JP2003341827A - Workpiece sorting device for parts feeder - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To sufficiently accommodate the high-speed carry-out performance of a parts feeder and develop improved workpiece pick-out reliability by achieving high-speed workpiece sorting treatment. <P>SOLUTION: Workpieces 29b (turned reverse) in a different direction of the worpieces 29 being carried on a chute track 28 are sorted and picked outward from the track 28 by the drive of a piezoelectric actuator 32. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a work selection device of a parts feeder suitable for aligning and conveying works having a directivity such as small chip parts by exciting vibration.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a piezoelectric type part feeder using a piezoelectric ceramic element as a driving source or an electromagnetic type part feeder using an electromagnet, when a small work such as a chip resistor or a chip capacitor is fed and supplied, the work itself is supplied to the work itself. Since it is often directional, it is provided with a so-called work sorting device for transporting and feeding, for example, the front and back surfaces of the work in a fixed direction. According to this work selection device, it is determined whether or not the directionality of the work is appropriate, and the work in the different direction is extracted outward from the chute track for supply.

FIG. 9 shows an example of a work selecting device in a conventional piezoelectric type part feeder. First, the structure of the feeder 1 will be described. This is a base fixed to the installation surface by being grounded. A piezo-electric drive element having a pedestal 2, an upper base frame 3 and a lower base frame 4 which are parallel to the base 2, and between these base frames 3 and 4, the left and right ends of the base frame are made of a piezoelectric ceramic that is inclined and stands up. 5, and displacement expansion spring 6
Is provided and connected.

A chute 7 is mounted on the upper surface of the upper base frame 3, and a track 9 for feeding and supplying a work 8 such as a chip resistance component in the arrow X direction in the drawing is provided on the chute 7. This work 8 is, for example, a small component having directivity on the front and back sides, of which the upper surface side in the drawing is the so-called front-facing component 8a that faces the proper direction (hatching in the drawing). If the original components are the face-down components 8b, the components 8a and 8b are conveyed in a mixed manner on the track 9 side by side.

On the other hand, the chute 7 selects a work 8 for determining whether the work 8 conveyed on the track 9 has the proper directionality and picking up the facing component 8b in a different direction from the track 9. A device 10 is provided. That is,
The work selecting device 10 serves as a direction determining means for determining whether or not the directionality of the work 8 conveyed on the track 9 in a mixture of front and back facing components 8a and 8b is appropriate. For example, a reflection type optical sensor 11 is provided, and discrimination is made by utilizing the fact that the reflectances of the front surface and the back surface of the work 8 are different. For example, in the case of a chip resistor component, a black carbon resistor is located on one surface side, and a white ceramic substrate is arranged on the opposite surface side. Can be determined. Further, an air blowing mechanism 12 is provided as a means for extracting the back-facing component 8b specified by the optical sensor 11 from the track 9 to the outside.

However, the air blowing mechanism 12 is
An air hose 13 for feeding air from an air supply source (not shown) is connected to the chute 7 via a cylindrical portion 13a at the tip of the air hose 13, and the inside thereof is communicated with the front side (track 9
Side) and the air hole 14 and the air hose 13 described above.
And a solenoid valve 15 for controlling the blowing of air.

Therefore, according to the parts feeder 1 having the work selecting device 10 having the above-mentioned structure, one of the works 8 has a directionality that has been conveyed on the track 9 and one of the works 8 closes the blowout hole 14 forward. When the position is reached, the front and back of the work 8 are detected and discriminated by the optical sensor 11, and when the work 8 is discriminated as the face-down component 8b, the solenoid valve 15 is opened in association with the detection result and the air is released. It is ejected from the flow outlet 14. Due to the blowing of the air, the face-down component 8b located in front of the blowing hole 14
Is blown away to the front and is picked up from the truck 9, and only the front-facing components 8a in the forward direction are aligned on the truck 9, and are conveyed straight as they are and supplied to the destination production line or the like. .

