Gear-driven hollow chuck

Abstract

The present invention provides a gear-driven hollow chuck, comprising a frame, a rotary drive mechanism, a jaw mounting plate, four jaws, a connecting sleeve fixedly connected to the rotary drive mechanism and the jaw mounting plate at both ends, a cylinder disposed in the connecting sleeve, a cylinder body and a piston rod capable of moving in opposite directions or relative to each other, two racks fixedly connected to the cylinder body, a transmission gear set for transmission, a clamping detection assembly for preventing the jaws from being clamped empty, a forward and backward jaw release detection assembly and an upward and downward jaw release detection assembly for detecting whether the jaws have been opened to a set position; the power of the cylinder body and the piston rod is transmitted through the transmission gear set and a toothed slider to cause the two pairs of jaws to move in opposite directions or relative to each other, and the chuck is provided with a smoke exhaust channel extending left and right along the axis. The present invention has high synchronous transmission accuracy and efficiency, good reliability, is relatively environmentally friendly during operation, and can prevent energy waste from continuing to work when the jaws are clamped empty, and avoid collisions that may occur when the jaws are not fully opened during loading.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of laser tube cutting and clamping tools, and in particular to a hollow chuck driven by a gear. Background Art

[0002] Chucks are essential auxiliary devices for clamping workpieces on laser cutting machine production lines. They typically use a cylinder as the driving force for the jaws. Existing pneumatic chucks of this type primarily include connecting rod, lever, and cam mechanisms, depending on the transmission method between the cylinder and the jaws. For example, Chinese patent publication CN211438166U discloses a lever-type pneumatic chuck. This design utilizes a cylinder as the driving force for two sets of jaws to achieve asynchronous clamping of the workpiece. The output pressure and linear velocity of the jaws of such pneumatic chucks using a lever-type transmission mechanism are constantly changing, and the lever experiences sliding friction with the power source and terminal actuator during movement. This results in low transmission efficiency, easy wear, poor precision retention, a short lifespan, and high maintenance costs. With the rapid development of pneumatic chuck technology, gear-driven chucks with higher transmission efficiency and reliability have emerged. For example, Chinese patent publication CN215846416U discloses a gear-driven chuck that utilizes a first gear transmission mechanism and a second gear transmission mechanism to achieve transmission between the two piston rods of the actuator cylinder and two pairs of vertical and forward-backward jaws. This achieves high transmission efficiency and stable operation. The output pressure of the two pairs of jaws remains constant throughout the entire operating range, and the output linear velocity maintains a fixed proportional relationship with the actuator power. The two sets of jaws experience smooth, impact-free clamping, and exhibit high operational reliability, long service life, and simplified maintenance. However, this gear-driven chuck utilizes two sets of pneumatic cylinders, resulting in a relatively complex structure and component assembly. Furthermore, the first and second drive gears require the use of expensive, special-shaped gears, necessitating further improvements. Moreover, the above two pneumatic chucks are what the industry calls solid chucks, that is, the chucks are solid along the front and back axis and cannot be ventilated. As a result, the two chucks cannot promptly and effectively handle the smoke and flying dust generated by the laser cutting machine when cutting the workpiece, which is not environmentally friendly.

[0003] When using a chuck on a laser cutting machine production line, two chucks are typically required. Depending on their placement on the production line, the two chucks are referred to as front and rear chucks. These chucks have distinct structural differences. During machining, the rear and front chucks clamp the workpiece together, with the rear chuck gradually moving closer to the front. When using the rear chuck, the four jaws must be fully opened, inserted into one end of the workpiece, and then clamped. However, existing rear chucks generally lack automatic detection to detect whether the jaws are fully open. This creates the risk of the rear chuck advancing toward the workpiece before the jaws are fully opened, potentially colliding with it. Furthermore, existing rear chucks generally lack an alarm function to send an alarm signal to the laser cutting machine control host when the workpiece is not clamped, meaning the rear chuck is not clamped. This can cause the laser cutting machine production line to continue operating even when the rear chuck is clamped empty, wasting energy.

[0004] Therefore, in view of the above problems, further improving the existing chuck used as the tail card is a technical problem that needs to be solved urgently in the industry. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of the present invention is to solve the problems existing in the prior art and provide a hollow chuck with gear transmission, high synchronous transmission accuracy and efficiency, relatively simple structure, low manufacturing cost, good working environment protection, and automatic detection of jaw opening and automatic detection of anti-pinch air.

[0006] The technical solution of the present invention is: the gear-driven hollow chuck of the present invention, the gear-driven hollow chuck includes a frame, a rotary drive mechanism including a rotating shaft arranged on the above-mentioned frame, and is provided with two slide grooves in the front-back and up-down directions, and a clamping claw mounting plate with a toothed slider slidably provided in each slide groove, and a clamping claw is fixedly provided on each of the four toothed sliders. The cylinder including a cylinder body, a piston and a piston rod composed of a cylinder barrel, a left end cover and a right end cover seal as a power source, and its structural features are: it also includes a connecting sleeve, a rack and a transmission gear set, and a clamping detection component for preventing the four clamping claws from continuing to work in the clamping empty state; the left and right ends of the above-mentioned connecting sleeve are respectively fixed to the rotating shaft and the clamping claw mounting plate The cylinder is movably arranged in the connecting sleeve, the piston rod is fixedly connected to the piston in the cylinder body, and the left and right sides of the piston rod are respectively extended outward in an airtight manner from the left end cover and the right end cover of the cylinder body, and transmission teeth are respectively provided at the front and rear ends of the right part of the piston rod; a rack is fixedly provided on the right end surface of the right end cover of the cylinder body, and the transmission teeth provided on the two racks are arranged opposite to each other in the upper and lower directions; the transmission gear group includes a piston rod power transmission gear group and a cylinder power transmission gear group, the piston rod is connected to the two toothed sliders in the front and rear directions by the transmission teeth at its front and rear ends and the piston rod power transmission gear group, and the two racks are connected to the two toothed sliders in the upper and lower directions by their transmission teeth and the cylinder power transmission gear group.

