Testing device for checking a workpiece carrier for correct condition

Abstract

Testing device for checking a workpiece carrier 3 for correct condition, from which a workpiece can be transported to a processing machine by means of a transport device, wherein a base has a receiving device for receiving the workpiece carrier 3 in a three-dimensionally defined position. The workpiece carrier 3 has at least one recess designed as a triangular prism 19, one apex of which points towards the base and the side facing away from the base is open, and which serves to support the workpiece on its side surfaces 20 during transport to the processing machine.A test device that can be arranged at a defined height above one or more triangular prisms 19, with each prism 19 having an associated workpiece test element that simulates a workpiece and can be inserted into the respective associated triangular prism 19 until it rests on the prism, wherein the workpiece test element is guided vertically on a holder 18 of the test device so as to rest on the triangular prism 19. A sensing element is guided slidably on the holder 18, the displacement of which can be detected when the workpiece test element rests on the triangular prism 19.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a testing device for checking the correct condition of a workpiece carrier, from which a workpiece can be transported to a processing machine by means of a transport device.

[0002] The workpiece carriers are constantly exposed to high mechanical and physical stress, resulting in visible natural wear and tear on the workpiece carrier due to material wear. This can lead to a workpiece no longer being fed correctly into the processing machine, causing a jam in the transport device and deformation of the workpiece carrier.

[0003] The object of the invention is to provide a testing device for checking a workpiece carrier for correct condition of the type mentioned at the beginning, which enables an operator to assess the workpiece carrier for correct condition in a simple manner without significant expenditure of time.

[0004] This object is achieved according to the invention in that a base has a receiving device for receiving the workpiece carrier in a three-dimensionally defined position, wherein the workpiece carrier has at least one recess designed as a triangular prism, one tip of which is directed towards the base and the side of which is open facing away from the base and which serves to support the workpiece on its side surfaces during transport of the workpiece to the processing machine, with a testing device which can be arranged at a defined height above the one or more triangular prisms and which has an associated workpiece testing element for each prism, which simulates a workpiece and can be inserted into the respectively associated triangular prism until it rests, wherein the workpiece testing element is guided on a holder of the testing device so as to be vertically displaceable until it rests on the triangular prism, with a sensing element which is guided so as to be displaceable on the holder,whose displacement depth can be detected when the workpiece inspection element is placed on the triangular prism.

[0005] Thanks to this design, the operator only needs to measure the displacement depth of the sensing element to determine the correctness or incorrectness of the workpiece carrier.

[0006] Since the workpiece carrier must also be correctly positioned on the testing device for this purpose, this can also be detected by the operator in a simple manner and without any significant expenditure of time if the base is a base plate with a support plane for the workpiece carrier, in which two or more sensor recesses are formed throughout, with sensor elements being slidably guided in the sensor recesses, which protrude resiliently from the support plane and, when the workpiece carrier is resting on the support plane, can protrude into corresponding recesses in the workpiece carrier up to a desired height, with a display device being able to show that the sensor elements protrude less than the desired height into the recesses in the workpiece carrier when the workpiece carrier is resting on the support plane.

[0007] Preferably, the recesses of the workpiece carrier have a round cross-section and the sensor elements are sensor cones, so that a deviation from the correct arrangement on the support plane is detected in any direction of the support plane.

[0008] In this case, each sensor element can be connected at its end projecting towards the underside of the base to a transmission mechanism which has a control pin at a distance from the sensor recess which, when the sensor element projects into the recess of the workpiece carrier at the desired height, can be immersed from the underside of the base into an associated through-hole control bore in the base and whose immersion depth into the control bore can be displayed.

[0009] This means that the protrusion of the sensor elements into the control bore can be indicated at a location that is not covered by the workpiece carrier and is freely and easily visible to the operator, thus being done in a simple manner without any significant expenditure of time.

[0010] Both for holding the workpiece carrier on the base and for the three-dimensional alignment of the workpiece carrier on the base, a clamping device can be arranged on the base, which has a fixing tip directed parallel to the support plane for immersing into a fixing bore of the workpiece carrier and, at a distance from the tip of the fixing tip, a counter-holder which is spring-loaded towards the fixing tip, wherein the workpiece carrier can be arranged between the counter-holder and the fixing tip and can be pressed onto the fixing tip with its fixing bore.

[0011] For this purpose, the counterholder can easily have a clamping bar provided with a profile, extending parallel to the support plane, opposite the fixing tip, which can engage in a corresponding clamping recess in the workpiece carrier in the same plane parallel to the base as the fixing tip.

