JP2000263343A - Tray transfer mechanism and part feeder using the tray transfer mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a tray transfer mechanism capable of separating trays horizontally arranged while these tray are transferred, symplifiying the mechanism and reducing costs, and easily increasing or decreasing the stock capacity. SOLUTION: A tray stock unit part consists of plural tray stock unit part modules, and tray arranging parts, on each of which a tray is arranged, are extendedly installed in the horizontal direction in the respective tray stock unit modules. In the tray arranging parts, anti-back engaging pawls 36 which reciprocate along the tray arranging parts are provided, and when the anti-back engaging pawls 36 are driven in one direction, the pawls engage with a tray 60 and separate the tray 60 from the other tray 60 to transfer it in one direction. when the pawls are driven in the opposite direction to the one direction, the transfer of the tray 60 in the opposite direction is inhibited.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a tray transfer mechanism for a component supply device for supplying components to an assembly robot or the like, and a component supply device using the tray transfer mechanism.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a component supply apparatus has been disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-196162,
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. H10-264, pp. 157-334 is known. These component supply devices include a tray stock unit (stock module) that stocks a plurality of component-containing trays in advance,
It has a component take-out unit (tray changer) that conveys the component-containing tray from the tray stock unit below the assembling robot, transfers the empty tray from which components have been taken out, and uses it for collection.

[0003] In the tray stock unit section of these component supply devices, a group of trays in which the trays are stacked are arranged and stocked in a horizontal direction. The lowermost trays are sequentially taken out and supplied to the component take-out unit. Then, when all the trays in the tray group closest to the component pick-up unit are supplied to the component pick-up unit, the subsequent tray group is transferred to the component pick-up unit and the same operation is repeated.

[0004]

However, the tray stock unit described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 7-196162 has a problem in transferring a group of trays to the component take-out unit. In order to horizontally separate the tray group and the following tray group, a gap is created between the two tray groups by two conveyors having different conveying speeds, and a stopper is inserted therein. Each of the tray stock units described in JP-A-7-196162 and JP-A-8-301451 is provided with a separating mechanism separately from a mechanism for transporting a group of trays in the horizontal direction, thereby providing a lowermost unit. Since the tray is separated and taken out from the tray group, there is a problem that the mechanism is complicated, the control is complicated, and the cost is increased.

Further, when it is desired to change the number of trays to be stocked due to a change in production scale or the like, it is desirable that the stock capacity of the tray stock unit can be easily increased or decreased in accordance with the number of trays.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and allows a tray arranged in a horizontal direction to be separated while being transferred, so that the mechanism can be simplified and the cost can be reduced. It is an object to provide a tray transfer mechanism capable of easily increasing and decreasing the number of components, and a component supply device using the tray transfer mechanism.

[0007]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention according to claim 1 comprises a plurality of tray transfer mechanism modules, and each tray transfer mechanism module has a tray arrangement section for arranging the trays in a horizontal direction. The tray array portion is provided with an anti-back engaging claw that reciprocates along the tray array portion. When the anti-back engaging claw is driven in one direction, one tray is provided. And the tray is separated from other trays and transferred in the one direction, and
A tray transfer mechanism for prohibiting transfer of the tray in the opposite direction when driven in the opposite direction is characterized.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the tray transfer mechanism according to the first aspect, the tray transfer mechanism module drives the tray transfer frame provided with the anti-back engagement claws and the tray transfer frame. A drive module having driving means, and a connection module having a tray transfer frame connected to and driven by the tray transfer frame and provided with the anti-back engagement claw. It is characterized in that it can be added in the transfer direction by being connected.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the tray transfer mechanism according to the first aspect, a plurality of the anti-back engaging claws are provided at a predetermined interval along the tray array portion, and the predetermined interval is equal to the tray. Is less than twice the length in the transfer direction.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the tray transfer mechanism according to the first aspect, a plurality of the anti-back engagement claws are provided at predetermined intervals along the tray array portion, and the anti-back engagement is provided. The movement stroke of the claw is not less than twice the length of the tray in the transfer direction at the predetermined interval or more.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the tray transfer mechanism according to the second aspect, the drive module can be added in the height direction by providing a drive module above the drive module. I do.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a tray stock unit for stocking a tray with parts, and a plurality of tray transfer tables on the bed for mounting the trays with parts supplied from the tray stock unit. ,And,
Each of the trays is arranged such that one tray transfer table is at a component take-out position for taking out components from the component-containing tray and another tray transfer table is at a tray receiving position for receiving the component-containing tray from the tray stock unit. A component take-out unit provided with reciprocating means for reciprocating the transfer table in a horizontal direction, wherein the tray stock unit comprises a plurality of tray stock unit modules; A tray arrangement portion extending from the supply position where the input tray is supplied toward the tray receiving position and arranging the component-containing trays extends horizontally, and the tray arrangement portion is provided along the tray arrangement portion. Anti-back engaging claw that reciprocates by When the hook for hook is driven in the direction toward the tray receiving position, it engages with one component-containing tray, separates the component-containing tray from the other component-containing tray, and returns to the tray receiving position. And a component supply device that, when driven in the direction toward the supply position, prohibits the transfer of the component-containing tray in the direction toward the supply position when driven in the direction toward the supply position.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the component supply device according to the sixth aspect, the tray stock unit module drives the tray transport frame provided with the anti-back engagement claw and the tray transport frame. A driving module having a driving means, and a connection module having a tray conveyance frame that is connected to and driven by the tray conveyance frame and is provided with the anti-back engagement claw,
It is characterized in that the connection modules can be added in the transfer direction by connecting the connection modules to each other.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the component supply device according to the sixth aspect, a plurality of the anti-back engagement claws are provided at a predetermined interval along the tray array portion, and the predetermined interval is set to the tray. Is less than twice the length in the transfer direction.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the component supply device according to the sixth aspect, a plurality of the anti-back engagement claws are provided at predetermined intervals along the tray array portion, and the anti-back engagement claws are provided. The movement stroke of the claw is not less than twice the length of the tray in the transfer direction at the predetermined interval or more.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the component supply device according to the seventh aspect, the drive module can be added in a height direction by providing a drive module above the drive module. I do.

According to the first or sixth aspect of the present invention, the trays arranged in the horizontal direction can be separated while being transferred by the anti-back engaging claws, and the tray stock structure is modularized. Therefore, the stock capacity can be easily increased or decreased.

According to the second or seventh aspect of the present invention, the tray transport frame of the connection module is connected to and driven by the tray transport frame of the drive module. Can be simplified and cost can be reduced.

According to the third or eighth aspect of the present invention, since the interval between the anti-back engaging claws is less than twice the length of the tray in the transfer direction, two anti-back engaging claws are provided. The trays can be separated without transferring the above trays at once.

According to the fourth or ninth aspect of the present invention, the movement stroke of the anti-back engaging claw is equal to or longer than the installation interval and less than twice the length of the tray in the transfer direction. When the anti-back engagement claw pushed out to the other direction returns to the opposite direction and then moves in one direction again,
Each anti-back engaging claw can transfer the following tray one by one.

According to the invention of claim 5 or claim 10,
Since drive modules can be stacked and added in the height direction, it is possible to secure a stock capacity while avoiding an increase in installation area.

