Piston ring cutting device

Abstract

It comprises: a holding part for holding the piston rings stacked together in the axial direction; a cutting part for sending the front piston ring out from the stack; and a detection part for detecting the dividing line of adjacent piston rings in the stack. The cutting part has: a moving part for moving the pushing part and the limiting part. After the moving part inserts the pushing part and the limiting part into the dividing line (i.e., the dividing part) of the front piston ring and the piston ring adjacent to the front piston ring in the stack, the pushing part moves in the sending direction while the limiting part restricts the movement of the piston ring adjacent to the front piston ring in the direction of sending out of the front piston ring, i.e., the sending direction. This separates the front piston ring from the stack and sends the front piston ring out along the holding part.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a piston ring cutting device for a piston mounted on a piston of an internal combustion engine. Background Technology

[0002] The internal combustion engines in ordinary automobiles employ a configuration in which piston rings, including compression rings (pressure rings) and oil rings, are assembled into ring grooves formed on the piston. Among the oil rings, a composite oil ring consisting of a pair of segments (also called side rails) and a spacer expander that applies force to these segments is known. In the processes of manufacturing and machining the piston rings, and in the process of assembling the piston rings into the ring grooves of the piston, the leading edge of the piston ring is cut out one by one from a stack of piston rings. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a piston ring assembly device that cuts out the uppermost (leading edge) segment of a plurality of piston rings (segments) held in a multi-layered overlapping state in a magazine. This device has a pair of cutting claws, which, by engaging one of the cutting claws with the uppermost segment of the multi-layered overlapping segment before the other, can accurately cut out the segment.

[0003] Existing technical documents

[0004] Patent documents

[0005] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2005-111599

[0006] Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2-75745

[0007] Patent Document 3: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 4-173625 Summary of the Invention

[0008] The problem that the invention aims to solve

[0009] However, in the existing technology, when the piston ring width (axial thickness) is thin, there is a risk that adjacent piston rings cannot be properly separated during cutting, making it impossible to cut the piston rings one by one. A technology that can reliably cut the piston rings one by one is desired.

[0010] The present invention was made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and its object is to provide a technique for reliably cutting out piston rings one by one during piston ring cutting.

[0011] Solution for solving the problem

[0012] To solve the above problems, the present invention adopts the following solution. That is, the present invention is a piston ring cutting device, comprising: a holding portion extending in the form of a guide rail and inserted into the hollow portion of a cylindrical stack of piston rings axially overlapped, thereby holding the stack; a cutting portion separating the piston ring at its front end from the stack held in the holding portion and sending the piston ring at its front end out along the holding portion; and a detection portion detecting the boundary line of adjacent piston rings in the stack, the cutting portion having: a pushing portion, a limiting portion, and a movement mechanism for moving the pushing portion and the limiting portion. The moving part, based on the detection result of the detection part, after inserting the ejection part and the limiting part into the dividing line (i.e., the dividing part) of the piston ring at the front end and the piston ring adjacent to the piston ring at the front end in the stack body, and under the state that the piston ring adjacent to the piston ring at the front end is restricted from moving in the direction of being sent out of the piston ring at the front end by the limiting part, moves the ejection part in the sending direction, thereby separating the piston ring at the front end from the stack body and sending the piston ring at the front end out along the holding part.

[0013] According to the cutting device of the present invention, the dividing line of adjacent piston rings is detected by the detection unit, thereby enabling the insertion of the push-out part and the limiting part into the dividing section even if there is a front-to-back difference in the piston ring seam (positional offset between the two ends of the seam in the axial direction of the piston ring). Furthermore, after the push-out part and the limiting part are inserted into the dividing section, with the movement of the piston ring adjacent to the piston ring at the front end of the stack body in the delivery direction restricted by the limiting part, the piston ring at the front end is moved in the delivery direction by the push-out part, thereby reliably separating the piston ring at the front end from the stack body. Accordingly, piston rings can be reliably cut out one by one from the stack body.

[0014] Alternatively, in this invention, the retaining portion may hold the plurality of piston rings in a slit extending axially on the stack body through the seam arrangement of the plurality of piston rings. The ejecting portion and the limiting portion are inserted into the dividing portion along a direction from the slit toward the hollow portion of the stack body. When viewed from the insertion direction of the ejecting portion and the limiting portion relative to the dividing portion, the stack body is divided into a first region and a second region with the slit as the boundary. The ejecting portion includes a first ejecting claw inserted into the dividing portion in the first region and a second ejecting claw inserted into the dividing portion in the second region. The limiting portion includes a first limiting claw inserted into the dividing portion in the first region and a second limiting claw inserted into the dividing portion in the second region.

