CN108568693B

CN108568693B - Conveying system

Info

Publication number: CN108568693B
Application number: CN201810203921.6A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 大木稔; 铃木直人; 小川史树; 中村英士
Original assignee: JTEKT Corp
Current assignee: JTEKT Corp
Priority date: 2017-03-13
Filing date: 2018-03-13
Publication date: 2021-10-01
Anticipated expiration: 2038-03-13
Also published as: JP2018149631A; CN108568693A; DE102018105661A1; JP7031129B2

Abstract

The invention provides a conveying system. A conveyance system (10) is provided with: a conveying device (11) which is provided with hands (116, 216) for holding a workpiece (W), a first lifting device (115) for lifting the workpiece (W) held by the hands (116, 216) along a tilt axis (P) having a predetermined tilt angle (alpha) relative to the vertical direction, and a first control device (117) for controlling the lifting of the workpiece (W) by the first lifting device (115); and a table (27, 227) that can be raised and lowered in the vertical direction and that can transfer the workpiece (W) between the table and the hand (116, 216) of the transport device (11).

Description

Conveying system

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a conveying system.

Background

Conventionally, in order to efficiently process a workpiece (workpiece), a production line is provided in which a plurality of processing devices, such as machine tools, are arranged. As described in japanese patent application laid-open No. 10-151534. In such a production line, a workpiece that has been finished with processing (treatment) on the workpiece table of each machine tool is conveyed to the workpiece table of an adjacent machine tool by a conveying device represented by a bridge loader.

For example, in a transport apparatus shown in japanese patent application laid-open No. 10-151534, a guide rail extending in the arrangement direction of the machine tool is provided above the workpiece table. A movable body capable of moving horizontally in the extending direction of the guide rail is engaged with the guide rail. The movable body is provided with a vertical lifting shaft that can be lifted and lowered in the vertical direction, and a hand that holds the workpiece is provided at the lower end of the lifting shaft.

With this configuration, when the machining of the workpiece in one machine tool is completed, the lifting shaft of the moving body horizontally moved to the position directly above the workpiece is lowered in the conveying device. Then, the workpiece placed on the workpiece table is held by a hand provided at the lower end of the elevating shaft, and then the elevating shaft is raised again. Next, the movable body is moved horizontally on the guide rail in the direction toward the other adjacent machine tool, and is stopped on the workpiece table of the other machine tool. Then, the elevating shaft is lowered to transfer the workpiece held by the hand to the workpiece table of the adjacent other machine tool. In this way, the workpiece is transported from one machine tool to the adjacent other machine tool.

However, in the transport device described in japanese patent application laid-open No. 10-151534, the lift shaft of the transport device is lowered in the vertical direction, and the workpiece on the workpiece table is gripped by the hand to receive the workpiece, or the workpiece gripped by the hand is delivered to the workpiece table. Therefore, it is necessary to match the position of the elevating shaft with respect to the position of the workpiece table with high accuracy, and more specifically, it is necessary to match the position of the elevating shaft with respect to the position of the workpiece table with high accuracy in the horizontal direction and in the direction orthogonal to the extending direction of the guide rail.

Conventionally, in order to perform such high-precision positioning with respect to the lift shaft, when the transport device and the machine tool are installed on a floor of a factory, the transport device is first fixed to the floor. Specifically, a pillar for supporting a guide rail of the conveyor is fixed to the floor. Then, the respective parts of the transport device including the guide rail and the elevating shaft are supported by the support column to be in an assembled state. Then, the machine tool is moved little by little on the floor so that the position of the workpiece table (or the workpiece) of the machine tool coincides with the position of the lifting shaft of the conveyor that has been fixed to the floor in the above-described direction, and after the movement is completed, the machine tool is fixed to the floor. The installation of the conveyor by this method requires a long number of man-hours, and therefore the time period for installation becomes long.

Disclosure of Invention

An object of the present invention is to provide a conveyance system including a conveyance device that can be set in a short time.

A conveyance system according to one embodiment of the present invention includes:

a conveying device including a hand for holding a workpiece, a first lifting device for lifting and lowering the workpiece held by the hand along a tilt axis having a predetermined tilt angle with respect to a vertical direction, and a first control device for controlling the lifting and lowering of the workpiece by the first lifting device; and

and a table that can be raised and lowered in a vertical direction and that can transfer the workpiece between the table and the hand of the conveyor.

In this way, the first lifting device has a tilt to lift and lower the workpiece, and the table that delivers and receives the workpiece has a function of being able to lift and lower in the vertical direction. Thus, the workpiece and the table have an intersection on the movement line of each other during the respective lifting and lowering. Therefore, it is not necessary to match the relative positions of the table and the workpiece in advance in the horizontal direction and in the direction orthogonal to the extending direction of the guide rail with high accuracy, as in the conventional technique in which the workpiece is moved only in the vertical direction. That is, even if the relative position between the table and the workpiece is arranged with normal positional accuracy, the position of the hand can be easily matched with the delivery position of the workpiece on the table by adjusting the height of the table side. This can significantly reduce the time required for aligning the delivery position of the workpiece.

The above and other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments thereof, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals represent like elements, and wherein,

drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic top view of a production system as an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a schematic front view of a production system as an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a view K of fig. 2, and is a side view of the conveying device and the table of the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a view of the machine tool of fig. 1 as viewed from the Z-axis direction.

Fig. 5 is a view of the machine tool of fig. 1 as viewed from the X-axis direction.

