Patent Description:
A bending system as an example of a working system includes a press brake that bends a workpiece and a loading machine that is provided in a vicinity of the press brake and supplies the workpiece to the press brake. The bending system includes a workpiece conveying wheeled platform that conveys the stacked workpieces from a setup area to a pickup area in a predetermined direction. The setup area is an area for setting up the stacked workpieces, and the pickup area is an area for picking up an uppermost workpiece in the workpieces stacked by the loading machine.

The workpiece conveying wheeled platform includes a slider that moves in the predetermined direction between the setup area and the pickup area, and the slider includes a placing table for placing the plurality of workpieces directly or via a pallet. In addition, a pair of guide mechanisms that support the slider so as to be movable in the predetermined direction are arranged below the placing table of the slider, and the pair of guide mechanisms are separated in the lateral direction orthogonal to the predetermined direction. A drive mechanism for moving the slider in the predetermined direction is arranged below the placing table of the slider. The drive mechanism is provided below the placing table of the slider and includes an electric motor for moving the slider in the predetermined direction. The drive mechanism includes a rack member that is provided, on part of an installation surface on a floor, below the placing table of the slider, and extends in the predetermined direction, and a pinion that is connected to an output shaft of the electric motor and is engaged with the rack member.

A workpiece conveying wheeled platform according to the preamble of claim <NUM> is disclosed in <CIT>. <CIT> A discloses a processing system for processing objects using a programmable motion device is disclosed, wherein the programmable motion device is adapted for assisting in the delivery of the object to an identified processing bin. <CIT> discloses a fork assembly that comprises a base assembly, a fork arm assembly, and a drive assembly; the fork arm assembly is slidingly mounted on the base assembly, and the drive assembly may be used to drive the fork arm assembly to perform reciprocating linear movement on the base assembly. <CIT> discloses split-type four-way shuttle bus comprising a first shuttle bus and a second shuttle bus which are separately arranged. The second shuttle bus carries the cargoes and moves forward along a second rail. <CIT> discloses a feeding device, which comprises a material disc delivering mechanism. The material disc delivering mechanism comprises a positioning member. In the positioning member, two guide rails are arranged in parallel on a bottom plate, and sliding cylinder drives a sliding plate that is slidable along the guide rails. <CIT> discloses an article supplier provided with a driving mechanism for seesaw-moving first and second elevators with a pallet being moved to an article supply position and a discharge position for the empty pallet by the elevators. <CIT> discloses background art. Note that other prior arts related to the present invention are shown in Patent Literatures <NUM> to <NUM> described below.

Now, in order to properly pick up the uppermost workpiece with the loading machine, it is necessary to suppress the stacking height of the workpieces on the workpiece conveying wheeled platform to be equal to or less than a predetermined height because the stacking height of the workpieces has an upper limit relative to the installation surface on the floor. In addition, since the guide mechanisms and the drive mechanism are arranged under the placing table of the slider, the height from the installation surface on the floor to the upper surface of the placing table of the slider increases, and the number of stacked sheets of the workpieces on the workpiece conveying wheeled platform is limited for that amount. As a result, the frequency of setting up the workpieces for the workpiece conveying wheeled platform increases, and thus improvement in workability has been desired.

Note that when the workpieces are directly stacked on the placing table of the slider, the stacking capacity of the workpieces can be increased by the height of the pallet. However, this makes the work of setting up the workpieces a complete manual work, which makes the working time long.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a workpiece conveying wheeled platform and a working system capable of reducing the frequency of setting up workpieces and improving workability. This object is achieved with a workpiece conveying wheeled platform according to claim <NUM>.

According to a first aspect of the subject matter disclosed herein, there is provided a workpiece conveying wheeled platform, which includes a slider (a wheeled platform main body) provided in a vicinity of a loading machine for supplying a workpiece to a working machine, the slider being movable in a predetermined direction between a setup area (setting area) for setting up (setting) a plurality of workpieces stacked on a pallet and a pickup area for picking up an uppermost workpiece from among the plurality of workpieces with the loading machine, the slider being recessed to form a placing part for placing the pallet, guide mechanisms respectively both sides in a lateral direction orthogonal to the predetermined direction in the placing part of the slider and configured to support the slider so as to be movable in the predetermined direction, and a drive mechanism arranged on at least one side in the lateral direction of the placing part of the slider and configured to move the slider in the predetermined direction.

