JP3356039B2 - Coil spring compression release device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for compressing and releasing a coil spring used for assembling a work such as a strut having a coil spring.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As exemplified in FIG. 12, a strut (MacPherson strut) 1 used in a suspension mechanism of an automobile or the like protrudes from a cylindrical strut body 2 functioning as a shock absorber and a strut body 2. The vehicle includes a rod 3, an upper seat 4 and a mount insulator 5 provided on the rod 3, a coil spring 6 functioning as a suspension spring, and the like. The coil spring 6 is provided in a compressed state between the upper seat 4 and the lower seat 7 provided on the strut body 2. A bump rubber 9 is provided on the lower surface side of the upper sheet 4.

When assembling such a strut 1,
With the strut body 2 held by the work holding device, the coil spring 6 is compressed to a predetermined stroke. Then, the upper sheet 4 and the mount insulator 5 are externally inserted into the end of the rod 3 in a state where both sides of the compressed coil spring 6 are held by hook claws of the spring holder. An operation of tightening the nut N and then releasing the restraint of the coil spring 6 by the spring holder is performed.

In order to release the coil spring 6 from the spring holder, it is conceivable to move the hooks holding both sides of the coil spring 6 in the radial direction of the coil spring 6 respectively. In this case, at the moment when the hook is disengaged from the end 6b of the coil spring 6, the end 6b of the coil spring 6 is moved by the elastic restoring force of the coil spring 6 itself.
Abut.

[0005]

Therefore, in the above-mentioned spring holder, at the moment when the end 6b of the coil spring 6 is separated from the hook, the end 6b of the coil spring 6 vigorously comes into contact with the upper sheet 4, In addition to generating loud noise, the upper sheet 4 may be damaged when the repulsive load of the coil spring 6 is large. In addition, when the hook claw is removed from the coil spring 6, the coil spring 6 may be radially pulled by the hook claw, and the position of the end 6b of the coil spring 6 may be shifted with respect to the upper sheet 4.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a coil spring compression release device for a strut or the like which can smoothly release a compression coil spring from a spring holder.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A coil spring compression according to the present invention.
The release device includes a pair of springs that hold the coil spring in a compressed state.
The spring retainer and the spring retainer are kept compressed.
Clamp that supports the held coil spring from its outer peripheral side
A spring holding portion provided with a member and the coil spring;
Movement to relatively move the spring holding part in the direction of compression
Means, and held in a compressed state by the spring retainer.
The coil spring is further compressed by the spring retainer
Drive that drives the spring holder in the opening direction when
A mechanism provided on the clamp member, and
And a release position for releasing the coil spring.
A stopper member movable over the lease position and
Driving the stopper member to the above holding position and release position
And a stopper driving means for performing the operation. When releasing the coil spring restrained by the spring holder in a pre-compressed state from the spring holder, the coil spring compression and release device of the present invention firstly releases the coil spring from both sides by the clamp member of the spring holding portion. Hold.

[0008] When the spring holding portion moves in the axial direction of the coil spring, the coil spring is further compressed. By doing so, the spring holder can be removed from the coil spring. After the spring retainer is moved in a direction to remove the spring from the coil spring, the spring holding portion moves in a direction to loosen the compression of the coil spring.

When the end of the coil spring moves to the vicinity of the spring seat (for example, the upper seat of the strut), only the stopper member releases the coil spring while the clamp member restrains the coil spring (release position). ) Is driven. With this configuration, the coil spring is released from the stopper member, and moves toward the spring seat along the clamp member by the elastic restoring force of the coil spring itself, so that the end of the coil spring comes into contact with the spring seat. .

[0010]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The coil spring compression / release device 10 shown in FIG. 1 includes a work holding device 11 below the coil spring 6, and the coil spring 6 is restrained in a compressed state by a spring holding tool 12 of the work holding device 11. The coil spring compression / release device 10 includes a coil spring 6
Release the upper end portion 6b from the spring holder 12.
It has a function of transferring the upper end portion 6b to the upper seat (spring seat) 4 side.