Fig. 6A is a diagram of the table and the table lifting device in the first embodiment, and is a diagram showing a state in which the table lifting device is not operated.

Fig. 6B is a diagram of the table and the table lifting device in the first embodiment, and is a diagram showing a state after the table lifting device is actuated.

Fig. 7 is a diagram illustrating the structure of the linear elevator.

Fig. 8 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the lift shaft and the table in fig. 6A.

Fig. 9 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the lift shaft and the table in fig. 6B.

Fig. 10 is an explanatory view of a state where the workpiece is placed on the table.

Fig. 11 is a diagram illustrating a state before the operation of the lift shaft and the table in the second embodiment.

Fig. 12 is a diagram illustrating a state after the operation of the elevating shaft and the table in the second embodiment.

Fig. 13 is a diagram illustrating a horizontal movement device according to a third embodiment.

Detailed Description

A first embodiment of a production system (processing system) to which the conveying system of the present invention is applied is described with reference to fig. 1 to 10. The production system 1 includes a conveyance system 10 and a plurality of processing devices 20. The conveyance system 10 is a system that conveys the workpiece W mainly between one processing apparatus 20 (e.g., the processing apparatus 20a) and another processing apparatus 20 (e.g., the processing apparatus 20b) adjacent to the one processing apparatus 20.

The processing apparatus 20 is an apparatus that performs a predetermined process (machining, cleaning, surface treatment, etc.) on the workpiece W. In the present embodiment, a case where the processing device 20 is a machine tool and performs cutting (processing) on the workpiece W will be described. In the present embodiment, the production system 1 includes 6 (a plurality of) machine tools 20. However, this is merely an example, and the number of machine tools 20 is not limited to 6.

As shown in fig. 1, the machine tools 20 are arranged in the same direction. Specifically, the tables 27 on which the workpieces W are placed are arranged adjacent to each other. As will be described in detail later, the table 27 is a vertically movable structure that receives the workpiece W when the machine tool 20 machines the workpiece W, or delivers the workpiece W after machining the workpiece W. In this way, the production system 1 includes the conveying system 10 and the plurality of machine tools 20 to form the production line 100.

The conveyor system 10 is illustrated. As shown in fig. 1 and 2, the conveyance system 10 includes a conveyance device 11, a table 27, and a table lifting device 28. The conveying device 11 is a device that conveys the workpiece W between the tables 27 of the machine tools 20. The table 27 and the table lifting device 28 are provided in the machine tool 20, and are also used as the machine tool 20. When the workpiece W is received or delivered by the conveyor 11, the table elevation device 28 elevates the table 27 by a desired amount in the vertical direction to move the table 27 to the delivery position R (dashed-dotted line) shown in fig. 3.

The delivery position R is a predetermined position in the vertical direction of the table 27, and is determined by the relative position between the vertical shaft 114 of the conveyor 11 and the table 27 of the machine tool 20 and the shape (particularly, the height) of the workpiece W when the conveyor 11 is fixed to the floor FL. The details will be described later.

First, the conveyor device 11 of the conveyor system 10 is explained in detail. As shown in fig. 1 to 3, the transport apparatus 11 of the present embodiment includes 4 support columns 111, a guide rail 112, a horizontal movement member 113, an elevation shaft 114, a first elevation device 115 for elevating the elevation shaft 114, a pair of hand portions 116, a first control device 117 for controlling the operation of the first elevation device 115, a horizontal movement device 118, and a fourth control device 119 for controlling the operation of the horizontal movement device 118.

As shown in fig. 1 and 2, in the present embodiment, 1 each of 4 support columns 111 of the conveyor device 11 is disposed outside both ends of the machine tool 20 aligned on the floor FL in the alignment direction. Further, 1 of the devices is disposed between the 2 nd and 3 rd devices, which are counted from the outer sides of both ends in the arrangement direction of the machine tools 20 toward the machine tools 20 arranged. The 4 pillars 111 are erected on the floor FL, and the floor FL side end portion of each pillar 111 is fixed to the floor FL. The support column 111 is a structure having a predetermined strength and capable of supporting the guide rail 112 and the like.

The guide rail 112 is 1 shaft-like member. As shown in fig. 2, the guide rail 112 is fixed to each upper end portion of the 4 columns 111 such that the axis thereof is substantially horizontal. The guide rail 112 extends in the arrangement direction of the machine tools 20 (the left-right direction in fig. 1 and 2), and is provided near the upper side of the table 27 provided in the machine tools 20 (see fig. 1). In other words, the axis of the guide rail 112 is orthogonal with respect to the axis of the spindle of each machine tool 20, that is, orthogonal with respect to the Z-axis, and the guide rail 112 is disposed horizontally. In addition, the guide rail 112 is provided so as to cover from one end to the other end above the arrayed machine tools 20.

As shown in fig. 1 to 3, the horizontal direction moving member 113 is engaged with the guide rail 112 so as to be movable in the extending direction of the guide rail 112, that is, so as to be movable in the axial direction of the guide rail 112. The horizontal movement member 113 is connected to a horizontal movement device 118, and moves in the extending direction of the guide rail 112 by the operation of the horizontal movement device 118.

Further, the horizontal direction moving device 118 is connected to a fourth control device 119. Then, the fourth control device 119 controls the horizontal direction moving device 118 to move the horizontal direction moving member 113 in the axial direction of the guide rail 112. At this time, the stop position of the horizontal direction moving member 113 in the axial direction of the guide rail 112 can be controlled with high accuracy by the fourth control device 119.

