Positioning and fixing device

Abstract

To provide a positioning and fixing device which can perform positioning and fixing with high accuracy while improving a clamp force.SOLUTION: A positioning and fixing device includes: rod members fixed to a first mechanism; a cylinder mechanism provided at a second mechanism; a first member having a first reference surface which serves as a base for positioning in a first direction; and second members each having a second reference surface which contacts with the rod member and serves as a base for positioning at least in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction. The second member may move at least in the first direction relative to the first member. The cylinder mechanism may draw the rod member to the second mechanism side along the first direction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present technology relates to positioning and fixation devices. [Background technology]

[0002] Examples of positioning and fixing devices for positioning and fixing an object to be fixed (such as a work pallet for mounting a work to be machined, or a mold) on a base body include those described in Patent Documents 1 to 4 listed below. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2021 / 079749 [Patent Document 2] German Patent Invention No. 102011080504 [Patent Document 3] European Patent No. 2764952 [Patent Document 4] DE 10317336 A1 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The positioning and fixing device is required to have a high clamping force and perform positioning with high accuracy. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] A positioning and fixing device according to the present technology is capable of performing relative positioning of a first mechanism and a second mechanism, and fixing the first mechanism and the second mechanism to each other.

[0006] The positioning and fixing device includes a rod member fixed to the first mechanism, a cylinder mechanism provided in the second mechanism, a first member having a first reference surface serving as a reference for positioning in a first direction, and a second member abutting the rod member and having a second reference surface serving as a reference for positioning in at least a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. The second member is movable in at least the first direction relative to the first member. The cylinder mechanism is capable of attracting the rod member toward the second mechanism along the first direction. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present technology, since the second member is movable in the first direction relative to the first member, it is possible to provide the first member and the second member with positioning functions in different directions. Specifically, the positioning in the first direction can be performed by the first member having a first reference surface, and the positioning in the second direction can be performed by the second member having a second reference surface.

[0008] In addition, since the second reference surface of the second member is brought into contact with the rod member to perform positioning in the second direction, the rod member that generates the clamping force can have a positioning function. In this way, by using the member that generates the clamping force for fixing as the positioning member, it is possible to effectively use the limited space of the positioning and fixing device to position and fix the first mechanism and the second mechanism.

[0009] As a result of the above, it is possible to provide a positioning and fixing device that is capable of performing positioning and fixing with high accuracy while improving the clamping force. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a clamped state (first state) of the positioning and fixing device. [Diagram 2] 2 is an enlarged view showing the periphery of the engaging member in the state shown in FIG. 1. [Diagram 3]11 is a cross-sectional view showing a mechanism (second mechanism) on the base body side of the positioning and fixing device in an unclamped state (second state). FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a top view of the mechanism shown in FIG. [Diagram 5] FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the mechanism shown in FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the mechanism (first mechanism) on the fixed object side separated from the mechanism (second mechanism) on the base body side. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a top view of the mechanism shown in FIG. 6. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present technology will be described. Note that the same or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference characters, and description thereof will not be repeated.

[0012] In the embodiments described below, when referring to the number, amount, etc., the scope of the present technology is not necessarily limited to the number, amount, etc., unless otherwise specified. In addition, in the following embodiments, each component is not necessarily essential to the present technology, unless otherwise specified. In addition, the present technology is not necessarily limited to those that achieve all of the effects and advantages mentioned in the present embodiment.

[0013] In this specification, the words "comprise", "include" and "have" are open-ended, i.e., when a certain configuration is included, other configurations may or may not be included.

[0014] Furthermore, when geometric terms and terms expressing positional and directional relationships, such as "parallel," "orthogonal," "45° diagonal," "coaxial," and "along" are used in this specification, these terms allow for manufacturing errors and slight variations. When terms expressing relative positional relationships, such as "upper side" and "lower side," are used in this specification, these terms are used to indicate relative positional relationships in one state, and the relative positional relationships can be inverted or rotated to any angle depending on the installation direction of each mechanism (for example, by turning the entire mechanism upside down).

[0015] Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a clamped state (first state) of the positioning and fixing device. The positioning and fixing device shown in Fig. 1 is capable of performing relative positioning (X-axis direction, Y-axis direction, and Z-axis direction) between the first mechanism 10 and the second mechanism 20, and fixing the first mechanism 10 and the second mechanism 20 to each other.

