JPS6125498B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a replacement tool magazine for use in automatic machine tools.

Recently, many machining systems (FMS) have been seen in which many machining centers are installed side by side and these machine tools are collectively controlled by a computer. As with any other tool, the tools used in this equipment must be replaced when they reach the end of their service life, break, or when the object of processing changes.

Conventional tool replacement methods include: (a) Stopping the machine tool and manually replacing the tools in the tool magazine.

(b) Make the tool magazine of the machine tool replaceable and replace the tools together with the magazine.

(c) Changing tools between the machine tool tool magazine and another sub-magazine.

However, in the case of (a) above, the operating rate is low because it is necessary to stop the machine and replace the tools, and the disadvantage is that unmanned operation is not possible because it requires human labor. There is. In the case of (b), common tools and dedicated tools are used depending on the process and object of the workpiece in general machining, but when storing them in one tool magazine, the entire magazine must be replaced. The replacement method requires a shared tool for each magazine, which is uneconomical, and requires equipment other than normal tool changing equipment, such as equipment to transport the magazine and load it onto the machine tool, as well as positioning and clamping equipment. The disadvantages are that it is necessary, expensive, and requires a large amount of space. Furthermore, in case (c), a device for transporting and indexing the sub-magazine, a device for loading the tool magazine of the machine tool, etc. are required, which, like in case (b) above, is expensive and takes up a lot of space. There are some drawbacks.

In the present invention, a single magazine equipped with a plurality of tool holding mechanisms on the outer periphery is attached to a central axis, and a locking member and a guide ring are attached to the single magazine for automatically positioning and locking the tool holding mechanism. By doing so, the above-mentioned conventional problems have been solved, and the tool can be quickly and accurately indexed to a predetermined position by the operation of the machine tool's main axis without the need for a dedicated tool indexing device. An object of the present invention is to provide a replacement tool magazine capable of holding a large number of long tools.

The present invention will be explained below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an overview of a replacement tool magazine 5 and a machine tool A according to the present invention. One tool 3 can be taken out from the main shaft 4 and mounted on the main spindle 4, and the tool 3 can be removed from the main spindle 4 and returned to the dedicated tool magazine 1. An automatic pallet changer C is installed in front of the rotary tape B of the machine tool A.
The work pallet E carried by the automatic guided vehicle D or the tool pallet F carrying the replacement tool magazine 5 of the present invention can now be sent onto the rotary table B through the automatic pallet changer C. ing. The machine tool A, rotary table B, auto pallet changer C, etc. mentioned above are well known.

2 to 4 show an embodiment of the replacement tool magazine 5 of the present invention, which is composed of a pair of magazine units 7 and 8 that are integrally connected by a body 6,
A pair of frames F ₁ fixed to the tool pallet F,
It is fixed via a stopper ring 25 to a central shaft 11 supported by a pair of bearings 9 and 10 provided at the upper end of _F2 , and is movable in the axial direction and rotatable in the circumferential direction together with the central shaft 11. It is provided. Each of the single magazines 7 and 8 has a plurality of (eight in the figure) tool holding mechanisms 13 arranged at equal intervals on the outer periphery of a disk-shaped support 12, and the tool holding mechanisms 13 on the inner periphery. At position 13, the bearing 9,
A lock member 1 that moves along the outer periphery of guide rings 14 and 15 fixed to the inner end surfaces of bosses 9a and 10a of 10.
6. The tool holding mechanism 13 includes a claw holder 13a whose back surface is fitted into a plurality of radial grooves 12b formed on the outer end surface of the support 12 and fixed to the support 12 with bolts or the like; The root end side is housed in the groove 13b of the claw holder 13a, and the claw holder 1 is
integral claws 17, 17, which are rotatably supported by the claw holder 13a and have an arcuate protrusion 17a formed on the inner periphery of the distal end; and a hole 1 made in the claw holder 13a.
3c, and is installed between the root ends of the pair of claws 17, 17, and biases the tips of the claws 17, 17 toward the closing side.
and a detent key 13d which is located between the tip sides of the pair of claws 17, 17 and is fixed to the claw holder 13a.
When the protrusion 17 is pushed between the pair of semi-annular claws from the tip side, the pair of claws 17, 17 rotate about the pivot 18 against the elasticity of the clamping spring 19, and the protrusion 17
a is fitted into a holding groove 3a provided in the tool 3 to hold the tool 3. Further, the lock member 16 is slidably inserted in the axial direction into a plurality of holes 33 that are radially bored in a ring 12A fixed to the outer end surface of the inner peripheral side of the support body 12 in correspondence with the positions of the claws 17. is biased toward the center of the central shaft 11 by a pressing spring 20 provided between the locking member 16 and the claw holder 13a, and rotates together with the support 12, so that the inner end thereof (To be exact, the positioning roller 21 provided at the inner end) is replaced with the guide rings 14 and 15, and a pair of positioning grooves 14 provided corresponding to the index position of the tool magazine 5 are replaced.
a, 15a, remove the outer end from between the root ends of the claws 17, 17 of the tool holding mechanism 13, and
7, 17 can be opened and rotated freely, and the guide rings 14,
When the magazine units 7 and 8 rotate relative to the guide rings 14 and 15, the pressing portions 14 formed on the outer peripheral surfaces of the guide rings 14 and 15
The positioning roller 21 is pressed by the positioning rollers 15b and 15b, and the outer end is inserted between the root ends of the claws 17 and 17 as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG.
7 and 17 are prevented from opening.

Here, the pair of magazine units 7 and 8 are connected to the support body 12 of one magazine unit 7 (on the left side in FIG. 2).
and the guide ring 14.
2 to the right in FIG. 2, and the support 1 of the other (right side in FIG. 2)
The fixing pins 23 protruding from the ring 12A fixed to the ring 12A are fixed to the intervening member 24 fixing the boss 10a of the bearing 10 and the guide ring 15, the same number as the tool holding mechanisms 13 of the pair of magazines 7 and 8. (16 pieces in the figure) are inserted into fixing holes 24a formed at equal intervals to prevent free rotation about the central axis 11.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the two single magazines 7 and 8 are supported on the central shaft 11 with the tool holding mechanisms 13 being shifted by half a pitch from each other.
The fixing pin 23 and the fixing hole 24a are arranged so that the pair of magazine units 7 and 8 can be fixed to the frame _F2 at every half pitch, and each tool holding mechanism of the pair of magazine units 7 and 8 is fixed to the frame F2. 13 at a predetermined index position (in the case of this embodiment, the central upper end position of the magazines 7 and 8). In addition, the tool holding mechanism 13 has the tips of the claws 17 facing outward, through which the tool 3 is inserted and extracted, and the rotation plane of the claws 17 about the pivot shaft 18 (perpendicular to the plane of the paper in FIG. 2). upper and lower planes)
is attached to the outer periphery of the support 12 in parallel with the support 12.

12B is a housing fixed to one of the supports 12, and a stopper ring 25 fitted therein allows the support 12 to be fixed to the central axis 11.
Fixed. 26 has a keyway 27 at the tip.
This is a sliding key that is fitted into the ring 12A to stop rotation of the lock member 16 in the circumferential direction, and is fixed to the ring 12A. Excessive movement of the magazines 7 and 8 to the right in FIG. 2 is prevented by the outer end surface of the support body 12 coming into contact with the guide ring 15.

Next, the operation of the replacement tool magazine of the present invention will be explained.

The tools 3 prepared at the tool station are held in a predetermined tool holding mechanism 13 of a replacement tool magazine 5 loaded on a tool pallet F. The computer that controls the machine tools, etc., stores the tool palette number (replacement tool magazine number), the tool number in the replacement tool magazine 5, and the tool code (absolute codes are assigned to tools). be done.
The tool pallet F waits at a pallet storage location until a replacement command is received from the computer.

When a replacement command is issued according to the machining schedule, the tool pallet F loaded with the replacement tool magazine 5 is placed on an automatic guided vehicle D and transported to the automatic pallet changer C of the machine tool A, where the replacement tool magazine 5 is loaded. 5 and is drawn into the auto pallet changer C. When machine tool A is machining, tool pallet F waits on automatic pallet changer C until machining is completed.

When the machining by the machine tool A is completed, the tool pallet F is transferred onto the rotary table B of the machine tool A, and then, for example, the magazine unit 7 side is directed toward the spindle 4, and the center of the replacement tool magazine 5 is moved to the machine tool control. The axis is made to coincide with the Y-axis movement plane (the vertical movement plane of the main axis). In addition, in parallel with the above,
The tool 3 held in the spindle 4 is a tool changer 2
It is transferred to the special tool magazine 1 by the action of .

When the tool pallet F is transferred onto the rotary table B as described above, the main spindle 4 descends along the Y axis, and the center of the main spindle 4 coincides with the center of the replacement tool 3 at the top position of the replacement magazine 5. By the way, the machine stops and the chuck inside the main shaft 4 becomes open.
Thereafter, the main shaft 4 moves forward along the Z-axis and grabs one replacement tool 3 held by the tool holding mechanism 13 at the top of the magazine unit 7. The main shaft 4 that has gripped the replacement tool 3 moves up along the Y-axis and reaches the normal automatic tool changing position, but at this time the pawls 17, 17 of the tool holding mechanism 13 compress the clamping spring 19 and move the pivot 18. Open in the center and remove the replacement tool 3. When this is completed, the tool changer 2 operates in a well-known manner to mount the replacement tool held on the spindle 4 and taken out from the replacement tool magazine 5 into the special tool magazine 1, and One of the tools to be replaced is taken out and held in the spindle 4.

The main spindle 4, which has received the tool to be replaced from the tool changer 2 in this way, moves forward along the Z-axis directly above the empty tool holding mechanism 13 of the magazine unit 7 from which the tool has been removed, and then continues to the Y-axis. The tool is pushed down between the claws 17, 17 along the axis, and the protrusion 17a is fitted into the holding groove 3a, causing the tool holding mechanism 13 to hold the tool. At this time, the key groove formed in the flange portion of the tool to be replaced and the detent key 13d of the tool holding mechanism 13 fit together. When the tool to be replaced is held in the tool holding mechanism 13, the spindle 4, which had been prevented from rotating in the circumferential direction, is unlocked and the tool to be replaced inserted into the tool holding mechanism 13 is held in the spindle chuck. While holding the magazine, move backward along the Z-axis to the left in FIG. 24a, and the magazines 7 and 8 are free to rotate in the circumferential direction. The movement of the magazines 7 and 8 by the main shaft 4 is performed via the tool to be replaced, but in this case, since the projection 17a of the claw 17 is fitted into the holding groove 3a of the tool, the Z-axis of the main shaft 4 The tool to be replaced will not be pulled out from the tool holding mechanism 13 due to the backward movement.

While holding the tool to be replaced, move backwards and insert it into fixing hole 2.
The main shaft 4 from which the fixing pin 23 has been pulled out from the Y
While moving downward along the axis, it moves laterally along the (It will move in an arc shape whose radius is the distance between the two.) Replacement tool magazine 5
is rotated around the center shaft 11 to index the next tool to the removal position. At this time, the positioning roller 21 that had been fitted into the positioning grooves 14a, 15a of the guide rings 14, 15 separates from the positioning grooves 14a, 15a, is pushed by the pressing parts 14b, 15b, and resists the elasticity of the pressing spring 20. As the locking member 16 is pushed upward in FIG. 3, the outer end (the upper end in FIG. 2) of the locking member 16 is inserted between the root ends of the pair of claws 17, 17, and the magazine unit 7, During the rotation of the tool 8, the tips of the claws 17, 17 will not be opened inadvertently and the tool to be replaced will not fall off. At the newly indexed tool take-out position, the next positioning roller 21 enters the positioning grooves 14a, 15a and temporarily fixes the magazine units 7, 8 at that position. At this time, the outer end of the locking member 16 separates from between the root ends of the pair of claws 17, 17, so the claws 17, 17 are unlocked and the replacement tool can be taken out from the tip side. .

When the next replacement tool is placed in the removal position by performing a circular arc movement, the main shaft 4 moves forward along the Z-axis and inserts the fixing pin 23 into the fixing hole 24a. That is, the magazines 7 and 8 return to the right in FIG. 2 due to the movement of the main shaft in the Z-axis direction and the action of the pressing fixing spring 22, and insert the fixing pin 23 into the fixing hole 24a to allow free rotation in the circumferential direction. It can be stopped. Thereafter, the main shaft 4 unclamps the chuck within the main shaft and retreats along the Z-axis.

The above completes one tool exchange, but if many tools are to be exchanged, the above operation is repeated. When replacing the tool on the side of the magazine unit 8, the rotary table B is rotated 180 degrees to direct the magazine unit 8 toward the main shaft 4. However, in this case, the main shaft 4 is advanced and the fixing pin 23 is pulled out from the fixing hole 24a.

Note that when a plurality of replacement tools are stored in the magazines 7 and 8 without uneven weight, and no excessive rotational moment is applied to the magazines 7 and 8, the positioning roller 21 of the locking member 16
and positioning grooves 14a, 15 of guide rings 14, 15.
a weakly fixes the magazines 7 and 8 to the frame F ₂ and functions as an index positioning mechanism for the tool holding mechanism 13, so the fixing pin 2
3 and the fixing hole 24a can also be omitted.

FIG. 5 shows another positioning mechanism in place of the fixing hole 24a and the fixing pin 23, in which two holes 28
A cylindrical member 28 with holes a and 28b formed in an inverted T-shape is fixed to the bearing bosses 9a and 10a, and one hole 28a has a fixing pin 29 having a roller 29a at its tip and a pressure-receiving protrusion 29b at its center. is spring 3
0, the roller 29a side (supporting body 12 side)
A pressure pin 31 having a roller 31a at the upper end and a pressure inclined surface 31b at the lower end is inserted into the other hole 28b with a spring 32.
The main shaft 4
descends and moves the pressure pin 31 downward, the pressure slope 31b presses the pressure receiving protrusion 29b, causing the fixing pin 29 to retreat to the left in FIG. The roller 29a is removed from a fixing groove 12a formed in the body 12 to release the fixation of the replacement tool magazine 5.

In the above embodiment, the circular motion of the main spindle 4 is transmitted to the replacement tool magazine 5 through the tool, and the tool is indexed to a predetermined position. It is also possible to index tools by moving the replacement tool magazine 5 by moving or rotating the tool 4 back and forth, left and right, up and down, or the like.

Furthermore, the above description shows a case in which the present invention is applied to a machine tool with an automatic tool changer that performs normal tool change between the dedicated tool magazine 1 and the spindle 4 using the tool changer 2. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and can also be applied to a machine tool with an automatic tool changer that performs normal tool change directly between the dedicated tool magazine 1 and the spindle 4 without using the tool changer 2. can.

As explained above, in the replacement tool magazine of the present invention, the magazine units 7 and 8 each having a plurality of tool holding mechanisms 13 on the outer periphery are attached to the frame of the tool pallet F.
It is attached to the center shaft 12 installed at F ₁ and F ₂ , and it is attached to the center shaft 12 installed at F 1 and F 2.
Single magazine 7, 8 by utilizing the Z-axis movement function, etc.
Since the tool can be rotated to index the tool to a predetermined position, the tool can be indexed quickly and accurately without the need for a dedicated tool indexing device and drive device. Further, in the embodiment shown in the drawings of the present invention, the pair of magazine units 7 and 8 are arranged such that the tool holding mechanisms 13 of each other are shifted by a half pitch and are spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance. Therefore, the tools held in the tool holding mechanism 13 of one magazine unit 7 and the tools held in the tool holding mechanism 13 of another magazine unit 8 do not interfere with each other, so it is possible to handle many long tools. There are advantages that can be maintained. Furthermore, in the replaceable tool magazine of the present invention, the locking member is attached to the support of the single magazine so as to be movable in the radial direction of the support, and the inner end of the locking member is fitted into the central axis, so that the magazine can be replaced as a single magazine. A positioning groove is used to position the locking member, and the inner end of the locking member is pressed to move the locking member outward against the elasticity of the pressing spring, and the outer end of the locking member is moved between the root ends of a pair of claws. A guide ring is fixed to the frame and has a pressing part on the outer circumferential surface that prevents the opening and rotation of the pawl.When the magazine is positioned at a predetermined position, the tool holding mechanism automatically When the magazine is in a free state and tools can be inserted and removed freely, and when the magazine itself is removed from its predetermined position, the tool holding mechanism is locked and the tool is automatically prevented from detaching. In addition to being simple, since the tool holding mechanism is automatically locked and unlocked during operation, the main shaft can safely and accurately insert and extract tools into and out of the magazine.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing the relationship between the replacement tool magazine of the present invention and a machine tool, etc., FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing one embodiment of the replacement tool magazine of the invention, and FIG.
The figure is a partially cutaway front view of the tool holding mechanism.
The figure is a schematic front view of a pair of magazines, and FIG. 5 is a sectional view of another fixing mechanism. F...Tool palette, _F1 , _F2 ...Frame,
3...Tool, 7, 8...Magazine unit, 11...
Central axis, 12... Support body, 13... Tool holding mechanism, 13a... Claw holder, 17... Claw, 18...
pivot.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 A pair of claws 17 for gripping the tool 3 are mounted on the outer periphery of the substantially circular support 12 and pivoted to the claw holder 13a.
Multiple tool holding mechanisms 1 rotatably attached at 8
3, with the tip of the claw 17 facing outward and the pivot 1
A magazine unit 8, which is attached with the rotating plane of the claw 17 about the center axis 8 substantially parallel to the support 12, is attached to a central shaft 11 which is installed on the frames F ₁ and F ₂ of the tool pallet F so as to be freely rotatable in the circumferential direction. , the support 12
A locking member 16 is attached to the support 12 of the single magazine 8 so as to be movable in the radial direction of the support 12, and , a positioning groove 15a into which the inner end of the locking member 16 is inserted to position the magazine unit 8;
6 is moved outward against the elasticity of the pressing spring 20, and the outer end of the locking member 16 is inserted between the root ends of the pair of claws 17 to prevent the claws 17 from opening and rotating.
The guide ring 15, which has b on its outer circumferential surface, is attached to the frame.
A replacement tool magazine characterized by being fixedly provided on _F2 .