[0015] In other words, the cutting device of the present invention can also be configured such that the pushing part and the limiting part are inserted into the respective dividing portions of the first and second regions separated by the slit. When the positions of the two ends of the piston ring seam are offset from each other axially, adjacent piston rings in the stack tend to easily become entangled near the seam. In contrast, the present invention inserts the pushing part and the limiting part on both sides of the seam (slit) and performs the piston ring separation action on both sides of the seam, thereby reliably separating the front piston ring from the stack. As a result, the piston rings can be cut out one by one from the stack more reliably.

[0016] Furthermore, in this invention, the detection unit may acquire images of the first region and the second region, and detect the segmentation regions in each of the first region and the second region based on the acquired images.

[0017] According to the present invention, the dividing portions in the first region and the second region are detected, thereby enabling the push-out portion and the limiting portion to be reliably inserted into the dividing portions of the first region and the second region respectively.

[0018] Furthermore, in this invention, the moving part may include an insertion member that moves toward the insertion direction of the pushing part and the limiting part relative to the segmented portion of the stack, wherein the pushing part and the limiting part are connected to the insertion member in a state that allows them to be displaced axially relative to the piston ring in the stack relative to the insertion member.

[0019] According to this invention, it is possible to absorb the offset when the position of the push-out part and the restriction part is offset from that of the dividing part in the delivery direction, and the deflection angle when the push-out part and the restriction part are tilted relative to the insertion direction, so that the push-out part and the restriction part can be easily inserted into the dividing part. Therefore, the push-out part and the restriction part can be reliably inserted into the dividing part.

[0020] This invention can be applied to the cutting out of piston rings. Examples of piston rings that can be cut out in this invention include: the scraper used in a combined oil ring consisting of a scraper and a spacer expander, and compression rings.

[0021] Invention Effects

[0022] According to the present invention, the piston rings can be reliably cut out one by one during the piston ring cutting process. Attached Figure Description

[0023] Figure 1 This is a side view of the cutting device in the embodiment.

[0024] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 The front view of the dashed section.

[0025] Figure 3 It is a top view of the stacked body held in the holding part.

[0026] Figure 4 This is a flowchart of the piston ring cutting method performed by the cutting device.

[0027] Figure 5 This is a side view of the cutting device used to illustrate the image acquisition process.

[0028] Figure 6 This is a diagram representing an example of an image captured by a camera.

[0029] Figure 7 This is a side view (a) of the cutting device used to illustrate the insertion process.

[0030] Figure 8 It is a top view showing the positional relationship between the ejector and restraint parts and the stack during the insertion process.

[0031] Figure 9 This is a side view (II) of the cutting device used to illustrate the insertion process.

[0032] Figure 10 This is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the dividing section of the cutting device in the insertion process.

[0033] Figure 11 This is a side view (a) of the cutting device used to illustrate the separation process.

[0034] Figure 12 This is a side view (II) of the cutting device used to illustrate the separation process.

[0035] Figure 13 It is a top view showing the positional relationship between the ejection section and the restraint section and the stack in the separation process.

[0036] Figure 14 This is a side view of the cutting device used to illustrate the handover process. Detailed Implementation

[0037] Hereinafter, embodiments of the piston ring cutting device (hereinafter also simply referred to as the cutting device) of the present invention will be described. The cutting device 100 described below is a device for cutting the scraper used in the present invention for composite oil rings. The scraper is an example of a piston ring that is the object of cutting in the present invention; the present invention can also be applied to the cutting device for compression rings in addition to scrapers. Furthermore, unless otherwise specified, the configurations described in the following embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the invention to them.

[0038] Figure 1 This is a side view of the cutting device 100 according to the embodiment. Furthermore, Figure 2 yes Figure 1 The front view of the dashed section. The cutting device 100 constitutes the supply line for the scraper 200 in the piston ring manufacturing process. The scraper 200 is a component of the combined oil ring. The combined oil ring consists of a pair of scrapers 200, 200 and a spacer that applies force to the pair of scrapers 200, 200. It controls the lubrication of the cylinder and piston ring by being fitted into an annular groove formed on the outer circumferential surface of the piston in the internal combustion engine. The cutting device 100 sequentially cuts the scrapers 200 one by one from the cylindrical stack 300 of multiple scrapers 200 and supplies them to the next process line. The configuration of the cutting device 100 will be described below.

[0039] [Device Composition]

[0040] like Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, the cutting device 100 includes a holding part 10, a cutting part 20, a camera 30, a pusher 40, a stop 50, a guide rail moving part 60, and a control device 70.

[0041] like Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, the retaining part 10 is a horizontally arranged, guide-like component extending in the front-rear direction, which holds the scraper 200 in a suspended manner by inserting it through the scraper 200. A cylindrical stack 300 is formed by overlapping the multiple scrapers 200 held in the retaining part 10 in the front-rear direction (the extending direction of the retaining part 10). The central axis A1 of the stack 300 is parallel to the extending direction of the retaining part 10. That is, the multiple scrapers 200 overlap in the axial direction of the scraper 200. In the stack 300, the multiple scrapers 200 are arranged in a state with almost no gaps. Figure 2 As shown, the retaining part 10 is inserted into the hollow part H1 of the stack body 300.

[0042] In addition, such as Figure 2 As shown, the retaining part 10 includes: an extension 101 extending in the front-rear direction and generally rectangular in cross-section; and an upright part 102 erected on the upper surface of the extension 101 and extending in the front-rear direction. The extension 101 engages with the inner circumferential surface of the scraper 200, and the upright part 102 is inserted into the seam G1 of the scraper 200, thereby holding the scraper 200 in a suspended state with the seam G1 facing upward. The insertion of the upright part 102 into the seam G1 of the scraper 200 restricts the rotation of the scraper 200 and the stack 300 about an axis. The scraper 200 can slide along the retaining part 10 while the seam G1 is guided by the extension 101.

[0043] In addition, such as Figure 1As shown, the holding portion 10 is divided along the front and back. The rear portion of the holding portion 10, which is divided along the front and back, is designated as the first guide rail 10A, and the front portion is designated as the second guide rail 10B. The stack 300 is held on the first guide rail 10A. The second guide rail 10B moves in the front-back direction as the guide rail moving portion 60 moves back and forth, thereby allowing the holding portion 10 to be in a state where the first guide rail 10A and the second guide rail 10B are connected and in a state where the first guide rail 10A and the second guide rail 10B are separated, as detailed later.

[0044] Figure 3 This is a top view of the stack 300 held in the holding part 10. (See attached image.) Figure 3 As shown, the second ejector claw 12 restricts the rotation of the scraper 200 about its axis, thereby arranging the seams G1 of the plurality of scrapers 200 in an axially aligned manner. The plurality of axially aligned seams G1 are connected, thereby forming an axially extending slit on the stack 300, as indicated by reference numeral S1. Furthermore, as... Figure 3 As shown, in top view, the stack 300 is divided into a first region R1 and a second region R2 by the slit S1. Hereinafter, among the plurality of scrapers 200 constituting the stack 300, the front scraper 200 is designated as the first scraper 201, and the scraper 200 adjacent to the first scraper 201, i.e., the second scraper 200 from the front, is designated as the second scraper 202. Furthermore, in the stack 300, the dividing line between the first scraper 201 and the second scraper 202 is designated as the dividing portion P1. The dividing portion P1 is the contact point or gap between the first scraper 201 and the second scraper 202, and is the portion used to cut the first scraper 201 from the stack 300 to divide the stack 300.

[0045] Here, piston rings are sometimes manufactured with their ends offset axially, similar to spring washers, due to deformation during molding. Like scrapers, the thinner the axial width (thickness), the greater the tendency for this deformation. In this embodiment, as... Figure 3 As shown, due to the deformation of the scraper blade 200 during molding, the two ends 200a and 200b forming the joint G1 have a front-to-back difference in the axial direction of the scraper blade 200. That is, the positions of the two ends 200a and 200b of the joint G1 of the scraper blade 200 are offset from each other in the axial direction. Therefore, in the first region R1 and the second region R2 separated by the slit S1, the front-to-back positions of the dividing part P1 are different. It should be noted that in this example, the dividing part P1 in the first region R1 is located in front of the dividing part P1 in the second region R2, but the invention is not limited to this. Alternatively, the two ends 200a and 200b of the joint G1 of the scraper blade 200 can be offset from each other in the axial direction, with the dividing part P1 in the first region R1 located behind the dividing part P1 in the second region R2.

[0046] The cutting section 20 cuts out the first scraper 201 from the stack 300 and feeds it forward along the holding section 10. (As shown) Figure 1 As shown, the cutting section 20 includes a pushing section 1, a limiting section 2, and a moving section 3.

[0047] The ejector 1 is a component that, after being inserted into the dividing portion P1 of the stack 300, moves forward (in the delivery direction of the first scraper 201), thereby advancing the first scraper 201 forward. The restraining portion 2 is a component that, together with the ejector 1, is inserted into the dividing portion P1 of the stack 300 and restrains the forward movement of the second scraper 202, thereby separating the first scraper 201 from the second scraper 202. Figure 2 As shown, the ejector 1 and the restrictor 2 are inserted into the stack body 300 from above. The insertion direction of the ejector 1 and the restrictor 2 relative to the stack body 300 is consistent with the direction from the slit S1 (seam G1) toward the hollow portion H1 of the stack body 300 (more specifically, the central axis A1 of the stack body).

