JPH01192621A - Tray changer for feeding material - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce the size and to enlarge movable range of such as a robot by arranging a filled tray storing section, a filled tray waiting section and an empty tray storing section such that they are jointed through transfer of tray in perpendicularly crossing direction, and the filled tray is transferred sequentially from the lowermost one through the waiting section, take-out section to the empty tray section. CONSTITUTION:A filled tray storing section 2a, a filled tray waiting section 2b, a material take-out section 2c and an empty tray storing section 2d are arranged, as shown on the drawing, on a base plate 11. Filled trays A' stacked at the filled tray storing section 2a are discharged sequentially from the lowermost one to the waiting section 2b. The tray at the waiting section 2b is moved to the material take-out section 2c where a material is taken out. Emptied trays are transferred to the empty tray storing section 2d where they are stacked sequentially. By such arrangement, the size is reduced and the movable range of such as robot can be enlarged.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial Utilization Public Expenditure) The present invention relates to a tray changer for supplying articles, and in particular to a tray changer suitable for assembling and supplying trays for supplying parts containing parts to an article take-out position in an orderly manner. Regarding the changer.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, in a product assembly line, a tray changer is used as a means for supplying parts for assembly.

A tray changer usually consists of a full tray storage section, a tray article takeout section, and an empty tray storage section, and a large number of filled trays are stacked in the full tray storage section.
The lowest part of the filled tray is taken out and sent to the tray parts removal section, and when the parts are taken out and the tray is empty, the empty tray is removed from the bottom of the empty trays stacked in the empty tray storage part. It is designed to be sent to

The three positions of the full tray storage section, the tray article takeout section, and the empty tray storage section are arranged parallel to the conveyor line, or only the full tray storage section is arranged in a direction perpendicular to the conveyor line. Arranged in an L shape.

In addition, in the full tray storage section and the empty tray storage section,
The stacked trays are moved up and down using an air cylinder, a motor-driven jack, etc. provided on the machine base below the tray changer.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, the conventional tray changer described above has the following problems.

(1) Since it is a three-position type, trays are stacked on both sides, the rear side, and one side of the tray article take-out section, and the range of movement of related equipment such as robots is significantly restricted.

(2) Since the tray lifting mechanism is installed vertically on the machine base below the tray changer, a dedicated machine base integrated with the tray changer is required, and the installation location is limited due to the combination with other equipment. be done.

(3) Similarly, since a special machine unit integrated with the tray changer is required, a large installation space is required.

The present invention aims to solve these problems, and by making the tray changer four-position, it widens the movable range of related equipment such as a workpiece pick-up device such as a robot, and also makes it easier to use related equipment by making it into a smaller unit. An object of the present invention is to provide a tray changer for supplying articles, which facilitates the connection and installation of the tray changer.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to achieve the above object, the tray changer for supplying articles of the present invention includes a tray changer for supplying articles, which includes a tray changer for supplying articles, which includes a tray changer for supplying articles, and a tray changer for supplying articles, which includes a tray changer for supplying articles, and a tray changer for supplying articles. a first full-tray transport mechanism that sequentially transports the full trays in the full-tray storage unit to the full-tray standby unit starting from the lowest one; and a transport mechanism for the first full-tray transport mechanism. a second transporting tray for transporting the filled tray from the filled tray waiting section in a direction perpendicular to the direction;
a full-tray transport mechanism; an article take-out unit that receives the full tray transported by the second full-tray transport mechanism and takes out the article from the tray; and a transport direction of the second full-tray transport mechanism. an empty tray transport mechanism for transporting empty trays from the article take-out section in a direction perpendicular to the article retrieval section; It is characterized by being configured with a tray storage section.

[For production]

In the article supply tray changer of the present invention described above, the filled trays stored in multiple stages in the filled tray storage section are sequentially conveyed from the lowest one to the optical tray standby section, and then conveyed to the article takeout section. There, the items in the tray are taken out, and finally transported and collected to the empty tray storage section, where they are stacked and stored in multiple stages from below.Transportation at each stage is all done by the operation of each transport mechanism. , always in a direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the previous stage.

〔Example〕

Next, to explain embodiments of the present invention, FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view showing a tray changer for supplying articles as a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 2 to 6 are a second embodiment of the present invention.
This figure shows a tray changer for supplying articles as an example, and FIG. 2 is a front view thereof, FIG. 3 is a side view thereof, and FIG.
FIG. 5 is a plan view of the same, FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the tray lifting mechanism, FIG. 6 is a side view showing the feeding claw mechanism of the rodless cylinder, and FIG. 7 is a third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a side view showing a feed pawl mechanism of a rodless cylinder of the tray changer for supplying articles.

As shown in FIG. 1, a tray changer for supplying articles according to a first embodiment of the present invention is composed of a base part 1 and a guide part 2. ) is provided, and the guide section 2 is provided with a lifting mechanism and a clamping mechanism for the tray A.

The guide section 2 is divided into four sections, and each section constitutes a full tray storage section 2a, a full tray standby section 2b, an article takeout s2c, and an empty tray storage section 2d.

