JP2001179564A - Tool housing part protecting cap - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the installation of a tool holder in a support pot 30 in the condition that a protecting cap 57 is installed due to an error of a program for exchanging a tool holder between a tip of a spindle of a machining center and the support pot 30 when the protecting cap is previously installed in place of a tool holder of the support pot. SOLUTION: This protecting cap 57 fitted to the support pot 30, which is provided with a housing recessed part 30a for housing a tool holder, freely to be removed is provided with a plug body 59 to be fitted in the housing recessed part 30a and a flange body 60 abutting on the only lower surface of a tip (holding part 41) of holding finger bodies 17a, 17b to be operated for holding when exchanging a tool. A lower surface of the holding part 41 abuts on the flange body 60 due to a program error, and the flange body 60 is pushed downward with the lowering of the holding part 41, and the plug body 59 falls from the housing recessed part 30a of the support pot 30 so that the housing recessed part 30a is automatically opened.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a structure of a protective cap for a tool storage portion, and more particularly, to a rotary drive of a main shaft having a tool mounted on a tip thereof, and machining a workpiece with the rotating tool. In the automatic tool changer for a machine tool, a tool storage portion for closing a storage recess of the support pot so that cutting chips and the like do not enter when the tool holder is not mounted on the support pot storing the tool holder. The present invention relates to the structure of a protective cap for use.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a recent machine tool such as a machining center, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-277867, a tool storage magazine containing a large number of tool holders provided with tools such as drills at the tip is arranged. The tool holder can be exchanged between the tip of the main spindle of the machine tool and the tool storage magazine by a gripping device such as a pair of gripping finger bodies in the automatic tool changer.

[0003] A tool holder 50 of the two-face constraint type used in this type of apparatus is disclosed in the above-mentioned gazette, FIG.
As shown in (b), a tapered shank portion 51 is provided which is detachable from a tapered hole opened at the tip of the main spindle. A large-diameter flange portion 52 on the base end side of the tapered shank portion 51 includes: It has an annular groove 53 for gripping by the gripping finger body of the gripping device, and is provided so that a tool 54 projects from the lower end of the flange 52. At the tip of the taper shank portion 51, a stud 55 for supporting the tool holder 50 so as not to drop off to the chuck portion in a support pot as a tool storage portion in a tool storage magazine or in a taper hole of a main shaft. It is protruding.

By the way, in general, not all the plurality of support pots in the tool storage magazine are set with the tool holders, but only the necessary type (number) of the tool holders are set, and the remaining support pots are the tool holders. The cutting operation is performed without setting the. In this case, if the opening of the support pot where the tool holder is not set is left as it is for a long time, cutting chips and the like adhere to or accumulate in the support pot. The recess of the support pot or the taper shank portion 51 of the tool holder 50 may be damaged,
Problems such as a failure to set normally occur.

In order to solve this inconvenience, conventionally, as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. Sho 62-18354, a concave portion of the support pot (a portion where a taper shank portion in a tool holder fits). A substantially disk-shaped cap base made of a synthetic resin material or the like for closing the opening of
A protective cap comprising a bar-shaped support projecting therefrom has been proposed.

In this case, when the automatic tool changer is operating normally, the tool holder removed from the tip of the main spindle is not collected (set) so as not to be collected (set) at the support pot where the protective cap is mounted. Have been.

[0007]

However, in the above-mentioned configuration, due to a program error of the automatic tool changer, etc.,
When the tool change operation is performed, the protective cap cannot be removed by one gripping device, and the tool holder removed from the main spindle by the other gripping device is loaded into the support pot to which the protective cap is mounted. Because of this, the protection cap is pushed into the support pot by the tool holder, which causes various inconveniences such as breakage of the tool holder, the protection cap and the support pot, and distortion of the gripping finger body as a gripping device. There was a problem that occurred.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and is intended to set a protective cap on a support pot so as to prevent cutting chips and the like from entering. When changing tools due to errors,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a protective cap whose shape is devised so that the protective cap comes off in advance.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a protective cap for a tool storage section, comprising a storage recess for storing a holder for a tool to be replaced in a tool magazine or the like. A protective cap detachable with respect to the supporting pot, the protective cap includes a plug body that fits into the storage recess, and a flange body that comes into contact with the gripping part when performing a gripping operation at the time of tool replacement. It is provided with.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the protective cap for a tool storage section according to the first aspect, the stopper and the flange are integrally formed of a soft material.

