WO2007031462A1

WO2007031462A1 - Stacking magazine for loading parts on a machine tool

Info

Publication number: WO2007031462A1
Application number: PCT/EP2006/066120
Authority: WO
Inventors: Andrea Bassi; Pierantonio Melandri
Original assignee: Iemca Giuliani Macchine Italia S.P.A.
Priority date: 2005-09-13
Filing date: 2006-09-07
Publication date: 2007-03-22
Also published as: ITBO20050557A1

Abstract

A stacking magazine for loading parts on a machine tool, comprising a footing (2), which forms at least one side (3) for the insertion and removal of the parts, and at least one side (4) for interfacing with the machine tool, adapted to support a plurality of elements (5) for transferring the parts being machined, which can move, along at least one closed path (6), from the insertion and removal side (3) to the interfacing side (4) and vice versa, and further adapted to support means (7) for actuation by mutual pushing of the transfer elements (5) along the closed path (6), each of the transfer elements (5) being adapted to support a plurality of parts stacked on each other and retained by respective substantially vertical guides (8, 8a, 8b).

Description

STACKING MAGAZINE FOR LOADING PARTS ON A MACHINE

TOOL

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a stacking magazine for loading parts on a machine tool.

Background Art

Mechanical parts to be machined on a machine tool are traditionally fed to said machine by virtue of simple trolleys provided with shelves, from which the parts are taken manually or, if a high production rate is required, are loaded by automated means such as handling units, robots and the like. As an alternative to this, automated part loading units have been devised which are adapted to transfer continuously the parts to be machined from a magazine to the feed area of the machine and at the same time pick up the parts that have already been machined. These automated loading units are provided generally with part movement means of the chain or belt or gear type, or with combinations thereof, which as is known are rather expensive to manufacture, assemble and maintain and are affected by productivity limits.

Further, the loading systems currently in use, be they manual or partially or completely automated, are rather inflexible in use in relation to the dimensions of the parts that can be loaded; i.e., substantial variations of the dimensions of the parts often require the replacement of various parts of the assembly, entailing long times and the use of labor.

Disclosure of the Invention The aim of the present invention is to obviate the above mentioned drawbacks, by providing a stacking magazine for loading parts on a machine tool which allows to feed said parts in a completely automated manner and at a high rate, with minimized intervention of assigned operators. Within this aim, an object of the present invention is to provide a stacking magazine for loading parts on a machine tool which is extremely flexible and versatile, i.e., adapted to feed parts with dimensions which can vary over a broad range.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a stacking magazine for loading parts on a machine tool which does not have transmission elements such as belts, chains and gears, which are typically expensive and demanding to maintain.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a stacking magazine having a structure which is simple, relatively easy to provide in practice, safe in use, effective in operation, and has a relatively low cost.

This aim and these and other objects which will become better apparent hereinafter are achieved by the present stacking magazine for loading parts on a machine tool, characterized in that it comprises a footing, which forms at least one side for the insertion and removal of the parts, and at least one side for interfacing with the machine tool, adapted to support a plurality of elements for transferring the parts being machined, which can move, along at least one closed path, from said insertion and removal side to said interfacing side and vice versa, and further adapted to support means for mutually pushing said transfer elements along said closed path, each of said conveyance elements being adapted to support a plurality of parts stacked on each other and retained by respective substantially vertical guides. Brief Description of the Drawings

Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become better apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred but not exclusive embodiment of a stacking machine for loading parts on a machine tool according to the invention, illustrated by way of non-limiting example in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the stacking magazine according to the invention; Figure 2 is a plan view of said magazine;

Figure 3 is a view of a detail of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a bottom detail view of the stacking magazine according to the invention; Figure 5 is a side elevation detail view of the stacking magazine;

Figure 6 is a side elevation view of one of the elements for transferring the parts being machined;

Figure 7 is a plan view of one of the elements for transferring the parts being machined; Figure 8 is an exploded view of one of the elements for transferring the parts being machined.

In the exemplary embodiment that follows, individual characteristics may actually be interchanged with other different characteristics that exist in other exemplary embodiments. Moreover, it is noted that anything found to be already known during the patenting process is understood not to be claimed and to be the subject of a disclaimer. Ways of carrying out the Invention

With reference to the figures, the reference numeral 1 generally designates a stacking magazine for loading parts on a machine tool according to the invention.

The stacking magazine according to the invention has been devised particularly but not exclusively to feed metallic parts having a substantially cylindrical geometry and dimensions which can vary over a broad range. However, the magazine can also be used effectively for parts having another geometry without any limitation.

The magazine 1 comprises advantageously a footing, generally designated by the reference numeral 2 (Figure 1), which forms at least one side for the insertion and removal of the parts, designated by the reference numeral 3, and at least one side for interfacing with the machine tool, designated by the reference numeral 4. The footing 2 is conveniently- adapted to support a plurality of elements for transferring the parts being machined, each generally designated by the reference numeral 5, which can move, along a closed path 6, from said insertion and removal side 3 to the interfacing side 4 and vice versa.

The footing 2 is further adapted to support means, generally designated by the reference numeral 7, for actuating by mutual pushing the transfer elements 5 along the closed path 6, so that they can advance along said path in a preset direction by mutual contact with each other. Each of the transfer elements 5 is advantageously suitable, according to the invention, to support a respective plurality of parts being machined, which are stacked on each other and are retained in position by respective substantially vertical guides 8, 8a, 8b (which are preferably but not exclusively three). The footing 2 comprises four posts 9, which are constituted preferably by tubular portions having a square cross-section or the like, which are connected at the base by longitudinal members 10 and in an upper region by cross-members 11; the footing 2 further comprises, at the interfacing side 4, a sort of rectangular frame 12, which is elongated vertically and is fixed to the posts 9. The footing 2 supports a sort of platform 13, which is arranged horizontally and is composed for example of tubular segments which are mutually connected at their ends; the platform 13 supports a table 13a by means of columns 13b; said table is arranged substantially horizontally and is affected by at least one slot, which forms the closed path 6 and along which the transfer elements 5 are guided so that they can slide.

The mutual-push actuation means 7 conveniently comprise at least one gearmotor assembly 14, which is rigidly fixed to a bracket 15 which is rigidly coupled in a lower region to the frame 12 and has an output shaft 16 with which a driving pulley 17 (Figure 4) is associated for moving the transfer elements 5: the transfer elements 5 are advantageously actuated by the driving pulley 17 so as to perform a translational motion along the closed path 6 in close mutual contact with each other, so as to push each other in succession along the preset advancement direction. The driving pulley 17 has a perimetric edge 18 affected by a plurality of recesses 19, each adapted to provide a sort of meshing with the transfer elements 5, so that they advance, at the interfacing side 4, along a first path portion 6a substantially shaped like a circular arc, with consequent movement by mutual pushing of the entire plurality of the transfer elements 5. Obviously, at the part pickup and insertion side 3 as well, the transfer elements 5 move along a second portion 6b substantially shaped like a circular arc, so as to close the path.

The recesses 19 of the driving pulley 17 have a profile shaped substantially like a circular arc; preferably but not exclusively, the recesses 19 are three and are mutually angularly equidistant, so that the driving pulley 17 has substantially three lobes.

Each of the transfer elements 5 (Figures 6, 7, 8) comprises a substantially circular base 20 with a central opening 20a, which forms in a lower region a cylindrical axial extension 21 whose diameter is adapted to allow it to slide, with suitable play, within the closed path 6 and with which a substantially circular end portion 22 is rigidly coupled in a lower region; each transfer element 5 further comprises means for adjusting the mutual distance between the vertical guides 8; such means are generally designated by the reference numeral 23 and are adapted to allow the stacking of parts having different radial dimensions. The end portion 22 of each transfer element 5 meshes in a respective recess 19 of the driving pulley 17, as mentioned earlier, so as to achieve the movement of the elements 5 along the closed path 6.

Each of the vertical guides 8, 8a, 8b has a substantially cylindrical slender shape and comprises an end 24 constituted by a respective arm 24a which protrudes substantially at right angles from the base of said guide and supports at least one wheel 25, whose axis is parallel to the axis of the vertical guide 8, 8a, 8b.

The adjustment means 23 advantageously comprise an edge 26 of the base 20, which is affected by a plurality of perimetric bends 27 within which the respective wheels 25 of the vertical guides 8, 8a, 8b are accommodated, such wheels thus constituting a center of rotation for the guides. The adjustment means 23 further comprise a first disk 28, which is superimposed in a pack on the end tabs 24 and is affected by respective first substantially semicircular slots 29 for the passage of the vertical guides 8, 8a, 8b; there is also a second disk 30, which is superimposed in a pack on the first disk 28 and is affected by respective second substantially radial slots 31 for the passage of the vertical guides 8, 8a, 8b. Automated rotary actuation elements, not shown in the figures but of a substantially traditional type, are suitable to actuate the rotation preferably of the first disk 28 with respect to the base 20, so as to determine the consequent rotation of each of the vertical guides 8, 8a, 8b about the axis of the respective wheel 25, so as to achieve the radial translational motion of each of the vertical guides 8, 8a, 8b along the second slots 31 in a centripetal or centrifugal direction, thus allowing advantageously, by mutual approach or spacing, the accommodation and retention of parts having different dimensions.

The base 20 of each of the transfer elements 5 forms a distribution of centering pins 32 along the edge 26, said pins being adapted to engage slidingly in respective circumferential slotted openings 33 provided in the first disk 28.

The footing 2 of the magazine supports, at the side 4 for interfacing with the machine tool, a first linear actuator 34 and a second linear actuator 35, which are mutually parallel and substantially vertical and are adapted respectively to load and unload the parts from the magazine to the machine tool; they are arranged so that their respective stems 36 are substantially coaxial to two mutually adjacent recesses 19 of the driving pulley 17, so as to enter through the respective central openings 20a of the bases 20 of the transfer elements 5, so as to pick up and/or deposit the parts being machined. The first linear actuator 34 and the second linear actuator 35 are preferably of the pneumatic type and are supplied by an appropriate system provided within the magazine.

The operation of the magazine according to the invention is fully intuitive in view of what has been described. The actuation of the driving pulley 17 allows to achieve the movement by mutual pushing of the transfer elements 5 along the closed path 6, moving the parts from the insertion and pick-up side 3 to the machine interfacing side 4 and vice versa.

Preferably, one of the transfer elements 5 is left empty, in order to allow the swap between the machined parts and the parts yet to be machined.

It has thus been shown that the invention achieves the proposed aim and objects.

The invention thus conceived is susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of the appended claims.

All the details may further be replaced with other technically equivalent ones.

In practice, the materials used, as well as the shapes and the dimensions, may be any according to requirements without thereby abandoning the scope of the protection of the appended claims.

The disclosures in Italian Patent Application No. BO2005A000557 from which this application claims priority are incorporated herein by reference.

Claims

1. A stacking magazine for loading parts on a machine tool, characterized in that it comprises a footing (2), which forms at least one side (3) for the insertion and removal of the parts, and at least one side (4) for interfacing with the machine tool, adapted to support a plurality of elements (5) for transferring the parts being machined, which can move, along at least one closed path (6), from said insertion and removal side (3) to said interfacing side (4) and vice versa, and further adapted to support means (7) for actuation by mutual pushing of said transfer elements (5) along said closed path (6), each of said transfer elements (5) being adapted to support a plurality of parts stacked on each other and retained by respective substantially vertical guides (8, 8a, 8b).

2. The stacking magazine according to claim 1, characterized in that said actuation means of the mutual pushing type (7) comprise at least one gearmotor assembly (14), which is fixed below said footing (2) and to the output shaft (16) of which at least one pulley (17) for driving said transfer elements (5) is associated, said transfer elements (5) being actuated by said pulley (17) so as to perform a translational motion along said closed path (6) in close mutual contact, so as to push each other in succession along the advancement direction.

3. The stacking magazine according to claims 1 and 2, characterized in that said driving pulley (17) has a perimetric edge (18) affected by a plurality of recesses (19), each of which has a profile which is complementary to the profile of respective end portions (22) of said transfer elements (5), so as to provide a sort of meshing between said recesses (19) and said end portions (22) which produces the advancement of said transfer elements (5) along a portion (6a) which is substantially shaped like a circular arc and the consequent movement by mutual pushing of said plurality of transfer elements (5).

4. The stacking magazine according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said recesses (19) of said driving pulley (17) have a substantially circular arc-like profile and in that said end portions (22) of said driving elements (5) are substantially circular.

5. The stacking magazine according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said driving pulley (17) is affected by three of said recesses (19), which are mutually angularly equidistant so as to have substantially a three-lobed shape.

6. The stacking magazine according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said footing (2) forms a substantially horizontal table (13a) ,which is affected by at least one slot, which is substantially closed in a loop, forms said closed path (6) and along which said transfer elements (5) are guided so that they can slide.

7. The stacking magazine according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that each of said vertical guides (8, 8a, 8b) has a slender substantially cylindrical shape.

8. The stacking magazine according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that each of said transfer elements (5) comprises a substantially circular base (20), which forms, in a lower region, an axial cylindrical extension (21), which is adapted to slide within said closed path (6) and to which said end portion (22) is rigidly coupled, and means (23) for adjusting the mutual distance between said vertical guides (8, 8a, 8b) so as to allow the stacking of parts of various dimensions.

9. The stacking magazine according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said adjustment means (23) comprise an edge (26) of said base (20) which is affected by a plurality of perimetric bends (27), within which respective end tabs (24) of said vertical guides (8, 8a, 8b) are accommodated, at least one first disk (28) which is superimposed in a pack on said end tabs (24) and is affected by respective first substantially semicircular slots (29) for the passage of said vertical guides (8, 8a, 8b), and at least one second disk (30), which is superimposed in a pack on said first disk (28) and is affected by respective substantially radial second slots (31) for the passage of said vertical guides (8, 8a, 8b), rotary actuation elements being provided which are suitable to actuate the rotation of said first disk (28) with respect to said base (20), so as to produce the consequent rotation of each of said vertical guides (8, 8a, 8b) about the axis of said end tab (24), so as to achieve the radial translational motion of each of said transverse guides (8, 8a, 8b) along said second slots (31) in a centripetal or centrifugal direction, thus allowing to accommodate and retain parts of various dimensions.

10. The stacking magazine according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that each of said end tabs (24) comprises at least one arm (24a), which protrudes substantially at right angles from the base of said vertical guide (8, 8a, 8b) and supports at least one wheel (25), which is adapted to be accommodated in one of said bends (27) and to constitute the center of rotation of said vertical guide (8, 8a, 8b).

11. The stacking magazine according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said base (20) of each of said transfer elements (5) forms a distribution of centering pins (32) along said edge (26), said pins being adapted to engage slidingly in respective circumferential slotted openings (33) provided in said first disk (28).

12. The stacking magazine according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said footing (2) supports, at said side (4) for interfacing with the machine tool, a first linear actuator (34) and a second linear actuator (35), which are mutually parallel and substantially vertical and are adapted respectively to load and unload the parts from the magazine to the machine tool, and are arranged with their respective stems (36) substantially coaxially to two of said recesses (19) of said driving pulley (17) which are mutually adjacent, so as to enter through respective central openings (20a) of said bases (20) of said transfer elements (5), so as to pick up and/or deposit the parts being machined.

13. The stacking magazine according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said first and second linear actuators (34, 35) are of the pneumatic type.