JP2006214559A - Air positioning stand in combined structure of multi-joint arm and flexible tube arm - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an air positioning stand in combined structure of a multi-joint arm and a flexible tube arm in a parallel relation. <P>SOLUTION: A member for mounting the multi-joint arm and the root side end part of the flexible tube arm are joined to a shared root fixing plate, and a member for mounting at the tip end part of the multi-joint arm and the tip end part of the flexible tube arm are also joined to a shared tip side connection plate. The multi-joint arm comprises a center part joint connecting two arms to each other and formed to be able to tighten and release the two arms to and from a handle and ball joint type joints installed at the end parts of the two arms. Rods extended and retracted when the connection parts of the two arms are tightened and released are inserted into the arms. The tip part of each rod is formed to pressingly fix the sphere of the spherical joint type joint or to release a pressing force therefrom. The root side fixing plate is fixed to a fixing tool for fixing to a working table, and an article used for the stand is mounted on the tip side connection plate. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention is a three-dimensional aerial of an optical device such as a digital camera, a microscope, a binocular, and a loupe, or a measuring device such as a dial gauge or a CCD microscope lens (hereinafter, these may be simply referred to as objects of use). It belongs to the technical field of aerial positioning stands or jigs or support devices (hereinafter collectively referred to as positioning stands) that can perform positioning and fixing freely and accurately, and more specifically, articulated arms and flexible tube arms It is related with the aerial positioning stand of the combined structure which combined and in parallel relation.

Conventionally, as a means for freely performing a three-dimensional aerial positioning and fixing of a target object such as a dial gauge, it is also commonly called an articulated arm or a flexible tube arm (or a flexible metal tube. However, the material is not limited to metal. No.) is known in various structures and types, and is used in various technical fields.
As for the positioning stand by the articulated arm, for example, those disclosed in Patent Documents 1 to 6 described below are known.
Regarding the positioning stand by the flexible tube arm, for example, a use example as a support arm of a desk lamp is widely known and well known.

Japanese Patent Publication No. 61-10717 Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 60-95517 Japanese Patent No. 2509220 Japanese Utility Model Publication 3-41199 Japanese Patent No. 2752464 Japanese Patent No. 2927853

In the positioning stand by the articulated arm disclosed in the above Patent Documents 1 to 3, and 5, 6, the two arms are connected so as to be capable of bending rotation, and the connecting portion of the two arms is tightened and loosened by a handle. An articulated arm mechanism comprising a central joint that can be configured and a ball joint type joint provided at the front end of each of the two arms is configured as a main part. The rods that come in and out when the arms are tightened and loosened are inserted in the longitudinal direction of the two arms, and the tip portions of the rods push the spheres of the ball joint type joints to firmly fix or release the pressing force. Common in configuration.
The positioning stand disclosed in FIG. 1 of the above-mentioned Patent Document 4 is also configured with a multi-joint arm mechanism as a main part. However, the rod joint is moved in and out using hydraulic action to fix or release the ball joint joint. It is the structure to perform.

The positioning stands disclosed in the above-mentioned patent documents 1 to 6 are all configured with an articulated arm mechanism as a main part. Therefore, when the handle is loosened, not only the central joint but also the ball joint of two arms Even the mold joints are in a completely free state (so-called gnagna state) so as to collapse instantaneously, so that it is difficult to maintain an appropriate form, the handling is troublesome, and it is very inconvenient for positioning the target object in the air. In addition, there is a problem that the object to be used is dropped and damaged due to careless collapse of the positioning stand, and the object to be observed, the sample, the precision instrument, etc. therebelow are broken.
On the other hand, the flexible tube arm is easy to use because it is flexible and has an appropriate rigidity. However, positioning and fixing with sufficient and sufficient accuracy for high-precision measuring instruments such as dial gauges and CCD microscope lenses is not sufficient with the rigidity of the flexible tube arm alone. Absent.

  Therefore, the object of the present invention is to take advantage of the high positioning accuracy of the articulated arm, high accuracy and good operability as it is. The disadvantage of the articulated arm that not only makes it difficult to make a form and is troublesome to handle, but also possibly damages the object under observation is due to the flexibility of the flexible tube arm and the appropriate rigidity. It is to provide an aerial positioning stand having a combined structure of a multi-joint arm and a flexible tube arm that is complemented and has excellent usability.

