JPH01205961A - Machining device having pallet posture change mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To save the space of a whole machining device by applying the constitution wherein the posture of a pallet positioning and supporting a workpiece can be changed within the machining device. CONSTITUTION:A pallet P positioning and supporting a workpiece W when carried in the first posture, is engaged with the first guide member 32 and retained and held in the first posture. Then, a support member advance and retreat member 40 is operated to advance a support member 31, thereby changing the first posture of the pallet P engaged with the first guide member 32 to the second posture. Thereafter, the support member 31 is moved up with a support member lift means 27 and the engagement between the first guide member 32 and the pallet P is thereby released. Then, when the support member 31 retreats and the first guide member 32 returns to a position corresponding to the first posture of the pallet P, the support member lift means 27 is operated to position again the support member 31 at a downward position, and the first guide member 32 returns to the original position capable of engagement with the pallet P in the first posture. Also, the pallet P in the second posture is engaged with the second guide member 33 and the pallet P is thereby retained at the second posture.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a processing device that positions and supports a workpiece on a pallet while transporting the workpiece and processes the workpiece at a processing station on the way. The present invention relates to an improved technique for a device having an attitude changing mechanism that changes the attitude of a pallet according to processing conditions.

(Prior Art) Generally, in a transfer machine that sequentially performs various types of processing while conveying a workpiece to finish it into a final product, the workpiece is usually positioned and supported on a conveying pallet and conveyed, and the workpiece is also supported on the pallet. The workpiece is machined while the workpiece is still in place.

By the way, in that case, if the direction, position, etc. of the machined part of the workpiece is different, it is necessary to change the posture of the workpiece together with the pallet each time the processing station changes. Conventionally, as such a pallet attitude changing device, the
In the method disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 4-28634, a workpiece posture changing station is separately provided in front of a workpiece processing station, and the posture of the workpiece carried into the processing station is changed in advance at the posture changing station. is being done.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, in this conventional method, the workpiece posture changing device is provided separately from the original processing device,
There is a problem in that the space occupied by the attitude changing device increases the space of the entire processing device.

The present invention has been made in view of the above, and its purpose is to save space in the entire processing device by making it possible to change the posture of a pallet that positions and supports a workpiece within the processing device. It is in.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above object, the solution means of the present invention is to carry in a pallet in which a workpiece is positioned and supported on its reference plane in a first posture, and then It is assumed that the posture is changed to the second posture and the workpiece can be processed in the second posture. Specifically, as a posture changing mechanism that changes the posture of the pallet together with the workpiece from the first posture to the second posture, (1) a second guide member that engages with the pallet in the second attitude to hold and guide the pallet in the second attitude; (2) a second guide member that holds and guides the pallet in the second attitude; a support member that supports second guide members arranged in series in the orientation change direction of the pallet; and (1) moves the support member up and down so that the first and second guide members engage with the pallet when descending. and (2) support member advancing/retreating means connected to the supporting member elevation/lowering drive means for moving the supporting member forward and backward between positions corresponding to the first and second postures of the pallet.

(Function) With this configuration, in the present invention, the support member is in the retracted position by the support member advancing/retracting means, and the first guide member supported by the support member is in the position corresponding to the first posture of the pallet. The second guide members are positioned at positions corresponding to the second postures. Further, the support member is in a lowered position where both the first and second guide members can engage with the pallet by the support member elevating means. In this state, when the pallet with the workpiece positioned and supported is carried in in the first attitude, the pallet is engaged with the first guide member and is held and guided in the first attitude. Next, the support member moves forward by the operation of the support member advancing/retreating means, and as the support member moves forward, the pallet engaged with the first guide member changes its attitude from the first attitude to the second attitude. Ru. Thereafter, the support member is raised by the support member elevating means, and the first guide member supported by the support member is disengaged from the pallet. After this release, when the support member is moved backward by the support member advancement/retraction means and the first guide member returns to the position corresponding to the first posture of the pallet, the support member is returned to the lowered position by the support member elevating means. position, the first guide member returns to the initial state in which it can engage with the pallet in the first position, and the second guide member engages the pallet in the second position, so that the pallet is in the first position. 2
is held in this position. Then, in this state, for example, the workpiece on the pallet in the second posture is processed,
With the completion of this machining, 1 of the machining for one workpiece is completed.
The cycle ends. Thereafter, the pallet in the second posture supporting the processed workpiece is guided by the second guide member and carried out, and at the same time, the next pallet is carried in in the first posture, and the pallet is carried out by the first guide member. The member is engaged and held.

Therefore, since the attitude of the pallet can be changed within the processing apparatus, the installation space for the attitude changing mechanism is small, and the overall space of the processing apparatus can be saved.

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

Fig. 3 partially shows a transfer machine A that sequentially processes the cylinder head of an engine as a workpiece while conveying it to the left in the figure. +
A2 + . . . are formed in series, and these processing stations AI, A2, .

Specifically, as shown in enlarged detail in FIGS. 1 and 2, the work W is supported by the pallet P in advance and is sequentially conveyed together with the pallet P.゛The pallet P is composed of a rectangular frame member P1 having an opening P2 in the center, and clamp mechanisms P3 for positioning and fixing the workpiece W at four corners of its surface. P3. ...
is attached, and this clamp mechanism P3. P3.
The workpiece W is positioned and supported by the pallet P on its reference plane. Furthermore, an engagement groove P4 is formed on the outer peripheral side surface of the frame member P1 in the pallet P. Further, a positioning hole P5 is formed in the frame member P1 on the back side of the pallet P (on the side opposite to the support surface of the workpiece W), and the pallet P, that is, the workpiece W, is positioned and processed by the positioning hole P5.

The plurality of processing stations AI, A2,...
One of them is a tappet hole machining station A3 for machining tappet holes in the workpiece W, that is, the cylinder head, and this tappet hole machining station A3 is equipped with a multi-axis tappet hole machining device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. is installed.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the tappet hole machining device 1 has a configuration in which the pallet P supporting the workpiece W is placed in a first posture in which the pallet P stands vertically (indicated by a solid line in the figure). A posture changing mechanism 2 is provided for changing the posture from a posture shown in FIG. A rectangular concave support base 3 is provided. A transport mechanism C is disposed at the bottom of the support base 3, and this transport mechanism C alternately repeats the feeding operation at the raised position and the return operation at the lowered position to take the first or second posture. A certain pallet P is conveyed in a direction perpendicular to the paper plane of FIG. 1 with its lower end surface engaged. At the bottom of the support stand 3, on one side of the transport mechanism C (left side in FIG. 1),
First and second lower support parts 4 that can slide into sliding contact with the lower end of the back surface of the pallet P in the first and second postures, respectively.
．． On the other hand, the support stand 3 on the other side (the right side of the conveyance mechanism C) has a third and a third support stand 3 that can be slidably contacted with the lower end of the surface of the pallet P in the first and second postures, respectively. 4
Lower supports 6, 7 are formed corresponding to the first and second lower support members 4.5, and support the lower end of the pallet P in its first position to the first and third lower supports 4.5. support part 4,
6, and in the second posture, it is supported while being sandwiched between the second and fourth support portions 5 and 7, respectively. Furthermore, a roller 8 having an axis extending in the conveyance direction of the pallet P is supported on the support base 3 below the third and fourth support parts 6.7, and this roller 8 supports the first and fourth support parts 6.7. The lower surface of the pallet P in the second attitude, that is, the outer peripheral lower surface of the frame member P1 is supported.

On the other hand, at the upper part of the support stand 3, the first and second
An upper support part 9 is formed diagonally above the lower support parts 4 and 5, and this upper support part 9 supports the upper part of the back surface of the pallet P in the second posture in a sliding state. ing.

The first and second lower support parts 4, 5 lateral support stands 3
, the positioning hole P of the pallet P in the second posture is shown.
A positioning pin 1° that can be fitted into the pin 1 is slidably supported.
0a is formed, and the tip of a rotating arm 11 that is pivotally supported on the support base 3 is slidably inserted into the second engagement hole 10a. The rotary arm 11 is drivingly connected to an air cylinder on the upper part of the support base 3 via a lever and a rod (not shown), and at least at a stage before processing the workpiece W, the rotation arm 11 is contracted by the air cylinder.
By rotating the positioning pin 10 in the clockwise direction in FIG.
The pallet P is positioned together with the workpiece W by fitting the pallet P with the workpiece W.

