A METHOD OF LOADING AND UNLOADING A WORKPIECE WITH INTERNAL GEARING, AND LOADING AND UNLOADING DEVICE

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for loading and unloading an internally toothed workpiece or a workpiece that is to be provided with internal toothing into/out of a clamping position, in which the workpiece, which is held by a retaining device, is brought into the clamping position by means of a conveying movement so that said workpiece, when clamped, has internal toothing cut by a gear cutting tool that occupies a cutting chamber and, after cutting, said workpiece, which is held by the retaining device, is returned from the clamping position in a return movement, wherein, prior to cutting, the retaining device is permitted to carry out an evasive movement that is different from the return movement/reverse conveying movement and that frees the cutting chamber, or the cutting chamber is already kept free of the retaining device as soon as the clamping position is reached.

Claims

1. Method for loading and unloading an internally toothed workpiece (2) or a workpiece that is to be provided with internal toothing into/out of a clamping position, in which the workpiece (2), which is held by a retaining device, is brought into the clamping position by means of a conveying movement () so that said workpiece, when clamped, has internal toothing cut by a gear cutting tool (T) that occupies a cutting chamber (U) and, after cutting, said workpiece, which is held by the retaining device, is returned from the clamping position in a return movement (), characterised in that, prior to cutting, the retaining device (10) is permitted to carry out an evasive movement () that is different from the return movement ()/reverse conveying movement () and that frees the cutting chamber (U), or the cutting chamber (U) is already kept free of the retaining device (10) as soon as the clamping position is reached.

2. Method according to claim 1, wherein components of the retaining device comprising the retaining regions (1a, 1b, 5) thereof and/or carrier regions (3a, 3b, 4) carrying said retaining regions remain at least in part inside the internal toothing during the evasive movement () when viewed in a projection on the normal plane of the workpiece axis.

3. Method according to claim 2, wherein components of the retaining device comprising the retaining regions thereof and/or carrier regions carrying said retaining regions remain at least in part inside the space enclosed by the internal toothing during cutting by means of the gear cutting tool (T).

4. Method according to claim 1 wherein the workpiece is retained by means of at least two retaining regions of the retaining device (10).

5. Method according to claim 4, wherein the evasive movement comprises an individual movement of a retaining region or a plurality of retaining regions relative to another retaining region.

6. Method according to claim 5, wherein the individual movement takes place in the normal plane of the workpiece axis in the form of a linear movement.

7. Method according to claim 1 wherein the evasive movement () is carried out without any common movement of all of the retaining regions of the retaining device transversely to the workpiece axis.

8. Method according to claim 1 wherein the conveying movement and/or the return movement includes a common movement of all the retaining regions including a rotational movement of a common carrier (10).

9. Method according to claim 1 wherein deburring of the workpiece is carried out prior to the return movement on the side remote from the gear cutting tool insertion side.

10. Method according to claim 9, wherein the deburring and the cutting of the internal toothing occur simultaneously or consecutively at least in part, the deburring tool (5) and gear cutting tool (T) being positioned together inside the space enclosed by the internal toothing.

11. Method according to claim 1 wherein at least one retaining region (4, 5) is movable having movement components that are parallel to the workpiece axis, independently of one or more other retaining regions (1, 3).

12. Method according to claim 1 wherein one retaining region of the retaining device is formed by a disc-shaped and rotationally driven deburring tool (5) and/or the carrier (4) thereof.

13. Loading and unloading device (30) for an internally toothed workpiece (2) or a workpiece that is to be provided with internal toothing, comprising a retaining device that retains the workpiece during a conveying movement that brings the workpiece into a clamping position and a return movement that returns the workpiece from said position, and a control device that controls the movements of the retaining device, characterised in that the control device is designed to allow the retaining device to carry out an evasive movement that is different from the return movement/reverse conveying movement and that frees the cutting chamber before internal toothing of the workpiece is cut using a gear cutting tool that occupies a cutting chamber for this purpose, and which control device allows the retaining device to carry out this evasive movement by outputting control commands, or is designed to permit the gear cutting tool to be positioned for cutting the internal toothing, without a previous movement of the retaining device after the conveying movement that goes beyond releasing the retaining contact.

14. (canceled)

15. Loading and unloading device according to claim 13 the retaining device of which comprises one or more retaining units (10) that can retain the workpiece.

16. Loading and unloading device according to claim 15, wherein one retaining unit (10) is movable independently of another retaining unit of the retaining device in a movement direction having direction components that extend in parallel with the workpiece axis of the clamped workpiece.

