JPS6384840A - Automatic workpiece conveying device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make it possible to prevent a workpiece from dropping, by providing a synchronizing mechanism for opening and closing a retaining member in synchronization with the elevating operation of a transfer member and a cylinder for vertically and longitudinally moving the transfer member. CONSTITUTION:During conveyance of a workpiece W, an elevating cylinder 6 elevates a transfer member 2 to hold the workpiece W in a workpiece holding part 2a of the transfer member 2. Then, a retaining member 4 is actuated in its closing direction in synchronization with the elevation of the transfer member 2 to clamp workpiece W. Further, a conveyer cylinder 12 slides the transfer member 2 in the conveying direction, and then the elevating cylinder 6 lowers the transfer member 2. In synchronization with the lowering of the transfer member 2, the retaining member 4 is actuated in the opening direction to release the clamp of the workpiece W which is therefore conveyed and then supported on a jig in each station.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION FIELD OF INDUSTRIAL APPLICATION This invention relates to an apparatus for automatically conveying relatively lightweight workpieces such as shaft workpieces at high speed.

Conventional technology For example, a typical method for automatically transporting a workpiece to each processing station of a transfer machine that performs machining on the workpiece is to scoop up the workpiece and use side guides or dowel pins to move the workpiece. There are two methods: the lift-and-carry method, in which the workpiece is fixed and transported sequentially to the next process, and the pallet method, in which the workpiece is secured to a -H pallet jig in a method suitable for irregularly shaped workpieces, and the entire pallet jig is transported. Two methods are conventionally known.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, of the two conventional methods described above, in the case of the lift-and-carry method, the workpiece is scooped up and held, so it is difficult to press the workpiece from above. Therefore, when conveying irregularly shaped workpieces at high speed, there was a risk that the workpieces would fall. In addition, in the case of the latter pallet method, a pallet jig is required, which increases the cost and causes problems such as an increase in the installation space for the mechanical equipment.

Furthermore, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 152039/1983 describes a device for loading and unloading workpieces into and out of a processing station. This system operates two sets of arms for loading and unloading without interfering with each other. Having two sets of arms reduces the time required to load and unload workpieces, but the processing station It is only capable of transporting workpieces into and out of the station, and does not have the function of transporting workpieces to the next process. Also, JP-A-59-22
Japanese Patent No. 4232 describes a device for transporting workpieces into and out of a processing machine area such as a press machine. This is because the rotating lever is rotated back and forth, and the rotating link provides the transport stroke, so the size of the transport device is not affected by the transport stroke amount, and it is Although it can be installed in a small space, it is unsuitable if the workpiece needs to be transported without changing its posture, as the workpiece will rotate and change its orientation as the rotary lever rotates during loading and unloading. It was appropriate and rare.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an automatic workpiece conveyance device that prevents workpieces from falling during high-speed conveyance.

Means for Solving the Problems As a means for solving the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a transfer member that has a workpiece holding section and can be moved up and down and back and forth, and a transfer member that opens and closes toward the workpiece holding section. It is characterized by having a presser member that is moved back and forth together with the member, a synchronous machine that opens and closes the presser member in synchronization with the lifting and lowering movement of the transfer member, and an actuator that moves the transfer member back and forth in the up and down movement.

Function: When transporting a workpiece, the transfer member is first raised by the lifting actuator, and the workpiece is held in the workpiece holding portion of the transfer member, and the presser member moves in the closing direction in synchronization with the rise of the transfer member to close the workpiece. A workpiece is clamped between the holding member and the workpiece holding section. Next, the transfer member is slid in the transport direction by the transport actuator, and at the position where it has advanced a predetermined distance, the lift actuator lowers the transfer member. In synchronization with the lowering of the transfer member, the holding member moves in the opening direction to release the clamp on the workpiece, and the transferred workpiece is supported on a jig or the like at each processing station.

EXAMPLE Hereinafter, an example in which an automatic workpiece conveyance apparatus of the present invention is applied to a conveyance apparatus of a transfer machine equipped with a plurality of processing stations will be described with reference to the drawings.

An automatic transfer device 1 is provided in parallel with the equipment of each processing station (not shown) arranged in a row of the transfer machine, and a workpiece, which is a relatively light and shaft-like object, is transferred to each processing station. It is designed to be transported sequentially.

The automatic conveyance device 1 includes a plate-shaped transfer par 2 in which the same number of workpiece holding claws 2a as the sum of the number of processing stations and the number of processes such as loading and reversing the workpieces are provided at equal intervals; The synchronous shaft 3 includes a synchronous shaft 3 that is parallel and rotatably provided above the transfer bar 2, and a workpiece holding claw 4 that is pivoted at a position corresponding to each of the workpiece holding claws 2a of the synchronous shaft 3. 3 and the transfer parr 2 are arranged substantially horizontally, and the synchronizing shaft 3 is allowed to rotate and is connected to each other so as to move back and forth in the conveying direction together with the transfer parr 2. Further, the transfer par 2 includes blocks 5, 5 which are provided at both front and rear ends of the automatic transport device 1 in the transport direction so as to be movable in the vertical direction.
Both ends in the longitudinal direction are supported by roller shafts 5a, 5a which are rotatably provided on the side surfaces of the paper, and are provided so as to be slidable back and forth in the conveyance direction.

Also, the loading side of the automatic conveyance device 1 (the right side in Fig. 1)
A lift cylinder 6 is provided near the. This lift cylinder 6 transmits the rotation of the crankshaft 7 to the block 5 on the carry-in side via the pushing member 8 by the first arm 7a of the crankshaft 7, and pushes the block 5 in the vertical direction. Through the link 9 connected to the second arm 7b of the crankshaft 7, the crank 9a, and the pushing member 9b, the block 5 on the carry-out side (the left side in FIG. 1) is integrated with the block 5 on the carry-in side in the vertical direction. It is designed to be driven by

Further, in both blocks 5, 5, there is a transfer par 2.
In order to synchronize the work holding claw 4 with the lifting and lowering operation of
Movable rack 10a, fixed rack 10b and pinion IOC
A movable rack 10a of a rack and pinion machine 110 (the unloading side is not shown) is mounted almost vertically, and this movable rack 10a has a lower end and a block 5
Movement in the vertical direction is permitted by the elastic force of a spring 11 provided between the two. Further, a fixed rack 10b is fixedly installed substantially perpendicularly so as to be parallel to the movable rack 10a and face each other across the transfer par 2, and a pinion 10C has meshing teeth between the movable rack 10a and the fixed rack 10b. They are respectively engaged and rotatably held by the block 5. Roughly speaking, both ends 3a of the synchronizing shaft 3 (the unloading side is not shown) are engaged with the center of the pinion 10C by splines or keys so that they can move in the axial direction and transmit rotation. It is an insertion.

When both the blocks 5, 5 on the carry-in side and the carry-out side are lifted up by the lift cylinder 6, the transfer par 2 supported by the roller shaft 5a rises, and the pinion 10C is rotated by the movable rack 10a. Then, the pinion 10G moves up while engaging with the fixed rack 10b, and as the pinion 10G rotates and rises, the synchronous 1FIi 13 moves up while rotating, and each work holding claw 2a pivotally attached to the synchronous shaft 3 is clamped. Swing in the direction (six arrow directions).

On the other hand, a carry cylinder 12 is provided near the center in the length direction of the transfer par 2, and the carry cylinder 12 rotates a crankshaft 13, so that the lower end is engaged with the rail 2b so as to be movable in the vertical direction. combined arm 1
The transfer par 2 is reciprocated in the forward and backward directions of the conveying direction via the conveyor 3a.

In addition, 14 is a position detector that detects the upper limit of the transfer par 2, 15 is a position detector that also detects the lower limit, 16 is a position detector that detects the backward limit of the transfer par 2 in the conveying direction, and 17 is the same as the conveyor. It is equipped with a position detector that detects the direction forward limit.

Next, the operation of the automatic transfer device of the transfer machine configured as described above will be explained.

When the workpiece W transferred by a conveyor or the like is loaded into the loading side of the transfer machine by a transfer device (not shown), the lift cylinder 6 is activated and the shortened piston rod 6a starts to extend. and block 5,5
to rise. As the block 5.5 rises, the transfer parr 2 rises, and the first work holding claw 2a of the transfer parr 2 closest to the carry-in side scoops up the work W and rises. At this time, when the block 5.5 rises, the pinion IOC is driven by the movable rack 10a of the rack and pinion mechanism 10, rotates and rises while meshing with the fixed rack 10b, and the synchronous shaft 3 inserted through the pinion 10c The work holder 4, which rotates and rises and is pivotally attached to the synchronization shaft 3, rotates in the six directions of arrows in synchronization with the rise of the transfer par 2. In that case, the differential operation of the rack and binion mechanism 10 causes the movable rack 10a to rise at twice the lifting speed of the pinion 'IOc, and at the same time the spring 11 expands to store the rotational restoring force of the synchronous shaft 3. .

Then, when the transfer par 2 reaches its upper limit, the work holding claw 4 of the synchronous shaft 3 also slows down to its rotational limit in the direction of arrow A, and the work W held on the work holding claw 2a is moved between the work holding claw 2a and the workpiece. It is clamped between the presser claw 4.

Next, when the position detector 14 detects that the transfer par 2 has reached its ascent limit, it stops the operation of the lift cylinder 6 and activates the carry cylinder 12 to stop the piston rod at its stroke limit. 12
When a is shortened, the arm 13a swings forward in the conveying direction, and the transfer par 2 moves forward. When the transfer par 2 moves forward, the synchronization shaft 3 moves forward together with the transfer par 2 because it is connected to the trasif 1-bar 2 by a connecting member (not shown) that allows rotation. The distance P that the transfer parr 2 moves forward is the pitch between the processing stations of the transfer machine, that is, the distance P between the workpiece holding claws 2 provided at equal intervals on the transfer parr 2.
The length is set to be the same as the pitch of a.

As the transfer par 2 moves forward, the work W held by the work holding claws 2a is transported a predetermined distance. At this point, the work W is held between the work holding claw 2a and the work holding claw 4.
Because it is clamped by the handle, it will not fall even when transported at high speed.

When the position detector 17 detects that the transfer par 2 has reached its forward limit, the carry cylinder 12
At the same time, the piston rod of the lift cylinder 6, which has stopped at its stroke limit, is shortened to lower the block 5.5. When the blocks 5, 5 are lowered, the transfer par 2115 and the synchronization shaft 3 are lowered, and first the workpiece W held by the workpiece holding claw 2a is
is the work set jig of the first machining station (
(not shown), the synchronizing shaft 3 rotates in the opposite direction, and the work holding claw 4 rotates in the direction of arrow B in synchronization with the lowering of the transfer par 2 to release the clamped state, and the transfer par 2 becomes rough. By descending, the workpiece holding claw 2a also descends, and the workpiece W is transferred to the workpiece setting jig of the processing station.

Next, when the position detector 15 detects that the transfer par 2 has reached its lower limit, the lift cylinder 6 is deactivated and the carry cylinder 12 is activated to extend the shortened piston rod 12a. The arm 13a is then swung rearward in the transport direction. Arm 13
When a swings rearward in the conveying direction, the transfer par 2 retreats, and the transfer par 2 returns to its initial position.

When the position detector 16 detects that the transfer par 2 has returned to the initial position, the carrying cylinder 12
operation is stopped, and the lift cylinder 6 is operated again to raise the transfer par 2.

By driving the transfer par 2 in one cycle of ascending, advancing, descending, and retreating, the workpieces W sequentially supplied to the loading side of the transfer machine are transported to the automatic fishing rod and set as the workpieces in the first machining station. At the same time, the processed workpiece W in the first processing station is transported to the second processing station and set in the workpiece setting jig, and the processed workpiece W in the second processing station is also set on the jig. In order to set the work W in the work setting jig of the third processing station, the machined work W of each processing station is sequentially sent to the next processing station by one cycle of transfer machine = 2. Transport automatically. The workpiece W processed at the final processing station is transported onto a transporting conveyor or the like by a workpiece holding claw 2a provided on the most unloading side of the transfer par 2, and is unloaded from the transfer machine.

In addition, in the above device, the work holding claw 4 is operated in synchronization with the rise of the transfer par 2.
I can be made more compact, and transfer par 2
Since the pitch of the work holding claws 2a provided at equal intervals is set to the distance between each processing station, the distance the transfer par 2 is moved forward and backward in the conveyance direction by the carry cylinder 12 is set to match the pitch. If the control is performed as follows, all conveyance pitches by each work holding claw 2a can be defined, so that the conveyance pitch can be easily adjusted.

In addition, although the above embodiment describes the case where the automatic workpiece conveyance device of the present invention is used as a conveyance device of a transfer machine, it may also be suitably implemented as a workpiece conveyance device for a general assembly line or a processing line. Can be done.

Effects of the Invention As explained above, the automatic workpiece conveyance device of the present invention has the following advantages:
A transfer member that has a workpiece holding part and is moved back and forth in elevation; a holding member that opens and closes toward the workpiece holding part and is moved back and forth together with the transfer member; Since it has a synchronization mechanism that opens and closes, and an actuator that moves the transfer member up and down, it enables high-speed transport that reliably prevents workpieces from falling with a simple and inexpensive device.It also allows multiple workpieces to be transported at the same time. This has the effect of significantly reducing loss time during transportation.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a partially omitted perspective view showing an embodiment of the automatic work transfer device of the present invention. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Automatic conveyance device, 2... Transfer bar, 2a... Work holding claw, 3... Synchronous shaft, 4...
... Work holding claw, 5... Block, 6... Lifting cylinder, 9... Link, 10... Rack and pinion mechanism, 10a... Movable rack,
10b... fixed rack, 10c... pinion,
11... Spring, 12... Carry cylinder.

Claims (1)

[Claims] A transfer member that has a workpiece holding part and is moved back and forth in elevation; a holding member that opens and closes toward the workpiece holding part and is moved back and forth together with the transfer member; An automatic work transfer device characterized by having a synchronization mechanism that opens and closes, and an actuator that moves a transfer member back and forth up and down.