JPH0620028U - Automatic nest changer - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Purpose] The injection molding process is automated, and the insert replacement work is performed in a short time and easily, and the entire injection molding unit is made extremely small to reduce the manufacturing cost. [Structure] Nest storage means 5 for storing replacement nests 69a, 69b, arm means 4 having arms 3 capable of mechanically gripping the nests 58a, 58b on both sides, and nest storage means 5. And reading means 71 in the vicinity of. The nest storage means 5 has a storage shelf 64 having a plurality of nest storage portions, and a cylinder (driving means) 63 for vertically moving the storage shelf. The arm 3 includes the molds 68a, 68 of the injection molding machine 2.
The nest is transported and attached / detached while moving between b and the storage rack 64 of the nest storage means 5. By moving the storage shelves up and down by the operation of the cylinder 63, a desired storage portion of the plurality of nest storage portions can be opposed to the arm 3. Therefore, many nests can be stored efficiently.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention relates to an automatic nesting changer attached to an injection molding machine.

[0002]

[Prior art]

 The injection molding machine obtains a molded product having substantially the same shape as the cavity by injecting a resin into the cavity provided in the mold and curing the resin. However, if the cavity is formed directly in the mold, when molding parts with different shapes, it is necessary to replace with a mold having a cavity according to the shape. That is, when molding multiple types of parts with one injection molding machine, it is necessary to prepare a different mold for each part and replace it each time.

However, in order to replace the entire mold as described above, a large-scale device such as a crane device is required to replace a large and heavy mold. Further, since it is necessary to manufacture a large number of expensive dies, there is a drawback that the manufacturing cost is high.

Therefore, there is a structure in which a mold main body and a small-sized insert having a cavity are separately provided, and a plurality of types of inserts can be selectively mounted on a common mold main body.

[0005]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 The cost can be reduced by using the insert-replaceable mold as described above. However, in the conventional insert-replaceable mold apparatus, it is necessary to remove the mold body from the molding machine, attach and detach the mold outside the molding machine, and then attach the mold body to the molding machine again. Therefore, it is still necessary to have a crane device for loading and unloading a large and heavy mold body to and from the molding machine, and it is inevitable that the entire injection molding unit will be large and costly. Also, the work of attaching and detaching the mold to and from the molding machine is troublesome, dangerous, and requires a long working time. Therefore, it is difficult to automate the die change, which is one of the problems in automating the injection molding process.

Therefore, the present applicant proposes, in Japanese Patent Application No. 2-261741, an automatic nesting changer capable of solving the above problems and automating the injection molding process.

An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic nesting changer capable of further downsizing the injection molding unit and reducing manufacturing cost, as compared with the automatic nesting changer of the prior application.

[0008]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, an automatic nest changing device according to the present invention is provided corresponding to an injection molding machine to which a pair of molds having detachable inserts in a mold open state is attached. In addition, there is a nest storage means capable of storing a plurality of nests, and a chuck portion to which a plurality of nests can be attached and detached is provided between the two molds in the mold open state and the nest storage means. Arm means provided with an arm that is movable between the storage part and the storage part. Then, the nest storage means includes a storage shelf having a plurality of nest storage portions arranged vertically and a drive means for moving the storage shelf up and down.

[0009]

【Example】

Hereinafter, details of the present invention will be described with reference to a preferred embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings. 1 and 2 are plan views of an entire injection molding unit including an automatic nest changing device 1 according to the present invention and an injection molding machine 2 which is installed close to the device and is located below the drawing.

The automatic insert / replacement apparatus 1 is composed of an arm means 4 having an arm 3 capable of advancing and retracting and rotating in FIG. 1, an insert housing means 5, and a reading means 71. Therefore, first, the arm means 4 will be described below. In the following description, the horizontal direction in FIG. 1 is the x direction and the vertical direction is the y direction.

As shown in FIG. 4, a center hole 7 a is formed in a fixed table 7 fixed on the frame 6, and a ring-shaped support 8 is fixed to the center hole 7 a. A rotary actuator 11 is supported on the ring-shaped support 8 via support arms 9a and 9b and a support plate 10. The rotary shaft of the rotary actuator 11 penetrates the support plate 10 and is fixed to the rotary table 13 via a coupling 12. A ring-shaped rotary body 14 is provided on the lower surface of the rotary table 13, and the ring-shaped rotary body 14 is rotatably attached to the ring-shaped support body 8 via a rotary bearing 15. Therefore, the rotary table 13 is rotated above the frame 6 by driving the rotary actuator 11.

A protrusion 13 a is formed on the rotary table 13 in a protruding manner, and a rail 16 is provided on the upper surface of the protrusion 13 a. A base plate 17 is located above the rotary table 13, a pair of sliders 18 on the lower surface of the base plate 17 are fitted to the rails 16, and a nut 19 is screwed to the screw shaft 20. A motor 21 (see FIG. 1) is connected to one end of the screw shaft 20, and although not described in detail, the screw shaft 20 is rotatably supported on the rotary table 13. Therefore, the screw shaft 20 is rotated by the drive of the motor 21, and the base plate 17 is guided by the rail 16 and the slider 18 via the nut 19 which is screwed with the screw shaft 20 to move back and forth in the x direction in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 3, convex portions 17 a are formed on both sides of the base plate 17, and rails 22 are provided on the upper surfaces of the convex portions 17 a. A base plate 23 is located above the base plate 17, and a slider 23 a provided on the lower surface of the base plate 23 is fitted to the rail 22. A rodless cylinder 24 as an example of a driving unit is provided on the upper surface of the base plate 17, and the moving body 25 driven by the cylinder 24 is attached to the lower surface of the base plate 23. . Therefore, the movable body 25 is moved by the cylinder 24, and the base plate 23 is guided by the rail 22 and the slider 24 to advance and retreat in the y direction of FIG.

The arm 3 is located above the base plate 23, and a slider 26 provided on the lower surface of the arm 3 is fitted to a rail 27 on the upper surface of the base plate 23. In addition, as shown in FIG. 4, a screw shaft 30 is rotatably supported by a pair of support plates 28 and 29 provided on the upper surface of the base plate 23, and is installed inside the arm 3. A nut 31 provided is screwed onto the screw shaft 30. As shown in FIG. 3, a holder 32 is disposed on the upper surface of the base plate 23 on the side of the support plate 28, and a motor 33 (see FIG. 1) is held by the holder 32. The pulley 34 is connected to the rotating shaft of the motor 33, and the pulley 35 is connected to the screw shaft 30 penetrating the support plate 28. A timing belt 36 is stretched between the pulley 34 and the pulley 35. Therefore, the driving of the motor 33 causes the screw shaft 30 to rotate via the pulleys 34, 35 and the timing belt 36, and the nut 31 (see FIG. 4) screwed with the screw shaft 30 to move. Then, the arm 3 moves in the y direction in FIG.

Next, the arm 3 will be described in detail. As shown in FIG. 4, the arm 3 is composed of an arm main body 37 having a nut 31 and moved by the drive of a motor 33, and a chuck 38 attached to the tip of the arm main body 37. is there. A forked portion 38a (see FIG. 1) is formed at the rear end of the chuck portion 38, and the connecting shaft 40 penetrates with the mounting member 39 (see FIG. 1) being sandwiched between the forked portion 38a. Has been done. Four elliptical holes 41 are formed around the connecting shaft 40, and fixing screws 42 are fastened to the mounting member 39 via the elliptical holes 41. In this state, the cylindrical portion 39a of the mounting member 39 is disposed in the concave portion of the arm body portion 37 so that the angle can be adjusted. Also, four elliptical holes (not shown) similar to the elliptical hole 41 are provided around the cylindrical portion 39a of the mounting member 39, and the fixing screw 43 is fastened to the arm body portion 37 through the elliptic hole. There is. Therefore, with respect to the fixed arm body portion 37, the chuck portion 38 can be rotationally adjusted about the connecting shaft 40 within a range in which the fixing screw 42 can move within the elliptical hole 41, and the fixing screw 42 can be adjusted. Rotational adjustment is possible around the cylindrical portion 39a within a range in which 43 can move within an elliptical hole (not shown).

