JPS6111744B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] The present invention relates to a workpiece conveyance device such as a circular saw machine,
In particular, the processing machine has a plurality of processing stations arranged in rows and a supply/discharge station,
A conveyor comprising a plurality of workpiece carriages from said station, the workpiece carriages being movable on a closed conveyor track, and further comprising endless drive means for moving the workpiece carriages step by step from one station to another. It is related to the device.

In conveying devices of the above type known for circular saw machines, the endless drive means consist of two parallel endless chains and associated deflecting sprockets, which fix the workpiece carriages at equal distances. The distance between the workpiece carriages must correspond to the distance between the processing stations, so that the entire transport device is always fixed to the diameter of the circular saw to be machined. Therefore, the feeding capacity of this known conveying device was low compared to its total length.
However, it is necessary to quickly take out a new workpiece and set it on the circular saw machine after it has been machined.

The object of the invention is to improve a conveying device of the above type to increase its feeding capacity.

To achieve the above object, the conveying device according to the invention comprises: - a working track passing through the processing station; - a return track passing through the supply and discharge station; - a working track arranged on each transverse carriage; and two connecting tracks which are capable of reciprocating with the associated transverse carriage between a position connected to the working track and a position connected to the return track; and the means includes equally spaced capture members corresponding to the capture members located on each workpiece carriage; between the end of the working track and the beginning of the return track. The reciprocatable connecting track is provided with drive means by means of which each workpiece carriage can be displaced from the connecting track to the return track; the workpiece carriage is provided with projections, and by means of these projections the workpiece carriage is displaceable. It is characterized in that collisions of the workpiece carriages on the return track are prevented and the spacing of the workpiece carriages is kept smaller than the spacing of the capture members of the endless drive means.

With this arrangement, it is possible to determine the distance between the processing stations, which is to correspond to the distance between the capture members of the endless drive means, solely by the distance between the workpiece carriages. The spacing of the workpiece carriages on the return track can be smaller, the spacing being defined by projections on the workpiece carriages themselves. Because the spacing of the workpiece carriages can be reduced, the return track can accept more workpiece carriages than the working track even if it is shorter than the working track. By separating the actuating track and the return track, the return track can be made longer than the actuating track or can be constructed from a plurality of interchangeable magazine-like tracks. In the latter case only one track is connected to the working track.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the protrusion of the workpiece carriage is adjustable according to the size of the workpiece. In this case, the spacing of the workpiece carriages on the return track can be kept to a minimum value determined by the size of each workpiece, and optimal utilization of the supply capacity of the return track is achieved.

In the present invention, the capture member of each workpiece carriage is fixed to the workpiece support member, and the workpiece support member is guided by the workpiece carriage so as to be displaceable in a direction transverse to its conveying direction, and the workpiece support member is centered on the workpiece support member. The workpiece support member is displaceable from the transport position to the operating position at each processing station by a driving means provided at each processing station, and in the operating position, the capture member is released from the capture member of the endless drive means. At the same time, it is advantageous to position the centering part relative to a fixed centering piece.
In this case, the previously required connection of each workpiece carriage with the endless drive means can be carried out not only on the return track but also on the working track when the processing station is not in operation. Tolerances in the spacing of the capture members of the endless drive means have no influence on the precise positioning of the workpiece support relative to the working position in the processing station.
This positioning is effected only by the centering portion of the workpiece support member and the fixed centering piece.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained in detail with reference to the illustrated embodiments.

1 and 2 schematically show a processing machine 10 for grinding teeth Z of a circular saw S. FIG. This processing machine 10 has a housing 11 in the shape of a relatively long rectangular parallelepiped, and brackets 12 and 13 are fixed to the left and right ends in FIGS. 1 and 2. On the front side of the housing 11 in FIGS. 1 and 2, in the example shown, three processing stations 14 are arranged partly on the housing and partly within the housing. The station on the left side of FIGS. 1 and 2 is for grinding the tooth profile, the center station is for grinding the root surface, and the station on the right is for grinding the tip surface. The rear side of the housing 11, which is not shown in FIG. 1, is configured as a supply and discharge station 15.

