JPH06254784A - Automatic changing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To facilitate assembly, selection, addition, variation, and maintenance of a direction control valve and to perform aggregation of reduction of the size of a device, multifunctioning, and piping and wiring. CONSTITUTION:In an auto-changer, the auto changer is structured such that a manifold plate 16 is arranged to a device body 1, and a three-port type direction control valve 15b, a five-port type direction control valve 15a, a feed air control valve 15c, a vacuum rupture air control valve 24, and a vacuum switch 25 are mounted on the manifold plate 16.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic exchange device,
In particular, the present invention relates to a technique effectively applied to an automatic changer such as an automatic changer for changing a hand or a tool attached to a robot arm.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An automatic changer is an example of this type of automatic changer.

That is, this autochanger is provided at the tip of a robot arm for exchanging hands and tools. A fluid pressure cylinder portion is provided in the main body of the apparatus, and a steel ball is made perpendicular to the axial direction by this fluid pressure cylinder portion. The structure is such that the hands and tools can be attached and detached by reciprocating.

[0004]

However, since the structure of the conventional autochanger described above is such that the directional control valve is mounted on the manifold in the base, the assembly, selection, addition and modification of the directional control valve are performed. And there was a problem that maintenance is difficult.

[0007] Further, it is necessary to provide piping for tools and hands provided at the tip of the robot arm, and also provide wiring for position sensors, which makes it difficult to collect piping and wiring for the tools and hands. There was a problem.

An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic exchange device which facilitates assembling, selection, addition, change and maintenance of a directional control valve, and can collect piping and wiring to exchange members. .

Another object of the present invention is to provide an automatic exchange device which can be downsized and have multiple functions.

[0008]

Among the inventions disclosed in the present application, a brief description will be given to the outline of typical ones.
It is as follows.

That is, the automatic exchange device of the present invention is an automatic exchange device for attaching and detaching the exchange member by reciprocally moving the locking member in the direction perpendicular to the axial direction by the fluid pressure cylinder portion in the main body of the device. A manifold plate is provided on the main body of the apparatus, and various pressure control devices such as various control valves, vacuum generating devices, and pressure switches are provided on the manifold plate as required.

In this case, the main valve portion of the directional control valve may be formed inside the manifold plate.

Further, in this case, it is possible to adopt a structure in which a vacuum breaking air control valve with a built-in ejector, a vacuum switch and a supply air control valve are mounted on the manifold plate.

Further, in this case, the connector can be mounted on the manifold plate.

[0013]

According to the automatic exchange device described above, a manifold plate is provided in the main body of the device, and fluid pressure devices such as various control valves, vacuum generators and pressure switches are provided on the manifold plate as necessary. The assembly, selection, addition, change and maintenance of fluid pressure equipment can be facilitated, and the piping to the replacement member can be integrated.

In this case, since the main valve portion of the directional control valve is formed inside the manifold plate, the device can be downsized.

Further, in this case, since the manifold plate is equipped with the vacuum breaking air control valve having the ejector built therein, the vacuum switch and the supply air control valve, the above effect can be exerted even on a replacement member such as a suction cup. Multi-functionalization can be achieved.

Further, in this case, since the connector is mounted on the manifold plate, the wiring to the replacement member can be collected.

[0017]

1 is a front view showing an automatic exchange apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a left side view showing the automatic exchange apparatus of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a right side view of the automatic exchange apparatus of FIG. FIG. 4 is a side view showing the manifold plate of FIG. 3, and FIG.
6 is a sectional view showing the automatic exchange device of FIG. 6, and FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing the vacuum breaking air control valve with a built-in ejector in FIG.

The automatic changer in this embodiment is applied to an automatic changer used for changing a tool or a hand attached to a robot arm, for example, and this automatic changer has an apparatus main body 1. The apparatus body 1 is provided with a pneumatic cylinder portion 2, and the pneumatic cylinder portion 2 has a cylinder chamber 3 in which a piston 4 is slidably installed.

