JP2010089171A - Conveyance system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To smoothly and completely input and collect a workpiece in a machining apparatus without increasing an installation space of the machining apparatus and without damaging the workpiece. <P>SOLUTION: Around a workpiece storage part 72 for storing a lens 1 in a pallet 70, a storage part positioning part 73 is provided. At a workpiece conveyance part 40 for performing pickup conveyance of the lens 1, a positioning member 44 having an outer tapered surface 44a fitted to a tapered surface 73a of the storage part positioning part 73 and having an inner tapered surface 44b fitted to a machining shaft positioning part of a machining shaft are coaxially provided around a workpiece retaining member 43 for sucking and retaining the lens 1 to be buffered in the axial direction through an elastic member 46. Thus, it is possible to perform positioning between the workpiece retaining member 43 and the storage part 72 in picking up the lens 1 from the pallet 70 and positioning between the workpiece retaining member 43 and the workpiece retainer in delivering the lens 1 to the workpiece retaining part of the machining shaft. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a transfer system, for example, a transfer technique used for supplying workpieces to various processing apparatuses.

  For example, in a processing apparatus or the like that sequentially processes a large number of workpieces, there may be used a workpiece transfer technique in which a plurality of workpieces placed on a tray or the like are individually taken out and sequentially supplied to the processing apparatus.

Conventionally, the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 is known as such a workpiece transfer technique.
That is, in the circumferential direction of the work table, a lens insertion hole and a polishing holder positioning hole in which a lens as a work is stored at the bottom are formed as coaxial stepped holes. The tip of the polishing holder that also serves as a transport head for picking up the lens from the work table by vacuum suction is provided with a substantially spherical large diameter portion that fits into the polishing holder positioning hole of the work table. Thus, when picking up the lens of the work table or returning the processed lens, the tip of the polishing holder is positioned so as to be coaxial with the lens insertion hole.

The prior art has the following technical problems.
(1) In order to insert a lens directly into a polishing holder that also serves as a transport head from a work table as a pallet, a space for the work table is required around the polishing holder. The device will be larger than necessary. Larger devices are less space efficient and cost more.

  (2) When the lens is sucked and held in the polishing holder, since it sucks up by suction, there is a case where it cannot be sucked well and an error that cannot be sucked at all or an oblique suction is caused. If the polishing holder is directly applied to the lens in order to avoid this, there is a concern that the lens may be damaged such as scratches or chips.

In particular, when it is attracted to the polishing holder at an angle, serious damage that causes breakage of the grindstone occurs during processing.
(3) When the lens after processing is taken out and collected from the work table, it is difficult to take out because the lens is stored in a state where it sinks into the bottom of the stepped hole.
Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 63-17587 (FIG. 4 etc.).

  An object of the present invention is to provide a technique capable of smoothly and reliably realizing the loading and collection of a workpiece with respect to the machining apparatus without increasing the installation space of the machining apparatus and without damaging the workpiece. is there.

The present invention is a transport system for transporting a workpiece to be loaded into a processing apparatus,
A work placement part provided with a work storage part in which at least one work is stored in a storage main surface, and a storage part positioning part formed in a predetermined positional relationship around the work storage part;
A workpiece holding shaft for detachably holding the workpiece at the tip, and a machining axis positioning formed in a predetermined positional relationship around the workpiece holding shaft and provided in the storage portion positioning portion and the machining axis of the machining apparatus A workpiece conveying unit that conveys the workpiece between the workpiece placement unit and the machining axis,
A transport system including the above is provided.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a technique capable of smoothly and reliably realizing the loading and collection of a workpiece with respect to the machining apparatus without increasing the installation space of the machining apparatus and without damaging the workpiece. it can.

  In the first aspect of the present embodiment, a work placement unit for placing a work, a work transport unit for transporting the work from the work placement unit to the processing unit, a work transport unit, and a work holding on the processing unit Positioning means is provided for each part.

