JP3706582B2 - Work transfer device and transfer device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a workpiece transfer device and a transfer device including a plurality of workpiece transfer devices between machine tools.
[0002]
[Prior art]
As shown in FIG. 8, as the transfer device, for example, a plurality of machine tools 41 are arranged in accordance with a process of dividing and processing a workpiece (hereinafter referred to as a workpiece) W, and processing of the machine tool 41 is performed. A conveying device 42 for the workpiece W is disposed between the stations S1 to S3, and the workpiece W is sequentially conveyed to the processing stations S2 and S3 of the machine tool 41 on the downstream side so that a series of machining is performed on the workpiece W. There is something.
[0003]
As shown in FIG. 9, the workpiece W transporting device 42 provided in the transfer device is, as shown in FIG. A lifting device 45, a slide member 46 having a half length between the front and rear processing stations, a slide device 47 for reciprocating the slide member 46 between the processing stations, and a workpiece moving in the same direction as the slide member 46 What is provided with the holding member 48 is known.
[0004]
The slide member 46 is supported so as to be movable in the left-right direction with respect to the elevating member 44, and reciprocates as the pinion 50 that meshes with a rack 49 provided at the lower portion of the slide member 46 rotates. .
[0004]
A pair of sprockets 51, 51 are rotatably supported on the slide member 46, and a chain 52 having both ends fixed to the elevating member 44 is bridged over the sprockets 51, 51.
[0005]
Further, a work holding member 48 is fixed to the chain, and as the slide member 46 moves, the work holding member 48 moves on the slide member 46 in the same direction as the slide member 46 at the same distance and at the same speed. It is configured.
[0006]
The slide device 47 and the lifting device 45 between the first and second processing stations S2, S3 are controlled as follows. That is, as shown in FIG. 9A, when the work holding member 48 is located at the center between the processing stations S2 and S3 and the elevating member 44 is lowered, as shown in FIG. Then, the slide member 46 is moved in the direction opposite to the workpiece conveying direction, and the workpiece holding member 48 is aligned with the workpiece holding portion of the processing station S1.
[0007]
Next, as shown in FIG. 9C, after the elevating member 44 is raised and the work W is transferred to the work holding member 48, as shown in FIG. Is moved in the workpiece conveyance direction, and the workpiece holding member 48 is aligned with the workpiece holding portion of the processing station S2.
[0008]
Next, when the delivery of the workpiece W to the machining station S2 is completed, as shown in FIG. 9E, the elevating member 44 is lowered and the slide member 46 is moved in the direction opposite to the workpiece conveying direction in this state. The movement of the slide member 46 is stopped when the workpiece holding member 48 returns to the initial position shown in FIG. 9A, and after that, the above cycle is repeated. It goes without saying that the same control is performed for the other workpiece transfer devices 42.
[0009]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, in the workpiece transfer device 42 having the above-described configuration, the slide member 46 greatly overhangs in a cantilevered manner from the lifting member 44 when the workpiece W shown in FIGS. 9C and 9D is delivered. Therefore, the slide member 46 itself and the holding structure of the slide member 46 need to be configured to be strong according to the weight of the workpiece W, and further according to the amount of overhang. 45 also had a problem in that it was necessary to make it strong and the initial cost was very high.
[0010]
Further, a large space is required to install the workpiece transfer device 42 between the processing stations S1 to S3. Further, when the slide member 46 is overhanging, the tip end side of the slide member 46 is closer to the front end side. Since it bends up and down and feels drooping, there is a problem in that the transfer of the workpiece W to the processing stations S1 to S3 is likely to be unstable. In addition, the workpiece conveying device 42 having a different conveying distance is configured. In order to do so, it was necessary to change the structure of the entire slide device 47.
[0011]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention has been made in order to solve the above inconveniences. For example, as a workpiece transfer device provided in a transfer line or the like, a workpiece is slidably supported along a slide support means for slidably supporting the workpiece. A workpiece conveying device for conveying from the upstream side to the downstream side, and a lifting / lowering guide for the support shaft that rotatably supports the upper side of the workpiece conveying arm is erected at an intermediate portion of the slide supporting path of the workpiece. while, the drive arm for reciprocally oscillating the workpiece conveying arm around the support shaft, and pivotally connected to the middle portion of the workpiece conveying arm, and the swinging means of the drive arm, it arms swinging The workpiece transfer means is provided on the lower side of the lifting guide with the axis of the moving shaft facing the lifting shaft of the support shaft, and can be switched to the transfer release state. Pivotally connected to the lower side of, comprising a position maintaining means for moving parallel to and along the workpiece conveying means this the slide support path, further, to support the upper side of the workpiece transfer arm rotatably The support shaft and the arm swing shaft are arranged in parallel to each other in the horizontal direction perpendicular to the slide support path, and the work transfer arm is forcedly swung by the drive arm via the lifting guide. It is characterized in that it is reciprocally swung linearly along a slide support path, centering on a support shaft that rotatably supports the upper side while being lifted up and down .
[0012]
In the above configuration, the work transfer means is in the transfer released state, and the pivoting shaft of the drive arm with respect to the work transfer arm is in the state where the axis of the drive arm is placed on the lifting axis of the support shaft. When the drive arm is swung, the support shaft of the work transfer arm is lowered along the lifting guide along with the swing of the work transfer arm around the support shaft, and the posture maintaining means is provided. Therefore, the workpiece transfer means provided on the lower side of the workpiece transfer arm moves in parallel along the slide support path.
[0013]
Here, the pivot shaft of the drive arm with respect to the work transfer arm is arranged at an equal position between the respective shaft centers of the support shaft on the upper side of the work transfer arm and the connecting shaft of the work transfer means on the lower side, In addition, if the dimension between the axis of the pivot shaft and the arm swinging shaft of the swinging means is substantially equal to the dimension between the shafts, the work conveying means is provided. Moves along a slide support path so as to draw a path substantially parallel to the path.
[0014]
In addition, as a workpiece conveying means, a member (Claim 3) provided with a member that can be latched to a recessed portion formed in the workpiece, a downstream side in the conveying direction of the workpiece, or the like can be selected.
[0015]
When transporting the work existing upstream of the slide support means to the downstream side, first, the driving arm at the home position is positioned upstream of the slide support path so that the work transport means is aligned with the upper part of the work. Next, the work transporting means is switched to the transporting state, and then the drive arm is swung to the downstream side of the slide support path so that the work transporting means and thus the work is transported downstream of the slide support means. It is.
[0016]
Then, the drive arm is swung to the upstream side of the slide support path so that the workpiece transfer means is switched to the transfer release state and returned to the original home position, and after that, the above cycle is repeated. Thus, the workpiece supplied to the upstream side of the slide support means can be sequentially conveyed to the downstream side of the slide support path.
[0017]
Therefore, according to the workpiece conveyance device having the above-described configuration, the workpiece is slidably supported and, for example, is engaged and conveyed along the slide support means. In addition, since there is no bending in structure, it is possible to stably deliver the workpiece to the processing station, and further, it is necessary to configure the slide support means in a strong structure. Therefore, the initial cost of the work transfer device can be greatly reduced.
[0018]
In addition, by a design change that only shortens the slide support means, and then taking the form of control to reduce the swing angle of the drive arm, it is possible to obtain a work transfer device that shortens the transfer distance, That is, it is possible to configure a workpiece transfer apparatus with different transfer distances in a state where most of the constituent members are standardized, and this also enables a significant cost reduction.
[0019]
As a posture maintaining means, a support shaft that rotatably supports the workpiece transfer arm is provided in a non-rotatable manner, while the pivot connection shaft of the workpiece transfer means with respect to the workpiece transfer arm is rotated with respect to the workpiece transfer arm. The position maintaining means is connected in parallel four-way by connecting two parallel link members across these link members using a member fixed to the support shaft and a rotating member on the work conveying means side as link members. In this case, one of the two parallel link members can be shared by the work transfer arm.
[0020]
Alternatively, it is also possible to fix the sprocket wheel to the non-rotatable support shaft and the rotatable connecting shaft and to wrap the endless chain around these sprocket wheels to constitute the posture maintaining means (claims). Item 5).
[0021]
A plurality of machine tools that perform different processing on the work supported by the slide support means are arranged in the middle of the slide support path along the slide support means of the work. By disposing such a workpiece transfer device, a transfer device for sequentially transferring the workpiece to the processing station of the machine tool on the downstream side is constructed.
[0022]
According to the transfer device having such a configuration, even if a plurality of machine tools are joined to each other, it is possible to transport a workpiece across a processing station of the machine tool. Since the entire installation space can be reduced, and further, the work transfer distance of the work transfer device can be set freely, so that there is an advantage that the degree of freedom in designing the processing line is increased.
[0023]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a transfer device, and this transfer device has a plurality of machine tools (in this embodiment, the machine tool 1 is composed of first to third units) 1 according to the machining process of each part of the workpiece. , A workpiece transfer device 2 is disposed between the processing stations S1 to S3 of the machine tool 1, and, for example, a pusher-type workpiece supply means 3 is provided on the upstream side in the workpiece transfer direction. A stocker 4 for transferring the workpiece W manually, for example, is provided on the downstream side in the direction, and the workpiece W is sequentially transferred to the processing stations S2 and S3 of the machine tool 1 on the downstream side, and a series of processing is performed on the workpiece W. It is comprised so that it may give.
[0024]
In FIG. 2 to FIG. 4 showing the workpiece transfer device 2, reference numeral 11 in the figure denotes slide support means for slidably supporting the workpiece W, and a rail 14 is disposed on a base 13 provided on the leg 12. Thus, instead of the rail 14, for example, a configuration such as a roller conveyor or a belt conveyor can be changed.
[0025]
Reference numeral 15 denotes an elevating guide standing on an intermediate portion of the slide support path of the work W by the slide support means 11, and a bracket 18 to which a support shaft 17 that rotatably supports the upper side of the work transfer arm 16 is fixed. Is provided to be movable up and down.
[0026]
Reference numeral 19 denotes a driving arm pivotally attached to an intermediate portion of the workpiece transfer arm 16, and a swinging means 20 for reciprocally swinging the arm 19 is disposed on the lower side of the lifting guide 15.
[0027]
Specifically, the oscillating means 20 is composed of, for example, a geared motor. The output shaft of the oscillating means 20 is used as an arm oscillating shaft 21, and a driving arm 19 is fixed to the arm oscillating shaft 21. P is disposed on the lower side of the lifting / lowering guide 15 in a state where it faces the lifting / lowering axis of the support shaft 17 that moves up and down along the lifting / lowering guide 15.
[0028]
Reference numeral 22 denotes a work transfer means, which is provided on a connecting shaft 23 that is rotatably provided on the lower side of the work transfer arm 16 and that can be switched to a transfer release state.
[0029]
That is, the workpiece conveying means 22 is connected to the connecting shaft 23 with a member 24 that rotates integrally with the connecting shaft 23, and the rod shaft core is directed to the rotating member 24 in the vertical direction. 25, and an elevating member 26 that descends as the cylinder 25 extends is connected to the cylinder rod. Further, a locking hole (in one example) formed in the work W is provided in the elevating member 26. However, in this embodiment, the workpiece W is an engine case, and a hole for fixing the case to the chassis is used as a locking hole.) A pin-like locking member 27 is provided to be engaged with a. .
[0030]
Therefore, the cylinder 25 is extended, the locking member 27 is locked in the locking hole a of the workpiece W supported so as to be slidable by the slide support means 11, and the workpiece conveying means 22 as described later. Is moved in parallel, the workpiece W is conveyed along the slide support path, and when the cylinder 25 is contracted, the workpiece conveying means 22 is switched to the conveyance released state.
[0031]
Next, reference numeral 28 in the figure denotes posture maintaining means for translating the work conveying means 22 along the slide support path, and in this embodiment, a non-rotatable support shaft fixed to the bracket 18. 17 is provided with a fixing member 29a, and a rotating member 29b is fixed to a connecting shaft 23 provided rotatably on the lower side of the workpiece transfer arm 16, and these members are used as link members 29a and 29b. Two parallel link members 30 and 30 are pivotally connected across 29a and 29b, and thus the posture maintaining means 28 is configured by a parallel four-line link mechanism.
[0032]
Here, the shafts P1, P, P2, and P3 of the support shaft 17, the arm swing shaft 21, the connecting shaft 23, and the pivot shaft 31 of the driving arm 19 with respect to the workpiece transfer arm 16, Arranged in parallel to each other in a horizontal direction orthogonal to the slide support path, and the pivot shaft 31 is disposed at an equally divided position between the shaft cores P1 and P2 of the support shaft 17 and the connecting shaft 23. At the same time, the dimension between the shaft cores P3 and P of the pivot shaft 31 and the arm swinging shaft 21 is made to substantially match the dimension between the shaft cores P1 and P2.
[0033]
In the above configuration, as shown in FIG. 5 (A), the workpiece transfer means 22 is brought into the transfer released state, and the pivot shaft 31 of the driving arm 19 with respect to the workpiece transfer arm 16 is set to its axis P3. When the driving arm 19 is swung with the state where the supporting shaft 17 faces the raising / lowering axis as the home position PP, the work transport arm 16 swings around the support shaft 17 and the work transport arm. The sixteen support shafts 17 descend along the lifting guide 15.
[0034]
Here, as described above, the pivot shaft 31 is arranged at an equally divided position between the shaft cores P1 and P2 of the support shaft 17 and the connecting shaft 23, and the pivot shaft 31 and the arm swing shaft 21 are arranged. The dimension between the shaft cores P3 and P is substantially matched with the dimension between the shaft cores P1 and P2, so that the workpiece conveying arm 16 is moved along with the lowering of the support shaft 17. By swinging, the connecting shaft 23 that holds the work conveying means 22 moves along a slide support path along a path substantially parallel to the path.
[0035]
Since the work conveying means 22 is provided with means 28 for maintaining this posture, the work conveying means 22 moves in parallel along the slide support path.
[0036]
In the above configuration, the workpiece W is machined by the machine tool 1 while the workpiece transfer device 2 is at the home position PP. And the workpiece | work conveyance operation | movement by the workpiece conveyance apparatus 2 is demonstrated below as what the workpiece | work W was supplied to the upstream of the slide support means 11. FIG.
[0037]
First, as shown in FIGS. 5 (A) to 5 (B), the driving arm 19 at the home position PP is swung to the upstream side of the slide support path, so that the workpiece conveying means 22 is positioned above the workpiece W. Let them match.
[0038]
Next, as shown in FIG. 5 (C) and with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, the cylinder 25 of the work conveying means 22 is extended, and the locking member 27 provided in the elevating member 26 is locked to the workpiece W. The workpiece conveying means 22 is switched to a workpiece-engageable conveyance state by being engaged with the hole a.
[0039]
Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 6A, the driving arm 19 is swung to the downstream side of the slide support path, so that the workpiece transfer means 22 and the workpiece W are transferred to the downstream side of the slide support means 11. Then, as shown in FIG. 6B, the cylinder 25 of the workpiece conveying means 22 is contracted to switch the workpiece conveying means 22 to the conveyance released state, and the drive arm 19 is moved upstream of the slide support path. The workpiece conveying device 2 is returned to the original home position PP shown in FIG.
[0040]
After dredging, the workpiece conveyance device 2 is, for example, program controlled so as to repeat the above-described cycle, and the same control is also performed on the second and third workpiece conveyance devices 2. Sequentially, after passing through the second and third workpiece transfer devices 2, they are finally taken out manually to the stocker 4.
[0041]
According to the workpiece transfer apparatus 2 having the above-described configuration, the apparatus constituent members are not overhanged as in the prior art, so that the workpiece W can be stably delivered to the processing stations S1 to S3. Moreover, since it is not necessary to make the whole into a strong structure, the initial cost of the work transfer device 2 can be significantly reduced.
[0042]
Further, the configuration of the workpiece transfer device 2 can be changed to a shorter transfer distance only by adopting a control mode in which the slide support path of the slide support means 11 is shortened and the swing angle of the drive arm 19 is reduced. Can do. In other words, most of the constituent members can be standardized, and this also leads to a cost-effective provision of workpiece transfer devices with different transfer distances according to demand.
[0043]
Although not shown in the drawing, the transfer device as a whole, even in a state where a plurality of machine tools 1 are joined to each other, works over the processing stations S1, S2 and S2, S3 of the machine tool 1. Since it is possible to transport W, it is possible to reduce the installation space of the entire transfer device, and furthermore, as described above, the work transport distance of the work transport device 2 can be freely set, so that processing is possible. There is an advantage that the degree of freedom in designing the line is increased.
[0044]
As the posture maintaining means 28 having the above-described configuration, this is constituted by a parallel quadruple link mechanism. At this time, one of the two parallel link members 30 and 30 is also used by the workpiece transfer arm 16. In addition to this, as shown in FIG. 7, as posture maintaining means 28, sprocket wheels 35, 35 are fixed to non-rotatable support shaft 17 and rotatable connecting shaft 23, Even when the endless chain 36 is wound around the sprocket wheels 35, 35, the workpiece conveying means 22 can be translated.
[0045]
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the pivot shaft 31 is arranged at an equal position between the shafts P1 and P2 of the support shaft 17 and the connecting shaft 23, and the pivot shaft 31 and the arm swing shaft are arranged. 21 so that the dimension between the shaft cores P3 and P is substantially the same as the dimension between the shaft cores P1 and P2, and the work conveying means 22 is substantially parallel along the slide support path. Although it is configured to move, it is not limited to the above dimension setting.
[0046]
That is, for example, when the dimension between the shaft cores P1 and P3 of the support shaft 17 and the pivot shaft 31 is slightly longer than the dimension between the shaft cores P3 and P2 of the pivot shaft 31 and the connecting shaft 23, The connecting shaft 23 draws an arc-shaped trajectory that swells upward slightly, and the dimension between the shaft cores P and P3 of the arm swing shaft 21 and the pivot shaft 31 is between the shaft cores P1 and P2. When the length is made slightly longer than the equally divided dimension, the connecting shaft 23 moves so as to draw an arcuate locus that swells downward and is easy to use.
[0047]
Here, the locking member 27 can be locked in the locking hole a regardless of the height dimension of the arcuate locus, or the locking member 27 can be moved downstream in the conveyance direction of the workpiece W. If the workpiece conveying means 22 is configured so that it can be locked to the side, the workpiece W can be moved along the slide support path. From this, it is limited to the above dimension setting. There is nothing.
[0048]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, in addition to enabling workpieces to be stably transferred, a workpiece transfer device that can easily cope with design changes with different transfer distances is made inexpensive. Can be provided.
[0049]
From another point of view, a transfer device that can reduce the installation space of the entire device and increase the degree of freedom in designing the processing line should be provided at a low cost. Can do it.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an entire transfer device.
FIG. 2 is a front view of the workpiece transfer device.
FIG. 3 is a side view of the workpiece transfer device.
FIG. 4 is a plan view of the workpiece transfer device.
FIGS. 5A to 5C are operation explanatory diagrams until the workpiece transfer means of the workpiece transfer device in the home position is switched to a workpiece transferable state.
FIGS. 6A and 6B are explanatory diagrams for returning the workpiece transfer means to the home position after switching to the transfer release state.
FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram of posture maintaining means according to another embodiment.
FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram of a conventional transfer device.
FIGS. 9A to 9E are operation explanatory views of a conventional workpiece transfer apparatus.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Machine tool, 11 ... Slide support means, 15 ... Lifting guide, 16 ... Work conveyance arm, 17 ... Support axis, 19 ... Drive arm, 20 ... Swing means, 21 ... Arm rocking shaft, 22 ... Workpiece Conveying means, 23 ... connecting shaft, 24 ... rotating member, 27 ... locking member, 28 ... posture maintaining means, 30 ... link member, 31 ... pivot shaft, 35 ... sprocket wheel, 36 ... endless chain, P to P3 ... Axle core, S1-S3 ... Processing station, W ... Workpiece.

Claims (6)

A workpiece transport device for transporting a workpiece from an upstream side to a downstream side of a slide support path along slide support means for slidably supporting the workpiece, wherein the workpiece is placed at an intermediate portion of the slide support path of the workpiece. with upright elevating guide shaft for supporting the upper side of the transfer arm rotatably, the drive arm for reciprocally oscillating the workpiece conveying arm around the support shaft, an intermediate portion of the workpiece transfer arm The drive arm swinging means is disposed on the lower side of the lifting guide in a state where the axis of the arm swinging shaft faces the lifting shaft of the support shaft. the workpiece conveying means capable of switching the conveyance released state, and pivotally connected to the lower side of the workpiece conveying arm comprises a position maintaining means for moving parallel to and along the workpiece conveying means this the slide support path, Further The support shaft for pivotally supporting the upper side of the work transfer arm and the arm swinging shaft are arranged in parallel to each other in a horizontal direction orthogonal to the slide support path, and the work transfer arm is The drive arm is forcibly swung and reciprocally swung linearly along the slide support path around a support shaft that rotatably supports the upper side of the arm while being lifted and lowered via the lifting guide. conveying device of a work characterized by comprising as to.   The pivot shaft of the driving arm with respect to the workpiece transfer arm is disposed at an equal position between the shaft centers of the upper support shaft of the workpiece transfer arm and the connecting shaft of the lower workpiece transfer means, and this 2. The workpiece conveying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a dimension between the shaft centers of the pivot shaft and the arm rocking shaft of the rocking means is substantially equal to a dimension between the shaft cores.   The workpiece conveying device according to claim 1, wherein the workpiece conveying means is provided with a member that is engaged with the workpiece so as to be unlockable.   To constitute the posture maintaining means, a support shaft that rotatably supports the work transfer arm is provided in a non-rotatable manner, while the pivot connection shaft of the work transfer means with respect to the work transfer arm is connected to the work transfer arm. The rotation member is provided so as to be rotatable, and a member fixed to the support shaft and a rotation member on the work conveying means side are used as link members, and two parallel link members are connected across these link members. 3. The workpiece transfer apparatus according to any one of 3).   To constitute the posture maintaining means, a support shaft that rotatably supports the work transfer arm is provided in a non-rotatable manner, while the pivot connection shaft of the work transfer means with respect to the work transfer arm is connected to the work transfer arm. The workpiece according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the workpiece is rotatably provided, and a sprocket wheel is fixed to the support shaft and the connecting shaft, and an endless chain is wound around the sprocket wheel. Conveying device.   A plurality of machine tools that perform different processing on the work supported by the slide support means are arranged in the middle of the slide support path along the slide support means for slidably supporting the work, and between the processing stations of this machine tool. A transfer device comprising: the workpiece transfer device according to any one of claims 1 to 5; and a workpiece is sequentially transferred to a processing station of a downstream machine tool. apparatus.

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