JPH0229463B2 - - 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 device.

[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 to 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 It is an object of the present invention to provide a workpiece feeding device which is simple in structure and operates smoothly, and which is particularly suitable for the frequent and rapid feeding of small workpieces.

[Means for solving problems]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a belt conveyor for transporting a jig from one side to the other on which a jig is mounted and has an upwardly opening positioning groove whose bottom width is the same as the width of the workpiece. a transfer device consisting of a belt conveyor installed in parallel with the transfer device and carrying the jig thereon and returning it from the other side to one side; a first plate provided between the transfer device and the other side of the return device; and a first plate provided between the return device and the one side of the transfer device such that the height gradually increases from the return device to the transfer device. a first transfer device which is provided on the first plate and transfers the jig on the transfer device onto the return device by sliding it over the first plate; a second transfer device that is provided in the section and transfers the jig on the return device onto the transfer device by sliding it on the second plate; and between the first transfer device and the second transfer device. A rod, which is provided in the middle part of the above-mentioned transfer device, and whose width is approximately the same as the width of the bottom of the posture-determining groove and whose tip is tapered, is inserted into the positioning groove of the jig on the transfer device from the side. The structure includes a positioning device that inserts the workpiece into the positioning groove and moves the workpiece along the positioning groove to place it at a predetermined position.

[Effect]

Workpieces arranged vertically and horizontally within a pallet are taken out by an insertion device or the like and inserted into positioning grooves formed in a jig on a transfer device. The positioning groove has the width at the bottom the same as the width of the workpiece and is opened upward, so the workpiece placed in the positioning groove will stay in the position and maintain its posture. Arrange it in a determined state. Once the workpiece is placed in the positioning groove of the jig, the jig is placed on a transfer device consisting of a belt conveyor, the transfer device transfers it to a predetermined position, and the positioning device is activated to move the rod into the positioning groove. , and move the workpiece along the positioning groove to place it in the specified position. At this time, even if the position of the jig is slightly shifted, the width of the rod is formed to be the same as the width of the bottom of the positioning groove, and the tip of the rod is formed in a tapered shape. The position of the jig will be corrected when it is inserted inside. In parallel with this operation, another jig on the return device consisting of a belt conveyor is transferred onto the transfer device by the second transfer device, and the workpiece in the pallet is placed in the positioning groove of the new jig. Remove and insert using an insertion device.

The workpiece, which has been placed in the determined position with the determined posture as described above, is taken out from within the positioning groove by a take-out device or the like and supplied to a processing device such as a machine tool. The jig takes out the workpiece from the positioning groove, and the workpiece (product) processed by the processing device is put back into the positioning groove as necessary and carried by the transfer device to the end of the transfer device. After that, it is transferred from the transfer device onto the return device by the first transfer device, returned to the second transfer device by the return device, and transferred onto the transfer device again as described above.

When transferring the jig from the transfer device to the return device, or from the return device to the transfer device,
It is slid on the first plate or the second plate, but since these plates gradually become higher toward the side where the jig is transferred, the front edge of the jig in the transfer direction is The ingredients can be transferred smoothly without getting caught on the conveyor belt on the receiving side.

〔Example〕

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a workpiece supply device according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 8.

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 fitting 15 on the piston rod 14 of the cylinder 13, which is composed of a stopper 15a and a pressing portion 15b. It is attached.

