Auxiliary device

Abstract

To provide a countermeasure that does not become an excessive burden on an operator to lift a stirrer 16 upward and insert stirring blades 16a into a paint container, and does not become large-scale equipment.SOLUTION: According to an auxiliary device 1, a holding unit 20 holds a weight 14. The weight 14 is obtained by integrating an upper lid 15 and a stirrer 16. The upper lid 15 covers the surface of the paint formed inside the container. The stirrer 16 includes stirring blades 16a for stirring the paint forming the surface, and a drive unit 16b that rotationally drives the stirring blades 16a. Constant-load springs 13L, 13R are set such that a load acts upward on the holding unit 20. The auxiliary device 1 assists in lifting the weight 14 upward by the load of the constant-load springs 13L, 13R.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an auxiliary device that assists in lifting a weight body upward, and in particular to a structure that can be suitably used to lift an agitator for stirring paint upward and insert the agitator blade into a paint container. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, for example, in a paint supply device that supplies paint to be applied to a vehicle body, a configuration including an application unit and a supply tank as described below has been known. That is, the application unit is a part that applies paint to a workpiece, and is attached to the tip of a robot, for example. The supply tank stores the paint while stirring it, and is connected to the application unit by a specified flow path, and the paint in the supply tank is sucked up by a pump provided in the flow path and discharged toward the application unit (Patent Document 1).

[0003] Alternatively, the paint may be placed in a container of, for example, several hundred liters and brought to the vicinity of the supply tank, and then sucked from the container by another pump and transferred to the supply tank. However, since the solvent in the paint is easily volatile, if the paint is not kept in a fluidized state, the phase state of the liquid phase of the paint may become uneven. Therefore, it is considered preferable to insert an agitator not only in the supply tank but also in the container to agitate the paint and keep it in a fluidized state.

[0004] However, to make hundreds of liters of paint flow, it is necessary to lift the agitator, which weighs tens of kilograms, and insert the agitator blades into the container, which is a heavy burden for the operator. For this reason, it is possible to introduce a lifting machine that uses a counterweight, but this would make the equipment too large. Therefore, a solution that does not impose a heavy burden on the operator and does not make the equipment too large is required. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 4938896 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] The present disclosure primarily relates to an auxiliary device that assists in lifting a weight body upward, and in particular has the objective of providing a solution that does not impose a heavy burden on an operator and does not require large-scale equipment when lifting an agitator for mixing paint upward and inserting the agitating blade into a paint container. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The auxiliary device of the present disclosure includes the following holding unit and constant load spring. First, the holding unit holds the following weight body. That is, the weight body is an integrated top lid and agitator, and the top lid covers the paint surface formed inside the container that can store and transport paint. The agitator also has an agitator blade that agitates the paint that forms the liquid surface, and a drive unit that rotates and drives the agitator blade. Next, the constant load spring is set so that a load acts upward on the holding unit.

[0008] The assisting device assists in lifting the weight body upward by the load of the constant load spring. As a result, the auxiliary device disclosed herein can provide a solution that does not impose a large burden on the operator and does not require large-scale equipment when lifting the agitator for mixing paint upward and inserting the agitating blade into the paint container. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a paint supply device. [Diagram 2] FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a front view of the movable part, excluding the stirring blades, etc. [Figure 6] 13 is a side view showing the side surface of the movable part together with a part of the base part. FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. [Figure 8] FIG. [Figure 9] 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IX-IX of FIG. 8. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] Hereinafter, the mode for carrying out the invention will be described based on examples. Note that the examples disclose specific examples, and it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the examples. EXAMPLES

[0011] [Configuration of the embodiment] An auxiliary device 1 according to an embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. Here, the auxiliary device 1 is used for operating the next paint supplying device 2, and the paint supplying device 2 will be described first (see FIG. 1). The paint supplying device 2 is, for example, a device that supplies paint to be applied to a vehicle body (not shown), and includes an application unit 3 and a supply tank 4 as described below.

[0012] That is, the application unit 3 is a part that applies paint to the body, and is attached, for example, to the tip of the robot 5. The supply tank 4 stores the paint while stirring it, and is connected to the application unit 3 by a predetermined flow path 6, and the paint in the supply tank 4 is sucked up by a pump 7 provided in the flow path 6 and discharged toward the application unit 3. The paint is placed in a container 8 of, for example, several hundred liters, and transported near the supply tank 4, and is sucked up from the container 8 by another pump 9 and transferred to the supply tank 4. The operations of the various devices provided in the application unit 3 and the supply tank 4, as well as the robot 5, are controlled by a control unit 10 consisting of a well-known control panel or the like.

[0013] Next, the auxiliary device 1 will be described (see Figs. 2 to 9). The auxiliary device 1 assists in pulling the weight 14 upward by means of a constant load spring 13. Here, the weight 14 is, for example, an integrated upper lid 15 of the container 8 and an agitator 16 that agitates the paint inside the container 8. That is, the upper lid 15 covers the liquid surface of the paint formed inside the container 8, and the agitator 16 is made up of an agitator blade 16a that is immersed in the paint that forms the liquid surface, and a drive unit 16b that rotates and drives the agitator blade 16a.

[0014] More specifically, the upper cover 15 is a metal member having a circular portion 15a facing the liquid surface, and a tubular portion 15b extending cylindrically from the periphery of the circular portion 15a to one side and covering the outer circumferential surface near the upper end of the container 8 from the outside. A driving unit 16b is mounted at the center of the circular portion 15a. A rotation output shaft 16c of the driving unit 16b extends downward through the circular portion 15a, and an agitating blade 16a is attached to the tip of the rotation output shaft 16c.

[0015] Furthermore, circular portion 15a is provided with hole 15c for inserting suction pipe 18 connected to pump 9 into container 8 (see Figs. 1 and 3). Suction pipe 18 is a pipe for transferring paint sucked from container 8 by pump 9 to supply tank 4, and is connected to the suction port of pump 9. Furthermore, metallic fastening members 21 used for fastening the weight body 14 to a holding portion 20 (described later) are attached to the cylindrical portion 15b of the upper cover 15 at two locations spaced apart by an angle of 180°. The configuration of the auxiliary device 1 will be described below.

[0016] The auxiliary device 1 is roughly divided into a movable part 23 and a base part 24 . First, the movable part 23 is a part that moves up and down while holding the weight body 14, and has the drawn-out end 13a of the constant force spring 13 fixed thereto (see Figs. 5, 7, 8, etc.). Next, the base part 24 is a part that guides the up and down movement of the movable part 23 and is placed on a predetermined installation surface, and has the drum 13b around which the constant force spring 13 is wound fixed thereto (see Figs. 2, 6, 8, etc.). The movable portion 23 and the base portion 24 will be described below in turn.

[0017] First, the movable portion 23 includes the following holding portion 20, a lower extension portion 26, and a slide portion 27 (see FIGS. 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, etc.). The holding portion 20 holds the weight body 14 and is, for example, a metal part that appears U-shaped when viewed from above (see Figure 3). It has two arms 20a, a connecting portion 20b connecting the ends of the arms 20a, and two bridging portions 20c that cross-bridge between each of the arms 20a and the connecting portion 20b.

[0018] In the following description, the side where the arm 20a protrudes from the connection part 20b is defined as the front, and the side where the arm 20a does not protrude is defined as the rear, and the left and right are defined when viewing the holding part 20 from the front. In addition, the two arms 20a may be referred to as the left and right arms 20aL and 20aR, respectively.

[0019] When viewed from above, the weight body 14 is held within a range defined by the arms 20aL, 20aR, the connecting portion 20b, and the two bridging portions 20c. Here, the fastening members 21 are metal bodies having an inverted L-shaped cross section, and engage with the arms 20aL, 20aR from inside the range in which the weight body 14 is housed (hereinafter, the left and right fastening members 21 may be referred to as fastening members 21L, 21R).

[0020] Next, the manner in which the weight body 14 is held by the holding portion 20 will be described. First, the weight body 14 is held by the holding part 20 by fastening a slider 21a with a well-known screw hole to a screw 21b (see Figs. 2, 3, 5, etc.). That is, a slide groove 21c that allows the slider 21a to move freely is provided on the upper part of each of the arms 20aL and 20aR along the longitudinal direction of the arms 20aL and 20aR. Also, an elongated hole 21d that runs along the longitudinal direction of the arm is provided on the upper side of the fastening member 21.

[0021] Then, the slider 21a is moved to a desired position, and the weight body 14 is moved as a whole while engaging the fastening members 21L, 21R with the arms 20aL, 20aR, respectively, to match the position of the slider 21a, so that the screw hole of the slider 21a is aligned with the long hole 21d of the fastening member 21. Then, the screw 21b is screwed into the slider 21a, sandwiching a part of the arms 20aL, 20aR and a part of the fastening members 21L, 21R between the claw of the slider 21a and the head of the screw 21b. As a result, the fastening members 21L, 21R are fastened to the arms 20aL, 20aR, respectively, and the weight body 14 is held by the holding part 20.

[0022] The lower extensions 26 have the function of securing a space for placing the container 8 below the weight body 14. More specifically, the lower extensions 26 are two rod-shaped metal bodies assembled to extend downward from between the connection portion with the arm 20aL and the connection portion with the arm 20aR of the connection portion 20b (see Figures 2, 3, 5, 7, etc. Hereinafter, the left and right lower extensions 26 may be referred to as the lower extensions 26L and 26R, respectively).

[0023] Further, a rectangular annular metal plate 28 is fixed near the lower ends of the lower extensions 26L, 26R (see FIGS. 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, etc.). Specifically, the left and right sides 28L, 28R of the metal plate 28 are fixed to the lower extensions 26L, 26R, respectively, and the lower extensions 26L, 26R are bridged by the upper and lower sides 28U, 28D.

[0024] Furthermore, the drawn-out end 13a of the constant force spring 13 is fixed to the upper side portion 28U of the metal plate 28. Therefore, the weight body 14 is held by the holding portion 20 above the drawn-out end 13a, and a space according to the length of the lower extension portions 26L, 26R can be secured below the weight body 14. The lower extensions 26L and 26R are bridged to the left and right ends of the connecting portion 20b by bridge portions 26a, respectively.

[0025] The slide portion 27 is attached to a guide portion 30 provided on the base portion 24 so as to be movable up and down, and as described later, has a function of stabilizing the up and down movement of the weight body 14 together with the guide portion 30. The slide portion 27 will be described in detail later together with the guide portion 30.

[0026] Next, the base portion 24 includes a frame body 31 and a guide portion 30 (see FIGS. 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, etc.). The frame 31 is a part that forms the framework of the base portion 24, and has left and right pillar portions 31pL, 31pR, upper and lower bridge portions 31bU, 31bD, left and right forward protrusions 31FL, 31FR, and left and right rearward protrusions 31BL, 31BR. Here, the pillar portions 31pL and 31pR are portions that extend vertically.

[0027] The upper bridge portion 31bU is a portion that bridges the upper ends of the pillar portions 31pL and 31pR, and the lower bridge portion 31bD is a portion that bridges the lower ends of the pillar portions 31pL and 31pR. The lower bridge portion 31bD is longer than the upper bridge portion 31bU, and the left end of the lower bridge portion 31bD protrudes leftward from the pillar portion 31pL, and the right end of the lower bridge portion 31bD protrudes rightward from the pillar portion 31pR. The lower bridge portion 31bD and the connection portion 20b of the holding portion 20 have the same length in the left-right direction, and the arm 20aL is located to the left of the pillar portion 31pL and the arm 20aR is located to the right of the pillar portion 31pR (see FIG. 2, FIG. 3, etc.).

[0028] A drum 13b wound with a constant force spring 13 is attached to the upper bridge portion 31bU via a predetermined metal fitting 32 (see Figs. 2, 8, etc.). Here, the drum 13b is attached so that its axial direction faces the left-right direction, and is attached to the center of the upper bridge portion 31bU in the left-right direction.

[0029] Two constant force springs 13 and two drums 13b are provided, and the two constant force springs 13 are arranged in parallel on the left and right and set between the upper bridge portion 31bU and the metal plate 28 (hereinafter, the left and right constant force springs 13 may be referred to as constant force springs 13L and 13R, respectively. Furthermore, the left and right drums 13b may be referred to as drums 13bL and 13bR, respectively).

[0030] The forward protrusions 31FL and 31FR are portions extending forward from the lower bridge portion 31bD, the forward protrusion 31FL extending from the left end of the lower bridge portion 31bD, and the forward protrusion 31FR extending from the right end of the lower bridge portion 31bD (see Figs. 2, 8, 9, etc.). The rearward protrusions 31BL and 31BR are portions extending backward from the lower bridge portion 31bD, the rearward protrusion 31BL extending from a position to the right of the left end of the lower bridge portion 31bD, and the rearward protrusion 31BR extending from a position to the left of the right end of the lower bridge portion 31bD (see Figs. 3, 9, etc.). The rearward protrusions 31BL and 31BR are shorter than the forward protrusions 31FL and 31FR.

[0031] Furthermore, the column 31pL is cross-bridged by the lower bridging portion 31bD and the rear protruding portion 31BL via the bridging portion 31C, and the column 31pR is cross-bridged by the lower bridging portion 31bD and the rear protruding portion 31BR via the bridging portion 31C (see Figures 2, 3, 4, 8, 9, etc.).

[0032] In addition, bridging portion 31C between column 31pL and lower bridging portion 31bD bridges column 31pL and lower bridging portion 31bD to the left of the root of rear protrusion 31BL, and bridging portion 31C between column 31pR and lower bridging portion 31bD bridges column 31pR and lower bridging portion 31bD to the right of the root of rear protrusion 31BR. The lower bridge portion 31bD, the forward protrusions 31FL, 31FR, and the rearward protrusions 31BL, 31BR are placed directly on the installation surface.

[0033] Next, the guide portion 30, together with the slide portion 27, has the function of stabilizing the vertical movement of the weight body 14 (see Figs. 5, 6, 7, 8, etc.). First, the guide portion 30 is two cylindrical metal rods that are vertically spanned between the upper and lower bridge portions 31bU and 31bD, and the upper and lower ends of the metal rods are fixed to the upper and lower bridge portions 31bU and 31bD by predetermined metal fittings 33 (hereinafter, the left and right guide portions 30 may be referred to as guide portions 30L and 30R, respectively.) The guide portion 30L is provided between the pillar body 31pL and the drum 13bL, and the guide portion 30R is provided between the pillar body 31pR and the drum 13bR.

[0034] On the other hand, the slide portion 27 is a metal body having a cylindrical hollow 27h, and one slide portion 27 is fixed to each of the four corners of the metal plate 28. Therefore, the pull-out ends 13a of the constant force springs 13L, 13R and the slide portions 27 at the upper two corners are at the same height in the vertical direction. Also, a bush 27b is provided in the hollow 27h of each slide portion 27, and the slide portion 27 is guided by the guide portion 30 via the bush 27b (hereinafter, the upper left, upper right, lower left, and lower right slide portions 27 may be referred to as slide portions 27LU, 27RU, 27LD, and 27RD, respectively).

[0035] Here, the lower extension portion 26L, the side portion 28L of the metal plate 28, the slide portions 27LU, 27LD and the guide portion 30L are arranged at approximately the same position in the left-right direction, and the lower extension portion 26R, the side portion 28R of the metal plate 28, the slide portions 27RU, 27RD and the guide portion 30R are also arranged at approximately the same position in the left-right direction.

[0036] The two left slide portions 27LU, 27LD are guided by guide portion 30L, and the two right slide portions 27RU, 27RD are guided by guide portion 30R. Additionally, the upward movement of the entire movable part 23 is restricted by the fact that the slide parts 27LU and 27RU are each locked by the upper metal fittings 33. When the upward movement of the movable part 23 is restricted, the two pull-out ends 13a are slightly pulled out downward from the state in which they are wound around the drums 13bL and 13bR, respectively.

[0037] Therefore, throughout the entire movable range of the movable part 23, the constant load springs 13L, 13R apply a load upward to the holding part 20, and the auxiliary device 1 can assist in pulling the weight body 14 upward by the load of the constant load springs 13L, 13R.

[0038] [Example Usage] A method of using the assist device 1 of the embodiment will be described. First, the movable part 23 is moved upward to pull the holder 20 and the weight 14 upward, and a space is secured below the top lid 15 to place the container 8. Next, the container 8 containing the paint is brought under the weight 14, and the lid of the container 8 is removed to expose the paint surface at the top. Next, the movable part 23 is moved downward to cover the liquid surface with the top lid 15, and the mixing blade 16a is inserted into the container 8, and further, the suction pipe 18 is inserted into the container 8 through the hole 15c. Thereafter, the drive part 16b is operated to rotate the mixing blade 16a, and the pump 9 is operated to start transferring the paint from the container 8 to the supply tank 4.

[0039] [Effects of the embodiment] The auxiliary device 1 of the embodiment includes the following holding unit 20 and constant load springs 13L, 13R. First, the holding unit 20 holds a weight body 14 as described below. Here, the weight body 14 is an integrated upper cover 15 and agitator 16, and the upper cover 15 covers the liquid surface of the paint formed inside the container 8 that can store and transport the paint. In addition, the agitator 16 has an agitator blade 16a that agitates the paint that forms the liquid surface, and a drive unit 16b that rotates and drives the agitator blade 16a. Next, the constant load springs 13L, 13R are set so that a load acts on the holding unit 20 toward the upper side.

[0040] The assist device 1 assists in pulling the weight body 14 upward by the loads of the constant load springs 13L and 13R. This provides a countermeasure that does not impose a large burden on the operator when lifting the agitator 16 upward and inserting the agitating blades 16a into the container 8, and does not require large-scale equipment.

[0041] That is, the constant force springs 13L, 13R have a constant force (load) returning to the respective drums 13bL, 13bR, regardless of the amount of pull-out of the pull-out end 13a. As a result, when the weight body 14 is lifted upward, a constant load always acts upward, regardless of the height of the weight body 14. Therefore, the weight body 14 can be easily lifted upward, and the agitator 16 can be lifted upward and the agitating blades 16a can be inserted into the container 8 without imposing a large burden on the operator and without requiring large-scale equipment.

[0042] The auxiliary device 1 of the embodiment includes the following frame 31 and slide portions 27LU, 27RU, 27LD, and 27RD. The frame 31 is mounted on an installation surface and has drums 13bL and 13bR wound with constant force springs 13L and 13R, respectively. Next, slide portions 27LU, 27RU, 27LD, and 27RD are integrated with holding portion 20, slide portions 27LU and 27LD are assembled to guide portion 30L so as to be vertically movable, and slide portions 27RU and 27RD are assembled to guide portion 30R so as to be vertically movable. Guide portions 30L and 30R are provided on frame body 31.

[0043] Further, the drums 13bL and 13bR are attached to the frame 31 so as to be located above the slide portions 27LU and 27RU. Furthermore, the drawn-out ends 13a of the constant force springs 13L and 13R are fastened to the metal plate 28 of the movable part 23, and the constant force springs 13L and 13R are drawn downward. This stabilizes the vertical movement of the weight body 14, allowing the operator to lift the agitator 16 and insert the agitating blades 16a in a stable manner.

[0044] Furthermore, according to the auxiliary device 1 of the embodiment, the drawn-out ends 13a of the constant force springs 13L, 13R and the slide portions 27LU, 27RU are at the same height in the up-down direction. This further stabilizes the vertical movement of the weight body 14, allowing the operator to lift the weight body 14 and insert the mixing blade 16a with even greater stability.

[0045] Furthermore, according to the auxiliary device 1 of the embodiment, the weight body 14 is held by the holding portion 20 above the pull-out ends 13a of the constant force springs 13L and 13R. This makes it easier to ensure space below the weight body 14 for placing the container 8, making it even easier for the operator to lift the weight body 14 and insert the stirring blade 16a.

[0046] [Modifications] The present invention can be modified in various ways without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, according to the auxiliary device 1 of the embodiment, the weight body 14 is an integrated unit of the top lid 15 and the agitator 16, but the aspect of the weight body 14 is not limited to this aspect. For example, in addition to the top lid 15 and the agitator 16, a pump 9 and a suction pipe 18 may be added to the weight body 14. Furthermore, a level gauge for detecting the paint level in the container 8 may be added to the weight body 14.

[0047] In addition, according to the auxiliary device 1 of the embodiment, the circular portion 15a of the top lid 15 is provided with a hole 15c for inserting the suction piping 18 into the container 8, but the suction piping 18 may be integrally formed with the top lid 15 and added to the weight body 14.

[0048] Furthermore, according to the auxiliary device 1 of the embodiment, the lower bridging portion 31bD is longer than the upper bridging portion 31bU, the left end of the lower bridging portion 31bD protrudes to the left of the pillar portion 31pL, the right end of the lower bridging portion 31bD protrudes to the right of the pillar portion 31pR, the arm 20aL is located to the left of the pillar portion 31pL, and the arm 20aR is located to the right of the pillar portion 31pR, but they may be arranged in the following manner. That is, the lower bridge portion 31bD and the upper bridge portion 31bU may be provided to have the same length, the arm 20aL may be positioned at the same position as the pillar portion 31pL in the left-right direction, and the arm 20aR may be positioned at the same position as the pillar portion 31pR. [Explanation of symbols]

[0049] 1 auxiliary device 8 container 13, 13L, 13R constant load spring 14 weight body 15 top cover 16 agitator 16a agitating blade 16b drive unit 20 holding unit

Claims

1. a top cover for covering the liquid surface of the paint formed inside the container capable of storing and transporting the paint, agitating blades for agitating the paint forming the liquid surface, and a holder for holding a weight body integrated with an agitator having a drive unit for rotating the agitating blades; a constant load spring that is set so as to apply a load upward to the holding portion, An assisting device characterized in that the load of this constant load spring assists in lifting the weight body upward.

2. 2. The auxiliary device according to claim 1, a frame on which the drum around which the constant force spring is wound is attached and which rests on an installation surface; a slide portion that is integrated with the holding portion and is attached to a guide portion provided on the frame body so as to be movable up and down; The drum is attached to the frame so as to be located above the slide portion, The extension end of the constant force spring is fastened to the integral body of the holding portion and the sliding portion, An auxiliary device characterized in that the constant force spring is pulled downward.

3. 3. The auxiliary device according to claim 2, An auxiliary device characterized in that the extended end of the constant load spring and the slide portion are at the same height in the vertical direction.

4. 2. The auxiliary device according to claim 1, An auxiliary device, characterized in that the weight body is held by the holding part above the extended end of the constant load spring.

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