JP4877826B2 - Linear motion equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a linear motion device that linearly moves an elevating link below a support base, and in particular, moves a support base in a horizontal direction relative to a rail and linearly moves the elevating link in a vertical direction. The present invention relates to a linear motion device suitable for a balancer that moves a motor to a desired position.

  Conventionally, when lifting and moving a workpiece, a balancer is known as a device that can be lifted and lowered with a small manual force. A spring balancer that uses a spring force, an air balancer that uses an air cylinder as a drive source, and an electric motor There is an electric balancer using a motor. A linear motion device is used as a power transmission device in these balancers. However, according to a general configuration, the workpiece is moved to a desired position by linearly moving the lifting link below the support base.

  For example, Patent Literature 1 below discloses an air balancer in which a balance weight is attached to each link of a parallel link mechanism. In this patent document 1, “in an air balancer using a vertical articulated mechanism, a perfect balance is possible, a heavy object can be moved with high precision with a slight operating force, and a stable position can be maintained.” For this purpose, it has been proposed that "the sum of the centers of gravity of all the rotating links of the vertical articulated mechanism is divided into only three points: a load point, a drive point, and a fulcrum". The parallel link mechanism is used for a manipulator of a robot. For example, the following Patent Document 2 has an object of “to reduce the moment of inertia of the movable part and increase the speed response”. Linked workpiece transfer robots have been proposed.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-218599 JP 2003-94359 A

  However, in a linear motion device provided in a conventional balancer, it has been difficult to ensure a smooth linear motion due to the presence of links that become obstacles during movement and the generation of frictional forces during operation. For example, the air balancer described in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1 has a structure in which a link mechanism is suspended from an air cylinder. Therefore, there is a limitation on the target workpiece, and the link mechanism has many sliding parts, so Measures against dynamic resistance are required. Note that the apparatus described in Patent Document 2 is a complicated mechanism such as providing two sets of parallel link mechanisms, and is not a suitable mechanism for the balancer.

  Therefore, the present invention provides a linear motion device that can smoothly move the lifting link in the vertical direction and ensure accurate linear motion in a linear motion device that linearly moves the lifting link below the support base. Is an issue.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a linear motion device for linearly moving an elevating link downward with respect to a support base, as claimed in claim 1, wherein the support extends below the support base. A slide link that supports the upper portion of the support base so as to be horizontally movable with respect to the support base, and a support portion that is disposed in parallel to the support portion of the slide link and extends below the support base. A support link that has an upper portion fixed to the support base, a first swing link that pivotally supports one end of the slide link on a support portion of the slide link, and the first swing link A second rocking link that is arranged in parallel, supports a middle portion of the slide link so as to be rotatable, and has one end extending with respect to the support portion of the slide link. The other end of the first swing link and the first The other end of the swing link is rotatably supported, and the intermediate portion of the first swing link is supported to be movable in the vertical and horizontal directions with respect to the support link support portion. The first swing link swings with respect to the slide link in conjunction with the swing of the second swing link with respect to the slide link by driving one end of the second swing link, and In conjunction with the swing of the swing link, the first swing link moves vertically and horizontally with respect to the support link, and the slide link moves horizontally with respect to the support base, while the lift link Is configured to linearly move in the vertical direction.

  For example, as defined in claim 2, an elongated hole formed in a support portion of the support link and having a long axis in the vertical direction, and the first swing link disposed so as to be fitted in the elongated hole A pin member supported by an intermediate portion of the support link, and the pin member moves along the elongated hole in conjunction with the swing of the first swing link with respect to the slide link. You may comprise so that the intermediate part of a said 1st rocking | fluctuation link may move to an up-down and a horizontal direction with respect to a support part.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a drive device that is supported on the support base and coupled to one end of the second swing link, and the second swing link is provided by the drive device. It is good to comprise so that the one end part of a link may be driven in the direction which approaches or leaves | separates with respect to the said support base.

  Furthermore, as described in claim 4, a rail for supporting the support base so as to be movable in the horizontal direction is provided, and the lift link moves in the horizontal direction with respect to the rail and linearly extends in the vertical direction. It may be configured to exercise.

  Since this invention is comprised as mentioned above, there exist the following effects. In other words, the linear motion device according to the first aspect is configured as described above, and interlocks with the swing of the second swing link relative to the slide link by driving one end of the second swing link. The first swing link swings with respect to the slide link, and the first swing link moves vertically and horizontally with respect to the support link in conjunction with the swing of the first swing link and the slide link. Since the lifting link moves linearly in the vertical direction while moving horizontally with respect to the support base, smooth and accurate linear movement can be ensured.

