JP5448674B2 - Rotary punch unit with excellent drilling waste discharge - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a rotary punch unit that punches a sheet material such as paper or resin film supplied between a punch and a die having a die hole by meshing the punch and the die hole.

  The rotary punch unit has a pair of rotating shafts that rotate in different directions, the punch is fixed on one rotating shaft, and the other rotating shaft has a die hole that engages with the punch and punches a sheet material. A die is fixedly provided, and the pair of rotating shafts rotate in synchronization to punch a sheet material positioned between the punch and the die hole.

  The die used for the rotary punch unit described above is often formed into a cylindrical appearance. In this case, the punching waste of the sheet material punched out by meshing the punch and the die hole is pushed out of the die hole by the punch into the die, and then the outer peripheral side inner wall or the rotary shaft side inside the die by the rotation of the rotary shaft It is moved in the direction of the rotation axis while rotating in contact with the inner wall, and is discharged to the outside from the opening provided in the die.

  As such a die, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, the rotation shaft side inner wall forming the space shape inside the die through which the rotation shaft 5 penetrates uses the outer peripheral surface of the rotation shaft 5 as it is, and the outer peripheral side inner wall is used as the die. There is known a die disclosed in Patent Document 1 (hereinafter referred to as a conventional die A) which is formed straight toward the opening 7A and has a cylindrical surface 8A. Further, as similar to this, for example, disclosed in Patent Document 3, the outer peripheral side inner wall has a spiral-like groove portion provided with a feed angle simulating a part of a rifle mark toward the opening. A die having an irregular cylindrical surface (hereinafter referred to as a conventional die B) is known.

  Further, for example, as shown in FIG. 5, the inner wall on the rotating shaft side that forms the space shape inside the die through which the rotating shaft 5 passes uses the outer peripheral surface of the rotating shaft 5 as it is, and the inner wall on the outer peripheral side faces the opening 7C. There is known a die disclosed in Patent Document 2 (hereinafter referred to as a conventional die C) having a tapered surface 9C formed with a conical diameter. Further, as a similar one, for example, disclosed in Patent Document 3, a die having a stepped surface formed by expanding the outer peripheral side inner wall in a deformed conical shape toward the opening (hereinafter referred to as a conventional die D). Is known).

  Further, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, the outer peripheral side inner wall forming the space shape inside the die is formed straight toward the opening 7E to form a cylindrical surface 8E, and the taper is reduced in diameter toward the opening 7E. A die disclosed in Patent Document 3 (hereinafter referred to as a conventional die E), in which a deflector 18E having a surface 9E is attached to the rotating shaft 5 and the tapered surface 9E is positioned directly below the die hole 3E to form an inner wall on the rotating shaft. ) Is known.

  When attention is paid to the way in which the spaces inside the conventional dies A to E described above are spread, the conventional dies A and B have a substantially constant cylindrical shape from the back side toward the opening, and the conventional dies C and D Is a substantially conical space that is narrow on the back side and expands toward the opening, and the conventional die E is a substantially conical interpolated space in the conventional dies C and D. In the rotary punch unit described above, a conventional die C having a tapered inner peripheral wall that expands toward the opening is frequently used, and it is assumed that perforated scraps are easily discharged by the inclination of the tapered surface. Yes.

JP 7-88799 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-9394 JP 2000-42994 A

  When the present inventor repeatedly perforated the sheet material, the inventor has observed and considered the behavior of the perforated waste in the space inside the conventional dies A to E for the above-described conventional dies A to E. Specifically, each rotary punch unit independently including conventional dies A to E through which the rotating shaft penetrates was prototyped and fixed on a stable table. At this time, the rotating shaft for rotating the conventional dies A to E is held slightly inclined from the horizontal direction with respect to gravity, and the opening for discharging the perforated waste of the conventional dies A to E is slightly upward. Arranged. Thereafter, the sheet material is continuously perforated by the respective rotary punch units equipped with the conventional dies A to E, and during the perforation, the behavior of the perforated scrap inside the conventional dies A to E and from the opening The discharge behavior of was observed.

  In the conventional dies A and B having a substantially cylindrical space inside, most of the perforated scraps are pushed out of the die hole and dropped toward the bottom, and then the die rotates in the substantially cylindrical space. Along with this, there are a stage (b) in which the cylinder moves as a circumferential surface on the outer peripheral side inner wall and is lifted (b), and a stage in which it slides down when a certain angle is reached on the cylinder (b). Repeated. And it moved to the opening side gradually while being pressed by the following perforated scraps generated one after another, and finally reached the opening and discharged to the outside of the die. However, as the number of drilling cycles increased, sticking of drilling debris thought to be caused by friction to the cylindrical surface occurred, and the subsequent drilling debris accumulated on the stuck drilling debris. . Eventually, a part of the space between the cylindrical surface and the rotating shaft is clogged due to the accumulation of the perforated waste, which may hinder the discharge of the perforated waste to the outside of the die.

  In addition, in the conventional dies C and D having a substantially conical space inside, most of the drilling waste is pushed out of the die hole and dropped toward the lowermost part, and then in the substantially conical space, The steps similar to steps (a) and (b) described above are repeated on the tapered surface that becomes the outer wall on the outer periphery side with rotation, and moves in a zigzag manner on the tapered surface near the lowest position in the weight direction. It reached the opening and was discharged to the outside of the die. However, as the number of perforations increases, the subsequent perforated scrap generated one after another accumulates in a narrow space deeper than the die hole in the substantially conical space, and the accumulated perforations When the scrap reached just below the die hole, a phenomenon of backflow from the die hole occurred. Eventually, a part of the space between the tapered surface and the rotating shaft is clogged due to the accumulation of the perforated waste, which may hinder the discharge of the perforated waste to the outside of the die.

  Further, in the conventional die E having a substantially conical interpolated space inside by the deflector 18E, the steps (A) and (B) described above are performed on the cylindrical surface which becomes the outer peripheral inner wall as the die rotates. Similar steps were repeated, and finally, as in the conventional dies A and B described above, the perforated waste reaching the opening was discharged to the outside of the die. However, as the number of times of drilling increases, drilling scraps stick to and accumulate on the cylindrical surface that is the outer wall on the outer peripheral side, and the cylindrical surface on the inner side of the die hole and the deflector 18E that is the inner wall on the rotating shaft side. Perforated debris stays and accumulates in the narrow space formed by the tapered surface, which may clog part of the space inside the die and hinder the discharge of perforated debris to the outside of the die. there were.

  An object of the present invention is to obtain a die member having a simple configuration in which perforated waste does not stay in the space inside the die following the die hole in view of the above-described solution, and has a rotary member excellent in perforated waste discharging performance. Is to provide a punch unit.

  As described above, the present inventor examined the discharge behavior of perforated waste in the conventional die, and in forming the inner wall that defines the space inside the die, the outer peripheral side inner wall is a cylindrical surface and the inclined surface is a rotational axis. It has been found that the above-mentioned problems can be solved by forming the adjacent portions around the periphery, and the present invention has been achieved.

That is, the present invention comprises a punch, a die having a die hole that meshes with the punch and punches in a sheet material, and a rotating shaft that passes through the die and rotates orthogonally to the punching direction of the punch. the die hole with the chad discharge space has an opening to the outside with opened the rotation axis direction to the inner wall of the die defining the outer periphery of the chad discharge space and the cylindrical surface and the inclined surface Are formed by being combined adjacent to each other around the rotation axis, and the inclined surface has an inclination in a direction away from the rotation axis toward the opening, and is excellent in punching waste discharging performance. Is a unit.

  In the present invention, it is preferable that the die hole is formed so as to open in the cylindrical surface.

  In the present invention, it is preferable that the inclined surface is formed by a flat surface or a curved surface that is recessed in a direction away from the rotating shaft.

Moreover, in this invention, the said perforated waste discharge space can be equipped with the said opening part in one and the other of a rotating shaft direction.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the perforated waste pushed out from the die hole from being accumulated inside the die by being perforated in the sheet material, and staying in the die, thereby smoothly discharging the perforated waste to the outside of the die. Since a die member having a simple configuration that can be obtained is obtained, a rotary punch unit excellent in perforating dust discharge performance can be obtained.

It is a block diagram which shows typically an example of the rotary punch unit of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows typically an example of die | dye applicable in this invention. It is a block diagram which shows typically the example of another die | dye applicable in this invention. It is a block diagram which shows typically an example of conventional die | dye A. It is a block diagram which shows an example of the conventional die | dye C typically. It is a block diagram which shows typically an example of conventional die E.

An important feature of the present invention defines a chad discharge space inside the die hole of the die opening provided in rotary punching unit, an inner wall of the die defining the outer periphery of the chad discharge space (hereinafter The outer peripheral side inner wall) is formed around the rotation axis by combining the cylindrical surface and the inclined surface adjacent to each other. The space defined in the die by the inner wall on the outer peripheral side described above is a space defined between a rotation axis whose opening area is almost fixed toward the opening and a cylindrical surface (hereinafter referred to as a constant space), A spatial structure having alternately a space defined between the rotation axis and the inclined surface (hereinafter referred to as variable space) whose opening area gradually changes and increases toward the opening portion is provided around the rotation axis.

  Specifically, the die according to the present invention having the above-described configuration includes a space having a die hole in the die and an opening to the outside in the rotation axis direction, and the outer peripheral side inner wall defining the space is a cylinder. An inclined surface and an inclined surface are formed adjacent to each other around the rotation axis, and the inclined surface is inclined in a direction away from the rotation axis toward the opening. As a result, the space defined in the die has a space structure in which the above-described constant space and variable space are alternately arranged around the rotation axis.

  In the present invention, the cylindrical surface is a surface formed so as to partially include the outer peripheral curved surface of the cylinder, or a surface formed including a curved surface similar to the outer peripheral curved surface even if it is not the outer peripheral curved surface of the cylinder itself. Say. The inclined surface is a surface formed by a plane or a curved surface, or a combination of a plane and a curved surface so as to have an inclination in a direction away from the rotation axis toward the opening of the space defined in the die. Say.

  The die that can be applied in the present invention may be any die that has a die hole that meshes with a punch and is punched in a sheet material, and a space having the above-described spatial structure is defined inside the die. For example, it can be formed into the die configuration described above by machining using a metal material such as a steel material for blades or a powder sintered material. In addition, for example, a die member including a die hole is formed using the metal material, a die case is formed using a resin material, and the die case is assembled integrally around the die member. Can be formed.

  It is desirable to use such a die case, and a die member made of a metal material having mechanical strength is fixed to the rotating shaft, and a die case made of a resin material having slightly inferior mechanical strength is fixed to the die member. It is possible to apply a configuration such as In this case, the surface on the rotating shaft side of the die member is a part of the outer peripheral side inner wall described above, for example, one cylindrical surface is formed, and the surface of the die case on the rotating shaft side is the remaining part of the outer peripheral side inner wall described above. For example, by forming one cylindrical surface and two inclined surfaces alternately, a space inside the die can be defined by an outer peripheral side inner wall formed by a combination of two sets of cylindrical surfaces and inclined surfaces. it can.

  In the rotary punch unit of the present invention, perforated waste generated by perforating a sheet material is pushed out of the die hole into the space inside the die by the punch and falls onto the outer peripheral side inner wall. And most of the perforated scraps slide or roll on the surface of the cylindrical surface or inclined surface that forms the outer peripheral side wall while the die is rotating, while sometimes contacting the rotating shaft. , Move from space to space, or from space to space, depending on the situation, move through each space repeatedly, and finally reach the opening and be discharged outside the die. It will be.

  When perforated waste exhibits the above-mentioned behavior, it can be prevented from clogging even if the perforated waste stops because the perforated waste can be stored in a constant space with a large space volume. The perforated waste can be actively moved to the opening side by the inclination, so that the perforated waste can be efficiently discharged outside the die. Moreover, in the space behind the die hole, the above-described variable space tends to be narrow. For example, even if perforated debris stops and accumulates in a narrow space in such a variable space, after a certain amount of perforated debris accumulates, it collapses to the side of the constant space with a large space volume arranged on both sides of the variable space. For this reason, the perforated waste does not accumulate and reach directly below the die hole, and therefore the perforated waste does not flow backward from the die hole. Further, the perforated waste does not accumulate and the variable space is not clogged, and the perforation waste is not hindered from being discharged to the outside of the die.

  In the present invention, in defining the space inside the die, as described above, the outer peripheral side inner wall defining the space is formed by combining the cylindrical surface and the inclined surface adjacent to each other around the rotation axis. In this case, in terms of the relationship between the shape and dimensions of the entire rotary punch unit or the die itself, it is practically desirable to limit the number of combinations of cylindrical surfaces and inclined surfaces to 6 or less. For example, when the cylindrical surface and the inclined surface are combined with more than six sets, the above-described constant space and variable space become too dense, and thus the above-described effects of the constant space and variable space can be sufficiently obtained. There may not be. If it becomes like this, even if it is a constant space with a large space volume, it will become easy to stagnate and accumulate | store a punching waste, and the possibility that a punching waste will be clogged inside a die increases. The number of combinations of the cylindrical surface and the inclined surface may be practically one or more. In this case, it is desirable to define a constant space having a large space volume immediately below the die hole by opening the die hole in a cylindrical surface, and thus clogging of perforated waste immediately below the die hole can be prevented.

Specifically, the rotary punch unit of the present invention to which the die member having the above-described configuration is applied includes a punch, a die having a die hole that meshes with the punch and perforates a sheet material, and penetrates the die. and a rotation axis orthogonal rotation drilling direction of the punch, with the chad discharge space having the opening of the die inside the die hole to the outside with opened direction of the rotation axis, the chad discharge space An inner wall of the die that defines the outer peripheral side of the die is formed by combining a cylindrical surface and an inclined surface adjacent to each other around the rotation axis, and the inclined surface is separated from the rotation axis toward the opening. It is a rotary punch unit having an inclination in the direction and excellent in perforating waste discharging properties.

Hereinafter, the suitable structure in the rotary punch unit of the present invention will be described.
In the present invention, it is desirable that the die hole provided in the die is formed by opening to the cylindrical surface of the outer peripheral side inner wall that defines the space inside the die. As a result, a constant space having a large space volume is arranged directly under the die hole, and even if the drilling waste is pushed out from the die hole one after another by continuously punching the sheet material, Since a large amount of perforated waste can be stored, the effect of preventing clogging of perforated waste is further enhanced.

  In the present invention, it is desirable that the inclined surface of the inner wall on the outer peripheral side that defines the space inside the die is formed by a flat surface, or formed by a curved surface that is recessed in the direction away from the rotating shaft that penetrates the space. Is desirable. By making the inclined surface on the inner wall on the outer peripheral side flat, it is possible to obtain a space that is not easily clogged and to obtain good perforated waste discharging properties. Furthermore, since it has a simple shape, it can be easily formed. In addition, by making the inclined surface of the inner wall on the outer peripheral side into the above-described curved surface, the space volume of the variable space can be increased while securing the drilling waste discharging property due to the inclination, so that the effect of preventing clogging of drilling waste is further enhanced.

  Moreover, in this invention, the opening part connected to the space defined in the inside of die | dye can be provided in the both sides of the rotating shaft direction which penetrates the inside of die | dye. Thereby, the discharge | emission property of the drilling waste pushed out to the space inside die | dye from die | dye hole can further improve. By providing two openings as described above and improving the perforating waste discharging property, for example, it becomes easy to integrally form two dies having die holes as one die. It is possible to prevent clogging due to perforation scraps remaining in a space defined inside the integrally formed die.

Next, the rotary punch unit of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings with specific examples.
As an example of the rotary punch unit of the present invention, FIG. 1 shows a configuration diagram of a rotary punch unit 10 (hereinafter referred to as punch unit 10). The punch unit 10 includes two die members 2 made of a metal powder sintered material having two punches 1 made of a steel material for blades and a die hole 3 that can mesh with the punches 1. Two holes can be drilled simultaneously in a sheet material (not shown).

  The punch 1 and the die hole 3 are arranged corresponding to the interval between two holes perforated in the sheet material. The punch 1 is disposed on the rotating shaft 12, and the die member 2 having the die hole 3 is disposed on the rotating shaft 5 passing therethrough. It is fixed. Further, the two rotating shafts 5 and 12 are supported at both ends by a bearing 15 fixed to the frame 11 and are arranged to face each other in parallel. The rotary shafts 5 and 12 are attached with gears 13 and 14 to which one side of each shaft is prevented from coming off by a bush 16 and a drive unit (not shown) is connected to the other side. An encoder 17 that detects the rotation angle of the rotary shaft 12 is attached to the gear 13 of the rotary shaft 12, and the rotary shafts 5 and 12 are configured to be able to rotate synchronously in opposite directions based on detection information of the encoder 17. Yes.

  The die member 2 through which the rotating shaft 5 penetrates is made of a metal material by injection molding and sintering of metal powder, has a substantially L-shape, the die hole 3 on one side, and the rotating shaft 5 on the other side. A through hole is provided. The die member 2 is assembled together with the die member 2 and a resin die case 4 formed in a cup shape so as to cover the periphery of the rotary shaft 5. The die member 2 and the die case 4 are integrated to form a die 6. Details of the die 6 are shown in FIG. 2A shows the opening 7 side from the direction of the rotation axis 5, FIG. 2B shows the cross section PP, FIG. 2C shows the cross section QQ, and FIG. 2D. Indicates a section RR.

  A space is defined inside the two dies 6, and the rotation shaft 5 passes through the central portion of the space so as to be orthogonal to the punching direction of the punch 1, and on one side in the direction of the rotation shaft 5. An opening 7 is provided. The two dies 6 are arranged so that the openings 7 are opposite to each other in the direction of the rotation axis 5. In addition, what is necessary is just to select the direction of the opening part 7 according to the desired position which wants to drop perforation waste, for example, and can arrange | position the two die | dyes 6 so that it may mutually open in the rotating shaft 5 direction.

Die 6 inside the space, the die 2 and the die case 4 rotating shaft 5 side surface of the inner wall (hereinafter, referred to as outer peripheral side wall) is defined as. The outer peripheral side wall has two pairs of cylindrical surfaces 8a, 8b and the inclined surfaces 9a, 9b are combined, it is formed by being disposed adjacent to about the axis of rotation 5. The two sets of cylindrical surfaces 8a and 8b and the inclined surfaces 9a and 9b are arranged so that the cylindrical surface 8a with the die hole 3 opened and the other cylindrical surface 8b facing each other with the rotation shaft 5 interposed therebetween. The inclined surfaces 9a and 9b are arranged so as to face each other with the die hole 3 axis direction in between. Further, the inclined surfaces 9 a and 9 b are inclined in a direction away from the rotary shaft 5 toward the opening 7.

Space within the die 6 which is defined by the above-described outer peripheral side wall, the second opening area is defined between substantially stated rotary shaft 5 and the cylindrical surface 8a, 8b toward the opening 7 Tsunojo The space and the two variable spaces defined between the inclined shafts 9a and 9b, the opening area of which gradually changes and increases toward the opening 7, are alternately adjacent around the rotating shaft 5. Thus, a space structure in which the opening area gradually increases toward the opening 7 in the direction of the rotation axis 5 can be defined.

In the present invention, in forming the outer peripheral side wall defining a space within the die, it is possible to change the number combination of the cylindrical surface and the inclined surface. The above-described die 6 is formed by combining two sets of cylindrical surfaces 8a and 8b and inclined surfaces 9a and 9b. For example, a die combining four sets of cylindrical surfaces and inclined surfaces can be configured, An example is shown in FIG. 3A shows the opening 7 ′ side from the direction of the rotation axis 5, FIG. 3B shows the cross section PP, FIG. 3C shows the cross section QQ, and FIG. ) Shows a cross section RR.

  In the die shown in FIG. 3, a die member 2 having a die hole 3 through which a rotating shaft 5 passes and a die case 4 ′ formed so as to cover the periphery of the rotating shaft 5 are integrally assembled to form a die case 4. 'And the die member 2 are integrated to form a die. In the die shown in FIG. 3, the number of combinations of the cylindrical surface 8 ′ and the inclined surface 9 ′ is twice that of the die 6 described above. The area of the cylindrical surface 8 ′ and the inclined surface 9 ′ is smaller than that. The space inside the die defined on the basis of the cylindrical surface 8 ′ and the inclined surface 9 ′ is four sets having a smaller space volume than the dies 6 that are alternately arranged around the rotation axis 5. It has a spatial structure defined by combining space and variable space. Even with a die having such a spatial structure, the operational effect in the present invention can be obtained, specifically, the operational effect of a constant space that makes it possible to store a lot of perforated scraps and hardly clogs, The effect of the variable space that positively moves the drilling waste toward the opening by the inclination can be obtained.

Next, a punching operation on the sheet material by the punch unit 10 described above will be described.
First, conveyance of a sheet material (not shown) to be punched was detected by a sensor (not shown). Based on the detection signal, a driving unit (not shown) is activated, and the driving force is transmitted to the two rotating shafts 5 and 12 through the gears 13 and 14 to rotationally drive the rotating shafts 5 and 12. As a result, the rotary shafts 5 and 12 were synchronously rotated in opposite directions, and the two sets of punches 1 and dies 6 arranged on the rotary shafts 5 and 12 gradually moved from the standby position. Eventually, the tip of the punch 1 and the outer edge of the die hole 3 were engaged, and two holes were punched in the sheet material being conveyed.

The above-described punching operation on the sheet material was continuously performed, and the behavior of the punching waste in the space inside the die 6 and the process of discharging from the opening 7 were observed.
Perforated scraps (not shown) generated by perforating the sheet material were pushed from the die hole 3 into the space inside the die 6 by the punch 1 and dropped one after another into the space inside the die 6. In the constant space described above, a lot of perforated scraps are lifted by moving in the circumferential direction on the surfaces of the cylindrical surfaces 8a and 8b serving as the inner walls on the outer periphery side in the constant space described above, The step of sliding down when reaching an angle on the surfaces 8a and 8b was repeated. Further, in the above-described variable space, the same behavior as the constant space is repeated on the surfaces of the inclined surfaces 9a and 9b, while moving on the surfaces of the inclined surfaces 9a and 9b toward the opening 7 in a zigzag manner. It was. Many perforations are repeatedly moved from the constant space to the variable space or from the variable space to the constant space while exhibiting the behavior as described above. 6 It was discharged outside.

  In the punch unit 10 as an example of the present invention to which the die 6 is applied, even if the punching is repeated many times in the sheet material, the punch die generated one after another is the conventional die C that has been frequently used as described above. There were no problems with the applied punch unit. Specifically, the perforated waste accumulates in a narrow part on the back side of the die hole 3 in the variable space and flows backward from the die hole 3, or the perforated waste is clogged in the fixed space or the variable space and the die 6 is clogged. There were no inconveniences such as hindering discharge to the outside.

As described above, the outer peripheral side wall defining a die interior space by combining adjacent the cylindrical surface and the inclined surface formed around the rotation shaft, and a constant space opening area is almost definite toward the opening, The rotary punch unit having excellent drilling waste discharging ability according to the present invention is obtained by providing a space structure in which the opening area is gradually changed and increased toward the opening, and the space is alternately arranged around the rotation axis. It was confirmed that

1. Punch, 2. 2. die member; Die hole 4,4 '. Die case, 5. Rotation axis, 6. Die, 7, 7 '. Openings, 8a, 8b, 8 '. Cylindrical surfaces, 9a, 9b, 9 '. Inclined surface, 10. 10. Rotary punch unit Frame, 12. Rotation axis, 13,14. Gear, 15. Bearings, 16. Bush, 17. Encoder, AE Conventional die, 3A, 3C, 3E. Die hole, 7A, 7C, 7E. Opening, 8A, 8E. Cylindrical surface, 9C, 9E. Tapered surface, 18E. Deflector

Claims (4)

A punch, a die having a die hole that meshes with the punch and punched in a sheet material, and a rotating shaft that passes through the die and rotates perpendicularly to the punching direction of the punch, and the die hole is inside the die. open with the chad discharge space with an opening to the outside direction of the rotation axis, the chad inner wall of the die defining the outer periphery of the discharge space inclined surface is around the axis of rotation and the cylindrical surface A rotary punch unit excellent in perforating dust discharge, wherein the inclined surface is inclined in a direction away from the rotating shaft toward the opening. .   2. The rotary punch unit with excellent drilling waste discharging property according to claim 1, wherein the die hole is formed to open in the cylindrical surface.   3. The rotary punch unit with excellent drilling waste discharging property according to claim 1, wherein the inclined surface is formed by a flat surface or a curved surface that is recessed in a direction away from the rotating shaft. 4. The rotary punch unit with excellent drilling waste discharging performance according to claim 1, wherein the punching waste discharge space includes the opening in one and the other in the rotation axis direction.