JP6661233B2 - Plate cam mechanism and clamp device having plate cam mechanism - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a plate cam mechanism and a clamp device having the plate cam mechanism.

  A plate cam mechanism is known as one of mechanisms for converting a rotary motion into a linear motion (see Patent Document 1). The plate cam mechanism makes the contour (cam face) of the plate different from the center of rotation depending on the angle, so that a part (cam follower) pressed against the contour is equal to the change in the distance from the center. It is a mechanism that can give a linear motion.

JP 2011-1968 A

  In order to increase the mechanical efficiency of the plate cam mechanism, a total of two or three rolling bearings are required for the parts (cam followers) pressed against the cam face and the bearings for supporting the plate cam. The plurality of rolling bearings cannot be arranged so as to overlap in a direction orthogonal to the rotation axis of the plate cam. For this reason, the axial length of the rotary shaft of the plate cam mechanism is the shortest length obtained by adding the axial lengths of the bearings.

For example, in the plate cam mechanism shown in FIG. 8, the lengths a and b of the portions supported by a pair of bearings at both ends of the rotary shaft 102 of the plate cam 100, and the length required for the bearing that supports the rotation of the cam follower 104. c is required.
An object of the present invention is to provide a plate cam mechanism and a clamp device having the plate cam mechanism that can reduce the number of rolling bearings.

The plate cam mechanism according to the present invention is a plate cam fixed to a rotating shaft, wherein the distance from the rotation center of the rotating shaft has an outer contour at least partly different in a rotation direction; An annular member having flexibility while being arranged so as to cover the periphery of the outer contour, and a plurality of rolling members rotatably arranged between the annular member and the plate cam; When the plate cam rotates together with the rotation shaft, the outer contour of the plate cam propagates to the annular member via the rolling member, and a cam follower abuts on the outer peripheral surface of the annular member. And
Further, the plate cam may be an elliptical cam.

  Further, the present invention is a clamping device having the plate cam mechanism, wherein a fixed clamp member fixed to a housing, and disposed in the housing, in a direction approaching and separating from the fixed clamp member. A movable clamp member movably disposed, wherein the rotating shaft is rotatably supported in the housing without bearing, and the cam follower is connected to the movable clamp member. It is.

With the above configuration, the plate cam is rotatable via a plurality of rolling members with respect to the annular member arranged so as to cover the outer contour. For this reason, it is not necessary to provide a rolling bearing on the member supporting the rotary shaft, and the axial length of the rotary shaft can be reduced. As a result, the number of parts can be reduced.
Further, the rotation shaft may be connected to a manually operable lever.
Further, the rotation shaft may be connected to a drive source that imparts rotation.
Further, an urging member for urging the movable clamp member toward or away from the fixed clamp member may be provided.

  According to the plate cam mechanism and the clamp device having the plate cam mechanism of the present invention, the number of rolling bearings can be reduced.

1 is a perspective view of a clamp device according to one embodiment. Sectional drawing of the clamp apparatus of one Embodiment. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a main part of the plate cam mechanism of the clamp device according to the embodiment, in which a mechanism case is omitted. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a movable clamp member, a fixed clamp member, and a screw member that constitute the clamp device according to the embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a clamper body case of the clamp device according to the embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a plate cam mechanism according to one embodiment. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a mechanism case of the clamp device according to the embodiment. The schematic diagram of the conventional plate cam mechanism.

  Hereinafter, the plate cam mechanism of the present invention will be embodied as an elliptical cam mechanism, and a clamp device provided with the elliptical cam mechanism will be described with reference to FIGS.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the clamp device 10 includes a housing 20, a fixed clamp member 30 and a movable clamp member 32 provided in the housing 20, an elliptical cam assembly 50 provided in the housing 20, and the like. ing.

  The housing 20 includes a clamper body case 22 that houses the movable clamp member 32 and the fixed clamp member 30, and a mechanism case 23 that houses the elliptical cam assembly 50.

  As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 5, the clamper body case 22 includes a pair of storage block portions 24, 25 for storing the movable clamp member 32 and the fixed clamp member 30, respectively, and both storage block portions 24, 25. Is provided with a connecting portion 26 for connecting the upper portions of the storage blocks 24 and 25, and the entire shape is formed in an inverted concave shape so that the lower portions of the storage block portions 24 and 25 face each other.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, the storage block portions 24 and 25 are formed with storage holes 24 a and 25 a having a circular cross section in the longitudinal direction of the clamper main body case 22. The cross-sectional shape of the storage holes 24a and 25a is not limited to a circular cross-section, but may be another cross-sectional shape. Openings 24b, 25b communicating with the storage holes 24a, 25a are formed on opposing surfaces of the storage block portions 24, 25, respectively. The openings 24b and 25b are formed in a semicircular shape in the present embodiment, but are not limited to this shape.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the fixed clamp member 30 is formed in a columnar shape, and is fixed to the storage block 25 while being stored in the storage hole 25a of the storage block 25 as shown in FIG. ing. The movable clamp member 32 is formed in a columnar shape and, as shown in FIG. 2, extends the length of the clamper main body case 22 with respect to the storage block 24 while being stored in the storage hole 24 a of the storage block 24. , Ie, movable in the approaching / separating direction with respect to the fixed clamp member 30.

  Clamp portions 30b, 32b protruding from the openings 24b, 25b of the storage block portions 24, 25 are formed on the lower end surfaces of the fixed clamp member 30 and the movable clamp member 32 facing each other. The surfaces of the clamp portions 30b and 32b facing each other are flat surfaces.

  In addition, the shape of the movable clamp member 32 and the fixed clamp member 30 is not limited to a columnar shape, but may be any shape that can be housed in the housing holes 24a and 25a, for example, a shape that can be fitted.

  As shown in FIG. 2, through holes 26 a and 30 a are coaxial with the fixed clamp member 30 housed in the connecting portion 26 and the housing block 25 of the clamper body case 22 along the length direction of the clamper body case 22. It is formed so that it becomes. The movable clamp member 32 stored in the storage block portion 24 has a screw hole 32a coaxial with the through hole 26a. A screw member 40 that is movably penetrated through the through hole 30a of the fixed clamp member 30 and the through hole 26a of the connecting portion 26 is attached to the screw hole 32a.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the screw member 40 includes a rod portion 41 having a circular cross section, a male screw portion 42 provided at the tip of the rod portion 41, and a flange-shaped member provided at the base end of the rod portion 41 and having an enlarged diameter. It has a head 43, and a male screw portion 42 is screwed into a screw hole 32 a of the movable clamp member 32. As the screw member 40 reciprocates in the length direction of the clamper main body case 22, the movable clamp member 32 approaches and separates from the fixed clamp member 30.

As shown in FIG. 2, the mechanism case 23 is formed in a cylindrical shape with a bottom by a peripheral wall 27 and a bottom wall 28, and the bottom wall 28 is connected to an outer end surface of the fixed clamp member 30 by a connection pin. 38 and are integrally connected and fixed.
As shown in FIG. 2, the mechanism case 23 has a small-diameter portion 35, a large-diameter portion 36, and a female screw portion 37 in order from the bottom wall 28 toward the distal end opening 34.

  The screw member 40 is disposed so as to penetrate a through hole formed in the bottom wall 28 such that the head 43 and a part of the rod 41 are respectively located on the large diameter portion 36 and the small diameter portion 35. . A bush 45 is externally fitted to the rod 41 near the head 43 of the screw member 40. The bush 45 includes a cylindrical portion 45a fitted to the rod portion 41 and an outward flange 45b protruding from one end of the cylindrical portion 45a. The cylindrical portion 45a of the bush 45 is housed in a through hole provided at the center of the disc spring 44 group, and the outward flange 45b is provided between the head 43 of the screw member 40 and one end of the disc spring 44 group. It is pinched.

  In the small diameter portion 35, a plurality of disc springs 44 as biasing members are stored in a stacked state. Hereinafter, the plurality of disc springs 44 will be referred to as a group of disc springs 44. The rod portion 41 of the screw member 40 is inserted through a through hole provided at the center of the group of disc springs 44. When the screw member 40 is screwed into the screw hole 32 a of the movable clamp member 32, the head 43 compresses the group of disc springs 44 to generate a clamping force described later. The screwing (screw-in) of the movable clamp member 32 into the screw hole 32a is performed with a preset torque before the below-described elliptical cam assembly 50 and the adjusting screw 56 are assembled.

As a result, the disc spring 44 group has one end abutting against the bottom wall 28 and the other end pressing the head 43 of the screw member 40 toward the female screw portion 37 via the bush 45, so that the screw member 40 , The movable clamp member 32 is constantly urged toward the fixed clamp member 30, that is, in the approaching direction.
Also, as shown in FIG. 2, an elliptical cam assembly 50 is disposed on the large diameter portion 36. The elliptical cam assembly 50 corresponds to an assembly.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the elliptical cam assembly 50 covers a plate cam 51 having an elliptical shape, a rotating shaft 52 integrally connected to the plate cam 51, and a periphery of the outer contour of the plate cam 51. And a plurality of rolling members 54 rotatably arranged between the annular member 53 and the plate cam 51. The plate cam 51 corresponds to an elliptical cam. The plurality of rolling members 54 are formed of cylindrical rollers having the same diameter as each other. It is preferable that there is a slight gap between the rolling members 54 so that the rolling members can roll freely.

