JPH0229458B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention relates to an automatic assembly of modular tools that takes out, assembles and supplies designated modules from a tool storage device that stores modules of modular tools used in machine tools, etc. Regarding the supply device.

[Technical background of the invention and its problems]

A tool that stores various tools to be installed in a machine tool in a tool room, carries a specified tool based on production management information into the machine tool taken out from the tool room, and automatically exchanges tools for the machine tool. Automatic switching devices are known. In addition, an assembly type modular tool has been developed in place of the conventional integrated tool. As shown in FIG. 5, this modular tool is composed of an adapter module a, a holder module b, and a blade module c.
By attaching the holder module b to the adapter module a and attaching the blade module c to the holder module b, the modular tool A
It consists of This modular tool A is assembled by attaching the blade module c directly to the holder module a, or by attaching it via the adapter module b. It becomes possible to replace only the module c, which has the advantage of being lightweight and easy to handle, and also reducing the space in the tool room where tools are stored.

However, conventionally, the modular tool A has been assembled and disassembled manually. That is, a large number of holder modules a, adapter modules b, and blade modules c are stored in an aligned state in a tool room, the order of assembling modular tools A is determined based on production control information, and an operator selects the tools in the tool room. They take out the various modules they need from the storage shelves and assemble them on the assembly table.
Therefore, a lot of manpower is required to assemble and disassemble the modular tool A, and if the number of modules increases, there is a risk that mistakes may occur in combination. Further, as a tool stocker for storing tools, an automatic tool rack is known in which a plurality of tool holders are provided in an endlessly running chain and the modules are held and transported by these tool holders. The reality is that all storage and removal of items relies on the manual labor of workers.

[Purpose of the invention]

This invention was made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and its purpose is to automatically assemble and supply modular tools without human intervention, thereby improving workability and safety. An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic assembly and supply device for modular tools, which is capable of attaching and detaching modules to and from a tool storage device, and simplifies the configuration of a conveying device for supplying modular tools.

[Summary of the invention]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention holds modules such as a holder module, an adapter module, and a blade module that constitute a modular tool in a vertical direction in a tool storage device, and controls the modules based on a command signal. selectively positioning the module at an assembly position, reciprocating the module positioned at the assembly position between the assembly position and the tool stocker, and connecting the module by an assembly head that can be raised and lowered to form a modular tool;
This assembly head is configured to be supplied by a traverser device to a tool stocker that temporarily stores modular tools.

[Embodiments of the invention]

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an automatic assembly and supply device for modular tools, in which 1 is a tool storage device, 2 is a tool stocker provided adjacent to the tool storage device 1, and 3 is a cutting tool assembly device. Further, reference numeral 5 denotes a traverser device, and the traverser device 5 is provided with an assembly head 6 that can reciprocate and move up and down, and is adapted to supply tools from the tool storage device 1 to the tool stocker 2. Further, 7 is a control device.

First, the tool storage device 1 will be described. Reference numeral 11 denotes a cylindrical main body, and a turntable 12 that rotates forward and backward by a drive mechanism (not shown) is provided at the top of the main body 11. . This turntable 12 has an annular configuration, and tool holders 13 consisting of a large number of through holes are provided at equal intervals on the outer periphery of the turntable 12. These tool holders 13 have holder modules a constituting the modular tool A. , adapter module b, and blade module c are inserted and held in the vertical direction. (The axis of the tool is provided in the vertical direction.) Also, on the inner peripheral edge of the turntable 12, as shown in FIG. An annular groove provided at the base end of the large tool C allows it to be inserted and held from the lateral direction. Therefore,
Each module and large tool C are all arranged perpendicularly to the turntable 12 with their tips facing downward, and each module is configured to be selectively positioned at an assembly position 17 by means described later. has been done. In this case, two assembly positions 17 are provided on a straight line 15 passing through the rotation center 12a of the turntable 12.

The traverse device 5 is provided on the upper part of the tool storage device 1, and includes a guide rod 19 and a screw rod 20 provided on the pedestal 18, and a moving table 21 that fits into the guide rod 19 and is screwed into the screw rod 20. composed of
The screw rod 20 is rotationally driven by a servo motor 22. The movable table 21 is provided with a movable table 23 that can be raised and lowered relative to the assembly position 17, and the assembly head 6 is mounted on this movable table 23. Therefore, the assembly head 6 is connected to the movable table 2.
The turntable 3 can be moved forward and backward from the assembly position 17 by moving the turntable 12, and the turntable 12 can be moved in a straight line 15 around the rotation center 12a of the turntable 12 by the traverser device 5.

Further, the assembly head 6 has a function of grasping and assembling the various modules a, b, and c held in the tool holder 13, and its specific configuration is as shown in FIG. . That is, 2
Reference numeral 4 denotes a tool gripper, and a rotary drum 27 is rotatably supported inside the gripper main body 25 via a bearing 26 . A tapered hole 28 is provided at the lower end of the rotating drum 27, and a drawbar 30 having a collection chuck 29 is provided at the bottom thereof. This drawbar 30 is connected to a piston 32 of a hydraulic cylinder 31 provided above the rotating drum 27.
The drawbar 30 is urged in the retracting direction by a disc spring 33. Note that 34 is a drive mechanism that rotationally drives the rotating drum 27. Then, the holder module a of the modular tool A is attached to the tapered hole 28. Further, a nut runner 37 is attached to the side wall of the gripper main body 25 via a bracket 36.
is provided. The nut runner 37 is composed of a drive motor 38, a gear mechanism 39, and a tightening shaft 40, and the tightening shaft 40 is configured to be pressed against the tightening bolt of the modular tool A by an air cylinder 41.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the modular tool A is provided with petal-shaped engagement claws 53 and 54 at the tip and lower end of the tapered portion 52 of the holder module a. Further, an engagement hole 57 that can be engaged with the engagement claw 54 is provided at the upper end of the adapter module b, and an engagement claw 58 is provided protruding from the lower end.
Further, at the upper end of the blade module c, an engagement hole 5 is provided which can be selectively engaged with the engagement claw 54 or 58.
9 is provided, and a blade portion 60 is provided at the lower end. The blade module c can be connected to the holder module a via the adapter module b, and the blade module c can be connected directly to the holder module a. Furthermore, a flange 56 having an annular groove 55 is provided on the outer peripheral surface of each of the holder module a, the adapter module b, and the blade module c, and the annular groove 55 provided in the flange 56 is connected to the tool holder 14. It is adapted to be engaged and supported. Note that 61 is a tightening bolt that tightens the connecting portion between the adapter module a and the holder module b and the engaging portion between the holder module b and the blade module c.

The holder module a of the modular tool A configured as described above is fitted with its tapered portion 52 into the tapered hole 28 provided in the rotating drum 27 of the tool gripper 24, and the engaging claw 53 is engaged with the collet chuck 29. will be combined. That is, the collection chuck 29 opens and closes as the drawbar 30 moves forward and backward, and when the piston 32 moves forward due to the hydraulic pressure sent by the hydraulic cylinder 31, it opens and releases the engagement with the engagement pawl 53. When the pressure oil in the hydraulic cylinder 31 is released, the drawbar 30 retreats due to the restoring force of the disc spring 33, closing the collection chuck 9 and clamping the engagement pawl 53.

Further, the tool stocker 2 is connected to the turntable 1.
It is provided on an extension line 16 of a straight line 15 passing through the rotation center 12a of No. 2. And this is pillar 61
It has a disc 62 that can be rotated intermittently at the upper end of the
A plurality of tool support parts 63 are provided at equal intervals on the outer periphery of the disc 62. These tool support parts 63... are formed by arcuate notches similarly to the tool holder 13, and are engaged with the annular groove 55 of the modular tool A so that the modular tool A is supported in a vertical state. ing.