[0048] In addition, such as Figure 2 As shown, the ejection part 1 consists of a pair of ejection claws 11 and 12, and the restraining part 2 consists of a pair of restraining claws 21 and 22. The pair of ejection claws 11 and 12 and the pair of restraining claws 21 and 22 are cutting edges extending vertically and inclined at their lower ends, configured to be orthogonal to the axial direction of the scraper 200 in the stack body 300, so that they can be inserted into the dividing part P1. The first ejection claw 11, one of the pair of ejection claws 11 and 12, is inserted into the dividing part P1 in the first region R1, and the second ejection claw 12, the other of the pair of ejection claws 11 and 12, is inserted into the dividing part P1 in the second region R2. Similarly, the first restraining claw 21, one of the pair of restraining claws 21 and 22, is inserted into the dividing part P1 in the first region R1, and the second restraining claw 22, the other of the pair of restraining claws 21 and 22, is inserted into the dividing part P1 in the second region R2. Here, as... Figure 2 As shown, a pair of limiting claws 21 and 22 are positioned outside a pair of ejector claws 11 and 12. Therefore, the pair of ejector claws 11 and 12 are inserted closer to the slit S1 (joint G1) than the pair of limiting claws 21 and 22. It should be noted that in this embodiment, the ejector claws 11 and 12 are located closer to the slit S1 (joint G1) than the limiting claws 21 and 22, but the limiting claws 21 and 22 could also be located closer to the slit S1 (joint G1) than the ejector claws 11 and 12. Furthermore, the number of ejector claws and limiting claws may not be two each (a pair). There may be one each of ejector claws and limiting claws, or a combination of three or more. Additionally, the number of ejector claws and limiting claws may not be the same.

[0049] The moving part 3 moves the pushing part 1 and the limiting part 2 to cut out the first scraper 201. Figure 2As shown, the moving part 3 has a moving mechanism 4 corresponding to a pair of push-out claws 11 and 12 and a pair of limiting claws 21 and 22, respectively. Hereinafter, the moving mechanism 4 for moving the first push-out claw 11 will be referred to as moving mechanism 4A, the moving mechanism 4 for moving the second push-out claw 12 will be referred to as moving mechanism 4B, the moving mechanism 4 for moving the first limiting claw 21 will be referred to as moving mechanism 4C, and the moving mechanism 4 for moving the second limiting claw 22 will be referred to as moving mechanism 4D; they will be simply referred to as moving mechanism 4 in the description without distinction. Moving mechanisms 4A, 4B, 4C, and 4D are each independently controlled by the control device 70. Figure 1 As shown, the moving mechanism 4 includes a first linear driver 41, a first moving body 42, a second moving body 43, a second linear driver 44, a connecting member 45, an arm 46, and a linear guide rail 47.

[0050] The first linear actuator 41 is configured to include: a servo motor controlled by a control device 70, a ball screw that rotates driven by the servo motor, a traveling body that reciprocates back and forth with the rotation of the ball screw, and a linear guide rail that guides the forward and backward movement of the traveling body. The first moving body 42 is a plate-shaped member connected to the first linear actuator 41 and moving in the forward and backward direction in response to the drive of the first linear actuator 41. The second moving body 43 is a plate-shaped member connected to the first moving body 42 via a linear guide rail 47. The second linear actuator 44 is a linear actuator controlled by the control device 70. The second linear actuator 44 has a rod 441 that reciprocates up and down. The connecting member 45 is a member that connects the second moving body 43 and the rod 441. The second moving body 43 is connected to the rod 441, thereby allowing the second moving body 43 to move in the up and down direction in response to the drive of the second linear actuator 44. In this embodiment, a floating joint with spherical contact is used as the connecting member 45. Linear guide 47 is a component that guides the vertical movement of the second moving body 43. In this embodiment, an LM guide rail (registered trademark) utilizing the rolling of a ball is used as the linear guide 47. Arm 46 is a component that connects the second moving body 43 to the push-out portion 1 and the limiting portion 2. Arm 46 extends forward from the second moving body 43, and the upper ends of the push-out portion 1 and the limiting portion 2 are connected to the lower surface of the front end of arm 46. The first moving body 42 moves in the front-rear direction in response to the drive of the first linear actuator 41, thereby moving the push-out portion 1 and the limiting portion 2 in the front-rear direction. Furthermore, the second moving body 43 moves in the vertical direction in response to the drive of the second linear actuator 44, thereby moving the push-out portion 1 and the limiting portion 2 in the vertical direction.

[0051] The camera 30 is an imaging device that is disposed above the holding part 10 together with an illumination device (not shown), and captures images of the stack 300 in response to the control of the control device 70. Figure 2As shown, the cutting device 100 has two cameras 30A and 30B. Camera 30A acquires an image of the first region R1 of the stack 300, and camera 30B acquires an image of the second region R2.

[0052] The pusher 40 and the stop 50 are components that move in the front-rear direction in response to the control of the control device 70, and position the scraper 200 and the stack 300 by abutting against them. The pusher 40 is disposed behind the stack 300, and the stop 50 is disposed in front of the stack 300.

[0053] The guide rail moving part 60 is a component that supports the second guide rail 10B and moves the second guide rail 10B in the front-back direction in response to the control of the control device 70. The guide rail moving part 60 is configured to include a servo motor, a ball screw, a traveling body, and a linear guide rail, etc.

[0054] The control device 70 includes a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), input / output interfaces, etc., and controls the cutting section 20, camera 30, pusher 40, stop 50, and guide rail moving section 60 by executing a predetermined program. The control device 70, as a processing unit, has a control unit 701 and a detection unit 702. The control unit 701 controls the cutting section 20, pusher 40, stop 50, and guide rail moving section 60. The detection unit 702 detects the boundary lines of adjacent scrapers 200 in the stack 300 based on the image acquired by the camera 30. The processing performed by the detection unit 702 will be described in detail later.

[0055] [Method for cutting out piston rings]

[0056] The following describes a method for cutting the first scraper 201 from the front end of the stack 300 using the cutting device 100 (piston ring cutting method). Figure 4 This is a flowchart of a piston ring cutting method performed by the cutting device 100. First, in the image acquisition step S10, images of the first region R1 and the second region R2 of the stack 300 are acquired by the camera 30. Figure 5 This is a side view of the cutting device 100 used to explain the image acquisition process. In the image acquisition process, firstly, the stack 300 is positioned at a predetermined shooting position within the field of view of the camera 30. The positioning of the stack 300 is performed by a pusher 40 and a stop 50. Specifically, the pusher 40 is advanced under the control of the control unit 701 of the control device 70, thereby pushing the stack 300 forward until it abuts against the stop 50, which is waiting in the predetermined position. Thus, as... Figure 5As shown, the stop 50 is in contact with the front end (first scraper 201) of the stack 300, and the pusher 40 is in contact with the rear end of the stack 300, thus positioning the stack 300 in the shooting position. With the stack 300 positioned in the shooting position, the first region R1 is captured by camera 30A, and the second region R2 is captured by camera 30B, thereby acquiring images of the first region R1 and the second region R2. Figure 6 This is an example diagram showing an image acquired through camera 30. Figure 6 As an example, the image of the first region R1 acquired by camera 30A is illustrated. Figure 6 As shown, the camera 30 acquires an image that includes at least the boundary line B1 between the first scraper 201 and the second scraper 202.

[0057] Next, in the segmentation detection process of step S20, the detection unit 702 of the control device 70 acquires images of the first region R1 and the second region R2 from the camera 30, and detects the segmentation portion P1 of each of the first region R1 and the second region R2. Here, as Figure 6 As shown, in the stack 300, there are multiple boundary lines of adjacent scrapers 200. Among these multiple boundary lines, the nth boundary line (n is an integer) starting from the front end (front side) of the stack 300 is designated as boundary line Bn. In the image processing performed by the detection unit 702, edge detection is performed on the acquired image, thereby detecting the boundary lines of the scrapers 200 in the stack 300. Then, from the detected multiple boundary lines, the detection unit 702 determines the boundary line closest to the front end of the stack 300 as the segmentation region P1. Thus, the boundary line B1 between the first scraper 201 and the second scraper 202 is determined as segmentation region P1.

[0058] Next, in the insertion process of step S30, the ejection part 1 and the restriction part 2 are inserted into the dividing part P1. Figure 7 This is a side view of the cutting device 100 used to explain the insertion process. Figure 8 It is a top view showing the positional relationship between the ejector and restraint parts and the stack during the insertion process. Figure 9 This is a side view of the cutting device 100 used to explain the insertion process. Figure 10 This is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the dividing part of the cutting device 100 in the insertion process.

