JP5732849B2 - Work transfer device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a workpiece transfer device that supplies and discharges workpieces to and from a machine tool such as a lathe.

  When a workpiece placed on a workpiece supply table is loaded into a machine tool by a workpiece transfer device, it may be necessary to load the workpiece into the machine tool after adjusting the phase in the circumferential direction depending on the type of workpiece. . Conventionally, a dedicated phase alignment device has been provided separately from the workpiece transfer device for the phase alignment of the workpiece (for example, Patent Document 1).

  Further, when a workpiece is machined with a machine tool, the radial dimension, roundness, etc. of the workpiece before and after machining may be measured. Conventionally, various workpiece measuring devices have been provided for these measurements. For example, one having a plurality of detection heads for detecting the workpiece diameter (for example, Patent Document 2), one for measuring a plurality of circumferential positions of the workpiece by rotating the detection head (for example, Patent Document 3), and rotating the workpiece For example, there is a device that measures a plurality of locations in the circumferential direction of a workpiece (for example, Patent Document 4).

Japanese Patent No. 4438263 JP 11-237227 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-63546 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-221280

  The above-described conventional phase matching device has to be changed in design for each type of workpiece, and has become a very complicated and expensive device. In addition, the conventional workpiece measuring device requires a plurality of detection heads (Patent Document 2), and a reason why a rotation mechanism for rotating the detection head and the workpiece is required in addition to the detection head (Patent Documents 3 and 4). As a result, the number of parts increased and the cost was high.

  The applicant of the present invention, in a work transport apparatus having a camera mounted on a loader head, provides a work transport provided with a rotation phase change mechanism that rotates the loader head around a vertical axis so that the correct rotational phase of the work can be recognized from the image of the camera. A device is proposed.

An object of the present invention is to provide a workpiece transfer device capable of performing detection or measurement determined for a workpiece using the rotational phase changing mechanism.
Another object of the present invention is to enable phase alignment of workpieces.
Still another object of the present invention is to enable measurement of the radial dimension of a workpiece.
A further object of the invention, Ru der to be able to detect a foreign substance existing on the outer peripheral surface of the workpiece.

  A workpiece transfer device according to a first aspect of the present invention is a device that carries a workpiece into and out of a workpiece holding portion of a machine tool, and travels along the guide rail installed horizontally and the guide rail. A traveling body, a lifting body provided on the traveling body so as to be movable up and down, a loader head provided at a lower end of the lifting body, a chuck provided on the loader head for gripping a workpiece, and the loader head A rotation phase changing mechanism that rotates the shaft up and down in the up-and-down direction, a detection / measuring unit that performs a predetermined detection or measurement on a workpiece that is installed at a fixed position and is held by the chuck; Control means for controlling the rotational phase changing mechanism to rotate the loader head for detection or measurement by the measuring means.

  According to this configuration, the detection / measurement means performs predetermined detection or measurement on the workpiece held by the chuck. For detection or measurement, the loader head is rotated by the rotation phase changing mechanism under the control of the control means. Thereby, the phase alignment of a workpiece | work and the measurement of the radial direction dimension in the circumferential direction several places can be performed.

In this invention, when the detection / measurement means is a means for detecting a specific part of the outer peripheral surface of the workpiece, the control means is configured to detect the specific part of the loader head when the detection / measurement means detects the specific part. You may have the phase determination means which determines the phase of the circumferential direction of a workpiece | work from a rotation angle.
By determining the phase in the workpiece circumferential direction by the phase determination means, the phase of the workpiece can be adjusted.

In this invention, when the detection / measurement means is a means for detecting a foreign matter existing on the outer peripheral surface of the workpiece, the control means outputs an alarm when the detection / measurement means detects a foreign matter. You may have.
If the control means has an alarm means, if there is an abnormality on the outer peripheral surface of the workpiece, it can be notified by an alarm.

  A workpiece transfer device according to a first aspect of the present invention is a device for loading and unloading a workpiece with respect to a workpiece holding portion of a machine tool, and a guide rail installed horizontally, along the guide rail A traveling body that travels, a lifting body that can be moved up and down on the traveling body, a loader head that is provided at a lower end of the lifting body, a chuck that is provided on the loader head and grips a workpiece, and the loader head A rotation phase changing mechanism that rotates the shaft up and down in the up-and-down direction, a detection / measurement unit that performs a predetermined detection or measurement on a workpiece that is installed at a fixed position and is held by the chuck, and this detection A control means for controlling the rotational phase change mechanism to rotate the loader head for detection or measurement by the measurement means, It can be detected or measured because obtained.

