JP2009202294A - Floating chuck device and floating chuck unit - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide floating chuck device and floating chuck unit capable of floating a chuck with a simple constitution and being made compact. <P>SOLUTION: In this floating chuck device 10, the chuck 20 having a shaft part 21 extending in the vertical direction and holding a workpiece W by sucking the workpiece by a suction part at the distal end is supported to float on a moving substrate 3 for moving the chuck 20. In this floating chuck unit 1, a plurality of the floating chuck devices 10 are provided side by side. The chuck 20 includes a flange part 22, a first guide block 11 having a chuck insertion hole 11c for inserting the shaft part 21 and supporting the flange part 22, and a second guide block 12 which is made as a pair with the first guide block 11 and holds the flange part 22 from the above. Clearances n1 and n2 are formed between the first guide block 11 and the flange 22 and between the chuck insertion hole 11c and the shaft part 21, respectively. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a floating chuck device that supports a chuck that holds a workpiece by suction so as to be floating with respect to a moving mechanism, and a floating chuck unit in which a plurality of the chucks are arranged in parallel.

  For example, when manufacturing precision equipment or the like, since minute parts are assembled, a small chuck for holding these minute parts is required. As such a chuck, conventionally, for example, as shown in Patent Document 1, a chuck having a structure for attracting a work (micropart) by vacuum is known. This chuck is provided with a porous suction part at the tip of the chuck, and a workpiece is brought into contact with the tip surface of the suction part, and air is sucked from the base end surface side of the suction part by vacuum, and the tip of the suction part The work is attracted to the surface.

In such a chuck, when handling an ultra-precise part such as an optical element as a workpiece, it is required to increase the positioning accuracy between the chuck and the tray on which the workpiece is installed. Positioning with higher accuracy is required.
In this case, it is effective to align the centers of the chuck by finally guiding the horizontal position of the chuck on the tray side. For this purpose, the chuck is supported so that it can float on the moving mechanism. It is necessary to provide a mechanism.

As a floating mechanism, a method of sliding a linear guide on the X and Y axes and sliding on the XY plane (for example, refer to Patent Document 2), a method for supporting it in a passive manner by the force of a spring (for example, refer to Patent Document 3), a magnet A method of sliding on the top is generally known.
JP 2001-88075 A JP-A-8-85089 No. 6-44588

By the way, in an assembly process using a chuck, it is desirable that a plurality of chucks are arranged side by side and a plurality of workpieces are held and transported simultaneously in order to improve productivity. However, when the method of using the linear guides overlaid as the above floating mechanism is adopted, the mechanism itself cannot be increased in size, so that there is a problem that the chucks cannot be arranged side by side and productivity is lowered. . Further, since the linear guide uses lubricating oil or the like for smooth operation, this may contaminate the work.
Further, when a spring is used, the chuck shaft may be tilted due to vibration caused by its elasticity, and it is difficult to ensure high positioning accuracy. Furthermore, in the case of using a magnet, the work may be magnetized, which is not appropriate for handling precision parts.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and is capable of reducing the size of the floating mechanism of the chuck and improving the positioning accuracy, and can hold and transport the workpiece in an appropriate environment. An object is to provide an apparatus and a floating chuck unit.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention proposes the following means.
That is, the floating chuck device according to the present invention has a shaft portion extending in the vertical direction, and a chuck that holds the workpiece by adsorbing the workpiece to the suction portion at the tip of the floating chuck device moves the chuck. A floating chuck device supported so as to be able to float, wherein the chuck has a flange portion projecting radially outward from the shaft portion, and includes an insertion hole through which the shaft portion is inserted in the vertical direction. A first guide block supported from below, and a second guide block that forms a pair with the first guide block and sandwiches the flange portion from above are provided, between the second guide block and the flange, and A clearance is formed between the insertion hole and the shaft portion.

  According to the floating chuck device having such a feature, a floating mechanism can be obtained with a simple configuration in which the flange portion of the chuck is sandwiched between the first and second guide blocks. That is, the chuck flange is movable within the clearance range formed between the first guide block and the chuck shaft is formed between the insertion hole through which the shaft is inserted. Therefore, it is possible to float on the horizontal plane while being supported by the first and second guide blocks as a whole chuck.

Further, the floating chuck device according to the present invention is characterized in that the chuck is provided with a centering mechanism for performing center alignment with the tray on which the workpiece is installed.
As described above, since the chuck is supported so as to be able to float, it is possible to perform center alignment with the final tray, thereby ensuring the horizontal position of the chuck with respect to the tray. In addition, both axes can be matched.

