Length measuring device

Abstract

[Problem] To provide a length measuring device capable of reliably holding a workpiece in a desired posture and measuring the length thereof, even if the workpiece has a shape that easily rolls about the longitudinal axis thereof.　[Solution] A length measuring device 1 for measuring the length of a workpiece to be cut by a cutting device 9 comprises: a slide rail 13 fixed relative to the cutting device 9 during length measurement; and a slide part 20 slidably installed on the slide rail 13, the slide part 20 having a slide body 21, a length measuring instrument 60 for measuring the slide distance of the slide body 21 with respect to the slide rail 13, and a workpiece abutting member 30 having a length measurement reference surface that abuts a workpiece 8 installed at a cutting position, as a reference surface during length measurement. The workpiece abutting member 30 comprises a workpiece jig member 40 installed at the tip thereof, the workpiece jig member 40 having a workpiece abutting guide 50 in which a workpiece clamping groove 55 for clamping the end of the workpiece 8 is formed when the end is an inclined surface.

Description

Length measuring device

[0001] The present invention relates to a length measuring device for measuring the length of a workpiece cut by a cutting device.

[0002] Conventionally, cutting devices for performing cutting operations on workpieces, which are workpieces to be processed, have been widely spread. In such a cutting device, in order to cut the workpiece at an accurate cutting position, it is necessary to accurately measure the length from a predetermined position of the workpiece to the cutting position.

[0003] For this reason, a length measuring device for measuring the length of a workpiece cut by a cutting device has been provided. For example, such length measuring devices are disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2 below. The length measuring devices disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2 are configured such that a contact portion that contacts the end face of the workpiece is provided on a slide body having a length measuring instrument that is slidably installed with respect to a slide rail, and the length of the workpiece is measured from the measured value of the measuring instrument in a state where the contact portion contacts the end face of the workpiece.

[0004] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2012-002706 Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2015-152400

[0005] Here, in the cutting device, the workpiece may be cut at a cutting angle that is inclined at a predetermined angle rather than perpendicular to the length measuring direction of the workpiece. In such a case, the workpiece is cut in a state where the cutting blade of the cutting device is turned at a predetermined angle.

[0006] And, for example, when trying to cut out a workpiece so that the inclined cutting end faces on both sides, such as a round pipe, are in a V-shaped inclined cutting end face in plan view, after cutting one end obliquely, once the workpiece is removed from the cutting machine, it is necessary to set the workpiece again on the cutting machine so that the cutting portion on the other end side is located at the cutting position of the cutting machine.

[0007] At this time, in order for the inclined cutting end faces on both sides, such as a round pipe, to be in a V-shaped shape, it is necessary to set the workpiece in a posture where one inclined end face is exactly vertical. However, when the workpiece is in a shape that easily rolls around its axis, such as a round pipe, it is difficult to accurately set the removed workpiece in the desired posture.

[0008] If a workpiece is cut in a position where the inclined end face is not perfectly vertical, the inclined cut end faces on both sides will be misaligned around the longitudinal axis of the workpiece, making it impossible to accurately cut the workpiece into the desired shape.

[0009] This invention has been made in view of these problems, and aims to provide a measuring device that can reliably hold and measure a workpiece in a desired position, even if the workpiece has a shape that makes it prone to rolling around its longitudinal axis.

[0010] To solve the above problems, the present invention provides a length measuring device used in combination with a cutting device having a cutting blade, for measuring the length of a workpiece to be cut by the cutting blade, comprising: a slide rail fixed relative to the cutting device when measuring length; a slide portion slidably installed on the slide rail, comprising: a slide body; a length measuring device for measuring the sliding distance of the slide body with respect to the slide rail; and a workpiece contact member having a length measuring reference surface that contacts the workpiece installed at the cutting position as a reference surface when measuring length; wherein the arm contact member is a workpiece jig member installed at its tip, and comprises a workpiece contact member having a workpiece contact guide with a workpiece clamping groove formed therein for clamping the end of the workpiece when the end of the workpiece is an inclined surface.

[0011] According to the measuring device of the present invention, when measuring the length of a workpiece whose end face is cut at an angle, the inclined cut end face of the workpiece is clamped in the workpiece clamping groove, so that even a workpiece with a shape that is prone to rolling can be reliably held in the desired position and measured.

[0012] Figure 1 is a perspective view of a length measuring device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 is a perspective view of a workpiece jig member according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of a workpiece jig base according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 4 is a diagram showing the configuration of a workpiece contact guide according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 5 is a diagram illustrating the installation state of a workpiece jig member according to an embodiment of the present invention on an arm member. Figure 6 is a diagram showing the configuration of a cut-out workpiece according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 7 is a diagram illustrating the clamping state of a workpiece by a workpiece jig member according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 8 is a plan view illustrating the usage mode of the length measuring device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 9 is a plan view illustrating the usage mode of the length measuring device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0013] Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings, an embodiment of the length measuring device 1 of the present invention will be described. The length measuring device 1 measures the length of a workpiece 8 that is cut to a predetermined length by a cutting device 9. In this embodiment, however, when the workpiece 8 is a cylindrical round pipe 8, the workpiece jig member 40 installed in the length measuring device 1 contacts the round pipe 8, thereby supporting the round pipe 8 so that it is in a desired position around its axis.

[0014] Here, with respect to Figure 3, Figure 3(a) is a perspective view of the workpiece jig base 41 seen from above, and Figure 3(b) is a perspective view of the workpiece jig base 41 seen from below. With respect to Figure 4, Figure 4(a) is a perspective view of the workpiece contact guide 50 seen from above, and Figure 4(b) is a perspective view of the workpiece contact guide 50 seen from below.

[0015] Regarding Figure 5, Figure 5(a) is a perspective view of the area near the tip of the bar portion 35 before the workpiece jig member 40 is installed, and Figure 5(b) is a perspective view of the area near the tip of the bar portion 35 after the workpiece jig member 40 is installed. Figure 6 shows the configuration of a round pipe 8 with both ends cut diagonally in a V-shape, with Figure 6(a) being a perspective view and Figure 6(b) being a plan view. Regarding Figure 7, Figure 7(a) is a perspective view and Figure 7(b) is a plan view.

[0016] The length measuring device 1 comprises a base portion 10 fixed to the cutting device 9 and a slide portion 20 slidably mounted on the base portion 10. The base portion 10 comprises a long plate-shaped base base 11 and a slide rail 13 installed on the base base 11 parallel to the longitudinal direction (length measuring direction).

[0017] The slide rail 13 has a pair of slide grooves 14 formed on both sides of its longitudinal direction, which is the sliding direction, extending in the sliding direction. In addition, slide stoppers are installed at both ends of the slide rail 13 in the longitudinal direction to prevent the slide portion 20 from detaching from the end of the slide rail 13.

[0018] The slide section 20 comprises a slide body 21, an arm member 30 which is a workpiece contact member that contacts the workpiece 8 when measuring length, and a digital length measuring device 60, and the slide body 21 is installed to slide longitudinally with respect to the slide rail 13.

[0019] The slide body 21 includes a linear guide 22 fixed to the slide body 21, a clamp 25 for fixing the slide body 21 so that it cannot slide relative to the slide rail 13, and an arm holding part 27 for holding the arm member 30.

[0020] The arm holding portion 27 includes an arm support shaft 28 extending in the sliding direction and a spring 29 through which the arm support shaft 28 passes. The spring 29 is installed in a compressed state so as to be in contact with the arm member 30 supported by the arm support shaft 28, and is configured to bias the arm member 30 toward the cutting position by the cutting device 9 in the sliding direction by its elastic force.

[0021] The clamp 25 can be switched between a fixed state, in which the slide body 21 is fixed to the slide rail 13, and an unlocked state, in which the slide body 21 is released from the slide rail 13 so that it can slide freely, by operating the clamp lever.

[0022] The arm member 30 comprises a base portion 32 through which a support shaft hole is formed for the arm support shaft 28 of the slide body 21, a bar portion 35 extending from the base portion 32 toward the cutting position, and a work jig member 40 that is detachably attached to the tip of the bar portion 35.

[0023] The bar portion 35 has a workpiece jig slide groove 36 and a clamp hole 37 with a female screw formed at its tip, which allow the workpiece jig member 40 to be attached and detachably and slidably fixed in a direction perpendicular to the length measurement direction (see Figure 5(a)). The workpiece jig slide groove 36 is formed on the upper surface near the tip of the bar portion 35, extending over the entire width direction of the bar portion 35 in a direction perpendicular to the length measurement direction.

