materials constituting the automobile body. Therefore, a plurality of positioning clamp devices are attached to the welding stage arranged in the automobile production line in order to position and clamp the panel material. Further, a positioning clamp device is attached to the tip of the robot arm, and the panel material is moved to a predetermined position by operating and moving the robot arm with the panel material positioned and clamped. Further, when the panel material is conveyed by the traveling carriage, a positioning clamp device is mounted on the traveling carriage so that the panel material is conveyed by the traveling carriage in a state where the panel material is clamped.

As an apparatus for positioning and clamping a panel material, there is an apparatus having a fixed locating pin that fits into a positioning hole formed in the panel material and a clamp arm incorporated in a slit formed in the locating pin. In this type of positioning clamp device, the panel material is fitted to the locating pin with the clamp arm inserted into the slit, and when clamping the panel material, the clamp arm is pushed out from the slit. There are two types of panel materials, one with a circular positioning hole and the other with a square or rectangular square hole. Of the locating pins, the panel material can be clamped to position and clamp any type of panel material. A clamping device has been developed in which a guide portion is left so as not to form a slit at a portion where the panel material comes into contact with when clamping.
JP 2002-321130 A

  In the conventional clamping device that can position and clamp both the panel material in which the positioning hole is a round hole and the panel material in which the positioning hole is a square hole, it is formed on a fixed locating pin. The slit is left as a guide portion without forming a slit at a portion where the panel material contacts at the time of clamping. Therefore, it is necessary to provide a clamp piece with a J-shape bent at the tip of the clamp arm, and to guide the guide part into the recess of the clamp piece during clamping. For this reason, it is necessary to increase the width of the clamp piece at the tip of the clamp arm, and if the locate pin has a small diameter in order to position and clamp a panel material having a small positioning hole, the clamp arm is placed in the locate pin. Cannot be incorporated. Therefore, in the conventional clamp device for positioning two types of panel materials, round holes and square holes, there is a limit to the size of the positioning holes that can be positioned.

  An object of the present invention is to enable positioning and fixing of a panel material having a positioning hole having a small size.

  The positioning clamp device of the present invention is attached to a work support base on which a work support surface for supporting a panel material in which circular or quadrilateral positioning holes are formed, and to protrude from the work support surface to the work support base. A locating pin that fits into the positioning hole, and a locating pin that is provided in a slit formed in the locating pin so as to open on an outer peripheral surface of the locating pin, and a retracted position that enters the slit and moves backward from the retracted position and a tip portion Is in contact with the positioning hole, a clamp arm that is movable from the slit to a clamping position for clamping the panel material, an axial base that is coaxially moved to the locating pin and axially movable. A guide piece that has a circular arc-shaped outer peripheral surface and includes a guide piece that is incorporated into a radial end of the slit. A clamp member, a spring member that is incorporated in the work support base and applies a spring force in a forward direction toward the distal end portion of the locate pin to the guide member, and a distal end portion of the clamp arm. When moving from the retracted position to the clamp position, the guide member is moved backward against the spring force to slide the guide piece along the panel material, and then the panel material is placed between the work support surface And a clamp piece to be clamped at

  In the positioning clamp apparatus of the present invention, the guide member has two guide pieces corresponding to both ends of the slit in the radial direction.

  A positioning clamp device according to the present invention is mounted on the work support base so as to be reciprocally movable in the axial direction and connected to the clamp arm, and drives the clamp arm between the retracted position and the clamp position. When the piston rod moves forward and the clamp arm is in the retracted position, a contact portion that contacts the guide member is formed in the clamp arm, and the piston rod passes through the clamp arm. The guide member is brought into contact with the guide member to restrict the backward movement of the guide member.

