JP5370120B2 - Work transfer device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a workpiece transfer device used to transfer a workpiece for the purpose of supplying and discharging the workpiece to and from a machine tool such as a lathe.

  Gantry-type devices are widely used as work transfer devices for machine tools. The gantry-type workpiece transfer device is provided with a lifting rod on the traveling platform that runs along the rails provided in the left-right direction, and a workpiece holder that can hold the workpiece at the lower end of this lifting rod. Thus, the work holder is moved in three orthogonal directions by moving the traveling table, the front and rear moving table, and the lifting rod as appropriate. In general, the traveling table, the front / rear moving table, and the lifting rod are independently driven by individual moving drive sources.

  In a manipulator or the like for an industrial robot, two moving members that move along the rail and a link mechanism having a base supported by these moving members are combined to provide two moving members provided on the distal end side of the link mechanism. A mechanism for moving in the axial direction has been proposed (for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

JP-A-57-21486 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 58-160071 JP-A-63-114887 JP-A-63-114888

  The gantry-type workpiece conveyance device requires at least three movement drive sources in order to independently drive the traveling platform, the front / rear movement platform, and the lifting / lowering rod with individual movement drive sources. In addition, the moving drive source for the front and rear moving table is mounted on the traveling table, and the moving drive source for the lifting rod is mounted on the front and rear moving table, and the weight of the traveling table and the front and rear moving table is heavy. Therefore, in order to realize a light movement of the work holder, it has been necessary to increase the output of the moving drive sources for the traveling platform and the front / rear moving platform.

  The proposed industrial manipulators for industrial robots can be applied to a work transfer device of a machine tool. However, since each proposed mechanism is a mechanism for moving the moving member in two axial directions, a mechanism for moving the moving member in another one axial direction must be provided in order to use it as a workpiece transfer device for a machine tool. I must. Eventually, a total of three movement drive sources are required: two movement drive sources for moving the two moving bodies, and a movement drive source for driving a separate mechanism.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a workpiece transfer device that can move a workpiece holding member in three axial directions with a small number of movement driving sources and that can perform a light movement operation of the workpiece holding member with a small movement driving source. is there.
Another object of the present invention is to move the work holding member in the three-axis directions by simple operations of the respective parts.
Still another object of the present invention is to make it possible to fix a work holding member, which is also one component, at an arbitrary position with respect to a support member, which is one component of the work transfer device. is there.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a configuration suitable for an apparatus for conveying a workpiece to a machine tool.

  The workpiece conveyance device according to the present invention includes a first traveling body and a second traveling body that are capable of traveling along rails in the X-axis direction in the orthogonal coordinate system of the X, Y, and Z axes, and the first traveling body. A first swing arm supported so as to be swingable about two axes, an X-axis axis and a Z-axis axis; and the Z-axis axis on the second traveling body A second swinging arm supported so as to be swingable around, an arm angle fixing mechanism for fixing the angle of the second swinging arm, and a tip of the second swinging arm in the Z-axis direction. A support member supported rotatably about an axis, and supported by the support member so as to be slidable along the Z-axis direction; and an axial center in the X-axis direction at a tip of the first swing arm And a workpiece holding member rotatably supported around two axes of the Z-axis direction axis, Characterized in that it comprises a position fixing mechanism located fixing the click holding member relative to the support member.

  The workpiece conveying device having this configuration moves the workpiece holding member in the X-axis direction by causing the first and second traveling bodies to travel in the same direction along the rails at the same speed, thereby The work holding member is moved in the Y-axis direction by fixing the slide position of the holding member and causing the first and second traveling bodies to run in the opposite directions along the rail, and the second The workpiece holding member is moved in the Z-axis direction by fixing the angle of the swing arm and causing the first traveling body to travel along the rail.