[0024] The workpiece jig member 40 supports the round pipe 8 in a predetermined position around its axis by contacting the inclined end face of the round pipe 8, whose end face is cut at an angle, at the tip of the arm member 30, which is a workpiece contact member. The workpiece jig member 40 includes a workpiece jig base 41 which is fixedly installed on the tip of the bar portion 35 so as to be slidable in the width direction, and a workpiece contact guide 50 which is fixedly installed on the workpiece jig base 41 so as to be slidable in the width direction and grips the tip of the end of the workpiece 8 (see Figure 2, etc.).

[0025] The workpiece jig base 41 has a shape similar to an L-shaped metal fitting, with a vertical stepped surface parallel to the length-measuring direction that is roughly L-shaped. It consists of a horizontal rectangular plate-shaped base portion 41a and a rectangular plate-shaped upright portion 41b that rises vertically from the tip of the base portion 41a (see Figure 3, etc.).

[0026] The workpiece jig base 41 is equipped with a clamp 42 and has a clamping elongated hole 43, a bar slide projection 45, and a guide slide groove 46. The bar slide projection 45 is a protrusion provided on the lower surface of the base portion 41a, extending in a direction perpendicular to the measuring direction, and fits into the workpiece jig slide groove 36 formed on the upper surface near the tip of the bar portion 35. This fitting allows the workpiece jig base 41 to slide freely in the width direction relative to the bar portion 35.

[0027] As described above, since the entire workpiece jig member 40 is slidable in the width direction, even if it collides with a component of the cutting device 9 during the length measurement operation, the collision can be avoided by sliding the workpiece jig member 40 in the width direction within a range that does not interfere with the length measurement.

[0028] The clamp 42 is a component for fixing the slidable workpiece jig base 41 to the bar portion 35. The clamp 42 passes through a clamping elongated hole 43 formed in the width direction of the base plate portion 41a, and the male thread formed at the tip of the clamp 42 is screwed into the female thread of the clamp hole 37 formed in the bar portion 35.

[0029] The sliding position of the workpiece jig base 41 can be fixed by tightening the clamp 42 while the workpiece jig base 41 is slid to a desired position in the width direction. The guide slide groove 46 is a groove formed near the upper end of the front end surface of the vertical plate portion 41b, extending horizontally across the entire width direction.

[0030] Furthermore, when measuring the length with the workpiece jig member 40 installed, regardless of whether the workpiece contact guide 50 is installed or not, the surface of the tip side of the vertical plate 41b of the workpiece jig base 41 functions as a length-measuring reference surface that contacts the tip of the workpiece 8 during length measurement.

[0031] The workpiece contact guide 50 has a shape similar to an L-shaped metal fitting, with a vertical stepped surface parallel to the length-measuring direction that is roughly L-shaped inverted. It consists of a horizontal rectangular top plate 50a and a rectangular contact plate 50b that descends vertically from the tip of the top plate. The width of the workpiece contact guide 50 is about one-third of the width of the workpiece jig base 41.

[0032] The workpiece contact guide 50 is equipped with a clamp 51 and has a slide recessed portion 52 for the base and a workpiece clamping groove portion 55. The slide recessed portion 52 for the base is formed at the upper end of the base side surface of the contact plate 50b, extending horizontally in the width direction, and has a structure in which a groove 52b for the base is formed between the upper plate 50a and the base projection 52a.

[0033] The projection 52a for the base of the workpiece contact guide 50 fits into the guide slide groove 46 of the workpiece jig base 41, and the upper end of the vertical plate portion 41b fits into the base groove 52b, so that the workpiece contact guide 50 can slide freely in the width direction relative to the vertical plate portion 41b of the workpiece jig base 41.

[0034] The protruding height of the base plate projection 52a is the same as the depth of the guide slide groove 46. When the workpiece contact guide 50 is fixedly installed on the workpiece jig base plate 41, the front surface (measurement reference surface) of the vertical plate portion 41b comes into close contact with the back surface of the base side of the contact plate 50b.