[0059] In the insertion process, firstly, as... Figure 7As shown, the ejector 1 and the restrictor 2 are moved in the front-back direction, thereby aligning their positions in the front-back direction with those of the dividing portion P1. More specifically, the control unit 701 of the control device 70 drives the first linear actuator 41 of the moving mechanism 4 based on the detection result of the detection unit 702 in the dividing portion detection process, thereby moving the first moving body 42 in the front-back direction and positioning the ejector 1 and the restrictor 2 directly above the dividing portion P1. As described above, in the stack 300, a front-back difference (positional offset of the two ends 200a and 200b in the axial direction) occurs at the seam G1 of the scraper 200, therefore the positions of the dividing portion P1 in the front-back direction differ in the first region R1 and the second region R2. Therefore, the control unit 701 independently controls the first linear driver 41 of the moving mechanism 4A, the first linear driver 41 of the moving mechanism 4B, the first linear driver 41 of the moving mechanism 4C, and the first linear driver 41 of the moving mechanism 4B, thereby positioning the first ejector pawl 11, the second ejector pawl 12, the first limiting pawl 21, and the second limiting pawl 22 directly above the corresponding P1. Thus, as... Figure 8 As shown, the first ejector claw 11 and the first restraining claw 21 are positioned directly above the segmented portion P1 in the first region R1, and the second ejector claw 12 and the second restraining claw 22 are positioned directly above the segmented portion P1 in the second region R2. In the axial direction of the scraper 200 in the stack 300, the first ejector claw 11 and the first restraining claw 21 are positioned at the same location as each other, and the second ejector claw 12 and the second restraining claw 22 are positioned at the same location as each other, but further back towards the rear end of the stack 300 than the first ejector claw 11 and the first restraining claw 21.

[0060] In the insertion process, then, as Figure 9 As shown, the ejector 1 and the restrictor 2 are moved downwards (in the insertion direction), thereby inserting the ejector 1 and the restrictor 2 into the dividing portion P1. More specifically, the control unit 701 drives the second linear actuator 44 of the moving mechanism 4, thereby causing the second moving body 43 to descend, thereby inserting the ejector 1 and the restrictor 2 into the dividing portion P1. Thus, as Figure 10As shown, the first ejector claw 11 and the first restraining claw 21 are inserted into the dividing portion P1 in the first region R1, and the second ejector claw 12 and the second restraining claw 22 are inserted into the dividing portion P1 in the second region R2. Thus, the ejector portion 1 and the restraining portion 2 are positioned between the first scraper blade 201 and the second scraper blade 202. Here, as described above, the connecting member 45 connecting the rod 441 of the second linear actuator 44 and the second moving body 43 is a floating joint. Therefore, the ejector portion 1 and the restraining portion 2, connected to the rod 441 via the arm 46 and the connecting member 45, can be displaced within a small range relative to the rod 441 in the axial direction (i.e., the front-to-back direction) of the scraper blade 200. Therefore, the offset when the ejector portion 1 and the restraining portion 2 are offset from the dividing portion P1 in the front-to-back direction, and the deflection angle when the ejector portion 1 and the restraining portion 2 are tilted relative to the vertical direction, are absorbed, and the ejector portion 1 and the restraining portion 2 can be easily inserted into the dividing portion P1.

[0061] Next, in the separation process of step S40, the first scraper 201 is separated from the stack 300 and sent forward along the holding part 10. Figure 11 and Figure 12 This is a side view of the cutting device 100 used to illustrate the separation process. Figure 13 This is a top view showing the positional relationship between the ejection part 1 and the restraint part 2 and the stack 300 during the separation process. (Example) Figure 11 and Figure 12 As shown, the separation process is carried out with the first guide rail 10A and the second guide rail 10B in contact, and the first scraper 201, held in place by the first guide rail 10A, is sent to a predetermined handover position on the second guide rail 10B. In the separation process, firstly, as... Figure 11 As shown, the stop 50, which abuts against the first scraper 201, is moved forward, thereby setting the first scraper 201 to a state where it can move to the intersection position. Next, as... Figure 12 As shown, with the limiting part 2 remaining, only the ejector part 1 is advanced, thereby separating the first scraper 201 from the stack 300. Specifically, the control unit 701 drives the first linear driver 41 of the moving mechanism 4A corresponding to the first ejector pawl 11 and the first linear driver 41 of the moving mechanism 4B corresponding to the second ejector pawl 12, thereby advancing the first moving body 42 of the moving mechanism 4A and the first moving body 42 of the moving mechanism 4B, thereby advancing the first ejector pawl 11 and the second ejector pawl 12. On the other hand, the control unit 701 does not move the first linear driver 41 of the moving mechanism 4C corresponding to the first limiting pawl 21 and the first linear driver 41 of the moving mechanism 4D corresponding to the second limiting pawl 22, thereby not changing the positions of the first limiting pawl 21 and the second limiting pawl 22. Thus, as Figure 12As shown, only the pushing part 1 advances while the limiting part 2 remains. That is, the pushing part 1 moves forward relative to the limiting part 2, separating from the limiting part 2 in the front-rear direction. The pushing part 1 advances, thereby pushing the first scraper 201 forward. On the other hand, the limiting part 2 abuts against the second scraper 202, thereby restricting the second scraper 202 from following the first scraper 201 forward. Thus, the first scraper 201 and the second scraper 202 separate. As a result, the first scraper 201 separates from the stack 300 and is pushed forward. The pushing part 1 advances to the position where the first scraper 201 abuts against the stop member 50. Thus, the first scraper 201 reaches the intersection position with the second guide rail 10B.

[0062] Next, in the handover process of step S50, the first scraper 201 is delivered to the assembly line. Figure 14 This is a side view of the cutting device 100 used to explain the handover process. (Example) Figure 13 As shown, in the handover process, the control unit 701 drives the guide rail moving unit 60 to advance the second guide rail 10B, thereby separating the first guide rail 10A from the second guide rail 10B. This allows the holding unit 10 to be pulled out from the first scraper 201, thus enabling the first scraper 201 to be removed. The first scraper 201 is then removed from the cutting device 100 by a removal device (not shown) and sent to the next production line process.

[0063] Through the above steps S10 to S50, the first scraper 201 at the front end is cut out from the stack 300. The steps S10 to S50 are repeated to cut the scrapers 200 one by one from the stack 300.

[0064] [Function / Effect]

[0065] As described above, the cutting device 100 of this embodiment includes: a holding part 10 that extends in the shape of a guide rail and is inserted into the hollow part H1 of a stack 300 formed by overlapping a plurality of scrapers 200 in the axial direction to form a cylindrical stack, thereby holding the stack 300; a cutting part 20 that separates the first scraper 201 at the front end from the stack 300 held in the holding part 10 and sends the first scraper 201 out along the holding part 10; and a detection part 702 that detects the boundary line of the adjacent scrapers 200 in the stack 300. Then, based on the detection result of the detection unit 702, after inserting the push-out unit 1 and the limiting unit 2 into the dividing line, i.e. the dividing part P1, of the first scraper 201 and the second scraper 202 adjacent to the first scraper 201, the moving unit 3 moves the push-out unit 1 in the delivery direction while the second scraper 202 is restricted from moving in the delivery direction (forward) by the limiting unit 2, thereby separating the first scraper 201 from the stack body 300 and delivering the first scraper 201 along the holding part 10.

[0066] According to this cutting device 100, the dividing line of adjacent scrapers 200 is detected by the detection unit 702, so that even if there is a front-to-back difference in the joint G1 of the scrapers 200, the push-out part 1 and the limiting part 2 can be inserted into the dividing part P1. Moreover, after the push-out part 1 and the limiting part 2 are inserted into the dividing part P1, with the movement of the second scraper 202 in the delivery direction restricted by the limiting part 2, the push-out part 1 moves the first scraper 201 in the delivery direction, thereby reliably separating the first scraper 201 and the second scraper 202, and preventing the second scraper 202 from following the first scraper 201 in the delivery direction. Accordingly, the scrapers 200 can be reliably cut out one by one from the stack 300. As a result, cutting defects can be reduced. In particular, even in the cutting of piston rings with a thin width (axial thickness) such as scrapers, the piston rings can be reliably cut out one by one.

[0067] Furthermore, in the cutting device 100 of this embodiment, the holding part 10 holds a plurality of scrapers 200 such that a slit S1 extending axially is formed on the stack body 300 by arranging the scrapers 200 through the seams G1. The pushing part 1 and the limiting part 2 insert the dividing portion P1 along the direction from the slit S1 toward the hollow portion H1 of the stack body. Furthermore, when viewed from the insertion direction of the pushing part 1 and the limiting part 2 relative to the dividing portion P1, the stack body 300 is divided into a first region R1 and a second region R2 with the slit S1 as the boundary. The pushing part 1 includes a first pushing claw 11 inserted into the dividing portion P1 in the first region R1 and a second pushing claw 12 inserted into the dividing portion P1 in the second region R2. The limiting part 2 includes a first limiting claw 21 inserted into the dividing portion P1 in the first region R1 and a second limiting claw 22 inserted into the dividing portion P1 in the second region R2.

[0068] In other words, the cutting device 100 is configured such that the push-out part 1 and the limiting part 2 are inserted into the respective dividing portions P1 of the first region R1 and the second region R2, separated by the slit S1. When the positions of the two ends 200a and 200b of the piston ring seam G1 are offset from each other axially, adjacent piston rings in the stack tend to easily become entangled near the seam. In contrast, the cutting device 100 inserts the push-out part 1 and the limiting part 2 on both sides of the seam G1 (slit S1) and performs a separation action between the first scraper 201 and the second scraper 202 on both sides of the seam G1, thereby reliably separating the first scraper 201 and the second scraper 202. As a result, the scrapers 200 can be cut out one by one from the stack 300 more reliably.

[0069] In a stacked assembly, due to deformation during piston ring forming, the positions of the segmented portions along the axial direction (i.e., the delivery direction) of the piston rings in the first and second regions may differ. In contrast, in this embodiment, when the ejector 1 and the restrictor 2 are inserted into the segmented portions, the first ejector claw 11 and the first restrictor claw 21 are positioned identically along the axial direction of the scraper 200 in the stacked assembly 300, while the second ejector claw 12 and the second restrictor claw 22 are positioned identically but offset from the first ejector claw 11 and the first restrictor claw 21. This allows the ejector 1 and the restrictor 2 to be inserted into the segmented portions P1 of both the first region R1 and the second region R2.

[0070] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the detection unit 702 acquires images of the first region R1 and the second region R2, and detects the segmentation portion P1 in each of the first region R1 and the second region R2 based on the acquired images. As described above, sometimes the positions of the axial segmentation portions of the piston ring in the first region and the second region are different, but in the case of the cutting device 100 of this embodiment, detecting the segmentation portion P1 in each of the first region R1 and the second region R2 allows the ejection unit 1 and the restraining unit 2 to be reliably inserted into the segmentation portion P1 in each of the first region R1 and the second region R2.

[0071] Furthermore, the moving part 3 includes a rod 441 of a second linear actuator 44 that moves the ejector part 1 and the limiting part 2 relative to the insertion direction of the dividing part P1. The ejector part 1 and the limiting part 2 are connected to the rod 441 via a connecting member 45, which serves as a floating joint, so that they can be displaced axially relative to the rod 441 within the scraper 200 of the stack 300. This absorbs the offset when the ejector part 1 and the limiting part 2 are misaligned with the dividing part P1 in the axial direction of the scraper 200, and the deflection angle when the ejector part 1 and the limiting part 2 are tilted relative to the insertion direction, allowing for easy insertion of the ejector part 1 and the limiting part 2 into the dividing part P1. Therefore, the ejector part 1 and the limiting part 2 can be reliably inserted into the dividing part P1. It should be noted that the rod 441 is an example of the "insertion part" of the present invention.

[0072] <Other>

[0073] The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, but the cutting device of the embodiments can be modified, improved, or combined in various ways. For example, in the above embodiments, the holding part is provided horizontally, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0074] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures

[0075] 100: Cutting device;

[0076] 10: Maintaining section;

[0077] 20: Cut-out portion;

[0078] 30: Camera;

[0079] 1: Launch Department;

[0080] 11: First, push out the claw;

[0081] 12: The second claw is launched;

[0082] 2: Restriction section;

[0083] 21: First limiting claw;

[0084] 22: Second limiting claw;

[0085] 3: Mobile Department;

[0086] 4: Mobile mechanism.

Claims

1. A piston ring cutting device, comprising: The retaining part extends in the shape of a guide rail and is inserted into the hollow part of a cylindrical stack formed by multiple piston rings overlapping axially, thereby retaining the stack. The cutting section separates the piston ring at the front end from the stack body held in the holding section and feeds the piston ring at the front end along the holding section; and The detection unit detects the boundary lines between adjacent piston rings in the stack. The cutting portion includes: a pushing portion, a limiting portion, and a moving portion that moves the pushing portion and the limiting portion. Based on the detection result of the detection unit, after inserting the ejector and the limiting part into the dividing line (i.e., the splitting part) of the piston ring at the front end and the piston ring adjacent to the piston ring at the front end in the stack body, the moving part moves the ejector in the delivery direction, thereby separating the piston ring at the front end from the stack body and delivering the piston ring at the front end along the holding part.

2. The piston ring cutting device according to claim 1, wherein, The retaining part holds the stack as a slit formed on the stack by the seam arrangement of multiple piston rings extending axially on the stack. The ejector and the limiting portion are inserted into the dividing portion along the direction from the slit toward the hollow portion of the stack. When viewed from the insertion direction of the ejection portion and the restriction portion relative to the segmented portion, the stack is divided into a first region and a second region with the slit as the boundary. The ejection part includes a first ejection claw that inserts into the segment in the first region and a second ejection claw that inserts into the segment in the second region. The limiting part includes a first limiting claw inserted into the segment in the first region and a second limiting claw inserted into the segment in the second region.

3. The piston ring cutting device according to claim 2, wherein, The detection unit acquires images of the first region and the second region, and detects the segmentation regions in each of the first region and the second region based on the acquired images.

4. The piston ring cutting device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein, The moving part includes an insertion member that moves in the insertion direction of the pushing part and the limiting part relative to the segmented portion of the stack. The ejector and the limiting portion are connected to the insert member in a state where they can be displaced axially relative to the piston ring in the stack relative to the insert member.

Images