WO1996031704A1

WO1996031704A1 - Actuator for a control cylinder

Info

Publication number: WO1996031704A1
Application number: PCT/DE1996/000515
Authority: WO
Inventors: Hans-Dieter Bohlen; Manfred Starchikow; Jörg ANGENLAHR; Manfred Leufgen
Original assignee: Peters Indu-Produkt Elektrotechnik-Elektronic Gmbh; Numatics Gmbh
Priority date: 1995-04-01
Filing date: 1996-03-25
Publication date: 1996-10-10
Also published as: EP0764242A1; AU5099196A; DE29505698U1

Abstract

The invention concerns an actuator for a control cylinder (1) whose chamber is divided into two spaces (39, 42) by a piston (52) which is acted on the hydraulic fluid on both sides. In order to permit the complete control unit to be replaced rapidly and without difficulty, removal and mounting being simple and requiring significantly less effort, the invention proposes an actuator in which the actuator element (3) and the control elements (4, 5) which act on the actuator element (3) are fitted in a part (2) of the housing which is flange-mounted on one side of the cylinder (1). This actuator design enables a piston rod (14) to be used which extends out at either end, and the range of applications of the relatively compact design is therefore widened. In a special embodiment of the invention, the actuator is connected to a bus system with a suitable electrical or electronic control unit (6).

Description

Actuating device for a control cylinder

The invention relates to an actuating device for a control cylinder with a cylinder chamber, in which a piston which forms two pressure chambers and can be acted upon on both sides with a fluid pressure is movably arranged and which has at least on one side a piston rod projecting through an end wall of the control cylinder, this at a fluid inlet connection fluid present under pressure can be supplied to at least one of the pressure chambers by means of at least one controllable actuator.

Control cylinders of the generic type are used in particular in modern production plants, work tools and devices or the like for power support and for automatic operation. In modern production plants, a large number of pneumatic and / or hydraulic control cylinders are used for their operation, which can be controlled externally and enable the plants to be operated at least partially fully automatically. These cylinders usually have connections for pressure hoses at both ends, which are led to a valve or actuator. The actuators are generally actuated by electromagnets using excited magnet coils. For this reason, at least one fluid supply line and one energy or control line must be routed to the control unit. At least two fluid lines must then branch from the control unit to each individual control cylinder.

Especially when several such control units are installed, there are often large cables and Fluid lines that often have to be run over long distances. A few thousand cylinders and associated control units can be used in modern industrial production plants. With such a large number of units, this results in an extraordinarily high hose expenditure solely between the control units and the control cylinders, and moreover a large line requirement to the control units, so that in particular troubleshooting within the hose line, the wiring of the cylinders and the control units because of the large number of individual components to be checked is problematic and time-consuming. A lot of time is required for this preparatory test when starting up and restarting such a production system. In addition, the assembly and subsequent maintenance is very personnel and time consuming.

The actuators used in the spring-loaded and electromagnetically actuated embodiment variant are actuators which can be acted upon by means of a control fluid, for example on the end faces.

From the utility model G 89 05 411.3 an actuating cylinder is known which works with a piston which can be pressurized on both sides and which has an integrated control unit with a 5-way round slide valve in the cylinder base. The circular slide valve is arranged in the center of the cylinder cover in a bore and has an axis that is perpendicular to the axis of the actuating cylinder. Starting from the circular slide valve, individual pressure medium inlets and outlets are arranged within the cylinder cover, some of which are led outwards and are provided to supply the actuating cylinder with fluid. Depending on the position of the circular slide valve, the actuating cylinder is pressurized in one of its two pressure chambers, whereby the circular slide valve can be adjusted manually, via an adjustment gear or a solenoid valve. A disadvantage of this known embodiment is that only cylinders with a one-sided piston rod can be actuated by installing the round slide valve in the cylinder cover, because it is not possible to lead a second piston rod out through the cylinder cover. Furthermore, the known embodiment has the disadvantage that, in the event of a defective control unit, the entire cylinder cover with a circular slide valve must be replaced and, if necessary, an expansion of the actuating cylinder is necessary beforehand. By removing the actuator cylinder cover, there is also the danger that contaminants can get into the actuator cylinder and impair its functionality after a repair.

Proceeding from this, the object of the invention is to improve an actuating device in such a way that the entire control system can be exchanged easily and quickly, that the connecting lines can be arranged clearly and that assembly and disassembly are easy .