A piston rod 5 is integrally formed with the piston 4, a steel ball engaging portion 6 is fitted on the piston rod 5, and a conical tapered surface 7 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the steel ball engaging portion 6. Has been formed. The steel ball engaging portion 6 is surrounded by a steel ball loose fitting cylinder body 8, a steel ball loose fitting hole 9 is formed in the steel ball loose fitting cylinder body 8, and a steel ball is loosely fitted in the steel ball loose fitting hole 9. Has been done.

The outer peripheral surface of the steel ball loose fitting cylinder 8 is covered with a cylindrical body cover 11, and a steel ball withdrawal hole 12 is formed in the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical body cover 11.

Reference numeral 13 is a positioning pin for positioning a tool or hand, and 14 is a robot arm on the apparatus body 1
Is a screw hole to which is attached by screwing.

The gist of this embodiment is to provide a manifold plate 16 on the apparatus main body 1 and
6 has a manifold structure in which a plurality of directional control valves 15a and 15b are mounted in series.

That is, the manifold plate 16 is fitted on the outer peripheral surface of the apparatus main body 1, and inside the manifold plate 16, the main valve portion 10 of the small and lightweight three-port or five-port type directional control valves 15a, 15b. The main valve portion 10 is provided with a shaft hole 19, and the main shaft 18 is slidably provided in the shaft hole 19.

A common input port Pa and a common exhaust port Ra are formed between the outer peripheral surface of the apparatus body 1 and the inner peripheral surface of the manifold plate 16, and the manifold plate 16 is formed.
A connection common input port PA and a connection common exhaust port RA are opened on the outer peripheral surface of the, and an input port P, an exhaust port R, and an output port A of the directional control valves 15a and 15b are formed inside the manifold plate 16.

The right side opening end of the shaft hole 19 is the end cover 2.
The main valve portion 10 is covered with 0, and the pilot valve 21 and the solenoid portion 22 are coaxially connected to each other.

Further, it has a multi-functional structure which can be applied to the replacement of the suction cup, and the vacuum breaking air control valve 2 with the ejector 26 built in at one end of the manifold plate 16
4, a supply air control valve 15c and a vacuum switch 25 are mounted.

The vacuum breaking air control valve 24 with the built-in ejector 26 controls the breaking of the vacuum generated by the Venturi effect, and is composed of the ejector 26 in the shaft hole 19, the main valve portion 10 and the solenoid portion 22. There is.

The supply air control valve 15c has a function of controlling the supply of air to the main valve portion 10 and the supply port 29, and the vacuum switch 25 has a function of performing switching when the set degree of vacuum is reached.

Further, a cutout portion 17 is formed in the manifold plate 16, and the female connector portion 23 of the connector is mounted in the cutout portion 17.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.

At the time of assembling the autochanger, the manifold plate 16 is fitted on the apparatus main body 1, and the pilot valve 21 and the solenoid portion 22 are connected to the main valve portion 10 of the manifold plate 16 so that the directional control valves 15a and 15b are connected. Multiple units are installed.

When using the autochanger, piping to the connection common input port PA is performed, and the male connector portion is connected to the female connector portion 23.

As described above, since the manifold plate 16 is provided in the apparatus main body 1 and the directional control valves 15a and 15b are mounted on the manifold plate 16, the directional control valves 15a and 15b are assembled, selected and added. It facilitates modification and maintenance, and allows the piping of tools, hands and suction cups to be assembled.

Further, since the main valve portion 10 of the directional control valves 15a and 15b is formed inside the manifold plate 16, the device can be downsized.

Further, since the manifold plate 16 has the structure in which the vacuum breaking air control valve 24 with the ejector 26 built-in, the supply air control valve 15c and the vacuum switch 25 are mounted, the above effect is exhibited even when the suction cup or the like is replaced, Multi-functionalization can be achieved.

Further, since the structure in which the female connector 23 is mounted on the manifold plate 16, the directional control valve 1
Wiring to 5a, 15b and the position sensor can be collected.

Although the invention made by the present inventor has been specifically described based on the embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. Needless to say.