  According to the present invention, a clamp arm for clamping the panel material to the workpiece support surface is provided in the slit formed by opening the locate pin to the outside, and the guide member disposed outside the locate pin has a slit. A guide piece that enters the radial end of the guide piece is provided. When the positioning hole of the panel material is fitted to the locating pin, the positioning hole comes into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the guide piece. Both the panel material in which the hole is formed and the panel material in which the circular positioning hole is formed can be positioned.

  When clamping the panel material by pushing the clamp piece at the tip of the clamp arm out of the slit, the clamp piece comes into contact with the guide piece and the guide member is moved backward. It is not necessary to provide a recess into which the panel enters, and the panel material can be clamped without increasing the size of the clamp surface of the clamp piece. Thereby, since the panel material can be clamped even if the locating pin has a small diameter, the panel material having a small size of the positioning hole can also be positioned and clamped.

  When clamping the panel material, the guide piece slides on the inner peripheral surface of the positioning hole, so that the center of the positioning hole of the panel material can be centered on the center of the locate pin, and the positioning accuracy can be improved.

  The positioning clamp device of the present invention has a piston rod for driving the clamp arm between the retracted position and the clamp position, and when the piston rod moves forward and the clamp arm reaches the retracted position, Since the clamp arm contacts the contact portion of the guide member and restricts the backward movement of the guide member, the guide member is locked to the piston rod via the clamp arm. As a result, when the locating pin is fitted in the positioning hole of the panel material, the guide member holds the forward limit position even if an external force is applied to the guide member in the backward movement direction by the panel material. Thus, the panel material can be positioned reliably.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a positioning clamp device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a part of FIG. 1 in an enlarged manner, and FIG. 3 is an AA line in FIG. FIG. 4 is a sectional view, and FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of members constituting the positioning clamp device.

  As shown in FIG. 1, this positioning clamp device has a cylindrical support cylinder 11 having a flange 10 at the base end, and a cylinder body 12 is attached to the flange 10, and the support cylinder A positioning tool 13 is attached to the tip of 11.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the positioning tool 13 includes a flange 15 formed with a fitting hole 14 that fits into a small diameter portion 11 a formed at the tip of the support cylinder 11, and a tip surface of the flange 15. The flange 15 and the locate pin 16 are integrally formed. A case body 17 is abutted against the flange 15, and the case body 17 is disposed outside the base end portion so as to cover the base end portion of the locate pin 16. The positioning tool 13 and the case body 17 are fixed to the support cylinder 11 by bolts 18. As shown in FIG. 4, a through hole 19 through which the bolt 18 passes is formed in the flange 15 of the positioning tool 13. A through hole 20 through which the bolt 18 passes is formed corresponding to the through hole 19. A work support base 21 is formed by the support cylinder 11, the positioning tool 13, and the case body 17, and the surface of the case body 17 is a work support surface 22 that supports the panel material W as shown in FIG.

