Workpiece reversing device

Abstract

The present invention aims to provide a workpiece reversing device that improves the smooth rotation of the rotating body and reduces costs. [Solution] The workpiece reversing device of the present invention comprises a pair of left and right rotating bodies 1 for reversing a workpiece, a base 2 that rotatably supports the rotating bodies 1, and a drive device 3 provided on the base 2 for rotating the rotating bodies 1. The rotating bodies 1 have a circular outer surface and support rollers 4 arranged at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction along the outer surface. The base 2 has a support plate 5 with a circular inner surface that supports the support rollers 4, and a sprocket 6 that meshes with the support rollers 4 of at least one of the pair of rotating bodies 1 is provided on the drive device 3.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a work reversing device for reversing various workpieces.

Background Art

[0002] As this type of work reversing device, for example, there is one described in "Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2021-035883 (Patent Document 1)".

[0003] This conventional work reversing device includes rotators provided on both the left and right sides of a work mounting portion for mounting a workpiece such as a mold, a base provided with a plurality of guide rollers for rotatably supporting the rotators, a drive device provided on the base and having a sprocket for rotating the rotators, and pins integrally provided at an equal pitch on at least one of the rotators on both sides and meshing with the sprocket.

[0004] In addition, there are work reversing devices called rotary positioners described in "Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-025093 (Patent Document 2)" and "Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2011-167703 (Patent Document 3)".

[0005] This conventional work reversing device is for reversing a large-sized long workpiece and has a pair of bases installed at a predetermined interval and a rotator rotatably supported on the bases via a plurality of guide rollers. The rotator is disk-shaped and is composed of a frame body in which a holding space for holding a workpiece is formed at the central portion and a part of which is cut out, and an opening / closing frame disposed in the cutout portion so as to be openable and closable. A large-diameter ring gear is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the rotator composed of the frame body and the opening / closing frame, and a drive gear of a drive device is meshed with this ring gear. And a control device for synchronously driving the motors of the drive devices provided on the pair of bases respectively is provided.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2021-035883 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2003-025093 [Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2011-167703 [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0007] The product described in Patent Document 1 had problems with smoothing the rotation of the workpiece mounting part and also resulted in increased manufacturing costs.

[0008] In other words, machining the outer surface of the rotating body to a perfect circle required the use of a large gantry milling machine, resulting in poor accuracy in achieving a perfect circle. This poorly rounded outer surface was supported by four large-diameter guide rollers, but positioning and arranging the guide rollers on the base so that all rollers uniformly supported the outer surface was extremely difficult, posing a problem for smooth rotation of the rotating body.

[0009] Furthermore, the guide rollers were large in diameter and very expensive, resulting in high costs.

[0010] The devices described in Patent Documents 2 and 3 above have large-diameter ring gears, which require a large gear cutting machine, making their manufacture costly. Furthermore, machining the outer surface of the large-diameter rotating body supported by the guide rollers into a perfect circle also incurs costs.

[0011] Therefore, the present invention aims to provide a workpiece reversing device that facilitates the rotation of a rotating body and reduces costs. [Means for solving the problem]

[0012] To achieve the above objective, the present invention employs the following means. Specifically, the workpiece reversing device of the present invention comprises a pair of left and right rotating bodies for reversing a workpiece, a base that rotatably supports the rotating bodies, and a drive device provided on the base for rotating the rotating bodies. The rotating bodies have a circular outer surface and support rollers arranged at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction along the outer surface. The base has a support plate with a circular inner surface that supports the support rollers, and the drive device is provided with a sprocket that meshes with the support roller of at least one of the pair of rotating bodies.

[0013] Preferably, the rotating body has a pair of side plates arranged in parallel with a predetermined distance between them, the support roller is positioned between the side plates, and the support roller is rotatably fitted onto a pin provided on the side plate.

[0014] The pair of rotating bodies are provided on both the left and right sides of a workpiece mounting portion having L-shaped workpiece mounting surfaces that are perpendicular to each other, and it is preferable that the rotating bodies are formed in a shape in which a disc is cut out in an L-shape along the workpiece mounting portion.

[0015] Preferably, the sprocket engages with the support roller at the lowest point of the rotating body, and a control device is provided to control the rotation of the sprocket so that the workpiece mounting surface changes position from a horizontal plane to a vertical plane.

[0016] The rotating body is formed in a shape having a U-shaped notch with one end open in a disc, and the U-shaped notch serves as a workpiece mounting portion. The base can be provided on each of the pair of rotating bodies and arranged spaced apart from each other.

[0017] One of the bases is a fixed base that is fixed to the floor, and the other is a movable base that moves toward and away from the fixed base, and the movable base may not have the drive device. [Effects of the Invention]

[0018] According to the present invention, for example, by means of a numerically controlled ball grinder or the like, the mounting position of the support roller can be machined on an accurate perfect circle, so that the support roller can be evenly supported by the support plate, and smooth rotation can be achieved.

[0019] Also, since the support rollers are arranged at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction, the support rollers can be made smaller in diameter, so that the cost can be reduced compared with conventional large-diameter rollers.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0020] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a side view of a workpiece reversing device showing a first embodiment of the present invention, and is a drawing including a partial cross-sectional view at the A-A position in FIG. 2. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view at the B-B position in FIG. 1. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view at the C-C position in FIG. 1. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the D portion in FIG. 3. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is an explanatory view of the support roller and the shaft. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a side view of a workpiece reversing device showing a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view at the E-E position in FIG. 6. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view at the F-F position in FIG. 6. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is an enlarged view of the G portion in FIG. 8. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a workpiece reversing device showing a third embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a front view of FIG. 10. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a left side view of FIG. 10. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view at the H-H position in FIG. 11. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view at the I-I position in FIG. 11. [Figure 15]Figure 15 is a cross-sectional view showing the state rotated 90 degrees from the state in Figure 14. [Figure 16] Figure 16 is a cross-sectional view showing the state rotated 90 degrees from the state in Figure 14. [Figure 17] Figure 17 is a side view showing a fourth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 18] Figure 18 is a front view of the same. [Figure 19] Figure 19 is a plan view of the same. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0021] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Figures 1 to 5 show a first embodiment of the present invention.

[0022] The workpiece reversing device in this embodiment includes a pair of left and right rotating bodies 1 for reversing workpieces such as molds for injection molding machines (not shown), a base 2 that rotatably supports the rotating bodies 1, and a drive device 3 provided on the base 2 for rotating the rotating bodies 1. The rotating bodies 1 have a circular outer surface and support rollers 4 arranged at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction along this outer surface. The base 2 has a support plate 5 with a circular inner surface that supports the support rollers 4. The base 2 has a base member 2x, which is placed on the floor. A frame 2y is erected and fixed to the base member 2x. The frame 2y and the support plate 5 are fixed via a connecting rod 2z.

[0023] As shown in Figure 2, a sprocket 6 is provided on the drive unit 3 that meshes with the support roller 4 of at least one of the pair of rotating bodies 1. In this embodiment, the sprocket 6 meshes with the support roller 4 of the left rotating body 1 in Figure 2, but does not mesh with the support roller 4 of the right rotating body 1; however, it may mesh with both.

[0024] The drive unit 3 has a motor 7, a reduction gear 8 is attached to the motor 7, and a sprocket 6 is attached to a drive shaft 9 extending from the reduction gear 8. The reduction gear 8 is fixed to the base 2.

[0025] The rotating body 1 has a pair of side plates 1a arranged in parallel with a predetermined distance between them. A support roller 4 is positioned between these side plates 1a. The outer circumferences of the left and right pair of rotating bodies 1 are connected and fixed by a connecting member 1b that penetrates the side plates 1a.

[0026] As shown in Figure 5, the support roller 4 is rotatably fitted onto the shaft 10. A dry bearing 11 is interposed between the shaft 10 and the inner surface of the support roller 4, allowing the support roller 4 to rotate freely relative to the shaft 10. This shaft 10 is attached to a pair of side plates 1a, and retaining rings 12 on the left and right sides prevent it from detaching from the side plates 1a.

[0027] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, a pair of rotating bodies 1 are provided on both the left and right sides of the workpiece mounting section 13. The workpiece mounting section 13 has L-shaped workpiece mounting surfaces 13a and 13b that are perpendicular to each other. The rotating body 1 is formed in the shape of a disc with an L-shaped notch cut out to follow the workpiece mounting section 13. The L-shaped notches of the rotating body 1 abut and fix to the back sides of the two workpiece mounting surfaces 13a and 13b. A mold (not shown) is placed on the workpiece mounting surfaces 13a and 13b.