[0007] A further solution is: the above-mentioned transmission gear group is arranged in an accompanying gear mounting frame, and the above-mentioned gear mounting frame is fixed in the connecting sleeve; the above-mentioned piston rod power transmission gear group and the cylinder power transmission gear group each include 4 transmission gears; the 4 transmission gears of the piston rod power transmission gear group are horizontally rotatably arranged on the front and rear sides of the right part of the above-mentioned piston rod, and the 2 transmission gears on each side are meshed with each other and are meshed with the transmission teeth at the front and rear ends of the piston rod by a transmission gear located on the left side, and are meshed with the two toothed sliders in the front and rear directions by a transmission gear located on the right side; the 4 transmission gears of the cylinder power transmission gear group are vertically rotatably arranged on the upper and lower inner sides of the two racks; the 2 transmission gears on the upper and lower sides are respectively meshed with each other on the left and right sides and are meshed with the transmission teeth of the rack 7 on the corresponding side, and are meshed with the toothed sliders on the upper and lower sides by the transmission gear located on the right side.

[0008] A further solution is that the gear-driven hollow chuck is provided with a smoke exhaust channel running from left to right along its left-right axis.

[0009] A further solution is: the above-mentioned gear-driven hollow chuck also includes an air pipe joint, the above-mentioned rotating shaft is provided with a center through hole along its left-right axis, the above-mentioned air pipe joint is fixedly arranged on the left end face of the rotating shaft and is ventilated with the center through hole of the rotating shaft; the center of the above-mentioned clamping mounting disk is provided with a center hole that passes through in the left-right directions, and a filter is fixedly provided at the center hole of the clamping mounting disk; the piston rod of the above-mentioned cylinder is provided with an axial through hole that passes through in the left-right directions along its axis; the above-mentioned filter, the center hole of the clamping mounting disk, the remaining space in the connecting sleeve between the right end cover of the cylinder and the clamping mounting disk, the axial through hole of the piston rod of the cylinder, the remaining space in the connecting sleeve between the left end cover of the cylinder and the rotating shaft of the rotary drive mechanism, the center through hole of the rotating shaft and the air pipe joint constitute the above-mentioned smoke exhaust channel from right to left.

[0010] A further solution is: the above-mentioned air-gap detection assembly includes a third mounting seat, a third detection rod, a third return spring, a third detection rod driving member and a third sensor. The above-mentioned third mounting seat is fixedly arranged at the middle position on the upper side of the right end surface of the rotating shaft of the rotation drive mechanism, and the third detection rod can movably pass through the rotating shaft and is arranged on the third mounting seat; the third return spring is sleeved on the third detection rod and the left and right ends are respectively abutted against the right end surface of the rotating shaft and the annular protrusion provided on the third detection rod; the third detection rod driving member is fixedly arranged on the upper side of the left end surface of the left end cover of the cylinder and is arranged opposite to the right end of the third detection rod in the left and right directions. The third sensor is fixedly arranged on the upper side of the frame and cooperates with the position of the third detection rod.

[0011] A further solution is: the above-mentioned gear-driven hollow chuck also includes a front and rear jaw release detection component for detecting whether the two front and rear jaws have been opened to the set position when in use, and an upper and lower jaw release detection component for detecting whether the two upper and lower jaws have been opened to the set position when in use.

[0012] A further solution is: the above-mentioned forward and backward clamping jaw release detection assembly includes a first mounting seat, a first detection rod, a first return spring, a detection rod drive plate and a first sensor; the above-mentioned first mounting seat is fixedly arranged on the front right end face of the rotating shaft, the first detection rod can movably pass through the rotating shaft and is arranged on the first mounting seat, the first return spring is sleeved on the first detection rod and the left and right ends are respectively abutted against the right end face of the rotating shaft and the annular protrusion provided on the first detection rod; the detection rod drive plate is fixedly connected to the left end face of the piston rod of the cylinder by its rear end, and the front end of the detection rod drive plate is movably matched with the right end of the first detection rod; the first sensor is fixedly arranged on the front side of the frame 1 and matches the position of the first detection rod 101-2.

[0013] A further solution is: the above-mentioned upper and lower clamping jaw release detection assembly includes a second mounting seat, a second detection rod, a second return spring, a second detection rod driving lever, a pin shaft, a lever driving member and a second sensor; the above-mentioned second mounting seat is fixedly arranged on the rear right end surface of the rotating shaft, the second detection rod can movably pass through the rotating shaft and is arranged on the second mounting seat, the second return spring is sleeved on the second detection rod and the left and right ends are respectively abutted against the right end surface of the rotating shaft and the annular protrusion provided on the second detection rod, the second detection rod driving lever is movably arranged on the second mounting seat through the pin shaft, the rear arm of the second detection rod driving lever is movably matched with the right end of the second detection rod, the forearm of the second detection rod driving lever is movably matched with the lever driving member, and the lever driving member is fixedly arranged on the rear side of the left end surface of the left end cover of the cylinder; the second sensor is fixedly arranged on the rear side of the frame and matches the position of the second detection rod.

[0014] A further solution is: the above-mentioned connecting sleeve is a hollow cylindrical structural part, the cylinder barrel of the above-mentioned cylinder is a hollow cylindrical structural part, the outer diameter of the cylinder barrel matches the inner diameter of the connecting sleeve, the space surrounded by the cylinder barrel, left end cover and piston of the above-mentioned cylinder constitutes the left air cavity of the cylinder, and the space surrounded by the cylinder barrel, right end cover and piston of the cylinder constitutes the right air cavity of the cylinder.

[0015] A further solution is: the above-mentioned rotary drive mechanism also includes a driving gear, a driven gear and a bearing; the above-mentioned rotating shaft is rotatably arranged on the frame through the bearing, the driven gear is fixedly sleeved with the rotating shaft, and the driving gear and the driven gear are meshed and connected.

