JPS59182040A - Automatic work process arranging device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To yield a sufficiently flexible work process arranging device capable of easily mounting and removing any work by enabling mounting/demounting operation of a clamper on/from a pallet to be automatically performed in a work process arranging device of a flexible production system. CONSTITUTION:A pallet 4 is magnetically adsorbed onto a base 1, and a jig base 3 therefor is constructed so as to arrange a work 5 on the upper surface of said base. Further, plural clamper mounting holes 6 are drilled through the upper surface of the jig base 3, and a mechanical clamper 7 is constructed so as to be selectively mounted in response to a work 5. Similarly, nut runners 12 each as a clamper driving device and cylinders 13 each as a lock releasing device are arranged respectively in their plural number on the outer peripheral surface of the pallet 4. And, since a slide shaft 40 is pushed in the one direction for its mounting, it is displaced from the pawl part of a lock arm, but if the slide shaft 40 is pressed down and a pusher is opposed to the pawl part, it is possible to release the engagement with an engagement receiving part.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention relates to an automatic setup device for clamping a workpiece such as a workpiece on a pallet in, for example, an FMS (flexible production system).

[Technical background of the invention and its problems]

A desired workpiece is taken out of a warehouse that stores a large number of workpieces with different shapes and dimensions, placed on a pallet, clamped on the pallet, and then transported together with the pallet to a designated processing machine and machined. The flexible production system that automatically performs processing, etc. is attracting attention. This system is fully automated using a combination of automatic machine tools, robots, conveyors, etc., but in order to transport the workpiece to each process, the workpiece must be fixedly placed on a transportable groove. A setup device is required.

This setup υ device is composed of a pallet, a robot that transfers workpieces onto the pallet, and a clamper that is installed on the pallet and clamps the workpieces to the pallet.
・The workpiece transferred onto the Yalet is automatically clamped by the clamper. This clamper is generally a hydraulic clamper, and each of the hydraulic clamps J? The workpiece is clamped by applying hydraulic pressure to the workpiece, but after clamping, it is necessary to transport the workpiece together with the let. Therefore, after applying hydraulic pressure to the hydraulic clampers for clamping, it is necessary to disconnect the hydraulic circuit connecting the hydraulic clampers and the hydraulic pressure supply source. A joint is required to connect and separate the shield and hydraulic circuit. In addition, hydraulic clamps generally have a small clamp stroke, so they have poor flexibility, such as being unable to handle many types of workpieces that differ greatly in shape and size. Furthermore, there are cases where one or more workpieces are placed on the pallet and these workpieces are clamped at the same time, but unlike in the past, the clamper is not fixedly installed at a predetermined position on the pallet. However, the shape and dimensions of the workpiece are limited to some extent, and in this respect, they are also inferior to flexible 7bility.

[Object of the Invention] This invention was made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and its purpose is to automatically attach and detach the clamp to and from the pallet, and to control the shape, size, and shape of the workpieces on the pallet. It is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic setup device that is highly flexible and can mount the minimum number of clampers depending on the number of clampers and can also be easily removed.

[Summary of the invention]

・Multiple clamper mounting holes are provided on the groove, and the clamp can be installed in a locked state by simply inserting the clamp into any clamper mounting hole depending on the shape, size, and number of workpieces. When removing the lock, the lock can be released by simply sliding the slide shaft using the cylinder.