[0008]

However, the chip parts targeted for the work 8 are becoming smaller and smaller in recent years, and the conveying speed of the work 8 by this kind of parts feeder 1 is becoming faster and faster. Therefore, there is a demand for high performance, and it is required to improve the operating rate by improving the so-called yield which can increase the number of unloading units per unit time. Therefore, in order to meet this demand, it is essential to speed up the sorting device 10. However, in the air blowing mechanism 12 as the extracting means included in the work selecting device 10, there is a limit to the open / close control of the solenoid valve 15 and the high-speed control such as reliably blowing off only the one work 8 concerned. It is desired to develop a work selection means that is excellent in high-speed response. Further, in this air type, the air hose 13 is an obstacle, and the noise caused by the solenoid valve 15 and the air blow-out control is large. Furthermore, since the air hose 13 is connected to the chute 7 on the upper part of the feeder 1, it is heavy. There is also a risk that the load will be increased and the transport performance will be reduced.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a piezoelectric actuator capable of high-speed processing for selecting a work, and to sufficiently cope with high-speed carrying-out performance of a parts feeder, and It is to provide a work selection device for a parts feeder that has high reliability for extracting works.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above object, a work selecting device for a parts feeder according to the present invention selects a work on a chute track and allows the work to be aligned and conveyed. The piezoelectric actuator is driven so as to be extracted outward from the track (the invention of claim 1).

According to such a structure, it is possible to perform a quick work selection process having excellent responsiveness, to cope with high speed and high performance, and to reliably extract only the selected work, thereby improving reliability. As a result, the work discharge capacity per unit time can be greatly improved, and the yield can be improved. Moreover, unlike the conventional air type, there is no fear that the air hose will cause a heavy load on the feeder and the conveyance performance will not deteriorate, and noise can be significantly reduced.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, the piezoelectric actuator has a structure in which a unimorph or bimorph type element is supported in a cantilever manner (invention of the second aspect).

According to this structure, a desired displacement amount can be obtained at a low voltage, a work selecting device which is easy to manufacture, small in size and light in weight can be obtained with a simple structure, and there is no electromagnetic influence. In particular, it is suitable for application to a work selection device of a feeder that conveys small parts such as chip parts.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the shim plate forming the unimorph or bimorph type element comprises:
A tongue piece for ejecting the selected work from the track is provided, and the tongue piece has a shape narrower than the length of the work (invention of claim 3).

According to this structure, in addition to excellent responsiveness, one selected work can be reliably ejected, and the reliability can be further enhanced.

According to the second or third aspect of the invention, when the piezoelectric actuator is inoperative, a voltage of opposite polarity is applied to maintain the piezoelectric actuator at a predetermined standby position (claim 4). invention).

According to this structure, even if the piezoelectric actuator has a slight manufacturing error or deformation, for example, the actuator can be reliably maintained at the predetermined standby position when it is inoperative, so that it collides with the conveyed work. You can expect smooth transport without any problems.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the piezoelectric actuator is held as an attachment unit which forms a part of a track, and is configured as an actuator unit.
The unit is attached and fixed to a chute (the invention of claim 5).

According to such a configuration, in addition to the effect of the invention of claim 1, the actuator unit can be easily incorporated in the feeder, and the sorting performance can be evaluated by the feeder alone. Therefore, for example, maintenance and inspection can be performed. Further, it is possible to provide a sorting device for a parts feeder which is excellent in workability because a good product after confirmation of performance evaluation can be incorporated at the time of replacement or the like, and it is not necessary to incorporate it into the feeder each time to evaluate the performance.

[0020]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION (First Embodiment) A first embodiment, in which the present invention is applied to a piezoelectric type parts feeder, will be described below with reference to FIGS. First, Fig. 1
Is an external perspective view showing the overall structure of the linear parts feeder 21. The structure will be explained. This adopts the same piezoelectric method as the conventional structure, and is grounded (grounded) on the installation surface and fixedly mounted. And a lower base frame 24, which are parallel to the upper base frame 23 and the lower base frame 24.
In the configuration, a connecting structure for connecting the piezoelectric drive element 25 and the displacement magnifying spring 26, which are connected to each other at the left and right ends thereof in a tilted manner, is provided between the third and the third parts.

