A gripping device for changing material trays

Abstract

This utility model provides a gripping device for changing material trays, belonging to the field of mechanical technology. It solves the problem that existing robotic arms easily damage the pneumatic grippers when gripping material trays. This gripping device for changing material trays includes a housing and a cylinder fixed within the housing. The device also includes several block-shaped gripping components and connecting components. The lower end of the housing has a cylindrical guide portion. The several gripping components are evenly distributed around the axis of the guide portion and are respectively hinged within the guide portion by horizontally arranged hinge shafts. The piston rod of the cylinder is arranged downwards, and a drive head is fixed to the outer end of the piston rod. The drive head extends between the gripping components, and the outer side of the drive head has a protruding annular drive portion. Each of the gripping components has a recessed drive opening on the side facing the drive opening, and the drive portion engages with the drive opening. This gripping device for changing material trays has the advantage of being less prone to damage.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model belongs to the field of mechanical technology and relates to a gripping device for changing material trays. Background Technology

[0002] Stacking pallets are a common type of storage tray for industrial parts. They are generally flat and require transfer during actual use.

[0003] The transfer of existing stacked pallets is often achieved by a robotic arm. The end of the robotic arm has a pneumatic gripper, which is driven by a cylinder to bring the two fingers together to achieve a grasping action, and conversely, the cylinder drives the two fingers apart to achieve a releasing action.

[0004] However, large stacking pallets exert a downward force on the fingers of the robotic arm's end effector during transport. Relying solely on the fingers to bear this force can easily damage them. Utility Model Content

[0005] The purpose of this invention is to address the aforementioned problems in the existing technology by proposing a gripping device for replacing material trays, thus solving the problem that existing robotic arms easily damage the pneumatic grippers when gripping material trays.

[0006] The objective of this utility model can be achieved through the following technical solutions:

[0007] A gripping device for changing a material tray includes a housing and a cylinder fixed inside the housing. The device further comprises several block-shaped gripping members and an annular connecting member for fixing to the material tray. One end of the connecting member has an inwardly protruding annular retaining edge on its inner wall. The lower end of the housing has a cylindrical guide portion. The gripping members are evenly distributed around the axis of the guide portion and are respectively hinged within the guide portion via horizontally arranged hinge shafts. The piston rod of the cylinder is arranged downwards, and a drive head is fixed to the outer end of the piston rod. The drive head extends between the gripping members, and its outer side has a protruding annular drive portion. Each gripping member has a recessed drive opening on its side facing the drive portion. The drive portion engages within the drive openings. When the cylinder drives the drive head to rise and fall, it synchronously drives the gripping members to swing around the hinge shaft and partially extend out of the guide portion. The maximum distance between the gripping members and the axis of the guide portion when they extend out of the guide portion is greater than the radius of the inner hole of the retaining edge.

[0008] In use, the gripping device for changing material trays first fixes the connecting piece to the stacked material tray. Specifically, the connecting piece is set vertically with the stop edge located at the upper end of the connecting piece. The connecting piece is then fixed at the center hole of the stacked material tray. The housing is then connected to the corresponding structure such as a robotic arm or truss. When the stacked material tray needs to be gripped and transferred, the truss or robotic arm drives the housing to move downwards until the guide part extends into the connecting piece. The cylinder drives the piston rod upwards, causing several gripping pieces to swing horizontally outwards around the hinge point and partially extend out of the guide part. Afterwards, the cylinder remains stationary, and the housing rises. Because the maximum distance between the gripping pieces and the axis of the guide part when they extend out of the guide part is greater than the radius of the inner hole of the stop edge, the upper sides of the portions of the gripping pieces extending out of the guide part will abut against the lower end face of the stop edge, applying an upward force to the stop edge, thereby driving the stacked material tray upwards for transfer.

[0009] During this gripping process, several circumferentially distributed gripping components apply an upward force to the connecting component. The gripping component then receives a downward reaction force, which is evenly transmitted to the entire housing through the hinge shaft. There is no force bias, and the housing shares the force, avoiding the situation where the gripping component or the housing is easily damaged by a unilateral force. Furthermore, the block-shaped gripping component only extends partially out of the guide section, making it less prone to damage compared to the pneumatic gripper that directly uses long, strip-shaped fingers for gripping and force application.

[0010] In the aforementioned gripping device for changing material trays, the gripping component is a flat block and vertically arranged. The flat gripping part reduces the volume, facilitates assembly, avoids interference, and ensures strength in the vertical force direction. At the same time, it also reduces the opening on the guide part, ensuring the strength of the guide part and reducing the probability of damage.

[0011] In the aforementioned gripping device for changing material trays, the guide portion includes a main body and a bottom cover disposed at the bottom of the main body. The bottom cover is fixed to the main body by several fasteners that vertically pass through the bottom cover. Each of the several hinge shafts has a recessed clearance opening on the side facing the axis of the guide portion, and the several fasteners pass through the corresponding clearance openings. The main body and bottom cover facilitate the assembly of the internal structure, while the fasteners passing through the clearance openings not only make the structure more compact but also limit the movement of the hinge shafts, preventing them from moving and ensuring the integrity and strength of the entire structure.

[0012] In the aforementioned gripping device for changing material trays, the maximum width of the drive port in the vertical direction is greater than the width of the drive port opening in the vertical direction. That is, the opening of the drive port is smaller than the interior, which makes the drive unit difficult to dislodge while providing a larger swinging space for the drive unit within the drive port.

[0013] In the aforementioned gripping device for changing material trays, the housing includes several vertically arranged side plates and flanges located on top of the side plates. The side plates and flanges are fixed to each other, and the cylinder is fixed to the side plates. The housing is enclosed by the side plates to form an internal space for the cylinder to be installed, and the flanges at the top are used for fixed connection with structures such as robotic arms or trusses.

[0014] Compared with existing technologies, this material tray changing gripping device applies an upward force to the connecting member by several circumferentially distributed gripping members during the gripping process. The gripping members then receive a downward reaction force, which is evenly transmitted to the entire housing through the hinge shaft. There is no force bias, and the housing shares the force, avoiding the situation where the gripping members or the housing are easily damaged by unilateral force. Moreover, the block-shaped gripping members only partially extend from the guide part, which is less prone to damage compared to the pneumatic gripper that directly uses long strip-shaped fingers for gripping and force application. Attached Figure Description

[0015] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the gripping device for changing material trays.

[0016] Figure 2 This is a cross-sectional view of the gripping device for changing material trays.

[0017] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the gripping device for changing the material tray when removing the main body.

[0018] In the figure, 1. Shell; 11. Guide part; 12. Main body; 13. Bottom cover; 14. Side plate; 15. Flange; 2. Cylinder; 3. Gripping part; 31. Drive port; 4. Connecting part; 41. Edge; 5. Hinge shaft; 51. Clearance port; 6. Drive head; 61. Drive part; 7. Fastener; 8. Material tray. Detailed Implementation

[0019] The following are specific embodiments of the present invention, which are described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments.

[0020] like Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, the gripping device for changing the material tray includes a housing 1, a cylinder 2 fixed inside the housing 1, several flat, vertically arranged gripping components 3, and an annular connecting component 4 for fixing to the material tray 8. The connecting component 4 is vertically arranged and fixed inside the central hole of the material tray 8. The upper inner wall of the connecting component 4 has an inwardly protruding annular retaining edge 41.

[0021] The lower end of the housing 1 has a cylindrical guide portion 11. Several gripping members 3 are evenly distributed around the axis of the guide portion 11 and are respectively hinged in the guide portion 11 by a horizontally arranged hinge shaft 5. The piston rod of the cylinder 2 is arranged downward and the outer end of the piston rod is fixed with a drive head 6. The drive head 6 extends into the space between the gripping members 3, and the outer side of the drive head 6 has a protruding annular drive portion 61. Each of the gripping members 3 has a recessed drive port 31 on the side facing the drive portion 61. The drive portion 61 is simultaneously inserted into the drive ports 31. When the cylinder 2 drives the drive head 6 to rise and fall, it can synchronously drive the gripping members 3 to swing around the hinge shaft 5 and partially extend out of the guide portion 11 and abut against the stop edge 41. In this embodiment, the housing 1 also includes several vertically arranged side plates 14 and a cylindrical flange portion 15 located at the top. The bottom of the side plates 14 is fixed to the guide portion 11, and the top of the side plates 14 is fixed to the flange portion 15. The flange portion 15 has an I-shaped cross section and a flange hole at the top. The cylinder 2 is fixed between two oppositely arranged side plates 14. The maximum width of the drive port 31 in the vertical direction is greater than the width of the opening of the drive port 31 in the vertical direction, that is, the width of the opening of the drive port 31 is smaller than that inside.

