JP2568012B2 - Chuck device - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a chuck device which is mounted on a work machine, for example, a robot for assembling and / or processing products and which grips a work. More specifically, the present invention relates to a chuck device in which a portion for gripping a work can be replaced.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a chuck device used for transporting or processing a work, there is a chuck device of a type in which a kind of a work to be handled is changed or a chuck portion for gripping the work is changed when a working process is changed. is there. For example, in the case of replacement at a relatively long time interval, such as the case of replacement when changing the type of work to be handled, as shown in FIG. 7, the attachment 33 attached to the robot side and the actuator With a built-in chuck claw 44,
A chuck device 31 is used in which a chuck portion 40 capable of opening and closing 44 is combined with an attachment / detachment assisting tool 45 for assisting the attachment / detachment work of the chuck portion 40 and the attachment 33. The attachment 33 includes a cylindrical shaft portion 34 attached to the arm 32 of the robot, and the shaft portion 34.
An outer cylinder 35 which is slidable around the shaft in the axial direction, and the outer cylinder 3
5 includes a ball 38 protruding into the large circular cavity 34a inside the shaft portion 34 and a coil spring 37 for urging the outer cylinder 35 in the axial direction. Also, the chuck portion 40
Includes a rod-shaped power-introducing portion 41 to be inserted into the shaft portion 34 of the attachment 33, a connecting portion 42 held by the shaft portion 34 of the attachment 33, and a pair of chuck claws 44, 44, and their gripping and releasing operations. And a claw holding portion 43 having a built-in actuator (not shown) for performing the operation.

To attach the chuck portion 40 of this chuck device to the robot arm 32, as shown in FIG. 7A, the flange of the connecting portion 42 is provided at the bottom of the holding hole 45a provided in the attachment / detachment assisting tool 45. While holding the chuck portion 40 by abutting the portion 42a, the shaft portion 34 on the robot arm 32 side is propelled toward the chuck portion 40, and the connecting portion 42 is connected to the large circular cavity 34a and the small circular cavity 34b at the back. The power introduction parts 41 are relatively inserted so as to fit each other. At this time, the outer cylinder 35 slidably fitted along the shaft portion 34 is urged to the left in the figure by the coil spring 37, and the stop ring 36 fixed to the shaft portion 34 is ring-shaped groove 35 a. The side surfaces of the are abutted and stopped. And
A plurality of ball holes 34c circumferentially arranged on the shaft portion 34
The fixing ball 38 accommodated in the above is in a state of being pushed into the great circular cavity 34a by the outer cylinder 35.

Further, if the shaft portion 34 continues to move to the left side in the figure, as shown in FIG. 7B, the insertion of the power introducing portion 41 and the connecting portion 42 into the shaft portion 34 proceeds. And the outer cylinder 3
When 5 comes into contact with the surface of the support member 45 and stops its movement, the shaft portion 34 further moves to the left while compressing the coil spring 37. Therefore, the ball 38 becomes movable to the outside of the large circular cavity 34a in the large diameter recess 35b on the tip side of the outer cylinder 35. Therefore, the tip of the connecting portion 42 is inserted deeper and closer to the bottom of the great circular cavity 34a while pushing the ball 38 out of the great circular cavity 34a. The ball 38 pushed out by the connecting portion 42 fits into a V-shaped annular fixing groove 42b provided on the surface of the connecting portion 42. On the other hand, the power introducing portion 41 is also completely housed in the small circular cavity 34b, and the fluid introducing hole 41a formed in the outer peripheral surface of the power introducing portion 41 is introduced into the fluid passage 34e opened in the inner peripheral surface of the small circular cavity 34b. Part 41
Fluid introduction hole 41b opened at the tip of the
And communicate with each. At the same time, an electrical signal contact (not shown) to the actuator provided at the tip of the power introducing portion 41 is also connected. As a result, a working fluid such as high-pressure air can be selectively introduced from the fluid introduction hole 41a or the fluid introduction hole 41b, and the actuator of the claw holding portion 43 can be operated to open and close the chuck claws 44, 44 arbitrarily.

Then, as shown in FIG. 7C, when the attachment / detachment assisting tool 45 is removed, the shaft portion 34 is kept until the outer cylinder 35 is stopped by the stop ring 36 by the repulsive force of the compressed coil spring 37. Ball 3 to move along
8 is locked by the inner peripheral surface of the outer cylinder 35 while being fitted in the annular fixing groove 42b, and the chuck portion 40 is attached to the shaft portion 3
4, that is, fixed to the robot arm 32. Incidentally, reference numeral 3 in the drawing
Reference numerals 9 and 39 are seals that prevent leakage of the working fluid.

Further, when the chuck jaws are frequently replaced during the work machining, a turret type chuck device as shown in FIG. 8 is often employed. In this system, a plurality of chuck claws 54 are attached to a turret 53 mounted on a robot arm 52, and the chuck claws 54 used are replaced by rotating the turret 53.

[0007]

However, since the chuck device as shown in FIG. 7 has a built-in chuck claw actuator on the side of the chuck portion 40 which is separated from the robot arm 32, it is used for driving the actuator when the chuck is replaced. Connection of working fluid and electrical signals is also required. Therefore, in addition to requiring high precision in these connection parts,
There is a portion that requires great care in manufacturing and handling, such as requiring a high sealing property between the power introduction portion and the shaft portion. The durability of these parts due to the repeated replacement operation severely affects the reliability of the device. Further, since the power-introducing portion of the chuck removed by replacement is exposed to external dust and cutting chips, a means for protecting these is also necessary.

Further, in the case of the turret type chuck device of FIG. 8, since the chuck device as a whole becomes large in size, when the work to be gripped becomes large, the device is inevitably separated and the structure itself. It is complicated and has problems in terms of cost and security.

The present invention enables chuck exchanging work and chuck claw grasping / release operations with one actuator, and does not require connection / disconnection of the working fluid for driving the actuator and electric signals when exchanging the chuck. The purpose is to provide a device.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above object, a chuck device of the present invention comprises a chuck part for gripping a work and an actuator, and the actuator opens and closes in the same direction as the opening and closing direction of the chuck claw part. Chuck body, biasing means for biasing the chuck claws of the chuck portion in a direction of separating or gripping the work, and movement of the chuck body in a direction relatively opposite to the biasing direction of the biasing means. Is connected to the chuck main body and the chuck portion, and when the movement is relatively in the same direction as the urging direction, the connection is released.

The present invention also includes the above-mentioned chuck device,
It is characterized in that it is combined with an attachment / detachment assisting tool for restricting movement of the chuck portion of the chuck device in the urging direction.

[0012]

Therefore, when the actuator is driven to open and close the chuck body, when the operation coincides with the urging direction of the chuck claw by the urging means of the chuck portion, the urging force of the urging means causes the chuck claw to move. , The chuck jaws are moved by the chuck body to move the chuck claws in the direction opposite to the biasing direction. When the chuck body is opened with the chuck part closed, or when the chuck body is closed with the chuck part open, the connection between the chuck body and the chuck part is released, and the chuck part is cut off from the chuck body. Be separated. Furthermore, if you insert the open chuck body into the closed chuck part and close the chuck body, or insert the closed chuck body into the open chuck part and open the chuck body, The chuck is connected to the chuck body, and an arbitrary chuck is mounted on the chuck body to complete the replacement of the chuck.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The structure of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings.

1 and 2 are partial sectional front views showing an embodiment of the chucking device of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a side view with a part thereof omitted.

The chuck device 1 has a chuck main body 5 having a built-in actuator and attached to an operating machine such as a robot arm 2, and a biasing means 18.
8, a chuck claw portion 10 which is opened or closed, connecting means 9a and 9b for removably connecting the chuck claw portion 10 to the chuck body 5, and a chuck claw portion 1.
It mainly comprises an attachment / detachment assisting tool 19 used for attaching / detaching 0 to / from the chuck body 5.

The chuck body 5 is formed of, for example, a chuck actuator 3 and two holding members 6a and 6b connected to the chuck actuator 3 through a plurality of drive rods 4, and the actuator 3 forms the holding members 6a and 6b. It is provided so as to open and close in the same direction as the opening and closing direction of the chuck claw portion 10. Connection pins 7a and 7b protruding inward are fixed to the lower portions of the holding members 6a and 6b by press fitting. In the case of the present embodiment, the holding members 6a and 6b are composed of two members for convenience of production. It is not particularly limited to this, and it may be integrally formed. As the actuator 3, for example, a fluid pressure cylinder such as an air cylinder or a hydraulic cylinder, or an actuator that converts rotation of a hydraulic motor, an electric motor, or the like into an in-and-out movement of a screw rod can be implemented.

The chuck portion 10 includes a pair of chuck claws 11a and 11b for gripping the work W, a rod 15 for connecting the chuck claws 11a and 11b to each other so that they can approach or separate from each other, and the chuck claw 1.
It is composed of a biasing means 18 for constantly biasing the workpieces 1a and 11b in the direction of separating the work W.

In the case of the present embodiment, the chuck claws 11a and 11b are divided into two members in consideration of manufacturing convenience, for example, claw portions 14a and 14a having a shape or material suitable for gripping the work W, for example.
14b and the arm bodies 12a and 12b are separately formed and integrated by bolting or the like. Of course, the chuck claws 11a and 11b include the claw portions 14a and 14b and the arm body 12.
It is not always necessary to separately form a and 12b, and they may be integrally formed. Holes 8a, 8 into which the connecting pins 7a, 7b on the chuck body 5 side are fitted are provided in the arm bodies 12a, 12b.
b is opened in parallel with the rod 15. By the holes 8a, 8b of the arm bodies 12a, 12b and the connecting pins 7a, 7b of the holding members 6a, 6b on the chuck body 5 side,
When the chuck body 5 is moved in a direction relatively opposite to the urging direction of the urging means 18, the chuck body 5 and the chuck portion 10 are connected to each other so that movement in the same direction as the urging direction is performed. Connecting means 9a, 9 for releasing the connection when given
b. Bushings 13a and 13b are fitted into the holes 8a and 8b for facilitating the comings and goings of the pins 7a and 7b. Collars 16a and 16b are provided on both ends of the rod 15.
Is provided, and the maximum open position of the chuck claws 11a and 11b is restricted. Ball bushes 17a and 17b are press-fitted into the arm bodies 12a and 12b, and the rod 15 penetrates the arm bodies 12a and 12b.
Is slidably supported. Between the chuck claws 11a and 11b, there are coil springs 18 and 18 as biasing means coaxially with the rods 15 and 15, respectively.
Is interposed, and always urges the chuck claws 11a and 11b outward. In addition, the collars 16a and 16 on both ends of the rod 15
At least one of b, for example, the brim 16a,
And a chuck claw 11a on the rod 15,
The arm bodies 12a and 12b of 11b and the spring 18 are inserted and fixed. This brim 16a
Is, for example, a thread and is screwed onto the rod 15.

The attachment / detachment assisting tool 19 includes chuck claws 11a, 1a.
A pair of side walls 21a and 21b supporting 1b in an open position
Is provided upright and a fluid pressure cylinder 22 such as an actuator, for example, an air cylinder, is provided outside the upper portion of one side wall 21a. The chuck body 5 includes the chuck claws 11a and 11b on the side wall 2
It is supported by support plates 21 _a1 and 21 _{b1 which} project inward from the upper end of 1a. The actuator 22 is not particularly limited to the air cylinder described above, but may be another fluid pressure cylinder such as a hydraulic cylinder, or one that converts a threaded rod into an in-and-out movement like a motor actuator.

According to the chuck device 1 configured as described above, the working machine, for example, the robot arm 2 is operated as follows.
The chuck portion 10 is attached to the chuck body 5 on the side or is removed and replaced. First, the chuck portion 10 is supported with the side walls 21a and 21b of the chuck base 20 in the posture in which the chuck claws 14a and 14b are opened. Next, as shown in FIG. 2 (see also FIG. 4A), the air cylinder 22 pushes the chuck claw 11a together with the rod 15 to compress the coil spring 18 and reduce the gap between the chuck claw 11b. The chuck claw 11a is guided by the rod 15 and moves to the left in the figure. At this time, the right chuck claw 1
By moving 1a to the left, arm body 12a (hole 8a)
And the connecting pin 7a on the chuck body 5 side are disconnected. Therefore, the holding members 6a, 6b of the chuck body 5 attached to the robot 2 are opened by the drive of the actuator 3, and are lowered in that state to fix the fixing pins 7a,
It is stopped when the center lines of 7b and holes 8a, 8b coincide. At this time, the center of the robot arm 2 coincides with the centers of the chuck claws 11a and 11b that are closed to some extent by the action of the fluid pressure cylinder 22, that is, the position moved to the left of the open state in FIG. The position shown). After that, as shown in FIG. 4B, the robot arm 2 is moved to the position shown by the solid line on the right side so that the hole 8b of the left arm body 12b and the fixing pin 7b of the chuck body 5 are fitted to each other. Next, the movement of the robot arm 2 is stopped, and in that state, the air cylinder 22 is retracted. The chuck claw 11a returns to its original position as the air cylinder 22 retreats due to the repulsive force of the coil spring 18, and the fixing pin 7a on the chuck body 5 side has the hole 8a.
Then, the connection between the chuck claw 11a and the holding member 6a of the chuck body 5 is completed. As a result, the chuck claws 11a and 11b of the chuck portion 10 are connected to the holding members 6a and 6b of the chuck body 5 to form the chuck device 1. Then, by driving the chuck actuator 3,
When the holding members 6a and 6b of the chuck body 5 are closed, the coil spring 18 is compressed to close the chuck claws 11a and 11b of the chuck portion 10, and the holding members 6a and 6b are closed.
When 6b is opened, the elastic force of the coil spring 18 pushes and opens the chuck claws 11a and 11b.

Further, the chuck portion 10 is attached to the robot arm 2
The detachment from the chuck body 5 on the side is performed by the reverse operation of the mounting operation described above. That is, the chuck claw 1
The robot arm 2 is moved onto the attachment / detachment assisting tool 19 while the 1a and 11b are fully expanded, and both side walls 21a and
After supporting the arm main bodies 12a and 12b of the chuck portion 10 on 21b, the fluid pressure cylinder 22 is operated to push the right chuck claw 11a together with the rod 15 to the left side to fit the right connecting pin 7a and the hole 8a. 2 and the state shown by the solid line in FIG. Next, the chuck body 5 is attached to the robot arm 2.
And the left connecting pin 7b and the hole 8b are also disengaged. Then, the robot arm 2 is lifted to separate the chuck body 5 from the chuck unit 10. The chuck unit 10 keeps the chuck claws 11a and 11b slightly closed by the fluid pressure cylinder 22,
Alternatively, the air of the fluid pressure cylinder 22 is evacuated and the chuck claws 11a and 11b are expanded, and then the apparatus stands by until the next use.

Next, another embodiment of the attachment / detachment assisting tool 19 is shown in FIG.
(A) of. This attachment / detachment assisting tool includes a pair of air cylinders 22, 22 on both side walls 21a, 21b of the chuck base 20.
Are installed facing each other, and the left and right chuck claws 11a and 11b are installed.
This is done by pressing and closing at the same time. In this case, since the air cylinders 22 and 22 can be simultaneously operated to bring the chuck claws 11a and 11b into a closed posture, the robot arm 2 is moved in parallel with the rod 15 to move the connecting pin 7b as shown in FIG. It is possible to simply and quickly attach and detach the connecting means 9a, 9b without pulling out from the hole 8b.

Next, still another embodiment of the attachment / detachment assisting tool is shown in FIG.
(B) of FIG. The attachment / detachment assisting tool 19 is a mounting table 25 having side walls 26a and 26b facing each other with an interval slightly wider than the outer width when the chuck claws 11a and 11b are fully closed in the state where the work W is not gripped. In the case of the attachment / detachment assisting tool 19, both side walls 26a are formed in a state where the chuck portion 10 mounted on the chuck body 5 on the robot 2 side is brought into a closed posture by driving the chuck actuator 3.
After inserting the chuck claws 11a and 11b between 26b, the actuator 3 is driven and the holding members 6a and 6b of the chuck body 5 are fully opened.
Since the movements of the a and 11b in the opening direction are restricted by the side walls 26a and 26b, only the holding members 6a and 6b of the chuck body 5 are opened, and the connecting pins 7a and 7b are opened by the holes 8a and 8b of the chuck claws 11a and 11b. Get out of. Therefore,
The chuck portion 10 is separated by raising the robot arm 2 as it is.

Further, in the case of mounting, since the chuck portion 10 is held by the attachment / detachment assisting tool 19 in the closed posture, the robot arm 2 is lowered with the holding members 6a and 6b of the chuck body 5 open. After being positioned on both sides of the chuck claws 11a and 11b, the holding members 6a of the chuck body 5 are
By simply closing 6b by the action of the actuator 3, it can be attached to the chuck body 5 on the robot arm 2 side and taken out.

The above embodiment is one example of the preferred embodiment of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, the connecting means 9a and 9b in this embodiment are
Although the fixing pins 7a and 7b are fitted to the holes 8a and 8b, the dovetail groove structure as shown in FIG. 6A or the T groove as shown in FIG. It is also possible to adopt a structure or the like.

Further, in this embodiment, the compression coil spring 18 has an outer grip structure for pushing the chuck claws 11a, 11b from the inside, but the structure is not particularly limited to this, and depending on the case, other biasing means such as a pulling means. An outer gripping structure may be adopted in which the chuck claws 11a and 11b are pulled open by a spring, or an inner gripping structure in which the chuck claws 11a and 11b are closed by being urged from the outside by a compression coil spring. In the case of a chuck device having an internal gripping structure, the chuck claw 11 is urged by the urging means 18.
It is provided so that a and 11b are closed and the chuck claws 11a and 11b are opened by the actuator 3.

[0027]

As is apparent from the above description, the chuck device of the present invention has a chuck main body which has a built-in actuator and can be opened and closed by the actuator, and a chuck claw that can be opened and closed in the same direction as the chuck main body and is urged by an urging means. Is separated into a chuck part that is always urged in the opening or closing direction, and these are connected by a connecting means that is detachable in the opening and closing movement direction of the chuck part. Since the two operations of detachment and gripping / release of the work by the chuck part are performed, the chuck part side does not need to receive a working fluid for driving or an electric signal, and does not need these delicate connection points. Therefore, durability, maintainability, and reliability are significantly improved.

In addition to this, when the attachment / detachment assisting tool for restraining the opening / closing of the chuck portion is also used, the attaching / detaching operation can be performed quickly and easily only by the opening / closing operation of the chuck body side.
It can fully handle the work of frequently exchanging large workpieces in a short time.

[0029]

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The chuck device according to the present invention is intended for a workpiece that requires frequent replacement of the chuck device, for example, once every 30 seconds, and has a relatively large work. It is suitable for use as.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially sectional front view showing an embodiment of a chuck device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional front view showing a state in which the chuck device of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a side view of FIG. 1 with the attachment / detachment assisting tool removed.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram for explaining a chuck exchange operation using a detachment assisting tool, in which (A) is a chuck detached state,
(B) shows the chuck mounting state, respectively.

FIG. 5 is another embodiment (A) and (B) of the attachment / detachment assisting tool,
It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the situation of attachment / detachment operation when using it.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing another embodiment of the connecting means, (A)
Shows a dovetail groove type, and (B) shows a T groove type.

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view of an essential part showing an example of a conventional chuck device, and FIGS. 7 (A), 7 (B) and 7 (C) illustrate a mounting process of the chuck device.

FIG. 8 is a schematic view showing a conventional turret type chuck claw holding structure.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 chuck device 2 gripping mechanism main body (robot) 3 driving means (chuck actuator) 5 chuck main bodies 6a, 6b holding members 7a, 7b fixing pins 8a, 8b holes 9a, 9b connecting means 10 chucking portions 11a, 11b Chuck claw 18 Energizing means (coil spring) 19 Attachment / detachment aid 22 Actuator of attachment / detachment jig 26a, 26b Side wall

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A chuck body that holds a work, and a chuck body that is provided with an actuator and that opens and closes in the same direction as the opening and closing direction of the chuck claw by the actuator, and the chuck part that separates or holds the work. Urging means for urging the chuck claw, and the chuck body is connected to the chuck portion when the chuck body is moved in a direction relatively opposite to the urging direction of the urging means. A chuck device comprising a connecting means for releasing the connection when a movement in the same direction as the urging direction is given. 2. A chuck device comprising: the chuck device according to claim 1; and an attachment / detachment assisting tool for restricting movement of a chuck portion of the chuck device in an urging direction.