Material pressurizing device

Abstract

This invention provides a material pressing device that suppresses energy consumption such as electricity or air and is capable of pressing materials. One aspect of the material pressing device according to this invention includes: a container for containing a viscous material; a pressing member slidably disposed inside the container and pressing the material; and a dispensing mechanism for dispensing the pressed material. The material pressing device further includes: a hammer for applying a load to the pressing member; and a guiding mechanism for guiding the pressing member in a vertical direction.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a material pressing and conveying device. Background Technology

[0002] Material feeding devices are used, for example, to dispense sealing material from workpieces. A typical material feeding device, such as that disclosed in Patent Document 1, is configured to lower a pressing member via an electric lifting device, press the material contained in a container, and feed it.

[0003] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2011-245363 Summary of the Invention

[0004] The applicant has identified the following issue: General material conveying devices require electricity because they use an electric lifting device to lower the pressing component.

[0005] This invention provides a material pressing and conveying device that suppresses the use of energy such as electricity or air, and is capable of pressing and conveying materials.

[0006] One aspect of the present invention relates to a material feeding device comprising: a container for containing a viscous material; a pressing member slidably disposed inside the container for pressing the material; and a dispensing mechanism for dispensing the pressed material. The material feeding device further comprises: a hammer for applying a load to the pressing member; and a guiding mechanism for guiding the pressing member in a vertical direction.

[0007] In the above-described material feeding device, preferably, the guiding mechanism has: a guiding portion extending in a vertical direction; a mounting portion capable of moving along the guiding portion in a vertical direction and mounting the hammer; and a connecting portion connecting the mounting portion and the pressing member. The material feeding device also has: a lifting mechanism for lifting the mounting portion upwards; and an arm member protruding from the mounting portion toward the lifting mechanism. When the mounting portion is moved below a predetermined length, there is a gap between the lifting mechanism and the arm member. In this state, when the lifting mechanism performs an upward movement of the gap amount, the lifting mechanism contacts the arm member.

[0008] In the above-mentioned material conveying device, it is preferable that the guide part is a linear guide rail.

[0009] In the above-described material feeding device, preferably, the weight of the hammer is greater than or equal to the sum of the load to be applied to the sealing portion of the pressing member and the frictional force between the container and the pressing member caused by the tilting of the pressing member when the load is applied to the pressing member.

[0010] Invention Effects

[0011] According to the present invention, a material pressing device can be realized that suppresses the use of energy such as electricity or air and is capable of pressing materials. Attached Figure Description

[0012] Figure 1 This is a simplified diagram illustrating the material conveying device of an embodiment.

[0013] Figure 2 This is a cross-sectional view of the pressing component in the material feeding device of the embodiment.

[0014] Figure 3 It is a graph showing the relationship between the tilt of the pressing part relative to the container and the frictional force between the container and the pressing part.

[0015] Figure 4 It is a graph showing the weight of each hammer when it is placed on the mounting part of the guide mechanism, and the tilt of the pressing part relative to the container. Detailed Implementation

[0016] Hereinafter, specific embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments. Furthermore, for the sake of clarity, the following description and drawings are appropriately simplified.

[0017] First, the structure of the material feeding device in this embodiment will be explained. Figure 1 This is a simplified diagram illustrating the material feeding device of this embodiment. In the following description, a three-dimensional (XYZ) coordinate system will be used for clarity.

[0018] Additionally, for example, the X-axis + side is the right side of the material conveying device, the X-axis - side is the left side of the material conveying device, the Y-axis + side is the front side of the material conveying device, the Y-axis - side is the rear side of the material conveying device, the Z-axis + side is the upper side of the material conveying device, and the Z-axis - side is the lower side of the material conveying device.

[0019] Material feeding device 1, for example, is suitable for discharging materials such as sealing materials applied between the housing and outer shell of a transmission drive axle, a representative example of a workpiece. Figure 1 As shown, the material conveying device 1 includes a column 2, a container 3, a pressing component 4, a dispensing mechanism 5, a guiding mechanism 6, a hammer 7, a lifting mechanism 8, and an arm component 9.

