Workpiece conveyance pallet and production line

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10730154-B2
Application number	US-201715622505-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 14, 2017
Priority date	Jul 8, 2016
Publication date	Aug 4, 2020
Grant date	Aug 4, 2020

Abstract

A workpiece conveyance pallet which can reduce the manufacturing cost and improve the reliability. The workpiece conveyance pallet includes a rest surface on which a workpiece is mounted, and a clamping mechanism which clamps the workpiece, the clamping mechanism including an openable and closable, first claw and second claw, a biasing section which biases the first claw and the second claw in the closing direction, and a movement restriction section which detachably engages with the first claw and the second claw when the first claw and the second claw are opened.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A workpiece conveyance pallet comprising:
a rest surface on which a workpiece is placed, and which is formed with first through hole and second through hole extending through the rest surface and arranged successively in a closing direction; and
a clamping mechanism configured to clamp the workpiece placed on the rest surface,
wherein the clamping mechanism comprises:
a first claw and a second claw arranged upside of the rest surface so as to open and close, and configured to clamp the workpiece, at least one of the first claw and the second claw being movable with respect to the rest surface, the first claw including a first engagement section extending so as to pass through the first through hole to underside of the rest surface and the second claw including a second engagement section extending so as to pass through the second through hole to underside of the rest surface
a biasing section configured to bias the at least one of the first claw and the second claw in the closing direction; and
a movement restriction section positioned underside of the rest surface so as to be opposite to the first and second claws with respect to the rest surface, and configured to disengageably engage the first engagement section and the second engagement section when the first claw and the second claw are opened, wherein the movement restriction section is movable close to or away from the rest surface, between a restricting position where the movement restriction section engages the first engagement section and the second engagement section so as to restrict movement of the first claw and the second claw in the closing direction, and a disengaging position where the movement restriction section is disengaged from the first engagement section and the second engagement section so as to allow the at least one of the first claw and the second claw to move in the closing direction by an action of the biasing section.

2. The workpiece conveyance pallet according to claim 1 , wherein the first claw and the second claw are movable with respect to the rest surface, and
wherein the clamping mechanism further comprises an interlocking mechanism configured to interlock movements of the first claw and the second claw in the opening directions, and interlock movements of the first claw and the second claw in the closing directions.

3. The workpiece conveyance pallet according to claim 2 , wherein the interlocking mechanism comprises:
a first tooth formed at the first claw;
a second tooth formed at the second claw; and
a gear interposed between the first tooth and the second tooth so as to engage the first tooth and the second tooth.

4. The workpiece conveyance pallet according to claim 1 , wherein the clamping mechanism further comprises a second biasing section configured to bias the movement restriction section toward the restricting position.

5. The workpiece conveyance pallet according to claim 1 , wherein the clamping mechanism further comprises a handling section configured to engage and move the movement restriction section from the restricting position to the detaching position.

6. The workpiece conveyance pallet according to claim 1 , comprising a plurality of the clamping mechanisms.

7. The workpiece conveyance pallet according to claim 1 , wherein the movement restriction section comprises:
a main body positioned away from the rest surface and opposite to the first and second claws; and
a third engagement section extending from the main body toward the rest surface, and configured to engage the first engagement section when being positioned at the restricting position.

8. The workpiece conveyance pallet according to claim 7 , wherein
the first engagement section has a first inclined surface inclined with respect to the closing direction, extending more toward the movement restriction section than the rest surface,
the third engagement section has a second inclined surface parallel to the first inclined surface, and
the first inclined surface slides on the second inclined surface so as to allow the at least one of the first claw and the second claw to move in an opening direction, when the at least one of the first claw and the second claw is biased in the opening direction.

9. The workpiece conveyance pallet according to claim 1 , further comprising a guide mechanism configured to guide movement of the movement restriction section by restricting the movement of the movement restriction section in a direction along the rest surface.

10. The workpiece conveyance pallet according to claim 9 , wherein the guide mechanism comprises:
a shaft extending in a direction parallel to a movement direction of the movement restriction section; and
a hole formed at the movement restriction section and configured to slidably receive the shaft.

Assignees

• Fanuc Corp

Inventors

• Maede Yoshihide
• Inutake Hiroshi

Classifications

• G05B2219/50183

  Detect correct clamping of workpiece, chucks grip properly workpiece · CPC title

• G05B2219/49134

  Clamp, keep positioned slide, workpiece stationary during machining · CPC title

• B25J9/1697

  Vision controlled systems · CPC title

• B23Q17/2476

  of clamping devices, e.g. work or tool holders · CPC title

• G05B19/4182

  manipulators and conveyor only · CPC title