JP3462330B2 - 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 for arranging and fixing a member at a predetermined position, and more particularly to arranging and fixing a panel material constituting an automobile body or the like at a predetermined position. The present invention relates to a technique effective when applied to a positioning clamp device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when a panel material such as a thin iron plate is placed and fixed at a predetermined position, as shown in FIG. 6, a positioning pin 51 is provided for positioning a positioning hole 51 provided in a panel material 50 (workpiece). The positioning pin 52 is fitted, and the periphery of the panel material 50 is fixed by the clamp device 53 to position and fix.

Further, as shown in FIG. 7, a handle-like engaging portion 54 having a positioning hole 51 is provided on the lower surface of the panel material 50, and the engaging portion 54, the locate pin 52 and the engaging claw 55 are provided. Panel material 5 using the clamp device 56 having
Positioning and fixing 0 was also performed. in this case,
The central portion of the panel material that the clamp device 53 does not reach can be clamped, and the panel material 50 can be positioned and fixed more reliably.

Here, the conventional positioning clamp device 56 used in FIG. 7 has a structure as shown in FIG. 8, and the locking claw 55 moves in the slit 57 provided in the locate pin 52. The work is clamped between the locking claw 55 and the locate pin retainer 60. in this case,
The locking claw 55 is actuated in conjunction with the piston 59 of the pneumatic cylinder 58, and is swung by being guided by the cam hole 61, between the raised position shown by the one-dot chain line and the clamp position shown by the solid line. To move. Further, the locate pin 52 is set to have a predetermined size according to the size of the positioning hole 51 of the work, and the shape and size of the locking claw 55 are individually set according to the size of the locate pin 52.

[0005]

However, in any of the conventional positioning and fixing methods as described above, since the locate pin 52 is formed to have a predetermined diameter set in any case, the positioning pin 52 having a diameter different from this is used. There is a problem that it cannot be applied to a panel material having holes. Therefore, when clamping a panel material having positioning holes with different diameters, the locate pin 52 and the clamp device 53 themselves must be replaced, which causes a problem of poor production efficiency. On the other hand, if the locate pin 52 and the clamp device 53 are used as they are, the size of the positioning hole 51 must be adjusted to the diameter of the locate pin 52, which affects not only the panel material 50 but also the design of the product using the same. There was a harmful effect of causing.

In this case, in the method shown in FIG. 7, in order to prevent such an adverse effect, a method in which only the locate pin 52 is appropriately replaced while the clamp device 53 is left as it is. However, the clamp device 53 has a complicated structure as shown in FIG. 8, and moreover, not only the locate pin 52 but also the engaging claw 55 must be replaced at the same time. Is very cumbersome and inefficient to replace.

An object of the present invention is to provide a highly versatile positioning clamp device that can easily handle a plurality of types of workpieces having different positioning hole diameters with a single positioning clamp device.

The above and other objects and novel features of the present invention will be apparent from the description of this specification and the accompanying drawings.

[0009]

Among the inventions disclosed in the present application, a brief description will be given to the outline of typical ones.
It is as follows.

That is, in the positioning clamp device of the present invention, the outer cylindrical body having a contact surface at the tip with which the fixed member contacts, and the positioning hole formed in the fixed member protruding from the contact surface are fitted. A positioning pin that has a plurality of fitting portions with different outer diameters and is arranged to be movable back and forth in the axial direction with respect to the outer cylindrical body, and inside the outer cylindrical body.
The outer diameter of the positioning pin is changed by connecting and disconnecting the fitting pin to and from the contact surface by being connected to the positioning pin through the provided inner cylindrical body and moving the positioning pin forward and backward in the axial direction. A pawl that is housed in the slit formed in the positioning pin so as to be slidable and axially movable back and forth, and clamps the fixed member with the contact surface. Clamp arm having a piston and a piston arranged inside the inner cylindrical body
A second driving unit that is connected to the clamp arm via a rod and that moves the clamp arm forward and backward in the axial direction to move the claw toward and away from the contact surface.

The positioning clamp device of the present invention has a cam means for converting the forward / backward movement of the second drive means into a swinging movement of the clamp arm, and is provided with a plurality of the clamp arms. The outer cylinder includes a long hole into which a fulcrum pin connecting the piston rod and the clamp arm is loosely fitted, and a cam pin hole into which a cam pin inserted into a cam hole formed in the clamp arm is fixed. It is characterized in that a plurality of them are formed on the body and the direction of the clamp arm is changed.

[0012]

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 sectional view showing the structure of a positioning clamp device (hereinafter, abbreviated as a clamp device) 1 which is an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a tip portion of a locate pin 2 used in the positioning clamp device 1. 3 is a perspective view showing the outer shape of FIG.
FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 1. In the present embodiment, for convenience, the upper side in FIG. 1 is referred to as the front end (side) of the clamp device 1, and the lower side is referred to as the rear end (side).

The clamp device 1 according to the present embodiment is
As shown in FIG. 1, a substantially cylindrical device having a locating pin (positioning pin) 2 having a large diameter portion 2a and a small diameter portion 2b (fitting portion) at its tip and having a clamp arm 3 incorporated therein. Is. Then, the locate pin 2 is moved forward and backward by the locate pin drive cylinder 20 (first drive means) to switch the outer diameter dimension thereof, and at the same time, the clamp arm drive cylinder 30.
The clamp arm 3 is operated by the (second driving means) to position and fix a work (fixed member) such as a panel material.

In the clamp device 1, a locating pin 2 having a predetermined size is provided at the tip of the clamping device 1 so as to be movable back and forth with respect to the locating pin retainer 11. This locate pin 2 is for fitting a positioning hole provided on the work side to dispose the work at a predetermined position. The work fitted with the locate pin 2 is a locate pin retainer 1
It is clamped by the clamp arm 3 while being in contact with the contact surface 11a formed on the tip end side of 1.

Here, in the clamp device 1, as shown in FIG. 2, the locate pin 2 has a stepped shape having two fitting portions having different outer diameters, a large diameter portion 2a and a small diameter portion 2b. ing. The locate pin 2 is connected to a locate pin driving cylinder 20 described later,
By operating the locate pin driving cylinder 20, the locate pin 2 is moved forward and backward at the tip of the clamp device 1. As a result, in the clamp device 1, the large diameter portion 2a of the locate pin 2 projects from the locate pin retainer 11 and the locate pin diameter can be switched. Therefore, for example, the large diameter portion 2
By forming a and the small-diameter portion 2b to 18 mm and 16 mm, respectively, one clamp device 1 can handle two types of workpieces having positioning hole diameters of 18 mm and 16 mm.

The tip portion 2c of the locate pin 2 is formed in a tapered shape so that the locate pin 2 can be easily fitted into the positioning hole. Further, a slit 2d is formed inside the locate pin 2, and the clamp arm 3 is retractably housed therein.

On the other hand, the outer cylindrical body 4 is attached to the rear end side of the locate pin retainer 11. This outer cylinder 4
Is a cylindrical part that constitutes a part of the outer shape of the clamp device 1. The locate pin retainer 1 is held by a screw (not shown).
Is bound to 1. As shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, flat portions 41 are formed at 90 ° intervals in four directions, and a groove 42 having a trapezoidal cross section that widens toward the center side is further formed inside thereof.
Further, at the bottom of the groove 42, a cam pin hole 4a into which a cam pin (cam means) 14 to be described later is fitted and fixed, and an elongated hole 4b into which the fulcrum pin 13 is loosely fitted are provided. A pin receiving plate 43 having a trapezoidal cross section is fitted in the groove 42 so that the cam pin hole 4a and the elongated hole 4b are not exposed and the cam pin 14 and the fulcrum pin 13 do not come out. ing.

Here, in the clamp device 1, the direction of the clamp arm 3 can be easily changed by the following procedure. For example, if the direction of the clamp arm 3 is 90
When changing the angle, first remove the screw fixing the locate pin retainer 11 to remove the locate pin retainer 11 from the outer cylindrical body 4, and pull out the pin receiving plate 43 from the tip side to expose the cam pin 14 and the fulcrum pin 13. Let
Next, these are removed and the clamp arm 3 is rotated 90 ° together with the locate pin 2 and the piston rod 31 to face the flat surface portion 41 different from the previous one. Then, again insert the cam pin 14 and the fulcrum pin 13 from the flat surface 41 side,
After the pin receiving plate 43 is fitted in each groove 42, the locate pin retainer 11 is attached to the outer cylinder body 4. Thus, in the clamp device 1, the orientation of the clamp arm 3 can be easily changed without replacing the device itself.

In this embodiment, the outer cylindrical body 4 and the locate pin retainer 11 are separately provided, but they are integrally formed and the outer cylindrical body 4 has the contact surface as described above. May be formed and the work may be brought into contact therewith.

Next, the inner cylinder 5 is arranged inside the outer cylinder 4. The inner cylindrical body 5 includes the locate pin 2 and the piston rod 21 of the locate pin driving cylinder 20.
This is a hollow member that connects the and, and by this, the locate pin 2 moves forward and backward at the tip of the clamp device 1 in accordance with the operation of the locate pin driving cylinder 20. In this case, the inner cylindrical body 5 is connected to the locate pin 2 by the pin 6, and by attaching and detaching the pin 6, it is possible to easily replace the locate pin with another size. Further, a female screw portion 5a is formed on the rear end side, and by screwing the female screw portion 5a with the male screw portion 21a of the piston rod 21, the inner cylinder body 5 and the locate pin driving cylinder 20 are connected. Further, elongated holes (not shown) for loosely fitting the fulcrum pin 13 and the cam pin 14 are provided on the side surface thereof at positions corresponding to the fulcrum pin 13 and the cam pin 14. It should be noted that it is also possible to integrally form the inner cylindrical body 5 with the locate pin 2.

Further, the clamp arm 3 is housed inside the inner tubular body 5 in a state of being swingably connected to a piston rod 31 of a clamp arm driving cylinder 30 by a fulcrum pin 13. Here, the clamp arm 3 has, at its tip, a claw portion 3a for workpiece clamping.
The cam pin 14 is provided in the center of the
Is formed with a cam hole 15 (cam means). Then, as the clamp arm 3 moves back and forth, the cam pin 15 fixed to the outer cylindrical body 4 has a cam hole 15 formed therein.
Is guided to move the clamp arm 3 to the work clamp position or the arm storage position.

By the way, in the present embodiment, the locate pin driving cylinder 20 and the clamp arm driving cylinder 30 driven by air pressure are used as the driving means for the locate pin 2 and the clamp arm 3. Both cylinders 20 and 30 include a piston 23 having piston rods 21 and 31 in cylinder tubes 22 and 32,
33 is provided and is operated by air pressure to operate the locate pin 2 and the clamp arm 3. In this case, both cylinders 20 and 30 have a support 2 provided with magnets 24 and 34 for detecting cylinder positions.
7, 37 are also provided. The piston 33 of the clamp arm driving cylinder 30 is provided with a bumper 36 for preventing a collision with the head cover 35. The piston rod 21 and the support 27 are connected by screws, and the piston rod 31 and the support 37 are connected by caulking. Further, outside the clamp device 1, a sensor (not shown) for detecting the cylinder position is provided at each piston stop position of the cylinders 20 and 30.

The above-mentioned parts are made of metal such as iron and aluminum in principle except for the bumper 36 and other packing parts, but they may be made of synthetic resin as appropriate in consideration of load level and cost. It is possible.

Next, the operation of the clamp device 1 of this embodiment will be described. 4 and 5 are cross-sectional views showing an operating state of the clamp device 1. FIG. 4 shows a state when the workpiece 10 having the positioning hole 10a is clamped, and FIG. 5 shows a positioning hole 12a having a smaller diameter than the positioning hole 10a. The respective states when the work 12 is clamped are shown.

Here, when clamping the work 10 having the positioning hole 10a, first, the outer diameter of the locate pin 2 is changed according to the diameter of the positioning hole 10a of the work 10. That is, the locate pin driving cylinder 20 is operated to move the piston 23 to the front end side, and the large diameter portion 2
a is projected from the locate pin retainer 11. As a result, a fitting portion having an outer diameter suitable for the positioning hole 10a of the work 10 is prepared. In this case, the stop position of the piston 23 is controlled by sensing the magnetic field of the magnet 24 by the above-mentioned sensor.

Next, while maintaining this state, the work 10
The positioning hole 10a is fitted into the large diameter portion 2a of the locate pin 2. Then, the workpiece 10 is held by the clamp arm 3.
Clamp. That is, by operating the clamp arm driving cylinder 30 and moving the piston 33 to the rear end side, the clamp arm 3 is pulled to the rear end side via the piston rod 31, and the work 10 is clamped by the claw portion 3 a of the clamp arm 3. And contact surface 11a of locate pin retainer 11
Clamp between. As a result, the work 10 is positioned and fixed at a predetermined position in the state shown in FIG. In this case, the stop position of the piston 33 is controlled by sensing the magnetic field of the magnet 34 with the above-mentioned sensor.

When the work 10 is released from such a state, the clamp arm driving cylinder 30 is operated to move the piston 33 to the tip side. With this,
The piston rod 31 also moves to the tip side, and the clamp arm 3 also moves to the tip side with this. At this time, the cam hole 15 of the clamp arm 3 moves to the tip end side while fitting with the cam pin 14, so that the clamp arm 3 is guided so that its tip end portion is drawn into the slit 2d of the locate pin 2. . Then, after the clamp arm 3 is drawn into the slit 2d, the work 10 is removed.

In the clamp device 1, the cam hole 1
5, the clamp arm 3 vertically moves the work 10
The work 10 can be released from the clamp device 1 without damaging the work 10 by the claw portion 3a.

Next, the work 1 having the positioning holes 12a
In the case of clamping No. 2, this time, the locate pin driving cylinder 20 is operated to move the piston 23 to the rear end side in order to change the outer diameter of the locate pin 2 according to the diameter of the positioning hole 12a of the work 12. . Also in this case, the stop position of the piston 23 is controlled by sensing the magnetic field of the magnet 24 by the above-mentioned sensor. As a result, the large-diameter portion 2a sinks from the locate pin retainer 11 and the small-diameter portion 2b projects from the locate pin retainer 11, and a fitting portion having an outer diameter suitable for the positioning hole 12a is prepared.

The small diameter portion 2b of the locate pin 2
The positioning hole 12a of the work 12 is fitted to the work 12 and the clamp arm driving cylinder 30 is actuated in the same manner as described above, so that the work 12 is fixed to the claw portion 3a of the clamp arm 3 and the locate pin retainer 11 as shown in FIG. Contact surface 11
It is clamped between a and a position and fixed at a predetermined position. In this case as well, by operating the clamp arm driving cylinder 30 in the same manner as described above, the work 12
Can be released.

As described above, in the clamp device 1 of the present invention, the outer diameter of the locate pin 2 can be easily changed only by operating the locate pin driving cylinder 20, and one clamp device 1 can be used. It is possible to deal with a plurality of types of works having different positioning hole diameters.

Although the invention made by the present inventor has been specifically described based on the embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. Needless to say.

For example, in the above embodiment, the locate pin 2 is provided with two types of fitting portions, but the number of fitting portions is not limited to this, and more types of fitting portions are provided. Parts may be provided. In this case, sensors for detecting the cylinder position of the locate pin driving cylinder 20 are provided by the number of the fitting portions, and the locate pins 2 are stopped and held at the positions of the fitting portions by appropriately stopping the piston 23 in the middle. Is possible. For example, locate pin 2
When three types of fitting parts are provided with three steps, a further sensor is added and the piston is intermediately stopped at the position corresponding to the middle step part, thereby realizing a three-step switching type clamp device. .

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the outer cylindrical body 4
Although the long hole 4b into which the fulcrum pin 13 is loosely fitted is provided in the above, the long hole 4b is not always necessary in terms of function and can be omitted. Further, as the cam means, the combination of the cam pin 14 and the cam hole 15 is used in the above-mentioned embodiment, but the structure is not limited to this. For example, the cam hole is provided on the outer cylindrical body 4 side, You may make it fit the protrusion provided in the clamp arm 3.

In addition, although the number of the clamp arms 3 is two in the above-mentioned embodiment, the number is not limited to two, and any number such as one, three or four can be set. can do. Further, the direction of the claw portion 3a is also the same as in the above embodiment.
Although shown in the left-right direction in FIG. 1, since the cam pin hole 4a and the elongated hole 4b of the outer cylindrical body 4 are provided in four directions as described above, the cam pin 14 and the fulcrum pin 13 fit together. It is also possible to arrange the claw portions 3a so as to extend to the front side and the back side in FIG. 1 by changing the partner. In this case, in the above-described embodiment, the structure is provided on all sides, but more may be provided, or the intervals may not be 90 °. In addition,
In the above-described embodiment, the claw portions 3a are shown to face in opposite directions, but two claw portions 3a may be arranged side by side on the same side.

In the above description, the invention mainly made by the present inventor is applied to a clamp device which uses a pneumatic actuator as a driving means, which is the field of use thereof, but the invention is not limited to this. For example, the present invention can be applied to a device that uses a fluid pressure actuating device such as a hydraulic actuating device as a driving means, or an electric clamp device.

[0038]

The effects obtained by the typical ones of the inventions disclosed in the present application will be briefly described as follows.
It is as follows.

That is, in the positioning clamp device of the present invention, the locating pin having a plurality of fitting parts having different outer diameters is provided, and the locating pin is moved forward and backward by the driving cylinder, so that the driving pin is driven. The outer diameter of the locate pin can be easily changed simply by operating the cylinder. Therefore, one clamp device can handle a plurality of types of works having different positioning hole diameters.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of a positioning clamp device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an outer shape of a tip end portion of a locate pin used in the positioning clamp device of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line AA of the positioning clamp device of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where a workpiece is clamped by the positioning clamp device of FIG.

5 is a cross-sectional view showing a state when a workpiece having a positioning hole having a diameter smaller than that of the workpiece of FIG. 4 is clamped by the positioning clamp device of FIG.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a conventional work clamping method.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing another conventional work clamping method.

FIG. 8 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a conventional positioning clamp device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Clamping Device (Positioning Clamping Device) 2 Locate Pin (Positioning Pin) 2a Large Diameter Part (Fitting Part) 2b Small Diameter Part (Fitting Part) 2c Tip 2d Slit 3 Clamp Arm 3a Claw (Claw) 4 Outer Cylinder 4a Cam pin hole 4b Long hole 5 Inner cylinder 5a Female thread 6 Pin 10 Work 10a Positioning hole 11 Locate pin retainer 11a Contact surface 12 Work 12a Positioning hole 13 Support point pin 14 Cam pin (cam means) 15 Cam hole (cam means) 20 For driving locate pin Cylinder (first drive means) 21 Piston rod 21a Male screw portion 22 Cylinder tube 23 Piston 24 Magnet 27 Support 30 Clamp arm drive cylinder (second drive means) 31 Piston rod 32 Cylinder tube 33 Piston 34 Magnet 35 Head cover 36 bar Damper 37 Support 41 Flat surface 42 Groove 43 Pin receiving plate 50 Panel material 51 Positioning hole 52 Locating pin 53 Clamping device 54 Locking part 55 Locking claw 56 Clamping device 57 Slit 58 Pneumatic cylinder 59 Piston 60 Locating pin retainer 61 Cam hole

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) Reference JP-A-4-282008 (JP, A) JP-A-5-220685 (JP, A) Actually open 7-42676 (JP, U) Actually open 63- 35541 (JP, U) (58) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B23Q 3/06 F16B 1/02

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A plurality of fittings having different outer diameters, each of which has an outer cylindrical body having a contact surface at a tip thereof with which a fixed member comes into contact, and a positioning hole formed in the fixed member which projects from the contact surface and fits with each other. A positioning pin that has a portion and is arranged to be movable back and forth in the axial direction with respect to the outer cylindrical body, and is connected to the positioning pin via an inner cylindrical body arranged inside the outer cylindrical body , A first part for moving the positioning pin forward and backward in the axial direction so that the fitting portion is projected and retracted from the contact surface to change the outer diameter of the positioning pin.
And a clamp having a claw that is slidably and axially movable in the slit formed in the positioning pin and that clamps the fixed member with the contact surface. Via an arm and a piston rod arranged inside the inner cylinder
And a second driving unit that is connected to the clamp arm and moves the clamp arm forward and backward in the axial direction to move the claw toward and away from the contact surface. 2. The positioning clamp device according to claim 1, further comprising cam means for converting the forward / backward movement of the second drive means into a swinging motion of the clamp arm. 3. The clamp device according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the clamp arms are provided. 4. The clamp device according to claim 1, wherein an elongated hole into which a fulcrum pin that connects the piston rod and the clamp arm is loosely fitted, and the clamp arm. A positioning clamp device characterized in that a plurality of cam pin holes, into which cam pins inserted through the formed cam holes are fixed, are formed in the outer cylindrical body, and the direction of the clamp arm is changed.