A chute 27 is mounted on the upper surface of the upper base frame 23, and a work 29 is attached to the chute 27.
Is provided with a track 28 for feeding and feeding in the direction of the arrow X in the figure, and as a work 29 thereof, it is necessary to feed the work 29 by aligning the front and back in a fixed direction such as a chip resistor and a chip capacitor. Small parts with properties are targeted for transportation.

The chute 27 is provided with a work selection device 30 for aligning and conveying the works 29. The work selecting device 30 includes a reflection type optical sensor 31 as a means for discriminating the properness of the direction of the works 29. The works 29 selected by the optical sensor 31, in this case, the face-down parts facing different directions. 29b, a piezoelectric actuator 3 for picking it up from the track 28
2 is provided. However, in order to incorporate the piezoelectric actuator 32 into the feeder 21, the actuator unit 3 to which the piezoelectric actuator 32 is attached and fixed is mounted.
Screw 4 to chute 27 through
It is mounted and fixed at 5, and mounted on the feeder 21. still,
In the present embodiment, the optical sensor 31 as the directionality determining means also has a so-called position sensor function of detecting that one of the works 29 has reached a predetermined position, but separately as a dedicated position sensor, for example, A transmissive optical sensor may be provided.

The structure of the piezoelectric actuator 32 will be described below with reference to the front view of FIG. 2A and the side view of FIG. 2B. In this embodiment, a bimorph type actuator is adopted. On both sides of the rectangular shim plate 34 made of SK steel.
b is joined with an epoxy adhesive having conductivity. Among them, the shim plate 34 has a mounting hole 36 at an upper end thereof, and a narrow tongue piece 37 is projectingly provided at a lower end portion of the other end thereof.

On both sides of each of the piezoelectric ceramics 35a and 35b, polarized electrodes, not shown, are formed by baking, and lead wires 38 are formed on the outer electrodes.
The common lead wire 38 is led out by soldering a and 38b, and the lead wire 39 is also led out from the shim plate 34, and is connected to a drive power source (not shown). Therefore, the piezoelectric actuator 32 having the above-described configuration has a so-called cantilevered configuration in which the mounting hole 36 side is fixed, and thus the lead wire 3 is provided.
When a voltage is applied between 8 and 39, for example, the lead wire 39
When a positive voltage is applied to the lead wire 38 by using as an electric ground, the piezoelectric actuator 32 is excited and the tongue piece 37 at its tip is displaced in the direction of arrow A shown in FIG. This drive voltage is pulsed by a drive power source (not shown),
The tongue piece 37 is instantly operated by being controlled by a rectangular or sine wave voltage. On the other hand, when a negative voltage of opposite polarity is applied to the lead wire 38, the negative voltage is displaced in the direction of arrow B opposite to the above. In the present embodiment, this negative voltage is generated when the piezoelectric actuator 32 is in the inoperative state. It is applied (details will be described later).

The bimorph type piezoelectric actuator 32 is incorporated into the parts feeder 21 as an actuator unit 33. That is, FIG.
As shown in the perspective view of (a) and the sectional view taken along line Y-Y of FIG. (A) shown in FIG. The mounting member 40 has a rectangular plate shape and has a depth equal to the thickness of the shim plate 34 in the longitudinal direction of the central part or a slightly larger depth. A notch 41 having a slightly larger size is formed along the outer shape of the shim plate 34.

Therefore, the lower end portion of the cutout portion 41 has a cutout portion 41a slightly wider than the tongue piece 37, and the central portion thereof has one piezoelectric ceramic on the rear surface side as clearly shown in FIG. 35b and soldered lead wire 38
A penetrating opening 41b for letting out b is formed. In order to attach the piezoelectric actuator 32 to the mounting bracket 40 having such a configuration, the shim plate 34 of the piezoelectric actuator 32 is housed so as to face the notch 41, and the mounting bracket 36 is pressed into the mounting hole 36 of the shim plate 34. Screw 4 through 42
3, the piezoelectric actuator 32 is attached and fixed in a cantilevered state. In this case, since the depth of the cut portion 41 is formed to be equal to the thickness of the shim plate 34, the outer surfaces of the both are formed in the same plane, and at least the tongue piece 37 is configured so as not to project forward from the cut portion 41a. To be done.

