JPH05104375A - Automatic tool exchange device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To achieve compactness of the entire device, to improve operability, and to ensure automatic tool exchange by utilizing a quick-change type tool holder to achieve the automatic tool exchange. CONSTITUTION:A spindle unit 2 so provided on a base board 1 that it is freely moved in the longitudinal direction, and a tool exchange unit 3, which is so provided on the same basic board 1 that it is freely moved in the longitudinal direction, and which has a flat plate-shaped tool magazine part moving vertically, are provided. First and second V-shaped circumferential grooves, that are engaged with the front end of a piston, are provided on each tool holder 6, and the second V-shaped circumferential groove is provided on the outer periphery of a drive collar of the tool holder 6, and is used for removing the tool holder 6 installed in a spindle 4. The first V-shaped circumferential groove is used at the time of installation in a tool holder grip means arranged on a new tool area.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic tool changer useful for a machine tool, particularly a dedicated machine tool such as a transfer machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an automatic tool changer used for a dedicated machine tool such as a transfer machine, for example, Japanese Patent Publication Nos. 51-9947, 51-31705, and 50-8231 have been disclosed. Various are known as disclosed.

In the tool holder gripping means, that is, the holder used in these devices, the drive ball held at the tip of the machine tool spindle and the recess on the tool holder side are engaged with each other, and the rotational torque is applied to the machine tool. It is configured to be transmitted as a cutting torque from the main spindle of the tool to the tool side. Further, as the tool exchanging mechanism, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 51-9947, there is a guide shaft slidable in the axial direction on the outside of the shaft head body which is a fixed part on the spindle side of a machine tool. , A control plate integrated with it is mounted via a spring, and a holding bush for mounting the tool holder on the tool holding plate and a pressing member for pressing the control plate at the time of replacement are provided on one of the exchange devices. These are installed on a supporting table above the work mounting table.

[0004]

As described above, in the conventional device, since the control plate for the tool changing operation is provided on the spindle side of the machine tool, the changing device becomes large and each tool holder part is Since it is covered by the control plate, it is difficult to confirm the tool change, and maintenance work is inconvenient.

Further, since the locking means provided on the holding bush of the tool holding plate is composed of the spring and the engaging ball, there is a problem that the tool exchange is unstable. Furthermore, since the tool holding plate side, that is, the tool changer is installed on the work mount side, work attachment / detachment and tool attachment / detachment are performed in very close areas, and it overlaps the machining area. There are also drawbacks such as being accompanied by dangers such as above, or lowering workability.

Further, in the conventional case, since the tool is exchanged for the multi-axial portion with one control plate, especially when mounting the exchanged new tool, the engagement ball and the engagement recess are formed for each axis. Phases are rarely always in phase. Therefore, in order to match the phase of the tool holder held on the tool holding plate side at the time of replacement with the tool holder inserted in the tool socket at the tip of the spindle, the spindle needs to be slightly rotated. At this time, although the tool holder is held by the locking means on the tool holding plate side, the pressing force is small because the ball is pressed into the groove of the tool holder simply by the spring force from one side. There are various technical problems such as slipping when moving and phase matching, which makes phase matching difficult. This problem becomes more serious as the axis becomes multi-axis.

The object of the present invention is to improve the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art by making it possible to perform automatic tool change using a so-called quick change type tool holder, so that the change operation can be performed safely and reliably. An object of the present invention is to provide a compact automatic tool changer capable of performing and having high operability.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION To achieve the above object, an automatic tool changer according to the present invention comprises a spindle unit movably mounted in a longitudinal direction on a base, and a longitudinal unit mounted on the base. And a tool exchanging unit having a vertically movable face plate-shaped tool magazine section, and the tool magazine section is vertically divided into a new tool area and an old tool area, and an appropriate number of tools in each area. In the tool holders in which holder gripping means are arranged and gripped by these tool holder gripping means, a first V-shaped circumferential groove that engages with the tool holder gripping means arranged in the new tool area, and the old tool area And a second V-shaped circumferential groove that engages with the tool holder gripping means disposed in the tool holder gripping means, and the second V-shaped circumferential groove is provided in the drive collar of the tool holder.

