Automatic attachment / detachment device for power transmission coil units in contactless power supply devices

Abstract

[Problem] To allow quick and easy attachment / detachment of a transmission coil unit, and to prevent the transmission coil unit from interfering with other tasks. [Solution] An automatic attachment / detachment device 10 comprises: a bracket member 42; a stand member 44; an adapter member 46; a linear drive mechanism 48; and a power supply mechanism 50. The bracket member 42 is provided to a main shaft housing 20, and the stand member 44 is disposed at an avoidance position S where interference with a task related to a toolholder 24, such as an exchange task by an ATC, is avoided. The adapter member 46 is provided with a transmission coil unit 30, and the adapter member 46 can be freely linked alternately to the bracket member 42 and the stand member 44.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an automatic attaching / detaching device for automatically attaching and detaching a power transmission coil unit in a non-contact power feeding device that non-contact supplies energy to an actuator built in a rotating tool holder. [Background Art]

[0002] Generally, a machining center is provided with a tool holder that is replaced by an ATC (Automatic Tool Changer), and the tool holder may incorporate an actuator such as a motor and an electronic circuit in some cases. For example, in boring processing, an actuator capable of correcting the position of the cutting edge of a boring tool in the radial direction in micron units as the cutting edge of the boring tool wears is adopted.

[0003] In this case, an electromagnetic induction method is used to supply electric power to the actuator in a non-contact manner. In this electromagnetic induction method, a power transmission coil (power feeding coil) is fixed to a fixed portion on the spindle side, while a power receiving coil is provided on the tool holder side. When the tool holder and the power receiving coil rotate, electric power is supplied from the power transmission coil to the power receiving coil in a non-contact manner. This type of technology is described, for example, in Patent Document 1.

[0004] The above-mentioned Patent Document 1 comprises: an energy transmission unit having a transmission coil unit that non-contact transmits electrical energy to a receiving coil unit of a tool interface unit; and a coupling interface unit having an interface body element mountable to a spindle device and a second coupling element configured to be coupled to a first coupling element of the energy transmission unit via a releasable connection.

[0005] Furthermore, the manipulator or robot is configured to voluntarily and automatically detach or drop the energy transfer unit from the coupling element holder, and / or to voluntarily receive the energy transfer unit which is docked or coupled and detachably attached to the coupling interface unit, and / or to voluntarily and automatically dock or couple the energy transfer unit to the coupling interface unit. [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2017-56554 [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0007] However, while Patent Document 1 describes automatically removing the energy transmission unit using a manipulator or robot, it is unclear exactly what procedure is followed. In particular, the mounting structure of the energy transmission unit is complex, which presents a problem as it makes it difficult to perform the replacement work quickly and easily.

[0008] The present invention aims to solve this type of problem and to provide an automatic attachment / detachment device for a power transmission coil unit in a non-contact power supply device that allows for quick and easy attachment and detachment of the power transmission coil unit, and prevents the power transmission coil unit from interfering with other operations when power transmission is not required. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] The present invention relates to an automatic attachment and detachment device for a power transmission coil unit in a non-contact power supply device, which comprises a power transmission coil unit and a power receiving coil unit that rotates integrally with a tool holder connected to a spindle, and supplies energy to an actuator housed in the tool holder in a non-contact manner, and the automatic attachment and detachment device for the power transmission coil unit is for automatically attaching and detaching the power transmission coil unit.

