WO2013031375A1

WO2013031375A1 - Loader provided with function of detecting work tilt

Info

Publication number: WO2013031375A1
Application number: PCT/JP2012/066880
Authority: WO
Inventors: 賀来則夫; 松野修
Original assignee: 村田機械株式会社
Priority date: 2011-08-26
Filing date: 2012-07-02
Publication date: 2013-03-07
Also published as: JPWO2013031375A1; JP5605514B2

Abstract

A loader chuck (10) is provided with a detector (45) which detects a tilt of an end surface of a workpiece (W) at a position facing the loader chuck (10). The detector (45) has: extending/retracting members (39U, 39L, 39R), which are provided at three areas around the loader chuck center axis (O) such that the members can freely extend and retract in the direction parallel to the loader chuck center axis (O), and respective leading ends of which are in contact with an end surface of the workpiece (W); two displacement sensors (43L, 43R), which detect, with respect to one extending/retracting member (39U) among the extending/retracting members (39U, 39L, 39R), the relative positions of other extending/retracting members (39L, 39R); and a detection value comparing means (44), which compares with each other detection values obtained from the displacement sensors (43L, 43R), and detects the tilt of the end surface of the workpiece (W).

Description

Loader with workpiece tilt detection function

Related applications

This application claims the priority of Japanese Patent Application No. 2011-184555 filed on Aug. 26, 2011, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

The present invention relates to a loader with a workpiece tilt detection function having a function of detecting the tilt of a workpiece with respect to a reference plane when the workpiece is delivered to the machine tool or when the workpiece is received from the machine tool.

For example, when a workpiece is machined by a lathe, if the workpiece is machined in a posture in which the center axis of the workpiece is tilted with respect to the axis of the main axis, the end surface of the machined workpiece is tilted with respect to the center axis. Since a workpiece with such an inclined end surface is a defective product, it is necessary to measure whether the workpiece end surface has an inclination. Conventionally, the tilt of the workpiece end surface is measured by a dedicated tilt measuring instrument after the workpiece is unloaded from the lathe, or by a tilt measuring mechanism provided in the loader when the workpiece is taken out of the lathe spindle by the loader. It was.

The dedicated tilt measuring device and the tilt measuring mechanism provided in the loader are mechanically the same, and are perpendicular to the center axis of the workpiece for each predetermined rotation phase while rotating the workpiece once around the center axis. In this configuration, the distance from the reference plane, which is a flat surface, to the end face of the work is measured by a sensor, and the inclination of the work end face is detected from the fluctuation of the sensor detection value.

In addition, in order to prevent the above-described machining defects, a seating confirmation device (for example, Patent Document 1) that confirms that the workpiece is correctly seated on the spindle chuck, or the workpiece is gripped in the correct posture by the spindle chuck. It has been proposed to mount a work chucking failure detection device (for example, Patent Document 2) that detects absence of the load on a loader.

JP 2006-7464 A JP 2006-130626 A

The conventional dedicated tilt measuring instrument and loader tilt measuring mechanism require a workpiece to rotate once before the measurement is completed, so that the measuring time is longer. For example, a measurement time of about 1 second was required. In addition, since the dedicated inclination measuring device is installed separately from the machine tool and the loader, there is a problem that an extra expense is required and a space for the inclination measuring device is required separately. In addition, the loader tilt measuring mechanism is provided with a mechanism for rotating the workpiece on the loader head, which makes the loader head complicated and large. For this reason, the output of the drive source of the loader must be increased, resulting in an increase in cost.

The seating confirmation device disclosed in Patent Document 1 performs seating confirmation by detecting the position of the workpiece in the central axis direction using a displacement sensor provided on the central axis of the loader chuck, and cannot detect the tilt of the workpiece. .

The workpiece chucking failure detection device of Patent Document 2 is provided at a position different from the loader chuck, and after the workpiece is transferred from the loader chuck to the spindle chuck, the workpiece and the workpiece gripped by the spindle chuck The loader is moved so as to face the chucking failure detection device, and the workpiece tilt detection is detected by the workpiece chucking failure detection device. Therefore, even if the workpiece tilt detection itself does not take time, it takes extra time to move the loader from the workpiece transfer to the workpiece tilt detection. In particular, in the described example, since the inclination detecting means is a proximity sensor, it may be difficult to accurately detect the inclination of the workpiece.

An object of the present invention is to provide a loader with a workpiece tilt detection function that can accurately detect the tilt of a workpiece in a short time, and is compact and can be manufactured at low cost.

The loader with a workpiece tilt detection function of the present invention is provided with a detector for detecting the tilt of the end surface of the workpiece at the position facing the loader chuck. This detector is provided at three locations around the loader chuck central axis so as to be movable forward and backward in a direction parallel to the loader chuck central axis, and the forward and backward members whose tips contact the end surface of the workpiece indirectly or directly, and these forward and backward movements, respectively. Two displacement sensors for detecting the relative position of another advance / retreat member with respect to one of the advance / retreat members, and detection value comparison means for comparing the detection values of these displacement sensors to detect the inclination of the end face of the workpiece. .

According to this configuration, the detector operates as follows. That is, when the workpiece is delivered to the machine tool or the like, the three advancing and retracting members provided at three positions around the loader chuck central axis are pushed by the workpiece end surface according to the inclination of the workpiece end surface with respect to the reference plane, Advancing and retreating in a direction parallel to. The reference plane is, for example, a plane orthogonal to the loader chuck central axis. A displacement sensor detects a relative position of another advance / retreat member with respect to one advance / retreat member. By providing two such displacement sensors, the relative positions of the three advancing and retracting members can be measured. The detection value comparison means detects the inclination of the end face of the workpiece by comparing the detection values of the two displacement sensors.

Since the detector is configured to detect the inclination of the end face of the work by measuring the relative position of each advance / retreat member, each of the advance / retreat members can be contacted indirectly or directly with the end face of the work. The relative position of the advancing / retreating member is measured, and the inclination of the end face of the workpiece can be detected instantaneously.

Also, if the relative position of each advance / retreat member is measured, the required detection range of the displacement sensor may be narrower than the method of individually measuring the advance / retreat positions of the three advance / retreat members. Because, when the workpiece is delivered, the three advancing and retracting members are moved together by being pushed by the end surface of the workpiece, but the amount of movement that these three advancing and retracting members have moved by the same distance does not affect the inclination of the end surface of the workpiece, but affects the inclination. In order to detect only the difference in the amount of movement, the required detection range of the displacement sensor may be narrow. Therefore, a displacement sensor with high detection accuracy can be used at a relatively low price, and high-precision inclination detection can be performed. Even if the dimensions and shape of the workpiece are different, the required detection range of the displacement sensor does not change much, so it can be used for various workpieces. Furthermore, if the relative position is measured, only two displacement sensors are required, and the cost can be reduced.

Detecting the inclination of the end face of the workpiece is performed, for example, when the workpiece is delivered to the machine tool or when the workpiece is received from the machine tool. In any case, since the inclination of the end face of the workpiece can be detected instantaneously as described above, the seating confirmation of the workpiece with respect to the chuck of the spindle and the inspection of the processed workpiece can be performed without lowering the machining efficiency.

The two displacement sensors may be attached to one of the three advance / retreat members, respectively, and detect the relative positions of the other two advance / retreat members with respect to the advance / retreat member. Thus, the relative position can be easily detected by attaching the displacement sensor to one advance / retreat member.

The detection value comparison means compares the detection values of the two displacement sensors and compares the detection values of the two displacement sensors with a predetermined reference value to detect the inclination of the end face of the workpiece. You may make it do. By simply comparing the detection values of the two displacement sensors, the inclination based on the direction in which the two displacement sensors are arranged can be detected, but the inclination based on the direction intersecting the arrangement direction cannot be detected. In addition to comparing the detection values of the two displacement sensors with each other, by comparing the detection values of the two displacement sensors with a predetermined reference value, it is possible to detect both inclinations. The inclination of W in all directions can be detected.

