JP6220890B2 - Transport device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention is related to transport apparatus for conveying the conveying object.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an apparatus for conveying an object to be conveyed, there is an apparatus as described in the following patent document, that is, an apparatus called a so-called transfer apparatus. In such a device, a moving body called a transfer bar is provided with a support portion that supports the object to be conveyed, and the moving object is moved to move the object to be conveyed (in the conveying direction across a plurality of work machines). (Work object) is conveyed.

JP 2002-59343 A Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 5-31852

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

In the conventional transfer apparatus as described above, the support portion provided on the moving body is provided in a state where the position in the transfer direction is fixed with respect to the moving body, and the arrangement pitch of the adjacent work machines is set. By moving the moving body in the transport direction by a corresponding distance, the support unit is also moved in the transport direction by that distance. However, the arrangement pitch of the work implement and the movement distance of the support portion do not always coincide with each other, and fine position adjustment may be necessary. In that case, since the position of the support portion cannot be changed in the transport device, it is necessary to adjust the arrangement pitch of the work implement, and the adjustment is difficult because the work implement is relatively heavy. Become. Therefore, it is difficult to say that the conventional transport device is sufficiently practical. The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, it is an object to improve the utility of the conveying equipment.

In order to solve the above problems, the transport device of the present invention provides:
A transport device that transports an object to be transported in a transport direction,
A substrate;
A first moving body supported by the base body so as to be movable in a direction parallel to the conveying direction;
A plurality of second moving bodies each supported by the first moving body so as to be movable in a direction parallel to the transport direction and spaced apart from each other, and provided with a support portion for supporting the transported object;
Each of the plurality of elastic members disposed on the first moving body to elastically support the corresponding one of the plurality of second moving bodies on the first moving body in a direction parallel to the transport direction. Body,
A moving device for moving the first moving body from a set first position to a set second position in a direction parallel to the transport direction;
Each position can be adjusted in a direction parallel to the transport direction, and when the first moving body is moved from the first position to the second position by the moving device, the first moving body is moved to the second position. A plurality of locking bodies for locking corresponding ones of the plurality of second moving bodies before being positioned;
It is comprised so that it may comprise.
Further, in the work system, as conveying device for conveying the workpiece over a plurality of working machine, it is possible to employ a conveying device of the present invention.

According to the transport device of the present invention, the position of the transport destination of the transported object in the transport direction can be easily adjusted by adjusting the position of the locking body, even though the first moving body is moved by a certain distance. Is possible. Further, according to the work system including the conveying device of the present invention, without adjustment of the position of the working machine itself, the workpiece, can be conveyed to a proper position relative to the work It becomes. From such advantages, the transport equipment of the present invention will become highly practical equipment.

It is an external view which shows the working system of an Example. It is a perspective view which shows the state which removed the exterior panel of the work system. It is a perspective view which shows one working machine. It is a figure which shows a part of conveyance apparatus of the Example employ | adopted as the work system. It is a perspective view which shows a part of conveying apparatus in the operation state different from FIG. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the positioning mechanism of a conveying apparatus. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating conveyance of the work target object by a conveying apparatus.

Hereinafter, an exemplary embodiment of the configured working system include conveying apparatus conveyance device of the invention and, as examples, will be described in detail with reference to FIG. It should be noted that the present invention can be implemented in various modes in which various changes and improvements are made based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art, in addition to the following examples.

  Hereinafter, the overall configuration of the work system, the configuration of the transfer device, the positioning mechanism of the workpiece support unit, the transfer of the workpiece by the transfer device, and modifications will be described in order with respect to the work system and the transfer device of the embodiment.

[A] Overall Configuration of Work System The work system shown in FIG. 1 is configured to include one system base 10 and four work machines 12 placed side by side on the system base 10. FIG. 1 shows a work system in a state where an exterior panel is stretched. FIG. 2 shows the work system with the exterior panel removed from a different viewpoint from FIG.

  In this work system, each work machine 12 can be pulled out from the system base 10 in the front-rear direction by the wheels 14 rolling on rails laid on the system base 10. FIG. 2 shows a state in which the third work implement 12 from the left (second from the right) is pulled forward by a certain distance. Although not clearly shown in the figure, the system base 10 is composed of two base units on which two work machines 12 are mounted and fixed to each other and arranged on the left and right.

