阅读说明：本技术 流体气缸 (Fluid cylinder ) 是由 金泽治 宫森贤藏 菊池景太 汤浅勇毅 于 2018-01-25 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明的目的在于提供一种流体气缸,特别地,能够实现电力消耗的降低以及小型化,同时,能够一边高精度地进行旋转一边进行冲程。本发明的流体气缸(1)为具有气缸主体(2)和支承在所述气缸主体内的轴部件(3)的流体气缸,其特征在于,通过流体的作用,能够使所述轴部件一边旋转一边进行向轴向的冲程。在所述气缸主体内划分设置有旋转驱动部(10)和冲程驱动部(11),所述旋转驱动部(10)基于所述流体的旋转压力使所述轴部件旋转,所述冲程驱动部(11)基于所述流体的气缸控制压力使所述轴部件进行冲程。(The invention aims to provide a fluid cylinder, which can realize reduction of power consumption and miniaturization, and can perform stroke while rotating with high precision. A fluid cylinder (1) of the present invention is a fluid cylinder having a cylinder body (2) and a shaft member (3) supported in the cylinder body, and is characterized in that the shaft member can be rotated and stroked in an axial direction by a fluid action. A rotation driving part (10) and a stroke driving part (11) are arranged in the cylinder body in a dividing mode, the rotation driving part (10) enables the shaft part to rotate based on the rotation pressure of the fluid, and the stroke driving part (11) enables the shaft part to perform a stroke based on the cylinder control pressure of the fluid.)

1. A fluid cylinder having a cylinder body and a shaft member supported in the cylinder body,

the shaft member can be caused to perform a stroke in the axial direction while rotating by the action of the fluid.

2. The fluid cylinder of claim 1,

a rotation driving unit that rotates the shaft member based on a rotation pressure of the fluid and a stroke driving unit that strokes the shaft member based on a cylinder control pressure of the fluid are provided in the cylinder body.

3. The fluid cylinder of claim 2,

the shaft member includes a piston, a first piston rod provided at a front end of the piston and capable of projecting outward from the cylinder main body by a stroke of the shaft member, a second piston rod provided at a rear end of the piston, and a rotary driver,

the cylinder body has a cylinder chamber into which the piston is insertable, a first communicating portion that communicates from the cylinder chamber to a front end surface of the piston body and through which the first piston rod is insertable, a second communicating portion that extends from the cylinder chamber toward a rear end side and through which the second piston rod is insertable, and a rotary drive chamber that is partitioned from the cylinder chamber,

the cylinder chamber constitutes the stroke driving portion, the rotation driving chamber constitutes the rotation driving portion,

a length dimension of the cylinder chamber in the axial direction is formed longer than a length dimension of the piston in the axial direction,

the shaft member is supported in a stroke-free manner based on a cylinder control pressure of the fluid in the cylinder chamber,

the rotary drive body is disposed in the rotary drive chamber, and the shaft member is rotatably supported by rotating the rotary drive body based on a rotary pressure of the fluid in the rotary drive chamber.

4. The fluid cylinder of claim 3,

the rotary drive chamber is provided on a rear end side of the second communicating portion, the second piston rod extends from the second communicating portion to the rotary drive chamber, and the rotary drive body is attached to the second piston rod located in the rotary drive chamber.

5. The fluid cylinder according to any one of claims 2 to 4,

a position sensor capable of measuring a position of the shaft member in the axial direction is disposed on the shaft member in a non-contact manner.

6. The fluid cylinder of claim 5,

a hole is provided in the center of the shaft of the rotary drive body attached to the rear end of the second piston rod, and the position sensor that is not in contact with the rotary drive body is disposed in the hole.

7. The fluid cylinder according to any one of claims 1 to 6,

the shaft member includes an air bearing, an air supply port for ejecting air to the air bearing is provided in the cylinder main body, and the shaft member is supported in a floating state in the cylinder main body.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a fluid cylinder such as an air bearing cylinder.