[0012] After the workpiece carrier has been arranged on the base, the testing device can have a testing frame for testing the workpiece carrier, which can be easily placed on a support device arranged on the base at a predetermined height above the workpiece carrier, wherein the holder of the testing device is arranged on the testing frame.

[0013] Preferably, the workpiece testing element is a shaft extending parallel to the base, which can simulate, for example, a drive shaft.

[0014] To check the correctness of the workpiece carrier, the holder can have a continuous recess directed vertically towards the center of the shaft, in which the sensing element of the same cross-section is slidably guided, wherein the sensing element is firmly connected to the shaft and the immersion depth of the sensing element into the recess of the holder or the emergence height of the sensing element from the recess of the holder is a measure of the correct condition of the workpiece carrier.

[0015] For example, the plane of the holder facing away from the shaft can be used as a reference. Only when the sensing element is flush with this plane of the holder is the workpiece carrier OK. This can be determined at a glance by the operator.

[0016] To ensure that the shaft assumes the correct axial position during the workpiece carrier inspection, one or more prisms can be equipped with a locating pin that protrudes vertically upwards from the lower tip of the prism. This pin, once the shaft is placed on the prism, engages a corresponding recess in the shaft. However, since the locating pin is also subject to wear, it must also be checked for correctness.

[0017] This can be achieved in a simple manner in that the sensing element is a sleeve, in the interior of which a sensing pin is slidably arranged, which projects through a through hole in the shaft and can be placed with its front side on the free end of a centering pin, which projects vertically from the tip of the prism directed towards the base, wherein the immersion depth of the sensing pin into the recess of the holder or the emergence height of the sensing pin from the recess of the holder is a measure of the correct condition of the centering pin.

[0018] Since both the sensing element and the sensing pin are located at the same point on the shaft, the accuracy check for both elements is performed at the same location. An operator can thus obtain both pieces of information from a single view.

[0019] An embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the drawing and described in more detail below. They show: Fig. 1 a perspective view of a testing device with workpiece carrier Fig. 2 a perspective view of the test facility according to Fig. 1 without workpiece carrier Fig. 3 a perspective view of a first part of a clamping device of the testing device according to Fig. 1 Fig. 4 a perspective view of a second part of a clamping device of the testing device according to Fig. 1 Fig. 5 a perspective bottom view of a base plate of the test device according to Fig. 1 Fig. 6 a perspective top view of the base plate of the test device according to Fig. 1 Fig. 7 a perspective view of a sensing element with transmission mechanism of the test device according to Fig. 1 Fig. 8 a perspective view of a workpiece carrier Fig. 9 a perspective bottom view of the workpiece carrier according to Fig. 8 Fig. 10 a perspective view of a test frame with shaft of the test device according to Fig. 1 Fig. 11 a perspective view of a section of the test frame with shaft according to Fig. 10 Fig. 12 a cross-sectional view of the shaft according to Fig. 10 Fig. 13 a perspective view of the wave of the wave after Fig. 10.

[0020] The testing device shown in the figures has a base plate 1 with a support plane 2, on which a workpiece carrier 3 to be checked for correct condition is placed.

[0021] The workpiece carrier 3 has two first guide elements 4 of round cross-section, which protrude into first receiving openings 5 ​​of corresponding cross-section in the base plate 1 and can pivot about their longitudinal axis.

[0022] A second guide element 7 is connected to the first guide element 4 via an arm 6, which second guide element 7 projects into a second receiving opening 8 of the same round cross-section in the base plate 1.

[0023] On the side facing the support plane 2, the workpiece carrier 3 has four recesses 9, to which continuous sensor recesses 11 in the base plate 1 are assigned.

[0024] On the side of the base plate 1 facing away from the support plane 3, sensor cones 10 assigned to the sensor recesses 11 are arranged, which project through the sensor recesses 11 and out of the support plane 2 into the recesses 9 of the workpiece carrier 3.

[0025] A transmission arm 12 is connected to each sensor cone 10, which extends parallel to the base plate 1 and carries a control pin 13 at a distance from the sensor cone 10, which projects into a through control hole 14 in the base plate.

[0026] If the sensor cones 10 are coaxial with the recesses 9 of the workpiece carrier 3 when the workpiece carrier 3 is placed on the support plane 2, the sensor cones 10 can protrude into the recesses 9 of the workpiece carrier 3 to a maximum of a specified height. The control pins 13 are inserted into the control holes 14 in the base plate until their upwardly facing end faces are flush with the support plane 2. This means that the workpiece carrier 3 rests correctly on the support plane 2.

[0027] This is not the case if the sensor cone 10 and the recesses 9 of the workpiece carrier 3 are not coaxially aligned with each other, so that the sensor cone 10 cannot penetrate into the recess 9 to its desired height. An operator can recognize this by the fact that the control pin 13 is not immersed so far into the control bore 14 in the base plate 1 that its upwardly facing end face is not flush with the support plane 2.

[0028] The workpiece carrier 3 resting on the support plane 2 is held in its longitudinal extension by a clamping device 15 in a desired position parallel to the support plane 2.

[0029] The clamping device 15 has, in the longitudinal direction of the workpiece carrier 3, a counter-holder 30 which can be adjusted to a fixed position and a fixing tip 31 which are both arranged on the base plate 1 and which serve as a stop at a distance from one another.

[0030] The counterholder 30 is movable in the direction of the workpiece carrier 3 on a support part 34 connected to the base plate 1 into its fixed position, in which the workpiece carrier 3 rests against the counterholder 30. To remove the workpiece carrier 3, the counterholder 30 can be moved away from the workpiece carrier 3.

[0031] The fixing tip 31 arranged on the front side of a fixing shaft 32 engages in a fixing bore of the workpiece carrier 3 and thus aligns the workpiece carrier 3. To remove the workpiece carrier 3, the fixing shaft 32, which is displaceably arranged in a holding piece 33 attached to the base plate, can be moved away from the workpiece carrier 3.

[0032] The workpiece carrier 3 has, along its longitudinal extension and at a distance from one another, a recess formed as a triangular prism 19, one tip of which is directed toward the base and the side of which is open, facing away from the base plate 1. During transport of a workpiece, this workpiece rests on the side surfaces 20 of the prism 19.

[0033] The testing device has a shaft 21 which simulates the workpiece and corresponds to the workpiece in the area where it rests on the prisms 19.

[0034] On the base plate 1, four upright support supports 16 of a support device are attached in the corner positions of a fictitious rectangle.

[0035] A rectangular test frame 17 can be placed on the support supports 16 at a predetermined height above the support plane 2 and thus above the workpiece carrier 3. Holders 18 are arranged centrally on the short sides of the test frame 17.

[0036] The holders 18 have a continuous recess 22 directed vertically toward the longitudinal axis of the shaft 21, in which a sensing element designed as a sleeve 24 is slidably arranged. At its end region directed toward the base plate 1 and projecting downward from the holder 18, the sleeve 18 has an external thread that is screwed into a through-bore 25 of the shaft 21 directed toward the longitudinal axis of the shaft 21 and at least partially provided with an internal thread.

[0037] When the test frame 17 is placed on the support supports 16 until the shaft 21 rests on the side surfaces 20 of its associated prism 19, the operator can determine, at the opening of the recess 22 of the holder 18 opposite the base plate 1, whether the workpiece carrier 3 with its prism 19 is still in good condition or already worn. If the sleeve 24 is flush with the surface of the holder 18 facing away from the base plate 1, the workpiece carrier 3 is in good condition. However, if the sleeve 24 dips into the recess 22 with its upper end, the workpiece carrier 3 is not in good condition.

[0038] It is understood that the insertion depth or retraction height of the sleeve 24 can also be measured in any other suitable manner. For example, this can be done using a dial gauge.

[0039] In the longitudinal direction of the shaft 21, vertical threaded holes 26 are formed in the shaft 21 on both sides at a distance from the through hole 25, into which externally threaded guide pins 27 are screwed. The guide pins 27 protrude through corresponding through holes in the holder 18 and thus correctly align the shaft 21 in its longitudinal extension with the prisms 19.

[0040] For correct rotational positioning of the workpiece around its longitudinal axis, a centering pin 29 can protrude vertically upwards from the tip of the prism 19 directed toward the base plate 1 and, during transport of the shaft 21, protrude into a corresponding recess in the shaft 21. If the centering pin 29 is worn, correct rotational positioning is no longer guaranteed.

[0041] In order to determine this, a feeler pin 28 is slidably guided in the sleeve 24, which projects downwards out of the shaft 21 through the through hole 25 of the shaft 21 and rests with its downward-facing end face on the centering pin 29.