The full tray storage section 2a is defined by four tray guides 21 erected on the left rear side of the base plate 11 into a rectangular shape, and the full trays A' are stacked and held within the square. A full tray standby section 2b is provided adjacent to and to the right of the full tray storage section 2a. The rear side is defined by a guide side plate 22 connected to the lower part of the base grate 11, and the right side is defined by a guide side plate 22 bent at a right angle at a corner of the base grate 11 and extending forward. An article takeout section 2C is provided in front of and adjacent to the full tray standby section 2b. The right side is defined by 22, and the front side is defined by a guide side plate 22 which is bent at a right angle at the corner of the base play 1-11 and extends to the left. The empty tray storage section 2d is arranged to the left of and adjacent to the article takeout section 2c, and the front guide side plate 22 is connected to the lower part of one of the tray guides 21, The structure is substantially the same as the above-described full tray storage section 2a.

Lifting cylinders 3 are attached to the tray guides 21 at the front and rear of the full tray storage section 2a and the empty tray storage section 2d arranged in this way, respectively, as shown in the figure.
Tray guide 21 with no lifting cylinder 3 attached
A knock cylinder 4 is attached to each.

The article supply tray changer configured in this manner is installed at an appropriate location in a product production line, and is used for supplying parts during assembly by a robot or the like, for example. At this time, the full trays A' stacked in the full tray storage section 2a are sequentially supplied from the bottom through the full tray standby section 2b to the article takeout section 2c, and finally collected into the empty tray storage section 2d.

The details of these series of supply operations will be explained in detail in the description of the second embodiment.

# of the invention! The tray changer as a second embodiment is as follows:
As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the first embodiment has a tray guide 21 erected on one side of a plate-shaped base plate ll, and a guide side plate 22 attached on the other side. It is configured in the same way. In addition, the code 13 indicates other Il
! Attachment to the vessel is a base frame for support. In this way, the tray changer is divided into four sections as shown in FIG. 2d. Charging tray storage section 2
A has a square defined by four tray guides 21,
The filled trays A' are stacked and held in this. Lifting cylinders 3 are attached to the front and rear surfaces of the tray guide 21 via side plates 23. Two lifting claw cylinders 32 are attached to the rod end of the lifting cylinder 3 via a cylinder support plate 31, and the lifting claw cylinder 32 has a piston tip 33 that moves in and out as shown in FIG. It supports the edge of the filling tray A'. Further, a knock cylinder 4 is attached to each of the two tray guides 21 at diagonal positions. The piston tip 41 of this knock cylinder 4 similarly supports the edge of the filling tray A'. The empty tray storage section 2d is also constructed in the same manner as described above.

On the other hand, at the bottom of the base plate 11, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, three rodless cylinders 51 to 51 are provided as first and second full tray conveyance mechanisms and empty tray conveyance mechanisms.
53 and a clamp cylinder 5 having a clamp arm 54
5 is provided.

Each of the rodless cylinders 51 to 53 is connected from the filled tray storage section 2a to the filled tray standby section 2b, and the filled tray standby section 2b.
The clamp cylinder 5
5 is disposed in the diagonal direction of the article takeout section 2c.

A clamp arm 54 is attached to the rod end of the clamp cylinder 55, and this clamp arm 54 passes through the slit 12 of the base plate 11 and projects into the article retrieval part 2c.
Two presser rollers 56 are provided which are supported on vertical shafts mounted on the. This pressing roller 56 comes into contact with the corner of the tray and functions to fix the tray at a predetermined tray component removal position.

A feed pawl mechanism 58 is provided on the moving block 57 of the rodless cylinders 51 to 53, but this mechanism is
As shown in the figure, feed pawl support plates 59 are attached to both sides of the moving block 57, and pins 6 are attached to the feed pawl support plates 59.
The feed claw 61 is rotatably supported at its center via the feed claw 61. Feed claw support plate 59 and feed claw 61
A return spring 62 is tensioned between the feed claw 61 and one end thereof, and a stopper pin 63 is fixed to the feed claw support plate 59 in order to hold the feed claw 61, which is rotated by being pulled by the return spring 62, in an upright position. ing.

The feed pawl mechanism 58 configured in this manner is configured such that when the moving block 57 moves to the left in FIG.
In order to maintain the upright state by being restrained by the tension of the return spring 62, the tray A placed on the base plate 11 is hooked on the upper part of the feed claw 61, and the moving block 5
7 in the moving direction. When returning to the right after this transfer, the feed claw 61 is allowed to rotate counterclockwise against the tension of the return spring 62, so if the feed claw 61 collides with the next tray A. falls in the above direction so that the return stroke of the moving block 57 is not obstructed.

Then, when the moving block 57 returns to the rightmost end, the feeding claw 61 is raised by the tension of the return spring 62 and is ready for the next tray movement.

FIG. 7 shows a modification of the feed pawl mechanism 58, in which one end of the feed pawl 61 is configured to rotate around a pin 6o, and two protruding from the feed pawl 61 at right angles.
A return spring 62 is stretched between the book arm 61' and the feed pawl support plate 59, and a stopper pin 63 provided on the feed pawl support plate 59 is configured to come into contact with this arm 61'. There is. The rest of the structure is substantially the same as the above-described feed claw mechanism 58, and therefore, its operation is also the same as that described above.