Next, the cutting tool assembly device 3 will be explained. This is used to assemble tools used in machine tools such as NC vertical lathes, and 71 is the main body. A magazine 72 is mounted on one side of the upper part of the main body 71.
A moving table 73 is provided on the other side, and a swing arm 74 is provided between them. The magazine 72 is composed of a disk 75 that can be rotated in forward and reverse directions, and a large number of tool storage sections 76 provided at equal intervals on the outer circumferential surface of the disk 75. These tool storage sections 76 contain blade module d constituting the modular tool B. is removably inserted. Furthermore, the movable table 73 has a first holder part 77 and a second holder part 78, and these holder parts 77, 78
Holder module e of modular tool B is held in . Then, the movable table 73
The first holder part 7 can move forward and backward on the first holder part 7 in a neutral state.
7 faces the assembly position 79, the second holder part 78 faces the delivery/reception position 80, the first holder part 77 faces the delivery/reception position 80 when the movable table 73 moves forward, and the second holder part 78 faces the delivery/reception position 80 when the moving table 73 moves backward. A portion 78 is adapted to face an assembly position 79. A coupling mechanism 81 consisting of a nut runner is provided opposite the assembly position 79. Also, transfer position 8
Although not shown in Figure 0, the modular tool B assembled by a transport device such as a robot is gripped and NC is
It is now being supplied to machine tools such as vertical lathes.

Next, the operation of the modular tool automatic assembly and supply apparatus configured as described above will be explained. Programs such as tool combinations required for machining are input to the control device 7 based on production management information. If the designated tool is a modular tool A used in a machining center, a tool designation signal is input from the control device 7 to the tool storage device 1. Upon input of the tool designation signal, the turntable 12 of the tool storage device 1 rotates forward and backward, and each module constituting the designated modular tool A is positioned at a nearby assembly position 17. In this case, first, the holder module a constituting the modular tool A is positioned, and the assembly head 6 is lowered to hold the tool grip 24.
grasp. That is, the tool gripper 24 is moved forward relative to the holder module a by the moving table 23, the tapered hole 28 of the tool gripper 24 is fitted into the tapered part 52 of the holder module a, and the tool gripper 24 is moved forward by the collect chuck 29. The engaging claw 53 of the holder module a is held in place by holding the engaging claw 53 of the holder module a. When the gripping of the holder module a is completed in this manner, the assembly head 6 is raised by the moving table 23. Therefore, the holder module a held by the assembly head 6 is pulled upward from the tool holder 13. Next, the blade module c from the control device 7
The turntable 12 is rotated again by the tool designation signal, and the tool holder 13 holding the blade module c is then positioned at the assembly position 17. Here, the moving table 23 is lowered, and the holder module a held by the assembly head 6 is brought to face the blade module c held vertically by the tool holder 13 in a straight line. Then, when the assembly head 6 is lowered while being positioned in a straight line, the engaging claw 54 of the holder module a engages with the engaging hole 59 of the blade module c, and the blade is moved against the holder module a. part module c is combined. That is, it is assembled vertically. Here, when the air cylinder 41 moves forward and presses the tightening shaft 40 of the nut runner 37, the tightening shaft 40 engages with the tightening bolt 61, and when the motor 38 rotates in this state, the tightening shaft 40 is pushed through the gear mechanism 39. Rotate and tighten the tightening bolt 61. Therefore, a modular tool A is constituted by the holder module a and the blade module c, and when the assembly of the modular tool A is completed, the assembly head 6 rises again and removes the blade module c from the tool holder 13. It is extracted and then fed to the tool stocker 2 by the traverser device 5. The tool stocker 2 has a plurality of tool support parts 63 on a horizontal disk 62, and the annular groove 55 provided in the holder module a of the modular tool A is engaged and supported. By repeating such actions, the modular tools A are sequentially assembled at the assembly position 17, and are supplied to the tool stocker 2 by the traverser device 5, and the modular tools A temporarily stocked in the tool stocker 2 are are transported to the machine tool in accordance with the processing order. Further, the used modular tools A carried in from the machine tool are temporarily stored in the tool stocker 2, and then disassembled at the assembly position 17 during the suspension of assembly of the modular tool A, and each module is stored in the tool storage device 1. It is stored in the tool holder 13.