[0028] The sprocket 6 engages with the support roller 4 at the lowest point of the rotating body 1. The predetermined circumferential spacing of the support rollers 4 is the pitch of the teeth of the sprocket 6. In this embodiment, the support rollers 4 are arranged at a 4.13° pitch and are provided at 94 locations on both sides.

[0029] A control device (not shown) is provided to control the rotation of the sprocket so that the workpiece mounting surfaces 13a and 13b change their position from a horizontal plane to a vertical plane.

[0030] As shown in the detailed view of Figure 4, the side plate 1a and the support plate 5 are made of two plates joined together, but they may also be made of a single piece.

[0031] As shown in Figures 3 and 4, the frame 2y consists of two parallel-arranged plates, with a support plate 5 positioned between them, and the support plate 5 and the frame 2y are fixed together via a connecting rod 2z.

[0032] As shown in Figure 1, the upper surface of the support plate 5 is formed as a circular inner surface, and this inner surface supports the support roller 4.

[0033] The support plate 5 is divided into front and rear sections, and the sprocket 6 of the drive device 3 is positioned in the central gap between the two sections.

[0034] In this embodiment, the sprocket 6 engages with the support roller 4 only with one of the pair of left and right rotating bodies 1, while the other does not engage with the sprocket. Therefore, the other support plate 5 does not need to be divided into front and rear sections, and may be a single integrated structure. Furthermore, the circumferential arrangement pitch of the other support roller 4 does not need to be the same as the pitch of the teeth of the sprocket 6; it may be spaced further apart.

[0035] According to the first embodiment described above, instead of using conventional expensive large-diameter guide rollers (approximately 100 mm in diameter and 88 mm in length), a small-diameter support roller 4 (approximately 29 mm in diameter and 30 mm in length) is used, thus reducing costs.

[0036] Furthermore, in order to arrange the support rollers 4 on the rotating body 1 at a predetermined circumferential pitch, it is necessary to machine through holes for the shaft 10 in the side plate 1a. This machining can be performed using a numerically controlled drilling machine or milling machine, and the holes can be machined precisely on a perfect circle. As a result, the rotating body 1 is uniformly supported on the inner circumferential surface of the support plate 5 by the support rollers 4, and the rotation of the rotating body 1 is performed smoothly.

[0037] A second embodiment of the present invention is shown in Figures 6 to 9. It differs from the first embodiment in that the base 2 does not have a frame 2y.

[0038] In other words, the base 2 consists of a base member 2x and a support plate 5 that is erected and fixed to the base member 2x. The support plate 5 consists of two plate materials 5a that are arranged in parallel with a predetermined distance between them.

[0039] As shown in Figure 7, the sprocket 6 of the drive unit 3 is positioned between the plate members 5a. The outer plate member 5a is a single piece as shown in Figure 6, but the inner plate member 5a is divided into left and right sections as shown in Figure 1.

[0040] The other components are substantially the same as those of the first embodiment described above. In this second embodiment, since there is no frame 2y compared to the first embodiment, the cost is reduced.

[0041] A third embodiment of the present invention is shown in Figures 10 to 16. The workpiece inversion device in this embodiment inverts a large, long H-beam 15 as a workpiece by 180 degrees.

[0042] In this embodiment, the rotating body 1 is formed in a shape having a U-shaped notch with one end open in a disc. The U-shaped notch serves as the workpiece mounting portion 13. The base 2 is provided on each of the pair of rotating bodies 1 and is spaced apart from each other.

[0043] One of the pair of bases 2 is a fixed base 2a fixed to the floor, and the other is a movable base 2b that moves toward and away from the fixed base 2a. A drive device 3 is provided on the fixed base 2a, but not on the movable base 2b.

[0044] The movable base 2b is equipped with wheels 17 that travel on rails 16 laid on the floor. A drive motor 18 is provided to drive these wheels 17. When the drive motor 18 is stopped, the movable base 2b is fixed at a predetermined distance from the fixed base 2a.

[0045] As shown in Figure 12, a workpiece clamping device 19 is provided on the side of the rotating body 1. This clamping device 19 has clamping parts 20 that clamp the H-beam 15 of the workpiece placed on the workpiece mounting part 13 from both sides, opposite each other, of the workpiece mounting part 13 which is made up of a U-shaped notch. This clamping device 19 centers the H-beam 15 of the workpiece placed on the workpiece mounting part 13.

[0046] The rotating body 1 has a circular outer surface and has support rollers 4 arranged at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction along this outer surface. The base 2 is provided with a support plate 5 with a circular inner surface that supports the support rollers 4.

[0047] As shown in Figure 13, on the movable base 2b side, the support roller 4 of the rotating body 1 is supported by the support plate 5, and no sprocket is provided.

[0048] As shown in Figure 14, on the fixed base 2a side, the sprocket 6 engages with the support roller 4 at the lowest point of the rotating body 1. The support plate 5 is divided into front and rear sections, and the sprocket 6 of the drive device 3 is positioned in the central dividing gap. The motor 7 of the drive device 3 is located on the side of the fixed base 2a (see Figure 11).

[0049] The long H-beam 15 workpiece, which is lifted by a crane or the like, is placed on the workpiece mounting section 13 through the opening of the workpiece mounting section 13. The workpiece clamping device 19 centers it, and as shown in Figure 15, it is rotated 90 degrees and the upper surface of the workpiece 15 is machined. Then, as shown in Figure 16, it is rotated -90 degrees and the lower surface of the workpiece 15 is machined.

[0050] In this third embodiment, the rotating body 1 is formed in a shape having a U-shaped notch with one end open in a disc, but it can also be applied to a "rotating positioner" in which the notch can be opened and closed as shown in Patent Documents 2 and 3.

[0051] A fourth embodiment of the present invention is shown in Figures 17 to 19. In this embodiment, as shown in Figure 19, there is a processing unit 22 for processing a long workpiece 21 and a transport unit 23 for transporting the long workpiece 21 from the processing unit 22 in its longitudinal direction. Multiple workpiece reversing devices are arranged in the transport unit 23 at predetermined intervals.

[0052] The workpiece reversing device shown in Figure 13 of this embodiment has substantially the same basic structure as the one shown in Figure 1 of the first embodiment. It differs from the workpiece reversing device of the first embodiment in that workpiece transport rollers 25 are provided on the workpiece mounting surfaces 13a and 13b.

[0053] As shown in Figure 18, in this embodiment, two workpiece reversing devices are connected by a drive coupling shaft 24 and arranged along the longitudinal direction of the workpiece 21. This drive coupling shaft 24 is linked to the sprocket 6 of each workpiece reversing device.

[0054] The motor 7 of the drive unit 3 is located in the workpiece reversing device on the right side of Figure 18, and the sprocket 6 of the workpiece reversing device on the left side is driven by the motor 7 on the right side via the drive connecting shaft 24.

[0055] While it is possible to synchronize the two workpiece reversing devices by providing a drive device 3 in the left-side workpiece reversing device and using a servo motor, without using the drive coupling shaft 24, this would be extremely expensive. However, as in this embodiment, by using the drive coupling shaft 24 and driving the two workpiece reversing devices with a single motor 7, a cost-effective solution can be achieved.

[0056] As shown in Figure 19, the processing section 22 and the conveying section 23 are arranged in parallel in multiple rows. In this embodiment, the processing section 22 includes a process lane 26 having a shot blaster 22a and a process lane 27 having a cutting machine 22b.

[0057] The workpiece 21 is a long H-beam, and the conveying section 23 is provided along the longitudinal direction of the workpiece 21. Multiple roller tables 28 with drive rollers are provided in the conveying section 23 at predetermined intervals and are capable of moving up and down. The conveying section 23 moves the workpiece 21 from the processing section 22 in its longitudinal direction.

[0058] The workpiece reversing device is positioned between the roller tables 28 with drive rollers. The workpiece reversing device is installed to be movable in a lateral direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the workpiece, spanning process lane 1 26 and process lane 27.

[0059] As shown in Figure 18, a wheel 29 for lateral movement is provided at the bottom of the workpiece reversing device. This wheel 29 is driven by the movement motor 30 shown in Figure 17.

[0060] Figure 19 illustrates the operation of the fourth embodiment. The long workpiece 21 is placed on the workpiece transport rollers 25 of two workpiece reversing devices located in process lane 1 26 (initial position). The workpiece 21 is reciprocated in the direction of the shot blast 22a by a roller table 28 with a drive roller in the raised position, where rust is removed and the workpiece returns to the initial position.

[0061] The roller table 28 with the drive roller descends, and the workpiece reversing device reverses the workpiece 21 by 90 degrees. The roller table 28 with the drive roller rises, and the workpiece 21 is transported back and forth in the direction of the shot blast 22a, rust is removed, and it returns to its initial position.

[0062] The roller table 28 with drive rollers is lowered, and the workpiece reversing device moves from process lane 1 26 to process lane 2 27. The roller table 28 with drive rollers in process lane 2 27 is raised, and the workpiece 21 is transported toward the cutting machine 22b, which cuts the workpiece 21 to a predetermined size.

[0063] The present invention is not limited to those shown in the embodiments described above. The scope of the present invention is indicated by the claims rather than the above description, and all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the claims are included. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0064] 1 rotation 1a Side plate 1b Connecting rod 2 bases 2x base members 2y frame 2z connecting rod 2a Fixed base 2b Moving base 3. Drive unit 4 Support rollers 5. Support Plate 5a Board material 6 sprocket 7 Motor 8 Reducer 9 Drive shaft 10 shafts 11 Dry bearings 12 Retaining ring 13 Workpiece mounting section 13a Workpiece mounting surface 13b Workpiece mounting surface 15 Workpiece (H-beam material) 16 rails 17 wheels 18 Drive motor 19 Workpiece clamping device 20 Clamping part 21 Long workpiece 22 Processing Department 22a Shot blast 22b cutting machine 23 Conveying section 24 Drive coupling shaft 25 Workpiece transport rollers 26 processes, 1 lane 27 processes, 2 lanes 28 Roller table with drive rollers 29 wheels 30 Mobile motors

Claims

1. It comprises a pair of left and right rotating bodies for reversing the workpiece, a base that rotatably supports the rotating bodies, and a drive device provided on the base that rotates the rotating bodies. The rotating body has a circular outer surface and has support rollers arranged at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction along the outer surface. The base has a support plate with a circular inner surface that supports the support roller. A workpiece reversing device is provided in the drive device, wherein a sprocket that meshes with the support roller of at least one of the pair of rotating bodies is provided in the drive device.

2. The rotating body has a pair of side plates arranged in parallel with a predetermined distance between them, The support roller is positioned between the side plates. The workpiece reversing device according to claim 1, wherein the support roller is rotatably fitted onto a pin provided on the side plate.

3. The workpiece reversing device according to claim 2, wherein the pair of rotating bodies are provided on both the left and right sides of a workpiece mounting portion having L-shaped workpiece mounting surfaces that are perpendicular to each other, and the rotating bodies are formed in a shape in which a disc is cut out in an L-shape along the workpiece mounting portion.

4. The sprocket engages with the support roller at the lowest point of the rotating body, The workpiece reversal device according to claim 3, which is provided with a control device that controls the rotation of the sprocket so that the workpiece mounting surface is repositioned from a horizontal plane to a vertical plane.

5. The rotating body is formed in a shape having a U-shaped notch with one end open, and the U-shaped notch serves as the workpiece mounting portion. The workpiece reversing device according to claim 2, wherein the base is provided on each of the pair of rotating bodies and is spaced apart from each other.

6. The workpiece inversion device according to claim 5, wherein one of the bases is a fixed base fixed to the floor, and the other is a movable base that moves toward and away from the fixed base, and the movable base does not have the drive device.

7. It has a processing section for processing long workpieces and a conveying section for transporting the long workpiece from the processing section in its longitudinal direction. In the transport section, a plurality of workpiece reversing devices according to claim 3 are arranged at predetermined intervals. The sprockets of each of the aforementioned workpiece reversing devices are linked together by a drive coupling shaft in a machining line for long workpieces.

8. A roller for transporting the workpiece is provided on the workpiece mounting surface. The processing line for long workpieces according to claim 7, wherein a roller table with a drive roller is provided in the conveying section so as to be able to move up and down.

9. Multiple rows of the aforementioned processing and conveying sections are arranged in parallel. The processing line for long workpieces according to claim 8, wherein the workpiece reversing device is provided to be movable in a direction perpendicular to the workpiece transport direction across the multiple rows.

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