JPS5932255B2 - automatic tool changer - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an automatic tool changer for a floor-type tank boring machine.

The automatic tool changer in a floor-mounted tank boring machine is installed on the spindle head that moves vertically along the column, and the rotation axis of the tool change arm is set parallel to the spindle, so that the tool in the correct position and the tool in the spindle are Tools are exchanged by rotating and advancing and retracting the tool exchange arm.

In this case, when the tool changing arm gripping the tool is pulled out to remove the tool, an excessive moment will be applied to the rotating shaft due to the tool's own weight, which is mechanically undesirable.

The object of the present invention was made in view of the conventional automatic tool changer, and after gripping a tool in an intermediate pot and a tool in a main spindle by a tool change arm, the tool is removed by retracting the intermediate pot and the main spindle. Another object of the present invention is to provide an automatic tool changer in which the tool change arm is rotated 180 degrees and tools are mounted on the intermediate pot and the main spindle by moving the intermediate tool pot and the main spindle forward.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An automatic tool changer according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings for a floor-type tank boring machine.

FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 are a front view and a plan view, respectively, showing the entire tool changing device installed in a floor-type tank boring machine, and number 1 in the figure indicates the column number of the boring machine.

A spindle head 2 is provided on one side of the column 1 so as to be movable up and down along the column 1, and a column 6 movable in the front and back direction is provided in front of the spindle head 2, and is driven by a motor (not shown). supports the rotatable main shaft 5.

The column 1 is attached to a column base 3 that is movable in the left and right direction in FIG.
Column 1 is also moved along with the movement of \.

A tool storage magazine 100 (FIG. 2) is provided on the upper left side of the column base 3, and stores a large number of tools arranged and stored on a horizontal plane with their axes vertical.
A horizontal transport mechanism 300 for horizontally transporting tools from 1000 locations in the magazine to near the bottom of the main shaft 5 is arranged on the front surface of the machine.

A first tool exchange mechanism 200 is provided between the magazine 100 and the starting end of the horizontal conveyance mechanism 300 to exchange tools therebetween.

A vertical conveyance mechanism 400 extending upward along the column 1 is provided near the end of the horizontal conveyance mechanism 300, and an intermediate tool pot mechanism 500 is located in the middle thereof.

A second tool exchange mechanism 600 is installed between the intermediate tool pot mechanism 500 and the main spindle 5, and thereby tools are exchanged between the pot mechanism 500 and the main spindle 5.

In the above device, the shank portion of the tool faces downward in the conveyance path from the magazine 100 to the intermediate tool pot mechanism 500, so that the tool is conveyed in a stable state.
The tool pot mechanism 500 is first rotated so as to be parallel to the main shaft 5 and positioned horizontally, and in this state is replaced with a used tool mounted on the main shaft 5.

During this transportation, a positioning key groove provided on the tool and a positioning key provided on each mechanism engage with each other, and the tool is transported while maintaining a predetermined position at all times, and is mounted on the main shaft 5.

Next, each mechanism of the above device will be explained with reference to the respective drawings.

Among these mechanisms, some control members such as limit switches and electromagnetic valves are omitted because their operations will be explained later in the drive circuit section.

The tool storage magazine 100 shown in FIG. 2 has a base 101 with an oblong recess formed in the center of the upper surface, and within this recess, a number of tool pots 102 are arranged in a chain shape along the circumference of the recess. It is set up.

Each pot 102 has an opening 103 at the center of the top surface for holding tools.
A key 104 is provided protruding near this opening for engaging with the positioning key groove of the tool to set the tool at a predetermined position.

The tool pot 102 is provided with drive teeth on the inside thereof, and the drive teeth are engaged with a chain 105 provided inside the pot 102.

As a result, when this chain 105 is driven by the sprocket 106 rotated by the hydraulic motor 110, the pot 102 is moved clockwise along with this drive.

In order to smoothly transport the pot 102, in this embodiment, an extension is provided on the outside of the pot 102 and extends above the base 101, and a roller is rotatably supported on this extension. The rollers are adapted to roll on the upper surface of the base 101.

``In order to index a tool held vertically with the shank downward through the opening 103 of each tool pot 102, a different code surface 1 is provided on the outer surface of the extending portion of the pot 102.
07 is formed, and this code surface 107 is connected to the base 10.
A code detection mechanism 108 provided on the sprocket 1 detects this and stops driving the sprocket 106.

That is, when a desired tool is stopped at an exchange position near the tool exchange mechanism 200 and this tool is exchanged, the code corresponding to this tool is changed to the pot 1020 that holds this tool.
The predetermined tool is stopped at the replacement position by detecting this code surface.

In addition, a code is attached to the tool itself, and this code is detected by the detection mechanism 1.
The reading tool can also be identified by 08.

The code detection mechanism 108 may be of a type that reads the code by mechanically contacting the code surface, or may be of an optical type that reads reflected light or transmitted light from the code surface.

This device reads the code surface when the specified tool has slightly passed the replacement position, stops the pot, then reverses the pot counterclockwise at a very low speed, and then stops the pot by hitting a rattut-type stopper at the stop position. A mechanism is provided.

The first tool exchange mechanism 200 will be described with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 3A.

