JP3428473B2 - Positioning clamp 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 positioning clamp device used to position and fix a member at a predetermined position, and more particularly to a positioning and fixing device for mounting a panel material constituting an automobile body on a robot arm of an industrial robot. The present invention relates to a technique effectively applied to a clamp device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An automobile body is formed by joining a plurality of panel materials by spot welding. When performing spot welding, it is necessary to position and fix various panel materials constituting the automobile body. is there. for that reason,
In the case of fixing the panel material to a fixed base such as a support base, a positioning clamp device as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-192968 has been developed.

[0003]

A clamp device of this type is effective when mounted on a fixed support. However, in order to position and fix the panel materials that make up the car body, the clamp device is attached to the robot arm of the industrial robot, and multiple types of panel materials with different vehicle types and models are positioned and fixed by the same clamp device. Attempts have been made to do so.
When the clamp device is attached to the robot arm in this way, it is important to reduce the weight of the clamp device for smooth movement of the robot arm.

Therefore, as disclosed in the above publication,
If compressed air is supplied from separate supply / discharge ports to the piston for reciprocating the locate pin and the piston for opening / closing the clamp arm, the number of hoses communicating with each supply / discharge port increases. 2 to control the switching of each supply / discharge port
It is necessary to provide two solenoid valves, which not only increases the weight of the clamp device including the solenoid valve, but also the input / output port of the sequencer for sending and receiving signals between the solenoid valve or sensor and the control unit. There is a problem that the number of IO ports increases.

An object of the present invention is to reduce the weight of the clamp device and to reduce the number of IO ports of the sequencer.

Another object of the present invention is to enable a clamp device to be attached to a robot arm.

[0007]

A positioning clamp device of the present invention is a positioning clamp device having a locate pin into which a positioning hole formed in a fixed member is fitted, the clamp arm and a slit accommodating the clamp arm. A cylinder body having a tubular receiver in which a locating pin having a groove formed therein is assembled; a first piston reciprocally provided in the cylinder body and having the clamp arm connected via a piston rod; By engaging with a cam hole formed in the clamp arm, the clamp arm is retracted into the slit by the forward movement of the first piston, and the clamp arm is projected from the slit by the backward movement so that the cylindrical receiver is received. A cam member for clamping the fixed member by the body and a partition wall in the cylinder body. A second piston provided reciprocally adjacent to the first piston and having the locating pin connected via a sleeve; and the cylinder body formed to communicate with the first piston advancing chamber. A first supply / discharge port that communicates with the second piston retreating chamber when the first piston advances, and a second main body that communicates with the second piston advancing chamber in the cylinder body. A second supply / discharge port communicating with the first piston retreat chamber is provided.

The cylinder body may be attached to a robot arm of an industrial robot, and the locate pin may be fitted into a positioning hole formed in the fixed member at an arbitrary position.

In the positioning clamp device of the present invention, a communication passage that connects the first supply / discharge port and the second piston retreating chamber is opened by advancing the first piston,
And the first valve body, which is closed by the backward movement,
A second valve body which is provided in the engine and which opens the communication passage that connects the second supply / discharge port and the first piston retreat chamber by the forward movement of the second piston and closes it by the backward movement.
It is characterized in that it is provided on the second piston .

The positioning clamp device of the present invention is fixed
Locating pin that fits the positioning hole formed in the member
A positioning clamp device having a clamp arm
And a slit was formed to accommodate this clamp arm
A series having a cylindrical receiving body with a locating pin incorporated therein.
And the piston body that can freely reciprocate in the cylinder body.
And a clamp arm to which the clamp arm is connected
And a piston provided on the cylinder body.
The lock member that engages with the lock groove formed on the
And a lock piston formed on the cylinder body.
The spring applied to the lock piston in the locking direction
The pressure to move the lock piston backwards against the force
It has a supply / discharge port for supplying.

[0011]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a view showing a state in which a positioning clamp device according to an embodiment of the present invention is attached to an industrial robot. The clamp device 10 is an industrial robot R.
The panel material W, which is attached to the tip of the robot arm A and constitutes the automobile body, is used as a fixed member for positioning and fixing it. As described above, by attaching the clamp device 10 to the tip of the robot arm A, the robot arm A can be moved to an arbitrary position, and positioning fixing is performed on a plurality of types of panel materials W having different positioning holes. It can be performed.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway front view showing the clamp device 10 shown in FIG. 1 in an enlarged manner. The clamp device 10 has a cylindrical receiver 11 and a cylinder body 12. The tubular receiving body 11 is formed by a first receiving body 11a having a receiving surface 13 with which the panel material W comes into contact, and a second receiving body 11b to which the first receiving body 11a is attached.