  In particular, in the linear motion device described above, when configured as described in claim 2, the sliding resistance can be reduced and the elevating link can be moved smoothly in the vertical direction. The elongated hole may have, for example, a slanted cross-sectional shape, and a pin member may be configured by rotatably supporting a roller fitted to the elongated pin on the pin. Or it is good also as replacing with a long hole and a pin member and using the cam groove and roller of the same shape. According to the third aspect of the present invention, the lifting link can be smoothly moved in the vertical direction with a small operating force by the driving device. As the driving device, an actuator such as an electric motor can be used in addition to an air cylinder or a hydraulic cylinder.

  Furthermore, if comprised as described in Claim 4, while moving a support base with respect to a rail horizontally, a raising / lowering link can be linearly moved to an up-down direction, and a workpiece | work can be moved to a desired position. Therefore, it is suitable for a balancer applicable to a wide range of uses. For example, if an air balancer is configured using an air cylinder as a driving device, the lifting link can be smoothly moved in the vertical direction with a small operating force to ensure an accurate linear motion, and the workpiece can be reliably moved to a desired position. be able to.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 and 2 show a part of a balancer provided with a linear motion device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and a support base 10 is supported so as to be movable in a horizontal direction with respect to a rail 11. In addition, although the rail 11 is being fixed to the several support stand (not shown) in the lower part, you may support so that it may suspend from upper direction. The slide link 20 is supported so as to extend below the support base 10. The slide link 20 has a slider portion 21 formed on the upper portion thereof, and the slider portion 21 is supported so as to be horizontally movable with respect to the linear guide 12 fixed to the support base 10. Further, the support link 30 is arranged in parallel to the support portion 22 of the slide link 20, the upper portion 31 is fixed to the support base 10, and the support portion 32 extends below the support base 10. It is supported.

  One end portion of the first swing link 40 is supported on the support portion 22 of the slide link 20 so as to be rotatable about the rotation axis A1, and a second parallel to the first swing link 40 is provided. A swing link 50 is disposed. The second swing link 50 has an intermediate portion supported by the support portion 22 of the slide link 20 so as to be rotatable about the rotation axis A <b> 2, and one end portion 51 of the second swing link 50 with respect to the support portion 22 of the slide link 20. It extends to the right of 1. The other end of the first swing link 40 and the other end of the second swing link 50 are supported by the lift link 60 so as to be rotatable about the rotation axes A3 and A4, respectively. The link 60 is arranged in the vertical direction (vertical direction). Thus, the elevating link 60 and the slide link 20, the first swing link 40 and the second swing link 50 constitute a parallel link mechanism.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, a support plate 33 is fixed to the support portion 32 of the support link 30, and a long hole 34 is formed in the support plate 33. As shown in FIG. 1, the long hole 34 of the present embodiment is formed in a vertically symmetrical slanted cross-sectional shape, and its long axis is formed in the vertical direction. A pin 41 is supported at an intermediate portion of the first swing link 40, and the pin 41 is disposed so as to fit into the elongated hole 34. A roller (not shown) that can be fitted into the long hole 34 may be rotatably supported by the pin 41 and may be used as a pin member. Alternatively, instead of the long hole 34 and the pin 41, a cam groove and a roller (not shown) having the same shape may be used. As described above, the pin 41 moves along the elongated hole 34 in conjunction with the swing of the first swing link 40 relative to the slide link 20, and accordingly, the first support link 30 is supported with respect to the support portion 32 of the support link 30. An intermediate portion of one swing link 40 is configured to move in the vertical and horizontal directions. Thus, the first swing link 40 swings in conjunction with the swing of the second swing link 50 due to the driving (in the vertical direction) of the one end 51 of the second swing link 50, The first swing link 40 moves vertically and horizontally with respect to the support link 30 and the slide link 20 moves horizontally with respect to the linear guide 12 in conjunction with the swing of the first swing link 40 with respect to the slide link 20. However, the elevating link 60 is configured to linearly move in the vertical direction (vertical direction).

  In this embodiment, an air cylinder 70 is mounted as a drive device, and as shown in FIG. 1, the support base 10 and the second swing link 50 are swung around the rotation axes B1 and B2, respectively. It is supported movably. Thus, the air cylinder 70 can drive the one end portion 51 of the second swing link 50 toward or away from the support base 10. The driving device is not limited to the air cylinder 70, and a hydraulic cylinder or an electric motor may be used. Further, a chuck mechanism or the like (not shown) is fixed to the hanging portion 61 of the elevating link 60, and is configured so as to be able to lock the article to be conveyed (not shown). Is the same as the conventional balancer, and the description is omitted.

  Thus, according to the linear motion device according to the above-described embodiment, when the air cylinder 70 is driven and its output shaft extends as shown in the upper part of FIG. 3 from the state shown in FIG. One end 51 of the moving link 50 is driven downward to be separated from the support base 10, and the second swing link 50 swings clockwise about the rotation axis A2. In response to this, the first swing link 40 that is rotatably connected via the lift link 60 also swings clockwise about the rotation axis A1. At this time, the pin 41 moves along the elongated hole 34, the first swing link 40 moves upward and leftward in FIG. 3, and the slide link 20 also moves along the linear guide 12 to the left in FIG. Finally, the first swing link 40 and the slide link 20 are moved by a predetermined distance s in the horizontal direction (leftward in FIG. 3). As a result, the elevating link 60 can accurately linearly move in the vertical direction (upward in FIG. 3) without following a curved locus, and does not generate a large sliding frictional resistance as before.

  When the output shaft of the air cylinder 70 contracts from the state shown in FIG. 1 as shown in the lower part of FIG. 3, the one end 51 of the second swing link 50 is driven upward to approach the support base 10. The second swing link 50 swings counterclockwise about the rotation axis A2, and the first swing link 40 swings counterclockwise about the rotation axis A1. Also at this time, the pin 41 moves along the elongated hole 34, the first swing link 40 moves downward and leftward in FIG. 3, and the slide link 20 also moves along the linear guide 12 to the left in FIG. Finally, the first swing link 40 and the slide link 20 are moved by a predetermined distance s in the horizontal direction (leftward in FIG. 3). As a result, as in the case of the upper part of FIG. 3, the elevating link 60 can move linearly in the vertical direction (lower part of FIG. 3) smoothly and accurately.

  As described above, the linear motion device of the present invention moves the support base 10 in the horizontal direction with respect to the rail 11, and moves the lifting link 60 in the vertical direction to move the workpiece (not shown) in a desired manner. It can be applied to a balancer that moves to a position, and the lift link 60 can be smoothly moved in the vertical direction with a small operating force, and the work can be reliably moved to a desired position. In the above-described embodiment, the other structures related to the balancer are the same as those of the conventional device, and thus the description thereof is omitted. However, the linear motion device is not limited to the balancer, and is not limited to the balancer. The present invention can be applied to various devices that are required. Further, in the present application, the term “link” is used. However, the term “link” is not limited to a narrow link, but includes various members called arms, levers, frames, and the like.

It is a front view which shows a part of balancer provided with the linear motion apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a side view which shows a part of balancer in one Embodiment of this invention. It is a front view which shows the movement state of the perpendicular direction of the raising / lowering link at the time of a drive in the linear motion apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Support base 11 Rail 12 Linear guide 20 Slide link 30 Support link 34 Slot 40 First swing link 41 Pin 50 Second swing link 60 Lift link 70 Air cylinder

Claims (4)

  In a linear motion device that linearly moves an elevating link below a support base, a slide having a support portion extending below the support base and supporting an upper portion so as to be horizontally movable with respect to the support base A link, a support link disposed in parallel to the support portion of the slide link and extending below the support base, and an upper portion fixed to the support base; and a support of the slide link A first swing link that rotatably supports one end of the slide link and a first swing link that is disposed in parallel to the first swing link, and an intermediate portion is rotatably supported by the support portion of the slide link. A second swinging link having one end extending with respect to the support portion of the slide link, and the other end of the first swinging link and the second swinging link on the lifting link. The other end is rotatably supported and the support The second swing link is configured by supporting the intermediate portion of the first swing link so as to be movable in the vertical and horizontal directions with respect to the support portion of the link, and by driving one end portion of the second swing link. The first swing link swings with respect to the slide link in conjunction with the swing of the first swing link, and the first swing link interlocks with the swing of the first swing link. A linear motion device characterized in that the lifting link moves vertically in the vertical direction while moving in the vertical and horizontal directions relative to the support link and the slide link horizontally moving in relation to the support base.   A long hole having a long axis in the vertical direction, and a pin member that is disposed so as to be fitted in the long hole and supported by an intermediate portion of the first swing link. The pin member moves along the elongated hole in conjunction with the swing of the first swing link relative to the slide link, and the intermediate portion of the first swing link with respect to the support portion of the support link The linear motion device according to claim 1, wherein the linear motion device moves vertically and horizontally.   A driving device that is supported by the support base and connected to one end of the second swing link; and the drive device causes the one end of the second swing link to be close to the support base or 3. The linear motion device according to claim 1, wherein the linear motion device is driven in a separating direction.   A rail for supporting the support base so as to be movable in a horizontal direction is provided, and the elevating link moves in a horizontal direction and linearly moves in a vertical direction with respect to the rail. A linear motion device according to claim 1.

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