JPH0380569B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Background and Objectives of the Invention] The present invention provides an intermediate joint fitting (hereinafter referred to as an intermediate fitting) for the intermediate portion of a rubber hose, plastic hose, etc.
This invention relates to a crimping device for an intermediate fitting for fixing a hose that is crimped and integrated.

For example, in the middle of an automobile hydraulic brake hose, etc., a nipple is inserted inside for fluid control, and an intermediate fitting for fixing the hose is crimped and attached to the outer circumference of the hose opposite the nipple. This is to prevent damage caused by its own vibration.

Conventionally, intermediate fittings for this type of high-pressure hose were crimped by the following process.

First, as shown in FIG. 8, the nipple 3 is inserted into one end of the hose 1, and the hose 1 is
It is inserted for a specified length into the guide tube 51 of the vertical crimping machine 50 shown in the figure. The insertion length of the hose 1 is determined by a vertically adjustable stopper (not shown) provided at the lower part of the guide tube 51.

When the high-pressure hose 1 is inserted into the guide tube 51 for a specified length, the presser pin 52 enters the inside of the hose and pushes the nipple 3 up to the middle part of the hose 1 (the crimping position of the crimping machine).

After that, when the intermediate fitting 2 is manually inserted into the hose 1 from the upper end of the hose 1 inserted into the guide tube 51 and the intermediate fitting 2 is dropped along the hose 1, the intermediate fitting 2 is attached to the crimping machine 50. Inner guide cylinder 51
It is stopped and positioned at the upper end position (crimped position).

Next, when the starting switch of the crimping machine 50 is turned on, the crimping cylinder mechanism 53 moves upward, the crimping claws 54 move inward, and the intermediate fitting 2 is crimped and integrated with the hose 1. At this time, the relative positions of the nipple 3 of the hose 1 and the intermediate fitting 2 coincide.

However, the above-mentioned crimping operation is laborious and laborious because the hose is manually inserted into the crimping machine and the intermediate metal fitting is also inserted through the hose in the same manner. In addition, it is necessary to check by hand and visually whether the hose has been inserted to the specified length, and also to check whether the intermediate fitting is facing in the specified direction, which is difficult and labor-intensive. In addition, oversights were likely to occur and defective products were likely to be produced.

The purpose of the present invention is to eliminate the drawbacks of the prior art described above, to automatically perform the caulking work of the intermediate metal fittings, which was conventionally done manually, and to produce this type of hose with excellent quality. An object of the present invention is to provide a highly reliable caulking device for intermediate metal fittings for fixing a hose.

[Summary of the Invention] In order to solve the above technical problem, the present invention is configured as follows.

The caulking means includes a caulking pawl that is caulked by a caulking drive mechanism, a guide member that is provided below the caulking pawl and guides insertion of the hose to a specified length, and a guide member that guides the insertion of the hose to a specified length when the hose is inserted. It consists of a push pin that inserts and guides the nipple to the crimped position.

The caulking hose insertion means includes a hose insertion mechanism that vertically holds the hose at the caulking position and at a position above the guide member via an elevating mechanism.

The means for setting the intermediate fittings in the swaged position includes an intermediate fitting supply mechanism that accommodates a large number of intermediate fittings and sequentially feeds them out in a predetermined posture, and a means for crimping the intermediate fittings between the hose of the hose insertion mechanism and the crimping mechanism. It consists of an intermediate metal fitting transfer mechanism that transfers and holds between positions.

Further, the means for automatically controlling the crimping work includes a detector that detects when the hose is inserted and guided to a specified length into the guide member of the crimping mechanism, and a detector that receives the detection signal and is held in the intermediate metal fitting transfer mechanism. a control means for releasing the holding of the intermediate metal fitting; a detector for detecting that the intermediate metal fitting has landed in the crimped position due to the release of the holding; a control means for operating the crimping drive mechanism in response to the detection signal; It consists of a control means for controlling the reciprocation of the hose insertion mechanism and the intermediate metal fitting transfer mechanism.

According to the above configuration, in the first step, the hose into which the nipple has been pre-inserted and the intermediate fitting are held on the same line above the crimping position of the crimping mechanism via the hose insertion mechanism and the intermediate fitting transfer mechanism. Ru.

In the second step, when the hose is lowered through the hose insertion mechanism, the hose is inserted through the intermediate fitting and inserted into the guide member of the crimping device for a specified length. At the same time, this insertion state is detected via a detector, and the intermediate metal fitting held by the hose transfer mechanism is released from being held, and the intermediate metal fitting settles in the crimped position above the guide member. Further, when the hose is inserted into the guide member for a specified length, the nipple inside the hose is pushed up to the same position as the intermediate fitting (the crimped position) via the presser pin.

