JPH10175139A - Loading device of workpiece - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To surely prevent a workpiece from being damaged and deformed and accurately align the center of the workpiece with a chuck by arranging a suction pad on one face side of a substrate, and fixing a positioning member, the tip surface of which is spherical to the tip part of a guide shaft arranged in the center. SOLUTION: Previously with a positioning member 13 in a center hole 2 of a workpiece 3 stocked in a stocker, sucking pads 7 are brought into contact with the surface of the workpiece 3 to suck and hold the workpiece 3. In this case, as the positioning member 13 is formed spherical, even if the position of the center hole 2 of the workpiece to be stocked is a little shifted, the positioning member 13 can be engaged with the center hole 2 of the workpiece 3. Subsequently, after the workpiece 3 is moved to a position opposite to a chuck 4 by a moving mechanism, a linear cylinder 15 is driven to advance the substrate 5 to be pressed to the chuck 4. Whereupon, by the spherical surface of the positioning member 13, the central position of the workpiece 3 can surely be positioned for the chuck 4.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a workpiece loading device, and more particularly to a workpiece loading device for taking out workpieces previously stored in a stocker one by one and automatically holding the workpieces in a lathe chuck. The present invention relates to a workpiece loading device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a disk-shaped workpiece having a center hole is held by a vacuum suction type chuck provided in a lathe apparatus, and the outer peripheral end face and inner peripheral end face of the workpiece are ground, respectively. Processing is performed so that the center accuracy of the outer diameter and the inner diameter of the workpiece is obtained. In such a case, conventionally, a plurality of workpieces are previously stocked in a stocker, and the workpieces are removed from the stocker by one.
A loading device is used to take out each one and automatically hold it on a chuck of the lathe device. When the workpiece is held by the chuck of the lathe device, if the center of the workpiece is not exactly aligned with the center of the chuck, the workpiece cannot be processed accurately. It is extremely important to perform the so-called centering of aligning the center of the workpiece with the center of the workpiece.

Conventionally, in such a loading device, an inner diameter chuck mechanism or an outer diameter chuck mechanism has been used as a mechanism for holding a workpiece.

[0004] The inner diameter chuck mechanism has a plurality of gripping claws disposed on a distal end surface thereof so as to be openable and closable in a radial direction and arranged at predetermined intervals in a circumferential direction. After the gripping claw is inserted into the center hole of the workpiece, the gripping claw is operated so as to open in the outer peripheral direction, so that the gripping claw is locked to the inner peripheral edge of the center hole of the workpiece to be processed. It is designed to hold things.

Similarly, the outer diameter chuck mechanism also has gripping claws. In this outer diameter chucking mechanism, the opening and closing operation of the gripping claws grips the outer peripheral edge of the workpiece and holds the workpiece. It is designed to hold.

However, in such a conventional chuck mechanism, since the workpiece is held by the gripping claws, the surface of the workpiece may be damaged when the gripping claws hold the workpiece. There is a problem that the workpiece may be deformed by the gripping force of the gripping claws. In addition, if the workpiece stocked in the stocker is parallel to the plane where the gripping claws of the chuck mechanism of the loading device are arranged, and the center position is not accurate, the workpiece is securely held by the chuck mechanism. Therefore, when stocking the work in the stocker, the position of the work needs to be strictly adjusted.
Furthermore, if the chuck mechanism is used for a long time, the opening and closing of each gripping claw may not be performed uniformly.
There is a problem that the center position of the workpiece held by the gripping claws is shifted, and the center of the workpiece cannot be accurately aligned with the chuck of the lathe device.

In order to solve these problems, a loading device as shown in FIG. 2 has been conventionally used. That is, the loading device 20 has a flat substrate 21, and a plurality of (for example, three) substrates 21 are provided on one surface of the substrate 21 at positions corresponding to the workpiece 23 having the center hole 22. Are arranged at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction of the workpiece 23. Then, the suction pad 24 is formed by a vacuum device (not shown).
The workpiece 23 can be suction-held on the suction pad 24 by sucking air from the suction pad 24. Further, a positioning rod 25 is fixed to the center of the substrate 21 so that the tip end thereof slightly projects from the suction pad 24.

In such a conventional loading device 20, first, the substrate 21 is moved to the stocker portion, and the positioning rod 25 is inserted into the center hole 22 of the workpiece 23 previously stored in the stocker. The suction pad 24 is brought into contact with the surface of the workpiece 23, and in this state, air is suctioned from the suction pad 24, whereby the workpiece 23 is suction-held on the suction pad 24.

After the workpiece 23 is moved to a position facing the chuck 26 of the lathe device, the substrate 2
1 is advanced to press the workpiece 23 against the chuck 26. When the workpiece 23 comes into close contact with the chuck 26, the workpiece 23 is held by the chuck 26, and the suction of the workpiece 23 is released by the suction pad 24 of the substrate 21.
At the same time, the positioning rod 25 is retracted.

In this state, the outer peripheral end surface and the inner peripheral end surface of the workpiece 23 are polished.

As described above, in the conventional loading apparatus 20, the workpiece 23 is held while the positioning rod 25 is inserted into the center hole 22 of the workpiece 23, and the chuck 26 of the lathe apparatus holds the workpiece. As a result, the center position of the workpiece 23 can be positioned with respect to the chuck 26.

[0012]

However, the above-described conventional workpiece loading apparatus has a structure in which the workpiece 23 is held by inserting the positioning rod 25 into the center hole 22 of the workpiece 23. Therefore, if the workpiece 23 stocked in the stocker is perpendicular to the positioning rod 25 of the loading device 20 and the center position is not accurate, the positioning rod 25
Is inserted into the center hole 22 of the workpiece 23, the positioning rod 25 comes into contact with the workpiece 23, and after the workpiece 23 is held by the chuck 26 of the lathe device, the positioning rod 25 When the 25 is pulled out, the positioning rod 25 may come into contact with the workpiece 23,
There is a problem that the workpiece 23 is damaged or deformed.

The outer diameter of the positioning rod 25 is made slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the center hole 22 of the workpiece 23 in consideration of the variation in the inner diameter of the center hole 22 of the workpiece 23. Since it is necessary to form the workpiece, the center position of the workpiece 23 engaged with the positioning rod 25 is shifted due to the dimensional accuracy of the inner diameter of the center hole 22 of the workpiece 23, and the workpiece 23 is placed on the chuck 26 of the lathe device. There is also a problem that the center of the workpiece 23 cannot be accurately aligned.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and it is possible to reliably prevent a workpiece from being damaged or deformed, to properly hold the workpiece, and to use a lathe. It is an object of the present invention to provide a workpiece loading device capable of accurately aligning the center of the workpiece with a chuck of the device.

[0015]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a workpiece loading apparatus for loading a disk-shaped workpiece having a center hole previously stored in a stocker. A loading device for a workpiece to be taken out one by one and automatically held on a chuck of a lathe device, comprising a flat substrate movable between the stocker and the chuck portion of the lathe device. A plurality of suction pads for sucking and holding a workpiece by vacuum suction are provided on one surface side of the substrate, and a guide shaft is provided at a central portion on one surface side of the substrate so as to be movable forward and backward in the axial direction. A positioning member having at least a distal end surface formed in a spherical shape is fixed to a distal end portion of the guide shaft.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the distal end surface of the positioning member is formed in a spherical shape, the position of the center hole of the workpiece stocked in the stocker is determined by the position of the positioning member. The positioning member can be reliably engaged with the center hole of the workpiece even if it is slightly displaced from the center, and the center of the positioning member always coincides with the center position of the workpiece. Therefore, the center position of the workpiece can be reliably positioned with respect to the chuck. Moreover, even when the workpiece is inclined with respect to the chuck, when the workpiece is pressed against the chuck, the inclination of the workpiece is gradually corrected so that the workpiece is properly brought into close contact with the chuck. Further, after the workpiece is held on the chuck, the contact between the workpiece and the positioning member can be reliably prevented when the positioning member moves backward.

Further, since the guide shaft is freely movable in the axial direction, the guide shaft moves to absorb the force applied to the workpiece when a force is applied to the workpiece. it can.

The invention described in claim 2 is the same as the invention described in claim 1.
Wherein the suction pad is formed so as to be able to expand and contract in the axial direction and bend in the circumferential direction.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the suction pad is formed so as to be able to expand and contract in the axial direction and bend in the circumferential direction, even if the workpiece is inclined with respect to the positioning member. In addition, the inclination of the workpiece can be absorbed and held properly.

[0020]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG.

FIG. 1 shows a workpiece loading apparatus according to the present invention. The loading apparatus 1 has a disk shape by a moving mechanism (not shown) and has a central hole 2 in the center.
And a plate-like substrate 5 movable between a stocker (not shown) for pre-stocking a plurality of workpieces 3 on which a plurality of workpieces 3 are formed and a chuck 4 of a lathe apparatus for performing a predetermined processing. . A plurality of (for example, three) holding shafts 6, 6,... Are fixed to one surface side of the substrate 5 at positions corresponding to the workpiece 3 so as to have a predetermined interval in a circumferential direction of the workpiece 3. A plurality of suction pads 7, 7,... Formed of, for example, an elastic material such as rubber in a bellows shape are provided at the tip of each of the holding shafts 6 so as to be able to expand and contract in the axial direction of the holding shaft 6 and to extend in the circumferential direction. It is attached to bend freely. Further, a suction port 8 connected to a vacuum device (not shown) is provided in a middle part of the holding shaft 6.
A communication hole (not shown) that connects the suction port 8 and the suction pad 7 is formed inside the holding shaft 6. By driving the vacuum device to suck air from the suction pad 7 through the suction port 8 and the communication hole, the workpiece 3 can be suction-held on the suction pad 7.

A circular hole 9 is formed in the center of the substrate 5, and a cylindrical guide tube 11 having a flange 10 is provided inside the hole 9 to mount the substrate 5. It is mounted so as to penetrate. A guide shaft 12 is fitted inside the guide tube 11 so as to be able to advance and retreat in the axial direction.
A positioning member 13 having a substantially spherical shape is fixed so that the tip end thereof slightly projects from the suction pad 7. Further, the positioning member 13 and the flange 1 of the guide cylinder 11 are located on the outer circumference of the guide shaft 12.
A biasing spring 14 is disposed between the guide shaft 12 and the guide shaft 12. The biasing spring 14 always biases the guide shaft 12 toward the positioning member 13.

On the other side of the substrate 5, a linear cylinder 15 is provided.
Of the drive shaft 16 is connected to the other surface of the substrate 5. By driving the linear cylinder 15 to move the drive shaft 16 forward and backward,
The substrate 5 is driven to advance and retreat in a direction parallel to the holding shaft 6 and the guide shaft 12.

Further, the workpiece 3 is attached to the chuck 4.
A chuck mechanism (not shown) for sucking the chuck is provided.
A receiving recess 17 for receiving the third 3 is formed.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described.

First, the substrate 5 is moved to the stocker portion by the moving mechanism, and the positioning member 1 is inserted into the center hole 2 of the workpiece 3 previously stored in the stocker.
3 and the suction pad 7 is brought into contact with the surface of the workpiece 3. In this state, the vacuum device is driven to suck air from the suction pad 7 through the suction port 8 and the communication hole. Thus, the workpiece 3 is suction-held on the suction pad 7.

In this case, since the positioning member 13 is formed in a spherical shape, the position of the center hole 2 of the workpiece 3 stocked in the stocker is slightly shifted from the center of the positioning member 13. However, the positioning member 13 can be engaged with the center hole 2 of the workpiece 3. Furthermore, since the suction pad 7 is formed so as to be able to expand and contract in the axial direction and to bend in the circumferential direction, even if the workpiece 3 is inclined with respect to the positioning member 13, the inclination of the workpiece 3 is absorbed. Can be properly held.

The workpiece 3 is moved by the moving mechanism.
Is moved to a position facing the chuck 4, and then the linear cylinder 15 is driven to operate the drive shaft 16, whereby the substrate 5 is advanced and moved in a direction parallel to the holding shaft 6 and the guide shaft 12, The workpiece 3 is pressed against the chuck 4. When the workpiece 3 is pressed against the chuck 4, the center of the positioning member 13 always coincides with the center position of the workpiece 3 due to the spherical surface of the positioning member 13. The center position of the object 3 can be reliably positioned. When the workpiece 3 is pressed against the chuck 4 and a force is applied to the workpiece 3 in the direction of the substrate 5, the guide shaft 12 retreats against the biasing force of the biasing spring 14 and the workpiece 3 is processed. The force applied to the object 3 can be absorbed.

At this time, for example, when the workpiece 3 is slightly inclined with respect to the surface of the chuck 4, the positioning member 13 is formed in a substantially spherical shape. Abuts on the surface of the chuck 4, the workpiece 3 moves along the peripheral surface of the positioning member 13 as the substrate 5 advances, and the inclination of the workpiece 3 is gradually corrected, whereby The workpiece 3 can be properly brought into close contact with the chuck 4.

Thereafter, the workpiece 3 is held by the chuck 4.
At the same time, the suction of the workpiece 3 by the suction pad 7 is released, and the substrate 5 is moved backward in a direction away from the chuck 4. In this case, since the positioning member 13 is formed in a substantially spherical shape, the contact between the workpiece 3 and the positioning member 13 can be reliably prevented when the positioning member 13 moves backward.

In this state, the outer peripheral surface and the inner peripheral surface of the workpiece 3 held by the chuck 4 are polished by operating the lathe apparatus.

Therefore, in this embodiment, since the positioning member 13 is formed to be substantially spherical, the position of the center hole 2 of the workpiece 3 stocked in the stocker is positioned with respect to the center of the positioning member 13. The positioning member 13 can be reliably engaged with the center hole 2 of the workpiece 3 even if the position of the positioning member 13 is slightly shifted. Can be matched and the work piece 3
Can be reliably positioned. Moreover, even when the workpiece 3 is inclined with respect to the chuck 4, when the workpiece 3 is pressed against the chuck 4,
The inclination of the workpiece 3 can be gradually corrected so that the workpiece 3 can be properly brought into close contact with the chuck 4. Further, after the workpiece 3 is held by the chuck 4, the positioning member 13 moves backward. At this time, contact between the workpiece 3 and the positioning member 13 can be reliably prevented.

Further, since the guide shaft 12 is movable back and forth in the axial direction, when the workpiece 3 is pressed against the chuck 4 and a force is applied to the workpiece 3 in the direction of the substrate 5. In addition, the guide shaft 12 retreats against the urging force of the urging spring 14 to absorb the force applied to the workpiece 3.

As a result, the workpiece 3 can be reliably held by preventing the workpiece 3 from being scratched or deformed, and the workpiece 3 can be properly held on the chuck 4 of the lathe. The center of the object 3 can be accurately aligned.

In the above embodiment, the positioning member 13 is formed in a substantially spherical shape. However, the positioning member 13 is not limited to a spherical shape. If the tip surface is spherical, the same effect can be obtained.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but can be variously modified as needed.

[0037]

As described above, according to the apparatus for loading a workpiece according to the first aspect of the present invention, the distal end surface of the positioning member is formed in a spherical shape, so that the center of the workpiece is formed. Even when the position of the hole is slightly deviated from the center of the positioning member, the positioning member can be securely engaged with the center hole of the workpiece, and the center of the positioning member and the center of the workpiece The position can always be matched, and the center position of the workpiece can be reliably positioned with respect to the chuck. In addition, even when the workpiece is inclined with respect to the chuck, the workpiece can be properly brought into close contact with the chuck, and further, after the workpiece is held on the chuck, the positioning member moves backward. At this time, contact between the workpiece and the positioning member can be reliably prevented. In addition, since the guide shaft is movable back and forth in the axial direction, when a force is applied to the workpiece, the guide shaft moves to absorb the force applied to the workpiece. As a result, it is possible to reliably prevent the workpiece from being damaged or deformed, to hold the workpiece properly, and to accurately center the workpiece with respect to the chuck of the lathe device. Can be matched.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the suction pad is formed so as to be able to expand and contract in the axial direction and bend in the circumferential direction, even if the workpiece is inclined with respect to the positioning member, It is possible to obtain an effect that the inclination of the workpiece can be absorbed and held properly.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an embodiment of a workpiece loading device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a conventional workpiece loading device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Loading device 2 Center hole 3 Workpiece 4 Chuck 5 Substrate 7 Suction pad 12 Guide shaft 13 Positioning member 14 Urging spring

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A loading device for a workpiece for taking out one by one a disk-shaped workpiece having a center hole previously stored in a stocker and automatically holding the workpiece on a chuck of a lathe device. It has a flat substrate that can be moved between the stocker and the chuck portion of the lathe device, and a plurality of suction pads that hold the workpiece by vacuum suction on one surface side of the substrate are provided, A guide shaft is provided at a central portion on one surface side of the substrate so as to be able to advance and retreat in the axial direction thereof, and a positioning member having at least a distal end surface formed in a spherical shape is fixed to a distal end portion of the guide shaft. Workpiece loading device. 2. The workpiece loading device according to claim 1, wherein the suction pad is formed so as to be able to expand and contract in the axial direction and to bend in the circumferential direction.