JP2007007812A - Workpiece transfer device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem wherein it takes arranging and replacing time for chuck claws since the chuck claws for holding a workpiece are required to be prepared according to the dimension of the workpiece in a conventional work transfer device. <P>SOLUTION: This device is provided with an elevating table 14 mounted on a lower plate 11 to be freely reciprocated along a first direction, a table driving means for driving the elevating table 14 along the first direction in relation to the lower plate 11, a head plate 28 mounted on the elevating table 14 to be freely reciprocated along a second direction crossing the first direction, a revolving drive motor 21 for driving the head plate 28 along the second direction in relation to the elevating table 14, the pair of chuck claws 33 mounted on the head plate 28 to be freely reciprocated so that a workpiece may be held and having a plurality of pairs of holding surfaces 33a having each different opposed interval according to the dimension of the workpiece, and a holding member driving means for opening, closing and driving the pair of chuck claws 33 in the opposing directions. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a workpiece transfer device for gripping and transferring a workpiece, and is particularly suitable for use in a product discharge device that takes out an injection molded product from a mold that has been opened and carries it out of the mold.

  When a product molded by an injection molding machine is taken out of a mold and carried out of the mold, a product discharge device as described in Patent Document 1 is used. In this product discharge device, a chuck claw that matches the dimensional shape of the molded product is prepared in advance, and this is assembled to the product discharge device to take out the molded product from the mold of the injection molding machine. Patent Document 2 also discloses such a chuck claw. The chuck pawl grips the work by rotating around one fulcrum and is opened and closed by a motor, an air cylinder, or the like.

JP 07-164503 A JP 08-2444075

  In the conventional product discharge device disclosed in Patent Document 1, it is necessary to replace the chuck claw corresponding to the change in the size and shape of the molded product, and the time for replacement is increased and the operation rate of the injection molding machine is reduced. Invite Similarly, the chuck claws disclosed in Patent Document 2 also require a positional adjustment in three directions with respect to the pair of chuck claws in accordance with a change in the dimension and shape of the workpiece, which has the disadvantage of increasing labor. It was.

  By the way, as the dimensional shape of the molded product is reduced, the dimensional shape of the mold and the injection molding machine itself is accordingly reduced. Therefore, in a product discharge device using a motor, an air cylinder or the like as an opening / closing mechanism of the chuck claw, this is the case. In some cases, it may interfere with the mold, making it difficult to remove the molded product.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a workpiece transfer apparatus that does not require a setup change for exchanging chuck claws for workpieces having different dimensions.

  A workpiece transfer apparatus according to the present invention includes a table attached to a base so as to be reciprocally movable along a first direction, and a table driving means for driving the table with respect to the base along the first direction; A head attached to the table so as to be reciprocally movable in a second direction intersecting the first direction with respect to the table by a linear motion or a swiveling motion, and the head in the second direction with respect to the table And a plurality of sets of gripping surfaces which are attached to the head so as to be reciprocally movable so as to be able to grip and hold the workpiece, with different facing intervals depending on the dimensions of the workpiece. And a pair of gripping members, and gripping member driving means for driving the pair of gripping members to open and close in the opposing direction. That.

  In the present invention, the table driving means drives the table along the first direction with respect to the base, the head driving means drives the head along the second direction with respect to the table, and a pair of heads attached to the head. The gripping member is moved between a first position where the workpiece is placed and a second position where the workpiece is to be transferred. Then, the pair of gripping members that are open with the workpiece in between at the first position are closed by the gripping member driving means, whereby a predetermined set of gripping surfaces according to the dimensions of the workpiece grip the workpiece. On the other hand, the pair of gripping members that are closed by gripping the workpiece at the second position are opened by the gripping member driving means, thereby releasing the gripping of the workpiece by the pair of gripping members.

  In the workpiece transfer apparatus according to the present invention, the reciprocation of the head along the second direction may be a turning motion around an axis substantially parallel to the first direction. The pair of gripping members may be opened and closed along a third direction that intersects the first and second directions, respectively. Further, the opening / closing operation of the pair of gripping members may be a turning motion around an axis substantially parallel to the first direction.

  The plurality of sets of gripping surfaces are substantially parallel to each other, and can be arranged in the order of the lengths of these facing intervals, for example, along the first direction. Further, when the opening / closing operation of the pair of gripping members is a turning motion around an axis substantially parallel to the first direction, the plurality of sets of gripping surfaces may be made substantially parallel to each other in the closed state. A processing such as an uneven shape or an elastic material that improves the gripping performance can be added to the gripping surface.

  The gripping member driving means can include a spring and a solenoid that generates an electromagnetic force against the biasing force of the spring. For example, the gap between the pair of gripping members is opened by the biasing force of the spring, and the solenoid is energized. The distance between the pair of gripping members can be reduced against the biasing force of the spring.

  According to the workpiece transfer device of the present invention, a table attached to the base so as to be reciprocable along the first direction, a table driving means for driving the table along the first direction with respect to the base, A head attached to the table so as to be capable of reciprocating along a second direction intersecting the direction of 1, a head driving means for driving the head along the second direction with respect to the table, and a work sandwiched between A pair of gripping members each having a plurality of sets of gripping surfaces, each of which is attached to the head so as to be capable of gripping the head and are reciprocally movable and having different facing intervals according to the dimensions of the workpiece, and the pair of gripping members are opposed to each other. Gripping member drive means that opens and closes in the direction, even when handling workpieces with different dimensions, the pair of gripping members can be used as they are without replacement. , It is possible to eliminate time for conventionally required was setup change.

  If multiple sets of gripping surfaces are arranged in the order of the lengths of these facing intervals, simply changing the position of the head along this arraying direction, and using the appropriate set of gripping surfaces for workpieces with different dimensions This can be securely gripped.

  When the gripping member driving means has a spring and a solenoid that generates an electromagnetic force against the urging force of the spring, the gripping member driving means can be designed compactly, even in a narrow place with dimensional constraints. The workpiece can be handled reliably.

  An embodiment in which the workpiece transfer device according to the present invention is applied to a product discharge device of an injection molding machine will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7, but the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment. All changes and modifications that fall within the scope of the claimed invention are possible, and can of course be applied to other techniques belonging to the spirit of the invention.

  The product discharge device in the present embodiment opens and closes the table in the product discharge device when the injection molding machine is opened, the molded product is taken out from the mold, and the molded product is carried out to a predetermined transfer location outside the mold. By combining the motion, the turning motion of the head, and the operation of the gripping device, the molded product is automatically transferred to a predetermined transfer location in conjunction with the molding operation of the injection molding machine. FIG. 1 shows the front shape of the product discharge apparatus in this embodiment, FIG. 2 shows the right side view shape, and FIG. 3 shows the table drive means in an enlarged manner. That is, a pair of elevating guide rods 12 are vertically installed on the base of the product discharge device 10, that is, the lower plate 11 (not shown) in the present embodiment, and the pair of elevating guide rods 12 are swiveled. Elevating tables 14 each having a drive motor 21 mounted in the center thereof are connected to each other via bushes 15 so as to be freely raised and lowered. Both ends of a horizontal roller shaft 17 in which a cam roller 16 is rotatably fitted in the center portion are connected to the lower side of the elevating table 14, and a roller is provided by a snap ring 18 attached to both ends of the roller shaft 17. Consideration is given so that the shaft 17 does not come off the lifting table 14. A disc cam 19 formed on the outer periphery of a cam surface 19a to which a cam roller 16 made of a resin having a low friction coefficient comes into rolling contact is based on a spindle 13a of an elevating drive motor 13 attached to the lower plate 11 via a bracket 20. The cam shaft 22 is integrally fitted with the end portion. The cam roller 16 is restrained from displacement in the thrust direction (left-right direction in FIG. 3) by a pair of snap rings 23 fixed to the roller shaft 17. The disc surface cam 19 that functions as the table driving means in the present invention together with the cam roller 16 and the elevation drive motor 13 has a cam profile such that the distance from the rotation center of the spindle 13a changes continuously. . The outer periphery of the front end portion of the cam shaft 22 is supported so as to be slidable with respect to the upper end surface of the spindle receiver 24 erected on the lower plate 11, and in this embodiment, the cam shaft 22 At least the upper end portion of the spindle receiver 24 with which the outer peripheral surface is in sliding contact is formed of a resin having a low friction coefficient.

  As a result, when the disc cam 19 is rotated in accordance with the operation of the elevating drive motor 13, the cam roller 16 on the upper end of the cam surface 19 a of the disc cam 19 is moved along the elevating guide rod 12 together with the elevating table 14. The lift table 14 can be moved between a rising end position shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 and a lower end position (not shown) closer to the lower plate 11 side. The rising end position is set to a height at which a gripping device 29 described later does not come into contact with an obstacle when the molded product is carried out of the molding machine. In order to set the rising end position of the lifting table 14, in the present embodiment, a dog 26 detected by a table lifting end detection sensor 25 attached to the bracket 20 is projected from the lifting table 14, so that the table lifting end detection sensor 25. When the dog 26 that rises is detected, the rotation of the elevating drive motor 13 is stopped. The table rising end detection sensor 25 can change the mounting position in the vertical direction with respect to the bracket 20, whereby the rising end position of the lifting table 14 can be initialized to an arbitrary position. Further, the operation of lowering the lifting table is necessary for moving the gripping device 29 to a predetermined position of the molded product which is ejected from the mold by an unillustrated ejecting pin and is placed on the tip of the ejecting pin. The position where the descending end is set is changed depending on the size of the molded product as will be described later.

  A base end portion of a turning shaft 27 extending vertically upward is integrally connected to the spindle 21a of the turning drive motor 21 mounted upward on the lifting table 14. At the upper end of the turning shaft 27 that functions as the turning drive means in the present invention together with the turning drive motor 21 and the like, a flange portion 27a is formed to which the base end portion of the head plate 28 having a substantially semicircular arc-shaped sickle shape is fixed. . A fan-shaped dog 30 is attached to the base end portion of the pivot shaft 27 in order to position the distal end portion of the head plate 28 to which the gripping device 29 described later is attached at the first pivot end position and the second pivot end position. A head turning position detection sensor 31 for detecting the turning position of the dog 30 is fixed to the lifting table 14 via a sensor bracket 32. That is, based on the detection signal from the head turning position detection sensor 31, the first turning end position of the spindle 21a of the turning drive motor 21 is set. The second turning end position is set by designating an angle for driving the turning drive motor 21 with the first turning end position as an initial position. With the head plate moved to the second swivel end position set so that the gripping device 29 is positioned directly above the molded product, the lifting table 14 is then lowered and the molded product as described later with the gripping device 29. , The lifting table 14 is raised, the head plate is returned to the first turning end position, and the molded product gripped by the gripping device 29 is released to complete the removal of the molded product.

  The planar shape of the head plate 28 in the present embodiment is shown in FIG. 4, the planar shape of the gripping device 29 attached to the tip of the head plate 28 is shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, and the front shape of the pair of chuck claws 33 Is shown in FIG. That is, the gripping device 29 in the present embodiment is for gripping a molded product W molded by an injection molding machine, and has a pair of chuck claws 33 that move parallel to each other as a gripping member of the present invention. Both ends of a pair of front and rear support guide bars 34 that are parallel to each other are horizontally supported by a pair of left and right side plate portions 28a formed at the front end portion of the head plate 28, and the support guide rods 34 are provided from the side plate portions 28a. Snap rings 35 are attached to both ends of the support guide rods 34 so as not to come off. A pair of left and right sliders 36 each having a chuck claw 33 integrally connected to the front end portion penetrates a support guide bar 34, whereby the slider 36 is slidably supported with respect to the support guide bar 34. It has become. A compression coil spring 37 is mounted on the support guide bar 34 on the base end side so as to be interposed between the pair of left and right sliders 36, and thereby the pair of left and right sliders 36 together with the chuck claws 33 expands the facing distance therebetween. Be energized by. A solenoid 39 having a plunger 38 that reciprocates in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the sliding direction of the pair of left and right sliders 36 is fixed to the head plate 28. A proximal end portion of a connecting member 40 is connected to the distal end portion of the plunger 38 via a spring pin 41, and the proximal end portions of two upper and lower link arms 42 are pivoted to the distal end portion of the connecting member 40. It is connected via a pin 43 parallel to the shaft 27. Each pair of link arms 42 is composed of a pair of left and right link arms 42, and the tip portions thereof are divided into left and right portions and are connected to a slider 36 via pins 44 parallel to the pivot shaft 27. A snap ring (not shown) is attached to each of the pins 43 and 44 so that the link arm 42 does not come off from the pins 43 and 44.