The tray changer is constructed as described above, and in use, a large number of filled trays A' are moved to the lifting claw cylinder 32.
It is held upward as shown in FIG. At this position, the piston tip 41 of the knock cylinder 4 is retracted, the elevating claw cylinder 32 is lowered by the number of filled trays A'-, and the piston tip 41 of the knock cylinder 4 is pushed out again. is held by the knock cylinder 4.

Then, when the lifting claw cylinder 32 is lowered to the lower position again, the lower filled tray A' is placed on the base plate 11. Next, the piston tip 33 of the lifting claw cylinder 32
is retracted, the lifting cylinder 3 is raised to the same position as the knock cylinder 4, and the piston tip 33 of the lifting claw cylinder 32 is pushed out again.

When taking out the next filled tray A', the same operation as above is performed. By repeating such operations, the filled trays A' can be sent out one after another.

The filled tray A' placed on the base plate ll is sent from the filled tray storage section 2a to the filled tray standby section 2b by the feed claw mechanism 58 attached to the moving block 57 of the rodless cylinder 51, The filled tray A' sent to the section 2b is then sent to the article takeout section 2c by the rodless cylinder 52. The filled tray A' sent to the article retrieval section 2c is transferred to the clamp arm 5 of the clamp cylinder 55.
4 is clamped and positioned at a fixed position, and is ready for parts to be taken out by a robot or the like. Empty tray A" from which parts have been taken out is unclamped and sent to the empty tray storage section 2d by the rodless cylinder 53. Empty tray A" sent onto the base plate 11 to the article removal section 2c is as described above. are pushed up one after another along the tray guide 21 and stored in the empty tray storage section 2d by the reverse operation.

Second aspect of the present invention. Since the tray changer as the third embodiment is configured as described above, it has a unitized rational arrangement and compact form suitable for installation and support in other equipment. There is.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the claims.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above in detail, the article supplying tray changer of the present invention provides the following effects and advantages.

(1) The tray transport path is a 4-position type, and the full tray storage section and the empty tray storage section are located adjacent to each other, so it does not interfere with the work of other related equipment, and the space for this purpose can be secured. It's easy.

(2) Because the tray transport path is arranged rationally,
Connection to related equipment by making it into a small unit.

Easy to install.

(3) Since the filled tray standby section is provided between the filled tray storage section and the article takeout section, the next full tray can be supplied to the article takeout section very smoothly.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view showing a tray changer for supplying articles as a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 2 to 6 show a tray changer for supplying articles as a second embodiment of the present invention. , Fig. 2 is a front view thereof, Fig. 3 is a side view thereof, Fig. 4 is a plan view thereof, Fig. 5 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the tray lifting mechanism, and Fig. 6 is a feeding claw mechanism of the rodless cylinder. FIG. 7 is a side view showing a feed pawl mechanism of a rodless cylinder of a tray changer for supplying articles according to a third embodiment of the present invention. l...Base part, 2...Guide part, 2a...Full tray storage part, 2b...Full tray standby part, 2C...Article retrieval part, 2
d... Empty tray storage section, 3... Elevating cylinder, 4... Knock cylinder, 11... Base plate, 12... Slit, 13... Base frame, 21... Tray guide, 22
...Guide side plate, 23...Side plate, 31...Cylinder support plate, 32...Elevating claw cylinder, 33...Piston tip,
41... Piston tip, 51... Rodless cylinder as a first full tray transport mechanism, 52... Rodless cylinder as a second full tray transport mechanism, 53... Rodless cylinder as an empty tray transport mechanism , 54... Clamp arm, 55... Clamp cylinder, 56... Presser roller, 57... Moving block, 58... Feed claw mechanism, 59... Feed claw support plate, 60... Pin, 61... Feed claw , 61'...Arm, 62...Return ring, 63
...stopper bin, A...tray, A'...full tray, A"...empty tray. Agent: Patent Attorney Yoshihiko Iinuma, Hideyuki Abe Figures 1 and b Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 6・A-ichishi'' Figure 7' ,,=

Claims (1)

[Claims] A full tray storage section in which filled trays loaded with articles are stored in a multi-tiered manner, a full tray standby section disposed adjacent to this full tray storage section, and a full tray in the filled tray storage section that a first full tray transport mechanism that sequentially transports the full trays from the lower part to the full tray standby section; and a first full tray transport mechanism that transports the full trays from the full tray standby section in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction of the first full tray transport mechanism. a second full-tray conveyance mechanism for carrying out the operation, an article take-out section for receiving the full tray conveyed by the second full-tray conveyance mechanism and taking out the articles from the tray, and the second full-tray conveyance mechanism. an empty tray conveyance mechanism for conveying empty trays from the article take-out section in a direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the article; and an empty tray conveyance mechanism that conveys the empty trays from the article retrieval section in a direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the tray storage section; 1. A tray changer for supplying articles, comprising: an empty tray storage section for storing empty trays.