JPH089278B2 - XY plotter device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial field of application) The present invention is based on the fact that the movement of the Y rail with respect to the XY plotter body and / or the movement of the pen carriage with respect to the Y rail is driven by engagement between the rack rail and the pinion gear. The present invention relates to an XY plotter device. In the present invention, the term XY plotter includes both the drawing machine and the cutting machine, and the term pen refers to both the drawing pen and the cutting pen.

(Prior Art) As is well known, an XY plotter is installed in the Y-axis direction of an XY plotter main body, and a Y rail that can move laterally in the X-axis direction of the XY plotter main body and this Y rail. Y
A pen carriage is provided that is slidable along the axial direction. The Y rail moves back and forth in the X-axis direction of the XY plotter body, and the pen carriage moves back and forth in the Y-axis direction of the XY plotter body, or movements in these two axis directions are combined. As a result, the pen held on the pen carriage performs two-dimensional movement. As a result, the pen shows a predetermined movement on the sheet to be processed fixed on the surface of the XY plotter main body,
The sheet to be processed is subjected to required drawing or cutting.

In the conventional XY plotter, the lateral movement of the Y rail is X.
-Driving is performed by belts provided inside both edges of the Y plotter body in the Y-axis direction, and sliding of the pen carriage along the Y rails is performed by driving belts provided inside the Y rails. . Further, for the purpose of solving the lack of movement accuracy when the Y rail or the pen carriage is laterally or slid, which tends to occur when the belt is driven, and further improving the responsiveness when the Y rail or the pen carriage is started or stopped. It has been attempted to laterally move the Y rail or slide the pen carriage by utilizing the rotational drive by the engagement of the rack rail and the pinion gear.

On the other hand, the moving mechanism based on the engagement between the rack rail and the pinion gear, the load of the moving body (including the rotary drive source for rotating the pinion gear) carried on the side of the pinion gear is The load of the moving body carried on the side of the pinion gear is separately supported, and the lateral movement of the floating body is supported only by the engagement of the rack rail and the pinion gear. There is something to do. The tooth profile formed on the rack rail may be double beveled teeth (so-called chevron tooth), or multiple pinion gears may be used as a gear, and the peaks and troughs between each element gear may be slightly moved by springs. Consideration has been given such as shifting them one by one, and measures have been taken to improve the accuracy of engagement between the rack rail and the pinion gear.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In the conventional example in which the Y rail or the pen carriage is moved by the belt movement as described above, when the distance between the pulleys at both ends of the drive belt, that is, the tension span is increased, the belt is extended. Inevitable differences in flexion or elongation.
In particular, the belt stretched for laterally driving the Y rail has a large stretching span, and the above tendency occurs. At one end and the other end of the Y rail, the X-axis of the XY plotter body is extended. There is a problem in that the upper positions are different from each other.
Further, the moving mechanism based on the engagement between the rack rail and the pinion gear has a large number of constituent parts, and the cost is inevitable. It is difficult to obtain a desired function with high accuracy if it is suitable for a light load. Further, the rack rail is separately manufactured by using a required material, and if the applied device, for example, the XY plotter main body in the present invention is taken as an example, both of them will be assembled under careful process control, resulting in manufacturing cost. There is also the problem that

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention replaces the mechanism using the belt drive in the conventional XY plotter with a drive mechanism based on the engagement between the rack rail and the pinion gear, and is used. The rack rail and the like are integrally manufactured by using, for example, a synthetic resin material when the XY plotter body is formed. As a result, it is possible to provide a XY plotter device in which the movement accuracy of the Y rail or the pen carriage due to the engagement of the rack rail and the pinion gear can be made precise, and at the same time, which is advantageous in terms of manufacturing cost.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention is provided along a slit on the drawing back side of an XY plotter body having slits along the edges on both front and rear sides. The Y rail is moved on the drawing by engaging a pinion gear attached to an insert bracket penetrating both ends of the Y rail and penetrating the slit on the rack rail and rotating the pinion gear. In the XY plotter, the rack rail is formed on a lower surface or an upper surface of a horizontal piece of a hanging piece having a substantially L-shaped cross section formed integrally with the XY plotter body, and the rack thereof. Flat rails are installed side by side adjacent to the rails, and a pinion gear that meshes with the rack rail and the pinion gear are integrally formed on the insert bracket. An X-Y provided with a pinion roll that is formed and is in contact with the flat rail, and a support roll that supports the Y rail by sandwiching the lateral piece of the hanging piece with the pinion roll and reduces the load applied to the pinion gear. The plotter device is the gist. In addition, the Y rail is formed of a tubular body having a substantially rectangular cross section in which slits are provided along the longitudinal direction,
A protrusion having a substantially L-shaped cross section, in which a rack rail and a flat rail are formed adjacent to each other on a predetermined surface, is integrally formed with the Y rail along the longitudinal direction of the Y rail, and along the Y rail. From the moving pen carriage, an insert bracket extending through the slit and extending into the Y rail is extended, and a pinion gear that is attached to the rotating shaft of the electric motor and meshes with the rack rail, and the pinion. A pinion roll formed integrally with the gear and having a diameter substantially equal to the diameter of the pitch circle of the pinion gear and abutting on the flat rail, and the pinion roll sandwiching the projecting piece to support the pen carriage. The XY plotter device according to claim 1 provided with a support roll for reducing a load applied to the pinion gear is a second gist. The diameter of the pinion roll is set to be substantially equal to the diameter of the pitch circle of the pinion gear, and the surface of the flat rail contacting this pinion roll is approximately equal to the line connecting the tooth pitch of the rack rail corresponding to the pitch circle of the pinion gear. Claim 1 set to be in a position
Alternatively, the XY plotter device described in 2 is the third gist.

(Operation) That is, in the XY plotter device of the present invention, the rack rail on which the tooth portion is formed and the flat flat rail are adjacent to each other, and are integrally formed with the XY plotter body. A pinion gear that meshes with the rack rail and a pinion roll having a flat peripheral surface that contacts the flat rail are integrally formed. Therefore, the number of parts is reduced, and the work of assembling these parts is unnecessary. In this case, when the pinion gear is rotated while meshing with the rack rail, the pinion roll comes into contact with the surface of the flat rail and rolls. The pinion rail supports the load of the Y rail by sandwiching the horizontal piece of the hanging piece on which the rack rail and the flat rail are formed,
Support rolls are also provided to prevent overloading the pinion gears.

As a result, when the rack rail with the teeth of the rack rail provided on the top surface is driven to engage with the pinion gear, the vertical load of the moving body linked to the pinion gear is all flat rail and the pinion rolling on the tread. It is supported by a roll, and the engagement drive between the rack rail and the pinion gear governs only the movement of the moving body, and no excessive force is floated on this portion. Further, when the rack rail having the teeth of the rack rail provided on the lower surface and the engagement drive of the rack rail and the pinion gear are driven, the vertical load of the moving body connected to the pinion gear is the back surface of the rack rail (the upper surface in the vertical direction) as described later. ) Is supported by a support roll provided along with the flat rail and rolls on the tread surface with respect to the flat rail, so that the rack rail and the pinion gear are securely engaged with each other and the driving force is exerted. Further, by providing the rack rail and the flat rail as described above on the Y rail, and also providing the pinion gear and the pinion roll as described above on the insert bracket extending from the pen carriage into the Y rail, the Y rail and the pen carriage can be separated. In the meantime, the same effect as the above can be obtained. Furthermore, by making the diameter of the pinion roll approximately the same as the diameter of the pitch circle of the pinion gear, and by making the height position of the surface of the flat rail approximately the same as the line connecting the tooth pitch of the rack rail, When the rack rails mesh with each other in a natural state, the Y-rail load is supported by the pinion roll and the support roll sandwiching the lateral piece. As a result, an excessive load is prevented from being applied to the pinion gear, and the Y rail or the pen carriage is properly moved.

(Effect of the Invention) According to the configuration of the present invention, the X-Y of the XY plotter body of the Y-rail is formed by the engagement mechanism of the rack rail and the pinion gear.
Since lateral movement in the axial direction and sliding of the Y-rail of the pen carriage in the Y-axis direction are performed, (a) rotation drive based on the engagement between each rack rail and the corresponding pinion gear is performed during operation. Backlash etc. due to a slight error and inertia at start or stop have disappeared. In addition, since the weight load of a moving body such as a Y-rail or a pen carriage connected to the pinion gear is not added to the engaging portion between the rack rail and the pinion gear, the teeth of the rack rail and the teeth of the pinion gear are meshed with each other so that the teeth of the rack rail and the pinion gear are in mutual contact. There is no damage to the surface of the tooth contact, that is, no so-called rustle. Therefore, highly accurate drawing or cutting is permanently obtained.

(B) The rack rail and the flat rail attached to it are
For example, by using a synthetic resin material, it is extremely easy to integrally manufacture the XY plotter body or the Y rail together with the other parts, that is, the pen stocker portion, the sheet mounting portion, and the like. (C) Since the rack rail and the flat rail are manufactured integrally with the XY plotter main body or the Y rail, for each of these rack rails and flat rails,
Assembling the pinion gear and the pinion roll to be engaged can be achieved smoothly by the feed-in fitting from each terminal part,
It has the effect of significantly improving productivity.

(Example) Next, one example of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, the XY plotter device of the present invention.
The sheet 10 has a sheet attachment portion 15 on its upper surface, and a pen stocker 16 and an operation panel 17 are also provided on the side of the upper surface. And an XY plotter device
The 10 XY plotter body 11 is provided with a detachable body end plate 11 'at one end thereof, preferably on the side opposite to the side where the pen stocker 16 is provided, and the XY plotter body is provided on the upper surface thereof. Y as the moving body along the Y-axis direction of the main body 11
A rail 12 is installed. The Y rail 1 is capable of moving laterally in the X-axis direction of the XY plotter body 11 above the processing sheet mounting portion 15, and is equipped with a pen carriage 13 including a pen holder 14 as the moving body. The pen carriage 13 is attached to the Y rail 12
Is slidable in the Y-axis direction, that is, in the Y-axis direction of the XY plotter body 11. At least one end of the Y rail 12 is provided with a Y rail end plate 12 ', which is detachable from the Y rail 12.

In the XY plotter device 10 of the present invention, the movement of the Y rail 12 with respect to the XY plotter body 11 is shown in FIG. 2, and the movement of the pen carriage 13 with respect to the Y rail 12 is shown in FIG. As rack rails 22 or 32
Is engaged with the pinion gear 23 or 33 and the rolling of the pinion roll 29 or 39 with respect to the flat rail 28 or 38 in cooperation with each other. The movement of the Y-rail 12 is as shown in FIG.
To the rack rail 22 formed integrally with the flat rail 28 provided in parallel with the rack rail 22, and a pinion gear substantially integrated with the Y rail 12.
When 23 is engaged and the pinion roll 29 is rolling, at least the pinion gear 23 is rotationally driven by the electric motor 26 (wiring from the operation panel 17 to the electric motor 26 is omitted overhead). . That is, the XY plotter body 11
Slits 20 parallel to each other on both edges in the Y-axis direction
And the insert brackets 21 are provided at the bottoms of both ends of the Y-rail 12, respectively, and the insert brackets 21 are parallel slits.
It reaches through 20 to the inside of the XY plotter body 11. Further, inside the XY plotter body 11, there are provided a rack rail 22 along each of the two slits 20 and a flat rail 28 parallel to the rack rail 22. In this embodiment, the sheet mounting portion 15 and the rack rails 22 and the flat rails 28 on both edges are formed integrally with the XY plotter body 11 by injection molding from a synthetic resin material.

Each of the insert brackets 21 connected to the Y rail 12 has the pinion gear 23 and the pinion roll 29.
The support roll 24 and the guide roll 25 are attached in addition to the combination of. At a minimum, the pinion gear 23 is a motor 26 supported by the insert bracket 21.
Drive shaft 27, which is driven directly or indirectly through a speed reducer to rotate and drive the pinion gear 23, extends to the opposite side of the electric motor 26 and synchronizes with the pinion gear 23 engaged with the rack rail 22 on the other side. It is rotating. It goes without saying that also on this other side, the pinion roll 29, which is a combination with the pinion gear 23, rolls on the tread surface of the flat rail 28 provided in parallel with the rack rail 22. The support roll 24, the pinion gear 23, and the pinion roll 29, as shown in FIG.
It is located on the rear side of the flat rail 28. The support roll 24 supports the load of the Y rail 12 and
The pinion roll 29 rolls with respect to the flat rail 28 while securely sandwiching the flat rail 28 between them in cooperation with the pinion roll 29, and assists in smooth engagement between the pinion gear 23 and the rack rail 22. . Each guide roll 25 contacts the side end surface of each rack rail 22, and
It suppresses fine movement of the XY plotter body 11 itself in the Y-axis direction. The Y rail 12 on which the insert bracket 21 having the support roll 24, the guide roll 25, the pinion gear 23, the pinion roll 29, the electric motor 26, and the drive shaft 27, which have the above-described functions, is installed vertically is an XY plotter. By removing the body end plate 11 ′ of the body 11, the rack rail 22 and the pinion gear 23 are engaged from the end surface of the body 11 and the flat rail 28 and the pinion roll 29 are aligned with each other very easily to be assembled. Can be attached.

The movement of the pen carriage 13 that moves in the Y-axis direction of the Y-rail 12 also causes the rack rail 32 and the parallel flat rail 38 integrally provided on the Y-rail 12 and the insert bracket 31 to move as shown in FIG. Through a pinion gear 33 provided on the pen carriage 13 or a pinion roll having an axis commonly attached to the pinion gear 33
The rotation of at least the pinion gear 33 is performed based on the rolling motion of the pinion gear 39. The insert bracket 31 connected to the pen carriage 13 is introduced into the inside of the Y rail 12 through a slit formed in the lower portion of the Y rail 12. The pinion gear 33, the pinion roll 39, and the support roll 34 mounted on the insert bracket 31 are different from the rack rail 32 and the flat rail 38 in the Y direction.
It has the same function as the case of moving the rail 12. At least the pinion gear 33 is rotationally driven via a drive shaft 37, directly or indirectly, from an electric motor 36 also mounted on the insert bracket 31. The two guide rolls 35 mounted on both sides of the insert bracket 31 are
It contacts the inner surface of the side plate 12 and the end surface of the bottom plate, and maintains a minute gap between the Y rail 12 and the pen carriage 13. When assembling the pen carriage 13 to the Y rail 12,
By removing the Y rail end plate 12 ′ of 12, the rack rail 32 and the pinion gear 33 are engaged from the end surface of the Y rail end plate 12 ′, and the flat rail 38 and the pinion roll 39 are aligned and extremely easily assembled. Can be attached.

The engagement between each rack rail and each pinion gear and the rolling state of each pinion roll with respect to each flat rail in the present invention are shown in FIGS. Taking the case of movement of the Y rail as an example, when the pinion gear 23 is rotationally driven in the direction of arrow R by the electric motor, the pinion gear 23 (and Y via the insert bracket (not shown)).
The rail) moves in the direction of arrow M. In this case, in the engagement between the rack rail 22 and the pinion gear 23, the tooth pitch of the rack rail 22 (adjacent tooth contact portions P ′ and P ′).
Distance) and the gear pitch of the pinion gear 23 (the distance between P and P in the same manner as described above), the rack rail 22 and the pinion gear 23 lose driving force, overload on each tooth, and Engage under optimal conditions that will not cause backlash. At the same time, a flat rail 28 having a tread surface matching the line connecting the tooth pitches of the rack rail 2 is installed parallel to the rack rail 22, and the circumference connecting the gear pitches of the pinion gears 23,
A pinion roll 29 having a diameter corresponding to the diameter of a so-called pitch circle is attached to the pinion gear 23 with the same axis. With such a mechanism, the pinion roll 29 cooperates with a support roll (not shown) that holds the rack rail or the flat rail together with the pinion roll 29, and when the rack rail 22 and the pinion gear 23 are engaged with each other. It prevents the meshing too deep or the meshing too shallow, and can bear the load of the moving body.

The engagement mechanism of the rack rail and the pinion gear in the present invention can be manufactured integrally with (i) a main body to be mounted, (ii) although a general synthetic resin material or the like can be used,
Since it has characteristics such as excellent moving accuracy of the moving body, it can be applied as a moving mechanism of a lightly loaded moving body under various modifications.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 to 6 are explanatory views showing a preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a perspective view, FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of a main part showing a moving mechanism of a Y rail, and FIG. 3 is a pen. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a main part showing a moving mechanism of the carriage, FIG. 4 is a state diagram in which the rack rail is clamped, FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing the relationship between the rack rail, the flat rail and the pinion gear, and the pinion roll. The drawing is an explanatory view taken along line VI-VI in FIG. 10 …… XY plotter device 11 …… XY plotter body 12 …… Y rail 13 …… Pen carriage 14 …… Pen holder 15 …… Processed sheet mounting part 16 …… Pen stocker 20 …… Slit 21,31 …… Insert bracket 22,32 …… Rack rail 23,33 …… Pinion gear 24,34 …… Support roll 25,35 …… Guide roll 26,36 …… Motor 27,37 …… Drive shaft 28,38 …… Flat rail 29,39 …… Pinion roll

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A rack rail provided along the slits on the rear surface side of the drawing of an XY plotter body having slits along the front and rear sides, and the slits provided vertically on both ends of the Y rail. An XY plotter in which the Y rail is moved on the drawing by engaging a pinion gear attached to a penetrating insert bracket and rotating the pinion gear. The insert bracket is formed on a lower surface or an upper surface of a horizontal piece of a hanging piece having a substantially L-shaped cross section integrally formed with the XY plotter body, and a flat rail is juxtaposed adjacent to the rack rail. Includes a pinion gear that meshes with the rack rail, and a pinion roll that is integrally formed with the pinion gear and that abuts the flat rail. An XY plotter device comprising: a support roll for supporting the Y rail by sandwiching the lateral piece of the hanging piece with the pinion roll and reducing a load applied to the pinion gear. 2. A Y-rail is made of a cylindrical body having a substantially square cross section with slits provided along the longitudinal direction, and a rack rail and a flat rail are formed adjacent to each other on a predetermined surface inside the Y rail. -Shaped protrusion is integrally formed with the Y rail along the longitudinal direction of the Y rail, and an insert bracket extending through the slit into the Y rail extends from the pen carriage that moves along the Y rail. Was set up,
In this insert bracket, a pinion gear that is attached to the rotary shaft of the electric motor and meshes with the rack rail, a pinion roll that is integrally formed with the pinion gear and that abuts against the flat rail, and the pinion roll include the projecting piece. The XY plotter device according to claim 1, further comprising a support roll that supports the pen carriage with a pinch interposed therebetween and reduces a load applied to the pinion gear. 3. The diameter of the pinion roll is set to be substantially equal to the diameter of the pitch circle of the pinion gear, and the surface of the flat rail contacting the pinion roll has a tooth pitch of the rack rail corresponding to the pitch circle of the pinion gear. The XY plotter device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the XY plotter device is set to be substantially equal to the connecting line.