The present invention relates to an “attachement-detachement apparatus” including: a rotary tool such as a drill suited for so-called heavy cutting for drilling a hole in a thick metal plate; and an arbor to which the rotary tool is attached, and also relates to the “rotary tool”.
The applicant of the present application filed various patent applications in relation to an “attachement-detachement apparatus” which includes a rotary tool such as a drill and an arbor to which the shank of the drill can be attached by insertion, and the applicant has been granted patents for such applications. For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses such an attachement-detachement apparatus.
The attachement-detachement apparatus is superior to earlier attachement-detachement apparatuses and provides excellent functional advantages as described below. Specifically, in a case where the attachement-detachement apparatus is configured as a so-called “one-touch type” apparatus, the drill can be attached to the arbor by merely inserting the shank of the drill into an insertion hole of the arbor. Also, in a case where the attachement-detachement apparatus is configured as a so-called “two-touch type” apparatus, the drill can be attached to the arbor by simply inserting the shank into the insertion hole of the arbor while operating an operation sleeve for the insertion into the arbor. As a result, rotational torque can be transmitted from the arbor to the drill, and the drill is fixed to the arbor in an axial direction.
Meanwhile, in the case of the above attachement-detachement apparatus, when the drill is attached into the insertion hole of the arbor, spherical locking members that are arranged in such a manner as to be withdrawable in the outward radial direction of the insertion hole of the arbor come into engagement with engagement recesses formed in the shank of the drill. Through such engagement, rotational torque transmission is enabled.
However, in the case of the above structure, there is a possibility that when a rotational torque of a predetermined level or greater is temporarily exerted between the locking members and the engagement recesses during a drilling process, plastic deformation of the locking members and/or the engagement recesses occurs. In particular, plastic deformation tends to occur when a drill for heavy cutting is used.
If such plastic deformation occurs, it becomes necessary to replace the drill and/or the arbor with new ones.
Generally speaking, the drill is a wear component, and the arbor is formed from a material having a greater hardness than the material of the drill. Accordingly, in general, the drill is the one to be replaced.
As described above, it becomes necessary to replace the drill due to the occurrence of plastic deformation of the engagement recesses even though the drill's cutting edge is not worn yet.
The above attachement-detachement apparatus is configured such that the spherical locking members, and the engagement recesses which are in the shape of tapered holes, are in “point contact” or “line contact” with each other. Accordingly, during a drilling process, a significantly large stress is exerted per unit area. A great rotational torque causing a significant impact is temporarily exerted particularly when, for example, the drill's cutting edge “bites” into a workpiece. Therefore, in the case of the above attachement-detachement apparatus, it is difficult to prevent plastic deformation. This problem arises particularly when a drill for heavy cutting is used.
The most commonly used type of attachement-detachement apparatus in the world is a screw-locking type. Specifically, the screw-locking type is such that a part of an outer peripheral face of the shank of the drill is formed into a recessed flat surface, and a locking screw provided at the arbor is pressed against the flat surface for fixing. The second most commonly used type of attachement-detachement apparatus is one as disclosed in Patent Literature 1. Looking at the number of currently used attachement-detachement apparatuses worldwide, the use of the former type of apparatus takes up 90% or more.
Moreover, as mentioned above, the drill is a wear component whereas the arbor is a durable component. Accordingly, when a new-type drill is introduced into the market in the future, selling the new-type drill in high volume is difficult unless the drill is one to be attached to an existing arbor by insertion.
The present invention has been made in view of such current situation. An object of the present invention is to provide a rotary tool having such a structure that the above-described plastic deformation is suppressed even when a great rotational torque is temporarily exerted on a torque transmission part between a drill and an arbor, and to provide an attachement-detachement apparatus including the rotary tool and the arbor to which the rotary tool is to be attached.
In an attachement-detachement apparatus including a rotary tool and an arbor according to the present invention, a shank formed at a proximal end portion of the rotary tool is configured to be inserted and attached into an insertion hole of the arbor in such a manner as to allow a rotational torque to be transmitted from the arbor to the rotary tool and to allow the rotary tool to be fixed to the arbor in an axial direction during a drilling process, the insertion hole having an opening opened at a distal end of the arbor and the arbor being attached to a drive shaft. In the attachement-detachement apparatus, a rotational torque transmission mechanism configured to transmit the rotational torque from the arbor to the rotary tool, and an axial direction fixing mechanism configured to fix the rotary tool to the arbor in the axial direction, are separately formed between the shank of the rotary tool and the insertion hole of the arbor.