In the present invention, the pusher plate is installed on the loader chuck so as to be freely tiltable in an arbitrary direction with respect to a plane perpendicular to the loader chuck central axis and comes into contact with the end surface of the workpiece, whereby a pusher plate whose inclination follows the end surface of the workpiece is provided. When provided, each of the advancing and retreating members may have a tip that contacts the end surface of the workpiece via the pusher plate.

Generally, the loader chuck is provided with the pusher plate in order to press the workpiece against a chuck or the like of a machine tool. In that case, if the tip of each advancing / retracting member is in contact with the end surface of the workpiece via the pusher plate, the pusher plate will be in contact with a wide range of the end surface of the workpiece, unlike when the advancing / retreating member is individually pressed against the end surface of the workpiece. Even if there is a recess or the like on the end surface of the workpiece, the tilt can be detected. In addition, since the pusher plate for pressing the workpiece is also used for tilt detection, the configuration is simplified.

In this invention, the pusher plate is supported by the loader chuck such that the pusher plate can be tilted in the arbitrary direction by a pivot bearing having a spherical seat at the center thereof, and the distal end surface of the advance / retreat member is a spherical convex. A biasing means that is a curved surface and biases the advance / retreat member toward the pusher plate may be provided.

∙ With this configuration, the pusher plate is supported by the pivot bearing, so the pusher plate tilts in any direction according to the tilt of the workpiece end face. In addition, since the tip surface of the advancement / retraction member is a spherical convex curved surface and provided with a biasing means for biasing the advancement / retraction member toward the pusher plate, the tip of each advancement / retraction member is always kept in contact with the pusher plate. . For this reason, the responsiveness of the advance / retreat member with respect to the change in the inclination of the end face of the work is good, and the inclination of the pusher plate is detected with high accuracy by the detector.

Any combination of at least two configurations disclosed in the claims and / or the specification and / or drawings is included in the present invention. In particular, any combination of two or more of each claim in the claims is included in the present invention.

The present invention will be more clearly understood from the following description of preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the embodiments and drawings are for illustration and description only and should not be used to define the scope of the present invention. The scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims. In the accompanying drawings, the same part numbers in a plurality of drawings indicate the same or corresponding parts.
It is a front view of the loader with a workpiece | work inclination detection function concerning one Embodiment of this invention. It is a partially broken side view of the loader. It is a perspective view of the loader chuck of the loader. It is a rear view of the loader chuck. It is a side view of the loader chuck. FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line VI-VI in FIG. 4. FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line VII-VII in FIG. 5. FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line VIII-VIII in FIG. 5. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state in which the loader chuck is holding the workpiece | work. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state in which a workpiece | work is normally passed from the loader chuck to the chuck | zipper of a main axis | shaft. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state in which a workpiece | work is not normally passed from the loader chuck to the chuck | zipper of a main axis | shaft.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the loader 1 with a workpiece inclination detection function is a gantry type that is installed above the machine tool 50 and is driven in an orthogonal coordinate system. A loader 1 with a workpiece tilt detection function is provided with a lifting rod 5 on a traveling body 3 that travels along a horizontal installation rail 2 that is installed horizontally via a front / rear moving table 4, and a loader head 6 at the lower end thereof. It is provided. The loader head 6 is composed of a fixed portion 7 fixed to the elevating rod 5 and a rotating portion 9 that can rotate about the rotation center axis 8 inclined at an angle of 45 ° with respect to the horizontal relative to the fixed portion 7. Two loader chucks 10 are provided on the rotating unit 9. By rotating the rotating part 9 about the rotation center axis 8 by 180 °, the position of the two loader chucks 10 is converted into a lateral position and a downward position.

In FIG. 1, a machine tool 50 is a lathe, for example, and includes a spindle 51 and a tool post 52. The spindle 51 has a chuck 53 at its tip, and is rotatably supported by a spindle base 55 provided on a bed 54. The chuck 53 has a plurality of chuck claws 53a for gripping the workpiece W (FIG. 2). The tool post 52 is of a turret type, and any one of a plurality of tools T attached to the outer periphery is indexed to the cutting position. The tool post 52 is installed on the bed 54 via a feed base 56 so as to be movable in a direction along the axis of the main shaft 51 (Z-axis direction) and in a horizontal direction (X-axis direction) perpendicular thereto. The workpiece W is delivered to the chuck 53 of the spindle 51 by the loader 1 with a workpiece tilt detection function.

