JP2005246558A - Bolt feeder - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To positively feed bolts one by one into fastening holes with simple structure. <P>SOLUTION: A cylindrical body 22 is provided with a sliding member 24 slidable in the axial direction. The sliding member 24 is provided with a plate spring 23 operated together. The plate spring 23 is provided with a protrusion 23a for locking the bolt 30, and an inclined part 23b for retreating the protrusion 23a. The cylindrical body 22 is formed with an opening 28 through which the protrusion 23 can be inserted. When the sliding member 24 is slid in a direction X1 in a state of putting a tip face 22a of the cylindrical body 22 to the predetermined fastening hole, the plate spring 23 is retreated outward by the inclined part 23b to release the locked state of the bolt 30 by the protrusion 23a. When the sliding member 24 is returned in a reverse direction, the protrusion 23a is immediately reset into a state of being able to lock the bolt 30. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a bolt supply device that supplies one bolt to each fastening hole, and particularly to a bolt supply device that can reliably supply bolts with a simple structure.

  For example, in an automobile manufacturing process, when assembling engine parts, it is necessary to supply relatively large-diameter and long bolts to the determined fastening holes one by one and continuously. As a supply device for continuously supplying fasteners such as bolts as described above, those shown in Patent Documents 1 and 2 below have been proposed.

  In Patent Document 1, a plurality of bolts are held by a chuck unit, and after moving the chuck unit to a predetermined fastening hole position, the bolts are dropped and supplied to the fastening holes. Further, when the bolt is supplied, the bolt can be surely inserted into the fastening hole by pushing the head of the bolt with a presser rod provided in the chuck unit.

Patent Document 2 discloses that a disk-shaped rotating member is provided with through holes for holding bolts at two locations, and a bolt supply member that supplies bolts to the through holes at the top of the rotating member, and a bolt And a tool for tightening the bolt, and when the bolt supply device faces one through hole, the tool faces the other through hole. Further, two spring members are provided in the through hole, and the head portion of the bolt is supported by each spring member. In this device, when a bolt is supplied to the through hole from the bolt supply device, the rotating member rotates to the tool side and the bolt is tightened by the tool.
JP-A-9-323228 (paragraphs 0017 to 0019, FIGS. 2 and 3) JP-A-6-31644 (paragraphs 0012 to 0013, FIGS. 1 and 4)

  However, although the thing shown in the said patent document 1 can supply a volt | bolt reliably to a fastening hole, there exists a problem which apparatus becomes complicated, such as providing a holding rod in a chuck | zipper unit. Moreover, in the thing shown in the said patent document 2, since the volt | bolt is supported only by two inclined spring members, when the volt | bolt supplied next is supplied continuously to a through-hole, it will be supported previously. There is a possibility that the bolts being pushed out will fall off the rotating member. Furthermore, since the thing shown in patent document 2 uses the rotating member, there also exists a problem that it takes time until a volt | bolt is supplied to a predetermined position after discharging | emitting a volt | bolt from a supply apparatus.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a bolt supply device that can solve the above-described problems and can reliably supply bolts to a predetermined fastening hole one by one with a simple structure.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention is provided in a cylindrical body that sends bolts to a predetermined fastening hole, a slide member that is supported on the outer periphery of the cylindrical body so as to be slidable in the axial direction, and the slide member. A leaf spring, a protrusion provided on the leaf spring and locking the bolt provided toward the inside of the cylinder, and the leaf spring when the slide member is slid in the feed direction of the bolt And a release portion for retracting the projection outward, and the cylindrical body is provided with an opening through which the protrusion can be inserted.

  In the present invention, when the slide member is slid in the feed direction with respect to the cylindrical body, the locking of the bolt by the leaf spring is released and one bolt is supplied. When the slide member is slid in the opposite direction, the next bolt is locked in the supplied state by the leaf spring. Therefore, it is possible to supply the bolts one by one by a simple operation of sliding the slide member with respect to the cylindrical body. And since the structure is simplified greatly, generation | occurrence | production of a trouble can be reduced and a volt | bolt can be stably supplied to a fastening hole. Moreover, even if trouble occurs, parts can be replaced quickly.

  Further, the release portion is preferably an inclined portion provided so that at least a part of the leaf spring spreads to the outer diameter side, or toward the feeding direction provided on the outer peripheral side of the cylindrical body. It may be an inclined surface that expands in diameter. As a result, even when the bolt is supplied to move to the next bolt supply operation, the protrusion can be instantaneously returned to a position where the bolt can be locked, and unnecessary dropping of the bolt can be prevented.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the cylindrical body is provided with a stopper member that restricts movement of the slide member in the feeding direction at a predetermined position. By providing the stopper member in this way, the leaf spring can always be operated within a certain range, and the amount of retreat when the projection of the leaf spring is retracted to the outside can be minimized.

  Moreover, it is preferable that a biasing member that biases the slide member in a direction opposite to the feeding direction is provided. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the slide member from rattling with respect to the cylindrical body, and it is possible to immediately return the slide member to an initial state, that is, a state where a bolt can be supplied.

  The present invention has a simple structure, and can be reliably and quickly operated between a position where the bolt can be locked and a position where the bolt is unlocked. Therefore, the bolts can be stably and continuously supplied to the determined fastening holes one by one at a high speed. In addition, the probability of failure can be kept low, and replacement of parts in the event of failure is easy. Furthermore, since the number of parts is small, it can be manufactured at low cost.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings as appropriate. 1 is a perspective view showing a partial internal structure of the bolt supply device of the first embodiment, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the bolt supply device shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a line 3-3 in FIG. FIG. 4 is a partially cut cross-sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG.

  The bolt supply device 1 is a device for supplying bolts one by one to a fastening hole when, for example, parts and parts or parts and a vehicle body are assembled with bolts in an automobile manufacturing process.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the bolt supply device 1 has a cylindrical body 22 to which a bolt 30 is sent. The bolt 30 is a so-called flange bolt, and includes a threaded portion 30a having a thread groove formed at the tip, a hexagonal portion 30b, and a flange 30c formed between the threaded portion 30a and the hexagonal portion 30b. On the other hand, the inner diameter of the cylindrical body 22 is formed to be substantially the same as the diameter of the flange 30c formed on the hexagonal portion 30b of the bolt 30. The threaded portion 30a is supplied in a row in the cylinder 22 facing the feeding direction.

  A hose 20 is connected to the base end (X2 side) of the cylindrical body 22, and the overlapping portion between the cylindrical body 22 and the hose 20 is connected to the hose 20 and the cylindrical body 22 by a predetermined fastener 29. It is tightened so that it does not come off from each other. The inner diameter dimension of the hose 20 is formed in the same manner as the inner diameter dimension of the cylindrical body 22, and the bolts 30 are fed into a line one by one.

  The cylindrical body 22 is provided with a slide member 24. The slide member 24 is supported on the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical body 22 so as to be slidable in the axial direction (X1-X2 direction) of the cylindrical body 22. . The length of the slide member 24 is about half that of the cylindrical body 22 and is supported on the base end side of the cylindrical body 22. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, a gap is formed between the slide member 24 and the cylindrical body 22, and a compression coil spring (biasing member) 26 is interposed in the gap, and this compression is performed. The slide member 24 is always urged against the cylindrical body 22 in the X2 direction opposite to the feeding direction of the bolt 30 by the elastic restoring force of the coil spring 26. At this time, as shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 3, the slide member 24 is locked by the cylindrical body 22 and is restricted from moving further in the X2 direction with respect to the cylindrical body 22.

  The slide member 24 is provided with a leaf spring 23 formed of a metal plate or the like. The cylindrical body 22 is provided with an opening 28 at a position facing the leaf spring 23. The opening 28 penetrates from the outer peripheral surface 22d side of the cylindrical body 22 to the inner peripheral surface 22c side, and the opening shape is elongated in a straight line with a constant width dimension in the X1-X2 direction. Further, the leaf spring 23 has an elongated shape along the opening 28, and a fixed portion 23d bent at the base end is attached to the front surface 24a facing the X1 side of the slide member 24. The fixing portion 23d is formed with a screw mounting hole 23d1 (see FIG. 4), and a screw (not shown) is inserted into the screw mounting hole 23d1 and screwed to the front surface 24a. . In FIG. 4, a stopper member 25 described later is omitted.

