JP5058021B2 - Pallet transport device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a pallet conveying device for conveying a pallet for storing articles.

Conventionally, as a pallet conveyance mechanism, there are a free flow conveyance and a fixed pitch conveyance. In the free flow conveyance, a plurality of rollers, pulleys, belts, and the like are provided along the conveyance path, and a mechanism for feeding the belt in the conveyance direction by a drive motor (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).
In the pitch conveyance, for example, in a workpiece machining process, a workpiece is arranged at a predetermined pitch on the pallet and machining is performed at each position while the pallet is sequentially pitch conveyed.

In the free flow conveying device, a positioning mechanism is provided in addition to the stopper mechanism in order to accurately stop at a predetermined position. That is, the pallet is brought into contact with the stopper and is positioned by inserting a locking pin or the like from below the contacted pallet.
In the case of pitch conveyance, a feed device capable of reciprocating between predetermined pitches is provided, and after the pallet is conveyed by the feed mechanism with a predetermined feed amount, the feed mechanism is returned to the original position. It is a mechanism for pitch conveyance. That is, there is provided a lifting mechanism that lifts the pallet and moves it in the transport direction by a predetermined pitch while positioning the pallet with the locking pin.
JP 2006-273539 A JP 2005-350147 A

However, the conventional transport apparatus has the following problems.
That is, in the positioning method in the conventional free flow conveyance device, the pallet is brought into contact with the stopper mechanism, and the positioning mechanism is used to position the pallet at the stop position. There was a risk of vibration. Furthermore, in the case of pitch conveyance, when the pallet is moved up and down by a lifting mechanism, or when the pallet is conveyed while being lifted, there is a drawback that vibration is generated in the conveying device and accurate positioning cannot be performed.
In addition, in the case of pitch conveyance, a lifting mechanism is required in addition to the positioning mechanism and the conveyance mechanism, and there is a problem that the structure becomes complicated and the apparatus becomes large.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and by reducing vibration during conveyance, it is possible to prevent the workpiece being conveyed from jumping and being displaced, and to have a simple structure and miniaturization. It is an object of the present invention to provide a pallet conveying device that can be realized.

  In order to achieve the above object, the pallet transport apparatus according to the present invention is a pallet transport apparatus for storing articles and transporting a pallet having an engagement hole on the lower surface, and a pair for feeding the pallet in the transport direction. Each of the feed mechanisms is provided with a moving table, a conveying driving means for reciprocating the moving table along the conveying path, and fixed to the moving table and at a position below the pallet on the conveying path. A feed mechanism including a support frame provided along, a convex member that protrudes upward from the support frame and that can be inserted into the engagement hole, and a protruding unit that moves the convex member up and down. Each of the movement tables is arranged coaxially in the direction along the conveyance path, and is provided with a predetermined interval that does not contact each other in the forward and backward movement directions. That.

In the present invention, the convex member of any one of the feeding mechanisms is inserted into and engaged with a part of the engagement hole of the pallet, and the engagement state is maintained by the driving means for conveyance such as a servo motor or a linear motor. By moving the moving table in the transport direction by a predetermined pitch, the pallet can be transported to the predetermined position together with the support frame with high accuracy. Since each of the support frames of the pair of feed mechanisms can be individually reciprocated along the conveyance path, each feed mechanism can alternately move the pallet. That is, after carrying out the conveying operation for one pallet by one feeding mechanism, during the operation of removing the convex member from the engagement hole and retracting the support frame of the one feeding mechanism to return to the original position, The convex member of the feed mechanism is inserted into the engagement hole of the pallet at the transported position and engaged therewith, and the support mechanism of the feed mechanism is transported by a predetermined pitch by the transport driving means in the engaged state. The pallet can be moved to the next position. Therefore, the time required for the backward movement of the support frame can be omitted, and it is not necessary to perform two operations such as positioning the pallet with the stopper after the pallet is brought into contact with the stopper as in the prior art. Shortening can be achieved.
Furthermore, in this pallet conveying apparatus, since the moving tables of the pair of feeding mechanisms are arranged coaxially in the direction along the conveying path so that the moving tables do not contact each other in the forward / backward direction, that is, in series, It can suppress that the width dimension (length dimension of the direction orthogonal to a conveyance path) of an apparatus becomes large. In addition, the pallet conveying device does not require a lifting mechanism unlike the conventional pitch conveying device, so that the structure is simplified and vibrations generated on the pallet due to the lifting can be reduced.

