JP7525149B2 - Machine Tools - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a machine tool having a cover that allows the front of the processing section to be opened and closed.

A machine tool having an openable/closable cover as described above is disclosed in Patent Document 1. That is, the machine tool disclosed in Patent Document 1 has a cover with an opening that can be opened and closed corresponding to the workpiece holding section. The lower part of the cover is inclined toward the rear of the machine. This configuration allows the operator to easily approach the workpiece without having to bend forward, reducing the burden on the operator.

JP 2013-188797 A

In the machine tool of Patent Document 1, there is no table that moves in the opening and closing direction of the cover, and the overall width is short. Therefore, the cover in the machine tool of Patent Document 1 is short in width, and only two cover bodies that are long in the vertical direction are provided as multiple pieces that make up the cover. In contrast, for example, in a machine tool in which the table that supports the work moves in the horizontal direction, the width cannot be reduced. Therefore, in such a machine tool, it is unavoidable that the number of cover bodies increases and the width of the entire cover becomes longer.

In covers with a long overall width and a large number of cover bodies, the multiple cover bodies are configured in a telescoping manner and are arranged in a contracted position where the cover bodies overlap and in an extended position where they are continuous in the horizontal direction. Therefore, the cover bodies at the ends have a large front-to-rear dimension to allow for the accommodation of other cover bodies, and protrude toward the worker. The cover body at the end that is larger in the front-to-rear direction is usually located on the side of the processing part where the worker works. For this reason, the front of the bed also protrudes toward the worker in order to support the cover body at the end. As a result, the worker is forced to adopt an unnatural posture, such as leaning forward or stretching his arms, when performing tasks such as changing the setup of the work, which is not desirable in terms of the workload.

The objective of the present invention is to provide a machine tool that reduces the workload of the operator without forcing them into an awkward position.

To achieve the above object, the present invention is characterized in that in a machine tool in which a cover covering the front of the processing part on the top surface of the bed is provided so as to be openable and closable in a direction intersecting the front-to-rear direction via a rail, the opening and closing direction of the cover is inclined with respect to the front-to-rear direction of the rail in a plan view, so that the part of the rail on the side of the processing part in the extension direction of the rail is positioned rearward of the other parts.

In the above configuration, the rails of the openable cover can be brought closer to the machining part of the machine tool. This prevents the front of the bed from protruding from the part that supports the cover, and allows the worker to work comfortably without being forced into an unnatural position such as leaning forward.

As described above, the present invention has the effect of reducing the workload of machine tool operators.

1 is a perspective view showing a simplified view of a machine tool according to an embodiment; FIG. Cross-sectional view of the cover portion. FIG. FIG. A simplified diagram showing the rail arrangement. FIG. 4A is a simplified diagram showing the relationship between the cover bodies when the cover is closed, and FIG. 4B is a simplified diagram showing the relationship between the cover bodies when the cover is open. FIG. 2A is a simplified diagram showing an example of an arrangement of the embodiment, and FIG. 2B is a simplified diagram showing a conventional example.

(Embodiment)
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
1 to 3, a table 12 is supported on the upper surface of a bed 11 of the machine tool so as to be capable of reciprocating in the left-right direction in Fig. 2 (hereinafter also referred to as the width direction of the bed 11). A workpiece W is mounted on the upper surface of this table 12, and as the table 12 moves left and right, the upper surface of the workpiece W is machined by a tool (not shown) in the machining section 10.

A wall 13 is erected at the rear end (upper side in FIG. 2) of the moving area extending in the left-right direction of the table 12 of the bed 11. A cover 15 that can open and close and cover the upper surface and front surface of the moving area is provided between a stay 14 at the upper end of the wall 13 and the upper end of the front surface of the bed 11. This cover 15 is configured by arranging the first to fifth cover bodies 21 to 25 in order from the right side in FIG. 2. The first cover body 21 is fixed to the bed 11. The second to fourth cover bodies 22 to 24 slide in the left-right direction and are telescopically covered over the first cover body 21. Therefore, the first to fourth cover bodies 21 to 24 have a larger physical size in the vertical and front-to-back dimensions as they approach the fourth cover body 24. The fifth cover body 25 does not have a ceiling portion. Therefore, at the position of the fifth cover body 25, the upper part of the processing section 10 is open. The fifth cover body 25 is disposed on the inner side of the front wall portion 26 of the fourth cover body 24, and is inserted and removed from the front wall portion 26. The front wall portion 26 of the fourth cover body 24 and the fifth cover body 25 are configured in a window frame shape, and a transparent plate 28 is fitted inside.

