JP3400369B2 - Work transfer device - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an improvement of a work transfer device. In particular, the present invention relates to a work transfer device that can transfer a flat work such as an IC lead frame at an arbitrary pitch.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, a transfer machine has been conventionally known as a transfer device for intermittently transferring a work. This transfer machine is a production system in which a plurality of processing stations are arranged along a transfer line, and workpieces are sequentially and intermittently transferred between the processing stations to carry out stepwise processing and complete a series of processing. .

Specifically, the work transfer device as shown in FIG. 7 intermittently transfers the works W01 and W02 between a plurality of stations S01, S02, S03 ... Arranged at predetermined intervals. The work transfer device includes a horizontal transfer cylinder 01 that reciprocally transfers a transfer bar 02 having a holding part 03 and a holding part 04 arranged in correspondence with the intervals between the stations, and a vertical direction of the transfer bar 02. Vertical moving cylinder 0
It is composed of 5 and 5.

In this way, the transfer bar 02
Can perform a scare cycle operation (rectangular motion) C by the lateral transfer cylinder 01 and the vertically moving cylinder 05. This scare cycle operation C causes the work W01 placed on the table 06 of the station S01.
Further, the work W02 placed on the table 07 of the station S02 is held by each holding portion 03 and holding portion 04 of the transfer bar 02 which is lifted by the action of the vertically moving cylinder 05.

As a result, the respective works W01 and W02 which are separated from the surface of the table 06 upward are moved to the horizontal transfer cylinder 0.
When the pitch is forwardly moved by the station 1 at the interval between the stations S01 and S02, the transfer bar 02 is moved downward by the vertical movement cylinder 05 while maintaining the horizontal state. By this downward movement of the transfer bar 02, each holding portion 03, holding portion 0 of the transfer bar 02.
Workpieces W01 and W held in 4 respectively
02 is placed on the table 07 and the table 08 of the next adjacent station S02 and station S03, respectively.

In this way, each work W01, work W0
2 is a care cycle operation C of the transfer bar 02
It is possible to perform a series of processing by each station while intermittently transferring each station. However, in such a work transfer device,
Due to the use of the scare cycle operation C when transferring the work, a mechanism is required to add vertical movement in addition to the horizontal back and forth movement of the transfer bar 02, which complicates the mechanism and requires a long unit transport time. I have a problem.

Further, since it is not possible to take an arbitrary conveyance pitch, there is a problem that it is difficult to deal with the case where the size of the work is changed or the processing content of the work is changed.

[0008]

The present invention has been made based on such a technical background, and achieves the following objects. An object of the present invention is to provide a work transfer device capable of simplifying the transfer mechanism and reducing the unit transfer time. Another object of the present invention is to provide a work transfer device that can transfer at a desired pitch interval. Still another object of the present invention is to make it possible to carry a work even if the work pitch and the work point do not match, or even if there are a plurality of work points. To provide.

[0009]

[Means for Solving the Problems] To solve the above problems, the following means are adopted. The work transfer device of the present invention is
A guide rail provided on a base, a carrier for reciprocatingly supported by the guide rail by a driving means, and a pair of rails provided in parallel at the upper end, and a carrier for reciprocating the guide rail. A carrier driving means, a clamp means arranged on the rail in a moving direction at a predetermined interval to hold the work, and a work piece which is removably arranged on the rail by the clamp means. The stopper is provided, and the rail is reciprocated corresponding to the interval of the clamp means, and the opening and closing of the clamp means and the engagement and disengagement of the stopper are alternately repeated, so that the fixed position on the rail is maintained. It is characterized in that the held work is moved horizontally between the front and rear clamping means.

The work is preferably applied to a flat work such as an IC lead frame. The conveyance pitch of the work and the work position do not necessarily have to match.
The clamp means may be a mechanical type in which an air cylinder, a screw, and a cam are driven and fixed by a motor. The carrier on the guide rail can be smoothly moved by interposing a linear bearing.

The carrier may be composed of a frame body composed of a pair of supports which are connected to driving means provided on the lower surface of the base and which support the rail at an upper end projecting through the base. . Further, the stopper is arranged on the base so as to match the distance between the works held between the pair of supports and at the respective fixed positions on the rail, and can be engaged with and disengaged from the works. It is preferable to use an appearance driving means for appearing and disappearing. It is desirable that the retracting drive means is driven by an air cylinder, but other known drive means such as electromagnetic drive may be used.

The carrier driving means comprises a servomotor fixed to the base, a screw rotationally driven by the servomotor, and a nut screwed into the screw and fixed to the carrier. good. Since the servo motor is adopted, the carrier can be moved to an arbitrary position simply by changing the program of the control device. A ball screw or a ball nut is preferable for the screw and the nut in terms of accuracy and ease of control.

When at least one rail on the support is constructed to be movable in a direction intersecting with the workpiece conveying direction, and is constituted by a width direction driving means which is positioned and set according to the type of the workpiece width. good. It is preferable that the width-direction driving unit includes a servo motor fixed to the support, a screw rotationally driven by the servo motor, and a nut screwed into the screw and fixed to the rail.

[0014]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described. 1 is a plan view of a work transfer device showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a view taken in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a view taken in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is an enlarged front view of a stopper. Is. First,
The configuration of the work transfer device will be described. The base 3, which is a base, is made of a flat plate material and is arranged horizontally.

A pair of guide rails 4 are provided on the base 3.
a and 4b are arranged and fixed in parallel. The carrier 1 is guided and supported on the pair of guide rails 4a and 4b so as to be capable of reciprocating. The carrier 1 is reciprocally driven by a servo motor 2 on a pair of guide rails 4a and 4b.
A pair of elongated holes 12a and 12b are formed in parallel with each other on the inner base 3 provided with the guide rails 4a and 4b.

Supports 14a, 14a are provided in the long holes 12a, 12b.
14b (see FIG. 3) is arranged so as to penetrate therethrough. The lower ends of the supports 14a and 14b are fixed to both ends of the horizontal plate 15a. The horizontal plate 15a is disposed on the lower surface of the base 3, and together with the supports 14a and 14b, forms a frame body 15 that is the main body of the carrier 1. As a result, the carrier 1 has a pair of elongated holes 12
the rails 5a, 5b at the upper end projecting through a, 12b
To support the pair of guide rails 4a, 4
b support parts B1 and B2 (linear motion bearings)
A frame body 1 including a pair of parallel supports 14a and 14b (see FIG. 3) provided with a horizontal plate 15a and the like, and the lower ends of the supports 14a and 14b arranged on the lower surface (back surface) of the base 3 and the like.
It is composed of 5.

A ball nut 11 is fixedly supported on the lower surface (back surface) of the horizontal plate 15a of the frame body 15. The ball nut 11 is screwed into the ball screw 10. The ball screw 10 is rotationally controlled by a servo motor 2 attached to the lower surface of the base 3. The pair of rails 5a and 5b of the above-described carrier 1 are the guide rails 4a and 4b.
They are arranged so as to be parallel to the same direction as b.

On the front and rear side surfaces of the rails 5a, 5b, flat plate-shaped (for example, IC lead frame) works W1, W2 are provided.
Clampers 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, which are clamping means for gripping both side surfaces of, are arranged. The clampers 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b are arranged at intervals corresponding to the distances between the stations S1, S2, S3 described later. The clampers 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b use cylinders driven by air pressure, and the structure thereof is well known, so it will not be described in detail.

Further, stoppers 8 and 9 are provided on the upper surface of the base 3 between the guide rails 4a and 4b in the front and rear of the carrying direction. The stoppers 8 and 9 are positioned and held by the respective clampers 6a, 6b, 7a and 7b on the rails 5a and 5b, and are configured to move up and down with respect to the respective works W1 and W2 so that they can be engaged and disengaged. Front and rear stoppers 8,
9 are arranged at intervals corresponding to the pitch between the works W1 and W2 held at fixed positions on the rails 5a and 5b (positions corresponding to stations S1, S2 and S3 described later).

As shown in FIG. 4, a box-shaped frame 18 fixed to the upper surface of the base 3 constitutes the main body of the stoppers 8 and 9. The cylinder 16 is fixed to the center of the lower surface of the top plate 18a of the box-shaped frame body 18. This cylinder 1
A pair of guide bars 19a and 19b are slidably held by the guide bushes 17a and 17b on both sides of 6, respectively. The stays 20 and 21 are horizontally fixed and supported on the upper ends of the pair of guide bars 19a and 19b. Therefore, if air pressure is introduced into the cylinder 16 to drive it, the stay 2
0 and 21 are respectively driven up and down.

Further, short and small stopper pins 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b are arranged so as to project upward on both sides of the upper surfaces of the stays 20, 21. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, the frame body 15 is configured such that one rail 5a on the support body 14a described above is movable in a direction intersecting with the conveying direction of the respective works W1 and W2, and the width of the work is reduced. The positioning is set so that the width can be adjusted according to the type.

That is, an auxiliary base 24 horizontally extending outward is fixed integrally to the upper end of the support 14a. The works W1 and W2 are provided on the upper surface of the auxiliary base 24.
A pair of guide rails 25a intersecting the transport direction of
25b are arranged side by side. On the lower surface of the auxiliary base 24,
The support portion B1 which is a linear motion bearing is fixed, and the support portion B1 moves on the guide rail 4a.

Each of the guide rails 25a and 25b has a rail 5a provided with a ball nut (not shown) for each work W.
1 and W2 are supported so as to be movable in the width direction. The ball nut of the rail 5a is screwed with the ball screw 27 whose rotation is controlled by the servo motor 26.

[Operation of Embodiment 1] Next, the operation of the work transfer device configured as described above will be described. That is, FIGS. 5A to 5F are explanatory views of the work transfer process, and FIG. 5G is a side conceptual view of the work transfer device. First, in the first station S1 which is the initial step shown in FIG. 5A, the first work W1 to be supplied is supplied.
Is waiting and the carrier 1 is at the second and third stations S
2, waiting for S3.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5B, the servo motor 2 is driven to move the carrier 1 to the first station S.
A rectangular flat plate-shaped work W that was moved to 1 side and was waiting
The upper surfaces of both longitudinal ends of 1 are clamped between the upper surfaces of the rails 5a, 5b by clampers 6a, 6b. FIG. 5 (c)
Then, when the carrier 1 horizontally moves toward the second and third stations S2 and S3 while the work W1 is clamped, the work W1 is accurately positioned at the position of the second station S2.

Next, in the step shown in FIG. 5D, the cylinder 16 is operated to raise the stopper 8 for the workpiece W1 which has been conveyed and positioned, and the stopper pins 8a and 8b are engaged with the side end portion of the workpiece W1. The clampers 6a and 6b are opened after positioning them so that they can be stopped. Next step, FIG.
In (e), the carrier 1 is moved to the first station S1 side again, but the work W1 is not moved to the stopper pins 8a and 8b.
Since the movement is blocked by the engagement with the rail 5a,
It slides on the upper surface of 5b and moves to the rear of the rails 5a, 5b.

By the movement of the carrier 1, the next work W2 waiting at the first station S1 is placed on the upper surfaces in front of the rails 5a and 5b which have become empty, and the rails 5a and 6b are held by the clampers 6a and 6b. Clamp between the upper surface of 5b. In the step of FIG. 5F, when the carrier 1 horizontally moves toward the second and third stations S2 and S3,
The respective works W1 and W2 are accurately positioned at the positions of the second station S2 and the third station S3, respectively.

In this way, the respective works W1 and W2 are supplied from the first station S1 to the second station S1 in the first supplying step.
The third stations S2 and S3 are intermittently moved by horizontal movement, individually positioned and sequentially subjected to predetermined processing. By doing so, the mechanism for raising and lowering the transfer bar as in the conventional scare cycle operation is omitted, so that the transport mechanism can be simplified. Further, the stoppers 8 and 9 and the clampers 6a, 6b, 7a, and 7b in the course of the horizontal movement of the carrier 1.
Since the operations for ascending and descending in the related art are omitted by alternately combining the above operations, the unit transport time can be shortened.

[Other Embodiments] The embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the drawings. However, the specific configuration is not limited to these embodiments, and changes within the scope not departing from the gist of the present invention. And any additions are included in the present invention. FIG. 6 is an example showing another usage of the first embodiment. In the first embodiment, the conveyance pitch and the working point are the same. However, the conveyance pitch and the working point, in other words, the working machine installation position may be different.

FIG. 6 shows an example in which the conveying pitch and the working point are different, and an example in which the conveying pitch and the working point are the same, but there are two working places in the same work.
In this transfer example, the transfer is performed at a constant pitch, but the transfer and the work can be performed even if the work point is not at the constant pitch or there are a plurality of work points. This process is a work process after FIG. 5C and FIG. 5F in the transport example of FIG.

The conveyance example shown in FIG. 6A is an example in which the work points A and B are different from the conveyance pitch position. Figure 6
The conveyance example shown in (b) is an example in which the conveyance pitch and the working point are the same, but there are two machining work points in the works W3 and W4.

[0032]

The present invention has the following effects. According to the present invention, the work held at each fixed position on the rail is horizontally moved between the front and rear clamping means by alternately repeating the opening and closing of the clamping means and the protruding and retracting of the stopper together with the reciprocating movement of the rail. Therefore, the transport mechanism can be simplified and the unit transport time can be shortened.

According to the present invention, even if the conveyance pitch and the working point do not match, or even if there are a plurality of working points, the conveyance can be performed, so that the flexibility of the process design is increased.

According to the present invention, since the frame body composed of the pair of supports for supporting the rail is connected to the drive means on the lower surface of the base, the stopper is placed on the base between the pair of supports. Since the stopper is installed, the stopper can be installed corresponding to the optimum position of each work on the rail.

According to the present invention, at least one rail on the support is constructed so as to be movable in the direction intersecting with the workpiece conveying direction, so that the positioning is appropriately set according to the type of the workpiece width. be able to.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a work transfer device showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view on arrow A of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a view on arrow B of FIG.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged front view of a stopper.

5A to 5F are explanatory views of a work transfer process, and FIG. 5D is a side conceptual view of a work transfer device.

FIG. 6 shows an example in which the conveyance pitch and the working point are different, and an example in which the conveyance pitch and the working point are the same but the machining work is performed in two places in the same work.

FIG. 7 is an operation explanatory diagram of a conventional work transfer device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Carrier 2 ... Servo motor (driving means) 3 ... Base (base) 4a, 4b ... Guide rail 5a, 5b ... Rail 6a, 6b ... Clamper (clamping means) 7a, 7b ... Clamper (clamping means) 8, 9 ... Stopper 14a, 14b ... Support 15 ... frame 25a, 25b ... Guide rail 26 ... Servo motor W1, W2 ... work

Front page continuation (58) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B23Q 39/04 B23Q 7/04 B65G 25/04 B65G 43/08 H01L 21/50

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. A guide rail provided on a base, a carrier in which a pair of rails are provided in parallel at the upper end and supported by a guide so as to be able to reciprocate by a driving means, and the carrier reciprocates on the guide rail. Conveyor driving means for driving, clamp means arranged on the rail at predetermined intervals in the moving direction to hold the work, and engaging with the work positioned and held on the rail by the clamp means. A removably disposed stopper, and by repeating the reciprocating movement of the rail corresponding to the interval of the clamp means, the opening and closing of the clamp means and the engagement and disengagement of the stopper are alternately repeated, A work transfer device, wherein the work held at each fixed position is moved horizontally between the front and rear clamping means. 2. The work transfer apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transfer body is connected to a driving means provided on a lower surface of the base and supports the rail at an upper end projecting through the base. The stopper is arranged on the base so as to match the interval between the works held between the pair of supports and at the respective fixed positions on the rail. A work transfer device configured to move in and out of the respective works in a detachable manner. 3. The work transfer device according to claim 1, wherein the transfer member driving means includes a servo motor fixed to the base, a screw rotationally driven by the servo motor, and the screw. A work transfer device comprising a nut screwed into and fixed to the transfer body. 4. The work transfer device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein at least one rail on the support is configured to be movable in a direction intersecting with a transfer direction of the work, and the type of work width can be varied. A work transfer device comprising: a width-direction drive unit that is positioned and set correspondingly. 5. The work transfer device according to claim 4, wherein the width direction driving means includes a servo motor fixed to the support base, a screw rotatably driven by the servo motor, and a screw screwed into the screw. And a nut fixed to the rail.