  Each of the four work machines 12 is a machine tool having a configuration substantially the same as each other, more specifically, a lathe. As shown in FIG. 3, each work machine 12 generally includes a bed 16 provided with wheels 14, a column 18 standing on the bed 16, a spindle 20 rotatably held on the column 18, and a spindle A motor 22 that rotates 20, a turret-type machining head 26 that holds a plurality of cutting tools 24, a head moving device 28 that is supported by the support column 18 and moves the machining head 26 back and forth and up and down, and the working machine 12 And a control panel 30 that performs control. As shown in the figure, the work W, which is a work object, is held by a chuck 32 attached to the front end of the spindle 20, and the work head 26 is moved while the work W is rotated. Thus, lathe machining is performed with one of the plurality of cutting tools 24 held by the machining head 26.

  The work W is attached to and detached from the chuck 32 by a work loader 34 extending forward from the bed 16. The work loader 34 includes a work holder 36 provided with two chucks facing each other, a holder rotating device 38 that rotates the work holder 36 around an axis extending in the left-right direction, and a holder that moves the work holder 36 back and forth. And a moving device 40. The workpiece holder 36 grips the workpiece W conveyed from above by a conveyance device described later at the delivery position set on the front side, rotates the workpiece W to transfer it backward, and holds it on the chuck 32. Further, the workpiece W that has been processed is received from the chuck 32, and the received workpiece W is transferred to a delivery position, rotated, and delivered to the transfer device. Note that the workpiece W shown in the figure is the maximum workpiece W that can be processed by the working machine 12, and is omitted in the drawing. However, when the workpiece W is attached to and detached from the chuck 32, the workpiece holder A relatively large chuck claw is attached to 36.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the conveyance device 50 that conveys the workpiece W across the four work machines 12 is disposed on the front side surface of the system base 10, and when the work machine 12 is pulled forward. In addition, it does not interfere with the work machine 12. The transport device 50 is composed of two transport device units 52L and 52R (hereinafter sometimes referred to as a left unit 52L and a right unit 52R) arranged side by side. More specifically, the left side unit 52L is attached to the left side of the above two base units, and the right side unit 52R is attached to the right side unit. In this work system, since one work W is processed in order from the left work machine 12, the transfer device 50 is sequentially applied from the left to the right to the four work machines 12. It has the function to convey one workpiece W. That is, the conveyance direction of the workpiece W, which is an object to be conveyed by the conveyance device 50, is the right direction.

  In this work system, the work machine 12 can be replaced by pulling out the work machine 12 until it is detached from the system base 10. Since the conveyance device 50 is provided in the system base 10, even when the work machine 12 is replaced, it can be used as it is.

[B] Configuration of Conveying Device The configuration of the conveying device will be described by taking the left unit 52L as an example. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the left unit 52L is an apparatus that is fixed to the system base 10 and functions as a base. The base 54 includes a slide plate 56 that is supported by the apparatus base 54 and functions as a first moving body, and three work support units 58 that are supported by the slide plate 56 and each function as a second moving body. Has been. The three workpiece support units 58 are arranged in the left-right direction at a pitch equal to the arrangement pitch that is the pitch (the distance between the centers in the left-right direction) at which the work machine 12 is arranged.

  A pair of guide rails 60 extending left and right are laid on the apparatus base 54 (hidden in FIG. 4 but partially shown in FIG. 5), and the slide plate 56 has the guide rails 60. Are supported so as to be movable in the left-right direction, that is, in a direction parallel to the transport direction. The device base 54 is provided with an air cylinder type actuator 62, and the slide plate 56 is reciprocated left and right by a set distance by the actuator 62. That is, the actuator 62 functions as a moving device that moves the slide plate 56 as the first moving body in the left-right direction. Specifically, FIG. 4 shows a state where the actuator is contracted, and in this state, the slide plate 56 is positioned at the first position shown in the drawing. On the other hand, FIG. 5 shows a state in which the actuator 62 is extended. In this state, the slide plate 56 is positioned at the second position shown in the drawing.

