JP2000005949A - Screw fastener - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an automatic screw fastener capable of smoothly feeding even sharply pointed screws from a supply unit to a driver tool and coping with the long-range feed of the screws. SOLUTION: An automatic screw fastener comprises a transfer unit 50 provided between a supply unit 10 and a driver tool 30. The supply unit 10 separates a plurality of stored screws S from one another and feeds them to a feed hose 20 with their heads first, and the transfer unit 50 receives the screws S fed, changes their direction, and feeds them to the next feed hose 40 while again applying compressed air pressure thereto.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic screw tightening machine configured to fasten a screw supplied from a screw supply knit to a work by a driver tool.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an automatic screw tightening machine, a feeding hose extending from a feeding unit for separating and feeding screws is connected to a driver tool having a driver bit rotatable by being driven by a rotary driving source. Things are generally well known. In this automatic screw tightening machine, the screws separated one by one by the supply unit are pressure-fed by compressed air through a feeding hose, with the tip of the leg first, and the screw fed is fed to the chuck unit of the driver tool. To be held there.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional automatic screw tightening machine, since the screw is fed from the supply unit with the tip of the leg first, the tip is sharp like a tapping screw. When a screw is fed, the screw tip may stick into the feed hose, causing a problem such as clogging the screw inside the feed hose or severely damaging the inner wall of the feed hose without clogging. ing. In the case of air feeding, the pressing force of the air decreases toward the distal end (driver tool side) of the feeding hose, which causes a problem that it is difficult to feed the screw over a long distance. I have.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is a first object of the present invention to provide an automatic screw tightening machine capable of smoothly supplying a screw having a sharp tip from a supply unit to a driver tool. It is a second object of the present invention to provide an automatic screw tightening machine capable of handling distance feeding.

In order to achieve the first object, the present invention has a driver bit which can be rotated by being driven by a first rotary drive source such as a motor, and which can hold a screw on a moving path of the driver bit. An automatic screw tightening machine comprising: a driver tool having a chuck unit disposed therein; and a supply unit having a feed hose connected to the chuck unit for feeding the screw with a compressed fluid such as compressed air. The supply knit is configured to send the screw to the feed hose with the head of the screw first, and in the middle of the feed hose, a relay unit that can reverse the direction of the screw sent from the supply unit. Is provided.

The relay unit has a unit main body to which a feed hose extending from the supply unit and a feed hose extending to the driver tool can be respectively connected. The unit main body has a second rotary drive source such as a rotary actuator. And a rotating body having a fitting hole which is rotatable in response to the rotation of the feed hose and which can be alternately communicated with the feed hose in accordance with the rotation operation, is arranged, and the fitting hole is connected to the feed hose on the driver tool side. It is preferable that an injection nozzle capable of jetting a compressed fluid be provided in the fitting hole at a position where the communication is established.

In order to achieve the second object, the present invention has a driver bit rotatable by being driven by a first rotary drive source such as a motor, and can hold a screw on a moving path of the driver bit. An automatic screw tightening machine comprising a driver tool having a chuck unit disposed therein, and a supply unit connected to the chuck unit and having a feed hose for feeding a screw by a compressed fluid such as compressed air. A unit main body which is provided in the middle of the feed hose and to which the feed hose on the supply unit side and the feed hose on the driver tool side are respectively connected, and drives a second rotary drive source such as a rotary actuator which is arranged in the unit main body. A rotating body formed with a fitting hole that is rotatable when received and that can alternately communicate with the feed hose in accordance with the rotating operation; Fitting hole is one having a relay unit and a jet nozzle capable of ejecting the compressed fluid into the fitting hole at a position communicating with the feed hose of the driver tool side. Note that a plurality of relay units may be provided.

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 7, reference numeral 1 denotes an automatic screwing machine, which is a supply unit 10 for separating and supplying a screw S having a sharp tip such as a tapping screw, and receiving and sending the screw S sent from the supply unit 10. It has a driver tool 30 to be fastened to a work, and a relay unit 50 provided between the supply unit 10 and the driver tool 30.

The supply unit 10 has a basket 12 capable of storing a large number of components at a rear portion of the machine base 11, and a scooping plate 13 capable of reciprocatingly oscillating inside the basket 12 is provided, and is connected to the scooping plate 13. And a transfer path 14 extending to the front of the unit. The scooping plate 13 is formed of a plate member having a substantially fan shape, and a scooping groove 13a capable of supporting the screw S in a neck-hanging shape is formed on the upper surface thereof. In addition, the transfer path 14 is
3 is formed in a rail shape by two plate members provided at an interval capable of communicating with the scooping groove 13a and supporting the screw S in a neck-hanging manner.
It is made to vibrate by. An escapement 16 is attached to the tip of the transfer path 14 so that the screws S that have reached the end of the transfer path 14 can be sequentially separated and fed.

The escapement 16 will be described in detail. The escapement 16 comprises a slider 17 which can reciprocate in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the transfer path 14 extends, and a suction pipe disposed above the transfer path of the slider 18. 1
8 and an injection hole 19 for compressed air provided opposite to the suction pipe 18. The slider 17
Is constituted by a rodless air cylinder mechanism, and is driven by compressed air. The slider 17 is formed with a separation groove 17a into which one screw S can be engaged and which can communicate with the transfer path 14, and the suction pipe 18 and the ejection hole 19 move as the slider 17 moves. It is arranged so as to communicate with the separation groove 17a. Further, a flexible feed hose 20 extending to the relay unit 50 is connected to the suction pipe 18.

The driver tool 30 is provided with a driver table 32 which can be moved forward and backward by operating the air cylinder 31.
A motor 33 which is an example of a first rotary drive source,
A driver bit 34 having a tip end engageable with a driving hole of the head of the screw S is connected to an output shaft 33a of the motor 33, and a screw is provided on a moving path of the driver bit 34 on the moving path. A chuck unit 35 capable of holding is arranged.

The chuck unit 35 of the driver tool 30 includes a chuck body 36 having a guide path 36a for the driver bit 34, and a holding hole 37a into which a screw can be fitted is formed on the opposite surface of the chuck body 36. The pair of chuck claws 37 are rotatably connected. The chuck pawl 37 is constantly urged to close by a spring (not shown), and the chuck main body 36 is inclined with respect to the guide path 36a of the driver bit 34, and A revolving pipe 38 biased so as to always communicate with 37a is rotatably mounted, and a tubular hose connector 39 communicating with the revolving pipe 38 is connected to the hose connector 39. Is a flexible feed hose 4 extending from the relay unit 50.
0 is linked.

On the other hand, the relay unit 50 is formed by forming a guide hole 51a having a circular cross section in the unit main body 51, and arranging connectors 52 and 53 so as to communicate with the guide hole 51a. Is connected to the feed hose 20 and the other connector 53 is connected to the feed hose 40.
Are connected to each other. A cylindrical rotating body 54 is rotatably inserted into the guide hole 51a.
The rotating body 54 is connected to a rotary actuator 55 that is an example of a second rotation drive source attached to the unit main body 51. The rotating body 54 extends from the circumferential surface in a direction perpendicular to the axis, and
A fitting hole 54a having a diameter capable of fitting the screw S to be fed therethrough is formed therethrough.
a is positioned so as to communicate with the connection tool 52.
Further, a compressed air injection nozzle 56 is provided at a position of the unit main body 51 opposite to the connector 53 so as to be able to inject compressed air to the connector 53 side.

In the automatic screwing machine 1, when the scooping plate 13 swings in the basket 12 of the supply unit 10, the screws stored in the basket 12 are supported by the scooping grooves 13a in a hanging manner. Can be scooped up. When the scooping plate 13 reaches the top dead center and the scooping groove 13a is connected to the transfer path 14, the scooped screw S
3 and moves to the transfer path 14, and is aligned and transferred on the transfer path 14 vibrating by the operation of the vibrator 15. The screw that has reached the tip of the transfer path 14 is sequentially engaged with the separation groove 17 a of the slider 17, is separated from the subsequent one by the movement of the slider 17, receives the compressed air ejected from the ejection hole 19, and receives the head. Is sent out to the feed hose 20 first.

The screw delivered to the feeding hose 20 fits into the fitting hole 54a of the rotating body 54 of the relay unit 50.
In the relay unit 50, the rotary actuator 55 operates in response to the fitting of the screw S, and rotates the rotating body 54 around the axis by a predetermined angle (90 ° counterclockwise in FIG. 7), and fits into the fitting hole 54a. The fitting hole 54 a and the connecting tool 53 are communicated with each other with the leg end of the screw S facing the connecting tool 53. In order to confirm that the screw S has been fitted into the fitting hole 54a, an embedded sensor (not shown) is used.

When compressed air is ejected from the ejection nozzle 56, the screw S is sent through the feed hose 40 with the tip of the leg first, and is sent to the chuck unit 35 of the driver tool 30. The injection nozzle 5
If the compressed air is always jetted from the connector 6, the fitting hole 54a communicates with the connector 53 and the screw S
To the feed hose 40.

The screw S held on the chuck pawl 37 of the chuck unit 35 as described above is
The driver bit 34 is pushed onto the work by the driver bit 34 which advances in response to the operation of 1, and receives the rotation of the driver bit 34 by the driving of the motor 33, and engages with the tip end thereof to be fastened to the work.

FIG. 8 shows another embodiment of the present invention, in which two relay units 50 and 5 are provided on a screw feeding path.
0 'and deploy them to the feed hoses 20, 20', 40
Connected to the supply unit 10 and the driver tool 30. In this embodiment, the relay unit 50 ′ located on the supply unit side includes a rotating body 54 as shown in FIG.
Is rotated clockwise by 90 degrees, and the screw head fitted in the fitting hole 54a is configured to be sent out first, and up to the relay unit 50 on the driver tool 30 side.
The screw is configured to be fed head first.
With such a configuration, each relay unit 50, 50 '
The air pressure can be compensated for in this case, so that the screw can be fed over a long distance, and since the rotation angle of the rotating body 54 can be set individually, the feeding path is complicated. The screw S can be fed without difficulty.

[0019]

As is clear from the above description, according to the automatic screwdriver of the present invention, the screw can be fed to the relay unit with the head first, and the direction can be changed there. If the relay unit is placed near the chuck unit, even the screw with a sharp tip can be supplied to the vicinity of the chuck unit without clogging in the feed hose or damaging the feed hose. Can,
The direction can be changed by the relay unit and supplied to the chuck unit correctly. Therefore, the driver tool that has been used conventionally can be used as it is,
There are advantages such as that an extremely versatile automatic screw tightening machine can be provided. Also, since the relay unit is provided with a compressed air injection nozzle, by providing a plurality of relay units, it is possible to feed a screw over a long distance,
In addition, since the direction of the screw can be changed in each relay unit, there is an advantage that the screw can be fed smoothly and reliably even in a feeding route with complicated handling.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory view of an automatic screw tightening machine according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway front view illustrating an internal mechanism of a supply unit in the automatic screw tightening machine according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a side view of an escapement in the supply unit.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged partial cutaway sectional view of a main part of the automatic screw tightening machine according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged front view of the vicinity of a relay unit of the automatic screw tightening machine according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a schematic explanatory view of another embodiment of the automatic screw tightening machine according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 automatic screw tightening machine 10 supply unit 16 escapement 20 feed hose 30 driver tool 33 motor 34 driver bit 35 chuck unit 37 chuck jaw 40 feed hose 50 relay unit 51 unit body 54 rotating body 54a fitting hole 55 rotary actuator 56 Injection nozzle

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A driver tool having a driver bit rotatable by being driven by a rotary drive source, and a chuck unit capable of holding a screw on a moving path of the driver bit, and a driver tool connected to the chuck unit. An automatic screw tightening machine comprising: a screw supply unit having a supply hose for pressure-feeding the screw by a compressed fluid, wherein the screw supply knit sends the screw to the supply hose with the head of the screw first. The automatic screw tightening machine is provided with a relay unit that can reverse the direction of the screw sent from the supply unit in the middle of the supply hose. 2. A driver tool having a driver bit rotatable by being driven by a first rotation drive source, and a chuck unit capable of holding a screw on a moving path of the driver bit, and A feed unit having a feed hose connected to the feed hose for feeding the screw with a compressed fluid, wherein the feed hose and the driver tool side of the feed unit are provided in the middle of the feed hose. And a unit main body to which each of the feed hoses is connected; and a unit that is arranged in the unit main body, is rotatable by being driven by a second rotary drive source, and is capable of alternately communicating with the feed hose in accordance with the rotation operation thereof. A rotary body having a fitting hole formed therein, and a jet capable of injecting a compressed fluid into the fitting hole at a position where the fitting hole of the rotary body communicates with the feed hose on the driver tool side. Automatic screwing machine, characterized in that it has a relay unit and a nozzle. 3. The relay unit has a unit main body to which a feed hose extending from the supply unit and a feed hose extending to the driver tool can be respectively connected, and the unit main body is driven by a second rotary drive source. A rotating body having a fitting hole which is rotatable and which can be alternately communicated with the feed hose in accordance with the rotating operation is arranged, and at a position where the fitting hole communicates with the feed hose on the driver tool side. The automatic screwing machine according to claim 1, wherein an injection nozzle capable of ejecting a compressed fluid is provided in the fitting hole. 4. The automatic screw tightening machine according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of relay units are provided.