Thus, the actuator unit 33 having the above-described structure is detachably attached to the cutout portion 27a of the chute 27 through the mounting holes 44 formed on both sides of the mounting bracket 40 so that the screw 45 (see FIG. It is attached and fixed in (See). The incorporated actuator unit 33 is
Since the work 29, which is the side surface of the chute 27, does not project to the side of the track 28 through which the work 29 flows, the work 29 can be smoothly transported, and the tongue piece 37 when not in operation is in a standby position close to the upper surface of the track 28. Maintained at.

In addition, in this embodiment, a negative voltage having a reverse polarity is applied to the piezoelectric actuator 32 incorporated as described above when it is in the inoperative state as described above. This is urged to displace in the opposite arrow B direction with respect to the original displacement in the arrow A direction, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3B, respectively. However, the back side of the tongue piece 37 at the tip is received by the notch portion 41a of the notch portion 41 of the mounting member 40, and this notch portion 41a functions as a stopper for stopping an excessive displacement in the arrow B direction. Therefore, the tongue 37 is notched 4
The so-called standby state of being accommodated in 1 is reliably maintained.

4 and 5 are characteristic diagrams for explaining the drive control pattern of the piezoelectric actuator 32.
Although the detailed description will be given later, the specification condition of the piezoelectric actuator 32 in the present embodiment is that the work 29 to be conveyed is 0.3 m in length and width such as a chip resistance component.
For a chip component having a length of 0.6 mm and a length of 0.6 mm, the shim plate 34 has a width of 6 mm and a total length of 20 mm, of which the tongue piece 37 has a length of 1 mm and a width of 0.3 mm and an overall thickness of 0. The shape is 2 mm. Therefore, in this embodiment, the length of the work 29 in the transport direction is 0.6 mm, whereas the corresponding width of the tongue piece 37 for ejecting the work 29 is 0.3 mm.
It has a narrow width of mm. Further, in the piezoelectric ceramics 35a and 35b, the width is 5 mm and the length is 11 mm.
The thickness is 0.2 mm.

To explain the operation of the above structure, in the parts feeder 21, as is well known, by applying an AC voltage to the piezoelectric drive element 25 which is a drive source, the flexural vibration is excited and the displacement magnifying spring 26. The work 29 on the track 28 of the chute 27 is conveyed in the direction of the arrow X by a synergistic action with. The workpieces 29 are supplied onto the track 28 from another bowl-type parts feeder (not shown), for example, and the workpieces 29 are randomly aligned and conveyed in the arrow X direction. Are aligned and transported.

That is, the piezoelectric actuator 32 constituting the work selecting device 30 is applied with a negative voltage when it is inactive, and at least the tongue piece 37 is biased in the direction of arrow B and is housed in the notch 41a. Has been kept in a standby state. Then, when one work 29 arrives at the facing position in front of the piezoelectric actuator 32 (tongue piece 37), the optical sensor 31 as the directionality determining means that also detects the position of the work piece 29 is directed to the target work 29. The suitability of is judged based on the reflectance of the front and back.

As a result of this determination, the face-up component 29a facing the forward direction of the work 29 (the surface is hatched in the figure)
Is conveyed straight on the track 28 as it is, while the downward facing component 29b facing in a different direction receives the detection signal from the light sensor 31 and the piezoelectric actuator 32.
Is driven, and the back-faced component 29b is extracted outward from the top of the track 28, so that the work 29 oriented in the normal direction is driven.
It is possible to carry out the alignment conveyance only by (the front-facing part 29a).

More specifically, for example, when the work 29 that has reached the front position of the tongue piece 37 is determined to be the face-down component 29b, the piezoelectric actuator 32 causes the drive power source to pulse based on the detection signal from the optical sensor 31. By control, a voltage is applied between the lead wires 38 and 39 to drive, and in this case, a positive voltage is applied and the actuator 32 responds instantly, and the tongue piece 37 at the tip end is moved as shown in FIG. 3B. It is displaced in the direction of arrow A. As a result, the corresponding face-down component 29
b is flipped off by the tongue piece 37 and extracted from the track 28.

The above operation will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. First, as shown in FIG. 4A, a signal when the optical sensor 31 detects the back-facing component 29b is received, and in response thereto. Then, a drive voltage from a drive power source (not shown) is applied to the piezoelectric actuator 32 shown in FIG. Therefore, the piezoelectric actuator 32 having the above-mentioned specifications
On the other hand, FIG. 5A shows one drive voltage waveform when the negative voltage during the non-operation (standby) is applied to the positive voltage during the operation. In the present embodiment, the drive voltage waveform is shown. 125V, rectangular wave time width 1ms, negative voltage is 3
It is set to 0V.

However, in response to the application of the drive voltage, the piezoelectric actuator 32 (tongue piece 37) moves to the position shown in FIG.
The displacement delay time D is
It was a short time of about 70 μs (μ seconds). this is,
It is possible to speed up several times or more as compared with the sorting drive time using the conventional air type, and it is possible to flip off small parts such as minute chip resistors and reliably extract from the track 28. It could be confirmed. By the way, the displacement of the piezoelectric actuator 32 is 0.1 m at a driving voltage of 100V.
It was 0.15 mm at m and 150 V.

Although illustration and detailed description are omitted,
In practical use, the back-side component 29b flipped by the tongue piece 37 and extracted from the feeding part feeder 21.
Another part feeder for collecting the is provided in parallel with and adjacent to the front side of the figure. This is arranged to collect and convey the work 29 (in this case, the face-down component 29b) in the direction opposite to the arrow X, and again as a work 29 on the track 28 of the supply-side feeder 21 via a return mechanism (not shown). It is arranged such that the workpieces 29 are delivered and conveyed, and whether or not the workpieces 29 are properly sorted out by the workpiece sorting device 30 and that the workpieces 29 are picked up and extracted repeatedly, so that the workpieces 29 can be aligned and transported efficiently. ing.

As described above, the present embodiment has the following effects. By using the bimorph type piezoelectric actuator 32 in the work selecting device 30 provided for aligning and conveying the works 29, it is possible to quickly select the works 29 with excellent responsiveness, and further, the piezoelectric actuator 32.
Since it has a cantilevered structure, a large displacement amount can be obtained at a low voltage, and the tongue piece 37 can reliably blow off the back-faced component 29b in a different direction, compared to the conventional pneumatic type. Much more reliable.

As a result, even if the transfer speed of the parts feeder 21 is changed and especially the speed is increased, the selection process of the works 29 can be easily dealt with, and the work carrying-out capability per unit time is greatly improved. Therefore, the yield can be improved and the operating rate can be increased without increasing the length of the chute track 28, and the desired unloading performance can be obtained.

In this embodiment, the piezoelectric actuator 3 is used.
Even when 2 is assembled in the parts feeder 21, since the actuator unit 33 has a small, lightweight, and easy-to-handle unit configuration, the piezoelectric actuator 32 can be easily assembled and detached at the time of replacement. Furthermore, unlike the conventional air type, the air hose can be a hindrance, and the noise due to air blowing control can be greatly improved, and the transport performance due to the heavy load because the air hose is connected to the feeder It can also be expected to ensure the desired stable transportation.

Moreover, the tongue piece 37 is constructed so as not to be electromagnetically affected, and more specifically, the tongue piece 37 is narrower (width 0.3 mm) than the length of the work 29 (0.6 mm in this case). Together with this, one of the selected works 29
Since only the (face-down component 29b) can be reliably blown off, a highly reliable and practical work-sorting device 30 which is particularly suitable for aligning and transporting small components such as chip components has been obtained and has improved performance. It is suitable for use in the parts feeder 21.

