Patent Grant
10723570
This application claims priority to Italian Pat. App. No. 102017000045614 filed on Apr. 27, 2017, the disclosures of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
The present invention relates to a pallet changing system intended to be associated with a machine tool for changing pallets carrying workpieces to be machined by the machine tool.
Such pallet changing systems are known for example from EP 1 295 674 A1 and US 2009/252587 A1.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved pallet changing system with respect to the above-mentioned prior art.
This and other objects are fully achieved according to the present invention by virtue of a pallet changing system comprising:
Further features of the pallet changing system according to the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, given purely by way of non-limiting example with reference to the appended drawings, wherein:
In the drawings, and more specifically in
The machine tool MT may be for example of the type illustrated and described in Italian Patent application No. 102016000101422 in the Applicant's name.
In the illustrated embodiment, the machine tool MT is a milling machine comprising a movable structure MS which, in a vertically intermediate portion thereof, is supported on parallel guides G1 and G2 so as to be movable horizontally. A tool-carrying unit TC is mounted on the movable structure MS so as to be vertically slidable relative to the movable structure MS.
The pallet changing system 1 comprises a pallet deposition and pick-up station 2 as well as a pallet loading and unloading station 3, hereinafter also referred to simply as station 2 and station 3, respectively. The stations 2 and 3 are horizontally spaced apart from one another along a first horizontal direction indicated at A-A in
The pallet changing system 1 further comprises a bearing structure 4, which is stationary in use and is arranged between the stations 2 and 3. In the illustrated embodiment, the bearing structure 4 includes a rack 5 having a plurality of horizontal support shelves 6 which are placed vertically one over the other. The presence of such a bearing structure is however purely optional. In the illustrated embodiment, the support shelves 6 are made as essentially rectangular frames and are each arranged to receive and a carry, in a horizontal attitude, a respective pallet P carrying a workpiece WP intended to be machined by the machine tool MT. The bearing structure 4 further comprises a horizontal base frame 7, of essentially rectangular shape, which is placed in the pallet deposition and pick-up station 2 and is connected to the rack 5 on the side thereof opposite to the pallet loading and unloading station 3. The base frame 7 advantageously extends at essentially the same level as the lowermost support shelf 6 of the rack 5.
Two horizontal guides 8, extending parallel to each other and to the first horizontal direction A-A (
In the illustrated embodiment, each horizontal guide 8 has a respective pair of first guide grooves 9 and a respective pair of second guide grooves 10, parallel to each other. The arrangement of the guide grooves 9 and 10 in one horizontal guide 8 is essentially symmetrical to the arrangement of the guide grooves 9 and 10 in the other horizontal guide 8. Instead of respective pairs of first and second guide grooves 9 and 10, the two horizontal guides 8 may be provided with respective pairs of first and second guide rods or bars.
The pallet changing system 1 further comprises a pallet handling unit for moving the pallets P, along with the associated workpieces WP connected thereto, between the stations 2 and 3.
The pallet handling unit comprises first of all two motorized uprights 11 which are arranged one in front of the other along a second horizontal direction B-B (
In the illustrated embodiment, each upright 11 has a substantially inverted U-shaped configuration. Each upright 11 is fixed to a base 11a (
Each upright 11 is further provided with a respective motorized lifting carriage 12, which is vertically movable in a controlled manner under control of a motor (also not shown, but of per-se-known type), such as for example an electric motor. Each lifting carriage 12 comprises a horizontal arm 13 which is provided at its opposite ends with respective gripping devices 14 for releasably engaging a corresponding end of a pallet P, as will be better explained later. The lifting carriages 12 are jointly movable in the vertical direction, along respective pairs of vertical guides 15, of which only those of one of the two uprights 11 are visible in the drawings (see for example
With reference in particular to
With reference to
The arrangement is such that when the uprights 11 are placed in the pallet deposition and pick-up station 2, as shown in
The gripping devices 14 of the uprights 11 can then be jointly activated so that their rods 19 move from the retracted position to the extended position, thereby engaging the holes 16 of the pallet P. Once this condition has been reached, the lifting carriages 12 can be moved vertically upwards along the uprights 11, so as to bring the pallet P, and therefore also the workpiece WP connected thereto, to a raised position, as shown in
In this position, the pallet P carried by the lifting carriages 12 is placed at a height greater than the maximum height of the bearing structure 4. The uprights 11 can thus be subsequently moved jointly from the pallet deposition and pick-up station 2 to the pallet loading and unloading station 3 in order to transfer the pallet P and the associated workpiece WP to the station 3, as shown in
The lifting carriages 12 can then be jointly lowered, by translation along the vertical guides 15 of the uprights 11, in the pallet loading and unloading station 3, until they reach the position illustrated in
The uprights 11 can then be jointly moved towards the rack 5 of the bearing structure 4, in order to bring the pallet P and the associated workpiece WP above the lowermost support shelf 6 and allow them to be finally deposited on said shelf, as shown in
During the above-described movements of the uprights 11, or subsequently, a new pallet P carrying a new workpiece WP to be machined can be placed on the base frame 7 of the bearing structure 4, as shown in
By proceeding in the above-described manner, further pallets P, each carrying a respective workpiece WP to be machined, are placed one after the other on the remaining support shelves 6 of the rack 5 of the bearing structure 4, as shown in
Moreover, a further pallet P carrying a further workpiece WP can then be deposited on the base frame 7 of the bearing structure 4, as shown in
The pallet handling unit further comprises a pair of motorized auxiliary carriages 20, which can be jointly translated along the second guide grooves 10 of the horizontal guides 8 between the pallet deposition and pick-up station 2 and the pallet loading and unloading station 3 so as to remain always in facing relationship with one another in the second horizontal direction B-B.
Each auxiliary carriage 20 is provided at its opposite ends with gripping devices 21, similar to the gripping devices 14 of the lifting carriages 12 described above. The distance between the axes of the gripping devices 21 of the auxiliary carriages 20 is equal to the distance between the axes of the holes 17 on the opposite sides of each pallet P (
The function of the auxiliary carriages 20, as well as the way they cooperate with the lifting carriages 12 of the uprights 11, will be better explained below.
The pallet handling unit further comprises a motorized transporting carriage 30 for carrying and transporting each time, in a vertical attitude, one pallet P and the workpiece WP to be machined connected thereto. The transporting carriage 30 is mounted on a horizontal guide 31 for sliding movement between the pallet loading and unloading station 3 and the working area WS of the machine tool MT along the second horizontal direction B-B (see in particular
The pallet changing system 1 further comprises an electronic control unit including a controller 40 (
The controller 40 is also coupled with the motors of the uprights 11, of the lifting carriages 12, of the auxiliary carriages 20 and of the transporting carriage 30. The controller 40 is also coupled with the gripping devices 14 of the lifting carriages 12 and the gripping devices 21 of the auxiliary carriages 20. The controller 40 may be arranged to interface and exchange data, advantageously in automatic manner, with the controller of the machine tool MT.
The controller 40 is arranged to manage the operation of the pallet changing system 1 according to predetermined modes, in particular in such a manner as to carry out (at least) the following phases:
A part of a possible operating cycle of the pallet changing system 1, up to the condition illustrated in
With reference to
In the condition of
By means of a coordinated upward movement of the lifting carriages 12 along the uprights 11 and a further translation of the auxiliary carriages 20 towards the transporting carriage 30, the pallet P is progressively rotated from the horizontal-attitude position shown in
The pallet P and the associated workpiece WP to be machined may then be lifted and moved horizontally by means of the uprights 11, until they are loaded onto the transporting carriage 30, in a vertical attitude (
As shown in
The pallet P and the machined workpiece MWP can then be unloaded from the transporting carriage 30 and deposited again between the uprights 11, according to substantially the same procedure, although in the opposite order, as that previously carried out during the loading phase on the transporting carriage 30, by means of coordinated movements of the lifting carriages 12 and of the auxiliary carriages 20, as well as of the respective gripping devices 14 and 21.
The pallet P with the machined workpiece MWP is thus brought, in a horizontal attitude, between the uprights 11 in the pallet loading and unloading station 3 and then the gripping devices 21 of the auxiliary carriages 20 are disengaged from the corresponding holes 17 of the pallet P, while the gripping devices 14 of the lifting carriages 12 are again engaged in the holes 16 at the end of the pallet P facing towards the bearing structure 4.
The pallet P with the machined workpiece MWP can then be raised vertically, while being still kept in a horizontal attitude, as shown in
The pallet P with the machined workpiece MWP can then be lowered and deposited on the base frame 7 of the bearing structure 4, as shown in
The lifting carriages 12 of the uprights 11 are then controlled to engage one of the pallets P stored in the rack 5, for example the lowermost pallet P. This pallet P, along with the associated workpiece WP to be machined, is then transferred to the pallet loading and unloading station 3, as shown in
As already described above, this pallet P and the associated workpiece WP to be machined are then transferred, in a vertical attitude, to the working area WS of the machine tool MT and, once the workpiece has been machined, moved back to the pallet loading and unloading station 3, where they are unloaded from the transporting carriage 30 and rotated from vertical to horizontal to be then engaged by all the gripping devices 14 of the lifting carriages 12 of the uprights 11 (
This pallet P, with the machined workpiece MWP, is then placed back onto the support shelf 6 of the rack 5 from which it had been previously taken and a new pallet P with a workpiece WP to be machined is then picked from the rack 5 and transferred to the pallet loading and unloading station 3 (
In the same manner as already explained above, the pallet P with the new workpiece WP to be machined is transferred to the working area WS of the machine tool MT. Once machining has been completed, the machined workpiece MWP is brought back to the pallet loading and unloading station 3, where it is unloaded from the transporting carriage 30 and deposited, in a horizontal attitude, on the support shelf 6 of the rack 5 from which it had been previously taken.
The operating cycle goes on until all the workpieces WP to be machined have been brought to the working area WS of the machine tool MT and, once machined, returned to the rack 5 of the bearing structure 4 (
At the end of the operating cycle, the uprights 11 can be brought back to the pallet loading and unloading station 3 (
The operating cycle of the pallet changing system has been described above purely by way of example. As a matter of fact, the number of pallets and workpieces may differ from the one described above, and also the way the pallets are transferred to the working area of the machine tool may be carried out according to other modes than the one described above. In an alternative embodiment of the invention (not shown), the pallet changing system may have no bearing structure acting as pallet storage structure: in such a case, a pallet with the associated workpiece may be transferred, in a horizontal attitude, directly from the pallet deposition and pick-up station to the pallet loading and unloading station, and in this station it may be rotated from horizontal to vertical and then placed onto the transporting carriage, in the same way as described above, to be subsequently transferred to the working area of the machine tool. Once machining has been completed, the pallet with the machined workpiece is brought back to the pallet loading and unloading station, where it is rotated from vertical to horizontal, in the same way as described above, and then transferred, in a horizontal attitude, to the pallet deposition and pick-up station.
In other embodiments of the invention, a second pallet changing system (with or without the bearing structure acting as pallet storage structure) as described above may be arranged on the opposite side of the machine tool with respect to the first pallet changing system. In this case, the first and second pallet changing systems may be operated so as to alternatively transfer pallets (with the associated workpieces to be machined) to the working area of the machine tool.
Naturally, the principle of the invention remaining unchanged, the embodiments and constructional details may vary widely from those described and illustrated purely by way of non-limiting example, without thereby departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the enclosed claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 102017000045614 | Apr 2017 | IT | national |
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20090252587 | Mischler | Oct 2009 | A1 |
| 20150298916 | Susnjara | Oct 2015 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 1084794 | Mar 2001 | EP |
| 1295674 | Mar 2003 | EP |
| Entry |
|---|
| International Search Report in IT10201700045614 dated Jan. 11, 2018. |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20180312349 A1 | Nov 2018 | US |
