JPH04300140A - Tool magazine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To acquire a tool magazine capable of carrying out dividing for a short period of time and storing in high density by arranging on a frame a plural number of comb type plates provided with a large number of U letter cutouts to insert and hold a ring grip groove 5a of a tool holder in such a way as to accumulate them with their cutouts in the upward direction. CONSTITUTION:Comb type plates 1 are formed by way of providing a large number of U letter cutouts 1a to insert into and hold a ring grip groove 5a of a tool holder 5 with equal pitches between them, and a plural number of these comb type plates 1 are arranged and held free to move in the vertical direction on a frame 2 in such a way as to accumulate them with their cutouts 1a in the upward direction. Thereafter, a plate slide mechanism 3 provided with a lift body 3b to lift up and down by a lift drive source 3a is provided to open a space G to take in and out the tool holder 5 at an optional position among the plates 1. Subsequently, it is devised to automatically carry in and out the tool holders 5 by a tool carrier device 4 through the space G formed by the same plate slide mechanism 3 in the state where a taper shank part 5b of the tool holders 5 are received and held by a pot 4a.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a tool magazine for machining centers, FMS, etc.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, there has been a demand for unmanned operation of machine tools for long periods of time, and as a result, it has become necessary to use a large number of tools.

Conventionally, drum-type and chain-type tool magazines are known, but these types have a low tool storage density and require a large installation space, and moreover, the tools at the farthest point cannot be stored in the tool magazine. There is a problem in that it takes a long time to determine the automatic conversion position.

To solve this problem, a matrix type tool magazine has been proposed (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.
1-50730, JP-A-61-50731, etc.)
.

The outline of the above-mentioned matrix type tool magazine is that a strip plate having a plurality of pots arranged in one row for receiving and holding the taper shank portion of the tool holder is arranged in multiple rows on the main body frame in a direction perpendicular to the arrangement direction of the pots. A tool robot with a U-shaped tool gripping claw that grips the annular gripping groove of the tool holder is placed on the front of the main body frame, and the tool robot moves to the pot position of an arbitrary band plate and uses the tool gripping claw to In order to make it possible to take the tool holder in and out, and to prevent interference with tools held in the pots of adjacent strip plates when the tool holder is taken in and out of the pot using this tool gripping claw, the strip plate is attached to the main body frame. It is made movable relative to the

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The matrix type tool magazine described above has the following problems. 1. Since the tool robot runs vertically and horizontally in front of the tool magazine, the tool robot and its running rails get in the way when setting up tools. 2. Each strip of the tool magazine must be equipped with a large number of pots, which is expensive. 3. In order to prevent interference between tools being transported by the tool robot and other tools in the magazine, it is necessary to provide a transport path space in the vertical center of the tool magazine, which reduces the degree of tool storage. 4. The tool robot is configured to grip the annular gripping groove of the tool holder with a U-shaped tool gripping claw, so once the tool is inserted into the intermediate pot, the tool is automatically exchanged between the intermediate pot and the machine tool spindle. Automatic tool exchange must be performed by the device, and automatic tool exchange cannot be performed directly between the tool robot and the machine tool spindle. 5. Since the tool robot takes tools in and out of the tool magazine from the front side of the tool magazine, it is necessary to install the travel rail of the robot main body at least a distance of at least the longest tool dimension (for example, 500 mm) in front of the tool magazine. It is necessary to move the gripping claw forward and backward by the above-mentioned separation dimension, and this movement is performed by a cylinder, so this cylinder protrudes further forward than the above-mentioned travel rail position, and this cylinder works together with the tool robot to move the tool magazine. Since it moves vertically and horizontally on the front side, it requires a large floor space.

The present invention was proposed in view of the above-mentioned problems with conventional tool magazines, and its purpose is to:
The present invention aims to provide a tool magazine that enables short-time indexing, high-density storage, simplicity, low cost, and space saving.

[0008]

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a comb-like plate having a large number of U-shaped notches for inserting and holding an annular gripping groove of a tool holder, and Stack multiple sheets with the side facing upward, and
A frame that holds each so that it can be moved up and down, a plate slide mechanism that opens a space for inserting and removing the tool holder at any position between the plates, and a plate slide mechanism that is arranged on the rear side of the frame and receives the taper shank of the tool holder. It has one pot for holding, and a tool carrying device that receives and holds an arbitrary tool holder from the plate and transports it to a fixed position. The tool holder is automatically taken in and out of the magazine from the tapered shank side of the holder. Further, the tool conveyance device is provided with a horizontal rotation mechanism for the pot.

[0009]

[Operation] Each comb-shaped plate only forms a U-shaped notch, which is cheaper than the case where a pot is provided. The tool transport device moves on the back side of the tool magazine, so
It does not get in the way when setting up tools, etc., making work easier. Since the tool transport device moves on the back side of the tool magazine, interference between the tool being transported and other tools in the tool magazine can be avoided, and the space required for the transport path is no longer required.
Improves tool storage density. In this case, the space can be further reduced by equipping the pot of the tool transport device with a horizontal rotation mechanism. Furthermore, the comb-shaped plate of the magazine grips the annular gripping groove of the tool holder with a U-shaped notch, and the tool transport device receives and holds the taper shank of the tool holder with a pot, so this tool transport device and Tools can be exchanged directly between the machine spindle and the machine spindle using an automatic tool changer.

0010

[Example] In FIGS. 1A to 1D, (1) is a comb-shaped plate, (2) is a frame, (3) is a plate slide mechanism, (4) is a tool transport device, (5) is a tool holder, (6
) indicates a tool.

As best shown in FIG. 3, the comb-shaped plate (1) has a U-shaped notch (1a) along its longitudinal direction for inserting and holding the annular gripping groove (5a) of the tool holder (5). A large number of upward openings are formed at equal pitches.

The tool holder (5), as shown in FIG.
It holds the rear end of the tool (6) on its front side, has a tapered shank portion (5b) and a pull stud portion (5c) on the rear end side, and has an annular gripping groove (5a) approximately in the center. This annular gripping groove (5a) is a part for the changing arm of the automatic tool changer to grip the tool holder (5), and the cross-sectional shape of the groove is approximately V-shaped, and is adapted to this groove shape. As shown, the cross-sectional shape of the periphery of the U-shaped notch (1a) is formed into a substantially V-shaped protrusion shape. This allows the tool holder (5
) is stably held at the bottom of the U-shaped notch (1a) of the comb-shaped plate (1), and is immovable in the axial direction.
It is supported horizontally and is prevented from tilting, can be moved vertically, and can be inserted and removed from the upper opening.

As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1C, the frame (2) has a comb-shaped plate (1) connected to the U-shaped notch (1a).
A plurality of sheets are stacked one on top of the other with the sheets facing upward, and each sheet is held at both ends in the longitudinal direction so as to be movable in the vertical direction. That is, the frames (2) are installed opposite to each other at positions corresponding to both longitudinal ends of each comb-shaped plate (1), and have connecting members (
2a and 2b, and guide grooves (2c) and (2d) are formed over the entire length in the vertical direction to guide and hold both longitudinal ends of each comb-shaped plate (1) so as to be movable in the vertical direction. It has been done.

The plate slide mechanism (3) is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, this is a mechanism for opening a space (G) for inserting and removing a tool holder at an arbitrary position between each comb-shaped plate (1) guided and held by a frame (2), 3a), an elevating body (3b) that is raised and lowered within the frame (2) by this elevating drive source (3a), and installed on each comb-shaped plate (1), which can be engaged and detached from the elevating body (3b). It consists of a locking/disengaging mechanism (3c). First of all,
The elevating drive source (3a) may be any means such as a motor or a fluid pressure cylinder as long as it is capable of elevating the elevating body (3b) by the space (G) for inserting and removing the tool holder; Since its own weight can be used in the downward direction, the illustrated example uses an air cylinder. In addition, the elevating body (
3b), in the illustrated example, a plurality of locking portions (31) such as recesses corresponding to the locking/disengaging mechanism (3c) of each comb-shaped plate (1) are formed at the same pitch as the stacking pitch of the plates (1). Although the case of a link chain is shown as an example, this may be composed of one bar, and this bar may be connected to a lifting drive source (3a) by an appropriate means to be moved up and down. Next, the locking/unlocking mechanism (
3c) has a locking part (32) such as a convex part that can be locked to the locking part (31) of the elevating body (3b), and this locking part (32)
An appropriate actuator may be provided to engage and disengage the locking portion (31) of the elevating body (3b). In the illustrated example, a double rod type air cylinder (33) is used as an actuator, one locking part (32) is connected to one end of this piston rod, and the other end is connected to a reversing lever (3) via a link rod (34).
5), and the reversing lever (35) is connected to the other locking portion (32) via a link rod (36). However, the center part of the reversing lever (35) is connected to the plate (1).
), and link rods (34
) (36) are connected, and the other locking part (32) (on the left side of D in FIG. 1) is slidably supported on the plate (1) via a guide member (37), At all times, the locking part (3
2) is provided with a spring (38) for keeping it disengaged from the locking part (31) of the elevating body (3b). The engagement/disengagement mechanism (3c) may adopt other configurations. The actuator of this engaging/disengaging mechanism (3c) is moved to the position where the used tool is stored or where the used tool is stored, corresponding to the current or next tool change command instructed by the NC control section of the machine tool by the machining program. Raise the plate (1) just above the plate (1) corresponding to the desired position,
Automatically controlled operation is possible to form a space (G) for loading and unloading the tool holder. That is, the number of U-shaped notches (1a) formed in each comb-shaped plate (1) is m, the number of stacked plates (1) is n, the top row is the first row, and the bottom row is the nth row. The notch (1a) on the left end is the first column, and the notch (1a) on the right end is the mth column
a) is given an address displayed in a matrix of n rows and m columns, and the identification number of the tool attached to each notch (1a) is registered in the memory section of the NC control section in correspondence with the address. The instruction tool of the program is called from the storage section, its address is extracted, and from this address, the actuator of the engagement/disengagement mechanism (3c) of the plate (1) in the row above is operated, and the The stop parts (32) (32) are engaged with the stop parts (31) (31) of the elevating body (3b) (3b), and then the elevating drive source (3a) is operated to move the elevating body (3).
b) Configure a control circuit to increase (3b).

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the tool transport device (4) is a single piece disposed on the rear side of the frame (2) and receives and holds the tapered shank portion (5b) of the tool holder (5). This pot (4a) receives and holds an arbitrary tool holder (5) from the plate (1) and transports it to a fixed position, for example, a tool exchange position. That is, the tool transport device (4) moves the pot (4a) at a fixed position and at any arbitrary notch (1a
); a horizontal rotation mechanism (4c) that horizontally rotates the pot (4a) on the double slide mechanism (4b);
The pot (4a) is provided with a forward/backward movement mechanism (4d) that moves the pot (4a) forward and backward in the tool axis direction on the horizontal rotation mechanism (4c). First, as shown in FIG.
) (4e) and this lateral ball screw (4e) (4e)
lateral slides (4g) (4g) screwed together through ball nuts (4f) (4f) and lateral slides (4g)
) (4g) A vertical ball screw (4h) rotatably indicated between them, and a vertical slide (4j) that is screwed into this vertical ball screw (4h) via a ball nut (4i).
It consists of an upper and lower horizontal ball screw (4e) (
4e) are synchronized and interlocked by a bevel gear shaft (4k), and a lateral drive motor (41) is connected to one of them,
Further, the vertical ball screw (4h) has its upper end connected to the vertical drive motor (4m). This longitudinal drive motor (4m) is attached to the upper transverse slide (4g), and the transverse drive motor (41) is attached to a part of the frame (2). In addition, the lateral ball screws (4e) (4e) and bevel gears (4k) are attached to the frame (2
) is rotatably supported.

Next, the horizontal turning mechanism (4c), as shown in FIG.
40) and an appropriate actuator for rotating this horizontal rotating member (40). In the illustrated example, the axis (4n)
uses a guide shaft (4n) that serves both to prevent the vertical slide (4j) from rotating and to guide the vertical direction.This guide shaft (4n) is parallel to the vertical ball screw (4h), The actuator is fixedly supported by the directional slide (4g) (4g), and the actuator is fixedly supported by the vertical slide (4j).
An air cylinder (4p) fixed to the air cylinder (4p), a rack (4r) connected to its piston rod (4q), and this rack (
4r), and this pinion (4s) is integrated with the horizontal turning member (40). A forward/backward movement mechanism (4d) for moving the pot (4a) forward and backward in the tool axis direction is attached to this horizontal turning member (40). That is, the advancing/retracting mechanism (4d) moves the pot (4
It consists of a piston (4t) integrated with a) and a cylinder (4u) into which this piston (4t) is slidably inserted, and the cylinder (4u) is integrally attached to the horizontal rotation member (40). It is being A pot (4a) is integrally formed on the front side of the piston (4t) of this cylinder (4u), and a rod part (4v) is integrally formed on the rear side. The pot (4a) is capable of protruding into and retracting from the cylinder (4u), and has a tapered hole (4w) on the front side for receiving the tapered shank portion (5b) of the tool holder (5). At the back of (4w) is a tool holder (5w).
) A lock ball (4x) that locks and holds the pull stud portion (5c) of the lock ball (4x) is installed so as to be retractable via a spring (4y). The rod part (4v) has a tapered hole (4v).
Air blow hole and piston (4) that apply a detachment force to w)
Air supply holes are formed to supply air to the front and rear chambers t).

The embodiment of the present invention has the above configuration,
As shown in Fig. 4, this tool magazine is attached to the machine tool (7).
It is installed on one side with the back side facing the machine tool (7), and the tool transfer device (4) is placed between them, and the tool exchange position is placed parallel to the main axis (8) of the machine tool (7). (A), and an automatic tool changer (9) is installed between these to allow the tool (6) to be automatically changed directly between the tool transport device (4) and the spindle (8). It is also possible to prepare the next tool to be taken out at the standby position (B) during machining. The overall operation will be explained below.

[0018] Compound slide mechanism (
4b), the horizontal drive motor (4l) and the vertical drive motor (4m) are controlled and driven by the NC control unit of the machine tool (7), and their operation is controlled by the NC control using a rotary encoder (not shown) or the like. The cutout (1a) is fed back to the frame (2), and the notch (1a) is fed back to the frame (2) at any position in the double rows and double rows of the plurality of plates (1) supported by the frame (2).
This is to controlly move the pot (4a) to the tool exchange position (A) or standby position (B).

Prior to the above operation, the plate slide mechanism (3) is operated to raise the plate (1) directly above the relevant position to form a space (G) for loading and unloading the tool holder.

[0020] Therefore, the tool transport device (4) has a pot (
4a) is controlled to the relevant position, at that position, the horizontal rotation mechanism (4c) aligns the direction of the tool axis of the pot (4a) with the direction of the tool (6) supported by the plate (1). The pot (4a) is then moved forward by the advancing/retracting mechanism (4d) to receive the taper shank portion (5b) of the tool holder (5), and the lock ball ( 4x) is the pull stud part (
5c) to securely hold the tool holder (5) of the corresponding tool (6). In this state, the vertical drive motor (4m) will slide vertically by a predetermined distance (4j).
The tool (6) and tool holder (5) held in the pot (4a) are driven in the direction of raising the plate (1).
) and pull it out upward from the notch (1a). Subsequently, the horizontal turning mechanism (4c) horizontally turns the pot (4a) by approximately 90 degrees and returns it. However, when turning, the tool (6) touches the frame (2).
If the motor is in a position where it interferes with the
) drives the lateral slide (4g) to move it to a position where it does not interfere, and then turns. In this state, it is moved to the standby position (B) or the tool exchange position (A). Then, the machine tool (7) is changed by the automatic tool changer (9).
) is exchanged between the spindle (8) and the tool (6). The used tool (6) is returned to the notch (1a) at the original address where the tool (6) was registered. This operation is performed in the reverse manner to the above-described take-out operation.

[0021] In the above embodiment, the tool transport device (4)
The horizontal rotation mechanism (4c) can also be omitted. In this case, the stroke of the advancing/retracting mechanism (4d) is set to be longer than the maximum tool length to avoid interference between the tool being transported and other tools. However, if the horizontal rotation mechanism (4c) is used, the stroke of the advance/retreat mechanism (4d) can be shortened, and the installation space can be reduced. Further, the formation positions of the notches (1a) in each plate (1) may be arranged in a staggered manner, as shown in FIG. 5, to improve the storage density of the tools (6). Furthermore, although the above embodiment shows the case where the plates (1) are stacked vertically, it is also possible to lay them down laterally. In that case, the notch (1a) of each plate (1) is formed so as to be inclined downward from the opening toward the inner part. Each plate (1) is made horizontally movable by a space (G) for taking out the tool holder, and a plate slide mechanism (3) is disposed laterally. The tool transport device (4) can be applied as is, however,
The tool holder (
The insertion/removal of 5) involves simultaneously operating the vertical and horizontal drive motors (4l) (4m) along the inclination direction of the notch (1a).

The present invention also provides an identification means (such as an IC chip) with an identification number of the tool attached to a part of the pull stud portion (5c) of each tool holder (5), preferably on the rear end surface.
(not shown) is embedded or affixed to the notch (1a) of each plate (1) during tool setup change work, etc.
6) and tool holders (5) are stored randomly, and an identification number reading holder (not shown) equipped with an automatic reading means is attached to the pot (4a) of the tool transport device (4). The pot (4a) is sequentially moved from the 1st row, 1st column to the nth row, mth column, and the address at each position and the identification number of the stored tool at that position are automatically read and the NC control unit You can also register it.

[0023]

According to the present invention, each tool storage section of the tool magazine is simply constituted by a comb-shaped plate having a U-shaped notch, so that the tool magazine can be provided simply and at low cost. Further, since the tool transport device is configured to run on the back side of the tool magazine, it does not interfere with the tool changeover work. Furthermore, the tools on the tool magazine side are held using the annular gripping groove of the tool holder.
In addition, by using the taper shank of the tool holder to receive and hold tools in the pot using the tool carrier, tools can be automatically exchanged directly between the tool carrier and the main spindle of the machine tool. Since the intermediate pot can be omitted, the main axis of the machine tool and the mounting direction of the tool magazine can be orthogonally arranged.
It is possible to reduce the installation space, simplify the configuration of the device, and reduce costs. In addition, by providing a horizontal rotation mechanism in the tool transport device, it is possible to reduce the space to prevent interference between the tool being transported and other tools, and moreover,
The tool storage density of the tool magazine can be improved. Furthermore, tools are stored in the tool magazine in a high-density, large-capacity manner in a matrix manner, and the tool transport device is moved vertically and horizontally, and the intermediate pot can be omitted, making it possible to shorten the tool indexing time in the tool magazine. .

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1: A is a schematic front view showing one embodiment of the tool magazine of the present invention, B is a schematic perspective view of main parts showing the procedure for taking out tools from the tool magazine of the present invention, and C is a schematic diagram of the tool magazine of the present invention. A cross-sectional plan view, D is a schematic back view of a comb-like plate in the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an embodiment of a tool transport device in a tool magazine of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional plan view of the main part of the tool conveyance device shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a plan layout diagram showing an example of the arrangement of the tool magazine of the present invention in a machine tool.

FIG. 5 is a schematic front view of another embodiment of the tool magazine of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Comb-shaped plate 1a U-shaped notch 2 Frame 3 Plate slide mechanism 4 Tool transport device 4a Pot 5 Tool holder 6 Tools G　Space for inserting and removing tool holder

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A comb-shaped plate having a number of U-shaped notches for inserting and holding an annular gripping groove of a tool holder, a plurality of the plates stacked with the notches facing upward, and each plate being moved up and down. A frame for freely holding the plate, a plate sliding mechanism for opening a space for inserting and removing the tool holder at any position between the plates, and a plate slide mechanism arranged on the rear side of the frame for receiving and holding the taper shank portion of the tool holder. This pot has a pot of
A tool transport device that receives and holds an arbitrary tool holder from the plate and transports it to a fixed position, and automatically inserts and removes the tool holder from the tapered shank side of the tool holder into the magazine through the space between the plates for inserting and removing the tool holder. A tool magazine that is characterized by the following. 2. A tool magazine, wherein the tool conveyance device according to claim 1 is equipped with a pot horizontal rotation mechanism.