  The leaf spring 23 has a convex tip at the X1 side, and a pair of protrusions 23a and 23a are formed inwardly on both shoulders of the convex portion. As shown in FIG. 4, both protrusions 23a and 23a are formed with dimensions that can protrude inward from the inner peripheral surface 22c of the cylindrical body 22, and the protrusions 23a and 23a are formed with such dimensions. Thus, when the bolt 30 is fed into the cylindrical body 22, the flange 30c formed on the bolt 30 is locked. The protruding positions of the projections 23a and 23a in the axial direction are positions where the tip of the bolt 30 protrudes by a predetermined dimension L (see FIG. 5) when the bolt 30 is locked by the projections 23a and 23a. It is set to stop. Thus, by making the bolt 30 protrude a little, it becomes easy to position the bolt 30 in a predetermined fastening hole. The shape and position of the opening 28 described above are not limited to the above shape as long as the projection 23a can be inserted, and may be a smaller through-hole, or each projection 23a The hole which can be penetrated with respect to may be provided separately.

  As shown in FIG. 3, in this Embodiment, the leaf | plate spring 23 and the said cylinder 22 are provided with the inclination part 23b and the inclined surface 22b which each function as a cancellation | release part. The inclined portion 23b is formed by bending the distal end portion of the leaf spring 23 obliquely outward. The inclined surface 22b is formed such that the diameter of the cylindrical body 22 gradually increases from the tip edge portion 28a of the opening 28 formed in the cylindrical body 22 toward the feeding direction of the bolt 30. It is what. In a state where the slide member 24 is not slid in the X1 direction, the inclined portion 23b is positioned on the outer peripheral surface 22d side of the cylindrical body 22, and the inclined portion 23b faces the inclined surface 22b. .

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, three leaf springs having the same shape as the above-described leaf spring 23 are provided, and an opening 28 having a shape along each leaf spring 23 is provided as a cylinder. Each is formed on the body 22. As shown in FIG. 4, the plate springs 23 and the openings 28 are arranged such that the interval between the adjacent plate springs 23 and the plate springs 23 is set to 120 degrees. That is, the interval between the adjacent leaf springs 23 and the leaf springs 23 is set to 120 degrees. In addition, the installation location when this leaf | plate spring 23 and the opening part 28 are made into 1 set is not limited to 3 places, 2 places or less may be sufficient and 4 places or more may be sufficient.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the cylindrical body 22 is provided with a stopper member 25. The stopper member 25 has a ring shape surrounding the periphery of the cylindrical body 22, and is fixed with a screw or the like at a position of a predetermined dimension W from the distal end surface of the slide member 24 at the initial stage of operation. By providing the stopper member 25, when the slide member 24 is slid in the feeding direction (X1 direction) of the bolt 30, the slide member 24 abuts against the stopper member 25, and the slide member 24 feeds further. Sliding in the direction is restricted. Therefore, the slide member 24 can always be stopped at a fixed position, and the leaf spring 23 can always be operated by a fixed amount. The dimension W of the slide member 24 and the stopper member 25 is set so as to be the minimum amount of movement that unlocks the bolt 30 by the protrusion 23a, so that the return time of the protrusion 23a can be shortened. It becomes like this.

  Next, operation | movement of the volt | bolt supply apparatus of this Embodiment is demonstrated. In the bolt supply device 1, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a hose 20 is connected to the proximal end portion of the cylindrical body 22. The hose 20 is connected to a supply unit (not shown) for feeding bolts 30 provided at positions away from the work position into the hose 20 one by one. The hose 20 is suspended from the ceiling by an elastic support member 31, and is supported so that the front end portion of the bolt supply device 1 faces downward. By installing in this way, each bolt 30 falls into the bolt supply device 1 by its own weight. In the bolt supply device 1, the bolt 30 may be forcibly sent by sending air into the hose 20.

