Transport Device for Press Lines and Method for Controlling Such a Transport Device
20190308237 · 2019-10-10
Assignee
Inventors
Cpc classification
B21D43/055
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
International classification
Abstract
A transport device for the transport of workpieces in a workpiece transport direction in a press, which has a carrier rail, which is mounted, via a lifting carriage and a rocker rotatably mounted on the lifting carriage, on a vertically running upright of the press. In order to enable a flexible workpiece transport, it is provided that, on the carrier rail, workpiece grippers are mounted on at least two transport carriages, which each have their own drive mechanism in order to move the transport carriages with the workpiece grippers along the carrier rail independently of each other.
Claims
1. A transport device for transporting workpieces in the workpiece transport direction in a forming machine or press line, having a carrier rail running in the workpiece transport direction, wherein the carrier rail is mounted on a vertically running upright, in the area of its ends each, via a lifting carriage displaceably driven in the vertical direction by a lift drive, and the lifting carriage rotatably mounts a rocker, which is connected at its end to the carrier rail, wherein, on the carrier rail, at least two transport carriages each having a workpiece gripper are mounted, wherein each of these at least two transport carriages has its own drive mechanism, in order to move this transport carriage in a driven manner along the carrier rail independently of other transport carriages.
2. The transport device according to claim 1, wherein the drive mechanisms of the transport carriages are connected to a workpiece control device in such a way that, through the workpiece control device, a drive mechanism of a transport carriage can be actuated individually in that the workpiece control device defines a speed and a drive direction, of the drive device.
3. The transport device according to claim 1, wherein the carrier rail has a path measuring device connected to the workpiece control device, which is formed to determine a position of a transport carriage and/or of a workpiece gripper relative to the carrier rail and to transmit it to the drive mechanism of the transport carriage and/or the workpiece control device.
4. The transport device according to claim 1, wherein a drive mechanism of the transport carriages has an electric linear motor or several drive mechanisms of the transport carriages each have an electric linear motor, wherein a transport carriage each has a rotor of a linear motor and a stator of the linear motor is arranged on the carrier rail.
5. The transport device according to claim 1, wherein the vertical uprights are arranged in a gate area of a forming machine or press line in such a way that a gate area is bordered by two vertical uprights.
6. The transport device according to claim 5, wherein the length of a carrier rail is shorter than the distance between the vertical uprights in the workpiece transport direction and the rocker is rotatably mounted on the assigned lifting carriage each in such a way that a carrier rail can be pivoted between two uprights through a gate area and out of the pressing area or forming area.
7. A transport device for transporting workpieces in a workpiece transport direction in a forming machine or press line, having a gate area arranged to the side of the pressing area or forming area, which is bordered by two vertical uprights, having a carrier rail running in the workpiece transport direction, wherein the carrier rail is mounted on one of the vertically running uprights, in the area of its ends each, via a lifting carriage displaceably driven in the vertical direction by a lift drive, and the lifting carriage rotatably mounts a rocker, which is connected at its end to the carrier rail wherein, the length of a carrier rail is shorter than the distance between the vertical uprights in the workpiece transport direction and the rocker is rotatably mounted on the lifting carriage in such a way that the carrier rail can be pivoted out of the pressing area or forming area in that it can be pivoted between two vertical uprights into a gate area or through a gate area.
8. The transport device according to claim 1, wherein the lifting carriage has a rotary drive for rotating the rocker and wherein the rotary drive has a rotary output which co-operates with a carriage-side pivot bearing for rotating the rocker.
9. The transport device according to claim 7, wherein the angle between the rocker and the vertical upright connected to it is within an angular range of 0 to 10, when the carrier rail is located in the gate area.
10. The transport device according to claim 1, wherein the transport carriage has a holder for exchangeably holding a workpiece gripper.
11. The transport device according to claim 7, wherein, on the carrier rail, at least two transport carriages each having a workpiece gripper are mounted, wherein each transport carriage has its own drive mechanism in order to move this transport carriage in a driven manner along the carrier rail independently of other transport carriages.
