JPH082660A - Work transfer device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To carry work in and out of each working device efficiently in a simple constitution. CONSTITUTION:At the front and rear parts of three working devices 1, 2, and 3 arranged in series, the front side transfer passages (feeding/delivery transfer passages) 4, 5, and 6 each of which consists of a roller conveyor and a chain conveyor for transferring works towards the downstream side (working devices 3 side) from the upstream side (working device 1 side) and the rear side transfer passage (detour transfer passages) 7, 8 and 9 are formed. along the arrangement direction of the working device. On the left and right sides of each working device 1-3, connection transfer passages 11-14 for transferring the work between the front side transfer passages 4-6 and the rear side transfer passages 7-9 are formed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a work transfer device for transferring a work in and out of a plurality of processing devices arranged in series.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a vehicle engine processing system,
Each of the three processing devices for processing a work is arranged in series, and a transfer path for loading the work into the first processing device, a transfer path for transferring the work between the processing devices, and the processing device to the work There is one that has a transport path for unloading along the arrangement direction on the front side of each processing device.In this processing system, each processing device completes the processing of the workpiece, so the processing carried out from the processing device In order to prevent the finished work from being carried into the next processing device,
The processed work carried out from the processing apparatus is manually carried to the carry-out side conveyance path of the next processing apparatus.

[0003]

In the above-mentioned conventional machining system, since the work is detached from each machining device and the processed work is transported by a worker, the work is performed for each machining device. It is necessary to arrange personnel, work efficiency is poor, and when a trouble occurs in any of the processing devices, work efficiency is significantly reduced.

In addition, two loaders are provided corresponding to each processing apparatus to carry the work into and out of the processing apparatus and transfer the work carried out from the processing apparatus to the next-stage transfer path. Alternatively, it is conceivable to provide an independent carry-in carrying path and discharge carrying path for each processing apparatus. However, such a method cannot be expected to improve the carrying-in and carrying-out efficiency of the work, and the configuration becomes complicated.

[0005]

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a loading / discharging transport path and a bypass transport path for transporting the work from upstream to downstream along the arrangement direction of a plurality of processing devices. And a connection conveyance path for conveying the work between the input / delivery conveyance path and the detour conveyance path upstream and downstream of the processing apparatus.

[0006] Here, in the detour conveyance path in which the post-machining work and the pre-machining work are mixed and conveyed in the detour conveyance path,
By providing the work discriminating means for discriminating which is the conveyed work, the post-machining work and the pre-machining work can be mixed and conveyed in the bypass conveyance path.

Further, waiting number detecting means for detecting the waiting number of unprocessed workpieces are provided upstream of the loading / unloading conveying paths of a plurality of processing devices, and the waiting number is determined based on the detection result of the waiting number detecting means. When the number of workpieces reaches a predetermined number, the subsequent unworked workpieces are diverted from the processing device via the connected transport path on the upstream side of the processing device, and the next stage processing device is run via the connected transport path on the downstream side of the processing device. And the processed work is carried out by bypassing the downstream processing device from the downstream-side connecting transfer path through the bypass transfer path,
It is possible to perform processing while waiting a predetermined number of works in each processing device, which improves efficiency.

Further, a work transfer means for transferring the work between the loading / discharging transfer path and the detour transfer path is provided in the connection transfer path, and the work for detecting whether or not the work is transferred to the work transfer means. By providing the transfer detection means and the work determination means determines the post-processing work and the pre-processing work based on the detection result of the work transfer detection means and the transfer direction of the work transfer means, a simple configuration is achieved. After processing, it is possible to determine before processing.

[0009]

[Operation] It is possible to carry in / out the work carried into the work carrying device to / from any of the processing devices through the loading / unloading carrying path, the bypass carrying path and the connecting carrying path. Since it can be shared, the structure of the transport path is simplified, and even if a failure occurs in any of the processing devices, the remaining processing devices can be operated without any trouble.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a processing system to which the present invention is applied, FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of a conveyance path of the system, and FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view including a detection unit for work flow control of the system.

In this machining system, three identical machining devices 1, 2 and 3 are arranged in series, and before and after each of the machining devices 1, 2 and 3 the workpiece is placed upstream (in the arrangement direction of the machining device). Front transport paths (loading / dispensing transport path) 4, 5, 6 and rear transport paths (detour transport path), which are roller conveyors and chain conveyors that transport downstream from the processing apparatus 1 side (processing apparatus 3 side) 7, 8, 9 are provided, and the front transport path 4,
Processing stations S1, S2 and S3 are provided at 5 and 6.