According to the attachement-detachement apparatus, which has the above-described structure, the rotational torque transmission mechanism configured to transmit the rotational torque from the arbor to the rotary tool, and the axial direction fixing mechanism configured to fix the rotary tool to the arbor in the axial direction, are separately formed. This makes it possible to set a contact area of the rotational torque transmission mechanism freely (i.e., to be large), through which contact area the rotational torque is transmitted. Therefore, in the attachement-detachement apparatus, an occurrence of plastic deformation can be prevented even if a great rotational torque is exerted temporarily. Since the axial direction fixing mechanism is configured to merely allow the rotary tool to be held by the arbor in the axial direction, the axial direction fixing mechanism can be made compact.
In the attachement-detachement apparatus, the rotational torque transmission mechanism may include: a protrusion formed at one of the arbor and the rotary tool in a manner to extend in the axial direction; and a groove to be engaged with the protrusion, the groove being formed at the other of the arbor and the rotary tool in a manner to extend in the axial direction, and the axial direction fixing mechanism may include: an engagement recess formed in the shank of the rotary tool; and a locking member configured to come into engagement with the engagement recess, the locking member being positioned such that the locking member is protrudable in an inward radial direction within the insertion hole of the arbor.
In such a case, a rotational torque is transmitted from the arbor to the rotary tool through surface contact at an engagement part where the protrusion and the groove are engaged with each other. Therefore, even if a great rotational torque is exerted, the rotational torque can be assuredly transmitted without causing plastic deformation. The rotary tool is locked to the arbor in the axial direction through the engagement between the locking member and the engagement recess. Since no rotational torque is exerted on an engagement part where the locking member and the engagement recess are engaged with each other, plastic deformation is not caused at the engagement part. Therefore, the engagement part can be made compact.
In the attachement-detachement apparatus, the rotational torque transmission mechanism may include: a groove formed in the shank in a manner to extend in the axial direction; and a protrusion formed in the insertion hole of the arbor in a manner to extend in the axial direction, the protrusion coming into engagement with the groove by surface contact. Employing such a structure allows the attachment-detachment apparatus to be fabricated through an easy process, which is preferable.
In the attachement-detachement apparatus, a position at which the groove is formed and a position at which the engagement recess is formed may be set to coincide with each other in a circumferential direction of the shank, and a position at which the locking member is provided and a position at which the protrusion is provided may be set to coincide with each other in a circumferential direction of the insertion hole of the arbor, such that the protrusion is formed at an opening edge side of the insertion hole in the axial direction and the locking member is positioned at a proximal end side of the insertion hole in the axial direction. Employing such a structure allows the attachement-detachement apparatus to be simplified in structure and to be fabricated with fewer processing man-hours. In this case, the groove and the protrusion may be formed as a spline groove and a spline hole.
In the attachement-detachement apparatus, the groove may be formed to have a size that allows the locking member to pass through to the engagement recess. Employing such a structure makes it possible to smoothly insert and attach the shank into the insertion hole of the arbor.
In the attachement-detachement apparatus, a play in a rotational direction in the axial direction fixing mechanism may be greater than a play in the rotational direction in the rotational torque transmission mechanism. Employing such a structure a makes it possible to realize an attachement-detachement apparatus in which no rotational torque is exerted on the axial direction fixing mechanism even if a great rotational torque is exerted between the drill and the arbor.
In the rotary tool for the attachement-detachement apparatus according to the present invention, it is preferred that the groove, which comes into engagement by surface contact with the protrusion formed in the insertion hole, is formed in a portion, of the shank, that does not coincide in a circumferential direction of the shank with a portion, of the shank, in which the engagement recess is formed.
In the rotary tool of the attachement-detachement apparatus according to the present invention, the groove, which comes into engagement by surface contact with the protrusion formed in the insertion hole of the arbor, may be formed in a portion, of the shank, that coincides in a circumferential direction of the shank with a portion, of the shank, in which the engagement recess is formed. Such a structure is efficient, and also preferable from the viewpoint of being able to leave some portions at an outer peripheral face of the shank unprocessed.
In both of the above rotary tools, the rotational torque transmission mechanism configured to transmit the rotational torque from the arbor to the rotary tool, and the axial direction fixing mechanism configured to fix the rotary tool to the arbor in the axial direction, are separately formed. This makes it possible to set a contact area of the rotational torque transmission mechanism freely (i.e., to be large), through which contact area the rotational torque is transmitted. Therefore, an occurrence of plastic deformation can be prevented even if a great rotational torque is exerted temporarily.
In the rotary tool, an engagement face for screw locking may be formed at an outer peripheral portion of the shank, in which portion neither the groove nor the engagement recess is formed, such that a position at which the engagement face for screw locking is formed is spaced apart from a proximal end of the shank toward a distal end of the shank. In such a case, the rotary tool can be attached to a screw-locking type arbor. In this case, of course, the rotary tool is also attachable to both the one-touch type arbor and the two-touch type arbor. If this structural feature of the rotary tool is combined with the above-described structure in which the groove is formed in a portion, of the shank, that coincides in the circumferential direction with a portion, of the shank, in which the engagement recess is formed, then the resultant structure provides sufficient space for the engagement face to be easily formed.
Forming the engagement face allows the rotary tool according to the present invention to be attached to a screw-locking type arbor which has a dominant share (market share) worldwide.
In the rotary tool, the groove may be formed in a tapered shape such that, when seen in side view, the groove has a width in the circumferential direction and the width is widened toward a proximal end of the groove. In such a case, at the time of attaching the rotary tool to the arbor, positioning of the rotary tool in the circumferential direction in relation to the insertion hole of the arbor can be easily performed.
In the rotary tool, a distal end of the groove may be diagonally formed such that, in side view, the distal end of the groove is positioned forward from a proximal end of the groove with respect to a rotational direction for cutting. If such a structure is employed, when a rotational torque is exerted on the rotary tool, a component force is exerted on a side closer to the arbor. Thus, this structure makes it possible to reduce a stress exerted on the axial direction fixing mechanism.
In the rotary tool, the shank may be formed as a substantially even-numbered polygonal cylindrical body which is substantially six or more sided; the engagement recess may be formed in at least one of the faces of the substantially polygonal cylindrical body; the groove may be formed in at least one of the remaining faces; and the engagement face for screw locking may be formed at another one of the remaining faces. Employing such a structure allows the shank of the rotary tool to be formed through an easy process.
In the rotary tool, the groove may be formed as a recess in the proximal end face of the rotary tool such that the groove extends in the radial direction.
The above-described structures of the attachement-detachement apparatus for a rotary tool and the rotary tool make it possible to provide an attachement-detachement apparatus and a rotary tool, in which the aforementioned plastic deformation is suppressed even if a great rotational torque is temporarily exerted on a torque transmission part between a drill and an arbor.
Hereinafter, the present invention is described in more detail based on embodiments. In the embodiments, a core drill is taken as an example of a rotary tool, and the embodiments are described by also taking, as an example, an attachement-detachement apparatus that allows the core drill to be detachably attached by insertion to an arbor of a so-called two-touch type.
The attachement-detachement apparatus includes: an arbor A shown in
The arbor A is configured such that a proximal end portion Au (shown on the right side of
The insertion hole 1 is formed in a distal end portion Ab (shown on the left end of
Further, one protrusion 3 (see
An operation sleeve 4 is disposed at an outer peripheral portion of the arbor A. The operation sleeve 4 is pressed by a spring 5 in a direction from the proximal end to the distal end of the arbor A, such that the operation sleeve 4 is movable (i.e., operable) in an axial direction (i.e., left-right direction in
As shown in
The shank 11 of the drill B has a round cross section. In an outer peripheral face of the shank 11, engagement recesses 15 which are in the shape of tapered holes each having a hole diameter reduced toward the axial center of the shank 11 are formed at three positions with regular intervals in the circumferential direction, such that their positions correspond to the positions of the locking members 2 provided in the arbor A. In the present embodiment, an “axial direction fixing mechanism” for fixing the drill B to the arbor A in the axial direction is realized by the engagement recesses 15 and the locking members 2. To be specific, the axial direction fixing mechanism prevents the shank 11 of the drill B from falling off from the insertion hole 1 of the arbor A. It should be noted that passage recesses 18 are formed in a manner to extend from the respective engagement recesses 15 to the proximal end of the shank 11 for the purpose of allowing the locking members 2 to pass through in the axial direction at the time of inserting the shank 11 into the insertion hole 1. There are various conceivable shapes of the passage recesses 18. For example, as shown in
As shown in
In the above structure, it is preferred that a play in the rotational direction in the axial direction fixing mechanism, that is, a play in the engagement between each locking member 2 and the corresponding engagement recess 15 in the rotational direction, is greater than a play in the engagement between the protrusion 3 and the groove 16 in the rotational direction since such a structure makes it possible to avoid an occurrence of plastic deformation of the locking members 2 and the engagement recesses 15 due to a rotational torque during cutting.
It is more preferred if, as in the present embodiment, a play in the axial direction in the axial direction fixing mechanism is less than a play in the axial direction in the rotational torque transmission mechanism, because such a structure makes it possible to reduce a rattle in the axial direction between the drill B and the arbor A.
In the above-described embodiment, as shown in
The cross sectional shape of the protrusion 3 and the groove 16 is not limited to the aforementioned rectangular shape. The cross section may be V-shaped as shown by a groove 16a in
In the case of the drill B according to the present embodiment, an engagement face 22 for screw locking is formed at a given position on the outer peripheral face of the shank 11, such that neither the engagement recesses 15 nor the groove 16 are formed at any positions that coincide with the position of the engagement face 22 in the circumferential direction. In the above-described so-called two-touch type (or one-touch type) attachement-detachement apparatus, the engagement face 22 is unnecessary at the time of inserting and attaching the shank 11 into the insertion hole 1 of the arbor A. However, in the case of attaching the drill B to a “screw connection type” arbor (not shown) which is most commonly used in the world, when a screw screwed into the arbor from an outer peripheral face of the arbor is fastened, the screw comes into contact with the engagement face 22. In this manner, the drill B can be fixed to the arbor A via the engagement face 22.
As another embodiment (Embodiment 2) according to the present invention, a drill B1 is described below. As shown in
Embodiment 2 is preferred from the standpoint of providing sufficient space for forming the above-described engagement face 22.
Other than the above, the components of Embodiment 2 are the same as those described in the embodiment shown in
In the case of employing the above-described structure, processing man-hours and fabrication costs are reduced, and also, the structure is simplified.
As another embodiment (Embodiment 3) according to the present invention, a drill B2 is described below. As shown in
In the case of the drill B2, at the time of attaching the drill B2 to the arbor A, positioning of the arbor A in the circumferential direction in relation to the insertion hole 1 can be easily performed. Other than the above, the components of Embodiment 3 are the same as those described in the embodiment shown in
As yet another embodiment (Embodiment 4) according to the present invention, a drill B3 is described below. As shown in
In the case of the drill B3, when a rotational torque is exerted on the drill (rotary tool) B3, a component force is exerted on a side closer to the arbor A. Accordingly, the drill B3 provides a functional advantage that the drill B3 is unlikely to fall off from the arbor A when a rotational torque is exerted on the drill B3.
Other than the above, the components of Embodiment 4 are the same as those described in the embodiment shown in
As yet another embodiment (Embodiment 5) according to the present invention, a drill B4 is described below. As shown in
The drill B4 having the above structure is a rotary tool of which the shank 411 can be formed through an easy process. Moreover, the structure of the drill B4 makes it possible to exert a significantly large rotational torque on the drill B4 from the arbor A.
It will be understood that in the case of the drill B4 having the above structure, the insertion hole of the arbor which is not shown needs to be formed as a substantially even-numbered polygonal cylindrical hole which is substantially six or more sided, such that the shape of the insertion hole matches the external shape of the shank 411.
Other than the above, the components of Embodiment 5 are the same as those described in the embodiment shown in
As yet another embodiment (Embodiment 6) according to the present invention, a drill B5 is described below. As shown in
The drill B5 having the above structure is a rotary tool of which the shank 511 can be formed through an easily process. Other than the above, the components of Embodiment 6 are the same as those described in the embodiment shown in
As yet another embodiment (Embodiment 7) according to the present invention, a drill B6 is described below. As shown in
The drill B6 having the above structure is a drill (rotary tool) of which the groove 616 can be formed through an easy process. Other than the above, the components of Embodiment 7 are the same as those described in the embodiment shown in
Described below are functional advantages of the attachement-detachement apparatus that includes: any one of the rotary tools (drill B to drill B6) according to the above-described embodiments; and the arbor A to which the rotary tool is attached by insertion. The description is given below by taking, as an example, the arbor A and the drill B shown in
Therefore, even if a great rotational torque is exerted temporarily during a drilling process, plastic deformation is not caused at a torque transmission part where a rotational torque is transmitted from the arbor to the drill attached to the arbor. In particular, as described in the above embodiments, torque transmission by the rotational torque transmission mechanism is performed through surface contact between the rectangular protrusion 3 and the groove 16 having a rectangular cross section. Therefore, even if a great rotational torque causing a significant impact is exerted temporarily during a drilling process, plastic deformation is not caused.
A stress exerted on the locking members 2 and the corresponding engagement recesses 15 is merely a stress necessary for the fixing in the axial direction. Thus, the stress to be exerted on these components is greatly reduced as compared to conventional attachement-detachement apparatuses. For this reason, these components can be made compact, that is, the size of the components can be reduced as compared to conventional attachement-detachement apparatuses. Specifically, the diameter of the spherical locking members 2 can be reduced, which makes it possible to reduce the outer diameter of the arbor A. Also, the outer diameter of the shank 11 can be reduced.
The functional advantages have been described by taking, as an example, the arbor A and the drill B shown in
In the above-described embodiments, the arbor includes the protrusion 3 of the rotational torque transmission mechanism, and the drill (rotary tool) has the groove 16 formed therein. However, it will be understood that, as an alternative structure, the drill (rotary tool) may include the protrusion and the arbor may have the groove formed therein although such an alternative structure is not shown in the drawings.
It should be noted that in the case of removing the drill B from the arbor A when the drill B is held vertically, the drill B is removed from the arbor A by its own weight when the operation sleeve 4 is pulled up.
It will be understood that the present invention is applicable to an attachement-detachement apparatus as shown in
In the case of the attachement-detachement apparatus having the above structure, when the operation sleeve 704 of the arbor A7 is operated in order to insert and attach the shank 711 into the insertion hole 701 and the operation of the operation sleeve 704 is stopped after the shank 711 is attached into the insertion hole 701, the operation sleeve 704 moves toward the distal end of the arbor 7 owing to the pressing force of the spring 5 which presses the operation sleeve 704 toward the distal end, and an inner tapered face of the operation sleeve 704 presses the locking members 702 in the inward radial direction, so that the locking members 702 come into engagement with engagement recesses 715 of the shank 711 and thereby the drill B7 is fixed to the arbor A7 in the axial direction.
The groove 16, formed in the proximal end face of the shank 711 in a manner to extend in the radial direction, comes into engagement with the protrusion 3 which is formed to extend in the radial direction within the insertion hole 701 of the arbor A7, so that the drill B7 is fixed to the arbor A7 in the rotational direction.
In
Although the embodiments have been described above by taking a so-called two-touch type attachement-detachement apparatus as an example, the present invention is of course applicable to a so-called one-touch type attachement-detachement apparatus. Specifically, the above embodiments describe the attachement-detachement apparatus including an arbor and a shank, in which the locking members 2 are in a state of protruding inwardly from the inner peripheral face of the insertion hole 1 as shown in
In the case of the attachement-detachement apparatus having the above structure, when the shank 811 of a drill B8 is simply inserted and attached into the insertion hole 801 without operating an operation sleeve 804 of the arbor A8, the locking members 802 protrude in the inward radial direction, so that the locking members 802 come into engagement with engagement recesses 815 of the drill B8 and thereby the drill B8 is fixed in the axial direction.
In
It will be understood that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and the present invention can be implemented in various forms without departing from the scope of the technical idea of the present invention.
An attachement-detachement apparatus for a rotary tool and the rotary tool according to the present invention can be used, for example, as a rotary tool for various machine tools and an attachement-detachement apparatus for the rotary tool.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
2010-0303196 | Feb 2010 | JP | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
---|---|---|---|---|
PCT/JP2010/006294 | 10/25/2010 | WO | 00 | 12/4/2012 |