JP3415885B2 - Transfer equipment for castings - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a casting transfer device used to transfer castings between processing devices.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a cast product has been cooled and then sand for cores has been removed, and the cast product has been transferred to a sprue cutting process which is the next process. The sand removing work is performed by elastically supporting the cast product by a robot and pressing it against a sand removing vibrator. That is, the casting is pressed against the vibrator of the vibrating device, and vibration is applied to the casting to remove the sand for the core in the casting. Further, in order to cut the sprue part, the casting is made to be supported rigidly by a robot and pressed against a cutter of a cutting machine.

A robot used for this type of work has a robot hand detachably connected to the tip of a robot body constituting a robot arm through an automatic hand exchanging device, and the robot hand is selected according to the type of casting to be held. It was configured so that the hands could be exchanged. This robot hand is divided into a part connected to the automatic hand changer and a chuck for gripping the casting, and an elastic body is interposed between the parts. Then, a support state switching device for loading and unloading the lock pin into and out of the pin hole of the chuck is attached to a portion on the automatic hand exchanging device side. That is,
When the lock pin is pulled out from the pin hole, it is elastically supported, and when the lock pin is fitted in the pin hole, it is rigidly supported.

[0004]

However, the above-mentioned robot hand has a problem that the structure is complicated and the outer shape is large. This is because the robot hand itself is configured to be able to switch between the elastic support state and the rigid support state, and is equipped with an elastic body and a support state switching device. That is, it is useless to attach the elastic body and the supporting state switching device having the same structure to each of the robot hands formed in large numbers according to the type of casting. Moreover,
Each robot hand is temporarily placed in the vicinity of the robot so that it can be easily replaced with respect to the robot main body. However, since the robot hand is large, a large temporary storage space is required.

The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and an object thereof is to simplify the structure of the robot hand and to downsize the robot hand.

[0006]

A transfer device for casting according to the present invention provides a robot holding a casting with a robot hand for gripping the casting through an automatic hand exchanging device. The automatic hand exchange device is detachably connected to the robot so as to be separated from the robot, and this automatic hand exchange device is connected to the robot side member and the robot hand connection in which the robot side member is supported through a plurality of connecting means. And a connecting member configured to connect an outer member formed in a frame shape having a plurality of sides and an inner member inserted inside the outer member for each side of these members, An elastic body made of rubber interposed between the inside of the outer member and the outside of the inner member facing this portion, a pin hole opened in one of the outer member and the inner member, and the other lock pin. And a support state switching device for inserting and removing the elastic body and the support state switching device are arranged on substantially the same plane orthogonal to the direction in which the automatic hand exchanging device and the robot hand are lined up. . A casting transfer device according to a second aspect of the present invention is the casting transfer device according to the first aspect, wherein the robot hand is provided with a plurality of chucks for holding the casting.

[0007]

Since the robot hand does not require an elastic body or a support state switching device, the robot hand has a simple structure having only the function of holding a casting. Further, the automatic hand exchanging device can be compactly formed in the direction orthogonal to the virtual plane on which the plurality of connecting means are arranged. In the elastically supported state, since the inner member is sandwiched by the rubber elastic bodies provided around the inner member from the surroundings, it is possible to firmly support the casting even though it can vibrate. .

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a side view of a casting transfer device according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a side view of an automatic hand changing device and a robot hand used in the casting transfer device according to the present invention. Is drawn. FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line III-III in FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a front view of the robot hand. 5A and 5B are side sectional views for explaining the operation of the automatic hand exchanging device. FIG. 5A shows an elastically supported state and FIG. 5B shows a rigidly supported state.

In these drawings, reference numeral 1 denotes a casting transfer device according to the present invention. The transfer device 1 is detachably connected to a vertical articulated robot 2 and an automatic hand exchanging device 3 connected to the robot 2. The robot hand 4 and the robot hand 4. The robot hand 4 has a structure for holding the casting W. The casting W used in this example is
Is the engine intake manifold.

The transfer device 1 is mounted inside a box 5, and is a unit type together with the box 5 and various working machines that are fixed in the box 5 and cooperate with the robot 2 to perform various work. It constitutes a machine tool. This unit type machine tool is used for rough deburring of casting W, cooling, sand removal,
The structure is such that operations such as cutting the sprue part are performed within the same box 5.

The box body 5 is formed in a substantially cubic shape by a floor plate 6, side plates 7 and a ceiling plate 8 each formed in a flat plate shape, and protrudes downward from the floor plate 6 as shown in FIG. It is mounted and fixed on the floor 10 of the factory by legs 9. That is, in this box body 5, a space S is provided between the floor plate 6 and the factory floor surface 10. The box 5 is fixed to the factory floor surface 10 by fixing the lower ends of the legs 9 to the factory floor surface 1.
The box body 5 is configured to be movable with respect to the factory floor surface 10 by removing a fixing member such as a bolt (not shown) that is fixed to 0.

Further, the side plate 7 of the box body 5 has a carry-in port 11 for carrying the cast product W into the box body 5.
An opening 12 for carrying in and out of the box body 5 and an entrance (not shown) for the operator to enter and exit. The carry-in port 11 and the carry-out port 12 are configured to be opened and closed by automatic doors 11a and 12a, respectively.

The robot 2 arranged in the box 5 is
As shown in FIG. 1, a base 13 fixed on the floor plate 6 of the box body 5, and a robot body 14 connected to the base 13 so as to be rotatable about a vertical axis and movable in a horizontal direction.
It consists of and. And this robot body 14
A robot hand 4 for gripping the casting W is detachably attached to the tip of the through the automatic hand exchanging device 3.
Further, the robot 2 has a structure capable of moving the automatic hand exchanging device 3 within a range indicated by a chain line A in FIG.

The automatic hand exchanging device 3 comprises a robot side member 21 fixed to the robot body 14 and a robot hand connecting member 23 elastically supported by the robot side member 21 via an elastic body 22 such as rubber. It is configured. The robot side member 21 is formed by fixing a frame body 25 having a square shape in plan view to a support plate 24 on the side of the robot body 14.

The robot hand connecting member 23 has a bottomed rectangular tubular connecting member 26 which faces the internal space of the frame 25.
And a coupling device 27 coupled to the lower part of the coupling member 26.
It has and. The frame body 25 constitutes an outer member according to the present invention, and the connecting member 26 constitutes an inner member according to the present invention. The elastic body 22 is interposed between the outer side surface of the connecting member 26 and the inner side surface of the frame body 25. The elastic body 22 is horizontally provided on each inner side surface of the frame body 25 and each outer side surface of the connecting member 26 facing the inner side surface, and two elastic bodies 22 are provided on one side. Reference numerals 22a and 22b denote mounting bolts for fixing the elastic body 22 to the frame body 25 and the connecting member 26. That is, in this automatic hand exchanging device 3, eight elastic bodies 22 are attached as shown in FIG.

The connecting device 27 is for connecting the robot hand 4 to the automatic hand exchanging device 3.
The lower cover 27a which is a bottomed cylinder to the connecting pin 27b
It has a structure that allows it to be projected and returned along the radial direction. A plurality of the connecting pins 27b are arranged radially around the axis of the lower cover 27a.
It is configured to be driven by an air cylinder (not shown) provided in a. 27c is a separator for urging the coupling device 27 in the separating direction when the robot hand 4 is removed, and 27d is a positioning pin for positioning the robot hand 4 on the automatic hand exchanging device 3.

Reference numeral 28 is a lock mechanism for selectively and rigidly connecting the robot side member 21 and the robot hand connecting member 23. The lock mechanism 28 constitutes the support state switching device according to the present invention. The lock mechanism 28 has a structure in which an air cylinder 28a fixed to the four side portions of the frame 25 allows a lock pin 28b to be inserted into or pulled out of a pin hole 28c of the connecting member 26. The air cylinders 28a are arranged on the outer side of the frame 25 and between the two elastic bodies 22 provided on each side. Therefore, the air cylinder 28
Four a are arranged as shown in FIG. The lock mechanism 28 and the elastic body 22 are arranged on the same plane as shown in FIG.

That is, as shown in FIG. 5A, when the lock pin 28b is pulled out from the pin hole 28c, the robot side connecting member 23 is connected to the robot hand connecting member 23.
Are connected via the elastic body 22 and are elastically supported. Further, when the lock pin 28b is fitted in the pin hole 28c as shown in FIG. 5B, the robot hand connecting member 23 is rigidly supported by the robot side member 21, and both are locked. It becomes a state.

The robot hand 4 is fixed to the connecting block 33 with the engaging hole 31 and the positioning hole 32 into which the connecting device 27 of the automatic hand exchanging device 3 is engaged, and the bolt 34 to the connecting block 33. The base plate 35 and a pair of chucks 36 attached to two sides of the base plate 35. Each chuck 36 is configured such that a clamp shaft 38 having a claw piece 37 is reciprocally moved by an air motor 39 and is rotated around an axis, so that the casting W is sandwiched between the claw piece 37 and the receiving member 40. There is. The air motor 39 is fixed to a gear box 35a integrated with the base plate 35, and a screw gear 41 is fixed to an output shaft 39a thereof.

On the other hand, the clamp shaft 38 is supported by the gear box 35a so as to be rotatable about its axis and movable along the axial direction, and a screw gear 42 meshing with the screw gear 41 is screwed. Further, the clamp shaft 38 has a structure in which a concave groove 38a is formed in the outer peripheral portion thereof, and the guide pin 43 on the gear box 35a side is engaged in the concave groove 38a to regulate the moving direction. The concave groove 38a that defines the moving direction is composed of a lower portion along the axial direction of the clamp shaft 38, and an upper portion that is continuous with the upper end of the lower portion and that extends spirally in the circumferential direction of the clamp shaft 38. There is. The screw gear 42 is attached to the clamp shaft 38 in a state in which the movement of the clamp shaft 38 in the axial direction is restricted. That is, when the air motor 39 is driven and the screw gear 41 rotates together with the output shaft 39a, the screw gear 42 on the clamp shaft 38 side rotates accordingly, and the clamp shaft 38 screwed to the screw gear 42 moves in the axial direction. Will move. Further, since the clamp shaft 38 is also prevented from rotating around the shaft center by the engagement of the groove 38a formed in the outer peripheral portion and the guide pin 43 as described above, the casting shown in FIG. When it moves downward from the object gripping position, it simultaneously rotates 90 degrees around the axis. The rotation direction at this time is a direction based on the extending direction of the upper portion of the concave groove 38a, and is a direction in which the tip end of the claw piece 37 moves downward from the paper surface of FIG.

In the robot hand 4 constructed as described above, the clamp shaft 38 is projected from the base plate 35 as shown by the chain double-dashed line B in FIG. Then, the receiving member 40 is applied to the casting W, and then the casting W is gripped by moving the clamp shaft 38 to the base plate 35 side. That is, the claw piece 37 moves to the base plate 35 side and swings downward of the receiving member 40, so that the casting W is sandwiched between the claw piece 37 and the receiving member 40. It should be noted that when the cast W is released, the procedure is reversed to the above. The robot hand 4 shown in the present embodiment has the chuck 3
From the relationship that two 6 are provided, the casting W is
Can hold individual pieces.

A plurality of robot hands 4 having different shapes of grips are formed in accordance with the type of the casting W, and are temporarily placed in the operation area of the robot 2 in the box body 5.

Next, the operation of the robot 2 configured as described above will be described. To attach the robot hand 4 to the robot 2, first, the engagement hole 31 and the positioning hole 3 formed in the connection block 33 of the robot hand 4 are attached.
The lower cover 27a and the positioning pin 27d of the coupling device 27 are engaged with the connector 2. This engaging operation is performed by connecting pin 27b.
Is inserted in the lower cover 27a. After the engaging operation is completed, the connecting pin 27b is projected from the lower cover 27a and engaged with the engaging hole 31.
As a result, the automatic hand changer 3 is connected to the robot hand 4
Are connected. The robot hand 4 is removed in the reverse order of the above.

After connecting the robot hand 4 to the automatic hand exchanging device 3 as described above, the robot 2 positions the robot hand 4 above the casting W and causes the robot hand 4 to grip the casting part W. Then, the robot 2 casts W
Are transferred to various work machines and work with them.
For example, the casting W is pressed against the sand removing device 51 as shown in FIG. 5 (a), or pressed against the gate cutting device 52 as shown in FIG. 5 (b). The sand removing device 51
Is configured to reciprocate the hammer 51a by sending compressed air into an air cylinder (not shown). Also,
The gate cutting device 52 has a structure for rotating a disk-shaped cutter 52a.

As shown in FIG. 5A, the sand removing device 5
The sand for the core of the cast W can be sieved off by pressing the cast W against the 1. At this time, the lock mechanism 28 of the automatic hand exchanging device 3 is switched to the elastically supported state so that the vibration of the casting W is not transmitted to the robot 2 side. Further, as shown in FIG. 5B, when the cast product W is pressed against the disk-shaped cutter 52a, the lock mechanism 28 is switched to the rigid support state so that the cutting position does not shift.

Therefore, in the casting transfer device 1 according to the present invention, the elastic body 22 for elastically supporting the automatic hand exchanging device 3 and the lock mechanism 28 as a supporting state switching device.
Since the robot hand 4 is provided, the robot hand 4 does not need an elastic body or a support state switching device, and has a simple structure having only the function of holding the casting W. Further, since the automatic hand exchanging device 3 can be compactly formed in a direction orthogonal to the virtual plane on which the plurality of elastic bodies 22 and the lock mechanism 28 are arranged, the automatic hand exchanging device 3 and the robot can be arranged along this direction. By arranging the hands 4 side by side, the length between the casting W and the tip of the robot body 14 can be shortened. Therefore, the casting W held by the robot hand 4
Pressing the sand against the sand removing device 51,
The casting W can be positioned with high accuracy when it is pressed against. Furthermore, since the robot hand 4 is provided with a plurality of chucks 36 for holding a casting, the elastic body 22 and the support state switching device can be shared by a plurality of castings W. Moreover, by setting the direction in which the chucks 36 are arranged in parallel to the direction along the above-mentioned virtual plane,
A plurality of chucks 36 can be provided while achieving miniaturization. In addition, in the elastically supported state, the connecting member 26 is clamped from the surroundings by the plurality of rubber elastic bodies 22 provided around the connecting member 26, so that the casting W can vibrate, This can be firmly supported. As a result, the degree of freedom of the posture of the robot when performing the sand removing work is increased, so that the robot hand 4 and the automatic hand exchanging device 3 are arranged in a substantially horizontal direction as shown in FIG. 5A. Even if the arm is extended, the elastic body 22 can reliably support the casting W and the robot hand 4, and the casting W can be vibrated in this state to perform sand removal work.

Although the supporting state switching device is provided on the robot side member 21 in this embodiment, it may be provided on the other robot hand connecting member 23.

[0028]

As described above, in the casting transfer device according to the present invention, the casting holding robot is held by the robot holding the casting through the automatic hand exchanging device and the casting is automatically exchanged by the hand. This automatic hand exchange device is detachably connected to the robot so that it is separated from the robot.
The robot side member connected to the robot and a robot hand connecting member supported by the robot side member via a plurality of connecting means, wherein the connecting means is a frame-shaped outer member having a plurality of sides. And an inner member inserted inside the outer member are connected to each side of both members, and are interposed between the inner side of the outer member and the outer side of the inner member facing this portion. An elastic body made of rubber, and a support state switching device for moving the other lock pin into and out of a pin hole opened in one of the outer member and the inner member are provided. Since the hand exchanging device and the robot hand are arranged on substantially the same plane orthogonal to each other,
Since the robot hand does not require an elastic body or a support state switching device, the robot hand has a simple structure having only a function of holding a casting.

Therefore, when forming a plurality of robot hands for each type of casting, there is no waste in each robot hand. Moreover, since the robot hand is simplified and the outer shape is reduced, the space for temporarily placing the robot hand can be relatively small. Further, since the automatic hand exchanging device can be compactly formed in the direction orthogonal to the virtual plane on which the plurality of connecting means are arranged, the automatic hand exchanging device and the robot hand are arranged side by side along this direction and the casting and the robot are arranged. The length between the tip of the main body can be shortened. Therefore, the casting held by the robot hand can be positioned on the working machine with high accuracy. In addition, in the elastically supported state, the inner member is sandwiched from the surroundings by the plurality of elastic members made of rubber provided around the inner member. It can be firmly supported. As a result, the degree of freedom of the posture of the robot at the time of performing the sand removing work is increased. The robot hand can be reliably supported, and in this state, the casting W can be vibrated to perform sand removal work. Further, since the robot hand is provided with a plurality of chucks for holding castings, the elastic body and the support state switching device can be shared by a plurality of castings. Moreover, by setting the direction in which the chucks are arranged in parallel to the direction along the above-mentioned virtual plane,
A plurality of chucks can be provided while achieving miniaturization.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a casting transfer device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of an automatic hand exchanging device and a robot hand used in the casting transfer device according to the present invention, in which the essential parts are cut away.

3 is a sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the robot hand, in which one chuck is broken and drawn.

5A and 5B are side sectional views for explaining the operation of the automatic hand exchanging device, where FIG. 5A shows an elastically supported state and FIG. 5B shows a rigidly supported state.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Transfer device for casting, 2 ... Robot, 3 ... Automatic hand exchange device, 4 ... Robot hand, 21 ... Robot side member, 22 ... Elastic body, 23 ... Robot hand connection member, 2
8 ... Lock mechanism, 28a ... Air cylinder, 28b ... Lock pin, 28c ... Pin hole, W ... Casting.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-4-322993 (JP, A) JP-A-54-38067 (JP, A) Actual development 61-35779 (JP, U) Actual development 2- 56588 (JP, U) Actual development Sho 56-171190 (JP, U) Japanese Patent Publication 55-45356 (JP, B2) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B25J 15/00-15 / 04 B25J 17/00-17/02

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A casting robot hand for casting gripping through an automatic hand changer robot to hold the casting
An object slips through the automatic hand changer and separates from the robot
The detachably connected, the automatic hand changer as,
The robot side member connected to the robot and a robot hand connecting member supported by the robot side member via a plurality of connecting means, wherein the connecting means is a frame-shaped outer member having a plurality of sides. And an inner member inserted inside the outer member are connected to each side of both members, and are interposed between the inner side of the outer member and the outer side of the inner member facing this portion. The elastic body and the support state switching device are provided with an elastic body made of rubber, and a support state switching device for putting the other lock pin in and out of a pin hole opened in one of the outer member and the inner member. And the automatic hand exchange device and the robot hand
A transfer device for castings , characterized in that they are arranged on substantially the same plane that is orthogonal to the direction in which are aligned . 2. A carrier unit cast according to claim 1, casting a transfer device being characterized in that a plurality of chucks for casting held in the robot hand.