SINGLE AXIS AND TWO STATION GEAR POSITIONER Technical Field

The present invention relates to auxiliary equipment referred to as positioner grabbing the piece to be processed and bringing said piece to required position by working together with the robot or manipulator in the automation systems.

Background of the Invention

In the current two axis and two station positioners (Figure 9), indexing rotation is carried out in the z axis and the rotating axes connected with the parts to be processed are rotated in the y axis (fixture axjs, of rotation) (Figure 8a) and synchronized with the robot. Such rotation of the positioner increases both the positioner rotation diameter and the fixture rotation diameter, resulting in safety gaps for the operator. In addition, it also makes the utilization of a main axis with greater capacity necessary.

In another positioner consisting of a single axis and two stations (Figure 10), work piece is rotated around the y axis (Figure 8a) during rotating axis rotation as well as during station change rotation (indexing motion). In these types of systems, when the positioner stations carry out displacement motion, rotating axes of the positioner are mechanically locked. Thus, locked rotating axes are positioned so as to remain in an exactly opposite manner with respect to the previous orientation thereof after the station change rotation. In these positioners, another case encountered is that the rotating axis in the operator loading station remains fixed due to said mechanical locking. Thus, operator piece loading orientation cannot be changed. In conclusion, an improvement in the relevant art rendered necessary due to the negative aspects mentioned above and insufficiency of current solutions in the field.

Objects of the Invention

The invention is developed by being inspired from existing situations and seeks to solve the above mentioned drawbacks. A solution preventing said situation is created in the system according to the present invention. That is, when the positioner rotates for indexing, it carries out its motion by means of a gear system. Thus, displacement of the rotating axes of the positioner and the work pieces connected to the rotating axes parallel to the ground is provided at every position during the positioner's indexing motion. In this way, improper positioning, such as inverted orientation with respect to the previous ones, or positioning with unsuitable angles, is completely prevented on the rotating axes either in robot side or operator side. Thus, elimination of the excess kinetic energy or the time that will be spent for making the wings straight again is provided.

Another object of the present invention is to reduce indexing time of the positioner stations, increase motion efficiency and positioning accuracy.

Another object of the present invention is to enable all the axes provided in the system being drivable by means of a single servo motor. Reduction of the required motor power is aimed by this means. Accordingly, extra costs resulting from working with a plurality of motors will also be reduced.

The rotating axis in the station provided on the operator piece loading side can be positioned so as to be easily reached by the operator thanks to the gear structure and drive transmission mechanism provided in the system according to the present invention. Another object of the present invention is that when a process is carried out in one station, the station on the other side can be used for another process thanks to the two station positioner according to the present invention. The positioner has the feature to change location of said two stations.

In order to fulfill the objects mentioned above, the positioner comprising and flanges and gear system having servo motor, grabbing the piece to be processed and bringing said piece to required position by working together with the robot or manipulator in the automation systems is developed, characterised in that; said gear system comprises flange drive gears rotating said flanges, motion transmission assembly transmitting the rotational motion to said flange drive gears, main drive gear rotated by means of said servo motor and transmitting the rotational motion from the servo motor to said motion transmission assembly, fixed gear orienting the indexing axis motion and clutch transmitting the motion and power from the servo motor to the indexing axis arm.

The structural and the characteristic features and all advantages of the invention will be understood more clearly with the following figures and the detailed description written by referring to said figures and therefore, the evaluation needs to be done by taking said figures and the detailed description into consideration. Figures for Understanding the Invention

Figure 1 is the perspective view showing the parts of the gear system of the positioner according to the present invention.

Figure 2a is the perspective view of a motion transmission assembly (gear) provided in the gear system of the positioner according to the present invention in the backward position.

Figure 2b is the two dimensional top view of the Figure 2a. Figure 3a is the perspective view of another motion transmission assembly (gear) provided in the gear system of the positioner according to the present invention in the backward position.

Figure 3b is the two dimensional top view of the Figure 3a.

Figure 4a is the perspective view of the both of the two motion transmission assemblies (gears) provided in the gear system of the positioner according to the present invention in the forward position where the rotation takes place in the main axis.

Figure 4b is the two dimensional top view of the Figure 4a.

Figure 5 is the view of the gear system given in Figure 4a and Figure 4b provided on the positioner.

Figure 6 is the perspective view of the positioner according to the present invention.

Figure 7 is another perspective view of the positioner according to the present invention.

Figure 8 is the drawing showing the axes of rotation.

Figure 8b is the drawing showing the axes of rotation.

Figure 9 is the drawing of the prior art.

Figure 10 is the drawing of the prior art.

Figure 11a is the two dimensional top view showing the belt pulley system

(motion transmission assembly) in an alternative embodiment of the positioner according to the present invention.

Figure 1b is the perspective top view showing the belt pulley system in an alternative embodiment of the positioner according to the present invention.

Description of Part References

1. Positioner

2. Flange

3. Gear system

4. Fixed gear

5. Flange drive gear Motion transmission assembly

Main drive gear

Servo motor

Clutch

Indexing axis arm x, y, z : axes of rotation

a : Arrow indicating the flange drive gear being in backward position b : Arrow indicating the flange drive gear being in forward position

c : Rotating axis on the robot side

d : Rotating axis on the operator side

e : Indexing axis

Scaling of drawings is not absolutely required and details, which are not needed for understanding the present invention, can be neglected. Furthermore, elements, which are at least substantially identical or have at least substantially identical functions, are indicated with the same number. Detailed Description of the Invention

In this detailed description, preferred embodiments of the positioner (1) according to the present invention are described only for a better understanding of the subject.

The positioner (1) according to the present invention comprises the gear system (3) and the flanges (2). The positioner (1) is the auxiliary equipment grabbing the piece to be processed and bringing said piece to required position by working together with the robot or manipulator in the automation systems.

In the current positioner there are two principal motions being the rotation around the indexing axis (e) (main axis) and the rotation around the rotating axis (c, d). The fixtures used for fixing the work pieces are connected to the flanges (2) provided in both stations of the positioner (1). The positioner flanges (2) form the rotating axes (c, d) of the positioner (1), i.e. the axis transmits the rotational motion to the fixtures through the flanges (2). In the positioner (1) according to the present invention there are three motions: rotational motion of the rotating axis (c) provided on the robot side, rotational motion of the rotating axis (d) provided on the operator side and rotational motion in the indexing axis (e). When the rotating axis (c) provided in the station on the positioner (1) and the robot side is required to be rotated, the gear of the motion transmission assembly (6) provided in the respective axis side is taken backward in the direction of the arrow (a) as indicated in Figure 3a and Figure 3b. Thus, said gear is positioned between the main drive gear (7), and the flange drive gear (5). In this case, the power and motion generated by the servo motor (8) is transmitted to the flange drive gear (5), passing through the main drive gear (7) and the motion transmission gear (6). The power and rotational motion arriving to the flange drive gear (5) is transmitted to the flange of the rotating axis (c) provided on the robot side by means of a rigid shaft and enables the flange (2) itself to perform the rotational motion.

When the rotating axis (d) of the positioner (1) provided on the operator side is required to be rotated, the gears of the motion transmission assembly (6) are positioned as shown in Figure 2a and Figure 2b. In other words, the motion transmission assembly (6) closer to the rotating axis (c) provided on the robot side is taken to the forward position and the motion transmission assembly (6) closer to the rotating axis (d) provided on the operator side is taken to the backward position. Thus, said gear is positioned between the main drive gear (7), and the flange drive gear (5) provided on the operator side. Thereby, the power and motion generated by the servo* motor (8) is transmitted to the flange of the rotating axis (d) provided on the operator side through said gears, which enables the flange itself to perform the rotational motion. During the rotational motion in the indexing axis (e) of the positioner, the gears of the motion transmission assembly (6) provided on both sides of the two stations of the positioner are positioned forward as shown in Figure 4a and Figure 4b. In this case, motion transmission gears are positioned between the fixed gear (4) and the flange drive gears (5). The drive transmission element used for the rotation in the indexing axis (e) is the indexing axis arm. There are some conditions required for the realization of the rotational motion around the indexing axis (e). These conditions are the following: motion transmission assembly (6) should be in the forward position, motion transmission assemblies (6) should be rigidly mounted on the indexing axis arm (10), the flanges (2) should bear on the indexing arm (10), the power and motion from the servo motor (8) should be transmitted to the indexing axis arm (10) by means of a clutch mechanism (9). Indexing axis arm (10) realizes the rotational motion around the indexing axis (e) thanks to the motion transmitted to the indexing axis arm (10) by means of the clutch (9) connected to the servo motor (8). Meanwhile, the flange drive gears (5) and the motion transmission assembly gears (6) in contact with each other perform the rotational motion around the fixed gear (7) in an interconnected manner. Thus, during the indexing axis rotation (e), the flange gears (5) carry out rotational motion in the opposite direction with respect to the indexing axis arm (10) due to law of motion of the gears being in contact with each other. Thereby, during the rotation process around the indexing axis (e), the positioner flanges (2) provided in both of the two stations of the positioner, hence the wing axes (c, d) displace so as to remain always parallel to the ground.

The positioner (1) according to the present invention can be driven by at least one servo motor (8). In alternative embodiments of the present invention, a system that can transmit the power by means of a gear-chain mechanism as well as belt pulley system (timing belt pulley type) that can provide high accuracy (Figure 1a and Figure 11b) can be used instead of the gear system employed as the motion transmission assembly (6) for motion and power transmission from the main drive gear (4) to the flange drive gear (5) in order to rotate the flanges (2).