JPS5843236B2 - Tsukamiude - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a gripping arm, and more particularly to a gripping arm that can open and close a claw for gripping an object and move the claw for storage using a single drive source.

Many automatic industrial machines and robots are equipped with a device (hereinafter referred to as a grasping arm) that is equivalent to a human hand and is used to grasp and release objects, or to move grasped objects.

This gripping arm may need to be moved from an activated position to a stowed position so that it does not interfere with the operation of other devices when not in use.

Such gripping arms generally require two independent drive sources: one to open and close the claws that grip the object, and one to move the claws to the storage (standby) position. shall be.

However, using two drive sources in this way not only complicates the mechanism and increases manufacturing costs, but also has various disadvantages such as increasing the size of the gripping arm and making maintenance and inspection troublesome. It is.

An object of the present invention is to provide a gripping arm that can open and close a claw for gripping an object and move the claw to a storage position using a single drive source.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a free end of a swinging lever whose one end is rotatably supported on the machine frame and which is driven to reciprocate by a single drive source. An operating rod that is approximately perpendicular to the lever is supported so that it can slide in the axial direction,
A pair of pawls, the support end of which is rotatably supported, is attached to one end of the actuating rod, and the pair of pawls and the pawls are arranged in the middle of the actuating rod and on the opposite side of the swinging lever from the pair of pawls. A first stopper is provided at the other end of the operating lever to maintain a distance from the swinging lever, and a second stopper is provided at the other end of the operating lever to engage with the machine frame and prevent movement of the operating lever within a certain range during the rotation stroke of the swinging lever. Two stoppers are provided, and an actuating spring is provided between the pair of pawls and the swinging lever to bias these claws in a direction away from the swinging lever, and to connect the outside near the free end of the winter melon with the swinging lever. The movable lever is linked by a connecting rod, and when the second stopper is not engaged with the machine frame, the resiliency of the operating spring causes the pawl and the swinging lever to be separated, and the pawl is expanded by the connecting rod. When the second stopper engages with the machine frame, the rotation of the swinging lever after the operating rod has stopped causes the claw and swing to move against the elasticity of the operating spring. This is achieved by bringing the movable lever close to each other and closing the pawl via the connecting rod.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

1 and 2, reference numeral 1 indicates a machine frame, and mutually parallel side plates 2 forming the machine frame 1 having a U-shaped cross section.
, 2, a swing lever 3 is provided between them.

The swing lever 3 has a U-shape as a whole, and one end of each of its pair of side pieces 4, 4 is rotatably supported inside the side plate 2 by a support shaft 5, respectively.

A boss portion 7 is integrally formed in the center of the bottom piece 6 that connects the other ends of the side pieces 4° 4 of the swinging lever, and the boss portion 7 has a boss portion 7 that is substantially connected to the swinging lever 2. Right angle operating rod 8
is slidably supported.

As shown in FIG. 2, a sliding key 9 is provided protruding from the sliding portion of the operating rod 8, and this sliding key 9
It engages with a keyway (not shown) to form a rotation stopper mechanism for the operating rod 8.

Near the free end of the swing lever 2, as shown in FIG.
The tip of the movable part of one drive source 11, such as a fluid pressure cylinder or a linear electric actuator, is rotatably supported, and the head of the drive source 11 is pivoted to the side plate 2 of the machine frame. .

Therefore, as the drive source 11 expands and contracts, the swing lever 3 can swing around the support shaft 5.

A pawl support 12 is provided at one end of the operating rod (in the illustrated embodiment, the end on the machine frame opening side). Support ends of a pair of claws 14, 14 are rotatably supported by 13, 13.

The mutually opposing side surfaces of these claws 14.14 are shaped to match the external shape of the object so that the object can be easily gripped between them.

The outside of each point 14 near the free end and the bottom piece 6 of the swinging lever are linked together by a connecting rod 15, and the relative movement between the claw support base 12 and the swinging lever 3 causes a pair of It is achieved that the pawls 14.14 can be expanded and closed.

Furthermore, an operating spring 16, which is a compression coil spring, is wound around the operating rod 8 between the pawl support base 12 and the swinging lever 3, and separates the pair of claws 14 and 14 from the swinging lever 3. It is biased in the direction of

Note that the pawl 14 is located in the middle of the operating rod 8 and with respect to the swing lever 3.
A first collar-shaped stopper 17 is provided on the side opposite to the angle 14 to prevent the pawl 14.14 from moving too far away from the swing lever 3.

