JPS61274833A - Automatic tool changer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To carry out an operation with high accuracy and high efficiency by providing a means for vertically moving and intermittently rotating in one direction a rotary board which mounts and removes plural tools on and from a bracket fixed to a main spindle driving torque. CONSTITUTION:A driving rod 4 which passes through a bracket 3, carries out vertical motion and rotary motion, being supported by a bearing 23, and a pin 4b is provided on its top end 4a while a stopper 4c is provided on its lower part. In a reciprocating and rotary composite mechanism 5, a cylinder 25 is fixed to the bracket 3, the section of a cylinder chamber 25a is made oval, and a stepped part 25b is formed on its lower part. A rotary board 6 is constructed so that four tools 20 can be mounted and removed while four rotary driving knock holes 6a and plural positioning holes 6b are formed on it. A rotary arm 7 has a knock pin driving mechanism 31 which is engaged and disengaged with the rotary driving knock holes 6a. The base end part 8a of a positioning bar 8 is fixed to the bracket 3.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] Technical field The present invention relates to an automatic tool changer in a machine tool,
In particular, the present invention relates to an inexpensive automatic tool changer that can be easily attached to a single-spindle machine tool such as an upright drilling machine and that allows a plurality of different tools to be automatically attached to and removed from the main spindle of the machine tool.

Prior Art Various types of automatic tool changers for machine tools have been proposed in the past, but they generally have extremely complex structures, are large, and are very expensive, and cannot be installed on existing upright drilling machines. The drawback was that it could not be done. That is, there has been no automatic tool changer that can be easily attached to an existing single-spindle upright drilling machine and is inexpensive.

Purpose The present invention has been made in order to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art, and its purpose is to provide a bracket fixed to a main shaft driving quill of a single-spindle machine tool such as a single-spindle upright drilling machine. The rotary plate, on which multiple tools can be attached and detached, moves up and down and rotates intermittently in one direction. When machining with a specific tool is completed, that tool is removed from the spindle and the next tool is attached to the spindle. It is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic tool changer which has a simple structure, is small in size, and is inexpensive, so that a tool change process such as when installed in a tool is automatically carried out.

Another object is to accurately align the tool with respect to the spindle and position the keyway and key between the spindle and the tool.

Structure: In short, the present invention includes a main spindle fixed position stopping mechanism attached to the upper part of the main spindle of a single-spindle machine tool, a bracket fixed to a quill for vertical movement of the main spindle of the single-spindle machine tool, and a stop mechanism for vertical movement and vertical movement passing through the bracket. a rotatable drive rod;
a reciprocating rotation compound mechanism that provides vertical movement and reciprocating rotational motion to the drive rod; and a plurality of reciprocating rotation compound mechanisms that are rotatably attached to the drive rod and configured to detachably attach a plurality of tools, the number of which corresponds to the number of tools and their mounting positions. It has a rotary plate in which a rotational drive dowel hole and a plurality of positioning holes are formed, and a dowel pin drive mechanism that is fixed to the lower end of the drive rod and engages and disengages from the rotational drive dowel hole. A rotary arm configured to rotate the rotary plate in one direction, a base end fixed to the bracket, a lower end pressed downward by a spring, and slidable relative to the base end. A tool positioning mechanism comprising: a positioning rod whose lower end portion engages and disengages from the positioning hole; and a tool positioning piece capable of reciprocating in a horizontal direction to engage and disengage from a key groove formed in a flange portion of the tool. and a wedge-shaped member fixed to the bracket so that the tool positioning piece is separated from the keyway of the tool when the rotary plate is raised.

The present invention will be explained below based on embodiments shown in the drawings. The automatic tool changer 1 according to the present invention includes a spindle fixed position stop mechanism 2.
, a bracket 3, a driving loft 4, a reciprocating rotation compound mechanism 5, a rotating plate 6, a rotating arm 7, a positioning rod 8, a tool positioning mechanism 9, and a wedge-shaped member 10.

The main spindle fixed position stop mechanism 2 is attached to the upper part of the main spindle 12 of the single-spindle machine tool 11 in FIGS. 1, 7, 8, and 9, and the main shaft is rotationally driven by a motor 13. It has become so. A cylindrical cam 13 is fixed to the upper end 12a of the main shaft 12, and the cylindrical cam 13 is connected to the seventh
As shown enlarged in the figure and FIG. 8, the profile consists of a pair of slopes 14 and a parallel groove 15 formed downward from the lower end 14a of the slope. The cam 13 is rotatably housed and is configured to be engaged with a pin 18 implanted in a cylindrical member 16 fixed to the upper part of the single-axis machine tool 11.

The main spindle fixed position stopping mechanism 2 is provided so that the pair of keyways 21a of the flange 21 of the tool 20 attached to the lower end of the main spindle 12 always face the same direction when the main spindle 12 is stopped, as shown in FIG. This is to ensure that.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, the bracket 3 is fixed to a quill 22 for vertically moving the main shaft of the single-spindle machine tool 11, and is formed into a flat plate shape.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the drive rod 4 is configured to be able to move up and down and rotate through the bracket 3, is supported by a bearing 23, and has a pin 4b at its upper end 4a. It is planted, and below it is a stoba 4c.
has been planted.

A rotating arm 7 is fixed to the lower end 4d by a pin 24, and the lower end 4d is rotatably supported by the rotating plate 6 via a bearing 25. A pair of collars 26 are provided above and below the rotating plate 6. is fixed.

The reciprocating rotation compound mechanism 5, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, is for giving vertical movement and reciprocating rotation motion to the drive loft 4, and has a cylinder 25 fixed to the bracket 3.
As shown in FIG. 4, the cylinder chamber 25a of the cylinder 25 has an elliptical cross section, and has a stepped portion 2 at the bottom.
5b is formed, and a stopper 4C of the drive rod 4 is formed at the stepped portion.
The range of downward movement of the drive rod 4 is restricted by this contact. Also, the cylinder chamber 25
A has an oval piston 26 having the same shape as the cylinder chamber.
is slidably housed in the piston 260 and the hole 26.
a has a thread groove 26b having a predetermined lead on its inner surface.
is formed, and the pin 4b of the drive rod 4 is formed in the cough screw groove.
are slidably engaged. Further, a space 25c is formed below the stepped portion 25b of the cylinder chamber 25a, and a vibrator 28 for supplying air from the outside is connected to the space 25c. Further, a vibrator 29 for supplying air from the outside is connected to the upper end of the cylinder 25.

The rotary plate 6 is formed into a square shape in FIGS. 2, 3, 5, and 6, and is rotatably attached to the drive rod 4, and a plurality of tools 20, for example, four tools, can be attached and detached. A plurality of rotation drive dowel holes 6a, for example four, and a plurality of positioning holes 6b are formed, which can be freely configured and correspond to the number of tools 20 and their mounting positions. Different tools 20 are removably attached to the circular arc portions 6c formed at the four corners of the rotary plate 6 via thrust bearings 30, and the tools 20 are attached to the flange portions 21 of the rotary plate 6.
is placed on the thrust bearing 30. Further, the rotational drive dowel holes 6a and the positioning holes 6b are each formed at intervals of 90 degrees in the rotational direction. Further, in other parts of the rotary plate 6, a plurality of square holes 6d, for example four, are formed through which the wedge-shaped member 10 can pass.

The rotating arm 7 is fixed to the lower end 4d of the drive rod 4 as shown in FIG. The rotating plate 6 is configured to rotate in one direction. The rotating arm 7 is fixed to the drive rod 4 by a pin 24, and a cylinder 32 is integrally formed.
A piston 33 for driving the knock pin is slidably housed in the cylinder, and the piston is constantly urged downward by a spring 34. Further, a vibrator 37 for supplying air from the outside is connected to the lower end of the cylinder 32. Then, due to the operation of the cylinder 32, the knock pin 3
The rotary arm 7 and the rotary plate 6 are configured to be able to rotate integrally by engaging the rotary arm 7 and the rotary plate 6 with the rotational drive dowel hole 6a.

As shown in FIG. 3, the positioning bar 8 has a base end 8a fixed to the bracket 6, and a lower end 8b that is constantly pressed downward by a spring 35 so that it slides against the base end 8a. It is configured to be movable, and the lower end portion 8b is configured to engage and disengage from the positioning hole 6b.

As shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 5, the tool positioning mechanism 9 is a tool positioning mechanism that can be reciprocated in the horizontal direction to engage and disengage from a keyway 21a formed in the flange portion 21 of the tool 20. The tool positioning mechanism 9 has a piece 36, and the tool positioning mechanism 9 has a fifth
As shown in the figure, a plurality of, for example four, identical ones are mounted on the rotary plate 6. The positioning piece 36 is connected to the U-shaped groove 3 of the support member 38 fixed to the rotation Itii6.
The tool 8a is slidably housed in the tool 8a, and is constantly biased toward the tool 20 by a spring 39. The tool positioning piece 36 has a pin 40 in a square hole 36a in the horizontal direction.
It penetrates horizontally and is fixed. The tip 36b of the tool positioning piece 36 is pushed forward by a spring 39 and is configured to engage with the keyway 21a of the tool 20.

As shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 5, the wedge-shaped member 10 has its base end attached to the bracket 3 so that the tool positioning piece 36 is separated from the keyway 21a of the tool when the rotating plate 6 is raised. A portion 10a is fixed, and a sloped surface 10c is formed at the tip 10b, and the tool positioning piece 36 is configured to be moved backward against the pressing force of the spring 39 by the sloped surface. ing.

The tools 20 attached to the rotary plate 6 include, for example, a small diameter drill 20A for first-stage processing, a large-diameter drill 20B for second-stage processing, a reamer 20C for rough processing, and a gluer 20D for finishing processing. can be installed. When the tool 20 is attached to the spindle 12, the key 12 on the spindle side is inserted into the pair of keyways 21a of the flange portion 21.
c is engaged so that rotational force is transmitted to the tool.

The fall prevention cylinder 43 has its base end 43a fixed to the bracket 3, and a hook 45 fixed to the lower end of the piston rod 44 supports the lower surface of the rotating plate 6 to prevent the rotating plate from falling. It is configured.

Function The present invention is constructed as described above, and its function will be explained below. First, in the state shown in Figure 2,
A drill 20A, which is an example of the tool 20, is attached to the tapered hole 12b of the main shaft 12 of the single-axis machine tool 11, and the key 12c
is engaged with the keyway 21a of the flange portion 21, and the power from the main shaft 12 is transmitted to the drill 2OA. is supplied to push the piston 26 upward, and as a result, the drive loft 4 rises and the rotary plate 6 rises.The positioning rod 8 is engaged with the positioning hole 6a, and the wedge-shaped member 10 is pushed up against the rotary plate. 6, the positioning piece 36 is in the retreated position as shown by arrow B, and in the knock pin drive mechanism 31, air is exhausted from the pipe 37, the piston 33 is lowered by the restoring force of the spring 34, and the knock pin 35 is rotated. It has separated from the drive dowel hole 6a.

In this state, when the motor 13 rotates and the main spindle 12 is lowered by a vertical drive mechanism (not shown), the drill 2OA rotates and lowers to remove the workpiece (not shown) mounted on the table 41 of the single-spindle machine tool 11. Step 1) A predetermined first stage drilling process is performed. In this way the first
When the step-by-step drilling process is completed, the main spindle 12 automatically rises and is stopped at a fixed position by the main spindle fixed position stopping mechanism 2.

That is, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, when the main shaft 12 rises and reaches near its top dead center, one of the pair of slopes 14 of the cam 13 or its top 14b comes into contact with the pin 18, Any of the slopes 14 is guided by the pin, in other words, the pin 18 slides down along any of the slopes 14, rotates the cam 13 and the main shaft 12 in either direction, and finally When the pin 18 engages with the groove 15, the main shaft 1
2 stops rotating, the main shaft always stops at a fixed position in the stopped state, and as a result, as shown in FIG. The keyway 21a is always opposed to the positioning piece 36 of the tool positioning mechanism 9.

Next, to explain the automatic tool change operation, first, the state shown in Fig. 2 shifts to the state shown in Fig. 3, and the reciprocating rotation compound mechanism 5
When air is supplied from the pipe 29 of the cylinder 25 as shown by arrow C, the piston 26 moves to the stopper 4 of the drive rod 4.
c descends until it abuts against the stepped portion 25b of the cylinder 25, thereby lowering the drive rod 4 to the position shown in FIG. 3, that is, to the bottom dead center. As a result, the rotary plate 6 and the four tools 20 are lowered, and the tapered portion 20a of the tools 20 is aligned with the single shaft 1.
2 from the tapered hole 12b, and at the same time the wedge-shaped member 1
0 is pulled out from the hole 36a of the positioning piece 36 of the tool positioning mechanism 9, and the positioning piece moves forward due to the pressing force of the spring 39, and the flange portion 2 of the tool 20 is detached from the main shaft 12.
Its tip 36b engages with the keyway 21a of the tool 1 to prevent free rotation of the tool. At the same time, the lower end 8b of the positioning rod 8 is pressed downward by the spring 27, and the positioning hole 8b is pressed downward.
A part of it lightly engages b. This causes the positioning rod 8 to apply a light braking force to the rotary plate 6. On the other hand, air is supplied to the cylinder 32 of the knock pin drive mechanism 31 from a pipe 37 as shown by the arrow, and the piston 33
is raised against the pressing force of the spring 34, the knock pin 35 engages with the rotation drive knock hole 6a, and the rotating arm 7 and the rotating plate 6 are integrated. In this state, when air is continuously supplied from the pipe 29 of the cylinder 25 of the reciprocating rotation compound mechanism 5 as shown by the arrow C, the drive rod 4 cannot be lowered any further, so only the piston 26 moves down the drive rod 4.
In this case, the piston 25 starts to descend relative to the piston 25.
Since it is elliptical and cannot rotate with respect to the cylinder 25, the pin 4b of the drive rod 4 slides along the thread groove 26b, and as a result, the drive rod 4
is rotated 90 degrees clockwise as indicated by arrow E, as shown in FIG. As a result, the tool 20 moves to a rotational position where the drill 20A has advanced by 90 degrees, and the next drill 20B reaches directly below the main shaft 12, and at this position, the tip 8b of the positioning rod 8 engages the next positioning hole 6b. match.

When the rotating plate 6 rotates 90 degrees as shown by arrow E,
Air is exhausted from the pipe 37 of the knock pin drive mechanism 31, and the piston 33 is lowered by the restoring force of the spring 34.
The knock pin 35 is removed from the rotation drive knock hole 6a. Next, air flows from the pipe 28 to the cylinder 2 as shown by arrow A.
5, the drive rod 4 does not rise and stops at the same position, and only the piston 26 rises, so the drive rod 4 moves in the direction of the arrow due to the cooperation between the thread groove 26b and the pin 4b. As shown in F, the dowel pin 35 returns from the position shown by the imaginary line in FIG. 6 to the position shown by the solid line, and the dowel pin 35 is located directly below the next rotational drive dowel hole 6a.

Then, when air is further supplied from the pipe 28 as shown by arrow A, the piston 26 can no longer rise by itself, and the drive loft 4 is pulled up via the pin 4b, reaching the top dead center shown in FIG. and stop. In this case,
The drive rod 4 rises without rotating as shown by arrow G, and the rotating plate 6 also rises at the same time. In this case, the positioning piece 36 of the tool positioning mechanism 9 is moved by the spring 39.
As shown in FIG. 3, the restoring force causes the tool 20 to move forward and engage the keyway 21a of the flange portion 21 of the tool 20, so that the tool 200 rises while being positioned in the rotational direction.
When the amount of rise reaches a certain level, the slope 10c of the wedge-shaped member 10 descends relative to the positioning piece 36, and
The positioning piece 36 is moved backward in the direction of arrow B, as shown in FIG. As a result, the keyway 21a of the flange portion 21 of the tool 20 can be engaged with the key 12c of the main shaft 12 without any trouble,
For example, the drill 20B is attached to the tapered hole 12b of the main shaft 12 by its tapered portion 20a. In this case, the lower end 8b of the positioning rod 8, as shown in FIG. 2, completely engages with the positioning hole 6b of the rotary plate 6 again, thereby restraining the rotation of the rotary plate. In this way motor 1
3 rotates and the main shaft 12 descends, the drill 20B performs a second-stage drilling process on the workpiece.

Thereafter, in the same manner, the tool 20 is sequentially automatically moved by the vertical movement of the main shaft 12, the vertical movement of the drive rod 4 by the action of the reciprocating rotation compound mechanism 5, the action of the knock pin drive mechanism 31, and the action of the wedge-shaped member 10 of the tool positioning mechanism 9. The reamer 20C and reamer 20D are replaced one after another on the main shaft 12.
Attached to the machine, each process is carried out smoothly. In this way, when four types of machining are completed using, for example, four tools 20, the single-axis machine tool 11 stops, the operator removes the workpiece from the table 41, attaches the next unprocessed workpiece, and then Similar processing is performed, and each tool 20
will be automatically replaced.

In the above embodiment, the number of tools 20 is described as four, but it goes without saying that this is not limited to four.

Effects Since the present invention is constructed and operates as described above, it is possible to attach and detach a plurality of tools to a bracket fixed to a main spindle drive quill of a single-axis machine tool such as a single-axis upright drilling machine. When machining with a specific tool is completed, the rotating plate moves up and down and rotates intermittently in one direction.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic tool changer having a simple, compact, and inexpensive structure in which a tool change process in which the tool is removed from the spindle and the next tool is attached to the spindle is automatically performed. You can get the desired effect. In addition, since the centering of the tool with respect to the spindle and the positioning of the keyway and key between the spindle and the tool are performed accurately, it has the effect of performing automatic tool exchange with extremely high precision and high efficiency despite its simple structure. .

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings relate to embodiments of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a side view of a single-axis machine tool equipped with an automatic tool changer, and FIG. ■−
■Arrow view) A vertical cross-sectional view of the main part, Figure 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the main part of the automatic tool changer showing the tool changing state, and Figure 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the main part of the automatic tool changer shown in Fig.
■A cross-sectional view taken in the direction of arrows. Figure 5 is a plan view showing the mutual relationship between the rotary plate, the tool positioning mechanism, and the flange of the tool. Figure 6 is a plan view showing the mutual relationship between the flange of the tool, the rotary arm, and the rotary plate. 7 is a vertical sectional view of the main part of the main spindle fixed position stopping mechanism, FIG. 8 is a similar vertical sectional view of the main spindle fixed position stopping mechanism, and FIG. 9 is a flange of the main spindle fixed position stopping mechanism and the tool. FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view showing the mutual relationship between parts. 1 is an automatic tool changer, 2 is a spindle fixed position stop mechanism, 3 is a bracket, 4 is a drive rod, 4d is a lower end, 5 is a reciprocating rotation compound mechanism, 6 is a rotary plate, 6a is a dowel hole for rotational drive,
6b is a positioning hole, 7 is a rotating arm, 8 is a positioning rod,
8b is a lower end, 8a is a base end, 9 is a tool positioning mechanism,
10 is a wedge-shaped member, 11 is a single-axis machine tool, 12 is a main shaft, 20 is a tool, 21 is a flange portion, 21a is a keyway,
31 is a knock pin drive mechanism, and 36 is a positioning piece.

Claims (1)

[Claims] A main spindle fixed position stop mechanism attached to the upper part of the main spindle of a single-spindle machine tool, a bracket fixed to a quill for vertical movement of the main spindle of the single-spindle machine tool, and a drive rod that passes through the bracket and is capable of vertical movement and rotational movement. , a reciprocating rotation compound mechanism that provides vertical movement and reciprocating rotational motion to the drive rod, and a plurality of tools that are rotatably attached to the drive rod and configured to be detachable and that correspond to the number of tools and their mounting positions. It has a rotary plate in which a plurality of dowel holes for rotational drive and a plurality of positioning holes are formed, and a dowel pin drive mechanism that is fixed to the lower end of the drive rod and engages and disengages from the dowel hole for rotational drive, and reciprocates with the drive rod. a rotary arm configured to rotate the rotary plate in one direction; a base end fixed to the bracket and a lower end pressed downward by a spring so as to be slidable relative to the base end; A tool having a positioning rod configured such that the lower end thereof can be engaged with and disengaged from the positioning hole, and a tool positioning piece that can be reciprocated in a horizontal direction to engage and disengage with a key groove formed in a flange portion of the tool. An automatic tool changer comprising: a positioning mechanism; and a wedge-shaped member fixed to the bracket so that the tool positioning piece is separated from the keyway of the tool when the rotary plate is raised.