JP2985685B2 - stocker - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a stocker in which a plurality of pallets for loading workpieces to be processed are stored.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there are various types of stockers. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, an inner frame 2b is provided on an outer frame 2a of a stocker 1 so as to be movable up and down, and a work 3 is loaded on the inner frame 2b. Multiple pallets 4
Are stored so as to be movable in the horizontal direction. Near the middle in the vertical direction of the outer frame 2a, in order to transfer the work 3 loaded on the pallet 4 to the outside of the stocker 1,
When the pallet 4 is moved in the horizontal direction and pulled out from the outer frame 2a, a drawer frame 5 for mounting the pallet 4 is provided. This drawer frame 5
A robot 6 for grasping the work 3 on the drawer frame 5 and transferring the work 3 to a machine tool (not shown) or the like is arranged near the upper part of the drawing frame 5. An air cylinder 9 is provided as a driving means for pulling out the pallet 4 from the inner frame 2b to the drawer frame 5, and a motor 11 with a speed reducer is provided on the upper part of the outer frame 2a as a means for moving the inner frame 2b up and down. Is provided, and the inner frame 2b is provided.
The motor 11 is connected with a chain 12, and a balance weight 13 is attached to the other end of the chain 12. Further, the inner frame 2b which moves up and down in response to the pallet 4 is pulled out of the outer frame 2a.
Is provided, and limit switches 15 and 16 for detecting the upper and lower ends of the movable range of the inner frame 2b are provided.

In such a configuration, when one pallet 4 is pulled out from the outer frame 2a and all the works 3 on the pallet 4 are transferred by the robot 6, the pallet 4 is moved from the drawn frame 5 to the inner frame 2b. Then, the inner frame 2b is moved upward, the next pallet 4 is moved onto the drawer frame 5, and the same transfer operation is performed. When the pallet 4 at the last stage is pulled out and the work 3 thereon is completely transferred, the inner frame 2b is lowered and returned to the origin position, and one cycle is completed. After that, the pallet 4 is taken out of the inner frame 2b and taken out of the outer frame 2a on the opposite side of the frame 5 and the unprocessed work 3 is newly supplied onto the pallet 4.
After that, the pallet 4 is stored in the inner frame 2b, and is in an initial state.

[0004]

However, in order to place many works 3 on the pallet 4, it is necessary to set the works 3 in a plurality of columns and a plurality of rows. It is necessary to use an advanced robot having not only the movement on the vertical axis (Z) but also the freedom of movement on a plane of 2 or more (X, Y). In addition, it is necessary to teach the position of the robot 6 automatically for the number of works 3 or to use a high-performance robot 6 having a palletizing function, which has been expensive. The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problems, and has a plurality of rows on a pallet.
When a work is placed on a line and each work on this pallet is transferred by a robot for processing or the like, the degree of freedom of the robot used on the plane may be small, and accordingly,
An object of the present invention is to provide a stocker that requires less teaching of a position to a robot, does not require a palletizing function, and can use an inexpensive robot.

[0005]

In order to achieve this object, a stocker according to the present invention is arranged so that a plurality of pallets on which workpieces are temporarily loaded can be raised and lowered and slidable in a horizontal direction. In the stocker housed in the main body frame, the pallet is extended on the pallet a plurality of times.
In order to transfer the workpieces loaded on the pallet to the outside of the stocker using a transfer means such as a robot, the pallets are horizontally moved. A drive unit for sliding the pallet out of the main frame, a drawer frame on which the pallet is placed when the pallet is slid by the drive unit and pulled out of the main frame, and a pallet drawn on the drawer frame for each row. and a stopping means for stopping the said stop means, one less than the number of rows workpiece to be mounted on a pallet, the work only the transfer means is moved in at least vertical direction及Bigyo direction Including intermediate stoppers for enabling the transfer of articles and actuators for releasing these stoppers A. According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the configuration of the first aspect, the drawer frame is provided with a guide for guiding the lower side and left and right of the pallet. In addition, the stocker of claim 3 is based on claim 1.
Alternatively, in the configuration according to claim 2, the plurality of intermediate stop stoppers are arranged in a pallet pull-out direction, and when the workpiece on the pallet is transferred by the transfer means at a pallet stop position by the first stop stopper. The stopper is retracted by the actuator, and the pallet is pulled out to the pallet stop position by the next stop stopper, and operates in the same manner.