17. Loading and unloading device according to claim 15 wherein a retaining unit comprises two or more retaining arms (3a, 3b, 4), wherein at least one of said retaining arms is movable in a common movement axis having movement components that are transverse to the workpiece axis.

18. Loading and unloading device according to claim 15 wherein one retaining arm (4) is independently movable relative to at least one other retaining arm (3) in a movement direction having components that are parallel to the workpiece axis.

19. Loading and unloading device according to claim 13 wherein the retaining unit is in the form of a clamping jaw for exerting clamping forces that are parallel to the workpiece axis, which jaw, in its position retaining the workpiece, leaves free the cutting chamber required in the clamping position.

20. Loading and unloading device according to claim 13 wherein one retaining arm (4) of the retaining device/of a retaining unit carries a deburring tool (5) that is mounted for conjoint rotation, and the deburring tool itself exerts a retaining force.

21. Gear cutting machine comprising a gear skiving or gear shaping machine, comprising a loading and unloading device according to claim 13.

Description

[0040] Further details, features and advantages of the invention can be found in the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0041] FIG. 1 shows a loading and unloading device according to the invention in a loading/unloading position,

[0042] FIG. 2 is a detail of the loading and unloading device in a cutting position, FIG. 2a showing the free state of the cutting chamber that is occupied by a gear cutting tool in FIG. 2b,

[0043] FIG. 3 is a partial sectional view in which a deburring tool of the loading and unloading device is positioned in the working position,

[0044] FIG. 4 shows a loading and unloading device that is known from the prior art,

[0045] FIG. 5a is a schematic view of an arrangement of retaining arms and support regions attached opposite thereto,

[0046] FIGS. 5b and 5c are perspective views of a further retaining unit, and

[0047] FIG. 6 is an abstract depiction of the inventive concept.

[0048] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a detail of a loading and unloading device 30. In this embodiment, said device is used to receive workpiece blanks from a receiving position (not shown) and bring said blanks into a clamping position defined by a clamping device 20, in which clamping position internal toothing is produced on the workpiece 2, for example in a gear skiving method or by means of a gear shaper. In this embodiment, a basic structure of the loading and unloading device 30 corresponds to a conventional ring loader system, in which a circumferential ring 18 can be rotated about a columnar support 19 of the loading and unloading device 30 in order to be able to be moved between the clamping position and a delivery and removal station (not shown) by rotating azimuthally by 180 for example.

[0049] Although this is not shown in FIG. 1, a further retaining unit is attached to the circumferential ring 18 opposite to the first retaining unit 10. Thus, while the retaining unit 10 performs a return movement of a workpiece 2 in which internal toothing has already been produced, the other retaining unit can simultaneously bring a subsequent workpiece blank 2 into the clamping position by means of a conveying movement.

[0050] In the embodiment shown, the workpiece 2 is clamped having a vertically extending workpiece axis and is lowered into the workpiece clamp 20 during the conveying movement. The vertical movement of the retaining unit 10 required for this purpose is achieved by means of a vertical rail 16, along which the movement is carried out. In the process, bearing bushes 14 move relative to guide pillars that are fixed to the circumferential ring 18 by means of a mounting plate 17.

[0051] The annular workpiece 2 is retained by means of the clamping from the outside and by means of retention from the inside. For this purpose, three retaining arms 3a, 3b and 4 are provided in this embodiment, at the remote ends of which arms support regions 1a, 1b and 5, respectively, are arranged in this embodiment, on which regions the workpiece 2 is supported during the conveying and return movement.

[0052] In the loading and unloading position, the retaining arms 3a, 3b and 4 assume the form of a triangle that permits tilt-free mounting/fixing of the workpiece 2. However, other variants are also conceivable for stable fixing of this kind in the case of retention of the workpiece 2 that is based on making use of the weight.

[0053] The retaining arms 3a, 3b and 4 are coupled to the retaining unit 10 in the following manner. Laterally protruding carriers 8a, 8b, the mutual clearance of which in this embodiment is greater than the internal diameter of the workpiece 2, carry a fixing at the mutually facing sides of their free ends, in which slide rails 6a, 6b are guided so as to be linearly movable. Crossmembers 7a, 7b protrude inwardly at the free ends of the slide rails 6a, 6b, respectively, at the free ends of which crossmembers the retaining arms 3a, 3b, respectively, are fixed, which arms extend parallel to the workpiece axis of the workpiece 2 to be retained. A carrier arm 9 is arranged centrally between the carriers 8a, 8b, which arm carries the third retaining arm 4 comprising the support region 5. An additional function of this third arm will be described below.

[0054] It can be seen in FIG. 1 that the space between the triangularly arranged retaining arms 3a, 3b and 4 is kept free. In this free space, the retaining arms 3a, 3b can now be moved inwards by means of an adjustment movement of the carrier rails 6a, 6b, and can thereby create or increase a free space on the side of the annular space enclosed by the workpiece 2 that is opposite the position of the third arm 4.

[0055] FIG. 2a shows the position assumed by the retaining unit 10 in which the carrier rails 6a, 6b are retracted. The free space thus created is sufficient for the cutting chamber occupied by the cutting tool T when cutting the internal toothing of the workpiece 2. FIG. 2b shows the situation again, the cutting tool T being shown in addition, which tool is a gear skiving tool in this embodiment and is shown together with a clamping region of the tool spindle. The adjustment movement of the carrier rails 6a, 6b is thus an evasive movement that frees the cutting chamber of the gear cutting tool.

[0056] For the purpose of the following description of the entire process of loading, workpiece cutting and unloading, it is assumed in the following, in a simplified manner, that the retaining unit 10 is the only retaining unit of the loading and unloading device 30.

[0057] Proceeding from a situation in which the retaining unit 10 does not carry a workpiece 2, said unit is brought into the delivery and removal station (not shown) by means of azimuthal rotation of the ring 18. In this position, the retaining unit 10 is lowered into the interior of a workpiece blank 2 by means of a vertical movement along the rail 16 when the carrier rails 6a, 6b are (at least in part) retracted, until the support regions 1a, 1 b and 5 come to rest at the level of or below the downwardly pointing end faces of the workpiece 2. Subsequently, the triangular arrangement of the retaining arms 3a, 3b and 4 is achieved by means of an evasive movement of the carrier rails 6a, 6b, which arrangement provides tilt-free, stable fixing of the workpiece blank 2.

[0058] In this loading and unloading position, the workpiece blank 2 is then raised, if necessary, from its delivery position and the workpiece blank 2 is azimuthally positioned into the clamping position by pivoting the retaining unit 10, which clamping position is assumed by lowering the retaining unit 10 into the clamp 20. The situation shown in FIG. 1 is thus achieved, and the workpiece 2 to be cut is clamped in the clamp 20 in the conventional manner, for example by means of actuating the tension rod 51 shown in FIG. 3.

[0059] At this time, or immediately after the placement of the workpiece (and before clamping), the evasive movement that frees the cutting chamber for the gear cutting tool can occur, as described above, by means of an adjustment movement and retraction of the carrier rails 6a, 6b in order to reach the standby position of the retaining unit 10 shown in FIG. 2. For cutting the workpiece 2, which, in this embodiment, constitutes producing internal toothing by means of the gear skiving tool T, at least some of the existing retaining contacts are released preferably before, during or after the evasive movement, for example by vertically lowering the retaining unit 10 as a whole, in order not to produce any undesired contact during the workpiece rotation carried out when cutting the internal toothing.

[0060] As can be seen in FIG. 2, as a result of the evasive movement of the retaining unit 10, not only does the cutting chamber occupied by the gear cutting tool T remain free, but this space is also free of components of the retaining unit when viewed in a projection on the normal plane of the workpiece axis, although in this embodiment said retaining unit is still located inside the region enclosed by the internal toothing of the workpiece. It is thus possible to significantly reduce the time between completion of cutting the toothing and the return to the loading and unloading position of the retaining unit 10 compared with the prior art, in which the evasive movement follows the return movement (or the reverse conveying movement) in that the retaining arms (optionally after simply releasing the retaining contact thereof) are raised together from the space enclosed by the workpiece by lifting the retaining unit in parallel with the workpiece axis, and said arms can be moved into a parked position on the conveying path/return path, for example by pivoting, so that it is possible for the toothing to be cut.

[0061] According to a further aspect, the retaining unit 10 has a further function of cutting the workpiece 2. For this purpose, in this embodiment, the third retaining arm 4 is formed as a carrier of a deburring tool 5 that, in this embodiment, forms the support region for the workpiece 2. As can be seen most clearly in FIG. 3, the deburring tool 5 is a disc-shaped deburring tool that is mounted for conjoint rotation, the mounting of which is provided in the retaining arm 4. As can be seen in FIG. 2, the deburring arrangement is thus arranged simultaneously with the gear cutting tool T in the space enclosed by the internal toothing, with the result that it is possible to switch between cutting internal toothing and deburring the burrs that occur on the tooth edges in the process with only very short tool movements. It is in principle conceivable, for example, for deburring to even occur in parallel with cutting/producing the internal toothing, but a sequential operation is preferred, in which either the gear cutting tool T fully produces the internal toothing and the deburring tool 5 subsequently performs deburring, or deburring occurs in between for example, while the gear cutting tool T is withdrawn for a subsequent cutting procedure. Combinations of these variants are also conceivable.

[0062] For this purpose, in this embodiment, the carrier rail 9 can be adjusted relative to the retaining unit 10 in parallel with the workpiece axis, and can thus bring the deburring tool 5 into and out of contact with the end face to be deburred of the internally toothed workpiece 2. In addition, the carrier rail 9 is also axially adjustable so as to be able to bring the retaining arm 4 and support region 5 into/out of retaining contact for retaining the workpiece 2 by means of a movement that is perpendicular to the workpiece axis.

[0063] In the embodiment shown, the workpiece is clamped having a vertical workpiece axis, but the invention is not restricted to an arrangement of this kind. For example, horizontal clamping of the workpiece could also be provided, but in principle also any desired workpiece orientation. Expediently, the workpiece 2 is then no longer retained by support regions, but rather by radial retaining forces exerted by the retaining arms 3a, 3b and 4.

[0064] In an alternative embodiment, the fundamental spatial arrangement shown in FIG. 2b, which permits internal toothing to be cut, is also assumed by the retaining unit in the loading position with regard to the arrangement of said retaining unit (FIG. 2a). This could be achieved in that the dimensioning of the workpiece 2 to be cut and the gear cutting tool T for example already permits stable three point fixing, such that the azimuthal clearance extending over the third retaining arm 5 between the retaining arms 3a and 3b reaches or exceeds 180 (not shown in FIG. 2a). In this case, the internal toothing can be cut immediately after the loading and, if necessary, releasing of the retaining contacts has been carried out. In an alternative embodiment, shown in FIG. 5a, in which the loading position of the retaining unit 10 corresponds to that of FIG. 2a, i.e. having an azimuthal clearance of less than 180, this can be compensated by elongate extensions of the support regions 1a, 1b that then ensure the stable, tilt-free fixing in terms of extension. In order to be inserted into a workpiece or workpiece blank to be retained for the first time, the retaining arms 3a, 3b can be arranged so as to be rotationally adjustable relative to the crossmembers 7a, 7b, respectively, thereof, such that the elongate extensions of the retaining regions can be rotated in the interior of the toothing by rotating the retaining arms when viewed in a projection on the normal plane to the workpiece axis, and optionally after an additional evasive movement of the carrier rails 6a, 6b can be raised out of or lowered into the interior of the workpiece unhindered (FIG. 5a).

[0065] Therefore, an evasive movement is no longer required in this variant. However, the solution described in FIG. 1 permits improved rigidity for the loading and unloading irrespective of possibly more favourable dimensioning of the tool and workpiece, and the evasive movement can be tolerated for this.

[0066] FIGS. 5b and 5c show a further embodiment of the invention that is based on the variant without an evasive movement. In this case, a retaining unit 10 comprises a clamping jaw 4 that is mounted so as to be radially displaceable across a rail 9 and in which inverted L-shaped carriers 13 are mounted that can be displaced parallel to the workpiece axis and on the free ends of which clamping pins 11 exert an axial clamping force on the workpiece 2 by interacting with the mating parts 12. The workpiece 2 is therefore clamped at the end faces thereof by actuating the clamping jaw 4 and can be transported for loading and unloading, the retaining grip occurring on the inside.

[0067] However, as can be seen most clearly in FIG. 5b, there is still sufficient free space provided in the interior of the internally toothed workpiece 2 for positioning the tool for cutting the internal toothing and for carrying out this cutting. Prior to cutting, the clamping retaining force is released but no further movement of the clamping jaw 4 is required. Correspondingly, after cutting of the internal toothing has been completed, by actuating the clamping jaw 4, the tool for cutting the internal toothing can be grasped and can be unloaded after the workpiece clamp has been released without requiring a long travel path.

[0068] In a manner similar to the embodiment already described above, in this embodiment, too, a deburring tool 5 can be provided that is mounted in the clamping jaw 4 so as to rotate conjointly with the internally toothed workpiece 2 upon rotation of said workpiece when in engagement for cutting.

[0069] FIG. 6a is an abstract depiction of three possible evasive movements 1, 2, 3 out of the cutting chamber U, in which a retaining unit is caused to move in the conveying movement , and two variants , 1 for the return movement.

[0070] FIG. 6b is an abstract depiction of the alternative in which an evasive movement is no longer required.