JP6978652B2 - Sphere orientation control device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention rotates and controls the polar coordinates of the directional control body to a desired direction so as to control the azimuth and surface position of the spherical directional control body with high accuracy, and arbitrarily determines the polar coordinates of the directional control body. With respect to the directional control device of the sphere that can be.

As a technique for performing non-destructive inspection on a spherical object (sphere) such as a rolling element of a bearing, there is a technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example. In the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, the vibration of a sphere is measured in a non-contact manner by causing a non-contact resonance with a sphere that is floated and supported by pneumatic pressure.

Japanese Patent No. 4670000

However, the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 has a problem that it is difficult to control the orientation and the position of the surface of the sphere because the sphere is floated and supported by blowing air from below the sphere. was there. An object of the present invention is to provide a sphere orientation control device capable of rotating the oriented controller in a desired orientation so as to control the polar coordinate orientation and surface position of the spherical oriented controller with high accuracy. To provide.

In order to solve the above problems, the embodiment of the present invention is to (a) a pedestal and (b) a circle fixed to the pedestal and n (n is a positive integer of 3 or more) circular through holes at a constant pitch. A holding plate arranged on the circumference, (c) n holding balls rotatably housed inside each of the n circular through holes with restricted horizontal movement, and (d) a pedestal and a holding plate. It is a gist that it is a sphere control device provided with a drive plate which is arranged between and in contact with n holding spheres and drives the rotation of n holding spheres. In the sphere direction control device according to the aspect of the present invention, a spherical directional control body is mounted on the n holding spheres so as to make point contact with each of the n holding spheres. Then, the movement of the drive plate in the horizontal plane rotates the n holding spheres, and the rotation of the n holding spheres rotates the directional control body, and the orientation of the directional control body is controlled.

According to the present invention, there is a spherical orientation control device capable of rotating the oriented controller in a desired orientation so as to control the polar coordinate orientation and surface position of the spherical oriented controller with high accuracy. It will be possible to provide.

It is a figure which shows the directional control device which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 3 is a side view of the directional control device according to the first embodiment as viewed from the direction II shown in FIG. As an application example of the directional control device according to the first embodiment, it is a figure explaining observation of the interference fringe of a spherical directional control body. It is a figure which shows the handling operation of the spherical directional control body using the directional control device which concerns on 1st Embodiment.

The first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the description of the drawings referred to in the following description, the same or similar parts are designated by the same or similar reference numerals. However, it should be noted that the drawings are schematic, and the relationship between the thickness and the plane dimensions, the ratio of the thickness, etc. are different from the actual ones. Therefore, the specific thickness and dimensions should be determined in consideration of the following explanation. In addition, it goes without saying that the drawings include parts having different dimensional relationships and ratios from each other.

Further, the first embodiment shown below exemplifies a sphere direction control device (referred to as "direction control device" in the following description) for embodying the technical idea of the present invention. , The technical idea of the present invention does not specify the materials of the components and their shapes, structures, arrangements, etc. to the following. The technical idea of the present invention can be modified in various ways within the technical scope specified by the claims described in the claims. Further, the directions of "left and right" and "up and down" in the following description are merely definitions for convenience of explanation, and do not limit the technical idea of the present invention. So, for example, if you rotate the paper 90 degrees, "left and right" and "up and down" are read interchangeably, and if you rotate the paper 180 degrees, "left" becomes "right" and "right" becomes "left". Of course it will be.

(First Embodiment)
The directional control device according to the first embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 controls the polar coordinates of the directional control body 1 with respect to the spherical directional control body 1, and the directional control body 1 of the directional control body 1. It is a device that precisely determines the orientation and the position of the surface. Specifically, with respect to the directional control body 1 in which the polar coordinates of the spherical coordinate system are set internally, the directional control body 1 so that the azimuth of the polar coordinates defined in the directional control body 1 matches the desired azimuth. Is rotated to control the direction of the directional control body 1.

