JPH0825119B2 - Automatic work carrier - Google Patents

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a device that automatically conveys a workpiece such as a relatively lightweight shaft workpiece at high speed.

Conventional technology For example, as a typical method of automatically transferring a work to each processing station of a transfer machine for machining a work, the work is picked up by a side guide or a knock pin of the work. There are two methods: a lift-and-carry method in which the workpiece is fixed and sequentially transported to the next process, and a pallet method in which the workpiece is once fixed to a pallet jig and the entire pallet jig is transported by a method suitable for irregularly shaped workpieces. Known from the past.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, of the two conventional methods described above, in the case of the former lift-and-carry method, since the work is held by being scooped up, the work can be pressed from above. Therefore, when a deformed work is carried, the work may be dropped if it is carried at a high speed. Further, in the latter pallet method, a pallet jig is required, which causes a cost increase and has a problem that an installation space of a mechanical device is widened.

Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 59-152039 describes an apparatus for loading or unloading a work at a processing station. This is to operate two sets of arms for loading and unloading without interfering with each other. By providing two sets of arms, it is possible to shorten the time required for loading and unloading a workpiece, but the processing station It does not have a function to transfer the work to the next process etc., only to carry the work in and out. Further, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 224232/1984 describes an apparatus for carrying a work in and out of a processing machine such as a press machine. This is because the conveying stroke is obtained by the link that rotates the rotating lever back and forth, and the link is rotated by the rotating lever. Therefore, the size of the conveying device is small in the stroke direction without being influenced by the amount of the conveying stroke. Although it can be installed in a space, it is not suitable when the work needs to be transported without changing the work posture because the work rotates and the orientation changes with the rotation of the rotation lever when carrying in and out. Met.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an automatic work transfer device which prevents a work from falling during high speed transfer.

Means for Solving the Problems As a means for solving the above problems, the present invention is
A transfer member having a work placing portion and moved up and down and back and forth, a holding member which is moved back and forth integrally with the transfer member in the transport direction, and the holding member by either one of upward and downward movements of the transfer member. And a work mechanism for pressing the work on the work mounting portion from substantially above, and a synchronizing mechanism for releasing the work product by driving the holding member by the other operation of raising or lowering the transfer member, And an actuator for moving the transfer member up and down.

When transferring a work, first, the transfer member is lifted by the lifting actuator to hold the work on the work mounting portion of the transfer member, and the pressing member is pressed from above in synchronization with the lifting or lowering of the transfer member. To clamp the work between the pressing member and the work placing portion. Next, the transfer member is slid in the transfer direction by the transfer actuator, and when the transfer member is lowered or raised by the elevating actuator at a position advanced by a predetermined distance, the transfer member is synchronously driven by the lowering or raising operation. The pressing member moves in the opening direction to release the clamp of the work, and the conveyed work is supported on the jig or the like of each processing station. And after supporting the work on the processing station,
The transfer member retracts and returns to the initial position.

Embodiment An embodiment in which the workpiece automatic transfer device of the present invention is applied to a transfer device of a transfer machine having a plurality of processing stations will be described below with reference to the drawings.

The automatic transfer device 1 is installed in parallel with the equipment of each processing station (not shown) arranged in a row in the transfer machine.
Is provided, and the work W, which is a comparatively lightweight shaft work piece, is sequentially transported to each processing station.

The automatic transfer device 1 is a plate-like device in which the same number of work holding claws (work rest portions) 2a as the total number of the processing stations and the number of processes such as loading / reversing of the work W are provided at equal intervals. Transfer bar 2 and the transfer bar 2
Of the synchronous shaft 3 and a work holding pawl (holding member) 4 axially attached to the synchronous shaft 3 at positions corresponding to the respective work holding pawls 2a of the synchronous shaft 3. The transfer bar 2 is arranged substantially horizontally, and the synchronous shaft 3 is allowed to rotate and is connected to the transfer bar 2 so as to move back and forth in the transport direction. In addition, the transfer bar 2
Is supported at both longitudinal ends by roller shafts 5a, 5a rotatably provided on the side surfaces of blocks 5, 5 provided at the front and rear ends in the conveying direction of the automatic conveying device 1 so as to be vertically movable,
It is provided so that it can slide forward and backward in the transport direction.

A lift cylinder 6 is provided near the loading side (right side in FIG. 1) of the automatic carrier 1.
The lift cylinder 6 transmits the rotation of the crankshaft 7 by the first arm 7a of the crankshaft 7 to the loading-side block 5 via the pushing member 8 to push the block 5 in the vertical direction. Through the link 9 connected to the second arm 7b of the crank shaft 7, the crank 9a, and the pushing member 9b, the block 5 on the unloading side (left side in FIG. 1) is vertically integrated with the block 5 on the loading side. It is designed to drive.