  Each work support unit 58 includes a base plate 64, a work table 66 on which the work W is placed, and a table elevating device 68 that is supported by the base plate 64 to raise and lower the work table 66. The work table 66 functions as a support portion that supports the work W in the work support unit 58. In the drawing, the work table 66 is located at the lowered position, and when the work W is transferred to and from the work loader 34 of the work machine 12, the work table 66 is raised to the raised position by the table elevating device 68. This table elevating device 68 has a built-in air cylinder and is configured to elevate the work table 66 by the force of compressed air. The illustration of the state where the work table 66 is located at the raised position is omitted. When the large work W shown in FIG. 2 is conveyed, an auxiliary table is attached to the work table 66 so that the work W can be placed.

  Three pairs of guide shafts 70 are disposed on the slide plate 56. Each guide shaft 70 is held by a pair of left and right brackets 72 attached to the slide plate 56 in a posture extending left and right (in the figure, one is hidden). A pair of upper and lower bearing blocks 74 are attached to the back side of the base plate 64 of each work support unit 58, and each work support unit 58 has a pair of upper and lower guide shafts 70 that connect the pair of bearing blocks 74. Each of the guide shafts 70 is supported by the pair of guide shafts 70 so as to be movable left and right.

  Then, a pair of left and right compression coil springs 76 are disposed on each of the pair of upper and lower guide shafts 70 so as to be fitted on each of them (in FIG. 4, one is hidden). One of the pair of springs 76 is between the bearing block 74 and the left side of the pair of left and right brackets 72, and the other is between the bearing block 74 and the right side of the pair of left and right brackets 72. The pair of springs 76 urge the work support unit 58 in directions opposite to each other in the left-right direction. When no force is applied to the work support unit 58 from the outside, the work support unit 58 is moved to a predetermined position in the left-right direction (specifically, for example, its own force) by the balance of the elastic reaction forces of the pair of springs 76. The center is positioned at a position just between the pair of brackets 72). On the other hand, when a force in either the left or right direction acts, the work support unit 58 is displaced from the predetermined position against the elastic reaction force of the pair of springs 76. That is, each work support unit 58 is elastically supported in a floating manner in the left-right direction by a pair of compression coil springs 76 each functioning as an elastic body.

  The configuration of the right unit 52R will be briefly described with reference to the configuration of the left unit 52L described above. The right unit 52R includes an apparatus base 54, a slide plate 56, two workpieces each having the same structure as the left unit 52L. And a support unit 58. That is, in short, the right unit 52R has a configuration in which the apparatus base 54 and the slide plate 56 of the left unit 52L are shortened, and the left work unit 58 is not disposed on the left or right side among the three work support units 58. It is supposed to be.

  The two work support units 58 of the right unit 52R are arranged such that the five work support units 58 of the entire transport device 50 are arranged at a pitch equal to the arrangement pitch of the work implement 12 in the left-right direction. . The right unit 52R also includes an actuator 62, and the actuator 62 is operated in synchronization with the actuator 62 of the left unit 52L. Therefore, the two slide plates 56 of the two units 52L and 52R are reciprocated by a set distance between the first position and the second position as if they were integrated. In the state where the two slide plates 56 are positioned at the first position, the four right-hand ones of the five work support units 58 are positioned at substantially the center in the left-right direction of each of the four work machines 12. However, the leftmost one protrudes to the left of the leftmost working machine 12. On the other hand, in the state where the two slide plates 56 are positioned at the second position, the left four of the five work support units 58 are substantially in the center in the left-right direction of each of the four work machines 12. The rightmost one protrudes to the right side of the rightmost working machine 12.

[C] Positioning Mechanism of Work Support Unit In the transfer device 50, when the two slide plates 56 are positioned at the first position and the second position, respectively, the five work support units 58 are locked. By doing so, it is positioned in the left-right direction. More specifically, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the apparatus base 54 is provided with several stoppers 90, and the contact piece 92 attached to each of the five workpiece support units 58 includes the stoppers 90. Each of them is locked by coming into contact with any of the above. In the transport apparatus 50, a pair of stoppers 90 is provided for each of the five workpiece support units 58 so as to correspond to each of the five workpiece support units 58. Specifically, the first stopper 90 </ b> R as a first locking body that contacts the right side surface of the contact piece 92 in a state where the slide plate 56 is positioned at the second position, and the slide plate 56 are positioned at the first position. A second stopper 90 </ b> L is provided as a second locking body that contacts the left side surface of the contact piece 92 in the state. Incidentally, in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, a part or all of the first stopper 90R is hidden.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically showing a state in which one work support unit 58 is positioned. In FIG. 6, the apparatus base 54 and the slide plate 56 are omitted, and are shown from the viewpoint from the rear, so that the left and right are reversed from those in FIGS. 6A shows a state where the slide plate 56 is located at the first position, and FIG. 6B shows a state where the slide plate 56 is located at the second position. When it is assumed that the stopper 90 does not exist, the workpiece support unit 58 has the center in the left-right direction in the figure as shown by a two-dot chain line when the slide plate 56 is located at the first position or the second position. Is located at the position indicated by However, in the transport apparatus 50, the work support unit 58 is positioned before the slide plate 56 moves due to the presence of the stopper 90.

  More specifically, when the slide plate 56 moves from the first position to the second position, as shown in FIG. 6B, before the slide plate 56 is positioned at the second position, the first position is changed. The abutting piece 92 abuts on the stopper 90R, and the work support unit 58 is displaced by a displacement amount D with respect to the slide plate 56 against the elastic reaction force of one of the left and right springs 76 and positioned. It will be. On the other hand, when the slide plate 56 moves from the second position to the first position, as shown in FIG. 6A, before the slide plate 56 is positioned at the first position, the slide plate 56 contacts the second stopper 90L. The contact piece 92 abuts, and the work support unit 58 is displaced and displaced by the displacement amount D with respect to the slide plate 56 against the other elastic reaction force of the pair of left and right springs 76. Accordingly, the first position and the second position are set so that the slide plate 56 is moved by an amount of displacement D more than the position where the workpiece support unit 58 is actually positioned, and the first position and the second position are set. In the meantime, the actuator 62 reciprocates the slide plate 56, whereby the work support unit 58 can be positioned at an appropriate position.

  The stopper 90 includes a support plate 94 fixed to the apparatus base 54 and a locking bolt 96 fixed to the support plate 94 and locking the contact piece 92 at the tip. The locking bolt 96 is fixed so as to sandwich the support plate 94 with two nuts 98 screwed to it, and the position of the tip can be adjusted by loosening the nut 98. In other words, the stopper 90 is fixed to the apparatus base 54 so that the position in the direction parallel to the transport direction can be adjusted. By adjusting the position of the tip of the locking bolt 96, the above-described displacement amount D can be adjusted, and the position where the work support unit 58 is positioned can be adjusted. By such adjustment of the position, the transfer device 50 does not perform a difficult operation such as adjusting the position of the work machine 12, and the delivery position of the work W with respect to the transfer destination of the work W and the work machine 12 that is the transfer source. Can be easily adjusted. In other words, the workpiece W can be transported to a position where the workpiece W can be accurately transferred to and from the work machine 12 by simple means.

  As can be seen from FIGS. 4 and 5, the height of the contact piece 92 corresponding to one work support unit 58 and the locking bolt 96 of the stopper 90, and another one adjacent to the one work support unit 58. The height positions corresponding to one work support unit 58 are different from each other, and the stopper 90 corresponding to one work support unit 58 does not interfere with the contact piece 92 of the adjacent work support unit 58. Has been.

[D] Transport of work by transport device In the work system, transport of the work W by the transport device 50 is performed as shown in FIG. Specifically, when the actuator 62 reciprocates the slide plate 56 in the left-right direction, the state shown in FIG. 7A in which the slide plate 56 is located at the first position, and the diagram where the slide plate 56 is located at the second position. The state of 7 (b) is repeatedly realized, and the workpiece W is conveyed.

  In the state shown in FIG. 7A, the work tables 66 of the four work holding units excluding the work holding unit 58 located on the leftmost side (upstream side) transfer the work W to and from the four work machines 12 respectively. Is placed at a position where In this state, the work W is placed on the work table 66 of the work support unit 58 located on the leftmost side from the loading machine installed outside, and the work table 66 of each of the other four work support units 58 is placed. In addition, the processed workpieces W are placed from the work machines 12 corresponding to the respective positions where the respective positions are located. Next, the five workpiece support units 58 are moved by moving the slide plate 56 from the first position to the second position so as to be in the state of FIG. 7B.

  In the state shown in FIG. 7B, the work tables 66 of the four work support units 58 except for the work support unit 58 located on the rightmost side (downstream side) are respectively connected to the four work machines 12. It is located at the position where delivery is performed. In this state, the work W placed on the work table 66 of the work support unit 58 located on the rightmost side is transferred to the unloader installed outside, and each of the other four work support units 58 is also provided. The workpieces W placed on the workpiece table 66 are delivered to the work machine 12 corresponding to each of the workpieces W at the positions where the workpieces W are located. Then, after the slide plate 56 is moved from the second position to the first position in a state where the work W is not placed on the work table 66 of any work support unit 58, FIG. ).

  By repeating the operation as described above, as a result, the workpiece W is sequentially transported across the four work machines 12 from the left to the right.

[E] Modified Example In the conveying device 50, the stopper 90 that is a locking body is fixed to the device base 54 that is a base, so that the position of the stopper 90 with respect to the device base 54 is fixed. However, in order to fix the position of the stopper 90 with respect to the apparatus base 54, the stopper 90 does not necessarily have to be fixed to the apparatus base 54. For example, the stopper 90 may be fixed to the system base 10 of each work system or each work machine 12 so that the position in a direction parallel to the transport direction can be adjusted.

  The conveying device 50 is configured so that the work support unit by the stopper 90 is used both when the slide plate 56 moves from the first position to the second position and when the slide plate 56 moves from the second position to the first position. 58 is positioned. Instead of such a configuration, for example, only when the slide plate 56 moves from the first position to the second position, that is, only when the object to be conveyed is moved in the conveying direction, the work support unit 58 of the stopper 90 is moved. The conveying device can be configured such that positioning is performed, and even such a conveying device can be a conveying device according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the case of such a conveying apparatus, the springs 76 that bias the work support unit 58 can be provided only on one side, not a pair.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10: System base [base] 12: Work machine 50: Transfer apparatus 52R, 52L: Transfer apparatus unit 54: Apparatus base [base | substrate] 56: Slide plate [1st moving body] 58: Work support unit [2nd moving body] 62: Actuator [moving device] 66: Work table [supporting part] 76: Compression coil spring [elastic body] 90: Stopper [locking body] 90R: First stopper [first locking body] 90L: Second stopper [ Second locking body] W: Workpiece [work object, transported object]

Claims (3)

A transport device that transports an object to be transported in a transport direction,
A substrate;
A first moving body supported by the base body so as to be movable in a direction parallel to the conveying direction;
A plurality of second moving bodies each supported by the first moving body so as to be movable in a direction parallel to the transport direction and spaced apart from each other , and provided with a support portion for supporting the transported object;
Each, a plurality of elastic disposed in the first moving body a corresponding one of said plurality of second moving body in order to resiliently floatingly supported to the first movable body in a direction parallel to the conveying direction Body,
A moving device for moving the first moving body from a set first position to a set second position in a direction parallel to the transport direction;
Each position can be adjusted in a direction parallel to the transport direction, and when the first moving body is moved from the first position to the second position by the moving device, the first moving body is moved to the second position. And a plurality of locking bodies for locking corresponding ones of the plurality of second moving bodies before being positioned. The moving device is configured to reciprocate the first moving body between the first position and the second position;
The transfer device
Each position can be adjusted in a direction parallel to the transport direction, and when the first moving body is moved from the second position to the first position by the moving device, the first moving body is moved to the first position. The transport apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of second locking bodies that lock corresponding ones of the plurality of second moving bodies before being positioned. A pair of elastic bodies that function as the elastic bodies and bias the second moving bodies in directions opposite to each other in a direction parallel to the transport direction correspond to the plurality of second moving bodies. The conveying apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 , comprising a plurality of pairs .

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