In the spherical coordinate system (r, θ, φ) in the three-dimensional Euclidean space R ³ , polar coordinates are defined by one moving diameter r and two deviation angles θ, φ. Since the radius (diameter) of the directional control body 1 of the directional control device according to the first embodiment of the present invention is usually determined in advance, the radius of the spherical coordinate system (r, θ, φ). r = constant. In the spherical coordinate system (r, θ, φ), the direction of the azimuth vector can be determined by fixing the radius r and controlling the two deviation angles θ, φ. The directional control device according to the first embodiment of the present invention controls the "direction", which is the direction of the directional vector, in an arbitrary direction.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the directional control device according to the first embodiment includes a pedestal 2, a holding plate 4 mounted on the pedestal 2, and three holding balls 6a and 6b held on the holding plate 4. , 6c, a drive plate 8 for driving the rotation of the holding balls 6a to 6c, an actuator 10 for moving the drive plate 8, and an operation control unit 20 for controlling the actuator 10.

The pedestal 2 is a flat plate-shaped or block-shaped member. The drive plate mounting area on the upper surface of the pedestal 2 (the upper surface in FIG. 2) on which the drive plate 8 is mounted is a smooth surface. Further, the pedestal 2 is installed so that the drive plate mounting area on the upper surface of the pedestal 2 is a horizontal plane. In the first embodiment, as an example, a case where the pedestal 2 is formed into a rectangular shape in a plan view will be described, so that the entire upper surface of the pedestal 2 coincides with the drive plate mounting area. The "planar view" is a viewpoint represented by an arrow PS in FIG. 2, and is a viewpoint when the directional control device is viewed from the thickness direction of the pedestal 2 (a viewpoint when the directional control device is viewed from above).

In FIG. 2, the holding plate 4 is illustrated by a flat plate-shaped member having a smaller area than the pedestal 2, but the holding plate 4 does not necessarily have to have a flat plate shape as a whole if a certain flat plate area is included. No. In the structure exemplified in FIG. 2, the holding plate 4 is fixed to the pedestal 2 by using four bolts 30a, 30b, 30c, 30d, but the fixing method and structure are the method illustrated in FIG. It is not limited to the structure. Further, the holding plate 4 is fixed to the pedestal 2 so as to set a moving space for the drive plate 8 between the holding plate 4 and the pedestal 2. In the first embodiment, as an example, a case where the holding plate 4 is formed by using a fluororesin such as polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) will be described.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, in the vicinity of the center of the holding plate 4, circular through holes 40a, 40b, 40c having the same shape and the same inner diameter are provided at three locations defined on the circumference at a constant pitch. It penetrates. The circular through holes 40a, 40b, and 40c provided in the holding plate 4 are perfect circles having the same inner diameter (diameter), but the thickness of the holding plate 4 visible in FIG. 2 is the circular through holes 40a to 40c. Each of the circular through holes 40a to 40c, which is smaller than the inner diameter of the holding plate 4, penetrates the holding plate 4 in the thickness direction of the holding plate 4 (indicated as "vertical direction" in FIG. 2).

Further, the center points of the circular through holes 40a, 40b, and 40c overlap with the vertices of an equilateral triangle in a plan view (viewed from the thickness direction perpendicular to the main surface of the pedestal 2). That is, the center points of the circles of the circular through holes 40a to 40c are arranged at equal intervals on the circumference in a plan view, and the three straight lines connecting the center points of the circular through holes 40a to 40c are mutual. The angle formed by is 60 [°].

The three holding spheres 6a, 6b, 6c are formed into true spheres having the same shape and the same dimensions by using, for example, metal, semiconductor, crystal, ceramics, or the like. The outer diameter of each holding ball 6a to 6c is a value larger than the thickness of the holding plate 4. Further, the outer diameter of the first holding sphere 6a is smaller than the inner diameter of the first circular through hole 40a, and the first holding sphere 6a has the first circular through hole 40a and the outer circumference of the first holding sphere 6a. There is an approximate point contact at. Further, the outer diameter of the second holding sphere 6b is smaller than the inner diameter of the second circular through hole 40b, and the second holding sphere 6b has the second circular through hole 40b and the outer circumference of the second holding sphere 6b. There is an approximate point contact at. Similarly, the outer diameter of the third holding sphere 6c is smaller than the inner diameter of the third circular through hole 40c, and the third holding sphere 6c is the third holding sphere 40c and the third holding sphere 6c. Approximate point contact is made on the outer circumference.