  The bolt supply device 1 can supply a bolt to a desired position by an operator holding a portion of the slide member 24 by hand, or by holding the slide member 24 on a robot arm or the like.

  In the state immediately before the bolt supply, when the slide member 24 is held and the bolt supply device 1 is held in the air, the slide member 24 is urged to the X2 side by the elastic return force of the compression coil spring 26. As shown in FIG. 3, the slide member 24 is located away from the stopper member 25 by a predetermined dimension W.

  In this state, the pair of protrusions 23a, 23a provided on the leaf spring 23 have their tips projecting inward from the inner peripheral surface 22c of the cylindrical body 22 as shown in FIG. , The flange 30c of the bolt 30A located at the most distal end is locked. The pair of protrusions 23a, 23a provided on the other leaf springs 23 also protrudes inward from the inner peripheral surface 22c in the same manner, and respectively locks the flange 30c of the bolt 30A. Therefore, in this embodiment, the bolt 30 (30A) can be supported at a plurality of points, so that the bolt 30 is unlikely to be detached from the protrusion 23a, and the bolt 30 can be stably supported.

  In the bolt supply device 1 according to the present embodiment, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, the component 40 in which the female screw hole 40 a is formed is combined on the lower side and the component 41 in which the fastening hole 41 a is formed on the upper side. In this state, the bolt supply device 1 is moved to the upper part of the fastening hole 41a appearing on the seating surface (upper surface) 41b of the component 41 in the state shown in FIG.

  And the front-end | tip of the thread part 30a which protrudes from the front end surface 22a of the cylinder 22 is inserted in the fastening hole 41a, and the front end surface 22a of the said cylinder 22 is contact | abutted to the seating surface 41b of the said component 41. FIG. When the slide member 24 is slid downward (X1 direction), the cylindrical body 22 is kept in contact with the seating surface 41b, so that only the slide member 24 of the compression coil spring 26 is maintained. It is slid in the X1 direction while receiving a repulsive force generated by the compression. At this time, the protrusion 23 a provided on the leaf spring 23 moves in the X1 direction in the opening 28, and the inclined portion 23 b of the leaf spring 23 hits the inclined surface 22 b of the cylindrical body 22. Accordingly, the leaf spring 23 is deformed so as to bend outward as shown in FIG. 6, and the projection 23a is retracted to a position where the bolt 30 cannot be locked. All the protrusions 23a of the other leaf springs 23 are also retracted to the outside in synchronization with each other. By the retracting operation of the protrusion 23a, the bolt 30A falls downward (X1 direction) due to gravity, and the bolt 30A is sent out and stopped until it comes into contact with the end surface 40b of the lower part 40. At the same time, the bolt 30B positioned next to the bolt 30A at the tip also drops by the amount of drop movement of the bolt 30A, but stops in contact with the hexagonal portion 30b of the bolt 30A at the tip.

  In the state shown in FIG. 6, when the bolt supply device 1 is lifted while holding the slide member 24, the distal end surface 22 a of the cylindrical body 22 is separated from the seating surface 41 b of the component 41. Since the first bolt 30A has its flange 30c positioned on the tip side of the protrusion 23a, the first bolt 30A can no longer be locked by the protrusion 23a and remains supplied to the fastening hole 41a. Further, when the bolt supply device 1 is lifted, the slide member 24 is returned upward (X2 direction) by the elastic return force of the compression coil spring 26, and the leaf spring 23 is also simultaneously returned in the X2 direction, whereby the protrusion 23a. However, the flange 30c of the second bolt 30B returns to a state where it can be locked.

  When the bolt supply device 1 is lifted, the second bolt 30B immediately falls in the cylindrical body 22 due to its own weight, but the protrusion 23a provided on the leaf spring 23 can instantly lock the bolt 30B. Since it returns to the position, the second bolt 30B is prevented from being accidentally dropped from the tip of the cylindrical body 22. Thus, since the protrusion 23a can be instantaneously restored, it is possible to reliably supply one bolt 30 to each fastening hole 41a. The bolt 30 supplied to the fastening hole 41a uses a predetermined tool to screw the screw portion 30a into the female screw hole 40a until the flange 30c of the bolt 30 is strongly pressed against the seat surface 41b.

Next, a second embodiment will be described.
FIG. 7 is a partially omitted cross-sectional view showing the bolt supply device of the second embodiment. The bolt supply device 10 of this embodiment is provided with an inclined surface 50 that functions as a release portion only on the cylindrical body 22 side. That is, the inclined surface 50 is formed on the outer peripheral surface 22d of the cylindrical body 22 on the distal end side of the distal end edge portion 28a of the opening 28 and has a surface that expands in the feed direction (X1 direction). Has been. On the other hand, the distal end portion (X1 side) 33 b of the leaf spring 33 is located on the outer peripheral surface 22 d of the cylindrical body 22, and the distal end portion 33 b faces the inclined surface 50. The rest of the configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment, and the same reference numerals are given and description thereof is omitted.

  In this embodiment, when the slide member 24 is slid in the X1 direction and the leaf spring 33 is moved in the X1 direction, the tip 33b of the leaf spring 33 comes into contact with the inclined surface 50, and the protrusion 33a moves outward. The bolt 30 is retracted and supplied from the cylindrical body 22. When the slide member 24 returns in the X2 direction, the protrusion 33a instantaneously returns to a state where the bolt 30 can be locked.

  In the first embodiment, the leaf spring 23 is provided with the inclined portion 23b and the cylindrical body 22 is provided with the inclined surface 22b. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and only the inclined portion 23b is provided on the plate spring 23 side. It may be a thing which provided only the inclined surface 22b in the cylinder body 22 side. As described above, if any one of the leaf spring 23 and the cylindrical body 22 is provided with a function as a release portion, the projection 23a can be reliably operated. Further, the position of the inclined portion 23b (release portion) is not limited to the distal end of the leaf spring 23, and may be provided on the proximal end side. Further, in the second embodiment shown in FIG. 7, an inclined portion as a release portion may be provided at the tip of the leaf spring 33.

  In each of the first and second embodiments, the protrusions 23a and 33a are formed closer to the base end than the distal ends of the leaf springs 23 and 33. However, the protrusions 23a and 33a are formed on the distal ends of the leaf springs 23 and 33. You may have done. Further, the protrusions 23a and 33a do not have to be bent pieces integrally, and may be formed by fixing separately formed protrusions with an adhesive.

It is a perspective view which shows the partial internal structure of the volt | bolt supply apparatus of 1st Embodiment. It is a top view of a volt | bolt supply apparatus. FIG. 3 is a partially cut cross-sectional view taken along line 3-3 in FIG. FIG. 4 is a partially cut cross-sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. It is sectional drawing when supply of a volt | bolt exists in a halt condition. It is sectional drawing when it exists in the state which can supply a volt | bolt. It is a partially omitted sectional view showing a bolt supply device of a 2nd embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

1,10 bolt supply device 22 cylinder 22b inclined surface (release portion)
23 leaf spring 23a protrusion 23b inclined part (release part)
24 Slide member 25 Stopper member 26 Compression coil spring (biasing member)
28 opening

Claims (5)

  A cylinder that feeds the bolt to a predetermined fastening hole, a slide member that is slidably supported in the axial direction on the outer periphery of the cylinder, a leaf spring provided on the slide member, and a leaf spring provided on the leaf spring; Protrusions for locking the bolts provided toward the inside of the cylindrical body, and release portions for retracting the leaf springs when the slide member is slid in the feeding direction of the bolts are provided. The cylinder body is provided with an opening through which the protrusion can be inserted.   2. The bolt supply device according to claim 1, wherein the release portion is an inclined portion provided such that at least a part of the leaf spring spreads toward the outer diameter side.   3. The bolt supply device according to claim 1, wherein the release portion is an inclined surface that is provided on an outer peripheral side of the cylindrical body and expands in diameter toward the feeding direction. 4.   The bolt supply according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a stopper member that restricts movement of the slide member in the feeding direction at a predetermined position is provided on the cylindrical body. apparatus.   5. The bolt supply device according to claim 1, further comprising a biasing member that biases the slide member in a direction opposite to the feeding direction.

Images