In the present embodiment, the horizontal movement device 118 is composed of a motor 118a and a ball screw mechanism. A bolt 118b (see fig. 3) of the ball screw mechanism is provided in the guide rail 112, and a nut portion (see a broken line in fig. 3) screwed to the bolt is provided in the horizontal direction moving member 113.

However, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. The horizontal direction moving device 118 may be any mechanism as long as it can control the position of the horizontal direction moving member 113 when the horizontal direction moving member 113 moves in the axial direction of the guide rail 112. For example, the horizontal moving device 118 may be constituted by a linear motor actuator, which is not shown.

As shown in fig. 3, the elevating shaft 114 is a long shaft member. The lift shaft 114 engages with a front surface (a lower side in fig. 1, a left side in fig. 3) of the horizontal movement member 113. At this time, the elevating shaft 114 can move relatively to the horizontal direction moving member 113 in the axial direction thereof. At this time, the axis of the elevating shaft 114 is an inclined axis P, and has a predetermined inclination angle α with respect to a virtual vertical plane including the axis of the guide rail 112 or a plane parallel to the vertical plane (see fig. 3).

The predetermined inclination angle alpha is, for example, about 2 to 5 deg. However, this angle is merely an example, and is not limited thereto. In addition, as will be described in detail later, the predetermined inclination angle α of the tilt axis P may be several degrees and may be set arbitrarily.

The first lifting device 115 shown in fig. 3 is a device that moves the lifting shaft 114 relative to the horizontal direction moving member 113 along the tilt axis P. The first elevating device 115 may have any configuration as long as it can control the movement amount of the elevating shaft 114, that is, the stop position of the elevating shaft 114. In the present embodiment, the motor 115a and a ball screw mechanism not shown are configured similarly to the horizontal direction moving device 118. However, the first elevating device 115 may be a device constituted by a rack and pinion mechanism. The first lifting device 115 may be configured by a linear motor actuator, which is not shown.

As shown in fig. 1 to 3, the elevating shaft 114 includes a pair of hands 116 (hereinafter, simply referred to as "hands 116") at one lower end thereof for gripping the workpiece W. The hand 116 is formed of a pair of gripping claws extending vertically downward and grips the workpiece W. The hand 116 performs an opening/closing operation of moving the pair of gripping claws closer to or away from each other by an operation of an air cylinder not shown. This holds the workpiece W or separates the workpiece W from the hand 116.

In the first embodiment, the workpiece W to be machined by the machine tool 20 is, for example, a 3-cylinder block shown in fig. 4. Therefore, the pair of hands 116 are inserted into the cylinder holes at both ends from the upper surface W1 of the cylinder, and then approach each other to grip the cylinder. Further, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment, and the workpiece W may be gripped by the pair of hands 116 by being simply brought close to each other and sandwiched from the outside.

In the first embodiment, when the hand 116 grips the workpiece W (cylinder), the lower surface W2 of the workpiece W is maintained in a horizontal state as shown in fig. 8. That is, even when the workpiece W is gripped by the hand 116 and lifted along the tilt axis P together with the lift shaft 114, the workpiece W moves while the lower surface W2 remains horizontal.

At this time, however, the elevation shaft 114 is elevated along the inclination axis P. Therefore, when the workpiece W is gripped by the hand 116 provided at the lower end portion of the lifting shaft 114, the lifting shaft 114 supports the workpiece W (cylinder) in a cantilever state. Therefore, the larger the predetermined inclination angle α, the larger the bending moment generated in the lift shaft 114, and the more likely the lift shaft 114 is to be bent.

Therefore, the predetermined inclination angle α is preferably set so that the elevation shaft 114 does not greatly deflect even when the hand 116 grips the workpiece W, and so that the predetermined inclination angle α does not affect the transfer operation when the workpiece W is transferred between the tables 27. The lift shaft 114 is required to have sufficient rigidity so as not to significantly deflect even when supporting the workpiece W in the cantilever state as described above, and not to be affected when the workpiece W is handed over to the table 27 side at the hand-over position R.

The first control device 117 is connected to the motor 115a of the first lifting device 115, and sends a command to the motor 115 a. As a result, the motor 115a is operated, and the ball screw mechanism, not shown, is operated, so that the workpiece W held by the elevation shaft 114 and the hand 116 is elevated along the inclination axis P having the predetermined inclination α with respect to the vertical direction.

Next, a machine tool 20 as a processing apparatus will be explained. The 6 machine tools 20 are all identical. Therefore, 1 station will be typically described. An example of a machine tool will be described with reference to fig. 4 to 6, taking a 4-axis horizontal machining center as an example. In the present embodiment, the machine tool 20 has 3 forward axes (X axis (horizontal direction), Y axis (vertical direction), and Z axis (horizontal direction)) and 1 tilt rotation axis (a axis (parallel to X axis)) orthogonal to each other as drive axes. The 6 machine tools 20 may be a combination of other types of machines.

Specifically, the X-axis direction is the left-right direction (width direction) of the machine tool 20, the Z-axis direction is the front-back direction (front in the left direction and rear in the right direction in fig. 2) of the machine tool 20, and the Y-axis direction is the up-down direction (height direction) of the machine tool 20. Further, as described above, in the first embodiment, the workpiece W processed in the machine tool 20 is, for example, a 3-cylinder block. However, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment, and the workpiece W may be any workpiece.

As shown in fig. 4 and 5, the machine tool 20 includes a base 21, a spindle moving body 22, a spindle table 23, a spindle 24, a table 27 (constituting the transport system 10), a table lifting device 28 (constituting the transport system 10) for lifting and lowering the table 27, a controller 29, and the like.