  The rotating shaft 52 is attached to the plate cam 51 so that the intersection of the long axis and the short axis of the plate cam 51 becomes the center of rotation. Since the rotating shaft 52 is attached to the plate cam 51 in this manner, the outer contour of the plate cam 51 is partially different in distance from the rotation center of the rotating shaft 52 in the rotation direction.

  Although the materials of the plate cam 51, the rotating shaft 52, the annular member 53, and the rolling member 54 are not limited, the plate cam 51, the rotating shaft 52, and the rolling member 54 are preferably made of a rigid metal. The annular member 53 can be, for example, stainless steel, but is not limited to this material.

  When the plurality of rolling members 54 are arranged so as to cover the periphery of the plate cam 51, the annular member 53 follows the outer contour of the plate cam 51, that is, is similar to the outer contour of the plate cam 51. It has a size that is a shape or a substantially similar shape. Therefore, in the elliptical cam assembly 50, when the plate cam 51 rotates together with the rotation shaft 52, the outer contour of the plate cam 51 propagates to the annular member 53 via the rolling member 54. .

  As shown in FIG. 7, both ends of the rotating shaft 52 protrude outside through a through hole 27 a penetrating the inside and outside of the peripheral wall 27 of the mechanism case 23. Further, both ends of the rotating shaft 52 are rotatably supported on the periphery of the through hole 27a without bearing. The through-hole 27a is formed as a long hole extending in the length direction of the clamper main body case 22, and the movement of the rotary shaft 52, that is, the elliptical cam assembly 50 in the same direction, causes the through-hole 27a (the long hole) to move. Allowed in the direction of extension. The through holes 27a allow both ends of the rotating shaft 52 to rotate, but restrict vertical movement in FIG.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, an adjusting screw 56 is screwed into the female screw portion 37 of the mechanism case 23. The adjusting screw 56 sandwiches and restrains the elliptical cam assembly 50 in cooperation with the head 43 of the screw member 40 pressed by the urging force of the group of disc springs 44.

  As described above, the elliptical cam assembly 50 is constrained by the adjusting screw 56 and the head 43 of the screw member 40, and when the plate cam 51 rotates, the constrained state is maintained while the transparent cam shown in FIG. It is movable in a direction in which the hole 27a (a long hole) extends.

  The screw member 40 corresponds to a cam follower, and the screw member 40 and the elliptical cam assembly 50 constitute an elliptical cam mechanism.

  At both ends of the rotation shaft 52, operation levers 58 are attached via U-shaped attachment members 57. As shown in FIG. 2, the operation lever 58 is selectively operable between a standing state in which the user stands in a vertical direction and a lying state in which the operating lever 58 is rotated 90 degrees clockwise in FIG. When the operation lever 58 shown in FIG. 2 is in the upright state, the plate cam 51 is arranged so that its long axis is along the vertical direction and its short axis is in the horizontal direction. When the operation lever 58 is in the down state, the plate cam 51 is arranged so that the short axis is oriented in the vertical direction and the long axis is oriented in the horizontal direction.

The clamp device 10 configured as described above clamps an object such as a rail R provided on a machine tool or the like by the movable clamp member 32 and the fixed clamp member 30 when the operation lever 58 is in the upright state. It is a normally closed clamp device. This type of stopper device can be used, for example, as a stopper device for a table moving a rail of a machine tool or the like.
(Operation of the embodiment)
The operation of the clamp device 10 configured as described above will be described.

  For convenience of explanation, as shown in FIG. 2, the description will be made from a state in which the rail R is clamped between the fixed clamp member 30 of the clamp device 10 and the clamp portions 30 b and 32 b of the movable clamp member 32. When the rail R is clamped, the operation lever 58 is in the upright state. At this time, the clamping force of the movable clamp member 32 and the fixed clamp member 30 on the rail R is generated by the group of disc springs 44 being compressed by the head 43 of the screw member 40.

  Further, the annular member 53 of the elliptical cam assembly 50 has a similar shape or a substantially similar shape to the outer contour of the plate cam 51 by the plurality of rolling members 54 arranged so as to cover the periphery of the plate cam 51. Propagated to form an ellipse.

  In this state, when the operating lever 58 is turned 90 degrees against the urging force to be in the fall-down state, the plate cam 51 of the elliptical cam assembly 50 is rotated integrally with the rotation shaft 52, and the short length of the plate cam 51 is reduced. The axis is oriented vertically from the horizontal orientation, while the long axis is oriented horizontally from the vertical orientation.

  The outer shape of the elliptical cam assembly 50 is such that the plurality of rolling members 54 are arranged so as to cover the plate cam 51 and the flexible annular member 53 has an elliptical shape. The group of disc springs 44 is compressed using the difference in length between the long axis and the short axis of the 51 as the amount of compression. Therefore, the screw member 40 moves from the mechanism case 23 to the clamper body case 22 by the amount of the compression, that is, the movable clamp member 32 is separated from the fixed clamp member 30, and the distance between the two clamp members is increased. As a result, the rail R is released.

  When the operating lever 58 in the laid-down state is set in the upright state against the urging force of the group of disc springs 44, the short axis of the plate cam 51 that has been oriented vertically is oriented horizontally and the long axis is horizontally oriented. It is arranged from the direction of the direction to the vertical direction. As a result, the screw member 40 is moved and moved by the plate cam 51 (that is, the annular member 53 having a similar shape to the plate cam 51) by the difference between the long axis and the short axis of the plate cam 51. The clamp member 32 approaches the fixed clamp member 30. As a result, the rail R is clamped.

In the above-described plate cam mechanism, a portion for supporting the rotating shaft 52 on the mechanism case 23 is only a peripheral portion of the through hole 27a which is a simple elongated hole, and is located between the annular member 53 disposed around the plate cam 51. Since there are a plurality of rolling members 54 interposed, the rotation itself of the rotating shaft 52 can be smoothly rotated. Therefore, it is not necessary to newly provide a rolling bearing between the mechanism case 23 and the rotating shaft 52.
According to the present embodiment, the following features are provided.

  (1) The plate cam mechanism of the present embodiment is a plate cam 51 fixed to a rotating shaft 52, the plate cam having an outer contour at least partially different from the center of rotation of the rotating shaft 52 in the rotation direction. 51. Further, the plate cam mechanism is disposed so as to cover the periphery of the outer contour of the plate cam 51 and has a flexible annular member 53, and is rotatably disposed between the annular member 53 and the plate cam 51. And a plurality of rolling members 54. The plate cam mechanism further includes an elliptical cam assembly 50 that propagates the outer contour of the plate cam 51 to the annular member 53 via the rolling member 54 when the plate cam 51 rotates together with the rotation shaft 52. And has a screw member 40 (cam follower) that comes into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the annular member 53.

As a result, the plate cam can be rotated between the annular member 53 and the annular member 53 via a plurality of rolling members, and the rolling bearing is omitted, and the rotating shaft is moved relative to the supporting member (for example, the mechanism case 23). Can be supported.
(2) In the plate cam mechanism of the present embodiment, the plate cam 51 is an elliptical cam. As a result, the plate cam mechanism having the elliptical cam has the effect (1).

(3) The clamp device 10 of the present embodiment is arranged on the fixed clamp member 30 fixed to the clamper main body case 22 (housing) and the mechanism case 23 (housing). And a movable clamp member 32 movably arranged in the approaching / separating direction. Further, the rotating shaft 52 is rotatably supported without bearing in the mechanism case 23 (housing), and the screw member 40 (cam follower) is connected to the movable clamp member 32.
As a result, according to this clamp device, the rolling shaft can be supported by the support member (for example, the mechanism case 23) without the rolling bearing.

  (4) In the clamp device 10 of the present embodiment, the rotating shaft 52 is connected to an operation lever 58 that can be manually operated. As a result, according to the clamp device of the present embodiment, the above-described effect (3) is exerted in a clamp device in which a lever can be manually operated.

(5) The clamp device 10 of the present embodiment includes a group of disc springs 44 (biasing members) that biases the movable clamp member 32 toward the fixed clamp member 30 in the approaching direction, and is a normally-closed clamp device. I have. As a result, in the normally-closed clamp device, the effect (3) is exhibited.
The embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and may be configured as follows.

-Although the plate cam mechanism of the above-described embodiment is an elliptical cam mechanism, the plate cam mechanism of the present invention is not limited to the elliptical cam mechanism, but is embodied in a plate cam mechanism having an outer shape other than an ellipse. Is also good. That is, the plate cam may be formed into a cam shape other than the elliptical cam, and the plate cam may have an outer contour whose distance from the rotation center of the rotation shaft is at least partially different in the rotation direction.
In the above embodiment, the rolling member is a cylindrical roller, but may be changed to a ball, a needle, or a conical roller.