A recessed depth of the placing part of the slider may be set to a depth corresponding to a height of the pallet.

The placing part of the slider is close to an installation surface on a floor.

In this case, a notch for allowing a fork of a pallet jack to enter is formed on the placing part of the slider.

The workpiece conveying wheeled platform may further include an auxiliary roller provided to the placing part of the slider and configured to roll on the installation surface on the floor.

The guide mechanisms include a pair of a first guide mechanism and a second guide mechanism, in which the first guide mechanism may include a first guide rail first guide mechanism may include a first guide rail provided, on part of the installation surface on the floor, on one side in the lateral direction of the placing part of the slider and extending in the predetermined direction, and a guide block provided on the one side in the lateral direction of the placing part of the slider and configured to be guided by the first guide rail so as to be movable in the predetermined direction, and the second guide mechanism may include a second guide rail provided, on part of the installation surface on the floor, on another side in the lateral direction of the placing part of the slider and extending in the predetermined direction, and a guide roller provided on the other side in the lateral direction of the placing part of the slider and configured to roll on the second guide rail in the predetermined direction.

According to a second aspect of the subject matter disclosed herein, there is provided a working system, which includes a working machine configured to process a workpiece, a loading machine configured to supply the workpiece to the working machine, and the workpiece conveying wheeled platform according to the first aspect.

An embodiment will be described with reference to <FIG>.

Note that the "front-rear direction" is one of the horizontal directions, and is the direction in which a workpiece is conveyed by a workpiece conveying wheeled platform. The "left-right direction" is a horizontal direction orthogonal to the front-rear direction, and is a lateral direction of the workpiece conveying wheeled platform or a press brake. In the drawings, "FF", "FR", "L", "R", "U" and "D" indicate a forward direction, a backward direction, a left direction, a right direction, an upward direction, and a downward direction, respectively.

As shown in <FIG>, a bending system <NUM> according to the present embodiment is a working system that continuously bends a plate-shaped workpiece (a sheet metal) W. The bending system <NUM> includes a press brake <NUM> as a working machine that bends the workpiece W by a collaboration between a punch tool (not shown) and a die tool (not shown).

A guide frame <NUM> extending in the left-right direction is provided in a vicinity of a front of the press brake <NUM>. The guide frame <NUM> includes a bending robot <NUM>, so as to be movable in the left-right direction, as a loading machine for supplying the workpiece W to the press brake <NUM>. In other words, the bending robot <NUM> is provided in the vicinity of the front of the press brake <NUM> so as to be movable in the left-right direction via the guide frame <NUM>. In addition to supplying the workpiece W to the press brake <NUM>, the bending robot <NUM> assists in bending the workpiece W. The bending robot <NUM> carries out a bent product (not shown) to a product pallet (not shown) that is arranged in a carry-out area TA on the right front side of the guide frame <NUM>. The bending robot <NUM> has a publicly known configuration, for example, shown in Patent Literature <NUM>, and includes an articulated robot arm <NUM> and a robot hand <NUM>, which is provided at the distal end of the robot arm <NUM> and used as a workpiece suction unit for sucking the workpiece W.

A safety fence <NUM> for ensuring safety in bending the workpiece W is provided in a periphery of the operating range of the bending robot <NUM>. The safety fence <NUM> includes a plurality of doors (not shown) for allowing a pallet jack HL (see <FIG>) or a forklift (not shown) to pass.

In a vicinity of a front of the bending robot <NUM>, a workpiece conveying wheeled platform <NUM> for conveying the workpiece W from a setup area (a setting area) SA to a pickup area GA along the front-rear direction, which is the predetermined direction, is provided. The setup area SA is positioned outside the safety fence <NUM> and is an area for setting up (setting) the workpieces W stacked on the pallet P. The pickup area GA is positioned inside the safety fence <NUM> and is an area for sucking and picking up an uppermost workpiece W from among a plurality of the workpieces W with the bending robot <NUM> (the robot hand <NUM>). Then, the specific configuration of the workpiece conveying wheeled platform <NUM> is as follows.

As shown in <FIG>, a base plate (an attachment plate) <NUM> extending in the left-right direction (the lateral direction) is installed in the vicinity of the front of the bending robot <NUM>, and the upper surface of the base plate <NUM> corresponds to an installation surface IS on a floor. The front side portion of the base plate <NUM> is positioned outside the safety fence <NUM>, and the rear side portion of the base plate <NUM> is positioned inside the safety fence <NUM>. Notches 26n for two wheels for allowing wheels HLb on the distal end of forks HLa of the pallet jack HL to enter are formed on the front end side of the right side portion and the front end side of the left side portion of the base plate <NUM>, respectively.

Sliders (wheeled platform main bodies) <NUM> that move in the front-rear direction between the setup area SA and the pickup area GA are provided on the upper side of the left side portion and the upper side of the right side portion of the base plate <NUM>, respectively. Each of the sliders <NUM> is recessed downward to form a placing part 28a for placing the pallet P thereon. The upper surface and the lower surface of the placing part 28a of the slider <NUM> are formed as flat surfaces. The lower surface of the placing part 28a is close to the upper surface of the base plate <NUM> that corresponds to the installation surface IS on the floor. The recessed depth of the placing part 28a is set to a depth corresponding to a height of the pallet P, for example, set to a depth equal to the height of the pallet P. In addition, on the front end side of the placing part 28a, notches 28n for the two forks for allowing the forks HLa of the pallet jack HL to enter are formed. The notch 28n is matched to the notch 26n of the base plate <NUM>.

Note that the recessed depth of the placing part 28a does not necessarily have to be set to the depth equal to the height of the pallet P as long as it is set to the depth corresponding to the height of the pallet P.

A plurality of auxiliary rollers <NUM> (see <FIG>) that roll on the upper surface of the base plate <NUM> are rotatably provided at the center portion in the left-right direction (the lateral direction) of the placing part 28a. As a result, the lower surface of the placing part 28a can be brought closer to the upper surface of the base plate <NUM> without bringing the slider <NUM> into contact with the base plate <NUM>.

Note that the auxiliary rollers <NUM> may be rotatably provided on both end sides in the left-right direction of the placing part 28a. An intermediate plate (not shown) harder than the base plate <NUM> or a flat roller cage (not shown) may be interposed between the base plate <NUM> and the slider <NUM>.

A first guide mechanism <NUM> that supports the slider <NUM> so as to be movable in the front-rear direction is arranged on the right side (one side in the lateral direction) of the placing part 28a. Specifically, a first guide rail <NUM> extending in the front-rear direction is provided, on part of the upper surface of the base plate <NUM>, on the right side of the placing part 28a. In addition, a guide block <NUM> that is guided by the first guide rail <NUM> and is movable in the front-rear direction is provided on the right side of the placing part 28a. The movement of the guide block <NUM> is restricted in the left-right direction with respect to the first guide rail <NUM>.

A second guide mechanism <NUM> that supports the slider <NUM> so as to be movable in the front-rear direction is arranged on the left side (the other side in the lateral direction) of the placing part 28a. Specifically, a second guide rail <NUM> extending in the front-rear direction is provided, on part of the upper surface of the base plate <NUM>, on the left side of the placing part 28a. A guide roller <NUM> that rolls on the second guide rail <NUM> is rotatably provided on the left side of the placing part 28a.

Note that in lieu of the guide roller <NUM>, the second guide mechanism <NUM> may include a guide block that is provided on the left side of the placing part 28a, is guided by the second guide rail <NUM>, and is movable in the front-rear direction.