Background

The following patent documents describe inventions relating to air bearing type cylinders. The air bearing type cylinder is configured to include a cylinder body, a shaft member accommodated in the cylinder body, and an air bearing provided on an outer peripheral surface of the shaft member.

The shaft member is kept floating in the cylinder body by ejecting air from the air bearing. Further, a cylinder chamber is provided between the cylinder body and the shaft member, and the shaft member can be stroked in the axial direction by supplying/discharging air to/from the cylinder chamber.

In a conventional air bearing, a shaft member is rotated by a rotation driving motor, as shown in patent document 1, for example. Further, patent document 2 does not disclose a rotation mechanism of the shaft member.

Disclosure of Invention

(problems to be solved by the invention)

However, in the structure in which the shaft member is rotated by the motor as in the conventional art, there is a problem that power consumption increases and downsizing cannot be appropriately achieved. That is, by using the motor, the power consumption is easily increased due to the generation of heat. Further, since the shaft member is mechanically rotated, the rotation mechanism is complicated, and thus it is not possible to appropriately reduce the size.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a fluid cylinder which can be reduced in power consumption and size and can perform a stroke while rotating with high accuracy.

(means for solving the problems)

The present invention is a fluid cylinder including a cylinder body and a shaft member supported in the cylinder body, wherein the shaft member is capable of performing a stroke in an axial direction while rotating by a fluid action.

In the present invention, it is preferable that a rotation driving unit that rotates the shaft member based on a rotation pressure of the fluid and a stroke driving unit that strokes the shaft member based on a cylinder control pressure of the fluid are provided in the cylinder main body in a partitioned manner.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the shaft member includes a piston, a first piston rod, a second piston rod, and a rotary drive body, the first piston rod is provided at a front end of the piston and is capable of protruding from the cylinder main body to the outside by a stroke of the shaft member, the second piston rod is provided at a rear end of the piston, the cylinder main body includes a cylinder chamber, a first communicating portion, a second communicating portion, and a rotary drive chamber, the piston is capable of being inserted into the cylinder chamber, the first communicating portion is capable of penetrating from the cylinder chamber to a front end surface of the piston main body, the first piston rod is capable of being inserted into the first communicating portion, the second communicating portion extends from the cylinder chamber toward a rear end side, the second piston rod is capable of being inserted into the second communicating portion, the rotary drive chamber is defined by the cylinder chamber, and the cylinder chamber constitutes the stroke drive portion, the rotary drive chamber constitutes the rotary drive portion, a length dimension of the cylinder chamber in the axial direction is formed to be longer than a length dimension of the piston in the axial direction, the shaft member is supported in a stroke-free manner based on a cylinder control pressure of the fluid in the cylinder chamber, the rotary drive body is disposed in the rotary drive chamber, and the shaft member is supported in a rotary manner by rotating the rotary drive body based on a rotary pressure of the fluid in the rotary drive chamber.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the rotary drive chamber is provided on a rear end side of the second communicating portion, the second piston rod extends from the second communicating portion to the rotary drive chamber, and the rotary drive body is attached to the second piston rod located in the rotary drive chamber.

In the present invention, it is preferable that a position sensor capable of measuring a position of the shaft member in the axial direction be disposed on the shaft member in a non-contact manner.

In the present invention, it is preferable that a hole is provided in the center of the shaft of the rotary drive body attached to the rear end of the second piston rod, and the position sensor not in contact with the rotary drive body is disposed in the hole.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the shaft member includes an air bearing, the cylinder body is provided with an air supply port for ejecting air to the air bearing, and the shaft member is supported in the cylinder body in a floating state.

(Effect of the invention)

According to the fluid cylinder of the present invention, it is possible to reduce power consumption and size, and at the same time, it is possible to perform a stroke while rotating with high accuracy.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is an external view of a fluid cylinder according to the present embodiment.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the fluid cylinder of the present embodiment.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view showing a forward stroke state of the fluid cylinder according to the present embodiment.