Housing 1 at each processing station 14
A box-shaped console 16 is fixed on top of the console 1, and a grinding unit 17 is placed in front of it. These grinding units are pivotably adjustable about a horizontal pivot axis 18 extending laterally of the housing 11.
Each grinding unit 17 is provided with a grinding shaft block 19 which is movable in the radial direction relative to the associated pivot axis 18. Each grinding shaft block 19 supports a grinding shaft having a grinding wheel 20 therein. Since the console 16 and the grinding unit 17 can be appropriately selected from known configurations, their outlines are only shown by dashed lines.

A conveying device is arranged around the housing 11, and the conveying device sequentially transports the circular saw machine S step by step from the supply/discharge station 15 to each processing station 14.
and then again to the station 15. The transport device is provided with a number of workpiece carriages 21, for example sixteen as shown in FIG. In order to make the carriage 21 movable, an operating track 22 is formed on the front side of the housing 11 and extends over the entire processing station. A return track 23 is formed on the rear side of the housing 11, and connecting tracks 24, 25 are formed on both brackets 12,13. Operating track 2
2 and the return track 23 each have two mutually parallel rods 26 fixed in a common vertical plane.
The vertical plane containing the rod 26 of the operating track 22 and the vertical plane containing the rod 26 of the return track 23 are likewise arranged parallel to each other. Both connecting tracks 24, 25 are each provided with two short rods 27. The rods 26 and 27 have the same cross-sectional shape, in the illustrated example, a hexagonal cross-section, and the distances between the rods 26 and between the rods 27 in the vertical plane are set equal. The rod 27 of the left-hand connecting track 24 in FIGS. 1 and 2 is fixed to the left-hand transverse carriage 28, and likewise the rod 27 of the right-hand connecting track 26 is fixed to the right-hand transverse carriage 29. Both lateral carriages 28, 29 are capable of reciprocating between end positions as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, in each end position the rod 27 is aligned with and opposed to the rod 26 of the operating track 22 or return track 23. Connected with almost no gaps.

That is, each of the lateral carriages 28 and 29 has 4
Rollers 30 are provided, and these rollers run on a pair of horizontal horizontal rods 31. The lateral rods 31 for the lateral carriages 28, 29 are fixed in vertically spaced relation to the associated brackets 12 or 13. The horizontal rod 31 also has a hexagonal cross-section, but this cross-sectional shape does not need to match the cross-sectional shape of the rods 26 and 27. Of the four rollers 30 of each horizontal carriage 28, 29, two rollers are in contact with the upper surface of the upper horizontal rod 31, and the other two rollers are in contact with the lower surface of the lower horizontal rod 31. Run each. Each lateral carriage 28, 29 is provided with an arm 32 projecting vertically downward for the purpose of improving running stability, and a roller 33 is disposed on this arm, which is connected to a horizontal roller formed in the associated bracket 12 or 13. It runs on a running track 34.

Both ends of a chain 35 are fixed to each lateral carriage 28, 29, and this chain is connected to the deflection sprocket 3.
6 and a tension sprocket 38, one of the deflection sprockets 36 can be driven by an electric motor 37. Both ends of the connecting tracks 24, 25 are each limited by a stopper 39 provided with a limit switch.

