Clamp apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10543584-B2
Application number	US-201314759307-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 11, 2013
Priority date	Jan 28, 2013
Publication date	Jan 28, 2020
Grant date	Jan 28, 2020

Abstract

A clamp apparatus is equipped with first and second clamp arms supported rotatably with respect to a body, and a drive unit having a pair of first and second pistons displaced under the supply of a pressure fluid. A driving force of the drive unit is transmitted to the first and second clamp arms through knuckle joints, which are connected to first and second piston rods, power-boost levers, and link arms. The power-boost levers are formed such that the length from a support pin toward the knuckle joint is longer than the length from the support pin toward the link arm.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A clamp apparatus for rotating a pair of clamp arms to a clamping position and thereby clamping a workpiece between the clamp arms, comprising:
a body;
a drive unit disposed on the body and including displaceable members that are displaceable along an axial direction;
a pair of clamp arms supported rotatably with respect to the body, the clamp arms being directly and rotatably attached to the body, and the clamp arms having gripping portions defined by a respective end of each of the clamp arms, and disposed in confronting relation to each other to clamp a workpiece; and
a driving force transmission mechanism including:
transmission levers, each of the transmission levers being supported rotatably with respect to the body at a support pivot axis, and each of the transmission levers having a first end pivotally connected to one of the displaceable members, and
link arms, each of the link arms having one end pivotally connected to one of the clamp arms at a clamp arm pivot axis and a second end pivotally connected to a second end of a respective transmission lever at a link arm pivot axis, wherein each respective transmission lever connects a respective one of the displaceable members with a respective one of the clamp arms via a respective one of said link arms, to transmit a driving force along the axial direction of the drive unit to the respective clamp arm and thereby to rotate the respective one of the clamp arms such that the clamp arms rotate to the clamping position while the gripping portions approach one another,

wherein a distance from the support pivot axis to the first end of each respective transmission lever in a longitudinal direction of each respective transmission lever is longer than a distance from the support pivot axis to the second end of each respective transmission lever in the longitudinal direction of each respective transmission lever, the first and second ends of each respective transmission lever being opposite ends in the longitudinal direction of each of the transmission levers, and the respective support pivot axes being disposed between the first and second ends of each respective transmission lever,
wherein the clamp arms, link arms and transmission levers are arranged such that, when the clamp arms are rotated to the clamping position, a line connecting the support pivot axis and the link arm pivot axis of a respective transmission lever is perpendicular to a line connecting the link arm pivot axis to the clamp arm pivot axis of the link arm pivotally connected to the respective transmission lever, and
wherein the support pivot axis of each of the respective transmission levers is located, in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction, between the respective link arm pivot axes and the displaceable members.

2. The clamp apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein each of the clamp arms is disposed rotatably via a respective support shaft with respect to the body, and a distance from one end of the clamp arms, to which the link arm is connected, to the support shaft in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction is longer than a distance from the gripping portion that grips the workpiece, to the support shaft.

3. The clamp apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the drive unit comprises a fluid pressure cylinder having first and second ports to which a pressure fluid is supplied, the cylinder having a cylinder main body in which the displaceable members are disposed, the displaceable members comprising a pair of pistons, wherein by the supply of the pressure fluid through the first port, the pistons are displaced in directions to separate away from each other mutually, and by the supply of the pressure fluid through the second ports, the pistons are displaced in directions to approach each other mutually.

4. The clamp apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the driving force transmission mechanism includes joint members connected to respective ends of the displaceable members, and each of the joint members has a link groove which extends in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction, a pin disposed on the first end of each of the transmission levers, the pin being displaceably inserted through the respective link groove, wherein the respective pin is located at an end of the respective link groove when the clamp arms are rotated to the clamping position.

5. The clamp apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the driving force transmission mechanism includes shaft portions, each of which is disposed on an end of a respective one of the displaceable members and is inserted through a respective groove formed on the first end of each of the transmission levers, and engagement portions which have a greater diameter with respect to a diameter of the shaft portions are respectively formed on each of the shaft portions, wherein each of the shaft portions is located at an end of the respective groove when the clamp arms are rotated to the clamping position.

6. The clamp apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein when the displaceable members are displaced outward along the axial direction, the clamp arms are moved away from each other.

Assignees

• Smc Corp

Inventors

• Fukui Chiaki
• Takahashi Kazuyoshi
• Sasaki Hideki
• Kobayashi Masaharu

Classifications

• B25B5/04 Primary

  with pivoted jaws · CPC title

• B25B5/122

  with fluid drive · CPC title

• B25B5/064

  with clamping means pivoting around an axis perpendicular to the pressing direction (B25B5/122 takes precedence) · CPC title