[0022] like Figure 3 As shown, the guide portion 11 includes a main body 12 and a bottom cover 13 disposed at the bottom of the main body 12. The bottom cover 13 is fixed to the main body 12 by several fasteners 7 that pass vertically through the bottom cover 13. Several hinge shafts 5 have recessed clearance openings 51 on the side facing the axis of the guide portion 11, and the several fasteners 7 pass through the several clearance openings 51 respectively. In this embodiment, there are three gripping members 3 and three hinge shafts 5, and six fasteners 7. The outer sides of both ends of the three hinge shafts 5 have annular clearance openings 51, and the clearance openings 51 are coaxial with the hinge shafts 5. The six fasteners 7 pass through the six clearance openings 51 one by one.

[0023] In use, the gripping device for changing material trays first fixes the connecting piece 4 to the stacked material tray 8, and then connects the housing 1 to a corresponding structure such as a robotic arm or truss. When it is necessary to grip the stacked material tray 8 and transfer it, the truss or robotic arm can drive the housing 1 to move downwards until the guide part 11 extends into the connecting piece 4. The cylinder 2 drives the piston rod to move upwards, causing several gripping pieces 3 to swing horizontally outwards around the hinge point and partially extend out of the guide part 11. Afterwards, the cylinder 2 remains stationary, the housing 1 rises, and the upper sides of the portions of the gripping pieces 3 extending out of the guide part 11 abut against the lower end face of the retaining edge 41, applying an upward force to the retaining edge 41, thereby driving the stacked material tray 8 to rise for transfer.

[0024] After the transfer is completed, the cylinder 2 can drive the drive head 6 to move down, causing several gripping parts 3 to retract into the guide part 11 around the hinge point, and then the guide part 11 can be disengaged from the connecting part 4.

[0025] The specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative examples illustrating the spirit of this utility model. Those skilled in the art to which this utility model pertains may make various modifications or additions to the described specific embodiments or use similar methods to substitute them, without departing from the spirit of this utility model or exceeding the scope defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A gripping device for changing a material tray, comprising a housing (1) and a cylinder (2) fixed within the housing (1), characterized in that, The gripping device for changing the material tray also includes several block-shaped gripping parts (3) and an annular connecting part (4) for fixing to the material tray (8). One end of the connecting part (4) has an inwardly protruding annular retaining edge (41) on its inner wall. The lower end of the housing (1) has a cylindrical guide part (11). Several gripping parts (3) are evenly distributed around the axis of the guide part (11) and are respectively hinged in the guide part (11) by horizontally arranged hinge shafts (5). The piston rod of the cylinder (2) is arranged downward and the outer end of the piston rod is fixed with a drive head (6). The drive head (6) extends into several... Between the gripping parts (3), and on the outer side of the drive head (6), there is a protruding, annular drive part (61). Each of the gripping parts (3) has a recessed drive port (31) on the side facing the drive part (61). The drive part (61) is inserted into the drive port (31). When the cylinder (2) drives the drive head (6) to rise and fall, it can simultaneously drive the gripping parts (3) to swing around the hinge axis (5) and partially extend out of the guide part (11). When the gripping parts (3) extend out of the guide part (11), the maximum distance between them and the axis of the guide part (11) is greater than the radius of the inner hole of the stop (41).

2. The gripping device for changing material trays according to claim 1, characterized in that, The gripper (3) is flat and vertically arranged.

3. A gripping device for changing material trays according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The guide part (11) includes a main body (12) and a bottom cover (13) disposed at the bottom of the main body (12). The bottom cover (13) is fixed to the main body (12) by several fasteners (7) that pass vertically through the bottom cover (13). Each of the several hinge shafts (5) has a recessed relief opening (51) on the side facing the axis of the guide part (11). The several fasteners (7) pass through the several relief openings (51) respectively.

4. A gripping device for changing material trays according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The housing (1) includes several vertically arranged side plates (14) and a flange (15) located on the top of the side plates (14). The side plates (14) and the flange (15) are fixed to each other, and the cylinder (2) is fixed on the side plates (14).

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