  As a result, it is sufficient if there is a minimum space around the processing unit for processing, and the workpiece and the transfer unit are involved after the transfer unit is positioned, so that unnecessary stress is not generated on the workpiece. In addition, the degree of freedom increases in the configuration of the workpiece placement unit, and a configuration in which the workpiece is arranged at a position where the workpiece supply / discharge operation is easy is also possible.

Moreover, in the 2nd aspect of this Embodiment, it is set as the structure provided with the relative taper shape in which each positioning means in the above-mentioned 1st aspect fits mutually.
As a result, positioning can be performed independently at a portion other than the workpiece, and positioning can be performed reliably even when operated at high speed.

Moreover, in the 3rd aspect of this Embodiment, it is set as the structure which a workpiece holding part and a positioning part can slide relatively to an axial direction in the workpiece conveyance part of the above-mentioned 1st and 2nd aspect.
As a result, the positioning operation and the workpiece holding operation can be completely separated, so that the effect can be reliably obtained even when the variation of the workpiece is severe.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a part of a transfer system according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view showing an example of the overall configuration of a processing facility provided with the transfer system of the present embodiment. FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a part of the transfer system of the present embodiment in an enlarged manner, and FIG. 4 is a process provided in a processing apparatus that constitutes a processing facility including the transfer system of the present embodiment. It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows the structural example of an axis | shaft.

First, with reference to FIG. 2, the whole structure of the processing equipment containing the conveyance system H of this Embodiment is demonstrated.
As illustrated in FIG. 2, in the processing facility according to the present embodiment, the actuator 50 is configured to connect the processing device 20 and the work placement unit 60 that can place at least one work. It is. In the actuator 50, the work conveyance unit 40 can be moved to an arbitrary position by the actuator 50.

  The work placement unit 60 is configured by, for example, an XY table and the like, and a pallet 70 and a pallet 80 described later are moved and positioned in a direction orthogonal to the moving direction of the work transfer unit 40 by the actuator 50. It is possible.

And the conveyance system H of this Embodiment is comprised by the workpiece conveyance part 40, the actuator 50, and the workpiece | work arrangement | positioning part 60. FIG.
The entire conveying system H and the processing apparatus 20 are controlled by the control unit 10.

  FIG. 4 shows the tip of the machining shaft 30 provided in the machining apparatus 20. A concave workpiece holding portion 32 is provided at the tip of the machining shaft 30, and a suction hole 31 is formed in the workpiece holding portion 32 so as to open at an arbitrary position in the axial direction. (Work) can be held by suction. The entire machining shaft 30 including the workpiece holding unit 32 includes a mechanism (not shown) that can move up and down.

  In this case, a machining shaft positioning portion 33 having a tapered surface 33a inclined so that the outer diameter becomes smaller toward the tip is provided around the work holding portion 32 at the tip portion of the machining shaft 30.

On the other hand, FIG. 1 shows a configuration example of a part of the work transport unit 40 that holds a work.
The work conveyance unit 40 of the present embodiment includes an actuator 41, a pressing rod 42, a work holding member 43 (work holding shaft), a positioning member 44 (conveying unit positioning unit), an elastic member 45 (first buffer member), and an elastic member. 46 (second buffer member).

  In FIG. 1, the radial gap between the workpiece holding member 43 and the positioning member 44 is exaggerated for easy understanding, but the minimum gap that can ensure relative displacement between the two is shown. It's okay.

The entire workpiece transport unit 40 is supported by the actuator 50 via a dedicated stay 51 and is reciprocated between the workpiece placement unit 60 and the processing apparatus 20.
An actuator 41 is fixed to the stay 51. The pressing bar 42 is driven in the vertical direction by the actuator 41. A holding hole 42a is provided at the distal end side of the pressing rod 42, and a flange portion 43a provided at the upper end of the shaft-like workpiece holding member 43 is passed through the holding hole 42a with a catch that does not fall.

