JPH0229462B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention provides a workpiece suitable for accurately and quickly feeding a workpiece to a processing device such as a machine tool in a predetermined position and in a predetermined attitude. Regarding the supply method.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, when taking workpieces from a pallet and supplying them to a predetermined position in a predetermined posture, the workpieces are taken out one by one from the pallet, placed in an orientation device fixed at a predetermined position, and then fed there. After adjusting the workpiece to a specified posture, it is fed to the machine tool.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

In the above-mentioned conventional supply device, it is absolutely essential to accurately fix the positioning device in a predetermined position.
If this is not done, it will not be possible to feed the workpiece in a predetermined position and in a determined orientation. As a result, the overall structure becomes complicated, and there is a problem in that it is not particularly suitable for the frequent and rapid supply of large quantities of small workpieces.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a method for feeding a workpiece, which makes it easy to simplify the structure of the feeding device, and is particularly suitable for frequent and rapid feeding of small workpieces.

[Means for solving problems]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention makes the horizontal width of the bottom part the same as the width of the workpiece, and places the workpiece into a positioning groove formed in the jig to open upward, and adjusts it to a predetermined posture. After the jig and the workpiece are placed on a transfer device consisting of a belt conveyor and transferred, a rod whose width is approximately the same as the width of the bottom of the positioning groove and whose tip is tapered is placed. The workpiece is inserted into the above-mentioned attitude-setting groove from the side, moved along the attitude-setting groove to a predetermined position, and then taken out from the attitude-setting groove by a take-out device for processing. The configuration is such that it is supplied to the device.

[Effect]

The width of the bottom part is set to be the same as the width of the workpiece, and the workpiece is placed in the positioning groove formed in the jig with an upwardly opening shape. As a result, the workpiece fits into the bottom of the positioning groove and adjusts its position to a predetermined state. The jig and the workpiece are placed on a transfer device consisting of a belt conveyor and transferred. Then, insert the rod laterally into the positioning groove. By inserting the rod, the workpiece within the positioning groove moves along the positioning groove and reaches a predetermined position. The workpiece is taken out from within the positioning groove by a take-out device and supplied to a processing device. In the above, when the rod is inserted from the side into the positioning groove, the width of the rod is almost the same as the width of the bottom of the positioning groove, and the tip is tapered, so the jig on the transfer device Even if there is some misalignment of the rod, it can be corrected by inserting the rod into the positioning groove.

〔Example〕

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An outline of a workpiece supplying apparatus for carrying out the workpiece supply method of the present invention will be explained based on FIGS. 1 to 7.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a pallet, which can accommodate a plurality of workpieces W (10 in the figure) in recesses 1a arranged vertically and horizontally. A plurality of pallets 1 are stacked in a pallet magazine 2, and the pallets 1 at the bottom are sequentially lowered onto the belt conveyor 3 and transported from left to right in FIG. It is designed to be sent to the pallet magazine 5. The belt conveyors 3 and 4 are each provided with stop (control) mechanisms 6 and 7, which intermittently stop the pallet 1 at an alignment interval _S1 of the workpieces W lined up in the conveyance direction of the pallet 1. It is said to be composed of

A transfer device 9 and a return device 10 for the jig 8 are arranged next to the linearly connected belt conveyors 3 and 4. The transfer device 9 is adapted to move in the same direction as the belt conveyors 3, 4, and the return device 10 to move in the opposite direction. At the terminal end of the transfer device 9 (the right end in FIG. 1), the transfer device 9
A first transfer device 11 is provided to transport the upper jig 8 horizontally onto the return device 10, and at the terminal end (left end in FIG. 1) of the return device 10, the jig on the return device 10 is disposed. A second transfer device 12 is provided for transversely transporting the transfer device 8 onto the transfer device 9. The transfer device 9 and the return device 10 are both constituted by belt conveyors, and the transfer devices 11 and 12 have an L-shaped metal fitting 15 on the piston rod 14 of the cylinder 13, which includes a stopper portion 15a and a pressing portion 15b. It consists of attaching.

The jig 8 has a plurality of positioning grooves 17 (10 in the figure) on its upper surface into which the workpiece W is inserted, and a convex portion 18 corresponding to the positioning grooves 17 on its lower surface. There is. The attitude setting grooves 17 are for adjusting the attitude of the workpieces W inserted therein into a predetermined state, and are formed at approximately the same interval as the horizontal alignment interval _S2 of the workpieces W stored in the pallet 1. has been done.
The lower part (bottom) 17a of the positioning groove 17 is set to be the same as the width b of the workpiece W (more precisely, the minimum dimension that allows the workpiece W to be taken in and taken out without any trouble), and the upper part 17b is set to the width b of the workpiece W. The end is opened upward so that it is sufficiently wider than the width b of the workpiece W. Therefore, when the workpiece W is lowered (dropped) within an error range smaller than the opening width of the opening end of the positioning groove 17, the workpiece W is guided by the inner wall surface of the positioning groove 17 and gradually falls. It adjusts its posture, fits into the lower part 17a of the posture determining groove 17, and assumes a predetermined posture. Note that, at this point, the workpiece W has not yet arrived at the determined position.

Further, a stopping device 19 for stopping the jig 8 is provided at the starting end of the transfer device 9, and
At approximately the center of the transfer device 9, rods (claws) 20a, 20b, 21a,
A pair of positioning devices 22a, 22 that move the workpiece W in the attitude-setting groove 17 along the attitude-setting groove 17 and place it at a predetermined position by inserting the workpiece 21b from the side.
b is each other's rods 20a, 20b, 21a, 2
1b facing each other.

23 is an insertion device provided at the starting end of the transfer device 9 and the belt conveyor 3. This insertion device 23
is a central shaft 24 that is configured to be vertically and rotatably
A holding arm 25 for holding the workpiece W is attached to the pallet 1, and after the holding arm 25 is lowered to hold a row of workpieces W in the pallet 1 in the state shown by the solid line in FIG. 1, the holding arm 25 is raised. Then rotate the holding arm 25 90 degrees to the position shown by the two-dot chain line in Figure 1, and then tighten the holding arm 25 again.
The structure is such that the workpiece W that has been held until then can be inserted into each positioning groove 17 of the jig 8 on the transfer device 9. Further, between the positioning devices 22a, 22b and the processing device 26, a rotating arm 28 is provided with a center shaft 27 that can freely rotate up and down, and has fixing parts 28a, 28b for the workpiece W at both ends. A take-out device 29 is provided. This take-out device 29 lowers the rotating arm 28 in the state shown in FIG.
The workpiece W, which is placed at a predetermined position within the positioning groove 17 by the rods 20a and 20b of 2a and 22b, is fixed at the fixing part 28b, and
After the processed workpiece gripped by the chuck 30 of the processing device 26 is fixed with another fastening part 28a, the rotating arm 28 is raised, and then the rotating arm 28 is raised.
After rotating 180 degrees, the rotating arm 28 is lowered again to transfer the workpiece W fixed to the fastening part 28b to the chuck 30 of the processing device 26, and to the other fastening part 2.
The machined workpiece fixed to the jig 8a is transferred to the positioning groove 17 of the jig 8.

Further, at the terminal end of the transfer device 9 and the belt conveyor 4, similarly to the insertion device 23, a sending device is provided with a holding arm 32 for holding a processed workpiece attached to a central shaft 31 that is vertically and rotatably movable. 33
The holding arm 32 holds the processed workpiece processed by the processing device 26 and returned to the positioning groove 17 of the jig 8 by the take-out device 29 in the state shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. is lowered and held by the holding arm 32 at the terminal end of the transfer device 9, the holding arm 32 is raised and rotated to the state shown by the solid line in Figure 1, and the holding arm 32 is lowered again to hold the machined workpiece. , to be stored in the empty pallet 1 being sent to the end of the belt conveyor 4.

Both of the above-mentioned stop mechanisms 6 and 7 are cylinders 34.
The piston rod 35 of the pallet 1 detects the recess 1a of the pallet 1 in which the workpiece W is accommodated, and moves the belt conveyor 3,
A detection means 36 such as an optical sensor is installed to individually control the operation of the four drive devices (not shown).
In the case of the stop mechanism 6, the detection means 36
The holding arm 25 of the insertion device 23 detects that the next row of workpieces to be held has reached the holding position, stops the belt conveyor 3, and immediately releases the cylinder 34.
When the holding arm 25 is operated, the holding arm 25 is moved to the left in FIG.
The holding arm 32 detects that the row of recesses 1a in which the processed workpiece will be stored next has reached the storage position, stops the belt conveyor 4, and immediately moves the holding arm 32 out of the rotation range by actuating the cylinder 34. It is configured to retract to the right in FIG.

The positioning devices 22a, 22b are moved back and forth by a driving device (not shown) such as a cylinder or an electromagnet.
The width of the rod 20b is approximately the same as the width b of the workpiece (and the width of the bottom 17a of the positioning groove 17), and the width of the rods 21a and 21b is slightly narrower than that. The tip of the rod 20b is tapered, and the tips of the rods 20a and 21a are formed so that the protrusion at the tip of the workpiece W can be fitted loosely thereinto. The distance between the positioning grooves 17, 17 of the tool 8 is correctly matched. The stop device 19 is adapted to cause the piston rod 38 of the cylinder 37 to project above the transfer device 9 to stop the jig 8.

Further, in the positioning devices 22a and 22b, a light emitting element 39 and a light receiving element 40 that receives light emitted from the light emitting element 39 are provided. When the light receiving element 40 is blocked by the convex portion 18 provided on the lower surface of the light receiving element 40, the light receiving element 40 outputs a signal to stop the transfer device 9. Note that the positioning devices 22a, 2
A through hole through which light from the light emitting element 39 passes is formed in the lower part of the guide plate 2b and in the lower part of the guide plate 41 disposed in the transfer device 9 portion.

42 is a guide plate provided at the return device 10, and 43 is a guide plate provided between the transfer device 9 and the return device 10.

Next, a method of supplying a workpiece according to the present invention using the workpiece supplying apparatus configured as described above will be explained.

A plurality of pallets 1 loaded with the workpieces W and stacked in the pallet magazine 2 are sent out one by one from the bottom by the operation of the belt conveyor 3.
It is stopped at a predetermined position by the action of the stop mechanism 6. When the pallet 1 stops, the detection means 36 of the stop mechanism 6 retreats from the detection position, and the holding arm 25 of the insertion device 23 descends from the state shown by the solid line in FIG. The jig 8 is rotated 90 degrees to the state shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. Place the workpiece W in the posture determining groove 17.
Insert individually. Each workpiece W separated from the holding arm 25 of the insertion device 23 is guided by the upwardly opening inner wall surface of the posture determining groove 17 and is accommodated in the lower part 17a, and its posture is properly adjusted to a determined state.

When the workpiece W has been placed into the positioning groove 17 of the jig 8 as described above, the piston rod 38 of the stop device 19 is retracted and the jig 8 is moved by the transfer device 9 to the positioning device 22a. , 22b. The jig 8 is a pair of positioning devices 22
a, 22b, the light receiving element 40 acts as described above to stop the transfer device 9, and the rod 20
a and 20b are inserted from the side into the positioning groove 17 of the jig 8 to move the workpiece W in the positioning groove 17 into the groove 17.
At this time, as mentioned above, the width of the rod 20b is formed to be approximately the same as the width b of the workpiece W and the width of the bottom 17a of the positioning groove 17. Since the tip of the rod 20b is tapered, by inserting the rod into the positioning groove 17, the position of the jig 8 can be corrected, and the workpiece W, which was out of the correct position, can be moved into the groove 17. It is moved along and placed in the correct position.

When the positioning devices 22a, 22b have finished operating,
Immediately, one of the positioning devices 22a retreats, and the rotating arm 28 of the take-out device 29 descends from the state shown by the solid line in FIG. At this time, since it is the first time, the rods 21a and 21b operate idle outside the groove 17) are fixed to the fastening part 28b at one end, and the processed workpiece gripped by the chuck 30 of the processing device 26 is fixed to the other end. Fastening part 28a of
The chuck 30 of the processing device 26 grips the workpiece W which is fixed to the fixing part 28b at one end, and the chuck 30 of the processing device 26 grasps the workpiece W which is fixed to the fixing part 28b at one end. The processed workpiece fixed to the mounting portion 28a is inserted into the positioning groove 17 which has been emptied above. After the above-mentioned operation is completed, the rotating arm 28 rises as it is and prepares for the next operation. Note that when the fixing portion 28a fixes the workpiece W and rises, the positioning device 22b retreats.

After the above operation is completed, the transfer device 9 transfers the jig 8. When the jig 8 is transferred by one pitch of the positioning groove 17 and the convex portion 18 is in front of the light emitting element 39, the light receiving element 40 The transfer device 9 is stopped by this action. Thereafter, the workpiece W and the processed workpiece are exchanged by the same operation of the take-out device 29 as described above.
At the same time as the jig 8 stops, the positioning devices 22a, 2
2b operates to place the workpiece W in the correct position, but at this time, the rods 21a and 21b are
The machined workpiece placed in the groove 17 is placed in the correct position. When all the workpieces W on one jig 8 have been replaced in this way, the jig 8 is transferred to the stopper portion 1 of the first transfer device 11 by the transfer device 9.
It is transferred to 5a.

Until now, a new jig 8 has been transferred from the starting end of the return device 10 to the transfer device 9 by the second transfer device 12.
At the same time, the detection means 36 of the stop mechanism 6 returns to the detection position and detects that the next row of workpieces has arrived at the holding position, stops the pallet 1 at that position, and stops the workpieces W in the above position. Holding arm 25 of insertion device 23 inserted into positioning groove 17 of jig 8
1, the workpiece W in the pallet 1 is again put into the groove 17 of the jig 8 at the starting end of the transfer device 9. Leave it there. The jig 8 thus prepared is then transferred to the positioning devices 22a, 22b.

When the jig 8, which has placed the processed workpiece in the positioning groove 17, comes into contact with the stopper portion 15a and stops, the holding arm 32 of the feeding device 33 moves as shown in FIG.
After descending from the state shown by the dotted chain line to hold the processed workpiece, rising again and rotating to the state shown by the solid line in Fig. 1, the empty pallet 1 stopped by the stop mechanism 7 on the belt conveyor 4 is moved. It descends upwards and places the processed workpieces into the pallet 1. After the above operation is completed, the holding arm 32 moves in the opposite direction and returns to the state shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG.

At the terminal end of the transfer device 9, when the processed workpiece is taken out from the jig 8, the first transfer device 11
is operated to transport the empty jig 8 sideways toward the return device 10 and return to its original state. The empty jig 8 sent onto the return device 10 is returned to the first position by the return device 10.
It is carried from right to left in the figure and stops when it hits the stopper part 15a of the second transfer device 12. When the empty jig 8 is stopped as described above, the second transfer device 12 is activated to transport the empty jig 8 on the return device 10 sideways onto the transfer device 9 and immediately return it to its original position. return.

The above operation is repeated to supply the workpiece W to the processing device 26.

Other technical matters related to the implementation of the present invention are described below.

(1) Holding arms 25, 32 and rotating arm 2 in the figure
Although the holding of the workpiece by the workpiece 8 utilizes the adsorption force caused by suction of air, it is also possible to use a magnetic force caused by an electromagnet, a mechanical gripping mechanism, or the like.

(2) The operation of each device or mechanism is normally linked by linking elements such as limit switches, phototubes, or timers.

(3) Needless to say, the shape of the positioning groove 17, the structure of the jig 8, etc. vary depending on the type of workpiece W.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, in the present invention, the horizontal width of the bottom part is made the same as the width of the workpiece, and the workpiece is placed in the positioning groove formed in the jig in the shape of an upward opening, and adjusted to a predetermined posture. After the jig and the workpiece are placed on a transfer device consisting of a belt conveyor and transferred, the rod whose width is approximately the same as the width of the bottom of the positioning groove and whose tip is tapered is placed in the position described above. The workpiece is inserted into the positioning groove from the side and moved along the positioning groove to a predetermined position, and then the workpiece is taken out from within the positioning groove by a take-out device and placed in the processing device. Even if there is a slight positional shift in the jig on the transfer device, it is corrected by inserting the rod into the positioning groove, making it possible to transfer the jig by the transfer device less accurately. Therefore, there is no need to provide the transfer device with a locking mechanism for the jig, etc., which simplifies the structure of the transfer device, and also prevents the transfer device from repeatedly stopping and operating. Also, there is no need to attach a special fixed position stopping device for the jig to the transfer device, or to take into account misalignment due to inertia of the jig, and the overall structure can be simplified and operation is smooth. .

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show an example of a workpiece supplying apparatus for carrying out the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a plan view of the entire apparatus, and FIG.
The figure is a plan view of the pallet, Figure 3 is an external view of the workpiece, Figure 4 is a plan view of the jig, Figure 5 is a side view of the jig, and Figure 6 is an enlarged portion of () in Figure 5. Figure, 7th
The figure is a plan view of the positioning device portion. 8... Jig, 17... Attitude determining groove, 26... Processing device, 29... Taking out device, W... Workpiece.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Make the horizontal width of the bottom part 17a the same as the width b of the workpiece W, and put the workpiece W into the positioning groove 17 formed in the jig 8 in an upwardly opening shape to take a predetermined posture, and then set the jig 8. After being transferred together with the workpiece W on a transfer device 9 consisting of a belt conveyor,
A rod 20b whose width is approximately the same as the width of the bottom 17b of the attitude-setting groove 17 and whose tip is tapered is inserted into the attitude-setting groove 17 from the side to move the workpiece W in the attitude-setting groove 17. Attitude determining groove 17
A method for supplying a workpiece, which comprises moving the workpiece W along the positioning groove 17 to a predetermined position, taking out the workpiece W from within the positioning groove 17 by a takeout device 29, and supplying the workpiece W to a processing device 26.