US 5,871,426 AGranted

Machining center

AssigneeHowa Machinery, Ltd.

InventorsNorimitsu Araki, Kazumi Hattori

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Abstract

A machining center has a tool change device provided above a horizontally mobile column that has a main spindle for holding a tool. A circular tool magazine for carrying a plurality of tools in a horizontal attitude is provided on a support base which is positioned above the region in which the mobile column moves. The support base is supported in a cantilever fashion by posts erected on a bed. The tool magazine rotates within a horizontal plane for indexing tools to a standby position. The tools are accommodated in pots suspended via rolling members from the body of the tool magazine and adapted to move along a ring-shaped path under the tool magazine body. The tool magazine body has a local removal opening or cutout, from where a shifter at a standby position carries a pot to a tool delivery position.

Claims13

Dependent claims

A machining center in which a tool change device is disposed above a mobile column, said tool change device comprising:

a tool magazine for turning a plurality of tools and indexing them to a standby position;
a conveyance mechanism for horizontally extracting a tool in the standby position from the tool magazine and conveying it to a tool delivery position;
a tool change arm for exchanging a tool in the delivery position with a tool on a main spindle,
wherein the tool magazine includes:
a plurality of pots accommodating portions of tools, respectively;
guide means for holding the pots in a horizontal attitude via rolling members and guiding them along a ring-shaped path;
and
drive means for moving the pots along the ring-shaped path;
a removal opening provided to the guide means at the standby position for removing the pots therefrom;
wherein:
said conveyance mechanism includes a shifter capable of moving along a straight line between the removal opening and the delivery position, said shifter comprising a holding portion for holding in a horizontal attitude pots received from the guide means at the removal opening.

8 more elements

A machining center comprising:

a bed;
a column disposed above the bed, and being movable within a space above the bed;
a support base fixedly supported on said bed directly above said space and over said column;
a tool magazine mounted on said support base and including a circular main body rotatable in an indexing motion about a vertical axis, said main body detachably carrying a plurality of tools with their major axes oriented horizontally, said main body being rotatable to index one of the tools carried thereby to a standby position which is aligned with a tool delivery position disposed radially outwardly of said main body;
a horizontal conveyance mechanism for horizontally removing said one of the tools in said standby position out from the tool magazine and conveying it linearly and radially outward of said main body to said tool delivery position, with the major axis of the tool remaining horizontal;
a main spindle mounted on said column;
and
a tool change arm movable between said tool delivery position and said main spindle to exchange a tool in the tool delivery position and a tool on said main spindle.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 08/934,041Filed 19 Sep 1997
Priority: JP 8-2620252 Oct 1996
Granted: 16 Feb 1999
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification9 codes

B23Q 3/1576
The storage means rotating or circulating in a plane perpendicular to the axis of the spindle: the axis of the stored tools being arranged in the…
B23Q 3/15526
Parts of devices for automatically inserting or removing tools: storage devices; Drive mechanisms therefor
B23Q 3/15713
Of rotary tools: a transfer device taking a single tool from a storage device and inserting it in a spindle
B23Q 2003/15532
Storage devices; Drive mechanisms therefor: the storage device including tool pots, adaptors or the like