JP2006347709A - Workpiece lifting device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a workpiece lifting device capable of pushing up a workpiece while maintaining it in a parallel state with a work stage and preventing occurrence of a slippage in the operating timing of a lift pin. <P>SOLUTION: The workpiece lifting device is equipped with: a plurality of liquid cylinders 27 each corresponding to a cylinder device 25 for driving the lift pin 11 in the vertical direction; a plurality of operating liquid feeding pipes 28 each connecting the liquid cylinder 27 and the cylinder device 25; an air cylinder 29 having a piston rod 29a connected to each piston rod 27a of the liquid cylinder 27 via a connecting member 32; a compressed air supply source 30 for feeding compressed air for operation to the air cylinder 29; and an operating fluid feeding mechanism 26 having a switching valve 31 for switching the flow direction of the compressed air fed to the air cylinder 29 from the compressed air supply source 30. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a work lift device that pushes up a work formed in a plate shape such as a transparent substrate from a work stage.

  Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 5, this type of work lift device appropriately includes a plurality of lift pins 11 that push up a plate-like work W from the work stage WS (in the figure, two lift pins are shown for convenience). And a plurality of cylinder devices 12 that respectively drive these lift pins 11 in the vertical direction. These cylinder devices 12 are operated by compressed air supplied from a compressed air supply source 13 via an electromagnetic switching valve 14, and two cylinder devices 12 and two electromagnetic switching valves 14 are connected to each other. The compressed air supply pipe 15 is provided with a throttle valve 16 for adjusting the flow rate.

  In such a work lift device, it is possible to reduce variations in the operating speed of the lift pins 11 due to the frictional resistance of the cylinder device 12 by adjusting the amount of compressed air flowing into the cylinder device 12 with the throttle valve 16. However, since a compressive fluid such as air is used as the working fluid for operating the cylinder device 12, the operation timing of the lift pin 11 is caused by stick-slip caused by the frictional resistance of the cylinder device 12 or uneven piping distance. As a result, as shown in FIG. 6, the workpiece W may be pushed up above the workpiece stage WS in a state where the workpiece W is inclined.

  As a measure for solving such a problem, for example, a method in which the wedge-shaped member 18 supported by the horizontal guide 17 (see FIG. 7) is moved horizontally by the cylinder device 12 to move the lift pin 11 up and down, or a lateral link guide is used. 19 (see FIG. 8) is connected to an oblique link 21 connected to the lower end of the lift pin 11, and the cylinder device 12 moves the horizontal link 20 in the horizontal direction to move the lift pin 11 up and down. However, the work lift apparatus shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 has a problem that the structure is complicated and a large space is required below the work stage WS. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 9, a hydraulic cylinder 22 is used as a cylinder device for moving the lift pin 11 up and down, and the air pressure from the compressed air supply source 13 is converted into hydraulic pressure by the pressure converter 23 to move the lift pin 11 up and down. A work lift device is proposed.

  In such a work lift device, it is possible to suppress deviations in the operation timing of the lift pins due to the compressibility of the working fluid, as in the case where an air cylinder is used as the cylinder device for moving the lift pins up and down. , Had the following problems. In other words, in the above-described work lift device, each hydraulic oil supply pipe 24 connecting each hydraulic cylinder 22 and the pressure converter 23 is provided with a throttle valve 16 for flow rate adjustment. There was a problem that it took time and effort. There is also a problem that the operating speed of each hydraulic cylinder 22 varies when the load applied to the lift pins 11 changes. Furthermore, since air is mixed into the hydraulic oil supply pipe 24 from the pressure converter 23, there is a problem that the air venting operation must be performed periodically. In addition, when air is mixed into the hydraulic oil supply pipe 24, there is a possibility that the operation timing of the lift pin is shifted.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to the above-mentioned problems, and the object of the present invention is that the work can be pushed up while maintaining a state parallel to the work stage, and the operation timing of the lift pins is shifted. An object of the present invention is to provide a work lift device that can be prevented.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a plurality of lift pins that push up a plate-shaped workpiece from above a work stage, a plurality of cylinder devices that respectively drive the lift pins in the vertical direction, and an incompressible property to the cylinder device. A working fluid supply mechanism that supplies a working fluid supply mechanism, wherein the working fluid supply mechanism includes a plurality of liquid cylinders respectively corresponding to the cylinder devices, and each of the liquid cylinders and the cylinder devices. A plurality of hydraulic fluid supply pipes to be connected; an air cylinder having a piston rod connected to each piston rod of the liquid cylinder via a connecting member; and a compressed air supply source for supplying compressed air for operation to the air cylinder; And a switching valve for switching the flow direction of the compressed air supplied from the compressed air supply source to the air cylinder. And characterized in that.

In the work lift device according to the present invention, the working fluid supply mechanism may have two compressed air supply pipes connecting the air cylinder and the switching valve. In this case, the compressed air supply pipe preferably has a throttle valve for adjusting the flow rate.
The working fluid supply mechanism includes a link member that connects the piston rods of the plurality of liquid cylinders and the piston rod of the air cylinder, and a support pin that supports the link member in a swingable manner. Also good.
Furthermore, the structure which connected the said some hydraulic fluid supply pipe | tube with the bypass pipe, and provided the on-off valve in the said bypass pipe | tube may be sufficient.

  In the work lift device according to the present invention, the cylinder is operated by using an incompressible fluid such as oil or water as a working fluid for operating the cylinder device. Since the shift of the operation timing of the lift pins due to stick slip caused by the frictional resistance of the apparatus and uneven piping distance can be reduced, the workpiece can be pushed up while maintaining a state parallel to the workpiece stage.

  Further, a plurality of liquid cylinders respectively corresponding to the cylinder device, a plurality of hydraulic fluid supply pipes respectively connecting the liquid cylinder and the cylinder device, and a piston rod connected to each piston rod of the liquid cylinder via a connecting member A closed circuit comprising a cylinder device, a liquid cylinder, and a hydraulic fluid supply pipe by including a working fluid supply mechanism having an air cylinder having an air cylinder and an air supply source that supplies working air to the air cylinder via a switching valve. The liquid circuit) is separated from an air circuit comprising an air cylinder, a compressed air supply source and a switching valve, and in the liquid circuit as in the case of using a pressure converter 23 as shown in FIG. Since the lift pin can be driven without air mixing, it is possible to prevent the operation timing of the lift pin from shifting. Kill.

Hereinafter, the work lift device concerning the present invention is explained based on a drawing.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a work lift device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the work lift device 10 according to the first embodiment includes a plurality of appropriate lift pins 11 that push up a plate-like work W from above the work stage WS (for convenience, two lift pins are used in the figure). And a plurality of cylinder devices 25 that respectively drive these lift pins 11 in the vertical direction, and the cylinder devices 25 are operated by an incompressible fluid such as oil or water. In addition, the work lift device 10 includes a working fluid supply mechanism 26 that supplies a working fluid to the cylinder device 25.

  The working fluid supply mechanism 26 includes a plurality of liquid cylinders 27 respectively corresponding to the cylinder devices 25, and a plurality of hydraulic fluid supply pipes 28 that connect the liquid cylinders 27 and the cylinder devices 25. The working fluid supply mechanism 26 includes an air cylinder 29, a compressed air supply source 30 that supplies compressed air for operation to the air cylinder 29, and a flow of compressed air that is supplied from the compressed air supply source 30 to the air cylinder 29. And a switching valve 31 for switching the direction. The piston rod 29 a of the air cylinder 29 is connected to each piston rod 27 a of the liquid cylinder 27 via a connecting member 32.

Furthermore, the working fluid supply mechanism 26 has two compressed air supply pipes 33 that connect the air cylinder 29 and the switching valve 31, and a throttle valve 34 for adjusting the flow rate is provided in these compressed air supply pipes 33. Is provided.
Note that when an air cylinder with a valve mounted directly is used, the compressed air supply pipe 33 may be omitted.

  In such a configuration, when the switching valve 31 is switched from the state shown in FIG. 1 to the state shown in FIG. 2, the compressed air is supplied from the air supply source 30 to the cylinder chamber on the right side of the drawing in the two cylinder chambers of the air cylinder 29. As a result, the piston rod 29a of the air cylinder 29 moves to the left in the figure. Then, when the piston rod 29a of the air cylinder 29 moves to the left in the figure, the piston of each liquid cylinder 27 moves to the left in the figure, whereby two cylinder chambers 27b and 27c of the liquid cylinder 27 (see FIG. 2). ) Is pushed out from the cylinder chamber 27b on the left side in the figure.

The hydraulic fluid pushed out from the cylinder chamber 27b of the liquid cylinder 27 in this way is supplied to the hydraulic fluid supply pipe 28 to the lower cylinder chamber 25a in the figure among the two cylinder chambers 25a and 25b (see FIG. 2) of the cylinder device 25. The lift pin 11 is pushed upward by this.
As described above, by using an incompressible fluid such as oil or water as the working fluid for operating the cylinder device 25, the friction of the cylinder device as in the case where a compressive fluid such as air is used as the working fluid. Since the shift of the operation timing of the lift pin 11 due to stick slip caused by resistance or uneven piping distance can be reduced, the workpiece W can be pushed up while maintaining a parallel state with the upper surface of the workpiece stage WS.

  The working fluid supply mechanism 26 has a plurality of liquid cylinders 27 corresponding to the cylinder devices 25, a plurality of working fluid supply pipes 28 respectively connecting the liquid cylinders 27 and the cylinder devices 25, and each piston rod of the liquid cylinder 27. An air cylinder 29 having a piston rod 29 a connected to the air cylinder 29 through a connecting member 32, a compressed air supply source 30 that supplies compressed air for operation to the air cylinder 29, and a compressed air supply source 30 that supplies the air cylinder 29 The lift pin 11 can be driven without using the pressure converter 23 as shown in FIG. 9, and thus the hydraulic fluid supply pipe 28 can be driven. Since no air is mixed in, the operation timing of the lift pin 11 is prevented from being shifted. It is possible.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a second embodiment of the present invention. The second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the piston rod 27a of the liquid cylinder 27 and the piston rod 29a of the air cylinder 29 are connected. The working fluid supply mechanism 26 includes a link member 35 to be connected and a support pin 36 that supports the link member 35 in a swingable manner. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 27 a is a piston rod of the liquid cylinder 27, and 29 a is a piston rod of the air cylinder 29.

  In such a configuration, as shown in FIG. 3, the position of the support pin 36 is set closer to the liquid cylinder 27 (A> B in FIG. 3B). The moving speed of the piston rod 27a of the liquid cylinder 27 is smaller than the moving speed of the piston rod 29a of the air cylinder 29 compared to the case where the center is set. As a result, the piston moving speed of the liquid cylinder 27 can be reduced without reducing the moving speed of the piston rod 29a of the air cylinder 29. In addition to the effects of the first embodiment described above, stick slip occurs in the air cylinder 29. The operating speed of the lift pin 11 can be adjusted to a very low speed without causing it. Further, the lifting force by the lift pins 11 can be increased.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a third embodiment of the present invention. The third embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that a hydraulic fluid supply pipe 28 for connecting the cylinder device 25 and the liquid cylinder 27 is provided. They are connected by a bypass pipe 37, and an on-off valve 38 is provided in the middle of the bypass pipe 37.
According to such a configuration, the opening / closing valve 38 provided in the bypass pipe 37 is provided when there is a difference in the amount of the working liquid in each liquid circuit composed of the cylinder device 25, the liquid cylinder 27, and the working liquid supply pipe 28. By performing the opening operation, it becomes possible to make the hydraulic fluid in each liquid circuit uniform, so that it is possible to suppress the variation in the operation amount between the cylinder devices 25 due to the non-uniformity of the hydraulic fluid amount. Each lift pin 11 can be moved up and down with the same stroke.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a work lift device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure for demonstrating operation | movement of the work lift apparatus shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the principal part of the work lift apparatus which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the principal part of the work lift apparatus which concerns on the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows a 1st prior art example. It is a figure for demonstrating the fault of the work lift apparatus shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the 2nd prior art example. It is a figure which shows the 3rd prior art example. It is a figure which shows the 4th prior art example.

Explanation of symbols

W Work WS Work Stage 10 Work Lift Device 11 Lift Pin 12 Cylinder Device 13 Compressed Air Supply Source 14 Electromagnetic Switching Valve 15 Compressed Air Supply Pipe 16 Throttle Valve 17 Horizontal Guide 18 Wedge-shaped Member 19 Lateral Link Guide 20 Lateral Link 21 Oblique Link 22 Hydraulic cylinder 23 Pressure converter 25 Cylinder device 26 Working fluid supply mechanism 27 Liquid cylinder 27a Piston rod 28 Working fluid supply pipe 29 Air cylinder 29a Piston rod 30 Compressed air supply source 31 Switching valve 32 Connecting member 33 Compressed air supply pipe 34 Throttle valve 35 Link member 36 Support pin 37 Bypass pipe 38 On-off valve

Claims (5)

A plurality of lift pins that push up a plate-shaped workpiece from above the work stage, a plurality of cylinder devices that respectively drive the lift pins in the vertical direction, and a working fluid supply mechanism that supplies an incompressible working fluid to the cylinder devices A work lift device,
The working fluid supply mechanism includes a plurality of liquid cylinders respectively corresponding to the cylinder device, a plurality of hydraulic fluid supply pipes connecting the liquid cylinder and the cylinder device, and a connecting member for each piston rod of the liquid cylinder. An air cylinder having a piston rod connected thereto, a compressed air supply source for supplying compressed air for operation to the air cylinder, and a flow direction of the compressed air supplied from the compressed air supply source to the air cylinder is switched. A work lift device comprising a switching valve.   The work lift device according to claim 1, wherein the working fluid supply mechanism has two compressed air supply pipes connecting the air cylinder and the switching valve.   3. The work lift device according to claim 2, wherein each of the compressed air supply pipes has a throttle valve for adjusting a flow rate.   The working fluid supply mechanism includes a link member that connects the piston rods of the plurality of liquid cylinders and the piston rod of the air cylinder, and a support pin that supports the link member in a swingable manner. Item 4. The work lift device according to any one of Items 1 to 3.   5. The work lift device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of hydraulic fluid supply pipes are connected by a bypass pipe, and an open / close valve is provided in the bypass pipe. 6.

Images