In addition, transfer bars 2 are installed in both blocks 5 and 5.
A movable rack and pinion mechanism 10 (the unloading side is not shown) having a movable rack 10a, a fixed rack 10b, and a pinion 10c which also serve as a synchronizing mechanism and a driving mechanism for synchronizing the work holding claw 4 with the lifting operation of the workpiece. The rack 10a is mounted almost vertically, and the movable rack 10a is allowed to move in the vertical direction by the elastic force of a spring 11 provided between its lower end and the block 5. Further, the fixed rack 10b is fixed substantially parallel to the movable rack 10a and substantially vertically so as to face the transfer bar 2 and the pinion 10c is fixed to the movable rack 10a and the fixed rack.
The meshing teeth are engaged with 10b and are rotatably held by the block 5. Furthermore, the pinion 10c
Both ends 3a (the unloading side is not shown) of the synchronous shaft 3 are inserted into the center of the shaft by engaging with a spline or a key so that the shaft can move and the rotation can be transmitted.

When both the loading-side block 5 and the loading-side block 5 are lifted up by the lift cylinder 6, the transfer bar 2 supported by the roller shaft 5a rises and the movable rack 10a rotates the pinion 10c. As a result, the pinion 10c moves up while meshing with the fixed rack 10b,
By rotating and ascending the pinion 10c, the synchronous shaft 3 rotates and ascends, and each work pressing pawl 2a axially attached to the synchronous shaft 3
Swings in the clamping direction (direction of arrow A).

On the other hand, a carry cylinder 12 is provided near the center of the transfer bar 2 in the length direction. The carry cylinder 12 rotates a crankshaft 13 to engage the rail 2b with its lower end vertically movable. The transfer bar 2 is reciprocally driven in the front-back direction of the transfer direction via the arm 13a.

In addition, 14 is a position detector that detects the upper limit of transfer bar 2, 15 is a position detector that also detects the lower limit,
Reference numeral 16 is a position detector that detects the backward limit of the transfer bar 2 in the transport direction, and 17 is a position detector that also detects the forward limit of the transfer direction.

Next, the operation of the automatic transfer device of the transfer machine configured as described above will be described.

When the workpiece W transferred by the conveyor or the like is loaded into the transfer side of the transfer machine by the transfer device (not shown), the lift cylinder 6 operates and the shortened piston rod 6a starts to extend. Then, raise blocks 5 and 5. The transfer bar 2 rises as the blocks 5, 5 rise, and the first work holding claw 2a closest to the carry-in side of the transfer bar 2 picks up the work W and rises. At this time, when the blocks 5 and 5 rise, they are driven by the movable rack 10a of the rack-and-pinion mechanism 10 so that the pinion 10c rotates while meshing with the fixed rack 10b and rises, and the synchronous shaft 3 inserted into the pinion 10c moves. The work retainer 4 that is raised while rotating and is pivotally attached to the synchronous shaft 3 is rotated in the direction of arrow A in synchronization with the rise of the transfer bar 2. In this case, the differential action of the rack and pinion mechanism 10 causes the movable rack 10a to move up at a speed twice as fast as that of the pinion 10c, and at the same time, the spring 11 extends and the synchronous shaft 3 moves.
The rotational restoring force of is stored.

Then, when the transfer bar 2 reaches the upper limit, the work holding claw 4 of the synchronous shaft 3 also reaches the limit of rotation in the direction of arrow A,
The work W held on the work holding claw 2a is clamped between the work holding claw 2a and the work holding claw 4.

Next, when the position detector 14 detects that the transfer bar 2 has reached the ascending limit, the lift cylinder 6 is stopped and the carry cylinder 12 is operated to stop at the stroke limit. When the length of 12a is shortened, the arm 13a swings forward in the carrying direction, and the transfer bar 2 moves forward. When the transfer bar 2 moves forward, the synchronous shaft 3 moves forward integrally with the transfer bar 2 because it is connected to the transfer bar 2 by a connecting member (not shown) that allows rotation. The forward distance P of the transfer bar 2 is set to the same length as the pitch between the processing stations of the transfer machine, that is, the pitch of the work holding claws 2a provided at equal intervals on the transfer bar 2.

As the transfer bar 2 moves forward, the work W held by the work holding claw 2a is conveyed by a predetermined distance. At this time, since the work W is clamped by the work holding claw 2a and the work holding claw 4, it does not drop even if it is conveyed at a high speed.

When the position detector 17 detects that the transfer bar 2 has reached the forward limit, the operation of the carry cylinder 12 is stopped and the piston rod of the lift cylinder 6, which is stopped at the stroke limit, is shortened. Lower the blocks 5 and 5. When the blocks 5 and 5 are lowered, the transfer bar 2 and the synchronous shaft 3 are lowered, and the work W held by the work holding claw 2a is first set on the work set jig (not shown) of the first processing station. At the same time, the synchronous shaft 3 rotates in the reverse direction, the work holding claw 4 rotates in the direction of arrow B in synchronization with the lowering of the transfer bar 2, the clamped state is released, and the transfer bar 2 further lowers to hold the work. The claw 2a is also lowered and the work W is transferred to the work set jig of the processing station.

Next, when the position detector 15 detects that the transfer bar 2 has reached the lower limit, the lift cylinder 6 is stopped from operating and the carry cylinder 12 is operated to extend the shortened piston rod 12a. Then, the arm 13a is swung backward in the transport direction. When the arm 13a swings rearward in the transport direction, the transfer bar 2 retracts, and the transfer bar 2 returns to the initial position. When the position detector 16 detects that the transfer bar 2 has returned to the initial position, the operation of the carry cylinder 12 is stopped and the lift cylinder 6 is operated again to raise the transfer bar 2.

Then, the transfer bar 2 is raised, moved forward, lowered,
By driving the retreat as one cycle, the workpieces W sequentially supplied to the loading side of the transfer machine are automatically conveyed and set on the work set jig of the first machining station, and the machining of the first machining station is completed. Transfer the work W of the transfer bar 2 to the second processing station and set it on the work set jig, and set the processed work W of the second processing station on the work set jig of the third processing station. Of 1
By the operation of the cycle, the processed work W in each processing station is automatically conveyed to the next processing station in a sequential manner. Then, the work W processed in the final processing station is carried onto a carry-out conveyor or the like by the work holding claw 2a provided on the most carry-out side of the transfer bar 2 and carried out from the transfer machine.

In addition, in the above-mentioned device, since the work holding claw 4 is operated in synchronization with the rise of the transfer bar 2, the device can be made compact, and the pitch of the work holding claws 2a provided at equal intervals on the transfer bar 2 can be achieved. Is set to the distance between the processing stations, so that if the carry distance of the transfer bar 2 by the carry cylinder 12 is controlled so as to match the above-mentioned pitch, all the work holding claws 2a carry Since the pitch can be regulated, there is an effect that the conveyance pitch can be easily adjusted.

Further, although the above embodiment has been described with respect to the case where the automatic work transfer device of the present invention is used as a transfer device of a transfer machine, it can also be suitably implemented as a work transfer device for general assembly lines and processing lines. You can

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION As described above, the work automatic transfer apparatus of the present invention includes a transfer member that has a work placement portion and that can be moved up and down and back and forth, and a pressing member that can be moved back and forth integrally with the transfer member in the transfer direction. , The pressing member is driven by either one of the raising and lowering operations of the transfer member to press the work on the work placement part from substantially above, and the one of the raising and lowering operations of the transfer member causes the above-mentioned operation. Since it has a synchronizing mechanism that drives the pressing member to release the pressing of the work, and an actuator that moves the transfer member up and down and back and forth, it is a simple structure and inexpensive device that can reliably prevent the work from falling at high speed. This also makes it possible to transport multiple workpieces at the same time, significantly reducing loss time during transport. It has the effect of being able to do so.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view, partly omitted, showing an embodiment of the automatic work transfer device of the present invention. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Automatic transfer device, 2 ... Transfer bar, 2a ... Work holding claw, 3 ... Synchronous shaft, 4 ... Work holding claw, 5 ... Block, 6 ... Lifting cylinder, 9 ... Link, 10 ... Rack and pinion mechanism, 10a … Movable rack, 10b… Fixed rack, 10c… Pinion, 11… Spring, 12… Carry cylinder.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Katsuya Narizawa 1 Toyota-cho, Toyota-shi, Aichi Toyota Motor Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Shunichi Ishikawa 1 Toyota-cho, Toyota-shi, Aichi Toyota Motor Co., Ltd. ( 72) Inventor Kiyoshi Ito 108 Higashiura, Maeno, Isshiki-cho, Hazu-gun, Aichi (72) Inventor Masayuki Inagaki 62 Maeyama, Nakahata-cho, Nishio-shi, Aichi (56) References: 54-49682 (JP, U) Actual Kai 54-26273 (JP, U)

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A transfer member having a work placement portion and vertically moved back and forth, a pressing member integrally moved with the transfer member back and forth in a conveying direction, and either one of the transfer member rising and lowering. The pressing member is driven by an operation to press the work on the work mounting portion from substantially above, and the pressing member is driven by the other operation of raising or lowering the transfer member to release the pressing of the work. An automatic work transfer device comprising: a synchronizing mechanism for moving the transfer member; and an actuator for moving the transfer member up and down.