  As described above, by controlling the traveling of the first and second traveling bodies and the state of the arm angle fixing mechanism and the position fixing mechanism, the workpiece holding member is orthogonally triaxial, that is, the X-axis direction, Y It can be moved in the axial direction and the Z-axis direction. As the movement drive source, there are only two movement drive sources for running the first and second traveling bodies, respectively, and a simple configuration can be achieved. Moreover, since these two movement drive sources can be provided on the rail which is a fixed member, it is not necessary to provide a movement drive source in the moving parts of the first and second traveling bodies. Therefore, the weight of the moving part can be reduced, and the work holding member can be moved easily even with a moving drive source having a small output. Note that the drive source for the arm angle fixing mechanism and the drive source for the position fixing mechanism only switch the arm angle fixing mechanism and the position fixing mechanism between the operating state and the non-operating state. Can be used. Therefore, the weight increase of the moving part is small as compared with the case where the movement drive source is increased.

In this invention, the position fixing mechanism may be a brake mechanism that fixes the position of the work holding member with respect to the support member by a frictional force.
If the position fixing mechanism is a brake mechanism, the work holding member can be fixed at an arbitrary position with respect to the support member.

In the case where the workpiece transfer device according to the present invention is a device that transfers a workpiece to a machine tool, the workpiece holding member may include a chuck that detachably holds the workpiece.
If the workpiece holding member has a chuck for detachably holding the workpiece, the workpiece can be transferred to and from the machine tool satisfactorily.

  The workpiece conveyance device according to the present invention includes a first traveling body and a second traveling body that are capable of traveling along rails in the X-axis direction in the orthogonal coordinate system of the X, Y, and Z axes, and the first traveling body. A first swing arm supported so as to be swingable about two axes, an X-axis axis and a Z-axis axis; and the Z-axis axis on the second traveling body A second swinging arm supported so as to be swingable around, an arm angle fixing mechanism for fixing the angle of the second swinging arm, and a tip of the second swinging arm in the Z-axis direction. A support member supported rotatably about an axis, and supported by the support member so as to be slidable along the Z-axis direction; and an axial center in the X-axis direction at a tip of the first swing arm And a workpiece holding member rotatably supported around two axes of the Z-axis direction axis, Since the work holding member is provided with a position fixing mechanism for fixing the position of the work holding member with respect to the support member, the work holding member can be moved in the three-axis direction with a small number of movement drive sources, and light movement operation can be performed with a small movement drive source. Is possible.

  By moving the first and second traveling bodies along the rails in the same direction at the same speed, the workpiece holding member is moved in the X-axis direction, and the slide position of the workpiece holding member is fixed. In addition, by moving the first and second traveling bodies in the reverse direction along the rail, the work holding member is moved in the Y-axis direction, and the angle of the second swing arm is fixed. When moving the workpiece holding member in the Z-axis direction by running the first traveling body along the rail, the workpiece holding member is moved in the three-axis direction by a simple operation of each part. It is done.

  When the position fixing mechanism is a brake mechanism that fixes the position of the work holding member with respect to the support member by a frictional force, the position fixing mechanism is also one component with respect to the support member that is one component of the work transfer device. The workpiece holding member can be fixed at an arbitrary position.

  When the workpiece holding member has a chuck for detachably holding the workpiece, the workpiece holding member is suitable for an apparatus for conveying the workpiece to the machine tool.

It is a perspective view of the workpiece conveyance apparatus concerning one Embodiment of this invention. (A), (B) is a front view which shows a different state of the said workpiece conveyance apparatus, respectively. (A), (B) is a top view which shows each different state of the workpiece conveyance apparatus. It is a side view of the workpiece conveyance apparatus. It is a fracture | rupture side view of the chuck mechanism of the workpiece conveyance apparatus. It is a top view of the arc angle fixing mechanism of the workpiece conveyance device. It is sectional drawing of the position fixing mechanism of the workpiece conveyance apparatus. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing in the case of moving the workpiece holding member of the workpiece conveyance apparatus to the Y-axis direction. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing in the case of moving the workpiece holding member to a Z-axis direction. (A) is a front view which shows the state which used the said workpiece conveyance apparatus for the workpiece conveyance of a machine tool, (B) is the side view.

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in each drawing of FIGS. 1 to 4 showing the whole, the work transfer device 1 includes first and second traveling bodies 3 that travel in a suspended state along a single rail 2 installed horizontally. , 4, first and second swing arms 5, 6 whose upper ends are respectively supported by the traveling bodies 3, 4, and the second swing arm directly on the lower end of the first swing arm 5. 6 is provided with a workpiece holding member 8 supported indirectly via a support member 7 at the lower end of 6. Hereinafter, the length direction of the rail 2 is the X-axis direction, the horizontal direction that is horizontal and orthogonal to the length direction of the rail 2 is the Z-axis direction, and the vertical direction is the Y-axis direction.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the work holding member 8 has two chucks 10, 10 in a downward posture and a lateral posture at the lower end, and these two chucks 10, 10 are postured downward and laterally by the posture switching mechanism 11. Switch. The posture switching mechanism 11 will be described. The two chucks 10 and 10 are installed on a rotating body 13 that is rotatable around an inclined axis O with respect to the work holding member main body 12. , The positions of each other (that is, the posture of each other) are switched. The rotating body 13 is rotated by a posture switching drive source 14 such as a motor. Each chuck 10 can open and close the chuck claws 10a by a chuck opening / closing drive source such as an air cylinder. The rotary body 13 and the posture changing drive source 14 constitute a posture switching mechanism 11.

  1 to 4, the rail 2 is formed with a pair of ridge guides 16 extending in the X-axis direction on the bottom surface, and the first and second traveling bodies 3 are formed on the pair of ridge guides 16. , 4 are guided to the guided members 17, 18 respectively. As shown in the partially enlarged view of FIG. 4, the guided members 17 and 18 are rolling type linear motion bearings, and a plurality of rolling elements 19 are arranged along an endless track inside thereof. As the moving body 19 circulates while rolling along the side groove 16a of the ridge guide 16, the guided members 17 and 18 roll and move in the X-axis direction.

  The first travel drive source 23 that travels the first travel body 3 and the second travel drive source 24 that travels the first travel body 4 are linear motors. The first and second travel drive sources 23 and 24, which are linear motors, include a plurality of coils 25 arranged on the rail 2 at equal intervals in the X-axis direction, and the above-described coils for each of the travel bodies 3 and 4. The plate-shaped permanent magnets 26 and 27 are provided so as to oppose each other. The permanent magnets 26 and 27 have a length in the X-axis direction that can be simultaneously opposed to the adjacent coils 25, and each traveling body 3 and 4 is in the closest state (FIG. 3B). The permanent magnets 26 and 27 are arranged so that the permanent magnets 26 and 27 do not face the same coil 25. The current is passed through each coil 25 in order to change the magnetic field, whereby the permanent magnets 26 and 27 and the traveling bodies 3 and 4 provided with the magnets move in the X-axis direction. By controlling the energization to each coil 25, each traveling body 3 and 4 can be made to travel individually.

  The lower end of the first swing arm 5 is shifted in the Z-axis direction with respect to the upper end. That is, the lower end is located in front of the rail 2 (to the right in FIG. 4). The upper end of the first swing arm 5 is connected to a bracket 31 provided on the bottom surface of the first traveling body 3 by a joint portion 30 around two axes, an X-axis axis and a Z-axis axis. Is swingably supported. The lower end of the first oscillating arm 5 can be pivoted around the two axis centers of the X-axis direction axis and the Z-axis direction axis by the joint portion 32 on the bracket 33 provided on the work holding member 8. It is connected to. The joint portions 30 and 32 are, for example, spherical joints, and are a combination of a joint that is rotatable about the axis in the X-axis direction and a joint that is rotatable about the axis in the Z-axis direction. Also good.

  The lower end of the second swing arm 6 is also shifted in the Z-axis direction with respect to the upper end, and the lower end is positioned forward of the rail 2. The upper end of the second swing arm 6 is supported by a joint portion 35 on a bracket 36 provided on the bottom surface of the second traveling body 4 so as to be swingable about an axis in the Z-axis direction. The joint portion 35 is provided with an arm angle fixing mechanism 37 that fixes the angle of the second swing arm 6. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the arm angle fixing mechanism 37 is provided with a brake disk 39 on a rotating shaft 38 that rotates integrally with the upper end of the second swing arm 6, and the brake disk 39 is connected to a pair of brake pads. It is set as the structure which is pinched | interposed by 40 and brakes with a frictional force. The pair of brake pads 40 are sandwiched and operated by an arm angle fixed drive source 41. The arm angle fixed drive source 41 is driven by an electromagnetic action by passing a current through the coil 41a, for example.

  A lower end of the second swing arm 5 is coupled to the support member 7 by a joint portion 43 so as to be rotatable about an axis in the Z-axis direction. A guide 44 along the Z-axis direction is formed on the support member 7, and a slide member 45 provided at the upper end of the work holding member 8 is slidably guided by the guide 44. As shown in FIG. 7, the slide member 45 is provided with a position fixing mechanism 46 that fixes the position of the work holding member 8 with respect to the support member 7. The position fixing mechanism 46 is a brake mechanism that brakes by frictional force by pressing the friction plate 47 against the guide 44. The friction plate 47 is operated by a position fixing drive source 48 installed on the upper surface of the slide member 45. For example, the position fixing drive source 48 is driven by an electromagnetic action by supplying a current to the coil 48a.

  The operation of the work transfer device 1 will be described. When the workpiece holding member 8 is moved in the X-axis direction, the first traveling drive source 23 and the second traveling drive source 24 move the first and second traveling bodies 3 and 4 along the rail 2 to the same speed. To drive in the same direction. Thus, the first and second traveling bodies 3 and 4, the first and second swing arms 5 and 6, the support member 7, and the work holding member 8 are maintained in the same positional relationship as a whole. Move in the X-axis direction.

  When the workpiece holding member 8 is moved in the Y-axis direction, as shown in FIG. 8, the first and second traveling bodies 3 and 4 are fixed with the slide position of the workpiece holding member 8 fixed by the position fixing mechanism 46. Is run in the opposite direction along the rail 2 at the same speed. When the first and second traveling bodies 3 and 4 are caused to travel toward the side where the distance between them becomes narrower in the order of FIGS. 8A to 8C, the first and second swing arms 6 and 7 are moved downward. And the workpiece holding member 8 is lowered. On the contrary, when the first and second traveling bodies 3 and 4 are caused to travel to the side where the distance between the first and second traveling bodies 3 and 4 increases, the first and second swing arms 6 and 7 rotate upward, and the work holding member 8 is moved. To rise. The work holding member 8 can move up and down between the uppermost position Y1 in FIG. 2A and the lowermost position Y2 in FIG.

  When the workpiece holding member 8 is moved in the Z-axis direction, as shown in FIG. 9, the first traveling body 3 is moved to the rail while the angle of the second swing arm 6 is fixed by the arm angle fixing mechanism 37. Drive along 2. The second traveling body 4 is in a stopped state. When operated in this way, the angle of the second swing arm 6 is fixed, and the rotation of the first swing arm 5 around the axis in the Z-axis direction is restricted. The moving arm 5 rotates around the axis in the X-axis direction. Thereby, the work support member 8 slides with respect to the support member 7, and the work support member 8 moves in the Z-axis direction. Specifically, when the first traveling body 3 is traveled away from the second traveling body 4 in the order of FIGS. 9A to 9C, the workpiece support member 8 moves rearward, When one traveling body 3 travels to the side closer to the second traveling body 4, the workpiece support member 8 moves forward. The work holding member 8 can move back and forth between the last position Z1 in FIG. 3A and the foremost position Z2 in FIG.

  The work transfer device 1 includes two movement drive sources, a first travel drive source 23 and a second travel drive source 24, and the workpiece holding member 8 is orthogonally moved in three axial directions, that is, in the X-axis direction, the Y-axis direction, And can be moved in the Z-axis direction. Further, since the coil 25 which is a member occupying a large weight in the first travel drive source 23 and the second travel drive source 24 is provided on the rail 2 which is a fixed member, the travel body 3 and 4 are ahead of each other. It is not necessary to provide a moving drive source in the moving part. Therefore, the moving portion can be reduced in weight, and the traveling bodies 3 and 4 can be lightly traveled even with the travel drive sources 23 and 24 having a small output. Thereby, the workpiece holding member 8 can be moved up and down and moved back and forth easily. Since the arm angle fixing drive source 41 and the position fixing drive source 49 only switch the arm angle fixing mechanism 37 and the position fixing mechanism 46 between the operating state and the non-operating state, a small and simple driving source is used. Can do. Therefore, the increase in the weight of the moving part is small as compared with the case where the moving drive source is increased. Further, since the position fixing mechanism 46 and the position fixing drive source 49 are electromagnetic brakes, the position fixing mechanism 46 can be easily controlled and can be accurately operated at an arbitrary slide position.

  FIG. 10 shows an example in which the workpiece transfer device 1 is used as a loader for transferring a workpiece to a machine tool. In this example, the machine tool 50 is a lathe, and the workpiece transfer apparatus 1 transfers the workpiece W between the spindle 51 of the machine tool 50 and the workpiece mounting table 52. In this case, the X-axis direction is the direction in which the machine tool 50 and the workpiece mounting table 52 are arranged, the Y-axis direction is the vertical direction, and the Z-axis direction is the direction of the main shaft 51. When a plurality of machine tools 50 are provided side by side, the X-axis direction is set as the direction in which the machine tools 50 are arranged. Since the workpiece holding member 8 of the workpiece conveyance device 1 has the chuck 10 that detachably holds the workpiece W, when the workpiece conveyance device 1 is used as a loader as shown in the figure, the workpiece 51 is connected to the spindle 51 of the machine tool 51. It is possible to satisfactorily deliver the workpiece W and attach / detach the workpiece W to / from the workpiece mounting table 52.

  In the work transfer device 1 of the above embodiment, the first and second traveling bodies 3 and 4 travel along the same rail 2, but the traveling bodies 3 and 4 travel along separate rails parallel to each other. You may make it drive | work.

  In addition to the machine tool loader, the workpiece transfer device of the present invention can be used in general for transfer devices that transfer workpieces such as unmanned transfer devices installed in factories and distribution facilities, for example.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Work conveying apparatus 2 ... Rail 3 ... 1st traveling body 4 ... 2nd traveling body 5 ... 1st rocking arm 6 ... 2nd rocking arm 7 ... Support member 8 ... Work holding member 10 ... Chuck DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 23 ... 1st traveling drive source 24 ... 2nd traveling drive source 37 ... Arm angle fixed mechanism 41 ... Arm angle fixed drive source 46 ... Position fixed mechanism 48 ... Position fixed drive source 50 ... Machine tool W ... Workpiece

Claims (4)

  In the orthogonal coordinate system of the X, Y, and Z axes, the first and second traveling bodies that can travel along rails in the X-axis direction, and the X-axis direction axis and the first traveling body A first swing arm that is swingably supported around two axes of the Z axis direction axis, and a second swing body that is swingably supported about the Z axis direction axis. A second swing arm, an arm angle fixing mechanism that fixes the angle of the second swing arm, and a tip of the second swing arm that is rotatable about the Z-axis axis. A support member that is supported, and is slidably supported by the support member along the Z-axis direction, and the X-axis direction axis and the Z-axis direction axis center at the tip of the first swing arm. The workpiece holding member supported so as to be rotatable about the two axes, and the workpiece holding member as a support member. Workpiece transfer apparatus, characterized in that it comprises a position fixing mechanism located fixed to. By moving the first and second traveling bodies in the same direction along the rails at the same speed, the workpiece holding member is moved in the X-axis direction,
The work holding member is moved in the Y-axis direction by fixing the slide position of the work holding member and causing the first and second traveling bodies to run in opposite directions along the rail,
The workpiece holding member is moved in the Z-axis direction by fixing the angle of the second swing arm and causing the first traveling body to travel along the rail.
The workpiece transfer apparatus according to claim 1.   The work conveying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the position fixing mechanism is a brake mechanism that fixes the position of the work holding member with respect to the support member by a frictional force.   4. The workpiece transfer device according to claim 1, wherein the workpiece holding member includes a chuck that detachably holds the workpiece. 5.

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