Therefore, in this state, the hose, intermediate fitting, and nipple are set in proper positions.

In the third step, by detecting that the intermediate fitting has arrived at the crimping position of the crimping machine, the crimping drive mechanism is driven to crimp the intermediate fitting onto the hose in an appropriate state. After crimping, the hose is pulled up by the hose insertion mechanism.

[Embodiment] FIG. 1 is a side view of the main part showing one embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the main part which is the same component.

In the same figure, 1 is a hose for attaching an intermediate fitting;
2 is an intermediate metal fitting. A nipple 3 (shown in FIG. 6) is inserted into one end of the hose 1 by a nipple insertion mechanism (not shown) in a pre-work process.
is pre-inserted to the appropriate position.

Reference numeral 4 denotes a crimping machine, and a crimping claw 4a is provided at an upper position inside the main body of the crimping machine 4, so that the crimping claw 4 is differentially swaged by the upward movement of the crimping drive mechanism 5. It is configured.

Reference numeral 6 denotes a guide tube for inserting a hose, which is provided at a position below the caulking claw 4a so as to face the hose insertion port 7 of the caulking machine 4, and this guide tube 6 has a hose insertion adjustment stopper (Fig. (not shown) to insert the specified length of hose. Also, the guide tube 6
The upper end face is defined so as to support the intermediate fitting 2 in the crimping position, and a touch switch 8 is provided at this upper end face position. The touch switch 8 detects when the intermediate metal fitting 2 has landed on the upper end surface of the guide tube 6, and sends this detection signal to the crimping drive circuit to operate the crimping pawl 4a.

9, the nipple push pin 9 provided inside the guide tube 6 enters the inside of the hose 1 to a predetermined position when the hose 1 is inserted into the guide tube 6 for a specified length;
The nipple 3 pre-inserted inside the hose 1 is pushed up to the crimping position of the crimping machine 4.

10 is a hose guide mechanism provided in the hose insertion port 7 of the crimping machine 4, and this guide mechanism 10 includes a half guide 10a that can be opened and closed and has a hose insertion hole 10b.
Consists of.

The guide mechanism 10 closes the half guide 10a before the hose 1 is inserted, and when the hose 1 is inserted into the guide tube 6 of the crimping machine 4 for a specified length through the hose insertion hole 10b, The guide tube 6
It is specified that a detector (not shown) provided at the center is configured to input a switch to open the half-split guide 10a and allow the intermediate fitting 2 to pass through.

11 is a hose insertion mechanism for inserting the hose 1 into the crimping machine 4. This hose insertion mechanism 11 includes a primary insertion cylinder 12 for preliminarily inserting the hose 1 into the crimping machine 4, a secondary insertion cylinder 13 for main insertion of the hose 1, and the primary insertion cylinder 12 and the tertiary insertion cylinder. 13; a hose gripping chuck 16 provided on the front surface of the sliding body 15 and moving up and down together with the sliding body 15;
an actuator 17 for horizontally rotating the
A guide chuck 1 that holds the hose 1 gripped by the gripping chuck 16 in a vertical position and guides it up and down.
It consists of 8,19.

Furthermore, the gripping chuck 16 and guide chucks 18, 19 of the hose insertion mechanism 11 are disposed on the same line as the guide tube 6 of the crimping machine 4 and the hose insertion hole 10b of the guide mechanism 10, so that the hose insertion mechanism 11 The hose 1 is set to be preliminarily inserted and fully inserted into the crimping machine 4 during the lowering operation.

Reference numeral 20 in FIG. 2 is a parts feeder provided at an appropriate position outside the caulking machine 4, and a large number of intermediate fittings 2 are accommodated in this parts feeder 20.

Reference numeral 21 denotes a linear feeder that automatically aligns and conveys the intermediate metal fittings 2 of the parts feeder 20 while maintaining a predetermined posture, and an escape unit (intermediate metal fitting separation mechanism) 22 is installed near the end of this linear feeder 21.
At the same time, a push-up jig 23 is installed at the end position of the linear feeder 21 to push up the individually separated intermediate fittings 2 one after another.

24 is an intermediate metal fitting transfer mechanism provided at a position adjacent to the terminal end of the linear feeder 21. This intermediate fitting transfer mechanism 24 includes a gripping chuck 25 for taking out the intermediate fitting 2 pushed up by the pushing up jig 23.
and the cylinder 2 that moves the gripping chuck 25 forward and backward.
6, and an actuator 27 for horizontally rotating the gripping chuck 25.

Further, in the intermediate metal fitting transfer mechanism 24, when the gripping chuck 25 takes out the intermediate metal fitting 2, the actuator 27 is reversed to the above-mentioned caulking machine 4 side, and then the cylinder 26 moves the gripping chuck 24 forward to remove the intermediate metal fitting 2. is set via a control circuit so as to be located at a fixed position above the crimping device 4 (between the hose 1 and the guide mechanism 10 of the crimping device 4 in FIG. 7).

Figure 5 shows a hose 1 with a nipple 3 pre-inserted in the previous work process (nipple pre-insertion work process).
This figure shows a hose transfer mechanism 30 that sends the hose to the hose insertion mechanism 11 of the crimping device.

The hose transfer mechanism 30 includes a forward motion guide mechanism 31, a moving body 33 that slides on the surface of the guide mechanism 31 by driving a cylinder 32, and a moving body 33.
A first transfer section is constituted by a hose gripping chuck 34 provided at the gripping chuck 3, and a pair of guide chucks 35 that guide the hose 1 vertically held by the gripping chuck 34 downward when the chuck 34 is released.

Further, when the hose feeding process is completed by the first transfer section, the gripping chuck 34 is opened and the hose 1 is
falls toward the lower end, but after falling, the hose 1 is supported by the positioning plate 36a of the hose end face positioning mechanism 36, and the hose end face is positioned.

The second transfer section of the hose transfer mechanism 30 is connected to the first transfer section of the hose transfer mechanism 30.
A hose gripping chuck 37, 37 that receives the hose from the transfer section, a cylinder 38 that controls the forward and backward movement of the chuck 37, 37, and the chuck 37, 37.
The rotation of the actuator 39 causes the chucks 37, 37, which hold the hose 1 in a vertical position, to face the hose insertion mechanism 11 of the crimping device and insert the hose 1 into the hose. The chucks 16, 18 of the mechanism 11,
Hand it over to the 19th side.

Reference numeral 40 in FIG. 5 designates a pair of magnetic sensors installed near the hose end positioning mechanism 36, which are used to check whether or not the nipple 3 is properly inserted into the hose 1 when positioning the hose end. It is.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be explained.

The hose 1, into which the nipple 3 has been preliminarily inserted in the previous work step, is passed through the hose transfer mechanism 30 to the hose insertion mechanism 11 side (chucks 16, 18, 19) of the crimping device shown in FIG.

Further, the intermediate metal fittings 2 are supplied in advance to the parts feeder 20 shown in FIG. After being separated into pieces and pushed up by a pushing up jig 23, they are sent to an intermediate metal fitting transfer mechanism 24.
Next, the intermediate metal fitting 2 is held by the gripping chuck 25 of the intermediate metal fitting transfer mechanism 24, and is transferred to the hose insertion mechanism 11 side shown in FIG. is set.

When the hose 1 with the nipple and the intermediate fitting 2 are set in the upper body position of the crimping machine 4, the control circuit detects this and operates the hose insertion mechanism 11.

First, when the primary insertion cylinder 12 of the hose insertion mechanism 11 is driven, the chuck 1 is inserted together with the sliding body 15.
6 is lowered, and the hose 1 passes through the intermediate fitting 2 and enters a position approximately 5 to 10 mm below the upper end of the guide tube 6 of the crimping machine 4, completing the preliminary insertion of the hose.

At this time, even if the guide tube 6, push pin 9, and hose 1 are not completely aligned as shown in FIG.
The gripping chuck 16 of the hose insertion mechanism 11 rotates the hose 1 via the actuation of the actuator 17, so that complete centering can be achieved.

After preliminary insertion of hose 1, secondary insertion cylinder 13
is driven, the sliding body 15 is further lowered, and the hose 1 is fully inserted to a hose stopper (not shown) position at the bottom of the guide tube 6 of the crimping machine 4. Further, the nipple 3 inside the hose 1 is pressed by the pusher pin 9 and is press-fitted into the hose 1 to the crimped position.