Horizontal carriage 28,2 on horizontal rod 31
9, the workpiece carriages 21 each have two
A pair of rollers 40 run over the rods 26, 27, but are not permanently connected to a single chain. That is, the workpiece carriage 21 is moved along the working track 22 and
2, an endless drive device 41 having an endless chain 42 is provided on the front side of the housing 11, this endless chain is wrapped around a deflection sprocket 43, and One can be driven by an electric motor 44. Capture members 45 are arranged at equal intervals on the endless chain 42, and the intervals are made to match the intervals between the processing stations 14. Each workpiece carriage 21 is provided with a corresponding capture member 46. With this arrangement, the workpiece carriages 21 running on the working track 22 are maintained at a constant distance from each other, which distance also corresponds to the distance of the processing stations. The required installation space of each machining station 14, and thus the distance between two adjacent machining stations, is determined by the maximum allowable distance of the circular saw S to be machined, for reasons that should allow the necessary adjustment and maintenance of the grinding unit 17. Much larger than the diameter,
The overall diameter of any circular saw machine S does not have to be so large that, when the endless drive 41 is stopped, another workpiece carriage can be arranged between the workpiece carriages 21 at a given processing station. In any case, some reduction in the efficiency of space utilization on the working track 22 is inevitable.

Regarding the return track 23, the situation is slightly different. That is, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the distance between each workpiece carriage 21 is only slightly larger than the diameter of the circular saw S to be machined. In order to prevent the circular saw S from colliding due to insufficient spacing, two protrusions 4 are provided on each workpiece carriage 21 that protrude in the direction of its movement and in the opposite direction.
7 and 48 are fixed in an adjustable manner. These protrusions 4
The shapes of 7 and 48 correspond to the front and rear workpiece carriages 21.
The protrusion 47 at the front end of the rear workpiece carriage 21 is set to abut against the protrusion 48 at the rear end of the front workpiece carriage 21 before the circular saw machine S collides with the rear workpiece carriage 21. By making the projections 47, 48 adjustable, the spacing of the workpiece carriage 21 can be adapted to the diameter of the circular saw S to be machined. It goes without saying that when machining a small-diameter circular saw machine, more workpiece carriages 21 can be installed than when machining a large-diameter circular saw machine.

The endless drive 41 moves in steps by a distance equal to the spacing of adjacent processing stations, and at the end of each movement it moves one workpiece carriage 21 to the right-hand transverse carriage 29, as shown in dash-dotted lines in FIG.
position it above. On the other hand, the transverse carriage occupies the position shown in solid lines in FIG. 2 during each movement of the endless drive 41, in which position the rod 27 is aligned with the rod 26 of the working track 22. The subsequent lateral movement moves the lateral carriage 29 together with the workpiece carriage 21 from the position shown in solid lines in FIG. 4 to the position shown in dashed lines in the figure; Rod 27 of carriage 29 is aligned with rod 26 of return track 23. At this point, the workpiece carriage 21 reaches the return track 23. The necessary driving force for this and for further movement on the return track 23 is obtained by applying a slight inclination. However, in the illustrated example, a further drive 51 is provided, by means of which the workpiece carriage 21 is conveyed after each actuation stroke of the endless drive 41 and a subsequent lateral displacement stroke of the transverse carriage 29. is forcibly fed onto the return track 23, and all workpiece carriages 2 placed on the return track 23 are
1 is further displaced. This drive device 51 has a third
As shown in the figure, two rods 52 are provided which are arranged parallel to and below the rod 26 of the return track 23, and these rods 52 are connected to the rod guide member 53.
It is guided so that it can be displaced within. A piston 54 is provided on the upper rod of both rods 52, and this piston is operated within a pneumatic cylinder 55. On the right side of the rod 52 in FIG. The workpiece carriage is configured to be displaced to the left. The left ends of the rods 52 in FIG. 3 are interconnected by a stopper plate 58 on which a stopper 59 is arranged which is adjustable and fixed to the housing 11 and is associated with a limit switch.

Each workpiece carriage 21 is provided with a pair of vertical guide members 61 by means of which a workpiece support member 62 is guided in a vertically displaceable manner. A mounting arbor 63 is fixed to the workpiece support member 62 of each workpiece carriage 21, with its geometrical axis 64 extending horizontally and at right angles to the rod 26. A centering extension 65 is formed at the upper end of the workpiece support member 62 and supports a centering roller 66. A centering piece 67 fixed to each processing station 14 is provided with respect to the centering roller 66 of all workpiece carriages 21, so that when each workpiece carriage 21 is to be accurately centered with respect to a particular processing station 14, Centering roller 66
into the corresponding centering piece 67 as shown in FIG. A limit switch 68 is placed on each centering piece 67 to generate a signal to detect the completion of accurate centering.