3 is a perspective view of the loader chuck in a lateral position, FIG. 4 is a rear view thereof, and FIG. 5 is a side view thereof. The loader chuck 10 includes a plurality of (for example, three) chuck claws 12 for gripping the workpiece W (FIG. 2) on the housing 11, and the loader chuck central axis O from the position at which the workpiece W is gripped by the chuck claws 12. A pusher plate 13 to be pushed out is installed.

The chuck claws 12 are arranged radially at equal intervals on the outer periphery of the loader chuck central axis O, and grip and release the workpiece W by opening and closing each in the radial direction. As shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 6, each chuck claw 12 includes a claw support member 16 that is movable in the vertical direction along a radial chuck claw guide groove 15 formed on the front surface of the housing 11, and the claw support. The claw body 18 is detachably attached to the member 16 with bolts 17 or the like. 4 and 5, only the claw support member 16 of the chuck claw 12 is shown. Inside the housing 11, a chuck opening / closing drive mechanism 20 is provided for moving each chuck claw 12 forward and backward along the chuck claw guide groove 15.

The chuck opening / closing drive mechanism 20 includes one opening / closing drive source 21 including a fluid pressure cylinder such as an air cylinder in which a piston 21a advances and retreats in the direction of a loader chuck central axis O extending in the front-rear direction, and a piston rod 21b of the opening / closing drive source 21. The number of motion conversion links 22 is equal to the number of chuck claws 12 that convert the forward / backward movement operation into the radial opening / closing operations of the respective claw support members 16. The right side in FIG. 6 is the front side (advance side), and the left side is the rear side (retreat side). The motion conversion link 22 is substantially V-shaped and opened slightly rearward in a side view, and is swingably supported by a support shaft 23 orthogonal to both the loader chuck central axis O and the radial direction at the V-shaped base. Thus, the V-shaped branch portion is formed as two

arm portions

22a and 22b.

Then, one arm portion 22a of the motion conversion link 22 engages with an engagement recess 24 formed on the outer peripheral surface of the piston rod 21b, and the other arm portion 22b is formed on the claw support member 16. The mating recess 25 is engaged. When the piston 20a of the opening / closing drive source 21 is driven forward / backward, the forward / backward movement of the piston rod 21b is transmitted to each claw support member 16 via the operation conversion link 22, and each chuck claw 12 is opened / closed.

As shown in FIG. 4, the pusher plate 13 is a plate material having three branch portions 13 a extending radially in three directions around the position of the loader chuck central axis O, and each branch portion 13 a The circumferential position is shifted from the nail 12. By making the pusher plate 13 radial, the pusher plate 13 can be disposed so as not to interfere with each chuck claw 12 while being able to uniformly apply the pushing force to the workpiece W.

As shown in FIG. 6, the pusher plate 13 is supported by a pivot bearing 27 so that the pusher plate 13 can be freely tilted in any direction around the loader chuck central axis O. The pivot bearing 27 is provided integrally with the pusher plate 13 on the back side, which is the rear side of the pusher plate 13, and has a spherical seat 28 having a spherical concave curved surface 28 a, and a spherical surface provided opposite to the spherical seat 28. A spherical seat 29 having a convex curved surface 29a, and the spherical seat 28 and the spherical seat 29 are in contact with each other through the concave curved surface 28a and the convex curved surface 29a. The spherical seat 29 is provided at the tip, which is the front end of the spherical seat support member 30 disposed on the loader chuck central axis O, and the engagement plate 31 attached to the back surface of the pusher plate 13 is engaged with the back surface of the spherical seat 29. Thus, the spherical seat 28 and the spherical seat 29 are always kept in contact with each other.

The spherical seat support member 30 is supported by the housing 11 as follows. That is, the guide pins 34 are provided in the first guide holes 33 formed at a plurality of circumferential positions (for example, three positions) of the housing 11 and extending in a direction parallel to the loader chuck central axis O. A common mounting plate 35 is attached to the front end portion (front end portion) of the guide pin 34 protruding from the first guide hole 33, and the spherical seat support member 30 is attached to the central portion of the mounting plate 35.

Each guide pin 34 has a rear end thereof in contact with the bottom surface 33 a of the first guide hole 33, and a flange-shaped flange portion 34 a provided near the rear portion of the guide pin 34 on the step surface 33 b of the first guide hole 33. It can move forward and backward within the range of the stroke S between the contact position and is urged toward the distal end side by the pressing spring 36. Therefore, the pusher plate 13 is also urged in a direction in which the pusher plate 13 can move forward and backward within the range of the stroke S and protrude toward the back side (right side in FIG. 6).

Further, in the housing 11, apart from the first guide hole 33, three directions around the loader chuck central axis O which are the same as the circumferential position of the branching portion 13 a of the pusher plate 13 are parallel to the loader chuck central axis O. A second guide hole 38 extending in the direction is provided, and advance / retreat members 39 (39U, 39L, 39R) are inserted into the respective second guide holes 38 so as to freely advance and retract. The front end portion (front end portion) of the advance / retreat member 39 protrudes from the second guide hole 38, and the front end surface thereof is a spherical convex curved surface 39a. The advancing / retreating member 39 is urged toward the pusher plate 13 side (front side) by the urging means 40 such as a coil spring, and the convex curved surface 39 a is always in contact with the back surface of the branching portion 13 a of the pusher plate 13. In FIG. 6, only the lower advance / retreat member 39 </ b> U positioned below the loader chuck central axis O among the three second guide holes 38 and the advance / retreat member 39 is illustrated.

7 and 8,

sensor arms

42U, 42L, and 42R are attached to the rear ends of the three advance /

retreat members

39U, 39L, and 39R, respectively. The lower sensor arm 42U attached to the lower advance / retreat member 39U has a long left and right shape, and is attached to the lower advance / retreat member 39U at the left and right central portions, and left and right displacement sensors 43L at the left and right ends. , 43R are fixedly attached. The left and

right sensor arms

42L, 42R attached to the left and right advance /

retreat members

39L, 39R extend downward from the attachment bases to the left and right advance /

retreat members

39L, 39R, and the lower ends of the

sensor arms

42L, 42R. The left and

right displacement sensors

43L and 43R are positioned so as to overlap in the front-rear direction on the detection end side.

Thus, the left and

right displacement sensors

43L and 43R detect the relative displacement in the front-rear direction of the left and

right sensor arms

42L and 42R with respect to the lower sensor arm 42U. From the detection value of the left displacement sensor 43L, the relative position in the axial direction of the left advance / retreat member 39L with respect to the lower advance / retreat member 39U can be found. From the detection value of the right displacement sensor 43R, the relative position in the axial direction of the right advancing / retracting member 39R with respect to the lower advancing / retreating member 39U is known. Further, by comparing the detection values of the left and

right displacement sensors

43L and 43R, the relative position in the axial direction of the right advance / retreat member 39R with respect to the left advance / retreat member 39L can be obtained. As in this embodiment, the two left and

right displacement sensors

43L, 43R are attached to the lower sensor arm 42U fixed to one lower advance / retreat member 39U, so that each of the advance /

retreat members

39U, 39L, 39R The relative positions of each other can be easily detected.

The detection signals of the left and

right displacement sensors

43L and 43R are transmitted to the detection value comparison means 44. The detection value comparison means 44 compares the detection values of the left and

right displacement sensors

43L and 43R with predetermined reference values, respectively, and compares the detection values of the left and

right displacement sensors

43L and 43R with each other. The inclination of the pusher plate 13, that is, the inclination of the end face of the workpiece W at the position facing the loader chuck 10 is detected. The reference value is, for example, a detection value of the left and

right displacement sensors

43L and 43R when the inclination of the end face of the workpiece W is zero. The detected value comparing means 44 is composed of an electronic circuit, a computer, or the like, and is provided, for example, in a computer-type loader control device (not shown) that controls the loader 1 with a workpiece inclination detecting function.

By simply comparing the detection values of the two left and

right displacement sensors

43L and 43R, the inclination based on the horizontal direction that is the alignment direction of the two left and

right displacement sensors

43L and 43R can be detected. The inclination based on the vertical direction intersecting the alignment direction cannot be detected. In addition to comparing the detected values of the two left and

right displacement sensors

43L and 43R with each other, by comparing the detected values of the two left and

right displacement sensors

43L and 43R with predetermined reference values, respectively, Tilt can also be detected, and the tilt of the workpiece end surface W in all directions can be detected.

The above three advance /

retreat members

39U, 39L, 39R, the left and right two left and

right displacement sensors

43L, 43R, and the detection value comparison means 44 constitute a detector 45 that detects the inclination of the end face of the workpiece W. In the case of the detector 45 of this embodiment, by detecting the inclination of the pusher plate 13, the inclination of the end surface of the workpiece W that is in contact with the pusher plate 13 is detected.

Since the detector 45 is configured to detect the inclination of the end face of the work W by measuring the relative positions of the respective advancing and retracting

members

39U, 39L, 39R, only by bringing the pusher plate 13 into contact with the end face of the work W, The relative positions of the advance /

retreat members

39U, 39L, 39R are measured, and the inclination of the end face of the workpiece W can be detected instantaneously. The measurement time is significantly shorter than conventional tilt measuring instruments and tilt measuring mechanisms that measure the tilt of the end face of the workpiece W while rotating the workpiece W once. Further, since it is not necessary to mount a mechanism for rotating the workpiece W on the loader head 6, the loader head 6 can be made light and compact.

Further, in the method of measuring the relative positions of the advance /

retreat members

39U, 39L, 39R, the left and right displacement sensors 43L are compared with the method of individually measuring the advance / retreat positions of the three advance /

retreat members

39U, 39L, 39R. , 43R may be narrow. This is because, when the workpiece W is delivered, the three advance /

retreat members

39U, 39L, 39R are moved together by being pushed by the end face of the workpiece W, and the amount of movement of the three advance /

retreat members

39U, 39L, 39R moved by the same distance is Since only the difference in the amount of movement that affects the tilt is detected without affecting the tilt of the end face of the workpiece W, the necessary detection range of the displacement sensor may be narrow. Therefore, it is possible to use the left and

right displacement sensors

43L and 43R with high detection accuracy while being relatively inexpensive, and it is possible to detect inclination with high accuracy.

Even if the dimensions and shape of the workpiece W are different, the required detection ranges of the left and

right displacement sensors

43L and 43R are not so much changed, so that various workpieces W can be handled. Furthermore, if the relative position is measured, two left and

right displacement sensors

43L and 43R are sufficient, and the cost can be reduced.

The left and

right displacement sensors

43L and 43R are attached to the lower sensor arm 42U fixed to the rear end of the lower advance / retreat member 39U, and are rear surfaces that are the surfaces of the loader chuck 6 that grip the workpiece W. Therefore, the electronic components such as the left and

right displacement sensors

43L and 43R are hardly affected by the coolant and the like, and there are few failures.

Next, operation | movement of this loader 1 with a workpiece | work inclination detection function is demonstrated.
The loader 1 with the workpiece tilt detection function grips the workpiece W by the loader chuck 10 in a downward posture at a standby position (not shown) of the unmachined workpiece W. At this time, as shown in FIG. 9, the pusher plate 13 of the loader chuck 10 resists the urging force of the pressing spring 36 (FIG. 6) and the urging means 40 (FIG. 6). In this case, the workpiece W is pushed back to the vicinity of the left end). Thereafter, the left and right movements (X-axis direction) of the traveling body 3 traveling along the installation rails 2 in FIG. 1, the front-and-rear movement table 4 is moved back and forth (Z-axis direction), and the lifting arm 5 is raised and lowered (Y-axis direction). As a result, the loader head 6 moves to the front surface of the chuck 53 of the main shaft 51. The loader chuck 10 that has gripped the workpiece W is switched from a downward posture to a lateral posture facing the chuck 53 of the spindle 51 by the rotation of the turntable 9 shown in FIG.