[0010] The automatic attachment / detachment device comprises a bracket member, a stand member, an adapter member, a linear drive mechanism, and a power supply mechanism. The bracket member is provided on the main body that rotatably supports the spindle, and the stand member can be positioned in a retracted position that does not interfere with work related to the tool holder. The adapter member is provided with a power transmission coil unit, and the adapter member can be alternately connected to the bracket member and the stand member. The linear drive mechanism moves the adapter member linearly when the bracket member and the stand member are positioned facing each other, and connects the adapter member to the bracket member or the stand member integrally with the power transmission coil unit. The power supply mechanism can supply power from the bracket member to the power transmission coil unit via the adapter member when the adapter member and the bracket member are connected. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] In the automatic attachment / detachment device according to the present invention, the adapter member is detached from the stand member and quickly and easily connected to the bracket member in conjunction with the power transmission coil unit simply by moving linearly via a linear drive mechanism. In this state, the actuator housed in the tool holder can receive energy non-contactually from the power transmission coil unit via the power receiving coil unit under the operation of the power supply mechanism. Furthermore, the adapter member is detached from the bracket member and connected to the stand member in conjunction with the power transmission coil unit simply by moving linearly via a linear drive mechanism. Therefore, with a simple configuration and operation, the power transmission coil unit can be quickly and easily removed from the bracket member, and, for example, the power transmission coil unit can be prevented from interfering with the tool holder replacement work by the ATC. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0012] [Figure 1] This is a schematic perspective view of a vertical machining center incorporating a contactless power supply device to which an automatic attachment / detachment device according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied. [Figure 2] This is a perspective view illustrating the main part of the automatic attachment / detachment device. [Figure 3] This is a front view diagram of the bracket member that constitutes the automatic attachment / detachment device. [Figure 4] This is a cross-sectional diagram illustrating the transfer of the adapter member constituting the automatic attachment / detachment device from the rest portion to the bracket member. [Figure 5] This is a cross-sectional diagram illustrating the adapter member and the rest portion. [Figure 6] This is a cross-sectional diagram illustrating the transfer of the adapter member from the bracket member to the rest portion. [Figure 7] This is a cross-sectional diagram illustrating the moment when the rest portion that holds the adapter member detaches from the bracket member. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0013] As shown in Figure 1, the automatic attachment / detachment device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied to a non-contact power supply device 12, and the non-contact power supply device 12 is incorporated into a vertical machining center (machine tool) 14. The non-contact power supply device 12 can be used in various machine tools other than the vertical machining center 14, such as transfer machines, and these machine tools can be incorporated into work machines not shown.

[0014] The vertical machining center 14 is equipped with a machining table 16 on which a workpiece (not shown) is placed, and the machining table 16 is movable in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction. A spindle slide 19 is provided on a column 18 that constitutes the vertical machining center 14 so as to be able to move forward and backward (up and down) in the Z-axis direction, and a spindle housing 20 is disposed on the spindle slide 19.

[0015] Inside the spindle housing 20, a spindle 22 connected to a drive source (not shown) is rotatably mounted via two sets of bearings (not shown) at the front and rear. A tool holder 24 is detachably attached to the front end (lower end) of the spindle 22 via an ATC (not shown).

[0016] The tool holder 24 houses an actuator 28, such as a motor, for correcting the position of the cutting edge of the boring bar 26 in the machining diameter direction, and the actuator 28 is electrically connected to an electronic circuit board (not shown). The electronic circuit board is equipped with a rectifier circuit, a voltage stabilization circuit, and a safety mechanism for stably extracting power (electrical energy) from the non-contact power supply device 12 (described later), and also has a control circuit that controls the power supplied to the actuator 28.

[0017] The non-contact power feeding device 12 includes a power transmission coil unit 30 that is detachably attachable to a spindle housing 20, and a power receiving coil unit 32 that is disposed on an outer peripheral surface of a tool holder 24 and rotates integrally with the tool holder 24. As shown in FIG. 2, the power transmission coil unit 30 has a primary housing 34 fixed to a lower portion of a support portion 78 described later. The primary housing 34 is formed in an arc shape with a central angle of 90 degrees, and an arc-shaped primary coil 36 is disposed in the primary housing 34.

[0018] As shown in FIG. 1, the power receiving coil unit 32 includes, for example, a secondary housing 38 divided into two parts. Each secondary housing 38 has a semicircular shape with a central angle of 180 degrees, and is arranged in a ring shape as a whole. An arc-shaped secondary coil 40 is disposed in each secondary housing 38. Each secondary coil 40 goes around the outer peripheral surface of the tool holder 24 as a whole. The air gap between the power transmission coil unit 30 and the power receiving coil unit 32 (the spatial distance between the end surface of the primary housing 34 and the end surface of the secondary housing 38) is set to be at least 1 mm.