Description of the reference numerals

1: fluid cylinder

2: cylinder chamber

3: shaft component

4: piston

5: first piston rod

6: second piston rod

7: rotary driving body

8: hole(s)

10: rotary driving part

10 a: rotary driving chamber

11: stroke driving part

11 a: cylinder chamber

11 b: a first insertion part

11 c: second through part

13: central air bearing space

14: front air bearing space

15: rear air bearing space

16. 17, 30, 31: air port

18-20: air bearing pressurization port

21-23: air bearing

28: a first communicating portion

29: second communicating part

40: position sensor

O: the center of the shaft.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter, simply referred to as "embodiment") will be described in detail.

The fluid cylinder 1 shown in fig. 1 to 3 includes a cylinder main body 2 and a shaft member 3 supported in the cylinder main body.

The fluid cylinder 1 of the present embodiment can perform a stroke in the axial direction while rotating the shaft member 3 by the action of the fluid. The term "rotation" means rotation around the shaft center O (see fig. 2) of the shaft member 3 as a rotation center. The "stroke" means that the shaft member 3 moves in the direction X1-X2 shown in fig. 2. The X1 direction is the front side of the fluid cylinder 1, and the X2 direction is the rear side of the fluid cylinder 1. The stroke state of fig. 3 shows a state in which the shaft member 3 moves forward from the state of fig. 2.

As described above, the present embodiment is characterized in that both the rotation of the shaft member 3 and the stroke of the shaft member 3 can be realized by the action of the fluid. That is, in the related art, there is no fluid cylinder that controls both the rotation of the shaft member 3 and the stroke of the shaft member 3 by the action of the fluid. In the present embodiment, since the shaft member 3 is stroked while being rotated by the action of the fluid, for example, compared to a configuration in which the rotation of the shaft member is controlled by motor driving as in the related art, it is possible to reduce power consumption and size, and to perform a high-precision rotational stroke.

Hereinafter, a specific configuration of the fluid cylinder 1 of the present embodiment will be described. In the present embodiment, the "fluid" is not limited to air (atmospheric air) and may be a liquid, and the rotation of the shaft member 3 and the stroke of the shaft member 3 may be controlled by the action of different types of fluids, and in the following embodiments, an air bearing cylinder in which the stroke can be performed while the shaft member 3 is rotated by the action of air will be described.

The shaft member 3 of the present embodiment is configured to include a piston 4 formed with a predetermined diameter and a predetermined length L1 (see fig. 2) in the X1-X2 direction, a first piston rod 5 provided on a front end surface of the piston 4 and having a smaller diameter than the piston 4, and a second piston rod 6 provided on a rear end surface of the piston 4 and having a smaller diameter than the piston 4. As shown in fig. 2, the piston 4, the first piston rod 5, and the second piston rod 6 are integrated. As shown in fig. 2, the axial centers of the piston 4, the first piston rod 5, and the second piston rod 6 are aligned on a straight line. In this embodiment, the diameter of the first piston rod 5 and the diameter of the second piston rod 6 are the same size, but may be different.

As shown in fig. 2, a rotary drive body 7 is attached to the shaft member 3 on the rear end side of the second piston rod 6. The structure of the rotary drive member 7 is not limited, and in fig. 2, the rotary drive member 7 is formed of, for example, a rotary blade (turbine) in which a plurality of blades 7a are arranged at equal angles. The rotary drive body 7 may be configured to be rotatable by the action of a fluid, or may be configured other than a rotary blade.

As shown in fig. 2, a hole 8 is formed from the shaft center of the rotary drive body 7 to the inside of the rear end of the second piston rod 6.

