CN107380923B

CN107380923B - Part feeder

Info

Publication number: CN107380923B
Application number: CN201710233232.5A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 成川修一
Original assignee: Sinfonia Technology Co Ltd
Current assignee: Sinfonia Technology Co Ltd
Priority date: 2016-04-11
Filing date: 2017-04-11
Publication date: 2020-10-30
Anticipated expiration: 2037-04-11
Also published as: JP6781369B2; KR20170116588A; JP2017190190A; TWI717494B; CN107380923A; TW201741217A; KR102350272B1

Abstract

The invention provides a component feeder which can stably feed conveyed objects with high efficiency by vibrating by using a vibration principle completely different from that of the conventional component feeder. A vibration disk feeder according to the present invention is a component feeder including: a vibrator (4) that has a mounting portion (41), a pillar portion (42), and a weight portion (43), and that performs a vibrator movement, the mounting portion (41) being set on one end side of the vibrator (4) and being mountable with respect to the movable portion (2), the pillar portion (42) extending from the mounting portion (41), and the weight portion (43) being set on the other end side of the vibrator (4) as a free end; and an excitation source (5) for vibrating the vibrator so that the movable part (2) and the vibration plate convey the conveyed object along the circumferential direction of the vibration plate.

Description

Part feeder

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a parts feeder for conveying a plurality of workpieces in a specific form in a predetermined posture on a conveying path.

Background

Conventionally, the following parts feeder is known: the component feeder includes a conveying path that communicates a conveyed object such as an electronic component to a supply destination, conveys the conveyed object while arranging the conveyed object on the conveying path by means of vibration or the like, and supplies the conveyed object to the supply destination on the downstream side (see, for example, patent document 1).

This kind of parts feeder includes: a fixed part; a movable part connected with a vibration disk; a drive spring that connects the fixed part and the movable part to each other and elastically supports the movable part with respect to the fixed part; and an excitation source for vibrating the movable part and the fixed part relative to each other when the drive spring is directly or indirectly excited by an excitation force applied from the excitation source, and transmitting the vibration to a vibration plate integrally connected to the movable part, thereby vibrating and conveying the conveyed object on a conveying path set on the vibration plate.

In a conventional parts feeder, for example, a plate-shaped spring (leaf spring) is used as a driving spring. The springs are each disposed in a posture such that the thickness direction thereof coincides with the conveying direction. In addition, the pair of driving springs are disposed in a predetermined inclined posture in order to prevent or suppress behavior such as pitching and rolling of the object on the conveyance path of the vibration plate.

Then, the movable portion vibrates with respect to the fixed portion by an exciting force applied from an excitation source (not shown), whereby the vibration plate connected to the movable portion also vibrates, and the conveyed object is conveyed downstream in the conveying direction.

Documents of the prior art

Patent document

Patent document 1: japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2004-043085

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

In addition, in the conventional parts feeder, the driving spring is directly or indirectly vibrated by the excitation source, and the driving spring itself is configured to be able to be relatively displaced while the movable portion and the fixed portion are bent in an S-shape.

Therefore, it is conceivable that, with such a configuration, there are cases where: since the pair of driving springs are deformed in an S-shape, the movable portion and the fixed portion are also deformed, and as a result, the vibration plate fixed so as to integrally operate with the movable portion is also deformed, and unevenness in conveying speed occurs, which hinders stable conveying processing. In particular, in the conventional parts feeder using the drive spring that is deformed in an S-shape during vibration (ON state), it is conceivable that the deflection of the vibration plate is further increased as the thickness of the drive spring is set to be large (extremely thick) to increase the vibration frequency to realize high-speed vibration conveyance.

Therefore, there are cases where the movable portion and the fixed portion are manufactured with high precision in consideration of the S-shaped deformation of the driving spring to reduce the flexure of the groove, and when the machining precision of the movable portion and the fixed portion is low, the driving spring is deformed, which may cause the flexure of the vibration plate.