  The detection / measurement means is a specific part detection sensor for detecting a specific part on the outer peripheral surface of the workpiece, and the control means is a rotation angle of the loader head when the specific part detection sensor detects the specific part. If there is a phase determining means for determining the phase of the workpiece in the circumferential direction, the phase of the workpiece can be adjusted.

  The detecting / measuring means is a measuring instrument that measures the radial dimension of the workpiece, and the control means rotates the loader head so that the measuring instrument measures the radial dimensions of a plurality of locations in the rotational direction of the workpiece. When the rotation control means for controlling is provided, the radial dimension of the workpiece can be measured.

  The detecting / measuring means is a measuring instrument that measures the radial dimension of the workpiece, and the control means rotates the loader head so that the measuring instrument measures the radial dimensions of a plurality of locations in the rotational direction of the workpiece. In the case of having a rotation control means for controlling, it is possible to detect foreign matter present on the outer peripheral surface of the workpiece.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a front view of a workpiece transfer device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and a machine tool, a workpiece supply table, and a workpiece carry-out table that are workpiece transfer targets by the workpiece transfer device. It is a side view of the conveyance apparatus main body of the workpiece conveyance apparatus, and a part of the machine tool. (A) is an enlarged side view of the loader head of the main body of the transfer apparatus, and (B) is a bottom view thereof. It is a block diagram of the loader control device of the work conveyance device. It is a perspective view of an example of a work. It is a front view which shows the state which detects the specific site | part of the workpiece | work shown in FIG. 5 by the specific site | part detection sensor of a detection and measurement means. It is a perspective view which shows the state which detects the specific site | part of the workpiece | work different from the thing of FIG. 5 by the specific site | part detection sensor. (A) is a figure which shows the state which the drill broke at the time of drilling, (B) is a figure which shows the state which detects a part of broken drill with a foreign material detection sensor. It is a figure which shows the state which measures the radial direction dimension of a workpiece | work with the measuring device which is a detection and measurement means. It is a figure which shows the example of the radial direction dimension of the workpiece | work measured with the measuring device. It is a front view of the machine tool which is the work conveyance object concerning the example of a reference proposal , and the work conveyance object by this work conveyance apparatus. It is a side view which shows the state which blows air with respect to the workpiece | work hold | gripped by the chuck | zipper of the workpiece conveyance apparatus. It is a front view of the workpiece conveyance apparatus concerning the other reference proposal example , and the machine tool which is the conveyance object of the workpiece | work by this workpiece conveyance apparatus. It is a top view of the conveyance apparatus main body and the machine tool of the workpiece conveyance apparatus.

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the work transfer device 1 includes a transfer device main body 1A, a loader control device 40 that controls the operation of the transfer device main body 1A, and detection or measurement determined for the work W. The detection / measurement means 50 (50A, 50B, 50C) for performing the above. A part of the detection / measurement means 50 </ b> A and 50 </ b> B is a component of the loader control device 40.

  The transport apparatus main body 1A is of a gantry type, and includes a horizontal guide rail 2 and a loader 3 installed horizontally. The loader 3 includes a traveling body 4 that travels along the guide rail 2, an advancing / retracting member 5 that is movable in the front-rear direction that is a horizontal direction intersecting the guide rail 2 with respect to the traveling body 4, and the advancing / retreating member. 5 has a vertically elevating body 6 that can be raised and lowered freely, and a loader head 7 provided at the lower end of the elevating body 6. The loader head 7 is provided with two chucks 8 for gripping the workpiece W.

  The traveling body 4, the advance / retreat member 5, and the elevating body 6 are driven and operated by the travel drive source 10, the advance / retreat drive source 11, and the elevation drive source 12, respectively. Each of these drive sources 10, 11, and 12 is a servo motor, for example. Thereby, the loader head 7 is movable in the left-right direction, the front-back direction, and the up-down direction. If the counterpart device (spindle, measuring instrument, detector, etc.) with respect to the loader head 7 has a function of moving back and forth, the loader head 7 moves only in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction without providing the advance / retreat member 5. A possible configuration may be used.

  Further, the loader head 7 can be rotated in both forward and reverse directions around the axis O in the ascending / descending direction of the elevating body 6 by the rotational phase changing mechanism 13 provided in the elevating body 6 so that the rotational phase can be changed. Yes. The direction of the axis O is the vertical direction. In the illustrated example, the rotational phase changing mechanism 13 includes a rotating shaft 14 that is rotatably fitted to the inner periphery of a cylindrical lifting body 6 and has a loader head 7 fixed to the lower end thereof, and a rotational drive source such as a motor. 15 and a gear transmission mechanism 16 that transmits the rotation of the rotational drive source 15 to the turning shaft 14.

  As shown in FIG. 3 in an enlarged manner, the loader head 7 is provided with a swivel chuck position replacement mechanism 18. In the loader head 7, a swivel swivel 18a is installed so as to be swivel about an inclined axis Q inclined at 45 ° with respect to the vertical axis O, and is swiveled by a swivel drive unit 18b. . The two chucks 8 are provided on the lower surface and the front surface of the revolving body 18a, respectively. The positions of the two chucks 8 can be switched by turning the turning body 18a. The revolving body 18a and the revolving drive device 18b constitute a chuck position exchanging mechanism 18.

  Each chuck 8 has a plurality of chuck claws 20 that can advance and retreat in the radial direction with respect to the chuck center P (that is, the radial direction of the circle around the chuck center), and a pusher 21. In the illustrated example, there are three chuck claws 20. There may be two chuck claws 20 or four or more. The chuck claws 20 of the chuck claws 19 are driven to advance and retract in the radial direction in synchronization with each other by a chuck opening / closing drive source 22 provided in each chuck 19. The pusher 21 is a mechanism that allows the pusher plate 21a that presses the end face of the workpiece W to be moved forward and backward elastically. The pusher plate 21a is disposed so as not to interfere even if the chuck claw 20 moves, and has a three-pronged arm shape as shown in FIG. 3B, for example.

As shown in FIG. 1, the guide rail 2 has a line connecting a machine tool 30, a workpiece supply base 31 on which a workpiece W serving as a material is placed, and a workpiece unloading base 32 on which a processed workpiece is placed. The loader 3 is installed above and is configured to convey the workpiece W between the machine tool 30, the workpiece supply table 31, and the workpiece unloading table 32.
The machine tool 30 is, for example, a lathe, and includes a main shaft 33 and a tool post 34 that are work holding portions. The spindle 33 has a chuck 35 for gripping the workpiece W at the tip thereof, and is rotatably supported by a spindle base 37 provided on the bed 36. The tool post 34 is a turret tool post, and any one of a plurality of tools 38 attached to the outer periphery is indexed to the cutting position. In FIG. 1, only the tool 38 indexed to the cutting position is shown. As the tool 38, a cutting tool such as a cutting tool or a rotary tool such as a drill is used.

  The loader control device 40 includes a computer and a program executed on the computer. As shown in FIG. 4, the loader 3 is used to cause the loader 3 to perform basic operations such as moving the loader head 7 and opening and closing the chuck 8. Rotation of the rotation phase change mechanism 13 for detection or measurement by the basic operation control unit 41 for controlling the drive sources 10, 11, 12, 22 and the detection / measurement means 50 (50A, 50B, 50C). And a rotation control means 42 for controlling the drive source 15. The rotation control means 42 includes a phase detection rotation control unit 42a, a foreign matter detection rotation control unit 42b, and a radial dimension measurement rotation control unit 42c.

  The detection / measurement means 50 </ b> A is a means for detecting a specific part of the outer peripheral surface of the workpiece W. As shown in FIG. 5, when the workpiece W has a shape having one or more leg portions Wb at one end of the annular portion Wa, for example, the leg portion Wb is set as a specific portion. The detection / measurement means 50 </ b> A includes a specific part detection sensor 51 installed on the workpiece supply table 31 (FIG. 1), the phase detection rotation control unit 42 a of the loader control device 40, and the specific part detection means 43. Is done. The specific part detection unit 43 is connected to the phase determination unit 44.

  The sensor 51 for detecting a specific member is a sensor that detects the presence of an object at a certain distance from the front surface of the sensor, such as a proximity sensor, in a non-contact manner. For example, as shown in FIG. When the head 7 is stopped at a predetermined height, the loader head 7 is provided at the height position of the leg Wb of the workpiece W held by the chuck 8 in the downward posture. In the state of FIG. 6, the rotation drive source 15 is driven under the control of the phase detection rotation control unit 42 a to rotate the loader head 7 around the axis O. When the leg Wb of the workpiece W comes in front of the sensor 51 and the sensor 51 is turned on, the specific member detection means 43 determines the output value of the phase detection rotation control unit 42a at that time, that is, the rotation phase of the loader head 7. Read and transmit to the phase determination means 44. The phase determination unit 44 determines the rotation phase of the workpiece W from the rotation phase from the specific member detection unit 43 and the position information in the circumferential direction related to the leg Wb of the workpiece W stored in advance. If the workpiece W has a plurality of legs Wb and the rotation phase of the workpiece W cannot be determined unless the plurality of legs Wb are detected, the loader head 7 is rotated until the rotation phase can be determined.

