JPS6228178A - Bending socket - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] This invention is widely used in automobile assembly lines to drive fasteners with threads such as nuts or bolts to rotate for tightening. Regarding socket wrenches such as this, there is a flexible socket that allows the fixing tool to be rotated even in a state where the axis of the fixing tool to be rotationally driven is different from the rotational axis of the drive source that imparts rotational torque. All wrenches are provided.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION There are many wrench applications in which it is not possible to concentrically align the axes of rotation of a driven member and a driving member, such as a bolt or nut to be tightened and a means for imparting total torque thereto. The wrench used in the field of darning is the following universal joint. A universal joint that can be bent to accommodate the angular deviation between a driven member and a driving member, and that can form different angles to the axes of the two members. , it is made up of things that are equipped with rice. However, conventional universal joints of this type have two fulcrums between the input part and the output part, with the thin wires offset by 9 points from each other.
It has been considered that no means is provided for making the input part and the output part bendable and urging them to be aligned in the axial direction.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention Therefore, even when only one universal joint is used in applications where conventionally tightening is manually operated, it is possible to maintain an appropriate posture control state between a driving part and a driven part. This was becoming difficult. This difficulty is compounded when two or more universal joints are connected in series.

If the socket subjected to rotational drive constitutes a part of the automatic tightening device, a mechanism shall be provided to substantially continuously control the entire position of the driven member or socket in order to ensure the success of the intended operation. It is necessary to provide

17′? While it is important to maintain the proper posture of the socket, it is also important that the socket can move freely to the extent that it is easily aligned in the axial direction with the nut/bolt, etc. that is being driven. Another important issue to consider in assembly lines that utilize socket wrenches is replacement cost.

Sockets for such applications are subject to severe wear to the extent that replacement costs are not negligible.

Correct alignment of the socket with respect to the bolt/nut to be rotated is therefore important in reducing socket wear, increasing its useful life and reducing replacement costs. Furthermore, since sockets tend to be subject to the greatest wear, it is desirable to minimize socket replacement costs.

This invention solves this problem with the member on the driving end side of the wrench (
12, therefore, from the perspective of the wrench itself, holes (36, 6
4) K is connected to a housing member (16° 16') ' with a socket member (18,
18') t'' movement, and a flexible drive means (70, 92) is disposed between the above-mentioned housing member and the socket member for transmitting the entire rotational torque from the housing member to the socket member. The problem is solved by providing a socket wrench.The driving means is, for example, a plurality of protrusions (70, 92) projecting radially outward from the outer peripheral surface of the socket member, The elongated hole (62, 88) provided in the housing member may be provided with a projection (70, 92) which is supported to transmit rotation of the housing member to the entire socket member.

It is desirable to provide a biasing means, such as a coil spring, between the two members connected by the ball joint for biasing the two members into a concentric arrangement. Matako n
Other biasing means (
78) is also provided.

It is movably supported by a connection part by a working ball joint and a hollow housing member! : The connection parts consisting of the companion socket members each enable simultaneous rotational displacement around two mutually orthogonal axes, and the socket members (18, 18') can be attached to a socket wrench as necessary. The drive end side member α and the drive end side member α are arranged to take either a parallel posture or a posture in which the directions of the axes are different from each other while rubbing the @ line in the radial direction of the wrench. Therefore, even if the fixture to be tightened is fully tightened in a direction different from the rotation line of the drive source, excessive wear may result from eccentric engagement between the fixture to be driven and the socket member. There is no need to move the position of the drive source or drive device of the wrench in the radial direction of the wrench. This is particularly significant when automated equipment is utilized to tighten and secure threaded fixtures. This is because it is extremely difficult and expensive to design such a device to be repositionable so as to accommodate small variations in the position of the fasteners to be tightened.

The biasing means for biasing the components of the flexible socket wrench into concentric alignment maintains proper attitude control of the socket throughout the work cycle.

As mentioned above, the socket member movably disposed within the through hole of the housing member connected to the intermediate connecting member (14, 14') can be easily removed by making the housing member removable from the connecting member. Can be exchanged. Therefore, when the socket member becomes worn out, only the socket member can be replaced and the other parts of the wrench can be used as is.

Embodiment FIGS. 1-4 show an embodiment of a companion socket wrench according to the present invention, generally designated by the reference numeral 10. The flexible socket wrench 10 has a VC
Drive source connecting member 12, intermediate connecting member 14, housing member 16, and socket member 18-karat gold, these members 12
-18 are interconnected to form a generally cylindrical elongate assembly.

The drive source connecting member 12 has a substantially cylindrical intermediate shaft portion 20, a substantially spherical ball portion 22 at one end of the shaft portion 20, and a large-diameter collar portion 24 at the other end. , n are provided respectively. The connecting member 12 is formed with a suitable slot 26 extending axially inward from the end face on the side of the collar 24, and the slot 26 has a rectangular shape normally used for driving a socket wrench. It is intended to be able to fit a driving body such as a shaft. A hole 28 passing through the ball portion 22 laterally is formed so that its center line is located on one diameter line of the ball portion 22, and the hole 28 extends radially outward from the center of the ball portion 22. It is said that the hole diameter increases over time.

The intermediate connecting member 14 is also approximately cylindrical and has a small diameter portion 3 at one end.
0, and the entire large diameter part 34 on the other end side, and the small diameter part 30 and the large diameter part 34 have a small diameter hole 32 and a large diameter hole 36,
Each of them is formed along the axial direction. Small diameter hole 32
The ball portion 22 of the drive source connecting member 12 has a size that allows it to be movably received, and the ball portion 22 is inserted into the small diameter hole 3.
2, the small diameter part 30 is secured by a pin 38 inserted through the opening 40 drilled on the K-diameter line and through the hole 28 of the ball part 22, thus preventing the part 12.1 from being removed.
A ball joint is formed to connect the four.

The shaft portion 20 of the drive source connection member 12 is biased so that the drive source connection member 12 and the intermediate connection member 14 connected to each other in the IC ball joint are aligned with each other in all axial directions.
A coil spring 42 is provided, which is wound around the shaft 20 and has one end received at a shoulder 44 formed between the shaft 20 and the collar 24.

The other end of the coil spring 42 rests within a hole 46 in the sleeve 48 against a shoulder 50 formed by providing a reduced diameter extension 52 in the hole 46. Therefore, the front end surface 54 of the sleeve 48 is connected to the rear end surface 56 of the intermediate connecting member 14.
The intermediate connecting member 14 is engaged under the bias of the spring 42, thus functioning to maintain the intermediate connecting member 14 in alignment with the full-rotation source connecting member 16. The hole 46 in the sleeve 48 has an inner end long enough to extend beyond the shoulder 44 on the drive source connecting member 12.

This completely prevents the coil spring 42 from being damaged from the outside and allows for relative axial displacement between the spring 42 and the connecting member 12.

The housing member 16 also has a substantially cylindrical shape, and has a middle space formed by a through hole consisting of a first hole 58 screwed into the inner circumferential wall and a diameter-reduced extension hole 60 located in front of the first hole 58. We are prepared. The peripheral wall of the housing member 16 is provided with four elongated holes 62 having a substantially figure 7 shape and arranged at substantially equal intervals when viewed in the circumferential direction. Each of the elongated holes 62 has a first long hole in the housing member 16 that is long in the [ILIll line direction].
The first elongated hole portion 64, which is connected to the large diameter first hole 58 in the housing member 16 at the rear end thereof, is connected to the first elongated hole portion 64 in the circumferential direction. The middle elongated hole part 6 is
6 and a second elongated hole portion 68 that is elongated in the axial direction of the housing member 16 and is placed in the circumferential direction with respect to the first elongated hole portion 641C, and the intermediate elongated hole portion 66
It has a second elongated hole portion 68 with a communicating groove C.

Next, the socket member 18 has an outer surface 69 that is rounded into a substantially spherical shape.
The diameter of the outer surface 69 is only slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the smaller diameter 860 in the housing member 16. Near the forward end of the socket member 18 and above the six outer surfaces are radially outwardly extending 411I! ll columnar process 7
0 are integrally arranged at approximately equal intervals when viewed in the circumferential direction. The protrusion 70 has the function of completely blocking relative rotation between the housing member 16 and the socket member 18 by being inserted into the elongated hole 62 of the housing member 16. A support hole 72 of an appropriate size for receiving a hexagonal bolt/tensile bolt 4 is formed along the axially inward direction from the front end surface of the socket member 18. An elastic member 76 such as an O-ring is provided on the inner wall surface of the socket member 18 between both ends of the support hole 72.
A companion annular groove 74 is provided for mounting. The resilient member 76 provides some frictional engagement with a nut or bolt inserted into the bearing hole 72, and tightening serves to restrain the nut or bolt during the initial stage of operation.

In order to bias the socket member 18 forwardly and axially in alignment within the housing member 16, a second A coil spring 78 is provided. The coil spring 78 is provided within the intermediate connecting member 14 and has a shoulder portion 80 facing t@ and a rear end surface 84 of the socket member 18.
The spring seat 82 is disposed between the spring seat 82 and a circular spring seat 82 that is engaged with the spring seat 82 . Due to this structure, the socket member 18, which can freely move within the nouji puffer member 16, can move freely within the housing member 1.
6, so that the protrusion 70 on the sokerato member 18 is positioned at the forward end within the second elongated hole portion 68 of the elongated hole 62 of the housing member It will engage with member 16.

The flexible socket wrench 10 is particularly suitable for use in automatic assembly lines in conjunction with a drive source or device for tightening or tightening nuts or bolts. The type of automatic assembly line with a driving device is designed to simultaneously tighten and drive a plurality of wheel fixing lug nuts or lug bolts in order to fix automobile wheels to the axle. There is.

Although the axle portion of an automobile is positioned relatively precisely with respect to the drive IJJJ device on an assembly line that uses a drive device, there can often be slight positional or posture changes, and This prevents the socket wrench from aligning and engaging the lug nut/bolt in all axial directions. For example, in one application, recessed clamping is used to secure the drive to both the front and rear wheels. But does the front wheel have a positive camber angle which causes the lug nuts/bolts to slope downward? In contrast, the rear wheel is placed in a negative camber angle, which causes the nut/bolt to tilt upward. However, according to the invention, such fluctuations are accommodated through the spring-loaded ball joint and the spring-loaded floating socket member. As clearly shown in FIG. 4, the flexible socket wrench 10 can be placed into a hanging position in engagement with an eccentric nut.

The rotational axis A of the drive device used in combination with the socket wrench 10 is inclined relative to the rotational axis B of the socket member 180, and Mtlfl in the radial direction.
are doing. Considering that the threaded part of the socket member 18 to be tightened is aligned so that the axis line of the fixture and the axis B'4 coincide, there is a strong possibility that weekly wear will occur between the nut/bolt and the support hole 72 due to insertion and removal. be reduced. In addition, due to the alignment ability of the socket wrench 10, the possibility of threaded engagement of the fixture with screws is greatly reduced.
I can't stand it. Of course, the socket wrench 10 has a state in which the driving member and the driven member are parallel to each other and extend 1 m along the axis,
It can also be used in a state where the driving member and the driven member are arranged in an inclined and concentric relationship.

The embodiment illustrated in Figures 1-4 is grooved so that the socket member 18 can be quickly and easily replaced. That is, the housing member 16 is unscrewed and removed from the front end of the intermediate connecting member 14, and then the socket member 18 is removed.
ft, the projection 70 thereon is rotated by a slight angular change so as to move within the intermediate elongated hole portion 66 of the elongated hole 62 of the housing member 16, and then moved rearward in the axial direction. The No. Uji puffer member 16 is passed through the first elongated hole portion 64 of the No. Uji puffer member 16.
Then, the socket member 18 is removed from the housing member 16, and then the new socket member 18 is assembled in the reverse order. Note that even if the outer diameter of the socket member 18 at the protrusion 70 portion is larger than the inner diameter of the large diameter hole 36 of the housing member 16 as shown in the example, if the socket member 18 is in an inclined position, the large diameter hole 36 Since the socket member 18 is passed through the socket, there is no problem in replacing the socket member 18. Although this embodiment thus allows very easy and quick replacement of the socket member 18, the tightening can only be used in applications where the driving direction is only one direction. This is because in the other direction the socket member 18
This is because it may not be returned to the front end position in the axial direction. In Fig. 5, it is assumed that the driving direction for tightening is in the direction of ``N'' and that ``C'' can also be used...Ujifugu member 16
An alternative embodiment is shown with a socket member 18' and a socket member 18', the other parts of which are constructed as in the previous embodiment.

The flexible socket wrench 86 shown in FIG. The nozzle member 16't is provided with four long elongated holes 88 arranged intermittently in the circumferential direction.

The socket member 18' is also supposed to have almost the same structure as the socket member 18, but instead of the integrally formed nJ projections 70, it has four fc projections arranged at approximately equal intervals in the circumferential direction. Screw into the screw hole 90 and insert the four mounting holes.
92 is considered to be a provision. The stud bolt repair 2 is fitted and inserted into the elongated hole 88 of the housing member 16'.

In order to assemble or replace the socket member 18', insert the socket member 18' or its main body completely into the screw head member 16', and then insert the six socket bolts 92 and seven elongated holes 88 all the way through. screw into each screw hole 90. Since the elongated hole 88 runs only in the axial direction and is not provided with an elongated hole extending in the circumferential direction like the intermediate elongated hole portion 66 of the mJ-marked elongated hole 62, the socket member 18' The other structure and operation of the socket wrench 86 shown in FIG. 5 is substantially the same as that of the socket wrench 10 shown in FIGS. 1-4. However, the socket wrench 86 of FIG. 5 is provided with suitable locking means to prevent unscrewing of the threaded connection between the housing member 16' and the intermediate connection member 14', such as the housing member 16' and the intermediate connection member 14'. It is necessary to provide a via or the like which press-fits into the radial openings formed in mutual alignment with the member 14'. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, a socket 92 is used to prevent relative rotation between the housing member 16' and the socket member 18', and instead a spring-loaded fc pushable pin is used. It is also possible to adopt other structures such as equipping the socket member with a socket member. The main purpose of employing the stud bolt 92 in this embodiment is to enable replacement of the socket member 18' and to make it possible to replace the socket member 18'.
6', both ends of which are fully closed, and a protrusion that is movable to engage and disengage with the elongated hole 88, and a bolt/
The object of the present invention is to provide a protrusion with sufficient strength to transmit torque from the housing member 16' to the socket member 18' which is driven in a circular motion.

Effects of the Invention According to the present invention, even when the rotation axis of the drive source or drive device and the @1 rotation axis of the fixing device are moving relative to each other when viewed in the radial direction, the screws to be tightened can be fixed. A socket wrench that accepts stress on the axis and performs the required work without causing any lateral vibration of the fixture or excessive wear of the socket, and does not require relocation of the drive source or drive device. /1lf A socket wrench with one bend is provided.

Further, according to the present invention, there is provided a highly economical socket wrench which can be used as it is without changing the socket portion or the socket wax or the shoulder portion.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded side view of an embodiment of a socket wrench according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional side view of the entire socket wrench shown in FIG. 3 is a front view of the socket member of the socket wrench shown in FIG. 1, taken along arrow 3-3 in FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a front view of the socket member shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 5 is a partially longitudinal side view showing the essential parts of another embodiment of the socket wrench according to the present invention. 10... socket wrench, 12...! Drive source connecting member, 14, l4'... intermediate connecting member, 16,
16'...Ujifugu member, 18, 18'...
socket member, 22... ball part, 26... slot,
28...hole, 32...small diameter hole, 36...large diameter hole,
38... Bottle, 40... Opening, 42... Coil spring, 44... Shoulder, 46... Hole, 48... Sleeve, 50... Shoulder, 58... Hole , 60...hole, 6
2... Elongated hole, 64-°° first elongated hole part, 66...
Intermediate elongated hole portion, 68...Second elongated hole portion, fo...
Projection, 72... Bearing hole, 74... Annular groove, 76...
- Elastic member, 78... Coil spring, 80... Shoulder part,
82... Spring seat, 86... Socket wrench, 88...
...Elongated hole, 90...Screw hole, 92...Stock bolt.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A driving source connecting member having a connecting means for connecting to the driving source; an intermediate connecting member connected to the driving source connecting member via a ball joint; and this intermediate connecting member. a housing member having an axially extending hole extending therethrough; and a socket member being restrained for free movement within said hole and having a fixing member to be rotationally driven. A flexible socket member comprising: a socket member having a bearing hole for supporting a portion; and a driving means disposed between the above-described housing member and the socket member to transmit rotational torque from the housing member to the socket member. Socket wrench. 2. The socket wrench according to claim 1, further comprising a first biasing means for biasing the socket member so as to align the socket member in the axial direction with respect to the housing member. , flexible socket wrench. 3. The socket wrench according to claim 2 is provided with a second urging means for urging the drive source connecting member and the intermediate connecting member so that they are arranged concentrically with each other. , flexible socket wrench. 4. In the socket wrench as set forth in claim 1, the driving means is provided so that the socket member can be rotated simultaneously relative to the housing member around two mutually orthogonal axes. A flexible socket wrench. 5. A flexible socket wrench according to claim 4, wherein the drive means is provided so that the socket member can also be displaced in the axial direction within the hole. 6. In the socket wrench according to claim 5, the socket member is displaced and biased toward one end of the housing member between the intermediate connecting member and the socket member, so that the intermediate connecting member is attached to the socket member. A flexible socket wrench that is equipped with a biasing means that allows it to take a concentric arrangement position. 7. A flexible socket wrench according to claim 6, wherein the biasing means includes a coil spring. 8. The socket wrench according to claim 1, wherein the driving means includes a plurality of radially outward protrusions provided intermittently in the circumferential direction on the outer peripheral surface of the socket member. A flexible socket wrench, wherein the protrusion is fitted into and supported by an elongated hole formed in the housing member. 9. The socket wrench according to claim 1, wherein the socket member is provided with an engagement means capable of frictionally engaging a fixture to be rotated within the bearing hole. wrench. 10. A housing member that is elongated and has a through hole along its length and a plurality of elongated holes arranged at intervals in the circumferential direction, and arranged so as to be able to move freely within the through holes. The socket member has a support hole at one end for supporting a fixing device to be rotationally driven, and a plurality of protrusions arranged intermittently in the circumferential direction and protruding outward in the radial direction. a socket member having the protrusion on the outer peripheral surface and having the protrusion supported in the elongated hole of the housing member; a connecting member connected to the housing member by threaded engagement; the connecting member and the socket. biasing means disposed between the members, the biasing means biasing the socket member into a concentric position with the coupling member; and a side of the coupling member opposite the housing member; a drive member connected to the drive member by a ball joint; a sleeve enclosing a portion of the drive member; and second biasing means disposed between the sleeve and the drive member; A flexible socket wrench, comprising: a second biasing means for biasing a member and the connecting member so that the two members are arranged concentrically with each other.