As means for solving the above-mentioned problem, an aerial positioning stand of the combined articulated arm and flexible tube arm structure according to the invention described in claim 1,
It consists of a combination of articulated arm 1 and flexible tube arm 2,
The mounting member (screw) 6e of the sphere 6b of the ball joint type joint 6 and the base side end of the flexible tube arm 2 at the base side end of the multi-joint arm 1 are coupled to the common base fixing plate 3 and the same. The mounting member (screw) 5e of the sphere 5b of the ball joint joint 5 at the front end of the multi-joint arm 1 and the front end of the flexible tube arm 2 are both coupled to the common front connection plate 4. ,
The articulated arm 1 includes a central joint 15 configured to connect the two arms 11 and 12 so as to be able to bend and rotate and to tighten and loosen the two arms 11 and 12 with a handle 14. A rod joint type joint 5, 6 provided at the end of each of the two arms 11, 12, and a rod that goes in and out when the connecting part of the two arms 11, 12 is tightened and loosened by the handle 14 11a and 12a are inserted in the longitudinal direction of the two arms 11 and 12, respectively, and the tip portions of the rods 11a and 12a press or fix the spheres 5b and 6b of the ball joint joints 5 and 6, respectively. It is configured to release the pressing force,
The root side fixing plate 3 is coupled to a fixing tool 22 to a work table 24 or the like, and a use object 25 such as a digital camera, a dial gauge, or a loupe is attached to the front side connection plate 4. Features.

The invention described in claim 2 is the aerial positioning stand of the combined articulated arm and flexible tube arm structure described in claim 1,
One end of the extension arm 30 is joined in series to the front end of the arm constituting the multi-joint arm 1 by using a mounting member (screw) 5e of the ball joint type joint 5, and the other end of the extension arm 30 is joined. Is characterized by being coupled to a common front connection plate 4 together with a front end of the flexible tube arm 2.

  In the aerial positioning stand having the joint structure of the articulated arm and the flexible tube arm according to the first aspect of the invention, when the handle 14 provided at the central joint 15 of the articulated arm 1 is loosened, the articulated arm 1 is instantaneously moved. The positioning and fixing function is lost. However, due to the appropriate rigidity of the flexible tube arm 2, the form of the articulated arm 1 does not collapse as in the prior art, and maintains a temporary stand form (standing position). In addition to the flexibility of the flexible tube arm 2, the dial gauge or other object of use 25 on the front connection plate 4 attached to the front end can be freely moved three-dimensionally to the required or optimal use position. It is possible to perform positioning by moving it in the air. In addition, when the handle 14 provided at the central joint 15 is tightened, it is possible to instantly and firmly perform the positioning and fixing with high accuracy, and to prepare the optimum conditions for the use object 25 such as a dial gauge. it can.

  When the extension arm 30 is used as in the invention described in claim 2, even if the length of the multi-joint arm 1 as an off-the-shelf product is insufficient and the function, flexibility, and usability as an aerial positioning stand are poor, the extension arm The length can be easily and surely extended by 30 effective lengths, the effective radius of air movement is increased, the flexibility is increased, and it is convenient to remodel it into an easy-to-use air positioning stand.

The multi-joint arm 1 and the flexible tube arm 2 are configured in parallel.
The mounting screw 6e of the sphere 6b of the ball joint type joint 6 and the base side end of the flexible tube arm 2 at the base side end of the multi-joint arm 1 are coupled to the common base fixing plate 3 together. Further, the mounting screw 5e of the sphere 5b of the ball joint type joint 5 and the front end of the flexible tube arm 2 at the front end of the same multi-joint arm 1 are also coupled to the common front connection plate 4.
The articulated arm 1 connects the two arms 11 and 12 so as to be able to bend and rotates, and a central joint 15 configured so that the connecting portion of the two arms 11 and 12 can be tightened and loosened by a handle 14. And the ball joint type joints 5 and 6 provided at the distal ends of the two arms 11 and 12, respectively. Rods 11a and 12a that come in and out when the connecting portion of the two arms 11 and 12 is tightened and loosened by the handle 14 are inserted in the longitudinal direction of the two arms 11 and 12, and the rods 11a and 12a The tip portion is configured to push and fix the spheres 5b and 6b of the ball joint joints 5 and 6, respectively, or to release the pressing force.
The root side fixing plate 3 is coupled to a fixing tool 22 to a work table or the like, and a use object 25 such as a digital camera, a dial gauge, or a loupe is attached to the front side connecting plate 4.

Hereinafter, a first embodiment of an aerial positioning stand having a combined articulated arm and flexible tube arm structure according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
1 and 2 show the use state of the aerial positioning stand.
In short, this aerial positioning stand combines the base side end portions of the multi-joint arm 1 and the flexible tube arm 2 with the common root fixing plate 3, and the front end portions of the multi-joint arm 1 and the flexible tube arm 2 are also connected. It is characterized by a configuration in which both are connected to a common front connection plate 4 and combined in a parallel relationship.

  Regarding the configuration of the articulated arm 1, various structural types known as the prior art disclosed in, for example, the above-mentioned Patent Documents 1 to 6 were introduced. This can be implemented by adopting a multi-joint arm. Based on such a premise, the configuration of the articulated arm 1 shown in the drawing is as shown in detail in FIG. 5 in which two arms 11 and 12 are connected to a common rotating shaft bolt 10 with a sliding bearing metal 13 interposed. The two arms are connected to each other by a female screw handle 14 (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as a handle) screwed into a threaded portion 10a on one side of the rotary shaft bolt 10 while being coupled so as to be capable of refraction rotation. A central joint 15 is constructed by assembling the connecting portions 11 and 12 so as to be tightened and loosened.

The illustrated articulated arm 1 (substantially three joint arms) is constituted by the ball joint type joints 5 and 6 provided at the tip portions of the two arms 11 and 12 in addition to the central joint 15. ing.
As shown in detail in FIG. 5, the ball joint type joints 5 and 6 are configured so that the ball holders 5a and 6a cannot be detached from the distal ends of the two arms 11 and 12 by the stop ring 7 and rotate. It is attached in a free state. The spheres 5b and 6b accommodated in the ball holders 5a and 6a are supported by the stop ring 8 so as not to be detached and rotatable. The neck members 5c and 6c provided in an integral structure with the respective spheres 5b and 6b are projected so as to freely rotate at a wide angle outside the mouths of the respective ball holders 5a and 6a. Screws 5e and 6e as mounting members protrude from the seat portions 5d and 6d of the neck members 5c and 6c.
As shown in FIG. 3, each ball holder 5a, 6a has at least one notch-shaped groove 5f, 6f in the axial direction from the opening side, and a groove width into which the neck members 5c, 6c can enter. It is provided with dimensions. By causing the neck members 5c and 6c to enter the notch-shaped grooves 5f and 6f, the neck members 5c and 6c and the mounting screws 5e and 6e are about 90 ° with respect to the axes of the arms 11 and 12, respectively. (However, this angle can be set freely).

The two arms 11, 12 have rods 11 a, 12 a that are moved in and out by a rotational operation of tightening and loosening the female screw handle 14 in the axial direction of the center portion of the two arms 11, 12. It is inserted with a length that covers the entire length in the direction.
As shown in detail in FIG. 5, on the head side of the rotary shaft bolt 10 (left end side in FIG. 5), a loosely inclined surface with an inclination angle of about 30 ° with the base end of the rod 12a of the arm 12 is provided. A tapered sleeve 16 that contacts at A is fitted. Further, a taper sleeve 17 that is in contact with the base end portion of the rod 11a of the arm 11 on the inclined surface B with an inclination angle of about 30 ° is fitted on the distal end side (on the right end side in FIG. 5) of the rotary shaft bolt 10. ing. The two inclined surfaces A and B are formed in the same direction.
Therefore, when the female screw handle 14 is rotated in the tightening direction, the right side taper sleeve 17 in FIG. 5 is pushed leftward by an amount equal to the screwing amount, and the rod 11a is pushed out by the pressing effect of the inclined surface B. Therefore, the tip of the rod 11a is strongly pressed against the sphere 5b of the ball joint type joint 5, and the sphere 5b is firmly fixed to the ball holder 5a.
At the same time, the taper sleeve 16 on the left side in FIG. 5 is pulled rightward by the amount of screwing, and pushes the rod 12a by the pressing effect of the inclined surface A. Therefore, the tip of the rod 12a is strongly pressed against the sphere 6b of the ball joint type joint 6 to firmly fix the sphere 6b to the ball holder 6a.
As described above, the effect of strong positioning and fixing of the multi-joint arm 1 is achieved. Of course, when the rotation operation to loosen the female screw handle 14 is reversed, the pressing action of the taper sleeves 16 and 17 is eliminated, so that the pressing force of the spheres 5b and 6b by the rods 11a and 12a is released, and the positioning and fixing described above is performed. The effect of this is also eliminated instantly.

  As the flexible tube arm 2, a known flexible metal tube (including an almond flexible metal tube; however, the material is not limited to metal) is cut into a required length.

  In the aerial positioning stand of the present embodiment, the multi-joint arm 1 and the flexible tube arm 2 having the above-described configuration have substantially the same length (however, it is preferable in terms of operation to set the flexible tube arm 2 slightly short as in the illustrated example. )), And the base side end portions of the multi-joint arm 1 and the flexible tube arm 2 are both coupled to a common root fixing plate 3. Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a through hole is prepared in advance in the inclined surface 3a of the tubular root fixing plate 3 having an inclined surface 3a of about 45 °, and the articulated joint A screw 6e for attaching the sphere 6b of the ball joint type joint 6 at the base side end of the arm 1 is passed through the through hole, and a nut 9 is tightened from the back side to join. At this time, the seat 6d of the neck member 6c contributes to highly stable coupling. Further, as shown in FIG. 6, a caulking member 20 is attached to the base side end portion of the flexible tube arm 2, and the caulking member 20 is passed through the through hole of the inclined surface 3a of the root fixing plate 3 and passed from the back side. The bolt 21 is screwed and preferably coupled in a rotatable state. In this way, the base side end portions of the articulated arm 1 and the flexible tube arm 2 are coupled in a direction perpendicular to the inclined surface 3 a of the base fixing plate 3.

  Further, both the front end of the multi-joint arm 1 and the front end of the flexible tube arm 2 are coupled to the common front connection plate 4 in a direction substantially perpendicular to the plate surface. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, the mounting screw 5e for the sphere 5b of the ball joint type joint 5 at the front end of the multi-joint arm 1 is passed through a through hole prepared in advance in the front connection plate 4. The nut 9 is tightened from the back side and coupled. Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the caulking member 20 is attached to the front end of the flexible tube arm 2, and the caulking member 20 is passed through a through hole provided in advance in the front connecting plate 4 and screwed from the back side. The bolts 21 are connected.

As described above, the multi-joint arm 1 and the flexible tube arm 2 are arranged in parallel at a slight interval, and each root side end is coupled to the common root fixing plate 3 and the front end is also common. It is combined with the front side connection plate 4 to form an integral relationship. Therefore, the rigidity of the flexible tube arm 2 also works as it is for the multi-joint arm 1, and even when the handle 14 of the central joint 15 of the multi-joint arm 1 is loosened, the shape holding ability of the multi-joint arm 1 can be maintained. It is possible to prevent loss and maintain a certain stand form. Incidentally, it is preferable that the rigidity required for the flexible tube arm 2 is a size capable of supporting (self-holding) 80% to 90% of the weight of each of the intended object 25 and the articulated arm 1.
1 and 2 show that the articulated arm 1 and the flexible tube arm 2 are parallel (parallel) when viewed in plan, and the flexible tube arm 2 forms a triangular base when viewed in the lateral direction. However, this is not the case. As shown in FIG. 4, it is also preferable that the articulated arm 1 and the flexible tube arm 2 are configured so as to intersect with a so-called staking state in plan view. Furthermore, in the case of FIG. 4, the flexible tube arm 2 is a rack that is placed around the lower side of the articulated arm 1, but conversely, the flexible tube arm 2 is placed across the upper side of the articulated arm 1. It is also possible to carry out by staking. Thus, the flexible tube arm 2 suspends and supports the articulated arm 1.

  A use object 25 such as a digital camera, a dial gauge, a microscope or the like is attached to the front side connection plate 4 in the aerial positioning stand having the above-described configuration, and the use object 25 is used. The illustrated front side connection plate 4 is L-shaped when viewed from the side, and a portion extending vertically downward is used as a handle for positioning the object 25 to be used, but of course the shape is not limited thereto. The front connection plate 4 having an optimum shape and structure is used in accordance with the form, attachment mode, usage mode, usage method, and the like of the intended use object 25 to be mounted. It is not limited to the plate structure. Depending on the mounting mode of the intended object 25 and the convenience of the usage mode, mounting jigs may be used.

