JPH0679573A - Pallet transfer device on carrier - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a small-sized and low-priced carrier by simplifying the constitution of the pallet transfer device of a carrier out of structural elements of a processing system. CONSTITUTION:A carrier 1 is not only equipped with an oscillating axis 4 in parallel to the traveling direction of the carrier 1, but also provided with a tiltable oscillating base 5 around the shaft 4 and a moving table 7 and a pallet loading table 10 which are slidable perpendicularly to the traveling direction of the carrier 1 by means of a moving motor 9 are provided on the oscillating base 5. On the other hand, the oscillating base 5 is driven in its oscillation by means of an eccentric cam 13 rotated by a motor 12, a driven link 14 fitted to the eccentric cam 13 and two rods 15, and the oscillating base 5 is tilted in linkage to the movement of the pallet loading table 10 to the front end of the moving table 7, and a pallet 11 is transferred between a machine tool and a stocker.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a pallet transfer technique for a carrier in a processing system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a processing system, before and after reciprocating between a machine tool, a stocker or a setup station,
It is a well-known technology to provide a transport vehicle for transferring a pallet (hereinafter, referred to as a pallet) on which a work is placed in order to transfer and replace a work being processed or processed according to a predetermined program as an indispensable facility.

The above-mentioned transport vehicle is usually equipped with a transfer fork that is linearly movable / extendable in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction of the transport vehicle in order to stack and unload pallets arranged in a stocker or machine tool. For example, when transferring a pallet from a stocker to a table of a specific machine tool, first, stop the transport vehicle facing a predetermined stocker, and then directly transfer the transport fork of the transport vehicle to the stocker side. After moving and extending the tip of the fork to the position on the lower side of the pallet placed in the stocker and stopping it, the fork is moved directly upward, and the pallet is loaded from the stocker onto the fork, and then the pallet is placed. With the transfer fork retracted, the pallet is pulled to the transport vehicle side.

[0004] According to a predetermined program, a transport vehicle on which a pallet is placed is run to a position facing a specific machine tool and stopped. The transfer fork is linearly moved / extended in the direction of the machine tool table, and the fork is directly moved downward to unload the pallet onto the machine tool table and clamp it. Move and retract the transfer fork without the pallet in the direction of the carrier. The above-described operation of the carrier vehicle is the same when the processed work is transferred from the machine tool side to the stocker or the setup station, or when it is transferred to another machine tool.

[0005]

As is apparent from the above description, in the conventional apparatus, the transfer of the pallet between the stocker, the machine tool, or the setup station is required.
The transfer forks equipped on the transport vehicle can be vertically moved and telescopically slid in the direction orthogonal to the traveling direction of the transport vehicle to pallet load from or to each position of the machine tool or stocker. , Unloading. Therefore, at least the transport vehicle

It is necessary to provide a strong guide for moving the transfer fork upward and downward, including the pallet on which the work is placed. When the transfer fork is moved up and down, it is necessary to prepare each stopper for determining the vertical stop position of the fork. Therefore, the transport vehicle of the conventional device has a complicated structure and a large size, which inevitably increases the cost. Further, since a shock is applied by the stopper at the end of the vertical and linear movement stroke of the transfer fork, the transfer speed is limited.

In view of the above, the present invention replaces at least the up-and-down linear motion stroke of the operation of the transfer fork by the swing motion of the fork, so that the function of the transfer fork is the same as that of the conventional transfer fork. The vertical linear motion guide member including the stopper is not required to simplify the guide mechanism.
An object of the present invention is to provide a pallet transfer device capable of downsizing a transport vehicle, facilitating design / manufacturing, and forming at a low cost.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention is provided with the respective constituent features as described below. (1) A swing base mounted on a carrier for transferring pallets between a machine tool or a stocker and supported on a swing shaft parallel to the traveling direction of the carrier, and a swing base provided on the swing base. A movable base slidably supported in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction of the transport vehicle, a pallet mounting base provided at a tip end of the movable base, and a movable base drive means for directly moving the movable base, Rocking drive means for giving a rocking motion to the rocking base, and tilting the rocking base around a rocking axis in association with the movement of the pallet mounting table toward the tip side of the moving table. A pallet transfer device for a carrier that is characterized in that