A locating pin 14 and two clamp arms 15 are incorporated in the cylindrical receiving body 11. The locating pin 14 has a tapered end as shown in FIG. It has a pin portion 14 a and a large-diameter base portion 14 b, and the tip end portion projects from the cylindrical receiver 11. The locate pin 14 is formed with a slit 16 for accommodating the clamp arm 15 extending in the longitudinal direction with both ends left, and the slit 16 is open in the radial direction. In the case shown, the clamp arm 15
Although two are provided, the number of clamp arms 15 may be one.

A partition wall 17 is fixed to the center of the cylinder chamber in the cylinder body 12 in the axial direction.
A first piston 21 is provided between the end cover 18 and the end cover 18 so as to reciprocate. The clamp arm 15 is connected to the piston rod 22 fixed to the first piston 21 by a connecting pin 23.

Therefore, the first piston advancing chamber 24 formed between the first piston 21 and the end cover 18 is formed.
When the compressed air is supplied to a and the first piston 21 is moved forward, the clamp arm 15 is moved so as to project from the tip end surface of the tubular receiver 11. On the other hand, the first piston retreat chamber 2 formed between the partition wall 17 and the first piston 21.
When compressed air is supplied to 4b and the first piston 21 is moved backward, the clamp arm 15 is retracted and moved into the cylindrical receiver 11.

As shown in FIG. 4, the connecting pin 23 has both ends thereof inserted in a long hole 25 formed in the cylindrical receiving body 11, and the rotation of the piston rod 22 is prevented, so that the first
When the piston 21 is reciprocated, both ends of the connecting pin 23 slide along the elongated hole 25.

A cam pin 26 is attached to the cylindrical receiving body 11 in parallel with the connecting pin 23, and both ends of the cam pin 26 are cylindrical receiving body 11 as shown in FIG.
It is adapted to fit into the mounting hole 27 formed in the.
The cam pin 26 penetrates a cam hole 28 formed in the clamp arm 15. The cam hole 28 has a straight portion 28a and an inclined portion 28b, and the inclined portions 28b of the two clamp arms 15 are shown in the drawing. As shown in 2, the directions are opposite to each other. Therefore, as shown in FIG.
When the first piston 21 moves forward, the cam pin 26 enters the inclined portion 28b of the cam hole 28, and the clamp claw 15a provided at the tip of the clamp arm 15 enters the slit 16. On the other hand, when the first piston 21 moves backward, the straight portion 28 of the cam hole 28
The cam pin 26 enters into a and the clamp claw 15a of the clamp arm 15 projects outward in the radial direction.

A hollow second piston 31 is provided between the rod cover 29 fixed to the tip of the cylinder body 12 and the partition wall 17 so as to reciprocate in the axial direction. The locating pin 14 is fixed to the tip of the threaded cylindrical sleeve 32 at the base portion 14b. As shown in FIG. 4, a mounting hole 33 is formed in the base portion 14b of the locate pin 14, and a mounting hole 3 into which a pin or a screw member fixed to the mounting hole 33 is inserted.
4 is formed on the sleeve 32.

Therefore, the second piston 31 and the partition wall 17
When compressed air is supplied to the second piston advancing chamber 35a formed between and to move the second piston 31 forward,
The locating pin 14 is shown in FIG.
It will move further forward than in the state shown in FIG. On the other hand, when compressed air is supplied to the second piston retreating chamber 35b formed between the rod cover 29 and the second piston 31 to move the second piston 31 backward, the locate pin 14 reaches the state shown in FIG. It will be retracted and moved into the cylindrical receiver 11. In order to fix both ends of the cam pin 26 to the cylindrical receiving body 11, the cam pin 26
Is a long hole 3 formed in the sleeve 32, as shown in FIG.
6, the sleeve 32 does not interfere with the connecting pin 23 when the second piston 31 reciprocates. When reciprocating the second piston 31,
The sleeve 32 does not interfere with the connecting pin 23.

A first supply / discharge port 41 is formed in the cylinder body 12 so as to communicate with the first piston advancing chamber 24a.
A second supply / discharge port 42 is formed in communication with the second piston advancing chamber 35a. These supply / discharge ports 41, 4
The compressed air from the air pressure source 44 is supplied to 2 by the operation of the switching valve 43.

A communication passage 45 is formed in the cylinder body 12 so that the first piston advancing chamber 24a and the second piston retreating chamber 35b can communicate with each other.
1, a cylindrical first valve body 46 for opening and closing the communication passage 45 is provided. The first valve body 46 is slidable axially outside the piston rod 22 in the first piston 21.
Attached to the end cover 18 to contact the communication passage 4
5 has a valve seat portion 46a for closing the valve 5, and the spring force toward the end cover 18 is biased by the compression coil spring 47.

The first valve body 46 contacts a stopper 48 attached to the first piston 21 to allow the first piston 2
When 1 moves forward by a predetermined stroke or more, the first valve body 4
6 moves forward together with the first piston 21, and opens the communication passage 45, as shown in FIG. When the communication passage 45 is opened, the first supply / discharge port 41 also communicates with the second piston retreating chamber 35b.

The gap 51 formed between the inner peripheral surface of the partition wall 17 which divides the first piston retreating chamber 24b and the second piston advancing chamber 35a and the piston rod 22 is defined by both of these chambers 24b. It is a flow path for communicating with 35a. In order to open and close the gap 51 forming this flow path,
The second piston 31 is provided with a cylindrical second valve body 52. The second valve body 52 is axially slidably attached to the second piston 31 on the outside of the piston rod 22, and the partition wall 17 is provided. Has a valve seat portion 52a that closes the gap 51 by contacting with the. The spring force toward the partition wall 17 is biased by the compression coil spring 53.

The second valve body 52 comes into contact with the stopper 54 attached to the second piston 31, and the second piston 3
When 1 moves forward by a predetermined stroke or more, it moves forward integrally, and as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the gap 51 is opened and the second supply / discharge port 42 is moved to the first piston backward chamber 24b. Will also be in communication.

Next, the clamping operation of the panel material W by the above-mentioned clamping device will be explained. As shown in FIG. 2, compressed air is supplied to the first supply / discharge port 41 so that the clamp arm 15 has the slit 16 of the locate pin 14. The locating pin 14 is inserted into the positioning hole H formed in the panel material W by the operation of the robot R under the unclamped state in which the panel material W is received by the receiving surface 13 of the cylindrical receiving body 11. Be positioned in contact with.

In this state, when a signal is sent to the solenoid of the switching valve 43, compressed air is supplied to the second supply / discharge port 42 and compressed air is supplied to the second piston advancing chamber 35a. It will be. As a result, first, as shown in FIG. 5, the second piston 31 moves forward and the locate pin 14 moves forward by a predetermined stroke. When the second piston 31 approaches the forward limit position where it contacts the rod cover 29, as shown in FIG.
Thus, it moves forward and the gap 51 is opened. As a result, as shown in FIG. 6, the second supply / discharge port 42
From this, compressed air is supplied to the first piston retreating chamber 24b, and the first piston 21 moves backward.

In the process of this backward movement, the clamp arm 15 is pulled into the cylindrical receiving body 11, and first, the cam pin 26 fixed to the cylindrical receiving body 11 is a cam formed on the clamp arm 15. Inclined portion 28 of hole 28
Since the clamp arm 15 retracts and moves away from b, the clamp claw 15a at the tip of the clamp arm 15 projects outward. Under this condition, the clamp arm 15 is moved toward the end of the clamp claw 1 by the subsequent retracting movement of the clamp arm 15.
5a moves so as to contact the surface of the panel material W. In this way, as shown in FIG. 6, the clamp device 10 is in the clamped state, and under this state, the spot welding work is performed on the panel material W.

When the clamp device is separated from the panel material W after the spot welding is completed, the clamp device is operated to the unclamped state as shown in FIG. 2 through the state of FIG. 6 to the state of FIG. To be done. That is, under the clamped state shown in FIG. 6, when the switching valve 43 is de-energized, compressed air is supplied to the first supply / discharge port 41, and the first piston 21 moves forward first. Clamp claw 15a
After is separated from the panel material W, as shown in FIG. 5, the clamp arm 15 retreats into the slit 16.

When the first piston 21 approaches the forward limit position, as shown in FIG.
Is opened and the first supply / discharge port 41 is in communication with the second piston retreating chamber 35b through the communication passage 45, and the locate pin 14 moves backward by a predetermined stroke from the position shown in FIG. 5 to the position shown in FIG. Will be done. As a result, the locate pin 14 slides relative to the panel material W, and when the robot R moves the clamp device to extract the locate pin 14 from the positioning hole of the panel material W, the locate pin 14 and the panel material W are separated from each other. It is possible to reliably remove the locate pin 14 with a small moving force by preventing the biting of the pin.

A permanent magnet 55 is attached to the first piston 21, and the cylinder body 12 is moved to the forward limit position and the backward limit position in response to the magnetic force of the permanent magnet 55. A magnetic sensor for detecting whether or not it is attached is attached. With this magnetic sensor,
When it is detected that the piston 21 is at the retracted limit position, the panel material W is clamped by the clamp device as shown in FIG. 6, and therefore the operation of the spot welding machine is started by the signal from the magnetic sensor. It will start.

Similarly, when the magnetic sensor detects that the first piston 21 has reached the forward limit position, it means that the clamp device is in the unclamped state, as shown in FIG. Signal to activate the arm A of the robot R, and the operation of extracting the locate pin 14 from the positioning hole is started.

A permanent magnet is also attached to the second piston 31, and a magnetic sensor sensitive to the magnetism of the permanent magnet is attached to the cylinder body 1.
It may be possible to detect whether the second piston 31 has reached the forward limit position and whether it has reached the backward limit position by attaching the second piston 31 to the second piston 31.

As described above, in the positioning clamp device 10, the operation of the two pistons 21 and 31 can be controlled by controlling the operation of the single switching valve 43. The load can be reduced and the operation control circuit can have a simple structure.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing a rear end portion of a cylinder body 12 in a clamp device according to another embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 7, the same members as those in the above-mentioned embodiment are the same. The reference numeral is attached.

In this case, a lock cylinder 61 is attached to the cylinder body 12 so as to extend into the end cover 18, and the lock cylinder 61 reciprocates in a direction perpendicular to the reciprocating direction of the piston rod 22. A moving lock piston 62 is provided. The tip portion of the lock piston 62 is engaged with the lock groove 63 formed in the extension portion 56 of the piston rod 22, and the lock member 6 is engaged.
4 is formed, and a tapered surface that contacts the tapered surface of the lock groove 63 is formed at the tip of the lock member 64 as shown in FIG. A spring force in the lock direction that causes the lock piston 62 to face the lock groove 63 is biased in the lock cylinder 61 by the compression coil spring 65.

An unlocking chamber 66 is formed in the lock cylinder 61, and an open flow path 67 for communicating the unlocking chamber 66 with the first supply / discharge port 41 constitutes an end cover forming a part of the cylinder body. 18 are formed. As a result, under the clamped state, the lock piston 6
2 also ensures that the clamp arm 15 locks the panel material W. Moreover, since the taper surface of the lock member 64 contacts the taper surface of the lock groove 63 when locking is performed, the piston rod 22 is moved in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 7 by the spring force of the compression coil spring 65. Will be pushed. On the other hand, when the switching valve 43 is switched from the clamped state to the unclamped state, compressed air is supplied into the lock releasing chamber 66, the lock piston 62 is separated from the lock groove 63, and the lock releasing state is set.

In this type of positioning clamp device, under the condition that the panel W which is the member to be fixed is clamped, the lock piston 62 moves the first piston 21.
Since the forward movement of the panel member W is locked, the clamped state of the panel material W by the clamp arm 15 can be reliably locked, and in the unlikely event that the air hose is cut off or the air pressure source is stopped, the first supply / discharge port When the compressed air cannot be supplied to 41, the piston rod 22 can be locked. Moreover, since the operation of the lock piston 62 is released by the fluid supplied to the first supply / discharge port 41, one switching valve 43 allows the lock piston 62 to operate in addition to the two pistons 21 and 31. The operation can also be controlled.

It is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

For example, although the illustrated clamp device is attached to the robot arm, the clamp device may be attached to a support base that supports a panel member or the like to be fixed. Moreover, the number of the clamp arms 15 may be one.

[0041]

EFFECT OF THE INVENTION Two of the first supply / discharge port and the second supply / discharge port
Since the operation of the two pistons, the first piston and the second piston, can be controlled by supplying the fluid from the one supply / discharge port, the operation of the clamp device can be controlled by one switching valve. As a result, the weight of the clamp device is reduced, and the number of IO ports for connecting the control unit for controlling the operation of the clamp device and the solenoid valve can be reduced. Can be attached to the arm. When releasing the clamp to the fixed member such as panel material, the locate pin moves backward and the locate pin slides with respect to the fixed member. Can be done by. By operating the lock piston also with the fluid from the first supply / discharge port, it is possible to control the operation of the lock piston in addition to the first and second pistons by one switching valve.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic front view showing an industrial robot to which a positioning clamp device according to an embodiment of the present invention is attached in order to positionally clamp a panel material that is a fixed member.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway front view showing an enlarged view of the clamp device shown in FIG. 1 in an unclamped state.

3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing the cylindrical receiver shown in FIG. 2 and members incorporated therein.

5 is a front view showing a portion similar to FIG. 2 showing an operation process of the clamp device. FIG.

FIG. 6 is a front view showing a portion similar to FIG. 2 in a clamped state.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged sectional view of an essential part of a positioning clamp device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 Clamp device 11 Cylindrical receiver 12 cylinder body 13 Receiving surface 14 Locating pin 15 Clamp arm 15a Clamp claw 16 slits 17 partitions 18 End cover 21 first piston 22 Piston rod 24a First piston advancing chamber 24b First piston retracting chamber 26 cam pins 28 Cam hole 29 Rod cover 31 second piston 32 sleeves 35a Second piston advancing chamber 35b Second piston retracting chamber 41 First supply / discharge port 42 Second supply / discharge port 43 switching valve 44 Air pressure source 45 passages 46 First valve body 48 stopper 51 gap 52 Second valve body 54 Stopper 55 permanent magnet 61 Lock cylinder 62 Lock piston 63 Lock groove 64 Lock member 65 Compression coil spring 66 Lock release room 67 open channel

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (58) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B23Q 3/06 B23Q 3/18 B25J 15/08 F16B 1/02

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A positioning clamp device having a locate pin into which a positioning hole formed in a fixed member is fitted, wherein the clamp arm and the locate pin formed with a slit for accommodating the clamp arm are cylindrical. A cylinder body having a receiving body; a first piston reciprocally provided in the cylinder body; the clamp arm being connected via a piston rod; and a cam hole formed in the clamp arm. A cam member that retracts the clamp arm into the slit by the forward movement of the first piston, and causes the clamp arm to project from the slit by the backward movement to clamp the fixed member by the tubular receiving body. And reciprocatingly adjacent to the first piston via a partition wall in the cylinder body. And a second piston in which the locating pin is connected via a sleeve, and a second piston retreating chamber formed by communicating with the first piston advancing chamber in the cylinder body, and advancing the first piston. A first supply / discharge port communicating with the second piston advancing chamber in the cylinder body, and a second supply / exhaust port communicating with the first piston retreating chamber when the second piston advances. A positioning clamp device having: 2. The positioning clamp device according to claim 1, wherein the cylinder body is attached to a robot arm of an industrial robot, and the locate pin is fitted into a positioning hole formed in the fixed member at an arbitrary position. Positioning clamp device characterized in that 3. The positioning clamp device according to claim 1, wherein a communication passage that connects the first supply / discharge port and the second piston retreat chamber is opened and retracted by advancing the first piston. First valve that closes due to movement
A body is provided in the first piston, and a communication passage that connects the second supply / discharge port and the first piston retreat chamber is formed in the second piston.
A positioning clamp device characterized in that the second piston is provided with a second valve body which is opened by forward movement of the piston and closed by backward movement of the piston . 4. A positioning hole formed in a fixed member is fitted.
Positioning clamp device with matching locate pin
I, slit for accommodating the clamp arm and the clamp arm
Cylindrical receiver with integrated locating pin
A cylinder body having a body and a reciprocating piston are provided in the cylinder body.
And a piston rod to which the clamp arm is connected
When provided in the cylinder body, the form to the piston rod
Lock having a lock member that engages with the formed lock groove
It is formed on the piston and the cylinder body, and is attached to the lock piston.
The lock pistil against the spring force applied in the locking direction.
And a supply / exhaust port that supplies pressure to move the engine backward.
Positioning and clamping device, characterized in that that.