JP2004130167A - Product sorting apparatus and product sorting method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a product sorting technique constituted so as to achieve the enhancement of inspection accuracy and the increase of an inspection speed. <P>SOLUTION: This product sorting apparatus 1 comprises a transfer table 20 having an annular bed 21 on which a workpiece W is placed, a non-contact type inspection device 30 for measuring the inspection items such as a dimension, a contour or the like of the workpiece W, a workpiece discharge means 40 for discharging the workpiece W to be sorted to the outside of the transfer table 20 and a control part 50 for controlling the operation of the workpiece discharge means 40 on the basis of measured data. This workpiece W is placed on the transfer table 20 and measured by the non-contact type inspection device 30 during the transfer of the workpiece W along an annular transfer route. The workpiece W is discharged on the basis of a measured result by the workpiece discharge means 40. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a product selection device and a product selection method used in a quality inspection process for inspecting the height, width, appearance, and the like of components.
[0002]
[Prior art]
When continuously measuring the dimensions and contours of a large number of small parts such as automobile parts and hydraulic parts, the individual parts conveyed on the conveyor are measured in a stationary state at a measurement location.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
Therefore, the conventional method has the following problems.
<A> Since the individual chucking and individual handling are performed, continuous automatic inspection and sorting are difficult and work efficiency is poor.
<B> In the method of inspecting a work while being transferred by a linear conveyor, not only a large floor area is required, but also the flatness of the conveyor surface on which the work is placed must be ensured. In reality, it is difficult to secure the flatness of the conveyor surface, and it is difficult to obtain high inspection accuracy.
[0004]
[Object of the invention]
The present invention has been conceived in view of the above-described conventional problems, and has as its object to provide a product selection technique that improves inspection accuracy and inspection speed.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, a product sorting apparatus of the present invention includes a transfer table having an annular floor on which a work is placed, and a non-contact type for measuring the size or contour of the work on the transfer table. Inspection apparatus, a work discharge means for discharging the work to be sorted out of the transfer table, and a control unit for controlling the operation of the work discharge means based on the measurement data of the inspection apparatus. It is.
[0006]
Further, the non-contact type inspection device is a laser sensor including a pair of a light projecting unit and a light receiving unit, and irradiates a laser beam in a band shape to measure a range where the work is shielded from light. Things.
[0007]
Further, the product sorting method of the present invention uses the above-described product sorting device, places a work on a transfer table, performs a measurement of the work by a non-contact type inspection device during the transfer of the work, and The work is discharged by the work discharge means based on the above.
[0008]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 are diagrams showing an embodiment of the product sorting apparatus of the present invention.
[0009]
<A> Overall configuration (Fig. 1)
The product selection device 1 includes a rotatable transfer table 20, a non-contact type inspection device 30, a work discharge unit 40, a control unit 50, and the like.
The work (small component to be measured) W is continuously supplied from the supply path 16 to the transfer table 20, and the dimension or contour of the work W is measured by the non-contact type inspection device 30. The work W1 is discharged.
[0010]
<B> Transfer table (Fig. 2)
The transfer table 20 is a circular measurement table on which an annular mounting floor 21 is formed.
The mounting floor 21 is a floor surface on which the work W is mounted while maintaining a high flatness and transferred along an annular transfer path.
The transfer table 20 is configured to be rotatable with respect to the apparatus main body 10. In this example, the rotation shaft 23 of the transfer table 20 is rotatably supported by bearings 24, and is driven to rotate by a motor 25 (see FIG. 3). .
The workpieces W of the parts feeder 15 are aligned in a line on the supply path 16 and are continuously supplied to the transfer table 20.
By making the peripheral speed V2 of the transfer table 20 relatively higher than the supply speed V1 of the work W supplied from the supply path 16, the work W is placed at a predetermined interval by the speed difference (V2−V1). Can be.
