CN117120352A - Apparatus and method for separating torsion springs - Google Patents

Abstract

An apparatus for separating torsion springs (3), comprising: -a spindle (2) on which a plurality of torsion springs (3) can be provided; -a cylinder (19) for pushing the torsion spring (3) on the spindle (2); -a fixed helical core (8) arranged in a straight extension of the spindle (2) with a pitch matching the geometry of the torsion spring (3); and a rotatable driver (13) which concentrically surrounds the spiral core (8) and is designed to rotate the torsion spring (3) individually onto the spiral core (8).

Description

Apparatus and method for separating torsion springs

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a method for separating torsion springs and to a device suitable for carrying out such a separation method.

Background

DE 41 09 194A1 describes a device for supplying small parts, in particular coil springs. The device should be used in a production line for assembling electromechanical functional elements and comprise a storage container, which is a drum rotatable about its central axis. The storage container has a continuously circumferential slot opening in the central region of its rotation circumference, which ensures that the coil spring can reach into the guide channel of the stator arrangement. The spiral spring passes from the guide channel into the outlet channel, wherein two sensor devices are connected upstream of the outlet channel. The sensor device is coupled to a control device which actuates a so-called selection control in such a way that the separated spiral spring to be used reaches the receiving device. If no coil springs are available, which occurs, for example, in the case of two jammed coil springs screwed into one another, the selection control supplies the respective components to a collection container which receives those components which can be removed from the production process.

The device for automatically sorting and separating coil springs described in DE 36 41 359a1 comprises a rotatable drum having a downwardly inclined longitudinal axis. Within the cylinder there are two rollers of relatively small diameter, wherein the thread-like structure of one of the rollers decisively contributes to the transport and separation of the helical spring. On the inner circumference of the drum there is a driving element which, when the drum rotates, drives the spiral spring for a length, at most approximately half a turn of the drum and drops the spiral spring onto the roller.

A further device for separating and supplying assemblies, in particular springs, is disclosed in DE 33 21 173A1. In this case, two loosening devices are provided for moving the fitting stack relative to the housing wall.

DE 197 56,798 a1 describes a system for supplying a connecting element to a device for engaging and/or fastening the connecting element in a workpiece. The system can include a flexible supply. The recharging and separating device is operated by means of compressed air, to which a flexible supply device is connected.

The device for separating springs described in EP 1 348 650a1 works by means of an air flow. DE 31 42,282 a1 describes a device for separating springs, comprising a magnet. In the case of the conveying device for piece goods, in particular screws or bolts, described in DE 102010 021 474a1, the piece to be conveyed is pulled out of the container by magnetic force, wherein a plurality of magnets are mounted on a chain as a continuous conveying device.

Possible applications of torsion springs are described in documents DE 20 44 579c3 and DE 101 10 367a 1. In contrast to compression springs, which are designed as helical springs, torsion springs have, on both sides, in addition to the region describing the thread shape, typically unbent sections connected to this region, which are provided for applying a torque between two components that can be twisted relative to one another by means of the spring, wherein the pivot axis between the two components corresponds to the central axis of the winding region of the torsion spring.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention is based on the object of providing a method for separating a torsion spring which is further improved over the prior art, wherein a particularly advantageous ratio between the equipment outlay and the process reliability is sought.

According to the invention, this object is achieved by a device for separating torsion springs having the features of claim 1. As such, the object is achieved by a method for separating a torsion spring according to claim 5. The embodiments and advantages of the invention described below in connection with the separation method are also expediently applicable to a device which can separate torsion springs from one another and vice versa.

The separation apparatus includes: a mandrel on which a plurality of torsion springs may be provided; a cylinder for urging the torsion spring over the spindle; a fixed helical core disposed in a straight extension of the mandrel, the pitch of which matches the geometry of the torsion spring; and a rotatable driver which concentrically surrounds the helical core, said driver being designed to rotate the torsion spring individually onto the helical core. The spiral core is here the female mold of the torsion spring.

The separating device is thus suitable for handling torsion springs which, although already in the correct orientation on the spindle, can be partly inserted into each other or screwed into each other.

In a typical embodiment, the separating device is oriented vertically, wherein the workpiece, i.e. the torsion spring, is transported from below upwards. The assembly comprising the helical core and the rotatable driver is also referred to as the operating assembly.

The helical core is preferably dimensioned such that the torsion spring can be screwed onto the thread of the helical core without deformation, in particular with play. Alternatively, the pitch of the helical core is slightly different from the pitch of the torsion spring, so that the further the torsion spring is screwed onto the helical core by the driver, the more tightly the torsion spring is clamped in a targeted manner on the helical core.

Typically, based on providing a vertically oriented mandrel on which a number of torsion springs are strung in an at least partially overlapping manner, the separation of the torsion springs occurs as follows:

providing an operating assembly formed by a helical core and a rotatable driver concentrically surrounding the helical core, the helical core having a thread mapping the shape of the torsion spring,

positioning the operating assembly on the mandrel,

pushing the torsion spring upwards on the spindle until the uppermost torsion spring can be gripped by the driver,

the uppermost torsion spring is screwed onto the helical core by rotation of the driver, wherein the next torsion spring is first left on the spindle and is the uppermost spring at the next detachment.

The torsion spring is screwed onto the spiral core, for example, until the stop position is reached. A sensing mechanism can also be used that detects whether and to what extent the torsion spring is threaded onto the helical core. In any case, after the uppermost torsion spring has been screwed onto the helical core, the operating element is separated from the spindle, wherein the same torsion spring is again separated from the operating element at a later point in time by unscrewing it from the helical core by means of the driver.

In an advantageous method, the rotation of the torsion spring about its own axis of symmetry after unscrewing from the spiral core is transferred to another device, for example an assembly machine, in a defined angular orientation.

According to one possible embodiment, the spiral core has an outer diameter that is greater than the smallest inner diameter of the driver. In particular, a sliding bearing of the rotatable driver in the axial direction by the screw core can be achieved if the driver is fixed relative to the screw core.

After the handling assembly is removed from the mandrel, the handling assembly can be supplied to the assembly location in any orientation. For example, the separated torsion springs can remain continuously in a vertical orientation. It is also possible to transfer the torsion spring manually or automatically in a horizontal or inclined orientation after the operating assembly is removed from the spindle. In any event, the threaded configuration of the helical core ensures that the torsion spring does not accidentally become disengaged from the operating assembly.

Drawings

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Wherein is shown:

fig. 1 shows a partial schematic view of an apparatus for separating torsion springs.

Detailed Description

The separating device, generally designated by the reference numeral 1, is designed for individually removing the torsion springs 3 on the spindle 2 from the spindle 2. The mandrel 2 is in the present case made of cardboard. To remove the torsion spring 3 from the spindle 2, an operating assembly 7 is fitted onto the spindle, said operating assembly comprising a fixed helical core 8 and a rotatable driver 13.

As long as the torsion springs 3 are fitted onto the spindle 2, an overlap between the individual torsion springs 3 can be produced. The torsion springs 3 can in particular be screwed into one another. Each torsion spring 3 has a winding region 4 in which the torsion spring is wound helically with a constant pitch. The winding area 4 ends at both ends with an outwardly directed leg 5, 6.

The entire separating device 1 has a vertically oriented central axis MA, which corresponds to the axis of symmetry of the spindle 2 and of the handling assembly 7. The spiral core 8 is directly sleeved onto the spindle 2 during operation of the separating apparatus 1, wherein a small distance between the spiral core 8 and the spindle 2 is harmless. The screw core 8 can be a one-piece component of the operating assembly 7, wherein the different sections 9, 10, 11 can be distinguished from one another. In particular, this is a threaded section 9, a guide section 10, which has a smooth cylindrical wall and is connected above to the threaded section 9, and a front section 11, which is connected to the underside of the threaded section 9. The front section 11 ends in the form of a conical section 12 which facilitates the transfer of the torsion spring 3 from the spindle 2 onto the operating assembly 7.

The driver 13 is concentrically slipped onto the screw core 8, wherein the sleeve section 15 surrounds the threaded section 9. The height of the sleeve portion 15, which is to be measured in the longitudinal direction of the central axis MA, corresponds approximately to the height of the threaded portion 9. The sleeve section 15 is flush with the threaded section 9 at its upper end. At this point, the sleeve section 15 merges into a bearing section 16, which has a reduced inner diameter compared to the sleeve section 15. An axial bearing surface 17 is thereby formed, by means of which the driver 13 rests on the threaded section 9. In the sleeve section 15, a bore 18 is visible, which can be used for connection to further components of the operating assembly 7, which are not shown.

If the torsion spring 3, which is separate from the spindle 2, should be transferred to the actuating assembly 7, the entire stack of torsion springs 3 strung onto the spindle 2 is pushed in the direction of advance VR, i.e. in the present case lifted, corresponding to the orientation of the central axis MA by means of the cylinders 19, which are only schematically shown in fig. 1. If the stack of torsion springs 3 is lifted far enough, the uppermost leg 5 can be gripped by the action profile 14 provided by the driver 13. By a subsequent mechanical rotation of the driver 13, the torsion spring 3 is screwed into the threaded section 9, which can be understood as a negative mold of the torsion spring 3, and is simultaneously removed from the torsion spring 3 disposed further below, which is still on the spindle 2.

After the torsion spring 3 is fully received in the operating assembly 7, it can be removed from the spindle 2. The torsion spring 3 is then removed again from the actuating assembly 7 by rotation of the driver 13 at the other point, also in the further orientation of the actuating assembly 7, and is transferred, for example, to an assembly machine or inserted directly into the instrument to be assembled.

Description of the reference numerals

1. Separation apparatus

2. Mandrel

3. Torsion spring

4. Winding area

5. Landing leg

6. Landing leg

7. Operating assembly

8. Spiral core

9. Threaded section

10. Guide section

11. Front section

12. Conical section

13. Driving piece

14. Action profile

15. Sleeve section

16. Support section

17. Axial bearing surface

18. Hole(s)

19. Cylinder with a cylinder body

MA central axis

VR direction of propulsion

Claims (8)

1. An apparatus for separating torsion springs (3), comprising: -a spindle (2) on which a plurality of torsion springs (3) can be provided; -a cylinder (19) for pushing the torsion spring (3) on the spindle (2); -a fixed helical core (8) arranged in a straight extension of the spindle (2) with a pitch matching the geometry of the torsion spring (3); and a rotatable driver (13) which concentrically surrounds the spiral core (8) and is designed to rotate the torsion spring (3) individually onto the spiral core (8).

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the spiral core (8) has an outer diameter greater than the inner diameter of the driver (13).

3. The apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that the driver (13) is slidingly supported by the screw core (8) and fixed in the axial direction.

4. A device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the spiral core (8) is also oriented vertically as the axis of rotation of the driver (13) coincides with the central axis (MA) of the spiral core.

5. A method for separating a torsion spring (3), having the following features:

providing a vertically oriented spindle (2) on which a torsion spring (3) is strung in an at least partially overlapping manner,

providing an operating assembly (7) formed by a helical core (8) having a thread mapping the shape of the torsion spring (3) and a rotatable driver (13) concentrically surrounding the helical core (8),

positioning the operating assembly (7) on the mandrel (2),

pushing the torsion spring (3) upward on the spindle (2) until the uppermost torsion spring (3) can be gripped by the driver (13),

-screwing the uppermost torsion spring (3) onto the helical core (8) by rotation of the driver (13), wherein the next torsion spring (3) remains on the spindle (2).

6. Method according to claim 5, characterized in that the uppermost torsion spring (3) is screwed onto the helical core (8) until a stop position is reached.

7. Method according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that after the uppermost torsion spring (3) has been screwed onto the helical core (8), the operating assembly (7) is separated from the spindle (2) and the torsion spring (3) is separated again from the operating assembly (7) at a later point in time by being screwed off the helical core (8) by means of the driver (13).

8. Method according to claim 7, characterized in that, after unscrewing from the helical core (8), the rotation of the torsion spring (3) with respect to the torsion spring (3) about its own symmetry axis is transferred to another device in a defined angular orientation.