JP2002066877A - Multi-axis indexing table - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To save a space by reducing a distance between adjoining tables. SOLUTION: In a multi-spindle dividing head, intercoupled adjoining worms have a space, opened to the shaft end side, formed in a spindle end part on the coupling side. The spindle end on the coupling side of one worm is fitted in the space of the other worm. A pusher makes contact with the inner peripheral surface of the spindle end part on the coupling side of one worm and at least one of the inner peripheral surface of the spindle end part of one worm and the pusher has a taper-form region. A coupling operation hole extending from a spindle end part on the opposite coupling side through the space is formed in one worm. A coupling operation body is inserted through a coupling operating hole from a shaft end par on the opposite coupling side and reaches the pusher. By displacing the pusher to the constraining direction of a taper-form region in an axial direction by operating a coupling operation body from the spindle end part on the opposite coupling side, the shaft end part on the coupling side of one worm is pressed against inner surface of the space of the other worm by the pusher and the two worm teeth are intercoupled.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a multi-axis indexing table provided with a plurality of worm wheel shafts acting as output shafts, and more particularly, to a worm meshing with a worm wheel provided on each worm wheel shaft in the direction of the axis. The present invention relates to a multi-axis indexing stand connected in series.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As one of the multi-axis indexing tables having a plurality of worms, there is one in which worms adjacent in the axial direction are connected by a joint (Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 2-14921).
In this prior art, a general shaft joint is used in which the shaft ends of both worms adjacent to each other are received in a joint, and the shaft end surfaces of both worms are opposed to each other.

[0003]

In a conventional multi-axis indexing table using such a shaft coupling, the space between adjacent circular tables is increased by the length of the shaft coupling in the direction of the rotation axis, and a large installation space is required. I need.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to reduce the distance between adjacent circular tables in a multi-axis indexing table,
The goal is to save space.

[0005]

A multi-axis indexing table according to the present invention connects two adjacent worms which are connected to each other and which are formed coaxially with the axis of the worm and open to the shaft end side. Two worms respectively provided at the side shaft ends and the connection side shaft ends of one worm fitted into the space of the other worm; and a connection side shaft forming the space of the one worm A pusher pusher abutting on the inner peripheral surface of the end, a connection operation hole formed in one or the other worm, and a connection operation hole formed coaxially with the worm and reaching the space from the opposite connection side, A connection operation body that is inserted into the connection operation hole from the opposite connection side to reach the pusher, and at least one of an outer peripheral surface of the pusher and the inner peripheral surface of the one worm has a tapered region. .

The rotary table is mounted on a worm wheel shaft spaced in the direction of the axis of the worm, and the worm wheel meshing with the worm is mounted on the worm wheel shaft. When the worm is rotated, the worm wheel is rotated, whereby the worm wheel shaft is rotated, and the rotary table is rotated.

The pusher is displaced in the axial direction of the worm by operating the connecting operation body from the non-connecting side. For this reason, the connection side shaft end of the adjacent worms is fitted, the connection operation body is operated from the non-connection side, and the pusher that comes into contact with the inner peripheral surface of one of the innermost worms is
When the worm is displaced in the direction of convergence of the tapered region in the axial direction, the inner peripheral surface of one of the worms is pushed out by a pusher, and a pressing force and a frictional force are generated between the mating surfaces of the two worms. Are connected by the frictional force.

As a result, according to the present invention, there is no need to provide a coupling on the outer peripheral surface of the shaft end so that the shaft end surfaces of both worms face each other as in the prior art. The space between the circular tables can be reduced, and the space can be reduced. Further, since the connecting operation body can be operated from the non-connecting side, the frame and the bearing do not hinder the connecting operation as in the conventional coupling, and the connecting operation is facilitated.

The same fitting surface as the connecting shaft end of the worm connected to the worm is formed at the opposite connecting shaft end of the worm through which the connecting operation body passes. The connection-side shaft end of the third worm having the same connection operation hole as the hole may be fitted into the space at the non-connection-side shaft end. By doing so, the worm having the same fitting surface as the connection-side shaft end can be connected in series to the non-connection-side shaft end, and the fitting dimensions of the fitting surfaces can be made the same. it can.

