GB1225975A - - Google Patents

Abstract

1,225,975. Workpiece and tools transferring. MOLINS MACHINE CO. Ltd., D. T. N. WILLIAMSON, and W. WOOD. 3 May, 1968 [5 May, 1967], No. 21102/67. Heading B3B. An automated transporting arrangement for supplying and receiving work pallets 647, 648 and tool magazines 649 to and from a series of machine tools comprises a transporter 114 (Fig. 6) movable along rails 641, 642 in front of a tool magazine rack 115 and a work pallet rack 113 and movable to positions in alignment with loading and unloading stations of the machine tools. The transporter 114 is moved by a chain drive 251 to positions in line with vertical rows of the racks and accurately aligned therewith by hydraulically-actuated rods (Fig. 7, not shown). The movement of the transporter is controlled by an on-line computer which automatically slows down the speed of the transporter 114 as it approaches the desired row of the racks. The transporter 114 includes a platform 643 that is movable vertically by an hydraulically-operated chain drive mechanism (Fig. 5, not shown), to align support areas 644, 645 or 646 with the desired rack position. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 6 the platform 643 includes two work pallet support areas 644 and 645 and a tool magazine support area 646, the spacing of the work pallet support areas 644 and 645 being equal to twice the pitch of the vertical rows of the work pallet rack 113 so that a transporter 114 can return work pallets in one row and collect work pallets from another row at one positioning of the transporter. The support areas 644, 645, 646 include read heads 651, 652 and 654 that read identifying devices on the edges of the pallets or magazines, which information is fed to the computer. The work pallets are arranged in pairs connected together by interengaging lugs or handles. The work pallet support areas 644 and 645 include conveyers comprising a pair of endless chains 712 driven by an hydraulic motor and which have mounted thereon pusher members 723 for engaging with the pallets to move them into a central position on the support areas. To bring the work pallets into engagement with the pusher members 723 the conveyers have at each end, a member 725 extendable, by means of an hydraulic pistoncylinder arrangement, into the racks or loading position of a machine tool to engage the work pallet with a retractable finger 727 to draw it on to the conveyer. The tool magazine support area 646 has a similar arrangement but has a top chain drive 760 driving in one direction and bottom chain drive 761 driving in the other direction so that loading and unloading of a tool magazine from each end of the conveyer can be achieved at the one support area. The transporter 114 may have support areas for carrying work pallets only. Though normally controlled continuously by a computer the transporter may include a series of switches (Sl-S12), (Fig. 9, not shown), in the control of the conveyer so that a conveying operation is operated automatically from a single instructive signal from the computer.