JP2011112143A - Production equipment having flexible long object guiding device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To stabilize the behavior of a holding member for contributing to speed up a moving body while improving the durability of a flexible long object. <P>SOLUTION: A flexible long object guiding device 3 includes the holding member 4 formed of a sectionally U-shaped convex metal plate band body, and a guide wall body 5. The holding member 4 has one end connected to the moving body 1 which linearly reciprocates, a midway portion curved for reversing the direction, and the other end fixed to the inside bottom face 5a of the guide wall body 5. The holding member 4 is connected to the moving body 1 in such a fashion that its face 4a on the concave side out of both faces is situated outside of a curved portion R, and the flexible long object 2 is slidably attached to the face 4a situated outside of the holding member 4. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention holds and guides a flexible long object such as a flexible wiring cable or a flexible pipe connected to the moving body in a production apparatus such as a robot or a machine tool equipped with the moving body. The present invention relates to a production apparatus having a flexible long object guide device.

  Conventionally, some production equipment such as robots and machine tools have a linear motion device incorporated therein, and this linear motion device includes a moving body that reciprocally moves linearly. A flexible long cable such as a flexible wiring cable for supplying power or a flexible pipe for supplying compressed air, a cooling liquid, a lubricating liquid, or the like is connected.

  In this linear motion apparatus, the flexible long object is caused to follow the movement of the moving body by reversing the direction of the middle part of the flexible long object. Further, in this linear motion device, the flexible elongated object is held by a flexible holding member so that the flexible elongated object is not crushed or broken by bending at the direction reversal portion when the movable body is moved. And is curved in an arc shape without being bent at the direction reversal portion, and the movement displacement of the flexible long object during the movement of the moving body is guided (for example, Patent Document 1).

  9 and 10 schematically show a conventional wiring cable guide device including this Patent Document 1. FIG. As shown in FIG. 9, a movable body 52 is provided on the top of the horizontally long case 51 so as to be movable in the longitudinal direction of the case 51. The moving body 52 is moved by an appropriate drive mechanism (not shown). Then, one end portion of the holding member 53 made of a convex metal strip made of U-shaped inner surface is connected to the moving body 52, and the middle portion of the holding member 53 is curved and inverted, and the inversion The middle part is placed on the inner bottom surface 51a of the case 51, and the other end is fixed. The holding member 53 is provided in a state where the inner surface side (the inner surface side called a curved portion) is concave. And the flexible elongate thing 54, such as a flat flexible wiring cable, is adhere | attached on this holding member 53 inner surface intermittently at equal intervals (the adhesion location is shown with the code | symbol S). In addition, the case 51 prevents the holding member 53 and the flexible long object 54 from excessively deviating from the planned movement path.

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 5-19908

  When the flexible long object 54 such as a flexible wiring cable is bonded and fixed to the holding member 53 at equal intervals as in the conventional case described above, stress in the pulling direction is applied to the flexible long object 54 due to the difference in curvature between the two. In order to prevent this, the adhesive length of the flexible long object 54 is made longer than the adhesion interval length of the holding member 53, so that the flexible long object 54 is loosened (illustrated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 9). In addition, since the flexible elongated object 54 and the holding member 53 are intermittently bonded to each other, the bending portion R changes in the tension of the both, and shifts to the bonding point S. The external force to act acts, the deterioration of the flexible long thing 54 is advanced, and it is inferior to durability.

  Further, as shown by arrows A and B in FIG. 10, the upper portion of the holding member 53 is in an arc direction centering on the lower portion of the holding member 53 (a direction substantially perpendicular to the moving direction of the moving body 52). ), Or the curved portion R of the holding member 53 is largely bent as shown in FIG. 9 to come into contact with the inner upper surface 1b of the case 51. As described above, since the holding member 53 of the flexible long object 54 behaves unstablely, the speed of the moving body 52 has to be reduced.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to stabilize the behavior of the holding member, contribute to speeding up the moving body, and further improve the durability of flexible long objects. An object of the present invention is to provide a production apparatus having a flexible long object guide device that can be realized.

  The present invention has been made through the following process. First, the inventor considered the necessity of bonding a flexible long object such as a wiring cable to a holding member made of a metal plate strip. In the above-described conventional structure in which the above-mentioned holding member has a curved portion and the outside is recessed, and a flexible long object is bonded to the inside, if the bonding is simply eliminated, the holding member is positioned inside the holding member. The flexible long object is detached from the holding member, and practical use is impossible. Further, the inventor tried a structure in which the cable is attached to the outer side (convex surface) of the holding member and made non-adherent.

