Flipper steering mechanism

Abstract

A turnover steering mechanism is used to change an object placed in a first position and in a horizontal orientation to an upright orientation and move to a second position. The turnover steering mechanism comprises a base, a carrier, a turnover mechanism and a taking unit directly or indirectly assembled to the base. The carrier and the taking unit are designed to be movable. The turnover mechanism is installed on the carrier and can change the orientation of the object, thereby achieving the purpose of changing the orientation of the object while moving the object.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to object handling, and in particular to a flipping and turning mechanism that can move an object between two positions and change the orientation of the object during handling. Background Technology

[0002] In machining applications with automatic tool changers, tool magazines are often used to store multiple tools, and in some cases, a separate tool drum is also provided to store even more tools. In practice, to facilitate access by the tool changer arm of the automatic tool changer, tools stored in current tool magazines are mostly laid horizontally. Tools in the tool drum, however, are primarily for storage and are not accessed as frequently as those in the magazine. Therefore, to avoid the unbalanced effect of tools being unsupported due to prolonged horizontal placement, tools in current tool drums are mostly placed vertically.

[0003] An automated tool retrieval mechanism is typically installed between the tool magazine and the tool storage compartment to transport and replace the tools stored there. However, the existing tool retrieval mechanism occupies space, and during transport, it must switch the tool between horizontal and vertical positions, making the structure of the mechanism more complex. Therefore, there is room for optimization of the existing tool retrieval mechanism. Utility Model Content

[0004] In view of this, the purpose of this utility model is to provide a flipping and steering mechanism with a simplified structure and no space occupation.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, this utility model provides a flipping and turning mechanism for changing the orientation of an object placed in a first position and in a first swing direction to a second swing direction and moving it to a second position. The first and second swing directions are not parallel. The flipping and turning mechanism includes a base, a first support, a flipping mechanism, a second support, and a picking unit. The first support is attached to the base and is controllable to move between two fixed positions. The first support has a hollow shaft tube. The flipping mechanism is mounted on the first support and includes a rotating shaft and a drive unit. The rotating shaft passes through the hollow shaft tube and has a connecting portion at one end. The drive unit drives the rotating shaft to rotate. The second support is fixed to the connecting portion of the rotating shaft. The picking unit is attached to the second support and is controllable to move between two fixed positions. The picking unit has a picking portion for gripping or releasing the object.

[0006] The advantage of this invention is that the tilting mechanism changes the orientation of the object, and the first support and the picking unit are designed to be movable, thereby achieving the purpose of moving the object to two positions. Attached Figure Description

[0007] Figure 1 This is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the flipping and steering mechanism of the present utility model;

[0008] Figure 2 for Figure 1 The front view of the flip-up steering mechanism is shown.

[0009] Figure 3 for Figure 1 The right-side view of the tilting steering mechanism shown;

[0010] Figure 4 for Figure 1 An exploded view of the tilting and steering mechanism shown.

[0011] Figure 5 for Figure 4 An exploded view of the tilting steering mechanism shown from another perspective;

[0012] Figure 6 for Figure 1 An exploded view of the tilting mechanism in the tilting steering mechanism shown.

[0013] Figure 7 for Figure 6 The schematic diagram of the flipping mechanism shown reveals that one of its rotating shafts rotates in a first direction.

[0014] Figure 8 Similar Figure 7 This reveals that its axis of rotation rotates in the second direction;

[0015] Figure 9 The front view of the tilting mechanism reveals a pair of grippers in the picking unit of the tilting mechanism holding a tool bar.

[0016] Figure 10 The right-side view of the flipped steering mechanism reveals the displacement of the picking unit.

[0017] Figure 11 The front view of the tilting mechanism reveals that the tilting mechanism flips the tool holder to an upright position;

[0018] Figure 12 for Figure 11 Left side view;

[0019] Figure 13 A front view of the flip-over steering mechanism reveals that the tool holder is being driven to translate.

[0020] [Symbol Explanation]

[0021] 100: Tilting Steering Mechanism

[0022] 10: Base

[0023] 12: Guide rail

[0024] 20: First bearing seat

[0025] 22: Guide Block

[0026] 24: Hollow Shaft Tube

[0027] 30: Tilting Mechanism

[0028] 32: Shaft

[0029] 32a: Miter joint

[0030] 34: Drive Unit

[0031] 341: Chassis

[0032] 342: Gear

[0033] 343: Chain

[0034] 344: First driving component

[0035] 345: Second drive unit

[0036] 346: Shaft end connector

[0037] 347: Cover plate

[0038] 348: Limit Block

[0039] 40: First Control Unit

[0040] 42: Cylinder block

[0041] 44: First moving part

[0042] 50: Second bearing seat

[0043] 52: Elongated body

[0044] 52a: Flat joint surface

[0045] 54: Guide rail

[0046] 60: Item retrieval unit

[0047] 62: Guide Block

[0048] 64: Gripper

[0049] 70: Second control unit

[0050] 72: Cylinder block

[0051] 74: Second moving part

[0052] 200: Tool holder

[0053] 300: Knife Sheath

[0054] D1: First Direction

[0055] D2: Second Direction

[0056] L: Axis

[0057] P1: First position

[0058] P2: Second position

[0059] θ1: First deflection angle

[0060] θ2: Second deflection angle Detailed Implementation

[0061] To more clearly illustrate this utility model, a preferred embodiment is described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Please refer to... Figures 1 to 3 As shown, the tilting and turning mechanism 100 of the preferred embodiment of this utility model is disposed between two workstations (not shown) to move an object between the two workstations, and to change the orientation of the object during the movement. In a specific application example, the object is a tool holder 200, which is fixed to a cutting tool (not shown). This cutting tool is used in automated machining to perform machining processes such as drilling, turning, and milling. Based on the foregoing, the workstation can be a machining machine, a tool magazine, or a tool holder. In this embodiment, the two workstations are a tool magazine and a tool holder, respectively. The tool holder stored in the tool holder 300 in the tool magazine is in a first tilting direction, while the tool holder stored in the tool holder is in a second tilting direction. The first tilting direction and the second tilting direction are not parallel directions.

[0062] Please cooperate. Figure 4 and Figure 5 As shown, the tilting and turning mechanism 100 includes a base 10, a first support 20, a tilting mechanism 30, a first control unit 40, a second support 50, a retrieval unit 60, and a second control unit 70. The base 10 is mounted on a support (not shown), which can be a fixed or movable object, designed to provide a stable mounting for the base 10.

[0063] The first support seat 20 is coupled to the base 10 and is controlled to move between two fixed positions. In this embodiment, the base 10 and the first support seat 20 are coupled in a sliding pair manner. In a specific application example, a pair of parallel guide rails 12 are fixed on one side surface of the base 10, and a pair of parallel guide blocks 22 are fixed on one side surface of the first support seat 20. The pair of guide blocks 22 are coupled with the pair of guide rails 12, allowing the first support seat 20 to reciprocate along a straight line. In addition, the first support seat 20 also has a hollow shaft tube 24, in which a bearing is embedded. An axis L is defined passing through the center of the hollow shaft tube 24, and is coupled with... Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown, on the XZ plane, the axis L is subject to a first deflection angle θ1 with the Z-axis, and on the YZ plane, the axis L is subject to a second deflection angle θ2 with the Z-axis. Both the first deflection angle θ1 and the second deflection angle θ2 are acute angles.

[0064] The flipping mechanism 30 includes a rotating shaft 32 and a drive unit 34. The rotating shaft 32 passes through the hollow shaft tube 24 along the axis L. After assembly, the rotating shaft 32 is tilted to one side and inclined towards the base 10. One end of the rotating shaft 32 has a connecting portion formed by a beveled surface 32a. The drive unit 34 is used to drive the rotating shaft 32 to rotate. Figures 6 to 8As shown, the drive unit 34 of this embodiment includes a housing 341, a gear 342, a driven member, and two drivers. The housing 341 is fixed to the first support 20, and one end of the rotating shaft 32, different from the adapter, extends into the housing 341. The gear 342 and the driven member are located within the housing 341, with the gear 342 sleeved on and integrally connected to the rotating shaft 32. The driven member is a chain 343, which passes around the gear 342 and meshes with it. When the gear 342 is driven, the rotating shaft 32 rotates synchronously with the gear 342. The chain 343 has two opposite ends. The two drivers are each a pneumatic cylinder and are fixed to the housing. In addition to housing 341, each of the actuators has a driving member consisting of a piston rod, with one end of the driving member extending into the housing 341. For ease of description, the driving members of the aforementioned actuators are hereby distinguished as the first driving member 344 and the second driving member 345. The first driving member 344 and the second driving member 345 are respectively connected to the opposite ends of the chain 343 via a shaft end connector 346. Each shaft end connector 346 is screwed to the corresponding driving member. By adjusting the mating length between the shaft end connector 346 and the corresponding driving member, the tightness of the chain 343 engaging with the gear 342 can be changed. Furthermore, the drive unit 34 includes a cover plate 347 and a limiting block 348. The cover plate 347 is fixed to the housing 341, and the limiting block 348 is fixed to the inner surface of the cover plate 347 to confine the gear 342 and the chain 343 to prevent improper loosening. At this point, the flipping mechanism 30 is securely connected and installed on the first support 20.

[0065] As can be seen from the above, by individually controlling the two drives, the first drive member 344 and the second drive member 345 can be driven to move relative to each other. When the first drive member 344 retracts into the pneumatic cylinder and the second drive member 345 moves out of the pneumatic cylinder, the chain 343 drives the rotating shaft 32 in a first rotation direction through the gear 342. Figure 7 (Refer to) rotate, and conversely, the shaft 32 rotates in a second direction (refer to) Figure 8 (Refer to) Rotation, wherein the first rotation direction and the second rotation direction are opposite. The aforementioned driven member is based on a chain, and two driving members are provided to cooperate with the chain. However, in practice, when the driven member is a rack instead of a chain to mesh with the gear 342, the drive unit that the rack cooperates with includes a drive unit. Depending on the requirements, one drive unit can be installed at one end of the rack, or one drive unit can be installed at each of the opposite ends of the rack. The rack is driven to reciprocate to transmit the gear 342 by a push-pull method.

[0066] The first control unit 40 is a power cylinder and its cylinder body 42 is fixed to the base 10. Figure 2(Refer to), the first control unit 40 has a first movable member 44 composed of a piston rod, one end of which is connected to the first support 20. When the first control unit 40 is activated, the first movable member 44 can drive the first support 20 to move along the pair of guide rails 12 in a first direction D1, and the flipping mechanism 30 will move together with it.

[0067] The second support 50 has an elongated body 52, one end of which forms a flat contact surface 52a. The second support 50 is fixed to the inclined contact surface 32a of the rotating shaft 32 via its flat contact surface 52a. When the rotating shaft 32 is driven by the driving unit 34 and rotates around the axis L, its inclined contact surface 32a will change its facing direction. This means that the rotating shaft 32 will drive the second support 50 to flip. In this embodiment, the second support 50 flips between a horizontal swing direction and a vertical swing direction.

[0068] The retrieval unit 60 is coupled to the second support 50 and is controlled to move between two fixed positions. In this embodiment, the second support 50 and the retrieval unit 60 are coupled in a sliding pair manner. In a specific application example, a guide rail 54 is fixed to one side surface of the elongated body 52 of the second support 50, and a guide block 62 is fixed to the bottom of the retrieval unit 60. The guide block 62 engages with the guide rail 54, allowing the retrieval unit 60 to reciprocate along a straight line. In addition, the retrieval unit 60 also includes a retrieval part composed of a pair of grippers 64. The pair of grippers 64 can perform relative opening and closing actions to grip or release the knife bar 200. The opening and closing control of the aforementioned grippers 64 can be achieved through a pneumatic control principle. Preferably, the retrieval unit 60 can be a pneumatic gripper.

[0069] The second control unit 70 is also a power cylinder, and one of its cylinder bodies 72 is fixed to the second support 50. Figure 3 (Referring to the above), the second control unit 70 has a second movable member 74 formed by a piston rod, one end of which is connected to the retrieval unit 60. When the second control unit 70 is activated, the second movable member 74 can drive the retrieval unit 60 to move along the guide rail 54 in a second direction D2, wherein the first direction D1 and the second direction D2 are not parallel directions.

[0070] As can be seen from the above description of the structural relationship, since the retrieval unit 60 and the second control unit 70 are both mounted on the second support 50, and the second support 50 is fixed to the rotating shaft 32 of the flipping mechanism 30, when the rotating shaft 32 rotates, the aforementioned retrieval unit 60 and the second control unit 70 will change position as the second support 50 flips. At the same time, since the flipping mechanism 30 is mounted on the first support 20, when the first control unit 40 drives the first support 20 to move, it means that the flipping mechanism 30, the second support 50, the retrieval unit 60, and the second control unit 70 will also move accordingly.

[0071] It should also be noted that the two actuators of the drive unit 34 of the aforementioned flipping mechanism 30, as well as the power cylinders of the first control unit 40 and the second control unit 70, are pneumatic cylinders, but in practice, hydraulic cylinders can also be used. Furthermore, although the first control unit 40 and the second control unit 70 are described as power cylinders, they are not limited to power cylinders as long as they can drive the first support 20 or the picking unit 60 to move reciprocally along a straight line; for example, a rack and pinion combination can also be used.

[0072] The above is a structural description of the flipping and turning mechanism 100 of the preferred embodiment of the present utility model. Next, it will be explained that it can drive the tool bar 200 back and forth between the tool magazine and the tool compartment, and change the swing direction of the tool bar 200 while moving.

[0073] Please cooperate. Figures 1 to 3 As shown, the tool holder 200 is stored in the tool sheath 300 at the tool retrieval position of the tool magazine. In this state, the tool holder 200 is defined as being in a first position P1, and its first swing direction is horizontal. Simultaneously, the pair of grippers 64 of the retrieval unit 60 separate, and the tool holder 200 is positioned between the grippers 64. Next, as... Figure 9 The control shown is that the pair of grippers 64 hold the tool holder 200. Figure 10 The second control unit 70 is activated, and its second moving part 74 is retracted toward the cylinder 72. The stroke of the second moving part 74 pulling the picking unit 60 is sufficient to completely disengage the blade shank 200 from the blade sleeve 300.

[0074] Next, please cooperate. Figure 11 and Figure 12 As shown, when the drive unit 34 of the flipping mechanism 30 drives the rotating shaft 32 to rotate, since the rotating shaft 32 is set in an oblique and inclined manner toward the base 10, the rotating shaft 32 will drive the second support 50 from... Figure 10 The horizontal swing direction shown is flipped into Figure 11The vertical swing orientation shown causes the picking unit 60 and the second control unit 70 to flip together with the second support 50, and simultaneously causes the blade shank 200 to flip into an upright orientation, i.e., the second swing orientation defined above. Then, as... Figure 13 When the first control unit 40 is activated, its first moving part 44 will pull the first support 20 to move, along with the flipping mechanism 30, the second support 50, the picking unit 60 and the second control unit 70, until the blade bar 200 is displaced to a second position P2. At this point, the blade bar 200, which is upright and located at the second position P2, can be easily inserted into the blade sleeve in the blade magazine for storage.

[0075] In the above embodiment, a plurality of position sensors are also provided to help determine whether the first support 20 and the object retrieval unit 60 have moved to a fixed point, whether the flipping mechanism 30 has flipped into place, and whether the grippers 64 have opened and closed.

[0076] As can be seen from the above description, the flipping and turning mechanism 100 of this embodiment is designed to be movable through the first support 20 and the picking unit 60, and in conjunction with the flipping mechanism 30, it can change the orientation of the object (tool bar 200), thereby changing the orientation of the object while moving it. The aforementioned structure is simplified, thus reducing the space occupied.

[0077] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present utility model. Any equivalent changes made by applying the present utility model specification and the claims should be included within the patent scope of the present utility model.

Claims

1. A flipping and turning mechanism for changing the orientation of an object placed in a first position and in a first swing direction to a second swing direction and moving it to a second position, wherein the first swing direction and the second swing direction are not parallel directions, characterized in that, The tilting and steering mechanism includes: A base; A first support is attached to the base and controlled to move between two fixed positions, the first support having a hollow shaft tube; A flipping mechanism is installed on the first support and includes a rotating shaft and a drive unit, wherein the rotating shaft passes through the hollow shaft tube and one end forms a transition part, and the drive unit is used to drive the rotating shaft to rotate. A second bearing seat is the connecting part that is fixed to the rotating shaft; A retrieval unit is attached to the second support and is controlled to move between two fixed positions. The retrieval unit has a retrieval part for gripping or releasing the object.

2. The tilting and steering mechanism as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The rotating shaft has a beveled surface at its connecting part, and one end of the second bearing seat is fixed to the beveled surface. When the rotating shaft rotates, it can cause the second bearing seat to flip.

3. The tilting and steering mechanism as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The device includes a first control unit and a second control unit. The first control unit is mounted on the base and includes a first movable member. The second control unit is mounted on the second support and includes a second movable member. The first movable member is fixed to the first support and can drive the first support to move along a first direction. The second movable member is fixed to the retrieval unit and can drive the retrieval unit to move along a second direction. The first direction and the second direction are not parallel.

4. The tilting and steering mechanism as described in claim 3, characterized in that, At least one of the first control unit and the second control unit is a power cylinder.

5. The tilting and steering mechanism as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The base and the first bearing seat are coupled in a sliding pair manner.

6. The tilting and steering mechanism as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The second support and the object retrieval unit are coupled in a sliding pair manner.

7. The tilting and steering mechanism as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The driving unit of the flipping mechanism includes at least one driven member and at least one driving member. The at least one driven member is engaged with the rotating shaft, and the at least one driving member is used to drive the at least one driven member to reciprocate.

8. The tilting and steering mechanism as described in claim 7, characterized in that, The drive unit includes a gear that is fitted onto the shaft. The at least one driven member includes a chain that passes around the gear and has opposite ends. The at least one drive member includes a first drive member and a second drive member. The first drive member is connected to one end of the chain, and the second drive member is connected to the other end of the chain. The first drive member and the second drive member are controlled to move relative to each other and pull the chain. The chain drives the shaft to rotate in a first direction or a second direction through the gear, wherein the first direction and the second direction are opposite.

9. The tilting and steering mechanism as described in claim 8, characterized in that, At least one of the first drive member and the second drive member is connected to the chain via a shaft end connector, which is connected to the drive member in a manner that allows for adjustable mating length.

Images