  In this manner, the locate pin 16 protrudes from the work support surface 22 and is attached to the work support base 21, and fits into a positioning hole formed in the panel material W to position the panel material W. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the locate pin 16 is formed with a slit 23 that penetrates in the radial direction leaving the tip portion 16 a and opens on the outer peripheral surface of the locate pin 16, and the slit 23 extends to the flange 15. . A clamp arm 24 is provided in the slit 23, and a clamp piece 25 that clamps the panel material W between the work support surface 22 at the tip of the work support 21 is provided at the tip of the clamp arm 24. Yes.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a piston rod 28 is attached to a piston 27 that is reciprocally mounted in the cylinder chamber 26 of the cylinder body 12 in the axial direction. The piston rod 28 is slidably incorporated in the work support 21, and the distal end portion of the piston rod 28 and the proximal end portion of the clamp arm 24 are connected by a connecting pin 31. As shown in FIG. 3, both ends of the connecting pin 31 are slidably supported in a long hole 32 formed along the axial direction on the support cylinder 11, and the length of the long hole 32 in the axial direction is supported. Substantially corresponds to the reciprocating stroke of the piston rod 28. Therefore, when the piston rod 28 moves forward, the clamp arm 24 moves forward toward the tip of the locate pin 16, and when the piston rod 28 moves backward, the clamp arm 24 moves backward.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a cam groove 33 is formed in the clamp arm 24 in the axial direction, and a cam pin 34 parallel to the connecting pin 31 passes through the cam groove 33. As shown in FIG. 3, the cam pin 34 is fixed to an attachment hole 35 formed in the support cylinder 11 of the work support base 21. Both end surfaces of the connecting pin 31 and the cam pin 34 are covered with a cover 36 attached to the support cylinder 11 of the work support base 21 as shown in FIG. The cam groove 33 has a straight portion 33 a that is parallel to the longitudinal direction of the clamp arm 24 and an inclined portion 33 b that is continuous with the rear end portion thereof. Therefore, when the piston rod 28 reaches the forward limit position, as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 2, the cam pin 34 enters the inclined portion 33b of the cam groove 33, so that the clamp arm 24 enters the slit 23 and becomes the retracted position. . On the other hand, when the piston rod 28 moves backward, the cam pin 34 enters the straight portion 33a of the cam groove 33 and the tip end portion of the clamp arm 24 protrudes from the slit 23 as shown by a solid line in FIG. . When the piston rod 28 reaches the retreat limit position, the clamp piece 25 provided at the distal end portion of the clamp arm 24 becomes a clamp position for clamping the panel material W between the workpiece support surface 22. 2 and 3 show a state in which the panel material W is not fitted to the locating pin 16, and when the panel material W is not arranged on the work support base 21, the clamp arm 24 is in the retreat limit position. Then, the clamp piece 25 comes into contact with the work support surface 22.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a head cover 37 is provided at the rear end of the cylinder body 12, and the cylinder chamber 26 is partitioned by a piston 27 into a forward pressure chamber 26a and a backward pressure chamber 26b. In the cylinder body 12, a forward supply / discharge port 38 is formed in communication with the forward pressure chamber 26a, and a reverse supply / discharge port 39 is formed in communication with the reverse pressure chamber 26b. . Accordingly, when compressed air is supplied from the supply / discharge port 38 to the forward pressure chamber 26a, the piston rod 28 is driven toward the forward limit position, and when compressed air is supplied from the supply / discharge port 39 to the backward pressure chamber 26b. The piston rod 28 is driven toward the backward limit position. Thus, the cylinder body 12 is a double-acting type in which the pressure chambers 26 a and 26 b are provided on both sides of the piston 27.

  A guide member 41 is incorporated in the work support base 21 so as to be movable outside in the axial direction, positioned outside the locate pin 16. As shown in FIG. 4, the guide member 41 includes an annular base 42 disposed so as to surround the proximal end portion of the locate pin 16, and an axial direction within the radial end portion of the slit 23 provided integrally with the annular base portion 42. 2 and 3, and the outer peripheral surface of the annular base 42 is slidable on a cylindrical inner peripheral surface 44 formed in the case body 17 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. Touching. The outer peripheral surface of the guide piece 43 has an arc-shaped outer peripheral surface 45 continuous with the outer peripheral surface of the locate pin 16, and the outer peripheral surface of the proximal end portion of the locate pin 16 includes a circular outer periphery that is continuous in the circumferential direction including the guide piece 43. A guide piece 43 enters and is closed at the base end portion of the locate pin 16 in the slit 23, and a portion of the slit 23 between the tip surface of the guide piece 43 and the tip portion of the locate pin 16. Is open to the outside.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a compression coil spring 46 is incorporated in the work support 21 so as to be positioned between the annular base 42 of the guide member 41 and the flange 15 of the positioning tool 13. A spring force is applied to the member 41 in the direction toward the tip of the locate pin 16. When the annular base portion 42 of the guide member 41 comes into contact with the abutting surface 17a of the case body 17 by this spring force, the guide piece 43 protrudes from the work support surface 22 and from the work support surface 22 in the slit 23 of the locate pin 16. The guide piece 43 enters a portion protruding a predetermined stroke, and the outer peripheral surface of the locate pin 16 including the guide piece 43 is a continuous circular shape.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2, when the clamp arm 24 is moved backward by the piston 27, the cam pin 34 enters the straight portion 33 a of the cam groove 33, so that the clamp piece 25 at the tip of the clamp arm 24 protrudes from the slit 23. When the clamp arm 24 continues to move backward, the clamp piece 25 comes into contact with the guide piece 43 of the guide member 41 and moves the guide member 41 backward against the spring force of the compression coil spring 46. Become. Thus, when the clamp arm 24 moves the guide member 41 backward, the guide piece 43 slides along the inner peripheral surface of the positioning hole of the panel material W. When the clamp arm 24 moves the guide member 41 backward until the front end surface of the guide piece 43 is located at the same position as the surface of the panel material W, the panel material W is clamped or fastened between the clamp piece 25 and the workpiece support surface 22. Is done.

  A contact portion 24 a is formed on the clamp arm 24, and when the piston rod 28 moves forward and the clamp arm 24 is in the retracted position, the contact portion 24 a of the clamp arm 24 is the annular base portion 42 of the guide member 41. When the clamp arm 24 comes into the retracted position by contacting the contact surface 42a, the backward movement of the guide member 41 is restricted. Therefore, when the locating pin 16 is fitted into the positioning hole of the panel material W, the friction between the inner peripheral surface of the positioning hole and the outer peripheral surface of the guide piece 43 of the guide member 41, the burr and the guide on the inner peripheral surface of the positioning hole The guide member 41 is prevented from moving backward due to the engagement with the piece 43.

  5A is a cross-sectional view of the locate pin 16 showing a state in which the locate pin 16 is fitted in a circular positioning hole Ha formed in the panel material W, and FIG. 5B is formed in the panel material W. It is a cross-sectional view of the locate pin 16 showing a state in which the locate pin 16 is fitted in the square positioning hole Hb.

  Since guide pieces 43 are incorporated at both ends in the radial direction of the slit 23 in the portion of the locate pin 16 where the panel material W is fitted, the circular shape of the panel material W is attached to the locate pin 16 as shown in FIG. When the positioning hole Ha is fitted, the part of the guide piece 43 including the arcuate outer peripheral surface 45 that is completely circular comes into contact with the positioning hole Ha, and the panel material W is positioned by the locate pin 16. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5 (B), the arcuate outer peripheral surface 45 of the guide piece 43 is brought into contact with the center part of the width direction of the two opposite sides of the positioning hole Hb so that the panel material W When the square positioning hole Hb is fitted, the position of the panel member W in the left-right direction in FIG. 5 (B) is such that the guide piece 43 contacts two opposite sides of the square positioning hole Hb and is perpendicular to this. Since the central portion of the outer peripheral surface of the locate pin 16 contacts the other two sides of the positioning hole Hb, the center position of the positioning hole Hb is also set to the center position of the locate pin 16 for the panel material W having the positioning hole Hb that is a square hole. It is possible to position them by matching. Further, as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 5B, the panel material W in which the rectangular positioning holes Hc are formed can be positioned. When positioning such a panel material W, if the width dimension of the rectangular positioning hole Hc substantially corresponds to the diameter of the locate pin 22, the panel material W can be positioned in the left-right direction in FIG. it can. However, in that case, the panel material W is positioned in the vertical direction in FIG. 5B by the locate pin of another positioning clamp device.

