JPS6355424B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention provides a method for transporting workpieces to a processing station set corresponding to the position of the NC processing machine in a workpiece conveyance line formed in association with the NC processing machine. carrying in,
The present invention also relates to a workpiece feeding device of an NC-controlled processing device that sends out a workpiece from the processing station.

(Prior technology) A plurality of NC processing machines each handling a different processing process are installed in an array, a workpiece transfer line is formed along the arrangement of these NC processing machines, and the workpiece is placed on the workpiece transfer line and each NC processing is performed sequentially. A processing method is known in which the material is sent to a machine position and processed continuously to improve work efficiency.

In such a case, when transporting the workpiece along the workpiece transport line, each
For NC processing machines, a workpiece waiting station where unprocessed workpieces are kept on standby, a processing station where workpieces are processed, and a workpiece unloading station where processed workpieces are sent out are set, and the workpieces are transferred from the workpiece standby station to the processing station. and from the processing station to the workpiece unloading station, and the workpiece can be transferred from the workpiece unloading station for one NC processing machine to the workpiece waiting station for the next NC processing machine by the operator. The method of doing it by work is widely adopted.

In such a work transport line that involves transport work by an operator, there is a method for automatically transferring the work from the work waiting station to the processing station, and further from the processing station to the work unloading station.
As shown in Publication No. 57-127636, the path is regulated by rails provided on the base that forms the workpiece conveyance line placed in front of the NC processing machine, and the workpiece moves along the workpiece conveyance line. A pallet (referred to as a jig stand in the above publication) on which a work piece is placed is used, and this pallet is placed on a hydraulic cylinder that has a predetermined stroke and extends in the direction along the workpiece conveyance line. A device for conveying by twisting has been proposed.

However, when the pallet is transferred by a work transfer means such as a hydraulic cylinder as described above, the distance traveled by the pallet on which the processed work is placed is transferred from the processing station.
Since the stroke range of the workpiece conveyance means is limited, the workpiece unloading station where the finished workpiece is sent out is relatively close to the NC.
This is inconvenient because it is set close to the processing machine, making it difficult for the operator to carry the workpiece from there to the workpiece waiting station of the next NC processing machine. For example, when a worker removes a pallet on which a rake is placed from the workpiece unloading station, the worker must avoid approaching the NC processing machine to ensure safety. This results in a decrease in work efficiency.

Additionally, if each of the multiple NC processing machines arranged along the workpiece transfer line is equipped with the above-mentioned workpiece transfer means, there is an inconvenience that the cost of the entire series of workpiece processing equipment increases. .

(Objective of the Invention) In view of the above, the present invention has been devised so that a pallet on which a work is placed is moved along a workpiece conveyance line formed in association with an NC machine. It is possible to automatically carry the workpiece into and out of the processing station provided corresponding to the position using the workpiece transport means, and also to send out the pallet on which the workpiece is placed from the processing station. The distance traveled by the workpiece can be made to exceed the range of the travel stroke of the workpiece transport means, and the pallet on which the workpiece is placed can be delivered to a position sufficiently distant from the processing station. The purpose is to provide a workpiece feeding device for NC-controlled processing equipment.

(Structure of the Invention) The workpiece feeding device of the NC-controlled processing device according to the present invention moves along a workpiece transfer line in which a processing station is provided at a position corresponding to the NC processing machine and a workpiece waiting station is provided. It is installed in conjunction with the pallet on which the work is placed and the NC processing machine, and performs pitch movement in the direction along the work transfer line with a pitch corresponding to the distance from the work waiting station to the processing station. a movable part; and a first engaging member which is attached to the movable part and performs a pallet carrying operation to carry the pallet into the processing station by engaging with the pallet at the work standby station and moving in accordance with the pitch movement of the movable part. A second engagement part, which is also attached to the movable part, engages with the pallet at the processing station and moves with the pitch movement of the movable part, thereby performing a pallet sending operation to send out the pallet from the processing station. and an operation control section that controls the operation of each of the first and second engagement sections, and the operation control section moves the first engagement section when carrying out a pallet loading operation. The movable part is controlled to remain engaged with the pallet until the pitch movement of the movable part is completed, and the second engagement part is controlled to be engaged with the pallet until the pitch movement of the movable part is completed during the pallet delivery operation. It is assumed that control is performed to release the locked state.

By doing this, based on the pitch movement of the movable part, it is possible to automatically transport the pallet on which unprocessed workpieces are placed from the workpiece waiting station to the processing station, and also to transport the workpieces processed by the NC processing machine. It is possible to automatically send out the pallet on which the
Releasing the engagement between the engaging part of the pallet and the pallet causes the pallet to move inertia along the workpiece conveyance line, and using this inertial movement, the pallet is moved away from the processing station. The moving distance in the delivery can be made larger than the pitch in the pitch movement of the movable part.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIGS. 1 and 2 schematically show an example of a workpiece feeding device of an NC-controlled processing device according to the present invention, together with an NC processing machine to which it is applied. In FIG. 1, an NC processing machine 10 that processes a workpiece according to a predetermined program is installed on a bed 12,
It is guided by a rail 14 laid on the bed 12 and is movably arranged in a direction along a workpiece conveyance line (hereinafter referred to as the X-axis direction), which will be described later, as shown by an arrow X in FIG. It is guided by an X-axis movable base 16 and a rail 18 laid on the X-axis movable base 16, and is guided by an arrow Y in FIG.
The Y-axis movable frame 20, which is movable in the direction orthogonal to the X-axis direction (hereinafter referred to as the Y-axis direction) as shown in the figure, is installed as a main basic component. A rail 26 is attached to the front part of the Y-axis movable frame 20, and is guided by this rail 26 and perpendicular to both the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction as shown by arrow Z in FIG. A Z-axis movable frame 24 that is movable in a direction (hereinafter referred to as the Z-axis direction) and supports a spindle head 22 is disposed. Moreover, an ATC (automatic tool changer) 27 equipped with various cutting tools depending on the purpose is arranged on the upper part of the Y-axis movable frame 20.

The Y-axis movable frame 20 is connected to the X-axis movable base 16
It is moved in the Y-axis direction by a mechanism such as a screw shaft by a Y-axis drive motor 32 attached to the
The Z-axis movable frame 24 to which the spindle head 22 is attached is moved in the Z-axis direction by a Z-axis drive motor 34 attached to the top of the Y-axis movable frame 20. The ATC 27 attached to the upper part of the Y-axis movable frame 20 is driven by an ATC drive motor 36, and the spindle head 22 is driven by a spindle head drive motor 37 attached to the Y-axis movable frame 20. Furthermore, the X-axis movable base 16 is attached to the bed 12 as shown in FIG.
It is moved in the X-axis direction by a screw shaft 30 connected to the output shaft of an X-axis drive motor 28 attached to the.

In front of the Y-axis movable frame 20 of the NC processing machine 10 configured in this way, an idling roller conveyor 38 forming a workpiece conveyance line is disposed. are arranged movably along the idle roller conveyor 38. A workpiece W is placed on the pallet 42. Along this workpiece conveyance line, a plurality of NC processing machines (not shown) are arranged and installed at predetermined intervals from each other, and the workpiece W is conveyed on the workpiece conveyance line by a pallet 42, and each
It is assumed that processing will be performed using an NC processing machine.

The workpiece conveyance line includes a workpiece waiting station Sa, where a workpiece W to be processed by the NC processing machine 10 waits for the NC processing machine 10, as shown by a dashed line in FIG.
A processing station Sb where the workpiece W is processed by the NC processing machine 10 and a workpiece unloading station Sc from which the workpiece W processed by the NC processing machine 10 is discharged are set, and the pallet 42 on which the workpiece W is placed is The workpiece is sequentially conveyed on the rolling roller conveyor 38 from the workpiece standby station Sa to the processing station Sb, and from the processing station Sb to the workpiece delivery station Sc or beyond the workpiece delivery station Sc.

The pallet transport means for transporting the pallet 42 from the work standby station Sa is constructed as follows.

A pair of brackets 44L and 44R extending in the X-axis direction on both sides of the spindle head 22 are provided on the surface of the X-axis movable base 16, which is movable in the X-axis direction and which constitutes the NC processing machine 10, facing the workpiece conveyance line. Fixed. These, bracket 4
Engagement rod devices 50L and 50R forming engagement portions are attached to the upper portions of 4L and 44R, respectively, with a center axis distance L between them.

As shown in detail in FIG. 3, the engaging rod device 50L includes a guide cylinder member 52L attached to the bracket 44L and a guide cylinder member 52L.
It consists of an engagement rod member 54L that is fitted into the piston rod and is slidable in the Y-axis direction, and an air cylinder 56L that is coaxially fixed to the rear end of the guide cylinder member 52L. a front end portion is coupled to an engagement rod member 54L;
By driving the air cylinder 56L, the engagement rod member 54L within the guide cylinder member 52L is controlled to advance and retreat. The air cylinder 56L is driven by the bracket 4 along with the engagement rod device 50L.
Air cylinder drive device 58 attached to 4L
Done by L.

Further, the engagement rod device 50R is also constructed in the same manner as the engagement rod device 50L, and as shown in detail in FIG.
The piston rod of the air cylinder 56R consists of an engagement rod member 54R that is fitted into the rod 2R and is slidable in the Y-axis direction, and an air cylinder 56R that is coaxially fixed to the rear end of the guide cylinder member 52R. The front end of the rod member 54R is connected to the engagement rod member 54R, and when the air cylinder 56R is driven, the engagement rod member 54 in the guide cylinder member 52R is connected to the engagement rod member 54R.
R is controlled to advance and retreat. The air cylinder 56R is driven by an air cylinder drive device 58R attached to the bracket 44R together with the engagement rod device 50R.

On the other hand, as shown in detail in FIG. 3, an idling roller conveyor 3 forming a workpiece conveyance line
NC in each of the pallets 42 arranged on 8
On the end face facing the processing machine 10, block members 60 and 62 having engaging recesses are provided at a predetermined distance from each other. Then, two adjacent pallets 42 (pallet 42A and pallet 42
B) is set in a predetermined manner so that when the pallet 42B located at the processing station Sb is reversed in accordance with the processing process of the workpiece W placed thereon, the pallet 42A located at the workpiece standby station Sa does not become an obstacle. The interval N shall be maintained. In this way, pallets 42A and 42B
are the workpiece waiting stations at intervals of N.
In the state where they are arranged adjacent to each other on the pallet 42B and the pallet 42B, the engagement rod member 54R of the engagement rod device 50R can engage with the block member 62 provided on the pallet 42A.
The engagement rod member 54L of the engagement rod device 50L is configured to be able to engage with the block member 60 provided in the engagement rod device 50L.

The X-axis drive motor 28, Y-axis drive motor 32, Z-axis drive motor 34, ATC drive motor 36, spindle head drive motor 37, and engagement rod devices 50L and 50R attached to the above-mentioned NC processing machine 10 are independently operated. Air cylinder drive device 58L that drives
and 58R are subjected to operation control by a control unit 65 installed close to the bed 12 of the NC processing machine 10. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the X-axis drive motor 28, the Y-axis drive motor 32, and the Z-axis drive motor 3 are
4. Control signals Qa, ATC drive motor 36, spindle head drive motor 37, air cylinder drive device 58L and air cylinder drive device 58R,
Qb, Qc, Qd, Qe, Qf, and Qg are supplied, and under control based on these control signals Qa to Qg, the spindle bed 22 is driven and the machining process for the workpiece W is performed according to a preset program, for example. It is assumed that this process is repeated at a predetermined processing speed and timing.

Furthermore, in the front part of the bed 12 of the NC processing machine 10, there is a switch box 66 containing a built-in switch that can be operated to selectively change the operating state of each part.
is installed.