[0042] If the upper end of the feeler pin 28 is flush with the surface of the holder 18 facing away from the base plate 1, the centering pin is OK. However, if the upper end of the feeler pin 28 dips into the recess 22, the centering pin 29 is not OK. Reference symbol 1 base plate 2 support levels 3 workpiece carriers 4 first guide elements 5 first receiving openings 6 arms 7 second guide element 8 second receiving opening 9 recesses 10 sensor cones 11 sensor recesses 12 Transmission arm 13 control pins 14 Control borehole 15 clamping device 16 support columns 17 test frames 18 holders 19 Prism 20 side surfaces 21 Wave 22 Recess 23 internal threads 24 sleeve 25 through hole 26 threaded holes 27 guide pins 28 feeler pin 29 Centering pin 30 counterholders 31 Fixing tip 32 Fixing shaft 33 Holding piece 34 support part

Claims

[1] Testing device for checking the correct condition of a workpiece carrier (3), from which a workpiece can be transported to a processing machine by means of a transport device, characterized bythat a base has a receiving device for receiving the workpiece carrier (3) in a three-dimensionally defined position, wherein the workpiece carrier (3) has at least one recess designed as a triangular prism (19), one tip of which is directed towards the base and the side of which is open and which serves to support the workpiece on its side surfaces (20) during transport of the workpiece to the processing machine, with a testing device that can be arranged at a defined height above the one or more triangular prisms (19) and each prism (19) has an associated workpiece testing element that simulates a workpiece and can be inserted into the respectively associated triangular prism (19) until it rests, wherein the workpiece testing element is guided vertically displaceably on a holder (18) of the testing device until it rests on the triangular prism (19), with a sensing element that is guided displaceably on the holder (18),whose displacement depth can be detected when the workpiece inspection element is placed on the triangular prism (19). [2] Test device according to claim 1, characterized by that the base is a base plate (1) with a support plane (2) for the workpiece carrier (3), in which two or more sensor recesses (11) are formed continuously, wherein sensor elements are displaceably guided in the sensor recesses (11), which project resiliently from the support plane (2) and, when the workpiece carrier (3) is resting on the support plane (2), can project into corresponding recesses (9) of the workpiece carrier (3) up to a desired height, wherein, when the workpiece carrier (3) is resting on the support plane (2), a display device can indicate that the sensor elements project into the recesses (9) of the workpiece carrier (3) to less than the desired height. [3] Test device according to claim 2, characterized bythat the recesses (9) of the workpiece carrier (3) have a round cross-section and the sensor elements are sensor cones (10). [4] Test device according to one of claims 2 and 3, characterized by that each sensor element is connected at its end projecting towards the underside of the base to a transmission mechanism which has a control pin (13) at a distance from the sensor recess (11) which, when the sensor element projects at the desired height into the recess (9) of the workpiece carrier (3), can be immersed from the underside of the base into an associated through-hole control bore (14) in the base and whose immersion depth into the control bore (14) can be displayed. [5] Testing device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized bythat a clamping device (15) is arranged on the base, which has a fixing tip (31) directed parallel to the support plane (2) for immersing into a fixing bore of the workpiece carrier (3) and, at a distance from the tip of the fixing tip (31), a counter-holder (30) which is spring-loaded towards the fixing tip (31), wherein the workpiece carrier (3) can be arranged between the counter-holder (30) and the fixing tip (31) and can be pressed with its fixing bore onto the fixing tip (31). [6] Test device according to claim 5, characterized by that the counterholder (30) has a clamping bar provided with a profile, extending parallel to the support plane (2), opposite the fixing tip (31) and which can engage in a corresponding clamping recess in the workpiece carrier (3) in the same plane parallel to the base as the fixing tip (31). [7] Testing device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized bythat the testing device has a testing frame (17) which can be placed on a support device arranged on the base at a predetermined height above the workpiece carrier (3), wherein the holder (18) of the testing device is arranged on the testing frame (17). [8] Test device according to claim 7, characterized by that the workpiece testing element is a shaft (21) extending parallel to the base. [9] Test device according to claim 8, characterized by that the holder (18) has a continuous recess (22) directed vertically towards the centre of the shaft (21), in which the sensing element of the same cross-section is displaceably guided, wherein the sensing element is firmly connected to the shaft (21) and the immersion depth of the sensing element into the recess (22) of the holder (18) or the emergence height of the sensing element from the recess (22) of the holder (18) is a measure of the correct condition of the workpiece carrier (3). [10] Test device claim 9, characterized by that the sensing element is a sleeve (24) in the interior of which a sensing pin (28) is displaceably arranged, which projects through a through-bore (25) in the shaft (21) and can be placed with its front side on the free end of a centering pin (29) which projects vertically from the tip of the prism (19) directed towards the base, wherein the immersion depth of the sensing pin (28) into the recess (22) of the holder (18) or the emergence height of the sensing pin (28) from the recess (22) of the holder (18) is a measure of the correct condition of the centering pin (29).

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