[0035] The clamp 51 is a component for fixing the slidable workpiece contact guide 50 to the workpiece jig base 41. The clamp 51 has a male screw portion that is screwed through a male screw hole formed in the top plate 50a, and the tip of its shaft is configured to contact the upper surface of the vertical plate portion 41b of the workpiece jig base 41, which is fitted into the groove 52b for the base.

[0036] Therefore, by operating the clamp lever and tightening the clamp 51, the vertical plate portion 41b is pressed against the base plate projection 52a, thereby fixing the sliding position of the workpiece contact guide 50 in the width direction.

[0037] The workpiece clamping groove 55 is a long, narrow rectangular parallelepiped groove that extends straight vertically across the entire widthwise center of the contact plate 50b of the workpiece contact guide 50. In this embodiment, the workpiece clamping groove 55 penetrates from the front to the back of the contact plate 50b, dividing the contact plate 50b into two parts, and the bottom of the innermost part of the workpiece clamping groove 55 is located on the tip side surface of the vertical plate portion 41b of the workpiece jig base 41, which is the length measurement reference surface.

[0038] The width and depth of the workpiece clamping groove 55 are set so that the end of the round pipe 8 with the inclined cut end face is clamped and corrected to a desired position. However, in order to properly clamp the end of the round pipe 8, the width of the workpiece clamping groove 55 must be set to be smaller than the diameter of the round pipe 8.

[0039] The workpiece contact guide 50 according to this embodiment is a guide for a round pipe 8 whose end face is a 45° inclined cut end face, and the width and depth of the workpiece clamping groove 55 are the same. In this way, when the inclination angle of the cut end face is 45°, if the width and depth of the workpiece clamping groove 55 are the same, when the tip of the end of the round pipe 8 with the 45° inclined cut end face enters the workpiece clamping groove 55 and contacts the surface (measurement reference surface) of the vertical plate portion 41b located at the innermost (bottom) of the groove, the round pipe 8 will assume a position where the inclined cut end face is vertical (see Figure 7).

[0040] In this position, the cylindrical outer surface of the round pipe 8 contacts one groove inlet edge 55a (upper in Figure 7(b)) of the workpiece clamping groove 55, and two points on the inclined cut end face of the round pipe 8 contact the other groove inlet edge 55a (lower in Figure 7(b)) of the workpiece clamping groove 55. As a result, the round pipe 8 is supported at three points by the workpiece clamping groove 55 and is stably clamped.

[0041] Furthermore, when the inclined end face of the round pipe 8 enters the workpiece clamping groove 55 from its tip, even if the orientation of the round pipe 8 is such that its inclined end face is not vertical, if any one point on the inclined end face contacts the groove entrance edge 55a of the workpiece clamping groove 55, the round pipe 8 will rotate around its axis until it reaches a stable position where the inclined end face contacts the groove entrance edge 55a at two points. Finally, the round pipe 8 will be in a stable clamping position where it is supported by the workpiece clamping groove 55 at the three points mentioned above, and the inclined end face of the round pipe 8 will be in a vertical position.

[0042] As described above, the workpiece contact guide 50 according to this embodiment has a 45° inclined cut end face and can be used with any round pipe whose diameter is larger than the width of the workpiece clamping groove 55, and can clamp the round pipe 8 in a position where the inclined end face is vertical. The tip of the clamped round pipe 8 will always come into contact with the surface of the innermost vertical plate portion 41b of the workpiece clamping groove 55, regardless of the diameter, and this surface of the vertical plate portion 41b serves as the length measurement reference plane.

[0043] In this way, with the round pipe 8 fixed in a posture where the inclined end face is exactly vertical, by cutting the round pipe 8 at a 45° inclination angle with the cutting device 9, it is possible to cut out the round pipe 8 whose both ends are accurately cut obliquely in a V shape.

[0044] Here, in order to apply the workpiece contact guide 50 to a round pipe 8 having a cutting end face with an inclination angle different from 45°, it is necessary to prepare in advance workpiece contact guides 50 with different ratios of the width to the depth of the workpiece clamping groove portion 55. For example, when the inclination angle of the inclined end face of the round pipe 8 is 30°, it is necessary to prepare a workpiece contact guide 50 in which the ratio of the width to the depth of the workpiece clamping groove portion 55 is 1 to √3 (the square root of 3).

[0045] If the ratio of the width to the depth of the workpiece clamping groove portion 55 is 1 to √3 (the square root of 3), when the inclined end of the round pipe 8 is clamped at three positions by the workpiece clamping groove portion 55 so that the inclined end face becomes vertical, the tip of the end of the round pipe 8 just touches the surface of the upright plate portion 41b which is the reference surface for length measurement, and the length of the workpiece (round pipe) 8 to be cut out can be accurately measured. Similarly, when the inclination angle of the inclined end face of the round pipe 8 is 60°, it is necessary to configure the ratio of the width to the depth of the workpiece clamping groove portion 55 to be √3 (the square root of 3) to1.

[0046] Note that the width and depth of the workpiece clamping groove portion 55 may be configured to be variable instead of fixed. For example, by dividing the workpiece contact guide 50 into two parts and fixing and installing both of them slidably in the width direction on the workpiece jig base 41 at a predetermined interval, the depth of the workpiece clamping groove portion 55 can be fixed and the interval can be made variable, and it can correspond to the round pipe 8 having a cutting end face with different inclination angles.

[0047] The digital length measuring device 60 includes a distance measuring portion (not shown) that measures the sliding distance of the slide body 21 with respect to the slide rail 13, a display portion 62 that digitally displays the measured value measured by the distance measuring portion, and a reset button (not shown) that resets the measured value of the distance measuring portion.

[0048] Here, the length measuring device 1 is for measuring the distance from the processing position (cutting position) of the workpiece 8 to a predetermined portion of the workpiece 8 that is the measurement target. The distance measuring unit is configured to output, as a measurement value, the distance from the origin, which is the position where the slide distance is reset by the reset button, to the current position of the slide body 21, rather than the total slide distance of the slide body 21 from the origin.

[0049] The distance measuring unit measures in the positive direction, which is the direction away from the cutting position (substantially upward in FIG. 1). It is configured to display the distance from the origin to the current position of the slide body 21 rather than the total slide distance of the slide body 21 from the origin. The digital length measuring instrument 60 is driven by a built-in battery and does not need to be connected to a power source by a cord. Therefore, the length measuring device 1 does not require wiring and the installation location can be freely selected.

[0050] Next, the configuration of the cutting device 9 to which the length measuring device 1 is connected and fixed will be described while referring to FIGS. 8 and 9. The cutting device 9 includes a cutting blade 91 that is a rotary blade for cutting the workpiece 8, a forward and backward lever 92 for moving the cutting blade 91 in the vertical direction between the cutting position and the retracted position for cutting the workpiece 8, and a workpiece fixing member 95 for fixing and holding the workpiece 8 during cutting.

[0051] Also, the cutting device 9 is configured such that the cutting blade 91 can be rotated around the cutting position located below the lowermost end of the disk-shaped cutting blade 91 in a plan view by operating the forward and backward lever 92 left and right. Thus, the forward and backward lever 92 also serves as a turning lever.

[0052] In the present embodiment, with the position where the cutting blade 91 is perpendicular to the length measuring direction, which is the slide direction of the length measuring device 1, as the initial position (0°), the cutting blade 91 is configured to be rotatable by about 0 to 65° in both the clockwise and counterclockwise directions.

[0053] The configurations of the length measuring device 1 and the cutting device 9 have been described above. Next, the procedure for cutting both ends of the round pipe 8 into a V-shaped shape with a predetermined length at an inclination angle of 45° by the cutting device 9 will be described while referring to FIGS. 8 and 9. FIG. 8 is a plan view showing the state at the cutting angle of 0°, which is the initial position, and FIG. 9 shows the state where the cutting blade 91 has rotated to the position of the cutting angle of 45°.

[0054] First, one end of the round pipe 8 is cut at a 45° angle. Specifically, the round pipe 8 is placed in the cutting device 9 so that the cutting point of the round pipe 8 is positioned at the cutting location, and the round pipe 8 is securely fixed with the workpiece fixing member 95. Next, the cutting blade 91 is rotated to the 45° cutting angle position to cut the round pipe 8, and the cut round pipe 8 is temporarily removed from the cutting device 9.

[0055] Next, the origin of the measuring device 1 (digital measuring instrument 60) is reset. The origin reset of the slide distance of the digital measuring instrument 60 is performed with the cutting blade 91 of the cutting device 9 positioned at the initial position (0°) where it is perpendicular to the measuring direction, and with the workpiece contact guide 50 of the workpiece jig member 40 removed.

[0056] In this state, the slide portion 20 is slid so that the surface of the tip (vertical plate portion 41b) of the workpiece jig base 41, which is the length measurement reference surface, comes into contact with the surface of the cutting blade 91 (see Figure 8). When sliding, the workpiece jig base 41 is appropriately slid relative to the bar portion 35 in a direction perpendicular to the length measurement direction, as needed, to adjust so that the components constituting the slide portion 20 do not collide with the components constituting the cutting device 9. With the tip of the slide portion 20, which is the length measurement reference surface, accurately positioned at the cutting position, the reset button on the digital length measuring instrument 60 is pressed to reset the measured value to 0.

[0057] Next, the workpiece contact guide 50 is placed on the workpiece jig base 41, and the workpiece contact guide 50 is positioned at the desired cutting length. Specifically, the sliding part 20 is slid so that it contacts the workpiece 8 and the tip surface of the vertical plate portion 41b, which is the length measurement reference surface, is located at a desired distance from the cutting position.

[0058] When the slide section 20 is slid away from the processing position, the display section 62 of the digital measuring instrument 60 displays the distance the slide body 20 has moved from the position where the measurement value was reset earlier (cutting position), that is, the distance from the cutting position of the measuring reference plane.

[0059] Then, the sliding part 20 is stopped at the position where the measurement value on the display unit 62 corresponds to the desired length, and fixed with the clamp 25. This makes the distance from the cutting position, which is the origin, to the front surface of the vertical plate part 41b, which is the length measurement reference plane, equal to the desired length.

[0060] Next, the round pipe 8, which already has one end cut at a 45° angle, is set into the cutting device 9. At this time, the round pipe 8 is positioned so that the inclined cut end face is inside the workpiece clamping groove 55 located at the tip of the arm member 30. In this embodiment, since both ends of the round pipe 8 are cut at a 45° angle to form a V-shape, the round pipe 8 is positioned so that the inclined end face is vertical and facing the front side (downward in Figure 9) of the cutting device 9 (see Figure 9).

[0061] By clamping the inclined end surface of the round pipe 8 with the workpiece clamping groove 55, the round pipe 8 assumes a position where the inclined cut end surface is precisely vertical. In this state, the round pipe 8 is firmly fixed with the workpiece fixing member 95, and by operating the reciprocating bar 92, the cutting blade 91, which is rotated at 45°, is lowered, allowing a round pipe 8 with a cut surface inclined at 45° with respect to the measuring direction to be cut to the desired length.

[0062] Of course, the shape of the round pipe 8, which is cut with beveled end faces at both ends, is not limited to a V-shape with a bevel angle of 45°. For example, the bevel angle can be changed as appropriate, such as 30° or 60°. Furthermore, the present invention can be applied even if the beveled end faces on both sides of the round pipe 8 are parallel or if the bevel angles are different on the left and right sides.

[0063] Furthermore, the present invention can be applied not only when the inclined end faces on both the left and right sides are perpendicular to the horizontal plane, but also when the inclined end faces on both sides are twisted around the axis of the round pipe 8. In this case, it is necessary to adjust the direction of the workpiece clamping groove 55 according to the twist angle around the axis.

[0064] For example, if the left-right twist angle is 90°, the workpiece clamping groove 55 of the workpiece contact guide 50 that supports one inclined cut end face of the round pipe 8 is configured to extend horizontally, thereby firmly holding the round pipe 8 in a state twisted 90° around the axis with respect to one inclined cut end face, and the other end can be cut diagonally by the cutting device 9.

[0065] As described above, the measuring device 1 according to this embodiment is used when measuring the length of a round pipe 8 with an end face cut at an angle and cutting it to a predetermined length using a cutting device 9. By measuring the length while gripping the inclined cut end face of the round pipe 8 with the workpiece gripping groove 55 of the workpiece contact guide 50 installed at the tip of the arm member 30, the round pipe 8 can be held in the desired position without rotating around its axis, and the round pipe 8 can be cut accurately into the desired shape.