[0011] The invention according to claim 3 is based on claim 1.
In the protective cap for a tool storage section described in the above, the flange body is connected to the plug body via a connecting body, and at least the flange body is formed of a soft material.

Further, according to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the protective cap for a tool storage section according to any one of the first to third aspects, the stopper body is held and held in the storage recess. Provided with a retention knob section for use.

[0013]

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a machine tool (machining center) with an automatic tool changer, FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of a partially cutaway main part, FIG. 3 is a plan view of a gripping device, FIG.
FIG. 6 is a side view of the first embodiment of the protective cap.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, in the machining center, a headstock 3 is supported on a column 2 fixed upright on a base 1. The headstock 3 is guided by a linear guide 4 and is moved vertically by a Z-axis feed motor 5 and a feed screw 6. A table 7 provided on the base 1 is movable in a horizontal plane direction, and a workpiece is mounted and fixed on the upper surface of the table 7.

On the headstock 3, a spindle motor 8, a spindle 9, and a rotary tool magazine 10 are mounted. Since the spindle 9 and the tool magazine 10 have a known configuration, they will be briefly described (for the description of the spindle 9, refer to FIG. 2). A tool mounting portion 11 capable of detachably holding a tool holder 50 (see FIGS. 11 (a) and 11 (b)) of a two-surface constraint type having a tool 54 mounted on the tip thereof, Mounting part 11
And a tool release pin 13 via a draw bar 12.

The tool magazine 10 holds the tool holder 50 in a detachable manner, and supports the support pot 30 which is normally in a horizontal posture.
Are provided in the periphery of the turntable. Only the lowermost support pot 30 is rotated 90 degrees downward to take a vertical position, and the tool can be changed by the gripping device 16 of the present embodiment. Selection of the tool holder 50 (disposition at the lowest position) is performed by rotation of the magazine motor 14.

The headstock 3 incorporates an automatic tool changer TC for exchanging the tool holder 50 between the tool magazine 10 and the spindle 9. The apparatus includes a tool change drive motor (hereinafter, referred to as an ATC motor) 15, a swing arm type gripping device 16, and the like. The gripping device 16 of the present embodiment includes a swing arm 16a that can rotate horizontally about a vertical hollow main shaft 25, and a swing arm 16a that extends outward from the swing arm 16a at a position symmetrical with respect to the rotation center axis. The tool holder 5 is composed of a pair of openable and closable gripping finger bodies 17a, 17b and the like, and is set on the main shaft 9 and the tool magazine 10.
0 is exchanged by utilizing the gripping by two pairs of gripping finger bodies 17a and 17b and the turning of the swing arm 16a.

The structure of the gripping device 16 will be described later in detail, and a mechanism for causing the gripping device 16 to move within the machining center will be described. As a premise, first, the overall configuration of the tool changing device TC will be described with reference to FIG. A tool change drive shaft (hereinafter, referred to as an ATC drive shaft) 18 of the tool changer TC is connected to the ATC motor 15 and is arranged vertically, and is rotatably supported on upper and lower portions of the headstock 3 by bearings. Have been.
The ATC drive shaft 18 has four cams 21, 22, 23, 2
4 are provided.

On the other hand, on the side of the ATC drive shaft 18, a spline 25a is arranged in the lower half and a hollow main shaft 25 provided with a flange at the lowermost end is arranged vertically. The hollow main shaft 25 penetrates a hole of the lower machine frame 26 of the headstock 3 near the lower end thereof, and is supported by the bush so as to be able to rotate around the central axis and reciprocate up and down along the axis. I have. The gripping device 16 is fixed to the lowermost flange of the hollow main shaft 25.

