JPS5821642Y2 - Conveyance device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a conveying device, particularly a shuttle-type automatic pallet conveying device used for conveying workpieces of machine tools.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a conveyance device that can accommodate pallets of various sizes without changing setups, and in which the pallet does not move even when installing or removing a workpiece. The claw body that engages with the pallet by swinging to achieve this purpose can easily engage the retaining groove of the pallet, and the linked movement of the claw body of the carrier and the positioning pin prevents the movement of the pallet without using a complicated mechanism. The object of the present invention is to provide a conveying device with a simple mechanism that enables the following to be carried out using a single driving source.

An embodiment of the conveying device according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 1, a column 2 is placed on a bed 1 so as to be slidable in the left and right directions, and a spindle head 3 is provided on the side surface of the column 2 so as to be slidable in the up and down directions.

A tool spindle 4 is rotatably provided on the spindle head 3.
The tool spindle 4 is constructed as a so-called feel type that is slidable in the axial direction.

In addition, a tool storage magazine that holds a large number of tools is rotatably provided above the spindle head, and the tools indexed to the desired position and the used tools inserted into the processing spindle 4 are separated. , the tool can be replaced by an automatic tool changer provided on the spindle head 3.

Although the details are omitted in the figure, on the bed 1 and table in front of the column 2 are pallets 5゜5' with workpieces attached.
is placed movably via rollers or the like.

In the figure, a pallet 5 is shown at the workpiece machining position in front of the spindle head 3, and a pallet 5' is shown at the setup change position (hereinafter referred to as the installation and removal position) on the right side of the spindle head 3.
When processing of the workpiece attached to pallet 5 is completed, pallets 5 and 5' are simultaneously moved to the left, and pallet 5
The pallet shown by the two-dot chain line on the left side of the spindle head 3 is moved to the removal position, and the pallet 5' is moved to the workpiece machining position in front of the spindle head 3. A workpiece is removed from the pallet, a workpiece to be machined after the workpiece mounted on the pallet 5' is mounted on the pallet 5, and the processing of the workpiece mounted on the pallet 5' is waited for completion.

When the machining of the workpiece attached to pallet 5' is completed, pallets 5 and 5' are simultaneously moved to the right, and pallet 5
Machining of the workpiece attached to the tool spindle 4 is carried out using a tool inserted into the tool spindle 4.

The present invention relates to the pallet conveying device described above, and details thereof will be explained with reference to the following drawings.

In FIGS. 2 and 3, roller holders 6, 7, and 8 are fixed on the bed 1, and rollers 9 and 10 are rotatably mounted on the roller holder 6. 7 has a roller 11, and roller holder 8 has a roller 12.
are each rotatably mounted.

The rollers 9 and 12 are movably placed on the pallet 5 via guide pieces 13 and 14 fixed to the lower part of the pallet 5, and the rollers 10 and 11 are mounted on the pallet 5 via guide pieces 13 and 14 fixed to the lower part of the pallet 5. and 15 to guide the movement of the pallet 5.

A guide bar 17 is attached to the bracket 16 fixed to the bed 1.
is fixed to the guide bar 11, and a pallet 5 is fixed to the guide bar 11.
, 5' is provided with a conveyor body 20 having two claw bodies 19 that can be engaged with and disengaged from engagement grooves 18 provided in the engagement grooves 18 provided in the engagement grooves 18 provided in the engagement grooves 18 provided in the engagement grooves 5'.

Bearings 21 and 22 are inserted into both ends of the carrier 20 (FIG. 4), and the axial sliding motion by the bearings 21 and the rocking motion by the bearings 22 can be easily obtained.

A chain 24 is stretched in a loop shape through joints on each bracket 23 provided at both ends of the carrier 20, and the chain 24 is attached to a sprocket wheel 25 rotatably attached to each end of the bed 1. It meshes with.

Also, by driving the hydraulic motor 26 attached to the bed 1, the sprocket wheel 25 is driven through the drive mechanism described below.
is rotated, and the conveying body 20 is slid in the axial direction.

