Tsubakimoto Chain Company

Michio Oitaka

Takahisa Ando

Hiroshi Yokota

Kazuhiko Araki

Takeshi Kondo

Toshihiko Takashima

Shinichi Ozaki

Tomoyuki Koyama

Kiyotake Yaoi

Kazuhiko Ando

Kazuo Kouyama

There is provided a tool holding and conveying chain adapted to securely lock and position a tool pot, i.e., a connecting pin, to a pin hole of either an outer or inner link plate so that the tool pot does not to turn and to achieve steady and smooth attachment and removal of a tool in and out of the tool pot with a simple attachment structure. The tool pot has a pair of positioning flat portions formed by cutting a link plate attaching outer circumferential region of the tool pot and the outer link plate has a pair of positioning cooperative flat portions formed so as to bulge out of an inner circumference to a center of a pin hole. The positioning flat portions of the tool pot is fitted into and locked by the positioning cooperative flat portions when the tool pot is attached in the link plate.

Tool holding and conveying chain

There is provided a lifting engagement chain unit that autonomously erects a pair of engagement chains, ensures engagement accuracy between link plates and improves buckling strength. A plurality of buckling restricting attachment plates is arrayed along an outer surface of the engagement chains in a chain longitudinal direction.

Lifting engagement chain unit

A lift-driving engagement chain capable of improving buckling strength of a pair of lift-driving engagement chains, by modifying the buckling restricting flat surfaces in order to suppress the force which causes a relative slippage along buckling restricting flat surfaces between hooked inner tooth plates and outer tooth plates that contact each other through the buckling restricting flat surfaces.

Lift-driving engagement chain

Aspects of the invention provide a hoisting and lowering driving engagement multi-row chain in which the weight of the chain is balanced across the chain width direction so as to improve the load balance. This allows the weight of articles to be hoisted and lowered more stably hoisted and at higher positions, and results in an improvement of endurance of the chain, reduction of driving noise, miniaturization of the chain size, while the biasing or deflecting of intermediate tooth plates and inner tooth plates in the chain width direction is suppressed.

Hoisting and lowering driving engagement multi-row chain

A rotating tool pot chain is capable of bending in both directions, the tool pot sweeps a relatively small area as it rotates, and the chain is capable of holding the tool pot stably. A pair of inner link plates ( ) and a pair of outer link plates ( ), are formed with openings to provide tool pot storage areas ( ) so that the tool pot, when stored, is parallel direction with the adjacent link connection pins 26. The center of each tool pot storage area ( ) is located on a chain pitch line passing through the centers of the adjacent connection pins . Further, the fulcrum (support pin ) on which the tool pot rotates is below the level of the adjacent connection pins but above the bottoms of the tool pot storage areas ( ).

Rotating tool pot chain

A tool pot separation type chain for use in a tool magazine includes a plurality of tool pots, and a plurality of pairs of laterally spaced link plates each adjacent ones of which are connected to each other by a connection pin. Each of the pairs of link plates has a tool pot receiving section for removably receiving one of the tool pots therein. Each of the tool pots has a pair of bearings mounted thereon such that outer races of the bearings are movable in rolling contact on a guide rail or a tool pot jumping-out preventing rail provided in an opposing relationship with the guide rail in the tool magazine. With this construction, the tool pot separation type chain is able to minimizes the traveling resistance thereof during carrying of the tool pots to reduce the driving force, prevent abrasion of the tool pots and the rails and suppress generation of noise and also facilitates a carrying in or carrying out operation of each tool pot at a tool pot loading/unloading position.

Tool pot separation type chain

A tool holding device comprising a tool pot in which an interchangeable tool is releasably fitted and removed, a ball holder firmly fitted in the tool pot and having a guide surface around which a shank portion of the tool is releasably fitted for radially advancing and retracting balls in said ball holder for attachment and detachment of a tool relative to the tool pot and a slide pin in the tool pot to move said balls radially outward to engage the shank of the tool being attached and for movement in an opposite direction for releasing said tool.

Growing community of inventors

Osaka, Japan

Michio Oitaka