  The shaft-shaped workpiece holding member 43 is provided with a flange portion 43b in the middle, and an elastic member 45 such as a coil spring is interposed between the flange portion 43b and the pressing rod 42 described above. By the expansion and contraction of the elastic member 45, a force or an impact acting in a direction of pushing up the work holding member 43 from below (in other words, acting on the lens 1 held in contact with the work holding member 43 as will be described later). Force and impact) are alleviated.

  The cross section of the shaft-shaped workpiece holding member 43 may be round, square, or any shape. The lower end portion of the work holding member 43 is enlarged to have a stepped portion 43d, and a lens holding hole 43c is provided on the lower end surface.

A suction hole 43e for vacuum suction is opened through the workpiece holding member 43 in the axial direction at the center of the lens holding hole 43c.
A positioning member 44 is inserted coaxially into the lower end portion of the workpiece holding member 43 whose diameter has been increased.

  An elastic member 46 such as a coil spring is also provided on the side opposite to the elastic member 45 (on the positioning member 44 side), and the other end of the elastic member 46 is in contact with the positioning member 44. Due to the biasing force of the elastic member 46, the positioning member 44 is constantly biased in a direction protruding from the tip of the work holding member 43.

The positioning member 44 is fitted coaxially with the work holding member 43, and a biasing force is always generated in the direction in which it is removed by the elastic member 46. However, the step of the work holding member 43 has a step portion 43d having a large diameter. It is attached and will not drop out.

  In the case of the present embodiment, at least a part of the distal end of the positioning member 44 is an outer tapered surface (a surface inclined so that the outer diameter decreases toward the distal end) 44a and an inner portion. The inner taper surface (surface inclined so that an internal diameter becomes large toward the front-end | tip) 44b provided in the surrounding surface side is comprised.

The outer tapered surface 44a of the positioning member 44 is configured to fit into a storage portion positioning portion 73 of the pallet 70 described later.
The inner taper surface 44b of the positioning member 44 is formed to have the same inclination angle as the taper surface 33a of the machining shaft positioning portion 33 of the machining shaft 30 described above, and the positioning member 44 and the machining shaft positioning portion 33 are fitted. Thus, the workpiece holding part 32 of the machining shaft 30 and the workpiece holding member 43 of the workpiece conveying part 40 are positioned.

The spring constant of the elastic member 46 is set to be smaller than the spring constant of the elastic member 45, and the biasing force of the elastic member 46 is set to be weaker than the biasing force of the elastic member 45.
As described above, the lens holding hole 43c is formed at the tip of the shaft so as to be coaxial with the shaft of the workpiece holding member 43. The lens holding hole 43c and the positioning member 44 have a round shape in FIG. 1 as an example, but may have a more complicated shape in accordance with the shape of the workpiece.

  Here, it is preferable to use a material softer than the work such as resin, rubber, or the like as a material of at least a part of the work holding member 43 that contacts the lens 1 so as not to damage the lens 1.

  As illustrated in FIG. 3, the main surface 71 of the pallet 70 (work placement portion) placed on the work placement portion 60 is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the lens 1 in order to allow the lens 1 to be loaded and unloaded. A workpiece storage portion 72 is provided as a hole with a wide dimension, and a storage portion positioning portion 73 that forms a tapered surface 73a having a shape that extends upward is formed at least partially in the coaxial outer peripheral direction of the workpiece storage portion 72. ing.

  The taper surface 73a of the storage unit positioning unit 73 is fitted to the outer taper surface 44a of the positioning member 44 described above, and the work holding member 43 of the work transport unit 40 and the work storage unit 72 of the pallet 70 are positioned. Is called.

  Further, since the tapered surface 73a of the storage portion positioning portion 73 is provided around the work storage portion 72, the lens 1 can be easily taken out from the work storage portion 72 by means other than the work transport portion 40. .

(Function)
Due to the displacement of the actuator 50 and the work placement unit 60, the work holding member 43 provided in the work transport unit 40 on the lens 1 that is one work stored in the pallet 70 placed on the work placement unit 60. Is positioned.