According to the invention, in order to solve the problem, it is provided that the actuator and the control elements acting on the actuator are arranged in a housing part flanged to a side surface of the control cylinder, the fluid inlet connection and the control connection being led out of the housing part on one side and wherein one the actuator with the Fluid inlet connection and a line connecting the actuator with at least one of the pressure chambers are arranged within the housing part.

The inventive design of the actuating device with a housing part for accommodating the entire control system makes it possible to arrange a piston rod which is led out to both sides of the control cylinder and thus to increase the usability and usability of the relatively compact actuating device. Furthermore, the housing part separated from the cylinder cover enables easy assembly and disassembly in the installed state of the control cylinder and, if necessary, retrofitting of older control cylinders. The housing part can be constructed in such a way that it accommodates all the necessary and essential control elements and control units for the control cylinder, so that, with the same size, it can be flanged to any size of the control cylinder used and thus the inventory can be reduced to one size. The electronic control, magnetic coils, cable connections and fluid connections can also be integrated in the flange-mounted housing part, with the interposition of seals if necessary. The unitary housing part could, for example, also be constructed in such a way that individual commercially available control elements can be screwed in or screwed on, and thus quick assembly and disassembly of defective components is made possible. Furthermore, the length and width of the control cylinder can be maintained by the one-sided attachment of the housing part, so that an exchange of older control cylinders for new control cylinders is unproblematic. Advantageously, the cylinder cover does not need to be unscrewed either, so that no contaminants get into the control cylinder. Furthermore, the fluid connections can at least be partially formed in the housing part, so that a reduction in hose expenditure occurs and the entire arrangement of control cylinders becomes much clearer and a check, adjustment and maintenance can be carried out in the installation position.

In an embodiment of the invention it is provided that the actuator can be acted upon by a control fluid, the control fluid being able to be influenced by control elements which can be controlled by an electrical or electronic control unit and the actuator can be acted upon solely by the control fluid or a control fluid and electromagnetic control combination . The fluid or pressure medium used for the control cylinder can be used as the control fluid.

The control unit itself can advantageously be integrated in the housing part or designed to be pluggable onto the control elements.

In a special embodiment of the invention it is provided that one or more control units can be connected to a BUS system with a central control station controlling them. By using a central control station with a connection possibility through a BUS system, on the one hand the connection of the control cylinders to existing control systems is made possible and on the other hand the wiring effort is considerably simplified because the BUS system is so simple that the necessary Connection lines can be laid from control unit to control unit and no complex cabling between each control unit and the control station is necessary. Taking into account the various BUS control systems on the market, compatibility can be maintained by simply changing the associated electronic component of the control unit. The The use of control units which can be influenced electrically or electronically thus enables quick and safe control by a master control station and considerably reduces the cable expenditure, which improves the clarity of the overall control arrangement.

In a further embodiment of the invention it is provided that the control unit comprises an electronic component which is provided for sending and / or receiving coded control signals from the control station and / or has a pulse conversion unit. The incoming control signals can be evaluated and the corresponding control of the control cylinder can be initiated by the pulse conversion unit or the electronic component. The electronic component could also send coded control signals towards the control station, which contain information about the position of the piston, so that a constant monitoring of one or all control cylinders is made possible by the control station. The wiring of the BUS system used can consist, for example, of an optical waveguide, a coaxial connection or a multi-conductor connection.

The control elements controlling the actuator have at least one electromagnetic control element, for example a solenoid valve, a solenoid coil or an electromagnet. The actuator can be reset either by an elastic element, for example a helical spring, or by a second electromagnetic control element. All in all, with the exception of the control elements which exert or generate the mechanical forces, all electrical and / or electronic assemblies can be designed in a modular manner on the housing part or in total or partially integrate in the housing part. In addition, according to a proposal of the invention, at least one throttle insert and / or one vent connection can be arranged in the housing part.

In a further embodiment of the invention it is provided that the housing part is flanged directly to the control cylinder cover and the lines present in the housing part are at least partially guided in the cylinder cover, a seal or a seal transition being arranged between the housing part and the cylinder cover. The direct flange-mounting on the cylinder cover ensures an adequate mechanical connection, for example by means of a screw connection, and enables a direct arrangement of connection lines within the housing part with a transition into the cylinder cover. In the case of new control cylinders, there is also the option of designing the cylinder cover and the housing part in one piece.

