A tool storage magazine containing a plurality of movable tool receptacles or cartridges that are movable to a tool change station. The cartridge and its associated tool at the tool change station is removable from the magazine by a pivotal carrier that is provided with a clamp which clamps the cartridge containing the selected tool to the pivotal carrier. The pivotal carrier then swings 90.degree. to move the clamped cartridge with it for the purpose of positioning the axis of the selected tool in the cartridge parallel with the machine tool spindle. The pivotal carrier also carries a tool change arm movable to interchange the tool in the cartridge with the tool in the machine tool spindle. Upon completion of the 90.degree. pivotal movement by the pivotal carrier, the tool change arm is actuated in its tool change cycle to insert the new tool from the cartridge into the spindle and the previously used tool from the spindle into the cartridge. The cartridge with the old tool in it is then returned to the tool storage magazine by a reverse pivotal movement of the carrier.
A tool storage magazine of the type wherein a circulatable endless chain pivotably carries a plurality of tool storage sockets is provided with a cradle member adapted to carry thereon any of the tool sockets indexed to an exchange position and a mechanism for pivoting the cradle member between horizontal and vertical positions. The magazine is further provided with a locking mechanism which prevents a holding plunger of any tool socket indexed to the exchange position from being disengaged from a tool received in the tool socket until the cradle member is pivoted to the vicinity of the vertical position so that the dropping of a tool from an associated tool socket is reliably prevented during pivotal movement of the cradle member.
A tool pivoting mechanism of a tool magazine for a machining center uses a pressure cylinder as an actuating means to drive a cam mechanism. The cam mechanism composes of a cam set means which moves a roller on a tool pivoting block up or down along a guiding raft, thus drives a tool pot and a cutting tool to rotate. Through the curvature change of the cam curve, the pivoting mechanism controls the displacement, velocity and acceleration of tool pivoting block, thus prevents the impact force of tool pivoting and avoids the falling off of cutting tool.
A tool change mechanism for horizontal drilling-milling machines comprising a magazine, a tool spindle, the tools being arranged substantially horizontally and at right-angles to the tool spindle in the magazine. A gripper rocker having a gripper rocker shaft disposed substantially parallel to the work spindle is mounted in a gripper carriage, said gripper carriage being displaceable in the direction of the work tool spindle for the introduction and the removal of the tools, said gripper carriage possessing a double pivotal gripper vane rotatable through an angle of approximately 180.degree.. Guide tracks are arranged at the magazine, said gripper carriage being displaceable at the guide tracks by means of two coupled drives into at least four positions, one drive being attached at the gripper carriage and one drive being stationarily supported in the direction of the guide tracks. A gripper arm carrying the gripper vane is pivotably mounted at the gripper rocker such that its gripper arm shaft is directly and non-displaceably mounted in the gripper rocker and the gripper arm shaft and its extension intersects in spaced relation and at substantially right-angles the gripper rocker shaft. The gripper rocker and the gripper arm are pivotable such that the symmetry axes of the gripper tongs of the gripper vane in a magazine position of the gripper vane are directed substantially parallel to the tool spindle and in a tool spindle position of the gripper vane the symmetry axes of the gripper tongs located at the tool spindle are disposed at right-angles to the tool spindle as well as at right-angles to a connection line between the gripper rocker shaft and the tool spindle shaft at the center point of the tool spindle shaft.
The tool change mechanism includes a tool storage magazine having a plurality of tool storage sockets disposed in two concentric circles. A tool transfer arm is mounted within the inner circle of sockets. The transfer arm may be rotated and extended or retracted and moved toward and away from the magazine for extracting a previously used tool from a ready socket and inserting such tool into a designated socket of the magazine. In like manner, the transfer arm will operate to extract a selected tool from any one of the sockets in the magazine and transfer it to the ready socket. The latter is mounted on a carrier which also supports a tool change arm. The carrier is pivotable between a loading position and a tool change position. When the carrier is in the loading position, the ready socket is located at the magazine where it is accessible to the tool transfer arm for extracting previously used tools from the ready socket and inserting new tools into it. On the other hand, when the carrier is in the tool change position it is located adjacent to the spindle in position to enable the tool change arm to interchange tools between the ready socket and the spindle.
In an automatic tool changing apparatus adapted for application to a machine tool having a vertical spindle, an intermediate tool transfer device is operable for removing a tool from a tool storage magazine of the apparatus by horizontal movement thereof and for subsequently positioning an axis of the removed tool parallel with the axis of the vertical spindle by the downward swinging motion thereof through 90.degree.. Then a tool transfer device carries out exchanging the tool held in the intermediate tool transfer device for an already used tool held in the vertical spindle.