The base 21 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape and is disposed on the floor FL. On the base 21, a spindle moving body 22 is provided movably in the X axis direction (the paper depth direction in fig. 5). The spindle moving body 22 is a rectangular parallelepiped and is provided movably in the X axis direction along a pair of guide members 21a, and the pair of

guide members

21a, 21a is provided on the base 21 and extends in the X axis direction. An X-axis motor 33 is provided between the pair of guide members 21a, and the X-axis motor 33 has a ball screw mechanism, not shown, for moving the main shaft moving body 22 in the X-axis direction.

The main shaft moving body 22 is provided with a main shaft stand 23. The headstock 23 is provided movably in the Z-axis direction along a pair of guide members 22a (1 not shown) provided on the main shaft moving body 22 and extending in the Z-axis direction. A Z-axis motor 43 having a ball screw mechanism 42 is provided between the pair of guide members 22 a. The ball screw mechanism 42 moves the headstock 23 in the Z-axis direction. The headstock 23 incorporates a spindle 24 and a spindle motor 44, the spindle 24 being rotatably supported, and the spindle motor 44 having a gear mechanism for rotating the spindle 24 about the Z axis. A rotary tool T for machining a workpiece W is detachably attached to a distal end of the spindle 24.

As shown in fig. 4 and 5, the table lifting device 28 (the conveyance system 10) includes a table support 281, a second lifting device 282 for vertically lifting and lowering the table support 281, and a tilting device 284 for tilting the table 27 and disposed on an upper surface 281a of the table support 281.

The table lifting and lowering device 28 mainly adjusts the height (Y-axis direction) of the table 27 so that the table 27 can receive the workpiece W from the pair of hands 116 of the conveyor device 11 or deliver the workpiece W to the pair of hands 116 of the conveyor device 11 at the delivery position R. The delivery position R is determined by the relative position between the lift shaft 114 of the conveyor 11 and the table 27 when the conveyor 11 and the machine tool 20 are installed on the floor FL.

Therefore, when the conveyor 11 and the machine tool 20 are installed on the floor FL, the delivery position R is calculated in advance, and information on the calculated delivery position R is stored in the first control device 117 and the second control device 283, respectively, the first control device 117 controls the operation of the first elevating device 115, and the second control device 283 elevates the table 27 in the vertical direction.

This allows the workpiece W to be smoothly received or transferred between the table 27 and the pair of hands 116. Further, as is apparent from the above description, the delivery position R also depends on the height of the workpiece W, that is, also depends on the height from the gripping position of the workpiece W gripped by the hand 116 to the lower surface W2 of the workpiece W. Therefore, when the workpiece W to be processed is changed, the hand 116 can grasp again the height from the grasping position of the workpiece W to the lower surface W2 of the workpiece W, and the delivery position R can be changed based on the height.

In order to receive or transfer the workpiece W between the hand 116 and the table 27 at the predetermined transfer position R, when the conveyor device 11 and the machine tool 20 are installed on the floor FL, it is necessary to adjust the position of the table 27 in the Z-axis direction, that is, the position in the horizontal direction perpendicular to the axis of the guide rail 112 with respect to the elevation shaft 114 of the conveyor device 11, within a predetermined range.

However, in the embodiment of the present invention, since the moving direction of the workpiece W has an inclination, the predetermined range of the delivery position R in the Z-axis direction is established. Therefore, there is no need for highly accurate position adjustment of the machine tool to match the position of the table and the position of the elevation shaft, both of which are vertically elevated, as in the conventional technique.

As shown in fig. 4 and 5, the table support 281 is provided on the front surface (left side in fig. 5) of the base 21 so as to be movable in the Y-axis direction. The pair of

guide members

21b, 21b extending in the Y axis direction are provided on the front surface of the base 21, and the table support 281 is engaged with the pair of guide members 21b, whereby the table support 281 moves along the pair of

guide members

21b, 21 b. The table support 281 is moved up and down in the Y axis direction by the operation of the second lift device 282 (see fig. 4).

The second lifting device 282 includes a ball screw mechanism 25 and a second control device 283 that controls the operation of the ball screw mechanism 25. The ball screw mechanism 25 is provided between the pair of

guide members

21b, 21 b. The Y-axis motor 26 of the ball screw mechanism 25 controls the rotation thereof by the second control device 283, thereby accurately controlling the elevation position of the table support 281 in the Y-axis direction.

As shown in fig. 4, the reclining device 284 includes a pair of

reclining device bodies

284a and 284b, a pair of

cradles

285 and 285, an a-axis motor 284c, and a third control device 286. The pair of

reclining device bodies

284a and 284b are formed in a cubic shape and are disposed on both ends of the upper surface 281a of the table support 281 in the X-axis direction. In this case, the pair of

reclining device bodies

284a and 284b have the mounting surfaces 284a1 and 284b1 of the pair of

cradles

285 and 285, respectively. The mounting surfaces 284a1 and 284b1 are fixed to the upper surface 281a of the table support 281 so as to face each other with a predetermined distance therebetween in the X axis direction (see fig. 4).

As shown in fig. 4, a pair of

cradles

285 and 285 are disposed between the reclining device

main bodies

284a and 284b, respectively. The pair of

cradles

285 and 285 are formed in the same shape. Specifically, each cradle 285 has an L-shape in which the end portions of two rectangular plate members are perpendicular to each other. As shown in fig. 4, the

cradles

285 and 285 are arranged to face each other to form an L shape (left side in fig. 4) and an L shape (right side in fig. 4) in which the left and right are inverted, when viewed from the Z-axis direction.

