JP3002371U - Fluid fitting - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Purpose] To provide a fluid coupling that can be connected without leakage of fluid even if the shaft core is slightly displaced without depending on the fitting and coupling structure of the plug and the socket. [Structure] The fixed plug has a sliding surface on which a sealing member formed on a sliding valve slides in a watertight manner, which projects from an inner peripheral surface.
The slide valve has a stopper for seating on which a stopper is seated to prevent the slide valve from slipping off. To the sliding valve body, and a mounting portion that is integrated with the sliding valve body and has a flat joint surface on the end face that is connected to the flow path on the other side By pressing toward the plug side, the seal member of the mounting portion is separated from the sliding surface of the fixed plug so that the fluid flow path is opened.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention relates to a fluid coupling, which is mounted on, for example, an automatic tool changer of an industrial robot and connects a flow path of fluid such as hydraulic oil or cooling water between the robot side and the tool side.

[0002]

[Prior art]

 When connecting a tool plate, etc. to an automatic tool converter attached to the end of the robot arm, joints are provided on the arm side and the tool plate side when connecting the tool with a fluid, and hydraulic fluid flow paths are provided. Connect.

As such a fluid joint, various structures have been conventionally developed, and an example thereof is shown in FIG.

As shown in the figure, the fluid coupling is composed of a combination of a plug 51 and a socket 52 into which the plug 51 is fitted, one of which is provided on the arm side of the robot and the other of which is provided on the tool plate side.

The plug 51 is provided with a valve seat 53 coaxially and movably in an axial direction in a hollow cylindrical main body 51a. The valve body 53 has a seat ring 53a formed on one end side, a rod 53b provided axially, and a packing 53c provided around the seat ring 53a. The main body 51a is provided with a valve seat 51b having a tapered surface that receives the periphery of the seat ring 53a, and a guide ring 54 is provided on the upper end side. The guide ring 54 has a guide hole 54a through which the rod 53b penetrates and a plurality of flow path holes 54b provided around the guide hole 54a. A spring 55 is provided between the seat ring 53a and the guide ring 54 so that the seat ring 53a of the valve body 53 is seated on the valve seat 51b when the plug 51 is pulled out from the socket 52.

On the other hand, the socket 52 is a cylindrical body in which the inner diameter of the main body 52 a is larger than that of the plug 51, and a plurality of flow path holes 52 b are opened at the lower end and a stopper 56 is coaxially fixed. The stopper 56 has an upper surface serving as a pressure receiving surface 56a for receiving the valve body 53 of the plug 51, and an outer peripheral surface around the upper end portion serving as a tapered valve seat 56b. An annular valve body 57 is movably installed in the socket 52 in the axial direction, and the valve body 57 is biased toward the valve seat 50b by a spring 58. The valve body 57 includes a packing 57a for the valve seat 56b, a packing 57b for the inner periphery of the main body 52a, and a packing 57c for the lower surface of the main body 51a of the plug 51.

In connection with such a fluid joint, when the plug 51 is moved to the socket 52 side, the lower surface of the main body 51a of the plug 51 abuts on the valve body 57 and contacts the packing 57c. When the plug 51 is further pushed in, the pressure receiving surface 56a of the stopper 56 contacts the lower end surface of the valve body 33 and pushes up the valve body 53. As a result, as shown in FIG. 8, the packing 53c of the seating ring 53a is separated from the valve seat 51b, the valve body 57 is pushed downward by the movement of the plug 51, and the plug 51 and the socket 52 communicate with each other to allow fluid flow. A path is formed.

[0008]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 However, since the fluid joint has a basic structure in which the plug 51 is fitted into the socket 52 to form a fluid flow path, it is necessary to accurately align the axial centers of the plug 51 and the socket 52. Therefore, if the axial centers of the plug 51 and the socket 52 are deviated, not only the insertion of the plug 51 into the socket 52 will not be successful, but also functional failures such as fluid leakage will easily occur.

Further, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 62-190190 discloses a fluid coupler in which a sliding valve is provided inside either one of a socket-side joint and a plug-side joint, or both joints. However, like the fluid coupling described above, the valve is opened by aligning both shaft cores and inserting the shaft portion into the hole, and has the above-mentioned problem caused by the displacement of the shaft center.