  In addition, when the panel arm W is clamped between the clamp piece 25 and the work support surface 22 by moving the clamp arm 24 backward, the guide member 41 is driven backward by the clamp arm 24 and the positioning hole Ha of the panel member W is set. , Hb, Hc, the guide piece 43 slides, so that the sliding movement causes the panel material W to be aligned so that the centers of the positioning holes Ha, Hb, Hc coincide with the center of the locate pin 16. It will be. In particular, since the two guide pieces 43 are provided with a phase of 180 degrees in the circumferential direction of the locating pin 16 in the radial direction at both ends of the slit 23, the panel member W is formed as shown in FIG. , The panel material W can be positioned with high accuracy.

  As described above, the clamp piece 25 provided at the tip of the clamp arm 24 clamps the panel material W in a state in which the guide piece 43 is pressed after the guide member 41 is moved backward, and the guide piece 43. Is inserted into the slit 23, it is sufficient that the clamp surface dimension of the clamp piece 25 is a projection length sufficient to clamp the panel material W. The panel material W having a small diameter positioning pin 16 and a small positioning hole is provided. Can also be positioned and clamped.

  That is, the clamp width of the clamp piece 25 is the dimension E as shown in FIG. 2, the thickness is the dimension D as shown in FIG. The part obtained by subtracting the thickness dimension of the panel contacts the panel material W. If the guide piece 43 is not moved, it is necessary to bend the clamp piece 25 into the clamp piece 25 by bending the clamp piece 25 into a J-shape as in Patent Document 1 and jump the guide portion. The width dimension E of the portion that contacts the panel material W needs to be increased or the thickness dimension D needs to be increased. In this positioning clamp device, the clamp surface of the clamp piece 25 can be made flat. The panel material W can be reliably clamped without increasing the dimension D and the width dimension E. Since it is not necessary to increase the width dimension E, it is possible to make the locate pin 16 have a small diameter.

  6-9 is sectional drawing which shows the positioning clamp operation | movement of the panel material W by the positioning clamp apparatus. As shown in FIG. 6, with the piston rod 28 in the forward limit position, the clamp arm 24 is retracted into the slit 23 and the guide piece 43 protrudes from the work support surface 22. The positioning hole of W is fitted. For example, if the positioning clamp device is used for spot welding two panels constituting an automobile body, the two panel members W are fitted to the locating pins 16. At this time, the piston rod 28 is at the forward limit position, and the contact portion 24a formed on the clamp arm 24 contacts the contact surface 42a of the annular base portion 42 of the guide member 41, so that it is fixed at the forward limit position. The guide member 41 is fixed via the clamp arm 24 by the piston rod 28, and the backward movement is restricted. Thereby, when the panel material W is positioned and fitted to the locating pin 16, the positioning holes Ha, Hb, Hc of the panel material W come into contact with the guide piece 43, or the burrs of the positioning holes Ha, Hb, Hc are guided by the guide piece 43. The guide member 41 is prevented from retreating by the panel material W by engaging with.

  When the piston rod 28 is in the forward limit position and compressed air is supplied to the pressure chamber 26b for retraction from the supply / discharge port 39 shown in FIG. As shown, the cam pin 34 enters the straight portion 33 a of the cam groove 33, and the clamp arm 24 is in a state in which the clamp piece 25 at the tip protrudes from the slit 23. If the clamp arm 24 is moved backward by the backward movement of the piston rod 28, the clamp piece 25 of the clamp arm 24 comes into contact with one guide piece 43 of the guide member 41 as shown in FIG.

  Further, when the piston rod 28 moves backward and the clamp piece 25 comes into contact with the surface of the panel material W, the panel material W is sandwiched between the clamp piece 25 and the work support surface 22 as shown in FIG. Clamped. During this backward movement, the guide member 41 moves backward against the spring force applied by the compression coil spring 46, and when the panel member W is clamped, the tip surface of the guide piece 43 is the same as the surface of the panel member W. Position. As a result, the guide piece 43 is pressed by the clamp piece 25.