[0022]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0023]

[Description of Overall Schematic Configuration and Operation of Component Supply Apparatus] FIG. 1 shows the overall schematic configuration of a component supply apparatus. In FIG. 1, 1 is a tray stock unit, 2 is a component take-out unit, 3 is an empty tray elevating unit (also called an elevator unit), and 4 is a tray collecting unit.
The tray stock unit 1 has a base 5. The component take-out unit 2 has a base 6. The empty tray elevating unit 3 has a chuck mechanism described in detail later. The tray collection unit section 4 has a collection machine frame 7.

On the upper portion of the base 5, a lower tray array section 8 and an upper tray array section 9 are provided. In the lower tray array section 8, a plurality of trays 10 containing components are arranged in a horizontal direction. In the upper tray array section 9, a plurality of trays 11 containing components are arranged in a horizontal direction.

The trays 10 and 11 containing each component are supplied from a supply position 12. The supply of the component-containing trays to each of the tray array units 8 and 9 may be performed automatically or manually. The tray 10 and the tray 11 may have the same shape or may be different. Parts are stored in each tray 10 and 11 orderly. The components stored in each of the trays 10 and 11 may be the same or different.

On the upper part of the base 6, tray transfer tables 13 and 14 are provided so as to be able to reciprocate in a horizontal direction between a tray receiving position 6A and a component removing position 6B. The tray transfer table 13 receives the tray 10 containing the components supplied from the lower tray array unit 8, and the tray transfer table 14 receives the tray 11 containing the components supplied from the upper tray array unit 9.

FIG. 1 shows a state in which the tray transfer table 13 is at the tray receiving position 6A and the tray transfer table 14 is at the component take-out position 6B. The arm 16 of the industrial assembly robot 15 installed on the assembly line faces the component take-out position 6B from above, and the components (not shown) stored in the tray are sequentially taken out according to a programming command. .

In FIG. 1, when the tray 11 becomes empty,
The tray 11 is transferred to the tray receiving position 6A. At the same time, the tray 10 is transferred to the component take-out position 6B. While the components of the tray 10 are being taken out, the chuck mechanism (not shown) descends, chucks the empty tray 11 at the descent stop position, and removes the empty tray 11 from the tray transfer table 14. Then, the tray 11 containing the components is newly supplied to the tray transfer table 14. The chuck mechanism releases the chuck at the raised position, and discharges the empty tray 11 toward the tray collection unit 4. These operation controls are performed by transmitting and receiving signals between the industrial robot 15 and the control computer.

[0029]

[Detailed Structure of Tray Stock Unit 1] The lower tray arrangement section 8 and the upper tray arrangement section 9 are provided in a rectangular parallelepiped tray machine frame 20 as shown in FIG.

The lower tray array section 8 includes a pair of tray transfer rails 21, 21, a slide rail 22 provided in parallel with the tray transfer rail 21, and an air cylinder 23 provided in parallel with the slide rail 22. ing. These tray transport rails 21, 21 and slide rail 2
2. The air cylinder 23 is stretched over the lower frames 24, 24 of the tray machine frame 20.

The upper tray array section 9 includes a pair of tray transfer rails 25, 25, a slide rail 26 provided in parallel with the tray transfer rail 25, and an air cylinder 27 provided in parallel with the slide rail 26. ing. The pair of tray transport rails 25, 25 are stretched over intermediate frames 28, 28 of the tray machine frame 20. The slide rail 26 and the air cylinder 27 are connected to the upper frames 29, 29.
Has been passed over.

The slide rails 22 are slidably provided with tray transport frames 30, 30 'at intervals in the longitudinal direction. An actuator 31 is attached to the tray transport frame 30. The tray transport frame 30 'is connected to the tray transport frame 30 via a connecting plate (not shown). The slide rails 26 are provided with tray transport frames 32, 32 'at intervals in the longitudinal direction. An actuator 33 is attached to the tray transport frame 32. The tray carrying frame 32 'is connected to the tray carrying frame 32 via a connecting plate (connecting member).

A known rodless piston with magnet is provided inside the air cylinders 23 and 27, and the piston with magnet reciprocates in its longitudinal direction by controlling the air supply to the air cylinders 23 and 27. It is moved. The actuators 31, 33 are slidably provided on the air cylinders 23, 27, are attracted by a magnet-equipped piston, and move following the magnet-equipped piston. The tray transfer frame 30 'is linked to the tray transfer frame 30, and the tray transfer frame 32' is linked to the tray transfer frame 32.

Each tray transport frame 30, 30 ', 32, 3
2 'has mounting plates 35 on both sides in the transport direction. The mounting plates 35 are provided with anti-back engaging claws 36. The anti-back engagement claw 36 is rotatably supported by a support shaft 37.

At the tip of the anti-back engaging claw 36, an inclined contact portion 36A is provided which comes into contact with the rear end corners 10A, 11A of the trays 10, 11. The tip of the anti-back engagement claw 36 has a tray side 10B, 11B.
B is urged by a spring 38 in the direction in which it contacts B.

The tray transport frames 30, 30 ', 32, 3
2 ′, the anti-back engagement pawl 36 is reciprocated in a direction toward the tray receiving position 6A and a direction toward the supply position 12 to transport the trays 10 and 11 toward the tray receiving position 6A. , 27 together form a tray conveying means. When the anti-back engaging claw 36 is driven in the direction toward the tray receiving position 6A, it engages with the tray to transfer the tray in the direction toward the tray receiving position 6A, and in the direction toward the supply position 12. It has a function to prohibit the transfer of the tray in the direction toward the supply position 12 when driven. The details of the operation of the anti-back engagement claw 36 will be described later.

The lower tray array section 8 is provided with side guide plates 39 for guiding the tray 10 in contact with both side edges 10B of the tray 10. The upper tray array section 9 is in contact with both side edges 11B of the tray 11. A side guide plate 40 for guiding the tray 11 is provided. Tray 10,
11 is supplied from the supply position 12 to the tray receiving position 6A while being guided on both sides thereof.

The lower tray array section 8 and the upper tray array section 9
Are provided with a pair of stopper members 41 that come into contact with the front end corners 10C, 11C of the trays 10, 11.
The stopper member 41 includes an inclined contact member 42 that contacts the front end corners 10C and 11C of the trays 10 and 11, and a cylinder device 43 that urges the inclined contact member 42 in a direction that contacts the front end corners 10C and 11C. It is schematically composed of The stopper member 41 serves to prevent the arranged trays from erroneously entering the component take-out unit 2.

The tray conveying means having the anti-back structure can be modularized and added.

[0040]

[Modulation of tray transport means with anti-back structure]
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of modularization of the tray carrying means of the anti-back structure. In FIG. 3A, reference numeral 20 'denotes a module machine frame, 50 to 52 denote tray transport frames, and 53, 53 denote a pair of tray transport rails. The pair of tray transport rails 53 is stretched between frames of each module machine frame 20 '. Mounting plate 35 for transfer frames 50 to 52
Inside the pair of anti-back engagement claws 36, the support shaft 3
7. A spring 38 is provided. Since these components are the same as those shown in FIG. 2, detailed description will be omitted.

One mounting plate 35 of the tray carrying frame 50
, An actuator 54 is attached. The module machine frame 20 'has an air cylinder 55 in its longitudinal direction.
Is provided. The actuator 54 is driven by an air cylinder 55. The structures of the actuator 54 and the air cylinder 55 are the same as those shown in FIG. The other mounting plate 35 of the tray transport frame 50 has a guide portion 5
6 are provided. The guide 56 is slidably supported on a slide rail 57 parallel to the air cylinder 55. The slide rail 57 is similarly mounted on the module frame 2
It is attached to 0 '. The tray transport frame 50, the actuator 54, the air cylinder 55, and the slide rail 57 constitute a drive module. Air cylinder 5
Although not shown in the figure, it is preferable that a guide portion indicated by reference numeral 56 and a slide rail indicated by reference numeral 57 be provided on the fifth side.

As shown in FIG. 3B, one end of the connecting plate 34 is fixed to the upper surface plate 58 of the tray transport frames 51 and 52. The upper surface plate 58 of the tray transfer frame 50 is provided with a screw hole 34A into which the other end of the connecting plate 34 of the tray transfer frame 51 is screwed, and the tray transfer frame 51 is fixed to the tray transfer frame 50 with screws. The upper surface plate 58 of each of the tray transport frames 51 and 52 is provided with a screw hole 59 into which the other end of the connecting plate 34 of the tray transport frame that is adjacently connected is screwed. Both mounting plates 35 for tray transport frames 51 and 52
Is provided with a guide portion 56 as shown in FIG. The guide section 56 is provided for each module frame 20 '.
Are slidably supported by a slide rail 57 provided at the bottom.

The tray transport frames 51 and 52 can be added by sequentially connecting the components shown in FIGS. 3B and 3C as connection modules. Side guide plates 58 'are provided on both sides of the tray transport rails 53, 53.

[0044]

[Detailed description of the operation of the anti-back engagement claw]

[0045]

[Supply of trays with parts to tray stock unit 1] Here, three tray transport frames 5 shown in FIG.
The trays 0, 51, and 52 are arranged in the lower tray array section 8 to transfer the trays.
In this sense, a description will be given by attaching a reference numeral 60 to the tray with parts.

From the supply position 12 side, the tray 60 containing the components
4A is supplied as shown in FIG. 4A, the anti-back engagement claw 36 is attached to the front end corner 60C of the component-containing tray 60,
It is pushed by the side 60B, and is turned around the support shaft 37 in a direction against the urging force of the spring 38. When the component-containing tray 60 is pushed into the lower tray array section 8,
The anti-back engagement pawl 36 rotates about the support shaft 37 in the biasing direction of the spring 38. When the component-containing trays 60 are sequentially pushed into the lower tray array portion 8, the component-containing trays 60 are arranged in close contact with the lower tray array portion 8. This operation is repeated until the front end corner 60C of the front component-containing tray 60 comes into contact with the stopper member 41.
FIG. 4A shows a state in which three component-containing trays 60 are arranged in close contact with the lower tray arrangement section 8.

In this case, the pushing is performed until the front end corner 60C of the front component-containing tray 60 comes into contact with the stopper member 41. However, the pushing is stopped before the front component-containing tray 60 comes into contact with the stopper member 41. May be.

[Transfer of tray 60 with parts from tray stock unit 1 to tray receiving position 6A]
The operation of the cylinder device 43 causes the inclined contact member 42 to retreat, and the stopper member 41 to retreat from the transfer area of the component-containing tray 60. Next, when the actuator 54 is driven, the tray transport frame 50 is driven in the direction of arrow A (one direction) from the supply position 12 to the tray receiving position 6A while being slid along the slide rail 57.

Then, the tray transport frames 51 and 52 are slid in the direction of arrow A in conjunction with the tray transport frame 50. As a result, as shown in FIG.
Of the anti-back engaging claw 36 abuts on the rear end corner 60A of the front tray 60, and the frontmost tray 60 is supplied in the horizontal direction toward the tray receiving position 6A. At the tray receiving position 6A, the tray transfer table 13 is in a receiving state, and the component-containing tray 60 is transferred until it hits a stopper standing piece (described later) installed on the tray transfer table 13 and is placed on the tray transfer table 13. Is done.

Further, the rear end corner 60A of the succeeding tray 60
And the anti-back engaging claw 36 of the subsequent tray carrying frame 51
Is abutted, the subsequent component-containing trays 60 are sequentially transferred to the tray receiving position 6A. Here, the interval L2 between the tray transport frames is equal to the tray 6
Desirably, it is less than twice the length L1 in the transport direction of 0. With this configuration, even when the trays 60 are arranged in close contact with each other, they can be transferred one by one at the time of supply to the tray receiving position 6A.

When each of the tray carrying frames 50 to 52 is driven in the opposite direction, the rear inclined portion 3
6B abuts on the front end corner 60C of the rear tray 60, and rotates in the direction opposite to the direction rotated by the urging force of the spring 38 with the support shaft 37 as a fulcrum. Since each of the tray transport frames 50 to 52 returns to the supply position while the anti-back engagement claw 36 is in contact with the side 60B of the tray 60, the transfer of each tray 60 toward the supply position 12 is prohibited. .

Here, it is desirable that the movement stroke L3 of each of the tray transport frames 50 to 52 is equal to or longer than the interval L2 and less than twice the length L1 of the tray 60 in the transfer direction. With this configuration, when each of the tray transport frames 50 to 52 is returned to the supply position direction, the anti-back engaging claw 36 of each of the tray transport frames 50 to 52 is set to a position corresponding to one or more subsequent trays 60. It can be located in less than two positions. Thus, when the tray transfer frames 50 to 52 are driven again in the component receiving position direction, each of the tray transfer frames 50 to 52 receives one of the component-containing trays 60 and transfers the component-containing trays 60 in the horizontal direction. To the tray receiving position 6A.

[0053]

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the structure of the component take-out unit 2. FIG. 5 shows a state where the tray 11 containing parts is supplied from the tray stock unit 1. An air cylinder 70 as a reciprocating means for the tray transfer table 13, a slide rail 71 for slidably guiding the tray transfer table 13, an air cylinder 72 as a reciprocating means for the tray transfer table 14, A slide rail 73 for slidably guiding the transfer table 14 is provided.

The tray transfer table 13 includes a mounting plate 13A on which the tray 10 is mounted and an actuator 74 mounted below the mounting plate 13A. The actuator 74 reciprocates in its longitudinal direction by an air cylinder 70. Is done. Tray transfer table 13 is slide rail 7
1 is slidably provided.

The tray transfer table 14 has a mounting plate 75 on which the tray 11 is mounted. The mounting plate 75 is supported by a pair of support plates 76,76. Each support plate 76, 76
Is the horizontal direction to the bed 6 (the direction perpendicular to the transport direction)
Overhangs. A mounting plate 77 is provided below the pair of support plates 76. The mounting plate 77 is located below the air cylinder 70 and the slide rail 71. The mounting plate 77 is slidably provided on the slide rail 73. An actuator 78 is mounted on the mounting plate 77, and the actuator 78 is reciprocated in the longitudinal direction by the air cylinder 72. The tray transfer tables 13 and 14 are nested here.

Each of the tray mounting plates 13A and 75 is provided with a pair of tray guide upstanding pieces 79 on both sides thereof. A pair of stopper standing pieces 8 for preventing the trays from dropping out and inserting and positioning the trays 10A and 11 at the insertion deep portions of the tray mounting plates 13A and 75 at the front end portions 10D and 11D of the trays 10 and 11.
0 is provided.

Each of the tray transfer tables 13 and 14 is independently reciprocated between the tray receiving position 6A and the component take-out position 6B, and when one of the tray transfer tables is located at the component take-out position 6B, the other tray transfer table is moved. The table is located at the tray receiving position 6A.

At the component take-out position 6B, a pushing mechanism for pushing the tray toward the stopper standing piece 80 is provided. This pushing mechanism is composed of a lower pushing mechanism and an upper pushing mechanism. Each pushing mechanism includes an actuator 81, a rotating shaft 82, and a pushing arm 8.
A pressing rubber roller 84 is provided at the leading end of the pushing arm 83 to contact the rear end of the tray and press the tray toward the stopper standing piece 80, and each pushing mechanism is driven independently. Reference numeral 85 indicates a mounting plate of the pushing mechanism.

At the component take-out position 6B, a mounting plate 86 is provided on one side of the bed 6. The mounting plate 86 has no part of a shifting mechanism for shifting each tray toward the other side, and includes a lower shifting mechanism for shifting the lower tray and an upper shifting mechanism for shifting the upper tray. It is configured. Each of the shifting mechanisms is generally constituted by an actuator 87 and a pressing plate 88. At each component take-out position 6B, the origin position of the industrial robot 15 is determined by the pushing mechanism and the one-side moving mechanism.

This tray transfer table can be modularized and added.

[0061]

[Structure of nested modularization of tray transfer table]
FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 are explanatory views of the modular structure of the tray transfer table and the reciprocating means. A tray transfer table is arranged on the bed 6 in a three-tiered configuration. Reference numeral 90 denotes the tray transfer table from the lower side to the upper side.
To -92. That is, reference numeral 90 denotes a lower tray transfer table, reference numeral 91 denotes a middle tray transfer table, and reference numeral 92 denotes an upper tray transfer table.

The tray transfer table 90 includes a mounting plate 93, an actuator 94, and a guide portion 95. The actuator 94 and the guide portion 95 are provided below the mounting plate 93. An air cylinder 96 and a slide rail 97 are provided on an upper surface plate 6C of the bed 6. An actuator 94 is slidably provided in the air cylinder 96.

The tray transfer tables 91 and 92 are composed of a module frame shown in FIG. The module frame includes a mounting plate 98 on which a tray is mounted, a support plate 99 for supporting the mounting plate 98, and a mounting plate 100 on which reciprocating means is mounted. The support plate 99 includes a lower plate 101 and an upper plate 102.

The mounting plate 98 and the mounting plate 100 are provided with guide holes 103 extending in the left-right direction. Lower plate 10
1 is provided with a guide hole 104 extending in the vertical direction. The insertion portion 102A of the upper plate 102 is inserted into the guide hole 103 of the mounting plate 98. Guide hole 10 in lower plate 101
4, an insertion portion 102B of the upper plate 102 is inserted.
The insertion portion 101A of the lower plate 101 is inserted into the guide hole 103 of the mounting plate 100. Insertion part 10 of upper plate 102
2B is provided with a long hole (not shown) extending in the up-down direction. A bolt 105 is inserted through this long hole, and the mounting plate 98 is provided.
Is set by adjusting the height of the upper plate 102 with respect to the lower plate 101 and tightening the upper plate 102 and the lower plate 101 with the bolts 105. The insertion portion 101A of the lower plate 101 and the insertion portion 102A of the upper plate 102 are provided with elongated holes (not shown) extending in the lateral direction. The overhang width of the lower plate 10 is adjusted by bolts 106 by adjusting the amount of overhang of the mounting plate 100 and the mounting plate 98 in the lateral direction.
1. The upper plate 102 is attached to the mounting plate 100 and the mounting plate 9 respectively.
8 to be set.

A plurality of bolt holes may be provided in the insertion portion 102B of the upper plate 102 at predetermined intervals in the vertical direction instead of the elongated holes, and bolts 105 may be inserted through the holes. Instead of a long hole, a plurality of bolt holes may be provided at predetermined intervals in the lateral direction in the insertion portion 101A of the upper plate 102 and the insertion portion 102A of the upper plate 102, and the bolt 106 may be inserted through these holes. With this configuration, the overhang amount at equal intervals,
It is convenient because the height of the mounting plate can be adjusted.

An actuator 94 and a guide portion 95 are attached to a lower portion of the attachment plate 100. Below the mounting plate 100, a seat plate 107 for mounting the air cylinder 96 and the slide rail 97 is provided. The seat plate 107 constitutes a drive module together with the air cylinder 96, the slide rail 97, and a set screw (described later). An air cylinder 96 supported by the upright portion 96A and a slide rail 97 are provided above the seat plate 107. A set screw 108 is screwed and fixed to the seat plate 107, and the set screw 108 is provided with a screw hole 109. A set screw 108 'is provided below the upper surface plate 6C of the bed 6. This set screw 108 'has the same configuration as the set screw 108.

The seat plate 107 supporting the air cylinder 96 connected to the tray transfer table 91 is provided with a set screw 108 '.
Is fixed to the upper surface plate 6C of the bed 6 via the A seat plate 107 supporting an air cylinder 96 connected to the tray transfer table 92 is fixed to the bed 6 via a set screw 108 'and a set screw 108. In this way, the tray transfer tables can be sequentially stacked and added.

Although FIG. 8 shows the module frame and the drive module integrally, the drive module and the module frame may be configured separately. In this case, the guide module 95 and the slide rail 97 are used. And the actuator 94 is connected to the air cylinder 96 by fitting. In the embodiment of the present invention,
Although the module frame is made to be modular by making it expandable and contractible in the horizontal direction and the height direction, for example, when the mounting plate and the mounting plate are made to expand and contract in the horizontal direction, the support plates have different heights. A plurality of objects may be prepared and attached to the mounting plate and the mounting plate.

[0069]

[Structure of cantilever type modularization of tray transfer table]
FIG. 9 and FIG. 10 are explanatory diagrams when the tray transfer table is modularized as a cantilever type. This tray transfer table is the other support plate 99 of the module structure shown in FIG.
, And the components corresponding to the components of the tray transfer table shown in FIG. The air cylinder 96 and the slide rail 97 attached to the seat plate 107 may have the same configuration as the configuration shown in FIG.
As shown in (1), it is also possible to adopt a configuration in which one side of the support plate 99 is biased.

[0070]

[Description of the operation of the tray transfer table] The operation of the tray transfer table will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG.
The tray transfer table 13 is at the component take-out position 6B, and the tray transfer table 14 is at the tray receiving position 6A.
It is in. Here, the tray 10 with components is not shown, but it is assumed that the tray 10 with components is placed on the tray transfer table 13. The components stored in the component-containing tray 10 are sequentially taken out by the industrial robot 15 according to a programming command.

The empty tray 11 on the mounting plate 75 of the tray transfer table 14 has been removed by a chuck mechanism (described later) of the empty tray elevating unit 3. The tray 1 is placed on the mounting plates 13A, 75 of the tray transfer tables 13, 14.
The presence or absence of 0 and 11 is detected by a tray crossing sensor described later. When the industrial robot 15 receives a tray request command for the tray 11 containing parts, the actuator (see FIG. 2) 33 is driven to drive the tray 1 containing parts.
1 is transferred to the tray transfer table 14.

When the tray 10 containing the components becomes empty, a tray ejection request command is issued from the industrial robot 15, the actuator 74 is driven at a predetermined timing set in advance, and the tray transfer table 13 is moved to the tray receiving position 6A. Be transported. Independently of this drive, the actuator 78 is driven to transfer the tray transfer table 14 to the component take-out position 6B.

If the parts accommodated in the tray 10 placed on the tray transfer table 13 and the parts accommodated in the tray 11 placed on the tray transfer table 14 are different, different parts of the industrial robot 15 Tray transfer table 13 based on the assembly programming request command of
And tray transfer table 14 is tray receiving position 6A
And the parts are taken out alternately between the parts take-out position 6B.

At a predetermined timing after the tray transfer table 13 is retracted to the tray receiving position 6A, the chuck mechanism starts the lowering operation. At a predetermined timing after the component transfer table 14 is transferred to the component removal position 6B, the industrial robot 15 starts removing components from the tray 11 containing the components.

When the tray transfer table has three or more stages, for example,
When the tray transfer table has three stages, and when the lowermost tray transfer table is at the component take-out position 6B and the uppermost tray transfer table and the middle tray transfer table are at the tray receiving position 6A, the middle tray When the tray placed on the tray transfer table becomes empty, the upper tray transfer table hinders the lowering of the chuck mechanism when discharging the empty tray placed on the middle tray transfer table. Empty tray placed on the tray transfer table of
Assuming that the lowermost tray transfer table and the uppermost tray transfer table are located at the component removal position 6B, the empty tray placed on the middle tray transfer table is removed from the middle tray transfer table. Until the component-containing tray corresponding to the middle tray transfer table is placed on the middle tray transfer table from the tray stock unit 2, the components are taken out of the tray placed on the lowermost tray transfer table. Cannot be performed, and a waiting time is required to take out parts.

In the case where the tray transfer table has three or more stages, a standby position of the tray transfer table that hinders the collection process is provided between the tray receiving position 6A and the component take-out position 6B. It is desirable that the empty tray can be collected at the tray receiving position 6A without waiting time.

[0077]

[Configuration of Empty Tray Elevating Unit 3] The empty tray elevating unit 3 is provided with a rectangular elevator frame 110 as shown in FIG. The elevator machine frame 110 has an adjusting leg 111, and the height of the elevator frame 110 can be adjusted by adjusting the adjusting leg 111. This elevator machine frame 110 straddles the bed 6 at the tray receiving position 6A.

The elevator machine frame 110 is provided with a chuck mechanism (see FIG. 12) 112 which can be moved up and down.
The elevator machine frame 110 is provided with a mounting plate 113 extending vertically. The mounting plate 113 is provided with a pair of elevator rails 114 extending vertically.

The chuck mechanism 112 has a support plate 115 as shown in FIG. The support plate 115 has a pair of guide portions 116, and the guide portions 116
4 is slidably fitted.

Below the support plate 115, a pair of tray chuck members 117 are provided. The tray chuck member 117 has an inverted L-shape and includes an upper plate portion 118 and a side plate portion 119. A guide 120 is provided on the upper plate 118. A notch 119A is formed in the side plate portion,
The side plate portion 119 and the upright piece 79 for tray guide do not interfere with each other. A pair of rails 121 extending in the horizontal direction is provided below the support plate 115. The guide part 120 is slidably fitted to the rail 121.
The lower portion of the side plate portion 119 is bent inward to form an engaging claw 122 that engages with the lower portion of the tray.

One of the pair of tray chuck members 117 is driven by a drive cylinder 123, and the other is driven by a link mechanism 124. Drive cylinder 123
Is provided above the support plate 115. Support plate 115
An opening 125 is formed in the tray chuck member 117, and an upright wall 126 is provided in the upper plate portion 118 of the tray chuck member 117, and the tip of the rod 127 of the drive cylinder 123 is
Attached to.

The link mechanism 124 includes a swing arm 128, connecting arms 129 and 130, and a central shaft 131. The center shaft 131 is fixed to the support plate 115, and the swing arm 128 is provided below the support plate 115, and can swing around the center shaft 131.

One end 129a of the connecting arm 129 is rotatably connected to one end of the swing arm 128, and the other end 129b of the connecting arm 129 is rotatable on the upper plate 118 of one of the tray chuck members 117. It is connected to. One end 130a of the connecting arm 130 is rotatably connected to the other end of the swing arm 128, and the other end 130b of the connecting arm 130 is rotatably connected to the upper plate 118 of the other tray chuck member 117. Have been.

When the rod 127 of the drive cylinder 123 advances, the pair of tray chuck members 117
When the trays are chucked by being guided and moved closer to each other and the rod 127 is retracted, they are moved away from each other and the chucks of the trays are released.

The air cylinder 13 is provided below the support plate 115.
2 are provided. Both ends of the air cylinder 132 are fixed to the support plate 115 via a pair of mounting members 133. The air cylinder 132 is provided with an actuator 134 that slides in the axial direction. A tray discharge plate 135 is attached to the actuator 134. A rail 136 extending parallel to the air cylinder 132 is attached to the pair of attachment members 133. A guide portion 138 is provided on the tray discharge plate 135, and the guide portion 138 is slidably fitted on the rail 136, and the tray is discharged toward the tray collection unit portion 4 by the discharge plate 135.

A drive motor 140 is fixed to the upper part of the elevator machine frame 110, and a driven shaft 141 is fixed to the upper part. A toothed pulley 143 is fixed to an output shaft 142 of the drive motor 140. Two pairs of pulleys (sprockets) 144 are fixed to both ends of the driven shaft 141. Hanging chains 145 are wound around the pulleys 144, and one end of each hanging chain 145 is attached to each of the four corners (see FIG. 12) 146 of the support plate 115, and the other end is provided at both ends 14 of a rectangular parallelepiped counterweight 147.
8 attached. The driven shaft 141 has a tooth portion 149.
Are provided in the circumferential direction, and the tooth portion 149 and the toothed pulley 1
A toothed timing belt 150 is stretched between the belt 43 and the belt 43. When the drive motor 140 is rotated, the driven shaft 141 is rotated in the rotation direction, the counterweight 147 is raised and lowered via the chain 145, and the chuck mechanism 112 is raised and lowered in a direction opposite to the direction in which the counterweight 147 is raised and lowered. You.

On one of the pair of mounting plates 113, stop position sensors 151 to 154 are arranged at intervals in the vertical direction. The stop position sensors 151 and 152 are used for stopping the driving of the drive motor 140 at the ascending position of the chuck mechanism 112, and the stop position sensors 153 and 154 are used at the down position of the chuck mechanism 112.
0, which is used to stop the drive, and the stop position sensors 151, 15
3 is used when collecting the upper tray, and the stop position sensors 152 and 154 are used when collecting the lower tray. The chuck mechanism 112 is provided with a dog (not shown) for turning on and off the stop position sensors 151 to 154.

The chuck mechanism 112 faces the tray receiving position 6A from above. The elevator frame 110
A light-emitting element 155 is provided at the upper part, and a light-receiving element 156 is provided at a lower part of the elevator casing 110. The light emitting element 155 and the light receiving element 156 detect whether or not the tray has traversed from the tray stock unit 1 toward the component take-out unit 2, and the tray is moved from the elevator 3 to the tray collection unit 4. It functions as a tray traversing sensor that detects whether or not it has traversed.

[0089]

[Operation of Empty Tray Lifting Unit 3] Here, it is assumed that the tray 11 is empty. When an empty tray ejection command is issued from the industrial robot 15, the drive motor 40 is driven in the downward direction, and the chuck mechanism 112 is driven.
Descends. When the chuck mechanism 112 reaches the lowering position, the stop position sensor 153 is turned on by the dog, whereby the drive motor 40 is stopped. At the same time, the drive cylinder 123 is operated, and the chuck member 117 chucks the empty tray 11. Then, the drive motor 40
Is driven in the ascending direction, and the chuck mechanism 112 ascends. When the chuck mechanism 112 reaches the ascending position, the stop position sensor 151 is turned on by the dog, and thereby,
The drive motor 40 is stopped. At the same time, the actuator 134 is moved to drive the tray discharge plate 135,
The empty tray 11 is pushed out toward the tray collection unit 4. When the tray crossing sensor detects that the tray 11 has crossed, the actuator 134 is driven in the opposite direction, and the tray discharge plate 135 returns to the original position. Also,
The driving cylinder 123 is also driven in the opposite direction, and the chuck member 117 returns to the original position. The extruded empty tray 11 is drawn into the tray collection unit 4 by a motor roller (described later) of the tray collection unit 4 that is driven to rotate. The details of the operation of the tray crossing sensor will be described later for convenience of explanation.

The empty tray elevating unit 3 can be added at any time according to the number of tray transfer tables.

[0091]

[Modulation of the empty tray elevating unit 3] Figs.
FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram of modularization of the empty tray elevating unit 3. The empty tray raising / lowering unit 3 includes a leg frame module 200, a connecting leg module 201, split mounting plate modules 202, 202 ', 203, a driving member mounting frame module 204, and a split chain 145A. The adjustment leg 11 is provided in the leg frame module 200.
1 is provided, and the height can be adjusted by adjusting the adjusting leg 111. The fitting frame 205 and the light receiving element 156 are attached to the leg frame module 200.

The driving member mounting frame module 204 includes a chuck mechanism 112, a driving motor 140, and a driven shaft 1
41, a counterweight 147, a light emitting element 155, and mounting plates 206 and 207 are mounted. The chuck mechanism 112 and the counterweight 147 are connected to the chain 14.
5 are connected. This drive motor 140, driven shaft 141, counterweight 147, chuck mechanism 1
Since the detailed structure of 12 is the same as that shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals and detailed description thereof will be omitted. A fitting hole 208 for mounting the connecting leg module 201 is formed in a lower portion of the driving member mounting frame module 204.

As shown in detail in FIG. 14, the connecting leg module 201 has a fitting projection 209 formed on an upper portion thereof and a fitting hole 210 formed on a lower portion thereof. The split mounting plate module 202 is provided with a split elevator rail 211 and a stop sensor 212. The split mounting plate module 202 'is provided with a split elevator rail 211. The split mounting plate module 203 is provided with a split counter rail 213. The stop position sensor 212 is provided with a signal connection line (not shown), and a connector is provided on the signal connection line. The connector is detachably fitted to an input / output terminal of a control computer (not shown) which will be described later. You.

The split mounting plate modules 202 and 20
2 'and 203 are provided with screw holes 214. As shown in FIG. 15, the split mounting plate modules 202, 202 ′, and 203 are connected to each other using a connection plate 215 and screws 216. Connecting leg module 201
Are connected to each other by fitting the fitting projections 209 of the lower connecting leg module 201 into the fitting holes 210 of the upper connecting leg module 201. Split chain 14
5A are mutually connected using a connection member not shown in the figure as appropriate.

In order to add the empty tray elevating unit 3, the number of connecting leg modules 201 and split mounting plate modules 202 and 20 corresponding to the number of stages to be added is increased.
2 ', 203, split chain 145A, connecting plate 2
15. Prepare the screw 216.

Next, the upper connecting member is removed from the leg frame module 200, and the connecting leg module 20 to be added is added.
The first fitting hole 210 is fitted to the fitting projection 2 of the leg frame module 200.
05 to be added and the connecting leg module 201 to be added.
Is fitted into the fitting hole 210 of the connection leg module 201 at the bottom of the connection body. As a result, the connecting leg module 201 is added one step. Next, the lowermost divided mounting plate modules 202, 20
Split mounting plate modules 202, 20 to be added to the 2 ', 203 using the connecting plate 215 and the screws 216.
Attach 2 ′ and 203 respectively. Thereby, the split elevator rail 211 and the stop position sensor 212 are added by one step, and the split counter rail 213 is added by one step. Next, the chain connected from the chuck mechanism 112 is removed, and the divided chain 1 to be added is added.
One end of 45A is connected to the chuck mechanism 112, and the other end is connected to the lower end of the already connected split chain 145A. In this way, the empty tray elevating unit 3 can be increased in the height direction. FIG. 16 is a perspective view of the empty tray elevating unit 3 configured as described above.

The split mounting plate module 202 of the empty tray elevating unit 3 is provided with an elevator rail 211 and a stop position sensor 212, and the split mounting plate module 202 'is provided with an elevator rail 211. The 211 need not always be provided.

Instead of the chain hanging type, a drive motor as a lifting drive source is provided on the chuck mechanism 112 itself, a pinion is provided on the output shaft of the drive motor, and a rack is provided on the split mounting plate module or the connecting leg module. Then, a chuck mechanism having a configuration in which the rack and the pinion are engaged with each other and moved up and down may be used.

Further, it is desirable that the length of each connecting leg module 201 and the length of each split mounting plate module 202, 202 'are the same. With such a configuration, when the tray stock unit 1 and the component take-out unit 2 are increased at a certain height, the empty tray elevating unit 3 can be easily added in correspondence with this.

[0100]

[Structure of the tray collecting unit 4] The collecting machine frame 7 of the tray collecting unit 4 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape as shown in FIG. The collecting machine frame 7 is provided on an upper stage of the tray machine frame 20. The collecting machine frame 7 is provided with a lower tray collecting section 160 for collecting the lower tray and an upper tray collecting section 161 for collecting the upper tray. The lower tray collecting unit 160 includes a motor roller 162 and a pair of roller frame 163.
The upper tray collecting section 161 is composed of a motor roller 164 and a pair of roller frames 165. The motor rollers 162 and 164 face the empty tray elevating unit 3. It is desirable that the motor rollers 162 and 164 have a surface coated with rubber or the like having a high coefficient of friction in order to obtain a pulling force of the empty tray.

The roller machine frames 163 and 165 are provided obliquely over the recovery machine frame 7, and each roller machine frame 163, 165 is provided.
Are provided with rollers (free rollers) 166 having a small friction coefficient at predetermined intervals in the longitudinal direction. For example, when the empty tray 11 is pushed out from the chuck mechanism 112, it is transported by the motor roller 164, and slides on the roller 166 by its own weight to be collected. The empty tray is prevented from falling by a stopper (not shown).

The tray collection unit 4 can be configured to be added as needed as a module.

[0103]

[Example 1 of Modification of Tray Collection Unit 4] FIG.
FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of modularization of the tray collection unit section 4. Reference numeral 170 denotes a drive module, and reference numeral 171 denotes a connection module. The drive module 170 is configured by providing a motor roller 173, a roller 174, and a guide plate 175 on a module machine frame 172 as shown in FIG. The connection module 171 is configured by providing a roller 177 and a guide plate 178 on a module machine frame 176. The drive modules 170 and 171 are sequentially added in the height direction by connecting the machine frames with a connection plate 179 and screws (not shown). By connecting the connection modules 171 to each other using the connection plate 179 and screws (not shown), the connection modules 171 can be added in the transfer direction. In this way,
The tray collection unit 4 is added in the transfer direction and the height direction.

In this embodiment, the motor roller and the rollers are provided in the module frame 172 to add the tray collection unit 4. However, similarly to the tray stock unit 1, the drive module is formed using an anti-back mechanism. 170 may be added.

If the vertical, horizontal, and height dimensions of the module frame 172 of the tray collection unit 4 are the same as the vertical, horizontal, and height dimensions of the module frame 20 ′ of the tray stock unit 1, expansion is possible. It is convenient in the case.

[0106]

[Example 2 of modularization of tray collection unit 4] FIG.
9 is an explanatory diagram in the case where an anti-back mechanism is used for the drive module 170. Here, the module machine frame 172
, An air cylinder 180, a slide rail 181, a tray guide rail 182, and a side guide plate 183 are provided. The slide rail 181 has a tray transport frame 184.
Are provided so as to be slidable. Reference numeral 185 denotes a guide portion slidably fitted to the slide rail 181. An actuator 186 is slidably provided on the air cylinder 180, and the tray transport frame 184 is reciprocated in the direction in which the slide rail 181 extends.

An anti-back engaging claw 188 is provided on a mounting plate 187 of the tray carrying frame 184 so as to be rotatable around a support shaft 189. The anti-back engagement claw 188 is urged inward by a spring 190.

[0108]

[Description of operation of anti-back mechanism] As shown in FIG.
From the state where the inclined contact portion 191 of the anti-back engaging claw 188 is in contact with the rear end corner 11A of the tray 11 at the receiving port 170A of the drive module 170. Tray transport frame 184 is connected module 17
20A, the tray 11 is pushed out toward the connection module 171 as shown in FIGS. The tray transport frame 184 waits at this position after the transfer of the empty tray 11. Next, when the succeeding empty tray 11 is pushed out by the tray discharge plate 135 and crosses the tray crossing sensor, the actuator 186 is moved, and
The tray transport frame 184 is transported in a direction toward the empty tray elevating unit 3. At this time, the front end corner portion 11C and the side edge 11B of the tray 11 abut against the anti-back engaging claw 188, and the anti-back engaging claw 188 is moved in the biasing direction of the spring 190 as shown in FIG. Rotate in the opposite direction. Therefore, the subsequent empty tray 11 is not pulled back to the empty tray elevating unit 3 side, and the tray transport frame 1
84 is transferred to the empty tray elevating unit 3 side.

Next, the tray transport frame 184 is transported toward the connection module 171 side, and the inclined contact portion 191 of the anti-back engaging claw 188 is moved to the rear end of the tray 11 as shown in FIG. The trailing empty tray 11 comes into contact with the empty tray 11 on the preceding side and is transferred in alignment with the corner 11A.

[0110]

[Example of operation of tray crossing sensors 155 and 156] FIG.
1 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the tray crossing sensors 155 and 156.

Now, in FIG. 5, the industrial robot 15
Issues a tray request command to supply the upper tray 11 to the tray transfer table 14 to a control computer (not shown) (see S.1 in FIG. 21). Then, the tray 11 containing the components is supplied from the tray stock unit 1 to the tray transfer table 14 (S.
2).

When the tray 11 containing the components crosses the tray crossing sensors 155 and 156 shown in FIG.
Is detected to be traversing (S.3). Tray 1
Tray stock unit 1
Is repeated (S.2). Tray 11
Is completed (S.4), the computer regards the tray 11 containing the component as being on the tray transfer table 14 and stores the existence of the tray 11 on the enrollment.

On the other hand, when the tray 10 containing parts is emptied, the industrial robot 15 sends the empty tray 1 to the computer.
0 is issued (S.6). As a result, the tray transfer table 13 is transferred to the tray receiving position 6A, and the tray transfer table 14 is moved to the component pick-up position 6B.
And the empty tray 10 faces the lowered position of the chuck mechanism 112. On the other hand, the tray 11 containing the components is located at the component removal position 6B.

The tray transfer table 13 is moved to the tray receiving position 6A, the chuck mechanism 112 is lowered at a predetermined timing, and the chuck mechanism 1 is moved at a predetermined stop position.
12 stops descending. The chuck mechanism 112 chucks the tray 10 and moves up, stopping at a predetermined rising position (S.7). Then, the empty tray 1 is moved from the empty tray elevating unit 3 to the tray collecting unit 4.
0 starts the discharging operation (S.8).

When the empty tray 10 is the tray crossing sensor 15
When the vehicle crosses 5, 156, it is detected that the vehicle is crossing (S. 9). The control computer will wait until the empty tray 10 crosses the cross-tray sensor before the S.D. 7-S. When the process of Step 9 is repeated and the crossing of the empty tray 10 is detected, the storage of the presence of the tray 10 in the tray transfer table 13 is canceled, and the computer stores the tray registration assuming that the tray 10 exists in the chuck mechanism 112. (S.1
0).

Until the empty tray 10 is pushed out and completely crosses the tray crossing sensors 155, 156, the S.D. 8 ~
S. When the process in step 11 is repeated and the empty tray 11 completely crosses the tray crossing sensor, the computer releases the storage of the tray enrollment of the chuck mechanism 112 (S.12).
Thereby, the end of collection of the tray 10 is determined (S.
13). Similar processing is executed when the tray 11 becomes empty.

According to the present invention, even if the number of tray transfer tables is increased to three or more, it is not necessary to increase the number of sensors for detecting where the tray is, and it is sufficient to slightly change the computer program. An increase in cost due to an increase in the number of tray transfer tables can be avoided as much as possible.

[0118]

FIG. 22 is a flow chart for explaining another example of the operation of the tray crossing sensors 155 and 156.

Here, the operation when the tray 11 containing parts is not stocked in the tray stock unit 1 will be described. Tray 1 in tray stock unit 1
If there is no 1, the tray crossing sensor does not detect the crossing of the tray 11 even if there is a request command for the tray 11 containing parts from the industrial robot 15. If the computer does not detect that the tray 11 has been traversed after the predetermined time has elapsed, the computer proceeds to step S. In S.3, it is determined as No. Then, the process goes to 14 to enter a standby state. A human manually supplies the tray 11 containing the parts to the tray stock unit 1, or
When the trays 11 containing parts are automatically supplied to the tray stock unit 1, the number of trays 11 supplied to the tray stock unit 1 is counted (S.14).

The computer is pushed into the tray stock unit 1 with the number of modules connected in the upper tray array 9 of the tray stock unit 1 (the number of trays 11 to be arranged in the tray array 9 of the tray stock unit 1). The number of trays 11 (S. 15),
When the number of trays 11 to be arranged in the upper tray arrangement section 9 of the tray stock unit section 1 is arranged, the tray stock unit section 1 is set in a standby state (S.16). next,
When the supply button switch of the tray 11 is operated, the tray 11 is supplied from the tray stock unit 1 to the component take-out unit 2.

When the tray is not detected even after the number of times of the pressing operation to be arranged is performed, the computer sets the tray stock unit 1 to a standby state, and after the tray is inserted, repeats the pressing operation again by the supply button switch. With this configuration, the operation of the industrial robot 15 starts even when one tray is inserted.

[0122]

According to the present invention, as described above, the trays arranged in the horizontal direction are separated while being transferred, so that the mechanism can be simplified and the cost can be reduced, and the stock capacity can be reduced. It can be easily increased or decreased.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an overall configuration of a component supply device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a detailed configuration of a tray supply unit illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIGS. 3A and 3B are diagrams showing a module structure of the tray carrying means having the anti-back structure shown in FIG. 1, wherein FIG. 3A is a plan view showing a state where the tray carrying means having a modular structure is connected, and FIG. The top view of the connection module shown to (a),
(C) is a front view of the connection module shown in (b).

FIGS. 4A and 4B are diagrams for explaining the transport of the trays with parts, wherein FIG. 4A shows a state in which the trays with parts are pressed in close contact with the lower tray array, and FIG. 2 shows a state in which the component-containing tray shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a detailed configuration of a component take-out unit.

FIG. 6 is a side view of a component take-out unit having a tray transfer table having a modular structure.

FIG. 7 is a front view of the component take-out unit shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a detailed configuration of a module frame shown in FIG. 7;

9 is a side view of a component take-out unit configured as a cantilever type module frame using the tray transfer table shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 10 is a front view of the component take-out unit shown in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of an empty tray elevating unit.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing a chuck mechanism of the empty tray elevating unit.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram of a module structure of the empty tray elevating unit shown in FIG. 11;

FIG. 14 is an enlarged perspective view of the connecting leg module shown in FIG. 11;

FIG. 15 is a perspective view for explaining connection of the split mounting plate modules shown in FIG. 11;

16 is a perspective view showing an empty tray elevating unit formed by connecting the modules shown in FIG. 13;

FIG. 17 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of a tray collection unit.

FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram of modularization of a tray collection unit.

FIG. 19 is a perspective view when the tray collection unit is modularized by an anti-back structure.

20A and 20B are views for explaining the operation of the drive module shown in FIG. 19, wherein FIG. 20A illustrates an anti-back engagement claw on an empty tray when the tray transport frame is located at the receiving port of the drive module; Shows a state in which the tray is in contact, and FIG.
(C) shows a state in which the empty tray has been transferred toward the connection module, (c) shows a state in which the tray carrying frame is again moving toward the receiving port of the drive module, and (d) shows a state in which the subsequent empty tray is again moved. It shows a state of being transferred toward the connection module side.

FIG. 21 is a flowchart for explaining an example of the operation of the tray crossing sensor.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart for explaining another example of the operation of the tray crossing sensor.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Tray stock unit part (tray transfer mechanism) 2 ... Parts take-out unit part 3 ... Empty tray raising / lowering unit part 4 ... Tray collection unit part 36 ... Anti-back engagement claw 50,51,52 ... Tray transport frame 60 ... Tray

Claims (10)

[Claims] A plurality of tray transfer mechanism modules, each of which has a tray arrangement section for horizontally arranging trays extending in a horizontal direction and reciprocating along the tray arrangement section; A moving anti-back engaging claw is provided, and the anti-back engaging claw is engaged with one tray when driven in one direction to separate the tray from the other tray and to move in the one direction. A tray transfer mechanism for transferring the tray in a direction opposite to the one direction when the tray is driven in the opposite direction. 2. A tray transfer mechanism module, comprising: a drive module having a tray transfer frame provided with the anti-back engagement claw; and a driving unit for driving the tray transfer frame; and a drive module connected to the tray transfer frame. A coupling module having a tray transport frame that is driven and is provided with the anti-back engagement claw, and can be added in the transport direction by interconnecting the coupling modules. The tray transfer mechanism according to claim 1. 3. A plurality of anti-back engaging claws are provided at predetermined intervals along the tray array portion, wherein the predetermined interval is less than twice the length of the tray in the transfer direction. The tray transfer mechanism according to claim 1. 4. A plurality of anti-back engagement claws are provided at predetermined intervals along the tray array portion, and the movement stroke of the anti-back engagement claws is longer than the predetermined interval and the length of the tray in the transport direction is longer than the predetermined interval. 2. The tray transfer mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the length of the tray is less than twice. 5. The tray transfer mechanism according to claim 2, wherein the drive module can be added in the height direction by providing a drive module above the drive module. 6. A tray stock unit for stocking a tray with parts, and a plurality of tray transfer tables on which a tray with parts supplied from the tray stock unit is placed on a bed. Each of the tray transfer tables is arranged such that when the tray transfer table is at a component take-out position for taking out components from the component-containing tray, another tray transfer table is at a tray receiving position for receiving the component-containing tray from the tray stock unit. And a component take-out unit provided with reciprocating means for reciprocating the tray horizontally. The tray stock unit comprises a plurality of tray stock unit modules, and each tray stock unit module includes the component-containing tray. From the supply position where Put extend toward the position,
Further, a tray array portion for arranging the component-containing trays extends in the horizontal direction, and the tray array portion is provided with an anti-back engaging claw that reciprocates along the tray array portion,
When the anti-back engaging claw is driven in the direction toward the tray receiving position, it engages with one component-containing tray, separates the component-containing tray from another component-containing tray, and separates the component-containing tray from the other tray. A component feeding apparatus for transferring the component-containing tray in a direction toward the supply position when the component-containing tray is driven in a direction toward the supply position. 7. The tray stock unit module is connected to the tray transport frame, the drive module having a tray transport frame provided with the anti-back engaging claw, and a driving means for driving the tray transport frame. And a coupling module having a tray transport frame provided with the anti-back engaging claw, and can be added in the transport direction by interconnecting the coupling modules. The component supply device according to claim 6. 8. A plurality of anti-back engaging claws are provided at predetermined intervals along the tray array portion, and the predetermined interval is less than twice the length of the tray in the transfer direction. The component supply device according to claim 6. 9. A plurality of anti-back engaging claws are provided at predetermined intervals along the tray array portion, and the movement stroke of the anti-back engaging claws is longer than the predetermined interval and is equal to the length of the tray in the transfer direction. The component supply device according to claim 6, wherein the component supply amount is less than twice. 10. The component supply device according to claim 7, wherein the drive module can be added in the height direction by providing a drive module above the drive module.