One of the two adjacent worms is disposed on the drive source side and connected to the drive source, and the connecting operation body is inserted into the connection operation hole from the other opposite drive source side of the two adjacent worms. Can be. By doing so, the worms can be connected to each other in order from the drive source side, and the connection can be released in order from the worm on the opposite drive source side. Connecting to the drive source before connecting to the worm on the power source side does not hinder the connection and disconnection of the drive source, which facilitates the connection of the worm to the drive source, When the connection is released, there is no need to release the connection between the drive source and the worm adjacent thereto.

[0011] One of the pusher and the connection operation hole may have a female screw portion, and the connection operation body may have a male screw portion screwed to the female screw portion. By doing so, by rotating the connecting operation body,
The pusher can be easily moved in the convergence direction of the tapered region.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIG. 1, a multi-axis indexing table 10 has a function of simultaneously driving three indexing table units 12, 14, 16 by a driving motor 18 acting as a common driving source. Have.

Each indexing stand unit includes a frame 20;
A worm wheel shaft 22 rotatably supported by the frame 20; a rotary table 24 outside the frame 20 and assembled to the worm wheel shaft 22;
The worm wheel 26 includes a worm wheel 26 that is mounted on the worm wheel shaft 22 inside the housing 20 and a worm 28 that is in the frame 20 and meshed with the worm wheel 26.

Frame 20 of adjacent indexing unit
Are connected in a separable manner by a unit connecting ring 30, and the indexing table units 12, 14, 16 are combined in series.

Each worm 28 has shaft ends 36 and 38 that are rotatably and coaxially mounted on the frame 20 by bearings 32 and 34. In the illustrated example, the bearing 32 is a roll bearing, and the bearing 34 is a bearing housing 40.
The ball bearing is mounted on the frame 20 by the following.

Each worm 28 includes a worm wheel 26
The outer peripheral portion has worm teeth that mesh with the other teeth. Each worm 28 has multiple leads whose leads are slightly different on the left and right tooth surfaces, so that the thickness dimension of the worm teeth gradually increases toward one side (for example, the drive motor 18) in the direction of the axis 42 of the worm 28. It is of the formula.

Warm 28 of adjacent indexing unit
Are coaxially connected at shaft ends 36 and 38 by a connecting device described later. For this reason, the worms 28 of the indexing units 12, 14, 16 are connected in series.

The worm 28 of the indexing table unit 12 closest to the drive source (motor 18 side) has a shaft end 36 on the drive source side.
Has a gear 44 assembled thereto. The gear 44 meshes with a gear 46 mounted on a worm wheel shaft of the drive motor 18. Most anti-drive source side (anti-motor 18
An end plate 48 for covering the rotating part is mounted on the frame 20 of the indexing table unit 16 on the side) by a plurality of screw members.

As shown in detail in FIG. 2, each bearing housing 40 is connected to the frame 2 by a plurality of mounting bolts 50.
In addition to being mounted on the non-drive source side of No. 0, the space with the frame 20 is maintained by a plurality of adjustment screws 52. The mounting bolt 50 and the adjusting screw 52 are each equiangularly spaced about the axis 42 of the worm 28.

The adjusting screw 52 is used for adjusting the backlash between the worm wheel 24 and the worm 28. This backlash adjustment is performed by adjusting the amount of the adjustment screw 52 screwed into the bearing housing 40, thereby moving the bearing housing 40 in the direction of the axis 42 to thereby adjust the bearing 34.
And the worm 28 to move the worm wheel 26
Worm 28 with optimal tooth backlash
This can be done by engaging with.

As shown in detail in FIGS. 2 and 3, each connecting device for connecting the adjacent worms 28 has a shaft end 36, 38 on the connecting side of the two adjacent worms 28, which is coaxial with the worm 28. And pusher members 58 which are in contact with the inner peripheral surface of one of the shaft ends 36 and push the shaft end 36 to press against the inner peripheral surface of the shaft end 38. And a connection operation hole 60 formed in one of the worms 28 so as to penetrate the worm 28 coaxially, and a connection operation body 62 inserted into the connection operation hole 60 from the opposite end of the shaft on the non-connection side.

The spaces 54 and 56 are open to the shaft end. The inner peripheral surface of the shaft end 36 forming the space 54 converges toward the back of the space 54 on the opposite side of the connection (the inner diameter dimension is smaller at the part closer to the back of the space 54). have. The inner peripheral surface of the shaft end 38 forming the space 56 has the same inner diameter in the axial direction. The shaft end 36 has an outer diameter approximately the same as the inner diameter of the space of the shaft end 38, and is fitted into the space 56 so as to be movable in the axial direction.

The pusher 58 has a frusto-conical shape corresponding to the shape of the inner peripheral surface of the shaft end 36, and has a screw hole coaxially passing through the pusher 58.
At least a part of the inner peripheral surface of the shaft end 36 and the outer peripheral surface of the pusher 58 form a tapered region and are in contact with each other. In the example shown in the figure, the tapered region converges on the back side of the space 54 that is the anti-connection side.

The connection operation hole 60 is a through hole reaching the space 54. The connecting operation body 62 is a bolt having an operation head 64, a male screw part 66 at the tip, and is passed through a washer 68. The connection operation body 62 is inserted into the connection operation hole 60 from the non-connection side of the worm 28, and screwes the male screw portion 66 into the screw hole of the pusher 58.

The worm 2 of the indexing units 14 and 16
8 has the same shape. The worm 28 of the indexing table unit 12 is the same as the worm 28 of the other indexing table units 14 and 16 except that the structure of the shaft end 36 on the drive source side is different from that of the worm 28 of the other indexing table units 14 and 16 and that the worm 28 has no connecting operation hole. It is.

In the above connecting device, before the shaft end 36 is inserted into the shaft end 38, the connecting operation body 62 is operated in advance to weakly press the pusher 58 against the inner peripheral surface of the shaft end 36,
As a result, a frictional force is generated between the pusher 58 and the inner peripheral surface, and the pusher 5 when the connecting body 62 is rotated is rotated.
8 is prevented.

Thereafter, the shaft end 36 is fitted to the shaft end 38, and the pusher 58 with respect to the worm 28 is
When the connecting operation body 62 is rotated about the axis 42 in a state where the rotation of the connecting operation body 6 is
Since the screwing amount of No. 2 changes, the pusher 58 is moved relative to the worm 28 in the direction opposite to the coupling side, which is the direction of convergence of the tapered region in the direction of the axis 42.

When the pusher 58 is moved toward the back of the space 54 with respect to the worm 28 by the rotation of the connecting operation body 62, the pusher 58 causes its outer peripheral surface to contact the inner peripheral surface of the shaft end 36. In the converging state of the tapered region with respect to the shaft ends 36 and 38 in the state in which the shaft ends 36 and 38 are closed.
Is pushed outward in the radial direction to press the outer peripheral surface of the shaft end 36 against the inner peripheral surface of the shaft end 38. Thereby, a frictional force is generated between the outer peripheral surface of the shaft end 36 and the inner peripheral surface of the shaft end 38,
The adjacent worms 28 are connected by the frictional force so that they cannot rotate relative to each other.

Contrary to the above, the pusher 58 moves the worm 28
When the pusher 5 is moved toward the opening side of the space 54,
8, the outer peripheral surface is separated from the inner peripheral surface of the shaft end 36, so that the inner peripheral surface of the shaft end 36 is released from being pressed against the inner peripheral surface of the shaft end 38. As a result, the frictional force between the outer peripheral surface of the shaft end 38 and the inner peripheral surface of the shaft end 38 is eliminated or reduced, and the adjacent worms 28 are disconnected and relatively rotatably separated. .

In the index table 10, the index table units 12 and 14 are connected first, and then the index table unit 16 is connected to the index table unit 14. The index table unit 12 and the drive motor 18 are connected to the index table unit 1.
The connection may be made before the connection of 2 and 14, or after the connection. The indexing unit is separated from the unit on the side opposite to the driving source.

Prior to connecting the indexing table units 12 and 14, the backlash between the worm wheel 26 and the worm is adjusted for each unit using the assembling bolts 50 and the adjusting screws 52. The phases of the circular tables of the adjacent indexing unit are adjusted.