[0016] As shown in FIG. 1, the first mechanism 10 includes a pallet 10A (fixed object). The second mechanism 20 includes a base body 20A. For example, a workpiece to be subjected to cutting processing is attached to the pallet 10A. The pallet 10A is an example of a fixed object, and the fixed object in the present technology is not limited to this. For example, a mold may be used as the fixed object instead of the pallet 10A. The base body 20A may be fixed to a stationary object, or may be supported by a rotation support mechanism or the like to be in a movable state. In addition, the positioning and fixing device according to the present technology may also be applied to a robot (such as an arm).

[0017] In the first mechanism 10, a substrate 100 is attached to a pallet 10A. A rod member 200 is screwed to the substrate 100. The rod member 200 is provided so as to protrude from the substrate 100 towards the second mechanism 20 side.

[0018] In the second mechanism 20, a seating member 300 (first member) is provided so as to face the substrate 100. An annular member 400 (second member) is attached to the seating member 300. The annular member 400 is disposed approximately concentrically with the rod member 200.

[0019] The second mechanism 20 further includes an engagement member 500 , a housing 600 , a cap member 700 , a cylinder mechanism 800 , and a biasing member 900 .

[0020] The engaging member 500 is held by the annular member 400. The housing 600, together with the cap member 700, constitutes a cylinder mechanism 800. The housing 600 may be made of a lightweight material such as aluminum to reduce the weight of the positioning and fixing device. The seating member 300 may be made of a material harder than the housing 600 to improve positioning accuracy. The engaging member 500 engages with the rod member 200 and transmits the driving force of the cylinder mechanism 800 to the rod member 200. A biasing member 900 is housed within the cylinder mechanism 800.

[0021] In the first mechanism 10, the rod member 200 includes a plurality of rod members 201, 202 (a pair in the example of FIG. 1). The pair of rod members 201, 202 are arranged to be aligned in the X-axis direction. In the second mechanism 20, a plurality of clamp devices 1, 2 are formed. The plurality of clamp devices 1, 2 each include annular members 401, 402, engaging members 501, 502, cap members 701, 702, cylinder mechanisms 801, 802, and biasing members 901, 902.

[0022] The cylinder mechanisms 801 and 802 each include a cylinder chamber 811 and 812 and a piston member 821 and 822. The cylinder chambers 811 and 812 are each partitioned by the piston members 821 and 822 into clamp chambers 811A and 812A and unclamped chambers 811B and 812B.

[0023] The biasing members 901 and 902 are provided in the clamp chambers 811A and 812A, respectively. The biasing members 901 and 902 bias the piston members 821 and 822, respectively, in a direction (clamping direction) that brings the piston members 821 and 822 closer to the first mechanism 10. That is, the biasing members 901 and 902 bias the piston members 821 and 822, respectively, in the downward direction in FIG.

[0024] In the clamp devices 1 and 2 provided in the second mechanism 20, the cylinder mechanisms 801 and 802 drive the piston members 821 and 822 to the retract side (the direction in which the first mechanism 10 approaches the second mechanism 20) and the advance side (the direction in which the first mechanism 10 moves away from the second mechanism 20). This switches between a clamped state and an unclamped state of the pallet 10A relative to the base body 20A.

[0025] An air passage 1000 (fluid path) is provided in the housing 600 located between the cylinder mechanisms 801, 802 to supply working air (working fluid) to the cylinder mechanisms 801, 802. A detection air passage 1100 is provided in the seating member 300. Air is supplied to the detection air passage 1100 for detecting the seating of the substrate 100. Based on an increase in air pressure in the detection air passage 1100, it is detected that the substrate 100 is in a seated state.

[0026] 1, the pair of annular members 400 are not constrained in the Z-axis direction (first direction) relative to the seating member 300, and can move slightly in the Z-axis direction. That is, the annular members 401, 402 are held by the seating member 300 and the housing 600 with a slight gap therebetween in the Z-axis direction.