  Furthermore, in the floating chuck device according to the present invention, the alignment mechanism is externally fitted to the shaft portion so as to be slidable in the vertical direction, and can be fitted to a tapered portion formed on the tray at the tip thereof. A tapered recess is formed.

When the chuck places the workpiece on the tray or carries it out of the tray, when the chuck is lowered toward the tray, the taper recess of the alignment mechanism fits into the taper of the tray, so that the center of the two is aligned. Therefore, the chuck can be reliably positioned at a fixed position with respect to the tray.
In addition, since the alignment mechanism is slidable in the vertical direction with respect to the chuck, it does not hinder the placement or unloading of the workpiece by the chuck, and it is possible to ensure a smooth operation by the chuck. .

  The floating chuck device according to the present invention is characterized in that a chuck fixing means for positioning the chuck with respect to the second guide block is provided.

  When placing or unloading a workpiece on the tray as described above, the chuck needs to be able to float because it is necessary to align the center with the tray. When placing or unloading the workpiece, the chuck can be stably placed or unloaded by positioning the chuck with respect to the second guide block by the chuck fixing means.

A floating unit according to the present invention is characterized in that a plurality of the above floating chuck devices are arranged in parallel.
Since the chuck can be floated with a simple configuration as described above, the apparatus itself can be made compact, and a plurality of devices can be arranged in parallel. As a result, a plurality of workpieces can be conveyed at the same time, so that productivity can be improved.

According to the floating chuck device and the floating chuck unit according to the present invention, the chuck can be floated with a simple configuration in which the flange portion of the chuck is sandwiched between the first and second guide blocks, and the positioning accuracy is improved. It is possible to reduce the size of the apparatus itself.
In addition, since the work does not receive lubricating oil or magnetic force, the work can be transported in a clean environment.
Furthermore, since the devices can be arranged side by side with this compactness, the productivity in the assembly process can be improved.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The embodiment of the floating chuck device according to the present invention will be described together with the floating chuck unit according to the present invention in which the floating chuck device is incorporated.
1 is a side view showing a floating chuck unit according to this embodiment, FIG. 2 is a side sectional view showing the floating chuck unit according to this embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a side sectional view of a floating chuck device constituting the floating chuck unit. FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged view of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the floating chuck unit 1 of the present embodiment includes a plurality (five in the present embodiment) of floating chuck devices 10 arranged in parallel. Is attached to the movable substrate 3 through an angle 2. Further, a cylinder 4 connected and fixed to the movable substrate 3 is disposed immediately above the floating chuck unit 1.
Note that the workpiece W conveyed to the floating chuck unit 1 of the present embodiment is a target for precision equipment such as optical elements and watch parts. Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the tray 40 on which such a workpiece W is placed has a columnar shape extending in the vertical direction, and the recess 41 ( 3 is formed, and the upper end side of the outer peripheral side surface is a tapered portion 42 whose diameter is reduced upward.

  The moving substrate 3 moves the floating chuck unit 1 three-dimensionally in the X direction, the Y direction, and the Z direction. The moving substrate 3 has a substantially plate shape arranged along the vertical plane, and the rear side (FIG. 1). Is connected to a drive mechanism (not shown). As long as it can move in the three-dimensional direction, various drive mechanisms such as three linear guides stacked in each direction in the XYZ directions can be used as long as it can move in the three-dimensional direction. Can do.

The angle 2 is a plate-like member having an L-shape when viewed from the side and having a certain thickness. The rear side of the angle 2 is joined to the movable substrate 3 and the portion extended to the front side (right side in FIG. 1) A bracket portion 5 to which a plurality of floating chuck devices 10 are attached is provided.
The bracket portion 5 has upper or lower surfaces to be attached surfaces 6 and 7 to which first and second guide blocks 11 and 12 described later are attached, respectively. A surface facing the front side that is arranged orthogonal to 7 is a bracket front surface 8 that is flat.

  Hereinafter, each floating chuck device 10 constituting the floating chuck unit 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. The floating chuck device 10 is generally composed of a first guide block 11, a second guide block 12, a chuck 20, and a chuck fixing means 30.

  The first guide block 11 is a member that is fixed to the angle 2 and supports the flange portion 22 of the chuck 20 from below, and has a quadrangular prism shape whose longitudinal direction is the front-rear direction (left-right direction in FIG. 3).

  Of the surfaces facing upward of the first guide block 11, the surface located on the rear side is a fixed surface 11 a that contacts the mounted surface 6 of the angle 2 and is fixed by the bolt 13. As a result, the front side of the first guide block 11 is projected forward from the bracket front surface 8 of the angle 2.

