Rotation Support Device

Abstract

To provide a rotation support device which has high operation accuracy, and in which a number of components is reduced.SOLUTION: A rotation support device comprises: a first unit and a second unit; a table which is supported to be rotatable about a first axis, on the first unit and the second unit; a first driving mechanism which supplies drive force for rotating the table about the first axis, to the table; a rotation mechanism which is provided on the table, and is capable of rotating a workpiece about a second axis that is orthogonal to the first axis; a second driving mechanism which supplies drive force for rotating the workpiece about the second axis, to the rotation mechanism; and a power transmission mechanism for transmitting power of the second driving mechanism to the rotation mechanism. The power transmission mechanism includes a deceleration mechanism that is constituted of two gears consisting of a first gear on a second driving mechanism side and a second gear on a rotation mechanism side. The first gear and the second gear are parallel axis gears that rotate about an axis parallel to the first axis. The table includes a support mechanism for supporting the first gear. An inter-axis distance of the first gear and the second gear can be adjusted by moving the support mechanism in a direction orthogonal to the first axis.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present technology relates to a rotary support device. [Background technology]

[0002] A rotary support device that rotatably supports a workpiece has been conventionally known. Examples of such a rotary support device include those described in Japanese Patent No. 4590244 (Patent Document 1), Japanese Patent Publication No. 2004-160642 (Patent Document 2), Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 06-000625 (Patent Document 3), Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 62-088537 (Patent Document 4), Japanese Patent Publication No. 2021-000674 (Patent Document 5), and Utility Model Registration No. 3094448 (Patent Document 6). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 4590244 [Patent Document 2] JP 2004-160642 A [Patent Document 3] Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 06-000625 [Patent Document 4] Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 62-088537 [Patent Document 5] JP 2021-000674 A [Patent Document 6] Utility Model Registration No. 3094448 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] There is a demand for improving the accuracy of the operation of the rotary support device, while there is also a demand for reducing the number of parts of the rotary support device.

[0005] An object of the present technology is to provide a rotation support device with high operational accuracy and a reduced number of parts. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The rotary support device according to the present technology is a rotary support device capable of supporting a workpiece rotatably around two mutually orthogonal axes, and includes a first unit and a second unit, a table rotatably supported by the first unit and the second unit around the first axis, a first drive mechanism that supplies a drive force to the table for rotating the table around the first axis, a rotation mechanism provided on the table and capable of rotating the workpiece around a second axis orthogonal to the first axis, a second drive mechanism that supplies a drive force to the rotation mechanism for rotating the workpiece around the second axis, and a power transmission mechanism that transmits the power of the second drive mechanism to the rotation mechanism. The power transmission mechanism includes a reduction mechanism consisting of two gears, a first gear on the second drive mechanism side and a second gear on the rotation mechanism side. The first gear and the second gear are parallel-shaft gears that rotate around an axis parallel to the first axis. The table includes a support mechanism that supports the first gear. The axial distance between the first gear and the second gear can be adjusted by moving the support mechanism in a direction orthogonal to the first axis. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present technology, it is possible to provide a rotation support device with high operational accuracy and a reduced number of parts. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a machine tool including a rotary support device according to one embodiment of the present technology. [Diagram 2] 2 is a diagram showing the rotary support device shown in FIG. 1 as viewed from the direction of arrow II. [Diagram 3] 2 is a diagram showing in more detail the configuration of a rotation mechanism included in the rotation support device shown in FIG. 1. [Figure 4] 2 is a diagram showing in more detail the configuration of a power transmission mechanism included in the rotation support device shown in FIG. 1. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the positional relationship between the two gears shown in FIG. 4. [Figure 6] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the positional relationship between two gears according to a reference example. [Figure 7] 1. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a process for fixing a coupling of a power transmission mechanism included in the rotation support device shown in FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] 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.

[0010] 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.

[0011] 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.

[0012] 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).

[0013] Fig. 1 is a diagram showing a machine tool 1 (machining center) according to one embodiment. As shown in Fig. 1, the machine tool 1 includes a spindle 2 and a cutting tool 3. The machine tool 1 further includes a rotation support device 100 that supports a workpiece W (a workpiece).

[0014] The spindle 2 is capable of holding a cutting tool 3. The cutting tool 3 is a tool for performing cutting processing on a workpiece W supported by the rotary support device 100.

