JP7452379B2 - chuck unit - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a chuck unit.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known an apparatus that includes a plurality of clamp machines that can independently hold a plurality of workpieces and is capable of transporting workpieces lined up at intervals at one time.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a transfer device in which a clamp machine collectively holds all the workpieces placed on a pallet, moves the workpieces to a container, and places the workpieces thereon.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 6-321349

In the above-mentioned conventional technology, a plurality of clamp machines independently hold a workpiece. Apart from this, there is a device that grips both ends of a plurality of rectangular parallelepiped workpieces in the column direction and transfers a group of workpieces all at once. When the number of works in one row is large and the ratio of the length of the row to the contact area between the works is relatively large, the posture during chucking tends to become unstable. Furthermore, if the individual variations of each work overlap and the center of gravity is biased to one side, there is a possibility that a chuck error may occur.

The present invention was created in view of the above points, and its purpose is to provide a chuck unit that secures the stability of the chuck in a device that grips both ends of a plurality of rectangular parallelepiped workpieces in the column direction. It's about doing.

The present invention deals with a group of works (G) in which a plurality of rectangular parallelepiped workpieces (W) , which are unmagnetized magnets placed on a plane on a pedestal (T), are arranged in parallel. This is a chuck unit (10) that can transfer a group of workpieces by gripping the chucked end faces (S1, S2), which are one end face and the other end face, from both sides. This chuck unit includes a main plate (20), a pair of chuck claws (31, 32), an actuator (40), a work holder (50), and a guide shaft (61, 62).

The main plate is provided above the group of workpieces, parallel to the upper surface of the group of workpieces, and movable up and down. The pair of chuck claws are attached to the tips of a pair of chuck claw arms (33, 34) supported by the main plate, and can come into contact with each end of a group of workpieces to be chucked. The actuator drives at least one chuck jaw along the row direction of the workpiece. The work holder is movably installed between the group of works and the main plate, and can come into contact with the upper surface of the group of works when it moves toward the group of works as the main plate descends. The guide shaft is provided with stoppers (71, 72) for regulating the lower limit position of the work holder, and the guide shaft guides the movement of the work holder relative to the main plate. At least one of the chuck jaws floats so as to follow the direction of the chucked end surfaces of the group of workpieces.

As a result, in the present invention, since the top surfaces of a group of workpieces are aligned and aligned, the chuck can stability can be ensured.

Preferably, at least one of the chuck claws of the present invention floats so as to follow the direction of the chucked end surfaces of the group of workpieces.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing "a group of workpieces" to be transferred by the chuck unit according to the present invention. The main plate according to the first embodiment is (a) a front view showing a raised state, and (b) a front view showing a lowered state. (a) A front view and (b) a side view as seen from the IIIb direction, showing a state in which some of the workpieces are rotated due to a shift in the center of gravity of each workpiece when a "group of workpieces" is transferred without using a workpiece holder. (a) A front view showing the floating operation of the chuck jaw according to the second embodiment, and (b) a perspective view of the chuck jaw according to the second embodiment. The main plate according to other embodiments is (a) a front view showing a raised state, and (b) a front view showing a lowered state.

Hereinafter, chuck units according to a plurality of embodiments of the present invention will be described based on the drawings. This chuck unit is a device that grips and transfers a group of parallelepiped workpieces arranged in parallel.

(First embodiment)
Please refer to FIGS. 1 to 3. As shown in FIG. 1, a group of workpieces G, in which a plurality of rectangular parallelepiped workpieces W are arranged in parallel to form a mass, are placed on a flat surface on a pedestal T. For example, the pedestal T is a parts tray. The rectangular parallelepiped-shaped work W is, for example, a magnet before being magnetized, and about 30 magnets each having a width of 5 mm, a height of 14 mm, and a depth of about 7 mm are arranged in parallel when viewed from the front in FIG. In other words, the length of the row is relatively long relative to the contact area between the magnets. Note that at this stage, since magnetization has not yet occurred, there is no magnetic attraction between the magnets. The magnets magnetized in a subsequent process are used as rotor magnetic poles of a brushless motor. Cw is the center of gravity of the group of workpieces G.

One end surface in the column direction of a group of paralleled works G is represented as a chucked end surface S1, and the other end surface is represented as a chucked end surface S2. As shown in FIG. 2, the chuck unit 10 grips the chucked end surface S1 and the chucked end surface S2 of a group of workpieces G by pressing them from both sides with a pair of chuck claws 31 and 32, and transfers the workpieces from a tray to a stick magazine, for example. Change.

As shown in FIGS. 2(a) and 2(b), the chuck unit 10 of the first embodiment includes a main plate 20, a pair of chuck claws 31 and 32, a cylinder 40 as an "actuator", a work holder 50, and a guide shaft. 61, 62, and a coil spring 80 as an "elastic member". Basically, the chuck unit 10 is installed such that the top side of FIGS. 2A and 2B is the top side, and the bottom side is the bottom side, and the main plate 20 and the workpiece holder 50 are approximately horizontal. Note that the installation is not limited to a strictly horizontal position, but may be installed at an angle to a practically acceptable extent. Cc is the center of gravity of the pair of chuck claws 31 and 32.

The main plate 20 is provided above the group of works G, and is raised and lowered by a lifting device (not shown). FIG. 2(a) shows a state where the main plate 20 is raised, and FIG. 2(b) shows a state where the main plate 20 is lowered. Dd is the direction in which the main plate 20 descends. The pair of chuck claws 31 and 32 are attached to the tips of chuck claw arms 33 and 34 supported by the main plate 20 so as to form an L shape. In the position shown in FIG. 2(b), one chuck jaw 31 faces one chucked end surface S1 of the group of workpieces G, and the other chuck jaw 32 faces the other chucked end surface S2 of the group of workpieces G. do.

The cylinder 40 can drive the chuck claw arm 34 directly or through a link 42 in the row direction of the workpieces, that is, along the cylinder traveling direction Ds. The installation position of the cylinder 40 and the configuration of the link 42 can be designed as appropriate depending on the layout of the device. In the figure, the link 42 is indicated by a broken line, and illustration of a specific configuration is omitted. Further, in this embodiment, the chuck claw arm 33 on the opposite side is fixed to the main plate 20.

A work holder 50 is movably installed between a group of works G and the main plate 20. The guide shafts 61 and 62 fit into sliding holes formed in the main plate 20, and are slidable in the vertical direction. The lower ends of the guide shafts 61 and 62 are fixed to the workpiece holder 50. In the position shown in FIG. 2A, the workpiece holder 50 is held at a position where the gravity of the workpiece holder 50 and the tensile force of the coil spring 80 are balanced. This position is called the "initial position".

During the descent of the main plate 20, the lower surface of the workpiece holder 50 comes into contact with the upper surface of the group of works G. When the main plate 20 further descends, the work holder 50 moves in the Dd direction so as to approach the main plate 20, as shown in FIG. 2(b). At this time, the guide shafts 61 and 62 guide the movement of the work holder 50 with respect to the main plate 20. Further, the distance between the work holder 50 and the main plate 20 becomes smaller than the initial position, and the coil spring 80 is compressed. Du is the direction of the force that the coil spring 80 receives from the work holder 50.

In this way, with the group of workpieces G being held down by the workpiece holder 50, as shown in FIG. 2(b), the cylinder 40 drives the chuck claw arm 34 in the row direction of the workpieces, that is, along the cylinder traveling direction Ds. . As a result, the chuck jaws 32 attached to the tips of the chuck jaw arms 34 come into contact with the chucked end surfaces S2 of the group of workpieces.

On the other hand, when the main plate 20 is lowered, a gap may remain between the stationary chuck claw 31 and the chucked end surface S1. At this time, the movable chuck claw 32 is driven by the cylinder 40 to slide the group of workpieces G toward the fixed chuck claw 31. As a result, the stationary side chuck claw 31 and the chucked end surface S1 come into contact. Then, the fixed chuck claw 31 and the movable chuck claw 32 press down and grip the chucked end surfaces S1 and S2 of the group of workpieces G from both sides. Therefore, the chuck unit 10 can transfer a group of workpieces G.

After the transfer of the group of workpieces G is completed, when the main plate 20 rises and returns to the position shown in FIG. 2(a), the coil spring 80 returns the position of the workpiece holder 50 to the initial position by the biasing force. As a result, after one transfer operation is completed, the distance between the main plate 20 and the workpiece holder 50 is smoothly returned to the initial position when moving to the next transfer operation. can be held down. This configuration is effective when the workpiece holder 50 is formed of a lightweight material that is difficult to fall under its own weight for reasons such as preventing damage to the workpiece surface.

With reference to FIGS. 3(a) and 3(b), a problem that occurs when the workpiece holder 50 is not used will be described. As shown in FIG. 3A, when one chuck claw 31 is simply brought into contact with one chucked end surface S1 of a group of works G, the centers of gravity of the works W may not be aligned with each other. In that case, as shown in FIG. 3(b), each workpiece W generates a rotational moment Rw and rotates, and as a result, individual variations in the center of gravity position of each workpiece W accumulate, resulting in the posture of a group of workpieces G. became unstable, often leading to chuck errors.

