Workpiece changing system
AssigneeFanuc Corporation
InventorsKoji Yamanashi, Takashi Fujii
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A workpiece changing system capable of automatically changing a heavy workpiece using a robot. A jig for attaching a workpiece thereto is mounted on a jig mounting device. The jig mounting device comprises a jig mounting unit having a rotary member and a swing member. The rotary member rotates the jig and the workpiece on the jig and hold them at a desired rotary position. The tilting member swings around an axis to tilt the jig and the workpiece on the jig and hold them at a desired tilting position. As the jig and the workpiece on the jig can take a suitable orientation or posture for being handled by the handling robot, the handling robot can hold a heavy workpiece without exerting excessive load on the robot wrist.
Claims12
A workpiece changing system, comprising:
- a jig to which at least one workpiece to be machined thereon is attached;
- a handling robot, comprising:
- a wrist having wrist axes;
- and
- a hand, which is connected to the wrist and is rotatable about the wrist axes, for holding a workpiece to place the workpiece to the jig, and/or to remove a machined workpiece from the jig;
- and
- a jig mounting device including:
- a jig mounting unit on which the jig is detachably mounted;
- fixing means for fixing and unfixing the jig on said mounting unit;
- and
- orientation changing means for changing an orientation of the jig mounting unit so that an orientation of the jig on the jig mounting unit conforms with an orientation of the workpiece held or to be held by the hand of the handling robot with an orientation of the wrist where a minimum load is exerted on the wrist in placing and/or removing of the workpiece to and/or from the jig.
A workpiece changing system for placing a workpiece to be machined on a jig and/or removing a machined workpiece from the jig by holding the workpiece with a robot hand attached to a handling robot via a wrist having wrist axes about which the hand is rotatable, comprising:
- a jig mounting device including:
- a jig mounting unit on which the jig is mounted;
- fixing means for fixing and unfixing the jig on said mounting unit;
- and
- orientation changing means for changing an orientation of the jig mounting unit so that an orientation of the jig on the jig mounting unit conforms with an orientation of the workpiece held or to be held by the robot hand with an orientation of the wrist where a minimum load is exerted on the wrist in the placing and/or removing of the workpiece on and/or from the jig;
- a pull bolt attaching and/or detaching robot having a pull bolt attaching and/or detaching device for attaching and/or detaching pull bolts on and/or from the workpiece by threaded engagement with threaded holes formed on the workpiece, the workpiece with the pull bolts attached being positioned on the jig by the handling robot;
- a pulling hydraulic cylinder device with a piston arranged at said jig;
- and
- a ball lock mechanism connected to the piston of said pulling hydraulic cylinder device for locking a distal end of the pull bolt, whereby the workpiece is fixed and positioned on the jig by a hydraulic pulling force of said piston.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.