  The detection / measurement means 50A detects the rotational phase of the workpiece W when the loader 3 picks up the workpiece W from the workpiece supply base 31, for example. Information on the detected rotational phase of the workpiece W is sent to the machine tool 30 and is used for correcting the rotational phase of the spindle 33 when the machine tool 30 processes the workpiece W. Alternatively, after detecting the rotational phase, the chuck 8 of the loader head 7 once releases the workpiece W, and then may be picked up so that the rotational phase of the workpiece W is always the same. In this case, it is not necessary to correct the rotational phase of the spindle 33 of the machine tool 30.

The detection / measurement means 50A can detect not only the rotation phase of the workpiece W having the leg portion Wb but also the rotation phase of the workpiece W in which the mark M is simply attached to the outer peripheral surface as shown in FIG.
The installation location of the sensor 51 of the detection / measurement means 50 </ b> A is not limited to the workpiece supply base 31. For example, it may be an appropriate location between the workpiece supply base 31 and the machine tool 30.

  The detection / measurement means 50B is a means for detecting foreign matter present on the outer peripheral surface of the workpiece W. As shown in FIG. 8A, for example, the foreign matter is formed as a part 52 of the drill left in the hole H by machining the hole H on the outer peripheral surface of the work W with a drill and breaking the drill. The The detection / measurement means 50B includes a foreign matter detection sensor 53 installed in the machine tool 30 (FIG. 1), the foreign matter detection rotation control unit 42b of the loader control device 40, and the foreign matter detection means 45. The foreign object detection means 45 is connected to the alarm means 46.

  The foreign object detection sensor 53 is also a sensor such as a proximity sensor that detects the presence of an object in a non-contact manner in the same manner as the specific member detection sensor 51. For example, as shown in FIG. 8B, the foreign matter detection sensor 53 receives a processed workpiece W when the chuck 8 of the loader 3 stops the loader head 7 at a predetermined position. 8 is provided at a position opposite to the hole H of the workpiece W gripped by 8. In the state of FIG. 8B, the rotation drive source 15 is driven under the control of the foreign matter detection rotation control unit 42b to rotate the loader head 7 around the axis O. When the hole H is processed normally, when the hole H of the workpiece W comes in front of the sensor 53, the sensor 52 is turned from ON to OFF. However, when drill breakage occurs, even if the hole H of the workpiece W comes to the front of the sensor 53, the hole H is blocked by a part 52 of the broken drill, so the sensor 53 is not turned off. The foreign matter detection means 45 detects the presence of foreign matter when the sensor 53 is not turned off at the position of the hole H stored in advance. When the foreign object detection unit 45 detects the foreign object, the foreign object detection unit 45 outputs it to the alarm unit 46.

The detection of the foreign matter by the detection / measurement means 50B is performed after, for example, drilling by the machine tool 30. When the warning means 46 is output, the operation of the machine tool 30 is stopped and the drill is replaced by the operator. The workpiece W from which foreign matter is detected is discarded as a defective product.
The installation location of the sensor 53 of the detection / measurement means 50B is not limited to the machine tool 30, but is preferably installed in the vicinity of the machine tool 30 so that foreign matter can be detected immediately after the hole machining is completed.

The detection / measurement means 50C is a measuring instrument that measures the radial dimension of the workpiece W, and for example, an optical scanning type or the like is used. The detection / measurement means 50C, which is a measuring instrument, is installed on the workpiece carry-out table 32, and measures the radial dimension D of the workpiece W gripped by the chuck 8 of the loader 3, as shown in FIG. Although FIG. 9 shows the case where the outer diameter is measured, the inner diameter may be measured. Even if it has only one measuring instrument, it outputs to the rotational drive source 15 under the control of the rotation controller 42c for radial direction measurement and rotates the loader head 7 by a predetermined angle. As shown in FIG. 10, the radial dimensions D1 to D4 of the workpiece W can be measured at a plurality of rotational phases.
The installation location of the detection / measurement means 50 </ b> C is not limited to the work carry-out table 32. For example, it may be an appropriate location between the machine tool 30 and the workpiece carry-out table 32.

  The workpiece transfer apparatus 1 according to the embodiment includes detection / measurement means 50A, 50B, and 50C, detects the rotational phase of the workpiece W, detects foreign matter existing on the outer peripheral surface of the workpiece W, and determines the radial dimension of the workpiece W. Although it has a function of performing all the measurements, it has a function of providing only one or two of the detection / measurement means 50A, 50B, 50C and performing only one or two of the detection and measurement. It is good.

11 and 12 show a reference proposal example . In the workpiece transfer device 1, an air blow nozzle 60 is fixedly installed at a position where the loader head 7 can move in the machining region R of the machine tool 30, for example, a bed 36 of the machine tool 30. Air is supplied to the air blow nozzle 60 from an air supply source 61. In the illustrated example, the installation posture of the air blow nozzle 60 is a posture in which air is blown obliquely upward. 1 A of conveying apparatus main bodies are the same structures as the thing of the said embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the loader control device 40 of the workpiece transfer device 1 includes the same basic operation control means (not shown), the rotation control means 42 for controlling the rotation drive source 15, and the air supply source 61. And air blow control means 47 for controlling the above. After the processing of the workpiece W by the machine tool 30 is completed, air is discharged from the air blow nozzle 60 directed to the workpiece W gripped by the chuck 8 under the control of the air blow control means 47, and chips and coolant adhered to the workpiece W. Remove. By rotating the loader head 7 around the axis O under the control of the rotation control means 42, air can be blown onto the workpiece W from various angles, so that chips and coolant can be reliably removed.

13 and 14 show other reference proposal examples . In the work transfer device 1, a chute 62 is provided below the movable range of the loader 3 to roll the processed work W and transfer it to the next process. The loader control device 40 of the workpiece transfer apparatus 1 includes the same basic operation control means 41 as described above and a rotation control means 42 for controlling the rotation drive source 15. After the processing of the workpiece W by the machine tool 30 is completed, the loader 3 is moved to above the chute 62 under the control of the basic motion control means 41, and then the chuck 8 located on the front side of the loader head 7 is opened to open the workpiece W. Is dropped onto the chute 62. At that time, by adjusting the loader head 7 in the direction under the control of the rotation control means 42, the workpiece W is dropped so that the axial center Wo of the workpiece W is perpendicular to the inclination direction of the chute 62 as shown in FIG. . The dropped work W rolls on the chute 62 and is conveyed to the next process. Since the loader head 7 can be changed in any direction, the chute 62 can be installed in any direction.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Work conveying apparatus 2 ... Guide rail 3 ... Loader 4 ... Traveling body 6 ... Lifting body 7 ... Loader head 8 ... Chuck 13 ... Rotation phase change mechanism 30 ... Machine tool 33 ... Main shaft (work holding part)
40 ... loader control device 42 ... rotation control means 44 ... phase determination means 46 ... alarm means 50A, 50B, 50C ... detection / measurement means 52 ... part of the drill (foreign matter)
60 ... Air blow nozzle 61 ... Air supply source O ... Axis center R ... Working area W ... Work Wb ... Leg (specific part)

Claims (4)

A workpiece transfer device that loads and unloads workpieces with respect to a workpiece holding portion of a machine tool,
A guide rail installed horizontally, a traveling body that travels along the guide rail, a lifting body that can be moved up and down on the traveling body, a loader head that is provided at the lower end of the lifting body, and the loader A chuck provided on the head for gripping the workpiece, a rotation phase changing mechanism for rotating the loader head about the axis of the lifting / lowering body, and a workpiece installed at the fixed position and gripped by the chuck. A workpiece transfer apparatus comprising detection / measurement means for performing the detected or measured and control means for controlling the rotation phase changing mechanism to rotate the loader head for detection or measurement by the detection / measurement means .   The detection / measurement means is a means for detecting a specific part of the outer peripheral surface of the workpiece, and the control means is based on a rotation angle of the loader head when the detection / measurement means detects the specific part. The workpiece transfer apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a phase determination unit that determines a phase in a circumferential direction.   The detecting / measuring means is a measuring instrument that measures the radial dimension of the workpiece, and the control means rotates the loader head so that the measuring instrument measures the radial dimensions of a plurality of locations in the rotational direction of the workpiece. 2. The workpiece transfer apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a rotation control means for controlling.   The detection / measurement means is means for detecting foreign matter existing on the outer peripheral surface of the workpiece, and the control means has alarm means for outputting an alarm when the detection / measurement means detects foreign matter. The workpiece transfer device described.

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