The tool exchange mechanism 200 has the functions of transferring the tools at the exchange position of the magazine 100 into the tool carrier 302 of the horizontal transport mechanism 300 and storing the used tools in the tool carrier 302 into the pot 102 of the magazine 100. It has a tool exchange arm 201 with a

On the opposite sides of both horizontally extending arm parts 202 of this arm 201, there are gripping parts 203 for holding tools, each of which has a substantially semicircular arc surface. The straight line connecting the centers is inclined by 15 degrees with respect to the normal reference axis.

Therefore, in order for the arm 201 to grip the tools in the tool pot 102 and the tool pot 311, it is only necessary to rotate the arm 201 by 85 degrees clockwise.

The inner surface of the gripping part 203 has an arc-shaped protrusion 204 that engages with a ring-shaped groove of the tool to reliably prevent the tool from dropping downward, and a circular protrusion 204 that engages with a key groove of the tool to maintain a predetermined phase of the tool. A key 205 for positioning is provided.

Further, near the inner base end of the gripping part 203, a lock pin 206 is provided which is constantly pressed inward by a spring.

Note that a shaft 211 is fixed to the lower part of the arm 201, and a pinion (not shown) is attached to the lower end of the shaft 211. (not shown).

Therefore, when the hydraulic cylinders 212 and 213 are selected and operated, the arm 201 moves to 85° and 180°, respectively.
Place the mark at the angular position.

Note that since the shaft 211 is also connected to a hydraulic cylinder 214 extending in the vertical direction, the arm 201 can also move vertically.

Thus, when this arm 201 is rotated horizontally and its grip portion 203 approaches the side of the tool, the T-ink pin 206 is first pushed by the side of the tool and enters the arm 201 against the spring force. .

As a result, the tool enters the gripping part 203 consisting of a curved surface,
While engaging with the respective arcuate protrusions 204 and keys 205, the lock pin 206 protrudes again due to the spring force.
Hold this tool securely from the side.

” The horizontal conveyance mechanism 300 shown in FIGS. 3 to 5 holds the tool vertically with the shank part down by a tool carrier 302, and places the tool between the first tool exchange mechanism 200 and the vertical conveyance mechanism 400. It is moved by.

A pot 311 into which a shank portion of a tool is inserted and a key 312 that engages with a positioning key groove of the tool are formed on the upper surface of the tool carrier 302, respectively.

This horizontal conveyance mechanism 300 has a pair of guide bars 301 provided at the front part of the column 1 with a predetermined distance from each other.

These guide bars 301 are supported by a guide bar support 307 fixed to the column 1 so that the movement of the tool carrier 302 is not hindered.

Further, an endless chain 303 extends parallel to this guide bar 301.
03 is a pair of sprockets 304 for driving this
It is being passed over.

The tool carrier 302 has a horizontal hole through which the guide bar 301 is loosely inserted, and a chain 303 is fixed thereto.As the chain 303 is driven by the sprocket 304, the tool carrier 302 moves along the guide bar 301. It is reciprocated between the exchange mechanism 200 of No. 1 and the vertical conveyance mechanism 400.

Although not shown, the sprocket 304 on one side is driven after being decelerated by a hydraulic motor (not shown).

The guide bar 301 is provided with a cover 308 as shown in FIG. 5 to protect it from cutting debris and the like.

This cover 308 is composed of a metal plate with a substantially angular cross-section whose side and top surfaces extend along the guide bar 301.
The lower part is pivotally supported by a pin 309 on the protrusion of the column 1, and the piston of a hydraulic cylinder 310 whose base end is pivotally supported on the column 1 is connected to the lower end.

As a result, by the operation of this hydraulic cylinder 310, the cover 308 can be rotated between the open position shown by the solid line and the open position shown by the imaginary line, and when the carrier 302 moves, it is held in the open position. Carrier 302
It is designed so that there is no hindrance to movement.

When exchanging tools between the tool pot 102 of the magazine 100 and the tool carrier 302 of the horizontal transport mechanism, first, when a tool call command is issued, the tool pot 102 holding the tool selected by the code detection mechanism 108 is exchanged. stopped in position.

At this time, the tool carrier 302 is placed in advance in front of the replacement position on the right side of FIG.

Here, the arm 201 is rotated 85° clockwise to grip a new tool with the gripping portion 203, and then the arm 201
Shift the tool upward to remove the tool from the tool pot 102, then rotate the arm 201 by 180 degrees and then lower the arm 201 to place the new tool in the tool carrier 3.
It is inserted into 02.

At this point, if the arm 201 is rotated again by 85 degrees, it will return to the initial state.

When returning a used tool to the tool storage magazine 100 from the spindle side, it is transported from the right side to the left side via the tool carrier 302 in FIG. A used tool pot is indexed in advance, and the used tool is stored in a predetermined tool pot by the above-described operation of the tool exchange arm 201.

The vertical conveyance mechanism 400 shown in FIGS. 6, 7, and 8 includes a column 1. The rotary shaft 40 extends vertically along the side wall of the
3, whose lower end is rotatably supported by a support body 410 and whose upper end is rotatably supported by a bearing (not shown).

This rotary shaft 403 is provided in a support body 410 and is supported by hydraulic cylinders C3 and C4 facing each other.
It is rotated to a predetermined angle through a combination of a rack (not shown) fixed to each piston of the cylinder and a pinion (not shown) provided at the lower end of the rotary shaft 403 that meshes with the rack. .

The rotary shaft 403 has a keyway 403A, and the tool carrying arm 404, which has a key (not shown) that engages with the keyway 403A, is fitted into the rotary shaft 403, so the arm 404 is It can move up and down along the rotary shaft 403, and rotates together with the rotary shaft 403.

The tool transfer arm 404. As shown in detail in FIG. 7, has a mechanism similar to the grip part 203 of the first exchange mechanism 200 at its tip.

This gripping portion is also provided with an arcuate protrusion, a key, and a lock pin 414, so that the tool can be held vertically at a predetermined angular position with the shank portion facing down.

This lock pin 414 is inserted into the grip part so as to be able to move forward and backward, but in the holding position (the position of the lower imaginary line shown in FIG. 7 and the upper imaginary line rotated 180 degrees from the lower imaginary line) The tool is gripped by the engagement of the compression spring 415 provided in the section with the cam 420 and the piece 420a to prevent the tool from being pushed in.

Note that when the arm 404 is in the imaginary line position to the left of the solid line in FIG. 7, the block pin 414 is not pressed because the piece 420a is separated from the surface of the cam 420.

A horizontal cover 411 is provided at the base of the arm 4040 to protect the rotating portion of the arm 4040 from the cutting layer and the like.

A vertical cover 407 is also provided around the rotary shaft 403 to protect the shaft 403 in the same manner.

This cover 407 is provided outside the shaft 403 and
3 in the vertical direction.

The base end of the cover 407 is pivotally supported by a cover bracket 416, and as a result, it is rotatable on a horizontal plane about this pivot.

A swing motor (not shown in this figure) is provided above the cover 407, and the arm 4 is driven by this swing motor.
04 is positioned at the lower end position of the rotary shaft 403 and is on standby, the cover 407 rotates to cover the rotary shaft to protect the rotary shaft 403 from chips and the like.

When the arm 404 is raised, the cover 407 is rotated so as not to prevent the arm 404 from rising.

An endless chain 402 is provided to extend along the rotary shaft 403, and the upper and lower ends of the endless chain 402 are passed around sprockets 401, respectively.

The upper sprocket 401 is rotated by a hydraulic motor M3 provided above it via a pair of pinions, a worm, and a worm wheel (not shown), and the chain 402 is driven by this rotation.

The lower sprocket 401 is supported by a bracket 413 attached to a threaded rod 412 protruding from a support 410.

A portion of this chain 402 is connected to the tool transfer arm 40
As a result, as the chain 402 moves, the arm 404 is moved up and down using the rotary shaft 403 as a guide.

To transfer the tool from the tool carrier 302 of the horizontal mechanism 300 to the arm 404, the arm 404 is placed at the lowest position of the rotary shaft 403 and at the imaginary line position to the left of the solid line in FIG.

In this state, when the carrier 302 is moved from the left to the right end and the arm 404 is rotated from the imaginary line to the solid line position, the tool is gripped by its gripping portion.

The intermediate tool pot mechanism 500 is positioned near the upper limit position of the exchange arm 404 as shown in FIG.
is attached to the side of the spindle head 2.

The entire pot mechanism 500 is approximately 90 degrees toward the front in the drawing.
The intermediate tool pot 502, which is a part of the tool pot, can be moved vertically along the guide rail 501.

In addition, the exchange arm 404 is controlled by a limit switch, which will be described later, within a predetermined stroke range of the rotary shaft 4030.
It is designed to stop at a position corresponding to the position of the spindle head 2 and to perform a replacement operation.

That is, a stopper 642 is provided protruding from the spindle head 2, and a limit switch L10 (not shown) is attached below this, and both are moved in the vertical direction together with the spindle head 2.

On the other hand, a dog (not shown) of the limit switch L10 is fixed to the arm 404, and the arm 404 rises and aligns with the stopper 642, causing the spindle head to
stops at the fixed position, and at the same time limit switch L10
This signal gives a 180 degree rotation command to the arm 404.

Tool pot 50 from arm 404 of vertical transport mechanism 400
2. For the tool transfer, the arm 404 is placed in the position shown in FIG. 8 (solid line position in FIG. 7) and raised from below.

When it comes to a position corresponding to the spindle head during the ascent, it is stopped by the limit switch LIO and the stopper 642 as described above.

At this position, the arm 404 is rotated 180 degrees to the right of the rotary shaft 403 from the position shown in FIG. 8 (the upper imaginary line position in FIG. 7).

When the tool pot 502 is subsequently raised, the shank portion of the tool is inserted into the pot 502.

If the arm 404 is now rotated clockwise in FIG. 7, the piece 420a is removed from the cam 420, so the tool is separated from the grip of the arm 404 and supported only by the pot 502.

Subsequently, the pot 502 is rotated forward by 90 degrees and positioned in a position parallel to the axis of the spindle head 2.

Next, details of this intermediate tool pot mechanism 500 will be explained with reference to FIGS. 9 to 11.

The guide rails 501 are provided in parallel with each other at regular intervals, extend in the vertical direction, and have lower portions that are connected to the base 5.
It is fixed at 18.

The lower part of the base 518 is pivotally supported by a support 515 projecting from the spindle head 2 via a pin 514.

On the other hand, a piston rod 519 of a hydraulic cylinder 517 is rotatably attached to the spindle head 2 on the upper part of the base 518.
The tip of the pin 516 is pivotally supported.

As a result, the pot mechanism 500 is tilted forward by 90 degrees around the pin 514 by the operation of the hydraulic cylinder 517.

A hydraulic cylinder 509 with a piston rod 510 facing upward is fixed to the base 518, and a tool pot 502 is mounted at the tip of the piston rod 510 in the center of the hollow.
One end of a horizontal support plate 520 provided with an opening is attached.

The opening of this tool pot 502 has approximately the same diameter as the outer diameter of the tool, and is tapered so that the diameter becomes smaller as it goes downward.

A support cylinder 5 extending downward is provided on the lower surface of the support plate 520.
The upper end of the support plate 520 is coaxially fixed to the opening of the support plate 520.

Both ends of the support body 5210 are connected to the pair of rails 501.
, and vertical movement is stabilized.

A cylindrical holder 513 is fitted into the lower part of the support cylinder 521 and screwed thereto.

A tool pocket 511 is provided within this holder 513 coaxially therewith and slidably relative to the holder 513.

This tool pocket 511 has an inner peripheral side surface into which a pull stud of a tool shank is inserted.

A plate 507 is screwed to the lower surface of the pocket 511 and extends so that its edge abuts the lower surface of the holder 513.

The dog 522 is fixed to the lower end of the guide rail 501.

This is to operate a limit switch (not shown) to detect the horizontal position when the hydraulic cylinder 517 tilts forward by 90 degrees.

As shown in FIG. 9, lower ends of tension springs 504 are connected to both ends of the plate 5070, respectively.
The upper end of 04 is connected to a support member 508 extending from the outside of the support cylinder 521.

As a result, the tool pocket 511 provided on this plate 507 is raised together by the spring 504 as the support plate 520 is raised due to the rise of the piston rod 510.

Then, at the position where the tool is inserted into the tool pocket 511 near the highest point, both ends of the plate 5070 are connected to the stopper 531.
Even if it comes into contact with a and is prevented from rising, this pocket 511
Independently of this, the support plate 520 further rises a little, and the tool shank support mechanism described below is activated to ensure that the shank is supported in the tool pocket 511.

That is, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, this support mechanism is horizontally inserted into a plurality of horizontal holes (three in this embodiment) that are radially bored at equal intervals in the peripheral wall of the tool pocket 5110. It has a lock pin 512 slidably inserted in the direction.

The base of these lock pins 5120 is normally attached to the holder 513.
As a result, this pin 512 is in an unlocked state in which its tip does not protrude from the inner circumferential surface of the pocket 511.

Then, as described above, when the pocket 511 is stopped from rising near the highest position by the stopper 531a,
The holder 513 further rises with respect to this pocket 511, and as a result, the lock pin 512 is pushed out from the bottom of the spigot part of the holder 513 and rides on the inner peripheral side of the holder 513.

Therefore, the tip of the lock pin 512 extends from the inner peripheral side of the pocket 511, and as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 10, the lock pin 512 comes into contact with the pull stud of the tool from the radial direction, supports it, and becomes locked.

This intermediate tool pot mechanism 500 is provided with a positioning mechanism that engages with a key groove of the tool to define the rotational position of the tool.

As shown in FIG. 9, this mechanism has a pair of presser plates 503a attached to the side wall of the support cylinder 521.

503b is provided with a rotation stopper bar 503 which is slidably mounted in the vertical direction.

An engagement pin 530 is protruded from the lower part of the bar 503, and a notch formed at the tip of the swing lever 505 engages with this pin 530.

This lever 505 is pivotally supported by the support cylinder 521 approximately at the center, and the lower end of a tension spring 506 whose upper end is fastened to the support cylinder 521 is connected to the base end.

Therefore, when the cylindrical body 521 is positioned downward as shown by the solid line, the lever 505 is moved by the spring 506.
is biased counterclockwise, and the rotation stopper bar 503 is in a so-called unlocked state in which its tip does not protrude from the upper surface of the support plate 520.

When the support cylinder 521 is raised as described above, the base end of the lever 5050 comes into contact with the stopper 531 mounted midway on the guide rail 501, and as a result, the lever 505 resists the force of the spring 5060. Rotated clockwise.

Due to this rotation, the rotation stopper bar 503 locks the cylinder body 52.
1, its tip protrudes from the upper surface of the support plate 520, engages with the key groove of the tool, positions the tool, and prevents rotation, resulting in a locked state.

Next, a second tool exchange mechanism 600 is shown in FIGS.
This will be explained with reference to the drawings and FIGS. 13a to 13f.

As shown in FIG. 8, this mechanism 600 is located below the intermediate tool pot mechanism 500, and is equipped with a swing block 631 that is supported by a pivot member 630 to be rotatable by approximately 90° horizontally on the spindle head 2. are doing.

The swing block 631 rotatably supports the tool exchange arm 601 and has a built-in drive mechanism for rotating the tool exchange arm 601.

One end of a horizontally extending piston rod 633 of a hydraulic cylinder 632 mounted on the front surface of the spindle head 2 is swingably engaged with the lower end of this block 631.

Therefore, when the piston rod 633 moves to the right from the illustrated position, the block 631 can rotate 900 times from the illustrated position where the arm 601 is on the left to the forward position in the drawing.

Details of the second tool exchange mechanism 600 will be explained with reference to FIG. 12.

A hollow shaft 612 of the arm 601 has a flange portion to which the arm 601 is attached and is rotatably provided to a block 631 via bearings 613 and 614, and a worm gear 611 coaxially formed is fixed to the outside. There is.

A worm 610 rotated by a hydraulic motor 608 via reduction gears 609a and 609b is meshed with the worm gear 611.

On the other hand, the hollow shaft 612 has a cylindrical shape, and the sliding shaft 604 is inserted through the hollow shaft 612 so as to be slidable in the axial direction.

A movable hydraulic cylinder 607 is connected to the base end of the sliding shaft 604 via a thrust bearing 651 and a ball joint 652 that provides axial support.

The other end of a fixed piston 606 whose one end is fixed to a block 631 is inserted into this cylinder 607, and a guide pin 615 protruding from the block 631 is inserted into a through hole at the base end of the cylinder 607 and rotates. Incapacitated.

Further, a compression spring 605 is housed in the hollow shaft 612 to constantly bias the sliding shaft 604 forward.

Thus, when the fluid pressure in the A chamber of the cylinder 607 is increased, the cylinder 601 moves forward together with the sliding shaft 604.

A tapered surface is formed at the tip of this sliding shaft 604, and the engagement pin 603 is slidably provided in the arm 601 so that its base end abuts this surface.

A clamp shoe 602 is provided at the tip of the engagement pin 603, and as the sliding shaft 604 moves forward,
The clamp shoe 602 is pushed by the tapered surface of the tip, and the clamp shoe 602 extends to the gripping part of the arm 601.
The tool is held in cooperation with this gripping portion (not shown, having the same shape as the first tool exchange arm 201).

In addition to such a locking mechanism, when the arm 601 rotates clockwise with the locking mechanism released,
A stop mechanism is provided to stop the arm 601 in a vertical position, and a horizontal holding mechanism is provided to allow the arm 601 to rotate freely clockwise, but to stop it in a horizontal position when it is rotated counterclockwise.

This stop mechanism is adapted to be operated in synchronization with the locking mechanism, as will be explained below.

A pin 618 that moves linearly together with the cylinder 607 is provided at the lower end of the plate 616 that projects from the cylinder 607 .

This pin 618 is connected to a link plate 620 whose center is rotatably supported on the block 631 by a shaft 634.
It is loosely inserted into a notch formed on one end face of the.

One end of a stop pin 624 is brought into contact with the other end surface of this plate 620, and this pin 624 is always urged toward the link plate 620 by a compression spring 623.

Cylinder 607 is in front, clamp shoe 602
When the tool is held in a state in which the stop pin 624 extends from the gripping portion of the arm 601, the stop pin 624 does not protrude from the block 631 due to the pressing force of the spring 623, so that the arm 601 is kept free to rotate.

However, when the pressure oil acting on the cylinder 607 flows into the B chamber and this cylinder 607 moves backward, the pin 618 also moves backward at the same time, and the link plate 620
Rotate clockwise.

As a result, this stop pin 624 is attached to the spring 623.
The arm 601 is moved to the left against the urging force of the arm 601, and its tip protrudes from the block 631 (see Fig. 13d), and comes into contact with a block (not shown) protruding from the back side of the arm 601. When reversed clockwise, stop at vertical position.

The horizontal holding mechanism allows the arm 601 to freely rotate clockwise, and when reversed counterclockwise, the arm 601 rotates freely in the clockwise direction.
01 is stopped in a horizontal position.

This horizontal holding mechanism has a swing shaft 6 rotatably supported by the block 631 such that its tip extends from the side surface of the block 631 at right angles to the hollow shaft 612 of the arm 601.
It has 40.

A stop member 641 having an inclined surface on one side is fixed to the tip of the shaft 640.

A stopper screw 6 is provided on the other side of this stop member 641.
26 are screwed together, and the tip thereof is in contact with a fixed body 629 protruding from the block 631.

Furthermore, an engagement pin 625 is provided protruding from the back surface of the exchange arm 601.

When the arm 601 is rotated clockwise, the engagement pin 625 comes into contact with the inclined surface of the stop member 641 from below in the figure, and as it moves along this surface, the member 625
41, that is, the member 641 is rotated by the stopper screw 6.
26 is rotated in a direction away from the fixed body 629.

As a result, the arm 601 is not prevented from rotating by this stop mechanism and can freely rotate clockwise.

However, when the arm 601 is rotated counterclockwise and reaches the horizontal position, the engagement pin 625 hits the top surface of the stop member 641 to prevent rotation and maintain the horizontal position.

Next, tool exchange between the intermediate tool pot mechanism 500 and the main spindle 5 by the second tool exchange mechanism 600 will be described with reference to FIGS. 13a to 13f.

First, as shown in FIG. 13a, the intermediate tool pot mechanism 500
The tool pot 502 receives and holds a tool from the arm 404 of the vertical transport mechanism 400 at its uppermost position.

At this time, the block 631 of the second tool change mechanism 600
has not yet been rotated, and the tool exchange arm 601 provided thereon is positioned laterally with respect to the front surface of the spindle head 2.

Next, as shown in FIG. 13, the block 631 is rotated 90 degrees in the direction of the arrow by the hydraulic cylinder 632, and the tool changing arm 601 is moved to a position where its hollow shaft 612 is parallel to the main shaft 5 in the horizontal plane. Make it.

This rotation of block 6310 creates a vacant space in front of intermediate tool pot mechanism 500.

Then, as shown in FIG. 13C, the cylinder 517 is operated to move its piston rod 519 forward, thereby tilting the tool pot mechanism 500 forward by 90 degrees.

As a result, the tool held by the intermediate tool pot mechanism 500 is positioned parallel to the main shaft 5 in a horizontal plane.

Further, the distances from the hollow shaft 612 of the tool exchange arm 601 to the used tool held by the main spindle 5 and the new tool held by the pot mechanism 500 are equal.

Further, since the arm 601 is not driven, it is maintained in the vertical state as in the initial state.

Next, as shown in FIG. 13d, the arm 601 is rotated 90° forward (counterclockwise), and the above-mentioned drawing tools are held by the grips formed at both ends of the arm 6010, respectively.

With the arm 601 gripping the tool in this manner, the support cylinder 521 is attached to the guide rail 5 as shown in FIG. 13e.
01, the main shaft 5 also retreats, and the drawing tool is separated from the support cylinder 521 and the main shaft 5.

When the support cylinder 521 is retracted, the lock pin 512 that has been in contact with the pull stud of the tool releases the shank immediately after the cylinder 521 is retracted by the reverse operation of the locking operation.

In this manner, with the drawing tools freed from their respective support mechanisms, the arm 601 is reversed by 180 degrees, and the drawing tools are replaced as shown in FIG. 13f.

Then, by moving the main shaft 5 and the support cylinder 521 forward, a new tool is supported by the main shaft 5 and a used tool is supported by the support cylinder 521.

After that, the operation is the reverse of the previous operation, that is, the arm 601 is reversed by 90 degrees (clockwise), and the pot mechanism 500 is returned to the vertical position.

Next, the timing operation of each mechanism of the above configuration is shown in Fig. 14a.
This will be explained with reference to the hydraulic circuit diagrams shown in FIGS.

The magazine mechanism 100 shown in FIG.
It is operated by a hydraulic motor 110 which is a driving source of the motor.

In this operation, the forward rotation solenoid valve 1 operates in response to a tool calling command, and the hydraulic motor 110 rotates in the forward direction, and a large number of tool pots 102
rotates clockwise.

Next, when the code detection mechanism 108 selects the specified tool, the reverse solenoid valve V2 and the low speed solenoid valve V3 are activated by the signal, and the tool pot 1020 rotates at a low speed and is stopped by a mechanical stopper (not shown). Stop.

In response to this stop signal, the reversing solenoid valve (2) is actuated to rotate the tool pot 102 counterclockwise at a slow speed, and the tool pot selected by another mechanical stopper is stopped at an accurate tool exchange position.

Meanwhile, the used tools are in a tool carrier 302 placed in front of the tool changing arm 201.

When the selected tool pot 102 described above stops at the tool exchange position, the electromagnetic valve v4 is energized by the signal and drives the rotating hydraulic cylinder 212, rotating the arm 201 by 85° forward (counterclockwise) via the rack and pinion. direction) arm 2
010 Grip the tools with the grips at both ends.

At the normal rotation limit of 85°, the limit switch L1 is turned on, and as a result, the electromagnetic valve v5 is energized, and the hydraulic cylinder 214 for vertical movement is activated, and the arm 201 is raised while gripping the tool.

When this upper limit is detected by the limit switch L2, the electromagnetic valve (6) is energized and the cylinder 213 is activated.

As a result, the piston is moved forward, and the arm 201 is rotated 180 degrees in the normal direction via the rack and pinion, thereby changing the position of the tool.

In this case, since a code is attached to the tool pot 102 side of the tool storage magazine 100, the tool pot 102 corresponding to the tool is indexed in advance.

Note that if the tool itself has a code, it is not necessary to identify a specific tool pot 102 because the tool itself has identification ability.

When this forward rotation is completed, limit switch L3 is turned on,
The electromagnetic valve v5 is deenergized.

As a result, the arm 201 returns to its original position, a new tool is inserted into the tool carrier 302 of the horizontal transport mechanism 300, and a used tool is inserted into the tool pot 102 of the magazine 100.

When the above operation is completed, the limit switch L4 is closed, the solenoid valve v4 is deenergized, the arm 201 is reversed by 85 degrees, the tool is released, and the arm 201 is returned to the initial position.

The above-mentioned operations are normally performed during machining with the current tool attached to the spindle 5, and then, when machining with the tool is completed, a tool change command is issued.

This command excites the electromagnetic valve V7 for the cover 407 of the rotary shaft 403, pressurizes the hydraulic motor M4, and rotates the cover 407 for the rotary shaft 403, causing the arm 404 to rotate.
to release the vertical movement path.

At the same time, the electromagnetic valve ■8 is energized and the cylinder 3
10 is moved backward, the guide rail 3010 cover 308 is rotated as shown by the imaginary line in FIG. 5, and the horizontal movement path of the tool pot is also opened.

When the cover 407 for the rotary shaft 403 is opened to the maximum, the limit switch L6 is turned on, and the solenoid valve V9 for advancing the tool carrier 302 is energized.

As a result, hydraulic motor M2 is driven, and chain 303
moves forward, and the tool carrier 302 holding the new tool is sent near the vertical transport mechanism 400.

Note that when the tool carrier 302 reaches near its end, the deceleration valve V10 is activated, the rotational speed of the motor M2 is slowed down, and the tool carrier 302 is decelerated and stopped by a mechanical stopper (not shown).

When the tool carrier 302 is stopped, the limit switch L7 is closed, and the solenoid valve v11 is energized and the hydraulic pressure is Cylinder C
3 is activated.

Due to this first forward rotation of arm 404, the tool is grasped by the gripping portion of arm 404, and at the same time limit switch L8
is applied, and the electromagnetic valve V12 is energized.

Due to this excitation, the hydraulic motor M3 is rotated and the arm 404
will rise.

Near this rising point, the deceleration limit switch L9 is turned on, and the motor M3 is decelerated via the electromagnetic valve V13.

Then, near the highest point, the limit switch L10 is turned on, and after the arm 404 rises a little further, the stopper 642
It collides with and stops.

At this time, the electromagnetic valve V14 is excited by the LS10.

As a result, the hydraulic cylinder C4 is actuated and the arm 404
is rotated 180° in the normal direction and the tool is held above the intermediate tool pot 502.

This second forward rotation closes the limit switch L11 and de-energizes the electromagnetic valve V15.

As a result, the hydraulic cylinder 50 of the intermediate tool pot mechanism 500
The piston rod 510 of No. 9 rises from the lower position, and the support cylinder 521 rises to receive the tool supported by the arm 404.

At the highest position of this cylinder 521, the limit switch L1
2 is closed, the solenoid valve V14 is deenergized, and the arm 404 is reversed by 180 degrees.

When the arm 404 starts to reverse, the tool is automatically separated from the arm 404 and remains on the support cylinder 521.

At the rotation end position of the arm 4040, the electromagnetic valve V16 is energized, the cylinder 517 is pressurized, and the support cylinder 521, that is, the tool, is tilted forward by 90 degrees.

This tilting is caused by the fact that when the limit switch L13 is closed, the block 631 of the second tool change mechanism 600 is rotated forward by 90 degrees by the operation of the electromagnetic valve V17 and the cylinder 632, and the limit switch L25a is turned on. It becomes possible.

Further, cylinder C5 in FIG. 14C prevents the piston rod 510 of the cylinder 509, that is, the support cylinder 521, from descending when hydraulic pressure is lost due to a power outage or the like while the support cylinder 521 is in the raised position. Therefore, the piston rod comes into contact with the bottom of the support cylinder 521.

The limit switch L13 is closed by the tilting of the support cylinder 521, that is, the intermediate tool pot mechanism, and the electromagnetic valve V18 is energized to drive the hydraulic motor 608, causing the arm 601 to rotate 90 degrees forward (counterclockwise). , arm 60
A new tool in the support cylinder 521 that has been sent into one of the gripping parts of the tool 1 is gripped.

At the same time, as described above, the used tool supported by the spindle 5 is gripped by the other gripping section.

Due to the forward rotation of this arm 601, the limit switch L1
4 is closed, the electromagnetic valve V19 is energized, and the cylinder 607 is pressurized.

Due to this pressurization, the stop mechanism (stop pin 624, etc.) of the arm 601 is released and the clamp mechanism is activated, so that the arm 601 grips the tool.

Next, the movement of the cylinder 607 turns on the limit switch L15, and the main shaft 5 retreats, leaving the tool on the arm 601.

Almost simultaneously, the electromagnetic valve 15 is energized, the cylinder 509 is operated, and the support cylinder 521 is moved back, leaving the tool on the arm 601.

Next, the retreat of the support cylinder 521 turns on the limit switch L16, deenergizes V18 and reverses the motor 608, causing the arm 601 to rotate 180° + α0 in the reverse direction (clockwise).
be done.

When the limit switch L17 detects this reversal of α0, the motor 608 is again rotated in the normal direction via the electromagnetic valve V18, and the arm 601 is rotated in the normal direction by α0, thereby moving the drawing tool to the position 18.
Turn it to 0°.

This extra normal rotation of α0 of the arm 601 causes the arm 6
01 engagement pin 625 abuts against the stop member 641 to properly stop the arm 601 on the horizontal position pin 625.

The limit switch L14 is actuated by the forward rotation of α0 of the arm 601, and the main shaft 5 moves forward to support the conveyed tool, and at the same time de-energizes the electromagnetic valve 15 to pressurize the cylinder 509 and pressurize the cylinder 509. advance to support the used tool.

As the support cylinder 521 moves forward, the cylinder 607 is moved to the right via the limit switch L12 and the electromagnetic valve V19 (see FIG. 12), the clamp shoe 602 is moved back, and the clamp mechanism is released.
24 to put the stop mechanism into operation.

Subsequently, using L12, the electromagnetic valve v18 is deenergized, the arm 601 is reversed by 90 degrees (clockwise), and the tool is released.

At this time, the arm 601 is held in the correct vertical position by the stop pin 624.

By reversing the arm 601, it returns to the vertical position and L18
enters, the solenoid valve V20 is energized, and the cylinder 517
is activated, and the support cylinder 521 is rotated 900 times to make the tool vertical.

This rotation closes the limit switch L1'9,
The block 631 is rotated 90' by the cylinder 632 via the electromagnetic valve V17, and the intermediate tool pot mechanism 500
It is stored in the [side].

At this time, the limit switch L20 is closed almost simultaneously, and the arm 404 is opened at 180° via the electromagnetic valve V14.
° It is rotated counterclockwise and grips the tool with this grip.

With this rotation, the limit switch Lll is turned on, the electromagnetic valve 15 is energized, and the cylinder 509 causes the support cylinder 521 to
is descending.

At the same time, the arm 404 is reversed by 180 degrees (clockwise) via the electromagnetic valve V14 and the cylinder C4.

Next, the electromagnetic valve V21 is energized, the motor M3 is rotated, and the arm 404 is lowered, but near the end of this lowering, the limit switch L21 is activated and the deceleration valve 13 is activated to decelerate the arm 404, and at the end of the lowering, another Close limit switch L22.

Upon completion of this lowering, the used tool held by the arm 404 is inserted into the tool carrier 302. As a result, the electromagnetic valve V11 is deenergized and the cylinder C3
is depressurized, and the pressurizing force of cylinder C4 causes arm 404 to move backward, rotating arm 404 by 40 degrees clockwise and returning it to the solid line position in FIG.

At the end of this rotation, limit switch L23 is closed,
The electromagnetic valve V22 is energized, the motor M2 is reversed, the tool carrier 302 is moved backward, and the tool carrier 302 with the used tool inserted therein is brought close to the magazine 100.

At the end of the conveyor operation, the C deceleration valve V23 operates (same as when the conveyor moves forward), and the tool carrier 302 is decelerated and then stopped.

By stopping the tool carrier 302, the limit switch L24 is closed, and the cover for the rotary shaft 403 and the cover for the guide rail 301 are closed by the motor M4 and the cylinder 310, respectively.

By opening the cover for the rotary shaft 403, the limit switch L25 is closed, and preparations for returning the used tools in the tool carrier 302 to the magazine 100 are completed.

The used tools held in the tool carrier 302 are returned to the tool pot 102 of the magazine 100 by the first tool exchange arm 201 when the next tool call command is issued.

The newly selected tool is then transferred from the tool pot 102 to the tool carrier 302 of the horizontal transport mechanism 300.

The machine waits at this position until a tool change command is issued.

Such tool selection and return operations are performed during cutting,
1. In Figures 14a to 14C, the control circuits in Figures a and b are connected to line T1.
They are connected to each other via T2 and T3, and both are operated by the hydraulic power source mechanism S1.

The control circuit shown in FIG. 14C is operated by the hydraulic power source mechanism S2.

L26 is a limit switch for detecting when the conveyor cover 308 is brought to a comfortable position by the drive of the cylinder 509.

As explained above, in the automatic tool changer of the present invention, the tool change arm and the main spindle are moved by moving the intermediate pot and the main spindle back and forth without moving the tool change arm back and forth.
Tools are attached and removed between both intermediate pots, and the tool positions in the spindle and intermediate pot are exchanged by the rotation of the tool exchange arm, which prevents excessive moment from acting on the tool exchange arm. Tools can be replaced without any hassle.

Therefore, in automatic tool changing of heavy tools used in large machine tools such as floor-mounted horizontal boring machines, the tool changing arm can be rotated in a more stable state than before. .

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The figures show an automatic tool changer according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which Fig. 1 is a front view of the whole, Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof, Fig. 3 is a front view of the horizontal conveyance mechanism, and Fig. 3a is a 3B is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 in FIG. 3A, FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 in FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 is a conveyor cover of the transport mechanism 6 is a partially cutaway front view of the vertical conveyance mechanism, FIG. 1 is a sectional view taken along line 7-7 in FIG. 6, and FIG. 8 is a second tool exchange mechanism and its related mechanisms. 9 is a front view of the intermediate tool pot, FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along line 10-10 of FIG.
1 is a sectional view taken along line 1l-ii in FIG. 10, FIG. 12 is an exploded perspective view showing the main parts of the arm drive and control mechanism of the second tool exchange mechanism, and FIGS. 13 a to f are the second tool exchange mechanism. Schematic perspective views sequentially explaining the operation of the mechanism, and FIG. 14a
to C are operating hydraulic circuit diagrams of each mechanism. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1...Column, 2...Spindle head, 3...Column base, 4...Tool holder, 5...Spindle, 6...Ram, 100...Tool storage magazine, 200... - Tool exchange mechanism, 300... Horizontal transfer mechanism, 400... Vertical transfer mechanism, 500... Intermediate tool pot mechanism, 600
... Tool exchange mechanism, 301 ... Guide bar, 302
...Tool carrier, 303...Chain, 304.
... Sprocket, 310 ... Conveyor cover, 40
1... Sprocket, 402... Chain, 403
... Rotary axis, 404 ... Tool transfer arm, 40
7... Elevator cover, 411... Cover, 50
1... Guide rail, 502... Intermediate tool pot,
503... Anti-rotation bar, 504... Spring,
505...Lever, 506...Spring, 507
... Plate, 508 ... Spring support, 51
1... Tool pocket, 512... Lock pin, 5
13...Holder, 514...Pin, 521...
Elevator cover, 601... Tool exchange arm, 60
2... Clamp shoe, 604... Shaft, 605...
・Spring, 606... Piston, 610... Worm, 611... Worm gear, 612... Hollow shaft, 615... Lock pin.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A main shaft of a machine tool that removably supports a tool and is movable in the axial direction of the tool; and - A main shaft of a machine tool that removably supports a tool and is movable in the axial direction of the tool. a drive mechanism that swings and drives the tool exchange arm, which is located between the main spindle and the intermediate pot and grips a tool in the main spindle and a tool in the intermediate tool pot at the same time; After gripping the tool in the intermediate pot and the tool in the main spindle with the tool exchange arm, the intermediate pot and the main spindle are retracted to remove the tools, and the tool exchange arm is rotated 180 degrees, An automatic tool changer characterized in that a tool is installed by advancing the intermediate tool pot and the main shaft.