Further, according to the present embodiment, when the piezoelectric actuator 32 is in the non-actuated state, a voltage having the opposite polarity (negative in the present embodiment) to that at the time of actuation is applied to cause the tongue piece 37 to move in the original displacement direction ( Since the tongue piece 37 is biased in the direction opposite to the arrow A direction (arrow B direction), the tongue piece 37 is reliably maintained in the standby state at the predetermined position housed in the notch 41a, and the side surface of the chute 27 is secured. Project from the track 28 to the work 2
There is no fear of obstructing the flow of 9 and the original displacement in the direction of the arrow A is instantaneously changed over by the application of the positive voltage during the operation, and the corresponding work 29 can be reliably blown off. .

In addition, in order to securely maintain the tongue piece 37 in a predetermined standby position and to secure a predetermined displacement amount, the cut depth of the notch 41a is set to the shim plate 34 (tongue piece 37). It is better to form it slightly larger than the thickness of With this configuration, when the piezoelectric actuator 32 is in the inoperative state, it is biased in the direction of arrow B by applying the above-mentioned negative voltage, and the tongue piece 37 is displaced to a position depressed from the outer surface, In addition, it is possible to reliably maintain the standby position in the accommodated state, and it is possible to more reliably prevent the possibility of protruding to the track 28 side.

Moreover, when the piezoelectric actuator 32 is driven, the tongue piece 37 is actuated instantly from the above-mentioned standby position, and the displacement amount is increased by the reaction for actuation without increasing the driving voltage. Becomes possible,
As a result, the range in which the work 29 can be applied to various component sizes can be expanded. Therefore, in order to obtain a further large displacement amount, the displacement in the direction of the arrow B, which is the standby position, is increased, and for that purpose, the negative voltage is increased as necessary. It can be operated in a larger direction in the A direction.

In this embodiment, the piezoelectric actuator 32 is used.
Consists of a cantilevered bimorph element,
Further, as is apparent from the drawings, both the shim plate 34 and the piezoelectric ceramics 35a and 35b have a vertically long structure, but the present invention is not limited to this, and is horizontally long, which is advantageous when it is desired to reduce the height dimension, etc. It is also possible to do so. For example, FIG. 6 shows a modified example of such a piezoelectric actuator 46, in which a shim plate 47 is formed in a horizontally long U-shape, and both end portions serve as support fixing portions 48, and a central portion is provided with a lower portion. A protruding tongue piece 49 is formed.

Then, the laterally long piezoelectric ceramics 50 (only one is shown) are joined to both surfaces of the shim plate 47, and the lead wires 38a and 38b are soldered. The piezoelectric actuator 46 having such a structure is Although not shown, support fixing portions 48 at both ends are attached and fixed to a mounting metal fitting similar to that of the above-described embodiment, so that it is formed in a horizontally long overall shape and incorporated in a feeder. As described above, even in the piezoelectric actuator 46 whose both ends are supported and fixed, by applying a voltage, the tongue piece 49 is displaced in the front-rear direction and flips the selected work, as in the above embodiment. You can

In addition, although the bimorph type piezoelectric actuators 32 and 46 are disclosed in the above embodiments, for example, a simple unimorph type piezoelectric actuator in which one piezoelectric ceramic is bonded to one shim plate is used. It is also possible, and a substantially similar effect can be expected. Further, the direction of the work 29 is not limited to the front / back discrimination,
For example, vertical / horizontal discrimination is performed, and the direction determining means is not limited to the optical sensor 31 and can be implemented by variously modified means depending on the purpose of the determination.

(Second Embodiment) Next, FIGS. 7 and 8 show a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 corresponds to FIG. 1 and FIG. 8 corresponds to FIG. In the figure, the same parts as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted. Different parts will be described below. This one uses a piezoelectric actuator 32 of a bimorph type element similar to that of the above-mentioned embodiment, but is different in the unit configuration to be incorporated in the feeder 21.

That is, in the work selecting apparatus 51 of this embodiment, the mounting metal fitting 52 for supporting the piezoelectric actuator 32 in a cantilever shape is, for example, an inverted T-shape, and the track portion 53 is provided on the bottom side thereof. The track portion 53 has the same shape as the track 28 of the chute 27. Therefore, the actuator unit 54 including the mounting bracket 52 holding the piezoelectric actuator 32 is fitted into the chute 27 of the feeder 21 and the mounting portion 55 of the track 28, which is partially cut, and is tightened and fixed by the screw 45. Reference numeral 53 is formed continuously with the tracks 28 of the front and rear feeders 21 to form one shoot track.

According to this structure, the actuator unit 54 of this embodiment is provided with the track portion 53 in addition to having the same functions and effects as those of the first embodiment. In addition, it is possible to confirm the performance of the extracting means for flipping the work 29 with the unit 54 alone. Therefore, there is an advantage that the performance evaluation can be easily inspected and convenient, and that a good product after the performance evaluation is incorporated, for example, at the time of maintenance and inspection and replacement, so that the work can be efficiently performed. The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and shown in the drawings. For example, the parts feeder may be another electromagnetic type, and various modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. It is a thing.

[0050]

As is apparent from the above description, the work selecting device of the parts feeder of the present invention drives the piezoelectric actuator to pick the selected work outward from the chute track. It is possible to align and convey As a result, it is possible to perform quick work selection processing with excellent responsiveness, support high-speed and high-performance, and reliably pick out only the selected work and improve reliability. The ability can be greatly improved. Moreover, like the conventional air type,
It is possible to provide a work selection device for a parts feeder that is suitable for practical use, in which there is no fear that the transport performance will be deteriorated due to the air hose becoming a heavy load on the feeder, and noise can be significantly reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of an entire parts feeder showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view (a) and a side view (b) of the piezoelectric actuator.

3A is a perspective view of the actuator unit, and FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view taken along line YY of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a timing of an electric signal.

FIG. 5: Voltage pattern for piezoelectric actuator (a)
And a diagram showing displacement characteristics (b)

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a piezoelectric actuator showing a modified example.

FIG. 7 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 1 showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a view equivalent to FIG.

FIG. 9 is a view corresponding to FIG. 1 showing a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

In the drawing, 21 is a parts feeder, 27 is a chute, 28
Is a track, 29 is a work, 30 and 51 are work selection devices, 31 is an optical sensor (direction determining means), 32 and 46
Is a piezoelectric actuator, 33 and 54 are actuator units, 34 and 47 are shim plates, 35a, 35b and 50 are piezoelectric ceramics, 37 and 49 are tongue pieces, 40 and 52 are mounting fittings, 41 is a notch, and 41a is a notch , And 53 are track portions.

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Taro Mimura             6 shares, 1010 east, Hirookagohara, Shiojiri City, Nagano Prefecture             Inside the formula company Daishin F-term (reference) 3F080 AA13 BA01 BA02 BB06 BC02                       BF11 CB03 CB16 CE11 DA15                       EA09 EA15

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A work for selecting a work on a chute track so that the work can be aligned and conveyed, wherein the selected work is extracted outward from the track by driving a piezoelectric actuator. Work selection device for parts feeder. 2. The work selecting device for a parts feeder according to claim 1, wherein the piezoelectric actuator has a structure in which a unimorph or bimorph type element is supported in a cantilever manner. 3. A shim plate constituting a unimorph or bimorph type element is provided with a tongue piece for ejecting a selected work from a track, and the tongue piece has a shape narrower than the length of the work. The work selection device for a parts feeder according to claim 2. 4. The work sorting device of the parts feeder according to claim 2, wherein when the piezoelectric actuator is inoperative, a voltage of opposite polarity is applied to maintain the work at a predetermined standby position. 5. The work of a parts feeder according to claim 1, wherein the piezoelectric actuator is held as an actuator unit by being held by a mounting bracket forming a part of a track, and the unit is mounted and fixed to a chute. Sorter.