Next, after the loader head 6 advances in the Z-axis direction up to a predetermined axial position with respect to the chuck 53 of the main shaft 51, the chuck claws 12 of the loader chuck 10 are opened to release the workpiece W. As shown in FIG. 10, the predetermined axial position is a position immediately before the tip of the work W comes into contact with the seating surface 53 b of the main shaft 51, and is determined in advance for each work W. When the gripping of the workpiece W by the chuck claws 12 is released, the workpiece W is pushed by the pusher plate 13 receiving the biasing force of the pressing spring 36 (FIG. 6) and the biasing means 40 (FIG. 6). Is seated on the seating surface 53b. The pusher plate 13 advances to the middle part of the stroke S.

The pusher plate 13 is supported by the pivot bearing 27 and can be tilted in an arbitrary direction with respect to a plane perpendicular to the loader chuck central axis O. Therefore, when the workpiece W is seated, the tilt follows the end surface of the workpiece W. Normally, since the end surface of the workpiece W is perpendicular to the center line of the workpiece W, when the workpiece W is correctly seated, the pusher plate 13 is not inclined as shown in FIG. However, when the workpiece W is seated in a tilted posture for some reason, the pusher plate 13 is also tilted following the tilt of the end surface of the workpiece W as shown in FIG. The inclination of the pusher plate 13 is detected by the detector 45 (FIG. 7).

The forward / backward member 39 has a spherical convex curved surface 39a and is provided with urging means 40 (FIG. 6) for urging the forward /

backward members

39U, 39L, 39R toward the pusher plate 13 side. The tips of 39U, 39L, and 39R are kept in contact with the pusher plate 13. Therefore, the responsiveness of the advance /

retreat members

39U, 39L, 39R with respect to the change in the inclination of the end face of the workpiece W is good, and the inclination of the pusher plate 13 is accurately detected by the detector 45 (FIG. 7).

When the inclination of the pusher plate 13 is not detected by the detector 45, it is determined that the workpiece W is normally seated on the chuck 53 of the spindle 51, and the workpiece W is processed by the machine tool 50. When the inclination of the pusher plate 13 is detected, it is determined that a chucking mistake of the chuck 53 of the spindle 51 is detected, and delivery of the workpiece W from the loader chuck 10 to the chuck 53 of the spindle 51 is retried. If the inclination of the pusher plate 13 continues to be detected after a predetermined number of attempts, the work W is judged to be defective, and the work W is transported to the work disposal position (not shown) by the loader 1 with the work inclination detection function. Dispose of it.

When the machining by the machine tool 50 is completed, the loader head 6 moves to the vicinity of the machine tool 50, and the loader chuck 10 in a lateral posture not gripping the workpiece W faces the chuck 53 of the spindle 51. With the empty loader chuck 10 in a state where the chuck claws 12 are opened, the loader head 6 is advanced in the Z-axis direction, and the pusher plate 13 is moved to the end face of the processed workpiece W held by the chuck 53 of the main shaft 51. Make contact. The pusher plate 13 is supported by the pivot bearing 27 and can be tilted in an arbitrary direction with respect to a surface perpendicular to the loader chuck central axis O. Therefore, when the pusher plate 13 is brought into contact with the end surface of the processed workpiece W, The inclination follows.

When machining by the machine tool 50 is performed normally, the end face of the machined workpiece W is perpendicular to the loader chuck central axis O, and therefore the pusher plate 13 does not tilt. However, when the machining is not performed normally, the pusher plate 13 is also inclined following the inclination of the end face of the workpiece W. The inclination of the pusher plate 13 is detected by the detector 45.

When the inclination of the pusher plate 13 is not detected by the detector 45, it is determined that the processed workpiece W is a non-defective product. When the inclination is detected, it is determined that the processed workpiece W is defective. Thereafter, the chuck 53 of the spindle 51 releases the processed workpiece W, the chuck claws 12 of the loader chuck 10 are closed, and the loader chuck 10 grips the processed workpiece W. Then, the loader 1 with the workpiece tilt detection function conveys a processed workpiece W that is a non-defective product to a processed workpiece storage place (not shown), and a workpiece disposal position (not shown) for a processed workpiece W that is a defective product. ).

As described above, the loader 1 with the workpiece inclination detection function can check the seating of the workpiece W by detecting the inclination of the pusher plate 13 when the workpiece is delivered to the machine tool 50, and the workpiece from the machine tool 50 can be confirmed. The workpiece W can be inspected by detecting the inclination of the pusher plate 13 at the time of receipt. In any case, since the inclination of the end face of the workpiece W can be detected instantaneously, the workpiece W can be supplied to and discharged from the machine tool 50 without lowering the machining efficiency.

The loader 1 with a workpiece tilt detection function of this embodiment has a pusher plate 13, and the tips of the three advancing / retracting

members

39U, 39L, 39R are in direct contact with the end face of the workpiece W via the pusher plate 13. . Therefore, unlike the case where each advance /

retreat member

39U, 39L, 39R is individually pressed against the end surface of the workpiece W, the pusher plate 13 is in contact with a wide range of the end surface of the workpiece W, and even if there is a recess or the like on the end surface of the workpiece W Can be detected. Further, since the pusher plate 13 for pressing the workpiece is also used for tilt detection, the configuration is simplified. In some cases, the pusher plate 13 may not be provided, and the tips of the three advance /

retreat members

39U, 39L, 39R may be in direct contact with the end surface of the workpiece W.

As described above, the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described with reference to the drawings, but various additions, modifications, or deletions can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, the case where the loader 1 with the workpiece inclination detection function of the above embodiment is of a gantry type has been described, but the loader 1 with the workpiece detection function of the present invention is of an articulated type or other various types. It can also be applied when it is a thing. Further, the machine tool 50 is not limited to a general lathe that opens and closes the chuck 53 by stopping the rotation of the main shaft 51 as shown in the figure, but, for example, a single function board that opens and closes the chuck while rotating the main shaft ( A single-capacity lathe) or other machine tools may be used. Therefore, such a thing is also included in the scope of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Loader 10 with workpiece tilt detection function Loader chuck 13 Pusher plate 27 Pivot bearing 29 Spherical seat 39 Advance / retract member 39a ... Convex curved surface 39L Left advance / retreat member 39R Right advance / retreat member 39U Lower advance / retreat member 40 Energizing means 43L Left displacement sensor 43R Right displacement sensor 44 Detected value comparison means 45 Detector O Loader chuck center axis W Workpiece

Claims

The loader chuck is provided with a detector that detects the inclination of the end face of the workpiece at the position facing the loader chuck,
This detector
Advancing and retracting members provided at three positions around the loader chuck central axis so as to be movable forward and backward in a direction parallel to the loader chuck central axis, each of which has a tip indirectly or directly in contact with the end surface of the workpiece;
Two displacement sensors for detecting a relative position of another advance / retreat member with respect to one of the advance / retreat members;
Detection value comparison means for detecting the inclination of the end face of the workpiece by comparing the detection values of these displacement sensors;
A loader with a workpiece tilt detection function.
2. The workpiece inclination according to claim 1, wherein the two displacement sensors are attached to one of the three advance / retreat members and detect the relative positions of the other two advance / retreat members with respect to the one advance / retreat member. Loader with detection function.
The detection value comparison means compares the detection values of the two displacement sensors and compares the detection values of the two displacement sensors with a predetermined reference value to detect the inclination of the end face of the workpiece. Item 3. A loader with a workpiece inclination detection function according to item 1 or 2.
The loader chuck is provided with a pusher plate whose inclination follows the end surface of the workpiece by being installed so as to be freely tiltable in an arbitrary direction with respect to a plane perpendicular to the loader chuck central axis and contacting the end surface of the workpiece. The loader with a workpiece tilt detection function according to claim 1, wherein a tip of the advance / retreat member is in contact with an end surface of the workpiece via the pusher plate.
The pusher plate is supported by the loader chuck so that the tilt in the arbitrary direction can be freely tilted by a pivot bearing having a spherical seat at the center thereof, and the distal end surface of the advance / retreat member is a spherical convex curved surface, The loader with a workpiece inclination detection function according to claim 4, further comprising an urging unit that urges the advance / retreat member toward the pusher plate.