JPS6374557A - Pallet exchanger for machine tool - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the efficiency of operation, by circulating a pallet magazine running while equipping an exchanger with a pallet magazine indexing device, which indexes a desired pallet cartridge to an arrangements station or a pallet transfer feed station, and a cartridge in-out handling device. CONSTITUTION:Cartridges 50, to which a plural number of pallets 52 are respectively mounted, are provided to be juxtaposed between a pair of chains 54 forming an oval-shaped loop of endless track type having up-going and down- going circulating paths, and the cartridge 50 performs a turning motion by a chain sprocket mechanism. And an instruction from a machine control device MTC68 indexes each pallet 52 to each index position 42 or 44 in an up-going part corresponding to a pallet transfer feed station 46 and an arrangements station 48. Next the desired cartridge 50 in each index position 42 or 44 is indexed by the instruction of the MTC68 performing the in-out handling action of a pallet magazine by a cartridge in-out handling device, and the magazine is extracted to each transfer feed or arrangements station 46, 48.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention is used with a machine tool and has a pallet magazine for exchangeably storing a pallet for supporting a workpiece. Regarding a device, in particular, a plurality of pallet cartridges (hereinafter simply referred to as cartridges) for storing a plurality of pallets are movably stored and arranged along upward and downward endless orbits, and This relates to a pallet magazine that can be freely pulled out from the track as needed.

[Conventional technology and problems]

Generally, a pallet magazine is a device that stores a plurality of pallets and indexes the required pallet to a pallet exchange position. Conventional pallet magazines arrange pallets one by one in a circular or oval loop shape, or arrange multiple pallet mounting tables in the vertical direction, and store individual pallets 7) on the mounting tables. etc.

In the former type, the installation area increases depending on the number of pallets, and in the latter type, a device for lifting and lowering the pallets is required, making the entire device large-scale. Additionally, both methods have the problem that it takes too much time to index the pallet. The former pallet magazine is described in, for example, Japanese Utility Model Application No. 57-157441, and the latter example is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 60-201854.

Some of the above-mentioned other known technologies do not have a pallet setup station, and in this case, it is not possible to index the pallet to be used for pallet exchange during setup work, and during that period, the machine tool, etc. System operation is hindered. Furthermore, even if a setup station is provided, it is not possible to set up a plurality of pallets at once, which increases the setup time and ultimately reduces the operating efficiency of the system.

The above is the conventional wave 4 regarding magazines used for pallet exchange.
+j, but as a further reference, as a technique for a tool changing device for machine tools, for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 59-3 published by the present applicant
No. 5738, which discloses the technology of a cartridge having multiple tool sockets, but even if this technology is applied to a pallet magazine, considering the workability at the pallet setup station, A vertical pallet is inconvenient and has poor workability.

Therefore, in order to solve these problems, the present invention is designed to store a large number of pallets within a limited installation area, and to shorten the time it takes to determine each of these storage pallets or to set up the pallets. The object of the present invention is to provide a pallet magazine device. At the same time, by using a pallet changer together, a new pallet changing device for machine tools is provided.

[Used in conjunction with means for solving the problem] In view of the above-mentioned purpose of the invention, the zero development has developed a magazine base and , a pallet cartridge that stores a plurality of work support pallets, and an endless rail that is provided on the magazine base so as to be able to run in circles and supports a plurality of the pallet cartridges in an array in an upward and downward vertical circulation path to form a Vδ ring. a pallet magazine of a shape, and a pallet transfer station that circulates the pallet magazine with respect to the magazine base, and a setup station for attaching and removing a desired pallet cartridge from the plurality of pallet cartridges to a workpiece, or a pallet transfer station for transferring the pallet. a bullet magazine indexing device capable of indexing the desired bullet magazine to the pallet setup position; and a first cartridge insertion/extraction device capable of setting up the desired bullet cartridge indexed to the pallet setup position by performing an extraction operation and an insertion operation with respect to the pallet magazine. and a second cartridge insertion/extraction device that allows the desired pallet cartridge indexed to the pallet transfer position to be transferred toward a machine tool by performing an extraction operation and an insertion operation with respect to the pallet magazine. The present invention provides a pallet changing device for a machine tool, which is characterized by:

The present invention also provides a magazine base, a pallet cartridge that stores a plurality of work support pallets, and a plurality of pallet cartridges that are provided on the magazine base so as to be able to run in circles, and that are arranged in upward and downward circulation paths. An endless rail-type pallet magazine arranged and supported in a wi-ring manner, and a pallet magazine that allows the pallet magazine to travel in a wi-ring constant manner with respect to the magazine base, and a desired pallet carmy ridge from the plurality of pallet cartridges for mounting and removing workpieces. A pallet magazine indexing device capable of indexing a pallet cartridge to a setup station or a pallet transfer station for transferring pallets at a certain transfer position; and an operation for extracting the desired pallet cartridge indexed to the pallet setup station from the pallet magazine. a first cartridge insertion/extraction device that enables setup by performing an insertion operation; and a first cartridge insertion/extraction device that enables setup by performing an insertion operation; and a first cartridge insertion/extraction device that allows setup to be performed by performing an extraction operation and an insertion operation with respect to a pallet magazine to transfer the desired pallet cartridge indexed to the pallet transfer station toward a machine tool. a pallet magazine device configured to include a second cartridge insertion/extraction device that allows the workpiece to be inserted and removed; and a machine tool that exchanges and receives the workpiece support pallet with the pallet magazine device and processes the mounted workpiece. , providing a pallet changing device for a machine tool, comprising: a pallet changer provided between the pallet magazine device and the machine tool to grip and transfer the workpiece support pallet; It is something to do.

〔Example〕

1 is a schematic top view of a pallet changing device for a machine tool including a pallet magazine, a machine tool, and a pallet changer according to the present invention; FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along arrow line nn in FIG. 1; 3 is a partially cutaway cross-sectional view taken along the arrow line III--III in FIG. 1, FIG. 4 is a top view including the cartridge nozzle at the pallet transfer station, and FIG. 5 is taken along the arrow line V-V in FIG. 1. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the arrow line VI-VT in FIG.

Referring to FIG. 1, a pallet magazine device 40 having a T-shaped floor projection shape is disposed in front of the machine tool 20. A front base 55 having a pallet transfer station 46 and a setup station 48 is provided. Between the transfer station 46 and the machine tool 20 is a pallet exchange robot, I!, which is movable in the Z direction. A second pallet changer 76 is installed, which connects the pallet transfer station 46 and the machine tool 20.
The pallet is exchanged between the pallet and the table 30. Further, a machine control I device (MTC) 68 is disposed on the side of the machine tool 20 to control the operations of the machine tool 20, the pallet changer 76, and the pallet magazine device 40, and controls the operations of the machine tool 20, the pallet changer 76, and the pallet magazine device 40. connected by a cable.

The overall arrangement relationship has been explained above, and the configuration of each mechanical device will be explained below. First, the machine tool 20 has a bed 22
and a column 24, and the bed 22 is equipped with a work table 30 on which a pallet 32 on which a workpiece is placed is fixedly placed. This work table 30 is capable of sliding in the left and right X directions with respect to the bed 22. Further, a spindle head 26 is fixed to the column 24 on the front side of the machine tool 20, and a spindle 28 facing in the longitudinal Z direction of the machine tool 20 is disposed on the spindle head 26. Note that the column 24 has a structure that allows it to slide in the Z direction with respect to the bed 22.

Next, the configuration and operation of the pallet magazine device 40 will be described, with reference to FIG. 2.3 as well as FIG. 1 below. A pair of front and rear sprockets 60 are coaxially fixed to an output shaft 64 of a servo motor 62, which is disposed in a box-shaped magazine base made up of a base 56 and a frame 58. There is. parallel to the output shaft 64;
A shaft 63 is supported on the base at the same height and appropriately spaced apart from the output shaft 64, and a shaft 63 is also provided with a pair of sprockets 63 so as to be located in the same plane as the pair of sprockets 60. Other sprockets 61 are fixed at the front and rear. Chains 54 are suspended in parallel to each other on these 2N sprockets 60 and 61, and these chains 54 are rotationally driven by a drive-side sprocket 60 connected to the servo motor 62.

In this way, a plurality of box-shaped holders 84 (in this embodiment, 14 2) They are fixedly placed side by side with their longitudinal direction bound in the X direction, with appropriate intervening space between them. The pallet magazine is comprised of this N-shaped holding body 84 and the chain 54. This box-shaped holder 84 has a pallet 52
A plurality of (three in this embodiment) cartridges 50 are inserted and held in each cartridge. In this way, the cartridges 50 arranged side by side in an oval loop shape are connected to each other by the aforementioned chain.
The sprocket mechanism provides rotational movement. The servo motor 62 has a built-in rotary encoder, and in response to instructions from the MTC 68, allocates each pallet 52 to each side output position 42 or 44 of the upward section corresponding to the pallet transfer station 46 or setup station 48. It is possible to take out. Furthermore, servo motor 6
The second rotation direction is determined so that the indexing time is the shortest. After this indexing, in order to smoothly extract or insert the cartridge 50 in a direction perpendicular to the rotation plane of the oval loop-shaped pallet magazine, a sagging prevention guide 66 supported on a base is used. The chain 54 of the two-way circulation path is supported so as not to sag.

Further, below the base, a pallet 52 is mounted on each cartridge 50 mounted in the oval loop shape.
Among these, there is a cut that falls from the upside-down downward circulation path pallet 52) and an oil pan 68 for receiving lubricating oil.
is provided and gently slopes toward the center line, and a chip conveyor 70 extends along the center line to collect chips and lubricating oil.

Next, returning to FIG. 1 again, the pallet changer 76 for pallet exchange returns the pallet 32 on the machine tool 20 to a fixed position 4σ of the pallet transfer station 46, or moves the pallet 52 at the fixed position 4σ to the machine tool 20. It is configured to be movable in the Z direction along a guide 80 so that it can be placed on the work table 30 of
It is configured to be able to rotate around. Note that this pallet changer 76 includes a grip portion 7 for gripping the pallet.
Have a good day.

Next, the pallet and cartridge holding structure will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. The cartridge 50 includes a pair of vertical plates 96, a central plate 94 and an upper plate 92 stretched and fixed to the center and upper parts of the vertical plates 96, and a pair of rollers 11, which will be described later.
4, and the upper plate 92 has one pull stand receiving hole 98 on the center line for one pallet 52, and a square corner position around the receiving hole 98. Four positioning holes (piece holes) 100 are provided so as to form a shape. Further, one second pull stud receiving hole 99 is provided on the center line of the center plate 94, corresponding to each receiving hole 98.

On the other hand, the pallet 52 is transferred to the pallet changer 76 described above.
(Fig. 1) includes a pallet main body having a gripping groove 102 that is engaged with the gripping part 78, a pull stud 104 screwed to the main body, and a pull stud 104 screwed to the main body. It is composed of three positioning protrusions (pieces) 106. The pull stud 104 and the four pieces 106 are arranged in a relationship corresponding to the pull stud receiving hole 98 and the four piece holes 100, so that three pallets 52 can be mounted on each cartridge 50. It is. At this time, the tip of the pull stud 104 is inserted into the second pull stud receiving hole 99.

With the above structure, the box-shaped holder 84 for holding and transporting each cartridge 50 on which three pallets 52 are mounted is fixedly placed on the chain 54 via the bracket 88. This box-shaped holder 84 is connected to the V-groove 10 of the pallet 52.
A clamping device (clamper) 86 is provided for holding the cartridge 50 via 2. Therefore, in order for the box-shaped holder 84 to hold the cartridge 50 on which the pallet 52 is mounted, it is necessary to insert it in the X direction shown in FIG. The cartridge 50 and each pallet 52 thus inserted are held by the clamper 86 via the V-groove 102, so that they will not fall even if they are turned upside down in the downward circulation path.

In this way, each cartridge 50 held and conveyed by the pallet magazine equipped with the box-shaped holder 84 is
Each indexing position corresponding to the pallet transfer station 46 (Fig. 1) and setup station 48 (Fig. 1) is set by a pallet magazine indexing device composed of a TC 68 (Fig. 1) and a servo motor 62 (Fig. 2). W42, 4
4, the pallet transfer station 46
First, the structure for pulling out to the setup station 48 and its operation will be briefly explained with reference to FIG.

Although this figure shows the structure at the indexing position 42 corresponding to the pallet transfer station 46, the ball screw shaft 1 described later is
By replacing 20 with a loftless cylinder 142 (FIG. 6), it can be directly applied to the indexing position 44 corresponding to the setup station 48. The cartridge 50
One roller 114 is rotatably fixed to the lower side of the center plate 94 at both longitudinal ends thereof. This pair of rollers 114 rolls in contact with rolling surfaces 110 and 112 formed on the frame 58 (FIG. 1 or 2). This roller 114 and transfer surfaces 110, 112
The cartridge 50 is supported in the X direction due to the contact with the cartridge 50 . One transfer surface 112 has each index position 42, 4
4, and the ball screw shaft 12 is inserted into this cutout.
A bracket 118 is provided which is screwed into the 0 (or engaged with the mouth/knob dress cylinder).
is configured to be able to hold the roller 114 rolling on the rolling surface 112.

With the above structure, the cartridge 50 indexed to each separate extraction position 42 or 44 is moved between the bracket 118 and the roller 11.
4 and along the guide 112 to each pallet transfer station 46 or setup station 48.

Further, a fifth section regarding the configuration and operation of the pallet indexing device that pulls out a desired pallet 52 of the cartridge 50 at the indexing position 42 to the pallet transfer station 4G is provided.
This will be explained in detail with reference to the drawings. The ball screw shaft 1
20 is held at both ends by the frame 58 of the base via bearings 138 and 140, and furthermore, a guide culm 128 is provided parallel to the ball screw foot 120, and both ends thereof are held by the frame 58 of the base through bearings 138 and 140.
It is held at 8. The bracket 118 is screwed onto the ball screw shaft 120 and passes through the guide culm 128 via a bush 129.
8 is configured to slide smoothly. A servo motor 130 with a built-in rotary encoder is fixed inside the frame 58 on the right side of the figure.
The output shaft 132 of 30 projects to the outside of the frame 58, and a gear 134 is fixed to the tip thereof. Further, the right end of the ball screw shaft 120 in this figure also protrudes outside the frame 58 like the output shaft 132, and another gear 136 is fixed to this end as well. are configured to interlock. With the above configuration, the servo motor 130 is driven by the command from the MTC 68 (FIG. 1), and the desired pallet 52 in the cartridge 50 is moved to a certain position H46' (FIG. 1) at the pallet transfer station 46 (FIG. 1). The bracket 118 is moved to a predetermined position via the two gears 134 and 136 and the ball screw shaft 120. As mentioned above, pins 115 are provided at both ends of the center plate 94 of the cartridge 50.
A roller 114 is rotatably attached via the bracket 11. The roller 114 located on the right side of the figure is attached to the bracket 11.
8 moves this cartridge 50 in the direction of the guide culm 128.

At this time, the bottom of the cartridge 50 slides on the sliding surface 124 of the guide 122. The left end of the guide 122 is provided with a notched inclined portion 126 so that the bottom of the cartridge 50 can be smoothly guided onto the sliding surface 124.

Note that this figure shows a case where the leftmost pallet 52 of the three pallets 52 of the cartridge 50 is located at a fixed position 4'' of the pallet transfer station 46, but the middle pallet 52 or the rightmost pallet 52 It is also possible to move the servo motor 130 so that the cartridge is located at the fixed position 46'.Furthermore, it is also possible to insert the cartridge cartridge 50 into the original cartridge indexing position 42 of the pallet magazine from the position where it was extracted in this way. It is.