When the disk-shaped protrusion 22 is formed with a step inside the mounting floor 21, the work W can be positioned in the radial direction of the transfer table 20.
Because of the circular transfer table 20, the supply / discharge position and the measurement position of the work W can be set freely without requiring a large floor area.
[0011]
<C> Non-contact type inspection device (Figs. 2 and 3)
The non-contact inspection device 30 inspects the work W in a non-contact manner, and may use, for example, a laser sensor using laser light.
A laser sensor 30 is composed of a pair of light projecting unit 31 and light receiving unit 32, and emits a laser beam 33 from the light projecting unit 31 to the light receiving unit 32 in a band shape in a predetermined range. By arranging the work W between the light projecting unit 31 and the light receiving unit 32 and measuring a range where the work W is shielded from light, the dimension or contour of the work W can be measured in a non-contact state.
In this example, the support 11 is raised from the apparatus main body 10, and the laser sensor 30 is attached to the frame 12 fixed to the support 11.
The light projecting unit 31 and the light receiving unit 32 are arranged in a radial direction sandwiching the work W on the transfer table 20, irradiate the parallel laser light 33 to the work W, and receive the laser light 33 after passing through the work W. A range in which the light is received by the light receiving unit 32 and the light is blocked by the work W (the amount of the laser beam 33 received by the light receiving unit 32) is measured (see FIG. 3).
[0012]
<D> A discharge chute 44, a receiving box 45, a discharging chute 62, and a receiving box 63 are arranged along the transfer path of the work discharge means transfer table 20.
The work discharge means 40 discharges the non-standard work W1 in response to an operation signal from the control unit 50 described later.
The work discharging means 40 can be composed of, for example, a cylinder 41 attached to the frame 12 and a rod 42 which expands and contracts by the cylinder 41. The non-standard workpiece W1 is pushed out to the discharge chute 44 outside the transfer table 20 by the pushing piece 43 at the tip of the extending rod 42 (see FIG. 4).
The invention is not limited to the cylinder mechanism, and an electromagnetic type or a fluid spraying means may be used.
For example, a guide plate 61 or the like is arranged downstream of the work discharge means 40, and the reference work W2 is sent out along the guide plate 61 to the discharge chute 62 and the receiving box 63.
The discharge direction of the works W1 and W2 is not limited to this example. For example, the transfer table 20 may be formed in an annular shape, and the discharge chutes 44 and 62 may be arranged inside the transfer table 20 and extruded.
[0013]
<E> Control unit The control unit 50 continuously reads the measurement data of the non-contact type inspection device 30 and compares it with the measurement data of the regular work input in advance. An actuation signal is transmitted to 40.
[0014]
Next, a method of selecting a work will be described.
[0015]
<B> Place the Work W on the Placement Floor 21 First, the work W arranged in a line in the supply path 16 is supplied to the placement floor 21 of the transfer table 20.
The workpieces W are placed at predetermined intervals according to the speed difference (V2-V1) between the supply path 16 and the transfer table 20.
[0016]
<B> Measurement of Work W Work W moves along an annular transfer path.
When the work W reaches the laser sensor 30, the work W blocks the laser light 33 radiating in a band shape from the light projecting unit 31 to the light receiving unit 32. This is compared with a previously input range in which the regular work blocks light.
Since the laser beam 33 is continuously emitted from the light projecting unit 31, the height measurement and the width measurement of the work W are continued with the rotation of the transfer table 20.
Since the floor surface of the mounting floor 21 maintains a high flatness and measures the work W in a non-contact manner without positioning, stable and continuous high-precision measurement is possible.
[0017]
<C> Discharge of non-standard work W1 As a result of comparing the above light-shielding ranges, a work W that is out of the light-shielding range of a normal work as a reference is determined to be a non-standard work W1, and the rod 42 is extended by the operation of the cylinder 41. Then, the non-standard work W1 is pushed out and collected by the discharge chute 44 and the receiving box 45.
The remaining reference work W2 is sent from the discharge chute 62 to the receiving box 63 along the guide plate 61 as it is.
Alternatively, the reference work W2 that matches the light-shielding range of the normal work as the reference may be pushed out, collected in the receiving box 45, and the remaining non-standard work W1 may be sent to the receiving box 63.
[0018]
Embodiment 2 of the present invention
When the laser beam 33 is emitted from the light projecting unit 31 toward the light receiving unit 32, instead of the amount of the laser beam 33 received by the light receiving unit 32, the boundary between the light and dark of the laser beam 33 generated by the shadow of the work W is determined. The height, width, and the like of the work W may be measured by another measuring device.
[0019]
Third Embodiment of the Invention
The transfer table 20 may be provided with a plurality of non-contact type inspection devices 30 and work discharge means 40, and a plurality of inspection items may be measured on the work W on one transfer table 20.
Thus, the height, width, contour, and the like of the work W can be sequentially measured in the transfer path.
[0020]
Embodiment 4 of the present invention
As the non-contact type inspection device 30, the image inspection CCD camera 35 and the strobe light 36 may be paired to inspect and sort the contour, color, and appearance of the work W (see FIG. 5). .
[0021]
Embodiment 5 of the present invention
Further, a pair of the CCD camera 35 for image inspection and the strobe light 36 may be arranged at positions facing each other with the transfer table 20 interposed therebetween (see FIG. 6).
In this case, the transfer table 20 is made of a light-transmitting material such as glass, and when the work W moves, light emitted by the strobe light 36 passes through the transfer table 20 to inspect the contour and color of the work W. And sort.
[0022]
Embodiment 6 of the present invention
It may be used not only for sorting the non-standard work W1 and the standard work W2 but also for dividing the work W into various sizes.
[0023]
Embodiment 7 of the present invention
A plurality of transfer tables 20 may be arranged in series or in parallel, and a non-contact type inspection device 30 may be arranged on each transfer table 20 to sequentially measure the height, width, and contour of the workpiece W ( (See FIG. 7).
It is only necessary to connect the transfer path 20 or 20 directly between the transfer tables 20, so that it is possible to measure more than the inspection items of the third embodiment while saving space.
[0024]
【The invention's effect】
Since the present invention has been described above, the following effects can be obtained.
<A> Since the work can be transferred while maintaining a high flatness on the transfer table having the ring-shaped mounting floor, a high-precision and continuous automatic inspection can be performed, and the work can be accurately sorted.
<B> Since the workpieces can be continuously selected on the annular transfer path, both space saving and a high sorting speed can be realized.
<C> Since the workpiece is measured in a non-contact manner, the product sorting apparatus can be configured to have a high-speed and simple structure, with less trouble and improved reliability.
<D> Depending on the control of the data processing, an inspection result or a measured value can be recorded.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a plan view of a product sorting device.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a transfer table.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a relationship between a laser sensor and a work.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a work discharge unit.
FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing another embodiment of a non-contact type inspection apparatus.
FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing another embodiment.
FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing another embodiment.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 ················································································································ ... Work discharge means 50 Control part W Work W1 Non-standard work W2 Reference work

Claims (3)

A transfer table forming an annular floor on which the work is placed,
A non-contact type inspection device for measuring the size or contour of the workpiece on the transfer table,
A work discharging means for discharging the work to be sorted out of the transfer table;
A control unit for controlling the operation of the work discharge means based on the measurement data of the inspection device,
Product sorting equipment. 2. The non-contact type inspection device according to claim 1, wherein the non-contact type inspection device is a laser sensor including a pair of a light projecting unit and a light receiving unit. Characteristic product sorting equipment. Using the product sorting device according to claim 1 or claim 2,
Place the work on the transfer table,
During the transfer of the work, measure the work with a non-contact type inspection device,
Discharging the workpiece by a workpiece discharging unit based on the measurement result,
Product sorting method.

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