[Embodiments of the invention]

The present invention will be described below based on an embodiment shown in the drawings. Figure 1 shows the entire automatic setup device.
is a base set on the floor. On this base I is an NC
A pallet 4 consisting of a plate 2 and a jig plate 3 is removably provided, and this pallet 4 is magnetically attracted to the base 1. The jig space 3 of this pallet 4 is in the form of a rectangular plate, on the top surface of which one or more workpieces 5 can be placed. Furthermore, a plurality of clamp mounting holes 6... (shown in Fig. 3) are drilled on the top surface of the jig pace 3, and a mechanical clamper 7, which will be described later, can be attached to the shape and dimensions of the workpiece 5. and can be installed selectively depending on the number of pieces. A robot 8 as a clamper transfer device is provided outside the pallet 4. A gripper 10 is provided at the tip of the arm 9 of the robot 8, and can lift the clamper 7 from a clamper stand 1 installed near the robot 8 and transfer it to a predetermined position on the pallet 4. It looks like this 0 Same as above.
A plurality of nut runners 12 as a crank/arm drive device and cylinders 13 as a lock release device are installed around the outer circumference of the shaft 4, and are used for positioning and driving the clampers 7 and for controlling the clamper for the jig pace 3. 7
It is now possible to unlock...

Next, the above two pumps 7 will be explained based on FIGS. 2 to 5. 14 is an adapter, and a pair of lock mechanisms 15 and 15 are provided at the bottom of this adapter I4. These locking mechanisms 15.15 are connected to pins 16.16
L-shaped lock arm 17.1 that can rotate freely using the fulcrum.
It is composed of 7. These lock arms 17.
The lower end of the adapter 17 is provided with claws 1B, 1B that protrude from the lower surface of the adapter 14, and the upper end is provided with a spring 19, 19 that biases the claws 18, 1B in the expansion direction. . Further, a T-shaped groove 20 is provided in the upper part of the adapter 14, and a crank 7 box 2I is slidably provided in this T-shaped groove 20. A spring 22 is stretched between the clamp box 21 and the adapter 14, and always urges the clamp box 21 in a backward direction with respect to the adapter I4. A through hole 23 is bored in the rear end surface of the flange box 2, and a rotating shaft 24 is laterally supported within the flange box 21 facing the through hole 23.

A coupling 25 is provided at one end of this rotating shaft 24, and a worm 26 is provided in the middle. On the pupil side of the worm 26, a transmission shaft 27 perpendicular to the rotation shaft 24 is vertically installed by bearings 28 and 28 provided above and below.

This transmission @27 includes a worm wheel 29 that meshes with the worm 26, and a spur gear 30 fitted onto the top of the worm wheel 29. Furthermore, two screw shafts 31 and 32 are erected in parallel on both sides of the transmission shaft 27, and the upper ends of these shafts protrude upward from the crank 7° box 2I. . These screw shafts 31°3
In the middle part of 2 is a transmission gear that meshes with the spur gear 3o.
3 and 34 are screwed together. These transmission gears?
3. ,? 4 is rotatable by a bearing and moves up and down, that is, a screw shaft, ? 1, ,? 2 is mounted immovably in the axial direction of the transmission gear, 3, ? ,
,? Screw shaft by rotation of 4? I
, ,? 2 is designed to move up and down. These screws/Yahoo) 31, ,? A Franz 0 arm 35 is installed along the sliding direction of the clamp box 21 at the upper end of the clamp box 21.
6 is provided protrudingly. And this clamp arm 35
is two screw shirts) 31,. It moves up and down while maintaining a horizontal state together with the up and down movement of the arm 92, and when clamping, it descends to clamp the armature 5, and when it is cranked, it rises.