The above embodiment may be modified as follows.

Instead of forming both the inner peripheral surface of the shaft end 36 and the outer peripheral surface of the pusher 58 into a frusto-conical shape to form a tapered region, only one of them, for example, as shown in FIG. Only the outer peripheral surface may be a frusto-conical shape to form a tapered region. In this case, it is preferable that arc-shaped or linear chamfering is performed on the tip of the inner peripheral surface of the shaft end 36.

Instead of screwing the male screw portion 66 of the connecting operation body 62 into the screw hole of the pusher 58, as shown in FIG. 5, a part of the connecting operation hole 60 is formed as a screw hole 70, and the male screw portion 66 is formed as a screw hole. 70, and the pusher 58 may be assembled to the distal end of the connecting operation body 62 so as to be immovable in the axial direction by an assembling tool such as the male screw portion 72 or the nut 74.

As shown in FIG. 6, a plurality of slits 76 are formed in the shaft end 36 which is pushed out by the pusher 58 so as to extend in the direction of the axis 42 from the shaft end. , A structure that can be easily pushed outward in the radial direction.

As shown in FIG. 7, the inner peripheral surface of the shaft end 36 and the outer peripheral surface of the pusher 58 are formed as frusto-conical shapes converging toward the connecting side of the worm 28 so that they can be used as tapered regions. You may.

As shown in FIG. 8, the inner peripheral surface of the shaft end 38 of the worm 28 connected to the worm 28 in which the connecting member 42 is inserted is defined as the innermost inner peripheral surface, and a pusher is attached to the inner peripheral surface. 58 may be contacted. In this case, when the pusher 58 presses the inner peripheral surface of the shaft end portion 38, there is a possibility that the worms 28 are relatively separated from each other due to a reaction force. Therefore, it is preferable to reduce the inclination angle of the tapered region.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, a connection operation body other than a bolt may be used. The present invention can be variously modified without departing from the gist thereof.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of a multi-axis indexing table according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part of the multi-axis indexing stand shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of a worm connecting device used in the multi-axis indexing stand shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a second embodiment of the worm connecting device.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a third embodiment of the worm connecting device.

6A and 6B are views showing a fourth embodiment of the worm coupling device, wherein FIG. 6A is a cross-sectional view, and FIG. 6B is a cross-sectional view taken along line 6B-6B of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing a fifth embodiment of the worm connecting device.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing a sixth embodiment of the worm connecting device.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Multi-axis indexing table 12, 14, 16 Indexing table unit 18 Drive motor 20 Frame 22 Worm wheel shaft 24 Round table 26 Worm wheel 28 Worm 36, 38 Shaft end 42 Axis 54, 56 Space 58 Pusher 60 Connection hole 62 Connection body

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. Two adjacent worms which are connected to each other, have spaces formed coaxially with the axis of the worm and open to the shaft end side at the connection-side shaft end portions, respectively, and the worm of one of the worms is provided. Two worms each having a connection-side shaft end fitted into the space of the other worm; and a pusher pusher abutting against an inner peripheral surface of the connection-side shaft end that forms the space of the one worm. Or a connection operation hole formed in the other worm, the connection operation hole being formed coaxially with the worm and reaching the space from the opposite connection side, and the pusher inserted into the connection operation hole from the opposite connection side. A multi-axial indexing table, wherein at least one of the outer peripheral surface of the pusher and the inner peripheral surface of the one worm has a tapered region. 2. The same mating surface as the connection-side shaft end of the worm connected to the worm is formed at the opposite connection-side shaft end of the worm through which the connection operation body passes. The worm connection device according to claim 1, wherein a connection side shaft end of the third worm having the same connection operation hole as the connection operation hole is fitted into the space at the non-connection side shaft end. 3. One of the two adjacent worms is disposed on the drive source side and connected to the drive source, and the connection operation body is connected to the connection operation hole from the other opposite drive source side of the two adjacent worms. 3. The worm coupling device according to claim 1, wherein the worm coupling device is inserted. 4. The connection operation body according to claim 1, wherein one of the pusher and the connection operation hole has a female screw portion, and the connection operation body has a male screw portion screwed to the female screw portion. Worm coupling device.