12. The transport device according to claim 1, wherein the rocker has a single rocker arm connecting the carrier rail to the lifting carriage, wherein the rocker arm is pivotably connected to the carrier rail.
13. The transport device according to claim 1, wherein the rocker has two rocker arms, which are each rotatably mounted with one of their ends on the same lifting carriage and, with their other end, are pivotably connected to the carrier rail.
14. The transport device according to claim 13, wherein the lifting carriage has two separate pivot bearings, wherein one pivot bearing is connected to one rocker arm each.
15. The transport device according to claim 14, wherein the lifting carriage has a rotary drive motor with a rotary output, which is connected to one of the pivot bearings in order to drive the rocker, or the rotary output is connected to one or to both pivot bearings via a gear drive or a belt drive in order to drive the rocker.
16. The transport device according to claim 14, wherein the lifting carriage has two rotary drive motors, wherein each rotary drive motor co-operates with one pivot bearing in order to drive one rocker arm each.
17. The transport device according to claim 13, wherein the two rocker arms are arranged one above the other in the vertical direction.
18. The transport device according to claim 1, wherein the rocker has, on its end connected to the carrier rail, a bracket for the detachable connection of the carrier rail, wherein the bracket has a detachable mechanical connection and a detachable electrical connection.
19. The transport device according to claim 18, wherein the rocker has a pivot drive, which pivots the carrier rail and/or the bracket relative to the rocker in order to set a particular angle between the carrier rail and the rocker.
20. The transport device according to claim 18, wherein on its end connected to the carrier rail at the bracket, the rocker has a longitudinal drive in order to move the carrier rail in the workpiece transport direction.
21. The transport device according to claim 20, wherein the longitudinal drive has an electric linear motor, wherein the stator is arranged on the rocker or the bracket and the rotor is arranged on the carrier rail, or wherein the rotor is arranged on the rocker or the bracket (38) and the stator is arranged on the carrier rail.
22. The transport device according to claim 1, wherein the lift drive of the lifting carriage is formed as a linear motor.
23. The transport device according to claim 1, wherein the lifting carriage or the lift drive of the lifting carriage has a switchable locking mechanism in order to fix the lifting carriage in a vertical position on a vertical upright.
24. The transport device according to claim 1, wherein the lift drive and a rotary drive of a lifting carriage are connected to a control device and the control device actuates both the lift drive and the rotary drive for performing a clamping movement of the carrier rail.
25. The transport device according to claim 1, wherein the lift drive and a rotary drive and a pivot drive are connected to a control device and the control device actuates the lift drive as well as the rotary drive and the pivot drive for performing a clamping movement of the carrier rail.
26. The transport device according to claim 24, wherein the longitudinal drive of a support bar is connected to the control device and the control device actuates the longitudinal drive for moving the support bar in the workpiece transport direction or contrary to the workpiece transport direction, in order to transport workpieces.
27. The transport device according to claim 1, wherein the vertical uprights are formed as press uprights.
28. The transport device according to claim 1, wherein two carrier rails running in the workpiece transport direction are provided, wherein each of the two carrier rails is mounted, in the area of its ends, on a vertically running upright via a lifting carriage.
29. The transport device according to claim 1, wherein the lifting carriages are arranged in the lateral gate area, wherein one lifting carriage is mounted on a vertical upright each in such a way that the lifting carriages are arranged on the directly opposite ends of two vertical uprights.
30. A press line or forming machine with a press bed and four press uprights, wherein two of the press uprights are arranged on one side of the press bed each, spaced apart from each other in the workpiece transport direction, and wherein a transport device according to claim 1 is secured to the press uprights.
31. A method for modifying or retrofitting an existing press line or forming machine with a transport device according to claim 1 wherein, in a first step, an existing transport mechanism is removed from the press line or forming machine, then, in a next step, one lifting carriage is secured to the press uprights each with a rocker of the transport mechanism, and subsequently a carrier rail is connected to the ends of two rockers lying on the same side of the workpiece transport direction.
