JPH0212688B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an air slide system used to transfer a workpiece pallet or the like of a machine tool onto a base that supports it and completely stop it at an appropriate position.

Traditionally, workpiece pallets of machine tools, workpiece assembly table devices, and other workpiece supports or tools have been transferred without contact by forming an air film between them and the base that supports them, and using this as an air bearing. An air slide system is provided that allows the above-mentioned transfer to be carried out easily and without vibration.
Furthermore, in this slide system, a type in which a suction cup is attached to the lower part of the work pallet or the assembly table to introduce vacuum pressure (negative pressure) in order to stop the transfer of the work pallet or the assembly table to the base has already been proposed.

However, in such conventional air slide systems, it is necessary to provide a sufficiently large clearance between the workpiece pallet, etc. and the base due to the interposition of suction cups. If this clearance is insufficient, the suction cups will touch the base and transport will be interrupted. It may become unstable or impossible.

In addition, the suction area of a suction cup is generally small, and the resulting suction force is not only relatively small, but also because the suction cup is made of an elastic material such as rubber, it is highly flexible. The stopping position shifts due to deflection,
There was a problem in that accurate position control became impossible.

The present invention has been made in view of such conventional problems, and includes forming an air film between a workpiece support stand and a base that supports the workpiece support stand, and moving the workpiece support stand as described above by a transfer member. In the air slide system that moves on the base, the workpiece support has an introduction passage for introducing compressed air pressure and negative pressure, and a branch that communicates with this introduction passage and opens to the bottom surface of the workpiece support. A plurality of supply/exhaust grooves, a pressure chamber communicating with the introduction passage, a plurality of elevating members that move up and down depending on the pressure state of the pressure chamber, and a plurality of elevating members with all of the above-mentioned supply/exhaust grooves located outside. The object of the present invention is to construct an air slide system from the air slide system and a sealing member attached so as to surround it, and thereby move and stop the workpiece support platform reliably and stably.

Embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the main parts of one embodiment.
2 is a base, and 2 is a work pallet that is a work support stand that moves on the base 1. The work pallet 2 is horizontally transferred by a timing belt 3, which is a transfer member (not shown), by a predetermined amount at predetermined time intervals. An air film, which will be described later, is formed between the work pallet 2 and the base 1.

On the other hand, the work pallet 2 is formed of a steel material or the like in a U-shape, and has an introduction passage 4 for introducing compressed air pressure and negative pressure into its wall thickness, and is connected to the introduction passage 4, and its lower end is connected to the lower surface of the main body of the work pallet 2. A plurality of intake/exhaust holes 5 open to the workpiece pallet 2, an orifice 6 provided at the end of the intake/exhaust hole 5, and a plurality of intake/exhaust grooves 7 communicating with the outlet side of the orifice 6 and facing the lower surface of the main body of the work pallet 2. , which are connected in parallel to the orifice 6 and communicated via a negative pressure introduction passage 9 with a check valve 8 interposed therebetween, and four bypass passages 10 of the intake/exhaust hole 5, and are connected by a piston 11 as an elevating member. cylinders 12 as four pressure chambers defined by the cylinders 12;
A stopper 13 located inside the piston 11 determines the upper limit position of the piston 11, and a stopper 13 that is connected to the upper part of the piston 11 via an L-shaped connecting rod 14, and that is connected to the workpiece pallet 2.
There are eight rods 16 that go in and out of two sets of through holes 15 in the main body, and an endless rod that can protrude from the bottom surface of the work pallet 2 main body at the ends of the rods 16 and that surrounds all of the air supply and exhaust grooves 7. It is composed of a seal member 17 having a shape. The seal member 17 is fitted onto the lower surface of an endless support member 18 attached to the end of each rod 16. Further, among the mutually continuous supply/exhaust grooves 7, the one located at the outermost periphery is endless.

Next, the operation of this air slide system will be explained in detail.

Now, in order to move the workpiece pallet 2 by a predetermined amount to the base 1 in order to process the workpieces on the workpiece pallet 2, a compressor is used to move the workpiece pallet 2 to the base 1 by a predetermined amount.
Inject compressed air into. Then, the compressed air first reaches the intake/exhaust hole 5, then passes through the orifice 6 and the bypass passage 10, and then reaches the inside of the cylinder 12.
In this case, the orifice 6 has a smaller cross-sectional area than the bypass passage 10. Therefore, the air pressure injected into the cylinder 12 causes the piston 11 to
immediately rises, causing the rod 16 to rise as well. Therefore, the seal 17, which has been in close contact with the upper surface of the base 1, is separated from the base 1, and air pressure is introduced from the orifice 6 into each air supply/exhaust groove 7 with a slight delay. When the air pressure in the air supply and exhaust groove 7 becomes saturated in this way, the base 1
A small gap is created between the top surface of the cylinder and a portion of the compressed air to escape. Therefore, an air film is formed in the minute gap, and a non-contact state is maintained such that the lower surface of the main body of the work pallet 2 floats relative to the upper surface of the base 1.

Therefore, by displacing the timing belt 3 by a predetermined amount while maintaining the non-contact state of the main body of the work pallet 2, the work pallet can be displaced easily and without vibration, and the work can be transferred to a predetermined processing operation position. Can be done. In addition, such floating of the work pallet 2 main body is caused by air supply and exhaust groove 7.
This will be done over a wide area, and will be done uniformly over the entire lower surface of the work pallet body 2.
In addition, by gradually decreasing the depth of the supply/exhaust groove 7 that goes farther away from the orifice 6,
The air pressure in each part of the air supply/exhaust groove 7 can be made more uniform, and the above-mentioned floating state can be more stabilized.