The processing devices 1 to 3 are, for example, processing devices that perform bore honing (bore inner diameter finishing) processing on a cylinder block of an internal combustion engine. In addition, the front side conveyance paths 4 to 6 are carrying-in conveyors 4a, 5a and 6a for carrying in unprocessed works into the processing stations S1, S2 and S3 and the processing station S.
1, S2, S3 can be divided into carry-out conveyors 4b, 5b, 6b for carrying out the processed work.

Further, connecting conveyance paths 11, 12, 13, 14 for conveying the work between the front side conveyance paths 4 to 6 and the rear side conveyance paths 7 to 9 are provided on the left and right of each of the processing devices 1 to 3, respectively. The front side conveyance paths 4 to 6 and the rear side conveyance paths 7 to 7 are connected to the connection conveyance paths 11 to 14.
A pallet 15, 16, 17, 18 (see FIG. 3), which is a work transfer means for transferring a work to and from the device 9, is reciprocally mounted.

Then, one rectangular frame is constituted by the front side conveying path 4, the rear side conveying path 7 and the connecting conveying paths 11 and 12, and the processing device 1 is arranged in this rectangular frame, and similarly the front side conveying path 5 is arranged. ,
The processing device 2 is arranged in a rectangular frame formed by the rear side conveyance path 8 and the connection side conveyance paths 12 and 13, and a rectangle formed by the front side conveyance path 6, the rear side conveyance path 9 and the connection conveyance paths 13 and 14. The processing device 3 is arranged in the frame. Further, in the embodiment, the pallets 15 to 18 are moved to the connection conveyance paths 11 to 14 by using the rack and pinion mechanism. Further, one row of the connection conveyance path 12, between the processing devices 1 and 2, and between the processing devices 2 and 3,
13 is shared by each processing device.

Further, the processing system is provided with a carry-in path 19 made of a roller conveyor for carrying in the work from the previous process and a carry-out path 20 made of a roller conveyor for carrying out the work in the next process from the working system.

Then, as shown in FIG.
Upstream of the front side transport paths 4 to 6 are provided with carry-in standby mechanisms 21 to 23 for waiting the carry-in of the unprocessed workpieces into the processing devices 1 to 3, and the carry-in standby mechanisms 21 to 23 wait for the carry-in. In order to detect the number of waiting unprocessed workpieces, limit switches LS1 to LS3 are provided, which are standby number detecting means that are activated by passing unprocessed workpieces. In the loading standby mechanisms 21 to 23, a locking member 24 that locks a work is arranged so as to be swingable, and the locking member 2
An air cylinder 25 for swinging 4 is provided.

Further, on the terminal end side (carry-out side) of the front side conveyance path 4 of the processing apparatus 1, the work which has been processed (worked work).
A stamping device 26 for printing a stamp is disposed on the stamping device 26, and a stamping device 26 determines whether the work conveyed by the conveying path 9 is a post-machining work or a pre-machining work on the rear side of the conveying path 9 of the machining device 2. A work discriminating device 27, which is a work discriminating means for discriminating whether or not is attached, is arranged.

Further, in order to control the flow of the work, limit switches LS4 to LS4 are provided on the terminal side of the front side transport paths 4 to 6, respectively.
The LS 6 and the standby mechanisms 28 to 30 are connected to the rear transport paths 7 to 9 respectively.
Of the limit switches LS7 to LS9 on the starting end side, and the limit switches LS10 to LS12 on the terminal end side and the standby mechanism 3
1 to 33 with limit switches LS13 to LS1 in the middle
5, LS16 to LS18 and the standby mechanisms 34 to 36 are installed in the processing devices 1 to 3 by the limit switches LS19 to LS2.
1, LS22-LS24, the standby mechanism 37 in the carry-in path 19
Are provided respectively.

In the work transfer device of the processing system configured as described above, when the work W1 (white) introduced from the carry-in path 19 is processed by the processing device 1 as shown in FIG. As indicated by a solid line 2 in FIG. 2, after being carried into the processing apparatus 1 through the front side transport path 4 and processed, the front side transport path 4 passes through the connection side transfer path 12, the rear side transfer paths 8 and 9 and the connection side transfer path 14, and the discharge path. Carry out from 20.

Further, the work W carried in from the carry-in path 19
When processing 2 (shaded) with the processing device 2, as shown by the broken lines in FIGS. 3 and 2, the processing is performed from the connection conveyance path 11 through the rear conveyance path 7 and the connection conveyance path 12 through the front conveyance path 5. After being carried into the apparatus 2 and processed, it is carried out of the carry-out path 20 from the front-side carry path 5, the connected carry path 13, the rear-side carry path 9 and the connected carry path 14.

Further, the work W carried in from the carry-in path 19
When 3 (filling) is processed by the processing device 3, FIG.
As shown by a broken line in FIG. 2, after being conveyed from the connection conveyance path 11 through the rear conveyance paths 7 and 8 and the connection conveyance path 13 through the front conveyance path 6 to the processing device 3 for processing, the front conveyance path 6 is processed.
To the carry-out path 20 and carry it out.

In this case, as shown in FIG.
6 to 6 are processed by the loading standby mechanisms 21 to 23 by the processing device 1
It is possible to make a predetermined number of workpieces to be loaded into 3 to 3 stand by, and the limit switches LS1 to 3 detect whether or not the number of standbys has reached a predetermined number, and when the number of standbys reaches a predetermined number, the rear transport path The work to be next conveyed via 7 and 8 is sent to the processing device on the downstream side.

That is, for example, if the conveyance of the work is started in a state where the waiting numbers of the processing devices 1 to 3 are all "0", the work carried in from the carry-in passage 19 is first conveyed to the processing device 1 in the front conveying passage. When the next work is processed by the transfer waiting mechanism 21 and the limit switch LS1 reaches the predetermined number, the next work is processed on the pallet 1 of the connection conveyance path 11.
5 is transferred to the rear conveyance path 7 of the processing apparatus 1 and is sent to the processing apparatus 2 via the connection conveyance path 12 at a predetermined timing. Then, when the waiting number reaches the predetermined number in the processing device 2 as well, the work is transferred from the rear side conveyance path 7 to the processing device 2
It is sent to the processing device 3 via the rear side conveyance path 8 and the connection conveyance path 13.

Here, the work W1 which has been processed by the processing apparatus 1 is carried out by bypassing the processing apparatuses 2 and 3 by the rear side transportation paths 8 and 9 as described above, and is conveyed to the processing apparatus 3 at the rear side transportation path. Since the pre-machining work is carried in by 7 and 8, the post-machining work and the pre-machining work are mixed and conveyed in the rear side conveyance path 8. Therefore, the stamping device 26 stamps the work finished by the working device 1 to detect the presence or absence of the stamp of the work conveyed by the work discriminating device 27 on the terminal side of the rear side conveyance path 8. It is determined whether the work is a post-processing work or a pre-processing work, and the post-processing work is sent to the rear side conveyance path 9 and the pre-processing work is sent to the connection conveyance path 13.

In this case, the work is placed on the pallet 16 by providing a limit switch for detecting whether or not the work is placed and a work detecting means using a contact or non-contact sensor such as an optical sensor. When the pallet 16 is moved from the front side transport path side to the rear side transport path side in this state, it can be distinguished from the processed work, and when the work is passed from the rear side transport path 7 to the rear side transport path 8, it can be distinguished from the unprocessed work. The work transferred from the front side conveyance path side to the rear side conveyance path side in 16 (the position on the rear side conveyance path 8 may be detected by the limit switch) is sent from the rear side conveyance path 8 to the rear side conveyance path 9. Also by doing so, it becomes possible to carry the mixed work and the unprocessed work together.

As described above, the rear side conveyance paths 7 and 8 and the connecting conveyance paths 12 and 13 share the conveyance paths for loading and unloading the workpieces by flowing the processed and unprocessed workpieces. Also,
Even if one of the processing devices 1 to 3 fails,
Since the work can be carried in / out of each of the processing devices 1 to 3 on the transport path, the processing can be continued without lowering the operating rate of the normal processing device.

In the above embodiment, the example in which the number of processing devices is three has been described. However, any processing system having a plurality of processing devices arranged in series can be similarly applied. Further, the transport path is not limited to the roller conveyor, the chain conveyor, and the rack and pinion mechanism, and other transport mechanisms can be used.

In the embodiment, the processing devices 1, 2, 3
Although the same processing device is used to convey the same work, both the processing device and the work may be different. Further, in the embodiment, the processing device 1,
Although two and three are arranged in series in one row, two or more rows may be arranged in series. In this case, the rectangular frame formed by the front transport path, the rear transport path, and the connection transport path has a grid pattern.

[0029]

According to the present invention as described above,
A loading / unloading transport path and a bypass transport path for transporting workpieces from upstream to downstream are provided along the arrangement direction of a plurality of processing equipment, and loading / unloading transport path and bypass transport path are provided upstream and downstream of the processing equipment. Since a connection conveyance path for conveying the work is provided between the and, the work can be efficiently carried in / out of each processing device with a simple configuration, and at the same time, a failure occurs in one processing device. Can operate the remaining processing equipment without any problems.

By providing a work discriminating means for discriminating which of the conveyed works is provided in the detour conveyance path in which the processed work and the unprocessed work are mixed and conveyed in the detour conveyance path, The work after processing and the work before processing can be mixed and conveyed in the detour conveyance path.

Further, a predetermined number of pre-workpieces can be made to stand by upstream of the loading / unloading conveyance paths of a plurality of processing machines, and when the number of waiting pieces reaches a predetermined number, the following pre-workpieces are upstream of the processing machine. The processing device is detoured via the connected transport path on the side, and is carried into the next processing device via the connected transport path on the downstream side of the processing device, and the processed work is detoured from the connected transport path on the downstream side. By bypassing the processing device at the subsequent stage via the path and carrying it out, it is possible to perform processing while each processing device waits for a predetermined number of workpieces, which improves efficiency.

Further, a work transfer means for transferring the work between the loading / discharging transfer path and the bypass transfer path is provided in the connection transfer path, and the work for detecting whether or not the work is transferred to the work transfer means is provided. By providing the transfer detection means and the work determination means determines the post-processing work and the pre-processing work based on the detection result of the work transfer detection means and the transfer direction of the work transfer means, a simple configuration is achieved. After machining the workpiece, it is possible to determine before machining.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a processing system to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of a conveyance path of the system.

FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view including a detection unit related to work flow control of the system.

[Explanation of reference numerals] 1, 2, 3 ... Processing device, 4, 5, 6 ... Front transport path (loading / dispensing transport path), 7, 8, 9 ... Rear transport path (detour transport path), 11, 12 , 13, 14 ... Connected transport paths 15 to 15
18 ... Pallet (work transfer means), 19 ... Carry-in path, 2
0 ... carry-out path, 21-23 ... carry-in standby mechanism, 27 ... work discriminating means, LS1-LS3 ... limit switch (for waiting number detection), S1, S2, S3 ... processing station.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A work transfer device for loading / unloading a work to / from a plurality of processing devices arranged in series, wherein the work transfer device transfers the work along the arrangement direction of the plurality of processing devices. A connection / delivery transfer path for transporting from upstream to downstream and a bypass transfer path, and a connection transfer for transferring the work between the input / output transfer path and the bypass transfer path upstream and downstream of the processing device. A work transfer device having a path. 2. The work transfer apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the loading / unloading transfer path is provided on the front side of the processing apparatus, and the bypass transfer path is provided on the rear side of the processing apparatus, and the loading / unloading transfer path is provided. A work transfer device in which each processing device is surrounded by a rectangle by a bypass transfer path and a connection transfer path. 3. The work transfer apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a detoured transfer path in which the post-processed work and the pre-processed work are mixed and transferred among the detoured transfer paths,
A work transfer device, which is provided with a work determination means for determining which work is transferred. 4. The work transfer apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a standby number detecting means for detecting the standby number of the pre-processing works is provided upstream of the loading / unloading transfer paths of the plurality of processing apparatuses, respectively. When the number of waiting pieces reaches a predetermined number based on the detection result of the waiting number detecting means, the following pre-processing workpieces are bypassed to the processing apparatus via the connecting transport path on the upstream side of the processing apparatus, It is characterized in that it is carried into the processing device of the next stage via the connected transport path on the downstream side of the device, and the processed work is carried out from the connected transport path of the downstream side by bypassing the processing device of the latter stage via the bypass transfer path. Work transfer device. 5. The work transfer apparatus according to claim 1, 2, or 4, wherein the connection / transfer path is loaded / unloaded.
Work transfer means for transferring the work between the payout transfer path and the bypass transfer path is provided, and the work transfer detection means for detecting whether or not the work is transferred to the work transfer means is provided. A work transfer device for distinguishing a work after processing and a work before processing based on a detection result of a detection means and a transfer direction of the work transfer means.