[0009]

In the automatic tool changer having the above-described structure, the tool holder is replaced by the relative movement between the spindle unit and the tool change unit and the rotation of the spindle.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described in detail based on the illustrated embodiments. 1 is an overall front view, FIG. 2 is a side view seen from the direction A in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a plan view. This embodiment is an example applied to a dedicated machine having a 7-axis main shaft, that is, a spindle,
As shown in FIG. 1, a spindle unit 2 is mounted on a base 1 so as to be slidable in the axial direction, and a tool changing unit 3 is also installed on the base 1 so as to be slidable in the axial direction. The spindle unit 2 is equipped with seven spindles 4, and these spindles 4 are rotationally driven by a drive motor 5,
A cutting tool 7 such as a drill is attached to each tip through a tool holder 6.
Is attached. The spindle unit 2 is configured to reciprocate on the base 1 by a screw shaft 9 driven by a drive motor 8 and a screw connector 10 screwed onto the screw shaft 9.

A work mounting base 11 is arranged at an end of the base 1, and a work W is mounted on the work mounting base 11. The tool exchanging unit 3 is reciprocated on the base 1 between a tool exchanging area indicated by a solid line in FIG. 1 and a standby area indicated by an imaginary line 3 ′. As the driving means, a method of using a screw shaft driven by a motor and a screw connector nut as in the case of the spindle unit 2 may be used, or a means such as a fluid pressure driven cylinder, preferably a rodless type may be used. .. The tool changing unit 3 has two functions, that is, a function as a changing tool magazine and a function as a changing device, and a configuration example thereof will be described below.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, two horizontal rails 12a, 12b parallel to the axial direction are provided on both sides of the spindle unit 2 on the upper surface of the base 1, and these horizontal rails 12a, Movable base 13 movable on 12b
Vertical rails 14a and 14b are vertically attached to a and 13b. A vertically slidable tool magazine portion 15 is mounted between these two vertical rails 14a and 14b, and the main body of a fluid pressure driven cylinder 16 that drives the tool magazine portion 15 is fixed to one vertical rail 14a. The part is connected to the tool magazine part 15.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, one lateral rail 1
On the 2b side, a screw shaft 18 rotated by a drive motor 17 is provided as a driving means for moving the movable base in the longitudinal direction of the base 1, and a screw coupling tool screwed to the screw shaft 18 is provided. 19 is coupled to the movable base 13b. The tool magazine portion 15 is slidably connected to the vertical rails 14a and 14b, and a support body 20 that connects the rod tip portion of the fluid pressure drive cylinder 16 and seven support bodies 20 in the vertical position relative to the support body 20 are provided. A total of 14 tool holder gripping means 21 are provided.

4 to 7, the main body 22 of each tool holder gripping means 21 is, for example, 3 attached to the support body 20.
Is supported by a book support shaft 23, and also the support shaft 2
The springs 24 mounted on the respective Nos. 3 are constantly pressed in a direction away from the support body 20, and the sliding range thereof is regulated by a nut 25 screwed to the tip of the support shaft 23. In the embodiment, a bolt is used as the support shaft 23,
The main body 22 is detachably attached by a nut 25 screwed to it, and the sliding range can be adjusted. Through holes 26 for passing the tool holder 6 are provided in the center of the main body 22, and mounting holes 27 for passing the support shaft 23 are arranged at equal intervals around the through holes 26.

On the other hand, tool escape holes 28 which are concentric with the through holes 26 of the respective main bodies 22 are also provided on the side of the support body 20 to which these tool holder gripping means 21 are attached. As shown in FIG. 7, the main body 22 is provided with cylinder holes 29 extending from the outer three sides toward the center of the through hole 26. Inside the cylinder holes 29, springs 30 and springs 30 are provided outward. The piston 31 being pressed is accommodated therein, and lids 32a, 32 are respectively provided in the outer openings.
b and 32c are covered. The diameter of the cylinder hole 29 is reduced immediately before opening into the through hole 26, so that the spring 30 and the piston 31 housed inside do not drop inward. At least one lid 32a among the three lids 32a, 32b, 32c has a fluid supply / drain joint 33.
Is mounted and connected to the fluid supply source 35 via the switching valve 34. A cover 36 is attached to both sides of the lid 32a to form a fluid passage 37 therein, and the fluid supply source 3
The fluid from 5 is guided to another cylinder hole 29.

Therefore, when the switching valve 34 is switched, the fluid is simultaneously introduced into each cylinder hole 29, and the respective pistons 31 are pushed inward against the elastic force of the spring 30, and the V-shaped circumference of the tool holder to be described later. The tip of the piston 31 is engaged with the groove so that the tool holder can be gripped.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, seven tool holder gripping means 21 are arranged above and below the support 20, and in the old tool area M on the lower side. Seven are for old tools, and seven arranged in the upper new tool area N are for new tools.

The fluid pressure driven cylinder 16 shown in FIG. 2 for moving the support 20 up and down has a first position where a used tool is removed from the spindle unit 2, a second position where a new tool is attached, and a tool. It is set so that the tool magazine side can be changed in three stages with the third position where the tool magazine side is completely retracted from the machining area after the replacement.

As the tool holder 6 attached to the tip of the spindle 4 of the spindle unit 2, various conventionally known tools can be used. As the most preferable example, a quick change type tool holder is shown in FIGS. 9 will be described. The basic structure of the tool holder called this quick change holder is, as illustrated in FIG. 8, that one end of a holder main body 40 has a mounting shaft portion 41 that is fitted into a mounting hole of a spindle end surface. A tool holding portion 42 is formed on the other end side of the main body 40, and a drive collar 43 is axially slidably fitted to the outer periphery of the intermediate portion of the holder main body 40.

As shown in FIG. 9, key portions 44 are integrally provided at two peripheral portions on the side end portion of the mounting shaft portion 41, and a flange 45 is formed on the tool 7 side. A collet 47 is inserted into a tapered hole formed from the end of the large-diameter shaft portion 46 following the flange 45, and the male screw 4 of the collet 47 is inserted.
A lock nut 49 screwed to the No. 8 is fitted to the large-diameter shaft portion 46 via a ball 50.

Since the collet 47 is prevented from rotating by a pin 51 protruding from the large diameter shaft portion 46, when the lock nut 49 is turned, the collet 47 moves in the axial direction and a cutting tool such as a drill inserted into the inner diameter portion. 7 can be firmly held.

The drive collar 43 is slidably fitted to the large-diameter shaft portion 46 between the flange 45 and the lock nut 49, and the flange 45 is fitted by the spring 52.
Always pressed to the side. As shown in FIG. 9, key portions 53 are integrally projected at two locations on the side edge portion of the flange 45 of the drive collar 43, and these key portions 53 are normally notched portions provided around the flange 45. Through 54,
Its tip further projects so that it can be engaged with the key groove at the tip of the spindle.

The portion described here is a well-known structure adopted in a conventional quick change type tool holder, but in the case of this embodiment, a first V-shaped portion is formed on the outer periphery of the lock nut 49. A similar second V-shaped circumferential groove 56 is formed on the outer circumference of the circumferential groove 55 and the drive collar 43, and these circumferential grooves are important elements of the automatic tool changer according to the present invention. ..

The spindle 4 is, for example, as shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 1, a key groove 4a with which a key portion 53 is engaged is provided at two positions on the tip thereof, and the mounting shaft portion 4 of the tool holder 6 is also provided.
An annular groove 4c is provided on the inner surface in the vicinity of the entrance of the mounting hole 4b for receiving 1 and a concave groove 4d is formed in two places reaching the annular groove 4c in the same phase as the key groove 4a.

Therefore, when the tool holder 6 is attached, first, the key portion 44 of the holder body 40 is inserted by being aligned with the position of the concave groove 4d at the tip of the spindle, and is pushed until the tip of the spindle 4 contacts the flange 45. , Key part 4
4 is inserted to the position of the annular groove 4c. On the other hand, on the tool holder 6 side, the key portion 53 protruding from the flange 45 is pushed by the spindle end surface, so the drive collar 43 is pushed back to the tool side against the spring 52. As the actual movement, as the mounting shaft portion 41 is inserted into the mounting hole 4b of the spindle 4, the drive collar 43 side remains at the position of the spindle end surface.

Next, the tool holder 6 and the spindle 4 are set to 9
When it is rotated 0 degrees, the phase of the key groove 4a on the spindle end face and the key portion 53 of the drive collar 43 match,
The elastic force of the spring 52 causes the key portion 53 to move into the key groove 4.
engage a. As a result, the tool holder 6 is attached to the spindle 4
On the other hand, the engagement of the key portion 44 and the annular groove 4c is fixed in the axial direction, while the engagement of the key portion 53 and the key groove 4a is fixed in the rotational direction, whereby the attachment of the tool holder 6 is completed.

When removing the tool holder 6,
When the drive collar 43 is pulled toward the tool 7 side against the elasticity of the spring 52 to remove it from the key groove 4a, and the holder body 40 is further rotated 90 degrees, the key portion 44 and the concave groove 4d are aligned with each other. Can be pulled out from the spindle 4.

In the above description, in order to facilitate understanding,
Although the case where the operation is performed manually has been described, in reality, these operations are automatically performed.

FIG. 12 shows the relationship between the tool holder 6 and the tool holder holding means 21. When the tool holder 6 mounted on the spindle 4 is removed, the piston 31 of the tool holder holding means 21 is provided on the drive collar 43. In the case of a new tool holder that engages the second V-shaped circumferential groove 56 and is pre-mounted on the tool holder gripping means 21 in the new tool area, the piston 31 of the tool holder gripping means 21 has a first V The die circumferential groove 55 is engaged.

The operation of automatic tool change will be described below.
Assuming that a certain machining has been completed and the operation from that stage will be described, at this time, the tool magazine side, that is, the tool exchanging unit 3 is at the retracted position or standby position indicated by 3'in FIG. The following machining tools are set in the respective tool holder gripping means, while the tool holder gripping means in the old tool area are empty. The operation thereafter is controlled in the following sequence.

(1) Drive motor 1 in response to a processing end signal
7 operates, the tool exchanging unit 3 advances through the screw shaft 18 and the screw connecting tool 19, moves to the tool exchanging position in the machining area, and is positioned. At the same time, the drive motor 8 is operated to retract the spindle unit 2 from the machining position.

(2) Next, the fluid pressure driven cylinder 16 is operated to position the tool holder gripping means of the tool magazine at the first position.

(3) The spindle unit 2 is moved forward, and the tool holder 6 at each spindle end is placed in each tool holder gripping means.
Insert and stop in place. At this time, the second V-shaped circumferential groove 5 provided on the drive collar 43 of the tool holder 6
6 matches the position of the piston 31 of the tool holder gripping means 21.

(4) The switching valve 34 is operated to move the piston 31
Drive inward, and drive collar 43 of tool holder 6
To engage with the second V-shaped circumferential groove 56 of. Then, the spindle unit 2 is retracted by a predetermined short distance, that is, the distance that the key portion 53 of the drive collar 43 is disengaged from the key groove 4a of the spindle end surface, and each spindle 4 is rotated at a low speed. This operation causes the tool holder 6 to move to the spindle 4
The connection with is released.

(5) The spindle unit 2 is retracted, the fluid pressure drive cylinder 16 is operated to lower the tool changing unit 3 to the second position, and the tool holder holding means 21 in the new tool area is mounted. Set the tool holder 6 in place to the spindle position. In this case, the tool holder 6 attached to the tool holder gripping means 21 has the tool holder gripping means 21 in the first V-shaped circumferential groove 55 as described above.
The piston 31 is attached in an engaged state.

(6) The spindle unit 2 is moved forward again, the mounting shaft portion 41 of each tool holder 6 is inserted into the mounting hole of each spindle 4, and the spindle 4 is rotated at a low speed. Then, the key portion 44 comes into contact with the end surface of the spindle, but when the key holder 44 slides on the end surface along the rotation and matches the concave groove 4d, the tool holder 6 is inserted up to the end surface of the flange 45, and further rotation causes the drive collar 43 to move. Key part 53
Engage with the key groove 4a, whereby the tool holder 6 is securely fixed to the spindle end surface.

(7) The switching valve 34 is turned off and the piston 31
The fluid pressure that was pushing the
To disengage from the tool holder 6 side, and then the spindle unit 2 is retracted.

(8) Next, the fluid pressure drive cylinder 16 is retracted to the first uppermost position, the third position, and the drive motor 17 is further operated to retract the tool change unit 3 to the standby position.

(9) Then, the spindle unit 2 is advanced to start machining. The tool changing unit 3 retracted to the standby position is where the old tool is removed and the new tool is set.

In the above tool exchanging operation, the short-distance retreat operation of the spindle unit 2 moves either the spindle unit 2 side or the tool exchanging unit 3 side if the spindle side and the tool magazine side move relative to each other. May be. The structure of the tool holder 6 is merely an example, and it goes without saying that various other structures may be used.

In the embodiment, since the function of the tool magazine is moved to the machining area side so that the tools can be exchanged, the work mounting space or the tool attaching / detaching space on the tool magazine side can be made large and the workability can be improved. Can be improved. Further, even when a large number of tools are exchanged, the tool holder gripping means are respectively configured, so that more reliable tool attachment / detachment can be achieved as compared with the conventional control plate method, and each tool holder gripping means is independent. Therefore, maintenance work is easy. Furthermore, since the tool holder gripping means is gripped by the fluid pressure at a plurality of places even when the spindle is rotated for position alignment, the phases can be easily and reliably aligned, and the reliability of tool attachment / detachment is improved. be able to. Moreover, since the tool magazine has a face plate shape, there is an advantage that the tool magazine can be easily positioned only by linear movement.

[0042]

As described above, the automatic tool changer according to the present invention integrates the tool magazine and the tool changer unit and moves relative to the spindle unit,
Since automatic tool change can be performed using a quick change type tool holder, the entire device can be made compact and the cost can be significantly reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of the overall configuration.

FIG. 2 is a side view.

FIG. 3 is a plan view.

FIG. 4 is a front view of a tool magazine portion.

FIG. 5 is a front view of a tool holder gripping means.

FIG. 6 is a side view in which a part of a tool holder gripping unit is shown in section.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a tool holder gripping means.

FIG. 8 is a side view showing a cross section of a part of the tool holder.

FIG. 9 is an end view.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view of a spindle.

FIG. 11 is an end view.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram of a relationship between a tool holder and a tool holder gripping unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Base 2 Spindle Unit 3 Tool Exchange Unit 4 Spindle 5 Drive Motor 6 Tool Holder 7 Cutting Tool 8, 9, 17 Drive Motor 15 Tool Magazine 16 Fluid Pressure Drive Cylinder 21 Tool Holder Holding Means 55, 56 V-Type Circumferential Groove

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Nobuo Sugaya 1 Toyota Town, Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture Toyota Motor Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Yoshio Sasaki 1 Toyota Town, Aichi Prefecture Toyota City Company (72) Inventor Hirohito Yoshimura 1 Toyota-cho, Toyota-shi, Aichi Prefecture Toyota Motor Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Masahiro Ishikawa 1 Toyota-cho, Toyota-shi, Aichi Toyota Motor Co., Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A spindle unit movably installed in a longitudinal direction on a base, and a tool exchanging unit having a face plate tool magazine movable on the base in a longitudinal direction and a vertical direction. The tool magazine part is vertically divided into a new tool area and an old tool area, and an appropriate number of tool holder gripping means is arranged in each area, and the tool holder gripped by these tool holder gripping means is
A first V-shaped circumferential groove that engages with the tool holder gripping means arranged in the new tool area and a second V-shaped circumferential groove that engages with the tool holder gripping means arranged in the old tool area. An automatic tool changer, wherein the second V-shaped circumferential groove is provided on a drive collar of a tool holder.