JP2000016570A - Article supply device and article supply method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To properly and certainly pass an article which is an object to supply a through port by preventing occurrence of inconvenience of clogging, etc., of the objective article at the through port of an inlet, etc., of a passage or realizing early settlement of the inconvenience while continuing carriage of the article on a carrier surface. SOLUTION: A shaft axis line in the vertical direction of a rubber made exclusion roller 26 is set on the inner peripheral side of a ring rotating surface 14a at an inlet of an outlet guide 24. An outer peripheral surface of the exclusion roller 26 is made slightly on the inner peripheral side of the ring rotating surface 14a. The exclusion roller 26 is rotated clockwise direction. A work W a part or whole of which is protruded to the inner peripheral side in front of the inlet of the outlet guide 24 is excluded back ward and inward by making it contact with the outer peripheral surface of the exclusion roller 26.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an article supply apparatus for carrying out a supply by aligning and supplying target articles while transporting them on a transport surface, and an article supply apparatus capable of preventing or eliminating inconveniences such as clogging of articles. The present invention relates to an article supply method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In many cases, an apparatus for feeding a work while conveying and aligning the work on a transfer surface is always operated in an oversupply state. Depending on the shape and size of the work, the supply amount may be large, or a pushing force on the work in the apparatus may be required. In such a case, the degree of gathering of the works on the transfer surface or the traveling path derived from the transfer surface or the like is increased, so that the gap between the works is reduced, the works are in contact with each other, or the work is accumulated. Various inconveniences may occur. That is, damage to the articles due to friction with the conveying surface of the staying articles or articles subsequently staying therefrom or collision between the articles, overlapping of relatively thin articles, etc., which are easily overlapped, and both sides having wall surfaces There are inconveniences, such as clogging of a part where articles are likely to be clogged, such as a certain passage or a passage opening, overlapping of easily overlapped articles due to a pushing force of a subsequent article, and occurrence or promotion of clogging of articles in a easily clogged part.

[0003] For example, a target work is a long and narrow rod-shaped work whose both ends protrude in the axial direction in a hemispherical shape, or a shape in which one end of the long and narrow rod-shaped work is cut out in a D-shaped cross section. In some cases, when the previous work is pushed in the longitudinal direction by the subsequent work, the contact area between the works a is extremely small, so that the postures of both works are very unstable, and the work may be misaligned and escape. And In such a case, as shown in FIG. 5, if one side (outer peripheral side) along the work transport path is the guide wall b and the other side (the inner peripheral edge c side) is open, the work a
Attempts to separate from the transport surface d (annular rotating surface) to the open side. Also, from such a transport route,
When the work a is introduced into the passage e having the guide walls on both sides, the rear part of the work a1 separates to the open side in a state where the front part of the previous work a1 enters the entrance of the passage e. The front part of the work a2 is likely to enter between the rear part of the front work a and the guide wall part b and become jammed.

[0004] When the inconvenience occurs, the alignment and transfer of the work on the transfer surface are stopped or transported in the opposite direction each time, so that the overall efficiency is greatly reduced.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems in the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to continue the transportation of articles on a transportation surface while maintaining the entrance of a passage or the like. Supply apparatus and article supply method capable of preventing the occurrence of inconvenience such as clogging of the target article in the passage opening of the object or realizing the early release of the inconvenience and enabling the article to be supplied to pass through the passage opening properly and reliably Is to provide.

[0006]

Means for Solving the Problems (1) An article supply device of the present invention that achieves the above object has a transport surface for transporting an article placed thereon, a passage port for passing the article on the transport surface,
It has a recirculation outer peripheral portion located on the upstream side of the passage opening, and the rejection circulation outer peripheral portion is located in the vicinity of a path before the passage of the article conveyed on the conveying surface and passing through the passage opening before passing through the passage opening. The circulating outer peripheral portion for rejection is driven to circulate so that the side facing the path is opposite to the traveling direction of the transport surface (claim 1).

[0007] An article supply method according to the present invention is an article supply method in which an article placed on a transport surface is transported, and the article on the transport surface is passed through a passage opening. In the vicinity of the path of the article passing through the passage opening before passing through the passage opening, the circulating outer peripheral portion for exclusion is positioned, and the circulating outer peripheral portion of the exclusion is positioned such that the side facing the path is opposite to the traveling direction of the transport surface. By circulating and driving, the articles that are conveyed on the conveying surface and pass through the passing port and protrude from the path before passing through the passing port, the direction of conveyance by the conveying surface by the circulating drive of the circulating outer periphery for exclusion. Are excluded in the opposite direction (claim 5).

[0008] As the target article, for example, a rod-shaped body whose both ends protrude hemispherically in the axial direction, or a rod-shaped body having one end cut off in a D-shaped cross section, particularly an elongated rod-shaped body Can be mentioned.

According to the article supply apparatus and the article supply method of the present invention, when a subsequent article pushes a previous article in a state of being in contact and being aligned in series, the preceding article relatively pushes forward. It is excellent in handleability when an article that is difficult to be removed and easily detaches to the side is transported in the longitudinal direction, but the object article of the present invention is not limited to this.

[0010] As the conveying surface, an annular rotating surface (for example, an annular flat surface having a constant radius around the rotation axis, or an inner and outer periphery) that is rotationally driven using an electric motor or the like is preferable. Is a concentric circumference with a constant radius, etc.), in particular, a horizontal or substantially horizontal annular rotating surface (claim 2). However, a vibration transfer surface of a vibrating bowl hopper feeder, a straight-type vibration feeder, or the like, or a straight transfer surface of an endless belt or the like may be used as the transfer surface.

[0011] The passage opening is a fixed gap through which a target article can pass. For example, an entrance (or an entrance of a curved passage) of a straight passage having guide walls on both sides (for example, a passage in which target articles can be aligned only in a line),
In the case where a guide wall is provided on one side and a guide portion is provided in a spot at one place with a gap therebetween, a gap portion between the guide wall and the guide portion, a gap portion between a pair of opposed point-like guide portions, and the like. Can be mentioned.

An article on the transport surface passing through the passage opening is, for example, a transport force (for example, rotation of the transport surface when the transport surface is an annular rotating surface, Alternatively, an article on the transport surface may pass through the passage opening while being transported by the transport surface due to vibration or the like, and an article following the preceding article (for example, on the transport surface) It may be one that passes through the passage opening while being pushed by the (article that is conveyed and advances), or one that passes through the passage opening while receiving both such a conveying force and a pushing force.

The circulation speed of the peripheral portion of the rejection circulation (the speed at which the side facing the path moves in the direction opposite to the traveling direction of the transport surface)
Is desirably higher than the traveling speed of the article conveyed on the conveying surface at that position.

As an example of the circulating outer peripheral portion for exclusion, there can be mentioned an outer peripheral surface of a rotating exclusion roller capable of moving an object article by friction with the rotating outer peripheral surface. As such an excluding roller, for example, a roller having a cylindrical outer peripheral surface made of rubber, and having a cross section substantially D
A rubber roller having a U-shaped shape, a rubber roller having a drum-shaped cross section (a pair of opposed two sides in a rectangular shape bulging into an arc shape), and the like are rotated by a driving device such as an electric motor. It can be always rotating. The number of circulating peripheral parts for elimination such as elimination rollers may be one.
The above may be provided. The position of the circulating peripheral portion for exclusion such as the exclusion roller can be, for example, immediately before the passage port (for example, within the target article length in front of the passage port). In addition, as the circulating outer peripheral portion for exclusion, the outer peripheral surface of an endless belt that is circulated and driven (for example, an endless rubber belt) can be used. Of course,
The material of the circulating outer peripheral portion for exclusion is not particularly limited.

[0015] The vicinity of the path of an article conveyed on the conveying surface and passing through the passage opening before passing through the passage opening means that when the target article is conveyed on the conveying surface and passes through the passage opening, the object passes through the passage opening. This means, for example, near the side or above the route that the article should take before.

If a part of the target article protrudes from the above-mentioned route due to a change in the posture of the target article or the whole of the target article protrudes from the above-mentioned path before the target article passes through the pass-through opening, the article is placed in the pass-through opening. May not or may not pass properly. In other words, when the target article attempts to pass through the passage, if there is an inconvenience such that one or more articles are blocked or cannot pass through the passage, or such an inconvenience is likely to occur. In such a case, it will protrude from the route.

If a part or the whole of the target article protrudes from the path before passing through the passage opening, the article is
By contacting the circulating outer peripheral portion for circulating which is located in the vicinity of the path, it is eliminated in a direction opposite to the direction of conveyance by the conveying surface. Therefore, a target article that causes or has a high possibility of causing an inconvenience in the passage opening is removed from the passage opening in a direction opposite to the direction in which the object passes through the passage opening while the conveyance of the article on the conveying surface is continued.

[0018] The article supply device may have a receiving portion for receiving the removed articles at a position where the articles removed by the circulating outer peripheral portion reach. In this case, for example, the articles rejected by the rejection circulation outer peripheral portion may be separated from the transport surface by dropping or the like and received by the receiving portion. In addition, it is possible to have a supply device capable of re-supplying the articles received in the receiving section onto the transport surface. The supply device itself may have a function as a receiving unit.

As an example of an apparatus provided with such a receiving portion and a supply device, the conveying surface is the above-described annular rotating surface, and the lower surface on the inner peripheral side for supplying the target article to the conveying surface. Examples include a vibrating bowl hopper feeder and an apparatus having an inclined rotating disk. The receiving portion in the case of the vibrating bowl hopper feeder receives, for example, an article outside the bowl, and conveys the received article by vibration accompanied by guidance into the bowl, or by inclination of the bottom face facing the bowl. Can be returned into the bowl again through the passage into the bowl. In this case, the article that has been removed by the circulating outer peripheral portion and has fallen from the annular rotating surface, which is the conveying surface, to the inner peripheral side falls, is received by the receiving portion, returns to the bowl, and vibrates on the spiral feed path by vibration. After advancing ascending, it may be supplied on the transport surface. Also, an inclined rotating disk (for example, the outer periphery and the upper side thereof are surrounded by a fixed surrounding wall via a minute gap, and the outer periphery of the upper portion of the inclined rotating disk is close to the inner periphery of the annular rotating surface via the minute gap. If the article on the lower part of the inclined rotating disk is conveyed upward on the inclined rotating disk by the rotation of the inclined rotating disk and fed onto the conveying surface), The whole of the rotating disk is used as the receiving portion, and the articles that have been removed by the circulating outer peripheral portion and have fallen to the inner peripheral side from the annular rotating surface that is the transport surface,
It can be configured to fall and be received on the inclined rotating disk serving as the receiving portion, and to be supplied onto the transport surface again by rotation of the inclined rotating disk.

The article supply device may have a guide (for example, a guide wall) for guiding the article conveyed on the conveying surface to the passage opening. The guide may be provided separately from the conveying surface (for example, when the conveying surface is an annular rotating surface), or may be provided integrally with the conveying surface (for example, when the conveying surface is a vibrating conveying surface). .).

For example, a guide wall portion or the like is provided on one side (for example, the outer peripheral side or the inner peripheral side, or the right side or the left side) along the path before the article conveyed on the conveying surface and passing through the passage opening passes through the passage opening. If the other side along the route does not have a guide and is separated from the transport surface, when the target article partially or entirely protrudes from the route, it always protrudes to the other side. If the outer peripheral portion of the elimination roller is located near the other side with respect to the path, a part of or the whole protrudes from the path to cause an inconvenience with respect to the passage opening, or a target article having a high possibility of causing a problem. In addition, it is possible to remove the sheet from the transport surface by removing the sheet from the passage port in a direction opposite to the direction of passing through the passage port with high certainty.

When the path of an article conveyed on the conveying surface and passing through the passage opening before passing through the passage opening is a curved path such as a circumferential path, it usually acts on the target article conveyed along the curved path. Since the centrifugal force of the guide wall is considered, the position of the guide body such as the guide wall is set on the outer peripheral side of the curved path, and the inner peripheral side of the curved path is configured so as to be separated from the conveying surface without the guide body. ing.

In the article supply apparatus of the present invention, the transport surface is an annular rotating surface (for example, an annular flat surface whose inner periphery is a circular shape having a constant radius around the rotation axis) and is transported on the transport surface. It has a guide wall portion for guiding the article to the passage opening, and the path of the article conveyed on the conveyance surface and passing through the passage opening before passing through the passage opening is the outer peripheral side of the inner peripheral edge of the annular rotating surface and Along the curved inner peripheral portion (for example, an arc-shaped inner peripheral portion) of the guide wall portion, the circulating outer peripheral portion for exclusion may be provided on the inner peripheral side of the annular rotating surface immediately before the passage port. .

When a part or the whole of the target article protrudes laterally from the route before passing through the passage opening, it always protrudes to the inner peripheral side of the route. Therefore, for example, when the target articles are difficult to stack vertically, such as those having a circular cross section, the articles partially or wholly protruding from the above-described path are placed in the annular rotating surface immediately before the passage opening. By the circulating outer peripheral portion on the peripheral side, it is possible to reliably remove the sheet in the direction opposite to the direction of conveyance by the conveyance surface.

As described above, this article supply apparatus is capable of receiving an article detached from the transport surface to the inner peripheral side below the inner peripheral side of the transport surface and resupplying the article to the transport surface. (Claim 4). (2) The article supply device of (1) moves a guide for guiding an article conveyed on the conveying surface along a predetermined route, and a movable guide portion forming at least a part of the guide. A path changing device capable of changing the predetermined path by causing the article to be conveyed on the conveying surface along the path changed by the path changing device, whereby the article is separated from the conveying surface. You can do it.

The guide may be, for example, a guide wall for guiding an article conveyed on the conveying surface in a curved or linear manner.

A guide such as a guide wall is provided on one side (for example, on the outer side or the inner side, or on the right side or the left side) along a predetermined path for transporting articles on the transport surface. The other side along has no guide and can be separated from the transport surface. When the path of the article conveyed on the conveying surface is a curved path such as a circumferential path,
Usually, a guide such as a guide wall is provided on the outer peripheral side of the curved path. In that case, the inner peripheral side of the curved path can be configured to be separated from the transport surface without the guide.

The guide may be provided separately from the conveying surface (for example, when the conveying surface is an annular rotating surface) or may be provided integrally with the conveying surface (for example, when the conveying surface is a vibrating conveying surface). If it is.).

The movable guide portion constitutes at least a part of the guide body, and includes a guide position for guiding an article conveyed on the conveying surface along a predetermined path, and an article conveyed on the conveying surface. Can be taken off from the transfer surface. The movable guide portion can swing around a swing shaft portion provided at one end, for example, and can be positioned at any one of the guide position and the separation position by the path changing device. For example, the path of the article conveyed on the conveying surface is a curved path such as a circumferential path, the guide is provided on the outer peripheral side of the curved path, and the inner peripheral side of the curved path is the inner peripheral edge of the conveying surface. When the guide is not present, the article conveyed on the conveyance surface can be separated from the inner peripheral edge of the conveyance surface by moving the movable guide portion to the separation position.

The route changing device may change the predetermined route by moving the movable guide portion, and may restore the predetermined route by returning the movable guide portion to the original position. it can.

As the path changing device, an actuator such as a solenoid or a hydraulic or pneumatic cylinder for changing the path of the article conveyed on the conveying surface by the movement of the movable guide can be exemplified. .

By moving the movable guide section by the path changing device to change the predetermined path, the article can be detached from the transport surface while continuing the transport of the article on the transport surface. Therefore, the degree of gathering of articles on the traveling path or the like derived from the transport surface at the position of the movable guide portion on the transport surface or downstream of the position of the movable guide portion or downstream of the position of the movable guide portion is increased. Various inconveniences due to the small gap between the articles, the contact between the articles, or the stagnation of the articles, that is,
Damage to articles due to friction of the staying articles or articles that subsequently stay with the conveying surface or collision of articles, overlapping of relatively thin articles and other easily overlapped articles, and certain It is possible to eliminate the possibility that articles are clogged in places where articles are easily clogged, such as passages and passage openings, and to prevent the occurrence or promotion of overlapping of easily overlapped articles or clogging of articles in the easily clogged places due to the pushing force of subsequent articles. The prevention can be realized while continuing the article transport operation on the transport surface.

Therefore, in the article supply apparatus, the movable guide section is moved by the path changing device to change the predetermined path, thereby allowing the article to be separated from the transport surface while continuing the transport of the article on the transport surface. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate various problems caused by an increase in the degree of assembly of the articles and a decrease in the gap between the articles, contact between the articles, and stagnation of the articles, and prevent the inconvenience of the articles on the transport surface. This can be realized while continuing the transport operation.

This article supply device may have a receiving portion for receiving the article separated from the transport surface by the path changing device. In this case, for example, the article that has been separated from the transport surface by the route changing device may be separated from the transport surface by dropping or the like and received by the receiving unit. In addition, it is possible to have a supply device capable of re-supplying the articles received in the receiving section onto the transport surface. The supply device itself may have a function as a receiving unit. Further, such a receiving portion and a supply device can be common to the receiving portion and the supply device described in (1). Examples are similar to those described in (1).

This article supply apparatus includes a gathering degree detecting device for detecting the degree of gathering of articles on a traveling path derived from the position of the movable guide portion on the transport surface or downstream of the movable guide portion or downstream of the movable guide portion from the transport surface. According to the gathering degree detection information of the gathering degree detecting device, when the degree of gathering is high, the path changing device may move the movable guide portion to change the predetermined path.

In this case, the route changing device changes the predetermined route by moving the movable guide section when the degree of gathering is high according to the degree of gathering detection information from the degree of gathering detecting device. When the degree is not high or when the degree of gathering is low, the movable guide may be returned to the original position to restore the predetermined path.

The gathering degree detecting device can detect the size of the gap between the articles and the contact state between the articles in a state where the articles are substantially aligned in the traveling direction.

As the gathering degree detecting device, for example, the presence or absence of an article at a predetermined position is detected by an optical detecting element or the like. One that determines that there is a signal and outputs a high-assembly degree detection signal can be used. In this case, when the route changing device receives the high gathering degree detection signal from the gathering degree detecting device, the movable guide portion is moved to change the predetermined route, and the input of the high gathering degree detecting signal is stopped. Then, the movable guide portion can be returned to the original position.

When the degree of gathering of the articles detected by the gathering degree detecting device is high, the route changing device moves the movable guide section to change the predetermined route in accordance with the gathering degree detection information, so that the predetermined position on the transport surface is reduced. The article can be detached from the transport surface while the article is continuously transported. Therefore, the position at which the collectiveness detecting device detects the collectiveness of the articles, that is, the position of the movable guide portion on the transport surface or the downstream of the position of the movable guide portion or the downstream of the movable guide portion from the transport surface. In the derived traveling route, etc.,
Continue the operation of transporting the goods on the transport surface to eliminate and prevent various inconveniences caused by the high degree of assembly of the goods, the gap between the goods becoming smaller, the contact between the goods, and the stagnation of the goods. In addition, it can be realized automatically.

[0040]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIGS. 1 to 4 relate to an article supply apparatus as an example of an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a plan view, FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a main part near a route change device in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a main part near an exit guide in FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a line IV-IV in FIG. It is principal part sectional drawing.

In this article supply apparatus, a ring-shaped mounting portion 12a of an alignment / selection attachment 12 is fixed to an attachment mounting ring fixing base 10. An annular rotating plate 14 is rotatably supported concentrically on the inner peripheral side of the ring-shaped mounting portion 12a, and is rotationally driven by an electric motor. The upper surface of the annular rotating plate 14 is a horizontal annular rotating surface 14a (transport surface). A vibration bowl hopper feeder 16 of an electromagnetic vibration type is provided on the inner peripheral side of the annular rotary plate 14.

In the vibrating bowl hopper feeder 16, a bowl portion 16a located on the upper portion and a receiving portion 16b (an example of a receiving means) provided on the entire outer periphery of the lower portion of the bowl portion 16a vibrate integrally and electromagnetically. The vibration causes the bowl portion 16
The workpiece W (target article) accommodated in a moves upward in a spiral feeding path (not shown) in the bowl portion 16a counterclockwise (it goes without saying that it is not limited to this direction). At the end of the spiral path, the work W
Has a supply chute 16c for sliding down the supply onto the annular rotating surface 14a.

The work W in this example is a columnar body whose both ends project hemispherically in the axial direction.

As shown in FIG. 4, the pan 16b is
The bottom surface surrounded by the outer peripheral wall is inclined inward toward the bowl portion 16a. The work W received by the tray 16b moves counterclockwise in the tray 16b due to vibration,
Guided inward by a guide plate 16d shown in FIG. 1,
It returns into the bowl part 16a through a through hole (not shown) provided in the peripheral wall of the bowl part 16a.

As shown in FIG. 4, the inner peripheral portion of the annular rotating plate 14 is located slightly above the outer peripheral wall of the receiving portion 16b, and the inner peripheral edge of the annular rotating plate 14 is located inside the outer peripheral wall of the receiving portion 16b. It is located slightly inward from the surrounding surface. The upper surface of the annular rotating plate 14 is an annular rotating surface 14a formed in an annular plane having a constant width around the vertical axis.

The annular rotating surface 14a is a horizontal annular flat surface having a constant width centered on the vertical axis, and is independent of the vibration of the vibrating bowl hopper feeder 16 by an electric motor (not shown).
The work W on the annular rotating surface 14a is conveyed by being rotated counterclockwise by being driven, and is not conveyed by vibration. Therefore, the stability of the positional relationship between the alignment / selection device of the alignment / selection attachment 12 attached to the attachment mounting ring fixing base 10 which is a stationary portion and the annular rotating surface 14a is high.

The alignment / selection attachment 12 has an alignment / selection tool for aligning or selecting the work W conveyed on the annular rotating surface 14a fixed to the ring-shaped mounting portion 12a. Fixed base 1
0, the ring-shaped mounting portion 12a of the alignment / selection attachment 12 is fixed in a detachable manner by bolts, so that the alignment / selection tool can be turned into the annular rotating surface 14a.
Arranged above. The positioning is performed by aligning predetermined bolt holes of the ring fixing base 12a of the attachment mounting ring fixing base 10 and the ring-shaped mounting portion 12a of the alignment / selection attachment 12, and screwing a bolt to both.

The aligning / sorting device in this article supply apparatus is an arc-shaped fixed guide 18 (guide) whose starting end is located at a position slightly counterclockwise from the tip of the supply chute 16c.
And an arcuate movable guide 20a (movable guide) continuous to the end side of the arcuate fixed guide 18 is connected to the swing shaft portion 20 at the start end.
b, and a path changing device 20 that swings around a center b, and an arc-shaped sorting tool 22 that is continuous with the end side of the arc-shaped movable guide 20a.
And an exit guide 24 extending tangentially from the end of the arc-shaped sorting tool 22 to the outside of the attachment mounting ring fixing base 10, and an inner periphery of the entrance (passing opening) of the exit guide 24 relative to the annular rotating surface 14 a. This is a rubber removing roller 26 having a vertical axis on its side and an outer peripheral surface located slightly inside the annular rotating surface 14a. The lower ends of the arc-shaped fixed guide 18, the arc-shaped movable guide 20a, and the arc-shaped sorting tool 22 are all close enough to contact the annular rotating surface 14a.

The radial position of the inner peripheral edge of the arc-shaped fixed guide 18 gradually changes gradually from the outer peripheral side of the annular rotating surface 14a toward the inner periphery from the start end to the end.

The arc-shaped movable guide 20a is connected to the path changing device 2
Driven by the solenoid 20c at 0, it takes one of a guide position shown by a solid line in FIGS. 1 and 2 and a release position shown by a two-dot chain line. The inner peripheral edge of the arcuate movable guide 20a at the guide position gradually changes smoothly toward the inner periphery of the annular rotating surface 14a following the inner peripheral edge of the arcuate fixed guide 18, and the outer peripheral surface of the arcuate notch 22a in the arcuate sorter 22. Is almost continuous. The arcuate movable guide 20 at the detached position
a starts at the inner peripheral edge of the arc-shaped fixed guide 18 and ends at the inner peripheral edge of the arc-shaped movable guide 20a.
It reaches the inner periphery of a.

At the lower end of the inner periphery of the arc-shaped sorting tool 22, there is provided an arc-shaped notch 22a having a constant square cross section which is open radially inward. In the arc-shaped notch 22a, the work W
Are set along the longitudinal direction, and at this time, there is some margin between the workpiece W and the outer peripheral surface and the upper surface of the arc-shaped notch 22a.

The outlet guide 24 has a straight groove 24a having a cross section similar to that of the arc-shaped notch 22a of the arc-shaped sorting tool 22. The inner surface on the outer peripheral side of the linear groove 24a (the inner surface on the left side in FIGS. 1 and 3) is substantially continuous with the outer peripheral surface of the end of the arc-shaped notch 22a at the start end, and the arc-shaped notch 2
It extends in the tangential direction at the end of 2a.

The bottom surface at the start end of the linear groove 24a is an annular rotating surface 14a, which is located forward (see FIGS. 1 and 3).
The bottom surface of the linear groove 24a in the lower portion of FIG. 1 is formed by a linear vibration feeder 28. In addition, this can also be comprised by the conveyance apparatus, such as a belt conveyor.