The holding balls 6a, 6b, 6c can be freely rotated with high accuracy inside the corresponding circular through holes 40a, 40b, 40c, respectively, but the holding balls 6a, 6b, 6c move in parallel (horizontal). It is housed inside the circular through holes 40a, 40b, 40c so as to limit the range of movement). Therefore, the clearance (play) between the holding balls 6a to 6c and the inner diameters of the corresponding circular through holes 40a to 40c is set to a value in the range of about 0.01 to 0.1 [mm]. In the directional control device according to the first embodiment, the holding plate 4 and the holding sphere 6a are used in order to achieve a highly accurate degree of freedom of rotation inside the corresponding circular through holes 40a to 40c of the holding spheres 6a to 6c. The dynamic friction coefficient between ~ 6c is set low.

That is, in the directional control device according to the first embodiment, by selecting a fluororesin having a low dynamic friction coefficient for the holding plate 4, the dynamic friction coefficient between the holding plate 4 and the holding balls 6a to 6c is reduced. The holding plate 4 constitutes the "coefficient reduction mechanism". Then, in the dynamic friction coefficient reducing mechanism, the three holding balls 6a to 6c whose horizontal movement is restricted due to the movement of the drive plate 8 are inside the circular through holes 40a to 40c, respectively, according to their respective rotational degrees of freedom. , Rotates smoothly. Then, as shown in FIG. 2, the upper portion of the holding balls 6a to 6c protrudes from the upper surface of the holding plate 4, and the lower portion of the holding balls 6a to 6c protrudes from the lower surface of the holding plate 4.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a spherical directional control body 1 is mounted on the upper portion of each of the holding spheres 6a to 6c protruding from the upper surface of the holding plate 4 in a three-point contact. .. The spherical directional control body 1 is in a state of being mounted on the three holding balls 6a to 6c and is in rolling contact with the holding balls 6a to 6c at three points, and rotates with the rotation of the holding balls 6a to 6c. , The polar coordinates defined inside the directional control body 1 are changed. The outer diameter of the directional control body 1 does not necessarily have to be the same as the outer diameter of the holding spheres 6a to 6c, but the three holding spheres 6a to 6c are covered in the circular through holes 40a to 40c. It suffices as long as it has a size that allows rolling contact with the directional control body 1.

As can be seen from FIG. 1, the drive plate 8 is a plate-shaped (flat plate-shaped) member having a smaller area than the pedestal 2, and is inserted into the space between the pedestal 2 and the holding plate 4. As shown in FIG. 1, the drive plate 8 is arranged at a position of the holding plate 4 that does not overlap with the position where the bolts 30a to 30d are attached in a plan view, and is two-dimensional in the XY plane. Allows precision movement. The drive plate 8 faces the surface of the pedestal 2 facing the holding plate 4 (the upper surface of the pedestal 2) in contact or non-contact, and realizes precise movement. When the position control is made highly accurate, the drive plate 8 is made non-contact with the pedestal 2 by magnetic levitation or the like similar to that of a linear motor car, and the friction coefficient of the drive plate 8 with respect to the pedestal 2 is set to zero. Just set it.

It is preferable that the upper surface of the drive plate 8 is provided with a material having a large coefficient of static friction with respect to the holding balls 6a to 6c, such as a rubber sheet 50. In the directional control device according to the first embodiment, the rubber sheet 50 increases the coefficient of static friction when it comes into contact with the lower portions of the holding balls 6a to 6c protruding from the lower surface of the holding plate 4. ". That is, the rubber sheet 50 rolls and contacts each of the three holding balls 6a to 6c mounted on the rubber sheet 50 with a large coefficient of static friction, and a precise correspondence between the movement of the drive plate 8 and the rotation of the holding balls 6a to 6c can be realized. Therefore, the drive plate 8 moves two-dimensionally at the horizontal position between the pedestal 2 and the holding plate 4, so that the rotations of the holding balls 6a to 6c in contact with the drive plate 8 are precisely controlled and driven. It is possible.

As described above, according to the directional control device according to the first embodiment, when the three holding balls 6a to 6c rotate with the movement of the driving plate 8 by the static friction coefficient increasing mechanism, the holding balls with respect to the driving plate 8 It is possible to suppress the slip of 6a to 6c. This makes it possible to control the rotation of the three holding spheres 6a to 6c with high accuracy, and control the rotation of the directional control body 1 so as to change the polar coordinates of the directional control body 1 with high accuracy. It is possible to do it with.

The actuator 10 is formed by using, for example, two motors, a linear motion guide device (for example, a ball screw), or the like, and moves the drive plate 8 in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction. For example, in FIG. 1, the X-axis direction can be defined as a direction parallel to the long side of the pedestal 2. In this case, the Y-axis direction is a direction orthogonal to the X-axis direction in a plan view (a direction parallel to the short side of the pedestal 2). Therefore, the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction are the horizontal directions shown in FIG.

The operation control unit 20 assists, for example, a processor such as a central processing unit (CPU) used in a computer system, a main storage device that stores data and program instructions required for logical calculation of the processor, and this main storage device. It is provided with an auxiliary storage device unit and the like, and controls the operation of the actuator 10.

Further, the motion control unit 20 is defined in the directional control body 1 by rotating the directional control body 1 by the rotation of all the holding balls 6a to 6c generated by the movement of the drive plate 8. The operation of the actuator 10 is controlled so that the directional direction matches the directional direction preset inside the directional control device according to the first embodiment.

Specifically, an application example of observing the interference fringe IF due to the optical birefringence of the directional control body 1 while controlling the crystal orientation of the directional control body 1 can be exemplified. In the case of this application example, as shown in FIG. 1, the directional control device according to the first embodiment is configured to include an image pickup unit 60 such as a polarizing microscope, and the directional control body 1 is oriented by the image pickup unit 60. By controlling the image in the direction of a specific crystal axis (c-axis) where optical birefringence occurs, it is possible to exemplify observing the interference fringe IF of the directional control body 1 as shown in FIG. The observation azimuth axis defined in the azimuth control device according to the first embodiment is a Cartesian coordinate system (three-dimensional Cartesian coordinates) orthogonal to the X-axis direction (first axis direction) and the Y-axis direction (second axis direction). It can be set in the Z-axis direction, which is the third axis direction (vertical direction) of the system), but the observation azimuth axis does not necessarily have to be in the Z-axis direction. Further, in FIG. 3, the aiming line of the imaging unit 60 along the Y-axis direction is represented by the reference numeral “Ty”, and the aiming line of the imaging unit 60 along the Z-axis direction is represented by the reference numeral “Tz”.

According to the directional control device according to the first embodiment, the directional control body 1 is rotated by rotating the three holding spheres 6a to 6c so that the interference fringe IF due to the optical birefringence of the directional control body 1 can be observed. It is possible to rotate the direction of the crystal axis (c-axis) to match the crystal axis of the oriented control body 1 with the observation direction axis. That is, the operation control unit 20 of the directional control device according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 defines the azimuth defined in the directional control body 1 as "a specific directional control of the directional control body 1." , The preset azimuth is defined as the "observation azimuth axis". Then, the operation of the actuator 10 is controlled so that the specific direction of the oriented control body 1 and the observation direction axis coincide with each other.

In the storage unit of the motion control unit 20, the amount of movement of the drive plate 8 due to the operation of the actuator 10, the rotational state of all the holding balls 6a to 6c according to the movement of the drive plate 8, and all the holding states are stored in advance. If the relationship with the rotational state of the directional control body 1 according to the rotational state of the spheres 6a to 6c is memorized, repeated observation and high-speed directional control by the learning effect become possible. In particular, if the processor, the main storage device, and the auxiliary storage device that make up the motion control unit 20 have a deep learning function, it is possible to control the polar coordinates more quickly, and the directional control body 1 can be moved from the true sphere. Even in the case of a spherical object that is slightly displaced, it is possible to control the polar coordinates of the oriented control body 1.