The clamp attachment hole 6 for attaching the clamper 7 thus constructed to the jig plate 3 is shown in detail in FIG. 3. This clamper mounting hole 6 is bored corresponding to a pair of locking mechanisms 15.15 provided on the adapter 14, and the claw portion 18 and IB of the locking arm 17.17 are inserted into the upper edge of the hole while sliding. Chee to be done, 9 sides 37
is formed. Furthermore, the lower mouth edge of each clamper mounting hole 6 includes a retaining receiving part that engages with the claw parts 1B and 1B.
8 and 38 are provided, and these retaining receiving parts 38 and 38 are provided.
There is a slide hole on the outside adjacent to the ? 9, ? 9
is drilled. And this slide hole? 9
, ,? A slide shaft 40° 40 is slidably inserted into 9, and these are supported by a return spring 41.
．． 41, it is always biased in one direction. A suppressor 42.4 is located in the middle of these slide shafts 40.4θ.
2 protrudes from the cutout windows 43 and 43 of the slide holes 99 and 39, respectively. Since the slide shaft 40.40 is pressed in one direction by the return spring 41.41, these suppressors 42.42 are out of position with the claws 1B, 1B of the lock arm 17.17, but the slide When the seven shafts 40, 40 are pressed and the suppressors 42, 42 face the claws 1B, IB, they are pushed back so that they can be released from the engagement with the engagement receivers 38, 38. Further, these slide shafts 4θ, 40 are connected at one end by a connecting plate 44, so that they operate simultaneously.

Further, the nut runner 12 is provided with a motor 46 at the upper part of its main body 45, and the rotational force of the motor 46 is transmitted to a drive shaft 48 via a gear mechanism 47. This drive shaft 48 is rotatable and movable back and forth, and has a locking portion 49 at its tip that connects to a coupling 25 provided on the rotating shaft 24 of the crank 97.
is provided. Further, the cylinder 13 is supported by a cylinder support stand 50, and the cylinder 13 is provided with a suppression shaft 5I that faces the connection plate 44.

Next, the operation of the automatic setup device configured as described above will be explained. First, when the workpiece 5 is placed on the jig base 3 of the grout 4, the robot 8 is activated.

Then, the gripper 10 of the robot 8 grasps the grip 36 of the clamper 7 on the clamper stand 11, and the arm 9
Rotate it and transfer it to jig base 3''2. At this time,
The number and installation position of the clampers 70 are determined based on the shape, dimensions, and number of the workpieces 5 on the jig base 3, and the clampers 7 are positioned in the clamps and supplementary holes 6. In this case, since the adapter I4 of the clan zea is provided with a pair of locks 15.15, when the robot 8 lowers the clan 7, the claw 18 of the lock arm 17. 1B comes into contact with the clamper mounting hole 6. Then, when the clamper 7 further descends, the claws 18, 18 slide on the taper 37 and resist the restoring force of the springs 19, 19, causing the lock arms 17, 1
7 narrows inward and descends to a predetermined position, the claw portion 1B,
The IB is engaged with the engagement receiving portion, 98, 38. Tsut,b
, the lock arms 17, 17 are expanded by the restoring force of the springs 19, 19, and the adapter I4 is locked to the jig plate 3 via the claws IS, IB. When the plurality of clamps 7 are locked on the jig plate 3 in this manner and then the nut runner I2 is operated, the drive shaft 48 moves forward. When the drive shaft 48 moves forward, its tip passes through the through hole 23 of the clamp box 2 , and a locking portion 49 at the tip is connected to the rotating shaft 24 via the coupling 25 . When the drive shaft 48 moves further forward, the entire clamp box 2I moves forward against the restoring force of the spring 22 because the rotating shaft 24 and the clamp box 21 are integrated. Therefore, the clamp arm 3 provided in the clamp box 21
5 moves forward and faces the circumferential edge of the workpiece 50, and at this point the forward movement of the drive shaft 48 stops. Next, motor 4
6 is activated, and the driving shaft 48 is rotated via the gear mechanism 47. Therefore, the rotational force of the drive shaft 48 is transmitted to the rotating shaft 24 via the coupling 25 and further transmitted from the worm 26 to the worm wheel 29. The rotation of the worm wheel 29 is transmitted to the spur gear 30 via the transmission shaft 27, and is further transmitted to a pair of transmission gears, ? ,
3, 34. In this case, the transmission gear;? ,?
, 34 cannot move in the axial direction and only rotates, so
These transmission gears 33...? The screw shafts 3I, 32 which are screwed into the screw shafts 4 are lowered. Therefore, the clamp arm 35 integrated with the screw shafts 31 and 32 descends and presses the periphery of the workpiece 50 downward, that is, onto the jig base 3, thereby clamping it.

When the clamping of the workpiece 5 to the jig base 3 is completed, the rotation of the drive shaft 48 is stopped, and the drive shaft 48 is subsequently moved backward, so that the drive shaft 48 is detached from the coupling 25 of the rotating shaft 24. Tsumari,
The clamper 7 and the nut runner I2 are completely separated, but the rotating shaft 24 is connected to the worm 26 and the worm wheel 29.
1 Mechanically locked by meshing with the scree shaft 31, , ? 2 is also redundant and maintains the clamped state. Therefore, even if the pallet 4 is transported to a machine tool or the like in this state, the workpiece 5 will not come off the pallet 4, and machining can be performed in this clamped state.

In addition, when unclamping the workpiece 5, the drive shaft 48 of the nut runner I2 is advanced and connected to the rotating shaft 24, and the rotating shaft 24 is rotated in the opposite direction to cause the risk of unclamping. Z, 32 can be raised, and the clamp arm 35 can be separated from the periphery of the workpiece 5. In addition, the drive shaft 48
When the clamp box 2I is moved backward, the spring 2
2, the clamp arm 35 retreats from the work 5 while sliding on the adapter I4. Therefore, the clamp arm 35 of the crank 7 does not get in the way when lifting the workpiece 5 from the jig base 3.

Furthermore, when the cylinder 13 is actuated and the pressing shaft 5I is advanced, its tip abuts against the connecting plate 44. Then, when the pressing shaft 51 moves further forward, the pair of fly 1'' shafts 4θ, 40 move to the return ring 41.41.
pushed against the When the slide shafts 40, 40 slide to a predetermined position, the suppressors 42, 42 come into contact with the claws 1B, IB and press them inward. Therefore, the lock arm 17.17 has a spring 19.19
The claw portions 1B, 1B are disengaged from the engagement receiving portions 38.degree.38. That is, the locking mechanism 15.15 of the clan 7 is in the unlocked state, and the robot 8 grips the cylinder 36 of the clan 7 using the grits and 1θ, lifts it, and rotates the arm 9. The horizontal clamper 7 can be transferred to the Franz device stand 11.

After all the clampers 7 have been removed, by retracting the suppression shaft 5 of the cylinder 13, the return springs 41' and 41 will release the test sliding shafts 40, 40.
will be returned to its original position, and the cylinder 13 will be...
Completely cut off with Gullet 4! Ill be separated.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As detailed above, according to the present invention, it is possible to automatically attach and detach the clamper to and from the gelet, so the minimum number of clampers required can be adjusted according to the shape, size, and number of workpieces on the pallet. Since it can be attached and removed easily, it has the effect of enabling automatic setup with great flexibility.

Still, the clamper can be attached and detached with just a touch, and setups can be made quickly.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a front view of the entire automatic setup device, FIG. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional plan view of the flang box, and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line -v in FIG. 4. 4...Pallet, 5...Work, 6...Clamper mounting hole, 7...Clan iR, 13...Cylinder, 1
7... Lock arm, 38... Engagement receiver, 40...
・Slide shaft. Applicant's agent Patent attorney Takehiko Suzue = 20 Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3-1

Claims (1)

[Claims] In an automatic setup device that clamps and sets up a workpiece placed on a pallet and a groove with a clamper, a plurality of clamper mounting holes drilled in the groove and the A lock arm that is installed on the clamper and is sometimes inserted into the clamper mounting hole against a biasing force, and after insertion is expanded by the biasing force and locked to the retaining portion of the clamper mounting hole; a slide shaft that is slidably provided next to the clamper and that releases the lock by retracting the lock arm from the retaining receiving part against an urging force when the clamper is removed; and a cylinder that slides the slide shaft. An automatic setup device characterized by comprising: