JPH0276663A - Pallet fitting and removing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To arrange a pallet on a transport path automatically by furnishing a lower guide rail and an upper guide rail constituting part of the transport path while taking vertical attitude in such a way as capable of rising and sinking, and equipping the upper guide rail with a rotor for rolling or a running roller, wherein the rotor can penetrate the running roller borne by the pallet. CONSTITUTION:With possibility of rising and falling are furnished a lower guide rail and an upper guide rail 110 which constitute part of a ring-shaped transport path in the attitude changing position for a pallet on which a work is mounted. This upper guide rail is provided with notches 114a, 114b for insertion of a running roller borne by the pallet, and rotors 116a, 116b are arranged which can open and close the notches, and when the pallet is turned into vertical attitude and the upper 110 and lower guide rails are displaced toward the pallet, the running roller passes the notch in the upper guide rail and exposed up to then rotate the rotors to cause the guide roller to be in slide contact on these rotors, and thus the pallet is sent out onto a ring-shaped transport path.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a pallet attachment/detachment device, and more specifically, for example, a pallet holding a workpiece is transferred to a circular conveyance path for machine tools arranged radially. A pair of upper and lower guide rails forming a part of the annular conveyance path are configured to be able to move up and down, so that the pallet can be automatically and reliably converted between a horizontal position and a vertical position. This invention relates to a pallet attachment/detachment device.

[Background of the Invention] In general, various different machine tools are arranged along a processing line, and predetermined processing operations are sequentially performed on each workpiece transported to the processing line via the machine tools. Line production process is known. In this case, for example,
On a machining line that requires a large number of different machining operations, such as cylinder heads that make up an engine, multiple machine tools are spaced apart at predetermined intervals along the machining line so that they do not interfere with each other. It must be placed accordingly. As a result, the entire production line, including the processing line, becomes quite long, making it difficult to effectively utilize the effective space in the workplace, and it has been pointed out that the production line cannot be made more efficient. has been done.

Therefore, an indexing table that can be rotated and indexed is prepared, and jigs that are rotatable and spaced apart at predetermined angular intervals are arranged on the indexing table, and the workpiece is indexed with the workpiece clamped to the jigs. A rotary indexing device has been proposed in which the table is rotated by a predetermined angle and each jig itself is rotated by a desired angle.
(see issue). Therefore, if a plurality of machine tools are arranged radially outside the indexing table, when the indexing table is rotated by a predetermined angle, each jig is rotated by the desired angle and clamped to the jig. The workpieces that are currently being used will be indexed and positioned with respect to each machine tool. As a result, a plurality of machine tools can be arranged in a narrow space, and the entire machining line can be shortened at once, making it possible to effectively utilize the effective space in the workplace.

However, when attempting to incorporate the rotary indexing device into a production line, the workpieces conveyed along the production line are transformed into a desired posture and placed on each jig, and then the workpieces are placed on each jig. After finishing the machining, the workpiece must be transferred to the production line by changing its posture again.

In other words, workpieces are transported on the production line in a horizontal position in order to be attached to and removed from pallets.On the other hand, when processing work is carried out, the workpieces are held in a vertical position on jigs via pallets. be done. Therefore, it is essentially necessary to convert the pallet between a horizontal position and a vertical position between the production line and the rotary indexing device, and it is quite cumbersome for workers to perform this type of position changing work themselves. At the same time, there is an inconvenience that a considerable amount of time is consumed.

[Object of the Invention] The present invention has been made to overcome the above-mentioned disadvantages, and provides an upper guide rail and a lower guide rail that form part of the annular conveyance path at the posture change position of the pallet on which the workpiece is attached. is provided to be movable up and down, a notch is formed in the upper guide rail through which a traveling roller supported by the pallet is inserted, and a rotating body is provided that can freely open and close the notch, thereby converting the pallet into a vertical position. When displacing the upper guide rail and the lower guide rail toward the pallet, the rotating body is rotated after the traveling roller passes through the notch of the upper guide rail and is exposed upward. The guide roller is configured to slide into contact with the upper guide rail, and thereby the pallet can be reliably sent out to the annular conveyance path without the traveling roller interfering with the upper guide rail. It is an object of the present invention to provide a pallet attachment/detachment device that can automatically and suitably change the posture.

[Means for achieving the object 1i] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a device for automatically attaching and detaching a pallet on which a work is attached to a predetermined conveyance path by changing its posture. The upper guide rail and the lower guide rail forming part of the conveyance path are configured to be movable up and down, and the upper guide rail is provided with a notch through which the traveling roller supported by the pallet is inserted. It is characterized by disposing a rotating body that opens and closes the notch and forms a rolling surface for the traveling roller integrally with the upper surface of the upper guide rail.

[Embodiments] Next, preferred embodiments of the pallet attaching/detaching device according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In FIGS. 1 to 3, reference numeral 10 indicates a rotary transfer system incorporating the pallet attachment/detachment device according to this embodiment. The workpiece transfer system 10 is incorporated in a production line 12, and the workpiece W is transported along the production line 12 in the direction of the arrow (the workpiece W is attached to a pallet 50 and transformed into a desired posture).
Next, after being conveyed at a predetermined angle at a time along the annular conveyance path and sequentially subjected to a predetermined process by each of the processing devices 16a to 16G disposed radially outside the system 10, it is again changed to its posture. It is converted and returned to the production line 12, and transported to the next working position.

That is, the system 10 includes a base 18, and a prismatic pillar 20 is erected approximately at the center of the base 18.

One end portions of lower support members 22a to 22d, each of which has a bent shape and projects outward, are fixed to the lower end corner portions of the pillars 20, and each of the lower support members 22a to 22
At the other end of d, arc-shaped lower fixed rails 24a to 24d are supported, which are arranged on the same circumference with the support 20 at the center.

Upper support members 26a to 26 are attached to the upper corner portions of the column 20.
The upper support members 26a to 26d are provided with arcuate upper fixed rails 28a to 28d located above the lower fixed rails 24a to 24d and disposed on the same circumference. Therefore, the lower fixed rail 2
An annular conveyance path 29 is formed by the displaceable lower guide rails 4a to 24d, which will be described later, and the upper fixed rails 28a to 28d, which will be described later.

Furthermore, fixed arms 30a to 30d are held at the upper part of the support column 20 and are offset from each other by 90 degrees and protrude between the upper support members 26a to 26d.

In this case, elements constituting a pallet attaching/detaching device and a processing station according to this embodiment, which will be described later, are attached to the fixed arms 30a to 30d, the details of which will be explained in the pallet attaching/detaching device and processing station. do.

A conveying means 32 is then provided on the top of the column 20.

The conveying means 32 has a rotary body 34 rotatably mounted on the upper part of the support column 20, and the rotary body 34 has movable arms 36 that project outward and are spaced apart from each other by 90 degrees.
a to 36d are provided integrally. Said movable arm 3
A rotary drive source 37 is provided upright at the boundary between the rotating body 6a and the rotary body 34, and gears (not shown) are respectively pivotally attached to the rotary drive source 37 and the rotary body 34 in a mutually meshed state.

The movable arm 36a protrudes outward from the upper fixed rails 28a to 28d, and a pair of guide bars 38a and 38b are vertically supported at the ends of the movable arm 36a so as to be movable up and down. A fish body 40 is held extending horizontally at the lower ends of the guide bars 38a and 38b, and locking members 42a and 42b are provided at both ends of the fish body 40 and spaced apart corresponding to the width of a pallet 50, which will be described later. Fixed. The other movable arms 36b to 36d are constructed in substantially the same manner as the movable arm 36a described above, and the same reference numerals are given to the same constituent elements, and detailed explanation thereof will be omitted.

Therefore, among the fixed arms 30a to 30d, the pallet attaching/detaching device 100 according to this embodiment is provided on the fixed arm 30a extending toward the production line 12 side. That is, as shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the fixed arm 30a
A support member 102 is fixed to the end of the support member 1.
A cylinder 104 is mounted approximately in the center of the cylinder 102, and a bracket 106 is engaged with a piston rod 104a extending vertically downward from the cylinder 104. As shown in FIG. 4, the bracket 106 includes a guide bar 1.
08a and 108b are erected, and each guide bar 108
a and 108b fit into both ends of the support member 102.

Furthermore, the upper fixed rail 28a is attached to the bracket 106.
, 28b is fixed to an arcuate upper guide rail 110 that can be disposed integrally on the same circumference.

Each pallet 50 is provided on the upper surface of the upper guide rail 110.
along an imaginary circumference having a diameter larger than the width in the radial direction of the upper guide rail 110 and up to approximately 1/2 the plate thickness of the upper guide rail 110 at a position corresponding to a running roller (described later). Cut out the first groove part 11
2a and a second groove portion 112b are formed. First and second notches 114a and 114b, which are formed by cutting out the outer peripheral portion of the upper guide rail 110 into a substantially rectangular shape, communicate with the first and second grooves 112a and 112b. In this case, the first and second groove portions 112a, 112
First and second rotating bodies 116a, 116b are disposed at b, and the first and second rotating bodies 116a, 116
b are integrally rotated by a predetermined angle via a driving means 118.

That is, the driving means 118 includes a cylinder 120, which is fixed on the bracket 106, and one end of a link piece 122 engages with a piston rod 120a extending from the cylinder 120. The link piece 12
2 is rotatably supported by the bracket 106 via a pin 124, and the other end of this link piece 122 has a first link part 126a and a second link part 12.
6b is engaged. The first linker 126a and the second
It extends substantially coaxially with the link par 126b, and one end of the first swing link 128a and the second swing link 128b engage with each end. First and second rotation shafts 130a and 130b are engaged with the other ends of the first and second swing links 128a and 128b, and the first and second rotation shafts 130a and 130b are attached to the bracket 106.
passing through the first and second rotating bodies 116a, 116b
Attach to the shaft.

The first rotating body 116a substantially fits into the first groove 112a and forms the same plane as the upper surface of the upper guide rail 110, and the upper guide rail is formed on the side circumference of the first rotating body 116a. A first circular arc surface 132a corresponding to the outer circumferential surface of 110 is formed. On the other hand, this first circular arc surface 132a
A second arcuate surface 134a corresponding to the inner peripheral surface of the upper guide rail 110 is provided at a position opposite to that of the upper guide rail 110. moreover,
The first rotating body 116a has respective arcuate surfaces 132aS134.
A notch 136a is formed at a predetermined angular position with respect to a and corresponds to the first notch 114a.

Note that the second rotating body 116b is the same as the first rotating body 116 described above.
It is constructed in the same manner as a, and the same reference numerals and b are attached to the same constituent elements, and detailed explanation thereof will be omitted.

Furthermore, holding members 138a and 138b are fixedly provided on the bracket 106 at a predetermined distance apart for engaging with the locking members 42a and 42b constituting the conveying means 32 and raising and lowering them.

On the other hand, below the upper guide rail 110 is a cylinder 14.
A lower guide rail 142 is provided at the attitude changing station 200, which can be raised and lowered under the action of the lower guide rails 0a and 140b.

That is, the attitude changing station 200 is
and the production line 12, and includes a rotary table 202 that is rotatable under the drive action of a rotational drive source (not shown). The aforementioned cylinders 140a and 140b are fixed to the rotary table 202 eccentrically by a predetermined distance from the center of rotation, and the pistons 0 and 140b extend from each cylinder 14Qa1140b.
The lower guide rail 142 is mounted on the seven doors 144a and 144b (see FIG. 2). A pallet holder 2 is attached to one end of the rotating table 202 via support bins 204a and 204b.
06 is mounted so as to be swingable in the vertical direction. The pallet 50 can be fixed to the pallet holder 206 and the ramp means 2
08a.

208b is provided, and a piston rod 212 extending from a cylinder 210 swingably held at the other end of the rotating table 202 is engaged with one end of the pallet holder 206.

Next, processing stations 300a to 300C are provided on the base 18 below the fixed arms 30b to 30d and corresponding to the respective processing devices 16a to 16C. The processing station 300a has a cylindrical support base 30.
2, and an indexing table 304 that is rotatable by a predetermined angle is mounted on the upper part of the support table 302. In this case, base 1
8 from the rotary drive source 306 attached to the support stand 302
A rotating shaft 306a extends therein, and a worm (not shown) provided on the rotating shaft 306a meshes with a worm gear (not shown) pivotally attached to the indexing table 304. A jig main body 308 is erected on the indexing table 304 in proximity to the column 20, and a pair of guide pins 309a are provided on the upper and lower sides of the jig main body 308, respectively.

