JPH10146786A - Article holding device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To move articles to a desired position at favorable precision for a long period of time without specially adjusting moving operation quantity of an article holding device. SOLUTION: A pair of holding bodies 1, 2 freely slidable to get closer to/ apart from each other are provided on a support frame which can be freely operated to move, and on the support frame, a pinion gear 7 rotatable in normal and inverse directions, and rack gears 8, 9 for slide operation of the holding bodies 1, 2 which relatively move inversely to rotation of the pinion gear 7 are provided. One holding body 1 is connected to move integrally with one rack gear 8, the other holding body 2 is connected to move integrally with the other rack gear 9 through a flexibility part 11 to allow relative move within a specified range, and a drive part to drive one side parts of the holding bodies 1, 2 to slide normally and inversely not through the flexibility part is provided.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an article gripping device in which a pair of gripping members slidably movable toward and away from each other is provided on a movable supporting frame.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, as described in Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei 8-22699, one of the grippers precedes the other gripper when releasing the gripping of an article, as described in Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei 8-22699. There is a type in which a pair of grippers are linked to each other so as to slide. In this article gripping device, an endless body that rotates in parallel to a sliding movement direction of a pair of grippers is wrapped around a pair of guide wheels, and one gripper is integrally connected to the endless body, and the gripper slides. The endless body is configured to rotate when moved, and the contact member is integrally fixed to the endless body portion that rotates in the same direction as the other gripping body, and the contact member is integrated with the rotation of the endless body. It is configured to move, and a pair of operated members that move together with the contact member in contact with the contact member are integrally fixed to the other gripping body in a state where they are located at an interval before and after the contact member. From the start of sliding movement of one of the gripping bodies, until the contact member and the operated member come into contact with each other, only one of the gripping bodies slides, and the contacting member and the operated member are Contact the other Gripper is interlocked allowed to start sliding in the opposite direction. Then, both grippers are slid and moved in the opposite direction at the same speed to grip the article, and even when the distance between the grippers gripping the article differs depending on the shape of the article, the article is not affected. The center position of the object is held at a substantially constant position of the article gripping device, and the article gripping device is moved with reference to the fixed position of the article gripping device to accurately move the gripped article to a desired position. As well as being able to move well, when the gripped article is placed next to the previously placed article,
The gripper that slides and moves with a delay is positioned on the side of the previously mounted article, and the gripper that slides and moves ahead is positioned on the side where the previously mounted article does not exist. Slide the gripping body on the side where there is no article placed on it in advance to separate it from the article,
Place the article at a narrow interval on the side of the previously placed article without dropping the gripped article from a high position toward the side of the previously placed article It is made possible.

[0003]

In the above-mentioned conventional article gripping apparatus, the endless body is rotated by a gripper which slides toward the article gripping side in advance, and the other gripper is moved by a contact member which moves together with the endless body. The endless body is easy to loosen early due to the tensile force repeatedly acting on the endless body because the body is pulled toward the article gripping side, and the slide is delayed due to the looseness of the endless body. If the movement start timing of the moving gripping body with respect to the gripping body that slides in advance changes, it becomes impossible to grip the article with the center position of the article positioned at a substantially constant position of the article gripping device. Unless the movement amount of the article gripping device is adjusted in accordance with the change in the position, there is a disadvantage that the gripped article cannot be accurately moved to a desired position. The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and by devising an interlocking structure between a pair of grippers, it is possible to start sliding movement of the pair of grippers at different timings, An object is to enable an article to be accurately moved to a desired position over a long period of time without particularly adjusting the amount of movement of the gripping device.