In order to clamp the circular saw machine S, each processing station 14 is further provided with a pair of clamp pieces 69, which are actuated, for example, by fluid pressure.

Each processing station 14 also has a drive device 71.
This drive device is constituted by, for example, a pneumatic piston-cylinder unit as shown in FIG. That is, a head 73 is formed at the upper end of the piston rod 72 of this unit, and the head 73 is engaged with the workpiece support member 62 of the workpiece carriage 21 located at the associated processing station 14 to thereby move the workpiece support member 62. It is displaced from the lower position shown by the dashed line in FIG. 5 to the upper position shown by the solid line. The capture member 46 of each workpiece carriage 21 is fixed to its workpiece support member 62, and the capture member 46 displaces the workpiece support member 62 upwardly so that the endless drive device 41, which was previously in an engaged relationship,
from the capture member 45 and, as a result, the centering of the workpiece carriage 21 with respect to the associated processing station 14 in the above-mentioned manner is not impeded in any way. The release of the capture member 46 from the capture member 45
This is not necessary if the chain 42 has a certain play with respect to the chain 42 supporting it, or if the chain 42 itself has a certain degree of flexibility, for example by suitable channel configuration.

Correspondingly, as shown in FIG. It is unrelated to the travel process.

At the end of each machining operation, the drive devices 71 in all machining stations 14 again lower the workpiece support members 62 of the workpiece carriages 21 located in each station. Completion of the displacement to the lower end position, thus moving the workpiece carriage 21 onto the actuating track 22
A new standby state for conveying along the processing station 14 is indicated by a limit switch 74 provided in the head 73 of each processing station 14.

Each machining station 14 is provided with a drive device as shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, and this drive device allows the circular saw machine to be mounted on the aperture 63 of the workpiece carriage 21 currently located at the existing machining station. S is rotated in steps to displace the tooth Z by one pitch or, in special cases, by several pitches. This drive device is provided with a working carriage 75 which is displaceably guided by a pair of vertical fixed guide members 76. Each working carriage 75
A vertical screw shaft 77, which is supported by the housing 11 so as not to be displaced in the axial direction, is screwed to the housing 11. A total of three screw shafts 77 are each connected to a common horizontal shaft 79 via a bevel gear 78, and this horizontal shaft can be driven by a step motor 80. A perforated disc 81 is fixed on the horizontal shaft 79 and is placed in relation to a counter 82 .
Counter 82 produces an output signal indicative of the height of the full working carriage 75.

The actuating guide member 8 in each actuating carriage 75
3 is supported so as to be pivotable about an axis 84, which axis is a horizontal axis perpendicular to the rod 26. Within each actuating guide member 83 is an actuating member 85 extending radially of the associated axis 84.
is guided so as to be displaceable in its longitudinal direction, and can be similarly clamped by a clamping device 86 provided on the operation guide member 83. This actuating member 85 always extends substantially upward, and has a head 8 at its upper end.
A latch bearing 8 is provided at a position where an operating axis 88 parallel to the axis 84 passes.
I support 9.

The latch bearing 89 moves the latch 91 along the operating axis 8.
It is supported so as to be pivotable about an axis 92 parallel to 8. A pair of small hydraulic cylinders 93 are disposed on the latch bearing 89 to pivot the latch 91;
These cylinders cause the latch 91 to plunge between the two teeth Z, depending on whether the actuating member 85 is pivoted in the direction of operation, ie towards the cutting direction of the circular saw S or in the opposite direction. It is possible to select whether to lift from the top of the tooth or from the top of the tooth.

In order to displace the circular saw S by one pitch of the tooth Z, the latch 91 is moved by the fluid pressure cylinder 93.
The actuating member is rotated in a desired direction with the blade inserted between the two teeth Z of the circular saw S. If the latch 91 is to be displaced several pitches at a time, the hydraulic cylinder 93 lifts the latch 91 from the tooth tip surface to release the engagement with the circular saw S after one pitch displacement. It is sufficient to turn the lever back in the opposite direction to cause the next one-pitch displacement in the same manner as described above, and repeat this operation until the displacement of the required number of pitches is completed.

A swing drive device 94 is provided for swinging the actuating member 85, and in the illustrated example, this swing drive device is constituted by an electric/hydraulic linear actuator having a fluid pressure cylinder 95. In this case, the cylinder 95 is supported by the housing 11 so as to be pivotable about an axis 96 parallel to the axes 84, 88, and 92;
The end of the piston rod 97 of the cylinder is secured to the latch bearing 89 and thus engages the actuating member 85 at the actuating member 88. Swing drive device 94
An electrical setting adjustment device having an electric motor 98 is provided.

The electric motor 98 is connected to an electronic control unit 99 which is also used to control the electric motor 80 and is supplied with output signals from each of the limit switches. This control device 99 is provided with a calculating means, and this means is programmed as follows. That is, when only the data regarding the diameter and the number of teeth of the circular saw S to be machined are input by, for example, a switch operation, the operating carriages 75 in all processing stations 14 are displaced by the electric motor 80, and the axis 84 of each operating guide member 83 and the related The axis 6 of the aperture 63 of the workpiece carriage 21 located at the processing station 14
4 are aligned, and an electric/hydraulic linear actuator provided as a swing drive device 94 on each actuating member 85 reciprocates in response to the indexing of the circular saw S after machining each tooth Z. and set the circular saw to rotate by a certain amount.

In order to enable a common height adjustment for all working carriages 75 mentioned above, the associated swivel drive 94 is activated by commands from the control device 99 so that the working member 85 is precisely vertical and therefore the guide member Adjustment displacement is possible up to a position exactly parallel to 76. When the actuating member 85 reaches the vertical position and the clamping device 86 is opened, also by command from the control device 99, a relative displacement between the actuating member 85 and the actuating carriage 75 is possible.

To prevent uncontrolled displacement of the actuating members 85 within the actuating guide 83, a retaining device 101 is arranged in the housing 11 in the vicinity of the head 87 of each actuating member 85. Each holding device 101 is provided with a hydraulic piston 102, which piston can be displaced against the pressing force of elastic means 103 in response to a command from a control device 99. Furthermore, piston 1
02 supports a pin 104 which, upon said displacement of the piston, engages a recess 105 formed in the associated head 87, thereby moving the actuating member 85 together with the piston rod 97 of the associated swivel drive 94 in the rest position. Hold securely.

When the working carriages 75 have reached the desired height position corresponding to the diameter of the circular saw machine S to be machined, the clamping device 86 of each working carriage 75 is actuated again and the associated working member is held again and then the associated holding By unloading the fluid pressure from the device 101, the resilient means 103 retract the pin 104, so that the actuating member 85 can pivot about an axis 84 coinciding with the axis of the associated circular saw S.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a conveyance device of a circular saw processing machine according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a plan view of the conveyance device of FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is a portion taken along the - line in FIG. 2. Longitudinal cross-sectional view; Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the - line in Figure 2; Figure 5 is a partial vertical cross-sectional view taken along the - line in Figure 2; Figure 6 is a portion taken along the - line in Figure 2. A vertical sectional view; FIG. 7 is a plan view of the portion shown in FIG. 6; FIG. 8 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along the - line in FIG. 6. S... Circular saw machine, Z... Teeth, 10... Processing machine,
11... Housing, 12, 13... Bracket, 14... Processing station, 15... Supply and discharge station, 16... Console, 17
... Grinding unit, 18 ... Rotating axis, 19 ...
Grinding shaft block, 20... Grinding machine, 21... Workpiece carriage, 22... Operating track, 23...
Return track, 24, 25... Connection track, 2
6... Rod, 27... Rod, 28, 29...
Horizontal carriage, 30...Roller, 31...Horizontal rod, 32...Arm, 33...Roller, 34...Travel track, 35...Chain, 36...Deflection sprocket, 37...Electric motor, 38...Ten Sprocket, 39... Stopper, 40... Roller, 41... Endless drive device, 42... Endless chain, 43... Deflection sprocket, 44... Electric motor, 45, 46... Capture member, 47, 48 ... Protrusion, 51 ... Drive device, 52 ... Rod, 53 ...
...Guide member, 54...Piston, 55...Pneumatic cylinder, 56...Latch support member, 57...Latch, 58...Stopper plate, 59...Stopper, 61...Guide member, 62...Workpiece support Member, 63... Arbor, 64... Coaxial line, 65...
Extension part, 66... Centering roller, 67... Centering piece, 68... Limit switch, 69... Clamp piece, 71... Drive device, 72... Piston rod, 73... Head, 74... Limit switch, 75 ... Operating carriage, 76 ... Guide member, 77 ... Screw shaft, 78 ... Bevel gear, 79 ...
... shaft, 80 ... step motor, 81 ... perforated disk, 82 ... counter, 83 ... operation guide member,
84... Coaxial line, 85... Operating member, 86... Clamp device, 87... Head, 88... Operating axis, 89... Latch bearing, 91... Latch, 92
... Axis line, 93 ... Fluid pressure cylinder, 94 ... Swing drive device, 95 ... Cylinder, 96 ... Axis line,
97... Piston rod, 98... Electric motor, 99
...Control device, 101...Holding device, 102...
Hydraulic piston, 103... Elastic means, 104...
...pin, 105...recess.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A workpiece conveyance device such as a circular saw machine S, which has a plurality of processing stations 14 arranged in a row on a processing machine and a supply/discharge station 15, 14, 15, the workpiece carriages 21 are movable on a closed conveyor track, and further include endless drive means 41 for moving the workpiece carriages step by step from one station to another. It comprises: - a working track 22 passing through the processing station 14; - a return track 23 passing through the supply and discharge station 15; Connecting position and return track 2
two connecting tracks 2 which are reciprocatable with an associated transverse carriage between positions where they connect to 3;
4, 25: the endless drive means 41 is arranged only along the actuating track 22 and the connecting tracks 24, 25 connected thereto; Capture members 45 corresponding to the capture members 46 are arranged at equal intervals; a connecting track 25 capable of reciprocating between the end of the operating track 22 and the start of the return track 23 is provided with drive means 51; Each workpiece carriage 21 can be displaced from its connecting track 25 to the return track 23 by means of drive means; the workpiece carriage 21 is provided with projections 47, 48, by means of which the machining on the return track 23 can be carried out. A conveying device characterized in that collisions of the workpiece carriages are prevented and the distance between the workpiece carriages is kept smaller than the distance between the capture members 45 of the endless drive means 41. 2. The conveyance device according to claim 1, wherein the protrusions 47, 48 of the workpiece carriage 21 are adjustable in accordance with the size of the workpiece. 3. In the conveying device according to claim 1 or 2, the capture member 46 of each workpiece carriage 21 is fixed to the workpiece support member 62, and the workpiece support member 62 is supported by the workpiece carriage 21. The workpiece support member is guided so as to be displaceable in the transverse direction with respect to the transport direction, and the workpiece support member is provided with a centering portion 65, and the workpiece support member is moved from the transport position to the operating position at each processing station by drive means 71 provided on each processing station 14. A conveying device which is displaceable and is characterized in that in the operating position it releases the capture member 46 from the capture member 45 of the endless drive means 41 and positions the centering part 65 with respect to a fixed centering piece 67.