Next, a detailed configuration of the chuck portion 38 will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 5, the tip of the chuck portion 38 is formed in a substantially U shape having a space 44 in the middle portion when viewed from the side surface direction, and a pair of support beams 45 and 46 are fixed. Cylinders 47, 48, 49 and 50 are attached to the support beams 45 and 46 at upper and lower positions, respectively. Grasping members 52, 53, 54, 55 are attached to the drive shafts 47a, 48a, 49a, 50a of the cylinders 47, 48, 49, 50 via joints 51 (see FIG. 6). As an example of such a configuration, FIG. 6 shows in detail the connected state of the cylinder 49 and the grip member 54. In this embodiment, air cylinders are used as the cylinders 47, 48, 49 and 50. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the cylinders 47 and 48 attached to the front support beam 45 and the cylinders 49 and 50 attached to the rear support beam 46 are arranged so that their drive shafts face each other. It is attached. The gripping members 52, 53, 54, 55 are wider than the width of the chuck portion 38 when viewed from the top surface, and are claw portions 52a, 53a, 54a, 55a whose ends bend. The claw portions 52a and 54a and the claw portions 53a and 55a are formed so as to face each other. A pair of shafts 56 are fixed to the holding members 52, 53, 54, 55, respectively, and the shafts 56 are slidably held by bearings 57, respectively. Although not described in detail, pins 58c (see FIG. 1) or recesses (not shown) are formed on the insert molds 58a and 58b, and the chuck part 38 can be fitted to the insert pins 58c. A protrusion 59 having a concave portion 59a and a convex portion 59b that can be inserted into the concave portion of the insert is integrally formed.

When air is supplied to the cylinders 47, 48, 49, 50 via the tube 70 shown in FIG. 5 (see FIG. 5), the drive shafts 47 a, 48 a of the cylinders 47, 48, 49, 50 are constructed as described above. , 49a, 50a extend, and the gripping members 52, 53, 54, 55 move inward while being guided by the shaft 56 and the bearing 57. In this way, by making the claws 52a, 53a, 54a, 55a difficult to fit into the groove 58d, the chuck 38 can hold the insert dies 58a, 58b, as shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 5, the chuck portion 38 is provided with a space 44 in the central portion thereof, so that the chuck portion 38 is light in weight and holds an insert having a protrusion on the facing surface side. Also in the case of doing so, the projection can be released to the position of the space 44 to be gripped without any support. Further, since the support beams 45 and 46 are separate components and are attached to the chuck portion 38 using bolts or the like (not shown), manufacturing is simple.

With the above-described configuration, the arm means 4 having the chuck portion 38 to which the insert die can be attached and detached can be rotated on the frame 6 by the operation of the rotary actuator 11 and the operation of the motor 21. Thus, the cylinder 24 and the motor 33 can be moved in the x direction in FIG. 1 and in the y direction in FIG. 1, respectively. Further, the chuck portion 38 can be rotationally adjusted about the connecting shaft 40 and the cylindrical portion 39a. Therefore, the chuck section 38 advances and retreats with respect to the injection molding machine 2 and the nest storing means 5 described later by the user appropriately controlling, and the nests 58a and 58b are detached and conveyed. .

Next, the nest storage means 5 will be described. As shown in FIG. 7, the nesting accommodating means 5 has a support plate 61 and a fixed table 62 fixed on a frame 60 arranged close to the frame 6 (see FIG. 4). A cylinder 63 as an example of driving means is attached to the lower surface of 61. The drive shaft 63 a of the cylinder 63 penetrates the fixed table 62 and projects upward. A storage rack 64 is disposed above the fixed table 62, and a drive shaft 63a of the cylinder 63 is in contact with a lower plate 64a of the storage rack 64. Further, a pair of guide shafts 65 is fixed to the lower plate 64a, and the guide shafts 65 extend downward through the bearing 66, the fixed table 62, the support plate 61, and the frame 60, and the lower end portion thereof. They are connected by a plate member 67 fixed to the. The plate member 67 is provided with a hole 67a, and the cylinder 63 is located in the hole 67a. A stopper 65a is fixed to the upper end of the guide shaft 65, and the lowering range of the guide shaft 65 is restricted by the contact between the stopper 65a and the bearing 66.

Explaining the storage shelves 64, in FIG. 7, side plates 64b are fixed to both ends of the lower plate 64a, and the shelf plates 64c and 64d are hung on the side plates 64b. The pair of nesting housings are provided so as to face each other, and the nesting dies for replacement 69a and 69b can be housed therein. In FIG. 7, the nest is stored in the upper stage and the lower stage is not stored. An upper plate 64e is attached to the upper end of the side plate 64b. A channel groove (not shown) is provided in each of the shelves 64c and 64d, and a heated fluid such as hot water or oil is circulated in the channel groove to store the nest 69a. , 69b is preheated.

With such a configuration, when the cylinder 63 is driven and the drive shaft 63a expands and contracts, the storage rack 64 and the nests 69a and 69b stored therein move up and down. At this time, the guide shaft 65 slides in the respective holes of the bearing 66, the fixed table 62, the support plate 61, and the frame 60, and the plate member 67 slides on the outer periphery of the cylinder 63 to guide the vertical movement of the storage rack 64. .

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 8, a reading unit 71 is provided at the tip of the fixed table 7. In this reading means 71, a leg 72 supports a rectangular frame 73. A cylinder 74a is attached to the lower surface of the upper plate of the frame 73, and a bar code reader 77a is fixed to a moving body 75a driven by the cylinder via a mounting plate 76a. A cylinder 74b for driving the moving body 75b is attached to the upper surface of the lower plate of the frame 73, and a bar code reader 77b is fixed to the moving body 75b via a mounting plate 76b. Therefore, in the frame 73, the bar code readers 77a and 77b are opposed to each other and can be independently moved in the left-right direction in FIG. 8 (direction in FIG. 1y). The arm 3 can be inserted into the frame 73 with the inserts 58a and 58b attached. At this time, the cylinders 74a and 74b are driven to scan the bar code readers 77a and 77b. It is possible to read the bar code 78 (see FIG. 1) as identification information provided on the upper surface or the lower surface of the nests 58a, 58b. The bar code 78 indicates the type of each nest, and the kind of nest can be determined by reading this with the bar code readers 77a and 77b.

The injection molding machine 2 shown in FIG. 1 is provided in the vicinity of the arm means 4 and at a position (downward in the drawing) which makes an angle of about 90 ° with the nest housing means 5 about the rotation axis of the arm means 4. Has been. The molds 68a and 68b (in this embodiment, the movable mold 68a and the fixed mold 68b) have insert insertion recesses (not shown) in which the inserts 58a and 58b can be attached and detached, respectively. The insert, which is provided at right angles to the surface (PL surface) and is installed in this insert insertion recess, is provided with a key (not shown) as an example of a fixing means in parallel with the PL surface of the molds 58a, 58b. It is fixed by inserting it into the keyway (not shown). Therefore, by closing the molds 68a and 68b from the mold open state shown in FIG. 1, the molding material is injected into the cavity (not shown) formed between the inserts 58a and 58b, and the resin molded product is obtained.

The configuration of the injection molding unit of this embodiment is as described above, and the chuck 38 of the arm means 4 grips the inserts mounted in the molds 68a and 68b of the injection molding machine 2. And pulling it out, carrying it to the nest housing means 5 for storage, and holding another nest housed in the nest housing means 5 and carrying it to the injection molding machine 2 and mounting it on the molds 68a, 68b. By doing so, the child can be exchanged. The details of such operation will be described below. In the following description, the inserts pre-mounted on the molds 68a and 68b are shown as 58a and 58b, and the newly installed inserts are shown as 69a and 69b.

In the injection molding machine 2, a case will be described in which the production of molded parts by the inserts 58a, 58b that have been mounted in the molds 68a, 68b in advance is completed and another part having a different shape is produced. First, in the mold open state shown in FIG. 1, the cylinder 24 is operated on the base plate 17 to move the base plate 23, and the arm 33 is moved on the base plate 23 by the operation of the motor 33 to move the chuck 3 in the y direction. 38 is positioned in the gap between the molds 68a and 68b. At this position, the motor 21 is operated to move the base plate 17 in the x direction to bring the chuck portion 38 close to the movable die 68a, and the pin 58c of the insert 58a is fitted into the recess 59a. To remove the insert 58a from the mold 68a. At the same time, air is supplied to the cylinders 47, 48, 49, 50, and the claws 52a, 53a, 54a, 55a are moved inward toward each other so that the groove 58d is not easily inserted, and the insert 58a is moved by the chuck 38. Grip (see Figure 6). Then, the motor 21 is operated to move the chuck portion 38 in the x direction to completely remove the insert 58a from the movable die 68a.

In this way, the insert 58a is held by the arm 3, the cylinder 24 and the motor 33 are operated, the base plate 23 and the arm 3 are moved in the y direction, and the arm means 4 is contracted. 11 is operated and the rotary table 13 is rotated 90 ° in the direction of the clock. That is, the longitudinal direction of the arm 3 is located in the x direction, and the entire arm means 4 is moved so that the chuck portion 38 faces the nest housing means 5. This state is shown in FIG. Then, the cylinder 24 and the motor 33 are actuated again to move the base plate 23 and the arm 3 in the x direction to position the chuck portion 38 in the gap between the pair of nest accommodating portions of the nest accommodating means 5. Then, the motor 21 is operated to move the base plate 17 in the y direction to bring the chuck portion 38 close to the storage shelf 64, and the nest 58a is positioned in the lower nest storage portion in the unstored state. Then, the supply of air to the cylinders 47, 48, 49, 50 is stopped, the claw portions 52a, 53a, 54a, 55a are separated from the groove portion 58d, and the insert 58a is separated from the chuck portion 38 and the shelf board 64c. Place on top. It should be noted that replacement nests 69a and 69b are stored in advance in the upper nest storage section of the nest storage means 5, and the reading means 71 reads the bar code 78 to confirm the type and then the storage shelf 64. Is set in a raised state as shown by the chain line in FIG. This work will be described later.

When the insert 58a is placed on the shelf board 64c, the cylinder 63 is operated to lower the storage shelf 64 as shown in FIG. Then, the insert 69a housed in the upper nest housing part and the chuck part 38 are at positions facing each other. Therefore, the pin 69c of the insert 69a is fitted into the recess 59a, air is supplied to the cylinders 47, 48, 49, 50, and the claws 52a, 53a, 54a, 55a are bitten into the groove 69d. The child 69a is gripped by the chuck portion 38. Then, the motor 21 is operated to move the chuck portion 69 in the y direction of FIG. 2 to completely remove the insert 69a from the storage rack 64.

When the insert 69a is held by the arm 3, the cylinder 24 and the motor 33 are operated to move the base plate 23 and the arm 3 in the x direction of FIG. 11 is operated to rotate the rotary table 13 counterclockwise by 90 °, and the entire arm means 4 is moved so that the chuck portion 38 faces the direction of the injection molding machine 2 again. Therefore, the cylinder 24 and the motor 33 move the base plate 23 and the arm 3 in the y direction to position the chuck portion 38 in the gap between the molds 68a and 68b. Then, the motor 21 moves the base plate 17 in the x direction of FIG. 1 so that the insert 69a is inserted into the insert insertion recess of the die 68a. Then, the air supply to the cylinders 47, 48, 49, 50 is stopped, the claws 52a, 53a, 54a, 55a are separated from the groove 69d, and a key is inserted to fix the insert 69a to the mold 68a. .

When the insertion of the movable side mold 68a is completed as described above, the base plate 17 is further moved in the x direction of FIG. 1 by the operation of the motor 21 to move the chuck portion 38 to the fixed side mold. In the state in which the convex portion 59b is fitted to the concave portion (not shown) of the insert 58b, the key is extracted, the insert 58b is released from the mold 68b, and the cylinders 47, 48, 49, 50 Air is supplied to the claws 52a, 53a, 54a, 55a so that the claws 52a, 53a, 54a, 55a are moved inward toward each other so that the groove 58d is not easily inserted, and the insert 58 is gripped by the chuck 38. After that, as in the case of the movable side, the arm 3 is expanded and contracted and rotated to store the nest 58b in the lower nest storage portion of the nest storage means 5, and the storage shelf 64 is lowered to move the upper shelf. The insert 69b stored in the sub-storing part is gripped by the chuck part 38, and the arm 3 is rotated again to mount the insert 69b on the mold 68b.

In this way, the inserts 58a, 58b preliminarily attached to the molds 68a, 68b are replaced with the other inserts 69a, 69b stored in the insert storing means 5.

Next, the preparatory work for the above-mentioned nest exchange process will be described. Before use, the user manually stores the replacement inserts 69a, 69b in the lower insert storage part (on the shelf board 64c) of the insert storage means 5. Then, the cylinder 63 is driven to raise the storage shelf (shown by a chain line in FIG. 7), and the arm 3 is driven to face the lower nest storage portion and hold the replacement nest 69a. When the replacement insert is removed from the lower insert storage part, the storage rack 64 is lowered while the arm 3 is temporarily retracted from the storage rack 64, and then the arm 3 is moved toward the storage rack 64 again. During this process, when the replacement insert 69a held by the arm 3 is positioned inside the reading means 71, the arm 3 is stopped and the cylinders 74a and 74b are operated to scan the bar code readers 77a and 77b. When the scanned bar code readers 77a and 77b face the bar code 78 (see FIG. 1) provided on the upper surface or the lower surface of the replacement insert 69a, the bar code 78 is read to replace it. The type of 69a is discriminated and it is confirmed whether or not the proper insert is grasped. When the proper insert 69a is grasped, the arm 3 is opposed to the upper insert storage portion of the storage shelf 64, and the replacement insert 69a is placed on the shelf board 64d. The other replacement nest 69b is also stored in the upper nest storage portion in the same manner. In this way, with the interchangeable inserts 69a, 69b stored in the upper insert storage part of the insert storage means 5, the above-mentioned insert replacement step is performed. Note that if the user manually stores the replacement insert in the upper insert storage part, the work is labor-intensive and highly dangerous. A method is used in which the arm means 4 moves it to the upper nest storage section after manually inserting it into the storage section. In this way, the insertion / removal of the replacement insert is done manually only in the lower part of the insert storage section, thus improving safety.

Further, after the insert replacement step is completed, the used inserts 58a and 58b stored in the insert storage unit in the lower stage are used while the parts are manufactured by the injection molding machine 2. After the person takes it out, the next replacement insert is stored in the insert storage means 5 in the same manner as described above. In this way, since the replacement insert for storing the next part is manufactured and the type of the part is checked during molding, the work can be performed efficiently without waste of time. Further, since the replacement insert is preheated by heating the storage rack 64, it is possible to immediately proceed to the injection molding process when the replacement work of the insert is completed.

Since the present invention has a structure in which only the relatively lightweight and small-sized insert is replaced, it does not require a large and high-strength device such as a crane for holding the entire mold, and is small and lightweight. Since the arm 3 can hold the insert, the entire injection molding unit can be made extremely compact.

The nest storage means 5 has an upper and lower two-stage nest storage portion and is an elevator type structure that can be moved up and down by the cylinder 63, so that it does not require much space and can be used for many replacement stores. Can store children efficiently. Conventionally, when a nest storing means having two upper and lower nest storing portions is used, in addition to the XY table mechanism and the rotating mechanism, the arm means 4 is made to face the upper and lower nest storing portions. A mechanism to move it up and down was necessary. Therefore, the arm means is provided with various drive mechanisms, and the structure thereof is extremely complicated. However, in the above structure, it is not necessary to provide a mechanism for moving the arm means 4 up and down, and the structure is simplified. It should be noted that the configuration is not limited to the upper and lower two-stage configuration as in the above-described embodiment, and may be a configuration having three or more stages. Also, the depth can be lengthened and a large number of nests can be juxtaposed in one step. In this way, storing a large number of replacement inserts is effective for automation of injection molding.

In the above-described embodiment, the cylinders 47, 48, 49, 50 and the gripping members 52, 53, 54, 55 are provided on both sides of one arm 3 so that the insert can be selectively gripped. Therefore, a large space is not required even when gripping a work, which contributes to downsizing of the device. Further, since the four cylinders 47, 48, 49 and 50 are operated simultaneously, the drive mechanism thereof is simple. Since the insert is mechanically gripped by the grip member as described above, the reliability is high in gripping the metal insert.

Further, since the arm 3 is expanded and contracted in two stages, that is, the movement of the base plate 23 by the cylinder 24 and the movement of the arm 3 by the motor 33 are performed, the movement of the arm 3 in the longitudinal direction is particularly remarkable in the contracted state. The length can be made extremely short and the size can be reduced, and by operating the cylinder 24 and the motor 33 at the same time, the operation time for moving the arm 3 forward by a predetermined distance can be shortened. In this two-stage configuration, one is driven by the cylinder 24, which has a low manufacturing cost, and the other is driven by the motor 33 and the screw shaft 30, which are easy to perform fine adjustment. Are configured.

In the above embodiment, one mold is provided with one insert. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and one mold is provided with a plurality of insert insertion recesses. It is also possible to provide and install a plurality of inserts. In such a case, the chuck mechanism of the arm 3 naturally needs to be replaced with a structure in which a plurality of inserts can be grasped on one surface of the arm 3 instead of the structure shown in FIGS. Since the arm 3 is composed of two members, the arm body 37 and the chuck 38, it is possible to easily accommodate various nests by exchanging only the chuck 38.

Such an example is shown in FIGS. The mold 79 shown in FIG. 9 is provided with four recesses 79a. The inserts 80a, 80b, 80c, 80d that can be inserted into the recess 79a are integrally connected by connecting plates 81, 82a, 82c. The detailed structure is shown in FIG. The connecting plate 81 is provided with notches 81a, 81b, 81c, 81d, and the notches 81a, 81b, 81c, 81d are fitted with the inserts 80a, 80b, 80c, 80d, and the upper and lower parts thereof are fitted. The connecting plates 82a and 82b for preventing the falling of the inserts are fixed by bolts 97. The connecting plates 82a, 82b are regulated and positioned by the pin 81e, and are inserted into the spaces defined by the notches 81a, 81b, 81c, 81d and the connecting plates 82a, 82b. 80d is held with a slight gap (about 0.1 to 0.2 mm). In this way, the inserts 80a, 80b, 80c, 80d are connected, and in this connected state, they are attached to and detached from the mold 79. In this case, when injection molding is performed, molding is performed by the cavity (not shown) provided in the inserts 80a, 80b, 80c, 80d with the connecting plates 81, 82a, 82b still attached.

FIGS. 11A and 11B show a chuck portion 83 capable of gripping a plurality of (four in this embodiment) inserts to be mounted on the mold 79 having the above configuration. The chuck portion 83 is provided with a forked portion 83a, a through hole 83b, and an elliptical hole 83c, and the outer shape and the method of attaching it to the arm body portion 37 are the same as those of the chuck portion 38 described above. A "Sun" -shaped nest holding portion 83d is provided in the middle portion, and support beams 84 and 85 are attached to the front and the rear thereof, respectively. Air cylinders 86, 87 are attached to the support beams 84, 85, and gripping members 89, 90 are attached to drive shafts 86a, 87a of the cylinders 86, 87 via joints 88. The cylinder 86 attached to the front support beam 84 and the cylinder 87 attached to the rear support beam 85 are attached so that their drive shafts face each other. The gripping members 89, 90 are wide when viewed from the top, and the ends of the gripping members 89, 90 are bent into claws 89a, 90a. The claws 89a and 90a are formed so as to face each other. Four shafts 91 are fixed to the gripping members 89 and 90, and the shafts 91 are slidably held by bearings 92, respectively. The inserts 80a, 80b, 80c, 80d shown in FIG. 9 are formed with pins 80e, 80f, 80g, 80h, and the chuck portion 83 is formed with a concave portion 93 that can be fitted into these pins. ing.

With the above-described configuration, as shown in FIG. 11, when air is supplied to the cylinders 86 and 87 from the tube 94, the drive shafts 86 a and 87 a of the cylinders 86 and 87 are extended and the shafts 91 and the bearings 92 are extended. While being guided, the gripping members 89 and 90 move inward. In this way, the claw portions 89a and 90a sandwich the connecting plate 81, so that the chuck portion 83 can simultaneously hold the nests 80a, 80b, 80c, and 80d. The inserts 96a, 96b, 96c, 96d connected by the similar connecting plate 95 can be held on the surface opposite to the chuck portion 83. Since the inserts 80a, 80b, 80c, 80d are held with a slight clearance, they can be inserted into the recess 79a while being slightly moved when they are mounted on the mold 79 from the arm 3 and allow a slight error. It is easy to work because it is obtained.

As described above, when the configurations of the mold and the insert are changed, the chuck part 38 for holding one insert, the chuck part 83 for holding a plurality of inserts, and the like are prepared, and Since only the backpack needs to be replaced, there is no need to replace the entire arm, which is rational. Further, since the chuck portions 38 and 83 can be rotationally adjusted with respect to the arm main body portion 37, fine adjustment can be performed so that the chuck portion 38 can approach the nesting insertion concave portion of the mold with an appropriate angle and positional relationship. Is.

In the above-described embodiment, when the insert is replaced, the insert of the movable mold is first replaced with the insert of the fixed mold, but the present invention is not limited to this. Alternatively, the movable mold inserts may be replaced after the fixed mold inserts have been replaced, or both mold inserts may be removed and then the two molds removed. You may attach each child. Further, in the embodiment, the nest removed from the mold is stored in the upper nest storage section of the nest storage means 5 and replaced with the nest taken out from the lower nest storage section. Conversely, the insert removed from the mold may be stored in the upper stage and replaced with the insert stored in the lower stage beforehand.

Further, the frame 6 provided with the arm means 4 and the frame 60 provided with the nest accommodating means 5 may be common.

Although the heated fluid is circulated through the shelves 64c and 64d in the above embodiment, the nichrome wire is embedded in the shelves 64c and 64d and an electric current is passed through the nichrome wires to preheat the inlet. Alternatively, various methods can be applied.

In the above embodiment, the insert is inserted and removed at right angles to the PL surface of the mold, but the present invention is also applicable to the case where the insert is inserted and removed parallel to the PL surface of the mold. The present invention can be modified in various ways.

[0047]

[Effect of device]

 According to the automatic insert changing device of the present invention, the insert is automatically removed from the mold and stored in the storage part, and another type of insert of the storage part is attached to the mold. The molding unit can be automatically operated. Also, since only the nest is replaced, the replacement device itself can be downsized, and the replacement work becomes safer. Further, since the nest storing means is provided with a plurality of rows of nest storing portions and the elevator type structure is movable up and down by the driving means, a lot of replacement nests can be efficiently used without requiring much space. Can be stored. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a mechanism for moving the arm means up and down, and the structure is simplified.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway reduced plan view of an injection molding unit including an automatic nest changer of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway reduced plan view of the injection molding unit showing an operating state of the automatic nest changing device.

FIG. 3 is a rear view of the main part of the arm means of the automatic nest changer.

FIG. 4 is a side view of an essential part of arm means.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged side view of the main part of the chuck part of the arm means.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged plan view of an essential part of a chuck section.

FIG. 7 is a front view of a nest storing means of the automatic nest changing device.

FIG. 8 is a front view of a reading unit of the automatic nest changing device.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged perspective view of essential parts showing another embodiment of the mold and the insert.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged plan view of a connecting plate.

FIG. 11 is an enlarged plan view and side view of an essential part showing another embodiment of the chuck part.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Automatic inserter changer 2 Injection molding machine 3 Arm 4 Arm means 5 Insertion storage means 58a, 58b Insertion 63 Cylinder (driving means) 64 Storage shelves 68a, 68b Mold 69a, 69b Insert 79 Mold 80a, 80b , 80c, 80d Nested 96 Nested

Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁵ Identification number Reference number within the agency FI Technical indication location B29C 33/76 7148-4F (72) Creator Kenji Kamio 4-1-1 Taihei, Sumida-ku, Tokyo Stock company Inside the Seiko building

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. An automatic nest insert changer for an injection molding machine, to which a pair of molds having detachable inserts are attached when the molds are opened, wherein the insert inserts a plurality of upper inserts. An accommodating means and a movable movable arm between the two molds in the mold open state having a chuck part at the tip end thereof to which a plurality of upper inserters can be attached and detached, and the accommodating part of the nest accommodating means. An automatic nest exchange device, comprising: arm means provided with the nest storage means; and the nest storage means includes a storage shelf having a plurality of nest storage portions, and drive means for moving the storage shelf up and down. .