[0020] like Figure 1 As shown, column 2 is a frame that is roughly inverted T-shaped when viewed from the X-axis direction. For example, column 2 has a base portion 2a and a support portion 2b. The base portion 2a is, for example, a plate shape that is roughly parallel to the XY plane.

[0021] like Figure 1As shown, the support column 2b rises from the base 2a toward the Z-axis + side. In this case, as described later, the column 2 can be configured as a rigid structure so that the support column 2b does not tilt when the material M is pressed down with the pressing member 4.

[0022] like Figure 1 As shown, container 3 contains material M. Container 3 is, for example, a bottomed cylindrical shape with an opening on the Z-axis + side. Container 3 is, for example, positioned on the Y-axis + side relative to the support portion 2b of column 2, and is supported by the base portion 2a of column 2.

[0023] like Figure 1 As shown, the pressing member 4 is slidably disposed inside the container 3 along the Z-axis direction and presses the material M. Here, Figure 2 This is a cross-sectional view showing the pressing component in the material feeding device of this embodiment.

[0024] For example, such as Figure 2 As shown, the pressing member 4 includes a connecting portion 4a, a pressing portion 4b, and a sealing portion 4c. The connecting portion 4a includes a flat plate portion 4d and a flange portion 4e. The flat plate portion 4d is arranged substantially parallel to the XY plane and has an outer shape corresponding to the inner shape of the container 3. The flat plate portion 4d has a through portion 4f approximately at its center.

[0025] like Figure 2 As shown, the flange portion 4e is approximately cylindrical when viewed from the Z-axis direction and protrudes from the flat plate portion 4d toward the Z-axis+ side. The central axis of the flange portion 4e and the central axis of the through portion 4f of the flat plate portion 4d are approximately aligned on the same axis. Furthermore, the interior of the flange portion 4e is continuous with the through portion 4f of the flat plate portion 4d.

[0026] like Figure 2 As shown, the pressing part 4b is disposed on the Z-axis side relative to the connecting part 4a, and is fixed to the connecting part 4a at a predetermined interval in the Z-axis direction. The pressing part 4b is a plate shape that is substantially parallel to the XY plane, and has an outer shape that corresponds to the inner shape of the container 3. The pressing part 4b has a through part 4g at approximately the center.

[0027] The sealing part 4c is made of a resin that can elastically deform, for example, such as... Figure 2 As shown, it is roughly cylindrical in shape. The sealing part 4c is disposed in the gap between the connecting part 4a and the pressing part 4b to block the gap. When viewed from the Z-axis direction, the outer peripheral edge of the sealing part 4c protrudes outward from the outer peripheral edges of the connecting part 4a and the pressing part 4b.

[0028] The dispensing mechanism 5 is, for example, a pump cylinder or other pressure conveying mechanism, which presses the material M pressed by the pressed component 4. Figure 1 As shown, the ejection mechanism 5 is supported on the mounting portion 6b of the guide mechanism 6 in a continuous state with the flange portion 4e of the pressing member 4.

[0029] The guide mechanism 6 guides the pressing component 4 in the Z-axis direction. For example, as... Figure 1 As shown, the guide mechanism 6 includes a guide portion 6a, a mounting portion 6b, and a connecting portion 6c. The guide portion 6a is, for example, a linear guide rail, and includes a guide rail 6d and a slider 6e.

[0030] like Figure 1 As shown, guide rail 6d extends along the Z-axis and is fixed to the Y-axis+ side end of the support portion 2b of column 2. Slider 6e moves along guide rail 6d in the Z-axis direction. Slider 6e protrudes from guide rail 6d toward the Y-axis+ side.

[0031] like Figure 1 As shown, the mounting portion 6b is a plate shape that is approximately parallel to the XY plane and protrudes from the slider 6e toward the Y-axis+ side. At this time, the ejection mechanism 5 is fixed approximately to the center of the mounting portion 6b in the X-axis direction. Furthermore, as described later, the mounting portion 6b can be rigidly fixed to the slider 6e so that the mounting portion 6b will not tilt when the material M is pressed by the pressing member 4.

[0032] like Figure 1 As shown, the connecting part 6c connects the connecting part 4a of the pressing member 4 and the mounting part 6b of the guide mechanism 6. The connecting part 6c is a column shape extending along the Z-axis direction, and when viewed from the Z-axis direction, it can be configured such that the intervals around the central axis AX1 of the pressing member 4 are approximately equal.

[0033] Here, the central axis AX1 of the pressing member 4 is, for example, an axis that passes through the center O1 of the pressing member 4 and is orthogonal to the Z-axis side surface of the pressing part 4b. In addition, the center O1 of the pressing member 4 is, for example, disposed on the Z-axis side surface of the pressing part 4b.

[0034] like Figure 1 As shown, the hammer 7 is placed on the mounting portion 6b of the guide mechanism 6. At this time, for example, when viewed from the Z-axis direction, hammers 7 with approximately the same weight can be arranged at approximately equal intervals around the central axis AX1 of the pressing member 4.

[0035] The lifting mechanism 8 is, for example, an electric actuator, a jack, or a manual lift, or a telescopic mechanism. The lifting mechanism 8 is, for example, disposed on the Y-axis side relative to the support portion 2b of the column 2, and is supported by the base portion 2a of the column 2.

[0036] The arm component 9 protrudes from the mounting portion 6b toward the Y-axis side via the slider 6e of the guide mechanism 6. At this time, the arm component 9 is shaped so that it will not interfere with the column 2 or the guide mechanism 6 when it moves along the Z-axis direction, and the end of the arm component 9 on the Y-axis side is positioned on the Z-axis+ side relative to the lifting mechanism 8.

[0037] Here, for example, it is preferable to position the mounting portion 6b at a height in the Z-axis direction where the lifting mechanism 8 is most contracted and the material M inside the container 3 is approximately empty. In other words, with the arm member 9 in place, a gap G can be formed between the end of the lifting mechanism 8 on the Z-axis+ side and the end of the arm member 9 on the Z-axis- side. That is, it is preferable to have a structure in which the arm member 9 does not come into contact with the lifting mechanism 8 when it moves toward the Z-axis- side.

[0038] Next, the operation of the material feeding device 1 when feeding material using the material feeding device 1 of this embodiment will be described. The weight of the hammer 7 is transmitted to the pressing member 4 via the connecting part 6c of the guide mechanism 6. The pressing member 4 is guided by the guide part 6a of the guide mechanism 6 and moves towards the Z-axis side, pressing the material M.

[0039] As a result, material M flows out from the flange 4e of the pressing member 4, and the ejection mechanism 5 ejects the material M that is flowing out from the flange 4e of the pressing member 4. Thus, the material feeding device 1 presses the material M by moving the pressing member 4 towards the Z-axis side due to the weight of the hammer 7.

[0040] In particular, in this embodiment, the load for pressing the material M is applied to the pressing member 4 only by the weight of the components constituting the material pressing device 1 including the hammer 7. Therefore, the lifting device used in a general material pressing device 1 can be omitted, the energy consumption such as electricity or air can be suppressed, and the material M can be pressed.

[0041] Furthermore, since the arm component 9 does not come into contact with the lifting mechanism 8 when it moves toward the Z-axis, the power to press down on the lifting mechanism 8 is not required when the pressing component 4 presses down on the material M, and the weight of the hammer 7 can be effectively used for the load of pressing the material M.

[0042] Furthermore, by configuring the column 2 with high rigidity or using a linear guide in the guide portion 6a of the guide mechanism 6, it is possible to suppress the tilting of the pressing member 4 relative to the container 3 and to move the pressing member 4 towards the Z-axis. Therefore, the weight of the hammer 7 can be effectively used to apply load to the pressing material M.

[0043] Next, the operation of the material feeding device 1 when filling the container 3 with material M will be described. For example, when the material M in the container 3 is approximately empty when the loading part 6b moves to the Z-axis side, if the lifting mechanism 8 extends, i.e., the lifting action gap G, the Z-axis+ side end of the lifting mechanism 8 contacts the Z-axis-side end of the arm member 9.

[0044] In this state, the lifting mechanism 8 is further extended, and the pressing member 4 is moved towards the Z-axis + side via the arm member 9 and the guide mechanism 6, thereby pulling the pressing member 4 out of the container 3. Then, material M is filled into the interior of the container 3. Thus, material M can be filled into the container 3 with a simple structure.

[0045] Then, the lifting mechanism 8 is retracted, and the pressing member 4 is moved towards the Z-axis side via the guiding mechanism 6 to press into the interior of the container 3. At the same time, the air inside the container 3 is expelled by the ejection mechanism 5, so that the material M can be pressed by the pressing member 4. At this time, the lifting mechanism 8 is in its most retracted state.

[0046] Next, the process of setting the weight of the hammer 7 in the material feeding device 1 of this embodiment will be described. Figure 3 It is a graph showing the relationship between the tilt of the pressing part relative to the container and the frictional force between the container and the pressing part.

[0047] Here, the inclination of the pressing member 4 relative to the container 3 is, for example, the inclination of the central axis AX1 of the pressing member 4 relative to the Z-axis. Then, Figure 3 The tilt of the pressing member 4 relative to the container 3 on the horizontal axis increases as it moves towards the right, and the friction between the container 3 and the pressing member 4 on the vertical axis increases as it moves upward. Furthermore, the friction between the container 3 and the pressing member 4 is, for example, the friction between the container 3 and the pressing member 4 at the end of the pressing member 4 on the Y-axis+ side.

[0048] Figure 4 This is a diagram showing the inclination of the pressing component relative to the container when the hammers are placed on the mounting section of the guide mechanism, representing the weight of each hammer. Here, in Figure 4 In the diagram, the Y-axis coordinates and Z-axis coordinates of the center O1 of the pressing member 4 on the central axis AX1 of the pressing member 4 and the intersection point O2 of the central axis AX1 of the pressing member 4 and the Z-axis+ side of the mounting part 6b of the guide mechanism 6 are shown according to the weight of each hammer 7.

[0049] Then, Figure 4 The Y-axis coordinate of the horizontal axis increases towards the left as the orientation moves to the left, while the Z-axis coordinate of the vertical axis increases towards the top as the orientation moves to the top. Figure 3 and Figure 4 Charts, for example, can be pre-exported through computer-aided engineering (CAE) analysis.

[0050] Based on the rigidity of the column 2 or guide mechanism 6, the tilt of the pressing member 4 relative to the container 3 is set (e.g., tilt 1). Then, based on the set tilt of the pressing member 4 relative to the container 3, Figure 3The relationship between the inclination of the pressing member 4 relative to the container 3 and the frictional force between the container 3 and the pressing member 4 is used to determine the frictional force (e.g., frictional force 2) between the container 3 and the pressing member 4.

[0051] At this time, in the material pressing device 1 of this embodiment, since the column 2 and the like are configured to be highly rigid or a linear guide is used in the guide portion 6a of the guide mechanism 6, the tilt of the pressing member 4 relative to the container 3 can be reduced. As a result, the friction between the container 3 and the pressing member 4 can also be reduced.

[0052] Next, based on the set tilt of the pressing component 4 relative to the container 3, Figure 4 The relationship between the weight of the hammer 7 and the tilt of the pressing member 4 relative to the container 3, as shown, will allow for a certain tilt of the pressing member 4 relative to the container 3 (e.g., Figure 4 The heaviest value below the tilt 3) is set as the weight of hammer 7 (e.g., the weight of hammer 4 that can be allowed).

[0053] At this time, the value obtained by subtracting the set friction force between the container 3 and the pressing member 4 from the weight of the hammer 7 becomes the load of the pressing member 4 pressing the material M, in other words, it becomes the load that can be applied to the sealing part 4c. However, since the weight of the hammer 7 is set to the maximum value below the allowable tilt of the pressing member 4 relative to the container 3, the pressing member 4 can press the material M sufficiently and can suppress air intrusion between the pressing member 4 and the material M.

[0054] Thus, the material pressing device 1 of this embodiment presses the material M by moving the pressing member 4 toward the Z-axis side by the weight of the hammer 7. Therefore, for example, the lifting device used in a general material pressing device 1 can be omitted, the amount of energy used such as electricity or air can be suppressed, and the material M can be pressed.

[0055] Furthermore, since the arm component 9 does not come into contact with the lifting mechanism 8 when it moves toward the Z-axis, the power to press down on the lifting mechanism 8 is not required when the pressing component 4 presses down on the material M, and the weight of the hammer 7 can be effectively used for the load of pressing the material M.

[0056] Furthermore, by configuring the column 2 with high rigidity or using a linear guide in the guide portion 6a of the guide mechanism 6, it is possible to suppress the tilting of the pressing member 4 relative to the container 3 and to move the pressing member 4 towards the Z-axis. Therefore, the weight of the hammer 7 can be effectively used to apply load to the pressing material M.

[0057] Furthermore, taking the material feeding device 1 of the above embodiment as an example, any structure capable of applying a load to the pressing member 4 by the weight of the hammer 7 is acceptable. Therefore, the material feeding device 1 can be supplementarily equipped with a lifting device.

[0058] Furthermore, taking the hammer 7 setting method in the above embodiment as an example, in short, the weight of the hammer 7 can be set in a way that can suppress air intrusion between the pressing member 4 and the material M.

[0059] This invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and appropriate changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

[0060] Symbol Explanation

[0061] 1-Material pressing device, 2-Column, 2a-Base part, 2b-Support part, 3-Container, 4-Pressing component, 4a-Connecting part, 4b-Pressing part, 4c-Sealing part, 4d-Plate part, 4e-Flange part, 4f-Through part, 4g-Through part, 5-Discharge mechanism, 6-Guiding mechanism, 6a-Guiding part, 6b-Placement part, 6c-Connecting part, 6d-Guide rail, 6e-Slider, 7-Hammer, 8-Lifting mechanism, 9-Arm component, AX1-Central axis of the pressing component, G-Gap, M-Material, O1-Center of the pressing component, O2-Intersection of the central axis of the pressing component and the Z-axis+side surface of the placement part of the guiding mechanism.

Claims

1. A material conveying device comprising: a container for containing a viscous material; a pressing member slidably disposed inside the container and pressing the material; and a dispensing mechanism for dispensing the pressed material, the material conveying device being characterized in that it comprises: A hammer that applies a load to the pressing component; and A guiding mechanism that guides the pressing component in the vertical direction.

2. The material conveying device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The guiding mechanism has: The guide section extends vertically. A mounting portion, which is movable in the vertical direction along the guide portion, and mounts the hammer; and The connecting part connects the mounting part and the pressing member. The material conveying device has the following features: A lifting mechanism that lifts the mounting portion upwards; and An arm component that protrudes from the mounting portion toward the lifting mechanism side. When the mounting part is moved below a predetermined length, there is a gap between the lifting mechanism and the arm component. When the lifting mechanism performs an upward movement according to the gap amount in this state, the lifting mechanism comes into contact with the arm component.

3. The material conveying device according to claim 2, characterized in that, The guide section is a linear guide rail.

4. The material conveying device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The weight of the hammer is greater than or equal to the sum of the load to be applied to the sealing portion of the pressing member and the frictional force between the container and the pressing member caused by the tilting of the pressing member when the load is applied to the pressing member.

Images