JPH0521699B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] (a) Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a table that holds a pallet on which a workpiece to be machined is mounted relative to a machine tool, and particularly relates to a table that is capable of changing the inclination of the pallet. The present invention relates to a pallet clamping mechanism suitable for application to a table.

(b) Prior Art Conventionally, this type of clamp mechanism fixed a pallet to a table using a single clamp cylinder.

(c) Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, in the case of a tilt table that changes the inclination of the table, a much stronger clamping force is required compared to a normal table that does not tilt the table. However, if you try to obtain that much clamping force with a single cylinder, not only will the cylinder be large and the table will be correspondingly large, but also a large local stress will be placed on the clamp plate driven by the cylinder. There was a drawback that the clamp plate was deformed as a result of this action.

It is also possible to provide multiple cylinders for clamping, but in that case, what kind of cylinder arrangement should be used for the support pedestals that clamp the pallet in order to effectively exert the clamping force on each support pedestal? The big question is whether it can be done. In other words, if a single cylinder applies clamping force to each support pedestal, the direction of the clamping force acting on each support pedestal will be a single direction, and the clamping force acting on the support pedestal will inevitably be locally biased. This is unavoidable, and there is an inconvenience that it is not possible to clamp the pallet in a manner that makes full use of the pallet seating area of the support base. Additionally, when attempting to clamp a pallet with multiple cylinders, it is often difficult to arrange them properly due to space limitations when arranging multiple cylinders within a frame where a variety of equipment is placed. , there are many problems.

In order to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks, the present invention can reduce the size of the cylinder compared to the case where a single cylinder is used, and prevents large local stress from acting on the clamp plate. , the object is to provide a pallet clamping mechanism.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a pallet clamping mechanism that can effectively exert a clamping force on each support pedestal and can effectively utilize the space within the frame. .

(d) Means for solving the problem That is, the present invention provides a table having a clamp plate that engages with a pallet to hold and fix the pallet on a frame, in which the pallet is pressed into engagement around the clamp plate. A main cylinder is provided in the center of the clamp plate, and a plurality of sub cylinders having a diameter smaller than that of the main cylinder are provided along the outer periphery of the clamp plate. A fixed piston is provided in a shape corresponding to each support pedestal so as to be located on the opposite side of the pedestal from the main cylinder, and the fixed piston fixed to the frame is fixed to the main cylinder and the sub cylinder. To be able to move freely in the axial direction,
Hydraulic supply means is connected to the main cylinder and the sub cylinder so as to be relatively slidable therein, and capable of supplying pressure oil to the main cylinder and the sub cylinder in a direction in which the clamp plate moves toward the support pedestal. It consists of

(e) Operation With the above-described configuration, the present invention operates so that clamping force is applied from both sides of each support pedestal by the main cylinder and sub-cylinder formed inside the clamp plate.

(f) Embodiments Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

Fig. 1 is a front view showing an example of a tilt table to which an embodiment of the pallet clamping mechanism according to the present invention is applied, Fig. 2 is a side view of the tilt table shown in Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a clamp according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is an operational diagram showing the manner in which the cylinder is driven when the mechanism clamps a pallet. FIG. 4 is an operational diagram showing the manner in which the pallet is clamped by the clamp mechanism according to the present invention.

The tilt table 1 has a frame 2, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and arms 2a, 2a are provided on both sides of the frame 2 in FIG. A tilt shaft 3 is fitted and engaged with the arm 2a, and by rotating the tilt shaft 3 over a predetermined angle range, the tilt table 1 moves in the direction of arrows A and B in FIG. It rotates over a predetermined angle (usually 90°) in the direction. In frame 2,
A clamping mechanism 5 according to the invention is provided in the center thereof, and the clamping mechanism 5 has a rectangular clamping plate 6. As shown in FIG. 3, inside the clamp plate 6, a main cylinder 7 for clamping is provided at the center thereof, and a fixed piston 7a fixed to the frame 2 is attached to the main cylinder 7. 7 in the axial direction of the fixed piston 7a, which is the direction of the arrows C and D, so as to be slidable relative to the fixed piston 7a. The fixed piston 7a is provided with a cylinder 7b.
A lock pin 7e is engaged with b so as to be slidable in the directions of arrows C and D. Furthermore, four sub-cylinders 9 having a smaller diameter than the main cylinder 7 are formed along the outer circumference of the clamp plate 6, and each sub-cylinder 9 has a fixed member fixed to the frame 2. The piston 9a is fitted into and engaged with the sub-cylinder 9 so as to be relatively slidable in the directions of arrows C and D. Note that hydraulic circuits 10 and 11 are connected to the main cylinder 7, the cylinder 7b, and the sub cylinder 9. Further, a plurality of guide rollers 6a are rotatably provided on the surface and side surfaces of the clamp plate 6, and furthermore, a plurality of guide rollers 6a are provided at positions facing the periphery of the clamp plate 6 on the frame 2 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. As shown, four seating blocks 12 are provided. Further, each seating block 12 is provided in a manner corresponding to the four sub-cylinders 9 described above, and each sub-cylinder 9 is located on the opposite side of the corresponding seating block 12 from the main cylinder 7 in FIG. It is arranged as follows.

On the other hand, the clamp mechanism 5 causes the tilt table 1 to
As shown in FIG. 4, the pallet 13 fixed above has a workpiece mounting surface 13a on which a workpiece is mounted, and a T-shaped engagement groove 13b is arranged in an L-shape opposite to each other in the lower part of the pallet 13 in the figure. It is formed by engaging blocks 13c, 13c provided in the shape of a.

Since the tilt table 1 etc. have the above configuration, when clamping the pallet 13 carrying a work onto the tilt table 1, first, the main cylinder 7, the cylinder 7b and the sub cylinder 9 are connected via the hydraulic circuit 10. Supply pressure oil. Then, the lock pin 7e is driven to move in the direction D in the cylinder 7b, and the clamp plate 6 is moved by the pressure oil supplied to the main cylinder 7 and the four sub cylinders 9.
generally rises in the C direction. Then, Figure 4a
As shown in FIG. 2, the distance L1 between the lower surface 6b of the clamp plate and the seating block 12 is larger than the thickness T of the engaging block 13c of the pallet 13, and the pallet 13 can be set.

Therefore, the pallet 13 is inserted from a direction perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 4 with the clamp plate 6 fitted into the engagement groove 13b, and the pallet 13 is transferred to a predetermined position on the clamp plate 6. The operation of transferring the pallet 13 onto the clamp plate 6 is smoothly performed by a guide roller 6a provided on the clamp plate 6. Palette 13
When is transferred onto the clamp plate 6,
By switching valves (not shown), pressure oil is supplied to the main cylinder 7, cylinder 7b, and sub-cylinder 9 via the hydraulic circuit 11, as shown in FIG. 3b. Then, the lock pin 7e is driven to protrude in the C direction inside the cylinder 7b, and is fitted into and engaged with the lock hole 13d provided in the pallet 13.
The movement in the direction perpendicular to the plane of Figure 4 is restrained. Further, the clamp plate 6 is moved and lowered in the direction D by the pressure oil supplied to the main cylinder 7 and the sub cylinder 9, and as shown in FIG. The engaging blocks 13c of the pallet 13 are clamped, and the pallet 13 is thereby firmly held on the frame 2. Since the pallet 13 is clamped to the frame 2 by one main cylinder 7 and four sub cylinders 9 arranged around it, a stronger clamping force is exerted compared to clamping by a single cylinder. Ru. Furthermore, since the main cylinder 7 and the sub-cylinder 9 are arranged so as to sandwich the seating block 12 from above and below in FIG. 1, the clamping force transmitted to the clamp plate 6 by the main cylinder 7 and the sub-cylinder 9 is This effectively acts on the seating block 12. The main cylinder 7 at the center of the clamp plate 6 has a larger diameter than the sub-cylinder 9, and therefore the distance between the main cylinder 7 and each seating block 12 is determined by the clamping force corresponding to the clamping force of the sub-cylinder 9. can be set to a distance that allows sufficient force to be applied to each seating block 12 from the opposite side of the sub-cylinder 9, and the clamping force can be applied equally to each seating block 12 from the main cylinder 7 and sub-cylinder 9 sides from both the upper and lower sides of FIG. and each seating block 12
The engagement block 13c of the pallet 13 contacts the entire surface of each seating block 12 with a uniform clamping force, and clamps the pallet 13 in a manner that fully utilizes the seating area of the upper surface of each seating block 12 in FIG. 3 for the pallet 13. Can move.

In this state, the tilt table 1 rotates around the tilt axis 3.
The machine is rotated appropriately in the directions of arrows A and B, and predetermined processing is performed on the workpieces on the pallet 13. When the machining of the work on the pallet 13 is completed, the tilt table 1 is returned to the horizontal state,
Pressure oil is supplied to the hydraulic circuit 10, and the lock pin 7e is returned to the direction D, as shown in FIG. 3a, to release the lock pin 7e from the lock hole 13d of the pallet 13. Furthermore, the clamp plate 6 is moved upward in the direction C via the main cylinder 7 and the sub cylinder 9, and as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 4, the pallet 13 is lifted and moved relative to the seating block 12 by the clamp plate 6, and in this state, the pallet 13 is pulled out in a direction perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 1 Remove from the top.

(g) Effects of the Invention As described above, according to the present invention, in a table such as the tilt table 1 having the clamp plate 6 that engages with the pallet 13 to hold and fix the pallet on the frame 2, the clamp A plurality of support bases such as seating blocks 12 are provided around the plate, with which the pallet is press-fitted;
A main cylinder 7 is located in the center of the clamp plate.
A plurality of sub-cylinders 9 having a diameter smaller than that of the main cylinder are provided along the outer periphery of the clamp plate, and each support pedestal is provided with a plurality of sub-cylinders 9 having a diameter smaller than that of the main cylinder. Fixed pistons 7a and 9a are provided in a shape corresponding to the main cylinder and the sub cylinder and fixed to the frame, so that the clamp plate is movable in the axial direction of the fixed piston,
a hydraulic circuit 11 which is provided so as to be relatively slidable and capable of supplying pressure oil to the main cylinder and the sub cylinder in a direction in which the clamp plate moves toward the support pedestal;
Since the structure is configured by connecting hydraulic pressure supply means such as
The size of each cylinder can be reduced compared to the case where a single cylinder is used, and this can contribute to downsizing of the table 1. In addition, since the clamping force is applied in a distributed manner over the entire surface of the clamp plate 6 by the plurality of cylinders, a large local stress that may deform the crank plate 6 is applied to the clamp plate 6, as in the case of a single cylinder. Therefore, it is possible to provide a highly reliable clamping mechanism 5.

Further, a main cylinder is provided in the center of the clamp plate, and a plurality of sub cylinders having a diameter smaller than that of the main cylinder are provided along the outer periphery of the clamp plate on the opposite side of the support pedestal from the main cylinder. Since the large-diameter main cylinder is placed close to each support pedestal, the distance between the main cylinder and each support pedestal is adjusted to the clamping force of each sub cylinder. The distance can be set so that the corresponding clamping force can be sufficiently applied to each support pedestal from the opposite side of the sub-cylinder, and the clamping force from both the main cylinder and the sub-cylinder acts equally on each support pedestal, and each support The pedestal and the pallet abut each other with a uniform clamping force over the entire surface of each support pedestal, allowing for clamping operations that fully utilize the seating area of each support pedestal for the pallet.

Furthermore, since the main cylinder and the sub-cylinder are formed within a clamp plate where other equipment is less likely to be installed than the frame, there is no need to form any cylinders etc. on the frame side where various equipment is placed. The main cylinder and the sub-cylinder can be installed at any position where an appropriate clamping force can be exerted on the support pedestal without space constraints, and the positional relationship between the support pedestal, the main cylinder, and the sub-cylinder can be maintained in an appropriate state. It is possible to easily set the

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a front view showing an example of a tilt table to which an embodiment of the pallet clamping mechanism according to the present invention is applied, Fig. 2 is a side view of the tilt table shown in Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a clamp according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is an operational diagram showing the manner in which the cylinder is driven when the mechanism clamps a pallet. FIG. 4 is an operational diagram showing the manner in which the pallet is clamped by the clamp mechanism according to the present invention. 1...Tilt table, 2...Frame, 5...
...Clamp mechanism, 6...Clamp plate, 7...
... Cylinder (main cylinder), 9 ... Cylinder (sub cylinder), 7a, 9a ... Fixed piston, 13
...Palette.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A table having a clamp plate that engages with a pallet to hold and fix the pallet on a frame, wherein a plurality of support pedestals on which the pallet is pressed and engaged are provided around the clamp plate, and the table comprises: A main cylinder is provided in the center of the clamp plate, and a plurality of sub cylinders each having a diameter smaller than that of the main cylinder are provided along the outer periphery of the clamp plate, and a plurality of sub cylinders each having a diameter smaller than that of the main cylinder are provided on opposite sides of the support pedestal from the main cylinder. A fixed piston fixed to the frame is provided in the main cylinder and the sub cylinder in a manner corresponding to each support pedestal so that the clamp plate is movable in the axial direction of the fixed piston. a hydraulic supply means capable of supplying pressure oil to the main cylinder and the sub-cylinder in a direction in which the clamp plate moves toward the support pedestal, and connected to the main cylinder and the sub-cylinder so as to be able to freely slide; The configured pallet clamping mechanism.