309b, 310a, and 310b fit together. Guide pin 309a.

309b, 310a, and 310b pass through the jig body 308 and protrude toward the support column 20 side, and are integrally engaged with the mounting plate 312, while the guide pins 310a, 3
A lower guide rail 314 and an upper guide rail 316 are attached to the other ends of 10b, 309a, and 309b, respectively (see processing station 300C in FIG. 2).

In this case, both ends of the lower guide rail 314 and the upper guide rail 316 are oriented in the axial direction of the guide pins 309a, 309b and 310a, 310b, and are formed parallel to each other.

The jig main body 308 has the guide pins 309a, 309
cylinder 318 adjacent to b and 310a, 310b.
Claw members 322a to 322d are attached to pistons 07 doors 320a to 320d that protrude from the respective cylinders 318a to 318d in a direction opposite to the mounting plate 312. Cylinders 318a to 318d
A piston rod 320a protrudes from the mounting plate 312 side.
The ends of 320d to 320d are engaged with this mounting plate 312. Furthermore, positioning pins (not shown) are implanted in the jig body 308 for positioning the pallet 50 with respect to the jig body 308. Note that the fixed arm 30b located above the jig main body 308 has a lower joint 3.
24 is attached, and this lower joint 324 performs the function of introducing and extracting fluid from the cylinders 318a to 318d.

The processing station 300a is configured as described above, and the other processing stations 300b to 300C
The processing station 300a is configured similarly to the processing station 300a, and therefore, the same components are given the same reference numerals and detailed explanation thereof will be omitted.

On the other hand, when the pallet 50 circulating along the annular conveyance path 29 is vertically positioned by the posture changing station 200, a lower guide rail 14 is attached to one end that becomes the lower end side.
A plurality of rotatable guide rollers 52 that sandwich the two are supported. Further, at the other end, which is the upper end side of the pallet 50, a plurality of guide rollers 54 that sandwich the upper guide rail 110 and are rotatable, and the upper surface of the upper guide rail 110 is transferred to suspend the pallet 50. Running rollers 55a and 55b are supported. Also, pallet 5
Locking members 56a to 56d, which are engaged with claw members 322a to 322d provided on cylinders 318a to 318d constituting the processing stations 300a to 300C, are fixed to the back surface side corresponding to the side surface on which the workpiece W of 0 is placed. be done.

The low-rise transfer system incorporating the pallet attaching/detaching device according to this embodiment is basically constructed as described above, and its operation and effects will be explained next.

First, in the manufacturing line 12, workpieces W are sequentially conveyed in a horizontal position, and the workpieces W reach the position changing station 200 that constitutes the system 10. At this time, the pallet 50 is held in advance by the pallet holder 206, and the pallet 50 is positioned and oriented in the horizontal direction.

Therefore, after clamping the workpiece W to the pallet 50, when the cylinder 210 is driven to displace the piston rod 212 toward the production line 12, the pallet holder 206, which is attached to the piston rod 212, is moved to the support pin 204.
a and 204b as fulcrums to swing vertically upward. Therefore, if the drive of the cylinder 210 is stopped when the pallet holder 206 is vertically erected, the pallet 50 held by the pallet holder 206 will maintain its posture with the workpiece W facing the column 20 side. This results in a 90° conversion (see Figure 1). Further, when the rotary table 202 is rotated 180 degrees under the driving action of a rotational drive source (not shown), the pallet holder 206 supported at a position displaced from the rotation center of the rotary table 202 changes its direction by 180 degrees.
It is rotated by .degree. and positioned close to the support column 20 (see FIG. 3).

In this case, the pallet attaching/detaching device '1 is attached to the rotating table 202.
00 is held, and this lower guide rail 142 is connected to the cylinder 140a,
140b, it is previously displaced vertically downward. Therefore, the lower guide rail 142
When rotating integrally with 2, the lower fixed rails 24a, 24
It can prevent interference with b.

Next, the pallet attaching/detaching device 100 is driven. That is, the cylinder 140a provided on the rotary table 202
, 140b and piston rod 144a.

When 144b is displaced vertically upward, the lower guide rail 142 mounted thereon rises, and the lower guide rail 142 is held between a plurality of guide rollers 52 supported by the pallet 50. - side, fixed arm 30a
The cylinder 10 is attached via a support member 102 to
When the piston rod 104a is displaced vertically downward by driving the piston rod 104a, the bracket 106 supported by the bracket 106 is lowered together with the upper guide rail 110 under the guiding action of the guide bars 108a and 108b.

At that time, the first and second grooves disposed in the first and second grooves 112a and 112b of the upper guide rail 110
As shown in FIG. 4, the rotating bodies 116a and 116b are
The respective notches 136a, 136b are aligned with the first and second notches 114a, 114b. For this reason,
When the upper guide rail 110 is lowered, the running rollers 55a and 55b of the pallet 50 are inserted into the notches 114a and 136a and 114b and 136b, respectively.

Therefore, the traveling rollers 55a and 55b are located above the upper guide rail 110 and the upper guide rail 1
When both side peripheral surfaces of the cylinder 10 are held between the plurality of guide rollers 54, the driving of the cylinder 104 is stopped and the driving means 118 is driven.

That is, when the piston rod 120a is displaced in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 4 under the driving action of the cylinder 120, the link piece 122 whose one end is engaged with the piston rod 120a moves in the direction of the arrow with the pin 124 as the center. The first and second linkers 126a and 126b, which engage with the other end of the link piece 122, are integrally displaced in the direction of the arrow. A first swing link 128a is engaged with the first link par 126a, and the first link par 128a is engaged with the first link par 126a.
6a, the first swing link 128a swings in the direction of the arrow, and the first rotating body 116a coaxially engaged with the first swing link 128a via the first rotation shaft 130a rotates in the direction of the arrow.

Then, the first rotating body 116a closes the upper part of the first notch 114a, and the first and second circular arc surfaces 132
The driving means 118 is stopped at a position where the a and 134a coincide with the outer circumferential surface and the inner circumferential surface of the upper guide rail 110. On the other hand, the second swing link 128b swings in the direction of the arrow under the tensile action of the second link par 126b, and the second rotating body 116b engages with the second swing link 128b via the second rotating shaft 130b.
similarly rotates in the direction of the arrow. Therefore, the second rotating body 11
6b closes the second notch 114b, and its first and second arcuate surfaces 132t+ and 134b coincide with both side circumferential surfaces of the upper guide rail 110.

In this way, the first ′: J6 and the second rotating body 116a, which form the same plane as the upper surface of the upper guide rail 110,
116b is the first and second notch 114a, 114b
By blocking the upper part of 1. ．． The 4-"F side guide rail 110 is provided with a continuous transfer path for the traveling rollers 55a and 55b (see FIG. 5). Also, the first arc of the first and second rotating bodies 116a and 116b Surfaces 132a, 132b and second arcuate surface 134a.

134b coincides with the outer circumferential surface and inner circumferential surface of the upper guide rail 110. For this reason, the upper guide rail 1
A continuous transfer path for the guide roller 54 is formed on both side circumferential surfaces of the roller 10.

As described above, while the lower guide rail 142 is raised, the upper guide rail 110 is lowered, and the lower guide rail 142 and the upper guide rail 110 are connected to the lower fixed rails 24a, 24b and the upper fixed rail 28a.
, 28b are arranged on the same circumference. This results in the pallet 50 being placed on the annular transport path 29 of the system 10.

On the other hand, when lowering the upper guide rail 110 under the driving action of the pallet attaching/detaching device 100, the bracket 106
The locking members 42a and 42b placed on the holding members 138a and 138b fixed to the hook body 40 are lowered together with the hook body 40. Therefore, the locking members 42a and 42b clamp the upper side of the pallet 50.

Next, after releasing the fixing action of the pallet 50 by the clamp means 208a and 208b, the rotary drive source 37 constituting the conveyance means 32 is driven. Therefore, the rotating body 34 rotates in the direction of the arrow in FIG.
b and is displaced along the lower guide rail 142 and the upper guide rail 110, and the lower fixed rail 24b
and from the upper fixed rail 28b to the lower guide rail 31
4 and upper guide rail 316. in this way,
The movable arm 36a moves from the posture changing stations 200 to 9.
0° offset position, i.e. processing station 300
When reaching point a, the drive of the rotary drive source 37 is stopped.

In the processing station 300a, first, the cylinder 3
18a to 318d are driven, and the piston rod 320
a to 320d are integrally displaced to the mounting plate 312 side with the claw members 322a to 322d. Therefore, the claw member 3
22a to 322d engage with locking members 56a to 56d provided on the back side of the pallet 50 and pull it toward the mounting plate 312, and the pallet 50 is attached to the jig main body 30.
8 and is positioned and held with respect to this jig main body 308 by a positioning pin or the like (not shown). At that time, since the pallet 50 is displaced toward the jig main body 308, the pallet 50 is
This led to his departure from 42b.

Further, as the cylinders 318a to 318d are driven, the mounting plate 312 moves toward the support column 20, and the guide pin 309a whose one end is fixed to the mounting plate 312
, 309b and 310a, 310b are similarly displaced to the support column 20 side. Therefore, the guide bin 309
Lower guide rail 314 and upper guide rail 31 held by a, 309b and 310a, 310b
6 will be displaced radially inward (toward the support column 20).

Next, when the rotation drive source 306 provided on the base 18 is driven and the rotation shaft 306a is rotated in a predetermined direction, a worm (not shown) provided on the rotation shaft 306a and a worm gear meshing with the worm are connected. The indexing table 304 rotates by a predetermined angle with respect to the support table 302. by this,
Pallet 50 positioned and held in jig body 308
is indexed to a predetermined angular position with respect to the processing device 16a.

Note that during this indexing work, the lower guide rail 314 and the upper guide rail 316 are displaced in the radial direction, so the lower guide rail 314 and the upper guide rail 3
16 does not interfere with the lower fixed rails 24b, 24C and the upper fixed rails 28b, 28C.

After completing a predetermined machining operation on the workpiece W, the rotary drive source 306 is driven to rotate the indexing table 304 in the opposite direction to the above, and the jig main body 308 is positioned at the attachment/detachment angle position of the pallet 50. Furthermore, the cylinders 318a to 31
8d to attach the claw members 322a to 322d to the mounting plate 3.
12, the mounting plate 312 is displaced in a direction away from the support column 20, and the lower guide rail 3
14 and the upper guide rail 316 are integrally displaced with the pallet 50 in a radial outward direction (a direction away from the support column 20). Therefore, the lower guide rail 314 is aligned with the lower fixed rails 24b and 24c, and the upper guide rail 316 is aligned with the upper fixed rails 28b and 28c, so that the annular conveyance path 29 is formed. Also, pallet 5
0 moves in the radial outward direction, the upper side of the pallet 50 fits between the locking members 42a and 42b provided on the movable arm 36a.

Next, the rotational drive source 37 is driven to rotate the rotating body 34 at 90°.
If the pallet 50 is rotated by a certain amount, the pallet 50 reaches the processing station 300b integrally with the movable arm 36a.

Therefore, similar to the processing station 300a described above,
In this processing station 300b, a predetermined processing operation is performed on the workpiece W held by the barre 50 via the processing device 16b.

Further, the pallet 50 is transported to the processing station 300C under the driving action of the transport means 32 and subjected to a predetermined processing by the processing device 16c.
Transported to 00. At the attitude changing station 200, the pallet holder 206 is standing upright, and the pallet holder 206 is erected under the action of clamping means 208a and 208b.
6 holds the pallet 50.

Therefore, the pallet attaching/detaching device 100 is driven. That is, the running roller 55a suspending the pallet 50,
55b is mounted on the first and second rotating bodies 116a and 116b, respectively, as shown in FIG. In Figure 5, it is displaced in the direction of the arrow. A link piece 122 is engaged with the piston rod 120a, and this link piece 122 rotates in the direction of the arrow around the pin 124 to connect the first and second linkers 126a and 126b connected thereto. The first and second swing links 128a and 128b swing in the direction of the arrow. Therefore, the first and second swing links 12
8a, 128b have first and second rotating shafts 130a,
The first and second rotary bodies 116a and 116b, which are coaxially provided via 130b, rotate by a predetermined angle, and the respective notches 136a and 136b are connected to the upper gurt rail 1.
10 first and second notches 114a and 114b.

Next, the cylinder 10 supported by the fixed arm 30a
4, the upper guide rail 110 is raised via the bracket 106, and the bracket 106
Holding members 138a and 138b, which are fixedly attached to the pallet 50, engage the locking members 42a and 42b to separate them from the pallet 50. At that time, the first and second notches 114a, 114b of the upper guide rail 110 are provided with the notches 136a, 136b of the first and second rotating bodies 116a, 116b.
are in agreement. For this reason, the upper guide rail 11
0 rises, the traveling rollers 55a155b supported by the pallet 50 are moved to the respective notches 114a,
136a and 114b, while passing between 136b,
The guide rollers 54 are separated from both peripheral surfaces of the upper guide rail 110.

Further, the cylinders 140a and 140b are driven to lower the lower guide rail 142, and the lower guide rail 14
The guide roller 52 is removed from both side circumferential surfaces of the roller 2.

With the pallet 50 held only by the pallet holder 206 in this manner, the rotary table 202 is rotated 180 degrees under the driving action of a rotational drive source (not shown), and further, the pallet holder 206 is rotated under the driving action of the cylinder 210. swing vertically downward. Therefore, since the pallet 50 is positioned horizontally, the pallet 50
Remove the workpiece W from the
2 to the next working position.

By the way, the movable arm 36a is the processing station 300.
When the movable arm 36d is displaced to the position a, the movable arm 36d reaches the attitude changing station 200. The other pallet 50 supported by the movable arm 30d is attached to the pallet holder 20.
After the work W attached to the pallet 50 is transferred to the production line 12, a new work W is attached to the pallet 50. That is, a pallet 50 is held on each of the movable arms 36a to 36d, and the processing device 1 is held at the processing stations 300a to 300c.
It goes without saying that predetermined machining operations are simultaneously performed on the respective workpieces W under the action of 6a to 16C.

In this case, in this embodiment, the attitude changing station 20
At 0, the pallet 50 is transferred via the pallet holder 206.
When changing the attitude from the horizontal attitude to the vertical attitude, the lower guide rail 142 forming the annular transport path 29 is raised, while the upper guide rail 110 forming the annular transport path 29 is displaced downward. Therefore, the plurality of guide rollers 52 and 54 supported by the pallet 50 engage with the circumferential surfaces on both sides of the lower guide rail 142 and the upper guide rail 110, respectively, to sandwich them.

Here, when the pallet 50 is displaced along the annular conveyance path 29, the pallet 50 is suspended from the annular conveyance path 29.
There are running rollers 55a and 55b that move on the top of the upper guide rail 110, and there is a possibility that the running rollers 55a and 55b may interfere with the upper guide rail 110 that moves downward.

However, in the pallet attaching/detaching device 100, in order to insert the traveling rollers 55a155b into the upper guide rail 110, respectively, the first notch 1i3 and the second notch 114a, 11 are provided.
4b, and the first and second notches 11
4a, 114b matching cutout 136a.

136b, and the first and second rotating bodies 116a, 1 are coplanar with the upper surface of the upper guide rail 110.
16b is installed. Therefore, as shown in Figure 4,
Respective notches 114a and 136a and 114b and 13
6b, the traveling rollers 55a and 155b will not come into contact with the upper guide rail 110 when the upper guide rail 110 is moved up and down.

Furthermore, after lowering the upper guide rail 110 to expose the running rollers 55a and 55b above the upper guide rail 110, the first and second rotating bodies 116a and 116b are moved at a predetermined angle under the driving action of the driving means 118. The respective arcuate surfaces 132a are rotated by a certain amount.

134a, 132b, and 134b are disposed on the same surface as both peripheral surfaces of the upper guide rail 110. Therefore, the upper surface part of the upper guide rail 110 and the first and second
The upper surfaces of the rotating bodies 116a, 116b form a continuous transfer surface for the traveling rollers 55a, 55b to transfer, while the both side peripheral surfaces of the upper guide rail 110 and the respective arcuate surfaces 132a, 132b, 134a, 134
b provides a continuous transfer surface for the guide roller 54. This provides the effect that the pallet 50 can be smoothly and reliably transported along the annular transport path 29 under the driving action of the transport means 32. As a result, the pallet 50 can be automatically and easily converted into a horizontal position and a vertical position, and in particular, the advantage is that various machining operations can be efficiently performed on the workpiece W in the roll transfer system 10. can be mentioned.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, when converting a pallet with a workpiece attached to a horizontal position and a vertical position, the upper guide which is in the vertical position and forms a part of the conveyance path A rail and a lower guide rail are provided to be movable up and down, and the upper guide rail is provided with a rotating body for rolling the running roller through which the running roller supported by the pallet can be inserted. Therefore, after converting the pallet into a vertical position, the pallet can be automatically placed on the conveyance path by raising the lower guide rail and lowering the upper guide rail.

Moreover, if the rotating body is placed at a predetermined angular position beforehand when lowering the upper guide rail, the traveling roller supported by the pallet will pass through the rotating body and the notch of the upper guide rail and move upward. Reveal. Then, by rotating the rotating body, a continuous transfer surface for the traveling rollers is formed. This has the effect that the plurality of rollers provided on the pallet can be reliably engaged with the lower guide rail and the upper guide rail, and the pallet can be smoothly conveyed along the conveyance path. In addition, the pallet posture change work,
Compared to the conventional method, which is performed by the worker himself, this method has the advantage that it is possible to efficiently perform the posture change work all at once, and automation of the entire rotary transfer system can be easily achieved. .

Although the present invention has been described above with reference to preferred embodiments, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments.
Of course, various improvements and changes in design are possible without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a schematic perspective view of the structure of a low-liquid transfer system incorporating the pallet attaching/detaching device according to the present invention, Fig. 2 is a schematic plan view of the system, Fig. 3 is a schematic side view of the system, and Fig. 4 is a main body. FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of essential parts of the device of the invention, and FIG. 5 is a plan view of the device of the invention. 10...Local transfer system 12...
Production lines 16a to 16c...processing equipment 29...conveyance path 3
2...Transporting means 50...Pallet 100...Pallet attaching/detaching device 104...Cylinder 106...Bracket 110...Upper guide rail 114a, 114b
...Notches 116a, 116b...Rotating body
118... Drive means 136a, 136b - notch
140a, L40b--Notch 142...Lower guide rail 200...Posture change station

Claims (4)

[Claims] (1) A device for automatically attaching and detaching a pallet with a workpiece attached to a predetermined conveyance path by changing its posture,
An upper guide rail and a lower guide rail that form a part of the conveyance path are configured to be movable up and down, and the upper guide rail is provided with a notch through which a traveling roller supported by the pallet is inserted, and the notch A pallet attaching/detaching device characterized in that a rotating body is disposed which opens and closes a portion of the upper guide rail and integrally forms a rolling surface for a traveling roller. (2) In the device according to claim 1, two or more grooves are formed in the upper guide rail, and each groove is connected with a notch through which the running roller is inserted, and the groove is provided with a notch corresponding to the notch. What is claimed is: 1. A pallet attaching/detaching device, characterized in that the pallet attaching/detaching device is configured to fit two or more rotary bodies provided with the rotary bodies, and rotate the two or more rotary bodies integrally via a link mechanism under the action of a single actuator. (3) In the device according to claim 1 or 2, when the rotary body closes the notch of the upper guide rail, the upper surface and both sides of the rotor are flush with the upper surface and both sides of the upper guide rail. A pallet attaching/detaching device characterized in that it is configured to be placed on top. (4) In the apparatus according to claim 1, the upper guide rail is attached to a bracket that can be raised and lowered under the action of a cylinder, and the bracket is provided with a holding member that engages with the pallet to move the pallet along the conveyance path. The holding member is engaged with the conveying means for conveying along the pallet, and when the upper guide rail is raised under the action of the cylinder, the conveying means is raised via the holding member and detached from the pallet. A pallet attachment/detachment device featuring: