JPH1133862A - Work supporting method and table as work receptacle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily cope with works having different shapes. SOLUTION: The arrangement according to the present invention includes a sealed vessel 10 which is formed at least partially from a rigid material and at least whose upper surface is formed from a thin flexible plate, grains 23 encapsulated in the vessel 10, and a vacuum pump 22 to suck the gas from the vessel 10, wherein a work 30 is placed on the upper surface of the vessel 10 in an adaptable condition to a robot handling or a processing machine, and the inside of the vessel 10 is kept vacuum, and the upper surface of the vessel 10 is set to the lower surface condition of the placed work 30 so as to support the work of different type.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for positioning or transporting a workpiece such as a workpiece to a predetermined mounting position or a predetermined orientation according to handling in a robot or mounting on a processing machine. It is related to the work cradle,
More specifically, the present invention relates to a work cradle that can be applied to various works having different shapes.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional work cradle is, for example,
As shown by 7-3639, a concave receiving base for receiving and supporting a work according to the shape of the work is generally formed of a metal member such as aluminum.

[0003]

The work pedestal formed of the above-mentioned conventional metal member has a stable shape over a long period of time as a single pedestal having a predetermined shape. However, for example, in order to be compatible with a processing machine that can process various types of workpieces, the work cradle must also be aligned for each type of workpiece, and this is a major problem in terms of placement location, management, manufacturing costs, and the like. Was. Usually, a large number of such cradles are required for one processing machine. In this case, it is necessary to further provide a work cradle for each type of product, and the number of such cradles increases. This was a major problem in terms of manufacturing costs. An object of the present invention is to provide a work supporting method and a work support that can easily cope with works having different shapes by solving the above problems.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The gist of the present invention is to provide a sealed container at least partially formed of a rigid body and having at least an upper surface formed of a thin sheet having flexibility, and a container inserted into the sealed container. A work such as a workpiece is placed on the upper surface of a sealed container made of granular material in a state adapted to robot handling and a processing machine, and the inside of the sealed container is kept in a vacuum state, and the upper surface of the sealed container is placed as described above. A work supporting method, wherein the work is supported while keeping the lower surface of the work. In the present invention, at least a part is formed of a rigid body,
At least the upper surface is formed of a sealed container formed of a thin plate having flexibility, a granular material charged in the sealed container, and a vacuum pump for sucking gas in the sealed container. A work such as a workpiece is placed in a state adapted to robot handling or a processing machine, and the inside of the sealed container is kept in a vacuum state, and the upper surface of the sealed container is kept in the lower surface state of the work described above. It is a work cradle.
In the above, the sealed container has a rigid frame portion, and a part of the other surface as well as the upper surface of the container can be formed of a flexible thin plate. In the above, the flexible thin plate is
It can be formed of a rubber sheet having a thickness of 0.5 to 5 mm. In the above, the granular material in the sealed container is preferably a granular material having a diameter of about 0.5 to 5 mm. In the above, the sealed container may hold a vacuum pump in a suction state, and a valve may be provided between the container and the pump to keep the inside of the container in a vacuum state.

[0005]

The present invention has the above-mentioned structure, in which a granular material is charged and the upper surface is formed of a flexible thin plate. A work is placed on this upper surface and the inside of the sealed container is evacuated. By maintaining the vacuum state sucked by the pump, the internal granules move inside the sealed container so that the upper surface conforms to the lower surface mounting shape of the work, and the internal gas is sucked in this state, so the granular materials are It is fixed in a sealed container. In particular, in addition to the upper surface, when a flexible thin plate is provided also in other parts such as side walls, the granular material easily moves, and thus the upper surface of the sealed container is formed and fixed in the recess of the work mounting shape, While the inside of the sealed container is maintained in a vacuum state, it can be used as a cradle for the work. In addition, by using a thin plate having soft elasticity also in other portions such as the side wall other than the upper surface, a vacuum state can be effectively maintained by the restoring force. In addition, when the vacuum state in the container is released, a work cradle having the following shape can be easily formed, and a work cradle corresponding to various types of works can be easily provided. By using this work cradle, it is possible to immediately cope with works having various shapes, so that the maintenance and the production cost of the work cradle can be largely omitted, and a great effect can be obtained.

[0006]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention. A sealed container 10 is formed in a rectangular box shape as a whole, and an upper surface 11 is covered with a flexible thin sheet 20 of rubber or vinyl chloride, polyethylene or the like. 13, a rubber sheet 21 having soft elasticity is provided and covered, and a skeletal portion of the bottom surface and the side wall 12 is made of a rigid metal plate 1 such as iron or aluminum.
3 as a sealed container 10. Note that the rubber sheet 21 may be provided on the side wall 12 instead of the bottom surface 13, or may be provided on both the bottom surface 13 and the side wall 12. A metal ball, which is a granular material 23, is mounted inside this, and a suction port 14 is provided in a part of the side wall 12. The suction port 14 is provided with a filter 15 so that the internal ball balls 23 do not come out.
Internal gas of 0 is sucked.

Reference numeral 30 denotes a work for positioning and mounting a workpiece or the like, which is normally mounted in an optimally determined orientation and position according to the handling of the robot and the loading into the processing machine. In this state, the sealed container 10 is
The gas inside is sucked, the valve 16 is closed in the sucked state, and the vacuum state of the container 10 is maintained. The vacuum pressure varies depending on the size of the sealed container, the granular material charged therein, the weight of the work, and the like, but is usually about 50 KPa or more. By keeping the inside of the sealed container 10 in a vacuum state, the metal ball balls 23 inside the container 10 are in close contact with each other, and the thin sheet 20 on the upper surface is fixed in a concave state on which the work 30 is placed, and One can.

The cradle 1 can be used as a work cradle 1 dedicated to the type while the inside of the container 10 is maintained in a vacuum state, the pump 22 may be maintained in an operating state, and the valve 16 may be operated. The interior may be closed to maintain a vacuum state. In this case, even when the valve 16 is closed and the vacuum pump 22 is stopped, the rubber sheet 2 provided on the side wall 12 and the bottom
The vacuum state in the container is effectively maintained by the elastic restoring force of 1. Next, when a workpiece holder of a new type is used, the valve 16 is once opened and the next workpiece 30 is used to form the same. It should be noted that the work 30 may be formed by using a dedicated model corresponding to another work.

In this embodiment, the sealed container 10 has a box shape. However, the sealed container 10 is not limited to the box shape, and may be a cylindrical sealed container 10 as shown in FIG. Further, the granular material 23 to be mounted in the container may be a ceramic ball such as a sand ball or a glass ball such as a bead ball in addition to a metal ball ball. The granules 23 preferably have a uniform size, and usually have a diameter of about 0.5 to 5 mm. Further, the rubber sheet 21 provided on the side wall 12 of the sealed container 10 may be provided around the side wall 12, and the rubber sheet 21 is preferably a thin plate having a thickness of about 0.5 mm and having elasticity and resilience. In addition, the internal vacuum state works effectively by the elastic restoring force and is maintained for a long time. Further, depending on the size of the work, the sheet 2 on the upper surface is not provided without providing the sheet 21.
At 0, the movement of the granular material may be absorbed, and the side and bottom surfaces may be formed of a rigid body such as an iron plate. Further, the flexible sheet 20 provided on the upper surface of the sealed container 10 is preferably a thin plate having flexibility and abrasion resistance that can be easily deformed as compared with the rubber sheet 21 provided on the side wall and the bottom surface. Usually, the sheet 20 is preferably a laminated film of polyethylene reinforced with fibers.

[0010]

As described above, according to the present invention, even if the workpieces have various shapes, the workpieces can be quickly and easily provided on the pedestal corresponding to the shape of the workpiece. It can correspond to different types of work. For this reason, there is no need to have a large number of pedestals for each conventional product type, and there is no need to prepare many types of pedestals, and easily and quickly form a pedestal adapted to various work shapes. As a result, a great effect can be obtained in terms of storage space, maintenance costs, production costs, and production time.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a work pedestal showing one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a work receiver according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Work base 10 Sealed container 11 Top surface 12 Side wall 13 Bottom surface 14 Suction port 15 Filter 16 Valve 20 Flexible sheet 21 Rubber sheet 22 Vacuum pump 23 Granular object 30 Work

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A sealed container comprising at least a part formed of a rigid body and at least an upper surface formed of a flexible thin plate, and a granular material charged in the sealed container. A work such as a workpiece is placed in a state adapted to robot handling or a processing machine, and the inside of the sealed container is kept in a vacuum state, and the upper surface of the sealed container is held in a state of a lower surface of the previously described work to support the work. A method for supporting a work, comprising: 2. A sealed container at least partially formed of a rigid body and at least an upper surface formed of a flexible thin plate, a granular material charged in the sealed container, and a gas in the sealed container. A workpiece such as a workpiece is placed on the upper surface of the sealed container in a state adapted to robot handling or a processing machine, and the inside of the sealed container is kept in a vacuum state. A work cradle characterized in that the work is placed in the lower surface state of the placed work. 3. The work cradle according to claim 1, wherein the sealed container has a rigid frame portion, and a part of another surface is formed of a flexible thin plate together with the upper surface of the container. 4. The flexible thin plate is formed of a rubber sheet having a thickness of 0.5 to 5 mm.
4. The work holder according to any one of items 1 to 3. 5. The granular material in the sealed container has a diameter of 0.
5. The work support according to claim 2, wherein a granular material having a size of about 5 to 5 mm is used. 6. The work receiving table according to claim 2, wherein a valve is provided between the sealed container and the vacuum pump, and the inside of the sealed container is kept in a suction state.