[0066] Furthermore, the workpiece contact guide 50 is detachable from the workpiece jig base 41, and for round pipes 8 whose cut end faces are not inclined, or for workpieces 8 that are not likely to roll around their axis and can easily assume the desired position, the workpiece contact guide 50 can be removed and the normal length measurement can be performed as is.

[0067] The length-measuring reference surface that contacts the tip of the workpiece 8 when the workpiece contact guide 50 is removed is the tip-side surface of the vertical plate portion 41b, which is the same as the length-measuring reference surface when the workpiece contact guide 50 is installed, as described above. Therefore, the length-measuring device 1 can accommodate both round pipes 8 with inclined end faces and round pipes 8 without inclination simply by attaching and detaching the easily detachable workpiece contact guide 50.

[0068] It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, the shape and size of each component constituting the length measuring device according to this embodiment can be changed as appropriate.

[0069] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the length measuring device used in combination with the cutting device is configured to be directly fixed to the cutting device. However, the length measuring device only needs to be configured to be stably and relatively fixed to the cutting device so that the length of the workpiece can be measured next to the cutting device. It may even be a freestanding length measuring device installed on the floor next to the cutting device.

[0070] Furthermore, the measuring device according to this embodiment is not limited to workpieces with inclined end faces; by removing the workpiece contact guide, workpieces with non-inclined end faces can be measured in the usual manner.

[0071] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, an arm member having an elongated bar portion protruding toward the workpiece was used as the workpiece contact member that contacts the workpiece during normal length measurement when no workpiece jig member is installed. However, the workpiece contact member is not limited to an arm member having an elongated bar portion, and its shape is not limited as long as it is a member having a length measurement reference surface that contacts the workpiece during length measurement.

[0072] 1 Measuring device 10 Base part 11 Base stand 13 Slide rail 14 Slide groove 20 Slide part 21 Slide body 22 Linear guide 25 Clamp 27 Arm holding part 28 Arm support shaft 29 Spring 30 Arm member (workpiece contact member) 32 Root part 35 Bar part 36 Slide groove for workpiece jig 37 Clamp hole 40 Workpiece jig member 41 Workpiece jig base stand 41a Base plate part 41b Vertical plate part (measuring reference surface) 42 Clamp 43 Slotted hole for clamp 45 Slide projection for bar 46 Slide groove for guide 50 Workpiece contact guide 50a Top plate 50b Contact plate 51 Clamp 52 Slide protrusions for base stand 52a Base stand projection 52b Base stand groove 55 Workpiece clamping groove 55a Groove entrance edge 60 Digital length measuring instrument 62 Display unit 9 Cutting device 91 Cutting blade 92 Retractable lever 95 Workpiece fixing member 8 Workpiece (round pipe)

Claims

1. A length measuring device used in combination with a cutting device having a cutting blade, for measuring the length of a workpiece to be cut by the cutting blade, comprising: a slide rail fixed relative to the cutting device when measuring length; a slide portion slidably installed on the slide rail, comprising: a slide body; a length measuring device for measuring the sliding distance of the slide body relative to the slide rail; and a workpiece contact member having a length measuring reference surface that contacts the workpiece installed at the cutting position as a reference surface when measuring length, wherein the workpiece contact member comprises a workpiece jig member installed at its tip, and having a workpiece contact guide with a workpiece clamping groove formed therein for clamping the end of the workpiece when the end of the workpiece is an inclined surface.

2. The length measuring device according to claim 1, characterized in that the width and depth of the workpiece clamping groove portion are set so that the tip of the end of the workpiece to be clamped contacts the length measuring reference surface.

3. The measuring device according to claim 1, characterized in that the workpiece jig member is fixedly installed at the tip of the workpiece contact member so as to be slidable in a direction perpendicular to the measuring direction.

4. The measuring device according to claim 3, characterized in that the workpiece jig member includes a workpiece jig base that is detachably fixed and slidably installed at the tip of the workpiece contact member in a direction perpendicular to the measuring direction, and the workpiece contact guide is detachably installed on the workpiece jig base.

5. The length measuring device according to claim 4, characterized in that the front end surface of the work jig base is a length measuring reference surface, and the depth and width of the work clamping groove are set so that the front end of the work to be clamped contacts the length measuring reference surface.

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