Automatically adjusting actuator unit

Abstract: An actuator unit (50) in which an actuator section including a chuck pawl (108) for adjusting a dial knob of a product on a line conveyer is moved in an X-Y plane by an X-Y axis servo mechanism, and the torque of the chuck pawl is adjusted by a torque adjusting mechanism (110) while the operation of the torque actuator section being controlled under control of a control device which receives an input data concerning the product that has been introduced onto the line conveyer. The actuator section is set to a position suitable for adjusting the product on the line conveyer, and further, the torque of the chuck pawl is adjusted to a suitable value for turning the dial knob of the product.

Description: The present invention relates to an actuator for adjusting or inspecting push button switches or dial knobs of a product which is transferred on a production line conveyor. A known actuator unit of the above-mentioned type comprises a pusher device pushing a button switch of a product transferred on a production line conveyor, a chuck device chucking a dial knob of the product, and a rotation control device for rotating the chuck device. Fig. 8 shows an outline of a conventional actuator unit such as mentioned above. In the figure, a pusher device 2 includes an air cylinder device 3 and a cylinder body 4 fixed to a housing plate 6. When air is supplied to the cylinder body 4, a piston rod 8 moves forward, thereby pushing a push button switch (not shown). In the case where the product to be investigated or inspected has a plurality of push button switches, a required number of air cylinders are provided (such as 3A,3B indicated in the figure). A chuck device 10 and a rotation control device 12 are fixedly mounted on a movable plate 14. The movable plate 14 is fixed to a linear guide 16, which is adapted to be able to move along a rail 18 fixed on the housing plate 6. An air cylinder device 20 is provided for moving the linear guide, and when air is supplied to an air cylinder body 22, a piston rod 24 is pushed forward, thereby advancing the linear guide 16 along the rail 18. At the tip of a motor shaft 28 of a rotation control motor 26, which is fixed to the movable plate 14, is provided a pawl holding section 30 having a cylindrical shape, at the tip of which are provided two chuck pawls 32. Each of the chuck pawls 32 is fitted to the pawl holding section 30 by means of connecting pins 34 and with a gap therebetween. Between the two chuck pawls 32 is provided a spring 36, which urges the chuck pawls in a chuck opening direction. The outer diameter of the rear portion of each chuck pawl is equal to that of the outer surface of the pawl holding section 30, and, going forward, gradually increases, thereby forming a diverging conical surface 37. A sliding member 38 is mounted on the outer surface of the pawl holding portion. The sliding member 38 is adapted to slide forwards and backwards by the means of an air cylinder 42 which is fixed to the movable plate 14. The operation of the above-mentioned prior art actuator unit will be described below. When a product to be adjusted or inspected is transferred to the position of the actuator unit and a button switch of the product is intended to be pushed, the cylinder body 4 of the pusher device 2 is supplied with air, whereby the piston rod 8 moves forward. By this process, a tip of the piston rod 8 can contact with the push button switch and push it forward. For adjusting or inspecting a dial knob of a product, a cylinder body 20 of an air cylinder 22 is supplied with air, thereby advancing the movable plate 14. Then, the opening and closing air cylinder 42 is supplied with air, thereby pushing the sliding member 38 to close the chuck pawls 32 against the opening force of the spring 36, thereby chucking the dial knob. After this, the chuck pawls 32 are rotated by the rotation control motor 26 through the motor shaft 28. Thus, the dial knob is rotated. The above-mentioned conventional actuator unit is, however, required to provide a plurality of pusher devices 3,3A,3B... corresponding to the number of push button switches of a product to be adjusted or inspected, and a plurality of chuck devices 10 and rotation control devices 12 of a number corresponding to the number of dial knobs of the product. Therefore, in the case where the number and positions of push button switches and rotation switches of the products to be transferred on the line conveyor are changed, design changes are required to the pusher device 2, the chuck device 10 and the rotation control device 12 in order to deal with different kinds of products. Further, since the rotating torque of a dial knob such as a volume knob differs among different products, it is necessary to select a rotation control motor or a gear box which can cope with this rotating torque. When a common rotation control motor is used, a problem is encountered relating to the strength of stoppers on dial knobs. In the case of dial knobs having various diameters, it is necessary to set the