32. A method for controlling a transport device according to claim 1, wherein a lifting movement of the transport device takes place, wherein the lifting carriages are moved in the vertical direction via the lift drives on the press uprights, and wherein a clamping movement of the transport device takes place in that the rotary drives of the lifting carriages of a carrier rail and the lift drives of the same lifting carriages are actuated in such a way that the carrier rail is moved in the horizontal direction by the rotary drives and, at the same time, the vertical movement of the carrier rail caused by the rotational movement is compensated by the lift drives.
33. A method for controlling a transport device of a press line or forming machine, wherein the press line has a press input window for transferring raw material or a workpiece to the transport device and a press output window for discharging a workpiece, and wherein the transport device has at least one carrier rail running in the workpiece transport direction, which is mounted displaceable in the workpiece transport direction via a longitudinal drive and, on the at least one carrier rail, in each case at least two transport carriages each having a workpiece gripper are mounted, wherein each transport carriage has its own drive mechanism in order to move this transport carriage in a driven manner along the carrier rail independently of other transport carriages, and wherein, for transferring raw material or a workpiece, at least one carrier and at least one transport carriage of this carrier rail are moved contrary to the workpiece transport direction and, in the area of the press input window, raw material or a workpiece is received via the workpiece gripper of the transport carriage.
34. The method for controlling a transport device according to claim 33, wherein for transferring further raw material or a second workpiece, at least one carrier rail and at least one transport carriage of this carrier rail are moved in the workpiece transport direction and, in the area of the press output window, the further raw material or a second workpiece is received via the workpiece gripper of the transport carriage.
35. The method for controlling a transport device according to claim 33, wherein for discharging a workpiece, at least one carrier rail and at least one transport carriage of this carrier rail are moved in the workpiece transport direction and, in the area of the press output window, the workpiece is discharged.
36. (canceled)
37. The method for controlling a transport device according to claim 33, wherein a pressing tool is modified wherein a carrier rail is pivoted via the rotary drives of the assigned lifting carriages into or out of the lateral gate area, wherein the rockers of the carriages are placed parallel to the press uprights, or the rockers are pivoted such that, relative to the press upright, they adopt an angle in the region of an angular range of 0 to 10, or wherein the carrier rail is pivoted via the rotary drives through the gate area, and subsequently the carrier rail is moved upwards or downwards out of the gate area or at least to the edge of the gate area by moving the lifting carriages in the vertical direction.
38. The method for controlling a transport device according to claim 33, wherein for modifying workpiece grippers of a carrier rail, these are pivoted via the rotary drives of the assigned lifting carriages into the gate area or through the gate area.
39. The method for controlling a transport device according to claim 38, wherein the carrier rail is subsequently pivoted into a working position for changing the tool grippers and wherein the carrier rail is pivoted in the working position into a vertically or horizontally aligned position.
Description
[0053] Further advantageous designs of the invention are shown in the figures and described in the following description of the figures.
[0054] There are shown in:
[0055]
[0056]
[0057]
[0058]
[0059]
[0060]
[0061] In
[0062] In
[0063] The transport device 2 has two carrier rails 21 and 22 running in the workpiece transport direction. Each carrier rail 21 or 22 is mounted, in the area of their ends, on a vertical press upright 13a to 13d by means of a rocker 36 and a lifting carriage 3.
[0064] Several transport carriages 24 are arranged on each carrier rail 21 or 22. The transport carriages 24 can be moved relative to the carrier rail 21 or 22. For this purpose, the transport carriages 24 each have a drive mechanism 241 which has an electric linear motor 242 in order to move the transport carriages 24 along the carrier rail 21 or 22 in a driven manner. The drive mechanisms 241 can be actuated selectively via a control device, i.e. each transport carriage can be actuated or moved independently. The transport carriages 24 each have a tool gripper 25. The tool grippers 25 are each detachably mounted on a transport carriage and can be exchanged easily. With the aid of the tool grippers, individual workpieces can be received and subsequently processed in the press. After the processing procedure, the workpiece is transported out of the pressing area and transferred to the next processing station.
[0065] The two carrier rails 21 and 22 are each connected to lifting carriages 3 via rockers 36. The lifting carriages 3 have a lifting bracket, which is secured to a vertically running rail 32. The vertically running rail 32 is each connected to a vertical press upright 13a to 13d. The lifting carriage 3 can be moved in the vertical direction, i.e. up or down, on the vertical press upright 13a to 13d via a lift drive 31. In this movement, the respective carrier rail 21 or 22 is carried along with the result that the carrier rail can be adjusted in the vertical direction via the lifting carriage 3. The lifting carriage 3 has a lifting motor 33, which acts between the lifting carriage and lift rail, in order to move the lifting carriage along the rail 32. The lifting motor 33 can be formed as an electric servomotor, or as a stepper motor or as an electric linear motor.
[0066] The rocker 36 is rotatably mounted on the lifting carriage 3. Between the rocker 36 and the lifting carriage 3 a rotary drive 34 is arranged for this purpose, by means of which the rocker 36 can be rotated relative to the lifting carriage 3. The rotary drive 34 has a rotary motor 341, which can be formed as an electric servomotor or as a stepper motor. In
[0067] At its end facing away from the lifting carriage 3, the rocker 36 is connected to a carrier rail via a bracket 38. In the area of the bracket, a longitudinal drive 39 is arranged, which drives the carrier rail in the longitudinal direction, i.e. in the workpiece transport direction W. Via the longitudinal drive 39, the carrier rail 21 or 22 can be moved in the workpiece transport direction W or contrary to the workpiece transport direction W.
[0068] The bracket 38 for connecting a carrier rail is optional. In one design not represented in the figures, the carrier rail can be secured directly, i.e. without an intermediary bracket, to the rocker.
[0069] The longitudinal drive 39 is also optional. In one design not represented in the figures, the carrier rail can be formed without a longitudinal drive. In this case, the carrier rail cannot be moved in the workpiece transport direction. A workpiece transport in the workpiece transport direction takes place in this case solely via the transport carriages.
[0070] In
[0071] As represented in
[0072] In an alternative variant, which is not represented in the figures, it can be provided that the workpiece grippers are held directly on the carrier rail 21 or 22 via fixed holders. In this case, the workpiece transport takes place solely through the longitudinal drive 39 of the carrier rails 21 or 22.
[0073] After the workpieces have been received in the press input window F1, they are moved in the workpiece transport direction W into the pressing area. There, the workpiece can be processed. Subsequently, the workpiece can be moved via the longitudinal drive 39 and/or the transport carriages 24 into the output press window F2. In the output press window F2, the processed workpiece can be removed or supplied to a further processing station.
[0074] In the variants represented in
[0075] The longitudinal drive 39 can be formed as an electric linear motor, as represented in
[0076] In an alternative design, as represented in
[0077] In an alternative design, the longitudinal drive can also have a toothed belt drive or a spindle drive.
[0078] In a simple design, the transport device 2 can also have carrier rails 21 and 22, which are connected directly, i.e. without a longitudinal drive 39, to the rocker 36. In this variant, the workpiece transport takes place solely via the individually actuatable transport carriages 24. During the transfer of workpieces or raw material in the area of the press window F1 or F2, in this variant, the workpieces are transported into the press window or transported out of the press window with a separate handling device.
[0079] The carrier rails 21 and 22 are pivotably connected to the rocker 36. In
[0080] In
[0081] The transport device 2 can move the carrier rails preferably in or contrary to the workpiece transport direction W, and transverse to the transport direction, i.e. in the clamping direction and vertically, i.e. in the lifting direction. A clamping movement, i.e. a movement transverse to the workpiece transport direction can take place through a combined actuation of the rotary drive 34 and the pivot drive 37 as follows. The rocker 36 is rotated via the rotary drive 34. Through the rotational movement, the carrier rail 21 or 22 realizes a first movement component transverse to the workpiece transport direction and a second movement component in the vertical direction. The movement component in the vertical direction is compensated by contrary actuation of the lifting carriage 3 with the result that the height of the carrier rail 21 or 22 remains unchanged. At the same time, the alignment of the carrier rail 21 or 22 is corrected via the pivot drive 37 or the parallel guide of the rocker 36 with the result that an alignment of the carrier rail 21 or 22 is not changed by the rotational movement. In this way, it is possible to perform a linear horizontal movement in the clamping direction with the carrier rails which are rotatably mounted via the rocker 36. The pivot drive 37, the rotary drive 34, as well as the lift drive 3 are actuated via a control device which is connected to the pivot drive 37, the rotary drive 34 and the lift drive 31 respectively.
[0082] The rocker 36 rotatably mounted on the lifting carriage 3 can be formed, in a variant, as a one-piece rocker 36, as represented for example in
[0083] In the area of its end, the rocker 36 has a bracket 38 in order to detachably hold a carrier rail 21 or 22. The bracket 38 has a detachable mechanical holder, not shown, and an electrical plug connection. With the aid of the mechanical holder, a carrier rail 21 or 22 can be detachably secured to the bracket 38, for example screwed. Via the electrical plug connection, electrical power supply lines as well as control lines can be guided from the rocker to the carrier rail. Via the power supply lines, a power supply of the drive mechanisms 241 of the transport carriages 24 is ensured. Via control lines, the transport carriages 24 or the drive mechanisms 241 thereof can be selectively actuated. For this purpose, each drive mechanism 241 has an individual address, via which an electric linear motor 242 of the drive mechanism 241 can be selectively actuated. Both the speed and the drive direction of an individual drive mechanism 241 can be controlled in a targeted manner.
[0084] In
[0085] The rocker 36 has a bracket 38 at its end facing the carrier rail. The end of each rocker arm 361 and 362 is secured to the bracket 38 and mounted there rotatably. In this design of the rocker 36 consisting of two rocker arms 361 and 362, a pivot drive between bracket and carrier rail can be omitted. Because of the parallelogram linkage of the bracket 38 via the two rockers 361 and 362 which are offset with respect to each other in the vertical direction, it is automatically achieved, on rotating the rocker 36, that the bracket 38 remains in a horizontal alignment with the carrier rail. This emerges from the representation of
[0086] In the representations of
[0087] The representation of
[0088] In
[0089] After carrying out the assembly work or adjustments, the carrier rail 21 or 22 respectively can then be moved back into the pressing area again via the rotary drive 24. In this way, the utilization of the installation space of the press line is optimized. No additional installation space needs to be provided within the pressing area in order to change tools. At the same time, it is not necessary for a technician to work inside the pressing area, i.e. inside the danger area of the press die, during maintenance work. Through the transport device according to the invention, a press line can thus be created which is constructed as compactly as possible and with which, at the same time, the safety during maintenance of the line is increased.
LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS
[0090] 1 Press line [0091] 11 Press bed [0092] 12 Press base [0093] 13a Press upright [0094] 13b Press upright [0095] 13c Press upright [0096] 13d Press upright [0097] T1, T2 Gate area [0098] F1, F2 Press window [0099] W Workpiece transport direction [0100] 2 Transport device [0101] 21 First carrier rail [0102] 22 Second carrier rail [0103] 24 Transport carriage [0104] 241 Drive mechanism [0105] 242 Electric linear motor [0106] 25 Workpiece gripper [0107] 3 Lifting carriage [0108] 31 Lift drive [0109] 32 Lift rail [0110] 33 Lifting motor [0111] 34 Rotary drive [0112] 341 Rotary motor [0113] 351 First pivot bearing [0114] 352 Second pivot bearing [0115] 36 Rocker [0116] 361 First rocker arm [0117] 362 Second rocker arm [0118] 37 Pivot drive [0119] 371 Pivot motor [0120] 38 Bracket [0121] 39 Longitudinal drive [0122] 391 Longitudinal drive motor [0123] 392 Toothed strip [0124] 393 Electric linear motor