In the cylinder body 2 shown in fig. 2, a rotation driving portion 10 and a stroke driving portion 11 are provided in a divided manner, the rotation driving portion 10 rotates the shaft member 3 based on a rotation pressure of air, and the stroke driving portion 11 strokes the shaft member 3 based on a cylinder control pressure of air. The stroke drive unit 11 is provided on the front side (X1) of the cylinder body 2, and the rotation drive unit 10 is provided on the rear side (X2) of the cylinder body 2. By providing the rotary drive unit 10 and the stroke drive unit 11 separately in this manner, even if air is simultaneously applied to the rotary drive unit 10 and the stroke drive unit 11, the air is not mixed with each other, and the shaft member 3 can be stroked while being rotated with high accuracy.

The stroke drive unit 11 is located in the cylinder body 2, and is configured to have a cylinder chamber 11a through which the piston 4 of the shaft member 3 can be inserted, and air ports 16 and 17 communicating from the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder body 2 to the cylinder chamber 11 a.

The rotation driving portion 10 is configured to have a rotation driving chamber 10a located in the cylinder body 2, and air ports 30 and 31 communicating from the rear end surface 2b of the cylinder body 2 to the rotation driving chamber 10 a.

As shown in fig. 2, in the cylinder body 2, a first communicating portion 28 that penetrates from the cylinder chamber 11a to the front end surface 2a of the cylinder body 2 and through which the first piston rod 5 can be inserted, and a second communicating portion 29 that extends from the cylinder chamber 11a toward the rear end side (X2) and through which the second piston rod 6 can be inserted are formed as spaces that are connected to the cylinder chamber 11 a.

The cylinder chamber 11a is a substantially cylindrical space having a diameter slightly larger than the diameter of the piston 4, and has a length dimension L2 in the X1-X2 direction. The length L2 is longer than the length L1 of the piston 4. In the cylinder chamber 11a, a large-diameter central air bearing space 13 is further provided at the center of a length dimension L2 in the direction X1-X2. The central air bearing space 13 is provided at a position where the piston 4 does not separate from the piston 4 even if the piston 4 moves to a boundary in the X1-X2 direction within the cylinder chamber 11 a. That is, a part of the piston 4 is always arranged in the central air bearing space 13.

As shown in fig. 2, the cylinder body 2 is provided with an air port 16 communicating from the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder body 2 to the cylinder chamber 11a on the front side (X1) of the cylinder chamber 11 a. Further, the cylinder body 2 is provided with an air port 17 communicating from the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder body 2 to the cylinder chamber 11a on the rear side (X2) of the cylinder chamber 11 a. The center interval of the air ports 16, 17 is formed longer than the length dimension L1 of the piston 4.

As shown in fig. 2, an air bearing pressurizing port 18 communicating from the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder body 2 to the central air bearing space 13 is provided in the cylinder body 2 between the air port 16 and the air port 17.

As shown in fig. 2, the front air bearing space 14 is provided in the first communication portion 28 at a position separated forward (X1) from the cylinder chamber 11 a. As shown in fig. 2, the second communicating portion 29 is provided with a rear air bearing space 15 at a position separated rearward (X2) from the cylinder chamber 11 a.

As shown in fig. 2, an air bearing pressurizing port 19 is provided which communicates from the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder main body 2 to the front air bearing space 14. Further, as shown in fig. 2, an air bearing pressurizing port 20 is provided which communicates from the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder main body 2 to the rear air bearing space 15.

As shown in fig. 2, the air bearing 21 is disposed in the central air bearing space 13 so as to surround the outer periphery of the piston 4. As shown in fig. 2, the air bearing 22 is disposed in the front air bearing space 14 so as to surround the outer periphery of the first piston rod 5. As shown in fig. 2, the air bearing 23 is disposed in the rear air bearing space 15 so as to surround the outer periphery of the second piston rod 6.

The air bearings 21 to 23 are not limited, and for example, air bearings formed by annularly forming a porous material using sintered metal or carbon, or air bearings of the orifice throttle type (オリフィス りタイプ) or the like can be used.

By supplying compressed air to the air bearing pressurizing ports 18 to 20, the compressed air is uniformly blown out to the surfaces of the piston 4, the first piston rod 5, and the second piston rod 6 through the air bearings 21 to 23. Thereby, the piston 4, the first piston rod 5, and the second piston rod 6 are supported in a state of floating in the cylinder chamber 11a, the first insertion portion 11b, and the second insertion portion 11c, respectively. In this state, the piston 4 can be stroked in the axial direction by generating a differential pressure in the cylinder chamber 11a by the supply/discharge of air from the air port 16 and the air port 17 that communicate with the cylinder chamber 11a, and adjusting the cylinder control pressure. Although not shown, the cylinder control pressure can be appropriately adjusted by the auxiliary valve communicating with the air ports 16, 17. In fig. 2, the piston 4 is located at the most retracted position (the position closest to the X2 side) in the cylinder chamber 11 a. Therefore, as shown in fig. 2, a part of the space of the cylinder chamber 11a is opened in front of the piston 4. From the state of fig. 2, the air inside the cylinder chamber 11a is sucked through the air port 16 by the auxiliary valve, while the compressed air is supplied into the cylinder chamber 11a through the air port 17 by the auxiliary valve, whereby a pressure difference is generated in the cylinder chamber 11a, and the piston 4 can be moved forward (X1) as shown in fig. 3. This enables the first piston rod 5 to project forward from the front end surface 2a of the cylinder body 2. Further, from the stroke state of fig. 3, the air in the cylinder chamber 11a is sucked through the air port 17 by the auxiliary valve, and the compressed air is supplied into the cylinder chamber 11a through the air port 16 by the auxiliary valve, whereby the piston 4 can be moved backward (X2).

At this time, since the shaft member 3 is stroked while being kept floating in the cylinder body 2, zero sliding resistance can be realized at the time of the stroke, and a stroke with high accuracy can be performed.

As shown in fig. 2 and 3, a front wall 25 is provided between the cylinder chamber 11a of the cylinder body 2 and the first insertion portion 11 a. The front wall 25 is a restriction surface that restricts forward (X1) movement of the piston 4, and the piston 4 cannot move forward of the front wall 25. As shown in fig. 2 and 3, a rear wall 26 is provided between the cylinder chamber 11a of the cylinder body 2 and the second insertion portion 11 c. The rear wall 26 is a regulation surface for regulating the rearward movement (X2) of the piston 4, and the piston 4 cannot move further rearward than the rear wall 26. The rear wall 26 divides the stroke drive portion 11 and the rotation drive portion 10.

As shown in fig. 2 and 3, the front wall 25 is provided with an elastic ring 27, and the elastic ring 27 functions as a cushion material when the piston 4 contacts the front wall 25. Furthermore, an elastic ring may likewise be provided on the rear wall 26.

As shown in fig. 2 and 3, the rotary drive unit 10 provided on the rear side (X2) of the cylinder body 2 includes a rotary drive chamber 10a, and a rotary drive body 7 attached to the rear end portion of the second piston rod 6 is disposed in the rotary drive chamber 10 a. The rear end portion of the second piston rod 6 extends to the rotation drive chamber 10a, and the rear end portion of the second piston rod 6 and the rotation driver 7 are disposed in the rotation drive chamber 10 a. The rotation driving unit 10 includes air ports 30 and 31 for supplying compressed air from the rear end surface 2b of the cylinder body 2 into the rotation driving chamber 10 a. The rotary drive member 7 can be rotated by supplying compressed air into the rotary drive chamber 10a from the air ports 30 and 31 and applying a rotary pressure to the rotary drive member 7. As a result, the entire shaft member 3 including the rotary drive member 7 can be rotated. As shown in fig. 1, an air outlet 32 is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the rotation driving chamber 10 a.

As shown in fig. 2 and 3, a position sensor (stroke sensor) 40 is provided in a hole 8 formed from the axial center of the rotary driver 7 to the rear end of the second piston rod 6 so as not to contact the rotary driver 7 and the second piston rod 6. In the embodiment shown in fig. 2 and 3, the position of the rotary drive body 7 or the rear end position of the second piston rod 6 in the hole 8 is measured by the position sensor 40 disposed in the hole 8, whereby the position of the piston 4 can be indirectly measured. The position sensor 40 may employ an existing sensor, and for example, a magnetic sensor, an overcurrent sensor, an optical sensor, or the like may be used.

The depth of the hole 8 and the arrangement of the position sensor 40 are determined so that the position can be measured in the moving range of the piston 4 in the X1-X2 direction. As shown in fig. 2 and 3, the position information measured by the position sensor 40 is transmitted to a control unit, not shown, via a cable 41.

The cylinder control pressure in the cylinder chamber 11a can be adjusted based on the position information measured by the position sensor 40, and the amount of protrusion of the first piston rod 5 can be controlled.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be implemented with various modifications. In the above-described embodiments, the size, shape, and the like shown in the accompanying drawings are not limited thereto, and can be appropriately modified within the range in which the effects of the present invention are exhibited. The present invention can be implemented with appropriate modifications without departing from the object scope of the present invention.

For example, the shaft member 3 of the present embodiment is configured to include the piston 4, the first piston rod 5 integrally formed in front of the piston 4, and the second piston rod 6 integrally formed in rear of the piston 4, but the shape of the shaft member 3 is not limited to this.

However, by configuring the piston rods 5 and 6 to be disposed at both ends of the piston 4, the stroke amount can be appropriately adjusted by controlling the position of the piston 4, and the first piston rod 5 can be used as a shaft portion supported to be advanced and retracted from the front end surface 2a of the cylinder main body 2, and the rotary drive body 7 can be attached to the second piston rod 6 side.

In the present embodiment, the rotary drive body 7 is not limited to be attached to the second piston rod 6, but the rotary drive body 7 is attached to the rear end side of the second piston rod 6, whereby downsizing can be promoted and a highly accurate rotary stroke can be realized.

The position of the position sensor 40 is not limited to the positions shown in fig. 2 and 3, and the position sensor 40 may be disposed so as to be able to directly measure the position of the first piston rod 5 or the piston 4. The position sensor 40 may be disposed in the rotary drive chamber 10a so as to be able to measure the position of the second piston rod 6 or the rotary driver 7, instead of being disposed in the hole 8 formed from the axial center of the rotary driver 7 to the rear end of the second piston rod 6.

However, as shown in fig. 2 and 3, by disposing the position sensor 40 in the hole 8 formed from the axial center of the rotary drive body 7 to the inside of the rear end of the second piston rod 6, the position sensor 40 can be disposed reasonably, and at the same time, the size reduction can be promoted and the accuracy of the position measurement can be improved.

As shown in fig. 1, the cylinder body 2 may be formed by assembling a plurality of divided members or may be formed integrally.

The cylinder body 2 or the shaft member 3 is made of, for example, an aluminum alloy, but the material is not limited thereto, and may be variously changed depending on the use, installation place, and the like.

As described above, in the present embodiment, not only the air bearing type cylinder but also, for example, a hydraulic cylinder driven by the action of a fluid other than air can be exemplified as the fluid cylinder 1.

(availability in industry)

According to the present invention, a fluid cylinder that performs a stroke while rotating can be realized by the action of a fluid. According to the present invention, since the vibration can be reduced and the rotation stroke can be realized with high accuracy as compared with the conventional ball bearing, the power consumption can be reduced and the size can be reduced since all the components are driven by the fluid. Therefore, in applications where high accuracy of the rotation stroke is required, the fluid cylinder according to the present invention can be applied to promote reduction in power consumption and miniaturization while achieving high accuracy.