The above is a description of the second cartridge insertion/extraction device for extracting or inserting the cartridge 50 located at the pallet magazine indexing position 42 of the pallet magazine to a certain position 46' on the pallet transfer station 46. Refer to FIG. 6 for the configuration and operation of the first cartridge insertion/extraction device when extracting the cartridge 50 located at the pallet magazine indexing position 44 corresponding to the setup station 48 into the setup station 48 or inserting it back into the setup station 48. I will explain while doing so. A pair of rollers 114 are rotatably attached to both ends of the center plate 94 of the cartridge 50 via pins 115, and the cartridge 50 at the pallet magazine indexing position 44 (FIG. 1) of the pallet magazine Among the rollers 114, the roller 114 at the right end in the figure is engaged with the bracket 118'. On the other hand, the ball screw shaft 120 of the second cartridge insertion/extraction device (Fig. 5)
Correspondingly, a known rodless cylinder 142 is arranged in the X direction parallel to the axis 120, and both ends of the rodless cylinder 142 are fixed to the frame 58 of the base. The bracket 118' is engaged with the rodless cylinder 142 and is configured to be slidable in the X direction. The cartridge 50 at the pallet magazine indexing position 44 drives the rodless cylinder 142 in response to the command from the MTC 68 (FIG. 1), and the bracket 118
' and rollers 114 to setup station 48.
(Figure 1). At this time, as in the case of the second cartridge/nozzle insertion/extraction device described above, the cartridge 550 is inserted into the sliding surface 122 of the guide 122' through its bottom.
'Slide over. Again, the left end of this guide 122' is provided with a notched inclined portion 126' so that the bottom of the cartridge 50 can be smoothly guided onto the sliding surface 124'. It should be noted that the work efficiency is improved when all three pallets 52 on the cartridge 50 are pulled out in order to attach and detach the workpieces to and from the pallets 52 at the setup station 48, and the extraction process can be done only once. For this purpose, as shown in this figure, the cartridge 50 is completely extracted from the pallet magazine to a specified position. After the setup work for the pallet 52 on the extracted cartridge 50 is completed, the cartridge 50 is moved again according to the command of the MTC 68. The rodless cylinder 142 is driven and inserted into the index position 44 of the original pallet magazine.

With the pallet magazine device configured and operated as described above, pallet exchange and setup operations are executed in accordance with commands from a program pre-installed in the MTCeg.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As is clear from the above description, the balen 1 according to the present invention
- According to the magazine device, a large number of pallets can be stored within a limited installation area by skillfully utilizing vertical space, and the indexing time required for setting up and transporting a desired pallet among these storage pallets is time-consuming. This reduces the pallet exchange time between machine tools and improves system operating efficiency. In addition, by removing the cartridge to the installation station, you can set up multiple pallets at once, improving work efficiency.Especially when the time required to cut one stage is longer than the processing time of the workpiece,
Machine tool waiting time is reduced or eliminated, improving operating efficiency. Furthermore, since the posture of the barre throat changes from upward to downward within the pallet magazine device, most of the chips fall, reducing the work required to clean the chips during setup.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 shows the pallet magazine according to the present invention and the machine JR+.
Fig. 2 is a schematic top view of a pallet changing device of a machine tool including a and a pallet changer, and Fig. 2 is taken along the arrow line n-n in Fig.
Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the arrow line III-III in Figure 1.
4 is a top view including the cartridge nozzle in the pallet transfer station, FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along arrow line V-V in FIG. 1, and FIG. A sectional view taken along the arrow line VI-Vl. 20... Machine tool, 30... Work table, 32
...Pallet, 40...Pallet magazine device, 4
2... Pallet magazine indexing position corresponding to the pallet transfer station, 44... Pallet gutter magazine indexing position corresponding to the setup station, 46... Valet transfer station, 48... Setup station, 50. ...Pallet cartridge, 52...Pallet, 54...Chain, 5
6...Base, 58...Frame, 60
, 61... Sprocket, 62... Servo motor,
66...Dripping prevention guide, 68...Oil pan, 7
0... Chip conveyor, 76... Pallet changer, 84... Box-shaped holder, 86... Clamp device, 110.112... Transfer surface, 114... Roller, 118.118'.・
・Bracket, 120...Ball screw shaft, 122.1
22'... Guide, 128... Guide culm, 13
0... Servo motor, 142... Rodless cylinder. Figure 2 Figure 3

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A pallet magazine for storing and supplying workpiece support pallets used for automatic attachment and detachment of workpieces to a machine tool, which comprises a magazine base, a pallet cartridge for storing a plurality of workpiece support pallets, and the magazine base. an endless rail-shaped pallet magazine that is arranged so as to be able to run in circles and that supports and circulates a plurality of the pallet cartridges in an upward and downward vertical circulation path; and a pallet magazine that circulates the pallet magazines relative to the magazine base. a pallet magazine indexing device capable of moving and indexing a desired pallet cartridge from the plurality of pallet cartridges to a setup station for mounting and removing a workpiece or a pallet transfer station for transferring pallets; a first cartridge insertion/extraction device that enables setup by performing an extraction operation and an insertion operation of the desired pallet cartridge in the pallet magazine; 1. A pallet exchange device for a machine tool, comprising: a second cartridge insertion/extraction device that allows the cartridge to be transferred to the machine tool by performing an extraction operation and an insertion operation. 2. The second cartridge insertion/extraction device is formed by a feed screw mechanism capable of positioning any one of the desired pallet cartridges at a fixed position in the pallet transfer station. Pallet changing device for the machine tool described. 3. Each of the work supporting pallets is provided with a pull stud and a positioning protrusion on the bottom thereof, and is aligned and held in pull stud receiving holes and positioning holes formed at a plurality of predetermined positions of the pallet cartridge, and The machine tool according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the gripping V-groove recessed in the workpiece support pallet is configured to be engageable with a clamping device formed protrudingly in the pallet cartridge. pallet exchange equipment. 4. The magazine base is provided with an oil pan having a gently sloping surface at the bottom located below the downward circulation path in the endless rail-shaped pallet magazine. A pallet changing device for a machine tool according to any one of Item 3. 5. The pallet changing device for a machine tool according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the magazine base is provided with a chip conveyor below the endless rail-shaped pallet magazine. . 6. The magazine base is formed into a structure having a T-shaped floor projection shape, and includes a front base having the setup station and the pallet transfer station, and is connected to the work table of the machine tool and the pallet transfer station. The machine tool according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the machine tool is configured so that pallets can be exchanged quickly between the pallet transfer station and the work table by arranging the pallets in close proximity to each other. pallet exchange equipment. 7. A magazine base, a pallet cartridge for storing a plurality of work support pallets, and a plurality of pallet cartridges arranged and supported on the magazine base so as to be able to run in circles and in an upward and downward vertical circulation path. an endless rail-shaped pallet magazine that circulates with respect to the magazine base; and a setup station or a fixed transfer position where the pallet magazine is circulated relative to the magazine base and a desired pallet cartridge is mounted or removed from the plurality of pallet cartridges. A pallet magazine indexing device that can index a pallet to a pallet transfer station for pallet transfer, and a desired pallet cartridge indexed to the pallet setup station can be set up by extracting and inserting the desired pallet cartridge into the pallet magazine. a first cartridge insertion/extraction device that allows the desired pallet cartridge indexed to the pallet transfer station to be transferred to a machine tool by performing an extraction operation and an insertion operation with respect to a pallet magazine. a pallet magazine device configured to include an insertion/extraction device; a machine tool that exchanges and receives the work support pallets between the pallet magazine device and processes the workpieces mounted thereon; 1. A pallet changing device for a machine tool, comprising: a pallet changer provided between the machine tool and the workpiece supporting pallet for gripping and transferring the workpiece supporting pallet.