JPH0547350Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] <Industrial application field> This invention relates to a rotary joint, and more specifically, to a fluid piping such as a hose installed between an actuator and an arm of an industrial articulated robot. This invention relates to a rotary joint that can be connected to electrical wiring.

<Conventional technology> Conventionally, when installing piping and wiring from a fixed part of a device to a rotating or pivoting movable part, the first method is to rotate the piping and wiring according to the rotation angle of the rotating part. The method used is to wrap it in a large spiral around the shaft and connect both ends to the fixed part and the movable part, respectively.

However, this method is difficult to implement when dealing with a large number of pipes and wiring, so a second method is to manufacture a special rotary joint for each case.

Further, when the movable part pivots or swings with respect to the fixed part, a third method is to separately use a rotary joint only for piping and a rotary joint only for wiring.

<Problems to be Solved by the Invention> However, in the first method, the rotation angle of the movable part is limited, and space is required for the spirally wound piping and wiring. Furthermore, depending on the frequency of rotation of the movable parts, piping and wiring may become entangled with each other or become fatigued, resulting in damage or disconnection.
Furthermore, since the piping and wiring are wound in a spiral, the work cost increases.

In the second method, the cost of the specially manufactured rotary joint is high. The third method requires a large space for installing multiple rotary joints.

Furthermore, if the rotation angle of a movable part is required to be unlimited, a suitable rotary joint may not be available and the design and manufacture of a device that requires such a rotation angle may be abandoned. be.

This idea was made in view of the above,
A rotary joint for piping and wiring that does not require special space for piping and wiring, has no restrictions on the rotation angle or swivel angle of movable parts, and prevents piping and wiring from breaking or breaking due to fatigue. The purpose is to provide information.

<Means for Solving the Problems> The rotary joint according to the present invention includes a fixed part having a fixed part side circulation path, and a cylindrical member rotatably provided inside the fixed part and having an outer peripheral surface. a rotating part having a rotating part side circulation path communicating with the fixed part side circulation path through an annular groove formed in the rotating part;
A seal part is provided between the rotating part and the fixed part to prevent leakage of fluid flowing through the annular groove, and a seal part is provided to prevent the wiring that should be led from the fixed part side to the rotating part from being twisted due to the rotation of the rotating part. The rotary connector for wiring has a fixed side connector part that is fixed to the fixed part side and has one end terminal to which the wiring on the fixed part side is connected, and a fixed side connector part that is fixed to the rotating part. and a rotating side connector part having a terminal at the other end to which the wiring on the rotating part side is connected, and the rotating side connector part is rotatable with respect to the fixed side connector part, and It is characterized in that the other end terminal is electrically connected via mercury or other conductive fluid sealed inside.

<Function> Even if the rotating part rotates relative to the fixed part,
Fluid sent into the stationary part from the outside is guided to the rotating part via the stationary side circulation path, the annular groove, and the rotating side circulation path. Furthermore, the wiring led from the fixed part to the rotating part is not twisted due to the wiring rotary connector interposed in the middle.

<Example> Figures 1 to 3 show an example of the present invention, in which Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional front view, Figure 2 is a perspective view of an example of the use of the rotary joint of the present invention, and Figure 3 is a perspective view of an example of the use of the rotary joint of the present invention. The figure shows a side view of a rotary connector for wiring.

As shown in FIG. 1, the rotary joint 100 of this embodiment has a fixed part 10 having a hollow part.
and a rotating part 20 provided in the hollow part, that is, inside, of the fixed part 10 via bearings 37 and 38 from the fixed part 10.

The fixing part 10 has an opening 12 on the side surface and a fixing part through hole 11 (corresponding to a fixing part side circulation path) which serves as a fluid path is bored in the direction of the thickness of the fixing part 10 .

The rotating part 20 has a fixed part through hole 11 on its side surface.
A groove 21 (corresponding to an annular groove) for a fluid passage formed over the entire circumference and communicating with the groove, and packings 25 (corresponding to a sealing part) located on both sides of this groove and sealing the fluid in this groove. A recess 26 provided with
It has The rotating part 20 also has a rotating part through hole 22 therein that communicates the groove 21 with the surface of the lower end portion 28 of the rotating part 20 and serves as a fluid path.
(corresponding to the circulation path on the rotating section side), and the upper end portion 27 and lower end portion 28 of the rotating section 20 as wiring routes.
It has a wiring through hole 29 that communicates with the wiring.

The wiring rotary connector 30 whose detailed side view is shown in FIG. 3 is inserted into the upper end portion 27 of the wiring through hole 29 and fixed. The fixed wiring 31 (corresponding to the wiring on the fixed part side) is connected to the input terminal 33, and the wiring 32 on the device side (corresponding to the wiring on the rotating part side) is connected to the output terminal 34. The lower half of this wiring rotary connector 30 (corresponding to the rotating side connector part) is configured to be freely rotatable with respect to the fixed part 35 (corresponding to the fixed side connector part) which is almost the upper half. . The fixed portion 35 is fixed to the fixed portion 10 by a suitable support device (not shown). That is, when the rotating part 20 rotates relative to the fixed part 10, the lower half of the wiring rotary connector 30, the wiring 32, etc. also rotate.
The fixed portion 35 of the wiring rotary connector 30, the wiring 31, etc. do not rotate. Therefore, the wiring 31 and the wiring 32 are not twisted due to the rotation of the rotating part 20. Furthermore, inside the wiring rotary connector 30 (not shown), the input terminal 33 and the output terminal 34 are always electrically connected, for example, by sealed mercury, regardless of the rotation angle of the rotating part 20. There is.

The fixed part through hole 11, the groove 21, and the rotating part through hole 22 form one fluid passage, and these are separated from the fixed part through hole 11a and the groove 21a, which are provided separately.
and the rotating part through hole 22a form another fluid path. The number of fluid paths is not limited to the above two, but includes the fixed part 10 and the rotating part 20.
By increasing the length of each, the required number of fluid passages can be provided.

Next, the operation of this rotary joint 100 will be explained.

The rotating part 20 is rotated by a suitable drive. At this time, the wiring rotary connector 30
The fixed part 35 does not rotate because it is fixed to the support device.

The fluid supplied to the opening 12 of the fixed part through hole 11 is sent to the device provided with the rotary joint 100 via the fixed part through hole 11, the groove 21, and the rotating part through hole 22. Alternatively, the fluid pumped from the device may be discharged through opening 12. Power and electrical signals applied to the wiring 31 are sent to the device via the wiring rotary connector 30. Alternatively, power and electrical signals are sent from this device to the outside via the wiring rotary connector 30.

The fluid in the groove 21 is always prevented from leaking by the packing 25 regardless of the rotation of the rotating part 20, and the wirings 31 and 32 are always electrically connected by the wiring rotary connector 30. Therefore, the movement of fluid and electricity is performed without being restricted by the rotation angle of the rotating part 20.

An example of how this rotary joint 100 is used will be explained with reference to FIG. At the lower end of the rotating part 20 of the rotary joint 100, a rotating part 60 is attached which has opening/closing chucks 61 and 62 provided on its lower surface. Further, a gear 41 attached to the outer periphery of the upper end portion of the rotating portion 20 meshes with a gear 42 driven by a motor 43. Pipes 51 and 5 connected to the fixed part 10 of the rotary joint 100
2, 53, 54 and the wiring 31 on the fixed side are connected to the piping 55, 5 which passes through the rotating part 20 of the rotary joint 100 and reaches the opening/closing chucks 61, 62, respectively.
6, 57, 58, and are connected to the wiring 32. Therefore, even while the rotating part 60 is being rotated by the motor 43, fluid and electricity can be sent to the opening/closing chucks 61 and 62 without any problem.

<Effects of the invention> As explained above, the rotary joint of the invention has a fixed part through hole in the fixed part as a fluid passage, a groove in the rotating part that communicates with the fixed part through hole, and a groove between this groove and the surface of the rotating part. a rotating part through hole that communicates with the
A rotary connector for wiring is provided.

Therefore, the rotary joint of the present invention does not require special space for piping or wiring.
It has the advantage that there is no restriction on the rotation angle or turning angle of the movable parts, and that the piping and wiring will not be damaged or disconnected due to fatigue.

[Brief description of the drawings]

Figures 1 to 3 show an embodiment of the present invention, with Figure 1 being a vertical front view, Figure 2 being a perspective view of an example of how the rotary joint of the present invention is used, and Figure 3 being for wiring. A side view of the rotary connector is shown. 10...Fixing part, 11...Fixing part through hole, 20
...Rotating part, 21... Groove, 22... Rotating part through hole, 25... Packing, 26... Recessed part, 27...
...Top end portion, 28...Bottom end portion, 29...Through hole for wiring, 30...Rotary connector for wiring, 3
1, 32... Wiring, 37, 38... Bearing, 100
...Rotary joint.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A fixed part having a fixed part side circulation path, and a cylindrical member rotatably provided inside the fixed part and communicating with the fixed part side circulation path through an annular groove formed on the outer peripheral surface. A rotating part that has a side circulation path, a seal part that is provided between the rotating part and the fixed part to prevent leakage of fluid flowing through the annular groove, and a wiring that is to be led from the fixed part side to the rotating part side is connected to the rotating part. The rotary connector for wiring is fixed to the fixed part side and has a terminal at one end to which the wiring on the fixed part side is connected. The rotating connector part is fixed to the rotating part and has the other end terminal to which the wiring on the rotating part side is connected. 1. A rotary joint which is movable and is configured such that the one end terminal and the other end terminal are electrically connected via mercury or other conductive fluid sealed inside.