The amount of movement of the drive plate 8 due to the operation of the actuator 10 includes the amount of movement of the drive plate 8 in the X-axis direction and the amount of movement in the Y-axis direction. The rotation state of all the holding balls 6a to 6c according to the movement of the drive plate 8 includes the rotation direction and the rotation amount of the three holding balls 6a to 6c. The rotation state of the directional control body 1 according to the rotation state of all the holding balls 6a to 6c includes the rotation direction and the rotation amount of the specific direction of the directional control body 1.

After matching the observation azimuth axis with the specific azimuth of the directional control body 1, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, the equatorial line of the directional control body 1 is controlled while the azimuth of the directional control body 1 is controlled. It is also possible to fix the operation arm 70 on the above by suction, adhesion, or the like. For example, if an elastic body having crystal anisotropy is used for the directional control body 1, various electric-mechanical conversion elements are formed by finely processing a spherical elastic body while interposing an operation arm 70 or the like as necessary. Etc. can be manufactured.

Further, the orientation control device according to the first embodiment does not need to control the vibration mode of the ultrasonic motor as compared with the conventionally used device for rotating the oriented control body 1 using an ultrasonic motor. Therefore, the device structure can be simplified and the cost can be reduced. Further, as compared with the conventionally used device for handing over the directional control body 1 using vacuum tweezers, the directional control device according to the first embodiment has no risk of the directional control body 1 falling. Therefore, according to the directional control device according to the first embodiment, it is possible to rotate the directional control body 1 accurately and with high reliability without changing the center position of the directional control body 1. It becomes.

Further, in the directional control device according to the first embodiment, the center points of the circular through holes 40a to 40c overlap with the vertices of an equilateral triangle in a plan view. Therefore, in the case of the directional control device according to the first embodiment, when the directional control body 1 is mounted on the three holding vertices 6a to 6c, the load applied from the directional control body 1 causes each of them in a plan view. The holding spheres 6a to 6c move in the inside of each circular through hole 40a to 40c in a direction away from the apex of the equilateral triangle.

As a result, when the oriented control body 1 is mounted on the three holding spheres 6a to 6c, the distances from the vertices of the equilateral triangle to the centers of the three holding spheres 6a to 6c become equal in a plan view. Therefore, it is possible to make the contact area of the directional control body 1 equal to the three holding spheres 6a to 6c only by placing the directional control body 1 on the three holding spheres 6a to 6c. Therefore, it is possible to improve the operability of the directional control device.

(Other embodiments)
The directional control device according to the first embodiment described above is an example of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the directional control device according to the first embodiment described above. That is, even in aspects other than the first embodiment, various changes can be made according to the design and the like as long as they do not deviate from the technical idea of the present invention.

For example, in the directional control device according to the first embodiment, the actuator 10 is used to automatically move the drive plate 8 in the horizontal plane, thereby rotating the holding balls 6a, 6b, 6c, and holding balls 6a, 6b. , The case where the directional control body 1 is rotated by the rotation of 6c and the direction of the directional control body 1 is controlled is exemplified. However, if high-precision control is not required, the drive plate 8 is manually or semi-automatically moved XY in the horizontal plane without using the actuator 10. , The holding balls 6a, 6b, 6c may be rotated. In this way, even if the device structure is simplified and the cost is reduced, there is no risk of falling as compared with the device that delivers the directional control body 1 using the vacuum tweezers conventionally used. Therefore, it is possible to achieve the effect of facilitating the handling of the small directional control body.

In the directional control device according to the first embodiment, circular through holes 40a to 40c are formed in the holding plate 4, and three holding balls 6a to 6c are rotatably accommodated in each of the circular through holes 40a to 40c. It is not limited to. That is, the holding plate 4 may be formed with n = 4 circular through holes, and 4 holding balls may be rotatably accommodated in each of the 4 circular through holes.

In this case, four circular through holes are arranged on the circumference at a constant pitch so that the center point of each is overlapped with the apex of the square in a plan view. Therefore, the number of circular through holes and holding spheres may be n (n is a positive integer of 3 or more) of 3 or more, and the center point of each of the n circular through holes is the pedestal 2. It suffices if the vertices of a regular polygon having n vertices are arranged on the circumference at a constant pitch when viewed from the thickness direction of.

However, in terms of controlling the polar coordinates of the directional control body 1, the case of n = 3 is the easiest to design. When n is 4 or more, the number of holding spheres that substantially control the polar coordinates of the directional control body 1 may be three, and the others may be used as auxiliary spheres that freely rotate. When rotating and controlling the directional control body 1 having an outer diameter larger than that of the holding sphere, n may be set to 4 or more by including an auxiliary sphere that freely rotates without contributing to driving. For example, three holding spheres of equal size and three auxiliary spheres with a smaller outer diameter than the driving holding sphere are alternately arranged to form six holding spheres, and the outer diameter is larger than that of the holding sphere. Body 1 may be retained.

In the first embodiment, the static friction coefficient increasing mechanism is formed by the rubber sheet 50 attached to the upper surface of the drive plate 8, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the static friction coefficient increasing mechanism is formed in, for example, a groove on the upper surface of the drive plate 8. It may be formed by applying a fine knurling process having a width of about 10 to 200 [μm] in a grid pattern. Further, the mechanism for increasing the coefficient of static friction may be formed, for example, by adhering a granular object having a particle size of about 10 to 200 [μm] to the upper surface of the drive plate 8.

In the first embodiment, the holding plate 4 is formed by using a fluororesin, but the present invention is not limited to this. That is, the holding plate 4 may be formed by using, for example, a metal or the like. In this case, the inner diameter surface of the circular through hole, that is, the portion in contact with the holding ball of the holding plate 4 is covered with a fluororesin to obtain the coefficient of dynamic friction between the holding plate 4 and the holding ball. A mechanism for reducing the coefficient of dynamic friction to be reduced may be formed.

In this case, the drive plate 8 is formed by using a magnet, so that the holding sphere formed of a steel ball having a coefficient of friction and the driving plate 8 formed by using a magnet are combined to form the driving plate 8 and the holding sphere. A mechanism for increasing the coefficient of static friction may be formed to increase the coefficient of static friction between the two.

As mentioned above, the invention has been described by the first embodiment, but the statements and drawings that form part of this disclosure should not be understood as limiting the invention. That is, the disclosure of the first embodiment will reveal to those skilled in the art various alternative embodiments, examples and operational techniques.

1 ... Directional control body, 2 ... Pedestal, 4 ... Holding plate, 6a, 6b, 6c ... Holding ball, 8 ... Drive plate, 10 ... Actuator, 20 ... Motion control unit, 30a, 30b, 30c, 30d ... Bolt, 40a, 40b, 40c ... Circular through hole, 50 ... Rubber sheet, 60 ... Imaging unit, 70 ... Operation arm

Claims (5)

With the pedestal
A holding plate fixed to the pedestal and having three circular through holes arranged on the circumference at a constant pitch,
Three said outer periphery to the respective inner diameter of the circular through hole and the contact approximate point, and three retaining balls rotatably accommodated,
Is disposed between the holding plate and the pedestal, the drive plate in contact with three of the retaining balls, drives the rotation of the three said retaining ball,
The provided, three of the orientation control of spherical and mounted on three of the holding sphere so as to constitute the retaining balls only contact with three-point contact each point in the horizontal plane of the drive plate by moving to rotate the three said retaining balls, said rotate the orientation control member, the spherical coordinate system (r, theta, phi) of theta, and controls the phi rotation of three of said retaining balls, A sphere orientation control device for controlling the direction of the orientation vector of the oriented controller. The sphere orientation control device according to claim 1, further comprising an actuator for moving the drive plate. The sphere orientation control device according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a mechanism for increasing the coefficient of static friction that increases the coefficient of static friction between the drive plate and the holding ball. The sphere orientation control device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a dynamic friction coefficient reducing mechanism for reducing the dynamic friction coefficient between the holding plate and the holding ball. Three of the circular through holes, each of the center points, when viewed from the direction perpendicular to the main surface of the base, according to claim 1, characterized in that overlaps the apex of an equilateral triangle having three apexes The sphere direction control device according to any one of items 1 to 4.

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