  Of the surfaces facing upward of the first guide block 11, the surface positioned on the front side of the fixed surface 11a is a flange contact surface 11b with which a flange portion 22 of the chuck 20 to be described later contacts. A chuck insertion hole 11c that penetrates in a substantially circular shape in the vertical direction is formed in the contact surface 11b. A shaft portion of the chuck 20 described later is inserted into the chuck insertion hole 11c.

  The second guide block 12 is a member arranged on the upper side of the bracket 5 so as to make a pair with the first guide block 11, and like the first guide block 11, the second guide block 12 has a quadrangular prism shape whose longitudinal direction is the longitudinal direction. I am doing.

  Of the surfaces facing the lower side of the second guide block 12, the surface located on the rear side is a fixed surface 12 a that contacts the mounted surface 7 of the angle 2 and is fixed by the bolt 14. As a result, the front side of the second guide block is projected forward from the bracket front surface 8 of the angle 2, and the first guide block 11 and the second guide block 12 are interposed via the bracket portion 5 of the angle 2. It becomes the structure arranged oppositely up and down.

  Of the surfaces facing downward of the second guide block 12, the surface located on the front side of the fixed surface 12a is a flange facing surface 12b facing a flange portion 22 of the chuck 20 described later. Further, a rod insertion hole 12c that penetrates in a substantially circular shape in the vertical direction is formed in the flange facing surface 12b, and a rod 31 of a chuck fixing means 30 described later is inserted therethrough.

  The chuck 20 holds the workpiece W by suction, and has a substantially cylindrical shaft portion 21 extending vertically along an axis O extending in the vertical direction, and an axis O at the upper portion of the shaft portion 21. And a flange portion 22 projecting in a substantially square shape in plan view toward the outside in the radial direction, and has a T-shape in a side sectional view as a whole.

  The lower end portion of the shaft portion 21 has a smaller diameter than the other portions, and a suction portion 23 for sucking the workpiece W is provided on the end surface. Further, an air passage 24 for sucking air from the suction portion 23 is formed in the chuck 20, and the air passage 24 extends vertically from the suction portion 23 in the shaft portion 21 along the axis O. A path 24 a and a horizontal path 24 b that refracts and extends in the horizontal direction from the longitudinal path 24 a that reaches the flange section 22 at the top of the shaft section 21 and opens to the flange front surface 22 a of the flange section 22. In this way, the vertical path 24a and the horizontal path 24b are in communication with each other, and an air hose (not shown) is connected to the connection portion 25 provided in the opening of the horizontal path 24b to perform suction, thereby attracting the lower end surface of the shaft portion. The part 23 is configured to be able to suck the workpiece W.

  In detail, as shown in FIG. 4, the base end portion 21 a that is a boundary between the shaft portion 21 and the flange portion 22 is formed to have a larger diameter than other portions, and the diameter thereof is the first guide described above. The diameter is set to be slightly smaller than the diameter of the chuck insertion hole 11 c of the block 11.

The flange portion 22 is rectangular in plan view and has a prismatic shape with a constant thickness in the vertical direction. As shown in FIG. 4, the vertical thickness d1 is determined by the bracket portion 5 at the angle 2 described above. Is set to be slightly smaller than the thickness d2 in the vertical direction. In addition, the surface of the flange portion 22 facing downward where the base end portion 21a of the shaft portion 22 is connected is a flat flange lower surface 22b, and the surface facing upward of the flange portion 22 is the flange upper surface 22c. The surface facing rearward is a flange back surface 22d.
The flange upper surface 22c is formed with a fitting hole 22e into which the fitting portion 32 of the rod 31 in the chuck fixing means 30 described later is fitted.

  The chuck 20 including the shaft portion 21 and the flange portion 22 is arranged so that the shaft portion 22 passes through the chuck insertion hole 11c of the first guide block from the upper side to the lower side. The 22 flange surfaces 22b are in contact with the flange contact surface 11b of the first guide block. And the 2nd guide block 12 is located just above the flange part 22, and, thereby, the flange part 22 is arrange | positioned so that it may be pinched | interposed by the 1st and 2nd guide blocks 11 and 12 from the upper and lower sides. become.

As described above, since the thickness d1 of the flange portion 22 is set slightly smaller than the thickness d2 of the bracket portion 5, as shown in FIG. A clearance n1 is formed between the two guide blocks 12 and the flange facing surface 12b.
Further, since the diameter of the base end portion 21a of the shaft portion 21 in the chuck 20 is set slightly smaller than the diameter of the chuck insertion hole 11c of the first guide block 11, the base end portion 21a and the chuck insertion hole 11c are set. A clearance n2 is also formed between the two. In the present embodiment, a clearance n3 is also provided between the flange back surface 22d and the blanket front surface 8.
Therefore, the shaft portion 21 and the flange 22 can move slightly within the range of these clearances n1, n2, and n3.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the shaft portion 21 of the chuck 20 configured as described above is provided with an alignment mechanism 26 that performs center alignment between the chuck 20 and the tray 40 on which the workpiece W is placed. . The alignment mechanism 26 has a cylindrical shape, and is fitted on the outer peripheral surface of the shaft portion 22 so as to be slidable coaxially with the shaft portion 22.
Further, in the alignment mechanism 26, as shown in FIG. 3, a key member 28 is inserted from the outer peripheral side toward a key groove 21b formed on the outer peripheral surface of the shaft portion 21 along the vertical direction. As a result, rotation of the alignment mechanism 26 around the axis O is prevented, and movement in the vertical direction is restricted within the upper and lower ranges of the keyway 21b. The head 27 a of the key member 27 protrudes radially outward from the outer peripheral surface of the alignment mechanism 26.
Further, a spring member 29 extending from the base end portion 21a to the upper end portion of the alignment mechanism 26 is disposed on the outer periphery of the shaft portion 21 in a compressed state, whereby the alignment mechanism 26 is biased downward. As a result, it is normally located at the lowest position in the range of the keyway 21b.

In addition, a tapered recessed hole 28 that is recessed in a tapered shape with the axis O as the center is provided in the opening at the lower end surface of the alignment mechanism 26. The diameter and taper angle of the tapered recess 28 are formed to be the same as the tapered portion 42 in the tray 40 described above.
Therefore, when the chuck 20 unloads the workpiece W from the tray 40 or places the workpiece W on the tray 40, the tapered concave portion 28 of the alignment mechanism 26 and the tapered portion 42 of the tray 40 are taper-fitted. As a result, both axes are made to coincide with each other and center alignment is performed.

Next, the chuck fixing means 30 will be described. The chuck fixing means 30 includes a rod 31, a fitting portion 32 provided at the lower end of the rod 31, and a spring member 33 that urges the rod 31 upward.
As shown in FIG. 3, the rod 31 is inserted into the rod insertion hole 12 c of the second guide block 12. At this time, the fitting portion 32 on the lower end surface is accommodated in the fitting hole 22 e of the flange portion 22. ing. The rod 31 is provided with an edge portion 31a projecting radially outward, and a spring member 33 extending from the edge portion 31a to the second guide block 12 is disposed in a compressed state on the outer periphery of the rod 31. As a result, the rod 31 is urged upward. At this time, since the fitting portion 32 formed to have a diameter larger than that of the rod 31 contacts the flange facing surface 12b of the second guide block 12, the upward movement of the rod 31 is restricted. .

  In addition, the fitting portion 35 has a multi-stage conical shape with a diameter decreasing downward, and the fitting hole 22e of the flange 22 has a concave shape having a corresponding multi-stage cylindrical surface. Since the rod 31 is formed to be slightly small, when the rod 31 is biased upward by the spring member 33, as shown in FIG. 4, there is a clearance between the fitting portion 35 and the fitting hole 22e. n4 is formed.

  A cylinder 4 is disposed immediately above the rod 31 in the chuck fixing means 30. When the cylinder rod 4a of the cylinder 4 protrudes downward and comes into contact with the upper end of the rod 31, the rod 4 31 is pushed downward, and the fitting portion 35 and the fitting hole 22e are closely fitted so that their vertices coincide with each other. As a result, the flange 22 is positioned at a fixed position with respect to the second guide block 12.

Hereinafter, the function of the floating chuck unit 1 according to the present embodiment will be described.
When the workpiece W is placed on or removed from the tray 40 by the floating chuck unit 1, the floating chuck unit 1 moves the chuck 20 as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 by moving the moving substrate 3 in the XYZ directions. Is moved to a position where the axis O of the shaft portion 21 is substantially coaxial with the tray 40. At this time, although the positioning is performed by the moving substrate 3, it is impossible to position the moving substrate 3 more than the accuracy of the XYZ coordinates.

  Here, in each floating chuck device 10 of each floating unit 1 of the present embodiment, the flange portion is related to the relationship between the chuck 20 and the first guide block 11, the second guide block 12, and the bracket portion 5 that support the chuck 20. The bottom surface 22b of the flange 22 is supported by being in contact with the flange contact surface 11b of the first guide block 11 and, as shown in FIG. Absent. Accordingly, the chuck 20 can freely move within the clearances n1, n2, and n3, and can smoothly float on the XY plane.

Then, when the chuck 20 is lowered toward the tray 40 by the movable substrate 3 in such a state that the chuck 20 is supported so as to be able to float, the taper concave portion 28 of the alignment mechanism 26 becomes a taper portion of the tray 40. Try to mate. At this time, since the chuck 20 can float on the XY plane, the axis O of the shaft portion 21 can be aligned according to the tray 40 side. Thus, since the chuck 20 can follow the guidance by the tray 40, the chuck 20 and the tray 40 can be easily centered.
Since the alignment mechanism 26 is slidable in the vertical direction with respect to the shaft portion 21, when the chuck 20 is lowered toward the tray 40, the alignment mechanism 26 places the workpiece W on the chuck 20. Or it will not interfere with export.

As described above, in the floating chuck device 10 of the present embodiment, the floating mechanism of the chuck 20 has a simple configuration in which the flange portion 22 of the chuck 20 is sandwiched between the first and second guide blocks 11 and 12. Obtainable. Thereby, since the apparatus itself can be made compact, it becomes possible to form the floating chuck unit 1 by arranging a plurality of floating chuck devices 10 in parallel as shown in FIG. Therefore, productivity in the assembly process can be improved.
Further, since the lubricant or magnetic force does not reach the workpiece W unlike the conventional floating mechanism, the workpiece W can be transported in a clean environment.

  In the floating chuck unit 1 of the present embodiment, as described above, the chuck 20 can be floated and finally centered by being guided to the tray 40 side, but the present invention is not limited to this. It is also possible to place or unload a workpiece on a flat surface that does not have the tapered portion 42 as described above.

At that time, by operating the cylinder rod 4a of the cylinder 4, the rod 31 of the chuck fixing means 30 is pressed downward, and the fitting portion 32 is fitted into the fitting hole 22e of the flange portion 20. As a result, the chuck 20 can be positioned at a fixed position with respect to the second guide block 12, so that the chuck 20 moves integrally with the movable substrate 3 without floating.
In this way, although the positioning accuracy of the chuck depends on the accuracy of the XYZ coordinates of the moving substrate 3, the chuck 20 does not wobble unintentionally and the workpiece W can be stably placed and unloaded. .
In addition, when the workpiece is placed and unloaded with the other than the tray 40 in this way, the alignment mechanism 26 of the alignment mechanism 26 is lowered when the chuck 20 is lowered in order to avoid the interference of the alignment mechanism 26. It is desirable to slide the alignment mechanism 26 upward with respect to the shaft portion 21 of the chuck 20 by, for example, bringing the head portion 27a of the key member 27 into contact with another member.

  As described above, the embodiments of the floating chuck device and the floating chuck unit according to the present invention have been described in detail. However, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments without departing from the technical idea of the present invention, and some design changes and the like are possible. It is.

It is a side view which shows the floating chuck unit which concerns on this embodiment. It is a sectional side view showing the floating chuck unit concerning this embodiment. It is a sectional side view of the floating chuck apparatus which comprises a floating chuck unit. FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 3.

Explanation of symbols

1 Floating chuck unit 3 Moving substrate (moving mechanism)
10 Floating chuck device 11 First guide block 11c Chuck insertion hole (insertion hole)
12 Second guide block 20 Chuck 21 Shaft portion 21a Base end portion 22 Flange portion 23 Adsorption portion 26 Alignment mechanism 28 Taper recess 30 Chuck fixing means 40 Tray 32 Taper portion n1 Clearance n2 Clearance W Workpiece

Claims (5)

This is a floating chuck device that has a shaft portion extending in the vertical direction, and a chuck that holds the workpiece by adsorbing the workpiece to the adsorption portion at the tip thereof is supported in a floating manner with respect to a moving mechanism that moves the chuck. And
The chuck has a flange portion projecting radially outward from the shaft portion,
A first guide block that includes an insertion hole through which the shaft portion is vertically inserted, and that supports the flange portion from below;
A pair of the first guide block and a second guide block that sandwiches the flange portion from above are provided.
A floating chuck device, wherein clearances are formed between the second guide block and the flange, and between the insertion hole and the shaft portion.   The floating chuck device according to claim 1, wherein the chuck is provided with a centering mechanism that performs center alignment with a tray on which the workpiece is installed.   The alignment mechanism is externally fitted so as to be slidable in the vertical direction with respect to the shaft portion, and a tapered concave portion that can be fitted to a tapered portion formed on the tray is formed at a tip thereof. The floating chuck device according to claim 2.   The floating chuck device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising chuck fixing means for positioning the chuck with respect to the second guide block.   A floating chuck unit comprising a plurality of the floating chuck devices according to claim 1 arranged in parallel.

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