The upper end of the hollow main shaft 25 penetrates a through hole formed in the upper machine frame 28 of the headstock 3, and a support member 29 and a bush are provided between the through hole and the hollow main shaft 25. It is movably interposed. The support member 29 includes:
It is a substantially cylindrical member. The lower part of the center hole of the support member 29 is inserted with the upper part of the hollow main shaft 25 having a smaller diameter than the hole diameter. The upper portion of the hollow hole of the support member 29 has a slightly smaller hole diameter than the lower portion thereof, and the upper end of the arm middle shaft 31 penetrating through the hollow main shaft 25 is provided with a key and a bolt 33.
And is fitted and fixed. A gear 29a is formed on the outer periphery of the lower end of the support member 29, and the gear 29a meshes with the side segment gear 34. An oscillator 35 is fixed to the segment gear 34, and is driven by the cam 24.

The inner peripheral surface of the support member 29 and the arm shaft 31
The hollow main shaft 25 sandwiched between the outer peripheral surface and the hollow main shaft 25 is
Since it is not fixed to 1, it can rotate independently around the axis. Further, a cylindrical member 36 having a circumferential groove is fixed to the vicinity of the center in the vertical direction of the hollow main shaft 25, and the cylindrical member 36 is moved up and down by a swing lever 40 described later.
The hollow main shaft 25 is reciprocated in the vertical direction. Further, the hollow main shaft 25 rotates with the rotation of the spline sub shaft 37 surrounding the lower spline 25a. The spline countershaft 37 has follower rollers 38 as followers of the cam 21 on upper and lower surfaces of a flange portion formed on the outer periphery thereof.

Next, the movement of the gripping device 16 is described by the ATC axis 1
A description will be given in connection with the configuration of the four cams 21 to 24 provided in FIG. The gripping device 16 pivots in the horizontal direction. This is for exchanging the tool holder 50 between the spindle 9 and the tool magazine 10. The parallel cam 21 provided at the lowest position of the ATC drive shaft 18 is involved in this movement. Since the movement by this is known, it will be briefly described (the same applies to the movement by the cams 22 and 23 described later). The parallel cam 21 is a composite cam composed of two upper and lower plate cams, and is in contact with a follower roller 38 provided as a follower provided on the spline counter shaft 37. Based on this configuration, the spline sub shaft 37, the hollow main shaft 25, and the gripping device 16 rotate 180 degrees during one rotation of the ATC drive shaft 18.

The holding device 16 reciprocates in the axial direction of the hollow main shaft 25. This is for removing the tool holder 50 from the headstock 9 and the tool magazine 10 and clamping it. ATC drive shaft 18 is involved in this movement.
The first cylindrical groove cam 23 formed on the upper peripheral surface of the surrounding cylindrical member 39. A contact 41 provided at the tip of a swing lever 40 engaged with the first cylindrical groove cam 23 is engaged with a circumferential groove of a cylindrical member 36 outside the hollow main shaft 25, and an ATC drive shaft is provided. During one rotation of 18, the hollow main shaft 25 and the gripping device 16 fixed thereto are reciprocated once in the axial direction. Further, the pair of gripping finger bodies 17a and 17b in the gripping device 16 open and close. What is involved in the movement is the flat groove cam 24 at the upper position around the ATC drive shaft 18. Although not shown, the groove shape of the flat groove cam 24 is a closed ring shape, and has a large-diameter portion and a small-diameter portion that are arc-shaped around the cam shaft and a connecting portion that connects them. Oscillator 35 is a large diameter portion of rotating plane groove cam 24,
Depending on where the small-diameter portion and the connecting portion are assembled, the gripping finger bodies 17a and 17b are in a closed state, an open state, or an open / close movement state.

FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway plan view of an embodiment of the gripping device 16 in the automatic tool changer. The lower surface of both ends of a swing arm 16a which is attached to the lower end of the hollow main shaft 25 and turns horizontally. A pair of open / close rotatable gripping finger bodies 17a, 17b are pivotally supported on the pivot 40, respectively, and the pair of gripping finger bodies 17a, 17b has a two-sided restraint type at the distal end portions (grip portions). A substantially arc-shaped gripping claw portion 41 is provided to engage with the concave annular groove 53 of the tool holder 50 from the outer peripheral side. Then, the passive side of the pair of gripping finger bodies 17a, 17b (the pivot 4)
0 on the opposite side of the claw portion 41).
6a, the urging spring 43 is fixed to the holder 42 fixed to
With the biasing spring 43, the two gripping finger bodies 17a, 17b
Are configured so as to urge the gripping claw portions 41, 41 in the closing direction.

A cam plate 44 which rotates integrally with the arm shaft 31 housed in the hollow main shaft 25 is disposed on the lower surface side of the swing arm 16a.
The engaging portion 45 protruding from the outer surface on the passive side of the gripping finger body 17a disposed close to the outer periphery of the cam plate 44 is fitted to the cam portion 44a formed on the outer periphery of the pair of fingers. Gripping claws 41, 4 on the tip side of the bodies 17a, 17b
1 to hold the tool holder 50 in a gripping posture. And both gripping finger bodies 17
Protrusions 46, 46 are provided inward in the middle of the longitudinal direction of a and 17b (near the pivot 48). When the cam portion 44a pushes the passive side of the one gripping finger body 17a in the closing direction. , The other finger body 17b is rotated through the protrusions 46, 46 to open the front end side.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2, a used tool holder 50 to be replaced, which is mounted on the lower end of the spindle 9, is used.
Is replaced with the tool holder 50 detachably held by the support pot 30 in the downward posture, the pair of gripping finger bodies 17a and 17b of the gripping device 16 grip the annular concave groove portion 53 of the tool holder 50. I do. At this time, as shown in FIG. 5A, the other pair of gripping finger bodies 17a and 17b are
0a is located at the position of the annular concave groove 53 in the tool holder 50 in which the tapered shank portion 51 is mounted, so that the tips (grip portions) of the pair of gripping finger bodies 17a, 17b.
Is reduced, the annular groove 53 is gripped as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 5B. After that, the swing arm 16a is lowered to take out the two tool holders 50, 50, and in this state, the swing arm 16a is rotated horizontally by 180 degrees to obtain a new tool holder 5 (to be used for cutting work).
0 below the spindle 9 and the tool holder 5
The swing arms 16a are respectively set below the support pots 30 by raising the swing arms 16a by a predetermined amount.

By the way, a protective cap 57 of the present invention is previously mounted on a place where the tool holder 50 is not mounted on an arbitrary supporting pot 30 of the tool magazine 10. FIG. 5 shows a first embodiment of the protective cap 57 of the present invention,
A stopper body 59 having at least an upper end part formed in a truncated cone shape at least to be fitted so as to close the lower end part of the opening of the storage recess 30 a in the support pot 30, and a part closer to the outer periphery lower end of the stopper body part 59. Large-diameter disc-shaped collar body 60 provided on
And a rod-shaped retention knob 61 protruding upward from the upper end of the plug body 59, all of which are formed of a synthetic resin material such as hard rubber or polyacetal. The diameter of the plug 59 is formed to be smaller than the diameter of the minimum diameter of the annular groove 53 in the tool holder 50, and the diameter of the flange 60 is
At least larger than the diameter of the plug body portion 59,
Preferably, the diameter is set to be substantially equal to the diameter of the flange portion 52.

The protective cap 57 is previously fitted into the storage recess 30a of the support pot 30 in the tool magazine 10 in which the tool holder 50 is not mounted (FIG. 7A).
reference). When the tool change program is normal,
The support pot 30 to which the protection cap 57 is attached is not located at the lower end position of the tool magazine 10, and therefore, the storage recess 30a is sealed by the protection cap 57 so that cutting chips and the like do not enter.

However, when the support pot 30 to which the protection cap 57 is attached is located at the lower end position due to an error in the tool exchange program or the like, and the used tool holder 50 is fitted to the place after being removed from the main shaft 9. In the same manner as described above, the annular groove 53 of the tool holder 50 mounted on the main shaft 9 is gripped by one pair of gripping finger bodies 17a and 17b of the gripping device 16. At this time, when the distance between the distal ends (grip portions) of the other pair of gripping finger bodies 17a, 17b is reduced, the gripping claws 41, 41 at the narrowed distal ends grip the plug body 59. Without the swing arm 16a
Is moved downward, as shown in FIG. 7 (b), the collar body 60 is pushed down by the gripping portions such as the pair of gripping claw portions 41, 41 and the like. Then, the plug portion 59 of the protection cap 57 comes off the storage recess 30a of the support pot 30 and falls downward by the weight of the protection cap 57, and the support pot 30
Is opened. Therefore, after that, the swing arm 16a turns, and the tool holder 50 removed from the main shaft 9 is moved to the storage recess 3 of the support pot 30.
0a can be stored without any trouble.

The protective cap 57 that has fallen is entirely made of a synthetic resin such as polyacetal, and is softer than metal. There is also an effect that there is no. In the first embodiment, when the tool holder 50 is provided with the stud 55, the protection cap 57 is also provided with the retention knob 61, and the chuck portion provided on the back side of the storage recess 30a of the support pot 30 (see FIG. (Not shown) to hold the retention knob 61.

FIG. 8 shows a second embodiment of the protective cap 62. The plug 63 has an upwardly open cylindrical shape, which fits so as to close the lower end of the opening of the storage recess 30a in the support pot 30, and a bolt 64. , And a large-diameter flange body 67 disposed via a spacer cylinder 66 as a coupling body fitted to the nut 65 and the bolt 64. The plug body 63 is made of a flexible rubber such as soft rubber or synthetic resin material, and at least a protruding portion below the flange body 67 such as the head of the bolt 64 and the flange body 67 are made of synthetic resin. In this embodiment, as in the first embodiment, before the tool holder 50 detached from the main shaft is stored in the support pot 30 in which the protective cap 62 is fitted due to a program change of the tool exchange or the like. As shown in FIG. 9, the other pair of gripping finger bodies 1
When the distance between the distal ends of 7a, 17b is reduced, the gripping claws 41, 41 of the narrowed distal end are located above the flange body 67 without gripping the plug body 63, so that the swing arm 16a As shown in FIG. 9A, the flange body 67 is pushed down by the pair of gripping claws 41, 41. Then, the plug 63 of the protective cap 62
Is detached from the storage recess 30a of the support pot 30, falls down by the weight of the protective cap 62 (see FIG. 9B), and the storage recess 30a of the support pot 30 is opened. The same operation and effect as those of the first embodiment can be obtained.

The protection cap 62 according to the second embodiment corresponds to the tool holder 50 of the form shown in FIG. 10 and has no retention knob, and the taper shank of the tool holder 50 is not provided. The upper surface of the portion 51 is open, and a passage 68 for supplying oil mist to the tip of the tool 54 is formed through the inner diameter of the tapered shank portion 51. It is supplied via a draw bar 12. In the case where the retention knob portion 55 of the tool holder 50 as shown in FIG. 11 is drawn through a collet by a draw bar 12 inserted movably in the axial direction into a center hole following the tapered hole of the main shaft 9 through a collet, the present invention is not limited thereto. It is, of course, necessary to provide the protective cap of the invention with a retention knob. It goes without saying that the protective cap of the present invention can also be applied to a type corresponding to a type of tool holder other than the two-sided constraint type.

Further, in addition to the pair of gripping finger bodies as shown in the drawing, the gripping device according to the present invention includes a fixed gripping part having an arc shape in plan view and a movable gripping part moving in a distance to and from the fixed gripping part. A known gripping device may be used. In this case, any configuration may be employed as long as one or both of the fixed gripping portion and the movable gripping portion abut on the flange body of the protective cap.

[0034]

As described above in detail, the protective cap for a tool storage portion according to the first aspect of the present invention is a support pot having a storage recess for storing a holder of a tool to be replaced in a tool magazine or the like. A protective cap which is detachable with respect to the housing. The protective cap includes a stopper body fitted into the storage recess, and a flange body abutting the gripping part when performing a gripping operation at the time of tool replacement. Things.

According to this structure, since the storage recess of the support pot is usually covered with the protective cap, it is possible to protect the support pot from cutting chips and the like, while protecting the support pot from mistakes. At the time of tool change, the gripping portion such as a gripping finger body during the gripping operation comes into contact with the flange body of the protective cap, and the flange body is pressed down as the gripping portion moves downward, so that the plug body portion is recessed in the support pot. Since it falls out of the place, the storage recess of the support pot is automatically opened, and the removed tool holder can be fitted into the opened place. Therefore, even if there is an error in the tool change program, the holding portions such as the support pot, the tool holder, and the holding finger body are not damaged,
It is possible to solve the problem at the time of tool change and to achieve an effect that the automatic machining operation can be smoothly continued.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the protective cap for a tool storage section according to the first aspect, the plug body and the flange body are integrally formed of a soft material. In addition to the functions and effects of the invention described in claim 1,
When the protective cap falls and collides with the machine tool or the workpiece, it is possible to surely prevent the protective cap from being damaged.

Further, the invention described in claim 3 is the first invention.
In the protective cap for a tool storage section described in the above, the flange body is connected to the plug body via a connecting body, and at least the flange body is formed of a soft material. In this case as well, if the portion of the flange body that easily collides with another object at first when the protective cap falls is formed of at least a soft material, it is possible to prevent the other object from being damaged.

Further, according to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the protective cap for a tool storage section according to any one of the first to third aspects, the stopper body is held and held in the storage recess. Provided with a retention knob section for use. By providing the retention knob portion in the protective cap in this way, in addition to the effects of the inventions according to claims 1 to 3, the protective cap can be securely mounted in the storage recess of the support pot, and carelessness is provided. Thus, the automatic tool change operation can be performed safely and reliably.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a machining center.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway longitudinal sectional view of the automatic tool changer.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the gripping device.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the gripping device.

5A is a side view of a state in which a gripping finger body approaches a tool holder attached to a support pot, and FIG. 5B is a side view of a state in which the tool holder is pulled out of the support pot by a gripping finger body that moves down. It is.

FIG. 6 is a side view of the protective cap according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 7A is a side view of a state in which a gripping finger body is brought close to the protective cap of the first embodiment mounted on a support pot, and FIG. 7B is a gripping finger body that moves down from the support pot to the protective cap. It is a side view of the state which removes.

FIG. 8 is a partial cross-sectional side view of a protective cap according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 9A is a side view of a state in which a gripping finger body is brought close to a protective cap of the second embodiment mounted on a support pot, and FIG. It is a side view of the state which removes.

10A is a partially cutaway side view of another type of tool holder, and FIG. 10B is a sectional view of a tapered shank portion.

FIG. 11A is a side view of a two-sided constraint type tool holder,
(B) is a plan view.

[Explanation of symbols]

 9 Spindle 10 Tool Magazine 16 Gripping Device 16a Swing Arm 17a, 17b Gripping Finger Body 30 Support Pot 30a Storage Recess 50 Tool Holder 53 Annular Groove 57 Protective Cap 59 Plug Body 60 Flange 61 Retention Knob

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A protective cap detachable from a support pot having a storage recess for storing a holder of a tool to be replaced in a tool magazine or the like, the protection cap being fitted into the storage recess. A protective cap for a tool storage portion, comprising: a plug body portion that fits; and a flange body that comes into contact with a grip portion when performing a gripping operation at the time of tool replacement. 2. The protection cap according to claim 1, wherein the stopper and the flange are integrally formed of a soft material. 3. The tool storage unit according to claim 1, wherein the flange body is connected to the plug body via a connecting body, and at least the flange body is formed of a soft material. Protective cap. 4. The tool storage part according to claim 1, wherein the plug body part is provided with a retention knob part for holding and holding in the storage recess. Protective cap.