Chuck device

Abstract

To provide a chuck device equipped with a lubrication cover that can be attached for supplying grease. [Solution] A chuck device having a lubrication cover attached to the central part of the end face of the chuck body on the side that grips the workpiece, the lubrication cover having a supply channel formed therein for supplying grease to the master jaws, and a grease nipple connected to the supply channel, for example, the lubrication cover is a plate-shaped member, the supply channel communicates from the side to the central part of the end face, and the grease nipple is provided in the opening of the side where the supply channel is formed.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a chuck device provided with an oil supply cover that can be attached to supply grease.

Background Art

[0002] A chuck device provided in relation to a machine tool has chuck jaws for gripping and releasing a workpiece, and the chuck jaws are configured to be actuated by an actuator. Since the chuck device needs to firmly grip the workpiece during processing so that it does not fall off, the movable parts close to the chuck jaws are configured to slide between the chuck body side. Therefore, a regular supply of grease is required so that the chuck jaws can move stably. In the chuck device of Patent Document 1 below, a grease hole is formed in the side part of the chuck body, and a grease supply path to the sliding part is formed to supply grease from the grease hole into the main body. And a grease nipple for enclosing grease is provided in the grease hole of the chuck body so that the grease is enclosed into the inner space.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In the conventional chuck device described above, grease nipples or grease holes are pre-designed as part of the chuck body's structure to supply grease to the sliding parts. However, some chuck devices do not have such a grease supply structure. Chuck devices without such a grease supply section require disassembly of the chuck body to periodically supply grease. However, some chuck devices are modified to include additional parts to the chuck jaws or surrounding areas depending on the shape and size of the workpiece. This can result in a complex structure for the chuck device, making the process of supplying grease more burdensome due to the added step of disassembly.

[0005] Therefore, the present invention aims to solve these problems by providing a chuck device equipped with a lubrication cover that can be attached for supplying grease. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The chuck device according to the present invention has a plurality of master jaws arranged radially and slidably mounted on a chuck body, and grips a workpiece with a plurality of chuck claws fixed to each of the master jaws, and has a lubrication cover attached to the central part of the end face on the side of the chuck body that grips the workpiece, and has a supply channel formed therein for supplying grease to the master jaws, and a grease nipple connected to the supply channel. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the above configuration, multiple master jaws incorporated into the chuck body slide against each other, allowing the workpiece to be gripped by multiple radially arranged chuck jaws. Furthermore, by attaching a lubrication cover to the central part of the end face of the chuck body on the side that grips the workpiece, grease can be supplied to the master jaws via a supply channel by sending grease through a grease nipple. Therefore, in a chuck device with a lubrication cover attached, grease can be supplied without disassembling any additional parts that may be assembled to the end face. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] This is a front view showing a machine tool equipped with an autoloader. [Figure 2] This is a side view showing the autoloader. [Figure 3] This is a diagram showing the chuck device from the front. [Figure 4] This diagram shows the first cover plate of the fuel supply cover. [Figure 5] This diagram shows the second cover plate of the fuel supply cover. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] An embodiment of the chuck device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The chuck device of this embodiment constitutes an auto loader that loads and unloads workpieces to and from a machine tool. Figure 1 is a front view showing a machine tool equipped with the auto loader. This machine tool 1 is a front-facing two-spindle lathe, with a workpiece stocker 3 for supplying workpieces located on the left side when viewed from the front, and an inspection device 5 located on the right side. The machine tool 1 is equipped with a gantry-type auto loader 7, which is configured to transport workpieces W from the workpiece stocker 3 through the spindle device of the machine tool 1 to the inspection device 5.

[0010] Figure 2 is a side view showing the autoloader 7. The drive mechanism of the autoloader 7 is configured such that rail members 11 are arranged in the width direction of the machine body on the ceiling of the machine tool 1, and a traveling platform 12 moves between the work stocker 3 and the inspection device 5. The traveling platform 12 is provided with a front and rear sliding platform that can move in the front and rear direction of the machine body, and a lifting arm 13 that stands vertically relative to the front and rear sliding platform is configured to move up and down. A robot hand 15 equipped with two chuck devices 21 and 22 is attached to the lower end of the vertically extending lifting arm 13.

[0011] The robot hand 15 for transferring the workpiece W has two chuck devices 21 and 22 arranged in orthogonal directions and has a swivel section 23. The swivel section 23 rotates around a rotation axis O that is inclined 45 degrees with respect to the vertical, so that the positions of the chuck devices 21 and 22 are swapped. In this automatic workpiece transfer machine 7, the robot hand 15 moves in the width direction of the machine tool 1 by the drive of the travel platform 12, moves in the front-rear direction of the machine by the drive of the front-rear sliding platform, and the lifting arm 13 moves in the up-down direction, so that the chuck devices 21 and 22 grasp the workpiece W and transport it to a predetermined position.

[0012] Next, Figure 3 is a front view of the robot hand's chuck device 21. In the chuck device 21, the chuck jaws 201 are located on the front side when viewed in the direction indicated by arrow X in Figure 2, and the workpiece W is gripped at this end face 311. The chuck device 21 (and similarly for the chuck device 22) grips the workpiece W by opening and closing three radially arranged chuck jaws 201. Multiple guide grooves are formed in the radial direction of the chuck body 31, and a master jaw 32 is slidably incorporated into each of them. Although not shown in detail, a plunger that can be displaced axially by a cylinder is positioned at the center of the chuck body 31, and the master jaw 32 is configured to slide radially due to the wedge action of the plunger.

[0013] Therefore, the chuck device 21 requires periodic grease supply to the sliding parts between the chuck body 31 and the master jaws 32, and between the master jaws 32 and the plunger. For example, in the case of a structure like the chuck device 21 that does not have a grease nipple, a cover is provided in the central part between the three master jaws 32, and by removing this cover, it becomes possible to seal grease into the sliding parts of the master jaws 32. The end face 311 shown in Figure 3 is a simple state showing the master jaws 32, but depending on the workpiece to be machined by the machine tool 1, the end face 311 may have additional parts such as jigs in addition to the chuck jaws to create a structure.

[0014] In chuck devices with complex end face structures 311, the disassembly process, which involves removing the front cover to supply grease, has become a significant burden for the operator. Therefore, the chuck device 21 of this embodiment is designed to allow grease supply without disassembling it, even if the chuck jaws and additional parts are attached to create a complex structure from the state shown in Figure 3. Specifically, a lubrication cover 35, which can be attached as shown, is provided in the central part of the end face 311 where the grease is sealed. The lubrication cover 35 consists of two superimposed members as shown in Figures 4 and 5, with the first cover plate 37 shown in Figure 4 and the second cover plate 38 shown in Figure 5. Both are shown in plan view (A) and side view (B).

[0015] The first cover plate 37 and the second cover plate 38 are both plate-shaped members having a predetermined thickness. As shown in Figure 5, the first cover plate 37, shown by the dashed line, is placed on top of the second cover plate 38, shown by the solid line, and is attached so as to cover the central portion of the end face 311. The shapes of the first cover plate 37 and the second cover plate 38 are arbitrarily designed to avoid interference with existing parts such as the master jaw 32. The first cover plate 37 and the second cover plate 38 each have three through holes 41 and 42, and are fixed to the end face 311 of the chuck body 31 by bolts 43.

[0016] First, the first cover plate 37 shown in Figure 4 extends in three directions from roughly the center, with through holes 41 formed at each end. In addition, stepped portions 371 are formed on the back side of each end portion and are configured to fit into the shape of the end face 311. The first cover plate 37 has a grease supply section 45 formed in the wide end portion 373 for supplying grease. The grease supply section 45 has a tapped hole 451 formed on the end face of the first cover plate 37 into which a grease nipple can be attached, and a supply channel 452 extends from there toward the center. The supply channel 452 passes through the inside of the plate material first cover plate 37 and communicates with an outlet 453. The outlet 453 opens on the back side of the first cover plate 37 near the center.

[0017] Next, the second cover plate 38 is placed on the back side of the first cover plate 37, as shown by the dashed line in Figure 5. The second cover plate 38 is a hexagonal plate with an annular guide groove 47 formed in its central portion. Three through holes 42 are formed on the outside of the guide groove 47, and three discharge holes 48 are formed on the inside of the guide groove 47, with parts of them overlapping the groove. The discharge holes 48 are formed to penetrate the second cover plate 38, so that the guide groove 47 connects to the back side.

[0018] The lubrication cover 35 is formed by fixing the second cover plate 38 to the end face 311 of the chuck body 31, and then fixing the first cover plate 37 on top of it, so that the two plates are in the positional relationship shown in Figure 5. That is, the outlet 453 of the grease supply section 45 formed on the first cover plate 37 is superimposed on the guide groove 47 of the second cover plate 38, so that the grease supply section 45, the guide groove 47 and the discharge hole 48 are in communication. Then, as shown in Figure 3, a grease nipple 50 is attached to the tapped hole 451 of the grease supply section 45 on the first cover plate 37. The lubrication cover 35 is similarly formed for the chuck device 22, and a grease nipple 50 is provided on it as shown in Figure 3.

[0019] Therefore, as necessary, the grease gun is connected to the grease nipple 50, and grease is pushed into the grease supply unit 45. The grease flowing into the grease supply unit 45 under pressure from the grease nipple 50 flows through the supply passage 452 and into the guide groove 47 of the second cover plate 38 from the outlet 453. In the guide groove 47 blocked by the first cover plate 37, the grease flows in the circumferential direction and is sent to the discharge holes 48 at various locations, and is extruded from the back side through the discharge ports 48 and flows to the end face 311.

[0020] The oil supply cover 35 attached to the chuck device 21 is arranged corresponding to the position of the gap existing on the end face 311 so as to enclose grease for the three discharge holes 48 with respect to the master jaw 32 which is a support sliding member. Therefore, the grease extruded from the discharge hole 48 toward the end face 311 side is enclosed in the gap and reaches the sliding part between the chuck body 31 and the master jaw 32, the sliding part between the master jaw 32 and the plunger, and the like.

[0021] Therefore, the chuck devices 21, 22 of the present embodiment can supply grease from the grease nipple 50 to the sliding part of the master jaw 32 without disassembling by attaching the oil supply cover 35. Even for chuck devices 21, 22 that originally do not have a grease nipple and do not have a structure for supplying grease to the sliding part, the above effect can be achieved by adding a simple improvement of attaching the oil supply cover 35 to the end face 311. In particular, even if the structure becomes complicated due to additional parts being assembled to the end face 311, grease can be supplied without disassembling them. Further, the oil supply cover 35 is a simple part composed of the first cover plate 37 and the second cover plate 38, and the above effect can be achieved at low cost.

[0022] As described above, an embodiment of the present invention has been described, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit thereof. For example, in the above embodiment, the lubrication cover 35 is composed of two parts, a first cover plate 37 and a second cover plate 38, but depending on the structure of the chuck device to which it is attached, it may be composed of a single part. The shape of the refueling cover 35 is not specific to the device, but is adapted to the structure of the chuck device to which it is attached. [Explanation of symbols]

[0023] 1...Machine tool 7...Auto loader 15...Robot hand 21,22...Chuck device 31...Chuck body 32...Master jaw 35...Lubrication cover 37...First cover plate 38...Second cover plate 201...Chuck jaw 311...End face

Claims

1. A chuck device comprising a plurality of master jaws slidably mounted on a chuck body and arranged radially, wherein a workpiece is gripped by a plurality of chuck claws fixed to each of the master jaws, A chuck device having a lubrication cover attached to the central portion of the end face of the chuck body on the side that grips the workpiece, having a supply channel formed therein for supplying grease to the master jaw, and a grease nipple connected to the supply channel.

2. The chuck device according to claim 1, wherein the lubrication cover is a plate-shaped member, the supply channel communicates from the side to the central part of the end face, and the grease nipple is provided in the opening portion of the side where the supply channel is formed.

3. The chuck device according to claim 1, comprising: a plate-shaped first cover plate having the supply channel formed therein, which communicates from the side to the central part of the end face; and a plate-shaped second cover plate superimposed on the back side of the first cover plate, with a discharge hole formed therein in a guide groove on the front side to which the outlet of the supply channel is connected, which penetrates to the back side.

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