[0009]

[Operation] After the transport vehicle has run / stopped to the position facing the required position of each machine tool or stocker, the movable base / pallet loading platform slidably supported by the rocking base is orthogonal to the transport vehicle traveling direction. Move and extend the moving table / pallet loading table to the table or stocker side of the machine tool where the required pallet is placed, and place the pallet loading table that moves directly on the moving table under the pallet. Insert right below the side and stop. Fix the relative position of the moving stand and pallet stand as it is,

The oscillating base is tilted (oscillated) around an oscillating (supporting) axis, whereby the pallet loading platform that has been moved directly to the end of the moving platform is moved upward to lift the pallet from the lower side, so-called loading. Then, the coupling between the pallet and its previous position is broken, and the pallet is placed on the pallet carrier by moving it directly to return the pallet carrier / movement base to the old position. Arrange the loading pallet so that the work pallets placed on the carrier as they travel will not interfere with the machine tools, stockers, etc. that are arranged in parallel.

According to the program, the transport vehicle is run / stopped to the position opposite to the next process position, and then the moving platform / pallet loading platform with the pallet placed is directly moved to the table or stocker side of the machine tool at the next process position.・ It is stretched, but the pallet mount is
The swing base is tilted (swayed) in advance so that the pallet on the platform is located at a position slightly higher than the original pallet arranging position in the next step and the pallet on the mounting table occupies a position directly above the arranging position.

Subsequent operation of the moving table / pallet loading table follows the reverse process of the operation described in the above section, so-called unloading the machine tool / stocker, and moving the pallet to the next process position. After transferring and shipping to
One cycle of the pallet transfer process between each machine tool and stocker is completed by reducing the size of the movable table / pallet loading table and storing them on a swing base pivotally supported by a transfer vehicle. Among the above-mentioned actions, the tilting (swinging) mechanism around the axis of the swing base includes a driven link that engages with an eccentric cam provided on the output shaft of the prime mover mounted on the transport vehicle, and the support (swing) of the swing base. By connecting with a rod with a variable inter-axis length, it connects to a point away from the axis,

Even if a prime mover having a relatively small capacity is used, a pallet of a heavy object can be easily loaded and unloaded. Due to the operation by the eccentric cam / link mechanism, loading and unloading of the work can be relatively smooth. Since the pallet is moved up and down by tilting the oscillating base, moving table, and pallet table around the oscillating axis, the guide mechanism of the transfer device becomes simple and the degree of freedom in design increases. The transport vehicle can be downsized and can be robustly constructed. There is plenty of room for cost reduction.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. However, each member constituting the following embodiment is within the technical level in the art at the time of the application of this application, In view of the fact that the design can be changed arbitrarily, the gist of the present invention should not be interpreted on the basis of only the configuration of the embodiments described below without giving a special reason.
FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a pallet transfer device for a carrier according to the present invention,
FIG. 2 shows a bird's-eye view of the transport vehicle in operation in the processing system.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 is a transporting vehicle, which has wheels 2 on its lower side, and which are laid in parallel along a machine tool row, a setup station, and a stocker group constituting a processing system. It is configured to be able to travel on the rail 3. Reference numeral 4 denotes an oscillating (supporting) shaft provided on the inner surface of the upper portion of the U-shaped transport vehicle body, the upper side of which is open, and the shaft 4
Extend horizontally and are provided in parallel with the traveling direction of the transport vehicle 1 (rail laying direction). With the swing shaft 4 as a swing fulcrum, a swing base 5 that occupies an upper U-shaped groove release space of the transport vehicle body and has a U-shaped cross-section with the upper side open is tiltably assembled.

That is, the swing base 5 is pivotally supported on the transport vehicle body via the swing shaft 4 provided in parallel with the traveling direction of the transport vehicle at the upper portions of the U-shaped side sleeves,
Therefore, the swing base 5 tilts around the swing fulcrum in the plane orthogonal to the swing shaft 4. The direction of the upper open groove of the swing base 5 is orthogonal to the traveling direction of the transport vehicle 1, and the bottom of the upper open groove forms a slide base 6, and the base 6 has a movable base 7 on the upper side thereof. A large number of guide rollers 8 for linearly moving and guiding in parallel are provided.

A rack, which meshes with the output shaft pinion of the moving motor 9 provided on the swing base 5, is mounted below the moving table 7 in parallel with the moving direction thereof. The movable table 7 can slide along the slide base 6 in the opposite directions by controlling the above. On the moving table 7, at the front and rear ends in the moving direction,
A pair of sprockets, each of which is rotatably supported, is provided, and an endless chain is stretched between the sprockets in parallel with the moving direction. One end of the endless chain is placed on the slide base 6 side in a symmetrical 1 The location is connected to the pallet platform 10 side described below.

The relationship between the pallet mounting table 10 and the moving table 7 is as follows.
Similar to the structure between the slide base 6 and the movable base 7 described above, the movable base 7 allows the pallet mounting base 10 on its upper surface to move linearly in parallel with the sliding direction of the movable base 7 itself. Is provided with a plurality of guide rollers 8. Therefore, if the moving motor 9 is rotated to slide the moving table 7 in one direction along the slide base 6, one end of the endless chain stretched on the moving table 7 is connected to the slide base 6 side. Therefore, the chain on the other side is apparently
It moves in the sliding direction of the moving table 7 at a speed twice as fast as the moving table 7.

Therefore, the pallet mounting table 10 connected to another part of the chain moves in the same direction as the sliding direction of the moving table 7 at a speed twice that of the sliding direction. So-called,
Equipped with double speed feed mechanism. The pallet mounting table
For the transfer mechanism of 10, refer to the invention of Japanese Patent Application No. 2-336666, “Double Speed Feeder” (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-201162) filed by the present applicant. 11 indicates a pallet on which the work is placed.

The swing base 5, the slide base 6, the guide rollers 8, the moving base moving motor 9, the moving base 7 and the pallet mounting base 10 are supported by the swing shaft 4 as a whole, and swing about the coaxial 4 as a fulcrum ( Tilt) move. Its swing range
(Angle) means that when the pallet mounting table 10 is on the slide base 6 at the tip position of the moving table 7, at least the upper surface of the pallet mounting table 10 is mounted at a predetermined position on the table or stocker of the machine tool or the setup station. It is set so as to be slightly lower (for example, 2 to 2.5 mm) or higher than the lower surface position of the pallet.

That is, the pallet mount 10 is placed on the pallet 11
After extending and moving just below the lower surface of the pallet, the swing base 5 is tilted to lift the pallet mounting table 10, and each pallet is separated from the table or stocker of the machine tool and the setup station and loaded onto the pallet mounting table 10. , The pallet 11 that accommodates the moving table 7 and the pallet table 10 as they are
To the side of the carrier 1. The pallet 11 transferred to the carrier 1 is moved to a position facing the required machine tool or stocker in accordance with the machining program, and then the swing base 5 of the carrier 1 is moved to the position described above. In the opposite direction, the pallet 11 is unloaded to the next process position to complete one cycle of the pallet transfer process.

The tilting mechanism of the swing base 5 described above is constructed as follows. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 12 is a guard motor mounted on the conveyance vehicle body, and an eccentric cam 13 is fixed to the output shaft thereof. Reference numeral 14 is a driven link into which the eccentric cam 13 is fitted. The extended arm portion of the link 14 and a required lower portion of the swing base 5 are connected by a rod 15 via pivots.

Now, the guard motor 12 is operated and the eccentric cam 13
When the swaying base 5 is slowly rotated, the link mechanism including the driven link 14 and the rod 15 is actuated, and the swing base 5
Is tilted (rocked) around the rocking (supporting) shaft 4. Since the tilting of the swing base 5 is performed based on the rotation of the eccentric cam 13, there is no shocking operation, and therefore the shock due to the inertia acting on each member is relatively small. motor
It is possible to load and unload heavy pallets compared to the capacity of 12.

Further, since members such as the guide sliding surface, the sliding portion and the stopper for the above operation are unnecessary, not only the structure can be simplified and the transport vehicle can be downsized, but also the subsequent maintenance is possible. It will be easier. The shaft-to-axis distance of the rod 15 is set to be expandable and contractable for the convenience of assembly.
In addition, it is preferable that the rod 15 be provided in plane symmetry with respect to a vertical plane including the swing shaft 4. Further, in FIG. 1, the moving table 7 can also slide to the right of the transport vehicle 1 and can be used for loading and unloading pallets between machine tools and stockers provided on both sides of the transport vehicle 1.

In the bird's-eye view of FIG. 2, 1 is a carrier vehicle, 2
Are lower wheels, 3 are rails laid in parallel with machine tools and stocker rows, 4 is a swing shaft provided on the frame of the carrier 1, and 5 is supported by the swing shaft 4. The swing base 6 is a slide base provided on the swing base, and a large number of guide rollers 8 for linearly moving and guiding the moving base 7 are provided on the upper side surface thereof. Reference numeral 10 denotes a pallet mounting table that moves linearly in the same direction on the moving table 7. Between the moving table 7 and the moving table 7, the same guide rollers as described above are provided. A member surrounded by an imaginary line drawn on the upper side of the pallet mount 10 indicates the pallet 11. Reference numeral 16 is a traveling indicator light provided in front of and behind the carrier vehicle, and 17 is a bumper provided in front of and behind the traveling direction of the carrier vehicle. 18 indicates a stocker.

In the case of FIG. 2, it is placed on the stocker 18 (standby).
Pallet stand just below the pallet (workpiece)
Then, the oscillating base 5 tilts around the swing shaft 4 as a fulcrum, and the pallet 11 on the pallet mounting table 10 is stopped.
The process of unloading from the stocker 18 is shown. For the description of the operation of the above-described embodiment apparatus, refer to the detailed description in the above [Operation] section.

[0027]

As described above, according to the present invention, since the operations of the moving table and the pallet mounting table in the known pallet transfer device for a carrier are replaced by the swinging motion and the horizontal linear motion, (1) The vertical linear motion guide device such as a moving table is no longer needed, and the lifting mechanism can be simplified, which simplifies the structure. (2) There is no need for mechanical vertical position stoppers, and since there are few shocking operations, no excessive force is applied to the devices / members.

(3) There is no restriction on the size of the apparatus, and the degree of freedom in designing is large, and it is possible to downsize the carrier vehicle. (4) Manufacturing can be facilitated and a low-cost carrier vehicle can be provided. And so on, it is possible to obtain special actions and effects that cannot be expected from conventional devices.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a pallet transfer device for a carrier according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a bird's-eye view of the transport vehicle in operation in the processing system.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Transport Vehicle 2 Wheels 3 Rails 4 Swing (Support) Shaft 5 Swing Base 6 Slide Base 7 Moving Base 8 Guide Roller 9 Moving Motor 10 Pallet Placement Table 11 Pallet 12 Gear Motor 13 Eccentric Cam 14 Driven Link 15 Rod 16 Running Display Light 17 Bumper 18 Stocker.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁵ Identification code Office reference number FI technical display location G05D 1/02 Y 9323-3H

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A swing base mounted on a carrier for transferring pallets between a machine tool or a stocker and supported by a swing shaft parallel to the traveling direction of the carrier, and a swing base on the swing base. A movable table which is provided and is slidably supported in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction of the transport vehicle, a pallet mounting table provided at a front end portion of the movable table, and a movable table driving means for directly moving the movable table. A rocking drive means for giving a rocking motion to the rocking base, and tilts the rocking base around a rocking axis in association with the movement of the pallet mounting table toward the tip side of the moving table. A pallet transfer device for a carrier, characterized in that