JP2018047539A - Chuck unit - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a chuck unit capable of shortening cycle time.SOLUTION: The chuck unit comprises: a box bit B that can be fitted into a nut N; a main body 5 through which the box bit B can be inserted; a pair of claws 10 which are swingably provided at a tip of the main body 5, and are normally in a closed condition; a nut inflow block 40 including a guideway 41 for guiding the nut N, which is supplied from the outside, into the closed claws 10; and pushing-in means 50 for pushing the nut N staying in the guideway 41, into the claws 10. The chuck unit further comprises claw swinging means 30 that is engaged with the claws 10, and that reciprocally swings the pair of claws 10 in opening and closing directions. The claw swinging means 30 includes a claw opening-closing plate 33 that reciprocates along a direction where the box bit B extends. When swinging the claws 10 in the opening direction, the claw opening-closing plate 33 causes a tip thereof to enter the guideway 41, so as to block the guideway 41. When swinging the claws 10 in the closing direction, the claw opening-closing plate causes the tip thereof to return to the outside of the guideway 41, so as to open the guideway 41.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to a chuck unit capable of holding a nut supplied from the outside on a moving path of a box bit and transferring it to the box bit.

  As shown in Patent Document 1, the conventional chuck unit is fixed to the chuck body, a chuck body that can pass through a rotatable box bit, a pair of pawls swingably disposed at the tip of the chuck body, and the chuck body. And a guide block that forms a guide path through which a nut supplied from the outside can pass, and a push-in cylinder that is attached to the guide block and pushes the nut that has passed through the guide path into the claw. The claw is biased in a direction to be always closed by a spring, and is configured to swing in a direction to open when the box bit is lowered.

  On the other hand, the conventional chuck unit shown in Patent Document 2 includes a claw opening / closing air cylinder that enables the claw opening / closing operation. The claw opening / closing air cylinder is connected to an operating member that engages with the claw, and the operating member is formed with a groove that guides each claw to open or close. Thus, the claw is not opened by the lowering of the box bit as described above, but is opened by the operation of the claw opening / closing cylinder or closed by double action.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-263951 Patent No. 3718349

  However, the conventional chuck unit has a lifting time from the start of lowering of the box bit to the completion of lifting after tightening the nut, a feeding time of the next nut supplied from the outside into the closed claw, and an operating time of the pushing cylinder. For example, when the distance from the claw to the external device that supplies the nut through the guide block is long, the lifting time of the box bit and the operating time of the cylinder can be shortened to some extent. The aforementioned nut supply time becomes longer. Therefore, the conventional chuck unit has a problem that the cycle time from the start of operation of the box bit to immediately before the start of the next operation is long and the productivity is low.

  Further, in the conventional chuck unit, the supply timing of the next nut is advanced by a malfunction of the external device. For example, there is a possibility that the nut is being lowered or the nut is being screwed. There is also a problem that the next nut supplied by such a malfunction passes through the guide path.

  The present invention includes a box bit that can be fitted to a nut, a main body through which the box bit can be inserted, a pair of claws that are swingably disposed at the tip of the main body and are normally closed, and are supplied from the outside. In a chuck unit comprising a nut inflow block having a guide path for guiding a nut into a closed claw and a pushing means for pushing the nut remaining in the guide path into the claw, the chuck unit is engaged with the claw. The claw swinging means that swings back and forth in the opening direction and the closing direction of the pair of claws, the claw swinging means includes a claw opening and closing plate that reciprocates along the extending direction of the box bit, When the claw opening / closing plate swings in the direction of opening the claw, the tip of the claw opens into the guide path and closes the guide path. Recovery It is not characterized by being configured so as to open the guide path. A pair of nut presser claws urged in a direction to be always closed are arranged on the inner side of the claws so as to be swingable along the swinging direction of the claws. It is desirable that the inclination of the nut in the claw is regulated so that the nut does not rotate in the claw. The box bit includes a guide pin that can be inserted into the female screw of the nut in the claw, and the guide pin has a tip projecting from the tip of the box bit. It is desirable to set the length so that it can be inserted into the female screw before fitting.

  The chuck unit of the present invention includes a claw swinging means having a claw opening / closing plate that engages with the pair of claws and can open and close the guide path in conjunction with opening and closing of the claw. When the nail in the claw is fitted, the claw is opened and the guide path is closed by the movement of the claw opening / closing plate. Therefore, even when the claw is in an open state such as when the box bit is lowered or the nut is screwed in, the next nut can be supplied and can be retained in the guide path. As a result, the chuck unit of the present invention can overlap the conventional box bit raising / lowering time with the nut supply time, and therefore has the advantage that the cycle time can be greatly reduced compared to the conventional case.

  Further, the chuck unit of the present invention is not a method for supplying the next nut into the guide path in advance as described above, but a method for supplying the next nut upon completion of the lifting operation of the box bit. Even if the timing of supplying the nut due to the malfunction of the external device as in the prior art is accelerated, the claw opening / closing plate blocks the guide path when the claw is opened, so that the next nut due to the malfunction is removed from the guide path. The problem of exhausting can also be solved.

  Furthermore, the chuck unit of the present invention includes the nut presser claw that is swingably arranged inside the claw, and further prevents the nut in the claw from being greatly tilted by the nut presser claw and in the tilt direction. Further rotation can be prevented. As a result, in the claw, the direction of the held nut cannot be changed and rotated so that the nut cannot be screwed in, so that the fitting between the box bit and the nut and the screwing of the nut into the workpiece can be stably performed. There is also an advantage that it can be secured.

  Further, since the chuck unit of the present invention includes a guide pin protruding from the tip side of the box bit, the guide pin is inserted into the female screw of the nut before the nut is fitted to the box bit. That is, the guide pin positions the nut in the claw without largely tilting the box pin, and the axis of the box bit and the axis of the nut substantially coincide with each other. Therefore, the chuck unit of the present invention has an advantage that the time required for the fitting can be shortened because the box bit and the nut can be fitted early.

It is a schematic explanatory drawing of the chuck unit which shows one embodiment concerning the present invention. Moreover, (a) is a sectional view seen from the front, (b) is a partially cutaway sectional view seen from the side, and (c) is a rear view. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing which shows the state which lowered | hung the box bit from FIG. 1, opened the nut pressing nail | claw, and fitted the said box bit to the nut hold | maintained with the nail | claw. Moreover, (a) is a sectional view seen from the front, (b) is a partially cutaway sectional view seen from the side, and (c) is a rear view. FIG. 3 is an operation explanatory view showing an operation of forcibly opening a pair of claws by operating a claw swinging means after adsorbing the nut to the box bit in the fitted state of FIG. 2. Moreover, (a) is a sectional view seen from the front, (b) is a partially cutaway sectional view seen from the side, and (c) is a rear view.

  Hereinafter, a chuck unit according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The chuck unit 1 of the present invention is configured to temporarily hold a nut N fastened to a workpiece (not shown), and a box bit B having a fitting portion B1 fitted to the nut N formed at the tip thereof, A main body 5 that encloses the box bit B and guides it freely, a pair of claws 10 that are swingably disposed at the tip of the main body 5, and a body 5 that is disposed so as to be covered with the claws 10 A pair of nut holding claws 20 that are movably attached, a claw rocking means 30 that can forcibly rock the claws 11 and 12 in the opening direction or the closing direction, and a nut N that is supplied from the outside. A nut inflow block 40 formed with a guide path 41 for guiding into the claw, a push-in cylinder 51 attached to an end surface of the nut inflow block 40, and the push-in cylinder 51 Consisting of pushing means 50 for consisting nut pushing plate 52 fixed to the rod 51a.

  The box bit B is connected to a motor (not shown) and includes the fitting portion B1 at the tip thereof. The box bit B is rotatably supported by lifting means (not shown) that can move relative to the main body 5, and is configured to be movable in the main body 5 in accordance with the operation of the lifting means. Yes. The fitting portion B1 is shaped so as to be able to fit into the outer shape of the nut N, and in the present embodiment, the outer shape is shaped into a polygonal hole that fits into the hexagonal nut N.

  The box bit B includes a guide pin G that is arranged on the same line as the axis thereof and is urged in a direction that always protrudes from the fitting portion B1. The guide pin G is dimensioned to an outer diameter that can be inserted into the female screw of the nut N, and is dimensioned to a length that is inserted into the female screw before the fitting portion B1 starts to be fitted into the nut N. Is set. Therefore, the tip of the guide pin G descending toward the nut N is inserted through the female screw of the nut N until the tip of the fitting portion B1 comes into contact with the upper surface of the nut N. Thereby, the box bit B can be corrected so that the axis of the nut N matches the axis of the box bit B before fitting.

  Further, the box bit B is connected to an air suction means (not shown), and is configured to be able to suck air from the fitting portion B1. Thereby, the box bit B can be sucked and held in a state where the nut N is fitted to the fitting portion B1.

  The chuck body 5 is configured to allow the box bit B to be inserted therethrough, and the claw 10 and the nut presser claw 20 disposed so as to be covered by the claw 10 on both side surfaces thereof can be swung with screws S, respectively. It is attached to.

  The claw 10 is a pair of claws 11 and 12 having a symmetric shape, and the claw 11 and 12 are configured to be swingable around the axis SF of the screw S corresponding thereto. Further, when the claws 11 and 12 are closed as shown in FIG. 1A, a space 10a for holding the nut N slightly dropped is formed at the tip. That is, the claw 10 in the closed state is configured to be able to support the bottom surface of the nut N therein.

  The claws 11 and 12 are each formed by attaching a shaft 14 arranged so as to protrude from the main body 5, and a rotatable roller 13 is attached to the shaft 14.

  The nut presser claw 20 has a symmetric shape similar to the claw 10, and is inserted into the screw S that allows the claw 11 and 12 to swing freely, and the nut presser claw 21 with the axis SF as a fulcrum. , 22 are swingably disposed on the main body 5. The nut pressing claws 21 and 22 are always biased in the closing direction by springs 21a and 22a, which are examples of elastic members, respectively, and are pushed and opened by the movement of the box bit B from the closed state. Swing. Further, the nut pressing claws 21 and 22 are located at the top of the space 10a of the claw 11 and 12 in the closed state described above, and the nut N supported by the claw 10 in the closed state is greatly increased. It is regulated so as not to tilt. That is, the nut pressing claws 21 and 22 are set so as to prevent the rotation of the nut N in the claw 10 so as to be reversed upside down.

  The nut inflow block 40 includes a guide path 41 for guiding a nut N supplied from a nut feeder (not shown) into the claw 10, a plate introduction path 42 formed to communicate with the guide path 41, and the guide. It includes an entry path 43 through which a postscript claw opening / closing plate 33 that can communicate with the path 41 and reciprocate can be entered. The nut inflow block 40 is screwed to the main body 5 so that the guide path 41 always communicates with the space 10a of the claw 10 in the closed state, and one end of the guide path 41 passes through the nut N. It is connected to the nut feeder via a possible hose H.

  As a result, the nut N can flow into the guide path 41 from the nut feeder via the hose H and fit into the space 10 a of the claw 10. However, the air feeding force of the nut feeder is weak and the nut N stays in the guide path 41 and does not fit into the space 10a. Conversely, the air feeding force is strong and the nut N once enters the claw 10. The claws 11 and 12 may collide with the inner wall surfaces of the claws 11 and 12 and bounce back into the guide path 41. Thus, even if the nut N pumped by the nut feeder is not fitted into the space 10a only by pumping, the pushing means 50 pushes the nut N into the space 10a.

  The pushing means 50 includes a nut pushing plate 52 guided by a plate introduction path 42 of the nut inflow block 40, and a pushing cylinder 51 for pushing the nut pushing plate 52 toward the space 10a. Therefore, the push-in means 50 guides the nut N by operating the push-in cylinder 51 even when the nut N stays in the guide path 41 and does not fit into the space 10a as described above. It can be reliably moved from the path 41 to the space 10a.

  The claw swinging means 30 includes an air cylinder 32 disposed via a plate 31 fixed to the main body 5, and a substantially L-shaped claw opening / closing plate 33 connected to a rod 32 a of the air cylinder 32. It consists of The claw opening / closing plate 33 includes elongated holes 33a and 33b that engage with the rollers 13 and 13 disposed on the claws 11 and 12, and the elongated holes 33a and 33b are inclined at a predetermined angle. It has a symmetrical shape. The claw opening / closing plate 33 is arranged so that the surface on which the elongated holes 33 a and 33 b are formed is along the end surface of the main body 5, and is configured to reciprocate with the operation of the air cylinder 32. Therefore, the claw opening / closing plate 33 is moved toward the tip end side of the claw 10 in response to the operation of the air cylinder 32, so that the rollers 13 and 13 are guided by the elongated holes 33a and 33b. Is guided from the position shown in FIG. 2 to the position shown in FIG. As a result, the claws 11 and 12 turn around the axes SF and SF and change from a closed state to an open state.

  The claw opening / closing plate 33 is arranged so that the tip thereof is always positioned in the entry passage 43 of the nut inflow block 40, and the tip of the claw opening / closing plate 33 is moved by the operation of the air cylinder 32. 41 invades. That is, the claw opening / closing plate 33 is configured to open and close the claw 10 and close the guide path 41 by the operation / double action of the air cylinder 32. Accordingly, when the claw 10 is in a closed state, the guide path 41 is in an open state in communication with the space 10a, while when the claw 10 is in an open state, the guide path 41 is It will be in the closed state without communicating with the space 10a.

  The operation of the chuck unit 1 of the present invention configured as described above will be described. First, when the nut feeder operates, the nut N is supplied to the guide path 41 via the hose H. However, the nut N is inserted into the space 10a of the claw 10 (11, 12) in the closed state as shown in FIGS. 1 (a) to 1 (c), or as described above, In some cases, the guide 10 may remain in the space 10a without being fitted. Therefore, since it is necessary to securely fit the nut N into the space 10a, the push-in cylinder 51 is operated after a predetermined time has elapsed since the operation of the nut feeder. Thereby, in any case described above, the nut N is pushed by the nut pushing plate 52 moving toward the space 10a, so that the nut N is securely fitted into the space 10a.

  As described above, when the nut N is reliably supplied to the space 10a, the elevating means, the motor, and the air suction means operate. Therefore, the box bit B rotates while being lowered from the position shown in FIGS. 1A to 1C to the position shown in FIGS. 2A to 2C and sucks air.

  Further, the box bit B that rotates and descends and sucks air in this way is in contact with the closed nut pressing claw 20 (21, 22) and spreads. As a result, the claws 21 and 22 are swung around the axes SF and SF, respectively, and are pushed in a direction in which the springs 21a and 22a are compressed.

  After this, the box bit B moves down, so that the female screw of the nut N held by the claw 10 (11, 12) with the tip end of the guide pin G protruding from the fitting portion B1 closed. It is inserted. Therefore, the box bit B can make the axis of the nut N coincide with the axis of the box bit B before being fitted to the nut N. Thereby, if the phase of fitting part B1 and nut N corresponds, fitting part B1 can be immediately fitted with the nut N concerned.

  When the nut N is fitted to the box bit B, the lifting means is controlled so as to lower the position of the box bit B to the position shown in FIGS. 2A to 2C, and the fitting portion B1 When the nut N is fitted to the nut N, the air suction pressure of the air suction means changes to a negative pressure at once. Therefore, it can be detected based on the change in the air suction pressure that the nut N is securely fitted to the box bit B.

  When the box bit B adsorbs the nut N fitted in the space 10a in this way, the air cylinder 32 operates as shown in FIGS. 3 (a) to 3 (c). As a result, the claw opening / closing plate 33 moves downward, so that the rollers 13 and 13 engaged with the claw opening and closing plates 33a and 33b gradually approach each other according to the shape of the long holes 33a and 33b. As a result, the claws 11 and 12 turn around the axes SF and SF to open the claws 10. At this time, the tip of the claw opening / closing plate 33 passes through the entry path 43 and gradually enters the guide path 41. In other words, the claw opening / closing plate 33 plays a role of moving the claw 11 and 12 in the opening direction, and also plays a role of a wall that blocks the nut N from passing from the guide path 41 to the claw 10 side.

  As described above, when the operation of the air cylinder 32 is completed, the lifting / lowering means restarts, and the box bit B adsorbing the rotation and the nut N is further lowered to fasten the nut N to a workpiece (not shown).

  Further, as described above, when the claw 10 is in the open state, the guide path 41 is always closed by the claw opening / closing plate 33. Therefore, even if the next nut N is sent from the nut feeder, the guide path 41 is closed. Can be kept inside. Therefore, since the next nut N can be supplied to the front of the claw 10 while the nut N is fastened to the workpiece, the cycle time can be greatly reduced as compared with the conventional case.

  When the fastening of the nut N to the workpiece is completed, the motor and the air suction means are stopped and the elevating means is operated. As a result, the box bit B is released from the nut N fastened to the work and returns to the original position. When the box bit B returns, if the tip position of the box bit B reaches the inside of the main body 5, the air cylinder 32 is moved backward to close the open claws 11, 12 and to the guide path 41. The nail opening / closing plate 33 that has entered is restored.

  When the backward movement of the air cylinder 32 is completed, the push-in cylinder 51 pushes the next nut N remaining in the guide path 41 as described above into the space 10a to complete a series of operations.

1 Chuck unit 10 Claw 10a Space 20 Nut presser claw 30 Claw swinging means 33 Claw opening / closing plate 40 Nut inflow block 41 Guide path 50 Pushing means B Box bit G Guide pin N Nut

Claims (3)

A box bit that can be fitted into a nut, a main body through which the box bit can be inserted, a pair of claws that are swingably arranged at the tip of the main body, and that are normally closed, and a nut that is supplied from the outside is closed A chuck unit comprising: a nut inflow block having a guide path for guiding into the claw; and a pushing means for pushing the nut remaining in the guide path into the claw.
Claw swinging means that engages with the claws and swings back and forth in a direction to open and close the pair of claws,
The claw swinging means comprises a claw opening / closing plate that reciprocates along the extending direction of the box bit,
When the claw opening / closing plate swings in the direction of opening the claw, the tip of the claw opening plate enters the guide path and closes the guide path, while when the claw opening / closing plate swings in the direction of closing the claw opening / closing plate, A chuck unit configured to return to the outside and open the guide path. Inside the claw, a pair of nut pressing claws urged in a direction to be always closed are arranged so as to be swingable along the swinging direction of the claw,
2. The chuck unit according to claim 1, wherein the nut pressing claw is configured such that a tip of the nut pressing claw restricts the inclination of the nut in the claw so that the nut does not rotate within the claw. The box bit includes a guide pin that can be inserted into the female screw of the nut in the claw,
The guide pin has a tip projecting from the tip of the box bit, and is set to a length that can be inserted into the female screw before the box bit and the nut are fitted together. The chuck unit according to claim 2.

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