The elimination roller 26 is constantly rotated clockwise by an electric motor 30 located above. Expulsion roller 2
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the outer peripheral surface of the workpiece W is conveyed on the annular rotating surface 14a and guided to the linear groove 24a through the entrance of the exit guide 24 on the inner peripheral side of the path of the work W. The side that is located near and faces the path of the work W rotates in a direction opposite to the traveling direction of the work W.

Ring-shaped mounting portion 1 in outlet guide 24
A gathering degree detecting device 32 that detects the degree of gathering of the work W in the linear groove 24a is provided outside the moving guide 2a (a traveling path derived from the annular rotating surface 14a downstream of the arc-shaped movable guide 20a). The collectiveness detection device 32 detects the presence or absence of the work W by an optical detection element, and determines that the collectiveness is high when the work W is detected for a predetermined percentage or more of a predetermined time, and determines that the collectiveness is high. It is possible to use a signal that outputs a collectiveness detection signal and stops the output of the high collectiveness detection signal when the condition is not satisfied. The path changing device 20 changes the path of the work W by moving the arcuate movable guide 20a to the disengagement position when the high congestion detection signal is input from the congestion detection device 32, and the input of the high congestion detection signal is When stopped, the arc-shaped movable guide 20a is returned to the original guide position.

The work W accommodated in the bowl portion 16a of the vibrating bowl hopper feeder 16 is sequentially moved counterclockwise on the spiral path by the vibration of the bowl section 16a and then connected to the tip of the spiral path. Supply chute 16c
Is supplied onto the annular rotating surface 14a of the annular rotating plate 14 through the rotator.

As the annular rotating surface 14a rotates counterclockwise, the work W is aligned or sorted at high speed while being conveyed counterclockwise by the frictional force with the annular rotating surface 14a. In the normal state, the arcuate movable guide 20a is set as the guide position. Work W
While being conveyed counterclockwise on the annular rotating surface 14a, it is first brought closer to the inner peripheral side on the annular rotating surface 14a by the arc-shaped fixed guide 18, and is further curved by the arc-shaped movable guide 20a (guide position) of the path changing device 20. It is led to the arc-shaped notch 22a at the start end of the sorting tool 22. At this time, the workpiece W having a posture or shape other than the predetermined one falls into the inside of the annular rotating surface 14a. The work W having a predetermined posture and shape is conveyed by the annular rotating surface 14a, passes through the arc-shaped notch 22a, and reaches the entrance (passage) of the exit guide 24.

The traveling path of the work W reaching the vicinity of the entrance of the exit guide 24 is along the axis of the arc-shaped notch 22a (center line in the circumferential direction) and the axis of the linear groove 24a in the exit guide 24. When the axis of W substantially coincides with the axis of the arc-shaped notch 22a and the axis of the linear groove 24a,
The work W is introduced into (passes through) the linear groove 24a through the entrance of the exit guide 24, and is conveyed forward (downward in FIGS. 1 and 3) by the rotation of the annular rotating surface 14a.
The sheet is further conveyed forward by the linear vibration feeder 28 and discharged in an aligned state from the outlet.

However, the traveling path of the work W reaching the vicinity of the entrance of the exit guide 24 deviates from the axis of the arc-shaped notch 22a (center line in the circumferential direction) or the axis of the linear groove 24a in the exit guide 24. Or when the axis of the work W deviates from the axis of the arc-shaped notch 22a or the axis of the linear groove 24a, that is, a part or the whole of the work W is expected before the entrance of the exit guide 24. When the workpiece W protrudes inward from the path, the work W is in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the removing roller 26 that rotates clockwise and is removed inward and rearward. For example,
The rear part of the work W before being pushed by the succeeding work W is separated to the inner peripheral side, and the front part of the latter work W enters between the rear part of the previous work W and the outer peripheral surface of the arc-shaped notch 22a and exits. When the entrance of the guide 24 is likely to be clogged, the rear portion of the work W before it is about to be released to the inner peripheral side is the reject roller 26.
Is inwardly contacted with the outer peripheral surface and is prevented from clogging. The workpiece W, which has been displaced inward, is received by the tray 16b and returns to the bowl 16a.
a.

Accordingly, while the conveyance of the work W by the rotation of the annular rotating surface 14a is continued, the occurrence of the trouble such as the clogging of the work W at the entrance of the exit guide 24 or the early release of the trouble is realized, and the object to be supplied is provided. The work W can be appropriately and reliably introduced from the entrance of the exit guide 24 into the linear groove 24a.

On the other hand, when the degree of gathering of the work W in the linear groove 24a is high and the high degree of gathering detection signal is output from the degree of gathering detecting device 32, the solenoid 20c of the path changing device 20 is actuated to form an arc. The movable guide 20a is moved to the detached position. Then, the workpiece W on the upstream side of the arcuate movable guide 20a on the annular rotating surface 14a is conveyed counterclockwise on the annular rotating surface 14a, and is moved to the inner peripheral edge of the annular rotating surface 14a by the arcuate movable guide 20a (separation position). It is guided and separates inward from the annular rotation surface 14a. The detached work W is received by the receiving tray 16b, returns to the bowl 16a, and is supplied onto the annular rotating surface 14a again.

Accordingly, while the conveyance of the work W by the rotation of the annular rotating surface 14a is continued, the degree of gathering of the work W in the linear groove 24a is increased, the gap between the work W is reduced, or the work W comes into contact with each other. Inconveniences caused by the work W staying or staying, for example, damage of the work W caused by friction of the stayed work W or the subsequently held work W with the annular rotating surface 14a or collision of the works W or the like. Also, it is possible to automatically eliminate or prevent clogging or promotion of the work W at the entrance of the exit guide 24 due to the pushing force of the succeeding work W or the like.

When the workpiece W is detached inward by the arcuate movable guide 20a, the workpiece W
Is interrupted, the state where the degree of gathering of the work W in the linear groove 24a is high is resolved, and the output of the high degree of gathering detection signal from the degree of gathering detection device 32 is stopped.
0 returns the arc-shaped movable guide 20a to the original guide position. Thus, the workpiece W is guided by the arc-shaped fixed guide 18, the arc-shaped movable guide 20a (guide position) and the arc-shaped sorting tool 22, conveyed on the annular rotating surface 14a, and introduced into the outlet guide 24.

The dimensions, the number, the material, the shape, the relative arrangement, and the like of the components in the above description of the embodiments are not limited to the scope of the present invention unless otherwise specified. It is not intended to limit the invention to only these, but merely to a description example.

[0066]

According to the article supply apparatus or the article supply method of the present invention, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of inconvenience such as clogging of the target article in the passage opening or to quickly release the inconvenience while continuing the article transport on the transport surface. As a result, the article to be supplied can be appropriately and reliably passed through the passage opening.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a main part near a route changing device in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a main part near an exit guide in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line IV-IV in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 W Work 14a Annular rotating surface 24 Exit guide 26 Ejection roller

Claims (5)

[Claims] An article has a transport surface for transporting an article placed thereon, a passing port through which the article on the transport surface passes, and a circulating outer peripheral portion located upstream of the passing port. The circulating outer peripheral portion for exclusion is located in the vicinity of the path before the passage of the article that is conveyed and passes through the passing port, and the circulating outer peripheral section for exclusion is such that the side facing the path is the direction of travel of the transport surface. An article supply device that is driven to circulate in the opposite direction. 2. The article supply device according to claim 1, wherein the conveying surface is an annular rotating surface. 3. A transporting surface is an annular rotating surface, and has a guide wall for guiding an article transported on the transporting surface to a passage opening. The path before passing through the passage opening is on the outer peripheral side of the inner peripheral edge of the annular rotating surface and along the curved inner peripheral portion of the guide wall portion, and on the inner peripheral side of the annular rotating surface just before the passage opening through the circulating outer peripheral portion for exclusion. The article supply device according to claim 1, wherein 4. The article supply device according to claim 3, further comprising a supply device provided below the inner peripheral side of the transport surface so as to receive the article detached from the transport surface to the inner peripheral side and resupply the article to the transport surface. apparatus. 5. An article supply method in which an article placed on a transport surface is transported, and the article on the transport surface is passed through a passage opening, wherein the article is transported on the transport surface and passes through the passage opening. Positioning the circulating outer peripheral portion in the vicinity of the route before passing through the passage of the article, and circulating the circulating outer peripheral portion so that the side facing the route is opposite to the traveling direction of the transport surface. With this configuration, the articles that have been conveyed on the conveying surface and pass through the passage opening and that protrude from the path before passing through the passage opening are eliminated in a direction opposite to the direction of conveyance by the conveying surface by circulating driving of the circulating peripheral portion for exclusion. Article supply method characterized by the above-mentioned.