[0015] Fig. 2 is a diagram showing the rotation support device 100 as viewed from the direction of arrow II in Fig. 1. As shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, the rotation support device 100 includes a first unit 110 (index unit), a second unit 120 (support unit), a base 130, an index table 140, a rotation mechanism 150, and a power transmission mechanism 160.

[0016] The first unit 110 and the second unit 120 are provided on a base 130. The rotation mechanism 150 is supported by an index table 140. The index table 140 is supported by the first unit 110 and the second unit 120 so as to be rotatable ("A-axis rotation" described below). Therefore, the workpiece W fixed on the index table 140 can be rotated ("A-axis rotation" described below) to realize any tilt angle. As a result, cutting can be performed on the workpiece W by the cutting tool 3 from any angle.

[0017] More specifically, the first unit 110 includes a rotary joint 111, a cross roller bearing 112, a roller gear cam 113, a cam follower 114, and a motor 115 (first drive mechanism) for A-axis rotation. The second unit 120 includes a motor 121 (second drive mechanism) for the rotation mechanism 150.

[0018] The first unit 110 supports the index table 140 rotatably about the A axis via a rotary joint 111 and a cross roller bearing 112. The second unit 120 also supports the index table 140 rotatably about the A axis.

[0019] The power of the motor 115 provided inside the first unit 110 is transmitted to the index table 140 via the roller gear cam 113 and the cam follower 114, causing the index table 140 to rotate about the A axis. By using the roller gear cam 113 and the cam follower 114, torque can be transmitted by rolling contact, so that a highly durable rotary support device 100 can be obtained that can operate stably with high precision.

[0020] A fixing jig table 170, a seating block 180, and a clamping device 190 are installed above the index table 140. The clamping device 190 fixes the workpiece W in place.

[0021] The rotation mechanism 150 can rotate the fixed jig table 170 at a predetermined angle. This allows the workpiece W fixed to the fixed jig table 170 to rotate (the "C-axis rotation" described later). Note that the rotation axis of the "A-axis rotation" and the rotation axis of the "C-axis rotation" are orthogonal, but the "orthogonal" here is not necessarily limited to the case where both rotation axes intersect in a three-dimensional space. In this specification, even if the rotation axis of the "C-axis rotation" is offset from the rotation axis of the "A-axis rotation" on the index table 140 (offset by a distance L in the example of FIG. 2), the rotation axis of the "A-axis rotation" and the rotation axis of the "C-axis rotation" are interpreted as being "orthogonal" when the vectors along the extension directions of both rotation axes are "orthogonal".

[0022] More specifically, the rotation mechanism 150 rotatably supports the fixed jig table 170. The power of the motor 121 provided inside the second unit 120 is transmitted to the rotation mechanism 150 via the reduction mechanism 161 and the roller gear cam 162 of the power transmission mechanism 160, and the rotating part of the rotation mechanism 150 is rotated about the C axis. As a result, the fixed jig table 170 supported by the rotation mechanism 150 and the workpiece W fixed to the fixed jig table 170 are rotated about the C axis.

[0023] The first unit 110 is supplied with hydraulic pressure for the clamp device 190 to fix the workpiece W. The index table 140 is provided with an oil passage 141. The hydraulic pressure supplied to the first unit 110 is transmitted from the rotary joint 111 in the first unit 110 to the rotation mechanism 150 via an oil passage 141B provided in the index table 140.

[0024] Air may be used instead of hydraulic oil as the working fluid for driving the clamp device 190. By using hydraulic oil as the working fluid, a larger driving force can be obtained compared to the case of air, so that the clamping force of the clamp device 190 can be improved in a limited space.

[0025] A chuck (not shown) for fixing the workpiece W may be provided on the rotation mechanism 150, and a drive mechanism for driving the chuck may be provided inside the index table 140 together with the rotation mechanism 150. In this way, the workspace of the spindle 2 on the index table 140 can be expanded.

[0026] 1 and 2, the rotation axis (C-axis) of the rotation mechanism 150 is located near the center of the index table 140 along the direction of the rotation axis (A-axis) of the index table 140 (the horizontal direction in FIGS. 1 and 2). This makes it possible to expand the workspace of the spindle 2 on the index table 140.

[0027] Fig. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of the rotation mechanism 150 in more detail. As shown in Fig. 3, the rotation mechanism 150 is substantially built into the index table 140. The index table 140 includes a first member 140A and a second member 140B. The rotation mechanism 150 includes a rotary joint 151, an oil passage 152, a lower body 153, an upper body 154, a rotating member 155, and a roller bearing 156.

[0028] The rotary joint 151 includes a shaft portion 151A and a housing 151B. The shaft portion 151A is fixed to the index table 140 together with a lower body 153. The housing 151B rotates about the C-axis on the outer periphery of the shaft portion 151A.

[0029] Oil passages 152A and 152B are formed in the rotary joint 151. The oil passages 152A and 152B communicate with oil passages 141A and 141B formed in the index table 140, respectively.

[0030] The lower body 153 and the upper body 154 are fixed to the index table 140. The lower body 153 includes a first member 153A, a second member 153B, and a third member 153C. The first member 153A and the second member 153B are assembled below the first member 140A and the rotary joint 151 of the index table 140, and the third member 153C is assembled above the first member 140A of the index table 140. The upper body 154 is coupled to the second member 140B of the index table 140.

[0031] A cylindrical rotating member 155 is fitted onto the housing 151B of the rotary joint 151. The rotating member 155 is supported at its outer periphery by roller bearings 156. The rotating member 155 has an input portion 155A to which a driving force for C-axis rotation is input. The rotational driving force is input from the power transmission mechanism 160 to the input portion 155A. In this way, the driving force for C-axis rotation is obtained by the rotating mechanism 150. A roller gear cam mechanism, which will be described later, is also used for transmitting torque to the rotating member 155.

[0032] The roller bearing 156 is a three-roller bearing including two thrust roller bearings 156 A and a radial roller bearing 156 B. This supports the rotating member 155 both in the radial direction and the axial direction.

[0033] A base 170A of the fixed jig table 170 is attached to the top of the rotation mechanism 150. A seating block 180 and a clamping device 190 are installed on the fixed jig table 170. A workpiece W is placed on the seating block 180, and the workpiece W is fixed by the clamping device 190. An oil passage 152B of the rotary joint 151 reaches an oil chamber of the clamping device 190 via an oil passage 171 of the fixed jig table 170. As a result, a clamping drive force is obtained by the clamping device 190.

[0034] 4 is a diagram showing in more detail the configuration of the power transmission mechanism 160. As shown in FIG. 4, the power transmission mechanism 160 includes a speed reduction mechanism 161, a roller gear cam 162, a coupling 163, and a bearing 164.

[0035] The reduction gear 161 does not have an intermediate gear and is composed of two gears, a small-diameter first gear 161A and a large-diameter second gear 161B. The first gear 161A and the second gear 161B are parallel-axis gears that rotate around an axis parallel to the A axis.

[0036] The roller gear cam 162 is connected to the second gear 161 B. The roller gear cam 162 is provided coaxially with the second gear 161 B. The roller gear cam 162 is connected to an input portion 155A (cam follower) of the rotation mechanism 150.

[0037] The first gear 161A has a shaft portion 1610A. The shaft portion 1610A is connected to the motor 121 via a coupling 163. The shaft portion 1610A is supported by the plate 142 and the support members 143 and 144 via a bearing 164. The support members 143 and 144 are cylindrical members, and the coupling 163 and the bearing 164 are housed in their inner peripheries.

[0038] The alignment member 145 is a member for aligning the second unit 120 with the index table 140. The alignment member 145 maintains the positioning of the main body of the index table 140 relative to the second unit 120.

[0039] A cover member 146 is fitted onto the outside of the support member 144. The cover member 146 is fitted onto the outside of the support member 144 in a state in which it can slide in the A-axis direction.

[0040] The plate 142, the support members 143 and 144, the cover member 146, the first gear 161A (shaft portion 1610A), the coupling 163, and the bearing 164 are movable in the radial direction relative to the alignment member 145. More specifically, the support member 143 is fitted into a hole provided in the plate 142. The tip of the support member 144 is fitted into the support member 143. The bearing 164 is fitted inside the support member 143. Therefore, the support members 143 and 144, and the first gear 161A (shaft portion 1610A) supported by the bearing 164 can move in the radial direction relative to the alignment member 145 in conjunction with the plate 142. After a backlash adjustment described later, the plate 142 is fixed to a side surface of the main body of the index table 140 with a bolt. Plate 142 fixed to the main body of index table 140 and support members 143 and 144 constitute a "support mechanism" that supports first gear 161A.

[0041] The driving force of the motor 121 is transmitted to the shaft portion 1610A and the first gear 161A via the coupling 163. In the speed reduction mechanism 161, the speed is reduced according to the gear ratio between the first gear 161A and the second gear 161B. The torque after the reduction is transmitted to the input portion 155A of the rotation mechanism 150 via the roller gear cam 162. As a result, the rotation mechanism 150 rotates in the C-axis direction.

[0042] By connecting the first gear 161A (shaft portion 1610A) and the motor 121 via the coupling 163, the length of the power transmission mechanism 160 along the A-axis direction can be increased, and the distance between the second unit 120 incorporating the motor 121 and the center (C-axis) of the rotation mechanism 150 can be increased. As a result, the workspace of the spindle 2 on the index table 140 can be expanded.

[0043] In order to precisely control the C-axis rotation operation by the rotation mechanism 150, it is necessary to perform backlash adjustment in the reduction mechanism 161 and the roller gear cam 162 of the power transmission mechanism 160. The procedure for backlash adjustment will be described below.

[0044] First, each member of the rotation mechanism 150 and the roller gear cam 162 are assembled. Then, the roller gear cam 162 is moved so as to approach the center (C axis) of the rotation mechanism 150. This makes it possible to adjust the backlash between the roller gear cam 162 and the input part 155A (cam follower) of the rotation mechanism 150.

[0045] Next, as shown in FIG. 4, each member of the power transmission mechanism 160 other than the roller gear cam 162 and the plate 142 are assembled. Then, while maintaining the alignment (A axis) between the second unit 120 and the main body of the index table 140 by the alignment member 145, the plate 142 is moved in a direction perpendicular to the A axis (up and down direction in FIG. 4). In response to the movement of the plate 142, the support members 143 and 144, the cover member 146, the first gear 161A (shaft portion 1610A), the coupling 163, and the bearing 164 move relative to the index table 140. At this time, the position of the second gear 161B connected to the roller gear cam 162 is fixed. Therefore, the axial distance between the first gear 161A and the second gear 161B is adjusted, and the backlash in the reduction mechanism 161 can be adjusted.

[0046] In the power transmission mechanism 160 according to the present embodiment, the above-described configuration allows backlash adjustment to be performed without adjusting the position of the intermediate gear in the reduction mechanism 161, making it possible to configure the reduction mechanism 161 consisting of two gears, the first gear 161A and the second gear 161B. This makes it possible to precisely control the operation of the C-axis rotation by the rotation mechanism 150 while suppressing an increase in the number of parts.

[0047] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the positional relationship between first gear 161A and second gear 161B in this embodiment (a diagram showing the state of FIG. 4 as viewed from the direction of arrow V), and FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the positional relationship between first gear 161A and second gear 161B in a reference example.

[0048] As described above, in the rotary support device 100 according to this embodiment, the A-axis (first axis) which is the tilt axis of the index table 140 and the C-axis (second axis) which is the rotation axis of the rotation mechanism 150 are positioned at positions spaced apart from each other by a distance L along the direction of the axis (third axis) perpendicular to the A-axis and C-axis (the vertical direction in FIG. 4). In contrast, in the reference example of FIG. 6, the A-axis and C-axis are provided in the same plane.

[0049] In the rotation support device 100 according to this embodiment, the A-axis and the C-axis are allowed to be spaced apart in the depth direction (the vertical direction in FIG. 4), so there is no need to match the axial distance of the reduction mechanism 161 (the axial distance between the first gear 161A and the second gear 161B) with the axial distance of the roller gear (the axial distance between the roller gear cam 162 and the rotation mechanism 150). Therefore, the first gear 161A and the second gear 161B can be arranged as shown in FIG.

[0050] On the other hand, in the reference example, in order to provide the A-axis and the C-axis on the same plane, it is necessary to match the axial distance of the reduction mechanism 161 (axial distance between the first gear 161A and the second gear 161B) with the axial distance of the roller gear (axial distance between the roller gear cam 162 and the rotation mechanism 150). As a result, as shown in Fig. 6, the diameter of the second gear 161B becomes large, and as a result, the height H of the index table 140 may also become large. This may result in a reduction in the workspace of the spindle 2 on the index table 140.

[0051] Fig. 7 is a diagram showing a process of fixing the coupling 163 of the power transmission mechanism 160. As shown in Fig. 7, the support member 144 has a window portion 144A, and the cover member 146 fitted onto the support member 144 can slide in the A-axis direction to open and close the window portion 144A. When the window portion 144A is in the open state, the first member 163A and the second member 163B of the coupling 163 can be fixed.

[0052] By closing off the inside of the device with the cover member 146, the motor 121 can be protected from chips, cutting oil, etc. Furthermore, since the electric wires of the motor 121 are not exposed, problems such as wire breakage can be avoided.

[0053] Seal members 147, 148, and 149 are provided around the window 145A to prevent chips, cutting oil, and the like from entering the inside of the device.

[0054] 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]

[0055] 1 machine tool, 2 spindle, 3 cutting tool, 4 fixed tool, 100 rotation support device, 110 first unit, 111, 151 rotary joint, 112 cross roller bearing, 113 roller gear cam, 114 cam follower, 115 motor, 120 second unit, 121 motor, 130 base, 140 index table, 140A first member, 140B second member, 141, 141A, 141B oil passage, 142 plate, 143, 144 support member, 144A window portion, 145 alignment member, 146 cover member, 147, 148, 149 seal member, 150 rotation mechanism, 151A shaft portion, 151B housing, 152, 152A, 152B oil passage, 153 lower body, 153A First member, 153B second member, 153C third member, 154 upper body, 155 rotating member, 155A input portion, 156 roller bearing, 156A thrust roller bearing, 156B radial roller bearing, 160 power transmission mechanism, 161 reduction mechanism, 161A first gear, 161B second gear, 1610A shaft portion, 162 roller gear cam, 163 coupling, 163A first member, 163B second member, 164 bearing, 170 fixed jig table, 170A base, 171 oil passage, 180 seating block, 190 clamp device.

Claims

1. A rotary support device capable of supporting a workpiece rotatably around two mutually perpendicular axes, A first unit and a second unit; a table supported by the first unit and the second unit so as to be rotatable about a first axis; a first drive mechanism that supplies a drive force to the table to rotate the table about the first axis; a rotation mechanism provided on the table and capable of rotating the workpiece around a second axis perpendicular to the first axis; a second drive mechanism that supplies a drive force to the rotation mechanism to rotate the workpiece about the second axis; a power transmission mechanism that transmits power of the second drive mechanism to the rotation mechanism, the power transmission mechanism includes a reduction mechanism including two gears, a first gear on the second drive mechanism side and a second gear on the rotation mechanism side, and a roller gear cam connected to the second gear and the rotation mechanism, the first gear and the second gear are parallel-axis gears that rotate around an axis parallel to the first shaft, A rotary support device, wherein the table includes a support mechanism that supports the first gear, and the axial distance between the first gear and the second gear can be adjusted by moving the support mechanism in a direction perpendicular to the first axis.

2. the first drive mechanism is provided inside the first unit, The rotary support device according to claim 1 , wherein the second drive mechanism is provided inside the second unit.

3. The support mechanism includes a plate, the first gear includes a shaft portion supported by the table via a bearing attached to the plate, The shaft portion of the first gear is connected to the second drive mechanism via a coupling, 3. The rotary support device according to claim 1, wherein the plate is attached to the table in a direction along the first axis, and the axial distance between the first gear and the second gear can be adjusted by moving the plate in a direction perpendicular to the first axis relative to the table.

4. The rotation support device according to claim 1 , wherein the first axis and the second axis are spaced apart from each other along a direction of a third axis that is perpendicular to the first axis and the second axis.

5. the rotation mechanism includes a rotary joint provided on the table along the second axis, 5. The rotary support device according to claim 1, wherein a working fluid is supplied to a fluid pressure cylinder via the rotary joint, and a working fluid is discharged from the fluid pressure cylinder via the rotary joint, thereby performing a locking operation and an unlocking operation of the workpiece.

6. The first unit includes the first drive mechanism and a rotary joint provided along the first axis, the second unit includes the second drive mechanism, the first unit supports the table rotatably around the first axis via the rotary joint; The table is provided with a flow path, 5. The rotary support device according to claim 1, wherein the working fluid supplied to the first unit is transmitted from the rotary joint through the flow path to the rotation mechanism.

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