A drive mechanism <NUM> for moving the slider <NUM> in the front-rear direction is arranged on the right side of the placing part 28a. Specifically, a geared motor <NUM>, which is a type of an electric motor as a moving actuator, is provided on the right side of the placing part 28a. A rack member <NUM> extending in the front-rear direction is provided, on part of the upper surface of the base plate <NUM>, on the right side of the placing part 28a. A pinion <NUM> that is engaged with the rack member <NUM> is connected to an output shaft <NUM> of the geared motor <NUM>.

Note that the drive mechanism <NUM> may include an electric motor other than the geared motor <NUM>. In lieu of the rack member <NUM> and the pinion <NUM>, the drive mechanism <NUM> may include a ball screw extending in the front-rear direction and a nut member screwed into the ball screw. The drive mechanism <NUM> may include a hydraulic cylinder as a moving actuator in lieu of the electric motor such as the geared motor <NUM>. Instead of arranging the drive mechanism <NUM> on the right side of the placing part 28a, another driving mechanism for moving the slider <NUM> in the front-rear direction may be arranged on the left side or both of the left and right sides of the placing part 28a.

A first stopper (not shown) and a second stopper (not shown) are provided, on part of the upper surface of the base plate <NUM>, at appropriate positions on the left side of the placing part 28a, so as to be separated in the front-rear direction. The first stopper prevents the slider <NUM> from moving forward beyond a predetermined position of the setup area SA. The second stopper prevents the slider <NUM> from moving backward beyond a predetermined position of the pickup area GA. In addition, a first sensor (not shown) and a second sensor (not shown) are provided, on part of the upper surface of the base plate <NUM>, at appropriate positions on the right side of the placing part 28a, so as to be separated in the front-rear direction. The first sensor detects that the slider <NUM> is positioned at the predetermined position of the setup area SA. The second sensor detects that the slider <NUM> is positioned at the predetermined position of the pickup area GA. Further, a cable carrier (not shown) and a cable duct (not shown) are arranged, on part of the upper surface of the base plate <NUM>, at appropriate positions on the right side of the placing part 28a.

A placing plate <NUM> having an L shape in a plan view is provided from the rear portion to the right portion of the placing part 28a. A plurality of magnet floaters <NUM> are erected on the placing plate <NUM>. The magnet floaters <NUM> levitate, by magnetic force, the uppermost workpiece W from among the plurality of workpieces W stacked on the pallet P. The magnet floater <NUM> has a publicly known configuration shown in Patent Literature <NUM>. In addition, an air separator <NUM> is provided on the side portion of any of the magnet floaters <NUM>. The air separator <NUM> separates, by jet pressure of air, the uppermost workpiece W from among the plurality of workpieces W stacked on the pallet P. The air separator <NUM> has a publicly known configuration shown in Patent Literature <NUM>. A plurality of abutting posts <NUM> against which the pallet P can be abutted are erected in a vicinity of the placing plate <NUM> in the placing part 28a.

Note that the placing plate <NUM> may be provided to the base plate <NUM> instead of being provided to the placing part 28a. When the uppermost workpiece W is picked up by using a camera (not shown) that captures an image of the uppermost workpiece W from above, the plurality of magnet floaters <NUM> and the air separator <NUM> may be omitted from the configuration of the workpiece conveying wheeled platform <NUM>.

A plurality of shutters (not shown) for opening and closing a part of the safety fence <NUM> are provided on the upper surface of the base plate <NUM>. Each of the shutters is configured to switch the setup area SA and the pickup area GA from a communication state to a cutoff state when the slider <NUM> is moved in the front-rear direction. The communication state is a state in which the setup area SA and the pickup area GA are in communication. The cutoff state is a state in which the setup area SA and the pickup area GA are cut off.

Subsequently, the overall operation of the bending system <NUM> and the particular effect of the workpiece conveying wheeled platform <NUM> will be described.

As shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, with the slider <NUM> on the right side being positioned in the pickup area GA, the bending robot <NUM> picks up the uppermost workpiece from the workpieces W that are stacked, via the pallet P, on the placing part 28a of the slider <NUM> on the right side. Next, the bending robot <NUM> supplies the workpiece W, which is picked up, to the press brake <NUM>. Then, with the bending robot <NUM> assisting in bending the workpiece W, the workpiece W is bent by the collaboration between the punch tool and the die tool of the press brake <NUM>. Further, the bending robot <NUM> carries out the bent product to the product pallet. By repeating the operation described above, the workpieces W stacked via the pallet P on the placing part 28a of the slider <NUM> on the right side are continuously bent.

In the meantime, as shown in <FIG>, with the slider <NUM> on the left side being positioned in the setup area SA, the pallet P on which the workpieces W are stacked by the pallet jack HL is moved backward and positioned above the placing part 28a of the slider <NUM> on the left side. Next, by lowering the forks HLa of the pallet jack HL to place the pallet P on the placing part 28a on the left side, the workpieces W stacked on the pallet P are set up. Further, as shown in <FIG>, the pallet jack HL is moved forward to be separated from the left slider <NUM>. Then, as shown in <FIG>, the pinion <NUM> on the left side (see <FIG>) is rotated in the positive direction by driving the geared motor <NUM> on the left side so that the slider <NUM> on the left side is moved from the setup area SA to the pickup area GA. In this manner, the workpieces W stacked via the pallet P on the placing part 28a of the slider <NUM> on the left side are prepared to be bent.

Note that when the workpieces W stacked on the pallet P placed on the placing part 28a of the slider <NUM> on the left side are continuously bent, the same operation as that of the bending process on the right side, which is described above, is executed. In addition, when the workpieces W stacked on the pallet P placed on the placing part 28a of the slider <NUM> on the right side are prepared to be bent, the same operation as that of the preparation on the left side, which is described above, is executed.

In the configuration of the workpiece conveying wheeled platform <NUM>, as described above, the slider <NUM> is recessed downward to form the placing part 28a for placing the pallet P. In addition, the recessed depth of the placing part 28a is set to the depth corresponding to the height of the pallet P. The first guide mechanism <NUM> and the drive mechanism <NUM> are respectively arranged on the right side of the placing part 28a, and the second guide mechanism <NUM> is arranged on the left side of the placing part 28a. As a result, it is possible to lower the height from the upper surface of the base plate <NUM>, which corresponds to the installation surface IS on the floor, to the upper surface of the placing part 28a. Accordingly, it is possible to increase the stacking capacity of the workpieces W in the workpiece conveying wheeled platform <NUM>. According to the present embodiment, it is possible to reduce the frequency of setting up the workpieces W for the workpiece conveying wheeled platform <NUM> so as to enhance the workability.

In addition, in the configuration of the workpiece conveying wheeled platform <NUM>, the lower surface of the placing part 28a is close to the upper surface of the base plate <NUM> as described above. The notches 28n for the two forks HLa are formed on the front end side of the placing part 28a. Therefore, when the pallet P is placed on the placing part 28a or the pallet P is picked up from the placing part 28a, the amount of a vertical movement of the forks HLa can be reduced. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the workpiece W can be set up by using the simple pallet jack HL having a small capable amount of the vertical movement of the forks HLa.

Further, in the configuration of the workpiece conveying wheeled platform <NUM>, as described above, the guide block <NUM> that is guided by the first guide rail <NUM> so as to be movable in the front-rear direction is provided on the right side of the placing part 28a. The guide roller <NUM> that rolls on the second guide rail <NUM> is rotatably provided on the left side of the placing part 28a. As a result, even if an undulation (a slight deformation in the vertical direction) is generated on the upper surface of the base plate <NUM> that corresponds to the installation surface IS on the floor, it is possible to move the slider <NUM> in the front-rear direction while absorbing the undulation. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to stabilize the operation of the workpiece conveying wheeled platform <NUM>.

The workpiece conveying wheeled platform <NUM> according to the present embodiment includes the slider <NUM> that is movable between the setup area SA and the pickup area GA, the guide mechanisms <NUM> and <NUM> that movably support the slider <NUM>, and the drive mechanism <NUM> that moves the slider <NUM> in the predetermined direction described above. The slider <NUM> is recessed to form the placing part 28a for placing the pallet P. The guide mechanisms <NUM> and <NUM> are arranged on the both sides in the lateral direction orthogonal to the predetermined direction in the placing part 28a, respectively. The drive mechanism <NUM> is arranged on at least one side in the above-described lateral direction of the placing part 28a. Therefore, according to the workpiece conveying wheeled platform <NUM> related to the present embodiment, it is possible to shorten the height from the installation surface on the floor to the upper surface of the placing part 28a. Then, the stacking capacity of the workpieces W in the workpiece conveying wheeled platform <NUM> can be increased.

Since the stacking capacity of the workpieces W can be increased, the frequency of setting up the workpieces W for the workpiece conveying wheeled platform <NUM> can be reduced. As a result, the workability can be enhanced.

In addition, in the workpiece conveying wheeled platform <NUM> according to the present embodiment, the recessed depth of the placing part 28a is set to the depth corresponding to the height of the pallet P. Therefore, the pallet P can be easily placed on the placing part 28a, and the workability can be further enhanced.

In addition, in the workpiece conveying wheeled platform <NUM> according to the present invention, the placing part 28a is arranged close to the installation surface IS on the floor. Therefore, when the pallet P is placed on the placing part 28a (or when the pallet P is picked up from the placing part 28a), the vertical movement amount of the pallet P can be reduced and the workpieces W can be set up with the pallet jack HL.

Here, the notches 28n for allowing the forks HLa of the pallet jack HL to enter are formed on the placing part 28a. This fact also allows the vertical movement amount of the pallet P to be smaller, which makes the setup of the workpiece W by the pallet jack HL easy.

Further, since the auxiliary rollers <NUM> that roll on the installation surface IS on the floor are provided to the placing part 28a, it is possible to bring the lower surface of the placing part 28a close to the upper surface of the base plate <NUM> without bringing the slider <NUM> into contact with the base plate <NUM>. As a result, the workability can be further improved.

In addition, the guide mechanisms <NUM> and <NUM> include the pair of the first guide mechanism <NUM> and the second guide mechanism <NUM>. The first guide mechanism <NUM> includes the first guide rail <NUM> and the guide block <NUM> that are described above. The second guide mechanism <NUM> includes the second guide rail <NUM> and the guide roller <NUM> that are described above. Therefore, the slider <NUM> can be easily slid in the predetermined direction, and the workability can be further enhanced.

The working system <NUM> according to the present embodiment includes the working machine (the press brake) <NUM> for processing the workpiece W, the loading machine (the bending robot) <NUM> for supplying the workpiece W to the working machine <NUM>, and the workpiece conveying wheeled platform <NUM> described above. Therefore, according to the working system <NUM> related to the present embodiment, the same effect as that of the workpiece conveying wheeled platform <NUM> described above is brought about.

Claim 1:
A workpiece conveying wheeled platform (<NUM>), comprising:
a slider (<NUM>) provided in a vicinity of a loading machine (<NUM>) for supplying a workpiece (W) to a working machine (<NUM>), the slider (<NUM>) being movable in a predetermined direction between a setup area (SA) for setting up a plurality of workpieces (W) stacked on a pallet (P) and a pickup area (GA) for picking up an uppermost workpiece (W) from among the plurality of workpieces (W) with the loading machine (<NUM>), the slider (<NUM>) being recessed to form a placing part (28a) for placing the pallet (P);
guide mechanisms (<NUM>, <NUM>) respectively arranged to both sides of the placing part (28a) in a lateral direction orthogonal to the predetermined direction of the slider (<NUM>) and configured to support the slider (<NUM>) so as to be movable in the predetermined direction; and
a drive mechanism (<NUM>) arranged to at least one side of the placing part (28a) in the lateral direction of the slider (<NUM>) and configured to move the slider (<NUM>) in the predetermined direction,
wherein the placing part (28a) of the slider (<NUM>) is close to an installation surface (IS) on a floor,
characterized in that
a notch (28n) for allowing a fork (HLa) of a pallet jack (HL) to enter is formed on the placing part (28a) of the slider (<NUM>).