[0016] The present invention has positive effects:

[0017] (1) The present invention, through its overall structural design, can effectively solve the technical problems of the lever-type pneumatic chuck in the prior art that uses one cylinder as the driving force for two sets of jaws, such as low transmission efficiency, easy wear, poor precision retention, short life, and high maintenance cost. The present invention has a high transmission efficiency that can basically reach about 0.99; at the same time, the rack and pinion transmission works smoothly during use, the output pressure of the two pairs of jaws remains constant within the entire working stroke range, the output linear speed maintains a fixed proportional relationship with the power of the actuator cylinder, the two sets of jaws are stable and impact-free during the clamping process, and have high working reliability, long service life, and simple and convenient maintenance.

[0018] (2) The present invention greatly simplifies the structure of similar gear transmission chucks in the prior art through the overall structural design, avoiding the need to use high-cost special-shaped gears as in the prior art, so that the overall manufacturing cost of the chuck can be significantly reduced. In addition, the significant simplification of the structure can greatly improve the reliability of the work.

[0019] (3) The gear-driven hollow chuck of the present invention is innovatively provided with a smoke exhaust channel running from right to left. During operation, the smoke generated during the laser cutting process can be exhausted in real time, and the dust generated during the cutting process can be deposited and collected on the right end face of the filter by the suction force of the wind, thereby effectively solving the problem of smoke and dust flying out during the processing of the existing similar chucks. Therefore, the present invention is more environmentally friendly.

[0020] (4) The gear-driven hollow chuck of the present invention is capable of automatically detecting whether the two groups of four jaws of the chuck are fully opened by providing front-to-back and top-to-bottom jaw release detection components and coordinating the two groups of detection components with the overall layout of other components of the chuck without substantially increasing the external dimensions of the chuck. This effectively solves the technical problem of the existing similar chucks that the jaws advance toward the workpiece and collide with the workpiece before they are fully opened.

[0021] (5) The hollow chuck of the gear transmission of the present invention is provided with an empty clamp detection component for monitoring the movement of two sets of clamping jaws in the upper and lower directions and the left and right directions to the set limit approach position during operation, and sending an empty clamp alarm signal to the control host of the laser cutting machine production line. When the control host receives the empty clamp alarm signal, it can promptly control the laser cutting machine to stop the laser cutting action to save energy, thereby effectively solving the technical problem that similar chucks used as tail chucks in the prior art may continue to work in the empty clamp state, thereby wasting energy. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 2 To remove Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the structure after the connection sleeve;

[0024] Figure 3 for Figure 2 A partial enlarged schematic diagram of the location of the front-to-back gripper release detection component;

[0025] Figure 4 To remove Figure 1 After the connecting sleeve in Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the structure when viewed from different directions;

[0026] Figure 5 for Figure 4 A partial enlarged schematic diagram of the location of the upper and lower jaw release detection component;

[0027] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the planar structure of the present invention when viewed from above;

[0028] Figure 7 For Figure 6 A schematic structural diagram of a partially cutaway connecting sleeve;

[0029] Figure 8 for Figure 1 A transverse cross-sectional view through the axis;

[0030] Figure 9 for Figure 1 A longitudinal sectional view through the axis;

[0031] Figure 10 for Figure 8 Schematic diagram of the structure after the middle cylinder is inhaled;

[0032] Figure 11 for Figure 9 Schematic diagram of the structure after the middle cylinder is intake.

[0033] The reference numerals in the above drawings are as follows:

[0034] Rack 1;

[0035] Rotation drive mechanism 2, housing 21, driving gear 22, driven gear 23, rotating shaft 24, central through hole 24-1, bearing 25;

[0036] Connecting sleeve 3;

[0037] Clamping jaw mounting plate 4, slide groove 41, toothed slider 42, center hole 43, filter 44;

[0038] Clamping jaws 5, front-back clamping jaws 51, up-down clamping jaws 52;

[0039] Cylinder 6, cylinder body 61, cylinder barrel 61-1, left end cover 61-2, right end cover 61-3, piston 62, piston rod 63, transmission gear 63-1, axial through hole 63-2, left air cavity 64, right air cavity 65, piston rod stopper 66;

[0040] Rack 7;

[0041] Transmission gear set 8, piston rod power transmission gear set 81, cylinder power transmission gear set 82, gear mounting frame 83;

[0042] Tracheal connector 9;

[0043] Front-back clamp release detection assembly 101, first mounting base 101-1, first detection rod 101-2, first return spring 101-3, detection rod drive plate 101-4, first sensor 101-5;

[0044] Up and down clamping jaw release detection assembly 102, second mounting base 102-1, second detection rod 102-2, second return spring 102-3, second detection rod driving lever 102-4, pin 102-5, lever driving member 102-6, second sensor 102-7;

[0045] The clamping detection assembly 103, the third mounting seat 103-1, the third detection rod 103-2, the third return spring 103-3, the third detection rod driving member 103-4, and the third sensor 103-5. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0046] The present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0047] (Example 1)

[0048] See Figures 1 to 9 The gear-driven hollow chuck of this embodiment is mainly composed of a frame 1, a rotation drive mechanism 2, a connecting sleeve 3, a clamping jaw mounting plate 4, a clamping jaw 5, a cylinder 6, a rack 7, a transmission gear set 8, an air pipe joint 9, a front-back clamping jaw release detection component 101, an up-down clamping jaw release detection component 102 and a clamping gap detection component 103.

[0049] The frame 1 serves as the mounting base for the hollow chuck of the gear transmission of this embodiment. Its structure belongs to the prior art and will not be described in detail.

[0050] The rotary drive mechanism 2 is used to drive the other related components including the connecting sleeve 3, the clamp mounting plate 4, the clamp 5, the cylinder 6, the rack 7 and the transmission gear 8 to rotate as a whole, so that the clamp 5 clamps the workpiece and rotates during work so that the laser cutting machine can perform laser cutting on the workpiece.

[0051] The rotary drive mechanism 2 includes a housing 21 fixedly mounted on the frame 1, a driving gear 22 and a driven gear 23 disposed within the housing 21, a rotating shaft 24, and a bearing 25. The rotating shaft 24 is rotatably mounted on the frame 1 via the bearing 25. The driven gear 23 is fixedly coupled to the rotating shaft 24, and the driving gear 22 and the driven gear 23 are meshed and connected. During use, the driving gear 22 is connected to a motor (not shown) provided on the laser cutting production line. The motor drives the driving gear 22 to rotate, driving the meshed driven gear 23, thereby rotating the rotating shaft 24 fixedly connected to the driven gear 23. This rotation of the rotating shaft 24 rotates the connecting sleeve 3 fixedly connected to it, thereby driving the other aforementioned components to rotate as a whole along the connecting sleeve 3. Unlike conventional rotating shafts 24, the rotating shaft 24 of this embodiment has a central through hole 24-1 extending horizontally along its left-right axis. The central through hole 24-1 is used to form an airflow channel for extracting smoke generated during laser cutting of the workpiece.

[0052] The connecting sleeve 3 is a hollow cylindrical structural member. The left end of the connecting sleeve 3 is sealed and fixedly connected to the right end of the rotating shaft 24 of the rotary drive mechanism 2 , so that the connecting sleeve 3 can rotate synchronously with the rotating shaft 24 .

[0053] The jaw mounting plate 4 serves as the mounting and movable base for the jaws 5 and is fixedly connected to the right end of the connecting sleeve 3. The jaw mounting plate 4 is equipped with two sets of two slide slots 41, one in the front-to-back direction and the other in the top-to-bottom direction. The two front-to-back slide slots 41 are mirror images of each other on the jaw mounting plate 4, while the two top-to-bottom slide slots 41 are mirror images of each other on the jaw mounting plate 4. Each slide slot 41 movably houses a toothed slider 42, each with a transmission tooth on its left end face. Unlike the existing similar tail cards with a solid structure at the center of the clamping jaw mounting disk 4, the clamping jaw mounting disk 4 of this embodiment is provided with a center hole 43 that passes through the center in the left and right directions. The clamping jaw mounting disk 4 is fixed with a filter 44 at its center hole 43, which is used to allow smoke generated during the processing to pass through and at the same time block dust generated during the processing from entering the interior of the chuck and at the same time deposit and collect dust. During use, dust is deposited and collected on the right end surface of the filter 44; the filter 44 can be a component with a filtering function such as a dense mesh steel wire mesh.

[0054] The clamping jaws 5 include two forward-backward clamping jaws 51 and two forward-backward clamping jaws 52 in the same group. The two forward-backward clamping jaws 51 are each fixedly mounted on two toothed sliders 42 within the two forward-backward chute 41. The two forward-backward clamping jaws 52 are each fixedly mounted on two toothed sliders 42 within the two forward-backward chute 41. During use, the two groups of clamping jaws 5 simultaneously clamp the workpiece in the forward-backward and upward-backward directions. The specific structure of the clamping jaws 5 is conventional and will not be described in detail.

[0055] Cylinder 6 primarily consists of a cylinder body 61, a piston 62, and a piston rod 63. Cylinder body 61 primarily comprises a cylinder barrel 61-1, a left end cap 61-2, and a right end cap 61-3. Cylinder barrel 61-1 is a hollow cylindrical structure. The left and right end caps 61-2 and 61-3 are sealed and fixedly connected to the left and right ports of cylinder barrel 61-1, respectively. The outer diameter of cylinder body 61 matches the inner diameter of connecting sleeve 3, allowing for left and right movement within connecting sleeve 3. Piston 62 is movably disposed within cylinder body 61. Piston rod 63 passes through the center of piston 62 and is fixedly connected to it. The left and right sides of piston rod 63 extend airtightly and movably out of cylinder body 61 from the center of the left and right end caps 61-2 and 61-3, respectively. Transmission teeth 63-1 are provided at the front and rear ends of the right portion of piston rod 63. A through hole 63-2 extending left and right along the axis of piston rod 63 is provided. The space enclosed by the cylinder barrel 61-1, the left end cap 61-2, and the piston 62 constitutes the left air chamber 64 of the cylinder 6. The space enclosed by the cylinder barrel 61-1, the right end cap 61-3, and the piston 62 constitutes the right air chamber 65 of the cylinder 6. The air inlet and outlet structures of the left and right air chambers of the cylinder 6 are conventional and will not be described in detail. Preferably, the piston rod 63 is also equipped with a piston rod stopper 66 to prevent the piston rod 63 from excessively shifting to the left, causing the transmission teeth 63-1 of the piston rod 63 to disengage from the corresponding transmission gear 8. The piston rod stopper 66 is fixed to the left end surface of the piston rod 63. The piston rod stopper 66 can limit the piston rod 63's extreme leftward movement without affecting the left-to-right ventilation of the axial through hole 63-2 of the piston rod 63. In this embodiment, the piston rod stopper 66 is a short square tube.

[0056] The rack 7 is used in the cylinder body 61 of the cylinder 6 as a power source to drive one of the two transmission parts that move the clamping jaws 52 up and down. As a specific implementation method, the rack 7 is an L-shaped structural member composed of a long arm and a short wall. A transmission tooth is provided on one side of the long arm of the rack 7 (relative to the inner side of the chuck axis). The rack 7 is provided with two racks with the same structure. The two racks 7 are fixedly connected to the right end face of the right end cover 61-3 of the cylinder body 61 of the cylinder 6 by their short arms, and the transmission teeth of the two racks 7 are arranged opposite to each other in the upper and lower directions.

[0057] The transmission gear set 8 includes a piston rod power transmission gear set 81 and a cylinder power transmission gear set 82, which are distinguished according to the source of the driving force, and a gear mounting bracket 83 for mounting the piston rod power transmission gear set 81 and the cylinder power transmission gear set 82. The gear mounting bracket 83 is disposed within the connecting sleeve 3 and is fixedly connected to the connecting sleeve 3.

[0058] The piston rod power transmission gear set 81 includes four transmission gears, of which two are horizontally rotatably arranged on the front and rear sides of the right part of the piston rod 63 of the cylinder 6 in the gear mounting frame 83. The two transmission gears on each side are meshed with each other and are meshed with the transmission teeth 63-1 at the front and rear ends of the piston rod 63 by a transmission gear located on the left side, and are meshed with the two toothed sliders 42 in the front and rear directions by a transmission gear located on the right side; thereby, the transmission between the piston rod 63 and the two toothed sliders 42 in the front and rear directions is realized. Since the two front and rear clamps 51 are fixedly arranged one on each of the two front and rear toothed sliders 42, the piston rod 63 realizes the synchronous driving of the two front and rear clamps 51.

[0059] The cylinder power transmission gear set 82 includes four transmission gears, of which two are vertically rotatably arranged on the inner sides of the two racks 7 in the upper and lower directions in the gear mounting frame 83; the two transmission gears below the upper rack 7 are meshed with each other on the left and right sides and are both meshed with the transmission teeth of the rack 7 on the upper side, and the transmission gear on the right side is meshed with the toothed slider 42 on the upper side of the clamping jaw mounting plate 4; the two transmission gears above the lower rack 7 are meshed with each other on the left and right sides and are both meshed with the transmission teeth of the rack 7 on the upper side. The transmission teeth of the rack 7 on the lower side are engaged, and the transmission gear located on the right side is engaged with the toothed slider 42 located on the lower side of the clamp mounting plate 4; thus, the cylinder power transmission gear set 82 includes four transmission gears and two racks 7, which together realize the transmission between the cylinder body 61 of the cylinder 6 and the two upper and lower toothed sliders 42. Since the two upper and lower clamping jaws 52 are each fixedly provided on the two upper and lower toothed sliders 42, the cylinder body 61 of the cylinder 6 realizes the synchronous drive of the two upper and lower clamping jaws 52.

[0060] In this embodiment, each transmission gear in the transmission gear set 8 is a conventional circular gear, and there is no need to set a special-shaped gear as in the prior art chuck using gear transmission, thereby overcoming the disadvantages of special-shaped gears.

[0061] The air pipe connector 9 is used to connect to the air extraction pipe (not shown in the figure) when in use. The air pipe connector 9 is fixedly arranged on the left end surface of the rotating shaft 24 of the rotary drive mechanism 2 and is ventilatedly connected to the central through hole 24-1 of the rotating shaft 24. The air pipe connector 9 is a commercially available part.

[0062] The aforementioned filter 44, the center hole 43 of the clamp mounting plate 4, the remaining space in the connecting sleeve 3 between the right end cover 61-3 of the cylinder 6 and the clamp mounting plate 4 that is not occupied by related components, the axial through hole 63-2 of the piston rod 63 of the cylinder 6, the remaining space in the connecting sleeve 3 between the left end cover 61-2 of the cylinder 6 and the rotating shaft 24 of the rotary drive mechanism 2 that is not occupied by related components, the center through hole 24-1 of the rotating shaft 24 and the air pipe joint 9 constitute, from right to left, a complete smoke extraction channel of the gear-driven hollow chuck of this embodiment.

[0063] See also Figure 2 、 Figure 3 and Figure 7 The front-to-back jaw release detection assembly 101 is used to detect whether the two front-to-back jaws 51 have opened to the set position, that is, whether the two front-to-back jaws 51 are fully opened. The front-to-back jaw release detection assembly 101 mainly comprises a first mounting base 101-1, a first detection rod 101-2, a first return spring 101-3, a detection rod drive plate 101-4, and a first sensor 101-5.

[0064] The first mounting seat 101-1 is fixedly arranged on the front right end face of the rotating shaft 24 of the rotary drive mechanism 2, and the first detection rod 101-2 can movably pass through the rotating shaft 24 and is arranged on the first mounting seat 101-1, and the first return spring 101-3 is sleeved on the first detection rod 101-2 and the left and right ends of the first return spring 101-3 are respectively abutted against the right end face of the rotating shaft 24 and the annular protrusion provided on the first detection rod 101-2; the detection rod driving plate 101-4 is fixedly connected to the left end face of the piston rod 63 of the cylinder 6 by its rear end and moves with the piston rod 63, and the front end of the detection rod driving plate 101-4 is movably matched with the right end of the first detection rod 101-2; the first sensor 101-5 is fixedly arranged on the front side of the frame 1 and matches the setting position of the first detection rod 101-2.

[0065] During use, when the two forward and backward clamping jaws 51 are opened to the set position, the detection rod driving plate 101-4 overcomes the elastic force of the first return spring 101-3 and pushes the first detection rod 101-2 to the left to contact the first sensor 101-5. The first sensor 101-5 sends a detection signal to the laser cutting machine production line control host that the two forward and backward clamping jaws 51 have been opened to the set position. When the two forward and backward clamping jaws 51 are not opened to the set position, under the elastic force restriction of the first return spring 101-3, the first detection rod 101-2 cannot contact the first sensor 101-5, and the first sensor 101-5 does not send a signal. The laser cutting machine production line control host can know that the two forward and backward clamping jaws 51 are not opened to the set position at this time, and performs corresponding processing according to the set program.

[0066] See also Figure 4 、 Figure 5 and Figure 7 The upper and lower jaw release detection assembly 102 is used to detect whether the upper and lower jaws 52 have opened to the set position, that is, whether the upper and lower jaws 52 are fully opened. The upper and lower jaw release detection assembly 102 mainly comprises a second mounting base 102-1, a second detection rod 102-2, a second return spring 102-3, a second detection rod driving lever 102-4, a pin 102-5, a lever driving member 102-6, and a second sensor 102-7.

[0067] The second mounting seat 102-1 is fixedly arranged on the rear right end surface of the rotating shaft 24 of the rotation drive mechanism 2, and the second detection rod 102-2 can be movably passed through the rotating shaft 24 and is arranged on the second mounting seat 102-1, and the second return spring 102-3 is sleeved on the second detection rod 102-2 and the left and right ends of the second return spring 102-3 are respectively abutted against the right end surface of the rotating shaft 24 and the annular protrusion provided on the second detection rod 102-2; the second detection rod driving lever 102-4 is a structural member with a forearm, an intermediate connecting part and a rear arm, and the second detection rod driving lever 102-4 is movably arranged on the second mounting seat 102-1 through the pin shaft 102-5 by its intermediate connecting part, and the second detection rod driving lever 102-4 is movably arranged on the second mounting seat 102-1 through the pin shaft 102-5 by the intermediate connecting part. The rear arm of the detection rod driving lever 102-4 is movably matched with the right end of the second detection rod 102-2, and the forearm of the second detection rod driving lever 102-4 is movably matched with the lever driving member 102-6. In this embodiment, the lever driving member 102-6 adopts a hook provided on the left side to match the forearm of the second detection rod driving lever 102-4, and the right side of the hook is provided with a structural member for accommodating the forearm of the second detection rod driving lever 102-4 to move left and right therein. The lever driving member 102-6 is fixedly arranged on the rear side of the left end surface of the left end cover 61-2 of the cylinder body 61 of the cylinder 6; the second sensor 102-7 is fixedly arranged on the rear side of the frame 1 and matches the setting position of the second detection rod 102-2.

[0068] During use, when the two upper and lower clamping jaws 52 are opened to the set position, the lever driving member 102-6 drives the lever 102-4 through the second detection rod to overcome the elastic force of the second return spring 102-3 and push the second detection rod 102-2 to extend to the left and contact the second sensor 102-7. The second sensor 102-7 sends a detection signal to the laser cutting machine production line control host that the two upper and lower clamping jaws 52 have been opened to the set position. When the two upper and lower clamping jaws 52 are not opened to the set position, under the elastic force restriction of the second return spring 102-3, the second detection rod 102-2 cannot contact the first sensor 102-7, and the second sensor 102-7 does not send a signal. The laser cutting machine production line control host can know that the two upper and lower clamping jaws 52 are not opened to the set position, and perform corresponding processing according to the set program.

[0069] See also Figure 2 、 Figure 4 and Figure 7 The gap detection assembly 103 is used to prevent the four clamping jaws 5 from becoming gapped during operation. Specifically, the gap detection assembly 103 detects when the two vertical clamping jaws 52 and the two forward and backward clamping jaws 51 move toward each other to the set extreme approach positions, and then sends a clamp gap alarm signal to the laser cutting machine production line control host. Upon receiving the clamp gap alarm signal, the laser cutting machine production line control host controls the laser cutting machine production line to stop laser cutting to save energy. The gap detection assembly 103 mainly comprises a third mounting base 103-1, a third detection rod 103-2, a third return spring 103-3, a third detection rod driver 103-4, and a third sensor 103-5.

[0070] The third mounting seat 103-1 is fixedly mounted on the upper middle position of the right end surface of the rotating shaft 24 of the rotary drive mechanism 2. The third detection rod 103-2 is movably mounted on the rotating shaft 24 and is disposed on the third mounting seat 103-1. The third return spring 103-3 is sleeved on the third detection rod 103-2, and the left and right ends of the third return spring 103-3 respectively abut against the right end surface of the rotating shaft 24 and the annular protrusion provided on the third detection rod. The third detection rod driving member 103-4 is fixedly mounted on the upper portion of the left end surface of the left end cover 61-2 of the cylinder body 61 of the cylinder 6 and is disposed opposite the third detection rod 103-2 in the left and right directions. The third sensor 103-5 is fixedly mounted on the upper side of the frame 1 and is aligned with the location of the third detection rod 103-2. In this embodiment, the third detection rod driving member 103-4 is a rectangular block-shaped structural member.

[0071] During operation, under normal conditions, the third detection rod driver 103-4 of the empty clamp detection assembly 103 does not contact the right end of the third detection rod 103-2, and the third sensor 103-5 does not emit a detection signal. Only when the two vertical clamping jaws 52 and the two forward and backward clamping jaws 51 move toward each other to the set extreme approach positions, the third detection rod driver 103-4, driven by the cylinder body 61 of the cylinder 6, moves leftward, overcoming the elastic force of the third return spring 103-3 and pushing the third detection rod 103-2 to the left and contacting the third sensor 103-5. The third sensor 103-5 then sends a clamp empty alarm signal to the laser cutting machine production line control host. After receiving the clamp empty alarm signal, the laser cutting machine production line control host determines according to the program that there is no workpiece on the chuck, and accordingly controls the laser cutting machine production line to stop laser cutting to save energy.

[0072] The first to third sensors are all commercially available components, such as commercially available proximity switches.

[0073] The working principle of the gear-driven hollow chuck of this embodiment is briefly described as follows:

[0074] Before using the gear-driven hollow chuck of this embodiment, the air pipe joint 9 is ventilatedly connected to the smoke and dust exhaust equipment (existing part, not shown in the figure) equipped with the laser cutting machine production line through the exhaust pipe (not shown in the figure); the driving gear 22 of the rotary drive mechanism 2 is transmission-connected to the motor (not shown in the figure) equipped on the laser cutting production line; and the aforementioned first to third sensors are electrically connected to the control host of the laser cutting machine production line.

[0075] Will Figure 8 and Figure 9 and Figure 10 and Figure 11 Corresponding comparative observations clearly show that when the gear-driven hollow chuck of this embodiment is working, the cylinder body 61 and the piston rod 63 of the cylinder 6 both move. Specifically, when it is necessary to use the two forward and backward clamping jaws 51 and the two upward and downward clamping jaws 52 to clamp the workpiece to be processed, the left air chamber 64 of the cylinder 6 is controlled to intake air and the right air chamber 65 is controlled to exhaust air. Under the gas pressure, the piston 62 drives the piston rod 63 to move to the right relative to the cylinder body 61. At the same time, the cylinder body 61 of the cylinder 6 drives the two racks 7 to move to the left together in the connecting sleeve 3.

[0076] The piston rod 63 moves to the right and is driven by the piston rod power transmission gear set 81 and the two front-to-back toothed sliders 42, so that the two front-to-back clamping jaws 51 fixed on the two front-to-back toothed sliders 42 move toward each other in the front-to-back direction to clamp the workpiece from the front-to-back direction; at the same time, the two racks 7 move to the left and are driven by the cylinder body power transmission gear set 82 and the two up-and-down toothed sliders 42, so that the two up-and-down clamping jaws 52 fixed on the two up-and-down toothed sliders 42 move toward each other in the up-and-down direction to clamp the workpiece from the top and bottom; thereby realizing the clamping and clamping action of the two groups of clamping jaws 5 on the workpiece when the cylinder 6 is air-intaken; the two groups of clamping jaws 5 move toward each other respectively When the workpiece is clamped by the two sets of jaws 5, the third detection rod driving member 103-4 has not yet reached the contact position with the third detection rod 103-2, and the third sensor 103-5 has no detection signal. When the two sets of jaws 5 do not clamp the workpiece, the two sets of jaws 5 continue to run to the set extreme approach position. At this time, the third detection rod driving member 103-4 reaches the contact position with the third detection rod 103-2, and the third sensor 103-5 sends a clamping jaw empty alarm signal, thereby realizing the anti-pinch detection function.

[0077] When the two front-to-back clamping jaws 51 and the two up-and-down clamping jaws 52 need to release the workpiece being processed, the right air chamber 65 of the air cylinder 6 is controlled to intake air and the left air chamber 64 is exhausted. The piston 62 drives the piston rod 63 to move to the left relative to the cylinder body 61. At the same time, the cylinder body 61 of the cylinder 6 moves to the right in the connecting sleeve 3, so that the two groups of clamping jaws 5 move in opposite directions respectively, and release the clamping of the workpiece being processed; the piston rod 63 moves to the left, driving the front-to-back clamping jaws fixed on the left end face of the piston rod 63 to release the detection rod driving plate 101-4 of the detection assembly 101 to move to the left synchronously until the detection rod driving plate 101-4 overcomes the elastic force of the first return spring 101-3 and pushes the first detection rod 101-2 to extend to the left and connect with the second detection rod 101-2. When the first sensor 101-5 contacts the second sensor 101-5, the first sensor 101-5 sends a detection signal that the two forward and backward clamping jaws 51 have been opened to the set position. At the same time, the cylinder body 61 of the cylinder 6 moves to the right in the connecting sleeve 3, so that the lever driving member 102-6 fixed on the rear side of the left end of the cylinder body 61 of the cylinder 6 pulls the front end of the second detection rod driving lever 102-4 to the right, so that the rear end of the second detection rod driving lever 102-4 pushes the second detection rod 102-2 to extend to the left and contact the second sensor 102-7. The second sensor 102-7 sends a detection signal that the two upward and downward clamping jaws 52 have been opened to the set position, thereby realizing the automatic detection function of the full opening of the two sets of clamping jaws 5.

[0078] During operation, under the action of the smoke and dust exhaust equipment on the production line, the smoke generated when the laser cutting machine performs laser cutting processing on the workpiece is exhausted in real time through the smoke exhaust channel provided in the hollow chuck of the gear transmission of the aforementioned embodiment to the relevant place or processing equipment for post-processing, and the dust generated during the processing is deposited and collected on the right end face of the filter 44.

[0079] During the processing, if the workpiece needs to be rotated, the rotation drive mechanism 2 is used to rotate the components on the right side of the rotating shaft 24 as a whole, so that the workpiece clamped by the two sets of jaws 5 rotates together with the two sets of jaws 5. This is the same as the existing technology and will not be elaborated on.

[0080] As can be seen from the foregoing, compared to the lever-type pneumatic chuck in the prior art that uses a cylinder as the driving force for two sets of jaws, the gear-driven hollow chuck of this embodiment can overcome the technical problems existing in the existing lever-type pneumatic chuck, and has higher transmission accuracy and efficiency, and better working reliability; and compared to similar gear-driven chucks in the prior art, the gear-driven hollow chuck of this embodiment has a greatly simplified structure, which can significantly reduce the overall manufacturing cost of the chuck, and the significant simplification of the structure can greatly improve working reliability. At the same time, the gear-driven hollow chuck of this embodiment can extract and treat the smoke generated during the laser cutting process in real time by providing a smoke exhaust channel, and can use the suction force of the wind to deposit and collect the dust generated during the cutting process on the right end face of the filter, thereby effectively solving the problem of smoke and dust flying out during the processing of similar existing chucks. Therefore, the chuck of this embodiment is more environmentally friendly to use.

[0081] At the same time, the gear-driven hollow chuck of the present embodiment, by providing forward and backward and upward and downward jaw release detection components, and coordinating the two groups of detection components with the overall layout of other components of the chuck, can realize automatic detection of whether the two groups of four jaws of the chuck are fully opened without basically increasing the external dimensions of the chuck, thereby effectively solving the technical problem of the risk of collision between the jaws of the existing similar chucks when they advance toward the workpiece being processed and the workpiece being processed without being fully opened; and, the gear-driven hollow chuck of the present embodiment, by providing a clamping empty detection component, can effectively solve the technical problem of the similar chucks in the prior art as the tail chuck that the laser cutting machine production line may continue to be in a working state in the clamping empty state and waste energy.

[0082] The above embodiments are illustrations of specific implementation methods of the present invention, rather than limitations of the present invention. Technicians in the relevant technical fields can make various changes and modifications to obtain corresponding equivalent technical solutions without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, all equivalent technical solutions should be included in the patent protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A gear-driven hollow chuck, comprising a frame, a rotary drive mechanism including a rotating shaft mounted on the frame, a jaw mounting plate having two slide slots, one each in the forward and backward directions and the other in the upward and downward directions, each of which has a toothed slider slidably disposed therein, a jaw being fixedly disposed on each of the four toothed sliders, and a cylinder comprising a cylinder body, a left end cap, a right end cap seal, a piston, and a piston rod as a power source, characterized in that: It also includes a connecting sleeve, a rack and a transmission gear set, as well as a clamping detection assembly for preventing the four clamping jaws from continuing to work in the clamping empty state; the left and right ends of the connecting sleeve are respectively fixedly connected to the rotating shaft and the clamping jaw mounting plate, the cylinder is movably arranged in the connecting sleeve, the piston rod is fixedly connected to the piston in the cylinder body, and the left and right sides of the piston rod are respectively extended outward from the left end cover and the right end cover of the cylinder body in an airtight manner, and the front and rear ends of the right part of the piston rod are respectively provided with transmission teeth; the rack is fixedly provided with one rack on the right end surface of the right end cover of the cylinder body, and the transmission teeth provided on the two racks are arranged opposite to each other in the upper and lower directions; the transmission gear set includes a piston rod power transmission gear set and a cylinder power transmission gear set, the piston rod is connected to the two toothed sliders in the front and rear directions by the transmission teeth at its front and rear ends and the piston rod power transmission gear set, and the two racks are connected to the two toothed sliders in the upper and lower directions by their transmission teeth and the cylinder power transmission gear set; The transmission gear group is arranged in the equipped gear mounting frame, and the gear mounting frame is fixed in the connecting sleeve; the piston rod power transmission gear group and the cylinder power transmission gear group each include 4 transmission gears; the 4 transmission gears of the piston rod power transmission gear group are horizontally rotatably arranged on both sides of the front and rear of the right part of the piston rod, and the 2 transmission gears on each side are meshed with each other and are meshed with the transmission teeth at the front and rear ends of the piston rod by a transmission gear on the left side, and are meshed with the two toothed sliders in the front and rear directions by a transmission gear on the right side; the 4 transmission gears of the cylinder power transmission gear group are vertically rotatably arranged on the inner sides of the two racks in the upper and lower directions, 2 each; the 2 transmission gears on the upper and lower sides are respectively meshed with each other on the left and right sides and are meshed with the transmission teeth of the rack on the corresponding side, and are meshed with the toothed sliders on the upper and lower sides by the transmission gear on the right side; The clamping detection assembly includes a third mounting seat, a third detection rod, a third return spring, a third detection rod driving member and a third sensor, wherein the third mounting seat is fixedly arranged at the middle position on the upper side of the right end surface of the rotating shaft of the rotation drive mechanism, and the third detection rod can movably pass through the rotating shaft and is arranged on the third mounting seat; the third return spring is sleeved on the third detection rod and its left and right ends respectively abut against the right end surface of the rotating shaft and the annular protrusion provided on the third detection rod; the third detection rod driving member is fixedly arranged on the upper part of the left end surface of the left end cover of the cylinder and is arranged opposite to the right end of the third detection rod in the left and right directions, and the third sensor is fixedly arranged on the upper side of the frame and cooperates with the position of the third detection rod; The gear-driven hollow chuck further includes a front-to-back jaw release detection assembly for detecting whether the two front-to-back jaws have been opened to a set position during use, and an upper-lower jaw release detection assembly for detecting whether the two upper-lower jaws have been opened to a set position during use; The forward and backward clamping jaw release detection assembly includes a first mounting seat, a first detection rod, a first return spring, a detection rod driving plate and a first sensor; the first mounting seat is fixedly arranged on the front right end surface of the rotating shaft, the first detection rod can movably pass through the rotating shaft and is arranged on the first mounting seat, the first return spring is sleeved on the first detection rod and the left and right ends are respectively abutted against the right end surface of the rotating shaft and the annular protrusion provided on the first detection rod; the detection rod driving plate is fixedly connected to the left end surface of the piston rod of the cylinder by its rear end, and the front end of the detection rod driving plate is movably matched with the right end of the first detection rod; the first sensor is fixedly arranged on the front side of the frame and matches the position of the first detection rod; The up and down clamping jaw release detection assembly includes a second mounting seat, a second detection rod, a second return spring, a second detection rod driving lever, a pin shaft, a lever driving member and a second sensor; the second mounting seat is fixedly arranged on the rear right end surface of the rotating shaft, the second detection rod can movably pass through the rotating shaft and is arranged on the second mounting seat, the second return spring is sleeved on the second detection rod and the left and right ends are respectively abutted against the right end surface of the rotating shaft and the annular protrusion provided on the second detection rod, the second detection rod driving lever is movably arranged on the second mounting seat through the pin shaft, the rear arm of the second detection rod driving lever is movably matched with the right end of the second detection rod, the forearm of the second detection rod driving lever is movably matched with the lever driving member, and the lever driving member is fixedly arranged on the rear side of the left end surface of the left end cover of the cylinder; the second sensor is fixedly arranged on the rear side of the frame and matches the position of the second detection rod.

2. The hollow chuck for gear transmission according to claim 1, characterized in that: The gear-driven hollow chuck is provided with a smoke exhaust channel running from left to right along its left-right axis.

3. The hollow chuck for gear transmission according to claim 2, characterized in that: It also includes an air pipe joint, and the rotating shaft is provided with a central through hole along its left-right axis, and the air pipe joint is fixedly arranged on the left end face of the rotating shaft and is ventilated with the central through hole of the rotating shaft; a central hole that passes through in the left-right directions is provided at the center of the clamp mounting disk, and a filter is fixedly arranged at the central hole of the clamp mounting disk; the piston rod of the cylinder is provided with an axial through hole that passes through in the left-right directions along its axis; the filter, the central hole of the clamp mounting disk, the remaining space in the connecting sleeve between the right end cover of the cylinder and the clamp mounting disk, the axial through hole of the piston rod of the cylinder, the remaining space in the connecting sleeve between the left end cover of the cylinder and the rotating shaft of the rotary drive mechanism, the central through hole of the rotating shaft and the air pipe joint constitute the smoke exhaust channel from right to left.

4. The hollow chuck with gear transmission according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The connecting sleeve is a hollow cylindrical structural part, and the cylinder barrel of the cylinder is a hollow cylindrical structural part. The outer diameter of the cylinder barrel matches the inner diameter of the connecting sleeve. The space surrounded by the cylinder barrel, left end cover and piston of the cylinder constitutes the left air cavity of the cylinder, and the space surrounded by the cylinder barrel, right end cover and piston of the cylinder constitutes the right air cavity of the cylinder.

5. The hollow chuck with gear transmission according to claim 1, characterized in that: The rotary drive mechanism further comprises a driving gear, a driven gear and a bearing; the rotating shaft is rotatably arranged on the frame through the bearing, the driven gear is fixedly sleeved with the rotating shaft, and the driving gear and the driven gear are meshed and transmission-connected.

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