[0027] 1, the annular member 401 is constrained to the seating member 300 in the X-axis direction (third direction). The annular member 402 is not constrained to the seating member 300 in the X-axis direction (third direction) and is slightly movable in the X-axis direction. In other words, the annular member 401 is fitted into the seating member 300 with substantially no gap in the X-axis direction, and the annular member 402 is fitted into the seating member 300 with a slight gap in the X-axis direction.

[0028] 1 are both constrained by the seating member 300 in the Y-axis direction (second direction). That is, the annular members 401 and 402 are both fitted into the seating member 300 with substantially no gap therebetween in the Y-axis direction.

[0029] 1, the annular member 401 can move slightly in the Z-axis direction (first direction) relative to the seating member 300, and is constrained by the seating member 300 in the Y-axis direction (second direction) and the X-axis direction (third direction). On the other hand, the annular member 402 can move slightly in the Z-axis direction (first direction) and the X-axis direction (third direction) relative to the seating member 300, and is constrained by the seating member 300 in the Y-axis direction (second direction).

[0030] In this manner, the pair of annular members 400 shown in FIG. 1 are movable relative to the seating member 300 at least in the Z-axis direction (first direction).

[0031] As described above, by making only one of the pair of annular members 401, 402 movable in the X-axis direction, it is possible to absorb misalignment of the rod members 201, 202 in the X-axis direction when combining the first mechanism 10 and the second mechanism 20.

[0032] Fig. 2 is an enlarged view showing the periphery of engaging tool 501 in the clamped state shown in Fig. 1. Note that Fig. 2 shows the structure around engaging tool 501 of clamp device 1, but the structure around engaging tool 502 of clamp device 2 is also similar to that shown in Fig. 2, except that annular member 402 is slightly movable in the X-axis direction.

[0033] As shown in FIG. 2, the substrate 100 has a main surface 100A, and the rod member 201 has an outer circumferential surface 201A and a recess 201B.

[0034] The seating member 300 has a reference surface 300A (first reference surface) that serves as a reference for positioning in the Z-axis direction, and a peripheral surface 300B that restrains the annular member 401 in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction. The reference surface 300A of the seating member 300 abuts against the main surface 100A of the substrate 100, thereby performing positioning in the Z-axis direction.

[0035] The annular member 401 has an outer peripheral surface 401A that abuts against the peripheral surface 300B of the seating member 300, an inner peripheral surface 401B that abuts against the outer peripheral surface 201A of the rod member 201, and a holding portion 401C that holds the engaging member 501. The inner peripheral surface 401B (second reference surface) of the annular member 401 abuts against the outer peripheral surface 201A of the rod member 201, and the outer peripheral surface 401A (third reference surface) of the annular member 401 abuts against the peripheral surface 300B of the seating member 300, thereby performing positioning in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction. The outer peripheral surface 201A of the rod member 201 and the outer peripheral surface 401A and inner peripheral surface 401B of the annular member 401 have a circular shape when viewed from the Z-axis direction.

[0036] 1 and 2, air pressure is supplied to the clamp chambers 811A, 812A of the cylinder mechanism 800. As a result, the piston members 821, 822 are driven downward in FIGS.

[0037] The piston member 821 of the cylinder mechanism 801 has an inclined surface 821A that abuts against the engaging member 501. When the piston member 821 is driven toward the clamp side (the lower side in FIG. 2), the inclined surface 821A presses the engaging member 501 toward the inner diameter side and toward the substrate 100 side (diagonally downward in the figure). The engaging member 501 pressed against the inclined surface 821A presses the annular member 401 toward the pallet 10A side (downward in the figure), and engages with the recess 201B of the rod member 201 to press the rod member 201 toward the base body 20A side (diagonally upward in the figure). A plurality of engaging members 501 made of steel balls are provided in line in the circumferential direction of the rod member 201. The rod member 201 pressed diagonally upward by each engaging member 501 is driven in the upward direction in the figure, and the substrate 100 is pressed against the seating member 300. At this time, the reference surface 300A of the seating member 300 determines the positioning in the Z-axis direction, and the outer peripheral surface 401A and the inner peripheral surface 401B of the annular member 401 determine the positioning in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction.

[0038] The biasing member 900 biases the cylinder mechanism 800 in the clamping direction. Therefore, even if the supply of air pressure is interrupted, the positioned and fixed state is maintained by the biasing force of the biasing member 900.

[0039] In this manner, in the positioning and fixing device according to the present embodiment, the seating member 300 having the reference surface 300A performs positioning in the Z-axis direction, and the annular member 401 having the outer peripheral surface 401A and the inner peripheral surface 401B performs positioning in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction. In other words, the seating member 300 and the annular member 400 can each have a positioning function in a different direction.

[0040] Furthermore, since positioning in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction is performed by abutting the inner peripheral surface 401B (second reference surface) of the annular member 401 against the outer peripheral surface 201A of the rod member 201, the rod member 201 that generates the clamping force can be given a positioning function. In this way, by using a member that generates a clamping force for fixing and a positioning member together, the first mechanism 10 and the second mechanism 20 can be positioned and fixed by effectively utilizing the limited space of the positioning and fixing device. As a result, it is possible to perform positioning and fixing with high accuracy while improving the clamping force.

[0041] By inclining the outer circumferential surface 201A of the rod member 201 so as to approach the outer diameter side toward the base side (the lower side in the drawing) of the rod member 201, the positioning accuracy can be further improved.

[0042] In the clamp device 2, a small gap is formed between the peripheral surface 300B of the seating member 300 and the annular member 402 in the X-axis direction. Therefore, the annular member 402 is not constrained in the X-axis direction, but is constrained only in the Y-axis direction. Therefore, in the clamp device 2, the rod member 202 and the annular member 402 perform positioning in the Y-axis direction only, among the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction. In the clamp device 2, the seating member 300 also performs positioning in the Z-axis direction. By simultaneously operating the clamp devices 1 and 2 including the seating member 300 and the pair of rod members 201, 202 and the annular members 401, 402 described above, it is possible to perform positioning in the X-axis direction, Y-axis direction, and Z-axis direction while absorbing the pitch error in the X-axis direction of the rod members 201, 202.

[0043] Next, the unclamped state (second state) of the positioning and fixing device will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0044] Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the second mechanism 20 in an unclamped state, and Fig. 4 and Fig. 5 are a top view and a bottom view, respectively, of the second mechanism 20 shown in Fig. 3. Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the first mechanism 10 separated from the second mechanism 20, and Fig. 7 is a top view of the first mechanism 10 shown in Fig. 6.

[0045] 1 and 2, when air pressure is supplied to the unclamping chambers 811B, 812B of the cylinder mechanism, the piston members 821, 822 are driven toward the unclamping side (upper side in FIG. 3) against the biasing forces of the biasing members 901, 902, as shown in FIG. 3. As a result, the engagement between the engaging member 500 and the rod member 200 is released, and the rod member 200 becomes removable from the second mechanism 20.

[0046] 4 and 5, in the second mechanism 20, the housing 600 and the seating member 300 are screwed to the base body 20A through the mounting holes 20B. An air passage 1010 for supplying operating air pressure to the clamping chambers 811A and 812A and an air passage 1020 for supplying operating air pressure to the unclamping chambers 811B and 812B are formed to be aligned in the Y-axis direction.

[0047] As shown in FIG. 5, the annular members 401 and 402 are fitted into fitting holes 301 and 302 provided in the seating member 300, respectively. The fitting holes 301 and 302 form the peripheral surface 300B of the seating member 300. The fitting hole 301 has a circular shape. Therefore, the annular member 401 is constrained by the seating member 300 in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction. The fitting hole 302 has a shape that is slightly longer in the X-axis direction than in the Y-axis direction. Therefore, the annular member 402 is constrained by the seating member 300 in the Y-axis direction, but can move slightly relative to the seating member 300 in the X-axis direction. This makes it possible to absorb pitch errors in the X-axis direction of the rod members 201 and 202.

[0048] As shown in Figures 6 and 7, in the first mechanism 10, the substrate 100 is screwed to the pallet 10A via the mounting holes 10B. As shown in Figures 6 and 7, the substrate 100 only needs to have a simple structure in which a pair of rod members 201, 202 are provided, so the user of the positioning and fixing device does not need to prepare a complicated structure. The rod members 201, 202 may be directly screwed to the pallet 10A.

[0049] According to the positioning and fixing device of this embodiment, the pair of clamp devices 1 and 2 can be used to perform positioning with respect to displacement in the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis directions, and rotation about the three axes of the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis (this state is referred to as "perfect positioning" in this specification). In this way, since the clamp devices 1 and 2 have a positioning function, the first mechanism 10 and the second mechanism 20 can be perfectly positioned by effectively utilizing the limited space of the positioning and fixing device. As a result, it is possible to achieve both a high clamping force and highly accurate positioning.

[0050] However, the scope of the present technology is not limited to the case where the pair of clamp devices 1, 2 is included, and also includes the case where the clamp devices 1, 2 are used alone.

[0051] When the clamp device 1 is used alone, a mechanism for restricting rotation around the Z axis must be provided separately to perform complete positioning. When the clamp device 2 is used alone, a mechanism for restricting displacement in the X axis direction and rotation around the Z axis must be provided separately to perform complete positioning. Known structures can be applied to these mechanisms. In either case, since at least displacement in the Y axis direction and Z axis direction, and rotation around the X axis and Y axis are restricted by the clamp device, it is possible to simplify the mechanism provided separately compared to the case where a clamp device without a positioning function is used. Therefore, the first mechanism 10 and the second mechanism 20 can be perfectly positioned by effectively utilizing the limited space of the positioning and fixing device. As a result, it is possible to achieve both high clamping force and highly accurate positioning.

[0052] Although the embodiment of the present technology has been described above, the embodiment disclosed herein should be considered as illustrative and not restrictive in all respects. The scope of the present technology is defined by the claims, and it is intended to include all modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0053] 1, 2 clamp device, 10 first mechanism, 10A pallet, 10B mounting hole, 20 second mechanism, 20A base body, 20B mounting hole, 100 substrate, 100A main surface, 200, 201, 202 rod member, 201A outer peripheral surface, 201B recess, 300 seating member, 300A reference surface, 300B peripheral surface, 301, 302 fitting hole, 400, 401, 402 annular member, 401A outer peripheral surface, 401B inner peripheral surface, 401C holding portion, 500, 501, 502 engagement tool, 600 housing, 700, 701, 702 cap member, 800, 801, 802 cylinder mechanism, 811, 812 cylinder chamber, 811A, 812A Clamping chamber, 811B, 812B unclamping chamber, 821, 822 piston member, 821A inclined surface, 900, 901, 902 biasing member, 1000, 1010, 1020 air passage, 1100 detection air passage.

Claims

1. A positioning and fixing device that performs relative positioning between a first mechanism and a second mechanism and can fix the first mechanism and the second mechanism to each other, a rod member fixed to the first mechanism, a cylinder mechanism provided in the second mechanism, a first member having a first reference surface that serves as a reference for positioning in a first direction, and a second member that abuts against the rod member and has a second reference surface that serves as a reference for positioning in a second direction that is at least orthogonal to the first direction. The second member is movable relative to the first member at least in the first direction, and the cylinder mechanism can attract the rod member toward the second mechanism side along the first direction. A positioning and fixing device.

2. The positioning and fixing device according to claim 1, wherein the second member is constrained by the first member in a third direction orthogonal to the first direction and the second direction.

3. The positioning and fixing device according to claim 1, wherein the second member is movable relative to the first member in a third direction orthogonal to the first direction and the second direction.

4. A pair of the second members are provided so as to be arranged in a third direction orthogonal to the first direction and the second direction, one of the pair of second members is movable relative to the first member in the third direction, and the other of the pair of second members is constrained by the first member in the third direction. The positioning and fixing device according to claim 1.

5. A pair of the cylinder mechanisms are provided so as to be arranged in a third direction orthogonal to the first direction and the second direction, and a fluid passage that is located between the pair of cylinder mechanisms and supplies working fluid to the pair of cylinder mechanisms is provided. The positioning and fixing device according to claim 1.

6. The positioning and fixing device further includes an engaging tool that engages with the rod member and transmits the driving force of the cylinder mechanism to the rod member, and the second member has a holding portion that holds the engaging tool. The positioning and fixing device according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

7. The cylinder mechanism includes a piston member and a cylinder chamber partitioned by the piston member. The positioning and fixing device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising a biasing member provided in the cylinder chamber and biasing the piston member in a direction approaching the first mechanism.

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