JPS6140516B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Technical Field The present invention relates to an article gripping device that can easily and reliably grip articles of various shapes within a predetermined size range with a single configuration.

BACKGROUND ART For example, when inserting and mounting an article onto a mounting board such as a printed circuit board using an automatic insertion machine, etc., it is necessary to grasp and hold the article at the article take-out position so that it can be transferred reliably without falling off from the insertion position. is necessary. Incidentally, the articles to which such an inserter is applied generally have complex shapes with irregularities rather than simple shapes such as circles or rectangles. Moreover, in recent years, there has been an increase in the number of types and shapes of different categories. In addition, it is necessary to sequentially insert and attach a variety of articles having different shapes onto the substrate in the same process. Therefore, it is necessary to prepare a grip mechanism for an article that is versatile and can be widely applied to articles of various arbitrary shapes within a predetermined size range.

However, conventional grip mechanisms are manufactured individually to suit the shape of each article, or are configured so that they can be used in common only for a very small number of articles, such as two or three types that belong to the same category. Most of the time, the versatility was extremely poor. Therefore, it is necessary to separately prepare a separate grip mechanism for each different external shape of the article, and the actual situation is that the design and manufacturing process alone requires a considerable amount of time and effort. Moreover, since it has to be manufactured for each article, there arises the problem of high costs.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and has a simple and inexpensive structure with excellent versatility that allows easy and reliable gripping of various arbitrary-shaped articles within a predetermined size range. The object of the present invention is to provide a device for gripping articles.

In order to achieve this object, the present invention includes a driving means such as an air cylinder, and a rotating body having a plurality of protrusions or teeth along the circumferential direction on the circumferential surface supported so as to be reciprocated by the driving of the driving means. and a plurality of members are connected in the longitudinal direction, each member is pivotally connected to the connecting portion so as to be bendable and rotatable in the gripping direction of the article, and the mounting base end is connected in the gripping direction. A pair of gripping bodies for an article supported so as to rotate integrally with each other; and a pair of gripping bodies provided along the longitudinal direction of an inner wall surface or an outer wall surface of the gripping bodies, and one end of which is a free end of the gripping body. the other end thereof extends along both side circumferential surfaces of the rotating body, the other end has a plurality of holes or teeth that mesh with the protrusions or teeth, and the rotating body moves in the same direction as the rotating body moves. The main components are a pair of sliding steel belt-like strips.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an article gripping device that can reliably and easily grip a wide variety of articles having different external shapes, such as articles having irregular shapes, and has excellent versatility. In addition, the band-like body itself that opens and closes the gripping body has an elastic return force, and when the grip on the object is released, the gripping body is bent inward due to the stretching action due to the elastic return force, allowing the gripping body to grip the object. Since it is automatically and actively rotated back in the direction of extension from the position where it was held, not only the gripping operation of the article but also the gripping release operation is smooth.
Can be performed stably, smoothly, and reliably at all times.

Furthermore, the band-shaped body may be stretched on either the inner wall surface or the outer wall surface of the grip body with respect to the connection/rotation fulcrum of each member constituting the grip body, and in either case, Since the intended purpose of gripping and releasing an object reliably can be achieved, there are fewer design constraints in constructing the gripping device.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an example of an article gripping device according to the present invention, in which an arm 10 is mounted on a main body (not shown) of an automatic insertion machine, etc., and is movable up and down, and is capable of moving up and down between an article take-out position and an installation position, that is, an insertion position. It is supported so that it can be moved by turning or swinging between the two. An air cylinder 11 is installed at one end of the arm 10 as an example of a driving means. A fitting 12 is attached to the end of the rod 110 of the air cylinder 11, and a sprocket 13 is rotatably supported at the tip thereof. A plurality of protrusions 130 are provided on the circumferential surface of the sprocket 13 at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction. Sprocket 13 is air cylinder 11
is driven to reciprocate along with the rod 110 in the axial direction at a predetermined stroke. Sprocket 1
Above 3 are first members 201 and 211, which will be described later.
A cam 14 is provided which provides an outward opening force. The cam 14 is fixed to the fixture 12, and the sprocket 13 rotates below the cam 14. Both sides of the cam 14 are tapered toward the tip and tapered at a predetermined angle.

A pair of fingers 2 on both sides of the tip of the arm 10
0 and 21 are rotatably supported in the gripping direction of the article.

As shown in FIG.
It is constructed by connecting third members 201, 202 and 203 in the longitudinal direction. Note that since the fingers 20 and 21 have a symmetrical structure in this example, for convenience of explanation, one of the fingers 20 located on the left side of FIG. 1 will be mainly described below.

The first member 201 has substantially semicircular protrusions 204 and 205 that protrude outward at both ends, and the upper and lower surfaces of the tip are notched in a stepped shape at a predetermined depth. The proximal end of the member 201 is rotatably pivoted to one side of the distal end of the arm 10 by a first shaft 301 at approximately the center of the protrusion 204 that is a distance from the inner wall surface.

Similar to the first member 201, the second member 202 is provided with substantially semicircular protrusions 206 and 207 that protrude outward at both ends, and the first and third members 201 and 207 are provided at both ends thereof. Recesses are formed that fit into the distal and proximal ends of 203, respectively. The proximal end of the second member 202 is fitted into the distal end of the first member 201, and the proximal protrusion 206 of the second member 202 is connected to the distal protrusion 205 of the first member 201 on the second shaft 3.
02 at a substantially central position a distance from the inner wall surface.

The third member 203 has a substantially semicircular protrusion 208 that protrudes outward at its base end, and the base end has stepped upper and lower surfaces so as to fit into the distal end recess of the second member 202. There is a notch in the attached shape. Similar to the second member 202, this third member 203 has a proximal end fitted to the distal end of the second member 202, and a proximal protrusion 208 thereof is connected to the distal protrusion 207 of the second member.
It is pivoted by a third shaft 303 at a substantially central position spaced apart from the inner wall surface.

Thus, the first to third members 201, 202,
203 are integrally connected in the longitudinal direction by second and third shafts 302 and 303, and the first shaft 301
It is attached to the tip of the arm 10 by.
And each of the first to third members 201, 202, 2
03 is each of the first to third axes 301, 302, 303
The second and third members 202 and 203 can be bent and rotated independently in the gripping direction of the article around the second shaft 302, and the second and third members 202 and 203 are integral and can be bent and rotated in the same gripping direction around the second shaft 302. It can be bent in any direction and rotated. Furthermore, the first to third members are integrally rotatable around the first shaft 301. That is, the finger 20 is a gripping body for an article having multiple segments (three segments in the illustrated example).

A roller 304 that slides into contact with the inclined surface of the cam 14 is attached to the attachment base end of the finger 20, that is, the base inner side of the first member 201.

An elastic band-like body 22 made of a steel belt or the like is stretched on the inner wall surface of the finger 20 along the longitudinal direction. That is, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the first to third fingers constituting the finger 20
Concave grooves 221, 222, 223 into which the strips 22 are fitted are provided in the inner wall surfaces of the members 201, 202, 203 in the longitudinal direction. Each groove 221, 22
2, 223 has a locking part 22 of a predetermined width on the front side of both sides.
4, 225, and 226 are provided along the longitudinal direction to prevent the strip 22 fitted into the groove from coming off and to regulate its position. One end of the strip 22 is fixed to the free end of the third member 203 by screwing, welding, or the like. Also, the other end has each concave groove 221, 222, 22.
3 and extends a predetermined length from the base end of the first member 201 to the rear along the circumferential surface of the sprocket 13. A pair of guide members 24 and 25 are arranged on both sides of the sprocket 13. The other end of the strip 22 is guided by one guide member 24 and moves in sliding contact with the circumferential surface of the sprocket 13.
The other guide member 25 is adapted to guide the other end of a band 23 stretched over the other finger 21, which will be described later, to the circumferential surface of the sprocket 13. Grooves 240 for removing the protrusions 130 on the surfaces of the guide members 24 and 25 facing the sprocket 13,
250 is formed. At the other end of the strip 22, a plurality of holes 220 are provided in the longitudinal direction to engage with the protrusions 130 of the sprocket 13. The band-shaped body 22 is free from the position restriction by the grooves 221, 222, 223 at each connecting position of the first to third members, that is, around the second and third shafts 302, 303, and can move freely. has been in a state. That is, the concave groove 22 is formed in the pot wall of each connecting portion of the first to third members.
Spaces 227 and 228 are formed which are continuous with 1 and 222 and 222 and 223, respectively, and the belt-shaped body 22 is released from restriction at the position of these spaces and is allowed to move freely. By doing so, the band-shaped body 22 can slide inside each groove along the shortest path, as will be described later.

Some clearance is provided between the inner wall surface of each of the grooves 221, 222, 223 and the strip, so that the strip 22 can slide smoothly.

The inner wall surfaces of each member 201, 202, 203 are made of members 401, 4 made of resin or the like having a slightly elastic force.
02 and 403 are attached by pasting, gluing, etc., respectively. This member is intended to protect the article when it is gripped with the fingers. Note that it is desirable that this member has as large a coefficient of friction as possible.

On the other hand, the finger 21 has the same structure as the finger 20 except that it has a symmetrical structure. That is, the first to third members 211,
Projections 214, 215, 216, 217, 21 consisting of 212, 213, each member projecting respectively.
8, the first to third axes 311, 312, 3
13, and is pivotally attached to the tip of the arm 10. On the inside of the base end of the first member 211 is a roller 314 similar to the roller 304 described above.
is installed. And each member 211, 2
Grooves 231 and 23 are formed on the inner wall surfaces of 12 and 213, respectively.
2, 233 are provided, and a band-shaped body 23 having the same structure as the band-shaped body 22 described above is fitted and stretched in this groove. In addition, locking portions 234, 235, and 236 similar to those described above are provided on the front surfaces of both sides of each groove to prevent the strip 23 from coming off and to regulate its position. Furthermore, the groove 231
and 232 and between 232 and 233.
Space portions 237 and 238 are respectively formed for free movement. Further, on the other end surface of the band-shaped body 23, a plurality of holes 230 are provided which engage with the projections 130.
...is provided.

Next, the gripping operation of an article using the apparatus of the present invention having the above configuration will be explained.

First, in the open state shown in FIG. 4 in which no article is gripped, the sprocket 13 and the rod 110 of the air cylinder 11 protrude forward at a predetermined stroke. Due to this protrusion, the tensile action of the sprocket 13 on the strips 22, 23 is released, and both strips 22, 23 are restored to their straightened state due to their elastic restoring force. Therefore, the fingers 20, 21 are extended into a straight state due to the extension of the strips 22, 23. Furthermore, the fingers 20 and 21 are connected to the first member 20 by the cam 14.
1,211, it is rotated and expanded outward at a predetermined angle.

In this state, the arm 10 is driven to move the device above the article removal position. Article A is the fifth
As shown in the figure, it is inserted and temporarily fixed onto a base plate 50 such as a base plate via pin legs, etc., and its movement in the horizontal direction is restricted. Next, the apparatus is lowered and positioned so that the fingers 20 and 21 sandwich the article A and are positioned on both sides thereof. Thereafter, when the air cylinder 11 is driven to shorten the rod 110, the sprocket 13 moves backward along the inner wall surfaces of the guide members 24 and 25 with a predetermined stroke, as shown by the arrow 100 in FIG. 5, together with the cam 14. do. In this case, the guide members 24, 25
is a guide for sliding the other end sides of the strips 22, 23 along the circumferential surface of the sprocket, and at the same time is a member for guiding the sprocket 13 in the moving direction.

When the sprocket 13 moves, the strip 22,
23 is pulled rearward, that is, in the direction of movement of the sprocket, with equal force and displacement, and slides in the same direction and by the same amount within the groove. At that time, the strip 22,
23 is the space portions 227, 228 and 237,
Since it is free to move at position 238, it slides along the shortest path. Then, when the strips 22, 23 are pulled, they are driven to move the first to third members 201, 202, 203 and 211, 21.
2,213 are the first to third axes 301, 302,
303, 311, 312, and 313, respectively, are bent and rotated inwardly at the same angle. In this case, since the strips 22, 23 and each axis are spaced apart from each other by a predetermined interval, the first to
The bending operation of the third member is performed smoothly for both fingers. At this time, the biasing force applied by the cam 14 to the first members 201, 211 in the expansion direction is released, so that the fingers 20, 21
rotates inward about the first shafts 301, 311. That is, the fingers 20 and 21 rotate together while being bent inward.

Next, the inner wall surface of one of the fingers, for example, the right finger 21 shown in FIG. 5, comes into contact with the article A first. Then, due to the frictional action applied to the wall portion of the finger 21, the load acting in the opposite direction to the tensile force exerted on the strip 23 by the sprocket 13 increases. That is, a resistance force balanced with the tensile force is applied to the movement of the strip 23. Therefore, at the same time as the movement of the band-shaped body 23 stops, the rotation of the finger 21 is stopped and placed in a waiting state. Then, as shown in FIG. 6, the sprocket 13 attempts to rotate around a position B where the protrusion 130 and the hole 230 of the strip 23 engage. In other words, the entire sprocket attempts to revolve in such a way that the meshing position B is left behind. As a result, sprocket 1
3 moves while rotating counterclockwise as shown by the arrow 101 in the figure, and moves the strip 22 on the other side that is not in contact with the article A by a distance approximately equivalent to the sum of the amount of rotation and the amount of movement. Pull and move. This amount of movement is approximately twice as much as in the case where one of the strips 23 stops moving and both strips move equally. Therefore, the fingers 20 are bent inward and rotated at a slightly faster speed, and one finger 2
It comes into contact with article A a little later than 1. finger 2
When both strips 0 and 21 touch article A, both strips 2
The loads applied to 2 and 23 become equal. When the loads applied to both are balanced, the sprocket 13 stops rotating and continues to move rearward, causing both the strips 2
2, 23 with equal force, finger 20,
21 is further bent and rotated inward from the position in contact with the article A. Thus, article A is finger 2
0 and 21 with equal force (see Figure 7). When the fingers 20 and 21 grip the article A, the sprocket 13 is locked and the position of the sprocket 13 is restricted in the rotational direction, and the fingers 2 gripping the article A are
0 and 21 move freely as shown by the arrow 102 in FIG. 7 during the transportation of the article, thereby preventing the shift of the position. Since this locking mechanism can be constructed using known means, illustration thereof is omitted. Since an air cylinder is used as a driving means for the sprocket 13, when an article is gripped by the fingers, almost no load is applied to the air cylinder, and the article can be stopped at the gripped position without difficulty. In this case, it is better if the air cylinder is equipped with a reed switch or the like so that it can automatically detect that the fingers have gripped the article.

According to this embodiment, even when an article is inserted and temporarily fixed to a base etc. using pin legs etc., only one of the fingers comes into contact with the article first due to misalignment of the fingers with respect to the article. , one finger stops its gripping operation and remains in a waiting state until the other finger comes into contact with the article. Only after both fingers come into contact with the article is a gripping action performed with equal force from both fingers. Therefore, a reliable and good gripping operation can be performed at all times regardless of the installation state of the article.

After the article is gripped in this manner, the device moves upward and above the installation position of the article, and then descends from this position to position and insert the article at an insertion position on a mounting board such as a printed circuit board.

After the article has been inserted, the fingers are opened to release the article. Its operation is performed as follows.

First, when the air cylinder 11 is driven while holding the article A and the rod 110 is extended,
The sprocket 13 moves forward with a predetermined stroke from the position shown in FIG. Then, the tensile force applied to the strips 22, 23 by this sprocket is released. Then, the strip 22,
23 expands and returns to a straight state from its inwardly curved position due to its elastic return force. First to third members 201, 202, 203 and 211, 21
2 and 213 are urged by the stretching action of the strips 22 and 23, and return to their respective rotational positions in the direction of extension of the fingers from the inwardly bent position. At this time, the tip of the cam 14 protrudes between the rollers 304 and 314, and then as the cam moves, the tip of the cam 14 protrudes between the rollers 304 and 314.
314 slides along the cam slope. Then,
The first members 201, 211 receive a force that causes them to open outward about the first shafts 301, 311 due to the action of the cam 14. Therefore, the fingers 20 and 21 extend and return from the position where they gripped the article A shown in FIG.
1,311 as a fulcrum and further rotates and expands outward (see Fig. 8). The article A is thus released from the grip by the fingers 20, 21. after that,
The device moves up and then returns to its original position in preparation for the next gripping motion.

In addition to being an elastic body, the band-shaped bodies 22 and 23 are elastic bodies that can reliably return to the stretched state from a bent or curved state, and have a certain degree of resistance against the force of bending them in the stretched state. It is necessary that the structure is such that it can maintain its stretched shape.

In the embodiment, the fingers 20 and 21 have been described as having a symmetrical structure, but it is also possible to appropriately increase or decrease the number of members constituting both fingers to form an asymmetrical structure. It is also possible to stretch the strips 22 and 23 on the outer wall surfaces of the fingers 20 and 21. In this case, since the strip is pulled in the direction in which the air cylinder protrudes in the direction in which the fingers are bent, special consideration must be taken so that the strip can slide smoothly. Furthermore, instead of the sprocket 13, a rotating body such as a timing gear having a plurality of teeth on the circumferential surface may be used. Examples of the belt-shaped body used in this case include a timing belt made of an elastic material and having some rigidity.

This device can be widely applied to gripping objects of arbitrary shapes in various installation conditions, and can be used not only when the above-mentioned objects are temporarily fixed with pin legs, but also when the objects are installed in a state where they can move freely. Grip operations can be performed easily and accurately without any trouble even when the grip is held.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of the overall configuration of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a finger, which is a gripping body used in the device of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the finger, and FIG. 8 through 8 are plan views illustrating the gripping operation of an article using the apparatus of the present invention. 11...Air cylinder (driving means), 13...
Sprocket (rotating body), 130...protrusion, 2
0,21...Finger (gripping body), 201,2
11...first member, 202, 212...second member, 203,213...third member, 301,
311...first axis, 302, 312...second axis, 303,313...third axis, 22,23...
...Band-shaped body, 220, 230... Hole, 221, 22
2,223,231,232,233...concave groove,
227, 228, 237, 238...Space part, 1
4...Cam, 304, 314...Roller, A...
Goods.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A driving means such as an air cylinder, a rotatable rotary body supported to reciprocate by the driving of the driving means, and having a plurality of protrusions or teeth along the circumferential direction on its circumferential surface, and a plurality of members. are connected in the longitudinal direction, each member is pivoted so as to be bendable in the gripping direction of the article around the connecting portion, and supported so that the proximal end portions rotate together in the gripping direction. a pair of article gripping bodies provided along the longitudinal direction on an inner wall surface or an outer wall surface of the gripping bodies, one end of which is fixed to the tip side of the gripping bodies, and the other end of which is attached to the rotating body; A pair of steel belt-like elastic elements that extend along the circumferential surfaces of both sides, have a plurality of holes or teeth meshing with the protrusions or teeth at the other end, and slide in the same direction as the rotating body moves. A gripping device for an article, comprising a strip-like body.