Further, in the conventional parts feeder, since the drive spring is deformed in an S-shape, for example, compared with a spring deformed in a bow shape, the amount of displacement from the time before the deformation to the time when the maximum deformation occurs is about half of the displacement amount, and the vibration damping is large, the vibration amplification factor due to resonance is small, and there is room for improvement in efficiency.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems effectively, and an object of the present invention is to provide a parts feeder capable of stably feeding an object to be fed with high efficiency by vibrating the object based on a vibration principle completely different from that of a conventional parts feeder.

Means for solving the problems

In view of the above problems, the present invention adopts the following means.

That is, the parts feeder of the present invention is characterized by comprising: a vibration plate having a substantially circular shape in plan view; a movable portion to which the vibration plate is fixed at an upper end portion thereof; a vibrator that performs a vibrator movement, the vibrator having a mounting portion that is set on one end side of the vibrator and that can be mounted to the movable portion, a column portion that extends from the mounting portion, and a weight portion that is set on the other end side of the vibrator as a free end; and an excitation source that vibrates the vibrator so that the movable portion and the vibration plate convey the conveyed object along a circumferential direction of the vibration plate.

Here, the object to be conveyed is, for example, an electronic component (workpiece) of a minute size, but is not particularly limited as long as the object to be conveyed can be conveyed by the linear feeder of the present invention.

In the component feeder of the present invention, when the vibrator is vibrated by the excitation source, the column portion of the vibrator having the other end side of the weight portion as the free end acts like a spring with the mounting portion mounted on the movable portion as a fulcrum, and the entire vibrator vibrates by the movement of the vibrator, and the movable portion vibrates by its reaction, and the vibration is transmitted to the vibration plate fixed to the upper end portion of the movable portion. As a result, the vibration plate vibrates, and the object placed on the vibration plate can be conveyed.

In addition, in the present invention, the "ground" to which the fixed part is directly or indirectly fixed is a concept as follows: the ground on which people walk is certainly not said to be, and also comprises a carrying surface for carrying the table of the part feeder.

As described above, the component feeder of the present invention employs a novel vibration principle that has not been thought before, such as conveying an object on a vibration plate by vibration using the vibrator action of a vibrator, and can avoid and suppress the bending of a movable portion and a fixed portion, which is inevitably generated in the case of a structure in which a pair of driving springs are bent and deformed in an S-shape as used in a conventional component feeder, and further avoid and suppress the bending of the vibration plate, and can prevent and suppress the trouble of fluctuation in conveying speed caused by the bending of the vibration plate, thereby enabling stable conveying processing.

The present invention is also advantageous in that the high-precision machining of the movable portion and the fixed portion is not particularly required in the parts feeder of the present invention, as long as the conventional parts feeder, in which the deformation of the driving spring may cause the deflection of the vibration plate, is required.

Further, since the column portion of the vibrator that performs the vibrator movement is deformed not in the S shape but in the arcuate shape as the component feeder of the present invention, the amount of displacement of the vibrator (the amount of displacement of the column portion that functions as a spring) from the time before the deformation to the time when the vibrator is deformed to the maximum extent (the amount of displacement of the column portion that functions as a spring) can be made extremely large, the vibration damping is small, the vibration amplification factor due to the resonance is also large, and the efficiency can be improved, as compared with the conventional component feeder using the driving spring deformed in the S shape.

In order to achieve more stable operation, it is desirable to provide a fixed portion directly or indirectly fixed to the ground and an anti-vibration spring connecting the fixed portion and the movable portion.

In order to efficiently convert the vibrator vibration of the vibrator to horizontal rotational vibration suitable for the conveyance of the vibration plate, it is desirable that the component feeder of the present invention includes one or more pairs of vibrators, and each vibrator of each pair is fixed to the movable portion so that the extending direction of the column portion is inclined in a direction opposite to the vertical direction. With this structure, the circular arc vibration of the vibrator generates a couple of forces at the mutually opposing portions and becomes torsional vibration. Further, the stiffness of the portions facing each other is increased, and the deflection of the vibration damping spring is not transmitted to the vibration plate side, so that stable vibration is obtained.

In addition, since the vibrator vibration of the vibrator is deformed in a bow shape when the vibration source is a piezoelectric element, the piezoelectric element having a larger area can be attached as compared with the conventional case where the vibrator is deformed in an S-shape, and thus the vibration force per vibrator is increased.

In addition, in order to realize the present invention with a simple structure, it is of course also possible to apply an electromagnet as an excitation source.

ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS OF INVENTION

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a parts feeder capable of stably feeding an object to be fed efficiently by vibrating the object based on a vibration principle completely different from that of a conventional parts feeder.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a side view showing a parts feeder according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a front view showing a parts feeder according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a schematic plan view showing a parts feeder according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 4 is an explanatory view showing a configuration of a main part of the parts feeder according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 5 is a side view of a modification of the first embodiment.

Fig. 6 is a diagram showing another modification of the first embodiment.

Fig. 7 is a side view of a second embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 8 is a front view of a second embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 9 is a configuration explanatory diagram of a main part of the second embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a modification of the second embodiment.

Description of the reference numerals

1 … fixed part

2 … movable part

3 … vibration isolation spring

4 … vibrator

5 … excitation source (piezoelectric element)

50 … electromagnet

41 … mounting part

42 … column part

43 … counterweight

B … vibration plate

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

The vibratory pan feeder as the component feeder of the present embodiment is a vibratory pan feeder as follows: vibration is applied to the vibration plate B having a substantially circular shape in plan view, and the object (not shown) placed on the vibration plate B is conveyed along the circumferential direction of the vibration plate B. The object to be conveyed is an extremely small electronic component, but is not particularly limited as long as it can be conveyed on the vibration plate B by vibration.

As shown in fig. 1 and 2 (fig. 1 is a front view of the parts feeder, and fig. 2 is a side view), the parts feeder of the present embodiment includes: a fixed part 1; a movable part 2 having a vibration plate B fixed to an upper end thereof; an anti-vibration spring 3 connecting the fixed part 1 and the movable part 2; a vibrator 4 having a mounting portion 41 provided on one end side thereof fixed to the movable portion 2 and performing a vibrator movement with a predetermined point of the mounting portion 41 as a fulcrum; and an excitation source 5 that vibrates the vibrator 4, and the vibrator 4 is vibrated by operating the excitation source 5, and the component feeder vibrates so that the movable portion 2 directly fixed to the vibrator 4 and the vibration plate B fixed to the movable portion 2 convey the conveyed object.

The vibration plate B is formed into a mortar shape having a substantially circular shape in plan view. The vibration plate B is fixed to the movable portion 2 by a fixing screw N1 indicated by a broken line at one point in the center in a plan view, is supported by the movable portion 2, is excited, and controls vibration generated by the vibration plate B to convey the conveyed object. Since various conventional configurations and shapes can be applied to the specific configuration and shape of the vibration plate B, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The fixing part 1 is fixed directly or indirectly on the ground. In the present embodiment, the fixing portion 1 is configured by a mounting block 11 fixed to the ground and a fixing post 12 erected from the mounting block 11. In the present embodiment, the mounting block 11 is fixed to the ground by, for example, screws (not shown).

In the present embodiment, the movable portion 2 is integrally formed of, for example, a highly rigid metal, and has a movable portion main body 20 which is closely attached to the bottom surface of the vibration plate B, and a hanging plate 21 which hangs down from the widthwise center of the movable portion main body 20, and fixes the vibration plate B to the upper end portion thereof. In the present embodiment, screw holes 22 are provided on both sides of the hanging-down plate 21 in the width direction. The hanging-down plate 21 is disposed in a posture in which the plate thickness direction (thickness direction) coincides with the width direction. The space below the movable portion body 20 on both sides of the hanging-down plate 21 is used as a placement space for the transducer 4 described later.

The vibration damping spring 3 has one end fixed to a spring 1 st mounting portion 1a provided in the fixed portion 1 and the other end fixed to a spring 2 nd mounting portion 2a provided in the movable portion 2. Since various conventional configurations can be applied to specific forms of the vibration damping spring 3, detailed descriptions and drawings thereof are omitted.

Here, the vibration disk feeder of the present embodiment is characterized by comprising: a vibrator 4 that performs a vibrator movement, the vibrator 4 including a mounting portion 41, a pillar portion 42, and a weight portion 43, the mounting portion 41 being set on one end side of the vibrator 4 and being attachable to the movable portion 2, the pillar portion 42 extending from the mounting portion 41, and the weight portion 43 being set on the other end side of the vibrator 4 as a free end; and an excitation source 5 that vibrates the vibrator 4 so that the movable portion 2 and the vibration plate B convey the conveyed object along the circumferential direction of the vibration plate B. Hereinafter, the vibrator 4 and the excitation source 5 will be described.

As shown in fig. 1, 2, and 4, the vibrator 4 includes: a mounting portion 41 provided on one end side of the vibrator 4 and fixable to the movable portion 2; a column portion 42 extending in the height direction from the mounting portion 41; and a weight 43 set on the other end side of the vibrator 4 as a free end. That is, in the present embodiment, the vibrator 4 is an integrally molded product of a material that can be elastically deformed according to the thickness, the thickness of the column portion 42 is set so as to be elastically deformable, the attachment portion 41 is formed at one end portion of the column portion 42, and the weight portion 43 is formed at the other end portion of the column portion 42.

In the present embodiment, the mounting portion 41 of the vibrator 4 is set to be fixed to the hanging-down plate 21 of the movable portion 2. The mounting portion 41 has two screw holes 44 at both ends thereof. Then, the vibrator 4 is fixed to the movable portion 2 by screwing a screw N2 inserted from the side into the screw hole 44 in a state where one surface of the mounting portion 41 is in contact with the hanging-down plate 21. In the present embodiment, the pair of transducers 4 are fixed to the movable portion 2 from both sides in a posture in which the plate thickness direction (thickness direction) and the width direction coincide with each other. The pair of transducers 4 are fixed to the movable portion 2 so that the extending directions of the column portions 42 are inclined in opposite directions to each other with respect to the vertical direction.

Weight 43 is set on the other end side of vibrator 4 as a free end. In the present embodiment, the weight portion 43 is formed integrally with the pillar portion 42 and is formed in a symmetrical shape with the pillar portion 42 as a boundary, but the weight portion 43 may be formed in an asymmetrical shape with the pillar portion 42 as a boundary, as a matter of course. The weight portions 43 may be configured independently of the pillar portion 42. In the present embodiment, since the weight portion 43 is formed in a shape rising from the pillar portion 42 and extending toward the mounting portion 41, a gap is formed between the weight portion 43 and the pillar portion 42, but the shape of the weight portion 43 may be a shape extending only in a direction orthogonal to the extending direction of the pillar portion 42, or may be a shape extending directly from the pillar portion 42 so that there is no boundary in shape with the pillar portion 42.

In the vibrating tray feeder of the present embodiment, the vibrator 4 is set to perform a vibrator movement with a portion of the mounting portion 41 connected to the pillar portion 42 as a fulcrum. At this time, the column portion 42 of the vibrator 4 acts like a spring by the elasticity of the material itself.

The vibrating disk feeder of the present embodiment is configured such that the vibrator 4 vibrates the excitation source 5 by the piezoelectric elements 5 provided on both surfaces of the columnar portion 42 formed in a plate shape.

In the present embodiment, the piezoelectric element 5 is applied as an example to a piezoelectric element having a size capable of covering most of the area of the pillar portion 42 except for the area near the end portion. Then, the piezoelectric elements 5 provided on the opposing surfaces of the pillar portions 42 are expanded and contracted (for example, the piezoelectric elements 5 are periodically expanded by applying a sinusoidal voltage thereto), whereby the pillar portions 42 are bent in an arcuate shape as a whole with the connecting portions with the mounting portions 41 as fulcrums, and the transducer operation is performed. As a result, in addition to the weight of weight 43, oscillator 4 performs an appropriate oscillator operation, and oscillator 4 vibrates. Here, the vibration frequency can be easily changed by changing the dimension of the pillar portion 42 along the thickness dimension. Further, in the mounting portion 41 of the transducer 4 to be mounted to the movable portion 2, since the mounting portion 41 is fixed by the screw N2 so that the screw hole 44 is positioned at a position deviated from the connecting portion between the mounting portion 41 and the column portion 42, even when high-frequency vibration (for example, 1000Hz to 2000Hz) occurs due to a large thickness dimension of the column portion 42, it is possible to satisfactorily support large deflection of the column portion 42 during the motion of the transducer. When the column portion 42 is deformed into a bow shape, the vibration damping is small, and the vibration amplification factor due to resonance is large, so that the number of piezoelectric elements 5 required to obtain a desired amplitude can be reduced. The piezoelectric element 5 is fixed to the opposing surface of the pillar portion 42 by an appropriate process such as a bonding process. Since the predetermined gap is ensured between the piezoelectric element 5 and the weight 43 as described above, the case where the piezoelectric element 5 and the weight 43 interfere with each other is effectively avoided.

In the vibration disk feeder of the present embodiment, when the vibration source 5 is in an operating state (ON state in which the piezoelectric element 5 expands and contracts), the vibrator 4 performs a vibrator operation, and the vibrator 4 vibrates, and the movable portion 2 vibrates in reaction thereto, and this vibration is transmitted to the vibration disk B to vibrate the vibration disk B itself. Specifically, when at least one of the piezoelectric elements 5 constituting the excitation source 5 of the transducers 4 is expanded and contracted, the post 42 is deflected and vibrates, and the entire transducer 4 performs a transducer operation in which the free end side reciprocates in an arc shape with a predetermined portion (a connecting portion with the post 42) fixed to the mounting portion 41 of the movable portion 2 as a fulcrum. In particular, since weight 43 is provided on the free end side of oscillator 4, the reaction force of the oscillation becomes large, and oscillator 4 can be operated efficiently. In addition, even when only the piezoelectric element 5 attached to one of the two transducers 4 constituting a pair of transducers 4 is turned ON and the piezoelectric element 5 attached to the other transducer 4 is turned OFF, the transducer 4 attached to the piezoelectric element 5 in the OFF state vibrates by resonance.

In particular, in the present embodiment, since the transducers 4 are arranged in pairs in a mutually inclined posture, the combined vibrations of the pair of transducers 4 act on the vibration plate B. That is, when the pair of transducers 4 are combined so as to be inclined to each other, horizontal rotational vibration (torsional vibration) as schematically shown by an arrow in the drawing is generated by a couple of forces. In the present embodiment, the transducers 4 are arranged with an inclination of 15 °, but the angle and the rotation direction necessary for the conveyance can be arbitrarily adjusted by appropriately determining the inclination angle.

As described above, the vibratory pan feeder as the component feeder of the present embodiment employs a novel vibration principle that has not been thought before, such as conveying an object on the vibratory pan B by vibration using the vibrator action of the vibrator 4, and thereby it is possible to avoid and suppress the deflection of the movable portion 2 and the fixed portion 1, which is inevitably generated if the pair of driving springs are deflected and deformed in the S-shape configuration employed in the conventional component feeder, and further avoid and suppress the deflection of the vibratory pan B, and it is possible to prevent and suppress the trouble of fluctuation in the conveying speed caused by the deflection of the vibratory pan B, and to realize stable conveying processing. In particular, in the present embodiment, since the bending deflection is not transmitted to the vibration plate B, the vibration plate B can be stably operated even if it is thin. Further, with this structure, high-frequency vibration transmission can be realized even if the strength of the vibration plate B is of a conventional level. Specifically, the vibration frequency of the driving unit can be changed by changing the vibration frequency of the vibrator 4. In the configuration of the present embodiment, a low frequency (around 100 Hz) to a high frequency (for example, 1000Hz to 2000Hz) can be practically applied, and the configuration can be applied to a wide range of objects to be transported.

In the present embodiment, the vibration damping device includes a fixed portion 1 directly or indirectly fixed to the ground and a vibration damping spring 3 connecting the fixed portion 1 and the movable portion 2. In particular, in the present embodiment, since the vibration isolation spring 3 is disposed closest to the vibration plate B, unnecessary vibration of the vibration plate B, which is referred to as wobble (japanese: ふらつき), is substantially minimized.

In the present embodiment, the pair of transducers 4 are arranged such that the extending directions of the column portions 42 are inclined in opposite directions to each other with respect to the vertical direction, and with this configuration, the circular arc vibration of the transducers generates a couple of forces at the portions facing each other and becomes torsional vibration. Thereby, the transducer vibration of the transducer 4 is efficiently converted to horizontal rotational vibration suitable for the conveyance of the vibration plate B.

Further, since the structure in which the piezoelectric element 5 attached to the column part 42 and the vibrator 4 are deformed in a bow shape is applied as the excitation source 5, the piezoelectric element 5 having a larger area can be attached as compared with the conventional form, and therefore the excitation force per vibrator 4 becomes large. As a result, in the structure of the present embodiment, the same amplitude as that of the conventional one can be obtained even if the number of the piezoelectric elements 5 is half that of the conventional one. In other words, the same effect can be obtained even when the number of the piezoelectric elements 5 is the same and the current is about half. Further, since the vibrator 4 has high efficiency, the total weight of the vibration disk feeder can be reduced to about 1/2 as compared with a conventional vibration disk feeder.

In addition, although the present embodiment discloses an example in which the inclination angle, which is the mounting angle of the vibrator 4, is set to 15 °, the change of the vibration angle and the change of the rotation direction of the vibration plate B, which have been difficult in the related art, can be easily performed by changing the inclination of the vibrator 4.

< modification example >

Hereinafter, modifications of the present embodiment and the second embodiment will be described in order. In this modification and embodiment, the same reference numerals are given to the components corresponding to those of the above-described embodiment, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the configuration is disclosed in which the vibration isolation springs 3 are disposed at the positions closest to the vibrating plate B in order to minimize the unnecessary vibration, i.e., the wobbling, of the vibrating plate B, but the disposition of the vibration isolation springs 3 is not limited to the above-described embodiment.

That is, as shown in fig. 5, the vibration damping spring 3 may be directly disposed and fixed on the ground without the fixing portion 1.

In the present modification, as shown in the drawing, the movable portion 2 includes a bottom panel 23 having a substantially rectangular shape in plan view, movable support columns 24 provided upright from four corners of the bottom panel 23, and a movable portion main body 20 and a hanging-down plate 21 similar to those of the above-described embodiment supported by the movable support columns 24. Further, spring 3 rd mounting portions 3a are formed at four corners on the lower surface side of the bottom plate 23. Such a mode of vibrating the entire vibratory bowl feeder can also provide the same effects as those of the above-described embodiment.

In the above-described embodiment, the rigidity of the mounting portion of transducer 4 of movable portion 2 is made as high as possible in order to obtain stable vibration, and movable portion 2 is formed as a metal integrally molded product having excellent rigidity in order to make the rigidity as high as possible, but the structure of movable portion 2 is not limited to this configuration.

That is, as in another modification shown in fig. 6, the movable part 2 may include a movable part main body 20 having a substantially plate shape and a pair of L-shaped plates 25 firmly assembled to the movable part main body 20 by a screw N3. The L-shaped plate 25 has an upper attachment portion 26 for attachment to the movable portion body 20 with a screw N3, and a screw hole 22 similar to the above embodiment. Such a modification can also obtain stable vibration as in the above embodiment.

< second embodiment >

In the above embodiment, the piezoelectric element 5 is applied as the excitation source 5, but it is needless to say that the electromagnet 50 may be applied as the excitation source 5 as shown in fig. 7 and 8. That is, the vibration disk feeder of the present embodiment is shown in a form in which an electromagnet 50 is applied as an excitation source 5, instead of the piezoelectric element 5 shown in fig. 1 to 4. Fig. 9 mainly shows a form of the vibrator 4 to which the electromagnet 50 is effectively applied.

The transducer 4 has a mounting portion 41 and a column portion 42 similar to those of the above-described embodiment, and has a transducer main body 40 including a weight core 45, and the weight core 45 is formed into a substantially L-shape to constitute a weight portion 43 and to which an electromagnet 50 is attached. That is, in the present embodiment, the vibrator 4 includes the vibrator main body 40 and the electromagnet 50 fixed to the weight core 45. That is, the weight 43 has the above-described weight core 45 and the electromagnet 50.

The excitation source 5 has an electromagnet 50 and an adsorption core 51 attached to the droop plate 21 with a screw N4. That is, in the present embodiment, the electromagnet 50 functions as a main body of the excitation source 5, and also functions as the weight portion 43. The specific forms of the electromagnet 50 and the suction core 51 can be variously applied to conventional forms, and thus detailed descriptions thereof are omitted.

As in the above-described embodiments, such embodiments can also produce the above-described various operational effects produced by the vibrator operation of the vibrator 4.

In the above embodiments and modifications, the post portion 42 is integrated with the mounting portion 41 and the weight portion 43 as the structure of the transducer 4, but the post portion 42 may be configured independently.

That is, as shown in fig. 10 (a) and 10 (b), a rod-shaped spring 42a configured independently of the attachment portion 41 and the weight portion 43 and a screw-shaped spring 42b in a form screwed to the attachment portion 41 and the weight portion 43 may be applied as the column portion 42. The rod-shaped spring 42a and the screw-shaped spring 42b can also produce various effects by the vibrator operation similar to those of the above-described embodiment and modified examples. Here, only the column portion 42 of the transducer 4 that originally needs to be elastically deformed. That is, according to the present modification, the materials of the mounting portion 41 and the weight portion 43 can be selected from a wide range of materials as appropriate regardless of the elasticity of the pillar portion 42.

Needless to say, the rod-shaped spring 42a and the screw-shaped spring are not limited to the form in which the electromagnet 50 is used as the excitation source 5. That is, the rod-shaped spring 42a and the screw-shaped spring may be applied to the embodiment in which the piezoelectric element 5 is applied as the excitation source 5 as in the first embodiment.

While the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the structure of the above embodiment. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the vibration damping spring is directly attached to the vicinity of the vibration plate of the movable portion or to the ground surface, but it goes without saying that the vibration damping spring may be attached at an intermediate position in the vertical direction.

For example, in the above embodiment, a configuration in which a pair of transducers is applied is adopted, but the number of transducers may be increased. Further, as a form in which the vibrator is attached to the movable portion, various conventional attachment forms not disclosed in the above embodiments may be applied for the purpose of attaching importance to strength and for the purpose of facilitating angle adjustment.

The other structure can be variously modified within a range not departing from the gist of the present invention.

Claims

1. A parts feeder, comprising:

a vibration plate having a substantially circular shape in plan view;

a movable portion to which the vibration plate is fixed at an upper end portion thereof;

a vibrator that performs a vibrator movement, the vibrator having a mounting portion that is set on one end side of the vibrator and that can be mounted to the movable portion, a column portion that extends from the mounting portion, and a weight portion that is set on the other end side of the vibrator as a free end; and

an excitation source that vibrates the vibrator so that the movable portion and the vibration plate convey the object along a circumferential direction of the vibration plate,

the pair of vibrators are provided in pairs, and are attached to the movable portion so as to be inclined in opposite directions from both sides of a hanging-down plate hanging down from the center in the width direction of the movable portion, and are fixed to the movable portion.

2. The parts feeder of claim 1, comprising:

a fixing part directly or indirectly fixed on the ground; and

and an anti-vibration spring that connects the fixed part and the movable part.

3. A parts feeder according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the parts feeder includes one or more sets of the pair of vibrators, and each of the vibrators of each set is fixed to the movable portion so that an extending direction of the pillar portion is inclined with respect to a vertical direction.

4. The parts feeder of claim 1 or 2, wherein the excitation source is a piezoelectric element.

5. The parts feeder of claim 1 or 2, wherein the excitation source is an electromagnet.