  However, since the lens 1 as a workpiece is difficult to insert and remove unless a clearance is provided with respect to the hole of the workpiece storage portion 72 provided on the pallet 70, the workpiece storage portion 72 and the outer periphery of the lens 1 are not connected. There is a gap between them, and at this time, the workpiece holding member 43 is positioned above the lens 1 and cannot be positioned completely accurately by the gap.

  Next, the actuator 41 moves the pressing rod 42 downward. Thereby, the workpiece holding member 43 and the positioning member 44 inserted coaxially into the workpiece holding member 43 are lowered.

  Then, as illustrated in FIG. 3, first, the outer tapered surface 44 a of the positioning member 44 is a tapered surface 73 a of the storage portion positioning portion 73 provided on the outer periphery of the work storage portion 72 in which the lens 1 of the pallet 70 is stored. The workpiece holding member 43 is positioned on the same axis with respect to the workpiece storage portion 72 at the same time as the workpiece holding member 43 is stopped.

  In this state, when the pressing rod 42 further descends against the urging force of the elastic member 46, the elastic member 46 is compressed, the positioning member 44 is stopped, and the internal work holding member 43 is moved to the positioning member. 44, that is, coaxially with the work storage portion 72 of the pallet 70.

  When the lens holding hole 43c of the work holding member 43 comes into contact with the lens 1 stored in the work storage portion 72 of the pallet 70, the upper elastic member 45 contracts and cushions, and is unnecessary to the lens 1. By releasing the pressing force upward, problems such as scratches on the lens 1 do not occur.

Thereafter, the lens 1 is reliably sucked and held in the lens holding hole 43c by evacuating the suction hole 43e of the work holding member 43.
Thereafter, when the actuator 41 rises, the lens 1 is pulled up in a form of being housed inside the positioning member 44.

  After holding the lens 1, the work transport unit 40 is moved toward the processing shaft 30 of the processing apparatus 20 by the actuator 50, and the entire work transport unit 40 is 180 by a reversing mechanism of the work transport unit 40 (not shown). The lens 1 in the positioning member 44 is opposed to the workpiece holding portion 32 of the machining shaft 30 of the machining apparatus 20 located above.

  Thereafter, the workpiece holding member 43 is raised by the actuator 41, and the inner tapered surface 44b of the positioning member 44 is fitted to the tapered surface 33a of the machining shaft positioning portion 33 of the machining shaft 30 as in the case of the pallet 70 described above. By doing so, the workpiece holding member 43 is positioned with respect to the workpiece holding portion 32, and the lens 1 is reliably sucked and held at the center of the workpiece holding portion 32.

The lens 1 that has been processed on the processing shaft 30 is stored in the original pallet 70 from the processing shaft 30 in the completely opposite procedure as described above.
In this embodiment, the work holding member 43 is configured to slide with respect to the positioning member 44. However, the lens is formed in a state where these members are integrally formed and positioning is completed at the tapered portion. 1 may slightly enter the lens holding hole 43c. Also in this case, in order to escape the variation in the height of the lens 1, the work holding member 43 prevents the lens 1 from being pressed more than necessary by suppressing the elastic member such as a spring or the thrust of the actuator 41. Is preferred.

(effect)
As described above, in the case of the present embodiment, the outer tapered surface 44a of the positioning member 44 having the outer tapered surface 44a provided in the workpiece conveying unit 40 is fitted with the storage unit positioning unit 73 of the pallet 70. And by fitting the inner tapered surface 44b of the positioning member 44 with the machining axis positioning portion 33 provided on the machining axis 30 of the machining apparatus 20, the conveyance of the lens 1 between the pallet 70 and the machining axis 30 and The delivery can be reliably performed without damaging the lens 1.

  Further, since the positioning member 44 of the workpiece conveying unit 40 and the storage unit positioning unit 73 of the pallet 70 and the processing axis positioning unit 33 of the processing shaft 30 are fitted with a tapered surface, positioning is performed at high speed. And the lead time of the operation can be shortened.

  Moreover, if the positioning structure by the taper of the pallet 70 and the processing shaft 30 of the processing apparatus 20 is made the same shape, the positioning taper on the work transporting portion 40 side when the lens 1 as the work is delivered can be used in common. It becomes possible.

  Furthermore, since the processing shaft 30 of the processing apparatus 20 is not used as the work conveying unit 40, it is not necessary to make the movable range of the processing shaft 30 wider than necessary, and the installation space of the processing apparatus 20 can be reduced and the cost can be reduced. .

  As a result, according to the transfer system H of the present embodiment, the work can be loaded into and recovered from the processing apparatus 20 without increasing the installation space and cost of the processing apparatus 20 and without damaging the work (lens 1). Can be realized smoothly and reliably.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a modified example of the workpiece transfer unit and the pallet in the transfer system H of the present embodiment.
This modification is different in that a pallet 80 (work placement portion) in which a work storage portion 82 is provided at the upper end of a work storage convex portion 83 formed to protrude from the storage main surface 81 is used.

  That is, in the case of this pallet 80, the storage unit positioning unit 84 is convex on the outer periphery of the work storage convex part 83 (the outer diameter decreases toward the tip), like the processing axis positioning unit 33 of the processing shaft 30. It is formed so as to have a tapered surface 84a having an inclined shape.

In other words, the shape equivalent to the tip of the machining shaft 30 is arranged on the main storage surface 81 of the pallet 80 at a desired pitch.
Correspondingly, instead of the positioning member 44 described above, the workpiece conveyance unit 40 side is fitted in the storage unit positioning unit 84 of the pallet 80 and the processing axis positioning unit 33 of the processing shaft 30 in common. A positioning member 47 (conveyance unit positioning unit) having an inner tapered surface 47a only on the inner side is provided.

  In the case of the modification shown in FIG. 5, the same effects as those of the above-described embodiment can be obtained, and the work storage portion 82 is provided on the work storage convex portion 83 protruding from the storage main surface 81 of the pallet 80. Therefore, when the processed lens 1 is collected from the pallet 80, there is an advantage that the lens 1 can be easily taken out from the work storage portion 82.

  Further, in the pallet 80, by providing the workpiece storage portion 82 on the workpiece storage convex portion 83, even when the lenses 1 having the same aperture are stored, the arrangement pitch of the workpiece storage portions 82 can be reduced, and the transport system H can be reduced in size. As a result, downsizing of manufacturing equipment including the transport system H can be realized.

Furthermore, there is an advantage that the shape can be simplified by reducing the number of tapered surfaces of the positioning member 47 in the workpiece conveying unit 40.
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing another modified example of the workpiece transfer unit in the transfer system H of the present embodiment.

In this modification, the work holding member 143 (work holding shaft) and the positioning member 144 (conveyance positioning portion) are integrated, and the flange portion 43b and the elastic member 46 (second buffer member) in FIG. 1 are eliminated.

  That is, the work transport unit 140 includes a pressing rod 42, a work holding member 143 (work holding shaft), a positioning member 144 (transport unit positioning unit), and an elastic member 45 (first buffer member).

Since other configurations are the same as those of the embodiment of the present invention in FIG. 1, the same reference numerals are given to the same portions and the description thereof is omitted.
According to this modification, the configuration of the workpiece transfer unit can be simplified.

  As described above, according to the embodiment of the present invention, the workpiece itself, such as the lens 1 having a variation in the outer diameter, is not subjected to an extra operation for positioning. Even a workpiece made of a soft material that is easily scratched can be delivered without causing scratches, and this can be realized at low cost.

Needless to say, the present invention is not limited to the configuration exemplified in the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
[Appendix 1]
It is a transport system for an apparatus that automatically feeds a workpiece to be loaded into a processing machine, sucks and holds the workpiece and transports it to a processing tool, and has a workpiece placement hole on which at least one workpiece can be placed. A workpiece placement section, and a workpiece placement section positioning section arranged in a fixed positional relationship, such as coaxial with the workpiece placement hole, arranged in the outer peripheral direction of the workpiece placement hole configured in the workpiece placement section; Positioning of the work holding part, which is the outer periphery of the work holding part of the machining shaft for holding the work and the work holding part of the machining shaft, which is located behind the work position when machining the work A workpiece transporting unit configured to transport the workpiece between the workpiece placement unit and the workpiece holding unit, a workpiece transporting unit configured to suck and hold the workpiece, and a workpiece holding unit At least one or more circumferentially configured workpiece conveying units configured to engage or contact the workpiece after positioning with the positioning unit of the workpiece placement unit or the positioning unit of the workpiece holding unit And a workpiece automatic transfer device characterized by comprising:

[Appendix 2]
The automatic workpiece transfer apparatus according to appendix 1, wherein at least a part of a positioning portion of each workpiece forms a tapered shape.

[Appendix 3]
In the automatic workpiece transfer apparatus according to appendices 1 and 2, the workpiece holding member of the workpiece transfer unit and the positioning unit of the workpiece transfer unit are relatively slidable in the axial direction. Automatic transfer device.

It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows a part of conveyance system which is one embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic plan view which shows an example of the whole structure of the processing equipment provided with the conveyance system which is one embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic sectional drawing which expands and shows a part of conveyance system which is one embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows the structural example of the process axis | shaft with which the processing apparatus which comprises the processing equipment provided with the conveyance system which is one embodiment of this invention was equipped. It is sectional drawing which shows the modification of the workpiece conveyance part and pallet in the conveyance system which is one embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the other modification of the workpiece conveyance part in the conveyance system which is one embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Lens 10 Control part 20 Processing apparatus 30 Processing axis 31 Suction hole 32 Work holding part 33 Processing axis positioning part 33a Tapered surface 40 Work conveyance part 41 Actuator 42 Press rod 42a Holding hole 43 Work holding member 43a Flange part 43b Flange part 43c Lens Holding hole 43d Stepped portion 43e Suction hole 44 Positioning member 44a Outer taper surface 44b Inner taper surface 45 Elastic member 46 Elastic member 47 Positioning member 47a Inner taper surface 50 Actuator 51 Stay 60 Work placement part 70 Pallet 71 Storage main surface 72 Work storage part 73 Storage part positioning part 73a Tapered surface 80 Pallet 81 Storage main surface 82 Work storage part 83 Work storage convex part 84 Storage part positioning part 84a Tapered surface H Conveyance system

Claims (5)

A transport system for transporting a workpiece to be put into a processing apparatus,
A work placement unit provided with a work storage unit in which at least one of the workpieces is stored on a storage main surface, and a storage unit positioning unit formed in a predetermined positional relationship around the work storage unit;
A workpiece holding shaft for detachably holding the workpiece at the tip, and a machining axis positioning formed in a predetermined positional relationship around the workpiece holding shaft and provided in the storage portion positioning portion and the machining axis of the machining apparatus A workpiece conveying unit that conveys the workpiece between the workpiece placement unit and the machining axis,
Conveying system characterized by including. The transport system according to claim 1,
The said holding | maintenance axis | shaft and the said conveyance part positioning part are integrated, The conveyance system characterized by the above-mentioned. The transport system according to claim 2, wherein
In the workpiece transfer unit, the transfer unit positioning unit is provided to be displaceable in the axial direction of the workpiece holding shaft,
The conveyance system further comprising a first buffer member that buffers the workpiece holding shaft with respect to the workpiece. The transport system according to claim 1,
In the workpiece conveying unit, the conveying unit positioning unit is provided to be axially displaceable with respect to the workpiece holding shaft,
A first buffer member for buffering the workpiece holding shaft with respect to the workpiece;
A second buffer member for buffering the transfer unit positioning unit with respect to the workpiece holding shaft;
A conveyance system characterized by further comprising: In the conveyance system in any one of Claims 1-4,
At least a part of each fitting portion of the storage portion positioning portion, the transport portion positioning portion, and the processing axis positioning portion has a tapered surface.

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