Moreover, in the pallet conveying apparatus according to the present invention, it is preferable that the support frames of the pair of feeding mechanisms are arranged on both the left and right sides with a central axis parallel to the conveying direction of the pallet to be conveyed.
In the present invention, since the support frames of the pair of feed mechanisms are arranged in parallel with each other along the conveyance path, the two support frames can independently reciprocate without interfering with each other.

In the pallet conveying apparatus according to the present invention, it is preferable that a plurality of moving tables are provided for each of the feeding mechanisms, and the moving tables of the respective feeding mechanisms are alternately arranged.
In the present invention, since the moving table can be arranged in a well-balanced manner in the length direction of the transport path and the support frame can be supported from below, the pallet can be smoothly moved without moving up and down without causing the support frame to bend. Therefore, highly accurate conveyance with reduced vibration can be performed.

Further, in the pallet conveying apparatus according to the present invention, the conveying driving means is composed of a servo motor and a ball screw, and the conveying driving means of the pair of feeding mechanisms are arranged at both ends in the direction along the conveying path, It is preferable that the screw shafts of the respective ball screws are provided coaxially.
In the present invention, since the conveying drive means for moving the respective moving tables of the pair of feeding mechanisms can be arranged on a straight line, it is possible to suppress an increase in the width dimension of the conveying device. The apparatus can be further reduced in size.

In the pallet carrying device according to the present invention, it is preferable that the projecting means is a support beam provided to be movable up and down with respect to the support frame, and a convex member is fixed to the upper end of the support beam.
In the present invention, the convex member can be inserted into the engagement hole of the pallet when the support beam is raised with respect to the support frame, and the convex member is removed from the engagement hole when the support beam is lowered. be able to. By providing a plurality of convex members on the support beam, the plurality of convex members can be simultaneously inserted into and extracted from the engagement holes of the pallet.

In the pallet transport device according to the present invention, the support base is provided with a slide base that can move in the direction along the transport path, and the slide base is directed from one side to the other side in the direction along the transport path. The upper surface of the plate cam is formed in the order of the lower board surface, the inclined surface, and the upper board surface, and a rotating body is provided at the lower end of the support beam so that the upper surface of the plate cam can be rotated. Preferably it is.
In the present invention, when the lower base plate surface of the plate cam is positioned on the transport direction side from the upper base plate surface, if the slide base is moved in the transport direction relative to the support base, the plate cam moves in the transport direction along with the slide base. Then, the rotating body mounted on the plate cam so as to be able to roll moves from the lower plate surface of the plate cam to the upper plate surface through the inclined surface. In other words, the support beam rises together with the rotating body at a predetermined height dimension, that is, the height dimension when the rotating body rides on the upper surface of the plate cam, and the convex member fixed to the upper end of the supporting beam is the engagement hole of the pallet. Will be inserted.

Moreover, in the pallet conveying apparatus according to the present invention, it is preferable that the slide base is reciprocated in the direction along the conveying path by an extrusion cylinder fixed to the support frame.
In the present invention, by fixing the slide base to the tip of the rod of the extrusion cylinder, the slide base can be reciprocated in the direction along the conveyance path by expansion and contraction of the extrusion cylinder.

According to the pallet transport device of the present invention, even if the moving tables that support the respective support frames of the pair of feed mechanisms so as to be reciprocally movable are arranged on the same axis, the moving tables do not come into contact with each other individually. Since it can be reciprocated, it can be a simple structure capable of suppressing an increase in the width dimension in the direction orthogonal to the axial direction along the conveying path in the pallet conveying apparatus, and the apparatus can be downsized. .
In addition, the pallet transport device does not require the lifting mechanism provided in the conventional pitch transport, so that the structure is simplified, and vibration generated on the pallet by lifting during transport can be reduced. There is an effect that it is possible to prevent the workpiece from jumping and shifting.

Hereinafter, a pallet conveying apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
1 is a partially broken perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a feed mechanism of a transport apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the feed mechanism shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a side view showing the schematic configuration of the transport apparatus. 5 is a partially enlarged side view showing a detailed configuration of the feeding mechanism, FIG. 4 is a view showing a pallet conveyed by the conveying device, (a) is a plan view thereof, and (b) is a side view thereof. FIG. 6, FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA shown in FIG. 5, FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a transport drive mechanism of the feed mechanism, and FIGS. 8 (a) to 8 (e) are diagrams for explaining the operation of the feed mechanism. FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the pallet feeding mechanism (hereinafter simply referred to as “feeding mechanism 1”) according to the present embodiment is a work W (a plurality of articles such as chip capacitors (secondary batteries)). The pallet P that can be stored while being held (see FIG. 4 (a)) is transported by pitch according to a predetermined pitch at which the workpieces W are arranged, and the workpiece W is processed at each stop position. It is employed in a pallet conveying device (conveying device T) for application. That is, the transport device T intermittently moves the pallet P by a pitch corresponding to one workpiece by the feed mechanism 1 (reference numerals 1A and 1B) every time a machining tool (not shown) performs a machining operation once. Are sequentially conveyed.

  As shown in FIG. 3, in the transport apparatus T of the present embodiment, a plurality of (for example, 13) pallets P (P1, P2,. (Right side) can be transported sequentially. In the following description, no particular reference numerals are given, but in the operating state of each part, “front side (front)” and “forward” are the side in the conveyance direction of the pallet P, and “rear side (rear)”. , “Retreat” is used in a unified manner in the direction opposite to the conveyance direction.

  As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the pallet P forms a substantially rectangular box in plan view, and has a predetermined interval (for example, in the longitudinal direction of the pallet P) on the upper surface thereof along the conveyance path (for example, A plurality (10 in this embodiment) of workpieces W can be placed with a pitch of 8 mm. The pallet P has a pair of engagement holes penetrating in the thickness direction of the pallet P at both upstream and downstream end positions in the conveyance direction on both the left and right sides of the central axis O in the direction along the conveyance path. 2a, 2a (2b, 2b) are formed. That is, the pallet P is provided with two pairs of engagement holes 2a, 2a, 2b and 2b.

  As shown in FIG. 1, each of the plurality of pallets P1, P2,... Has an engagement pin 3 (convex member) to be described later in each pair of engagement holes 2a, 2a (2b, 2b). While being inserted and engaged, the pallet P is conveyed by sliding the engaging pin 3 by a predetermined pitch in the conveying direction (arrow E direction).

As shown in FIGS. 3, 5, and 6, the transport device T is provided on a base 4, a main body frame 5 (see FIG. 6) that forms an outer shell of the transport device T, and an upper portion of the main body frame 5. And a guide rail 7, 7 extending in parallel along the longitudinal direction (transport path) of the base 4, and inside the main body frame 5. A pair of left and right feed mechanisms 1 (first feed mechanism 1A, second feed mechanism 1B) in a front view that can reciprocate along the guide rails 7, 7 are provided.
In the following description, parts and members of the first feed mechanism 1A are denoted by reference symbol A, and parts and members of the second feed mechanism 1B are denoted by reference character B as necessary.

Next, the configuration of each of the feed mechanisms 1A and 1B will be described. However, since both the feed mechanisms 1A and 1B have substantially the same configuration, only the first pallet feed mechanism 1A will be described in detail for convenience of explanation, while the other Regarding the second feed mechanism 1B, only the configuration different from the first feed mechanism 1A will be described, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.
In the side views of FIGS. 3 and 5, one first feed mechanism 1 </ b> A is on the front side of the page, and the other second feed mechanism 1 </ b> B is located on the back side of the page with respect to the first feed mechanism 1 </ b> A. It is a figure.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the first feeding mechanism 1 </ b> A includes a support gantry 10 (support gantry) provided along the conveyance path at a position below the pallet P, and the support gantry 10 along the conveyance path. And a plurality of engagement pins 3, 3,... (Convex shape) provided so as to protrude vertically with respect to the support frame 10. Member) and a vertical drive mechanism 30 (protruding means) for moving the engaging pins 3, 3,.

The support frame 10 is fixed on a plurality of (two in the present embodiment) moving tables 11 (11A, 11C) that can move along the guide rails 7, 7, and on these moving tables 11A, 11C. It consists of the 1st support beam 12 extended along a conveyance path.
A moving table 11A (on the side of a drive motor 21 described later) is fixed to a nut 22b of a ball screw 22 described later, and the lower surface 11a is movably engaged with a pair of guide rails 7 and 7. The running blocks 13, 13,... Are fixed. Two traveling blocks 13 are provided for each of the pair of guide rails 7 and 7.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the moving tables 11A and 11C of the first feeding mechanism 1A and the moving tables 11B and 11D of the second feeding mechanism 1B are coaxial in the conveying direction and alternately predetermined. They are arranged at intervals. In other words, the movement table 11A on the rear end side (leftmost in the left-right direction shown in FIG. 2) and the third movement table 11C in the conveyance direction (right direction) shown in FIG. Similarly, the second and fourth (rightmost) moving tables 11B and 11D are fixed to the first support beam 12A and fixed to the first support beam 12B of the second feed mechanism 1B. Thereby, the 1st support beam 12 becomes a structure which can move forward / backward along a conveyance path with the movement tables 11A and 11C.

  The first support beam 12 is a plate-like member extending along the transport direction at a substantially central position in the width direction (short direction) of the transport device T. The first support beam 12A and the first support beam 12B of the second feed mechanism 1B are arranged so that their side surfaces are parallel to each other. As described above, the first support beam 12A is fixed in a state of being placed on the two moving tables 11A and 11C. That is, the first support beams 12A and 12B of the pair of feed mechanisms 1A and 1B are arranged on both the left and right sides with the central axis parallel to the transport direction of the pallet P to be transported. The beams 12A and 12B can reciprocate independently without interfering with each other.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the side surface 12a of the first support beam 12A is provided with a vertical guide rail 14 for guiding a second support beam 31 of the vertical drive mechanism 30 described later in the vertical direction. It has been.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 7, the transport drive mechanism 20 includes a drive motor 21 fixed to one end side (left side in the drawing) of the base 4 along the transport path of the transport device T, and the drive motor. 21 includes a ball screw 22 provided coaxially with the rotation shaft 21a. A servo motor is employed as the drive motor 21. And the drive motor 21 has arrange | positioned the rotating shaft 21a on the center axis line of a conveyance path.

  The ball screw 22 includes a screw shaft 22a that is coaxially fixed to the rotary shaft 21a of the drive motor 21, a nut 22b that is screwed to the screw shaft 22a, and a bearing that rotatably supports the tip of the screw shaft 22a ( And a known mechanism that changes the rotational motion of the drive motor 21 into a linear motion along the transport direction. That is, the nut 22b performs a linear reciprocating motion in the axial direction of the screw shaft 22a by forward and reverse rotation of the screw shaft 22a. Then, one (the drive motor 21 side) moving table 11A is fixed to the nut 22b. In the present embodiment, by using a servo motor as the drive motor 21, the moving position of the nut 22b, that is, the moving position of the moving table 11 can be positioned with high accuracy.

Next, the configuration of the vertical drive mechanism 30 for moving the plurality of engagement pins 3, 3,.
As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the vertical drive mechanism 30 moves in the transport direction with respect to the second support beam 31 (corresponding to the support beam of the present invention) extending along the transport path and the support frame 10. A slide base 32 that can be provided, an extrusion cylinder 33 for reciprocating the slide base 32 in a direction along the transport path, and a plurality (three in the present embodiment) at predetermined positions of the slide base 32. The plate cam 34 is fixed, and a rolling support member 35 is mounted at the lower end of the second support beam 31 so that the upper surface of the plate cam 34 can roll in a direction along the conveyance path.

  The second support beam 31 is arranged outside the first support beam 12 (12A) so that the side surfaces thereof are parallel to each other, and the inner side surface 31a is guided by the upper and lower guide rails 14 of the support gantry 10. A sliding guide 36 is provided that is movably engaged in the vertical direction. A plurality of engaging pins 3, 3,... Are attached to the upper end of the second support beam 31 via receiving members 38. The positions of these engagement pins 3, 3,... Are engagement holes formed in pallets P1, P2,... Arranged on the transport rails 6, 6 at a predetermined interval when the second support beam 31 is raised. 2a and 2a.

  The slide base 32 is disposed along the lower end 31b of the second support beam 31, and is supported so as to be capable of reciprocating in the direction along the transport path with respect to the first support beam 12. Specifically, a slide support portion 37 (see FIG. 5) is provided on the side surface 12 a of the first support beam 12, and the slide base 32 is movably supported by the slide support portion 37. A tip end of a rod 33a of the extrusion cylinder 33 is fixed to one end 32a of the slide base 32, and the slide base 32 is configured to reciprocate within a predetermined distance by expansion and contraction of the rod 33a. Here, the distance of the interval at which the slide base 32 reciprocates coincides with the stroke of the rod 33a of the push-out cylinder 33 in which the second support beam 31 can be raised by a predetermined height by a plate cam 34 described later. Here, an air cylinder or the like can be adopted as the extrusion cylinder 33.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the plate cam 34 has a shape in which the height dimension increases in the direction opposite to the conveyance direction (the direction of arrow F), and is fixed to a predetermined position on the upper surface of the slide base 32. That is, the upper surface shape of the plate cam 34 has a lower board surface 34a, an inclined surface 34b, and an upper board surface 34c in order from the smaller height (right side in the figure). Each of the lower board surface 34a and the upper board surface 34c forms a horizontal plane. As described above, since the plate cam 34 is fixed to the slide base 32, along with the reciprocation of the slide base 32, a two-dot chain line (position H1) and a solid line (position H2) in the figure. It is the structure which reciprocates between.

  The rolling support member 35 includes a rotating body 35 a that is rotatable about a rotation axis in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction, and the rotating body 35 a is provided so as to protrude below the lower end portion 31 b of the second support beam 31. It has been. The rotating body 35a is placed on the lower plate surface 34a of the plate cam 34 at a position before the slide base 32 is moved in the transport direction E (that is, the position where the plate cam 34 is at the reference numeral H1 indicated by a two-dot chain line). When the slide base 32 moves in the conveying direction E, the rotating body 35a rolls on the upper surface of the plate cam 34 and is placed on the upper board surface 34c. That is, the second support beam 31 is in the lowered state when the slide base 32 is at the position H1, and the second support beam 31 is in the raised state when the slide base 32 is at the position H2.

In this way, when the second support beam 31 moves up and down, all the engagement pins 3, 3,... Provided on the receiving member 34 move up and down to move the two pairs of engagement holes 2 a and 2 a of the pallet P. (2b, 2b) has a structure inserted into the pair of engagement holes 2a, 2a.
And in this feed mechanism 1A, 1B, since several engagement pins 3, 3, ... are being fixed to the upper end of the 2nd support beam 31 provided so that the up-and-down movement was possible with respect to the 1st support beam 12, The plurality of engaging pins 3, 3,... Can be simultaneously inserted into and extracted from the engaging holes 2 a, 2 b of the pallet P.
In addition, it is comprised so that the upper end 3a of the engagement pin 3 may not contact | abut the pallet P in the state in which the engagement pin 3 was inserted in the engagement hole 2a. Therefore, the pallet P is not lifted by the engagement pins 3 and the pallet P can be smoothly moved in the transport direction.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the second feed mechanism 1B is provided on the opposite side of the transport drive mechanism 20B in the axial direction of the transport path with respect to the transport drive mechanism 20A of the first feed mechanism 1A. The structure is made. That is, the conveying drive means 20A and 20B of the pair of feeding mechanisms 1A and 1B are arranged at both ends in the direction along the conveying path, and the screw shafts 22a and 22a of the ball screws 22 and 22 are coaxial ( Since it is provided on the straight line), it is possible to suppress an increase in the width dimension of the transfer device T, and to further reduce the size of the transfer device.
In addition, about the structure of the other 2nd feed mechanism 1B, since it is the same as that of the 1st feed mechanism 1A mentioned above, detailed description is abbreviate | omitted.

Next, the conveying operation of the pallet P by the feed mechanism 1 configured as described above will be described with reference to the drawings.
First, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 8A, in the first feed mechanism 1A, the engagement pins 3 are inserted into the pair of engagement holes 2a, 2a for every pallet P1, P2,. 3 are simultaneously inserted and positioned.

Specifically, the rod 33 a of the extrusion cylinder 33 is extended by a predetermined stroke, and the slide base 32 is moved in the transport direction E with respect to the support base 10. Then, the plate cam 34 also moves in the transport direction E together with the slide base 32 (moves from the two-dot chain line shown in FIG. 5 to the solid line), so that the rolling support member 35 placed on the plate cam 34 so as to roll. The rotating body 35a moves from the lower board surface 34a of the plate cam 34 to the upper board surface 34c through the inclined surface 34b. That is, the second support beam 31 rises together with the rolling support member 35 with a predetermined height dimension (the height dimension when the rolling support member 35 rides on the upper plate surface 34 c of the plate cam 34), and the upper end of the second support beam 31. Are inserted into the pair of engagement holes 2a, 2a of the pallets P1, P2,... And engaged with each other.
The pallet P can be positioned at two locations by engaging the engagement pins 3 and 3 of one of the feed mechanisms 1A and 1B with the pair of engagement holes 2a and 2a (2b and 2b). Therefore, the positioning accuracy can be further increased, and the pallet P can be reliably conveyed without being displaced even during the operation of moving the pallet P by the feed mechanisms 1A and 1B.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 5, 7, and 8 (b), the pallet P is transported on the transport rails 4, 4 (FIG. 6) at a pitch of one work W on the pallet P or the number of pitches of a plurality of works W. (Refer to) Slide it on top.
Specifically, the drive motor 21 is driven, and the ball screw 22 is rotated so that the nut 22b moves linearly along the screw shaft 22a by the predetermined pitch. Accordingly, the moving table 11A fixed to the nut 22b moving in the transport direction E moves in the transport direction E on the guide rails 7, 7 through the four travel blocks 13, 13,. Therefore, all pallets P1, P2,... In the transport device T are slid and transported on the transport rails 4 and 4 together with the engagement pins 3 by the first feed mechanism 1A. Then, the work is performed on the workpiece W of each pallet P moved by a processing tool (not shown).

Further, as shown in FIG. 8 (c), the first feed mechanism 1A moves a plurality of pallets P by one pitch (for example, one pitch is set to 8 mm) or by a plurality of pitches, and for each pitch. When the workpiece W is machined and machining operations for all workpieces W on one pallet P are completed, the movement is completed. At this time, a pallet P0 for newly performing work on the transport device T is supplied to the pallet supply area S1 by a supply device (not shown). The processing tools (not shown) are arranged in the processing order (conveyance order) by the transport device T at the stop position of the workpiece W at a predetermined pitch.
In this manner, the workpiece W held on each pallet P is sequentially processed by repeating the movement (slide) by one pitch.

  Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 8D, when the movement is completed, the first feeding mechanism 1A reduces the rod 33a of the extrusion cylinder 33, and moves the slide base 32 in the direction opposite to the conveying direction E (the direction of the arrow F). By moving back and returning to the original position, the plate cam 34 also moves back in the same direction (arrow F direction), and the rotating body 35a of the rolling support member 35 rolls along the upper surface of the plate cam 34. The plate cam 34 moves to the lower plate surface 34a. As a result, the second support beam 31 descends, and all the engagement pins 3, 3,... Come out of the engagement holes 2a, 2a of the pallets P1, P2,.

  Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 8D, all the pallets P0 including the pallet P0 newly supplied to the pallet supply area S1, almost simultaneously with the operation of extracting the engaging pin 3 by the first feed mechanism 1A described above, P1, P2,... Are vacant (not inserted by the above-described first feed mechanism 1A) into the other pair of second engagement holes 2b, 2b, and the engagement pins 3, 3, ... are in an engaged state.

  Specifically, the operation of the second feed mechanism 1B is the same as that of the first feed mechanism 1A described above, that is, the extrusion cylinder 33B of the second feed mechanism 1B is extended by a predetermined stroke, and the support frame portion 10, the slide base 32 is moved in the transport direction E. Then, the plate cam 34 also moves in the transport direction E together with the slide base 32 (moves from the two-dot chain line shown in FIG. 5 to the solid line), so that the rolling support member 35 placed on the plate cam 34 so as to roll. The rotating body 35a moves from the lower board surface 34a of the plate cam 34 to the upper board surface 34c through the inclined surface 34b. That is, the second support beam 31 rises together with the rolling support member 35 with a predetermined height dimension (the height dimension when the rolling support member 35 rides on the upper plate surface 34 c of the plate cam 34), and the upper end of the second support beam 31. All the engaging pins 3, 3,... Fixed through the receiving member 38 are inserted into the pair of engaging holes 2b, 2b of the pallets P0, P1, P2,. .

  Next, as shown in FIG. 8E, all the pallets P0, P1, P2,... Are conveyed by the second feed mechanism 1B, and the second support beam 31 is lowered in the first feed mechanism 1A. In the state, an operation of returning to the original position (that is, an operation of moving in the direction F opposite to the transport direction E) is performed.

  As described above, in the transport device T, the locking pins 3, 3,... Of the first feeding mechanism 1 A are inserted into the engagement holes 2 a, 2 a of the pallet P and engaged, The pallet P is accurately transported to a predetermined position by moving the support frame member 10 of the first feed mechanism 1A by a predetermined pitch in the transport direction by the transport drive mechanism 20 including the drive motor 21 composed of a servo motor. Can be made.

  Since each of the support frame portions 10A and 10B of the pair of feed mechanisms 1A and 1B is configured to reciprocate independently along the transport path, the feed mechanisms 1A and 1B can move the pallet P alternately. it can. That is, after one pallet transporting operation is performed by one first feeding mechanism 1A, the engaging pin 3 is removed from the engaging hole 2a, and the support frame 10A of the first feeding mechanism 1A is moved backward to return to the original position. During the operation of returning to the position, the engaging pin 3 of the other second feed mechanism 1B is inserted into the engaging hole 2b of the pallet P at the transported position and engaged, and the transported state remains in the engaged state. By the drive mechanism 20, the support frame member 10B of the second feed mechanism 1B can be moved in the transport direction by a predetermined pitch, and the pallet P can be transported to the next position. Therefore, the time required for the backward movement of the support frame can be omitted, and the cycle time can be shortened.

  And since it is the structure arrange | positioned coaxially in the direction along a conveyance path so that the movement tables 11 and 11 of a pair of feed mechanisms 1A and 1B may not contact | abut in the advancing / retreating direction, ie, in series, It can suppress that the width dimension (length dimension of the direction orthogonal to a conveyance path) of the apparatus T becomes large. In addition, the transport device T does not require a lifting mechanism unlike the conventional pitch transport device, so that the structure of the device can be simplified.

  Further, in the transport device T, since the plurality of moving tables 11A, 11B, 11C, and 11D are alternately arranged in each of the feeding mechanisms 1A and 1B, the first support beam 12 of the support gantry 10 is balanced from below. It can be supported well, and the pallet P can be smoothly transported without moving up and down without causing the first support beam 12 to be bent, so that highly accurate transport with reduced vibration is performed. Can do.

In the pallet transport apparatus according to the above-described embodiment, even if the moving tables 11A, 11B, 11C, and 11D that support the support frame portions 10 of the pair of feed mechanisms 1A and 1B so as to be able to reciprocate are arranged coaxially. Since the movable tables 11 and 11 can be individually reciprocated without contacting each other, the increase in the width dimension in the direction perpendicular to the axial direction along the conveyance path in the conveyance device T can be suppressed. A possible simple structure can be obtained, and the apparatus can be reduced in size.
Further, the transport device T eliminates the need for a lifting mechanism provided in the conventional pitch transport, so that the structure is simplified, and vibration generated on the pallet P by lifting during transport can be reduced. There is an effect that the upper workpiece W can be prevented from jumping and being displaced.

As mentioned above, although embodiment of the pallet conveying apparatus by this invention was described, this invention is not limited to said embodiment, In the range which does not deviate from the meaning, it can change suitably.
For example, in the present embodiment, the second support beam 31 is moved up and down by the plate cam 34 and the rolling support member 35 that is slidably mounted on the plate cam 34, so that the engagement hole 2 of the pallet P is moved. The engagement pins 3, 3,... Are inserted into and extracted from the structure. However, the present invention is not limited to this structure. For example, the second support beam 31 is moved up and down by the biasing action of the spring member. It doesn't matter.

In this embodiment, the transfer table 11 (support base 10) can be reciprocated along the transfer path with high accuracy by the drive motor 21 made of a servo motor and the ball screw 22 as the transfer drive mechanism 20. For example, a drive mechanism using a linear motor can be employed.
Further, the shape, arrangement interval, and quantity of the pallet P, the number of workpieces W arranged on the pallet P, the pitch, and the like can be arbitrarily set according to the member and size of the workpiece W, processing conditions, and the like.
Furthermore, in this embodiment, two pairs of engagement holes 2a, 2a, 2b, and 2b are provided in the pallet P. However, the number, position, size, shape, and the like of the engagement holes are limited to the present embodiment. It can be set arbitrarily. For example, in the present embodiment, the engagement holes 2a and 2b penetrate in the thickness direction of the pallet P, but may be engagement holes having a shape opened on the lower surface side of the pallet P.

It is a partially broken perspective view which shows schematic structure of the feed mechanism of the conveying apparatus by embodiment of this invention. It is a top view of the feed mechanism shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the pallet conveyed with a conveying apparatus, Comprising: (a) is the top view, (b) is the side view. It is a side view which shows schematic structure of a conveying apparatus. It is the partially expanded side view which shows the detailed structure of a feed mechanism. It is the sectional view on the AA line shown in FIG. It is a top view which shows the drive mechanism for conveyance of a sending mechanism. (A)-(e) is a figure for demonstrating operation | movement of a feed mechanism.

Explanation of symbols

1, 1A, 1B Feed mechanism 2a, 2b Engagement hole 3 Engagement pin (convex member)
10 Support stand (support stand)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Moving table 12 1st support beam 13 Traveling block 20 Conveyance drive mechanism (conveyance drive means)
21 Drive motor 30 Vertical drive mechanism (protruding means)
31 Second support beam (support beam)
32 Slide base 33 Extrusion cylinder 34 Plate cam 34a Lower board surface 34b Inclined surface 34c Upper board surface 35a Rotating body T Conveying device (pallet conveying device)
P palette

Claims (7)

A pallet conveying device for conveying articles and conveying a pallet having an engagement hole on the lower surface,
A pair of feeding mechanisms for feeding the pallet in the conveying direction are provided,
Each of the feeding mechanisms includes a moving table, a conveying driving means for reciprocating the moving table along the conveying path, and fixed along the moving table and along the conveying path at a position below the pallet. A support frame provided; a convex member that protrudes upward from the support frame and that can be inserted into the engagement hole; and a protruding means for moving the convex member up and down.
Each of the moving tables of the feeding mechanism is coaxially arranged in a direction along the conveying path, and is provided at a predetermined interval that does not contact each other in the advancing and retreating directions.   2. The pallet transport device according to claim 1, wherein the support frames of the pair of feeding mechanisms are arranged on both right and left sides with a central axis parallel to a transport direction of the pallet to be transported. A plurality of the moving tables are provided in each of the feeding mechanisms,
The pallet conveying apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the moving tables of the feeding mechanisms are alternately arranged. The transport driving means comprises a servo motor and a ball screw,
The conveying drive means of each of the pair of feeding mechanisms are disposed at both ends in a direction along the conveying path, and the screw shafts of the respective ball screws are provided coaxially. The pallet transport device according to any one of 1 to 3. The protruding means comprises a support beam provided to be movable up and down with respect to the support frame,
The pallet conveying device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a convex member is fixed to an upper end of the support beam. The support base is provided with a slide base that is movable in a direction along the transport path,
The slide base is provided with a plate cam whose upper surface shape is formed in the order of the lower board surface, the inclined surface, and the upper board surface from one side in the direction along the conveyance path to the other side,
The pallet conveying apparatus according to claim 5, wherein a rotating body is provided at a lower end of the support beam so that the upper surface of the plate cam can roll freely.   The pallet conveying apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the slide base is reciprocated in a direction along a conveying path by an extrusion cylinder fixed to the support frame.

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