  By the way, as is well known from a commercially available convex or the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, the holding member made of a metal strip made of a convex (tape measure) is wound or curved so as to be concave. Such a use form is generally fixed, but the inventor tries to bend the holding member made of a metal plate strip in a form in which the inside of the curved portion is convex (the outside is concave). I've tried. In this case, it was found that there was almost no wobbling in the holding member, and there was no excessive swelling in the curved portion.

  Further, by adopting this structure, attention was paid to the fact that the outer side of the holding member was concave as opposed to the conventional structure, and an attempt was made to attach a flexible long object to the outer side without adhesion. Then, when the holding member and the flexible long object move while being curved as the moving body moves, both of them slide relative to each other without being separated from each other. A drop-off prevention structure is now possible.

  Claim 1 is made on the basis of such survey results, and includes a holding member made of a metal plate strip having a convex U-shaped cross section, and one end portion of the holding member is linearly provided. Connected to a reciprocating moving body, bent in the middle and reversed direction, fixed to the other fixed part at the other end, and flexible wiring cable or one end connected to the moving body A flexible long object guide device that holds a flexible long object such as a flexible pipe by the holding member and surrounds the flexible long object and the holding member with a guide wall body. The holding member is connected to the moving body in a form in which a concave surface portion of both surfaces of the holding member is outside the curved portion, and the flexible long object is held by the holding device. It is characterized by being slidably attached to the outer surface of the member. That.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the holding member made of the metal plate strip having a substantially U-shaped cross section is connected to the moving body in such a manner that the concave surface portion is the curved portion and the outside. As is clear from the above investigation results, the holding member does not fluctuate as in the prior art, and the curved portion of the holding member does not greatly bend outward as in the prior art. As a result, it is not necessary to reduce the speed of the moving body, and it is possible to increase the speed of the operation of the device and thus to improve the productivity.

  Further, since the flexible long object is slidably attached to the concave surface portion outside the holding member, the flexible long object is moved to the outside by the holding member when moving in one direction of the moving body. When the flexible elongate object is pushed to the holding member and is moved in the opposite direction, the flexible elongate object is always pressed against the central portion of the concave surface portion of the holding member. The position of the flexible elongate object relative to the holding member is stabilized, and the flexible elongate object is not loosened. As a result, the flexible elongate object is not bonded to each other. Separation from the holding member can be prevented.

  In addition, since the flexible long object is held without adhesion at the surface portion where the outside of the holding member is concave, even if the tension of the flexible long object and the holding member changes at a portion where the curvature is different, The change can be absorbed, so that the conventional stress can be avoided and the durability of the flexible long object can be improved.

  The invention of claim 2 is characterized in that a band-shaped protective member is provided outside the flexible elongated object. In the linear motion device, depending on the control mode for the moving body, there is a case where the moving body is controlled to be suddenly stopped or the direction is suddenly reversed. In this case, there is a concern that the holding member may wobble worst and come into contact with the guide wall body. However, according to the second embodiment, since the band-shaped protective member is provided on the outer side of the flexible long object, even if the holding member may fluctuate in the worst case, the flexible member The contact of the scale with the guide wall can be reliably prevented, and the durability of the flexible long article can be further improved.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, the protective member is formed of a metal plate strip having a substantially U-shaped cross section, like the holding member, and is provided in a form in which the outside is concave. Has characteristics. According to the third aspect of the present invention, since both the inner holding member and the outer protective member are structured to be recessed outward, the two members are centripeted with each other, and are included in both. The flexible elongate object is not easily displaced in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction while allowing sliding in the longitudinal direction with respect to the holding member and the protective member.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the guide wall body is provided with a guide member that can move in the same direction as the moving body, and the guide member is curved so that the holding member can be moved. It is characterized in that a gap is formed and the curved portion of the holding member is inserted into the gap.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, when the movable body moves, the moving member receives a moving urging force from the bending portion along with the movement of the portion that becomes the bending portion in the holding member, It moves with the curved part. Thereby, the behavior of the holding member can be stabilized at three points of the one end connected to the moving body, the other end fixed to the immovable portion, and the guide member located in the curved portion, The wobbling that has occurred in the past can be reliably prevented.

The longitudinal front view of the flexible elongate guide apparatus which shows the 1st Embodiment of this invention Sectional view taken along section line Q-Q in FIG. (A) is sectional drawing in sectional line TT of FIG. 1, (b) is a figure for action description. FIG. 1 equivalent diagram showing a second embodiment of the present invention 2 equivalent diagram FIG. 2 equivalent view showing the third embodiment of the present invention FIG. 1 equivalent view showing a fourth embodiment of the present invention Sectional view taken along section line V-V in FIG. 1 equivalent diagram showing a conventional example 2 equivalent diagram (A) is a figure corresponding to FIG. 1 (a), (b) is a figure equivalent to FIG. 1 (b).

  A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 show a flexible long object guide device 3 provided in a production device such as a robot for guiding a flexible long object 2 connected to a moving body 1. The moving body 1 constitutes a part of a linear motion device, and is configured to linearly reciprocate (directions of arrows C and D in FIG. 1) by a driving mechanism (not shown). Moreover, the said flexible elongate object 2 consists of a flexible flat wiring cable, for example. The flexible long object 2 is not limited to this flat wiring cable, but may be a non-flat wiring cable, a flexible air pipe for compressed air, or a flexibility for cooling liquid or lubricating liquid. Some liquid piping may be used.

The flexible long object guide device 3 includes a holding member 4 made of a metal plate strip having a convex shape with a U-shaped cross section, and a guide wall body 5 having an elongated case shape.
The holding member 4 is intended to maintain linearity in a free state, and when the intermediate portion is curved, the holding member 4 is curved in a substantially arc shape without bending at an acute angle. One end portion of the holding member 4 is connected to the moving body 1 by a connector 6, and a middle portion is curved and reversed in direction.

  In this case, the holding member 4 is connected to the moving body 1 in such a form that the concave surface portion 4a of the both surfaces 4a and 4b is outside the curved portion R. The other end portion of the holding member 4 whose direction is reversed is fixed to a predetermined fixed portion, for example, the inner bottom surface 5 a of the guide wall body 5 by a fixing tool 7. Here, in a production device such as a robot, although not shown, the rail for moving the movable body 1 and a frame for supporting the rail are naturally provided as immovable members. It may be a rail or a frame.

  Here, the flexible long object 2 is slidably attached to the outer surface portion 4a of the holding member 4 except for both end portions (not bonded). One end portion of the long object 2 is connected to the moving body 1 together with one end portion of the holding member 4 by the connecting portion 6, and the other end portion is connected to the inner bottom surface 5 a of the guide wall body 5 by the fixture 7. It is fixed together with the other end of the holding member 4. The other end of the flexible long object 2 is appropriately connected to an external connector or the like.

In this case, the flexible elongate object 2 is attached in such a manner that it is substantially contained in the recess in the surface portion 4 a of the guide member 4.
The guide wall 5 has an elongated case shape, and surrounds the holding member 4, the flexible long object 2, and a part of the moving body 1. The side walls 5b and 5c are used to prevent the holding member 4 and the flexible long object 2 from excessively deviating from the planned movement path.

  Now, in the above configuration, when the moving body 1 moves in the direction of arrow C, one end of the holding member 4 follows and moves in the same direction, so that the formation portion of the bending portion R sequentially moves in the same direction. (The moving speed of the bending portion R is half the moving speed of the moving body 1). And the holding member 4 is a form in which the surface part 4a on the concave side is a curved part, and the flexible elongated object 2 is slidably attached to the concave surface part 4a on the outside. Therefore, the flexible elongated object 2 receives a force in a direction of being pushed outward by the holding member 4 while being accommodated in the concave surface portion 4a.

  When the movable body 1 moves in the direction of arrow D, the location where the curved portion R is formed in the holding member 4 moves in the same direction, and the flexible long object 2 is pressed against the holding member 4. As a result, the flexible elongated object 2 is not loosened when the moving body 1 is moved in any direction, and the flexible member 2 and the flexible elongated object 2 are not bonded. The detachment of the scale 2 from the holding member 4 can be prevented.

  Further, when the moving body 1 is moved, the holding member 4 has a shape in which the concave surface portion 4a is the curved portion, so that the holding member 4 may fluctuate in the arrow A direction and the arrow B direction. Further, the bending portion R of the holding member 4 is not greatly bent outward as in the prior art.

  As described above, the holding member 4 is prevented from wobbling, and thus basically does not come into contact with the guide wall body 5. However, even if the holding member 4 may come into contact with the guide wall body 5 due to a rapid reversal of direction, etc., it becomes a two-point contact, so that it is possible to prevent further wobbling and to prevent actual use. 4 damage can be avoided. Furthermore, in this embodiment, even if there is the above-mentioned wobbling, the flexible long object 2 is stored in the concave surface portion 4 a of the holding member 4. Since the two contact points of the outer concave surface portion 4a of the holding member 4 come into contact before contact, the flexible elongated object 2 can be prevented from coming into contact with the guide wall body 5, and consequently the flexible elongated object. 2 damage can also be prevented.

  Here, when the reason why the conventional holding member 53 wobbles and the holding member 4 in this embodiment does not fluctuate was investigated, the following was found. Conventionally, when the concave surface portion of the holding member 53 is inward, in FIG. 10, when a swinging force in the direction of the arrow A and the direction of the arrow B centering on the lower portion acts, Therefore, the holding member 53 is likely to swing in the concave extension direction.

  On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the concave surface portion 4a of the holding member 4 faces outward, so that the arc shape of the surface portion 4a when the deflection force acts in the arrow A direction and the arrow B direction. Is directed in a direction away from the direction of the deflection force, the resistance against the deflection force is greater than in the prior art, and the wobbling of the holding member 4 is reduced.

  Further, when the reason why the bending degree of the holding member 53 in the present embodiment is large and the bending degree of the holding member 4 in the present embodiment is small is investigated, the following has been found. Conventionally, the holding member 53 has a slightly flat shape in its curved portion R, as shown in FIG. 11 (a). When this tries to return to the original outer convex shape (see FIG. 11B), since the convex is outward at this time, a returning force that swells outward acts at the curved portion R, and the curved portion R Grows outward. On the other hand, in the holding member 4 in the present embodiment, the curved portion R has a slightly flat cross-sectional shape as shown in FIG. 3A, but in the present embodiment, the holding member 4 Since the convex surface portion 4b faces inward (the concave portion faces outward), the outward force does not act as much in the bending portion R as in the prior art. As a result, the bending portion R The size of the curved portion R is reduced.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the holding member 4 can be less likely to fluctuate in a direction substantially perpendicular to the moving direction of the moving body 1 as in the prior art, and the curved portion R of the holding member 4 can be made smaller than the conventional one. Therefore, the behavior of the holding member 4 and the flexible long object 2 is stabilized, and it is not necessary to reduce the speed of the moving body 1, which can contribute to the speeding up of the device operation and the improvement of productivity. Furthermore, as described above, the wobbling of the holding member 4 can be reduced and the degree of bending can be reduced, so that the holding member 4 does not come into contact with the inner surface of the guide wall portion 5 to be damaged.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, since the flexible long object 2 is slidably attached to the concave surface portion 4a on the outside of the holding member 4, the movable body 1 is moved in the direction of arrow C (one direction). The flexible long object 2 is pushed outward by the holding member 4, and the flexible long object 2 is pressed against the holding member 4 when moving in the arrow B direction (reverse direction). As a result, the flexible elongated object 2 is always positioned at the center of the concave surface portion 4a of the holding member 4, and the position of the flexible elongated object 2 with respect to the holding member 4 is stabilized. The flexible long object 2 is not loosened. Therefore, the flexible long object 2 can be prevented from being detached from the holding member 4 without bonding them together.

  And in this embodiment, since the flexible elongate object 2 is hold | maintained without the adhesion | attachment in the surface part 4a from which the outer side in the holding member 4 becomes concave, this flexible elongate object 2 and holding | maintenance in the part from which a curvature differs. Even if there is a change in the tension of the member 4, the change can be absorbed. Therefore, the conventional stress can be avoided and the durability of the flexible long object can be improved.

  Next, FIGS. 4 and 5 show a second embodiment of the present invention. The second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that a band-shaped protection member 8 is further provided outside the flexible elongated object 2. Like the holding member 4, the protective member 8 is formed of a metal plate strip having a substantially U-shaped cross section and is provided with a concave shape on the outside.

  Here, in the linear motion device, depending on the control mode for the moving body 1, there is a case where the moving body 1 is suddenly stopped or the direction is suddenly reversed. In this case, there is a concern that the holding member 4 may come into contact with the guide wall 5 due to the worst fluctuation. However, according to the second embodiment, since the band-shaped protective member 8 is provided outside the flexible elongated object 2, even if the holding member 4 may be staggered, the protective member 8 Contact of the flexible long object 2 to the guide wall 5 can be reliably prevented. Thereby, the durability of the flexible long object 2 can be further improved.

  Further, according to the second embodiment, the protection member 8 is formed of a metal plate strip having a substantially U-shaped cross section, like the holding member 4, and is provided in a form in which the outside is concave. Therefore, both the holding member 4 and the protective member 8 come to be centripeted, and the flexible elongated object 2 in the form of being enclosed by the both is longitudinal with respect to the holding member 4 and the protective member 8. While sliding is allowed, the position is hardly displaced in a direction substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction.

  FIG. 6 shows a third embodiment of the present invention. In this third embodiment, two flexible elongated objects 2 are provided in the second embodiment. It is said. In the third embodiment, as described above, the holding member 4 and the protective member 8 are centripeted with each other, so that a plurality of flexible elongated objects 2 are placed between the members 4 and 8. Even when it is provided, the plurality of flexible elongated objects 2 can be held without displacement in a direction substantially orthogonal to the longitudinal direction while allowing mutual sliding in the longitudinal direction.

  7 and 8 show a fourth embodiment of the present invention. In the fourth embodiment, the following points are different from the first embodiment. An extremely lightweight guide member 9 that can move in the same direction as the moving body 1 is provided on the guide wall body 5. The guide member 9 is formed with a curved gap portion 10 through which the holding member 4 is movably passed, and the curved portion R of the holding member 4 is inserted into the gap portion 10. Low friction members 11 and 11 for reducing sliding resistance are mounted on the upper and lower surfaces of the guide member 9. Further, a low friction process (not shown) is also applied to the inner surface of the gap 10.

  In the fourth embodiment, when the moving body 1 moves, the guide member 9 moves together with the bending portion R as the portion of the holding member 4 that becomes the bending portion R moves. Thereby, the one end part of the holding member 4 connected to the moving body 1, the other end part of the holding member 4 fixed to the inner bottom surface 5a of the guide wall body 5, and the guide located in the curved part R described above. The behavior of the holding member 4 can be stabilized at three points of the member 9, and the wobbling can be prevented more reliably than in the prior art.

  According to the fourth embodiment, one end of the holding member 4 connected to the moving body 1, the other end of the holding member 4 fixed to the inner bottom surface 5a of the guide wall body 5, and the above-mentioned The wobbling of the holding member 4 can be reliably prevented at the three points of the guide member 9 located in the curved portion R. As a result, the flexible elongated object 2 and the holding member 4 are greatly increased in length as the moving body 1 is moved.

  In addition, when the moving body 1 moves, the holding member 4 in the curved portion R comes into contact with the inner surface of the gap portion 10 of the guide member 9, but the degree of contact is slight compared to the contact caused by the conventional wobbling, There is no problem in actual use.

  In the first to third embodiments, since the wobbling of the holding member 4 can be reduced without the guide member 9 of the fourth embodiment, the flexible elongated object 2 is separated from the holding member 4. It may be a form that appears slightly. In the case of the fourth embodiment, if the protective member is not used, it is preferable that the flexible long object 2 is completely stored in the concave portion of the holding member 4. In addition, although the fixing location of the other end part of the flexible long object is not specified in claim 1, as shown in the first embodiment, the flexible long object 2 exchanges signals and electric power. Therefore, as can be seen from the first embodiment, it can be said that the fixing portion of the other end portion is naturally in the same portion as the holding member or in the vicinity thereof.

  In the drawings, 1 is a moving body, 2 is a flexible long object, 3 is a flexible long object guide device, 4 is a holding member, 5 is a guide wall body, 9 is a guide member, and 10 is a gap. .

Claims (4)

A holding member made of a metal plate strip having a U-shaped cross-section is connected, one end of this holding member is connected to a moving body that linearly reciprocates, the middle part is bent and the direction is reversed, The other end is fixed to a predetermined immovable part, and a flexible elongated object such as a flexible wiring cable or a flexible pipe whose one end is connected to the movable body is held by the holding member, And it is production equipment which has a flexible long thing guide device which made these flexible long things and a holding member surround a guide wall,
The holding member is connected to the moving body in a form in which a concave surface portion of both surfaces is an outer side in the curved portion,
A production apparatus having a flexible long object guide device, wherein the flexible long object is slidably attached to a surface portion which is the outside of the holding member.   2. The production apparatus having a flexible long object guide device according to claim 1, wherein a band-shaped protective member is provided outside the flexible long object.   The said protection member is comprised from the metal plate strip | belt body which makes a substantially U-shaped cross-section like the said holding member, and was provided in the form from which the outer side becomes concave. Production equipment having a flexible long object guide device.   The guide wall body is provided with a guide member that can move in the same direction as the moving body, and the guide member is formed with a curved gap that allows the holding member to move, The production apparatus having a flexible elongated object guide device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the curved portion of the holding member is inserted into the gap portion.

Images