With this configuration, when the processing of the workpiece W placed on the pallet 42B located at the processing station Sb is completed, the X-axis movable base 16 of the NC processing machine 10 receives a control signal from the control unit 65.
The workpiece waiting station Sa is moved in the X-axis direction by the operation of the X-axis drive motor 28 controlled by Qa.
As shown in Figure 3,
Brackets 44L and 44 are attached to the X-axis movable base 16.
Engagement rod members 54L and 54R of engagement rod devices 50L and 50R fixed via R,
Block member 60 attached to pallet 42B located at processing station Sb and pallet 42A located at workpiece standby station Sa, respectively.
It is stopped at a position opposite to the engaging recess of the blocking member 62 attached to the block member 62.

In this state, the air cylinder drive device 58
L and 58R are control signals from control unit 65
Air cylinder 56L of engagement rod devices 50L and 50R is actuated simultaneously by Qf and Qg.
and 56R are respectively driven. As a result, the engaging rod members 54L and 54R are made to protrude as shown by the two-dot chain lines in FIG. It engages with the engagement recess of.

Then, with the engaging rod members 54L and 54R engaged with the block member 60 of the pallet 42B and the block member 62 of the pallet 42A, respectively, the X-axis movable base 16 is moved in the X-axis direction toward the workpiece unloading station Sc. As a result, pallet 42A, which was previously located at the workpiece standby station Sa, has been moved to the processing station.
The pallet 42B located on the Sb side and the processing station Sb is located at the workpiece unloading station.
It is moved to the Sc side on the idle roller conveyor 38.

At this time, the X-axis movable base 16 is moved with a pitch corresponding to the distance from the workpiece standby station Sa to the processing station Sb by the X-axis drive motor 28 controlled by the control signal Qa from the control unit 65. It is assumed that pitch movement is performed. When the pitch movement of the X-axis movable base 16 is performed, the engagement rod device 50R, whose operation is controlled based on the control signal Qg from the control unit 65, completes the pitch movement of the X-axis movable base 16. the engagement rod member 54 until
Block member 6 with R attached to pallet 42A
The state of engagement with the second engagement recess is maintained. Thereby, when the pitch movement of the X-axis movable base 16 is completed, the pallet 42A is positioned at the processing station Sb. Then, after the X-axis movable base 16 is stopped and the pallet 42A is positioned at the processing station Sb, the engagement rod member 54R is moved to the air cylinder 56.
It is moved backward by the operation of R, and pallet 42A
The engagement state of the blocking member 62 attached to the engagement recess is released. In this way, the engaging rod device 50R performs a pallet carrying operation to carry the pallet 42 from the workpiece standby station Sa to the processing station Sb.

On the other hand, the engaging rod device 5 whose operation is controlled based on the control signal Qf from the control unit 65
0L is a control signal Qf from the control unit 65 when the X-axis movable base 16 is moved in pitch.
Therefore, before the pitch movement of the X-axis movable base 16 is completed, the engagement rod member 54L is moved backward by the operation of the air cylinder 56L, and engages with the engagement recess of the block member 60 attached to the pallet 42B. The engaged state is released.
As a result, the pallet 42B moving on the idle roller conveyor 38 is released from the engagement state with the engagement rod device 50L, and the pallet 42B is moved on the idle roller conveyor 38.
8, the X-axis movable base 16 moves inertially in the direction from the processing station Sb to the workpiece unloading station Sc, and takes a movement distance greater than the pitch of the pitch movement of the X-axis movable base 16, as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. It is possible to reach a position beyond the workpiece unloading station Sc. In this way, the engagement rod device 50L
2 from the processing station Sb. Through this pallet sending operation, the pallet 42 moves a distance greater than the pitch of the X-axis movable base 16, and moves toward the workpiece unloading station Sc. It is transmitted to a position exceeding .

In this way, the pallet 42 is sent out to a position beyond the workpiece unloading station Sc, thereby allowing the operator to transport the pallet 42 from the NC processing machine 10 to the workpiece waiting station for the next NC processing machine. This makes it easier to perform the work or to take out the work W on the pallet 42.

In addition, when the pallet sending operation is performed by the engaging rod device 50L as described above, for example,
By controlling the moving speed of the X-axis movable base 16 when the engagement state between the engagement rod member 54L of the engagement rod device 50L and the engagement recess of the block member 60 attached to the pallet 42B is released, 4
It is also possible for 2B to directly reach the workpiece waiting station for the next NC processing machine by inertial movement.

Furthermore, in this example, when the pallet delivery operation is performed by the engaging rod device 50L as described above, the engaging rod member 54L of the engaging rod device 50L remains in position until the pitch movement of the X-axis movable base 16 is completed. It is also possible to maintain the state of engagement with the engagement recess of the block member 60 attached to the pallet 42B. In such a case, when the pitch movement of the X-axis movable base 16 is completed, It is assumed that the pallet 42B is located at the workpiece unloading station Sc.

(Effect of the invention) As is clear from the above explanation, the present invention
According to the workpiece feeding device of NC-controlled processing equipment,
A pallet carrying a workpiece that moves along a workpiece transport line formed in connection with an NC processing machine is transported to a processing station provided in the workpiece transport line corresponding to the position of the NC processing machine. Unloading from the processing station can be performed automatically by a workpiece transport means that uses a movable part that moves in the direction along the workpiece transport line provided in the NC processing machine. The distance traveled by the pallet to be sent out from the processing station can be made to exceed the range of the movement stroke of the workpiece conveyance means, and the pallet on which the workpiece is placed can be moved sufficiently away from the processing station. It can be sent to any location.

Therefore, when a pallet transport operation is performed by a worker to transfer a pallet sent out from a processing station for one of a plurality of NC processing machines installed in an array to a work waiting station for the next one, By being able to easily perform such work while ensuring safety, work efficiency can be improved.

Further, the workpiece feeding device of the NC-controlled processing device according to the present invention does not require a separate independent workpiece transfer mechanism for each NC processing machine, and therefore, the structure around the workpiece transfer line can be changed. This contributes to simplification and miniaturization, and also reduces the cost of the entire workpiece processing equipment.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 respectively show the NC according to the present invention.
A schematic side view and a schematic plan view of an example of a work feed device of a controlled processing device together with an NC processing machine to which it is applied; FIG. 3 serves to explain the configuration and operation of the example shown in FIG. 1. 4 are block diagrams for explaining the control unit used in the example shown in FIG. 1. In the figure, 10 is an NC processing machine, 16 is an X-axis movable base, 28 is an X-axis drive motor, 38 is an idling roller conveyor, 42, 42A and 42B are pallets, 4
4L and 44R are brackets, 50L and 50R
is an engagement rod device, 58L and 58R are air cylinder drive devices, and 65 is a control unit.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 A processing station corresponding to the NC processing machine and a workpiece waiting station move along the workpiece transport line provided with a pallet on which the workpiece is placed, and a workpiece transport line provided in connection with the NC processing machine and moving along the workpiece transport line. a movable part that moves in pitches in a direction along the line in accordance with the distance from the processing station to the workpiece waiting station;
By being attached to the movable part and engaging with the pallet arranged on the work waiting station and moving in accordance with the pitch movement of the movable part,
A first engaging portion that performs a pallet carrying operation to carry the pallet into the processing station; and a first engaging portion that is attached to the movable portion and engages with the pallet disposed on the processing station to cause pitch movement of the movable portion. The second engaging part performs a pallet delivery operation for delivering the pallet from the processing station, and the first engaging part moves in pitch with the movable part during the pallet loading operation. At the same time, the second engaging portion is controlled so as to continue the engagement state with the pallet until the end of the pitch movement of the movable portion during the pallet sending operation. A workpiece feeding device of an NC-controlled processing device, which is configured with an operation control unit that controls to release a mating state.