Programmable transfer machine

Claim 1

A programmable transfer machine for processing plural workpieces, said workpieces moving through said transfer machine in only one direction, said machine comprising: a plurality of machining stations; a conveyor responsive to a transfer command signal applied thereto for simultaneously conveying workpieces to said machining stations successively only in said one direction so that each of said workpieces is transferred from one of said machining stations to another machining station each time said conveyor is operated; a plurality of numerically controlled machine tools respectively disposed at said machining stations, for respectively undertaking a series of machining operations which are to be performed on each of said workpieces, each of said machine tools being adapted to execute one or more machining programs assigned thereto, said machining operations undertaken by said machine tools; means included in each of said machine tools for generating a trouble signal when the machine tool is in trouble; program execution control means responsive to said trouble signal from each of said machine tools for causing a normal machine tool which is adjacent to said machine tool in trouble and at an upstream side of said conveyor, to execute one of said machining programs originally assigned to said machine tool in trouble in addition to another of said machining programs originally assigned to said normal machine tool; detection means for issuing a completion signal when the executions of all of said machining problems by one or more remaining normal machine tools are completed; and means for applying said transfer command signal to said conveyor so as to operate the same each time said completion signal is issued from said detection means.