JPH0942219A - Fluid pressure cylinder - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To achieve a large stroke without being limited by the direction and place of installation of a fluid pressure cylinder. SOLUTION: In this fluid pressure cylinder 1 having a cylinder tube 2, a piston 3, and a piston rod 4, the piston rod 4 is made of a flexible, restorable material, and a guide member 9 which changes the moving direction of the piston rod 4 is provided.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a fluid pressure cylinder, and more particularly to a fluid pressure cylinder having a bendable piston rod.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An air cylinder is used as a transfer means for loading an article into a processing position, an assembly position or the like, or for loading an article out of the processing position or an assembly position. BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, an air cylinder used for this type of transfer means has a linear cylinder part, a piston that reciprocally slides in the cylinder part, and a linear cylinder that is connected to the piston and reciprocates integrally with the piston. It is composed of a piston rod.

[0003]

However, in the air cylinder constructed as described above, since the piston rod has a linear structure which cannot be bent, the movement of the piston rod is limited to the linear movement, and the forward movement of the piston rod is advanced. The direction cannot be changed to a direction different from the axis of the air cylinder. Therefore, when an article is carried in or out of a processing apparatus or the like, it corresponds to about twice the stroke of the piston rod plus the length of the cylinder for obtaining this stroke. It is necessary to secure a space in the reciprocating direction of the piston rod. For this reason, the installation location of the air cylinder is limited, and an air cylinder with a large stroke cannot be expected. As a result, there is a problem that the robot must be used to transfer the articles such as pushing and pulling the articles. However, there is a problem that space saving is also hindered.

The present invention has been devised in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a fluid pressure cylinder which can obtain a large stroke without being restricted by a mounting direction and an installation location of the fluid pressure cylinder. To provide.

[0005]

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a cylinder tube whose both ends are closed, a piston slidably fitted in the cylinder tube, and a projection provided from the piston. In a fluid pressure cylinder having a piston rod that penetrates the closed end of the cylinder tube and projects outward, the piston rod is
It is composed of a bendable and restorative member.

Further, according to the present invention, a guide member for changing the forward direction of the piston rod is provided in the vicinity of the closed end of the cylinder tube from which the piston rod projects. In addition, the present invention, the piston rod,
The contact spring has a two-layer structure wound in a cylindrical shape, and an airtight coat layer covering the outer peripheral surface of the contact spring. Further, according to the present invention, the piston rod includes a core material made of a steel wire or a stranded wire, and a resin layer formed on an outer periphery of the core material. Further, according to the present invention, the cylinder tube is curved in an arc shape. Further, according to the present invention, the cylinder tube is formed in a spiral shape. Further, the present invention is such that articles are transferred by the piston rod.

In the present invention, since the piston rod is made of a bendable and restorative member, the forward direction of the piston rod projecting from the closed end of the cylinder tube can be oriented in any direction. Therefore,
There are no restrictions on the installation direction and installation location of the fluid pressure cylinder. Further, in the present invention, by providing the guide member, the forward direction of the piston rod can be easily changed. Further, in the present invention, by forming the cylinder tube in an arc shape or a spiral shape,
A fluid pressure cylinder with a long stroke can be easily realized in a narrow space.

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a first embodiment of a fluid pressure cylinder according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, the fluid pressure cylinder 1 includes a cylinder tube 2, a piston 3,
A piston rod 4 is provided.

The cylinder tube 2 has a cylindrical shape, and both end openings thereof are closed by end plates 5a and 5b. A piston 3 is fitted in the cylinder tube 2 via an O-ring 7 in an airtight and slidable manner. Left and right cylinder chambers are defined on both sides of the piston 3, and fluid pressure inflow / outflow ports 6a, 6b communicating with the left and right cylinder chambers are formed in the end plates 5a, 5b. Further, one end of a piston rod 4 is connected to the center of one end surface of the piston 3, and the other end portion of the piston rod 4 penetrates one end plate 5a and projects outwardly. An O-ring 8 for sealing is attached to the piston rod penetrating portion.

As shown in FIG. 2, the piston rod 4 has an outer contact spring 41 wound in a cylindrical shape and an inner contact spring 42 wound in a cylindrical shape and fitted in the outer contact spring 41. And an airtight coat layer 43 that covers the outer peripheral surface of the outer contact spring 41, whereby the piston rod 4
Gives flexibility and resilience.

A fluid pressure cylinder 1 constructed as described above.
In the above, the fluid pressure control circuit (not shown) opens the fluid pressure inflow / outflow port 6a to the exhaust side,
When fluid pressure such as air is supplied to b, the piston 3 is slid in the direction of arrow X1 in FIG.
Are also moved in the same direction. At this time, if a guide member 9 that bends the piston rod 4 to move it forward / backward is provided in the vicinity of the protruding side of the piston rod 4, the outward protruding side of the piston rod 4 is indicated by the solid line in FIG. It can be bent and advanced as shown. Further, the fluid pressure inflow / outflow port 6b is opened to the exhaust side to open the fluid pressure inflow / outflow port 6a.
When fluid pressure such as air is supplied to the piston rod 4, the piston rod 4 including the piston 3 is retracted in the direction of arrow X2.

FIG. 3 shows an example of use in which the fluid pressure cylinder 1 having the above-mentioned structure is applied to separate supply of articles from a magazine. In FIG. 3, a pipe is formed on the projecting side of the piston rod 4 of the fluid pressure cylinder 1 so as to bend the outward projecting side of the piston rod 4 to a direction perpendicular to the axis of the fluid pressure cylinder 1 in a curved elbow shape. Guide member 1
0 is provided, and the piston rod 4 is provided in the guide member 10.
The magazine 12 in which the articles 11 are arranged and loaded in a line is arranged on the insertion projection side of the piston rod 4 as well as the projection part of FIG. In this state, if fluid pressure is supplied to the fluid pressure cylinder 1 and the piston rod 4 including the piston is intermittently moved forward by an amount equivalent to one article, the piston rod 4 inserted from one end of the magazine 12 Can intermittently move the articles 11 in the magazine 12 in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 3, and push the articles 11 out of the magazine 12 one by one from the other end of the magazine 12.

According to the application example of the present embodiment, the magazine 12 does not need to be arranged on the axis of the fluid pressure cylinder 1 in line with each other, and as is clear from FIG. Can be arranged in any direction. As a result, there are no restrictions on the installation direction and installation location of the fluid pressure cylinder, and it is possible to save space at the installation location of the fluid pressure cylinder. Further, in this application example, the centering of the piston rod 4 with the magazine 12 is unnecessary.

FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged sectional view showing another embodiment of the piston rod according to the present invention. The piston rod 4 shown in FIG. 4 is composed of a core material 44 made of a steel wire or a stranded wire, and a flexible resin layer 45 formed on the outer periphery of the core material 44. Also in the piston rod 4 configured in this way, it is possible to provide flexibility and resilience as described above, and
The same effect can be exhibited.

FIG. 5 shows a second embodiment of the fluid pressure cylinder according to the present invention. In the embodiment of FIG. 5, the cylinder tube 2 is formed in an arc shape having a desired diameter so that the piston can slide, and the piston rod 4 is made of the same flexible and restorative member as described above. Is. Further, when the articles in the magazine are separated and supplied using such an arc-shaped fluid pressure cylinder 1A, as shown in FIG. 5, the axial line of the magazine 12 extends in the direction in which the piston rod 4 projects from the cylinder tube 2. The articles 11 in the magazine 12 can be pushed out from the other end side of the magazine 12 by arranging the two in substantially the same manner and inserting the projecting end of the piston rod 4 from one end of the magazine 12 and moving the article forward. According to such an embodiment, the fluid pressure cylinder 1
Since A itself is formed in an arc shape, it is possible to realize a fluid pressure cylinder with a long stroke even in a relatively narrow space, and it is possible to save the space for installing the fluid pressure cylinder.

FIG. 6 shows a third embodiment of the fluid pressure cylinder according to the present invention. In the embodiment of FIG. 6, the cylinder tube 2 is formed in a spiral shape with a desired diameter that allows the piston to slide, and the piston rod 4 is made of the same flexible and restorative member as described above. Is. In the fluid pressure cylinder 1B configured in this way, since the fluid pressure cylinder 1B itself is formed in a spiral shape, it is possible to realize a fluid pressure cylinder having a longer stroke in a narrow space. The space can be further reduced.

[0017]

As described above, according to the present invention, the piston rod is made of a bendable and restorative member, so that the forward direction of the piston rod protruding from the closed end of the cylinder tube can be set arbitrarily. Can be turned. Therefore, there are no restrictions on the installation direction and installation location of the fluid pressure cylinder. Further, according to the present invention, by providing the guide member for changing the forward direction of the piston rod in the vicinity of the closed end of the cylinder tube from which the piston rod projects, the forward direction of the piston rod can be easily moved in any direction. Can be changed. Further, according to the present invention, by forming the cylinder tube in an arc shape or a spiral shape, it is possible to easily realize a fluid pressure cylinder with a long stroke in a narrow space, and to further save the installation location of the fluid pressure cylinder. it can.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a first embodiment of a fluid pressure cylinder according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part of a piston rod in the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing an example of use of the fluid pressure cylinder of the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part showing another example of the piston rod in the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a side view showing a second embodiment of the fluid pressure cylinder according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a side view showing a third embodiment of the fluid pressure cylinder according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 1A, 1B Fluid pressure cylinder 2 Cylinder tube 3 Piston 4 Piston rod 5a, 5b End plate 6a, 6b Fluid pressure inflow / outflow port 7, 8 O-ring 9, 10 Guide member 11 Article 12 Magazine 41, 42 Contact spring 43 Airtight coat Layer 44 Core material 45 Resin layer

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A cylinder tube whose both ends are closed, a piston slidably fitted in the cylinder tube, and a piston projecting from the piston and penetrating a closed end of the cylinder tube to project outward. In the fluid pressure cylinder, the fluid pressure cylinder includes: a piston rod, and a piston rod, the piston rod being composed of a bendable and restorable member. 2. A fluid pressure cylinder according to claim 1, wherein a guide member for changing the forward direction of the piston rod is provided in the vicinity of the closed end of the cylinder tube from which the piston rod projects. 3. The fluid pressure cylinder according to claim 1, wherein the piston rod includes a close contact spring having a two-layer structure wound in a cylindrical shape, and an airtight coating layer covering an outer peripheral surface of the close contact spring. 4. The fluid pressure cylinder according to claim 1, wherein the piston rod includes a core material made of a steel wire or a stranded wire, and a resin layer formed on an outer periphery of the core material. 5. The fluid pressure cylinder according to claim 1, wherein the cylinder tube is curved and formed in an arc shape. 6. The fluid pressure cylinder according to claim 1, wherein the cylinder tube is formed in a spiral shape. 7. The fluid pressure cylinder according to claim 1, wherein the article is transferred by the piston rod. 8. The fluid pressure cylinder according to claim 1, wherein the fluid pressure cylinder is an air cylinder.