JPH0441146A - Rotary index type work positioning device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To decrease outside dimension of an overall device by latching and locking only those of work positioning jigs arranged in the working direction out of all the work positioning jigs positioned at the retreat position against an advance and retreat drive means and by latching and stopping others against a rotary member at the retreat position. CONSTITUTION:At the time when a body side 1 conveyed by a shuttle conveyor 2 is positioned, a rotary plate 13 is divisionally rotated and those which correspond to its body side 1 out of work positioning jigs 19 are selectively arranged in the direction toward a shuttle bar 5 and the jigs 19 are separated from the rotary plate 13 by a selective latch and unlatch structure 24 and driven and connected to a piston rod 21a of a cylinder 21. Thereafter, when the conveyor 2 lifts up a work reception member 9 as a virtual line and lifts up the body side 1, the cylinder 21 advances the rod 21a to an advance limit position and advances and moves the jigs 19 to a specific advance position to position the body side 1 in a specific positioning position from a specific retreat position.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial Application Field) The present invention includes a rotating member rotatably supported on a support member, and a rotary member that is rotated radially outward relative to the rotation axis of the rotating member. a plurality of types of workpiece positioning jigs supported at mutually shifted positions in the circumferential direction so as to face toward each other; and a rotation drive means for indexing and rotating the rotation member; The present invention relates to a rotary index type workpiece positioning device that selectively places one type of workpiece positioning jig at a predetermined use position based on the movement of the workpiece positioning jig.

(Prior Art) As a rotary index type workpiece positioning device as described above, for example, the present applicant has previously disclosed patent application No. 1-349.
There is a gauge plate switching device proposed in Publication No. 52, in which a plurality of types of gauge plates as workpiece positioning jigs are connected to rotating plates as rotating members in a radial manner so that they each face outward in the radial direction. By indexing and rotating the rotary plate with a servo motor with a reduction gear as a rotary drive means attached to a bracket as a support member, one of the gauge plates can be rotated. It functions to place the type in a predetermined position for use.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) However, in the above-mentioned conventional device, the gauge plates are each fixed to the rotary plate, which increases the external dimensions of the entire device. However, there is a problem in that it is difficult to avoid interference with a welding gun used for welding the positioned workpiece, a conveyance device for the positioned workpiece, and the like.

The present invention provides a workpiece positioning device that advantageously solves this problem.

(Means for Solving the Problems) A rotary index type workpiece positioning device of the present invention includes a rotating member rotatably supported on a support member, and a radius of each of the rotating members with respect to its rotation axis. A plurality of types of workpiece positioning jigs supported at mutually shifted positions in the circumferential direction so as to face outward, and a rotation drive means for indexing and rotating the rotation member; One of the workpiece positioning jigs is selectively placed at a predetermined use position based on the index rotation, and the workpiece positioning jig is interposed between each of the workpiece positioning jigs and the rotation member, and the a guide support means for supporting the workpiece positioning jig so that it can move forward and backward between an advanced position where it is spaced apart from the rotational axis and a retracted position where it approaches the rotation axis; and a guide support means provided on the support member;
forward/backward driving means for moving the workpiece positioning jig, which is disposed toward a predetermined usage direction in which the advanced position overlaps with the used position, forward and backward between the advanced position and the retracted position by rotation of the rotary member; , among the workpiece positioning jigs located at the retracted position, only those disposed facing the use direction are engaged with the advance/retreat drive means, and the other workpiece positioning jigs are placed at the retracted position with the rotary member. The device is characterized by comprising a hooking/detaching means for hooking onto the device.

(Function) In such a device, when a certain type of workpiece positioning jig is required among the plurality of types of workpiece positioning jigs, the rotational drive means first indexes and rotates the rotational member to perform the rotation of the plurality of types of workpiece positioning jigs. A desired type of workpiece positioning jig is selectively arranged to face the direction of use, and then the hooking/detaching means detaches the desired type of workpiece positioning jig from the rotating member to drive the forward/backward drive means. Thereafter, the advancing/retracting driving means moves the required type of work positioning jig from the retreating position to the advancing position overlapping with the predetermined use position and fixing it there, under the guidance and support of the guiding support means.

If another type of workpiece positioning jig is required, the advance/retreat drive means first moves the workpiece positioning jig located at the advanced position to the retracted position under the guidance and support of the guide support means. The workpiece positioning jig is then moved, and then the hanging/detaching means detaches the workpiece positioning jig from the advance/retreat moving means and hooks it to the rotating member. Stopping prevents the workpiece positioning jig from moving forward unexpectedly, such as when the workpiece positioning jig stops downward, and then the other types of workpiece positioning jig are placed in the use position using the same procedure as above. .

Therefore, according to the rotary index type workpiece positioning device of the present invention, after an unused workpiece positioning jig approaches the rotational axis of the rotational member, it is reliably held in the retraction chamber,
Since only the necessary workpiece positioning jig can be advanced and placed in the use position, the external dimensions of the entire device can be reduced, and it can be used for welding workpiece positioning jig that is not in use and a positioned workpiece. Interference with a welding gun, a transport device for a positioned workpiece, etc. can be easily prevented.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described in detail based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a front view showing one embodiment of the rotary index type workpiece positioning device of the present invention, in which 1 is a body side which is a component of an automobile body as a workpiece to be positioned, and 2 is a workpiece conveyance. A shuttle conveyor is used as a device, 3 is a welding robot used for welding the positioned body side 1, and 4 is a workpiece positioning device of the above embodiment.

Here, in the shuttle conveyor 2, the elongated shuttlepers 5, which are arranged in pairs, are guided and supported by roller roughs that are pivotally supported on each of a plurality of pillars 6 that are erected at intervals from each other. In FIG. 1, a workpiece can be moved forward and backward in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper by a forward-backward drive mechanism (not shown), and a workpiece fixed to the tip of a piston rod 8a of a lifting cylinder 8 provided in each set of shuttlepers 5. The receiver can hold the body side 1 by the member 9, so that the workpiece receiver conveys the body side 1 placed on the member 9 a predetermined distance based on the forward movement of the shuttleper 5, and then When the workpiece positioning jig (described later) of the workpiece positioning device 4 is retracted, the body side 1 of the workpiece positioning device 4 is slightly moved from the transfer position shown by the solid line in FIG. When the workpiece positioning jig is moved forward, the workpiece receiver can lower the member 9 and transfer the body side 1 to the workpiece positioning jig.

In addition, the welding robot 3 swings the arm 3a as shown by the solid line and the imaginary line in the figure, expands and contracts, and further moves the arm 3a horizontally in the horizontal direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper. While moving the welding gun 10 for spot welding to an arbitrary position in space, the welding gun 10 is
The angle with respect to the arm 3a can be changed as shown by the solid line and the imaginary line in the figure, and this makes it possible to perform spot welding on each part of the body side l positioned at the predetermined position as described later. can.

Two workpiece positioning devices 4 are disposed on both sides of the shuttleper 5 so as to face each other (the one on the left side of the shuttleper 5 is not shown, but has the same configuration as the one on the right side). ), respectively, are mounted on linear movement mechanisms 11, and these linear movement mechanisms 11 move the workpiece positioning device 4 to the shuttle conveyor as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 2, it can be moved to any desired position in the direction of approach and separation.

By the way, the workpiece positioning device 4 here includes a support plate 12 as a support member that is erected on the linear movement mechanism 11, and a rotation plate 13 as a rotation member having a polygonal outer shape. The support plate 12 includes:
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the axis 0
A reducer 14 having an input shaft and an output shaft located above is attached, and the rotary plate 13 is connected to the reducer 14.
It is attached to the output shaft of and rotatably supported by the support plate 12.

Further, a servo motor 15 as a rotation drive means is attached to the support plate 12 and is arranged on the same axis as the reduction gear 14, and the servo motor 15 decelerates under the control of a control device (not shown). By rotationally driving the input shaft of the machine 14, the rotating plate 13 can be indexed and rotated by a required angle around the axis 0, as shown by the solid line E in FIG.

On the other hand, around the rotating plate 13, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, eight ball circulation type spline bearings 16 as guide support means are mounted on brackets at equal intervals in the circumferential direction. 17, and each of these spline bearings 16 is attached to the -end of the flange 1.
8a is provided, and a pull-out prevention member 18b is provided at the other end.
The spline shaft 18 to which is attached is fitted together,
These spline shafts 18 can be moved forward and backward between an advanced position in which they are separated from the axis O, and a retreated position in which they approach the axis O without crossing it, as shown in FIG. It is supported so that it does not rotate around its axis.

The spline shafts 18 adjacent to each other are supported offset from each other in the extending direction of the axis O, as shown in FIG. 2, so that they do not interfere with each other in the retracted position.

To attach the eight spline shafts 18, eight types of workpiece positioning jigs 19 are respectively attached to the flange 18a via a base 20, as shown in FIG. The jig 19 includes eight types of gauge plates 19a that fit into eight types of body sides 1 having mutually different shapes, and these gauge plates 19a.
On the other hand, it has a clamp mechanism 19b that swings the clamp arm using a thin air cylinder to clamp the body side 1 between it and the corresponding gauge plate 19a and release it therefrom.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 3, an air cylinder 21 as a forward/backward drive means is horizontally attached to the support plate 12 with its piston rod 21a facing the shuttle conveyor 2, and the tip of the piston rod 21a is , a hooking member 22 having an annular groove 22a on the outer periphery is fixed,
Also, each spline bearing 1 on the outer peripheral surface of the rotating plate 13
As shown in FIG. 2, a hanging member 23 having an annular groove 23a on its outer periphery is erected at a position adjacent to 6 and not interfering with each base 19. As shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 5, each base 20 is provided with a selective hanging mechanism 24 as a hanging means, and this selective hanging mechanism 24 is attached to the base 20 at an intermediate portion. It is pivotably supported and has U-shaped notches 25a at both ends.
, 25b and the piston rod 26a connected to the engaging arm 25, the engaging arm 25 can be moved back and forth between the locking position shown by the solid line in FIG. 5 and the moving position shown by the imaginary line in the figure. The air cylinder 26 includes a thin air cylinder 26 that can be swung between positions as shown by arrow F.

According to the selective hooking/unhooking mechanism 24, the spline shaft 18 is brought to the retracted position by contacting the stopper member (not shown), and the rotation plate 13 is indexed and rotated as shown on the right side in FIG. When the air cylinder 21 is placed in parallel with the air cylinder 21, the notch 25b can be attached to the annular shape of the locking member 23 by swinging the locking arm 25 counterclockwise and positioning the locking arm 25 in the locking position. The base 20 is engaged with the groove 23a to engage the rotating plate 13, and the notch 25a is separated from the annular groove 22a of the engagement member 22 to separate the base 20 from the piston rod 21a of the air cylinder 21. Furthermore, it is possible to prevent interference between the engaging arm 25 and the air cylinder 21 when the rotating plate 13 is rotated, and on the other hand, the engaging arm 25 is swung clockwise to move the engaging arm 25 to the above-mentioned forward/backward movement position. By positioning the notch 2
5b is removed from the annular groove 23a of the hooking member 23 to enable the base 20 to move forward and backward with respect to the rotating plate 13, and the notch 25a is engaged with the annular groove 22a of the hooking member 22 to close the base 20. can be drivingly coupled to the piston rod 21a, thereby selectively moving the workpiece positioning jig 19 attached to the base 20 to the rotating plate 13.
1, 2, and 4 by being hooked to and rotated integrally with it, or drivingly connected to the piston rod 21a of the air cylinder 21 and based on the operation of the air cylinder 21.
It can be moved forward and backward relative to the rotary plate 13 as shown by arrow G in the figure.

In addition, a low rigidity joint 27 is attached to the center of the rotating plate 13, and this low rigidity joint 27 is
A pneumatic circuit communicating with the air cylinder of the clamp mechanism 19b of each workpiece positioning jig 19, and each selective hooking/unhooking mechanism 2.
The pneumatic circuits communicating with the air cylinders 25 of No. 4 are always connected to the pneumatic circuits communicating with the control valves (not shown) that actuate them, regardless of the rotational position while allowing rotation of the rotating plate 13. be able to.

However, in such a workpiece positioning device 4, when positioning the body side l conveyed by the shuttle conveyor 2, the servo motor 15 first indexes and rotates the rotary plate 13 to sort the body side l. Of the workpiece positioning jigs 19, those of the type corresponding to the body side l are selectively arranged in line with the air cylinder 21 in a direction facing the shuttleper 5, which is the direction of use,
The selective hooking/unhooking mechanism 24 then separates the desired type of workpiece positioning jig 19 from the pivot plate 13 and drivingly couples it to the piston rod 21a of the air cylinder 21, after which the shuttle conveyor 2 operates as previously described. As shown by the imaginary line in FIG. 4, when the workpiece receiver raises the member 9 and the body side 1 placed thereon, the air cylinder 21 advances the piston rod 21a to the extension limit position. , a spline shaft 18 with a spline bearing 16
The required type of workpiece positioning jig 1 under the guiding support of
9, the body side 1 can be positioned from a predetermined retracted position determined by the retracted position of the spline shaft 18 to a predetermined positioning position shown by a phantom line in FIG. After advancing to a predetermined advancing position that overlaps with the predetermined use position shown by the line, it is fixed there, and the shuttle conveyor 2 then lowers the workpiece 9 as shown by arrow H in FIG. Once lowered, the workpiece positioning jig 19 receives the body side 1 with the gauge plate 19a and clamp mechanism 19b,
Welding robot 3 is positioned and fixed at the above positioning position.
This makes welding work possible.

If the body side 1 to be transported next is of a different type from the above and another type of work positioning jig 19 is required, the air cylinder 21 first moves the piston rod 21a backward. Then, the workpiece positioning jig 19 is moved backward to the retracted position under the guidance and support of the spline shaft 18 by the spline bearing 16, and then the selective latch mechanism 24 separates the workpiece positioning jig 19 from the piston rod 21a. This allows the workpiece to be positioned when a centrifugal force is applied due to the rotation of the rotation plate 13 or when the workpiece positioning jig 19 stops downward due to the rotation of the rotation plate 13. Unexpected advance movement of the jig 19 is prevented, and then the workpiece positioning jig 19 of the type described above is placed in the use position in the same procedure as described above.

Therefore, according to the rotary index type workpiece positioning device 4 of this embodiment, the workpiece positioning jig 1 that is not used
9 can be securely held in the retracted position approaching the rotational axis O of the rotation plate 13, and only the necessary workpiece positioning jig 19 can be advanced and placed in the use position. The dimensions can be reduced, and interference between the workpiece positioning jig 19 that is not in use and the welding robot 3 that welds the positioned body side 1, the shuttle conveyor 2 that conveys the positioned body side 1, etc. can be easily prevented. can be prevented.

Although the above description has been made based on the illustrated example, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned example. For example, the number of workpiece positioning jigs attached to the rotating member can be changed as necessary. Further, the guide support means can be configured such that a plurality of rods having one end fixed to the workpiece positioning jig are slidably supported by a cylindrical guide member, and the workpiece to be positioned is also It is not limited to examples.

(Effects of the Invention) Thus, according to the workpiece positioning device of the present invention, unused workpiece positioning jigs are reliably held in the retracted position approaching the rotational axis of the rotating member, and only required workpiece positioning jigs are advanced. Since the external dimensions of the entire device can be reduced, the workpiece positioning jig that is not in use, the welding gun used for welding the positioned workpiece, and the transportation of the positioned workpiece can be Interference with devices etc. can be easily prevented.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing an embodiment of the rotary index type work positioning device of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an enlarged plan view of the device of the above embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a front view of the device of the above embodiment. FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the apparatus of the above embodiment as seen from the direction of arrow B in FIG. 2; FIG. 5 is a second view of the apparatus of the above embodiment. It is an enlarged view taken from the direction of arrow C in the figure. 12--Support plate 13--Rotating plate 1
5-1-1 Servo motor 16"-Spline bearing 19-1--Work positioning jig

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A rotating member (13) rotatably supported by a support member (12); and a rotating member (13) each having a radially outward direction with respect to its rotation axis (O). a plurality of types of workpiece positioning jigs (19) supported at mutually shifted positions in the circumferential direction so as to face; and a rotational drive means (15) for indexing and rotating the rotational member.
), and selectively places one of the workpiece positioning jigs at a predetermined use position based on the index rotation of the rotary member, each of the workpiece positioning jigs and a guide support means (16) which is interposed between the rotating member and supports the workpiece positioning jig so that it can move forward and backward between an advanced position where it is spaced apart from the rotating axis and a retreated position where it is approached. and moving the workpiece positioning jig, which is provided on the supporting member and is oriented in a predetermined usage direction such that the advancing position overlaps with the using position by rotation of the rotating member, between the advancing position and the retreating position. Advance and retreat drive means (2
1), among the workpiece positioning jigs located at the retracted position, only those arranged facing the direction of use are engaged with the advance/retreat drive means, and the other workpiece positioning jigs are placed in the retracted position. Latching/detaching means for latching on the rotating member (
24) A rotary index type work positioning device characterized by comprising: