Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Masakazu Hironaka

Satoru Ichihashi

Atsuhiro Sakai

Takeo Yoshiji

Junichi Yamanaga

Masaki Miyanaka

Yutaka Ito

Hiroshi Isozaki

Kuniaki Ookuma

Sumio Kurata

Daizo Kaneko

Eiichi Honma

Yoshiteru Kamiyama

Mizuo Shibazaki

A pallet with a workpiece mounted thereon is delivered on a pallet carriage, and transferred onto the table of a machine tool which has a different height from the pallet carriage. Lifting mechanisms on the pallet carriage are engaged by respective positioning members in front of the machine tool. The lifting mechanisms are actuated to lift the pallet carriage to position the pallet carriage for transfer of the pallet onto the machine tool table. The pallet is transferred from the pallet carriage onto the machine tool table, half of a predetermined stroke by a first transfer mechanism on the pallet carriage and the remaining half of the stroke by a second transfer mechanism on the machine tool table. The table has vertically movable support rollers for supporting the pallet when it is transferred onto and from the table. When the pallet P is positioned on the table, the vertically movable support rollers are retracted downwardly. When the pallet is transferred onto the machine tool table, clamp units on the machine tool table enter T-shaped slots defined in the lower surface of the pallet, and are actuated to clamp the pallet directly on the table. Since the workpiece on the pallet thus clamped is held in a low position on the machine tool table, the workpiece can be machined by a machining tool that can move freely in a wide space.

Method of and apparatus for transferring and positioning pallet

A work supplying system for conveying work attached to a pallet to a plurality of machine stations disposed around an imaginary center line iin a circumferential direction, and a work conveying and delivering unit for conveying the work to the work conveyor and delivering the work from the work conveyor, wherein a conveying and delivering station is disposed for conveying and delivering the work attached to the pallet, and a plurality of releasable stations are disposed corresponding to respective machine stations for machining the work, and are located on linear lines connecting the imaginary center line to the respective machining stations, and the conveying and delivering station and the releasable stations are installed around the imaginary center line at circumferentially equal intervals along an imaginary circle which has a center on the imaginary center line, the work conveyor comprising a post stand with an axis thereof aligned with the imaginary center line, slide units each reciprocatively movable between the associated releasable station and machining station, a plurality of stationary guide rails extending in a circular-arc shape along the imaginary circle at portions except the conveying and delivering station and the releasable stations, movable guide rails disposed on the slide units and extending in a circular-arc shape at portions corresponding to the conveying and delivering station and the respective releasable stations so as to be connectible to the stationary guide rails to form cooperatively with the stationary guide rails annular guide rails for guiding angular displacement of the pallet around the post, and an index arm supported on the post angularly displaceably for releasable connection to the pallet on the annular guide rails.

Work supplying system to machine tools

A parts installing system installs a plurality of parts on a workpiece substantially simultaneously. The system includes a parts stocker for stocking a cluster of substantially closely arranged parts thereon, and a parts transfer device for transferring the parts from the parts stocker to a prescribed position over the workpiece and setting the transferred parts over the workpiece. The parts transfer device includes a parts spreading mechanism unit which picks up the clustered parts from the parts stocker and spreads them into respective relative positions corresponding respectively to relative positions which will be taken by the parts set on the workpiece. The system also includes a pressing device for pressing the parts set over the workpiece onto the workpiece, and a bolt fastening device for fastening the pressed parts to the workpiece with bolts. The parts installing system is suitable for use on various automated production lines to achieve a high rate of production. For example, the parts installing system is particularly advantageous when employed on an engine assembling line for installing camshaft holders on a cylinder head, and also for installing bearing caps on a cylinder head.

System for installing parts on workpiece

A replaceable head type multi-spindle fastening apparatus wherein each fastening head is provided with plural driven shafts each connected to a respective fastening member at a lower end thereof and to a connecting member at the upper end thereof. Plural nut runners are provided on a connecting head which is movable up and down to connect the runners with the connecting members. Predetermined ones selected from plural driving shafts connected to the nut runners may be engaged to or disengaged from the respective corresponding driven shafts through the respective connecting members.

Replaceable head type multi-spindle fastening apparatus

Growing community of inventors

Sayama, Japan

Masakazu Hironaka