A flange-shaped second stopper 18 is provided at the other end of the operating rod 8, and the first and second stoppers 17 of the operating rod 8
．． The portion between 18 engages with a guide groove 21 (see FIG. 1) provided in the bottom plate 19 of the machine frame 1.

When the drive source 11 is contracted, the gripping arm according to the present invention configured as described above is integrally connected to the swinging lever 3 and the swinging lever 3, as shown by the chain line in FIGS. 3 and 1. The operating rod 8 is in a retracted position within the machine frame 1.

At this time, the other end of the operating rod 8 extends out of the machine frame 1 from the guide groove 21 in an inclined state, and the operating spring 1
Due to the elastic force of 6, the claw support base 12 and the swing lever 3 are separated to the maximum extent, and the end face of the boss portion of the swing lever 3 is in contact with the first stopper 17.

At this time, the vicinity of the free end of each point 14 receives an outward moment from the swing lever 3 via the connecting rod 15, so that the pawls 14,14 are housed in the machine frame 1 in an expanded state.

As the drive source 11 extends, the swing lever 3 approaches the position shown by the solid line in FIG. It will be exposed outside the machine frame 1 as it is.

However, when the operating rod 8 becomes substantially perpendicular to the bottom plate 19 of the machine frame and the second stopper 18 engages with the machine frame, the operating rod is prevented from further movement.

When the drive source 11 is further extended, the swing lever 3 separates from the first stopper 17 and slides relative to the actuation rod 8, compressing it against the elasticity of the actuation spring 16 and moving the claw support base 12. narrow the distance between

As a result, the pawls 14.14 close upon receiving an inward moment from the connecting rod 15.15, so that objects can be gripped between them and used for various work purposes.

At this time, the claws 14, 14 receive force from the swing lever 3, so their gripping force is large and the object can be firmly fixed.

When the drive source 11 starts to contract again, the claws 14° 14 first expand to release the object, and then the claws 14° 14 move in the direction of being stored in the machine frame 1 while remaining expanded. Finally, it shifts to the standby state shown in FIG. 3 and stops.

The relationship between the stroke of the swinging lever 3 and the opening and closing positions of the pawls 14, 14 depends on the length of the connecting rod 15 and the second stopper 1.
Of course, it can be adjusted as desired by adjusting the position of 8.

As is clear from the above description, the present invention provides the operating rod 8 slidably at the free end of the swing lever 3 and substantially perpendicular thereto, and the relative sliding of the operating rod 8 with respect to the swing lever 3. Since the structure is configured so that the pawl 14.14 provided at one end of the operating rod is opened and closed by dynamic movement, the swinging lever 3 is reciprocated by a single drive source 11, and in the middle of the movement, the operating rod 8 is moved against the machine frame. 1
By locking with the claw 14., even with a single driving source.
14 can be made to perform two operations: opening/closing and moving.

Therefore, the structure of the gripping arm is simplified and manufacturing costs are reduced.

In the above description, it is assumed that the swing lever 3 is driven by the drive source 11 that makes a linear motion, but it is of course possible to use a single drive source that makes a rotational motion.

In this case, for example, a pinion coaxial with the support shaft 5 may be integrally provided on the swing lever 3, and this pinion may be driven once by a rotary motor.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing the claw operating state of the main part of the gripping arm according to the present invention, Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line ■-■ in Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a second drawing showing the claw retracted state. It is a cross-sectional view similar to. 1... Machine frame, 3... Rocking lever 8.
...Operating rod, 11... Drive source, 14...
...Claw, 15...Connecting rod, 16...
- Operating spring, 17...First stopper. 18...Second stoppa.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An operating rod that is approximately perpendicular to the swing lever is attached to the free end of a swing lever whose one end is rotatably supported on the machine frame and which is driven to reciprocate by a single drive source. A pair of pawls, the supporting end of which is rotatably supported at one end of the actuating rod, is connected to the pair of pawls in the middle of the actuating rod and with respect to the swing lever. On the opposite side is a first stopper that maintains a distance between the pair of pawls and the swing lever, and on the other end of the operating rod is a first stopper that engages with the machine frame within a certain range during the rotation stroke of the swing lever. The second block prevents movement of the operating rod.
A stopper is provided respectively, and an actuating spring is provided between the pair of pawls and the swinging lever to bias these claws in the direction of separating them from the swinging lever, and to prevent the swinging from the outside near the free end of the winter melon. A gripping arm characterized by being linked to a lever by a connecting rod.