JP2897604B2 - Work transfer positioning method and apparatus - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for positioning workpieces conveyed by a conveyor at predetermined processing positions one by one.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional transport system of this type will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 (front view) and 10 (plan view). When a work w such as a cylinder block of an engine is placed on the conveyor 1 and conveyed, the type (size, shape, etc.) of the work is detected by a work discrimination sensor (not shown) attached at a position before the processing position. A stopper corresponding to the type protrudes upward from a gap between the rollers 1a of the conveyor 1, and is locked to the tip of the work w. For example, in the case of the work w1 indicated by the two-dot chain line, the corresponding stopper 2 protrudes, and in the case of the work w2 indicated by the one-dot chain line, the corresponding stopper 3 is moved from the position downstream of the stopper 2 in the transport direction. Protrude.

Next, the ceiling wall 4a of the positioning device 4 driven by a hydraulic cylinder or the like rises, and the ceiling wall 4a
The locating pins 4b provided at the locations protrude upward from the gap between the rollers 1a of the conveyor 1, and the leading end portion of the workpiece w
The work w is positioned and supported by being inserted into an engagement hole formed beforehand, and further raised to be lifted above the conveyor 1 to be set at a predetermined processing position. On the other hand, the stopper 2
Is drawn downward from the upper end of the roller 1a of the conveyor 1.

[0004] Processing of the work is started at the processing position. When the processing of the work is completed, the ceiling wall of the positioning device 4 is lowered, and the leading end of the locating pin 4a is pulled below the upper end of the roller of the transport conveyor 1, and the engagement with the engaging hole of the work is released. At the same time, it is transported downstream on the transport conveyor 1. On the other hand, during the processing of the work, the work upstream of the work being processed is provided with a second stopper (see FIGS.
Although not shown in FIG. 10, the conveyance is stopped by the second stopper 13 shown in FIG. 1), and the subsequent work is on standby in a state of being connected to the first work.

After the finished work passes the retracted first stopper 2 or 3, it is confirmed that the first stopper has been completely lifted, and then the downstream first work is placed next to the first work. The adjacent work is locked by a third stopper (similar to the third stopper 14 in FIG. 1), the lock between the second stopper and the first work is released, the work is transported, and the first work is stopped. Engage the stopper. The above control of one cycle is repeated.

[0006]

However, such a conventional work transfer positioning system has the following problems. The workpiece after machining is in the machining area (Fig. 10
Only after the first stopper has been transported out of the section g) over the first stopper, the first stopper cannot be moved upward, and it must be confirmed that the first stopper has been completely raised. Since the next work cannot be transported, the cycle time becomes longer and the efficiency is reduced.

When lowering the first stopper,
Since the workpiece descends while being in contact with the end face of the workpiece, the workpiece is likely to be damaged. Further, it is necessary to provide a plurality of first stoppers dedicated to the type of work. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of such a conventional problem, and reduces the cycle time by enabling the transfer of a work to be processed next to a processing position in parallel with the transfer of a work after processing is completed. The first object is to improve efficiency.

It is a second object of the present invention to prevent the work from being damaged when the stopper for positioning the processing position is released. A third object is to improve the versatility by enabling the positioning of the processing position with one stopper regardless of the type of work.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, a method for positioning a work transported according to the present invention is a method for sequentially transporting and positioning a work placed on a transport conveyor to a predetermined processing position. After the incoming work is locked at the first stopper at a predetermined position, the workpiece is processed by being lifted above the transport conveyor by the positioning means and positioned, while the first workpiece on the upstream side in the transport direction from the workpiece being processed is processed. After stopping the transfer in a state where the workpiece conveyed to the upstream side is connected by locking the second stopper to the workpiece, and releasing the lock of the first stopper with the workpiece, The work is moved between the middle work and the first work adjacent to the upstream side, and when the processing of the work is completed, the positioning means is lowered to transfer the work to the conveyor. At the same time as being conveyed to the downstream side, and at the same time, while locking the third stopper to the next work adjacent to the upstream side of the first work, the second stopper and the first work are locked. Release the workpiece to be transported, then release the lock of the third stopper, lock the workpiece transported downstream by the second stopper, and substantially synchronize with the transport of the leading workpiece. A cycle operation of moving the first stopper at the set speed and stopping at a position where the leading work is locked at the predetermined position.