For example, in the above embodiment, the case where the axial hole is formed in the manifold plate in the circumferential direction has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a manifold plate having a polygonal cross section is fitted on the outer peripheral surface of the apparatus main body, A normal directional control valve can be mounted on the outer peripheral surface of the manifold plate.

Further, in the above embodiment, the case where the directional control valve, the vacuum breaking air control valve and the supply air control valve are provided as the control valves on the manifold plate has been described.
The present invention is not limited to this, and other control valves such as a pressure control valve and a flow rate control valve may be provided on the manifold plate.

Further, in the above embodiment, the case where the vacuum breaking air control valve having the ejector built therein as the vacuum generating device is provided in the manifold plate has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a vacuum pump is used instead of the ejector in the manifold plate. It can also be mounted on.

Further, in the above embodiment, the case where the fluid pressure equipment which operates by air pressure is provided on the manifold plate has been described, but the invention is not limited to this, and the fluid pressure equipment which operates by hydraulic pressure may be provided on the manifold plate.

In the above description, the case where the invention made by the present inventor is mainly applied to the autochanger, which is the field of application thereof, has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this and can be applied to an air coupler.

[0043]

The effects obtained by the typical ones of the inventions disclosed in the present application will be briefly described as follows.
It is as follows.

(1) A manifold plate is provided on the main body of the apparatus, and various control valves, vacuum generators, pressure switches and other fluid pressure devices are provided on this manifold plate as required. Assembly, selection, addition,
Changes and maintenance can be facilitated and the piping to the replacement member can be assembled.

(2) In the case of (1) above, since the main valve portion of the directional control valve is formed inside the manifold plate, the device can be downsized.

(3) In the case of the above (1), since the manifold plate is equipped with a vacuum breaking air control valve with a built-in ejector, a vacuum switch, and a supply air control valve, it can be used even for replacement members such as suction cups. The above-mentioned effects (1) and (2) can be obtained, and multifunctionalization can be achieved.

(4) In the case of the above (1), since the connector is mounted on the manifold plate, the wiring to the replacement member can be collected.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing an automatic exchange device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a left side view showing the automatic exchange device of FIG.

3 is a right side view showing the automatic exchange device of FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing the manifold plate of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the automatic exchange device of FIG.

6 is a cross-sectional view showing a vacuum breaking air control valve with a built-in ejector in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Device Main Body 2 Pneumatic Cylinder Part 3 Cylinder Chamber 4 Piston 5 Piston Rod 6 Steel Ball Engagement Part 7 Tapered Surface 8 Steel Ball Free Fitting Cylinder 9 Steel Ball Free Fitting Hole 10 Main Valve Part 11 Cylindrical Cover 12 Steel Ball Appearance Hole 13 Positioning Pins 14 Screw Holes 15a Directional Control Valves 15b Directional Control Valves 15c Supply Air Control Valves 16 Manifold Plates 17 Notches 18 Spindles 19 Shaft Holes 20 End Covers 21 Pilot Valves 22 Solenoid Parts 23 Female Connector Parts 24 Vacuum Break Air Control Valves 25 Vacuum switch 26 Ejector 29 Air supply port PA connection common input port RA connection common exhaust port Pa common input port Ra common exhaust port P input port R exhaust port A output port

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An automatic replacement device for attaching and detaching a replacement member by reciprocally moving a locking member in a direction perpendicular to an axial direction by a fluid pressure cylinder portion in the device body, wherein a manifold plate is provided in the device body. This manifold plate is provided with various control valves, vacuum generating devices, fluid pressure devices such as pressure switches as required, and an automatic exchange device. 2. The automatic changer according to claim 1, wherein a main valve portion of the directional control valve is formed inside the manifold plate. 3. The automatic exchange device according to claim 1, wherein the manifold plate is provided with a vacuum breaking air control valve having a built-in ejector, a vacuum switch and a supply air control valve. 4. The automatic changer according to claim 1, wherein a connector is mounted on the manifold plate.