  Whether the panel material W has a circular positioning hole Ha or the panel material W has square or rectangular positioning holes Hb, Hc, the positioning pin 16 is not replaced and positioned and clamped in the same procedure. can do. Moreover, since the guide piece 43 is incorporated in the portion corresponding to the slit 23 and the guide piece 43 is slid in the axial direction with respect to the panel material W by the clamping operation, the positioning of the panel material W is finely adjusted by the sliding operation. Then, it can be clamped and positioning accuracy can be improved.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, although two guide pieces 43 are provided in the guide member 41, if the slit 23 is formed by opening only on one side without forming the slit 23 in the locating pin 16 through the slit 23 in the radial direction, A guide member 41 having one guide piece 43 can be used. In the illustrated apparatus, one clamp arm 24 is incorporated in the slit 23. However, two clamp arms 24 may be incorporated in the slit 23. The clamp pieces 25 are opposite to each other, and the clamp pieces 25 protrude from both sides of the slit 23 to clamp the panel material W.

It is sectional drawing which shows the positioning clamp apparatus which is one embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing which expands and shows a part of FIG. It is the sectional view on the AA line in FIG. It is a disassembled perspective view of the member which comprises a positioning clamp apparatus. (A) is a cross-sectional view of a locating pin showing a state where the locating pin is fitted in a circular positioning hole formed in the panel material, and (B) is a locating pin fitted in a square positioning hole formed in the panel material. It is a cross-sectional view of the locate pin showing the combined state. It is sectional drawing which shows the positioning clamp operation | movement of the panel material by a positioning clamp apparatus. It is sectional drawing which shows the positioning clamp operation | movement of the panel material by a positioning clamp apparatus. It is sectional drawing which shows the positioning clamp operation | movement of the panel material by a positioning clamp apparatus. It is sectional drawing which shows the positioning clamp operation | movement of the panel material by a positioning clamp apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Support cylinder 12 Cylinder main body 13 Positioning tool 16 Locating pin 17 Case body 21 Work support base 22 Work support surface 23 Slit 24 Clamp arm 24a Contact part 25 Clamp piece 26 Cylinder chamber 27 Piston 28 Piston rod 31 Connecting pin 33 Cam groove 34 Cam pin 37 Head cover 41 Guide member 42 Annular base 42a Contact surface 43 Guide piece 45 Arc-shaped outer peripheral surface 46 Compression coil spring (spring member)

Claims (3)

A workpiece support base on which a workpiece support surface for supporting a panel material on which circular or quadrilateral positioning holes are formed;
A locating pin that is attached to the work support base so as to protrude from the work support surface and fits into the positioning hole;
The locating pin is provided in a slit formed on the outer peripheral surface of the locating pin, and is retracted into the slit and moved backward from the retracted position so that the front end portion protrudes from the slit and clamps the panel material. A clamp arm that is movable to the clamping position to be
An annular base portion that is incorporated in the work support base so as to be axially movable in the axial direction coaxially with the locate pin, and an arcuate outer peripheral surface that contacts the positioning hole, and a guide piece that is incorporated at a radial end portion in the slit. A guide member provided;
A spring member that is incorporated in the work support, and applies a forward spring force toward the tip of the locate pin with respect to the guide member;
Provided at the tip of the clamp arm, when the clamp arm moves from the retracted position to the clamp position, the guide member is moved backward against the spring force to slide the guide piece along the panel material. And a clamp piece for clamping the panel material to the workpiece support surface after the positioning.   2. The positioning clamp device according to claim 1, wherein the guide member has two guide pieces corresponding to both end portions in the radial direction of the slit.   The positioning clamp device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the work clamp is reciprocally attached to the work support base and coupled to the clamp arm, and the clamp arm is interposed between the retracted position and the clamp position. A piston rod for driving, and when the piston rod moves forward to move the clamp arm to the retracted position, a contact portion that contacts the guide member is formed in the clamp arm, and the piston rod is A positioning clamp device that restricts the backward movement of the guide member by contacting the guide member via a clamp arm.

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