The swinging mechanism of the carrier 20 will be explained with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6.

A guide rod 27 having approximately the same length as the conveyor 20 is fixed below the conveyor 20, and the guide rod 27 is attached to the bed 1.
It engages with a concave engagement portion of an engagement piece 29 fixed to the tip of the piston rod of a hydraulic cylinder 28 provided in the center of the hydraulic cylinder 28, and when the hydraulic cylinder 28 operates, the guide rod 27 is moved and conveyed. The body 20 is swung around the guide bar 17, and the claw bodies 19 are disengaged from engagement with the retaining grooves 18 of the pallets 5, 5'.

Further, the dog 30 or 30' fixed to the piston rod of the hydraulic cylinder 28 is connected to the limit switch 31 or 31.
' and causes the hydraulic cylinder 28 to issue an operation confirmation signal.

5 and 6, a mechanism for preventing movement of the pallet at the workpiece attachment/removal position when the claw body 19 of the conveyor 20 is disengaged from the retaining groove 18 of the pallet will be explained.

When the conveyor 20 is guided by the guide bar 17 and moves to the right or left and the pallet is conveyed to the work mounting/removal position, a rack is carved at the lower end below the stop position of the claw body 19. A positioning pin 32 is inserted into the bed 1 so as to be slidable only in the axial direction.

A pinion shaft 33 having teeth that mesh with the rack of the positioning pin 32 is rotatably supported on the bed 1,
A rack shaft 34, which is provided with a rack that meshes with the teeth of a pinion shaft 33 in a phase different from that of the positioning pin 32, is inserted into the bed 1 so as to be able to slide only in a direction orthogonal to the axis of the positioning pin 32. ing.

The end of a guide rod 27 fixed to the conveyor 20 can be engaged with and disengaged from the concave retaining groove 35 cut into the end of the rack shaft 34 in the axial direction. When the conveyor body 20 is swung when engaged with the mating groove 35 (when the pallet is transported to the workpiece attachment or removal position), the claw body 1
9, the claw body 19 disengages from the engagement groove 18 of the pallet, and the positioning pin 32 engages with the engagement groove 18. When the claw body 19 engages with the engagement groove 18, the positioning pin 32 engages with the engagement groove 18. 32 is removed from the engagement groove 18.

Note that the pallet movement prevention mechanism is provided at the work attachment and removal positions of the bed 1, respectively.

Referring to FIGS. 2, 4, and 6, the drive mechanism of the sprocket wheel 25 that meshes with the chain 24 stretched around the carrier 20 and causes the carrier 20 to slide will be described.

A worm shaft 36 rotatably supported on the bed 1 is connected to the hydraulic motor 26 provided at one end of the bed 1 via a shaft coupling 37. is the shaft 3 rotatably supported on the bed 1.
It meshes with the teeth of a worm wheel 39 fixed to the worm wheel 8.

The sprocket wheel 25 is fixed to the upper part of the shaft 38, and the chain 24 is meshed with the sprocket wheel 25.

Although the right half of the machine is omitted and not shown in FIG. 2, a rotatable shaft is provided at the right end of the bed 1 in correspondence with the bearing position of the shaft 38. A sprocket wheel is fixed to the.

That is, sprocket wheels are fixed to shafts rotatably supported at both ends of the bed 1, and a chain 24 meshed with the sprocket wheels is stretched on the conveyor 20, so that the hydraulic motor 26 The rotation of the conveyor 20 causes the conveyor 20 to slide.

A throttle valve 40.degree. 40' shown in FIG. 7 is used to reduce the impact when the conveyor 20 stops sliding.
The squeezing operation 40' is performed in conjunction with the sliding movement of the conveyor 20.

The conveying device of the present invention is constructed as described above, and the pallets 5, 5' are conveyed as follows.

Pallets 5, 5 on which workpieces are placed as shown in Figure 1
′ indicates that the pallet 5 is in front of the spindle head, that is, in the workpiece machining position.
Further, a pallet 5' is placed at the workpiece mounting and removal position on the right side of the bed 1.

It is assumed that the workpiece on the pallet 5 has been processed by the tool inserted into the processing spindle 4, and the workpiece on the pallet 5' will be processed next.

Further, the claw body 19 of the conveyor 20 is separated from the engagement groove 18 of each pallet, and the positioning pin 32 is engaged with the engagement groove 18 of the pallet 5', and the conveyor 20 is slid in the right direction. The pawls 19 can be engaged with the pallets 5 and 5'.

It is assumed that the solenoid valve 41 (FIG. 7) is in a neutral position, that is, the flow of hydraulic oil is stopped.

In response to the machining completion signal, a solenoid valve (not shown in the figure) switches, and hydraulic oil flows into the hydraulic cylinder 28.
The piston rod of the hydraulic cylinder 28 is retracted to swing the carrier 20 via the guide rod 27, causing the pawls 19 to engage with the engagement grooves 18 of the pallets 5, 5'.

As the transport body 20 swings, the rack shaft 34 also moves back, so the pinion shaft 33 is rotated and the pinion shaft 3
The positioning pin 32 having a rack engaged with the pallet 5' slides downward, and the tip of the positioning pin 32 is attached to the pallet 5'.
(Fig. 5).

As the piston rond of the hydraulic cylinder 28 retreats, the dog 30 comes into contact with the limit switch 31, so the positioning and tightening of the pallet 5 placed on the table is released by this signal, and the release signal causes the solenoid valve 41 to be released. When the solenoid 5QLa is energized, the hydraulic oil from the hydraulic source flows into the hydraulic motor 26 via the hydraulic pressures 42 and 43 of the throttle valve 40, and rotates the hydraulic motor 26.

The rotation of the hydraulic motor 26 causes the worm shaft 36 and the shaft 38 to
is rotated, the sprocket wheel 25 is rotated counterclockwise as shown in FIG.
With the pallets 5 and 5' engaged with the engagement grooves 18 of the pallets 5 and 5', the pallets start sliding to the left.

When the carrier 20 slides to near the left end, it comes into contact with the spool 44 of the throttle valve 40.

As the conveyor 20 continues to slide further, the spool 44 is pushed to the left against the spring 46, so that the oil flows from the oil chamber 42 to the oil chamber 43 through the inclined groove 45 cut in the spool. The hydraulic oil that was being used passes through the oil passage 47 to the oil chamber
3 will be introduced.

By introducing the hydraulic oil throttled through the oil passage 47, the hydraulic motor 2
6 is decelerated, the sliding movement of the conveyor 20 is also decelerated.

At the same time as the carrier 20 contacts the stopper 48, the dog fixed to the carrier 20 touches the limit switch 49, so when the solenoid 5OLa of the solenoid valve 41 is demagnetized to the neutral position by the pedal contact signal, the hydraulic pressure is increased. The rotation of the motor 26 is stopped, and the sliding movement of the carrier 20 is also stopped (FIG. 7).

Through the above operations, the pallet 5 moves from the workpiece machining position on the front of the spindle head to the workpiece mounting position on the left side of the bed 1, and the pallet 5' moves from the workpiece mounting position on the right side of the bed 1 to the workpiece processing position on the front side of the spindle head. transported.

The cold welding signal from the limit switch 49 is also transmitted to the pallet tightening mechanism of the table, and the pallet 5' is positioned and tightened on the table based on this signal.

In response to the tightening completion signal of the pallet 5' to the table, the solenoid valve of the enclosure is switched, and the hydraulic cylinder 28
operates and the piston rod moves forward 0 As the carrier 20 slides to the left, the end of the guide rod 27 fixed to the carrier 20 touches the rack shaft of the pallet movement prevention mechanism provided on the left side of the bed 1. 34 (FIG. 6), the rack shaft 34 moves forward and rotates the pinion shaft 33, so that the positioning pin 32 engages with the engagement groove 18 of the pallet 5. .

Further, since the carrier 20 is also swung by the advancement of the piston rod of the hydraulic cylinder 28, the claw body 19 is
' from the retaining groove 18.

As the piston rod of the hydraulic cylinder 28 advances, the dog 30' comes into cold contact with the limit switch 31', so that the cold contact signal causes the workpiece on the pallet 5' to be processed by the tool inserted into the machining spindle 4, and the pallet 5 The removal of the processed workpiece and the installation of the next workpiece to be processed onto the pallet 5 are performed at the removal position.

When processing of the workpiece on the pallet 5' at the workpiece processing position is completed, the conveyor 20 is oscillated by operating the hydraulic cylinder 28 by switching the solenoid valve in the enclosure;
The same operation as the above-mentioned conveyance operation is obtained by the reverse rotation of the hydraulic motor 26 by the excitation of the solenoid 5OLb of the solenoid valve 41, the operation of the throttle valve 40', etc., and the pallet 5 moves to the workpiece machining position and the pallet 5' attaches the workpiece. is removed.

simultaneously transported to the location.

The conveying device of the present invention does not require a large number of drive sources, but can easily perform complex operations such as engagement and detachment between the claw body and the pallet, and engagement and detachment between the positioning pin and the pallet, with a simple mechanism that does not require a large number of drive sources. Even if the claw body and the pallet are disengaged due to the rotating movement of the pallet at the workpiece machining position, the pallet at the workpiece removal position is engaged with the positioning pin, so the workpiece installation is difficult to remove. The pallet will not move due to accompanying external forces such as tightening force.

Therefore, when the pallet is being conveyed, it is possible to easily engage the claw body with the pallet by swinging the conveyor.

In addition, since the pallet does not require any mechanism other than the engagement groove, it is possible to use standardized pallets, and the conveying device of the present invention can be incorporated into a line of machines. Even if the pallets have different sizes, the conveying device of the present invention can be used by uniformly providing only the positions of the engaging grooves, and the usable range is wide.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show one embodiment of the conveying device of the present invention, FIG. 1 is an overall view schematically showing a machine tool with an automatic tool changer equipped with the conveying device, and FIG. 2 shows the conveying device as shown in FIG. 1. 3 is a side view showing the entire conveyance device, FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line X-X in FIG. 2, and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line Y-- FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the Y line, FIG. 6 is a partial partial view showing a sprocket wheel drive mechanism and a pallet movement prevention mechanism, and FIG. 7 is a route diagram of hydraulic oil used for sliding the conveyor. In the diagram, 1...bed, 5,5'...
...Pallet, 18...Engagement groove, 19...
...Claw body, 20...Carrier body, 24...
Chain, 25...Sprocket wheel, 2
6... Hydraulic motor, 27... Guide rod,
28... Hydraulic cylinder, 32... Positioning pin, 40, 40'... Throttle valve.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] In a shuttle-type automatic pallet conveyance device for a machining center, a bed, a table rotatably provided on the bed, and pallet guides extending in opposite directions between respective setup change positions separated by an equal distance with the table in between. a conveyance guide disposed parallel to the pallet guide path, and a conveyance guide provided slidably on the conveyance guide so as to be able to simultaneously engage and disengage the pallet on the table and the pallet at one setup change position. a carrier having two claw bodies, a drive device that reciprocates the carrier to move the claws between a setup change position and a table, and a drive device that slides the carrier back and forth to move the claws between the setup change position and the table; A driving device that engages with the guide portion and the engaging portion and swings the pawl body provided over the entire length of the conveyor body in order to engage and disengage the body from the pallet, and a guide portion of the conveyor body that is provided at the setup change position. It consists of a direction changing member that engages and disengages and operates in synchronization with the rocking of the claw body, and a positioning pin that engages with the direction changing member and detaches or engages with the pallet when the claw body and the pallet are engaged or disengaged. . A conveyance device, characterized in that a pallet is conveyed between the table and a setup change position, and either claw bodies or positioning pins are always alternately engaged with the pallet at the setup change position.