Further, on the support base 3 below the roller 8, there is a pair of lower clamp arms 13, 13 (only one shown) having a tip that can press the lower end of the surface of the pallet P in the second attitude. is pivotably supported. An engagement recess 13a is formed at the rear end of each clamp arm 13,
The tip of a rotating arm 15 supported by a rotating shaft 14 on the support base 3 is swingably inserted into the engagement recess 13a.
The rotation shaft 14 is drivingly connected to an air cylinder 18 attached to the side surface of the support base 3 via a lever 16 and a rod 17, and when processing the workpiece W, the air cylinder 18 is contracted and the lower clamp arm is 13 in the counterclockwise direction in FIG.
By pressing the lower end of the surface of the pallet P in this position, the lower end of the pallet P is clamped between the second lower support part 5 and the second lower support part 5.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG.
A pair of rotating shafts 19, 19 are rotatably supported, and each rotating shaft 19 has an upper clamp arm 20 having a tip end capable of pressing the upper end of the surface of the pallet P in the second attitude.
are rotationally connected. In addition, each of the rotation shafts 19
A lever 21 is rotatably connected to the lever 21.
is connected by a pin 23 to a piston rod 22a of an air cylinder 22 attached to the side of the support table 3. When processing the work W, the upper clamp arm 20 is moved clockwise in FIG. 1 by the extension of the air cylinder 22. By rotating the pallet, its tip is in the second position)
By pressing the upper end of the surface of the pallet P, the upper end of the pallet P is clamped between it and the upper support part 9.

Furthermore, a pair of front and rear guide rails 24.24 extending in a direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the pallet P (left and right direction in FIG. 1) is installed on the upper part of the support stand 3.
An arcuate guide groove 25 centered on the tilt center O (a position directly above the roller 8) of the pallet P whose posture changes between the first and second postures is formed on opposing sides of the pallet P. . A pair of front and rear guide rollers 26, 26 are removably fitted into the guide groove 25, and each guide roller 26 is attached to a support member lifting device 27 that moves the support member 31 up and down, which will be described later. That is, the support member elevating device 27 includes a device main body 28 that pivotally supports the guide rollers 26, 26 on the front and rear sides, and the device main body 28.
A cylinder 29 having a piston rod 29a extending downward and formed in the front and rear center portions of the cylinder 29, and a pair of guide rods 30 and 30 supported on the front and rear sides of the cylinder 29 so as to be slidable in the vertical direction, A rectangular plate-shaped support member 31 is attached to the lower end of each of the piston rod 29a and guide rod 30.30. This support member 31
A first guide member 32 made of a plate material that extends vertically downward in the pallet transport direction is attached to the lower surface of the first guide member 32.
An engaging portion 32a is formed at the lower end of the guide member 32 to engage with an engaging groove P4 on the upper surface of the pallet P in the first attitude, and the conveying mechanism C moves the pallet P to the first attitude (standing attitude). The first guide member 32 is inserted into the upper surface engagement groove P4 of the pallet P that is carried into the tappet hole processing station A3.
The pallet P is guided and held in the first posture by engaging the engaging portions 32a of the pallet P and supporting the lower end portion by the roller 8 and the first and third lower support portions 4 and 6. being done.

Further, a second guide member 33 is attached to the support member 31 and arranged in series on the front side (on the left side in the figure) of the attitude change direction of the pallet P with respect to the first guide member 32 . This second guide member 33 extends diagonally downward and forward in the attitude change direction of the pallet P.

It is composed of a plate material that is long in the pallet conveyance direction, and a sliding contact portion 33a is formed at the tip (lower end) of the plate material that slides into contact with the upper end of the surface of the pallet P in the second posture. ), the sliding contact portion 33a of the second guide member 33 is brought into sliding contact with the upper end of the surface of the pallet P,
A pallet P is provided between the sliding contact portion 33a and the upper support portion 9.
By sandwiching and engaging the upper end of the frame member P1 and supporting the lower end with the roller 8 and the second and fourth lower support parts 5 and 7, the pallet can be moved along with the transport operation of the transport mechanism C. P is guided and held in the second position while being carried out from the tappet hole machining station A3. Then, the cylinder 29 of the support member elevating device 27 is telescopically operated to move the support member 31 between the first and second guide members 32 .
When the support member 31 is lowered by the extension operation of the cylinder 29, both the guide members 32 and 33 are engaged with the pallet P.

Further, a bracket 34 extending upward is provided on the upper surface of the cylinder 29 in the device main body 28 of the support member lifting device 27.
is attached to the bracket 34, and an engagement recess 35 that is open upward is formed in the bracket 34. Further, a guide rail 36 extending in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the pallet P is installed on the support stand 3 above the support member lifting device 27, and a rodless cylinder 37 is movably installed on the guide rail 36. A bracket 38 is installed vertically on the cylinder body 37a of the rodless cylinder 37, and an engagement pin 39 that engages with the engagement recess 35 of the bracket 34 in the support member lifting device 27 is attached to the bracket 38. , the rodless cylinder 37 is connected to the guide rail 3
6, the support member 31 is moved forward and backward between the first and second postures of the pallet P, and the downward movement of the support member 31 moves the first guide member 32 toward the pallet P in the first posture. By moving the rodless cylinder 37 forward to the left in FIG.
While changing the posture by tilting the pallet P from the first posture to the second posture, the engagement between the pallet P in the second posture and the first guide member 32 is released by moving the support member 31 upward. 1, the rodless cylinder 37 is moved backward to the right in FIG. 40 are configured.

Therefore, with the above structure, after the pallet P, which positions and supports the workpiece W on its reference plane, is carried in in the first attitude, the attitude is changed to the second attitude, and the workpiece is moved in the second attitude. It is configured to enable tappet hole machining for W.

Note that the tappet hole processing device 1 operates in a direction perpendicular to the workpiece conveyance direction (left-right direction in the same figure) as shown by the imaginary line in FIG.
A large number of blade portions 1a extend parallel to.

la, ... (only one is exemplified), and its blade portion l
a, la, . . . are moved forward in the right direction in FIG. 1 during machining, and a tappet hole in a workpiece W is machined through the opening P2 from the back side of the pallet P in the second posture.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be explained.

■ In the operation start state, the rodless cylinder 37 of the support member advancement/retraction device 40 is moved backward, and the support member 31 is in the retreat position (the right position in FIG. 1), and the first The guide member 32 is in a position corresponding to the first attitude of the pallet P, and the second guide member 33 is in a position corresponding to the first attitude of the pallet P.
are respectively positioned at positions corresponding to the second postures.

Further, the support member 31 is in the lowered position due to the contraction operation of the air cylinder 29 of the support member lifting device 27, and the first guide member 32 is engaged with the engagement groove P4 at the upper end of the pallet P in the first posture. It is possible.

(2) In this state, the pallet P on which the workpiece W is positioned and supported is carried into the tappet hole machining station A3 in the first posture (standing posture) by the conveyance operation of the conveyance mechanism C.

At that time, the first guide member 32 can be engaged with the pallet P in the first attitude, so that the pallet P is engaged with the tip of the first guide member 32 in the engagement groove P4 at the upper end of the pallet P. Part 32
a is supported and whose lower ends are the first and third lower support parts 4
, 6, and guided while maintaining the first posture.

(2) When the loading of the pallet P is completed in this way, the rodless cylinder 37 moves to the left in FIG. 1 on the guide rail 36, and the support member 31 moves forward.
1, the pallet P whose upper end is engaged with the first guide member 32 is tilted from the first posture, and the upper end of the back side thereof comes into contact with the upper support part 9. The posture is changed to the second posture shown by the imaginary line in FIG. In addition, in this second attitude, the support for the lower end of the pallet P is switched from between the first and third lower support parts 4.6 to between the second and fourth lower support parts 5.7. .

At this time, the pallet P is tilted with its lower end surface supported by the rollers 8. Therefore, the posture of the pallet P can be changed smoothly.

(2) Next, the positioning pin 10 moves forward due to the contraction operation of the air cylinder, and the tip thereof engages with the positioning hole P5 on the back surface of the pallet P in the second attitude, thereby positioning the pallet P. In this positioning state, each cylinder 18 is contracted and the lower clamp arm 13 is rotated counterclockwise in FIG. The lower end of the pallet P is clamped. At the same time, each cylinder 22 is extended and the upper clamp arm 20 is rotated clockwise in FIG. It is clamped with pressure.

Therefore, the pallet P is locked and fixed in the second position.

(2) The processing device 1 operates in this locked state, and its rotating blade portions 1a, 1a, . . . advance through the opening P2 of the pallet P, and the blade portions 1a.

A tappet hole in the workpiece W, ie, the cylinder head, is machined by la, . . . . At this time, since the pallet P is locked and fixed by the upper and lower clamp arms 20.13, the processing accuracy of the workpiece W can be improved.

(2) On the other hand, during the processing of the workpiece W, the support member 31 is
is raised, and the engagement between the first guide member 32 supported by the support member 31 and the pallet P is released. After this release, the rodless cylinder 37 of the support member advancement/retraction device 40
moves to the right in FIG. 1, the support member 31 retreats, and when the first guide member 32 returns to the device corresponding to the first posture of the pallet P, the expansion operation of the cylinder 29 causes the support member 31 to retreat. 31 is again positioned in the lowered position, and the first guide member 32 returns to its initial state in which it can engage with the pallet P in the first position. In addition, in this state, the tip sliding contact portion 33a of the second guide member 33 presses the upper end of the surface of the pallet P (supporting the workpiece W being processed) in the second posture, The pallet P is held in the second attitude by the second guide member 33.

■ When the processing of the workpiece W is completed, the pallet P
The lock is released. That is, as the cylinder 18 extends, the lower clamp arm 13 rotates clockwise in FIG. 1, and the clamp on the lower end of the pallet P is released. Further, due to the contraction operation of the cylinder 22, the upper clamp arm 20 rotates counterclockwise, and the clamp on the upper end of the pallet P is released. Furthermore, the positioning pin 10 is moved back due to the cylinder's extension operation and is removed from the positioning hole P5 of the pallet P.

■ After unclamping the pallet P in the second position, the transport mechanism C is activated, and the pallet P in the second position is carried out from the tappet hole machining station A3 and transferred to the next machining station A4. At the same time, the pallet P supporting the next work W is carried into the tappet hole machining station A3 while maintaining the first posture by the first guide member 32 in the same manner as described above.

At this time, the pallet P in the second attitude has its upper end engaged with and supported between the second guide member 33 and the upper support part 9, and its lower end part engaged with and supported between the second and fourth supports. Part 5,
Since it is supported between 7 and 7, it is carried out while maintaining the second posture.

(2) With the above steps, one cycle of machining for one workpiece W is completed. Thereafter, the same operation as above is repeated for each workpiece W.

Therefore, in the case of this embodiment, the tappet hole processing device 1
Since the attitude of the pallet P can be changed from the first attitude to the second attitude by the attitude change mechanism 2 within the machine, the installation space of the attitude change mechanism 2 is small, and the space of the processing device 1 and the transfer machine A as a whole is saved. can be achieved.

In the above embodiment, the workpiece W is machined in the second posture of the pallet P, but depending on the processing position, the workpiece W may be machined in the first posture or both the first and second postures. is also possible.

Further, in the above embodiment, the first attitude of the pallet P is a standing attitude, and the second attitude is a tilting attitude, but the present invention is not limited to these.

Furthermore, it goes without saying that the present invention can be applied not only to machining parts other than the tappet hole of the cylinder head, but also to machining workpieces other than the cylinder head of an engine by positioning and supporting them on a pallet. do not have.

(Effects of the Invention) As explained above, according to the present invention, it is possible to change the posture of a pallet that positions and supports a workpiece within a processing device, and it is possible to save space in the entire processing device. be.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show an embodiment of the present invention, in which Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of the posture changing mechanism, Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line ■-■ in Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 shows the arrangement of processing stations in the transfer machine. FIG. 1... Tappet hole processing device, 2... Posture change mechanism,
27...Supporting member elevating mechanism (supporting member elevating means), 3
1... Supporting member, 32... First guide member, 33.
...Second guide member, 40...Supporting member advancement/retraction device (supporting member advancement/retraction means), W...Work (cylinder head)
, P... Palette.

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) After the pallet with the workpiece positioned and supported on its reference plane is carried in in the first attitude, the attitude is changed to the second attitude and the workpiece can be processed in the second attitude. The processing device includes: a first guide member that engages with the pallet carried in in the first attitude to hold and guide the pallet in the first attitude; and a first guide member that engages with the pallet in the second attitude. a second guide member that holds and guides the pallet in a second attitude; a support member that supports the first and second guide members by respectively arranging them in series in the direction of changing the attitude of the pallet; and lowering the pallet. a support member lifting/lowering drive means for moving the support member up and down so that the first and second guide members engage the pallet; and a support member advancing and retreating means for moving the pallet back and forth between positions corresponding to the second attitude.