[0010] Further, a work transfer positioning device according to the present invention is an apparatus for transferring and positioning a work placed on a transfer conveyor to a predetermined processing position in a sequential manner. A first stopper configured to be able to stop and release freely and to be movable by a predetermined amount along the transport direction of the transport conveyor, and a workpiece transported to a predetermined position by the first stopper from the transport conveyor. Positioning means for lifting up and positioning at a predetermined processing position, a second stopper configured to be freely locked and released from a first work upstream of the work being processed, and a second stopper. A third stopper configured to be freely locked and released from the work adjacent to the work to be stopped on the upstream side; And the first stopper is positioned between the work being processed and the first work on the upstream side, and the second stopper is locked to the first work on the upstream side. While the positioning means is lowered to convey the work after processing to the downstream side by the conveyance conveyor, the third stopper engages with the work adjacent to the upstream side of the top work and engages with the second stopper and the top work. The workpiece is conveyed to the downstream side by releasing the stop, and then the lock of the third stopper is released to lock the work conveyed to the downstream side by the second stopper. The first stopper is moved at a synchronized speed and stopped at the predetermined position, and after the work is locked to the stopped first stopper, the positioning means is controlled to be raised and supported. Sequential control Characterized by being configured to include a stage, a.

The first stopper slightly moves to the downstream side in the transport direction of the work and rises to the side of the work to release the engagement with the work. , It may be configured to move to the position, fall down to the work side, and be set in a lockable state. Further, the apparatus further includes a work type determining unit for determining a type of the work, wherein the sequential control unit variably controls a position where the first stopper is locked to the work according to the determined type of the work. Is also good.

[0012]

The work is processed while being lifted above the conveyor by the positioning means at the position in the conveyance direction where the work is locked to the first stopper, during which the first stopper releases the engagement with the work. After that, it moves and stands by between the workpiece being processed and the first workpiece on the upstream side.

On the other hand, during the processing of the work, the first work among the works on the upstream side is locked by the second stopper, and the subsequent works are connected with each other to stand by. Then, when the processing of the work is completed, the positioning means is lowered and the work is conveyed to the downstream side by being placed on the conveyer. In parallel with the work transfer operation after the end of the machining, the third stopper locks the work adjacent to the upstream first work, while the second stopper locks the work to the first work. The workpiece is released and transported downstream by the transport conveyor, and the first stopper is moved at a speed substantially synchronized with the transport to a position where the workpiece is locked to the work at the processing position. Is locked.

The control of one cycle is repeated.
In this manner, the operation of transporting the work after the completion of the processing and the operation of transporting the work to be processed next to the processing position can be performed in parallel, so that the cycle time is reduced.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In FIGS. 1 to 8 showing the configuration of one embodiment, a work W (W1, W2;
A first stopper mechanism 12 that can be freely locked and released at a predetermined position corresponding to the processing position of the work W is provided at a front end portion of the work W in the transfer direction at a side of the transfer conveyor 11 for sequentially transferring the work W. A second stopper 13 is provided on the upstream side in the conveying direction of the workpiece W to be processed next, and is free to be locked and released by a tip end of the workpiece W to be processed next. Are provided.

The transport conveyor 11 includes rollers 11a arranged in a row in the transport direction and rotating around an axis, and a work W which supports both ends of the rollers 11a and guides the work W so as not to come off the transport path. And a guide 11b. The first stopper mechanism 12 is supported on a side surface of the conveyor 11 and is rotated forward and backward around an axis by a servo motor 12a.
And the workpiece W is engaged with the guide rail 12c.
A predetermined section (G in the drawing) along the transport direction.A reciprocally movable arm member 12d, an actuator 12e fixed to the arm member 12d, A lever 12f coupled to the actuator 12e, a first stopper 12g swinging integrally with the lever 12f via a rotation shaft, and a first stopper when the rod of the actuator 12e is extended.
When the rod of the actuator 12e is shortened, the first stopper 12g rises as shown by a chain line in FIG. Is set to the position where the lock of the lock is released.

The second stopper 13 is connected to the first stopper 12
A central portion is pivotally supported on the side wall of the conveyor 11 on the same side as the above so as to freely swing in a horizontal plane. The third stopper 14 is
Similarly, a central portion bent in an L-shape on the side wall of the conveyor 11 is pivotally supported in a horizontal plane so as to freely swing, and a locking surface with the workpiece W.
The end extending from 14a is engaged with the end of the second stopper 13, the slot, and the pin so as to swing freely with play.

The distal end of the third stopper 14 is swingably connected to a rod of an actuator 15 whose distal end is pivotally supported by a bracket 15 fixed to the side wall of the conveyor 11. , Thereby the actuator
When the rod 15 is extended, the third stopper 14 is set at the position where the engagement with the work W is released, as shown in FIG. Is set to the position where When the rod of the actuator 15 performs a shortening operation, a third stopper is formed as shown in FIG.
14 swings counterclockwise to lock the locking surface with the workpiece W, while the second stopper 13 swings clockwise to lock the workpiece W
Is released.

On the other hand, a positioning device 16 is provided below the work W processing area of the conveyor 11. Positioning device 16
The ceiling wall 16b is connected to the upper end of a vertically moving piston of a hydraulic cylinder 16a supported on the floor. A board 16c having a long shape in the front-rear direction is fixed to the upper surface of the cylinder wall of the hydraulic cylinder 16a, and hollow members 16d are fixed to positions of the board 16c before and after the hydraulic cylinder 16a, respectively.
A rod 16e that is fixed to the lower surface of the ceiling 16b and that hangs down is fitted into each hollow member to provide a mechanism for guiding the vertical movement of the ceiling wall 16b.

On the upper surface of the ceiling wall 16b, a conveyor 11 is provided.
A work receiving member 16f projecting upward from the gap between the rollers to support the work W and a locate pin 16g for positioning the work W are provided upright. these,
Each of the first to third stoppers and the positioning device is a control device.
The workpiece W is sequentially conveyed to the processing position under sequence control by a control signal from the (control means).

Next, a description will be given of a series of transport positioning control by the control device. FIG. 1 shows a state in which the work W is being processed. At this time, the workpiece W being processed is positioned by the positioning device 16 by engaging the upper end of the locating pin 16g with an engagement hole formed in the bottom wall of the workpiece W in advance, and via the workpiece receiving member 16f. Conveyor conveyor 11
Processing is performed while being lifted to a predetermined processing position above.

At this time, the work W on the upstream side is locked by the second stopper 13 with the first work W
14 is in a state where the lock with the work W is released,
Work W conveyed upstream as shown in FIG.
Are waiting in a state of being connected in a bead shape. The first stopper 12g is moved leftward in FIG. 1 by the ball screw 12b driven by the servomotor 12a after being released from the engagement with the workpiece W being processed, as described later, and is moved to the left. The first stopper 12g is set at a position between the first work W and the first work W adjacent on the upstream side, and the first stopper 12g can be locked with the next work W by the actuator 12d extending.

When the machining of the work W is completed, the hydraulic cylinder 16a of the positioning device 16 operates to operate the ceiling wall 16b.
Is lowered, and when the work receiving member 16 f is lowered from the upper end of the roller 11 a of the conveyor 11, the work W is transferred to the conveyor 11.
The work W is conveyed to the downstream side by the conveyor 11 when the locating pin 16g is disengaged from the engagement hole of the work W.

On the other hand, in parallel with this operation, the rod of the actuator 15 is shortened, and the third stopper 14 is engaged with the tip of the corresponding work W while the second stopper 13 is engaged with the corresponding work W. The suspension is released. As a result, the workpiece W released from the engagement with the second stopper 13 is transferred to the transport conveyor.
It is transported downstream by 11. At the same time, servo motor
The first stopper 12g is moved downstream at a speed substantially synchronized with the work W to be conveyed by the rotation of the ball screw 12c by driving the ball screw 12c, and is moved to a position where the subsequent work W is locked at the processing position. Stop. Here, the type (size, shape) of the work W is determined by a work W determination sensor (not shown) on the front side of the processing position of the work W, and the first stopper 12g is moved in accordance with the determined type of the work W. A stop position is determined. For example, two types of works W1, W
When the workpiece 2 is transported, the workpiece W2 having a large length in the transport direction is stopped at a position lower by a distance L than the workpiece W1 on the downstream side as shown in FIG.

When the workpiece W is locked in the first stopper 12g and positioned in the transporting direction, the hydraulic cylinder 16a of the positioning device 16 is operated to rise together with the ceiling wall 16b and move from between the rollers 11a. The projecting locate pin 16g engages with the front and rear engagement holes of the work W, and the work receiving member 16f
Supports the bottom wall of the work W, lifts the work W by a predetermined amount above the conveyor 11, and sets the work W at a specified processing position.

Next, the servo motor 12a is driven again to move the first stopper 12g to the downstream side in the transport direction by a predetermined amount K, and the actuator 12d is extended to stand up in the vertical direction, thereby allowing the first stopper 12g to move vertically. After releasing the lock,
The actuator moves by a predetermined amount G to the upstream side in the transport direction,
Reduce 12d and set it to the position where it was tilted horizontally. On the other hand, the actuator 15 is extended again to
The work W conveyed to the downstream side is thereby locked with the second stopper 13 while disengaging the work W from the work W.

The above-described series of cycle operations returns to the above-described initial state during machining. With such a configuration, the first stopper 12g may be set to a state (horizontal position) in which the first stopper 12g can be locked to the work W in advance without waiting for the work W to be unloaded from the processing area after the processing is completed. The work W to be processed next can be transported to the processing position in parallel with the unloading operation without waiting for the operation to be in the lockable state, so that the cycle time can be greatly reduced and the efficiency can be improved. Can be promoted.

Further, since the first stopper 12g is configured to be freely movable in the predetermined section G with respect to the transport direction, the unlocking operation with the workpiece W includes the operation of moving the workpiece W downstream in the transport direction. Since it can be performed, there is no possibility that the end face of the work W will be damaged, and it is possible to cope with a plurality of types of works W by moving one first stopper 12g.

[0029]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to carry out the work after finishing the work and carry in the work to be worked next in parallel, so that the cycle time is greatly reduced. Can be shortened and efficiency can be promoted. Also,
By moving the first stopper to the downstream side in the transport direction and releasing the first stopper, the work can be prevented from being damaged.

Further, by changing the stop position of the first stopper for works having different sizes and shapes, it is possible to deal with the work without increasing the number of stoppers, thereby promoting versatility.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a configuration of an embodiment of the present invention during processing of a workpiece.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the same.

FIG. 3 is a front view immediately after the end of the work processing.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the same.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the same kind of work.

FIG. 6 is a front view of the workpiece to be processed next during positioning in the transport direction.

FIG. 7 is a front view when the work is similarly lifted to a processing position.

FIG. 8 is a rear view showing the periphery of the first stopper.

FIG. 9 is a front view of a conventional example.

FIG. 10 is a plan view of the same.

[Explanation of symbols]

 W1, W2 Work 11 Conveyor 12 First stopper mechanism 12g First stopper 13 Second stopper 14 Third stopper 16 Positioning device

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A method of positioning a workpiece placed on a transport conveyor by sequentially transporting the workpiece to a predetermined processing position, wherein the workpiece conveyed by the transport conveyor is locked at a predetermined position by a first stopper. The workpiece is lifted above the transport conveyor by the positioning means and is processed while being positioned, while the workpiece being processed is transported upstream by locking the second stopper to the first workpiece on the upstream side in the transport direction. After the conveyance is stopped in a state where the workpieces are connected, and the first stopper is released from the engagement with the workpiece, the workpiece is moved between the workpiece being processed and the first workpiece adjacent to the upstream side. When the processing of the work is completed, the positioning means is lowered to load the work on the transfer conveyor and transfer the work to the downstream side, and at the same time, the third stopper is moved to the front end. While the second work is locked to the next work adjacent to the upstream side of the work, the lock between the second stopper and the first work is released and the work is conveyed, and then the third stopper is locked. Is released and the work conveyed downstream is locked by the second stopper, and the first stopper is moved at a speed substantially in synchronization with the conveyance of the head work to move the head work by the second stopper. A work transport positioning method, comprising a cycle operation of stopping at a position where it is locked at a predetermined position. 2. An apparatus for sequentially transporting and positioning a workpiece placed on a transport conveyor to a predetermined processing position, wherein the workpiece is locked and released freely at a predetermined position with the workpiece transported by the transport conveyor, and A first stopper configured to be freely movable by a predetermined amount along the conveying direction of the conveyor, and a work conveyed to a predetermined position by the first stopper is lifted above the conveyor and positioned at a predetermined processing position. Positioning means, and the first work upstream of the work being processed is locked and
A second stopper configured to be freely released, a third stopper configured to be locked and released freely with a workpiece adjacent to the upstream side of the workpiece locked by the second stopper, and during processing of the workpiece. The workpiece is supported by the positioning means, the first stopper is positioned between the workpiece being processed and the first workpiece on the upstream side, and the second stopper is locked to the first workpiece on the upstream side. Then, after the processing is completed, the positioning means is lowered to transport the workpiece after the processing to the downstream side by the transport conveyor, while the third stopper is engaged with the workpiece adjacent to the upstream side of the leading workpiece by the second stopper. And the first workpiece is released and transported to the downstream side, and then the third stopper is released and the workpiece transported downstream is locked by the second stopper, and Transfer of top work The first stopper is moved at a speed substantially in synchronization with the first stopper and stopped at the predetermined position. After the stopped first stopper is engaged with the work, the positioning means is raised and supported. And a sequential control means for controlling the work. 3. The first stopper moves a little to the downstream side in the transport direction of the work and rises to the side of the work to release the engagement with the work. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the apparatus is configured to be moved to a position, fall down to the work side, and set in a lockable state. 4. A work type determining means for determining a type of a work, wherein the sequential control means variably controls a position at which the first stopper engages with the work according to the determined work type. The workpiece transfer positioning device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein: