Workpiece conveyor system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10011433-B2
Application number	US-201514753349-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 29, 2015
Priority date	Jun 30, 2014
Publication date	Jul 3, 2018
Grant date	Jul 3, 2018

Abstract

A workpiece convey system comprising two conveyor devices which alternately convey workpieces from a source area to a destination area, wherein each of the two conveyor devices is provided with a workpiece holding part which can hold a workpiece, and a movement mechanism which moves the workpiece holding part back and forth between the source area and the destination area, the two conveyor devices being arranged so as to match the positions where their respective workpiece holding parts are stopped within the source area.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A workpiece conveyor system, comprising two conveyor devices which alternately convey workpieces from a source area to a destination area,
each of said two conveyor devices comprising:
a workpiece holding part which can hold a workpiece, and
a movement mechanism which moves said workpiece holding part back and forth between the source area and the destination area,

said two conveyor devices being arranged so as to match the positions where their respective workpiece holding parts are stopped within the source area,
wherein the respective workpiece holding parts are changed in posture between the destination area and the source area,
the workpiece conveyor system further comprising an abutting member against which the respective workpiece holding parts are struck when being moved from the destination area to the source area,
wherein the respective workpiece holding parts are attached to the respective movement mechanisms so as to be able to rotate about predetermined rotation axes, and
wherein the respective workpiece holding parts are configured to be rotated about said rotation axes when being struck against said abutting member so that the respective workpiece holding parts are changed in posture, wherein
the movement mechanism of each of said two conveyor devices comprises a rail member, and
the rail member of one of said two conveyor devices is inclined at an angle relative to the rail member of the other of said two conveyor devices.

2. The workpiece conveyor system according to claim 1 , wherein the rotation axes of the respective workpiece holding parts are parallel with each other.

3. The workpiece conveyor system according to claim 1 , wherein at least one of the rail members extends in a curved line shape.

4. The workpiece conveyor system according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a main body having a surface on which said two conveyor devices are mounted,
wherein said two conveyor devices are arranged symmetrically on both sides of a centerline of the surface of the main body.

5. The workpiece conveyor system according to claim 4 , wherein the abutting member has an inclined surface which is inclined with respect to the surface of the main body by a predetermined angle.

6. The workpiece conveyor system according to claim 1 , wherein each of said two conveyor devices further comprises a travelling member attached to a bottom part of the workpiece holding part, said travelling member configured to travel on a surface of the abutting member to cause the workpiece holding part to rotate about the respective rotation axis.

Assignees

• Fanuc Corp

Inventors

• Maeda Yoshihide
• Inutake Hiroshi

Classifications

• B65G37/005 Primary

  comprising two or more co-operating conveying elements with parallel longitudinal axes (the conveying elements being endless surfaces B65G15/10) · CPC title

• G01N35/04

  Details of the conveyor system {(G01N35/021 - G01N35/028 take precedence)} · CPC title

• B65G25/04

  the carrier or impeller having identical forward and return paths of movement, e.g. reciprocating conveyors · CPC title