Next, a detector (not shown) such as a phototube installed near the bottom of the guide cylinder 6 detects that the hose 1 has been inserted for a fixed length, and the guide mechanism 10 of the crimping machine 4 is activated by this detection switch signal. At the same time, the chuck 25 holding the intermediate metal fitting 2 opens, and the intermediate metal fitting 2 falls through this opening, and the intermediate metal fitting 2 lands on the touch 8 surface of the guide tube 6 as shown in FIG. In this state, the attachment position of the intermediate fitting 2 to the hose 1 and the relative position of the intermediate fitting 2 and the nipple inside the hose 1 are automatically determined. Furthermore, the crimping drive mechanism 5 is driven by the operation of the touch switch 8, and the crimping pawl 4a crimps the intermediate fitting 2 onto the hose 1.

After crimping, the hose insertion mechanism 11 operates in reverse to pull up the hose 1, and then the hose 1 is returned to the hose transfer mechanism 30 shown in FIG. state inspection work).

As described above, according to this embodiment, since the hose, the intermediate fitting, and the nipple inside the hose are automatically set at the crimping work position of the crimping machine, the intermediate fitting is automatically crimped to the hose. can be done.

In addition, in this example, during the process of transferring the hose to the crimping work position, a nipple detection device is used to check whether or not the nipple has been pre-inserted into the hose, so it is ensured that the hose nipple is not forgotten to be inserted when crimping. to prevent.

The drive cylinders 32, 12, 13, 26, etc. used in the hose transfer mechanism 30, hose insertion mechanism 11, intermediate metal fitting transfer mechanism 24, etc. of this embodiment may be driven by oil pressure, air, etc., and other cylinders may be used. Instead, a reciprocating mechanism such as a cam mechanism may be used.

In addition, one hose transfer mechanism 30 is used in this embodiment, but if the supply capacity of hoses and intermediate fittings is large, the number of similar mechanisms can be increased as appropriate and used alternately to shorten the takt time of the work. You can also do that.

In addition, in this embodiment, the hose is gripped and guided at several points by chucks, but if the strain of the high-pressure hose itself is extremely large, it is also possible to use a tunnel-type guide that is expandable and retractable around the entire circumference of the high-pressure hose in the longitudinal direction. good.

In addition, in this embodiment, the crimping hose insertion mechanism has two
Although a real lifting cylinder is used, the present invention is not limited to this, and two or more cylinders or cylinders having an intermediate stop function or a multi-point stop function may be used.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, the hose, intermediate fitting, and nipple are automatically set and tightened when tightening the intermediate fitting, so that the troublesome manual tightening work is eliminated. It has been abolished and can perform accurate tightening.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a side view of the main parts of an embodiment of the present invention, partially cut away, Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the main parts constituting the same embodiment, and Fig. 3 is a crimping device of the same. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of hose insertion during crimping work; FIG. 5 is a perspective view of essential parts of the hose transfer mechanism used in this embodiment; FIG.
The figure is a schematic explanatory diagram of the nipple inspection device used in this embodiment, Figure 7 is a partially omitted sectional view showing a conventional crimping device, and Figure 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which the nipple is pre-inserted into the hose. , FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which the intermediate fitting is crimped to the hose. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Hose, 2... Intermediate metal fitting, 3... Nipple, 4... Crimping machine, 4a... Crimping claw, 5... Crimping drive mechanism, 6... Guide member, 8... Detector ( 9... Push pin, 11... Hose insertion mechanism, 12... Lifting mechanism (primary insertion cylinder), 13... Lifting mechanism (secondary insertion cylinder), 1
6...Hose insertion holding chuck, 20, 21,
22... Intermediate metal fitting supply mechanism, 24... Intermediate metal fitting transfer mechanism.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 A crimping claw that is crimped by a crimping drive mechanism,
a guide member provided below the crimping claw to guide the insertion of the hose to a specified length; a presser pin mechanism that guides the nipple inside the inserted hose to the crimped position when the hose is inserted; a hose insertion mechanism that holds the hose vertically in position via an elevating mechanism; an intermediate fitting supply mechanism that accommodates a large number of intermediate fittings and sequentially feeds them out in a predetermined posture; an intermediate metal fitting transfer mechanism that transfers and holds the hose between the crimping positions; a detector that detects that the hose has been inserted and guided for a specified length into the crimping hose guide member;
a control means for releasing the intermediate metal fitting held in the intermediate metal fitting transfer mechanism in response to the detection signal; a detector for detecting that the intermediate metal fitting has settled in the crimping position due to the release of the holding; 1. A crimping device for a hose fixing intermediate fitting, comprising: a control means for operating the crimping drive mechanism in response to the crimping; and a control means for controlling reciprocating motion of the hose insertion mechanism and the intermediate fitting transfer mechanism.