JPS5981048A - Transport system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To permit a transport car to operate efficiently indendently from the operation of a machine tool by indexing a pallet onto a work table through a pallet station and allowing the pallet to be transported to and received by a machine tool by means of a robot. CONSTITUTION:A pallet 10 is indexed onto a work table 3 through a pallet station 4 which distributes and exchanges a material pallet and a product pallet which are transported by a transport can be an NC machine tool, particularly to a lathe and a grinding machine, and said pallet is transported to and received by the machine tool by the aid of a robot 2. Therefore, the preceding pallet (product pallet) 10 and the succeeding pallet (material pallet) 10 can be pooled before the station 4, and the machine tool continues working without generating loss time during the time when the transport car receives the pallet or feeds the next pallet. Thus, the transport car is operated efficiently, independently from the work on the machine tool.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention □ relates to an automatic conveyance system for materials and products in an unmanned production system.

In recent years, unmanned production systems, also known as FMS', have been in the spotlight as a streamlined production method. In other words, this method is highly praised as a method that streamlines production by reducing inventory time for semi-finished products and eliminating idle time as much as possible in small to medium volume production. In general, when carrying in materials and carrying out unmanned products in small to medium-scale production, unlike mass production, different workpieces are frequently replaced in a small loft, and conventional conveyors lack versatility and are flat. Machine tools require a considerable amount of space to change, and the downtime required for changes to the workpiece is surprisingly long, making it difficult to deal with and becoming an obstacle to unmanned operation.

□Therefore, the present invention was developed in view of the above, and aims to provide a conveyance system that can be used over a wide range of applications. A pallet station that can vertically move and position tables that are placed on at least two levels (upper and lower), a work table that indexes the material placed at a predetermined position on the barrette, and the indexed material is transported to the processing position of the machine tool and processed. This conveyance system consists of a robot that sequentially transfers products to pallets on a work table, and a pallet station that distributes material pallets and product pallets to the machine tool side and the transport vehicle side based on the management of the control device.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings.

The machine tools involved in production are, for example, one lathe, machining center, grinder, etc., or multiple machines of the same type, or multiple machines of different types. The lathe 1 is equipped with an industrial robot 2 that carries workpieces into and out of the chuck of the lathe 1. A work table 6 is provided in front of the robot 2 within its action range, and a pallet station 4 is provided adjacent to the work table 6. The pallet station 4, a pallet pool 7, a tool station 8,
The automatic guided vehicle 5 transports the pallet 10 between the handling station 9 and the handling station 9 . Each of the above sections is centrally controlled by a system management computer 6.

The lathe 1 is controlled by a well-known CNC to turn four axes.

For example, in a machine dedicated to flange work, a chuck 102 for gripping a 7-flange work is mounted on the main shaft 101, and two turret tool rests are seated individually under NC control.

The chips are automatically discharged to the rear side by a discharge conveyor 103. An industrial robot 2 is installed in front of the bed on the spindle side.

The industrial robot 2 uses, for example, a structure similar to that shown in FIG. 6 and previously proposed by the applicant in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 56-12<5593. A robot arm 201 is equipped with two grippers 202 that act independently on the tip and can be rotated by 180'. The robot arm 201 is rotatable about an axis parallel to the main shaft 101, and the rotation angle is determined by NC, and the robot arm 201 slides in the axial direction. It is fixed at right angles to the front end of an extension shaft 203 held in the robot frame 204 so as to be movable and longitudinally positioned by NC. The four-bot frame 204 is also attached to the front surface of the lathe 1 so as to be pivotable around an axis perpendicular to the main axes, and positions the extension shaft 203 at 90 degrees perpendicular to the horizontal. Then, with the extension shaft 206 in a horizontal position, the p-bot arm 201 is rotated toward the main shaft 101 to attach and detach the workpiece to and from the main spindle, and if necessary, the robot arm 201 is rotated forward with the robot arm 201 in a horizontal position and the workpiece is attached and detached from the main spindle. The operation of receiving the materials on the pallet of the table 6 and returning the products is executed based on the system management computer 6.

82.4.5. The work table 3 shown in the φ diagram is a frame body 3.
A vertical pivot shaft 602 is rotatably supported at the center of 01 and indexed by an indexing motor 304 via a gear 603. This indexing position is determined by a first cam 605 for forward rotation, which is provided with the same number of cam surfaces as the index number on the rotation shaft 302, a second cam 606 for reverse rotation, and a third cam 307 for the origin position INt.
and a limit switch L fixed to the frame body,
SpL, LSb, LSa #! 1. 1st. A third cam acts respectively. A rectangular work table mounting plate 611 is fixed to the upper end of the vertical rotation shaft 302, and a plurality of casters 312 provided at the bottom of the mounting plate transfer the weight of the pallet 10 placed on the top of the frame 601. Board 31
Support it with 3 and rotate it smoothly. The mounting plate 611 has a plurality of pallet mounting rollers 314 rotatably supported in parallel and horizontally on both sides of the pallet 10 in the transfer direction.
A plurality of guide rollers '515 are provided in parallel to guide the pallet in the center of the two rows of loading rollers.
are provided in two rows so as to be rotatable in a horizontal plane.

On the loading roller 614, ribs 11 and 12 on both sides of the pallet 10 in the transfer direction, made of light alloy shown in FIG. The pallet 10 is reliably transferred by guiding the inside of the pallet 14. In this example, pins 15 for positioning the 7-lung workpieces at 8 equal positions on the same circumference are implanted on the upper surface of the pallet 10, and the pins 15 are installed in the pallet center hole B. and A and C at symmetrical positions with respect to the center in the rim direction.
holes, and ribs 11 and 12 from the sides a, b, 'o and a'.

The three holes b' and a' are equally divided into ribs 13.14
Holes d, d' are located symmetrically to the center on the line b-b' on the lower side of
Holes A, B, and C are for engaging the transport vehicle 5 and pallet station 4 during transfer, holes A and C are for fixing to the work table 6, and holes '+C+''+C' are for fixing to the work table 6. Holes b' are for engaging the pallet station 4 and work table 3 during transfer, holes d and d are for fixing the pallet station.
/ is used as 7 for fixing on the transport vehicle 5. Furthermore, when the pallet 10 is placed on the mounting plate 611, a bracket 6 is installed at a position corresponding to the hole A (or C when the pallet is reversed).
16, and is urged by a spring 617 so as to constantly protrude upward and engage with the hole A in the head.
(or C) is provided with a pallet fixing bin 319 having an engaging head 618 that fits into the pallet. The fixing pin 619 horizontally fixes the engagement plate 620 at the lower end and has a rotation stopper 6 at the upper end.
21 are provided. Also, when replacing and transferring the pallet 10, the fixing pin 319 is pulled down.
r u 322 is supported by the frame 301 so as to be able to slide up and down, the lower end is connected to the piston rod 624 of the air cylinder 323 provided vertically, and the upper end is connected to two hook plates with a gap provided. There is a fixing pin 319 between 325
The engagement plate 320 is in the L position so as not to interfere with the rotation of the mounting plate 311, and engages only when indexed to the original position by the sixth cam 307. The frame body 601 is parallel to the row of rollers 314 at the origin position of the loading plate 311 on which the pallet 10 is transferred, that is, the pallet stand of the No. 1 Clets Station 4 passes between the rows of the rollers 314 at the origin position of the loading plate 311 on which the pallet 10 is transferred. Two guide rods 626 of a length facing the pallet table are provided at the upper and lower sides at intervals as large as possible, fixed at both ends, and pallet carriers 627 are slidably mounted on each of these two guide rods 626. . At this upper end, one side is the rib 11 of the pallet 10 placed on the roller 614.
An air cylinder 628 is fixed horizontally to the hole a of the pallet 12 at a position corresponding to the hole a' of the pallet 12.
When transferring 0, pressurized air is sent and the engagement pin 329 at the end of the piston rod engages with holes a and a'. At the lower end of the pallet carrier 627 is a forward end dog 1530.
and a rearward end dog 361 are provided, which operate a forward end limit switch ISO fixed to the frame 601 and a rearward end limit switch (not shown), respectively. Frame body 3
01 has a platen on the upper lathe 1 side of the top plate 3F3) A carrier is rotatably supported on the sprocket wheel 333 at both ends of the sprocket shaft 365 and a sprocket rotatably provided on the support plate of the guide rod 326 of the pallet station 4 example. A chain 6'52 is stretched endlessly on the proximal side parallel to the guide rod 326, and this chain 632 and 1
A pallet carrier 627 is fixed at this location. Also, the sprocket shaft 635 is connected to the top plate 31 of the frame 301.
A sprocket 336 is rotatably supported by a bracket 334 on the upper part of the frame 601 and is rotated by a chain 369 hooked between the sprocket 368 of the output shaft of the motor 337 for moving the pallet. This rotation rotates the chain 332 and moves the pallet carrier 327.

Next, the pallet station 4 shown in FIG.
03 are provided vertically at four locations and the pallet transfer direction (second
Pallet table lifting screws 404 on both sides with respect to the left and right direction in the figure
are suspended at their upper ends so that they cannot move in the axial direction and can only rotate.

A sprocket wheel 405 is attached to the upper end of the lifting screw 404.
A chain 408 is hung around the opening of a sprocket wheel 407 of the output shaft of a motor 406 which is fixed perpendicularly to the ceiling frame 401, and the lifting screw 404 is rotated by the rotation of the motor 406.

A seat stand 409 is provided, and female screws 410 protruding from the west side thereof are screwed into the lifting screws 404.

The pallet stand 409 has a total of eight upper and lower guide rollers 2411 that slide into the inside of each U-shaped cross section of the frame columns 403, and a total of eight upper and lower guide rollers 2411 that touch the column surface in a direction perpendicular to the guide direction of the guide rollers 411. The rollers 412 allow the frame to be moved up and down smoothly within the frame without wobbling laterally.

Further, the pallet stand 409 is provided with a vertical positioning dog 413 on the side, and a plurality of limit switches LS1 ( standby position), LS
2 (Material pallet transfer position to work table),
LS6 (material pallet receiving position ff1 from transport vehicle),
LS4 (Position for receiving product pallets from work table Wi>, LS5 (Position for delivering product pallets to transport vehicle @
). Furthermore, the pallet stand 409 places the product pallet 10 on the upper level and the material pallet 10 on the lower level. A A plurality of rollers 414 are horizontally parallel and pivotally supported on both sides of the pallet 10 in the transfer direction so that the pallet 10 can be transferred easily.
In order to prevent the material pallets and product pallets 10 placed on the pallet table from moving while the pallet table is moving up and down, air cylinders 415 for fixing the pallets are installed horizontally at positions corresponding to holes b' in the ribs 11 and 12 of the upper and lower pallets. pallet stand 409
A positioning pin 416 at the tip of the piston rond is fixed to the
The hole is made, and b'3 is inserted.

Next, the automatic guided vehicle 5 shown in FIG. 10 rotates the motor according to a command from the built-in battery, rotates the wheels 501, and runs by itself, and the signal voltage of the track line stretched on the operating floor is provided on the underside of the vehicle body. It is detected by the antenna 502 and travels along the trajectory line. When the proximity switch 503 on the bottom side detects a stop position point embedded in the floor surface, the robot stops at a predetermined position, and is positioned by a centering cone 504 that projects downward. Two rollers 505 are mounted on the upper surface of the transport vehicle 5 to receive the ribs 11 and 12 on both sides of the pallet 10.
The rows are arranged horizontally in parallel, and a transfer device of a slide fork 506 driven by a hydraulic cylinder is provided in the center, and three transfer bins 507 that can protrude upward are arranged in the middle when the pallet 10 is transferred. The pallet 10 being transported is fixed by clamp bins 508 that fit into the holes A, B, and C of the pallet and can further protrude vertically. This conveyance vehicle 5 is a commercially available vehicle configured to be controlled by a system management computer 6.

Next, the system configuration shown in FIG. 11 is supervised by a system management computer 6, which includes a 1 megabyte floppy disk 601 that stores processing information, material information, etc., a display device 602 with a keyboard for inputting necessary information such as processing, and a printer 606. a tape reader 604 that reads necessary information;
The transport management computer 20 is equipped with a system operation panel 605, a system status display panel 606, a display device with a printer 607 for displaying work preparation commands, and a display device with a tab 608 for displaying tool preparation commands.
．． Axis item.

The CNC equipment of each machine tool, such as an NC lathe, a 7-range NC lathe, a machining center, and a grinding machine, is connected by an optical fiber cable. The transport management computer 20 has a display with a keyboard f 21 , a tape reader 22 attached, a transport control a 23 , a pallet pool 7, a tool station 8 . It is connected to the handling station 9 by wire, and the transport control panel 23 is connected to the automatic guided vehicle 5 wirelessly.

Next, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the system configuration diagram shown in FIG. It is assumed that no pallet is currently being conveyed onto the work table 3, and no material is being jacked into the lathe 1. In order to receive the pallet 10 on which the flange work is set at the handling station 9 in accordance with the machining schedule from the system management computer 6, the conveyance vehicle 5 moves from the waiting position to the handling station 9 while detecting the trajectory line with the antenna 502 in order to receive the pallet 10 on which the flange work is set at the handling station 9 according to the instructions from the transportation management computer 2o. The stop position is detected by the proximity switch 503 and positioned by the centering cone 504.

Next, the slide fork 506 of the transport vehicle 5 moves to receive the material pallet 10, and the transfer bin 507 is projected to open the pallet holes A, 13. C and transferred onto the rollers 505 of the U conveyance vehicle 5.

The pallet 10 is clamped with a clamp bin 508 and the centering cone 504 is pulled up. The conveyance vehicle 5 travels on the track line while being detected by the antenna 502, and the proximity switch 506 detects the stop position of the pallet station 4, and is positioned at the pallet station 4 position by the centering cone.

During this time, the pallet station 4 receives a command from the motor 406.
The pallet stand 409 is moved upward, and the upper shelf is positioned at the receiving position for the material pallet 10 by detection by the Misoto Suiji LS5.

Next, the clamp bin 508 of the transport vehicle 5 is lowered 2, the slide fork 506 is moved, and the roller 41 of the pallet stand 409 is moved.
4 Slide on the top and hand it over to the upper shelf. Pressure air is sent to the pallet fixing cylinder 415 and the positioning bin 416 is fixed to the hole 1 of the pallet 10. , 1. / to fix the material pallet 10 from both sides. The transfer bin 507 of the transport vehicle 5 is lowered and the slide fork 506 is moved backward.

Next, in this embodiment, since the height of the transport vehicle 5 and the height of the work table 6 are different, the pallet table 409 is moved by the motor 406.
is moved downward and the upper shelf is positioned at the work table delivery position by detection of limit switch LS2.

Next, the motor 367 of the work table 6 rotates according to the command, and the sprocket shaft 365. Sprocket hole/f-hole roller 3. Pallet carrier 327 via chain 332
slides on the guide rod 626 and moves under the lower shelf of the pallet stand 409 of pallet station 4 until the rear end limit switch detects the position.

Pressurized air is sent to the locking cylinder 328 to advance the piston rod and fit the engaging pin 329 into the holes a and a' or C and C' on both sides of the pallet 10 on the work table 3 side from both sides, respectively. Release the pressure from the fixing cylinder 415 of the pallet station 4 and position the positioning bin 416
Drill the hole and pull it out from b'. The motor 667 is reversed, the pallet carrier 627 slides on the loading roller '514, and the guide roller 615 guides the forward end limit switch I.
Move to the SO position detection point. When the material pallet 10 is transferred onto the work table 6, the fixing cylinder 62
5, pressurized air is sent to the piston rod 624 to raise the fixing release lever 322, and the fixing bottle 619 is released by the spring 317.
The raw material pallet 10 is fixed integrally with the mounting plate 611 by protruding with a force of 1 and fitting into holes A or C of the pallet 10. This position is the original position of the mounting plate 311, and one of the materials on the pallet 10 is located exactly at the material delivery position of the robot 2.

Next, the robot 2 moves the 4-bot frame 204 to 9 according to the command.
It is rotated by 0° so that the extension axis 203 becomes vertical and is extended to a predetermined length by NC, and the p-bot arm 201 is rotated to the front side by NC to be located directly above the material at the delivery position on the work table 3. The elongated shaft 203 is contracted and the gripper 202 grips the material at the material gripping position.

When the extension shaft 206 is extended and the robot arm 201 is rotated in the opposite direction to become parallel to the main axis, the robot frame 204 is confirmed to be the specified material on a verification table equipped with a camera equipped with a two-dimensional image sensor (not shown). Conversely, the robot arm 201 is turned by 90 degrees to make the extension shaft 203 horizontal, and the robot arm 201 is turned toward the main shaft so that it coincides with the main shaft axis, which is the material axis. When the extension shaft 203 is inserted into the chuck 102 of the lathe with its retracting jaws opened and the chuck 102 grips it, the gripper 202 is opened, the extension shaft 203 is extended, and the robot arm 201 turns in the opposite direction and waits at the Y vertical position.

The turret of the lathe 1 is NC-controlled to perform predetermined machining.
If the material requires inversion processing, the robot 2 will invert it and process it.

During this material processing, the mounting plate 611 of the work table 6 is rotated by the index 1 motor 304, and the limit switch LSa is actuated by the first cam 305, and the motor roller 04'2 is rotated by the first cam 305.
It stops and turns one bit to find new material. The four bots 2 grip the material in the same manner as described above, return to the standby position, and wait for the completion of processing. When the processing of the material is completed, the robot arm 201 turns to the main shaft side, and the gripper on the side that does not grip the material opens, is positioned in front of the chuck 102, moves to the chuck 102 side, and grips the product.
The chuck 102 opens, the extension shaft 206 extends, and the robot arm 201 rotates slightly to align the center of the material gripped by another gripper with the center of the main shaft, advances toward the chuck 102, grips the material in the chuck 102, opens the gripper, and extends the extension shaft. 203 extends and the robot arm 201 pivots toward you to become vertical. As before, the gripper 202 is positioned on the pallet 10 on the work table 6 at the position where the previous material was received, and the product is placed in the bin 15 on the pallet 10.
passed to. Robot arm 201. Gripper 202
is retracted upward and the mounting plate 611 is indexed by the motor 604.
The robot rotates by one pitch, is positioned by the action of the first cam 305, and carries the next material directly below the gripper 202 of the robot 2. The robot 2 similarly grips the material and returns to the standby position.

While the material on the pallet 10 is being processed, the transport vehicle 5 transports the material pallet 10 from the handling station 9 in response to a command, and transports a spare onto the upper shelf of the pallet table 409 of the pallet station 4.

When the conveyance is finished, the pallet stand 40 of pallet station 4
9 is moved upward by the motor 406 and positioned by the limit switch LS4 to position the empty lower shelf of the pallet stand 409 at the receiving position of the workpiece table 3. b.
The transport vehicle similarly transports pallets to other pallet stations and waits.

When all the materials on the pallet 10 have been processed and the robot 2 returns the products, the product pallet 10 on the work table 6 is moved to the engagement bin 32 by the action of the engagement cylinder 628 according to a command.
9 and the fixed pin 319 is engaged with the cylinder 62.
It is pulled out by the action of 6. Jane 63 with motor 667
2 and transfer the product pallet 10 to the pallet carrier 327 or pallet station 4, and then transfer the product pallet 10 to the pallet carrier 327 or pallet station 4.
Transfer it to the roller 414 on the lower shelf. The fixed cylinder 415 of the pallet stand acts, and the fixed bin 416 moves into the hole a.
When the pallet 10 is fixed by inserting it into 'a' or a, c', the engagement bin 629 is fixed to the pallet 1 by the action of the cylinder 628.
The pallet carrier 627 pulled out from 0 stands by at that position.

Next, the pallet stand 409 is moved downward by the motor 406, stopped at the operating position of the limit switch LS2, and positioned at the transfer position between the material pallet 10 and the work table 6. The engaging pin 629 engages with the material pallet 10 by the action of the cylinder 628, and the motor 337t rotates to transfer the material pallet 10 onto the mounting fFt plate 311 of the work table 6 using the pallet carrier 327. cylinder 3
23 to protrude the fixed bin 319 and remove the pallet 1.
0 is fixed on the mounting plate 311, and the engagement pin 329 is moved backward by the action of the cylinder 628 to release the engagement.

Next, the robot 2 grips the material at the delivery 1 position on the pallet 10 and causes the jack 102 to grip it.

The lathe starts machining.

When the transfer of the material pallet 10 to the work table 6 is completed, the pallet station 4 moves the pallet stand 409 upward by the motor 406 and stops it at the detection position of LS5, so that the transport vehicle 5 and the lower shelf of the pallet stand 409 are aligned. let

The slide fork 506 of the transport vehicle 5 is moved forward by a hydraulic cylinder, the transfer bin 507 is projected and engaged with the holes A, B, and C of the product pallet 10, and the fixing pin 416 of the pallet is removed and slid by the cylinder 415. fork 506
is returned and moved onto the transport vehicle 5.

The transport Jl (moves on the track line to the handling station 29 position according to the command and delivers the product pallet 10.

This series of conveyance is also performed for other shaft NCIN machines or grinding machines. Further, the transport vehicle 5 transports pallets to a pallet changer for a machining center.

As described in detail above, the present invention indexes pallets on a work table through a pallet station that sorts and exchanges material pallets and product pallets that are transported by a transport vehicle to NC machine tools, particularly lathes and grinders. Since the robot transports and receives the pallets to the machine tool, pallets can be exchanged during machining, and the previous pallet (product pallet) and the next pallet (material pallet) can be pooled on the pallet station. Because you can
The machine tool continues machining without any hand holding while the transport vehicle picks up the product pallet or supplies the next material pallet, while the transport vehicle waits until the machine tool completes machining of the workpieces on the pallet. There is no need for hurried transport, and the machine tools can be operated independently and efficiently. This effect is particularly noticeable when there are many machine tools, and the pallet exchange time is approximately 1.
Furthermore, even when replacing pallets after machining, the replacement time can be shortened. In addition, the exchange of material transport pallets is automated, making unmanned operation easier.
This enables S. Furthermore, since the workpieces are arranged on pallets, it is easy to handle various workpieces, and the pallet station has the feature that material and product pallets are arranged one above the other and a large exchange area is not required when exchanging pallets.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the machine arrangement of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a front view as well. FIG. 3 is a front view of the robot in its installed state. FIG. The figures are the right half of the 1-1 view in Figure 2, the left half of the 1-1 view in Figure 5, and the left half of the )
IV-IV Ya1! 8 is a cross-sectional view of the pallet station as viewed from the pallet transfer direction. FIG. 9 is an enlarged view mainly showing the guide portion of the pallet stand of the pallet station. FIG. 10 is a front view of the transport vehicle. is a system configuration diagram. 1...NC lathe 2...Pbot 6...Work table 4...Pallet station 5...
・Transportation vehicle 6...System management computer Patent applicant Dailit% Iron Works Co., Ltd. Agent
Patent attorney Yusaki Kato

Claims (1)

[Claims] A transport vehicle that delivers and transfers material pallets or product pallets, and a product pallet picked up by the transport vehicle and a material pallet sent from the transport vehicle are placed vertically and moved up and down to position them at the delivery position. A pallet station, a work table that is installed on the pallet station and delivers material pallets or product pallets and determines the work position of the pallet placed thereon, and a work table that transfers the material 5 indexed on the work table to a machining machine. and a robot that sequentially transports products processed by the machine tool to a work table, and is characterized in that material pallets and product pallets are sorted at a pallet station based on the control of a control device that supervises each of the machines. conveyance system.