JP2003192118A - Component supply device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a component supply device capable of realizing stable carriage and supply of parts. <P>SOLUTION: This component supply device has a hopper 2 free to store a plurality of the components such as screws, etc., a carrier rail 4 to carry the parts stored in the hopper 2, an electromagnetic type vibrator 5 to vibrate the carrier rail 4 and a vibration sensor 9 free to detect vibration of the carrier rail 4 to vibrate by receiving driving of the vibrator. A detection signal of the vibration sensor 9 is transmitted to a control means 6 and thereby converted to actual frequency of the carrier rail 4. The control means 6 drives and controls the vibrator 5 to make the actual frequency into set frequency by comparing the actual frequency with the previously set frequency. Consequently, it becomes possible to vibrate the carrier rail 4 by the initially planned frequency and to stably carry and supply the components. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a component supply device that conveys components on a conveying path by vibrating the conveying path.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, by vibrating a conveyance path,
As a component supply device configured to convey the component supported on the conveyance path, the component supply device disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 55-56918 is widely known. This component feeder is a storage hopper capable of storing a plurality of components,
It is provided with a truck which is a transport path for transporting the components in the storage hopper, and a vibrating body which vibrates the truck. According to this component supply device, the storage hopper and the truck vibrate due to the vibration given by the vibrating body, whereby the components stored in the storage hopper can be transferred to the truck and aligned and transported on the truck. That is.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional component supply device, there is a problem that the vibration of the vibrating body is not properly transmitted to the track due to the influence of mechanical play, interference between the constituent members and the like. It was In addition, since the vibration direction of the track given by the vibrating body is slightly inclined from the extending direction of the track, the moment between the portion of the truck supported by the vibrating body and the unsupported portion of the free end side is The cycle of vibration due to the influence of
The amplitude changes. Therefore, there is a problem that a vibration damping point is generated on the track and the vibration is extremely damped at that portion. Moreover, when the parts are being supported and transported by the truck, the distributed load on the track becomes uneven and fluctuating due to the amount of the supported parts, variations in the parts supporting position, etc. There was a problem that the damping point of vibration changed. In addition, resonance may occur in the truck depending on the applied frequency, and the truck may vibrate more than necessary. As described above, it has been difficult for the conventional component supply device to stably convey and supply components.

[0004]

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and is intended to stabilize the vibration of a conveying path and thereby to realize stable conveyance and supply of parts. is there. Therefore, the present invention, a storage unit capable of storing a plurality of components, a transport path capable of transporting the components stored in the storage unit, a vibrating body for vibrating the transport path, and a drive of the vibrating body. The detection means capable of detecting the vibration of the vibrating conveying path, and the actual frequency of the conveying path obtained from the detection signal of this detecting means are compared with a preset set frequency so that the actual frequency becomes the set frequency. And a control means for driving and controlling the vibrating body. It should be noted that a plurality of the detection means are provided so as to be able to detect vibrations at a plurality of positions of the transport path, and the control means is preset with an actual vibration frequency obtained from detection signals of the plurality of detection means. It is preferable to identify a part having the largest difference from the set frequency and drive-control the vibrating body so that the actual frequency of the part becomes the set frequency.

[0005]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 and 2, reference numeral 1 denotes a component supply device used when supplying a screw S having a head, and a hopper 2 capable of storing a plurality of screws S ...
The scooping plate 3 is arranged so as to be vertically swingable inside the hopper 2, the transport rail 4 that is an example of a transport path that extends in front of the scooping plate 3 and is continuous, and the transport rail 4 vibrates. An electromagnetic vibrator 5 (hereinafter, simply referred to as “vibrator 5”), which is an example of a vibrating body to be driven, and a control unit 6 that controls driving of the vibrator 5 are provided.

The scooping plate 3 is formed by forming a groove 3a capable of supporting the screw S in a hanging shape on the upper surface of a fan-shaped plate. The hopper 2 is driven by a cam mechanism 8 which is driven by a motor 7. It is configured to be rocked inside. The scooping plate 3 is configured such that the groove forming surface is inclined and continuous with the upper surface of the transport rail 4 when reaching the top dead center during swinging. Since the details of the structure of the scooping plate 3 and the motor 7 and the cam mechanism 8 for swinging the scooping plate 3 are already known from Japanese Patent Publication No. 60-25338, Detailed description is omitted here.

The transfer rail 4 has a groove 3 in the scooping plate 3.
It is constructed by arranging two plates 4a and 4b extending in parallel and substantially horizontally so as to have the same width as a, and is supported by the vibrator 5. A vibration sensor 9 is attached near the supporting position of the vibrator 5 on the transport rail 4, and the vibration sensor 9 is configured to detect the vibration of the transport rail 4. As the vibration sensor 9, a piezoelectric ceramic sensor or the like that causes the output voltage to vary depending on the magnitude of the external force (vibration) that acts is used. Further, on the terminal end side of the transport rail 4, a separation supply unit 10 for sequentially separating and supplying the screws S transported on the transport rail 4 to the working machine at the next stage is continuously provided.

The vibrator 5 has an electromagnet 5a and a pedestal plate 5c which is always elastically supported by a leaf spring 5b and has a slight clearance from the electromagnet 5a. Vibration of a predetermined frequency can be generated by attracting / separating the pedestal plate 5c to / from the electromagnet 5a generated by intermittently energizing.
The carrier rail 4 is integrally connected to a bracket B fixed to a pedestal plate 5c of the vibrator 5, so that the vibrator 5 is configured to vibrate.

The control means 6 includes a control section 6a and an input section 6b.
Have and. The input unit 6b is composed of, for example, a frequency setting dial, and is configured so that an operator can arbitrarily set a desired frequency. In addition, the control unit 6a
Is a comparison between the frequency input from the input unit 6b (hereinafter referred to as the set frequency) and the frequency obtained from the output signal of the vibration sensor 9 (hereinafter referred to as the actual frequency). The magnitude of the current supplied to the vibrator 5, the energization time, and the frequency are adjusted so that the frequency becomes the set frequency.

Reference numeral 11 in the drawing denotes a pressing member arranged on the transport rail 4 at a predetermined interval. The pressing member 11 is provided in order to suppress the screw S that tends to float from the transport rail 4 due to the vibration of the transport rail 4.

In the above component supply device 1, the hopper 2
The plurality of screws S, which have been thrown in and stored in, are scooped up by the scooping plate 3 which swings under the drive of the motor 7. The scooped-up screw S is supported on the upper surface of the scooping plate 3 in a hanging manner, and when the scooping plate 3 approaches the top dead center, it slides down and moves to the transport rail 4. The transport rail 4 is vibrating under the drive of the vibrator 5, and therefore the transport rail 4
The screw S transferred to is supported by the carrying rail 4 in a hanging manner and is carried forward. When the end of the transport rail 4 is reached, the separation and supply unit 10 provided there is provided.
Is supplied to the next stage work machine or the like.

When the screw S is conveyed, the vibration of the conveying rail 4 is constantly detected by the vibration sensor 9, and the detection signal is fed back to the controller 6a via an interface (not shown). The control unit 6a performs a process of obtaining the actual frequency from the detection signal of the vibration sensor 9 and comparing the actual frequency with the set frequency. Then, the magnitude of the current supplied to the vibrator 5, the energization time, and the frequency are obtained from the difference, and the control for driving the vibrator 5 is performed by this. As a result, the vibration frequency of the vibrator 5 or the transport rail 4 is increased or decreased. As a result, for example, the vibrator 5 is mechanically idled.
It is possible to detect that the vibration of No. has not been properly transmitted to the transport rail 4, correct it, and vibrate the transport rail 4 at the originally designed frequency (set frequency).

FIG. 3 shows the essential parts of another embodiment of the component supply apparatus according to the present invention. In this component supply apparatus 1 ', a conveyance rail having an intermediate portion supported by a vibrator 5 is shown. A total of six vibration sensors 9a to 9f are attached to the free end side of 4, and a control unit 6a 'for controlling the driving of the vibrator 5 based on the detection signals of these vibration sensors 9a to 9f is shown. All of these vibration sensors 9a to 9f have the same structure as that of the above-described vibration sensor 9, and in the no-load state (state in which no screw is supported) vibrating under the vibration of the vibrator 5 in the transport rail 4. A damping point of the vibration caused by the difference between the vibration of the free end side portion and the vibration of the portion supported by the vibrator 5, that is, one each (9a, 9d) is arranged at the standard damping position of the vibration, The remaining vibration sensors 9b, 9c, 9e, 9f are arranged at positions sandwiching this.

According to the component supply apparatus 1 ', in the screw conveying operation, the vibration state of each portion of the conveying rail 4 is detected by each of the vibration sensors 9a to 9f, and is fed back to the control portion 6a' of the control means 6 '. To be done. Further, in the control section 6a ', the actual frequency of each section of the transport rail 4 is obtained from the magnitude of the detection signal sent from each of the vibration sensors 9a to 9f, and a process of comparing this with the set frequency is performed. Then, from the result, the vibration sensor that detects the position where the difference between the set frequency and the actual frequency is the largest, that is, the part (or the vicinity) where the vibration is most attenuated, is specified. The magnitude of the current supplied to the vibrator 5, the energization time, and the frequency required to bring the frequency close to the set frequency are obtained, and the vibrator 5 is driven by this. As a result, the vibration frequency of the vibrator 5 is changed. As a result, the damping of the vibration corresponds to the damping point of the vibration on the transport rail 4 which changes from moment to moment due to the amount, position, variation of the screws S supported on the transport rail 4 or the frequency change itself of the vibrator 5. It is possible to bring the vibration frequency of the predetermined portion of the conveyance rail 4 which is increased close to the set vibration frequency. If the damping points of the vibration are sequentially specified in this manner and the frequency of the vibration is increased, a wavy change can be generated in the frequency of each part of the transport rail 4, and the vibration on the transport rail 4 is substantially generated. It becomes possible to stably convey the screw S without any delay by eliminating the damping point.

As described above, it is extremely effective to provide the pressing member 11 in the component supplying device 1 in the component supplying device 1'which controls the vibration of each part of the transport rail 4 to be locally and locally increased. That is, the transport rail 4
If the position where the vibration is attenuated is detected and the frequency of that part is controlled to be increased, the frequency of other parts of the transport rail 4 where vibration is likely to occur simultaneously increases. For this reason, the phenomenon in which the screw S jumps up from the transport rail 4 becomes remarkable at that portion, but by providing the pressing member 11, this can be effectively suppressed and the screw S can be transported smoothly. It will be.

In the above description of another embodiment of the present invention, an example in which the damping point of vibration is specified based on the detection signals of the vibration sensors 9a to 9f and the frequency thereof is increased. As described above, even if the resonance occurrence position is sequentially specified based on the detection signals of the vibration sensors 9a to 9f and the frequency of vibration is reduced, the same effect can be obtained.

[0017]

According to the component supply apparatus of the present invention, the detecting means for detecting the vibration of the carrying rail is provided, and the frequency of the carrying rail obtained from the detection signal by the detecting means is set to the preset frequency. The vibrator is driven and controlled so that Therefore, it is detected that the vibration of the vibrator is not satisfactorily transmitted to the conveyance rail due to mechanical play, interference between components, etc., and the vibration frequency is different between the conveyance rail and the vibrator, and this is corrected. There is an advantage that the carrier rail can be vibrated at a set frequency. Further, the vibration damping point or resonance point on the transport rail is specified based on the detection signal of the detection means, and the vibrating body is driven and controlled so that the actual frequency of this portion becomes the set frequency. There are advantages such as eliminating the vibration damping point or resonance point on the transport rail, and enabling stable screw transport. As described above, the component supply device of the present invention stabilizes the vibration of the transfer rail and enables stable transfer and supply of components such as screws.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view in which a part of a component supply device according to the present invention is cut away to make a cross section.

FIG. 2 is an end view taken along the line AA of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a main part of a component supply device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Parts supply device 2 hoppers 3 scooping board 4 Conveyor rail 5 Electromagnetic vibrator 6 Control means 6a Control unit 6b Input section 9 Vibration sensor 1'Part supply device 6'control means 6a 'control unit

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A storage section capable of storing a plurality of parts, a conveyance path capable of conveying the parts stored in the storage section, a vibrating body for vibrating the conveyance path, and a vibration driven by the vibrating body. The detection means capable of detecting the vibration of the transport path and the actual frequency of the transport path obtained from the detection signal of the detection means are compared with a preset set frequency so that the actual frequency becomes the set frequency. A component supply device, comprising: a control unit that drives and controls the vibrating body. 2. A plurality of detecting means are provided so as to detect vibrations at a plurality of positions of the conveying path, and the control means is
The part having the largest difference between the actual frequency obtained from the detection signals of the plurality of detection means and the preset frequency is specified, and the vibrating body is arranged so that the actual frequency of the part becomes the set frequency. The component supply device according to claim 1, wherein the component supply device is controlled.