On the other hand, in this embodiment, in order to prevent the above-mentioned rotation phenomenon, a workpiece holder 50 contacts the upper surface of a group of works G, aligns them, and then chucks them. Furthermore, when lifting a group of workpieces G, keep pressing the top surface. FIG. 3A shows a group of workpieces G when they are aligned, with the upper surface being Su and the lower surface being Sd. Note that the workpiece holder 50 only presses the upper surface, and each workpiece W is not pushed too far downward and protrudes. As a result, when the chuck claws 31 and 32 come into contact with the chucked end surfaces S1 and S2 of the group of workpieces G and hold them down, the group of workpieces G are neatly aligned and can be transferred while being stably clamped. is possible.

(Second embodiment)
See FIG. 4. The configuration shown in FIG. 2 is common to the first embodiment, but differs in that the chuck claws have a floating function. As shown in FIG. 4(a), the floating chuck jaw 38 of this embodiment is a removable chuck jaw connected to the tip of the chuck jaw arm 34 via a spring pin 36. floating up and down. Rc is the rotation direction of the spring pin 36. FIG. 4(b) shows the appearance of the floating chuck claw 38.

As another problem when chucking a group of works W in which a plurality of rectangular parallelepiped-shaped works W are arranged in parallel, attention is paid to the parallelism of the chucked end surfaces S1 and S2 on both sides. At this time, even if the individual dimensions of each workpiece W are within the tolerance range, variations will accumulate when looking at the group of workpieces as a whole, so that one chucked end surface S1 and the other chucked end surface A case may occur in which the parallelism of the end surface S2 exceeds the permissible range. Therefore, when the end surfaces of the chuck jaws are fixed in parallel, there is a problem in that it is difficult to mechanically guarantee surface contact accuracy during chucking.

In contrast, in this embodiment, at least one of the chuck jaws 33 is a floating chuck jaw 38. The floating chuck claw 38 is rotatable so that the direction of the end surface that comes into contact with the corresponding chucked end surface S2 follows the direction of the chucked end surface S2. The floating chuck claws 38 in the example of FIG. 4 float in the vertical direction where the dimensions of the workpieces W are relatively large, so as to follow the chucked end surfaces S2 of the group of workpieces G. This makes it possible to always chuck in a plane parallel to the chucked end surface S2.

(Other embodiments)
The elastic member that returns the position of the workpiece holder 50 to the initial position after the transfer of the group of workpieces G is completed is not limited to the coil spring 80, and rubber or the like may be used. Further, as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, in a configuration in which the force due to the weight of the workpiece holder 50 is greater than the frictional resistance of the sliding portions of the guide shafts 61 and 62, it is not necessary to provide an elastic member. . In this case, stoppers 71 and 72 may be provided on the guide shafts 61 and 62 in order to regulate the lower limit position of the workpiece holder 50.

The actuator for driving the chuck jaws is not limited to a cylinder, but may be configured by combining a motor, a reduction gear, a rack and pinion, etc.

As described above, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and can be implemented in various forms without departing from the spirit thereof.

10...Chuck unit,
20... Main plate,
31, 32...Chuck jaws,
33, 34...Chuck claw arm,
40...Cylinder (actuator),
50... Work holder,
61, 62... Guide shaft.

Claims (1)

For a group of works (G) in which a plurality of rectangular parallelepiped workpieces (W), which are unmagnetized magnets placed on a plane on a pedestal (T), are arranged in parallel, one and the other in the column direction are A chuck unit (10) capable of transporting the group of workpieces by gripping end surfaces to be chucked (S1, S2), which are end surfaces, so as to press them from both sides,
a main plate (20) provided above the group of works in parallel with the upper surface of the group of works and movable up and down;
a pair of chuck jaws (31, 32) that are attached to the tips of a pair of chuck jaw arms (33, 34) supported by the main plate and that can come into contact with each chucked end surface of the group of workpieces;
an actuator (40) that drives at least one of the chuck claws along the row direction of the workpiece;
a work holder that is movably installed between the group of works and the main plate and that can come into contact with the upper surface of the group of works when the main plate moves toward the group of works as the main plate descends; (50) and
a guide shaft (61, 62 ) provided with a stopper (71, 72) for regulating the lower limit position of the work holder and guiding movement of the work holder relative to the main plate;
Equipped with
A chuck unit in which at least one of the chuck claws floats so as to follow the direction of the chucked end surfaces of the group of workpieces .

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