  In the case of the illustrated embodiment 1, in order to make the use of the aerial positioning stand convenient, a magnetic fixing device having a configuration in which the magnetic attraction force can be controlled on and off by operating the switch 22a below the root fixing plate 3. 22 is attached with a set bolt 23, and is configured so that it can be used simply and firmly fixed on a metal work table (or surface plate) 24 (or a magnetic machine part or the like). However, with regard to the structure, function, and structure of the fixing tool 22, there are also a hook-type fixing tool that is frequently used for mounting and fixing a desk lamp, and other mechanical fixing tools such as a fixing tool of a mechanism such as a vise. It can be adopted and implemented.

The aerial positioning stand of the second embodiment shown in FIG. 4 is basically the same in the configuration of the aerial positioning stand having a structure in which the multi-joint arm 1 and the flexible tube arm 2 described in claim 1 are used in combination. However, in the case of the second embodiment, one end of the extension arm 30 is connected to the front end of the front arm 11 constituting the multi-joint arm 1 by using the mounting screw 5e of the ball joint type joint 5 in series. The other end of the extension arm 30 is connected to the common front connection plate 4 together with the front end of the flexible tube arm 2 by screwing.
In short, the multi-joint arm 1 has a mechanic structure as described above, and usually manufactured as an off-the-shelf product is adopted as a component of the aerial positioning stand. Therefore, the effective length of the articulated arm 1 is predetermined. On the other hand, the usage mode of the aerial positioning stand varies depending on whether the intended object 25 attached to the front side connection plate 4 is a digital camera, a dial gauge, a microscope, or the like. In any case, the larger the operating radius of air positioning of the air positioning stand, the easier it is to use. Therefore, when it is considered that the effective length of the multi-joint arm 1 as an off-the-shelf product is short, it is advantageous to add and use the extension arm 30 having a necessary length as described above. Therefore, it is convenient to prepare extension arms 30 having different effective lengths. On the other hand, as for the flexible tube arm 2, it is relatively easy to obtain a commercially available product having a necessary length or to cut it to an optimum length. When 20 is attached, the aerial positioning stand of Example 2 can be manufactured without any problems.

  Although the present invention has been described above based on the illustrated embodiment, of course, the technical idea of the present invention is not limited to the first and second embodiments. It should be noted here that the present invention can be implemented in a variety of ways, including design changes and application modifications usually made by those skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit, technical idea, and purpose of the present invention.

It is the perspective view which showed the use condition of the Example of the air positioning apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is the side view which showed the use condition of the air positioning device same as the above. It is the perspective view which showed the structure of the articulated arm. It is the perspective view which showed the use condition of the Example of the air positioning apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is sectional drawing which showed the structural example of the articulated arm. It is sectional drawing which showed the connection structure of a flexible tube arm, a root fixing plate, and a front side connection plate.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Articulated arm 2 Flexible tube arm 3 Root fixed plate 4 Tip side connection plate 5, 6 Ball joint type joint 5b, 6b Ball 5e, 6e Mounting member (screw)
11, 12 Arm 14 Handle 15 Center joint 11a, 12a Rod 24 Work table (surface plate)
22 Fixing tool 25 Target object 30 Extension arm

Claims (2)

It consists of a combination of an articulated arm and a flexible tube arm,
The ball joint-type joint sphere mounting member and the flexible tube arm base end at the base end of the multi-joint arm are both coupled to a common root fixing plate, and at the tip end of the multi-joint arm. The ball joint type joint sphere mounting member and the flexible tube arm front end are both coupled to a common front connection plate,
The articulated arm includes a central joint configured to connect the two arms so that the two arms can be bent and to be tightened and loosened by a handle, and each of the two arms. It is composed of a ball joint type joint provided at the front end, and rods that come in and out when the two arms are tightened and loosened by the handle are inserted in the longitudinal direction of the two arms. The tip of the rod is configured to press and fix the ball joint-type joint sphere or release the same pressing force,
The root side fixing plate is coupled to a fixing tool for a work table or the like, and is configured to be attached to a use object such as a digital camera, a dial gauge, or a loupe on the front side connecting plate. An aerial positioning stand with a joint arm and flexible tube arm structure.   One end of the extension arm is joined to the tip end of the arm constituting the multi-joint arm in series using a ball joint joint mounting member, and the other end of the extension arm is shared with the flexible tube arm. The aerial positioning stand of the combined articulated arm and flexible tube arm structure according to claim 1, wherein the aerial positioning stand is combined with a side connection plate.

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