JPS646191Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed explanation of the invention] [Industrial application field] This invention transfers workpieces, etc. by a robot.
It relates to a feeder that is installed near an NC machine tool and that places workpieces on pallets and guides and conveys them sequentially on a predetermined track.

[Prior art]

Conventionally, some feeders of this type utilize a robot installed between the NC cutting machine tool and transfer workpieces between a pallet at a fixed position on the feeder and a spindle chuck.

By the way, this type of feeder has a limit on the number of works to be transported due to space issues. Also,
In recent years, with the spread of automatic tool changers (ATC) and automatic jaw changers (AJC), there has been an increasing demand for tools and jaws to be stored together with workpieces on the pallet of a feeder.

Therefore, a feeder that can accommodate many workpieces, tools, and claws in a limited space is desired.

To solve this problem, it is possible to increase the size of the feeder, but this has the drawback of increasing the installation area of the feeder. It is also possible to install a plurality of feeders in parallel, but this would significantly increase the installation area, and it would also be necessary to significantly expand the work transfer range of the robot, or to install multiple robots.

[Purpose of invention]

The present invention was developed in view of the above circumstances, and the conveyance track for guiding and conveying pallets is formed into a multi-layered structure, and the pallets can be arranged three-dimensionally, increasing the capacity for accommodating workpieces, etc. without expanding the installation space. In addition, it is possible to lift and lower pallets arranged three-dimensionally, without significantly expanding the delivery range of the robot, and without adding more robots, which is required for machine tools in recent years. Space saving, structural simplicity, installation flexibility,
A further object of the present invention is to provide a multilayer feeder that satisfies conditions such as ease of work setup.

"Structure of the invention" In order to achieve the above object, the structure of the present invention is a feeder that sequentially guides and transports workpieces on a predetermined track on which a workpiece is placed on a pallet, and a carrier that sequentially guides and transports the workpiece on the track. an upper stage transport body that places the pallet on the pallet and guides the upper stage; a lower stage transport body that places the pallet and guides the lower stage; and an elevating mechanism that raises the pallet on the lower stage transport body to the upper stage transport body. The upper conveyor is characterized in that the upper conveyor is provided with an opening that opens when the pallet on the lower conveyor is raised.

In such a configuration, by providing a plurality of upper and lower conveyance tracks on which pallets are placed, the capacity for accommodating conveyed objects such as workpieces is greatly increased without increasing the installation area. Furthermore, since the multiple conveyance tracks are not arranged horizontally but instead are three-dimensional, they can be installed in the same way as conventional feeders, providing flexibility in installation.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

The embodiment of the present invention is installed close to an NC cutting machine tool M equipped with a robot R that transfers workpieces W, etc., and within the workpiece transferable range of the robot R.
The present invention is applied to a feeder F that guides and transports objects W such as workpieces, claws, tools, etc. (hereinafter simply referred to as workpieces) by placing them on a pallet P.

<First Embodiment> FIG. 1 is a plan view of essential parts showing a first embodiment of the multilayer feeder of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a front view thereof, and FIG. 3 is a side view thereof.

The feeder F shown in these figures has upper and lower guide tracks 2 and 3 provided in parallel in two stages, upper and lower, on the upper surface and middle part of the frame 1.

Each guide track 2, 3 is provided with a chain 4 driven by a motor 5 (see FIG. 6) via a sprocket 6, and a raceway surface 8 in the form of a corridor on the outside of the chain 4.

Pallets P are detachably attached to the chain 4 at regular intervals via fixing parts 13.
The pallet P has wheels 12 on the lower surface side of the mounting table 11.
is provided so that it can be freely runnable on the track surface 8.

The height and installation location of the upper guide track 2 are set so that a portion of the upper guide track 2 is located within the work transfer range of the robot R. As a result, the robot R can remove the pallet P and the machine tool M.
The workpiece W is automatically transferred between the machine and the machine.

In this embodiment, one end of the guide track 2, that is, the turning point of the pallet P, is arranged so that it is within the workpiece delivery range of the robot R. The reason for this setting is that the palette P
This method focuses on the fact that when a pallet P makes a U-turn, the distance between adjacent pallets P is widest, and even if the spacing between the pallets P is not widened that much, the lower pallet P, which is raised by the lifting mechanism described later, will be able to reach the upper pallet P. This is because it is possible to interrupt between the upper pallets P on the raceway surface 8. Therefore, in this example,
Even with the two-stage configuration, the number of pallets P per stage hardly decreases.

Furthermore, a window 20 having a shutter 21 that can be opened and closed is provided at the end of the upper guide track 2 within the range where the robot R can transfer the workpiece. This window section 20 opens a part of the raceway surface 8 by retracting the shutter 21 (FIG. 4) into the shutter storage section 22, and the pallet P of the lower guide track 3 is opened.
It is designed to be able to rise to the upper surface side of the raceway surface 8. A shutter drive section 23 consisting of a hydraulic or pneumatic cylinder is connected to one end of the shutter 21 via a connecting member 24 . The shutter drive section 23 opens and closes the shutter 21.

The lower guide track 3 is provided with a lifting mechanism 30 for raising and lowering the lower pallet P onto the track surface 8 of the upper guide track 2. This elevating mechanism 30 consists of a hydraulic or pneumatic cylinder 31, a piston rod 32 that slides on the cylinder 31, and a pressing end 33 attached to the tip of the piston rod 32. As shown in FIG. 6, the pressing end 33 protrudes upward from a through hole 7 provided in the lower raceway surface 8 corresponding to the window 20, and comes into contact with the lower surface of the platform 11 for the pallet P. The work W is raised and lowered between the upper guide track 2 and the upper guide track 2.

Further, in this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, the lower guide track 3 is provided with a mechanism 40 for adjusting the stop position of the pallet P. This stop position adjustment mechanism 40 includes a fixing member 42 fixed to the frame 1, a lever 43 that is swingably supported with the fixing member 42 serving as a fulcrum, and a handle fixed to one end of the lever 43. 41, and a transmission member 44 which is attached to the other end and engages with the piston rod 32 to transmit the rocking motion of the lever 43.

This stop position adjustment mechanism 40 adjusts the position of the workpiece W placed on the pallet P and the position of the robot R, which will be described later.
The slight deviation between the robot R and the delivery position can be corrected manually without changing the complicated operation program of the robot R.

1 to 3, the robot R has a main body 51 provided between a feeder F and a machine tool M.
, an arm 52 rotatably provided on the upper part of the main body 51, and an arm 52 provided at the end of the arm 52.
The grip part 53 is attached to be able to rotate freely around the central axis.
It consists of This robot R creates a pallet P and a machine tool M based on a pre-created program.
The work W is delivered and received between.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be explained with reference to the drawings.

First, in the feeder F, workpieces, tools, etc. are placed on the upper and lower guide tracks 2 and 3. in this case,
For example, the upper guide track 2 may be used for workpieces, and the lower guide track 3 may be used for tools, claws, etc.

Now, when the machine tool M requires a workpiece, the motor 5 rotates the chain 4 of the guide track 2 or 3 on which the pallet P on which the workpiece is placed is located. When the target workpiece enters the transferable range of the robot R, the chain 4 is stopped by an indexing mechanism (not shown).

Assuming that the necessary work is placed on a pallet P rotating on the upper guide track 2, in this embodiment, the pallet P is stopped at the position of the window 20. This is because the window portion 20 is set as the delivery position so that the robot R can reliably grasp the lower workpiece when it rises.

In this state, the robot R rotates the arm 52, approaches, and grips the workpiece on the pallet P with the gripping portion 53. At this time, the workpiece and the gripping section 53
It may happen that the positional relationship with the pallet P is not suitable, but in such a case, the position of the pallet P can be moved manually.

On the other hand, the required work is on the lower guide track 3.
If the pallet P is on a rotating pallet P, the chain 4 of the upper guide track 2 is rotated so that the pallet P is not located above the window 20 and stopped. At the same time, the chain 4 of the lower guide track 3 is rotated, and the pallet P on which the target work is placed is
When the chain 4 reaches the through hole 7 of the raceway surface 8, that is, below the window 20, the rotation of the chain 4 is stopped. These controls are also performed by an indexing mechanism (not shown).

When the chain 4 is stopped, the shutter drive section 23 of the window section 20 is activated to slide the shutter 21 via the connecting member 24 and move the shutter storage section 22 into the shutter storage section 22.
Store it in. This causes the window portion 20 to be in an open state.

After this, the lifting mechanism 30 operates, and the cylinder 31
The piston rod 32 is expanded by the hydraulic or air pressure, and the pressing end 33 is brought into contact with the lower surface of the platform 11 for the pallet P located above the through hole 7, thereby raising the pallet P. As a result, the pallet P passes through the open window 20 and emerges onto the track surface 8 of the guide track 2. The pallet P is now stopped at the same position as the upper pallet P mentioned above.

Here, if the position of the workpiece placed on the pallet P does not match the gripping part 53 of the robot R, operate the handle 41 of the stop position adjustment mechanism 40 to move the lever 43 and the transmission member. 44
The lifting mechanism 30 is oscillated to change its position.

After this, as in the case of the upper stage, the workpiece is gripped by the robot R and supplied to the machine tool M.

Used workpieces are transferred from machine tool M to robot R.
receives the original pallet P or empty pallet P
will be placed on. The position of the pallet P at this time is the same as when the workpiece is delivered to the robot R.

When the workpiece is returned to the lower pallet P,
The pallet P is lowered to the lower stage by the lifting mechanism 30. After that, the shutter drive section 23 of the window section 20
is activated, the shutter 21 is displaced from the shutter storage portion 22 to the open position of the raceway surface 8, and the window portion 20 is closed.

This returns to the original state and repeats the same operation thereafter.

<Second Embodiment> FIG. 8 is a plan view of a main part showing a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 9 is a side view of a main part of the second embodiment.

In these figures, the feeder F of the second embodiment
The upper and lower guide tracks 2 and 3 are configured in stages, and the lower guide track 2 is provided with an elevating mechanism 30. The configurations of each guide track 2, 3 and lifting mechanism 30 are basically the same as in the first embodiment. Therefore, the explanation will not be repeated.

In this embodiment, since the lower tier and the upper tier are stepped at their ends, no window is provided in the upper tier. Therefore, the lower pallet P can be raised and lowered by the lifting mechanism 30 regardless of the position of the upper pallet P. As a result, there is no need to coordinate the indexing mechanisms of the upper and lower chains 4, which makes control that much easier.

In this embodiment, the workpiece is delivered to the guide track 2 on which the pallet P on which the target workpiece is placed is placed.
Alternatively, the pallet P is stopped at a predetermined position by rotating the chain 4 of No. 3. After this, the robot R rotates the arm 52 and receives the workpiece.

In addition, in this embodiment, since the stop position of the pallet P on the upper guide track 2 and the stop position of the pallet P on the lower guide track 3 are different from each other, the robot R
The program is set so that the main body 51 of the main body 51 is positioned in the Z direction in FIG. 1, and there are two delivery positions.

<Modifications of the above-mentioned embodiments> In the above-mentioned embodiments, an example was shown in which the guide track was provided in two stages, upper and lower, but a multi-stage structure with three or more stages may be used.

Further, although an example has been shown in which the pallet P is conveyed by a chain, other means such as a belt may be used.

[Effects of the invention] As explained above, the present invention has a structure in which the conveyance track for guiding and conveying the pallets is formed in a multilayer structure, so that the pallets can be arranged three-dimensionally.
This has the effect of increasing the capacity to accommodate workpieces, etc., without expanding the installation space. In addition, the configuration in which pallets arranged three-dimensionally are raised and lowered has the advantage that the delivery range of the robot can be maintained as is without significantly expanding the delivery range, and without adding more robots.

Therefore, according to the present invention, since there is only one feeder on a plane, space saving, simplification of structure, flexibility of installation, and
Furthermore, it is possible to realize a feeder that satisfies conditions such as ease of work setup.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a plan view of essential parts showing the first embodiment of the multilayer feeder of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a front view thereof, Fig. 3 is a side view thereof, and Fig. 4 shows the structure of the window portion in the above embodiment. FIG. 5 is an enlarged front view of the main part showing the stop position adjustment mechanism of the pallet P in the above embodiment, FIG. 6 is an enlarged side view of the main part, and FIG. 7 is an enlarged plan view of the main part. , FIG. 8 is a plan view of a main part showing a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 9 is a side view of a main part of the second embodiment. F...Feeder, M...NC machine tool, R...
Robot, P... Palette, 1... Frame, 2, 3
...Guide track, 4...Chain, 5...Motor,
6... Sprocket, 7... Through hole, 8... Raceway surface, 11... Mounting table, 12... Wheel, 13... Fixed part, 20... Window part, 21... Shutter, 22...
Shutter storage section, 23... Shutter drive section, 24
. . . Connection member, 30 . . . Lifting mechanism, 31 . Lever, 51...
...Main body, 52... Arm, 53... Gripping section.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claim for Utility Model Registration] A feeder that places workpieces on pallets and guides and conveys them sequentially on a predetermined track, which is a conveying body that sequentially guides and conveys the workpieces on the track, and that has a structure in which the pallets are placed on the upper stage. an upper transport body that guides the pallet; a lower transport member that places the pallet and guides the lower transport member; and an elevating mechanism that raises the pallet on the lower transport member to the upper transport member; A multilayer feeder characterized by being provided with an opening that opens when a pallet on a lower stage conveyor rises.