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 changes its position. is adjusted, and fits into the lower part 17a of the positioning groove 17 to be in a predetermined position. 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 in the positioning groove 17 by the rods 20a and 20b of 2a and 22b, is fixed at the fixing part 28b, and the processed workpiece held by the chuck 30 of the processing device 26 is After fixing the object with the other fixing part 28a, raise the rotating arm 28, and then raise the rotating arm 28.
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 connected to the cylinder 3.
A detection means 36 such as an optical sensor is attached to the piston rod 35 of 4 for detecting the recess 1a of the pallet 1 in which the workpiece W is accommodated and individually controlling the operation of the driving devices (not shown) of the belt conveyors 3 and 4. In the case of the stop mechanism 6, the detection means 36
However, when the holding arm 25 of the insertion device 23 detects that the next row of workpieces to be held has reached the holding position, the belt conveyor 3 is stopped, and the cylinder 34 is immediately activated to move the workpiece out of the rotation range of the holding arm 25. 1
In the case of another stop mechanism 7 configured to retract to the left in the figure, the detection means 36 detects that the holding arm 32 of the delivery device 33 has a row of recesses 1a in which the processed workpiece is then stored. The belt conveyor 4 is stopped when the belt conveyor 4 is detected to be in the storage position, and the cylinder 34 is activated to immediately move the holding arm 32 out of the rotational range 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 0b is the width b of the workpiece (and the positioning groove 1
The width of the rods 20a and 20b is approximately the same as the width of the bottom 17a of the rod 7), and the width of the rods 20a and 20b is formed to be slightly narrower. The protrusions at the tip of the workpiece W are formed so that they are loosely fitted, and the distances between the rods 20a, 21a and the rods 20b, 21b are made to correctly match the distance between the positioning grooves 17, 17 of the jig 8. ing. 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 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 drive device 47 and stop the transfer device 9. Incidentally, a through hole through which light from the light emitting element 39 passes is formed in the lower part of the positioning devices 22a, 22b and in the lower part of the guide plate 41 disposed in the transfer device 9 portion.

42 is a guide plate provided in the return device 10, 43 is a guide plate provided between the transfer device 9 and the return device 10, and each of the inner guide plates 41, 42 and 43 is End portion 41
a, 42a, and 43a are all bent outward so that even if there is some error in the stopping position of the jig 8, it can be absorbed and the jig 8 can be moved correctly. Further, 44 and 45 are plates disposed between the transfer device 9 and the return device 10, with the plate 44 being directed from the transfer device 9 to the return device 10, and the other plate 45 being transferred from the return device 10. As shown in FIG. 8, the front edge of the jig 8 is connected to the conveyor belt of the return device 10 that receives the transfer of the jig 8, or By floating the transfer device 9 upward from the conveyor belt, the front edge of the jig is prevented from getting caught on the conveyor belt on the side receiving the transfer, and the pressing portions 15b of the metal fittings 15 of the transfer devices 11 and 12 are This makes the transfer and movement of the jig 8 smooth. Note that the metal fitting 15 is adapted to move along a guide rod 46.

Next, the operation of the workpiece supply device 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. One workpiece W is inserted into the positioning groove 17. 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, inserting the rod into the positioning groove 17 allows the guide plates 41, 4 to
The position of the jig 8 is corrected by the same action as that of the ends 41a, 42a, 43a of 2 and 43, and the workpiece W that was out of the correct position is moved to the groove 17.
It is moved along the line and takes 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 15 of the first transfer device 11 by the transfer device 9.
It is transferred to a.

Until now, a new jig 8 has been transferred from the end of the return device 10 to the transfer device 9 by the second transfer device 12.
At the same time as the pallet 1 is slid on the plate 45 at the starting end of the pallet 1, 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, and stops the pallet 1 at that position. After the holding arm 25 of the insertion device 23 that has placed the workpiece W into the positioning groove 17 of the jig 8 rises, it rotates clockwise in FIG. 1 and returns to the state shown by the solid line in FIG. The workpiece W on the pallet 1 is placed in the groove 17 of the jig 8 at the starting end of the transfer device 9. The jig 8 prepared in this way is then moved to the positioning devices 22a, 22.
It is transferred to part b.

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 across the plate 44 toward the return device 10 and return to its original state. The empty jig 8 sent onto the return device 10 is carried by the return device 10 from right to left in FIG. When the empty jig 8 is stopped as described above,
This time, the second transfer device 12 operates and the return device 10
The empty jig 8 above is transferred horizontally onto the transfer device 9 and immediately returns to its original state.

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 shown 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.

(4) The workpiece processed by the processing device 26 can be taken out using another system without returning it to the jig 8. In this case, the rod 21a,
21b can be omitted.

(5) As the transfer devices 11 and 12, other transfer means such as a belt conveyor can also be used.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, in the present invention, the belt conveyor is configured to carry a jig having an upwardly opening positioning groove whose bottom width is the same as the width of the workpiece and transfer it from one side to the other. a transfer device, a return device that is installed in parallel with the transfer device and includes a belt conveyor that carries the jig and returns it from the other side to one side; and a second plate provided between the return device and the one side of the transfer device such that the height gradually increases from the return device to the transfer device. and a first transfer device provided on the first plate portion to transfer the jig on the transfer device onto the return device by sliding it on the first plate, and a first transfer device provided on the second plate portion. a second transfer device which is provided and transfers the jig on the return device onto the transfer device by sliding it on the second plate; and a second transfer device between the first transfer device and the second transfer device. A rod, which is provided in the middle part of the transfer device and whose width is approximately the same as the width of the bottom of the posture adjustment groove and whose tip is tapered, is inserted from the side into the positioning groove of the jig on the transfer device. and a positioning device for moving the workpiece in the positioning groove along the positioning groove to a predetermined position, and by inserting the rod of the positioning device into the positioning groove of the jig. , the structure is such that both the position of the jig with respect to the conveyor belt of the transfer device and the position of the workpiece with respect to the jig are corrected simultaneously, so there is no need to make the transfer of the jig by the transfer device very accurate. . Therefore, there is no need to provide a locking mechanism for the jig in the transfer device, which simplifies the structure of the transfer device, and even if the transfer device frequently repeats stopping and operation,
There is no need to attach a special fixed-position stopping device for the jig to the transfer device or to take into account displacement due to inertia of the jig, and the overall structure can be simplified and operation is smooth.

In addition, since both the first plate and the second plate are provided so as to gradually become higher toward the side receiving the jig transfer, when the jig is transferred by the transfer device, the front side of the jig The edge of the jig will not get caught on the conveyor belt on the side receiving the transfer, and the jig can be transferred smoothly without any trouble.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 1 is a schematic plan view of the entire device, Fig. 2 is a plan view of the pallet, Fig. 3 is an external view of the workpiece, and Fig. 4 is a plan view of the jig. 5 is a side view of the jig, FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of the part ( ) in FIG. 5, FIG. 7 is a plan view of the workpiece feeding device according to the present invention, and FIG. 8 is a front view. It is. 8... Jig, 9... Transfer device, 10... Return device, 11... First transfer device, 12... Second transfer device, 17... Attitude determining groove, 20a, 20b... Rod, 22a, 22b...positioning device, W...
processed product.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A jig 8 having an upwardly opening positioning groove 17 whose width at the bottom 17a is the same as the width b of the workpiece W.
A transfer device 9 consisting of a belt conveyor that carries the jig 8 and transfers it from one side to the other side, and a return device 10 that is installed in parallel with the transfer device 9 and consists of a belt conveyor that carries the jig 8 and returns it from the other side to the one side. and transfer device 9
A first plate 44 is provided between the transfer device 9 and the other side of the return device 10 so that the height thereof gradually increases toward the return device 10;
a second plate 45 provided between the return device 10 and the one side of the transfer device 9 so as to be gradually higher toward the transfer device 9; and the first plate 4.
a first transfer device 11 that is provided in the section 4 and that transfers the jig 8 on the transfer device 9 onto the return device 10 by sliding it on the first plate 44; and a section of the second plate 45. a second transfer device 12 which is provided in A groove is provided in the intermediate portion of the transfer device 9 between the transfer devices 12, and is provided in the positioning groove 17 of the jig 8 on the transfer device 9, and has a width that is approximately the same as the width of the bottom portion 17a of the positioning groove 17. The rod 20b, which has a tapered tip, is inserted from the side to move the workpiece W in the positioning groove 17 into the positioning groove 1.
7. A positioning device 22b for moving the workpiece along the line 7 and placing it at a predetermined position.