Workpiece conveying apparatus for a pressing machine with two robots

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10300520-B2
Application number	US-201715439394-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 22, 2017
Priority date	Feb 23, 2016
Publication date	May 28, 2019
Grant date	May 28, 2019

Abstract

Provided is a workpiece conveying apparatus including: two SCARA robots each including: a raising and lowering frame supported on a stationary frame so as to be movable in an up-and-down direction, the stationary frame being mounted to extend along a width direction orthogonal to a workpiece conveying direction of a passage space for conveying a workpiece; a first arm supported on the raising and lowering frame through intermediation of a first joint; a second arm held through intermediation of a second joint; a first arm driving mechanism configured to drive the first arm to rotate; and a second arm driving mechanism configured to drive the second arm to rotate; raising and lowering mechanisms arranged to correspond to the two SCARA robots, respectively, and configured to enable the corresponding raising and lowering frames to mutually independently move in the up-and-down direction; a cross arm; and a cross bar unit.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A workpiece conveying apparatus for a pressing machine, comprising:
two robots arranged symmetrically with respect to an XZ plane passing a workpiece conveying center, each of the two robots comprising:
a raising and lowering frame supported on a stationary frame so as to be movable in a Z-axis direction that is an up-and-down direction, the stationary frame being mounted to extend along a Y-axis direction that is a width direction orthogonal to an X-axis direction that is a workpiece conveying direction of a passage space for conveying a workpiece;
a first arm supported at a proximal end side thereof by the raising and lowering frame through a first joint so as to be freely rotatable within a horizontal plane;
a second arm supported at a proximal end side thereof by a distal end side of the first arm through a second joint so as to be freely rotatable within the horizontal plane;
a first arm driving mechanism configured to drive the first arm to rotate about the first joint with respect to the raising and lowering frame; and
a second arm driving mechanism configured to drive the second arm to rotate about the second joint with respect to the first arm;

two raising and lowering mechanisms arranged to correspond to the two robots, respectively, and configured to enable the corresponding raising and lowering frames to mutually independently move in the Z-axis direction, so that the two robots moves in the up-and-down direction independently of each other with respect to the stationary frame;
a cross arm configured to couple distal ends of second arms arranged on both sides across the XZ plane so as to be freely rotatable within the horizontal plane through a third joint and freely rotatable within a vertical plane through a fourth joint while a plane within which the first and second arms rotate is kept in the horizontal plane, the fourth joint is an axle bearing which has a rotation axis crossing a longitudinal-length direction of the cross arm; and
a workpiece holding unit connected to the cross arm and configured to releasably hold the workpiece; wherein respective rotation planes of the first and second arms are respectively kept in the horizontal plane, even when the cross arm is inclined in a YZ plane by changing mutually independently the respective heights in the Z axis direction of the two robots.

2. The workpiece conveying apparatus for a pressing machine according to claim 1 , wherein the workpiece holding unit is removably connected to the cross arm.

3. The workpiece conveying apparatus for a pressing machine according to claim 1 , further comprising a tilting mechanism configured to rotate one of the cross arm and the workpiece holding unit about a rotation axis parallel to a longitudinal direction of the one of the cross arm.

4. The workpiece conveying apparatus for a pressing machine according to claim 1 , wherein the fourth joint supports the cross arm to be rotatable within a YZ plane.

5. The workpiece conveying apparatus for a pressing machine according to claim 1 , wherein the rotation axis is an axis extending in a horizontal plane.

Assignees

• Aida Eng Ltd

Inventors

• Takeda Keisuke

Classifications

• B21D43/052 Primary

  Devices having a cross bar · CPC title

• B21D43/105 Primary

  Manipulators, i.e. mechanical arms carrying a gripper element having several degrees of freedom · CPC title

• B65G47/91

  incorporating pneumatic, e.g. suction, grippers · CPC title

• B21D43/18

  by means in pneumatic or magnetic engagement with the work · CPC title

• B25J9/107

  of the froglegs type · CPC title