[0006]

In the stocker according to the first or third aspect of the present invention, the workpieces are stacked on the pallet in a plurality of rows and columns, and the workpieces are transferred outside the stocker by a robot or the like. If you try to transport using
The pallet is slid using the driving means, pulled out of the main body frame, and placed on the drawer frame. During this drawer is pallet is stopped at each of the positions of the plurality of rows by the stop means. For this reason, a robot or the like that grasps a workpiece on a pallet and transfers the workpiece to the outside of the stocker can be handled with a single-axis linear degree of freedom. The driving means to move the pallet with, when pulled out from the body frame, the pallet by the intermediate stop stopper is stopped at the position of the desired row, performs transfer operations for that row. When this operation is completed, the stopper is released by the release actuator, and the pallet is slid again to the next stopper position by the driving means. Thus, it is possible to stop the pallet at position multiline each row. In the stocker of claim 2,
When the pallet is moved by the driving means and placed on the drawer frame, the lower side and left and right of the pallet are guided by the guide of the drawer frame, so that a smooth moving operation can be obtained.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A stocker according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 is a front view of the stocker, FIG. 2 is a view as viewed from the direction indicated by an arrow A in FIG. 1, and FIG.
It is a partial view of the arrow. Outer frame 2a of stocker 1
(Body frame), an inner frame 2b is provided so as to be able to move up and down. On this inner frame 2b, a pallet 4 on which works 3 are loaded in a plurality of rows and columns (3 rows and 4 columns in this example) is drawn out horizontally. It is stored movably in the direction. In this example
In the direction perpendicular to the direction in which the pallet 4 is pulled out.
The row is set to "line" and the pallet 4 is aligned in the pull-out direction.
Is a “column”. A drawer frame 5 for placing the pallet 4 when the pallet 4 is moved in the horizontal direction (to the right in FIG. 1) and pulled out from the outer frame 2a is provided near the middle of the outer frame 2a in the vertical direction. When the inner frame 2b is at the bottom, the top pallet 4
The height of the drawer frame 5 is set to a height at which the drawing frame 5 can be pulled out. Further, near the upper part of the drawer frame 5, a robot 6 for grasping the work 3 on the pallet 4 drawn on the drawer frame 5 and transferring it to a machine tool (not shown) or the like is arranged.

As means for pulling out the pallet 4 from the inner frame 2b to the pull-out frame 5, an air cylinder 9 is used. This air cylinder 9
Is a cylindrical sleeve 9a disposed at the center of the drawer frame 5, a piston member (not shown) inserted into the sleeve 9a and moved by air pressure, and a sleeve fitted to the outer peripheral portion of the sleeve 9a. The driven block 9c is configured to interlock with the piston member by magnet attraction. The driven block 9c and the pallet 4 are provided with hooks (not shown) which are engaged with each other in the horizontal direction and are disengaged in the vertical direction. Pushing operation is performed.

The drawer frame 5 is provided with a rail 5a for guiding the pallet 4 pulled out. The rail 5a appears on the moving path of the pallet 4 drawn by the air cylinder 9 to stop or pass the movement. Positioning pins 10a and 10b functioning as stoppers are provided. These positioning pins 10a, 10b
Is retracted by the actuators 10c and 10d.
The positions at which the positioning pins 10a and 10b are provided correspond to the arrangement of the rows of the work 3 placed on the pallet 4. The number of the positioning pins 10a and 10b is one less than the number of rows and is used for intermediate stop. I have. The stopper at the stroke end from which the pallet 4 is most pulled out functions as a tip mounting member of the tubular sleeve 9a.

In order to move the inner frame 2b up and down, a motor 11 with a speed reducer is provided above the outer frame 2a.
And a balance weight 13 is attached to the other end of the chain 12. In addition, the outer frame 2a
The inner frame 2 that moves up and down in response to the pallet 4
Proximity sensor 14 for stopping b at the position corresponding to drawer frame 5 is provided, and limit switches 15 and 16 are provided for detecting the upper and lower ends of the movable range of inner frame 2b. Further, a controller (not shown) having an operation button for raising the inner frame 2b and an operation button for lowering the inner frame 2b is provided.

The operation of the stocker having the above configuration will be described below. In the initial state, the pallet 4 is placed on the inner frame 2b.
, And all the works 3 are supplied to each pallet 4. The inner frame 2b is located below the height at which the uppermost pallet 4 can be pulled out to the drawer frame 5. The positioning pins 10a and 10b are projected. When the stocker is activated, the inner frame 2b is raised by the motor 11, and the proximity sensor 14 is turned on and stopped at a position where the uppermost pallet 4 can be pulled out to the drawer frame 5. The uppermost pallet 4 is pulled out by the air cylinder 9 toward the pull-out frame 5 and hits the positioning pins 10a and stops. This position is a position where the robot 6 can transfer the work 3 in the first row.

When all of the works 3 in the first row are transferred to a machine tool or the like by the robot 6, the positioning pins 10a are retracted by the actuator 10c, and the pallets 4 are further pulled out by the air cylinder 9 to the pull-out frame 5 side to be positioned. It stops upon hitting the pin 10b. This position is a position where the robot 6 can transfer the work 3 in the second row. When all the works 3 in the second row are transferred to the machine tool or the like by the robot 6, the positioning pins 10b are retracted, and the pallet 4 is further pulled out by the air cylinder 9 to the drawing frame 5 side to the stroke end. This position is a position where the robot 6 can transfer the work 3 in the third row. In this way, since the stop position in the movement direction of the workpiece 3 can be accurately set, as long robot 6 in addition to the movable only in the row direction (X) in the vertical direction (Z), in the column direction It need not be mobile. In other words, the robot 6 may have a single degree of freedom on a plane. When the pallet 4 is stopped by contacting the positioning pins 10b, the driving force of the pallet 4 by the air pressure of the air cylinder 9 may be kept applied.

When the transfer of all the workpieces 3 on the pallet 4 thus drawn is completed, the pallet 4 is stored in the inner frame 2b by the air cylinder 9.
Thereafter, the inner frame 2b is raised again by the motor 11, and the second pallet 4 from the top
Proximity sensor 14 is turned on at a position where it can be pulled out
And stop. This operation is repeated, and when the lowermost pallet 4 is further stored after being stored in the inner frame 2b, the upper end limit switch 15 is turned on, whereby the inner frame 2b starts lowering. Then, when the lower end limit switch 16 is turned on, it stops when the lower pallet 4 is turned on, and then rises again, and stops at a position where the uppermost pallet 4 is lower than the height at which the pallet 4 can be pulled out to the drawer frame 5, that is, in the initial state, and the transfer cycle starts Complete.

The present invention can be modified in various ways without being limited to the above embodiment. For example, in the above embodiment, the transfer of the work 3 on the pallet 4 is performed using the robot 6. However, an arbitrary transfer actuator may be used instead of the robot. Pallet 4
A motor or the like may be used instead of the air cylinder 9 as means for pulling out and driving.

[0015]

As described above, according to the stocker according to the first or third aspect of the present invention, the pallet on which a plurality of rows and columns of workpieces are loaded is stopped when the pallet is moved and placed on the drawer frame. multiple lines of the pallet by means
Since it is stopped at the position of each line, the robot etc. used to transfer the workpiece out of the stocker,
It may therefore be less freedom on that plane, thus, fewer teaching positions to the robot or the like, palletizing function is also not required, it is possible to use an inexpensive robot or the like. Also, when the pallet is moved and pulled out to the drawer frame, the pallet is stopped at a desired position by the intermediate stop stopper, the stopper is released by the release actuator, and the pallet is moved again to the next stopper position. Pallets
It is possible to reliably stop at a desired position in each row . According to the stocker according to the second aspect of the present invention,
In addition to the above effects, when the pallet is moved and placed on the drawer frame, the pallet is guided by the guide of the drawer frame, so that the pallet can be moved smoothly and accurately.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a stocker according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view taken in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view taken in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a front view of a conventional stocker.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Stocker 2a Outer frame 2b Inner frame 3 Workpiece (work) 4 Pallet 5 Drawer frame 6 Robot 9 Air cylinder (drive means) 10a Positioning pin (stop means) 10b Positioning pin (stop means) 10c Actuator 10d Actuator

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A stocker in which a plurality of pallets on which workpieces are temporarily loaded are stored in a main body frame in a vertically movable and slidable manner in a horizontal direction. In order to transfer the workpieces loaded on the pallet to the outside of the stocker using a transfer means such as a robot, the pallet is loaded with the pallets. A driving unit that slides in a horizontal direction to pull out the main frame; a driving frame that slides the pallet by the driving unit and pulls the pallet from the main frame when the pallet is pulled out of the main frame; The each line
Stopping means for stopping each time , wherein the stopping means is a line of the workpiece to be loaded on the pallet.
One less than the number, the transfer means and the intermediate stop stopper for enabling the transfer of the workpiece by simply moving in at least a vertical direction及Bigyo direction, an actuator for releasing these stoppers A stocker characterized by containing. 2. The stocker according to claim 1, wherein the drawer frame is provided with a guide for guiding a lower side and a left and right side of the pallet. 3. A plurality of intermediate stop stoppers are arranged in the pallet pull-out direction, and when a workpiece on the pallet is transferred by the transfer means at a pallet stop position by the first stop stopper, the stopper is moved to the pallet stop position. The stocker according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the pallet is retracted by an actuator, the pallet is pulled out to a pallet stop position by a next stop stopper, and the pallet operates similarly thereafter.