In a further embodiment of the invention it is provided that the actuator is a multi-way circular slide or an arcuate segment which is guided in a bore or in an arcuate chamber and the position of which can be changed by one of the aforementioned control elements with the associated control unit . If an arcuate segment is used to control the fluid, a rectangular cross section can preferably be used, so that the actuator area formed in the housing part can be kept very small and low by this configuration according to the invention, and a small and very compact design is achieved. In addition to modularization and integration, such an actuator also enables miniaturization. In a further special embodiment of the invention it is provided that end position damping of the control cylinder can be influenced via the actuator. The end position damping consists of a cylindrical extension of the piston, which is guided in a cylindrical bore in the cylinder cover, the bore being connected to the actuator via a connecting channel. The cylindrical extension is sealed off from the remaining pressure chamber of the control cylinder, so that an additional fluid pressure or a pressure reduction is made possible in accordance with the position of the actuator.

The pressure medium-operated control device with control unit is characterized in particular by the use with a bus system for control and monitoring, which is directed by a central control station, whereby a mutual data exchange between the control station and the control device can be present via the bus system .

Further advantages and features of the invention result from the following description of the figures.

It shows

1 shows a plan view of a control cylinder with a partially cut and flanged housing part on the cylinder cover,

2 shows a sectional side view of the control cylinder according to FIG. 1 with a flanged housing part,

3 shows a connection diagram of the various control cylinders at a central control station 4 shows an embodiment of a circular slide and

5 shows a further embodiment of an arcuate actuator.

FIG. 1 shows a top view of a control cylinder 1 according to the invention with a partially cut and flanged housing part 2, which accommodates the actuator 3 and the control elements 4, 5 acting on the actuator 3 and a control unit 6, which can be seen in particular in FIG.

The control cylinder 1 consists of a central tubular housing 10 with a round or square cross section, which is closed and sealed at its respective ends by a rectangular cylinder cover 11, 12. In the axial direction of the cylinder cover 11, a cylindrical extension 13 is formed towards the free side. The cylinder cover 11 and the extension 13 are penetrated by a one-sided piston rod 14 which has a threaded extension 15 with a nut 16 at the front end and is used for force-transmitting actuation. The approach 13 is provided as well as the cylinder cover 11 for guiding the piston rod 14. The control cylinder 1 could also accommodate a two-sided piston rod if the other cylinder cover 12 is designed to be mirror-symmetrical. In the upper end face 17 of the cylinder cover 11 there is an eccentric bore 18 which is provided for receiving a screw connection for the fluid. The screw connection can also be equipped with an adjusting screw for influencing the flow rate, so that the adjusting screw Extending speed of the piston rod 14 can be influenced. In a second eccentric bore 20, a throttle insert 21 is screwed in with an adjusting screw 22, which enables adjustment of the end position damping when extending. The end position damping when the piston rod 14 is retracted is set by a further, invisible adjusting screw in the second cylinder cover 12.

On the second cylinder cover 12, the housing part 2 is at right angles on the upper side surface 23, as in FIG

2 shown, flanged. The housing part 2 is rectangular and has on the upward-facing side surface 24 two ventilation supports 25, 26, each of which is screwed into a bore, which lead via connecting channels to the actuator 3 or to the pressure chamber of the piston shown in FIG. 2. Furthermore, a fluid inlet connection 28 is screwed into a bore 27, via which the entire control cylinder 1 is supplied with fluid. A throttle insert 30 is screwed into a bore 29 with an adjusting screw 31, which enables the flow rate to be adjusted when the piston rod 14 is retracted. The actuator 3 is integrated in the housing part 2 at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the piston rod 14 between the vent connection piece 25, 26 and the fluid inlet connection 28, as can be seen from the partially cut top view. The actuator 3 is guided in a bore 32 and is arranged to be axially movable in the longitudinal direction within the bore 32, the actuator 3 being able to be held in a precisely defined end position, for example by a spring (not shown), and being displaced by a control fluid, for example via a solenoid valve into a pressure chamber at the end of the actuator

3 can flow in and onto the respective end face 3 of the actuator acts.

Alternatively, there is the possibility that the actuator is adjusted by a purely electromagnetic actuating device or that a combination of the various possibilities is selected. In the exemplary embodiment shown, the displacement of the actuator 3 is carried out with two solenoid valves 4, 5 as control elements. Instead of the actuator 3 in the form of a circular slide valve, it is possible to use an arcuate actuator with a rectangular cross section.

The actuator 3 consists of a piston-shaped round slide valve with a sliding jacket for better guidance within the bore 32. A part of the actuator 3 and one of the two pressure spaces 33 can be seen from the sectional plan view. Between the individual piston disks 34 there are free spaces 35 which, depending on the position of the actuator 3, guide the fluid from the fluid inlet connection 28 via the actuator 3 into one of the two pressure chambers of the control cylinder 1. The actuator is inserted from one of the end faces of the housing part 2 and is sealed within the bore 32 by two cover plates 36 which can be screwed on both sides. From the fluid inlet connection 28 to the actuator, a line 37 aligned in the longitudinal direction of the control cylinder 1 is integrated in the housing part 2. A connecting line 38 from the actuator 3 via the throttle insert 31 leads into the first pressure chamber 39 of the control cylinder, as shown in FIG. A second connecting line 40 leads to a threaded bore 41, into which a fluid connection (not shown) can be screwed, which is connected via a connecting line (also not shown) to the screw connection in the front cylinder. Cover 11 leads and thus enables a connection to the second pressure chamber 42 of the control cylinder 1 via the actuator 3.

Alternatively, this connecting line could be routed within the wall of the housing 6 and the cylinder cover 11, 12. The further connecting channels between the actuator 3 and the solenoid valves 4, 5 for supplying the control fluid and supplying the solenoid valves 4,

5 from the fluid inlet connection 28 as well as between the vent connections 25, 26 and the pressure chambers 39, 42 are likewise formed within the housing part 2, so that the hose connections are considerably reduced.

The solenoid valves 4, 5 are screwed onto the forward-facing side surface 43 of the housing part 2 and have electrical connecting lugs 44 pointing upwards as a control connection. Electrical connecting plugs or a control unit can optionally be plugged directly onto the connecting lugs 44

6, as shown in FIG. 1. The control unit 6 has on its upper side surface an identical arrangement of connecting lugs 45 for direct connection to the BUS system shown in FIG. 3. Alternatively, instead of the connecting lugs 45, other control connections, for example an optical waveguide or a coaxial connection, can be provided.

FIG. 2 shows a sectional side view of the control cylinder 1 according to FIG. 1 with the flanged housing part 2. The cylinder covers 11, 12 each protrude into the housing 10 and are sealed by a seal 50, 51. The piston rod 14 protruding from the cylinder cover 11 on one side is cylindrical approach 13 and is screwed to the piston 52 on the other hand. The piston 52 itself consists of a central disk 53, which is clamped between two lateral disks 54, 55 and two further laterally arranged cylinder liners 56, 57. The central 53 and the lateral disks 54, 55 have a central bore 58 through which a radially stepped part 59 of the piston rod 14 projects. The stepped end of the piston rod 14 further has a threaded section 60 on which a screw connection 61 is seated for bracing the piston parts. The cylinder liners 56, 57 are equipped with a somewhat larger central and stepped bore 62, so that the piston rod 14 and the screw connection 61 come to lie within a bore extension 63 and allow bracing. The cylinder sleeves 56, 57 of the piston 52 are further guided within the bores 64 formed in the cylinder covers 11, 12. The cylinder liners 56, 57 are sealed by seals 67, 68 located in the annular grooves 65, 66, so that the pressure space 38 and 42 on the respective side when the piston rod 14 is retracted and extended by abutting the cylinder liners 56, 57 on the Seals 67, 68 are reduced in size and at the same time a controllable pressure chamber for end position damping is created, from which the fluid can possibly escape via a throttle valve.

The middle piston disk 53 also has a seal 69 on its end face in order to subdivide the two pressure spaces 38, 42. The piston rod 14 is in turn sealed by a seal 70 in the cylindrical extension 13 of the cylinder cover 11 in order to avoid contamination of the interior. The cylinder covers 11, 12 are screwed to the housing 10 via bolts 71 in the further. FIG. 3 shows a connection diagram of various control cylinders 1 at a central control station 100 and a common fluid supply 101. The control station 100 has a common line 102 for up to 128 control cylinders 1, each of which can be addressed individually by coded signals. Likewise, a central supply of all control cylinders 1 with fluid takes place via a line 103, so that the entire line network is considerably reduced.

FIG. 4 shows a further exemplary embodiment of a circular slide for the actuator 3. The cylindrical actuator 110 is constructed like a piston and has a sealing piston region 111, 112 at each end, between which a control piston 113 is arranged in the center. Depending on the positioning, control bores can be connected to one another or separated from one another.

FIG. 5 shows a further embodiment of an arcuate actuator 120 with an essentially rectangular cross section. Control grooves are formed in the form of depressions 121 in this embodiment. The function corresponds to that of a cylindrical actuator 110, but a considerably reduced overall height is made possible. This development can also be used independently of the invention shown.

The key point of the invention is a simplification in terms of manufacture and assembly and a reduction in the material requirement through the integration of control elements 4, 5, a control unit 6 and connecting elements 28, 44 and an actuator 3 in the flanged housing part 2. Reference list

1 control cylinder

2 housing part

3 actuator

4 control

5 control

6 control unit

10 housing

11 cylinder covers

12 cylinder covers

13 approach

14 piston rod

15 thread attachment

16 mother

17 end face

18 hole 20 hole

21 throttle insert

22 set screw

23 side surface

24 side surface

25 vent connection

26 vent connection

27 hole

28 fluid inlet connection

29 hole

30 throttle insert

31 set screw

32 hole

33 pressure chamber

34 piston discs

35 free space

36 cover plate

37 line Connecting line

Pressure room

Connecting line

Tapped hole

Pressure room

Side surface

Connection flags

poetry

piston

disc

Cylinder liner

drilling

part

Thread section

Screw connection

drilling

Hole approach

drilling

Ring groove

poetry

Bolts

Control station

Fluid supply

management

Actuator 111 sealing piston area

112 sealing piston area

113 control piston

120 actuator

121 sink

Claims

claims

Actuating device for a control cylinder (1) with a cylinder chamber, in which a piston (52) forming two pressure chambers (39, 42), which can be acted upon on both sides with a fluid pressure, is movably arranged, which has at least one end wall of the control cylinder (1 ) projecting piston rod (14), the fluid present at a fluid inlet connection (28) under pressure being able to be supplied to at least one of the pressure chambers (39, 42) by means of at least one controllable actuator (3, 110, 120),

characterized,

that the actuator (3, 110, 120) and the control elements (4, 5) acting on the actuator (3, 110, 120) are arranged in a housing part (2) flanged to a side face (23) of the control cylinder (1) the fluid inlet connection (28) and the control connection (44, 45) are led out of the housing part (2) on one side, and one the actuator (3, 110, 120) with the fluid inlet connection (28) and one the actuator ( 3, 110, 120) with at least one line connecting the pressure chambers (39, 42) are arranged within the housing part (2).

2. Adjusting device according to claim 1,

characterized,

that the actuator (3, 110, 120) can be acted upon by a control fluid, the control fluid being able to be influenced by control elements (4, 5) which can be controlled by an electrical or electronic control unit (6).

3. Actuating device according to claim 2,

characterized,

that the control unit (6) is integrated in the housing part (2) or is designed such that it can be plugged onto the control elements (5, 6).

4. Adjusting device according to claim 2 or 3,

characterized,

that one or more control units (6) can be connected to a BUS system with a central control station (100) controlling them.

5. Adjusting device according to claim 2, 3 or 4,

characterized,

that the control unit (6) comprises an electronic component which is provided for transmitting and / or receiving coded control signals from the control station (100) and / or has a pulse conversion unit.

6. Adjusting device according to one or more of claims 1-5,

characterized,

that the control connection is an optical waveguide, a coaxial connection or a multi-conductor connection (44, 45).

7. Actuating device according to one or more of claims 1-6, characterized,

that the control elements comprise at least one electromagnetic control element, for example a solenoid valve (4, 5), a solenoid coil or an electromagnet.

8. Adjusting device according to one or more of claims 1-7,

characterized,

that the control elements comprise at least one elastic element, for example a helical spring.

9. Adjusting device according to one or more of claims 1-8,

characterized,

that the housing part (2) consists of individual interchangeable module segments.

10. Actuating device according to one or more of claims 1-9,

characterized,

that at least one throttle insert (21, 30) and / or a vent connection (25, 26) is arranged on the housing part (2).

11. Adjusting device according to one or more of claims 1-10, characterized,

that the housing part (2) is flanged directly to the cylinder cover (11, 12) and the lines present in the housing part (2) are at least partially continued in the cylinder cover (11, 12), with the housing part (2) and cylinder cover (11 , 12) a seal or a seal transition is arranged.

12. Actuating device according to one or more of claims 1-11,

characterized,

that the housing part (2) and the cylinder cover (11, 12) are integrally formed.

13. Adjusting device according to one or more of claims 1-12,

characterized,

that the actuator is a circular slide (110) or an arcuate segment (120) which is guided in a bore or in an arcuate chamber.

14. Actuating device according to one or more of claims 1-13,

characterized,

that the actuator (120) has a rectangular cross section.

15. Actuating device according to one or more of the claims

1 - 14,

characterized,

that an end position damping of the control cylinder (1) can be influenced via the actuator (3, 110, 120).

16. Actuating device according to one or more of claims 1-15 characterized by the use with a bus system for control and monitoring, which is directed by a central control station.

17. Actuating device according to one or more of claims 1-15, characterized by the mutual exchange of data with the control station via the BUS system.