Of the L-shaped two

sides

285b and 285c of the

cradles

285 and 285, the horizontal side 285b in fig. 4 forms a surface on which the table 27 is placed. Of the two L-shaped

sides

285b and 285c, the perpendicular side 285c forms a surface for attaching to the reclining device

main bodies

284a and 284 b.

The

respective sides

285c, 285c of the

respective cradles

285, 285 are disposed facing each other with a predetermined interval in the X axis direction, and the

respective cradles

285, 285 are connected to the respective mounting surfaces 284a1, 284b1 of the

tilting device bodies

284a, 284b so as to be tiltable around the a axis (see fig. 4). In this case, the axis a is an axis perpendicular to a vertical plane including the tilt axis P in a direction in which the workpiece W held by the lift shaft 114 is lifted and lowered by the first lift device 115 of the conveyor 11. That is, the a axis is an axis parallel to the X axis.

The table 27 is placed on the

upper surfaces

285a and 285a of the

sides

285b and 285b of the

cradles

285 and 285 disposed to face each other. The lower surface of the base table 27b of the table 27 is fixed to the

upper surfaces

285a and 285a by predetermined means such as welding or bolting (see fig. 4). This integrates the pair of cradles 285 and the table 27.

Either one of the

reclining device bodies

284a and 284b is provided with a gear mechanism (not shown) for tilting the

cradles

285 and 285 about the a-axis, and an a-axis motor 284c connected to the gear mechanism. In the present embodiment, a gear mechanism and an a-axis motor 284c are provided on the right reclining device main body 284b in fig. 4. The a-axis motor 284c controls the rotation (rotation angle) by the third control device 286. The controlled rotation of the a-axis motor 284c causes the cradles 285 and the table 27 to tilt about the a-axis by a desired angle via a gear mechanism (not shown).

Thus, when the workpiece W is transferred between the pair of hands 116 and the table 27, the tilting device 284 is operated by the third control device 286, and the table 27 is tilted about the a axis so that the mounting surface Q of the table 27 is orthogonal to the vertical direction. That is, the table 27 is tilted about the axis a so that the mounting surface Q is horizontal. However, if the mounting surface Q is already horizontal when the workpiece W is transferred, the tilting control of the table 27 may not be performed.

The table 27 has a mounting surface Q on the upper surface thereof, on which the workpiece W is mounted when the workpiece W is machined by the spindle 24 of the machine tool 20 (see fig. 3, 4, 6A, and 6B). In the present embodiment, the table 27 includes a movable table 27a having the above-described placement surface Q, and a base table 27b provided below the movable table 27a and supporting the movable table 27 a.

A distance adjusting device 277 is provided between the movable table 27a and the base table 27b, and the distance adjusting device 277 adjusts the distance D between the movable table 27a and the base table 27 b. The distance adjustment device 277 may be any mechanism. The distance adjustment device 277 is controlled by a second control device 283. For example, a hydraulic cylinder, a pantograph (pantograph), or the like can be applied to the distance adjusting device 277. In the present embodiment, an example using a zoom apparatus is described. The drawings of the zoom apparatus are schematic.

Further, a linear actuator shown in fig. 7 may be used as the distance adjusting device 277. The linear lifter shown in fig. 7 is a device for moving the movable table 27a up and down with respect to the base table 27b by extending and contracting the support rod 27e by the driving device 278, wherein the driving device 278 is operated by a motor or the like fixed to the base table 27 b. At this time, as shown in fig. 7, a guide rod 27c is fixed to the movable table 27 a. The base table 27b is provided with a guide hole 27d through which the guide rod 27c passes and engages. The driving device 278 is controlled by the second control device 283. With this configuration, the distance D between the movable table 27a and the base table 27b can be adjusted by the control of the second control device 283.

For example, 2 positioning pins KP are provided so as to protrude from the upper surface 27b1 of the base table 27b, and the positioning pins KP can be engaged with engagement holes provided in the lower surface of the workpiece W. The movable table 27a is provided with through holes 27a1, 27a1, and the through holes 27a1, 27a1 are formed so that when the distance D between the movable table 27a and the base table 27b is changed and the distance is reduced, the positioning pins KP on the upper surface 27b1 of the base table 27b can protrude above the movable table 27 a.

As shown by the two-dot chain line in fig. 5, the control device 29 is provided behind the machine tool 20. The controller 29 controls the driving of the spindle motor 44 to rotate the rotary cutter T. The controller 29 controls the driving of the X-axis motor 33 and the Z-axis motor 43 to move the workpiece W and the rotary tool T relative to each other in the X-axis direction and the Z-axis direction. The controller 29 performs the cutting process on the workpiece W by the above control.

As described above, the control of the operation in the Y-axis direction and the operation around the a-axis is controlled by the second control device 283 and the third control device 286, respectively. However, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment, and the second control device 283 and the third control device 286 may be provided in the control device 29. The positions of the second control device 283 and the third control device 286 may be any positions.

Next, the operation when the conveying system 10 delivers the workpiece W to the mounting surface Q of the table 27 will be described. In this case, as shown in fig. 8, the workpiece W is grasped by the hand 116 provided in the conveying device 11 as a precondition. Further, the workpiece W is lifted up to a position separated from the table 27 by a predetermined distance by raising the elevation shaft 114 along the inclination axis P under the control of the second control device 283. Further, the third control device 286 controls the mounting surface Q of the table 27 to be tilted about the a axis to be in a horizontal state by operating the tilting device 284.

