JPH01127246A - Pallet exchanger - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce the time for mounting and removing a workpiece with less floor space and cost of equipment by constituting a device positioning a pallet so as to shift a lifted position engaging the pallet with one end of a turning arm to a lowered position clamping the pallet to a tilt base. CONSTITUTION:A pallet 50 is supported to a supporting rail 40 being indexed to a standby position B by a turning arm 32, and when the supporting rail 40 lowers by a shift device 45, the pallet 50 is detached from the turning arm 32 and clamped onto a tilt base 21. Next the pallet 50 moves turning about a horizontal axial line with the tilt base 21 by an actuator 26, being positioned in a predetermined loading position A. Under this condition, a workpiece W is mounted to and removed from the pallet 50. Accordingly, eliminating the necessity for providing a particular device in-out carrying the pallet 50 between the standby position B and the loading position A, floor space and the cost of equipment can be decreased. While the time for mounting and removing the workpiece can be reduced.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (Industrial Application Field) The present invention provides a pallet for replacing a pallet 7) at a loading position supporting an unprocessed workpiece with a pallet on a machine table supporting a processed workpiece. The present invention relates to a pallet exchange device, and particularly to a pallet exchange device using a rotating arm and an arcuate rail concentric with the rotating arm.

(Prior art) When using this type of pallet exchange device, a workpiece transported by a conveyance line etc. is mounted on a pallet at the loading position, and the workpiece is carried onto a machine table by exchanging the pallet and processed. are doing. In particular, when a workpiece that has been transported needs to be rotated around a horizontal axis, that is, tilted, and transported onto a machine table for processing, the workpiece must be mounted on an L-shaped mounting jig, for example. A tilt device is used in which the mounting jig is placed and fixed on one horizontal side, and then placed on a tilt device and rotated so that the other side of the mounting jig becomes horizontal to change its posture. This tilt device is generally installed at a loading position outside the conveyance path of the pallet exchange device, and after tilting the posture of the workpiece at this loading position, the pallet is transferred onto the conveyance path of the pallet change device using its own loading device. Then, the pallet is rotated by a pallet changing device and the pallet is carried onto the machine table for processing.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In such conventional technology, a loading device is required between the tilting device at the loading position and the pallet changing device, resulting in an increase in floor space and equipment costs. There is also the problem that it takes time due to the loading ratio of pallets, and as a result, the time for mounting and dismounting workpieces increases. The present invention attempts to solve such problems.

(Means for Solving the Problems) To this end, the pallet exchanging device according to the present invention has a rotating arm 32 at both ends supported by a support frame 15 so as to be rotatable around a vertical axis (as illustrated in the attached drawings). In a pallet exchange device that engages a pallet 50 and exchanges it while rotating it on a conveyance path that passes over a machine table 10, a tilt device 20 is provided on the conveyance path, and this tilt device rotates around a horizontal axis. a tilt base 21 movably supported by the support frame 15; and an actuator 26 that rotates the tilt base to position it at a standby position B on the transport path and a loading position A outside the transport path. , a support rail 40 that is supported on the tilt base 21 so as to be movable toward and away from the tilt base 21 and has an arc shape centered on the vertical axis at the standby position B;
, the support rail 40 is moved to a raised position where the baren 50 supported by the support rail engages with one end of the swing arm 32, and the pallet 50 is separated from the swing arm 32 and clamped to the tilt base 21. The present invention is characterized in that it includes a shift device 45 that shifts to a lower position and a lower position.

(Operation) The pallet 50 indexed to the standby position B by the swing arm 32 and supported by the support rail 40 is separated from the swing arm 32 and clamped onto the tilt base 21 when the support rail 40 is lowered by the shift device 45. be done. Next, the pallet 50 is rotated about the horizontal axis together with the tilt base 21 by the actuating device 26 and positioned at a predetermined loading position A. In this state, the pallet 50
Workpieces are removed and attached to. The pallet 50 to which the unprocessed workpiece is attached in this manner is returned to the standby position B in the reverse order as described above, the clamp to the tilt base 21 is released, and the pallet 50 is engaged with the swing arm 32. Machine table 1 due to the rotation of
0 is carried on.

As a result, the workpiece is transported onto the machine table 10 after being converted from its attitude when attached to the pallet 50 to an attitude tilted by the rotation angle of the tilt base 21.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, according to the present invention, a transported workpiece can be changed to a posture tilted by the rotation angle of the tilt base, and then transported onto a machine table. Since the tilt device is provided at the standby position on the conveyance path so as to be rotatable around the horizontal axis, there is no need to provide a special device for adjusting the loading ratio of pallets between the standby position and the loading position. This allows floor space and equipment costs to be reduced. In addition, the unprocessed workpiece that has been transported can be simply placed on the pallet at the loading position and mounted, and the workpiece can be tilted and the pallet is transported directly onto the conveyance path of the barre/groove exchange device. Therefore, no special time is required for loading and unloading, and the time required for mounting and dismounting the workpiece does not increase.

(Example) The present invention will be explained below using examples shown in the accompanying drawings.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, a machine table 10 of the processing device includes a ped 11, a slide table 12 supported on the ped 11 so as to be able to reciprocate in the horizontal It consists of an index table 13. A support frame 15 is connected and fixed to an example of the bed 11, and a swing arm 32 is pivotally supported on a support plate 16 of the support frame 15 via a vertical swing shaft 31. Arc-shaped first guide rail 4
1 is fixed. A clamp rail 14 is provided on the index table 13 so as to be movable up and down, and a pair of second guide rails 42 are fixed on the slide table 12 on both sides of the clamp rail 14. The slide table 12 stops at a fixed position and the index table 1
3 has an arcuate shape that is concentric with the pivot shaft 31 and continuous with the first guide rail 41 when the guide rail 3 is indexed to a fixed position.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, a pair of first guide rails 41
A tilt device 20 is provided at a standby position B between the slide table 1 stopped at a fixed position.
The indexing table 13 on the top 2 faces each other with the rotation axis 31 in between. A support plate 17 provided on the support frame 15 on the side opposite to the slide table 12 is cut out at the center corresponding to the loading position A, and a horizontal support shaft 23 is supported by supports 22 erected on both sides of the support plate 17 to support the slide table 12. The tilt base 21 of the tilt device 20 is rotatably supported by the support frame 15 via integrally provided plackets 21a, 21b and a support shaft 23. tilt base 2
The tilt hydraulic cylinder device 26 that operates the tilting hydraulic cylinder device 26 has its base end pivoted to the support frame 15 by a pin 27, and the tip of the piston rod 26a pivoted to a member 24 fixed to the tilt base 21 by a pin 28. There is. In the extended state, the tilt hydraulic cylinder device 26 positions the tilt base 21 at a standby position B, where the tip end contacts the stopper 18 provided on the support plate 16, as shown by the solid line, and in the retracted state, it positions the tilt base 21 at two points. The tilt base is positioned at a vertical loading position A as shown by the chain line. A plurality of stoppers 2 are provided on the upper surface of the tilt base 21 and are clamped by a pallet 50, which will be described later.
5.25a is fixed.

Mainly as shown in FIG. 3, a support rail 40 is supported on the tilt base 21 via a shift device 45 so as to be removable.The shift device 45 consists of a pair of hydraulic cylinders 46 for raising and lowering, The hydraulic cylinder 46 consists of a cylinder body 47 fixed to the tilt base 21 and a piston 48 fitted into the cylinder body 47. A piston rod 48a of the piston 48 protrudes upward from the cylinder body 47 and has a nut 49 at its upper end. When the tilt base 21 is positioned in a horizontal position, the support rail 40 is concentric with the pivot shaft 31 and continuous with the first guide rail 41, as shown in FIG. It has an arc shape.

When the support rail 40 and the clamp rail 14 are shifted to the raised position in the state shown in FIG. 2, each rail 40.
41, 42, and 14 are continuous with each other with their upper surfaces at the same height, and guide and support the two pallets 1-50 via rollers 43 so as to be movable along the arc direction.

An engagement groove 51 is provided on the top surface of each pallet 50 on the rotating shaft 31 side.
8 and a horizontal protrusion 51b at the tip, one side 55a of an L-shaped mounting jig 55 for mounting a workpiece W is fixed to the upper surface of each pallet 50. The side 55b is perpendicular to the pallet 50. When the support rail 40 is shifted to the lowered position by the shift device 45, the pallet 50 is pressed by the stopper 45.degree. 45a and clamped to the tilt base 21, as shown in FIG. Similarly, when the clamp rail 14 is shifted to the lowered position, the pallet 50 is clamped to the index table 13. Note that the tilt device 20
As is clear from the two-dot chain line showing the raised position of the pallet 50 on the side and the indexing table 13 side, the shift amount of the i-rail 40 is larger than the shift amount of the clamp rail 14.

As shown in FIG. 1, a pivot shaft 31 is vertically supported on a support cylinder 30 fixed on a support plate 16, and a pivot arm 32 fixed to the upper end of this pivot shaft 31 is attached to a pivot shaft 31.
A rack 34 that meshes with a pinion 33 integrally formed at the lower end of the rack 34 is reciprocated by a cylinder device of the circuit, thereby reciprocatingly rotates within a range of 180 degrees. A flange member 35 is fixed to the upper part of the support cylinder 30 with a slight gap between it and the lower side of the swing arm 32. As shown, a linear notch 35a is formed.

Each pallet 50 has a tilt base 21 and an index table 1
3, the horizontal protrusion 51b at the tip of the engagement block 51 is prevented from interfering with the flange member 35 by the notch 35a, so the pallet 50 can be moved up and down, and in the raised position, the rotating arm The engagement protrusions 32a on the lower surface of both ends of 32 are connected to the engagement grooves 5 on the upper surface of the retaining block 51.
1a, and by the rotation of the swing arm 32, both rails 4
Pallets 50 on 0.14 are exchanged with each other. During this exchange, each pallet is inserted into each guide rail 41.4.
2, the horizontal protrusion 51b enters the gap between the swing arm 32 and the flange member 35 and is prevented from moving up and down. It will never come off.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained. With the slide table 12 and the index table 13 positioned at their regular positions and the clamp rail 14 shifted to the raised position, the swing arm 32 is driven to swing, and the clamp rail 14 is moved to the raised position.
The pallet 50 on which the processed workpiece W is attached and the pallet 50 on which the unprocessed workpiece W on the support rail 40 is attached are moved on an arcuate transport path and exchanged. Next, the clamp rail 14 is shifted to the lowered position, the indexing table 13 to which the pallet 50 is clamped is indexed, the slide table 12 is moved, and the workpiece W is processed by the processing device. In parallel with this, on the standby position B side, an operation is performed to replace the processed workpiece W attached to the pallet 50 with an unprocessed workpiece. In this operation, first, the shift device 45 shifts the support rail 40 to the lowered position to clamp the pallet 50 to the tilt base 21, and then the tilt cylinder device 26 is retracted to rotate the tilt base 21 around the support shaft 23. The pallet 5 is moved together with the tilt base 21 as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG.
0 is vertical, and the other side 55b of the mounting jig 55 is horizontal. The downward stroke of the pallet 50 by the shift device 45 is larger than the downward stroke of the clamp rail 14 side, so that the engagement block 51 of the pallet 50 engages with the tip of the swing arm 32 when rotating about the support shaft 23. It is designed not to interfere. At this tilt position, the processed workpiece W is removed from above the other side 53b, and an unprocessed workpiece is placed and tightened.

Next, the tilt cylinder device 26 is extended, the pallet 50 is rotated together with the tilt base 21, and returned to the standby position B shown by the solid line in FIG. 1, and the support rail 40 is shifted to the raised position by the shift device 45. Release the clamp on the tilt base 21 of the pallet 50 and remove the engagement block 51.
If it engages with the tip of the swing arm 32, it will be in the first state in the explanation of this operation. When the processing by the processing device is completed, the pallet 50 is exchanged between the machine table 10 and the standby position B in the same manner, and the unprocessed workpiece is processed by the processing device again.

As mentioned above, according to this embodiment, one
Mounting jig 55 for unprocessed workpieces that have been delivered
By placing the workpiece on the other side 55b and attaching it, and then automatically tilting the posture of the workpiece by 90 degrees, the pallet 50 can be positioned at a standby position on the conveyance path of the pallet changing device, and in that posture. By rotating the rotating arm 32, it can be carried onto the machine table 10 as it is. Therefore, there is no need to carry in and take out the pallet 50, and the time required for attaching and detaching workpieces can be reduced accordingly. In addition, since the workpiece is tilted by rotating the tilt base 21, which is provided on a part of the support frame 15 and to which the support rail 40 is attached, there is no need for a carry-out device, which makes the device as a whole more compact. , floor space for installation is also reduced.

In the above embodiment, a mounting jig 55 separate from the pallet 50 was used, but such a mounting jig may be formed integrally with the pallet, or depending on the shape of the workpiece, it may be tilted or It is also possible to attach it directly to the valley / ) in the position. Further, the tilt angle is not limited to 90 degrees as in the above embodiment, but may be any angle that suits the workpiece.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The accompanying drawings show an embodiment of the pallet exchanging device according to the present invention, in which Fig. 1 is a side view with main parts cut away, Fig. 2 is a plan view, and Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along line m-nr of Fig. 1. be. Explanation of symbols 10...Machine table, 15...Support frame,
20... Tilt device, 21... Tilt base, 26
... Actuation device (hydraulic cylinder device for tilting), 32.
... Swivel arm, 40... Support rail, 45... Shift device, 50... Pallet, A... Loading position, B... Standby position.

Claims (1)

[Claims] In a pallet exchange device that engages both ends of a swing arm supported by a support frame so as to be rotatable about a vertical axis, and exchanges the pallet while rotating it on a conveyance path that passes over a machine table, the pallet is replaced on the conveyance path. A tilt device is provided, and the tilt device includes a tilt base rotatably supported by the support frame around the horizontal axis, and a tilt base that is rotated to move between a standby position on the transport path and the transport path. an actuating device positioned at an outer loading position; a support rail supported on the tilt base so as to be movable in a direction toward and away from the tilt base and having an arc shape centered on the vertical axis at the standby position; a shift device for shifting a support rail between a raised position where a pallet supported by the support rail engages with one end of the swing arm and a lowered position where the pallet is separated from the swing arm and clamped to the tilt base; A pallet changing device characterized by: