JP3356528B2 - Pallet transfer mechanism of pallet transfer device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a pallet transfer mechanism of a pallet transfer device for transferring a plurality of pallets to a predetermined position, for example, a processing station in a processing machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a processing machine, a pallet transfer device for placing a workpiece on a pallet and transferring it to each processing station is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 49-49157 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 60-114444. Have been proposed.

In these pallet transfer devices, a pallet is engaged with a guide rail, a cylindrical cam is disposed along an axis of the guide rail, and a cam follower installed on the pallet is fitted into a cam groove of the cylindrical cam. The pallet is provided so as to be transported along a guide rail via a cam follower and a cam groove by the rotational driving of the cylindrical cam.

[0004]

In such a pallet transfer device, the pallet is transferred from, for example, a feed guide rail to a return guide rail. At this time, the cam follower of the pallet is moved by the feed cylindrical cam. Transfer from the cam groove to the return cam groove of the return cylindrical cam. But at this time,
There is a possibility that the cam follower cannot smoothly move into the return cam groove.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and a pallet of a pallet transfer device capable of reliably transferring a pallet cam follower from a cam groove of a cylindrical cam to a cam groove of another cylindrical cam. It is intended to provide a transfer mechanism.

[0006]

According to the present invention, a cylindrical cam is arranged in parallel with each of two guide rails, and a cam follower of a pallet engaged with the guide rail is fitted into a cam groove of the cylindrical cam. In the pallet transfer device provided so that the pallet can be transferred along the guide rail by rotating the cylindrical cam, the pallet is disposed at an end of the guide rail and the cylindrical cam, and the guide rail and the cylinder comprising a plurality of pallets holding arm in the index table rotating intermittently in one direction in the plane perpendicular to the axis of the cam, positioned on the extension of sequentially the guide rails each arm by the intermittent rotation of the index table, the said pallet The pallet is transferred between the guide rail and each of the arms. A transfer device for transferring from the first to the other guide rails and the cylindrical cam, and a transfer device that is disposed between the two cylindrical cams and fixedly disposed on the movement locus of the cam follower of the pallet rotated by the transfer device; And a guide device for guiding a pallet cam follower.

[0007]

Therefore, according to the pallet transfer mechanism of the pallet transfer device according to the present invention, since the cam follower of the pallet rotated by the transfer device is guided by the guide device, the pallet is transferred to the pallet by the transfer device. When transferring from the guide rail and cylindrical cam to another guide rail and cylindrical cam, the cam follower of the pallet can be reliably transferred from the cam groove of one cylindrical cam to the cam groove of another cylindrical cam.

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II of FIG. 2 showing one embodiment of the pallet transfer mechanism (return transfer device side) according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a view taken in the direction of the arrow II in FIG. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view corresponding to FIG. 1, showing another embodiment (on the side of the feed transfer device) of the pallet transfer mechanism of the pallet transfer device according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the guide device of FIGS. 1, 2 and 3. FIG. 5 is a front perspective view of a pallet transfer device to which the pallet transfer mechanism of FIGS. 1 and 3 is applied. FIG. 6 shows FIG.
FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of the pallet transfer device of FIG. FIG. 7 shows FIG.
FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line VII-VII of FIG. FIG. 8 shows VIII of FIG.
It is sectional drawing which follows the -VIII line.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the pallet transfer device 10 includes a feed guide rail 12 and a return guide rail 13 for guiding the traveling of a plurality of pallets 11 and a feed guide rail 12 and a return guide rail 13. Pallet 1
A transfer device 14 and a feed transfer device 15 for intermittently transferring the pallet 1 and a feed cylindrical cam 16 for moving the pallet 11
And a return cylinder cam 17, a cam drive mechanism 18 for rotatingly driving the feed cylinder cam 16 and the return cylindrical cam 17, and a guide device 46 for guiding a cam roller 25 (described later) as a cam follower of the pallet 11. Is done. The return transfer device 14, the feed transfer device 15, and the guide device 46 constitute a pallet transfer mechanism 45.

The feed guide rail 12 and the return guide rail 13 are arranged in the direction in which the pallet 11 is transported, and each has a rail element 19 bolted to a rail frame 20, as shown in FIG. These feed guide rail 12 and return guide rail 13
Are arranged approximately 90 degrees apart in a vertical plane, and a rail frame 20 is supported by a frame 22 by a rail stand 21 as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. That is, the feed guide rail 12 enables the pallet 11 to be transferred in a horizontal state, and the return guide rail 13 enables the pallet 11 to be transferred in a vertical state.

Each of the plurality of pallets 11 has a slider 24 fixed to a pallet plate 23 and a cam roller 25 as a cam follower, as shown in FIG.
Is configured. The slider 24 and the cam roller 25 are disposed about 90 degrees apart in a vertical plane, and the slider 24 is provided so as to be able to engage with the rail elements 19 of the feed guide rail 12 and the return guide rail 13.
Further, the cam roller 25 is fitted into cam grooves 29 and 30 (described later) of the feed cylindrical cam 16 and the return cylindrical cam 17. A workpiece can be set on the surface 11A of the pallet plate 23.

The return transfer device 14 and the feed transfer device 15
Are installed at one end and the other end of the feed guide rail 12, the return guide rail 13, the feed cylindrical cam 16 and the return cylindrical cam 17, respectively, as shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6. Is done. In the return transfer device 14 and the feed transfer device 15, the transfer device main body 26 converts the continuous rotation input to the drive pulley 53 into an intermittent rotation, intermittently rotates the index table 26A, and performs the intermittent rotation. A plurality of, for example, four arms 27 are fixed almost radially to the index table 26A, and a rail element 28 is fixed to the distal end of the arm 27.

The rail element 28 has the same sectional shape as the rail element 19 of the feed guide rail 12 and the return guide rail 13, and has an axial length of the feed guide rail 12 and the return guide rail 13 of the pallet 11.
The length is set to be slightly longer than the length in the direction, and the index table 26A is sequentially positioned at the extended position of the rail element 19 of the feed guide rail 12 or the extended position of the rail element 19 of the return guide rail 13 by intermittent rotation.

The return transfer device 14 includes the feed guide rail 1
Pallet 11 transferred from 2 to rail element 28
Is rotated 90 degrees downward (in the direction of the arrow α in FIG. 1) in the vertical plane, and is transferred to the return guide rail 13. Further, the feed transfer device 15 transfers the pallet 11 transferred from the return guide rail 13 to the rail element 28 about 90 degrees vertically upward (β direction in FIG. 3) and transfers the pallet 11 to the feed guide rail 12. Let it.

Feed cylindrical cam 16 and return cylindrical cam 17
As shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, the axis is disposed along the feed guide rail 12 and the return guide rail 13, and is installed at a position about 90 degrees apart in the vertical plane (FIG. 1, FIG.
3 and 7). A feed cam groove 29 and a return cam groove 30 are respectively formed in the feed cylindrical cam 16 and the return cylindrical cam 17, and the cam roller 25 of the pallet 11 can be fitted into the feed cam groove 29 and the return cam groove 30. .

The feed cam groove 29 is formed so that the pallet 11 can be intermittently transferred along the feed guide rail 12 by the rotation of the feed cylindrical cam 16. In this example, the intermittent transfer time of the pallet 11 by the feed cam groove 29 and the intermittent rotation time of the return transfer device 14 and the feed transfer device 15 are as follows:
Set identically. The return cam groove 30 is formed so that the pallet 11 can be moved at high speed along the return guide rail 13 by the rotation of the return cylindrical cam 17. The rotation of the feed cylindrical cam 16 and the return cylindrical cam 17 is performed by a cam drive mechanism 18.

The cam drive mechanism 18 has a drive gear 31, a motor (not shown) as a rotary drive source, a feed driven gear 32, and a return driven gear 33, as shown in FIGS. Is done. Feed driven gear 3
2. The return driven gear 33 is directly engraved on the outer peripheral surface of each of the feed cylindrical cam 16 and the return cylindrical cam 17 at an arbitrary position in the axial direction of the feed cylindrical cam 16 and the return cylindrical cam 17. The drive gear 31 is meshed with the feed driven gear 32 and the return driven gear 33, and the driving force of the motor is transmitted via the flat belt 34 to be driven to rotate.

That is, the drive gear 31 is rotatably fixed to the gear shaft 35, and the gear shaft 35 is rotatably disposed on the gear housing 37 via the bearing 36. The gear housing 37 is bolted to a gear stand 38 and is supported by the frame 22. A timing pulley 39 is fixed to one end of the gear shaft 35 so as to rotate integrally therewith, and the flat belt 34 is wound around the timing pulley 39. Accordingly, the rotation of the motor causes the flat belt 34 to drive the drive gear 3 via the timing pulley 39.
1 and the rotational driving force is transmitted to the driven gear 3
2, feed cylindrical cam 16 via return driven gear 33,
It is transmitted to the return cylindrical cam 17 respectively.

The guide device 46 of the pallet transfer mechanism 45 has two guide plates 47, a supporter 48 and a guide stand 49, as shown in FIGS. The supporter 48 has a U-shape in side view,
It is screwed and fixed to the guide stand 49 by the bolt 50. Further, the spacer 51 is interposed between the two guide plates 47, the guide plates 47 are arranged in parallel and separated from each other, and the bolt 52 penetrates through the two guide plates 47 and the spacer 51. The bolt 52 is screwed into the supporter 48, and the guide plate 47 is supported by the guide stand 49. The guide stand 49 is fixed to the frame 22.

The space between the guide plates 47 is, as shown in FIG.
5 is set substantially equal to the outer diameter. In a state where the guide stand 49 is fixed to the frame 22, the guide plate 47 is fixed.
1 is installed between the feed cylindrical cam 16 and the return cylindrical cam 17 as shown in FIGS. That is, the guide plate 4
Numeral 7 is set on a locus on which the cam roller 25 of the pallet 11 moves when the pallet 11 is rotated in the α and β directions by the return transfer device 14 and the feed transfer device 15. Therefore, when the pallet 11 rotates in the α and β directions, the cam roller 25 of the pallet 11 is guided by the guide plate 47 of the guide device 46 and the return cam groove 30 of the return cylindrical cam 17.
Alternatively, it is guided to the feed cam groove 29 of the feed cylindrical cam 16 respectively.

Reference numeral 40 in FIGS. 5 and 6 denotes a radial guide device, and reference numeral 41 denotes a thrust guide device. The radial guide device 40 includes the feed cylindrical cam 1.
6. Return each of the return cylindrical cams 17 to a radial roller 42.
To support the feed cylindrical cam 16 and the return cylindrical cam 17 in the radial direction. The radial guide device 40 is installed at a plurality of (for example, three) positions in the axial direction of the feed cylindrical cam 16 and the return cylindrical cam 17.

The thrust guide device 41 is provided with a thrust roller 43 at the tip thereof, and this thrust roller 43 meshes with a thrust groove 44 formed in the feed cylindrical cam 16 and the return cylindrical cam 17. Thrust groove 44
Are formed perpendicular to the axis of the feed cylindrical cam 16 and the return cylindrical cam 17. Thrust roller 43 is in thrust groove 4
When the feed cylindrical cam 16 and the return cylindrical cam 17 are rotated, the feed cylindrical cam 16 and the return cylindrical cam 17 are supported in the thrust direction.

Next, the operation will be described. Cam drive mechanism 18
When the drive gear 31 is driven to rotate, the feed cylindrical cam 16 and the return cylindrical cam 17 rotate in the same direction, and at the same time,
The return transfer device 14 and the feed transfer device 15 rotate intermittently. By the rotation of the feed cylindrical cam 16, the pallet 11 is intermittently transferred in the direction of arrow A along the feed guide rail 12 via the feed cam groove 29 and the cam roller 25. The intermittently transferred pallet 11 is transferred to the return guide rail 13 side by the intermittent rotation of the return transfer device 14, and is rotated by the rotation of the return cylindrical cam 17 via the return cam groove 30 and the cam roller 25. Arrow B along 13
High speed transfer in the direction. This high-speed transported pallet 1
1 is transferred to the feed guide rail 12 side by intermittent rotation of the feed transfer device 15, and is again intermittently transferred on the feed guide rail 12 by the feed cylindrical cam 16.

For example, while the pallet 11 is intermittently transferred on the feed guide rail 12, the workpiece placed on the pallet 11 is processed by a processing machine at a stop position (processing station) of the pallet 11.

According to the above-described embodiment, the feed driven gear 32 meshing with the drive gear 31 rotated by the motor via the flat belt 34 and the timing pulley 39,
The return driven gear 33 has a feed cylindrical cam 16,
Since it is directly engraved on the outer periphery of the return cylindrical cam 17, the number of parts such as the number of gears of the cam drive mechanism 18 can be reduced, and the cost can be reduced.

Since the feed driven gear 32 and the return driven gear 33 are engraved on the outer periphery of the feed cylindrical cam 16 and the return cylindrical cam 17 at arbitrary positions, the degree of freedom of the layout of the cam drive mechanism 18 is increased. If the installation position of the cam drive mechanism 18 is adjusted, the pallet transfer device 1
0 can be reduced in size.

Further, the return guide rail 13 is used for the pallet 1
Since the pallet 11 is transferred in the return direction in a vertical state, the pallet 11 transferred in the return direction is within the installation area of the return cylindrical cam 17. As a result, the installation area of the pallet transfer device 10 can be reduced, and the pallet transfer device 10 can be downsized.

The cam roller 25 of the pallet 11 transferred in the α direction in the vertical plane by the return transfer device 14
Since being guided by the guide plate 47 of the guide device 46,
The pallet 11 is returned from the feed guide rail 12 and the feed cylindrical cam 16 by the return transfer device 14.
3 and the transfer to the return cylindrical cam 17, the pallet 11
Of the feed cam groove 25 of the feed cylindrical cam 16
9 can be reliably transferred to the return cam groove 30 of the return cylindrical cam 17. Furthermore, the cam roller 2 of the pallet 11 rotated in the β direction in the vertical plane by the feed transfer device 15
Since the pallet 11 is guided by the guide plate 47 of the guide device 46, the pallet 11 is transferred from the return guide rail 13 and the return cylindrical cam 17 to the feed guide rail 12 and the feed cylindrical cam 16 by the feed transfer device 15. At this time, the cam roller 25 of the pallet 11 can be reliably transferred from the return cam groove 30 of the return cylindrical cam 17 to the feed cam groove 29 of the feed cylindrical cam 16.

[0029]

As described above, according to the pallet transfer mechanism of the pallet transfer device according to the present invention, the pallet cam follower can be reliably transferred from the cam groove of the cylindrical cam to the cam groove of another cylindrical cam. it can.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II of FIG. 2 showing an embodiment (a return transfer device side) of a pallet transfer mechanism of a pallet transfer device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view on arrow II of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view corresponding to FIG. 1, showing another embodiment (on the side of the feed transfer device) of the pallet transfer mechanism of the pallet transfer device according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the guide device of FIGS. 1, 2 and 3;

FIG. 5 is a front perspective view of a pallet transfer device to which the pallet transfer mechanism of FIGS. 1 and 3 is applied;

FIG. 6 is a rear perspective view of the pallet transfer device of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line VII-VII in FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line VIII-VIII in FIG. 7;

[Explanation of symbols]

Reference Signs List 10 Pallet transfer device 11 Pallet 12 Feed guide rail 13 Return guide rail 16 Feed cylindrical cam 17 Return cylindrical cam 25 Cam roller 26A Index table 27 Arm 29 Feed cam groove 30 Return cam groove 45 Pallet transfer mechanism 46 Guide device 47 Guide plate

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Makoto Terui 5--14-33 Higashikashigaya, Ebina-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture Inside Toshiba Seiki Co., Ltd. (72) Hiroo Yamazaki 5--14 Higashikashigaya, Ebina-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture No. 33 Toshiba Seiki Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A-62-102947 (JP, A) JP-A-63-59125 (JP, U) JP-A-5-85724 (JP, U) (58) Investigated Field (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B23Q 7/00 B65G 35/06 B65G 37/00

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A cylindrical cam is arranged in parallel on each of two guide rails, and a cam follower of a pallet engaged with the guide rails is fitted into a cam groove of the cylindrical cam to rotate the cylindrical cam. In a pallet transfer device provided such that the pallet can be transferred along the guide rail by driving, the pallet is disposed at an end of the guide rail and the cylindrical cam,
Comprising a plurality of pallets holding arm in the index table rotating intermittently in one direction in the plane perpendicular to the axis of the guide rail and the cylindrical cam, the index table
The arms are sequentially positioned on the extension of the guide rail by the intermittent rotation of the arm, and the pallet is transferred between the guide rail and each of the arms, and the pallet is moved from one guide rail and the cylindrical cam to the other. A transfer device for transferring to the guide rail and the cylindrical cam; and a transfer device disposed between the cylindrical cams and fixedly arranged on the movement locus of the cam follower of the pallet rotated by the transfer device, and the rotated pallet. A pallet transfer mechanism for a pallet transfer device, comprising: a guide device for guiding the cam follower.