In this state, the fourth controller 119 moves the horizontal movement member 113 in the axial direction of the guide rail 112 (i.e., in the X-axis direction of the machine tool 20), and also moves the workpiece W held by the hand 116 to a position in the X-axis direction of the table 27 of the machine tool 20 to be delivered subsequently (see the state of fig. 1 and 2).

Next, as shown in fig. 9, the elevation shaft 114 is lowered along the inclination axis P by the control of the second control device 283. That is, the lower surface W2 of the workpiece W gripped by the hand 116 is lowered to the joining position R. Further, the second control device 283 actuates the second lifting/lowering device 282 to lift the table 27 in the vertical direction until the mounting surface Q of the table 27 reaches the delivery position R.

Thus, the lower surface W2 of the workpiece W is placed at a predetermined placement position on the placement surface Q of the table 27 (movable table 27 a). Then, in this state, the pair of hands 116 are opened in the direction away from each other, and the gripping of the workpiece W is released. Thereafter, the elevation shaft 114 is raised along the inclination axis P by the control of the second control device 283 (not shown).

At this time, on the placement surface Q of the movable table 27a of the table 27, the positioning pins KP on the base table 27b do not protrude above the movable table 27 a. This makes it possible to easily mount the workpiece W on the mounting surface Q. In this state, a hydraulic clamp device, not shown, is actuated to clamp and fix the workpiece W to the movable table 27 a.

Next, as shown in fig. 10, the second controller 283 controls the distance adjuster 277 to reduce the distance D between the movable table 27a and the base table 27b of the table 27. Thereby, the movable table 27a is lowered, and the positioning pins KP protrude from the movable table 27a and engage with the engagement holes of the workpiece W. Thereby, the workpiece W can be machined by the machine tool 20.

When the predetermined machining of the workpiece W by the machine tool 20 is completed, the workpiece W is gripped by the elevation shaft 114 at the delivery position R in the reverse order to the above, and the elevation shaft 114 and the workpiece W are raised along the inclination axis P. Thereafter, the workpiece W is conveyed and supplied onto the mounting surface Q of the table 27 provided in the adjacent other machine tool 20 in the same procedure as described above. The workpiece W is completed in the production line 100 by repeating such conveyance and processing.

In the first embodiment, when the workpiece W is transferred to the mounting surface Q on the table 27 by the movement of the elevating shaft 114 provided in the table elevating device 28, the mounting surface Q is controlled to be horizontal by the tilting device 284, and the workpiece W is transferred while the lower surface W2 of the workpiece W is kept horizontal. However, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. As a modification of the first embodiment, the table lifting device (conveyance system) may not include the tilting device 284. That is, the table 27 may be provided so as not to be tiltable around an axis a perpendicular to a vertical plane including a tilt axis P, which is an axis in a direction in which the workpiece W is lifted and lowered. In this case, the operation of the transport system is exactly the same as that of the transport system 10 in the first embodiment described above, and has the same effect.

In the first embodiment, when the workpiece W is placed on the placement surface Q on the table 27 by the movement of the elevation shaft 114 provided in the table elevation device 28, the placement surface Q is brought into a horizontal state by the tilting device 284, and the workpiece W is transferred while the lower surface W2 of the workpiece W is kept horizontal. However, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. As a second embodiment, as shown in fig. 11, the table lifting and lowering device 28 may tilt the table 227 about the axis a by the third control device 286 so that the placement surface Q on the table 227 is orthogonal to the tilt axis P of the first lifting and lowering device 115 when the workpiece W is transferred between the hand 216 and the table 227.

In this case, as shown in fig. 11, the table 227 may not have the movable table 27 a. The table lifting device 28 may not have the distance adjusting device 277. The pair of hand portions 216 is formed to extend in the same direction as the axis (tilt axis P) of the lift shaft 214, and the lower surface W2 of the workpiece W is held at a predetermined angle α with respect to the horizontal plane.

In this state, when the elevation shaft 214 is lowered along the inclination axis P and the table 227 is raised in the vertical direction, the positioning pin KP provided on the upper surface of the table 227 is directly engaged with the engagement hole of the lower surface W2 of the workpiece W at the predetermined delivery position R in the Y-axis direction (see fig. 12). Therefore, the configuration of the table 27 can be simplified.

Then, a hydraulic clamp device, not shown, is actuated to clamp and fix the workpiece W to the table 227. After the engagement between the workpiece W and the hand 216 is released, the elevation shaft 214 is raised along the inclination axis P, and the elevation shaft 214 (the hand 216) is separated from the workpiece W. Then, the table 227 is tilted about the a axis by the tilting device 284 so that the mounting surface Q of the table 227 becomes horizontal. Hereinafter, the same as the first embodiment is described.

After that, when the predetermined machining of the workpiece W by the machine tool 20 is completed, the mounting surface Q of the table 227 is tilted again in the reverse order to form the predetermined angle α with the horizontal plane. Thereafter, the workpiece W is gripped at the delivery position R by the pair of hands 216 provided in the elevation shaft 214 that has been lowered again along the inclination axis P, and the elevation shaft 214 and the workpiece W are raised along the inclination axis P. Thereafter, the workpiece W is conveyed by the conveyor 11 in the same order as described above, and is supplied to the mounting surface Q on the table 227 of the adjacent other machine tool 20 in the same order.

In the first and second embodiments, the horizontal direction moving device 118 for moving the horizontal direction moving member 113 in the horizontal direction is composed of the motor 118a and the ball screw mechanism. At this time, a bolt 118b (see fig. 3) of the ball screw mechanism is fixed in the guide rail 112, and a nut portion (see a broken line in fig. 3) screwed with the bolt 118b is provided on the horizontal direction moving member 113. Accordingly, when the horizontal direction moving device 118 is operated, the horizontal direction moving member 113 moves in the axial direction relative to the guide rail 112.

However, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. As a third embodiment, as shown in fig. 13, the horizontal direction moving device 218 (corresponding to the horizontal direction moving device 118) may be attached to the horizontal direction moving member 113, and may be provided with a driving mechanism 218b (gear portion) composed of a motor 218a (corresponding to the motor 118a) and gears, etc.

The drive mechanism 218b includes a pinion gear 218b1, and the pinion gear 218b1 meshes with a tooth portion 218b2 (rack) fixed to the rail 112. The pinion gear 218b1 is provided at the distal end of the rotation shaft of the motor 218a so as to rotate integrally with the rotation shaft. The tooth portion 218b2 extends in the axial direction of the rail 112 and is fixed to the rail 112. As shown in fig. 13, guide portions 210 for smoothing the relative movement between the guide rail 112 and the horizontal direction moving member 113 are provided at 2 positions between the guide rail 112 and the horizontal direction moving member 113. The guide section 210 includes

guide grooves

211, 211 provided on the horizontal direction moving member 113 side, and guide

members

212, 212 provided on the guide rail 112 side and engaged with the guide grooves 211, respectively.

The motor 218a is connected to a fourth controller 219.

With this configuration, when the rotation shaft of the motor 218a and the pinion gear 218b1 are rotated by the control of the fourth controller 219 in the horizontal direction moving device 218, the pinion gear 218b1 meshing with the tooth portion 218b2 rolls on the tooth portion 218b2 fixed to the guide rail 112 in the axial direction of the guide rail 112. In conjunction with this, the horizontal direction moving member 113 of the fixed motor 218a is moved relative to the guide rail 112 in the axial direction. At this time, the amount of movement of the horizontal direction moving member 113 in the axial direction can be controlled by controlling the rotation angle of the rotation shaft of the motor 218a, and the rotation angle of the rotation shaft of the motor 218a is controlled by the fourth control device 219. With this configuration, the same effects as those of the above embodiment can be obtained.

According to the first to third embodiments, the conveyance system 10 includes: a conveying device 11 including

hands

116 and 216 for holding a workpiece W, a first lifting device 115 for lifting and lowering the workpiece W held by the

hands

116 and 216 along a tilt axis P having a predetermined tilt angle α with respect to a vertical direction, and a first control device 117 for controlling the lifting and lowering of the workpiece W by the first lifting device 115; and tables 27 and 227 that can be raised and lowered in the vertical direction and that can transfer the workpiece W between the tables and the

hands

116 and 216 of the conveyor 11.

In this way, the tables 27 and 227, which are tilted in the vertical direction to move the workpiece W up and down by the first lifting device 115, have a function of being able to lift and lower in the vertical direction. Thus, the workpiece W and the tables 27 and 227 have an intersection on the respective movement lines during the respective lifting and lowering operations. Therefore, as in the conventional technique in which the workpiece W is moved only in the vertical direction, it is not necessary to match the relative positions of the table and the workpiece W in the horizontal direction and the direction orthogonal to the extending direction of the guide rail in advance with high accuracy. That is, even if the relative position between the table 27 and the workpiece W is arranged with normal positional accuracy, the position of the

hand

116, 216 can be easily matched with the delivery position of the workpiece W on the table 27, 227 by adjusting the height of the table side. This can significantly reduce the time required for aligning the delivery position of the workpiece W, and thus can shorten the time required for installing the conveying system 10.

Further, according to the first to third embodiments, the conveyance system 10 includes: a second lifting device 282 for lifting and lowering the table 27 in the vertical direction; and a second control device 283 for controlling the operation of the second lifting device 282. Thus, even if the type of the workpiece W is changed halfway, the delivery position R of the workpiece W can be easily changed by the operation of the second lifting device 282. This makes it possible to obtain the highly versatile conveying system 10.

Further, according to the first embodiment, the table 27 is a table of the machine tool 20 having the mounting surface Q of the workpiece W, and the table 27 is provided to be tiltable around the a axis which is orthogonal to the vertical plane including the tilt axis P in the direction in which the workpiece W is lifted and lowered by the first lifting and lowering device 115 of the conveyor 11. The conveying system 10 further includes a third control unit 286, and the third control unit 286 tilts the table 27 about the a axis so that the placement surface Q is orthogonal to the vertical direction when the workpiece W is transferred between the hand 116 and the table 27.

Thus, even if the machine tool 20 includes the tilting device 284 which is originally necessary for machining, the mounting surface Q can be set to a state orthogonal to the vertical direction, that is, the mounting surface Q can be set to a horizontal state when the workpiece W is delivered to the table 27. Therefore, the delivery position R in the Y-axis direction (vertical direction) can be easily estimated.

Further, according to the second embodiment, the table 227 is a table of the machine tool 20 having the mounting surface Q of the workpiece W, and the table 227 is provided so as to be tiltable around the a axis which is orthogonal to the vertical plane including the tilt axis P in the direction in which the workpiece W is lifted and lowered by the first lifting and lowering device 115 of the transport device 11. The transport system 10 further includes a third control device 286, and the third control device 286 tilts the table 227 about the axis a so that the placement surface Q on the table 227 is orthogonal to the tilt axis P of the first lifting device 115 when the workpiece W is transferred between the hand 216 and the table 227.

Accordingly, even if a two-stage complicated mechanism such as the table 27 of the first embodiment is not provided on the table 227 side, the workpiece W can be easily and directly engaged with the positioning pins KP on the placement surface Q of the table 227, and cost reduction can be achieved.

Further, according to the first to third embodiments, in the transport system 10, the tables 27 and 227 are at the height corresponding to the type of the workpiece W, the workpiece W is transferred between the tables and the hand 116, and the second control device 283 controls the operation of the second lifting device 282 based on the height corresponding to the type of the workpiece W. Thereby, even if the shape of the workpiece W, that is, the height is changed, it can be easily handled.

In addition, according to the conveying system 10 of the first to third embodiments, in the production line 100 in which the plurality of machine tools 20 are arranged, the conveying device 11 includes: a guide rail 112 extending in the arrangement direction of the machine tools 20 and provided above the table 27; a horizontal direction moving member 113 provided on the guide rail 112 so as to be movable in the extending direction of the guide rail 112;

lift shafts

114, 214 provided on the horizontal direction moving member 113, provided with

hands

116, 216 at one end, and moved up and down along the tilt axis P by the control of the first control device 117; and a fourth control device 119 that controls the movement of the horizontal direction moving member 113. In this way, in the production line 100 using a plurality of machine tools 20, an effect of shortening the installation time can be obtained in accordance with the number of machine tools 20 used, and therefore a very great effect can be expected.

In the first to third embodiments, a cylinder is used as the workpiece W. However, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. The workpiece W may be an arbitrary member. When the type of the workpiece W is changed, the transfer position R for transferring the workpiece W to the table is changed. In this case, the changed delivery position R may be changed according to the height of the workpiece W.

In the first to third embodiments, as shown in fig. 8 and 11, the tilt axis P of the lifting/lowering

shafts

114 and 214 included in the lifting/lowering conveyor 11 is inclined toward the table 27 from above the table 27 on the spindle 24 side (closer to the spindle 24 side than the table) in the Z-axis direction. However, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. The tilt axis P may be inclined toward the table 27 from above the table 27 on the opposite side of the main shaft 24 in the Z-axis direction (on the side farther from the main shaft 24 than the table). This also allows the same effect to be expected.

In the first to third embodiments, the tables 27 and 227 move in the vertical direction to reach the delivery position R. However, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. The tables 27 and 227 may be moved in advance and fixed at the delivery position R. Further, the workpiece W may be transferred between the transfer position R and the tables 27 and 227 by operating only the

lift shafts

114 and 214 along the tilt axis P.

Claims

1. A delivery system, comprising:

a conveying device including a hand that holds a workpiece, a first lifting device that lifts and lowers the workpiece held by the hand along a tilt axis having a predetermined tilt angle with respect to a vertical direction, and a first control device that controls the lifting and lowering of the workpiece by the first lifting device;

a table that can transfer the workpiece between the table and the hand of the conveyor and can be raised and lowered in a vertical direction to adjust a height position of the transfer;

a second lifting device for lifting the worktable in the vertical direction; and

a second control device for controlling the operation of the second lifting device,

the tilt axis has a vertical component and a horizontal and Z-axis component,

the height position of the delivery is determined by the relative position of the first lifting device of the conveying device and the workbench in the Z-axis direction,

the first control device and the second control device store the determined delivery height position, perform control based on the stored delivery height position, and place the workpiece at a preset placement position on a placement surface of the table.

2. The delivery system of claim 1,

the height position of the handover is determined by the relative position and a height corresponding to the type of the workpiece.

3. The delivery system of claim 1,

the table is a table of a processing apparatus having a mounting surface for the workpiece,

the second control device raises and lowers the placement surface of the table between a height position at which the workpiece is transferred to and from the transport device and a height position at which the workpiece is subjected to a predetermined process by the processing device.

4. The delivery system of claim 2,

5. The conveying system according to any one of claims 1 to 4,

the table is provided to be tiltable around an a-axis orthogonal to a vertical plane including the tilt axis, the tilt axis being an axis in a direction in which the workpiece is lifted and lowered by the first lifting and lowering device of the transport device,

the transport system further includes a third control device that tilts the table about the axis a so that the placement surface is orthogonal to a vertical direction when the workpiece is transferred between the hand and the table.

6. The conveying system according to any one of claims 1 to 4,

the transport system may further include a third control device configured to tilt the table about the axis a so that the placement surface is orthogonal to the tilt axis of the first lifting device when the workpiece is transferred between the hand and the table.

7. The conveying system according to any one of claims 1 to 4,

the work table is a work table of a processing apparatus,

the table is provided so as not to be tiltable around an a-axis orthogonal to a vertical plane including the tilt axis, the tilt axis being an axis in a direction in which the workpiece is lifted and lowered by the first lifting and lowering device of the transport device.

8. The delivery system of claim 5,

in a production line in which a plurality of the processing apparatuses are arranged,

the conveying device is provided with:

a guide rail extending in the arrangement direction of the processing devices and provided above the table;

a horizontal direction moving member provided to the guide rail so as to be movable in an extending direction of the guide rail;

a lift shaft provided to the horizontal direction moving member, provided with the hand at one end, and lifted up and down along the tilt axis by the control of the first control device; and

and a fourth control device that controls movement of the horizontal direction moving member.

9. The delivery system of claim 6,

the conveying device is provided with:

10. The delivery system of claim 7,

the conveying device is provided with: