Cord-shaped body storage apparatus

Abstract

To provide a code-shaped body storage apparatus which can correctly and compactly store a cord-shaped body with a simple facility.SOLUTION: A code-shaped body storage apparatus 3 comprises: a cylindrical or polygonal casing 10 for storing a cord-shaped body R; an axial driving device 20 supported by the casing 10, and driving the cord-shaped body R in an axial direction thereof; and a cord-shaped body guidance device 30 freely rotatably held relative to an axial center C of the cord-shaped body R driven by the axial driving device 20, and guiding the cord-shaped body R to the inside of the casing 10.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a cord storage device for storing cords such as cables, tubes, and ropes. [Background technology]

[0002] A commonly used method for storing cables while reducing the effects of twisting is to reel them in on a rotating drum, like a cord reel. However, to rotate the drum, slip rings are used for cables, and rotary joints are used for tubes containing pressurized fluids. However, due to their structure, slip rings and rotary joints generate wear particles, which require periodic maintenance. In addition, slip rings are prone to noise (chattering) due to their sliding connection, and when it is necessary to transmit multiple electric wire cables and multiple pressurized fluids, multiple rotary joints concentric with the slip ring are required, making this extremely difficult to implement.

[0003] Therefore, Patent Document 1 proposes a cord-like material winding reel that includes a rotating rotor, an outer winding section provided on the outer periphery of the rotor, an inner winding section formed on the inner periphery of the rotor inside the outer winding section, and a guide section, in which the cord-like material is wound in one direction around the outer periphery of the inner winding section, the guide section guides the cord-like material extending from the inner winding section to the outer winding section, the inner winding section is fixed, the rotor is arranged to be freely rotatable relative to the inner winding section, the guide section orbits around the inner winding section as the rotor rotates, and the guide section is arranged at a different position from the inner winding section in the direction along the rotor axis. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 5175929 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, in the cord-like body winding reel described in Patent Document 1, the inner winding section and the rotor rotate synchronously in opposite directions, which increases the number of rotating components and complicates the rotation transmission structure, which is a problem.

[0006] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a cord-like body storage device that can store cord-like bodies accurately and compactly using simple equipment. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above problems, the cord-like material storage device 1 according to the first aspect of the present invention comprises, as shown in FIG. 1, a cylindrical or polygonal casing 10 for storing the cord-like material R, an axial drive device 20 supported by the casing 10 for driving the cord-like material R in its axial direction, and a cord-like material guide device 30 held rotatably about the axis C of the cord-like material R driven by the axial drive device 20 for guiding the cord-like material R inside the casing 10.

[0008] With this configuration, the cord-like body driven in the axial direction by the axial drive device is guided by the rotating cord-like body guide device and stored in a coiled state inside the casing. Conversely, when the cord-like body is pulled out from the casing, it is guided by the rotating cord-like body guide device, so it is pulled out smoothly. This results in a cord-like body storage device that can accurately store cord-like bodies with simple equipment.

[0009] In the cord-like material storage device 1 according to the second aspect of the present invention, as shown in Fig. 1, the rotating tip 32T of the cord-like material guiding device 30 guides the cord-like material R so that the tangential direction of the rotation or the tip direction projected onto a plane perpendicular to the rotation axis becomes the tangential direction. With this configuration, the cord-like material is guided so that the tangential direction of the rotation or the tip direction projected onto a plane perpendicular to the rotation axis becomes the tangential direction, making it easy to wind the cord-like material like a coil.

[0010] In the cord-like body storage device 1 according to the third aspect of the present invention, as shown in Fig. 1, the axial direction drive device 20 includes a pair of rollers 22 that rotate to drive the cord-like body R in the axial direction. With this configuration, the cord-like body is sandwiched between the pair of rollers, and the cord-like body can be driven in the axial direction by the rotation of the rollers, resulting in a simple structure.

[0011] 2, the cord-like material storage device according to the fourth aspect of the present invention further includes turning devices 36, 38 that turn the cord-like material guiding device 30 around the axis C of the cord-like material R driven by the axial driving device 20. With this configuration, the cord-like material guiding device can be turned reliably, making it easy to wind the cord-like material into a coil.

[0012] In the cord-like material storage device 2 according to the fifth aspect of the present invention, as shown in Fig. 5, the tip 32T of the cord-like material guiding device is also provided with a second axial drive device 26 that drives the cord-like material R in its axial direction. With this configuration, the cord-like material is driven in the axial direction even at the tip of the cord-like material guiding device, so that the cord-like material moves more reliably inside the cord-like material guiding device and is easily wound into a coil.

[0013] 2, the cord storage device 1 according to the sixth aspect of the present invention includes a lid 40 that is placed on top of the cord R that has been guided and wound by the cord guide device 30 inside the cylindrical or polygonal casing 10, and that prevents the wound cord R from floating up. With this configuration, even if the wound cord tries to float up due to twisting, the lid prevents the cord R from floating up, and the cord can be wound compactly in a coil.

[0014] In the cord-like material storage device 1 according to the seventh aspect of the present invention, as shown in Fig. 2, the cord-like material guiding device 30 or the lid 40 has a roller 42 between it and the wound cord-like material. With this configuration, it is possible to prevent the cord-like material from becoming difficult to wind due to friction with the cord-like material guiding device or the lid. [Effects of the Invention]

[0015] According to the cord-like material storage device of the present invention, it comprises a cylindrical or polygonal casing for storing the cord-like material, an axial drive device supported by the casing for driving the cord-like material in its axial direction, and a cord-like material guide device that is held rotatably about the axis of the cord-like material driven by the axial drive device and guides the cord-like material inside the casing.Therefore, the cord-like material driven in the axial direction by the axial drive device is guided by the rotating cord-like material guide device and wound like a coil inside the casing for storage, and conversely, when the cord-like material is pulled out from the casing, it is guided by the rotating cord-like material guide device and pulled out smoothly.Therefore, it is possible to provide a cord-like material storage device that accurately stores cord-like materials with simple equipment. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional conceptual diagram for explaining an example of a cord-like body storage device of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional conceptual diagram for explaining another example of the cord-like body storage device of the present invention. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a perspective view for explaining a main part of the cord-like body storage device in FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram of a cord-like body guiding device that guides a cord-like body in the tangential direction of rotation. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional conceptual diagram for explaining a second axial direction driving device installed at the tip of the cord-like member guiding device. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 shows a further embodiment of the axial drive device of the present invention. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a cord-like body guiding device of the present invention. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a further embodiment of the cord-like member storage device of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0017] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In each drawing, identical or corresponding devices are assigned the same reference numerals, and duplicate explanations will be omitted. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the concept of a cord-like body storage device 3 of the present invention. The cord-like body storage device 3 stores a cord-like body R inside a casing 10. Examples of the cord-like body R include, but are not limited to, power cables, communication cables, force transmission cables, tubes for transmitting fluid pressure, and hoses for carrying fluids. Furthermore, the casing 10 has a cylindrical or polygonal shape that is approximately symmetrical about a central axis. While FIG. 1 shows the casing 10 as covering the periphery, it may also have an open structure like a frame composed of pillars and beams, as shown in FIG. 8.

[0018] The axial drive device 20 is installed on or near the top of the central axis of the casing 10, which is substantially symmetrical about the central axis. The axial drive device 20 typically has a pair of rollers 22, which sandwich the cord R and rotate to drive the cord R in the axial direction. That is, the cord R is driven to rotate in the direction of the axis C of the cord R driven by the axial drive device 20. The axial drive device 20 may also drive the cord R in the axial direction using other configurations, and may be a known configuration. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the axial drive device 20 may be provided with a motor 39 that drives at least one of the rollers 22 that feeds out the cord R, and may further be provided with an auxiliary configuration such as a spring to feed out the cord R.

[0019] A cord-like member guide device 30 is installed below the axial drive device 20. The cord-like member guide device 30 may be a guide 32 through which the cord-like member R passes. One end of the guide 32 is located below the axial drive device 20, and the other end, a tip 32T of the guide 32 or cord-like member guide device 30, opens above a position where the cord-like member R is wound in a coil shape. The guide 32 rotates around its upper end, and the tip 32T rotates so as to wind the cord-like member R in a coil shape. In other words, the guide 32 is held rotatably about the axis C of the cord-like member R driven by the axial drive device 20.

[0020] By winding up the cord R using the cord storage device 3 configured in this manner, the cord R driven axially by the axial drive device 20 is guided by the rotating cord guide device 30 and wound like a coil inside the casing 10 and stored, and conversely, when pulling out from the casing 10, it is guided by the rotating cord guide device 30 and pulled out smoothly.

[0021] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a cable storage device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an example of the essential components of the exemplary device shown in FIG. 2. In the cable storage device 1, the guide 32 is forcibly rotated by a rotation device, for example, composed of a motor 36 and a belt 38. The rotation of the guide 32 is adjusted so that the tip 32T rotates at a speed suitable for coiling the cable R, relative to the speed at which the axial drive device 20 drives the cable R. Thus, when the cable storage device 1 includes the motor 36 and the belt 38, which are rotation devices that rotate the guide 32 or the cable guide device 30, the guide 32 is forcibly rotated, thereby ensuring that the cable R is coiled. The means for actively rotating the guide 32 are not limited to the motor 36 and the belt 38, and any known configuration may be used.

[0022] However, as explained in the cord-like material storage device 2 using FIG. 1, the guide 32 does not need to be equipped with the turning devices 36, 38, and does not need to be forcibly turned. FIG. 4 shows the guide 32 and the coiled cord R. When the cord-like material R is fed out by the roller 22 of the axial drive device 20, the cord-like material R is bent along the guide 32, and a reaction force acts on the guide 32, causing the guide 32 to turn. In other words, the cord-like material storage device 1 does not need to be equipped with the turning devices 36, 38, which results in an even simpler installation. When the cord-like material R is pulled out from the cord-like material storage device 1, a force in the opposite direction to that described above acts, causing the guide 32 to rotate in the opposite direction, allowing the cord-like material R to be pulled out smoothly.

[0023] The tip 32T of the guide 32 preferably guides the cord R in a tangential direction of the coiled cord R. Guiding the cord R in the tangential direction makes it easier to wind the cord R into a coil and to pull out the coiled cord R. Here, guiding the cord R in a tangential direction of the coiled cord R refers to a state in which the cord R is fed out from the tip 32T of the guide 32 so that the tangential direction is the tangential direction of the rotation of the tip 32T or the tip direction projected onto a plane perpendicular to the rotation axis. However, this does not necessarily mean a tangential direction in the strict sense. The up-down direction may also be downward. For example, this does not include a case in which the cord R is fed out from the tip 32T of the guide 32 in a direction close to the radial direction of the circle around which the tip 32T of the guide 32 rotates.

[0024] It is preferable to minimize friction so that the cord-like body R can pass through the guide 32 without clogging. The size and curvature of the guide 32 can be adjusted as appropriate depending on the materials of the guide 32 and the cord-like body R, and the diameter and length (distance) of the cord-like body R. Generally, however, the greater the curvature of the cord-like body R, the greater the friction tends to be, so a smaller curvature is preferable. However, a guide with reduced curvature may make it difficult to guide the cord-like body R onto the tangent to the circumference formed by the rotation of the cord-like body R due to the reaction force. In such cases, as shown in Figure 7, the arc-shaped guide 32 can be made roughly S-shaped by adding a twisted portion.

[0025] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 , a lid 40 may be provided on top of the coiled cord R to hold down the cord R. When the cord R is coiled, it twists once per turn. While the effect of this twist is small if the wound diameter is large, depending on the winding method, the twist may cause the cord R to lift up. Therefore, a lid 40 may be placed on top of the coiled cord R to press down on the cord R, preventing it from lifting up and ensuring that the cord R is properly aligned and wound into a coil. The force with which the lid 40 holds down the cord R may be obtained from its own weight or a spring force, etc. As shown in FIG. 3 , the lid 40 may be provided with a groove 46 through which the cord R passes. That is, the cord R passes through the groove 46 and is fed from the guide 32 to the bottom of the lid 40.

[0026] Here, it is preferable that the groove 46, i.e., the lid 40, also rotate together with the guide 32. Therefore, the main part of the cord-like material storage device 1 shown in FIG. 3 includes a disk 50 that rotates together with the rotor 34, and the tip 32T of the guide 32 is connected to the disk 50. In the example shown in FIG. 3, the rotor 34 and the disk 50 are connected by a column 54. Therefore, the guide 32 can rotate stably by rotating the upper end and the tip 32T. Furthermore, by connecting the disk 50 and the lid 40 with spokes 52, the lid 40 also rotates together. Spring force may be applied to the lid 40 via the spokes 52 to press down the cord-like material R. To reduce the friction between the lid 40 and the stationary wound cord-like material R when the lid 40 rotates, a roller 42 may be provided on the lid 40. The roller 42 may not be provided on the lid 40, but may be provided on the casing 10 or the like to reduce friction between the lid 40 and the wound cord-like material R. Furthermore, the rotor 34 and the disk 50, and the disk 50 and the lid 40 may be connected by means other than the column 54 and the spokes 52.

[0027] 5, the cord-like material storage device 2 may further include a second axial drive device 26 for driving the cord-like material R in the axial direction at the tip 32T of the guide 32. By including the second axial drive device 26, the cord-like material R can be driven in the axial direction more reliably, making it easier to wind the cord-like material in a coil.

[0028] As shown in Fig. 1, the cord-like material storage device 3 does not have a lid, and a lid is not an essential component. Also, as shown in Fig. 5, the cord-like material storage device 2 does not have a disk, and a disk is not an essential component. In particular, when there is no power such as a motor for rotating the guide 32, it is preferable to reduce the number of rotating parts and make it lighter.

[0029] In the explanation so far, the axial drive device 20 is installed at the top of the casing 10, but it does not necessarily have to be installed at the top. However, it is installed at a position where the cord-like body R, which is fed into the inside of the casing 10 by the axial drive device 20 and pulled out from inside the casing 10, can move smoothly.

[0030] Furthermore, although the cord-like material storage devices 1 and 2 have been described as having the lid 40, the lid 40 may be omitted, as in the cord-like material storage device 3. In particular, when the influence of twisting is small, such as when the radius around which the cord-like material R is wound is large, the force that causes the coiled cord-like material R to lift up is weak, and the alignment of the cord-like material R is unlikely to be disturbed even without a lid. [Explanation of symbols]

[0031] 1, 2, 3 Cord storage device 10 Casing 20 Axial drive unit 22 Pair of Rollers 26 Second axial drive unit 30 Cord guide device 32 Guide (cord guide device) 32T tip 34 rotor 36 Motor (rotating device) 38 Belt (rotating device) 39 Motor (axial drive) 40 Lid 42 Laura 46 Groove 50 discs 52 spokes 54 Column C axis center Fa, Fb reaction forces R funicular body

Claims

1. a cylindrical or polygonal casing for housing the cord; an axial drive device supported by the casing and driving the cord-like body in its axial direction; a cord guide device that is held rotatably about the axis of the cord driven by the axial drive device and that guides the cord into the inside of the casing; Cord-like body storage device.

2. The rotating tip of the cord-like member guiding device guides the cord-like member so that the tangential direction of the rotation or the tip direction projected onto a plane perpendicular to the rotation axis is the tangential direction; The cord-like body storage device according to claim 1.

3. the axial drive device includes a pair of rollers that are rotationally driven to drive the cord-like body in the axial direction; The cord-like body storage device according to claim 1.

4. The cable guide device further includes a rotation device that rotates the cable guide device around the axis of the cable driven by the axial drive device; The cord-like body storage device according to claim 1.

5. A second axial direction driving device is also provided at the tip of the cord-like body guide device, which drives the cord-like body in its axial direction; The cord-like body storage device according to claim 1.

6. a cover disposed on top of the cord guided and wound by the cord guide device inside the cylindrical or polygonal casing, for preventing the wound cord from floating up; The cord-like body storage device according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

7. The cord guide or lid has a roller between it and the wound cord; The cord-like body storage device according to claim 6.

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