[0004]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an article gripping apparatus, wherein a pair of rack gears for sliding operation of a gripping body meshed with a pinion gear are interlocked with each other in a state of relatively moving in opposite directions. Therefore, the sliding movement of one gripper connected so as to move integrally with one rack gear and the movement of the other rack gear are always linked, but the other rack gear has a flexible portion with respect to the other gripper. Since the other rack gear or the other gripping body is moved within a certain range in which relative movement is allowed, the other rack gear and the other gripping body are connected because they are connected so as to move integrally with each other. Is released, and when the other rack gear or the other gripping body moves beyond a certain range, the other rack gear and the other gripping body are interlocked and start moving integrally. In other words, when the gripper that is slid forward and backward by the drive unit without passing through the interchangeable unit is one gripper that moves integrally with one rack gear, the sliding movement of the one gripper is a pair. The rack gear is always linked with the movement of the rack gears in the opposite directions, but within a certain range after one gripper starts sliding movement, the other rack gear moves relative to the other gripper due to the presence of the flexible portion. Since the other gripper does not slide and move relative to each other, and if one gripper slides beyond a certain range, the other rack gear and the other gripper are interlocked to move in the opposite direction of the other gripper. The slide movement to is started. In addition, when the gripping body that is slid forward and backward by the driving unit without the intermediary portion is the other gripping body that is connected to the other rack gear so as to move integrally with the intermediary of the intermediary portion with the intermediary portion interposed therebetween. In a certain range after the other gripper starts sliding, the other gripper moves relative to the other rack gear due to the presence of the flexible portion, so that the pair of rack gears does not move together, and the other gripper does not move. When the gripping body slides beyond a certain range, the other rack gear and the other gripping body are interlocked, and the pair of rack gears starts moving in opposite directions, and moves integrally with one rack gear. Sliding movement of one gripper in the opposite direction is started. Therefore, the operating force for sliding the pair of grippers is transmitted by the pinion gear and the pair of rack gears, which are less likely to be loosened.
While the movement start timing of the gripping body that slides late and the sliding body that slides ahead is unlikely to change over a long period of time, the sliding movement of the pair of gripping bodies can be started at different timings,
An article can be accurately moved to a desired position for a long period of time without particularly adjusting the amount of movement of the article gripping device.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the article gripping device, the accommodating portion is provided on the other rack gear along the moving direction of the other rack gear, and both ends of the shaft member. , A pair of contact members provided on the other rack gear, and a pair of contact members provided continuously from the other gripping body, slidable along the shaft-like member, and in contact with the pair of contact members. Since the movable member is constituted by the movable member, the operated member continuously provided from the other holding body slides along the shaft member, and the operated member is moved to the other rack gear and the other rack gear. It is possible to reliably transmit an operating force for sliding the two grippers toward and away from each other, by reliably contacting one of the contact members according to the relative movement direction with respect to the gripper.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the pair of gripping members are provided so as to protrude downward from the support frame, and place and support the bottom of the article gripped by the pair of gripping members. Since the mounting support is provided, it is possible to securely hold the product without fear of dropping the article.However, the mounting support is slid and driven by the driving unit without passing through the accommodation unit. Is positioned outside the gripping body to be driven and moved in the same direction as the sliding direction with respect to the gripping body, so that one of the articles placed side by side is gripped. In the case where the article is held or placed next to the previously placed article, the loading support is moved with a large movement stroke on the side where there is no adjacent article, and the article is Make sure that the bottom of the It can be placed on support to.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the article gripping device, wherein the placing support is provided on the side of the gripping body which is slidably driven by the driving unit without passing through the flexible part, around a horizontal axis provided on the gripping body. Is provided so as to be driven and oscillated in the same direction as the sliding direction, so that the mounting structure of the mounting support can be simplified and the mounting support can be simplified as compared with, for example, the case where the mounting support is slid. The movement stroke of the body for the article is a large stroke obtained by adding the swinging stroke of the mounting support to the gripper and the movement stroke of the gripper to the article. It can be moved with a larger movement stroke. In addition, since the swing axis of the mounting support is provided above the gripping portion of the holding body, the swing radius of the mounting support is increased, and the mounting support is moved along the bottom of the article. The bottom of the article can be placed and supported in a state in which the article is floated at a position close to the article placement surface where the impact at the time of dropping the article is small and easy to swing in a substantially horizontal direction.

[0008]

FIG. 1 shows an article transfer apparatus B provided with an article gripping apparatus A according to the present invention. The article C on a pallet P set at a predetermined position by operation of the article transfer apparatus B is shown. Is transferred to the conveyor D or the article C on the conveyor D
Is mounted on a pallet P set at a predetermined position.

The article transfer device B has a turning frame B2 pivotally supported about a vertical axis α1 with respect to a base frame B1, and a swinging axis about a horizontal axis φ1 above the turning frame B2. A first arm B3 movably pivoted,
A second arm B4 pivotally supported at the tip of the first arm B3 around the horizontal axis φ2, and a pivotally pivotally supported at the tip of the second arm B4 around the horizontal axis φ3. A support B5 is provided, and the article gripping device A is hung at the lower end of the support B5 so as to be rotatable around a vertical axis α2.

The article gripping device A is supported so as to be able to maintain a horizontal position regardless of the swing of the first arm B3 and the second arm B4. 2 and 3, the first gripper 1 is slidably movable toward and away from a movable support frame 3 suspended from a support B5 as shown in FIGS. And a pair of grippers composed of a first gripper 2 and a second gripper 2, and a mounting support 4 for mounting and supporting the bottom of the article C gripped by the first gripper 1 and the second gripper 2. ing.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a pair of left and right guide rails 5 are fixed to the lower surface of the support frame 3 in parallel with each other, and are reciprocally slidably supported along the guide rails 5 respectively. The plate-like gripping members 1b, 2b are fixed to each of the two slide plates 1a, 2a, and the first gripper 1 and the second gripper 2 are slidably provided in a posture protruding downward from the support frame 3. Air cylinders 6 are provided on both left and right sides of the left and right guide rails 5 for moving the gripping bodies 1 and 2 for sliding.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 8, a pinion gear 7 rotatable forward and reverse around the vertical axis is supported at the center of the lower surface of the support frame 3, and the pinion gear 7 has teeth. A pair of rack gears for sliding operation of a gripping body composed of a first rack gear 8 and a second rack gear 9 are slidably inserted into a gear support block 10 fixed to the lower surface of the support frame 3.

The first rack gear 8 and the second rack gear 9
Are formed on slide shaft members 8a, 9a having a circular cross section. These slide shaft members 8a, 9a are inserted into and supported by the gear support block 10 in parallel with each other.
The first rack gear 8 and the second rack gear 9 are engaged with each other at a position radially opposed to the pinion gear 7 with respect to the pinion gear 7. It is provided so as to be relatively moved in parallel to the sliding movement directions 1 and 2 and in directions opposite to each other.

The first gripper 1 has a slide plate 1a and a slide shaft member 8a connected so as to move integrally with the first rack gear 8, and the second gripper 2 has
The slide plate 2a and the slide shaft member 9a are connected to each other so as to move integrally with the second rack gear 9 with the interposition of the accommodating portion 11 allowing relative movement within a certain range E.

The accommodating portion 11 is coaxially fitted around the end of the slide shaft member 9a of the second rack gear 9 in a coaxial manner along the moving direction of the second rack gear 9. 11a, a first contact member 11b and a second contact member 1 provided at both ends of the cylindrical shaft member 11a.
As shown in FIG. 7, a pair of contact members 1c and 1c are provided continuously from the slide plate 2a of the second gripping body 2, and are slidable and movable along the cylindrical shaft member 11a. 11b or a second U-shaped operated member 11d which comes into contact with the second contact member 11c alternatively.

The first contact member 11b is a cylindrical shaft member 1.
1a, the second contact member 11c is fixed to the end of the cylindrical shaft member 11a with a bolt 11e for tightening and fixing the cylindrical shaft member 11a to the slide shaft member 9a of the second rack gear 9, and is operated. The member 11d is moved to a predetermined range E between the first contact member 11b and the second contact member 11c.
Thus, relative movement with respect to the cylindrical shaft member 11a is provided, and relative movement of the second holding body 2 with respect to the second rack gear 9 within a certain range E is allowed.

The first gripper 1 and the left and right gripper moving air cylinders 6 are operatively connected to each other so that the first gripper 1 is slid by the expansion and contraction of the air cylinder 6. The left and right air cylinders 6 are configured as a drive unit that slides and drives the first gripper 1, which is one side of the pair of grippers 1 and 2, without interposing the interposition unit 11.

The mounting support 4 is provided on the outer side of the first grip 1, and a plurality of fork members provided with mounting claws 4a for mounting and supporting the lower surface of the article at one end. 4
b are connected by two upper and lower horizontal shaft members 4c and 4d.

Then, the upper horizontal shaft member 4c is gripped by the gripping member 1.
b is supported below the slide plate 1a at a position higher than the grip portion 1c, and the upper horizontal shaft member 4c is also used as a swing shaft member, and is supported above the slide plate 1a of the first gripper 1. An air cylinder 12 for body swing is supported so as to be swingable around a horizontal axis 12x, and the air cylinder 12 and a swing operation arm 4e fixed to the horizontal shaft member 4c are interlocked and connected, so that the air cylinder 12 expands and contracts. In operation, the mounting support 4 is mounted on the horizontal axis 4 provided above the holding portion 1 c of the first holding body 1.
It is provided so as to be driven and oscillated around the x in the same direction as the gripping body sliding direction.

Next, the operation of the article gripping device A will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 8 to 10 in which one of the articles C and C1 placed next to each other on the pallet P.
And a case where the gripped article C is placed next to the article C2 previously placed on the pallet P will be described separately.

When one of the articles C and C1 placed next to each other is to be gripped, as shown in FIGS. (2) The holding member 4 is separated from the holding member 4 by a maximum distance.
The first gripper 1 is located on the side of the article C where the article C1 does not exist in a state where the first gripper 1 is swung so as to be located outside the first gripper 1, and the second gripper 2 is It is lowered so as to enter between the article C1. At this time, as shown in FIG. 8B, the first contact member 11b is in contact with the operated member 11d.

Next, when the air cylinder 6 for moving the gripping body is contracted, the first gripping body 1 starts to slide in advance, and as shown in FIG. 1
Moves closer to the article C side in advance, and the first gripper 1 slides beyond the fixed range E in the accommodation section 11, as shown in FIG. 8A, the second contact member 11c is operated. By contacting the member 11d, the second gripping body 2 starts sliding movement in the direction opposite to the first gripping body 1, and as shown in FIG. It is gripped by the two gripping bodies 2.

Next, the article gripping device A is slightly raised,
When the gripped article C is lifted off the pallet P, and the air cylinder 12 for swinging the support is extended, FIG.
(B), as shown in FIG. 9 (d), the mounting claws 4a of the mounting support 4 enter the bottom side of the article C, and the bottom of the article C is mounted and supported.

When the gripped article C is placed next to the article C2 previously placed on the pallet P, as shown in FIG. In a state where the second gripping body 2 is located on the side of the article C2 and the second gripping body 2 is located on the side of the article C2, the article C is lowered to near the upper surface of the pallet P, and the air cylinder 12 for swinging the support is contracted. Then, the support of the article C by the mounting claw 4a is released.

Next, when the air cylinder 6 for gripping body movement is extended, only the first gripping body 1 starts sliding to the side away from the article C, and the gripping of the article C is released. As shown in FIG. 10B, the article C is dropped and placed on the side of the article C2 placed earlier.

[Other Embodiments] Instead of the air cylinder 6 interlockingly connected to the first gripper 1 shown in the above-described embodiment, a pinion gear 7 is used as a drive unit that slides one side of the pair of grippers in forward and reverse directions without passing through the interchangeable part. Alternatively, an electric motor for driving and rotating may be provided. In this case, the first gripper 1 on one side of the pair of grippers is slid forward and reverse without the intermediation of the accommodating portion 11 by the forward / reverse rotation of the pinion gear 7 by the electric motor. 2. As a drive unit that slides one side of the pair of grippers in the forward and reverse directions without passing through the interchangeable unit, instead of the air cylinder 6 as the drive unit interlocked to the first gripper 1 shown in the above embodiment, An air cylinder that is linked to the two grips 2 may be provided and implemented. In this case, by the expansion and contraction operation of the air cylinder, the second gripping body 2 which is one side of the pair of gripping bodies is slid in the normal and reverse directions without the intermediation of the accommodating portion 11. 3. The accommodating portion is formed, for example, by forming a long hole in the axial direction in a shaft member provided in the other rack gear, and holding the engaging member slidably movable along the long hole with the other holding member. Even if it is configured such that the engaging member is allowed to slide relative to the other rack gear within a certain range in which the engaging member is slidable along the long hole, it is connected to the body. good.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of an article transfer device.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the article gripping device.

FIG. 3 is a view taken along the line III-III in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a view taken along the line IV-IV in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing each part of the article gripping device in a side view.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a main part.

FIG. 7 is a partial sectional view of a main part.

FIG. 8 is a view taken along line VIII-VI11 in FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the article gripping device.

FIG. 10 is an operation explanatory view of the article gripping device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 2 gripper 3 support frame 4 mounting support 4x horizontal axis 6 drive unit 7 pinion gear 8, 9 rack gear 11 accommodating unit 11a shaft members 11b, 11c contact member 11d operated member

Claims (4)

[Claims] An object gripping device provided with a pair of gripping members slidably movable so as to approach and separate from each other, wherein the gripping device includes a pinion gear rotatably and reversely rotatable. In combination, a pair of gripper slide operation rack gears that relatively move in the opposite direction with the rotation of the pinion gear are provided on the support frame, and one gripper of the pair of grippers is One of the pair of rack gears is connected so as to move integrally with one of the rack gears, and the other holding body is integrally formed with a flexible portion that allows relative movement within a certain range with respect to the other rack gear. An article gripping device which is connected so as to move, and is provided with a drive unit which slides one side of the pair of grippers forward and backward without passing through the accommodation unit. 2. The shaft according to claim 1, wherein the accommodating portion is located at both ends of the shaft member provided on the other rack gear along the moving direction of the other rack gear. A pair of contact members provided on the rack gear,
2. The article gripping device according to claim 1, further comprising: an operated member connected to the other gripping member, slidably movable along the shaft-shaped member, and being able to contact the pair of contact members. 3. apparatus. 3. The mounting support, wherein the pair of grippers are provided in a posture protruding downward from the support frame, and the mounting support for mounting and supporting a bottom of an article gripped by the pair of grippers is the drive unit. 2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the gripping member is positioned outside of the gripper that is slid and driven without the intermediary portion, and is driven to move in the same direction as the sliding direction with respect to the gripper. Or the article gripping device according to 2. 4. The holding member slides around a horizontal axis provided at a position above a holding portion of the holding member, the holding member being slid by the driving portion without passing through the accommodation portion. The article gripping device according to claim 3, wherein the article gripping device is provided so as to be driven and swung in the same direction as the direction.