In the clamp device of the embodiment, the rotation shaft 52 is rotated by the operation lever which can be manually operated. In place of the operation lever 58, the rotation shaft 52 may be connected to a motor as a drive source, a solenoid, or the like directly or via a link mechanism to enable the rotation shaft to rotate forward and reverse. The same effect as that of the embodiment can be obtained.
-In the said embodiment, it may replace with the disc spring 44 group of the clamp apparatus 10, and may change into the urging member which consists of other elastic bodies, such as a coil spring and a leaf spring.

  In the above-described embodiment, the disc springs 44 are arranged in the mechanism case 23. However, in the storage block 24, the urging members are arranged so as to urge the movable clamp member 32 toward the fixed clamp member 30. Alternatively, a normally-closed clamping device may be used.

The clamp device 10 of the embodiment includes an urging member that urges the movable clamp member 32 toward the fixed clamp member 30 in the approaching direction. Instead, an urging member that urges the movable clamp member 32 in the direction away from the fixed clamp member 30 may be provided. In this case, the clamp device is a normally open type clamp device. For example, an urging member as the elastic body is disposed in the storage block portion 24, and the movable clamp member 32 is urged toward the fixed clamp member 30 by the urging member.
-In the said embodiment, the movable clamp member 32 was arrange | positioned at the storage block part 24, and the fixed clamp member 30 was arrange | positioned at the storage block part 25.

  Instead of this configuration, the fixed clamp member 30 may be arranged in the storage block 24 and the movable clamp member 32 may be arranged in the storage block 25. In this case, the through hole 26a is omitted, and the mechanism case 23 is fixed to the clamper body case 22. The other configuration is the same as the configuration shown in FIG. The clamp device thus configured can be a normally open type clamp device.

10 ... clamping device,
Reference numeral 20: housing, 22: clamper body case, 23: mechanism case 23,
24 ... storage block part, 24a ... storage hole, 24b ... opening,
25 ... storage block part, 25a ... storage hole, 25b ... opening, 26 ... connecting part,
26a: through hole, 27: peripheral wall, 27a: through hole, 28: bottom wall,
30: fixed clamp member, 30a: through hole, 30b: clamp portion,
32: movable clamp member, 32a: screw hole, 32b: clamp portion,
33 ... bottom wall, 34 ... tip opening, 35 ... small diameter part, 36 ... large diameter part,
37 ... female screw part, 38 ... connecting pin 40 ... screw member (cam follower), 41 ... rod part, 42 ... male screw part,
43: head, 44: disc spring, 45: bush, 45a: cylindrical part,
45b: outward flange, 50: elliptical cam assembly (assembly assembly),
51: plate cam, 52: rotating shaft, 53: annular member, 54: rolling member,
56 ... Adjust screw, 58 ... Operation lever,
100: plate cam, 102: rotary shaft, 104: cam follower,
R ... rail.

Claims (6)

A plate cam mechanism configured by an assembled body and a cam follower, and configured to convert a rotational motion into a linear motion ,
It said assembly body includes a plate cam having at least a portion is different from the external outline in the distance direction of rotation from the rotation center of Rutotomoni the rotary shaft is fixed to the rotating shaft, to cover the periphery of the outer contour of the plate cam And an annular member having flexibility, and a plurality of rolling members rotatably arranged between the annular member and the plate cam, wherein the plate cam is provided together with the rotating shaft. When rotated, the outer contour of the plate cam is propagated to the annular member via the rolling member so as to have a similar shape to the outer contour shape of the plate cam ,
The cam follower abutting to that plate cam mechanism on the outer circumferential periphery of the annular member.   The plate cam mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the plate cam is an elliptical cam. A clamping device having the plate cam mechanism according to claim 2,
A fixed clamp member fixed to the housing,
A movable clamp member disposed in the housing and movably arranged in the approaching / separating direction with respect to the fixed clamp member,
The rotation shaft is rotatably supported on the housing without bearings,
A clamp device having a plate cam mechanism, wherein the cam follower is connected to the movable clamp member.   The clamping device according to claim 3, wherein the rotating shaft is connected to a manually operable lever.   The clamping device according to claim 3, wherein the rotating shaft is connected to a driving source that imparts rotation.   The clamping device having a plate cam mechanism according to claim 4 or 5, further comprising an urging member for urging the movable clamp member toward or away from the fixed clamp member.

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