Next, when the work pallet 2 is transferred to a predetermined position, a vacuum pump (not shown) is activated by a predetermined automated means, and the compressor is stopped (note that this compressor can be reversed and used as a vacuum pump). It can also be activated.
By the operation of the vacuum pump, the introduction passage 4 and the intake/exhaust hole 5 are drawn to the negative pressure side, and the inside of the cylinder 12 and the supply/exhaust groove 7 are also drawn to the negative pressure side. For this reason,
The piston 11 descends in the cylinder 12, and at the same time the rod 16 also descends. For this reason, the seal member 1
7 is pressed against the upper surface of the base 1 with a force corresponding to the magnitude of the negative pressure. Further, the supply/exhaust groove 7 includes a negative pressure introduction passage 9 having an orifice 6 and a check valve 8.
Negative pressure is introduced through each. Note that the negative pressure introduction passage 9 is provided to prevent the negative pressure introduction speed from becoming slow since the negative pressure introduction resistance of the orifice 6 is large.

In this way, the sealing member 1
7, and by pulling the supply/exhaust groove 7 toward the negative pressure side, the lower surface of the work pallet 2 main body is connected to the base 1.
It will be in close contact with the top surface of the In other words, the work pallet 2 is stably and reliably held at the set position on the base 1.

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of another embodiment. This allows a plurality of bypass passages 10A to communicate with each other around the intake/exhaust hole 5A similar to the above provided in the work pallet 2A, and the end of the bypass passage 10A is opened at the upper part of the flange part 21 on the outer periphery of the lower part of the work pallet 2A. A ring 23 with an L-shaped cross section is attached to the outer periphery of this flange portion 21 and the outer periphery of the work pallet 2A so as to form a pressure chamber 22 between the
is slidably inserted. Note that the open end of the bypass passage 21 faces the atmospheric pressure chamber 22. 2
4 is a stopper protruding from the outer periphery of the main body of the work pallet 2A in order to determine the upper limit position of the ring 23;
A seal ring 5 is fitted to the inner circumference of the ring 23 on the side opposite to the outer circumference of the work pallet 2A. Further, 26 is a sealing member having one end fixed to a ring-shaped recess on the lower surface of the work pallet 2A and the other end fixed to or facing the lower surface of the ring 23.
A seal lip 27 is provided protruding from the lower part on the third side.

In this embodiment, air pressure or negative pressure is introduced into the pressure chamber 22 through the intake/exhaust hole 5A and the bypass passage 10A as described above, and when air pressure is introduced into the intake/exhaust hole 5A, the workpiece pallet 2A body is By blowing out compressed air on the bottom surface,
Its flotation with respect to base 1 is performed. On the other hand, when negative pressure is introduced into the intake/exhaust hole 5A, the inside of the air pressure chamber 22 is drawn to the negative pressure side and the ring 23 is lowered, so the seal member 26 is also lowered at the same time, and the seal lip 27 is brought into close contact with the upper surface of the base 1. do. Therefore, after this close contact, the supply/exhaust groove 7A is surrounded by the seal lip 27, and by drawing the interior of the supply/exhaust groove 7A to the negative pressure side from the nozzle 6A, the lower surface of the workpiece pallet 2A is securely placed against the upper surface of the base 1. will be maintained closely. In this way, in the same manner as in the above embodiment, the work pallet 2A is floated to allow for light transfer and the work pallet 2A to be accurately stopped at the set position.

As explained in detail above, according to the present invention, the work pallet can be stably and reliably transferred to the base, the work pallet can be held securely to the base, and the stopping position of the work pallet can be accurate. . In addition, when stopping the work pallet, a sealing member provided in an endless manner on the lower surface of the workpiece pallet is brought into close contact with the base, and at the same time, a suction force is generated in a wide area surrounded by this sealing member, so that the holding speed is quick and sufficient. Great holding power can be obtained. Further, this holding force is obtained by contact between the metal work pallet and the base under negative pressure.

In addition to the above-mentioned timing belt, various methods can be used to move the work pallet, such as using a ball screw and screw, a rack and pinion, and a linear motor.

The device according to the invention can also be moved in rotation.
In that case, the base 1 may be made into a table shape, and a rotary drive shaft provided at the center thereof may be connected to a work pallet whose bottom surface is flat, and the table may be rotated.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the main parts of an embodiment of the air slide system according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the work pallet, and FIG.
4 is a bottom view, and FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of another work pallet. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Base, 2... Work support stand, 3... Transfer member, 4, 5, 5A... Introduction passage, 7, 7A... Supply/exhaust groove, 12, 22... Air pressure chamber, 16, 23... Lifting member, 17, 26... Seal member.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. By forming an air film between the workpiece support and the base that supports the workpiece support,
In the air slide system in which the workpiece support is moved onto the base by a transfer member, the workpiece support has an introduction passage for introducing compressed air pressure and negative pressure, and branch communication with the introduction passage; and a plurality of supply/exhaust grooves opening to the lower surface of the workpiece support, a pressure chamber communicating with the introduction passage, an elevating member that moves up and down according to the pressure state of the air pressure chamber, and a lower surface of the elevating member. and a sealing member attached to surround the entirety of the supply/exhaust groove, the sealing member being separated from the base when compressed air pressure is introduced, and the sealing member being brought into close contact with the base when introducing negative pressure. Air slide system characterized by the following configuration.