  The solenoid 39 is in the state shown in FIG. 5 in which the plunger 38 protrudes forward in the non-excited state and the gap between the chuck claws 33 is maximized in combination with the spring force of the compression coil spring 37. On the other hand, when the solenoid 39 is in an excited state, the plunger 38 is pulled into the solenoid 39 against the spring force of the compression coil spring 37. As a result, the interval between the chuck claws 33 is reduced to the state shown in FIG. That is, the tip of the head plate 28 is moved so that the molded product W is positioned between the pair of chuck claws 33 while the solenoid 39 is in a non-excited state, and the solenoid 39 is excited in this state, thereby These are moved in parallel so that the gap between the claws 33 is narrowed, and the molded product W is held by the chuck claws 33. In the present embodiment, the slider 36 and the chuck claw 33 can slide by 3 mm each in the facing direction, and the molded product W is placed at a position where the chuck claw 33 approaches 2 mm inside from the fully open state shown in FIG. The gripping force at this time is set to be 140 × 9.8 mN. Therefore, it will be understood that when the mass of the molded product W is 4 g or less, it has a sufficient gripping force.

  Plural pairs (three pairs in the example of FIG. 7) of gripping surfaces 33a are formed on the chuck claws 33 that are opposed to each other. A plurality of pairs of gripping surfaces 33a are formed in a step shape. Therefore, the vertical position of the chuck claw 33 with respect to the molded product W is changed by changing the lowering position of the lifting table 14 according to the width dimension of the molded product W gripped by the chuck claw 33 (the dimension along the left-right direction in FIG. 7). The position of the direction is changed, the gripping surface 33a having the optimum facing distance is made to face the molded product, and the molded product W can always be gripped with the optimal gripping force, resulting in a decrease in the operating rate of the injection molding machine. Such a problem can be minimized. In addition, it is not necessary to replace the chuck claws 33 according to the molded product W having different width dimensions as in the prior art, and the operating rate of the injection molding machine can be further increased. Further, if the plurality of pairs of gripping surfaces 33a are formed in a stepped shape so that the opposing gap becomes wider as the lower pair of gripping surfaces 33a, There is no problem that the gripping surface 33a comes into contact.

It is a front view showing the external appearance of one Embodiment which applied the workpiece transfer apparatus by this invention to the product discharge apparatus of the injection molding machine. It is a right view of the product discharge apparatus shown in FIG. It is an extraction enlarged view of the part of the table and its drive mechanism in the product discharge apparatus shown in FIG. It is a top view of the part of the head in the product discharge apparatus shown in FIG. It is an extraction enlarged view of the part of the holding | grip apparatus in the product discharge apparatus shown in FIG. 1, and has shown the state which a pair of holding member opened. It is an extraction enlarged view of the part of the holding | grip apparatus in the product discharge apparatus shown in FIG. 1, and has shown the state which a pair of holding member closed. It is an extraction expansion front view of the part of the chuck nail in the product discharge device shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Product discharge apparatus 11 Lower board 12 Elevating guide bar 13 Elevating drive motor 13a Spindle 14 Elevating table 15 Bush 16 Cam roller 17 Roller shaft 18 Snap ring 19 Disc cam 19a Cam surface 20 Bracket 21 Rotation drive motor 21a Spindle 22 Cam shaft 23 Snap Ring 24 Spindle receiver 25 Table rising end detection sensor 26 Dog 27 Rotating shaft 27a Flange portion 28 Head plate 28a Side plate portion 29 Gripping device 30 Dog 31 Head turning position detection sensor 32 Sensor bracket 33 Chuck claw 33a Grip surface 34 Support guide rod 35 Snap Ring 36 Slider 37 Compression coil spring 38 Plunger 39 Solenoid 40 Connecting member 41 Spring pin 42 Link arm 43, 44 Pin W Molded product

Claims (4)

A table attached to the base so as to reciprocate along a first direction;
Table driving means for driving the table with respect to the base along the first direction;
A head attached to the table so as to be reciprocally movable in a second direction intersecting the first direction with respect to the table by a linear motion or a turning motion;
Head driving means for linearly driving or turning the head in the second direction with respect to the table;
A pair of gripping members each having a plurality of gripping surfaces, each of which is attached to the head so as to be reciprocally movable by a linear motion or a swivel motion so that the workpiece can be gripped, and having a plurality of gripping surfaces different from each other.
A workpiece transfer device comprising: gripping member driving means for opening and closing the pair of gripping members in the facing direction.   2. The workpiece transfer apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of sets of gripping surfaces are arranged in the order of the lengths of the facing intervals.   The workpiece transfer device according to claim 1, wherein the gripping member driving unit includes a spring and a solenoid that generates an electromagnetic force against an urging force of the spring.   2. A set of gripping surfaces used for gripping a workpiece is selected from a plurality of gripping surfaces of the gripping member by changing a stop position of the table in the first direction. The workpiece transfer apparatus according to claim 3.

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