As shown in Figures 3, 4 and 6, three lower rails 32, 33, 34, each with its upward top surface as a guide surface, are laid on the front end of the upper surface of the bed 11 so as to be arranged in parallel in sequence from the rear side to the front side. The lower end of the second cover body 22 is supported on the lower rail 32, the lower end of the third cover body 23 is supported on the lower rail 33, and the lower end of the fourth cover body 24 is supported on the lower rail 34 by a plurality of wheels 35 so as to be movable in the left-right direction. As shown in Figure 5, three upper rails 42, 43, 44, each with its horizontal top surface as a guide surface, are attached to the stay 14 at the upper end of the wall portion 13 so as to be arranged in parallel in sequence from the bottom side to the top side. The upper end of the second cover body 22 is supported on the upper rail 42, the upper end of the third cover body 23 is supported on the upper rail 43, and the upper end of the fourth cover body 24 is supported on the upper rail 44 by a plurality of sliders 45 so as to be movable in the left-right direction. As shown in FIG. 6, the lower rails 32, 33, 34 and the upper rails 42, 43, 44 extend leftward from the right end of the bed 11, and are longer in the order of lower rails 34, 33, 32 and upper rails 44, 43, 42.

As shown in Figures 3 and 4, a lower rail 37 and an upper rail 47 are installed at the top and bottom positions on the inner side of the fourth cover body 24. The fifth cover body 25 is supported on the lower rail 37 and the upper rail 47 by a number of wheels 27 at its lower end and a number of sliders 36 at its upper end, and can be moved in and out from the left end of the front wall portion 26 of the fourth cover body 24. Therefore, the fifth cover body 25 is supported by the fourth cover body 24 in a state where it is raised above the bed 11.

As shown in Figures 7(a) and 7(b), a bent portion 51 is formed on the left edge of the first cover body 21 and on both left and right edges of the second to fourth cover bodies 22 to 24. When an operator slides the fourth cover body 24 in the left-right direction, the engagement of the bent portion 51 causes the second and third cover bodies 22, 23 to move in the left-right direction via the abutment of the bent portion 51, and the entire cover 15 expands and contracts. The fifth cover body 25 is independently inserted and removed from the fourth cover body 24. However, it is also possible to form a bent portion 51 at the end like the second to fourth cover bodies 22 to 24, and to configure a telescopic structure together with the second to fourth cover bodies 22 to 24.

As shown in FIG. 6, the lower rails 32-34 and the upper rails 42-44 are inclined at an angle θ with respect to the front-rear direction, that is, with respect to the left-right direction line L, which is the movement direction of the table 12, so that the right ends of their guide surfaces protrude forward. The lower rails 32-34 and the upper rails 42-44 are located at the processing unit 10 side in the extension direction, rearward from the other parts. Therefore, the movement direction of the second to fourth cover bodies 22-24 is inclined with respect to the reciprocating direction of the table 12 in a plan view, and they are opened and closed in a direction retreating toward the processing unit 10 toward the left. The inclination angle θ of the lower rails 32-34 and the upper rails 42-44, i.e., the inclination angle θ of the movement direction of the second to fourth cover bodies 22-24, is preferably within the range of 1 to 5 degrees, for example, 2 degrees. The lower rails 32-34 and the upper rails 42-44 constitute a guide means.

Next, the operation of the machine tool configured as above will be described.
In machining the workpiece W, the table 12 is reciprocated left and right. Therefore, the upper surface of the workpiece W placed on the upper surface of the table 12 can be subjected to the required machining using a tool in the machining section 10.

During this processing, when the cover 15 is in an extended state, the front and upper surface of the movement area of the table 12 and the front surface of the processing unit 10 are covered. The second to fourth cover bodies 22 to 24 of the cover 15 are supported by lower rails 32 to 34 and upper rails 42 to 44 that are inclined so that the opening and closing movement direction is located further rearward toward the left, which is the processing unit 10 side. In addition, the fifth cover body 25 is pulled out to the left from the inner surface of the fourth cover body 24. As a result, the position of the operator on the bed 11 facing the processing unit 10 guides the lower parts of the fourth cover body 24 and the fifth cover body 25, and the position of the lower rail 34, in other words, the protrusion of the front part 111 of the bed 11 supporting the lower rail 34, toward the front is suppressed.

When an operator performs work such as changing the setup in the processing section 10, the fifth cover body 25 and the fourth cover body 24, or the third cover body 23 and the second cover body 22 are moved to the right to open the front and top of the processing section 10. In this case, as described above, the second to fourth cover bodies 22 to 24 are supported by the lower rails 32 to 34 and the upper rails 42 to 44 that are tilted backward toward the left.

Therefore, this embodiment has the following advantages.
(1) As shown in FIG. 8(a), the lower rail 34 supporting the fourth cover body 24 and the fifth cover body 25, which are the position of the operator, is located close to the processing unit 10. Therefore, the front part 111 of the bed 11 in the processing unit 10 is prevented from protruding forward. Therefore, when the operator performs work such as changing the setup of the workpiece W at the top surface position of the table 12 located in the processing unit 10, the operator can approach the work position. Therefore, the operator does not need to bend forward or stretch his/her hands, and can avoid being forced into an unnatural posture. Therefore, the burden of handling the machine tool can be reduced and the work can be performed smoothly. In contrast, in a conventional machine tool having a configuration similar to that of this embodiment shown in FIG. 8(b), the fourth cover body 24 and the fifth cover body 25 are located forward away from the processing unit 10, so the rail must also be provided forward, and the front part of the bed protrudes forward, resulting in a large work burden.

(2) Unlike machine tools such as those described in Patent Document 1, the cover 15 moves over the top surface of the bed 11, so the cover 15 does not interfere with the worker's legs or toes. Therefore, as described above, the worker does not need to bend forward or stretch his/her arms out, and can avoid being forced into an awkward posture.

(3) Unlike the embodiment, by reducing the front-to-rear dimension of the fourth cover body 24, the front wall portion of the fourth cover body 24 can be brought closer to the processing section 10. However, by reducing the front-to-rear dimension of the fourth cover body 24 in this way, in a telescopic configuration, the cover body closer to the first cover body 21 has a smaller front-to-rear dimension. As a result, the space inside the cover 15 becomes narrower toward the right. This creates the need to make the table 12 smaller, which may interfere with the processing of a workpiece W of the required size. In the present embodiment, there is no such risk, and a sufficiently large space can be secured inside the cover 15, allowing a large table 12 to be mounted.

(Example of change)
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be embodied in the following aspects. The embodiment and the following modified examples can be combined with each other to the extent that there is no technical contradiction.

- The cover 15 can be configured not to be telescopic, for example, as in the previous embodiment, as a single cover body supported on an inclined rail so that it can be opened and closed. Even with this configuration, the worker can get close to the processing unit 10.

The present invention may be embodied in a machine tool in which the table 12 does not move or in which the table 12 is not provided.
At least one of the lower rails 32 to 34 and the upper rails 42 to 44 is configured to have a groove shape. In this way, the inner bottom surface of the rail becomes a guide surface.

The cover 15 is configured to open the entire upper part of the movement area of the table 12.
The number of the telescopic first to fourth cover bodies 21 to 24 may be changed to two, three, or five or more.

- In the above embodiment, the second to fourth cover bodies 22 to 24 are configured to telescopically cover the outer periphery of the first cover body 21. In contrast, the second to fourth cover bodies 22 to 24 can be configured to telescopically enter the inner periphery of the first cover body 21. In this configuration, the front-to-rear dimension of the fourth cover body 24 is reduced, and its front wall portion is closer to the processing unit 10 than the other cover bodies 21 to 23. In other words, the lower rail supporting the fourth cover body 24 is positioned closer to the processing unit 10, and the front portion 111 of the bed 11 can be prevented from protruding forward. Therefore, the operator can approach the processing unit 10 without tilting the opening and closing direction of the cover 15 relative to the moving direction of the table 12.

- As shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 8(b), a recess 112 is formed on the front surface of the bed 11 in front of the processing unit 10, in a position corresponding to the processing unit 10 and where no lower rail is present. With this configuration, the worker can get closer to the processing unit 10 and the workload can be reduced compared to a configuration in which the recess 112 is not provided.

(Other technical ideas)
The technical ideas understood from the above embodiments are as follows.
(A) The machine tool according to claim 2, wherein the guide rail has a top or bottom guide surface that is inclined with respect to the direction of movement of the table when viewed in a plane.

(B) A machine tool as described in technical concept (A) above, in which the inclination angle of the guide surface is within the range of 1 to 5 degrees.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10: Processing section 11: Bed 12: Table 15: Cover 21: First cover body 22: Second cover body 23: Third cover body 24: Fourth cover body 25: Fifth cover body 32: Lower rail 33: Lower rail 34: Lower rail 42: Upper rail 43: Upper rail 44: Upper rail 112: Recess

Claims (3)

In a machine tool having a cover that covers the front surface of a processing part on the top surface of a bed and is provided so as to be openable and closable in a direction intersecting with the front-rear direction via a rail,
A machine tool in which the rail is inclined relative to the front-to-rear direction in a plan view so that the portion of the rail facing the processing portion in the extension direction is located further rearward than other portions. The machine tool according to claim 1, in which a table that moves so as to pass through a processing section on the upper surface of the bed is provided so as to be capable of reciprocating motion, and the cover covers at least the front surface of the movement area of the table. The machine tool according to claim 2, wherein the cover is a combination of multiple cover bodies in a telescopic manner, and expands and contracts as a whole.