chucking diameter of the chuck device so as to cope with the diameter of the knobs. In view of these problems, an automation of adjusting or inspecting processes for products on a production line conveyor involves a difficulty insofar that the pusher device 2, the chuck device 10 or the rotation control device 12 constituting an actuator unit must be changed so as to cope with different kinds of products, thereby causing a stoppage of the production line conveyor. A device of a similar construction to that of the present invention is disclosed in European patent specification number EP-A-0235045. This device comprises a base mounted on an X-Y biaxial servo mechanism and movable in both X- and Y-axial directions; an actuator section movable in a Z-axial direction relative to said base, said actuator section including a pusher means, a chuck means provided at a forward end of a main hollow shaft, and a rotation control means for rotating said chuck means. However, the pusher means of this device comprises a spring loaded vacuum tube which, although capable of exerting a pushing force on a component, enables the device to pick up by means of a vacuum an electrical component, for example, for transfer to a placement station such as a circuit board. The chuck means cooperates with the vacuum tube to grip the electrical component and centre and/or square it prior to it being deposited at the placement centre. Actuation of the chuck means is dependent on movement of drive tubes which also effect movement of the vacuum tube. Actuation of the chuck means is therefore mechanically linked to movement of the vacuum tube. The object of the present invention is to provide an actuator unit which solves the above-mentioned problems of the conventional device, requires a small number of actuators even when the product to be adjusted or inspected has many push buttons or dial knobs, and is able to automatically adjust or inspect various kinds of products by using a single actuator unit without stopping the production line conveyor. To achieve the above-mentioned object, according to the present invention, there is provided an automatically adjusting or inspecting actuator unit comprising: a base mounted on an X-Y biaxial servo mechanism and movable in both X- and Y-axial directions; an actuator section movable in a Z-axial direction relative to said base, said actuator section including a pusher means, a chuck means provided at a forward end of a main hollow shaft, and a rotation control means for rotating said chuck means, characterised in that the hollow main shaft is arranged coaxially on the outside of a push rod of the pusher means, and the chuck means and the push rod are arranged such that when, in use, the actuator section comes to a position in front of a push button switch of a product to be adjusted or inspected where the product is transferred on a production line conveyor, the push rod is moved forward to push the push button switch and when, in use, the actuator section comes to a position in front of a dial knob the actuator section is moved in the Z-axial direction to enable the chuck means to chuck the dial knob, the chuck means then being rotated by the rotation control means. Consequently, according to the present invention, even in a case where the product is replaced and the number or the positions of the push button switches or dial knobs are changed, the actuator section can be moved instantaneously by means of the X-Y biaxial servo mechanism. Therefore, only one pusher device, one chuck device, and one rotation control device are required. Further, since the push rod of the pusher device and the main shaft of the chuck device are arranged coaxially the size of the actuator section can be small. The mounting of an actuator section on the X-Y biaxial servo mechanism can therefore be readily facilitated. When the actuator section comes to a position in front of a button switch, the push rod moves forward with the pawls of the chuck device being maintained opened and pushes the push button switch. When the actuator section comes to a position in front of a dial knob, the actuator section moves in the Z-axial direction, and a tapered surface of a slider pushes tapered surfaces of the chuck pawls such that, with the chuck pawls located at the position of the dial knob, it closes the chuck pawls to chuck the dial knob. The amount of opening or closing of the chuck pawls can be easily controlled by adjusting the slide amount of the slider. After this, the main shaft is rotated in association with the rotation of the chuck pawls, thereby rotating the dial knob at this moment, since the rotating torque for rotating the main shaft is transmitted through sliding surfaces, an excessive torque can be prevented from being applied to the dial knob. Further, since surface pressure on the sliding surfaces can be controlled by a spring, it is not necessary to replace the rotation control motor, in contrast with the prior art. Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention, in addition to those mentioned above, will be apparent in the following description of preferred embodiments of invention with reference to the drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a partly sectioned side view of one embodiment of an automatic adjusting or inspecting actuator unit of the present invention; Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the actuator unit of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a front view of the actuator unit of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a rear view of the actuator unit of Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is a sectional view along line V-V in Fig. 3; Fig. 6 is a plan view illustrating an installation of the actuator unit shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a control system for operating the installation shown in Fig. 6; and Fig. 8 is a perspective view illustrating a conventional actuator unit. As shown in Fig. 6, a motor 58 is fixed to a frame body 54 on the outside of a bracket 56, the frame body 54 defining the periphery of an X-Y biaxial servo mechanism 52. A gear 62 mounted on a motor shaft 60 of the motor 60 meshes with a gear 66 of a spline shaft 64. The spline shaft 64 is rotatably supported by the frame body 54 in the X-axial direction. Within the frame body 54, a ball screw 68 is rotatably disposed in the X-axial direction similarly to the spline shaft 64. the ball screw 68 is connected with a motor 72 through a coupling 70 on the outside of the frame body 54. The motor 72 is fixed to the outside of the frame body 54 by means of a bracket 74. The periphery of the spline shaft 64 engages with a spline nut 76, which rotatably supports one end portion of a beam 78. The other portion of the beam 78 is rotatably supported by a ball nut 80 which engages with the periphery of the ball screw 68. A timing belt 84 is wound at one end thereof around a timing pulley 82 which is fixed to the outer surface of the spline nut 76, and at the other end around an idling pulley 86 which is mounted on the other end of the beam 78. A base 88 is movably arranged along the beam 78, and fixed to a portion of the timing belt 84. Consequently, when the motor 58 located on the spline shaft 64 side is rotated, the spline shaft 64, spline nut 76, the timing pulley 82 and the idling pulley 86 rotate and the timing belt 84 reciprocates in the Y-axial direction. Corresponding to this reciprocating motion, the base 88 is drawn along the beam 78 in the Y-axial direction. Next, when the motor 72 on the ball screw 68 side is rotated, the coupling 70 and the ball screw 68 rotate, and the ball nut 80 moves in the X-axial direction. Corresponding to this motion of the ball nut, the beam 78 moves in the X-axial direction along the spline shaft 64. Thus, the actuator section 50 mounted on the base 88 is able to rapidly move in X- and Y-axial directions. Referring to Figs. 3 to 5, a mechanism for moving the actuator section 50 forwards and backwards in the Z-axial direction relative to the base 88 will be described below. A linear guide 92 is provided, being projected from a side of a plate 90 which serves as a strengthening member for the actuator section 50, and a rail 94 engaging with the linear guide 92 is mounted on the base 88. A connecting plate 96 also serving as a strengthening member of the actuator section 50 is connected with a tip portion of a piston rod 100 of a Z-axial direction cylinder 98. A cylinder body 102 of the Z-axial direction cylinder 98 is fixed to a flange portion 104 of the base 88. Consequently, by supplying air to the cylinder body 102, it becomes possible to move the actuator section 50 forwards or backwards in the Z-axial direction relative to the base 88. Next, referring to Figs. 1 and 2, the actuator section 50 will be explained below. The actuator section 50 comprises a pusher device 106 pushing a push button which is not shown, a chuck device 108 chucking a dial knob which is also not shown, and a rotation control device 110 for rotating the chuck device. The pusher device 106 is adapted to move a push rod 114 forwards or backwards by means of an air cylinder 112. A cylinder body 116 of the air cylinder 112 is fixed to an angled member 118 serving as a strengthening member of the actuator section, and a piston rod 120 of the air cylinder 112 is connected with an end of the push rod 114. Further, a soft member is fixed to a tip portion of the push rod 114 so that a push button switch which is not shown does not suffer damage when the push rod contacts with it. The chuck device 108 includes a pair of chuck pawls 124 facing each other, which are mounted on a tip portion of a hollow main shaft 122 arranged coaxially on the outer surface of the push rod 114. Each of the chuck pawls 124 is connected with the main shaft 122 by means of a connecting pin 126 in such a manner as to allow the chuck pawl to rotate by a predetermined angle and to make an opening and closing motion. On the outer surface of the rear portion of each chuck pawl is a groove 128, in which a ring spring 130 is inserted. The ring spring 130 maintains the chuck pawls in open positions. Further, inside of a rear portion of each chuck pawl is formed a tapered surface 132. On the outer surface of the main shaft 122 is arranged a slider 134 which is slidable in the shaft's axial direction, and the front portion of the slider 134 has a tapered surface 136, which has a shape similar to that of the tapered surfaces 132 so that the slider can push against the tapered surfaces of the chuck pawls. These tapered surfaces 132,136 may comprise parts of a conical surface or flat planes. The slider 134 is connected to a tip portion of a connecting rod 142 through a connecting plate 138 and a connecting piece 140. Consequently, when air is supplied to the air cylinder 144, the slider 134 is moved by the piston rod 146 and the connecting rod 142, thereby pushing the chuck pawls 124 by means of contact between the tapered surfaces 132,136 to close the chuck pawls. When the slider retards, the chuck pawls 124 returns to their open positions by means of the ring spring 130. Next, the rotation control device 110 will be described below. The rotation driving source for the rotation control device is a motor 148, which is fixed to a housing 150 serving as a strengthening member of the actuator section 50. Strengthening members of the actuator section 50 comprise a front plate 152, a rear plate 154, an outer plate 156 connecting the front and rear plates, the housing 150 fixed to the rear plate 154, and the angled member 118 fixed to the rear portion of the housing 150. The rotary shaft 158 of the motor 148 is coaxially connected with a shaft 160, on the periphery of which is fixed a gear 162. Both ends of the shaft 160 are supported by the front plate 152 and the housing 150 through a bearing 61 and a bearing 163, respectively. The gear 162 meshes with a gear 164 mounted on the periphery of the main shaft 122. A torque adjusting mechanism 168 utilising sliding surfaces is provided to transmit a rotation force from the gear 164 to the main shaft 122. In detail, in front of the gear 164, a hub 170 is fixed to the main shaft 122, while to the rear of the gear 164 is provided a holder 172. Between the gear 164 and the hub 170 and between the gear 164 and the holder 172 are disposed friction plates 174, while between the gear 164 and the main shaft 122 is disposed a plain bearing 176. These friction plates 174 and plain bearing 176 have a Teflon coating so as to provide sliding friction surfaces. The holder 172 has an U-shaped cross-section, inside of which is accommodated a spring mechanism including Bellerville springs 178 and washer-like plates 180 alternately combined. For pushing the spring mechanism 182, an adjusting nut 184 is provided on the inside of the holder 172. The adjusting nut 184 is formed with a female screw on the inner surface of an end portion thereof, which meshes with a male screw formed on the outer surface of a boss 186. The boss 186 is fixed to the main shaft 122. The main shaft 122 is supported by the front plate 152 and the rear plate 154 through a bearing 188 and a bearing 190, respectively. By virtue of the rotation control device 110 including the torque adjusting mechanism 168, when the rotation force of the motor 148 is transmitted to the main shaft 122 through the shaft 160, the gear 162, the gear 164, and the hub 170 with the chuck pawls 124 chucking a dial knob, and the main shaft 122 is rotated up to the position of a stopper of a dial knob (not shown), the surfaces of the friction plates 174 and the plain bearing 176 slide. The amount of the torque at which sliding starts can be adjusted by controlling the surface pressure on the sliding surfaces, namely, the force urging the spring mechanism 182. Control of the urging force of the spring mechanism 182 can be conducted by rotating the adjusting nut 184, thereby changing the distance L by which the spring mechanism is pushed by the adjusting nut 184. Further, the plain bearing 176 has means to ensure the axial position of the gear 164 and to prevent a variation of the frictional force between the gear 164 and the main shaft 122. The two motors 58, 72 shown in Fig. 6 and the air cylinders 112, 144 shown in Fig. 5 are controlled according to a program for operating the actuator unit. The operation of this embodiment will be described below. When a product to be adjusted or inspected has been transferred on a production line conveyor, the motors 58, 72 are rotated so as to rapidly move the actuator section 50 in X- and Y-axial directions to a position where the actuator section 50 faces a push button switch or a dial knob. When the actuator section 50 reaches a position opposite to a push button switch which is not shown, the air cylinder 112 is operated, thereby pressing the push rod 114 forwards and pushing the push button switch. After this, the push rod 114 is moved backwards, and the two motors 58,72 of the X-Y axial servo mechanism 52 are rotated, thereby moving the actuator section 50 to a next position corresponding to a next push button switch. After this, the same process is repeated, and all of the push button switches are inspected to determine whether they can function correctly or not. When the actuator section reaches a position opposite to a dial knob, the Z-axial air cylinder 98 is operated, thereby moving the actuator section 50 forward and positioning the chuck pawls 124 beside the dial knob. After this, the air cylinder 144 shown in Fig. 1 is operated, thereby sliding the slider 134 forward, pushing the tapered surfaces 132,136 and closing the chuck pawls 124 to chuck the dial knob. Then, the motor 148 is operated, thereby rotating the main shaft 122 through the shaft 160, the gear 162, the gear 164 and the hub 170, and the chuck pawls 124 rotate the dial knob. In rotating the main shaft, when the torque to be transmitted to the main shaft increases beyond a predetermined value, the surfaces of the friction plates 174 and the plain bearing 176 slide, thereby limiting the torque to be transmitted within a predetermined value. Adjustment of the predetermined torque limit can be easily carried out by rotating the adjusting nut 184 relative to the boss 186 by use of a tool such as a spanner. Further, there may be provided a torque adjusting mechanism including a motor and gears or the like, for rotating and displacing the adjusting nut 184 in order to adjust the torque value of the chuck pawls 124. As mentioned above, according to this embodiment, the push rod 114 and the main shaft 122 are arranged coaxially, in other words, the pusher device 106 and the chuck device 108 are arranged on a common axis. As a result, the size of the actuator section 50 can be made small as a whole. By virtue of its decreased size it becomes easy to mount the actuator section 50 on the X-Y biaxial servo mechanism 52. The weight and volume of the actuator section 50 can be decreased, and the size and required strength of the X-Y biaxial servo mechanism 52 can also be decreased, thereby making it possible to use motors 58,72 having a small capacity and a small size. Since the actuator section 50 can be rapidly moved by the X-Y biaxial servo mechanism 52 in X-and Y-axial directions, it is not required to provide a plurality of pusher devices, a plurality of chuck devices, and further, a plurality of rotation control devices, which are indispensable in some of the prior art. This means, a single pusher device 106, a single chuck device 108, and a single rotation control device 110 can deal with a plurality of push button switches or dial knobs. Further, in the case where the product is replaced and the number or the positions of the push button switches or the dial knobs are changed, it is not necessary to replace the pusher device 106, the chuck device 108, or the rotation control device 110, but the same devices can be continuously used. The chucking diameter of the chuck pawls 124 can be easily adjusted by controlling the slide amount of the slider 134 in the axial direction. Since this slide amount can be simply adjusted by means of the air cylinder 144, the process of changing the chucking diameter can be easily incorporated into a computer program for operating the actuator unit. Further, even when the dial knob is erroneously rotated beyond a position of a stopper (not shown), the surfaces of the friction plates 174 and the plain bearing slide 176, thereby preventing an excessive torque from being applied to the dial knob. In addition, in a case where the product is replaced and the appropriate torque for the dial knob changes, the new appropriate torque can be easily obtained by adjusting the pressing force of the spring mechanism 182 by rotating the adjusting nut 184, thereby controlling the surface pressures on the sliding surfaces. As mentioned above, when the product is replaced and the number or the positions of the push button switches or the dial knobs is changed, or the appropriate torque for the dial knobs is changed, it is not necessary to replace the pusher device, the chuck device, or the rotation control device. As a result, lost operation time is eliminated or extremely decreased. Further, since the pusher device 106 and the chuck device 108 are arranged coaxially, it becomes easy to prepare a computer program for operating the X-Y biaxial servo device 52 and moving the actuator section 50 in a desired direction in a X-Y plate. Fig. 7 shows a control system for controlling the actuator unit. In this figure, there is shown a control device which incorporates therein several kinds of programs for controlling the torque adjusting mechanism, the X-Y axis servo mechanism and the actuator section. The control device receives data concerning a product to be adjusted and checked on the line conveyor, and delivers control signals for adjusting the chuck pawl torque, the position of the actuator section and for controlling the operation of the actuator section. As apparent from the embodiment mentioned above, in an actuator unit according to the present invention, the size of the actuator section is made small by arranging the push rod of the pusher device and the main shaft of the chuck device in a coaxial manner, and by virtue of the small size of the actuator section, the actuation section can be easily mounted on the X-Y biaxial servo mechanism, and can be rapidly moved by the servo mechanism to a desired position defined in X- and Y-axial directions. Therefore, in a case where the product includes a plurality of button switches or dial knobs, or the position or number of the button switches or the dial knobs of the product are changed, the product can still be dealt with by a single set of a pusher device, a chuck-device and a rotation control device. Consequently, it is not required to provide a number of pusher devices, chuck devices and rotation control devices corresponding to a number of push button switches and dial knobs of the product. Further, even where the positions or number of the button switches or the dial knobs of the product are changed, there is no need for a design change or fabrication process change for changing the number or the positions of the pusher devices, the chuck devices and the rotation control devices. It is not necessary to variously set the chucking diameter of the chuck pawls in advance for coping with different dial knobs, because the chucking diameter can be easily changed by changing the slide amount of the slider. The dial knob is protected from an excessive torque because the rotation torque is transmitted through sliding surfaces, and can be easily adjusted by controlling the surface pressure on the sliding surfaces by means of a spring. As a result, it is not necessary to change the rotation control motor every time the rotation torque of the dial knob is changed.

Claims: An automatically adjusting or inspecting actuator unit comprising: a base (88) mounted on an X-Y biaxial servo mechanism (52) and movable in both X- and Y-axial directions; an actuator section (50) movable in a Z-axial direction relative to said base (88), said actuator section (50) including a pusher means (106), a chuck means (108) provided at a forward end of a main hollow shaft (122), and a rotation control means (110) for rotating said chuck means (108), characterised in that the hollow main shaft (122) is arranged coaxially on the outside of a push rod (114) of the pusher means (106), and the chuck means (108) and the push rod (114) are arranged such that when, in use, the actuator section (50) comes to a position in front of a push button switch of a product to be adjusted or inspected where the product is transferred on a production line conveyor, the push rod (114) is moved forward to push the push button switch and when, in use, the actuator section (50) comes to a position in front of a dial knob the actuator section (50) is moved in the Z-axial direction to enable the chuck means (108) to chuck the dial knob, the chuck means (108) then being rotated by the rotation control means (110). An automatically adjusting or inspecting actuator unit according to claim 1, characterised in that the chuck means (108) has a plurality of chuck pawls (124) swingably connected to said forward end of the main shaft (122) and maintained in open positions such that when the push rod (114) is moved forward to push a push button switch of a product to be adjusted or inspected the chuck pawls (124) remain in their open positions and when the actuator section (50) is moved in the Z-axial direction to enable the chuck means (108) to chuck the dial knob, the chuck pawls (124) are positioned besides the dial knob and then closed to chuck said dial knob before the chuck means (108) is rotated by the rotation control means (110). An automatically adjusting or inspecting actuator unit according to claim 2, characterised in that the chuck means (108) includes a means (134, 142,144) for closing said chuck pawls (124), said means (134,142,144) comprising a slider (134) slidable in an axial direction of the main shaft (122) and having a tapered surface (136) at a front portion thereof which, in use, presses against tapered surfaces (132) forming rear portions of said chuck pawls (124) to close said chuck pawls (124). An automatically adjusting or inspecting actuator unit according to claim 2 or claim 3, characterised in that the chuck means (108) has two chuck pawls (124) which face each other. An automatically adjusting or inspecting actuator unit according to any preceding claim, characterised in that said rotation control means (110) comprises a torque adjusting means (168) including a friction plate (174) provided on a rotation transmitting portion (164) and having a sliding surface, and a hub (170) fitted on said main shaft (122) also having a sliding surface which mates with said sliding surface of said friction plate (174) with a surface pressure therebetween, and an urging means (182,184) for adjusting the surface pressure between said sliding surfaces.

Inventors: KAWABATA YUKIO, KAWABATA, YUKIO
Applicants: MATSUSHITA ELECTRIC IND CO LTD, MATSUSHITA ELECTRIC INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD.
Application year: 1991
Main classification: B25J9
IPC codes: G01M19, G05D3, B23Q1, B25J15, G01L5