Material or article handling – Apparatus for moving intersupporting articles into – within,... – Unstacking apparatus
Patent
1992-01-28
1994-03-08
Huppert, Michael S.
Material or article handling
Apparatus for moving intersupporting articles into, within,...
Unstacking apparatus
4147957, 4147967, 414900, 901 45, 211 593, B65G 5902, B65G 6100
Patent
active
052922243
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a workpiece transfer apparatus and, more particularly, to an apparatus for holding stacked workpieces and feeding the same, capable of holding a plurality of workpieces (hereinafter referred to simply as "work") to be processed, and being provided with work feed units each having a pallet and work support rods, for holding work in a stack, and transporting means having a work gripping hand unit capable of gripping and taking up the work held on the work feed unit one at a time, transporting the work to a destined or predetermined position such as a chucking device mounted on a spindle of an automatic machine tool, for example, an automatic lathe, removing the machined work from the chucking device of the spindle to transport the machined work to the work feed unit having an empty pallet, and stacking the machined work in a stack on the pallet.
BACKGROUND ART
The automation of a work machining system, i.e., that known as FA (factory automation), has been widely disseminated. The automated work machining system grips a work to be machined, with a gripping device attached to the extremity of the robot hand i.e., an end effector, of an industrial robot, transports the work, feeds the work to an automatic machine tool, such as an automatic lathe or a machining center, and grips the machined work with the gripping device to transport the processed work. Generally, a workshop of an FA system has a work feed station provided with work feed means for feeding work successively to the robot hand of an industrial robot and for receiving the machined work from the robot hand to efficiently handle and process many pieces of work. In most cases, such a work feed means is called a work feeder. The work feeder comprises an intermittently turning base or a circulating device, and a plurality of pallets mounted on the intermittently turning base or the circulating device. The pallets each holding a plurality of work in a stack are located sequentially at a work transfer position. The industrial robot picks up one of the stacked work from the work feeder at the work transfer position, attaches the work to the spindle of an automatic machine tool, i.e., the chuck of the automatic machining tool, and returns the machined work to the empty pallet of the work feeder. The work feeder is replenished with fresh work, and delivers machined work therefrom in accordance with a progress of an automatic machining process.
FIG. 10, 11 and 12 are schematic views of the layout of a conventional industrial robot and a conventional work feeder, and the construction of a pallet and work support rods of the conventional work feeder.
Referring to FIGS. 10, 11 and 12, the industrial robot 1, of the prior art, has a robot body 2, a first robot arm 3 extending from the robot body 2, and a second robot arm 4 pivotally joined to the first robot arm 3. A robot hand 5, i.e., an end effector, is attached to the extremity of the second robot hand 4, and two work grippers 6 are held on the robot hand 5. The first robot arm 3 is capable of both turning and extended. The first robot arm 3 and the second robot arm 4 can be turned together in directions indicated by an arrow P. A work feeder 8 has a base 9, and a plurality of pallets 10 mounted on the base 9. As shown in FIG. 11, each pallet 10 has a work support plate 11 and is provided with a plurality of work support rods 12 for holding work in place on the work support plate 11. The pallets 10 are moved on the base 9 via a work lifter 13 disposed near a predetermined work transfer station.
A plurality of work is held in a stack on each pallet 10 of the work feeder 8 combined with the industrial robot 1, and the pallets 10 are moved sequentially via the work transfer station near the work lifter 13. When the pallet 10 is located at the work transfer station, the work gripper 6 of the robot 1 approaches the work, and grips and lifts up the same. Then, the work gripper 6 is moved away from the work feeder 8 by a motion indicated by the arrow P, and the wor
REFERENCES:
patent: 4019452 (1977-04-01), Rouse
patent: 4195961 (1980-04-01), Waiblinger
patent: 4354605 (1982-10-01), Brutsman
patent: 4958697 (1976-05-01), Brown et al.
patent: 5169271 (1992-12-01), Yamashita
Inagaki Shigemi
Nihei Ryo
Torii Nobutoshi
Yasumura Mitsuhiro
Fanuc Ltd.
Huppert Michael S.
Morse Gregory A.
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