Radial-Opening Screw Guide for Precise Hole Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing screw fastening devices face challenges in reliably positioning screws within screw holes while maintaining the degree of freedom of movement, leading to potential interference and inefficiencies in the screw fastening process.
Innovation Solution
A screw guide device with a guide member that is openable and closable in a radial direction, forming a tapered screw insert, is integrated into a screw-fastening robot system. This guide member is positioned between the workpiece and the screw fastening device, allowing for precise screw alignment and insertion without obstructing the screw fastening device's movement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a positioning mechanism using a pair of blocks is used to clamp and hold the screw, then the screw positioning reliability is improved, but the device complexity and degree of freedom of movement deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the positioning function from a complex block-clamping mechanism and implements it through a simple guide member with a guide hole. The guide member is positioned at the lower end of the frame and uses a straightforward geometric constraint (guide hole) to position the screw, eliminating the need for complex clamping blocks while maintaining positioning reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using active clamping blocks that actively grip the screw from the sides, the patent uses a passive guide hole that passively guides the screw into position through geometric constraint. This inverted approach simplifies the mechanism while achieving the same positioning function.
2Reliability
If a screw holding mechanism with a pair of screw holding members is used to position the screw, then the screw positioning reliability is improved, but the degree of freedom of movement of the screw fastening device deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the complex screw holding members and their actuation mechanisms, extracting only the essential positioning function. The guide member with its guide hole provides the necessary positioning constraint without interfering with the screw fastening device's movement and operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide member is designed to be movable, allowing it to adapt to the screw insertion process while maintaining positioning accuracy. This dynamic design enables the positioning mechanism to work harmoniously with the moving screw fastening device without restricting its degree of freedom.
3Manufacturing precision
If a guide member is positioned between the workpiece and the screw fastening device, then the screw positioning precision is improved, but the risk of interference between components increases
Solution Approach 1:
The guide member is positioned in the vertical dimension at the lower end of the frame, below the workpiece level. This spatial arrangement allows the guide member to perform its positioning function without occupying the horizontal space between the workpiece and the screw fastening device, thereby eliminating interference risks while maintaining positioning precision.
Data Source
AI summary
A screw fastening process can be performed by reliably positioning a screw in a screw hole while suppressing a decrease in the degree of freedom of movement of a screw fastening device. Provided is a screw guide device that guides a screw to a screw hole. The screw is fastened by a screw fastening device to the screw hole formed in a workpiece to be fastened to be fastened. The screw guide device includes a guide device body provided at a support that supports the workpiece to be fastened, and also includes a guide member that is provided in the guide device body and that is openable and closable in a radial direction orthogonal to a central axis of a shaft section of the screw. The guide member forms a screw insert through which the shaft section is inserted when the guide member is in a closed state.