The present disclosure relates to an object holding apparatus for holding an object, for example, in a process of coating the object.
Conventionally, partial coating, sandblasting, etc., of an object (hereinafter referred to as surface treatment) have been performed. In such a process, a portion of the object where the surface treatment is not required has to be covered with a mask. For example, Japanese Patent Publication No. H05-329773 discloses a method for fixing the mask to the object by magnetic force.
The mask disclosed by this publication is made of a magnetic material. A body of a holder for holding the object has an electromagnet attached thereto. When the magnetic force is generated by the electromagnet with a rear surface of the object kept in contact with the electromagnet, the mask is sucked by the magnetic force, and is brought into close contact with the object. Thus, a portion of the object is covered with the mask.
However, the object generally has dimensional error within a tolerance. When this object is fixed to the body of the holder, the fixed object may be misaligned from the right position. The misalignment of the fixed object results in misalignment of the electromagnet attached to the body of the holder relative to the object. Therefore, the mask sucked by the electromagnet is also misaligned relative to the object, and the portion of the object supposed to be covered with the mask is exposed. This may cause defective products.
In view of the above-described disadvantage, a technique disclosed in this specification is intended to allow for positioning of the object relative to the body of the holder in fixing the mask by the magnetic force, thereby precisely fixing the mask to the right position, and reducing the number of defective products.
According to one example implementation, an object holding apparatus for holding an object, a portion of which is supposed to be surface treated, is disclosed as a solution to the above-described disadvantage. The object holding apparatus includes: a body to which the object is fixed; a mask for covering a non-treatment portion of the object; and a magnetic fixing member for bringing the mask into close contact with the object by magnetic force, wherein the body includes an engagement member for engaging with the object, thereby positioning the object.
According to the example implementation, the object is positioned by the engagement with the engagement member of the body. This can fix the object to the right position relative to the body. Further, since the magnetic fixing member can fix the mask, the mask can be fixed to the right position relative to the object. Thus, the non-treatment portion of the object can reliably be covered with the mask, thereby reducing the number of defective products.
The engagement member preferably includes an insertion part formed to be inserted in a portion of the object.
With this configuration, insertion of the insertion part in the portion of the object allows for easy positioning of the object, thereby improving workability.
The body preferably includes a biasing member for biasing the insertion part in a direction in which the insertion part is inserted in the portion of the object.
With this configuration, the insertion part is less likely to detach from the object, thereby allowing for reliable positioning of the object.
The engagement member may be configured to sandwich a portion of the object.
With this configuration, the possibility of the misalignment of the object can be reduced by simple operation.
The magnetic fixing member may include a magnet detachably attached to the mask, and a magnetic material fixed to the body, and the mask may be fixed by exerting magnetic force of the magnet attached to the mask on the magnetic material of the body.
With this configuration, the magnet can be removed from the mask for reuse in the case of break and disposal of the mask.
Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described hereinafter with reference to the drawings. The following preferred embodiments are described only for the purpose of illustration, and are not intended to limit the scope, applications and use of the disclosed technique.
Before the description of the structure of the object holding apparatus 1, the structure of the object 100 will be described first. The object 100 is a resin product for vehicles. As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
The structure of the object holding apparatus 1 will be described below. The object holding apparatus 1 is configured to be able to rotate a plurality of the objects 100 for uniform coating, with the objects 100 being securely held.
The object holding apparatus 1 includes a body 10 (see
As shown in
Each of the object fixing members 20 includes a plate 24 extending in the radial direction of the rotating shaft 21, and object holding plates 25 fixed to the plate 24 as shown in
As shown in
The engagement plates 26 are engagement members engaging with the box-shaped parts 103 of the object 100, respectively. As shown in
As shown in
An engagement piece (or an engagement member) 28 is provided at the distal end of the flat spring 27. The engagement piece 28 extends in a direction orthogonal to the distal end of the flat spring 27. As shown in
As shown in
Referring to
The body 40 includes a lip 40a extending from the peripheral edge of the body 40 toward the peripheral edge of the recess 101a, and a bulge 40b bulging from the center of the body 40 in the direction opposite the extending direction of the lip 40a.
The magnet housing 41 is arranged in the center of the bulge 40b. The magnet housing 41 is in the shape of a cylinder protruding in the direction opposite the extending direction of the lip 40a. An axial end of the magnet housing 41 is configured as a housing opening 41a. The magnet 12 contained in the magnet housing 41 is in the shape of a cylindrical column, and is removable from the magnet housing 41. The inner dimension of the magnet housing 41 is determined to correspond to the dimension of the magnet 12. This can prevent rattling of the magnet 12 contained in the magnet housing 41.
The magnet 12 exerts magnetic force on the object holding plate 25 of the object holding apparatus 1. The intensity of the magnetic force is determined to such a degree that the object 100 is not misaligned with the object holding plate 25, and is firmly fixed even when the object 100 is turned upside down. The magnet 12 and the object holding plate 25 constitute a magnetic fixing member 45 according to the present disclosure.
A cap 43 for covering the housing opening 41a can be attached to the magnet housing 41. The cap 43 is configured to fit onto the outer surface of the magnet housing 41, and is detachable from the magnet housing 41.
Coating of the object 100 using the above-described object holding apparatus 1 will be described. First, as shown in
Due to the engagement of the engagement piece 28 with the object 100, spring force of the flat spring 27 is exerted on the protrusion 105 in the radially outward direction of the object 100 (the direction indicated by the solid arrow in
Then, the mask 11 is fixed to the object 100. First, as shown in
The mask 11 is placed on the surface of the object 100 with the lip 40a of the mask 11 aligned with the peripheral edge of the recess 101a of the object 100. Thus, the magnetic force of the magnet 12 is exerted on the object holding plate 25, thereby fixing the mask 11 to the object 100. The magnetic force pushes the object 100 onto the object holding plate 25, thereby preventing misalignment of the object 100.
In the foregoing manner, the object 100 is held on the object holding apparatus 1, and the mask 11 is fixed to the object 100. Thereafter, the coating of the object 100 is performed while rotating the rotating shaft 21. In this case, the object 100 is positioned relative to the body 10, and the mask 11 is fixed to the object 100 at the right position. Therefore, the mask 11 can cover the intended portion of the object 100, and adhesion of paint to the non-coating portion (the non-treatment portion) is less likely to occur.
According to the first embodiment described above, the object 100 is positioned relative to the body 10 in fixing the mask 11 by the magnetic force. Therefore, the mask 11 can precisely be fixed at the right position, thereby reducing the number of defective products.
The positioning of the object 100 is easily performed by inserting the insertion parts 26a into the box-shaped parts 103 of the object 100. This improves workability.
The flat spring 27 biases the insertion parts 26a of the engagement plates 26 in the direction in which the insertion parts 26a are inserted in the box-shaped parts 103 of the object 100. Therefore, the insertion parts 26a are less likely to detach from the object 100, thereby reliably positioning the object 100.
The magnet 12 is detachably attached to the mask 11. Therefore, the magnet 12 can be removed from the mask 11 for reuse, for example, in the case of break and disposal of the mask 11.
The object holding apparatus 1 can hold a large number of the objects 100. This can reduce the amount of the paint used, and time required for the coating, thereby drastically improving the efficiency of the coating operation.
According to a first modified example shown in
According to a second modified example shown in
In the examples shown in
The object 200 held on the object holding apparatus 1 of the second embodiment includes a round plate 201 and a circumferential wall 202 smaller than those of the object 100 held on the object holding apparatus 1 of the first embodiment. A substantially round recess 201a is formed in a front surface of the round plate 201. The recess 201a is a non-treatment portion where the coating is not performed. The coating is performed on the front surface of the round plate 201 except for the recess 201a, and the surface of the circumferential wall 202.
On a rear surface of the round plate 201, a first rib 204 and a second rib 205 are formed to extend perpendicular to the round plate 201. The first rib 204 and the second rib 205 are substantially parallel to each other. The first rib 204 is shorter than the second rib 205.
The structure of the object holding apparatus I will be described. A plate 24 of the object fixing member 20 has five flat protrusions 24b as shown in
A flat spring 60 is attached to each of the object holding plates 25. The flat spring 60 is formed by bending a spring steel strip substantially in the shape of letter U. An end of the flat spring 60 is configured as a fixed portion 60a fixed to the object holding plate 25. The fixed portion 60a is formed by bending the end of the flat spring 60 to extend along the object holding plate 25. The flat spring 60 extends from the object holding plate 25 to the proximal end of the flat protrusion 24b, and is curved to extend toward the distal end of the flat protrusion 24b. The distal end 60b of the flat spring 60 is in press contact with the peripheral edge of the object holding plate 25 opposite the cut 25a by spring force. As shown in
The mask 11 of the second embodiment is formed smaller than the mask 11 of the first embodiment to correspond with the shape of the object 200. The structure of the mask 11 of the second embodiment is the same as that described in the first embodiment.
Coating of the object 200 using the above-described object holding apparatus 1 will be described. First, the object 200 is held on the object holding apparatus 1. In this case, as shown in
Then, as shown in
According to the second embodiment described above, like the first embodiment, the object 200 is positioned relative to the body 10 in fixing the mask 11 by the magnetic force. Therefore, the mask 11 can precisely be fixed at the right position, thereby reducing the number of defective products.
Further, the second rib 205 of the object 200 is sandwiched between the distal end 60b of the flat spring 60 and the object holding plate 25. Therefore, the possibility of misalignment of the object 200 can be reduced in a simple manner.
The mask 11 of the first and second embodiments can be reused.
In the first and second embodiments, the objects 100 and 200 are resin products for vehicles. However, the objects 100 and 200 are not limited to those described above.
In the first and second embodiments, the coating of the objects 100 and 200 is described. However, the present disclosure is applicable to other surface treatments, such as sandblasting, shot blasting, shot peening, etc.
In the first and second embodiments, the magnet 12 is fixed to the mask 11. However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. The magnet 12 may be fixed to the body 10, and the mask 11 may be provided with a magnetic member.
The magnet 12 may be a permanent magnet, or an electromagnet.
The magnet 12 may be embedded in the mask 11. The mask 11 may partially be made of a magnet. Further, a plurality of the magnets 12 may be provided for a single mask 11.
As described above, the disclosed object holding apparatus can be used, for example, for the coating operation.