Therefore, the present invention does not rely on the plug-and-socket fitting and coupling structure having the above-mentioned problems, but can be connected without leakage of fluid even if the shaft center is slightly displaced. The purpose is to provide a joint.

[0011]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 In order to achieve the above object, the fluid coupling of the present invention has a fixed plug having a flow passage connected to a flow passage on one side, and is housed inside the fixed plug and connected to a flow passage on the other side. And a sliding valve having a flow passage for opening a sliding surface on which the seal member formed on the sliding valve slides in a watertight manner on the inner peripheral surface of the fixed plug. The stopper part formed on the bottom of the sliding valve forms a retainer part for seating, and the sliding valve described above has a structure in which the sliding valve main body having the seal member on the outer periphery is joined to the flow path on the other side. And a mounting portion that is integrated with the sliding valve body and has a flat joint surface that is connected to the flow path on the other side and that is connected to the sliding valve body. By pressing the mounting portion toward the plug side, the sealing member of the mounting portion is fixed to the fixed plug. Is separated from the sliding surface, characterized by being configured such that the fluid flow path in an open state.

[0012]

[Action]

 The mounting part that forms a flat joint surface that is connected to the flow path on the other side is formed integrally with the sliding valve that is housed inside the fixed plug, so that there is It is possible to connect the fluid flow paths by simply attaching external flow paths to the fixed plug side and the mounting portion side, respectively, without using coupling.

[0013]

【Example】

 1 is a sectional view of a fluid coupling according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG.

With reference to FIG. 1, 1 is a hollow fixed plug connected to the flow path 20 a of the robot side plate 20, 2 is a slidable vertically stored inside the fixed plug 1, and a tool side The sliding valve is connected to the flow path 21 a of the plate 21.

The main body 3 of the fixed plug 1 has a receiving portion 3a formed on the inner peripheral side thereof, and a sliding surface 3b continuously extending downward from the receiving portion 3a. Further, a large diameter bulging portion 4 is formed at the lower end of the main body 3, and a sliding valve seal 4a is arranged on the inner peripheral surface thereof.

Reference numeral 5 denotes a guide ring supported on the upper end of the fixed plug body 3, and a recess 5a for mounting a spring, which will be described later, is formed in the center of the guide ring. A plurality of flow paths 5b shown in the sectional view are formed.

The slide valve 2 is provided with a bottomed cylindrical slide valve body 6 whose upper part is opened, a spring 7 is housed in the internal space thereof, and the other end of the spring 7 is provided with a recess 5 of the guide ring 5. By being attached to a, the sliding valve 2 is urged downward in FIG. Reference numeral 6a denotes a stopper for protrudingly provided on the outer periphery of the upper end of the sliding valve body 6, which is formed at six locations in the radial direction as shown in the sectional view of FIG. 3 and is not connected (state of FIG. 1). The lower end surface of the stopper 6a is brought into contact with the receiving portion 3a of the fixed plug body 3 by the urging of the spring 7.

An annular recess 6b is formed below the stopper 6a, and a sliding seal 6c having a circular cross section that slides vertically on the sliding surface 3b of the fixed plug body 3 in a watertight manner is provided in the annular recess 6b. ing. By providing the sliding seal 6c in this manner, the fluid can be reliably blocked even against vibration or inclination of the tool plate 21 when disconnecting the joint.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line CC in FIG. 1, in which the mounting portion 8 for mounting on the tool side plate 21 is slid by the six connecting portions 6 d connected to the outer periphery of the sliding valve body 6. It is integrated with the valve body 6. Returning to FIG. 1, the mounting portion 8 includes a hollow main body 8a that forms a fluid flow path, and a flat joint portion 8b that is connected to the lower end of the flat body 8a in the radial direction. A pressure contact seal 8c is provided for maintaining watertightness with the attached tool side plate 21. Here, the outer diameter of the mounting portion body 8a is formed slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the sliding surface 3b of the plug body 3, and the plug body 3 and the mounting portion body 8a are watertight due to the sliding valve seal 4a. Held in. Further, the tool side plate 21 and the mounting portion 8 are mounted by an automatic tool changer. At this time, the watertightness is maintained by pressing the pressure contact seal 8c against the surface of the tool plate 21 with the spring 7.

FIGS. 5 and 6 are explanatory views showing the joining state of the robot side plate 20 and the tool side plate 21, and the movement of each member will be described with reference to FIGS. 1, 5 and 6.

As described above, FIG. 1 shows a state where the robot side plate 20 and the tool side plate 21 are not connected, and in this state, the stopper 6 a is pressed by the receiving portion 3 a by the urging force of the spring 7. The fluid is blocked by the sliding seal 4a.

When the tool side plate 21 is attached to the mounting portion 8 and pressed upward from the state of FIG. 1, the sliding valve 2 moves upward while maintaining the watertight state by the sliding seal 4a, and is shown in FIG. Similarly, the fluid cutoff by the sliding seal 6c is about to be released.

When the tool-side plate 21 is further brought close to the robot-side plate 20, the robot-side plate 20 and the tool-side plate 21 are brought into a fastening state as shown in FIG. Is separated from the sliding surface 3b, and a flow path F that connects the flow paths 20a and 21a on the robot side and the tool side is formed.

As described above, according to the fluid coupling of the present embodiment, the mounting portion 8 having the flat joint surface connected to the tool-side flow path has the sliding valve housed inside the fixed plug 1. By being formed integrally with 2, the connection can be made simply by attaching external flow passages to the fixed plug 1 side and the mounting portion 8 side, rather than the conventional fitting and coupling of socket and plug. It is possible to connect without any fluid leakage even if the shaft center is slightly displaced.

Further, as long as the position of the flow path 21a of the tool side plate 21 is within the range of the pressure contact seal 8c, a slight misalignment of the axis does not cause a functional problem, and the position of the robot side plate and the alignment parts can be improved. No processing is required.

Further, the tool-side plate 21 only needs to be provided with a hole on a flat surface, and does not require a hole for insertion, a shaft, or a sealing member as in the conventional case, and can be an extremely simple process. Moreover, unlike the plug and socket structure, there is no worry of wear resistance and durability due to the insertion operation.

[0027]

[Effect of device]

 The present invention has the following effects.

(1) Connection can be made by simply attaching external flow paths to the fixed plug side and the mounting portion side, respectively, and connection can be made without fluid leakage even if the shaft core is slightly displaced.

(2) The plate on the tool side only needs to be machined on a flat surface and does not require machining of holes or shafts for insertion and sealing members unlike the conventional case, and can be extremely simple machining. No worries about wear resistance and durability due to insertion operation.

(4) Since the structure of the joint itself is not particularly complicated as compared with the conventional structure with a sliding valve, the structure of the tool side plate should be composed of inexpensive parts as a whole due to the simple structure. You can

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a fluid coupling according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of the fluid coupling shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line BB of the fluid coupling shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC of the fluid coupling shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a joining state of a robot side plate and a tool side plate.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a joining state of a robot side plate and a tool side plate.

FIG. 7 is a cutaway front view of a conventional fluid coupling including a socket and a plug.

8 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a joined state of the fluid coupling shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Fixed Plug 2 Sliding Valve 3 Fixed Plug Main Body 3a Receiving Part 3b Sliding Surface 4 Swelling Part 5 Guide Ring 5a Recess 5b Flow Path 6 Sliding Valve Main Body 6a Stopper 6b Annular Recess 6c Sliding Seal 6d Connection 7 Spring 8 Mounting part 8a Mounting part main body 8b Joining part 20 Robot side plate 21 Tool side plate 20a, 21a Flow path

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A fluid coupling used for connecting a fluid channel, wherein the fluid coupling is a fixed plug having a flow passage connected to one side channel, and is housed inside the fixed plug. And a sliding valve having a flow passage connected to the flow path on the other side, wherein the fixed plug has an inner circumference on a sliding surface on which a seal member formed on the sliding valve slides in a watertight manner. The slide valve is provided with a slide valve main body having the seal member provided on the outer periphery thereof, and the slide valve has a stopper portion formed on the slide valve, on which a stopper portion is seated. Urging means for elastically urging the sliding valve body toward the joint side with the other side flow passage, and a flat surface integrated with the sliding valve main body and connected to the other side flow passage at the end face. And a mounting portion having a joint surface formed thereon, and the mounting portion is pressed by pushing the mounting portion toward the plug. The sealing member is separated from the sliding surface of the fixed plug, fluid couplings, characterized by being configured such that the fluid flow path in an open state.