[0019] The automatic attaching / detaching device 10 includes a bracket member 42, a stand member 44, an adapter member 46, a linear drive mechanism 48, and a power supply mechanism 50. As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 3, the bracket member 42 is provided on the spindle housing 20, and the stand member 44 is arranged at a retracted position S that does not interfere with work related to the tool holder 24, for example, replacement work by an ATC. As shown in FIG. 2, the adapter member 46 is provided with the power transmission coil unit 30, and the adapter member 46 can be alternately and detachably connected to the bracket member 42 and the stand member 44.

[0020] As shown in FIG. 4, the linear drive mechanism 48 linearly moves the adapter member 46 in a state where the bracket member 42 and the stand member 44 are arranged opposite to each other, and connects the adapter member 46 integrally with the power transmission coil unit 30 to the bracket member 42 or the stand member 44. In a state where the adapter member 46 and the bracket member 42 are connected, the power supply mechanism 50 can supply electric power from the bracket member 42 to the power transmission coil unit 30 via the adapter member 46.

[0021] The bracket member 42 has a rectangular shape, and is fixed to a lower portion of the spindle housing 20 in a region where the ATC arm does not interfere, for example, by screwing. As shown in FIG. 1, a first air (or liquid) pipe 52 connected to a first fluid supply source (not shown), for example, a first air (or liquid) supply source, and an electric wiring 54 connected to a controller (not shown) are connected to the bracket member 42. The first air pipe 52 supplies and cuts off air pressure via a solenoid valve (not shown), while the electric wiring 54 is supplied with electric power necessary for non-contact power supply from an AC power source (high-frequency generation power source) (not shown) via the controller.

[0022] As shown in FIG. 4, one or more, for example, two first holes 56 constituting the linear drive mechanism 48 are formed parallel to each other in the bracket member 42. The two first holes 56 communicate with the first air pipe 52 via a first air path 58. A first ball plunger (first holding portion) 60a is provided in the middle of each first hole 56. On the contact surface 42a of the bracket member 42, four power feeding sockets (or power feeding pins) 62, which are first power feeding portions constituting the power supply mechanism 50, are provided between the respective first holes 56. Two of the power feeding sockets 62 are power lines, and the other two power feeding sockets 62 are communication lines, which are connected to the controller via the electric wiring 54.

[0023] As shown in Figure 1, the stand member 44 is fixed to the end of the processing table 16, and can be positioned in a retracted position S that does not interfere with operations related to the tool holder 24, such as replacement operations by the ATC, by moving the processing table 16. The stand member 44 may not be fixed to the processing table 16, and a dedicated means of movement may be provided. As shown in Figure 2, the stand member 44 has a vertically elongated plate shape, and a rest portion 64 is provided on the upper part of the stand member 44, protruding horizontally. A second air (or liquid) pipe 66 connected to a second fluid supply source (not shown), such as a second air (or liquid) supply source, is connected to the rest portion 64. The first air supply source and the second air supply source may be the same.

[0024] As shown in Figure 5, one or more second holes 68, for example, two, are formed parallel to each other within the rest portion 64, constituting the linear drive mechanism 48. The two second holes 68 communicate with the second air piping 66 via the second air path 70. A second ball plunger (second holding portion) 60b is provided in the middle of each second hole 68.

[0025] As shown in Figure 4, with the bracket member 42 and the stand member 44 positioned facing each other at the transfer position Sa, the first hole 56 and the second hole 68 are arranged coaxially and linearly. The linear drive mechanism 48 is fixed to the adapter member 46 and comprises a pair of sliding rods 72, one end 72a of which is detachably fitted into the first hole 56, and the other end 72b of which is detachably fitted into the second hole 68.

[0026] The sliding rod 72 has a substantially cylindrical shape. A first groove 74a is formed at one end 72a of the sliding rod 72, into which a first ball plunger 60a engages to position and hold the sliding rod 72 within the first hole 56, and a first O-ring 76a is fitted to the inside of the first groove 74a to prevent air leakage. A second groove 74b is formed at the other end 72b of the sliding rod 72, into which a second ball plunger 60b engages to position and hold the sliding rod 72 within the second hole 68, and a second O-ring 76b is fitted to the inside of the second groove 74b to prevent air leakage.

[0027] The adapter member 46 is firmly fixed by press-fitting the axial intermediate portions of a pair of sliding rods 72, and as shown in Figure 2, a support portion 78 is provided protruding downward from the adapter member 46. The lower end of the support portion 78 protrudes horizontally, and a primary housing 34 constituting the power transmission coil unit 30 is provided at its tip. As shown in Figures 2 and 5, four power supply pins (or power supply sockets) 80, which constitute the second power supply section of the power supply mechanism 50, are provided on the contact surface 46a of the adapter member 46, located between each sliding rod 72. As shown in Figure 4, with the bracket member 42 and the stand member 44 facing each other and positioned at the transfer position Sa, each power supply socket 62 and each power supply pin 80 are arranged coaxially and linearly.

[0028] The operation of the vertical machining center 14 configured in this way will be described below.

[0029] The stand member 44 is positioned in a retracted position S (see Figure 1) while holding the power transmission coil unit 30. First, as the machining table 16 moves in the X-axis and Y-axis directions, the stand member 44 (rest portion 64) is moved to the transfer position Sa, as shown in Figure 4, while the spindle housing 20 moves up and down (in the Z-axis direction), positioning the bracket member 42 at the transfer position Sa. The movement of the machining table 16 and the raising and lowering of the spindle housing 20 are performed, for example, according to an NC program. At the transfer position Sa, the first hole 56 of the bracket member 42 and the second hole 68 of the rest portion 64 are arranged coaxially and linearly. At this point, a certain level of air pressure is supplied to the second air pipe 66 constituting the linear drive mechanism 48 under the action of a solenoid valve (not shown), and this air pressure is sent to the two second holes 68 via the second air path 70.

[0030] The air pressure supplied to each second hole 68 acts on the end face of the other end 72b of each sliding rod 72, releasing the locking state of the sliding rod 72 by the second ball plunger 60b and allowing it to slide in the direction of arrow A. As a result, one end 72a of the sliding rod 72 is forcibly inserted into the first hole 56 of the bracket member 42, and the adapter member 46 fixed to the sliding rod 72 moves together with the sliding rod 72 in the direction of arrow A. Then, as shown in Figure 6, the contact surface 46a of the adapter member 46 contacts the contact surface 42a of the bracket member 42. Meanwhile, the first ball plunger 60a engages with the first groove 74a provided on one end 72a of each sliding rod 72, positioning and holding the sliding rod 72 within the first hole 56.

[0031] When the contact surface 46a of the adapter member 46 and the contact surface 42a of the bracket member 42 come into contact, the power transmission coil unit 30 and the power receiving coil unit 32 held by the adapter member 46 are maintained in a position that has a desired air gap and allows for desired contactless power supply to each other. Furthermore, the four power supply pins 80 of the adapter member 46 are inserted into the four power supply sockets 62 of the bracket member 42, making it possible to supply power to the power transmission coil unit 30 via the power supply mechanism 50.

[0032] Next, under the action of a solenoid valve (not shown), the supply of air pressure to the second air pipe 66 is turned off. Then, contrary to the above operation, the stand member 44 moves in the direction of arrow B (opposite to the direction of arrow A) under the movement of the machining table 16 to be positioned in the retracted position S (see Figure 1), and the spindle housing 20 moves up and down.

[0033] As described above, the power transmission coil unit 30 is attached to the bracket member 42 integrally with the adapter member 46. Then, as shown in Figure 1, under the rotational action of the spindle 22, the tool holder 24 rotates while the spindle slide 19 moves downward in the Z-axis direction. Below the spindle slide 19, a workpiece (not shown) is placed on the machining table 16, and the cutting edge of the rotating boring bar 26 performs machining on the workpiece. When machining is complete, the spindle slide 19 moves upward in the Z-axis direction, and the tool holder 24 detaches from the workpiece.

[0034] Next, when correcting the position of the cutting edge of the boring bar 26 in the machining diameter direction while the tool holder 24 is rotating or stopped, power is supplied to the actuator 28 via the non-contact power supply device 12. Specifically, in the power transmission coil unit 30 that constitutes the non-contact power supply device 12, high frequency (power) is supplied to the electrical wiring 54 via a controller (not shown). The electrical wiring 54 applies high frequency to the primary coil 36 via the power supply mechanism 50, which generates an induced electromotive force in the secondary coil 40 opposite the primary coil 36, and power is supplied to the actuator 28 electrically connected to the secondary coil 40. This makes it possible to correct the position of the cutting edge of the boring bar 26 in the machining diameter direction.

[0035] Once machining with the boring bar 26 is complete, various operations are performed, such as replacing the tool holder 24. At that time, the power transmission coil unit 30 is removed from the bracket member 42. Specifically, according to the NC program, as shown in Figure 6, the rest portion 64 of the stand member 44 is moved and positioned at the transfer position Sa, and the bracket member 42 provided on the spindle housing 20 is also moved and positioned at the transfer position Sa. An adapter member 46 is attached to the bracket member 42, and a pair of sliding rods 72 fixed to the adapter member 46 and the second hole 68 of the rest portion 64 are arranged coaxially and linearly.

[0036] In this state, a certain level of air pressure is supplied to the first air piping 52 constituting the linear drive mechanism 48 under the action of a solenoid valve (not shown), and this air pressure is sent to two first holes 56 via the first air path 58. The air pressure sent to each first hole 56 acts on the end face of one end 72a of each sliding rod 72, releasing the lock state of the sliding rod 72 by the first ball plunger 60a and causing it to slide in the direction of arrow B. As a result, the other end 72b of the sliding rod 72 is forcibly inserted into the second hole 68 of the rest portion 64, and the adapter member 46 fixed to the sliding rod 72 moves together with the sliding rod 72 in the direction of arrow B. At that time, the supply of air pressure to the first air piping 52 is turned off under the action of a solenoid valve (not shown).

[0037] As shown in Figure 7, the contact surface 64a of the rest portion 64 contacts the other contact surface 46b of the adapter member 46. Meanwhile, the second ball plunger 60b engages with the second groove 74b provided on the other end 72b side of each sliding rod 72, thereby positioning and holding the sliding rod 72 within the second hole 68. Thus, the power transmission coil unit 30 is held in the stand member 44 via the adapter member 46. Furthermore, the four power supply pins 80 of the adapter member 46 detach from the four power supply sockets 62 of the bracket member 42, making it impossible to supply power from the power supply mechanism 50 to the power transmission coil unit 30.

[0038] Next, contrary to the above operation, the stand member 44 moves in the direction of arrow B under the movement of the processing table 16 and is positioned in the retracted position S (see Figure 1), and the spindle housing 20 moves up and down. That is, the power transmission coil unit 30 is positioned in the retracted position S.

[0039] In this embodiment, as shown in Figure 4, the adapter member 46 is detached from the rest portion 64 and quickly and easily connected to the bracket member 42 integrally with the power transmission coil unit 30 simply by moving linearly in the direction of arrow A via the linear drive mechanism 48 (see Figure 6). In this state, the actuator 28 housed in the tool holder 24 can receive energy from the power transmission coil unit 30 via the power receiving coil unit 32 in a non-contact manner under the operation of the power supply mechanism 50.

[0040] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 6, the adapter member 46 is detached from the bracket member 42 and connected to the rest portion 64 integrally with the power transmission coil unit 30 simply by moving linearly in the direction of arrow B via the linear drive mechanism 48 (see Figure 4). Therefore, with a simple configuration and operation, the power transmission coil unit 30 can be quickly and easily removed from the bracket member 42, and, for example, the power transmission coil unit 30 can be prevented from interfering with the replacement work of the tool holder 24 by the ATC.

[0041] Furthermore, in this embodiment, as shown in Figures 4 and 6, the linear drive mechanism 48 includes a first hole 56 provided in the bracket member 42, a second hole 68 provided in the stand member 44, and a sliding rod 72 fixed to the adapter member 46 and detachably fitted into the first hole 56 and the second hole 68. This effectively simplifies the configuration of the linear drive mechanism 48, and enables the attachment and detachment of the power transmission coil unit 30 to be performed quickly with simple control of linear forward and backward movement.

[0042] Furthermore, the first hole 56 is provided with a first ball plunger 60a for positioning and holding the sliding rod 72 within the first hole 56, and the second hole 68 is provided with a second ball plunger 60b for positioning and holding the sliding rod 72 within the second hole 68. Therefore, the sliding rod 72 can be reliably positioned and held with a simple and economical configuration. It should be noted that, for example, the attractive force of an electromagnet can be used instead of the first ball plunger 60a and the second ball plunger 60b. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0043] 10...Automatic attachment / detachment device 12...Contactless power supply device 14…Vertical machining center 16…Machining table 19...Spindle slide 20...Spindle housing 22...Spindle 24...Tool holder 28...Actuator 30...Power transmission coil unit 32... Power receiving coil unit 42... Bracket component 44…Stand component 46…Adapter component 48... Linear drive mechanism 50... Power supply mechanism 52, 66... ​​Air piping 54... Electrical wiring 56, 68... Holes 58, 70... Air passages 60a, 60b... Ball plunger; 62... Power socket 64... Rest section 72... Sliding rod 78...Support section 80...Power supply pin

Claims

1. A non-contact power supply device comprising a power transmission coil unit and a power receiving coil unit that rotates integrally with a tool holder connected to a spindle, wherein energy is supplied to an actuator housed in the tool holder without contact, and an automatic attachment / detachment device for automatically attaching and detaching the power transmission coil unit, A bracket member provided on the main body that rotatably supports the spindle, A stand member that can be positioned in a retracted position that does not interfere with the work related to the tool holder, The power transmission coil unit is provided, and adapter members are provided that can be alternately connected to the bracket member and the stand member, A linear drive mechanism that moves the adapter member linearly while the bracket member and the stand member are positioned facing each other, and connects the adapter member integrally with the power transmission coil unit to the bracket member or the stand member, A power supply mechanism capable of supplying power from the bracket member to the power transmission coil unit via the adapter member, with the adapter member and the bracket member connected, An automatic attachment and detachment device for a power transmission coil unit in a non-contact power supply device, characterized by comprising the above.

2. In the automatic attachment / detachment device according to claim 1, the linear drive mechanism is provided in the bracket member and has a first hole that communicates with a first fluid supply source, The stand member is provided with a second hole that communicates with the second fluid supply source, A sliding rod is fixed to the adapter member, with one end detachably fitted into the first hole and the other end detachably fitted into the second hole, An automatic attachment and detachment device for a power transmission coil unit in a non-contact power supply device, characterized by comprising the above.

3. An automatic attachment and detachment device for a power transmission coil unit in a non-contact power supply device, characterized in that the bracket member and the stand member are arranged facing each other, and the first hole and the second hole are arranged coaxially and linearly.

4. In the automatic attachment / detachment device according to claim 2 or 3, the first hole is provided with a first holding portion for positioning and holding the sliding rod within the first hole, An automatic attachment and detachment device for a power transmission coil unit in a non-contact power supply device, characterized in that the second hole is provided with a second holding portion for positioning and holding the sliding rod within the second hole.

5. In the automatic attachment / detachment device according to claim 2 or 3, two first holes are provided parallel to each other, and the two first holes are integrally connected to a first fluid supply source, An automatic attachment / detachment device for a power transmission coil unit in a non-contact power supply device, characterized in that two second holes are provided parallel to each other, and the two second holes are integrally connected to a second fluid supply source.

6. In the automatic attachment / detachment device according to claim 1, the power supply mechanism includes a first power supply unit provided on the bracket member and electrically connected to a power supply source, A second power supply unit is provided on the adapter member and electrically connected to the power transmission coil unit, Equipped with, An automatic attachment / detachment device for a power transmission coil unit in a non-contact power supply device, characterized in that the first power supply unit and the second power supply unit are electrically detachable by the relative movement of the bracket member and the adapter member.

7. An automatic attachment / detachment device for a power transmission coil unit in a non-contact power supply device, characterized in that the first power supply unit and the second power supply unit are one of which is a power supply socket and the other of which is a power supply pin inserted into the power supply socket.

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