The strut body 2 held by the work holding device 11 has a coil spring 6, an upper sheet 4 and a mount insulator 5 in advance in a previous step.
Is supplied, and the nut N (shown in FIG. 12) is tightened. The lower end of the coil spring 6 is supported by the lower seat 7.

First, the work holding device 11 will be described. The embodiment shown in FIG. 3 shows a strut 1 for the left wheel.
And the right wheel strut 1 ′, the left wheel work holding device 11 located on the left side in the figure and the right wheel work holding device 11 ′ located on the right side in the diagram. Have. Since the pair of work holding devices 11 and 11 'have substantially the same structure and operation as each other, one of the work holding devices 11 and 11' is shown in FIG.
This will be described below with reference to FIG.

The work holding device 11 includes a base member 15
A pair of left and right holding members 16 provided on an upper portion of the base member 15, a pair of left and right holding members 17 provided on a lower portion of the base member 15, and a pair of left and right arms provided on both side portions of the base member 15. It has a spring holder 12 in the shape of an arrow. The upper end of the spring holder 12 is provided with a spring hook 19 having a shape capable of hooking the upper end 6b of the coil spring 6 on the side facing each other.

A strut mounting portion 20 capable of receiving the lower end of the strut main body 2 is provided below the base member 15, so that the strut main body 2 can be mounted in a posture oriented in a predetermined direction. It has become. The coil spring 6 is mounted on the lower seat 7 of the strut body 2 and is restrained in a compressed state between the lower seat 7 and the spring hook 19.

The base member 15 is mounted on a turntable 25 as an example of a moving-side base. The turntable 25 is intermittently driven to rotate at a predetermined pitch in a direction indicated by an arrow A in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 5, a bracket 26 is provided on the upper surface side of the turntable 25, and the base member 15 is rotatably supported by a horizontal shaft 27 provided on the bracket 26. I have. Base member 1
5, a roller-shaped cam follower 30 is provided. A cam member 31 is provided at a position facing the cam follower 30.

The cam member 31 has a plurality of cam surfaces 32 and 33 having different heights from each other.
By moving the cam member 31 in the direction of arrow B, the cam follower 30 rides on the cam surface 32 (or 33) according to the amount of movement. As a result, the base member 15 is tilted about the shaft 27 by an angle corresponding to the height of the cam surfaces 32 and 33, so that the center line 6 a of the coil spring 6 moves relative to the turntable 25 according to the type of the strut 1. It becomes a vertical posture.

The base member 15 is provided with a pair of upper and lower guide members 41 and 42 extending in the horizontal direction (the horizontal direction in FIG. 4). The holding member 16 is held by the upper guide member 41.
Are slidably fitted. The base of the holding member 17 is slidably fitted to the lower guide member 42.

Upper holding member 16 and lower holding member 17
Are urged in the closing direction by the compression springs 43, that is, in the direction sandwiching the strut body 2. These holding members 16 and 17 can be moved in an opening direction (unclamping direction) by a drive mechanism (not shown).

A pair of left and right arm-shaped spring holders 12 extend vertically. The lower end of each spring holder 12 is a shaft 4
5, the spring holders 12 are pivotally supported by the base member 15 so that the spring holders 12 can move about the shaft 45 in the direction of opening and closing each other. The spring holders 12 are urged in a direction to close each other by a tension spring 47, and can be moved in a direction away from each other (a position shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 4) by a drive mechanism (not shown). It has become.

Next, the coil spring compression / release device 10 will be described. As shown in FIG. 1 and the like, the coil spring compression / release device 10 includes a vertically extending base frame 50 that is provided independently of the turntable 25.
A guide member 51 such as a guide rail provided along a vertical direction provided on a base frame 50; a lifting unit 52 movable vertically along the guide member 51; and a drive unit for driving the lifting unit 52 vertically. And a lifting / lowering drive mechanism 53 functioning as a moving means of the camera.

One example of the lifting drive mechanism 53 is the guide member 5.
1, a ball screw 55 extending in the vertical direction, a servomotor as an example of a forward / reverse rotatable actuator 56 for rotating the ball screw 55, and transmitting the rotational motion of the actuator 56 to the ball screw 55. And a position sensor 58 such as an encoder for detecting the amount of rotation of the ball screw 55, that is, the vertical position of the elevating unit 52. The elevation drive mechanism 53 can move the elevation unit 52 to a desired height by feeding back the detection signal from the sensor 58 by rotating the actuator 56.

The elevating unit 52 includes the guide member 51
The movable base 60 is movable in a direction along the line.
A guide member 61 extending in the horizontal direction is provided on the lower surface side of the movable base 60, and the guide member 61 in the horizontal direction is provided.
The slide member 62 can be moved in the horizontal direction along.

As shown in FIG. 3, the slide member 62
A spring holding portion 65 used for compressing and releasing the coil spring 6 of the strut for the left wheel is provided on the left side of the strut.
On the right side of the slide member 62, a spring holding portion 6 used to compress and release the coil spring 6 of the strut for the right wheel.
5 'is provided. These pair of spring retainers 6
5, 65 'have substantially the same structure and operation as one another, and therefore, one spring retainer 65 will be described below.

As shown in FIG. 1, the spring holding portion 65
Is provided with a pair of front and rear movable arms 70 and 71. These movable arms 70 and 71 are rotatable around horizontal support shafts 72 and 73 provided on the slide member 62.
The movable arms 70 and 71 are driven by an actuator 74 using, for example, an air cylinder in the left-right direction in FIG.

At the lower ends of the movable arms 70, 71, there are provided clamp members 75, 76 which can be in contact with the upper end 6b of the coil spring 6. As shown in FIG. 6 and the like, the clamp members 75 and 76
The coil spring 6 has arc-shaped inner surfaces 75a and 76a corresponding to the outer diameter of the coil spring 6 so as to be able to abut on the end 6b of the coil spring 6 from both sides. Therefore, the clamp members 75, 76
When driven in the clamping direction by the actuator 74, the inner surfaces 75a and 76a
Of the coil spring 6 and can be closed to a position corresponding to the outer diameter of the coil spring 6.

Moreover, the inner surfaces 75 of the clamp members 75, 76
In order to allow the end 6b of the coil spring 6 to slide in the up-down direction, a and 76a have a shape that extends substantially linearly in the up-down direction as shown in FIG.

The clamp members 75 and 76 are provided with stopper members 77 and 78, respectively.
The small actuators 0 and 71 are equipped with small actuators 80 and 81 using a fluid cylinder or the like as stopper driving means for driving the stopper members 77 and 78. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the stopper members 77 and 78 are rotatable around vertical shafts 82 and 83.

That is, as shown in FIG. 6, the distal ends of the stopper members 77, 78 are connected to the inner surfaces 7 of the clamp members 75, 76.
The holding position protrudes toward the coil spring 6 from the holding members 5a and 76a and the release position where the distal ends of the stopper members 77 and 78 retreat inside the inner surfaces 75a and 76a of the clamping members 75 and 76 as shown in FIG. It can be driven back and forth.

The movable arms 70 and 71 are configured to be able to rotate in an interlocking relationship by meshing gears 85 and 86 provided on both sides. Therefore, when the actuator 74 is driven to the extension side or the contraction side, the movable arms 70 and 71 open and close in synchronism with each other at the same angle to the left and right at the center line C (shown in FIG. 1) of the spring holding portion 65. can do.

The spring retainer 65 includes a movable base 60
1 can be moved in a horizontal direction from a first position shown in FIG. 1 to a second position displaced rightward by a stroke S from the first position shown in FIG. ing. That is,
When the spring retainer 65 is at the first position, the center line 6a of the first type of coil spring 6 is located immediately below the center line C of the spring retainer 65, and the spring retainer 65 is moved to the second position.
, The center line 6 a ′ of the second type coil spring 6 ′ is located immediately below the center line C of the spring holding portion 65.

Next, the operation of the above-structured coil spring compression / release device 10 will be described. In FIG. 1, the coil spring 6 is held between the lower seat 7 and the spring hook 19 in a compressed state. The strut body 2 is supplied with an upper sheet 4 and a mount insulator 5 in advance, and these are fixed at predetermined positions by tightening a nut N (shown in FIG. 12).

As shown in FIG. 4, the strut body 2 is restrained in a vertical position by closing the holding members 16 and 17. The strut 1 is conveyed to a work stage immediately below the coil spring compression / release device 10 as the turntable 25 rotates.

When the strut 1 moves to the above position,
According to the type of the strut 1, the cam member 31 shown in FIG.
Is advanced by the actuator 34, and the cam follower 30 rides on the cam surface 32 (or 33). For example, in the case of a strut of the second type, the cam follower 30 rides on the first cam surface 32, so that the base member 15 is in a posture in which the center line 6 a ′ of the coil spring 6 is vertically aligned, that is, To a vertical position.

The horizontal position of the spring retainer 65 is variably set by the position switching actuator 90 in accordance with the type of the strut 1. For example, in the case of a strut of the first type, the spring retainer 65 is the first type shown in FIG.
, The center line 6a of the coil spring 6 comes to be located directly below the center line C of the spring pressing portion 65.

In the above state, the spring holding portion 65 is lowered from above the coil spring 6 by the lifting / lowering actuator 56, so that the spring holding portion 65 is positioned at the position shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. Member 75,
76 is lowered to a position where the upper end 6b of the coil spring 6 can be clamped from both sides.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 2, the movable members 70 and 71 are driven in the closing direction by the actuator 74, so that the clamp members 75 and 76 are
Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 8, the upper end portion 6b of the coil spring 6 is clamped by contacting the outer periphery of the coil spring 6 from both sides. At this time, the stopper members 77 and 78 are moved to the holding positions, that is, the clamp members 7 by the actuators 80 and 81.
5 and 76 project from the inner surfaces 75a and 76a toward the coil spring 6 side.

After the coil spring 6 is restrained by the clamp members 75 and 76 as described above, the spring holding portion 65 further descends as shown in FIG. 9 so that the coil spring 6 is further compressed in the axial direction. You. Thereby, the upper end 6 b of the coil spring 6 is separated from the spring hook 19 of the spring holder 12. The upper end portion 6b of the coil spring 6 remains in contact with the stopper members 77 and 78.

After the coil spring 6 is compressed by the spring holding portion 65 as described above, the spring holding member 12 is driven by the drive mechanism (not shown) of the work holding device 11 in the opening direction, and the spring hook portion 19 is opened. Retreats to the side (release position) of the coil spring 6. In this state, as shown in FIG. 10, the spring holding portion 65 is raised by the lifting drive mechanism 53, so that the upper end 6 b of the coil spring 6 approaches the upper sheet 4.

Thereafter, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 11, the stopper members 77, 78 are moved by the actuators 80, 81 to the inner surfaces 75a, 7 of the clamp members 75, 76.
The upper end 6b of the coil spring 6 previously supported by the stopper members 77, 78 is retracted in the retracting direction (release position) from the 6a.
8, the upper end portion 6b of the coil spring 6 comes into contact with the upper sheet 4 by the elastic restoring force of the coil spring 6. Thus, the compressed coil spring 6 is set between the upper seat 4 and the lower seat 7.

As can be seen from the above description, when the stopper members 77, 78 come off the coil spring 6, the upper ends 6b of the coil spring 6 move in the radial direction by the inner surfaces 75a, 76a of the clamp members 75, 76. Not supported. In addition, the stopper members 77 and 78 are
The upper end 6b of the coil spring 6 is guided substantially straight upward toward the upper sheet 4 by the inner surfaces 75a, 76a of the clamp members 75, 76 when the coil spring 6 is released.
For this reason, the upper end 6b of the coil spring 6 is
When the coil spring 6 is released from the positions 7, 78 and moves on to the upper seat 4, the position of the coil spring 6 is prevented from being shifted in the radial direction.

Further, when the upper end 6b of the coil spring 6 is released from the stopper members 77 and 78, the upper end 6b of the coil spring 6 is in a state of being raised to the vicinity of the upper sheet 4, so that the coil The impact when the upper end 6b of the spring 6 collides with the upper sheet 4 is small, the noise is small, and the damage to the upper sheet 4 is avoided.

After a series of steps described above, the coil spring 6
The upper end 6b is smoothly transferred from the spring holder 12 to the upper sheet 4 in a compressed state, and the spring holder 12 is in a free state. Thereafter, the cam member 31 is returned to the initial position by the actuator 34, whereby the strut body 2 is returned to the vertical posture.

With the strut body 2 thus held vertically, the grease 9 is applied to the bearing 95 (shown in FIG. 12).
6 and a step of attaching the cap 97. The strut 1 thus completed is removed from the work holding device 11 and transferred to a work unloading conveyor (not shown).

In carrying out the present invention, it is possible to carry out various modifications of each element constituting the present invention, including the spring holder, the spring holding portion, the moving means, the clamp member, the stopper member, the stopper driving means and the like. Needless to say. In the above embodiment, the work holding device 1
Although the spring holding portion 65 is configured to be driven up and down with respect to 1, the work holding device 11 may be configured to be driven up and down with respect to the spring holding portion 65.

[0046]

According to the coil spring compression / release device of the present invention,
For example, when the stopper member comes off the coil spring,
Due to the inner surface of the pump member, the upper end of the coil spring
Supported to not move. Moreover, the stopper member
When the spring comes off the coil spring, the upper end of the coil spring
Due to the inner surface of the ramp member,
You will be guided almost straight. Therefore, the coil spring
The upper end is released from the stopper member and becomes
When transferring, the position of the coil spring is shifted in the radial direction.
Is avoided. In addition, the upper end of the coil spring
When released from the topper member, the upper end of the coil spring
Is raised to the vicinity of the upper seat
When the upper end of the coil spring collides with the upper seat 4
Impact, low noise, upper sea
Damage to the port is also avoided. Therefore , according to the coil spring compression / release device of the present invention, the coil spring held in the compressed state by the spring holder can be smoothly released from the spring holder, and the end of the coil spring is moved to the spring seat or the like. The impact generated upon delivery is small, the coil spring can be prevented from shifting in the radial direction, and damage to the spring seat can be avoided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a coil spring compression release device showing one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing an example of an operation mode of the coil spring compression / release device shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front view of the coil spring compression / release device shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a front view of a work holding device in the coil spring compression / release device shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a side view of the work holding device shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a spring holding portion in the coil spring compression / release device shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing an operation mode of the spring holding unit shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a side view showing a part of a cross section of the spring holding portion shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is a side view showing a state in which the spring retainer shown in FIG. 6 is lowered in a partial cross section.

FIG. 10 is a side view showing a state in which the spring holding portion shown in FIG. 6 is raised in a partial cross section.

FIG. 11 is a side view showing, in a partial cross section, an operation mode of a stopper member of the spring holding portion shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 12 is a side view showing a strut in a partial cross section.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Strut 4 ... Upper seat (spring seat) 6 ... Coil spring 10 ... Coil spring compression / release device 12 ... Spring holder 53 ... Elevating drive mechanism (moving means) 65 ... Spring holding part 70, 71 ... Movable arm 75, 76 ... Clamp members 77,78 ... Stopper members 80,81 ... Actuator (stopper driving means)

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-7-180741 (JP, A) JP-A-9-1434 (JP, A) JP-A-3-19643 (JP, U) (58) Survey Field (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B23P 21/00 B62D 65/12

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] A pair of collars for holding a coil spring in a compressed state.
Relative and ne holder, and a spring retainer portion having a clamp member for supporting the coil spring held in a compressed state by the spring retainer from the outer peripheral side thereof, the spring pressing section in a direction to further compressing the coil spring Moving means for moving, and the coil held in a compressed state by the spring holder.
The spring is further compressed by the spring holding part
A drive mechanism for driving the spring holder in the opening direction, a stopper member provided on the clamp member and movable between a holding position capable of supporting the coil spring and a release position releasing the coil spring, And a stopper driving unit for driving the stopper member to the holding position and the release position.