In addition, according to the embodiment described above, the case where the modular tool A is constructed by combining the holder module a and the blade module c has been described, but the blade module A is connected to the holder module a via the adapter module b. The same applies to the case where the part module c is combined. Further, the large tool C has a tool holder 14 which is a notch provided on the inner peripheral edge of the turntable 12.
..., it is impossible to remove it only by raising the assembly head 6. After lowering the assembly head 6 and grasping the holder module a as described above, the holder module a is held by the traverser device 5. It is necessary to move the movable table 23 laterally along the straight line 15, that is, in the direction of the opening of the notch constituting the tool holder 14, to remove it, and then to raise the assembly head 6.

Furthermore, if the designated tool is a tool used for an NC vertical lathe, the cutting tool assembly device 3 is activated. That is, the magazine 72 rotates and the specified blade module d moves to the delivery position 72.
a, and the swing arm 7
4 rotates and grips the blade module d.
After removing the blade module d from the tool storage section 76, the swing arm 74 rotates again and carries it into the holder module e on the moving table 73, and the holder module e is connected to the holder module e by the coupling mechanism 81.
The blade module d is connected to. The modular tool B assembled at the assembly position 79 is moved to the transfer position 80 by the movement of the moving table 73, and this modular tool B is transferred to a machine tool such as an NC vertical lathe by a robot or the like. Become.

As explained above, in the above-mentioned embodiment, by providing the assembly positions on a straight line passing through the rotation center of the turntable of the tool storage device, there are two assembly positions, and a specified module can be quickly divided. At the same time as it becomes possible to
This embodiment has the advantage that different modules can be gripped at different assembly positions with a single indexing operation.

In the above embodiment, a device for automatically assembling and supplying a modular tool B for a machine tool with a fixed tool was attached to a device for automatically assembling and supplying a modular tool A for a machine tool with a rotating tool. It is not necessary to provide an assembly device.

In addition, the turntable that constitutes the tool storage device is formed into an annular shape, and the outer periphery holds modules that make up a normal modular tool, and the inner periphery holds large tools. The module and the adapter module may be held, and the holder module may be held on the inner periphery.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the present invention, the holder module, adapter module, and blade module that constitute a modular tool are held in the tool holder of the tool storage device, and the designated module is automatically moved to the assembly position. It can be positioned and automatically supplied to the assembly tool stocker, improving workability and safety compared to conventional manual assembly. However, by holding each module vertically in a tool holder, the module can be attached and removed using only one vertical axis, and the traverser device, which serves as a transport device, can be moved using one axis, making assembly and supply possible with a total of two axes of operation. This also has the effect of simplifying the configuration and simplifying control. Further, an assembly position for assembling the modular tool is provided on a straight line passing through the rotation center of a turntable having a plurality of tool holders, and a rotation center of the tool stocker is provided on an extension of the straight line passing through the rotation center of the turntable, Since the assembled modular tools are vertically supported and temporarily stored, there is also the effect that the assembly work of the modular tools and the supply from assembly to the tool stocker can be carried out quickly.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 to 4 show one embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the entire modular automatic tool assembly and supply device, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the tool holder, and FIG. 3 is an assembly head. FIG. 4 is a top view, front view and bottom view of the modular tool in an exploded state, and FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of a general modular tool. 1... Tool storage device, 2... Tool stocker, 5
... Traverser device, 6 ... Assembly head, 7 ...
Control device, 13, 14... Tool holder, 17...
assembly position.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A turntable having a plurality of tool holders vertically holding a plurality of modules of a modular tool including at least a holder module and a blade module, and the modular tool provided on a straight line passing through the rotation center of the turntable. an assembly position for assembling the tool, and a tool storage device for selectively positioning the module held in the tool holder at the assembly position based on a command signal; a tool stocker having a rotation center on an extension of a straight line passing through the rotation center of the turntable and provided with a plurality of tool support parts that vertically support and temporarily store the assembled modular tool; A traverser device provided on the upper part along a line connecting the rotation center of the table and the rotation center of the tool stocker, and a traverser device provided on the traverser device between the tool holder of the tool storage device and the tool support part of the tool stocker. The holder module is movable in a reciprocating manner and can be raised and lowered, and the holder module and the blade module, which are positioned perpendicularly to the assembly position, are combined to assemble a modular tool, and the assembled modular tool is supplied to the tool stocker. An automatic assembly and supply device for modular tools, characterized in that it is equipped with a head.