JP2007039200A - Part supply device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To efficiently perform its preparatory work when changing a kind of part supplied by a part supply device. <P>SOLUTION: A shaft 13 for arranging a carrying groove 14 forming a part of a carrying passage 8 on an outer peripheral surface, is detachably installed on a body of an aligning supplying trough 3 of the part supply device. Its carrying groove 14 is formed so as to have a cross-sectional shape of fitting a part of the part P of a predetermined attitude, to open upward in both end parts of the shaft 13 and to be twisted around the axis of the shaft 13 between both end parts. A part aligning part 12 is formed of the shaft 13 by providing the part aligning function. When changing a kind of the supplying part, only the shaft 13 is preferably replaced with a shaft having the carrying groove corresponding to a dimension and a shape of the part. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a component supply apparatus that supplies components to the next process while conveying the components.

In general, for example, as a component supply device that supplies a component P having a shape as shown in FIG. 5 while aligning its posture and supplying it to the next process, a combination of a vibratory bowl feeder and a linear feeder, or a rotating drum A drum-type feeder (for example, refer to Patent Document 1) in which a vibration linearly moving feeder is combined is often used. A return type feeder (see, for example, Patent Document 2) in which two vibration type linearly moving feeders, one of which is used for alignment supply and the other is used for return, is arranged so as to convey parts in opposite directions. It is used in many cases because it is more compact than the two types and requires less installation space.
JP 2003-275929 A JP 58-63610 A

  In the component supply apparatus as described above, the component is usually conveyed by the conveyance member of the linear feeder (for alignment supply in the return type feeder), and the posture of the component is adjusted by the component alignment unit provided in the middle of the conveyance path. I try to align them. However, when supplying various types of parts with different dimensions and shapes, the size and shape of the parts alignment section also differ depending on the type of parts, so it is necessary to replace the entire conveying member each time the type of parts to be supplied changes. There was a problem that setup time became long.

  On the other hand, as the parts alignment part of the conveying member, two long materials are arranged in parallel with a gap into which a part in a predetermined posture is fitted, and parts in a posture not guided by the gap are excluded. In such an apparatus, even when the type of components to be supplied changes, it is possible to cope with the gap adjustment of the long material, and it is often unnecessary to replace the entire conveying member. However, it takes time and effort to finely adjust the gap according to the dimensions and shape of the parts, and the setup time is not much different from when the entire conveying member is replaced. Moreover, since the number of parts is large, the number of man-hours during assembly is large and the work is troublesome.

  On the other hand, there is also a method of aligning parts by discriminating the posture of the parts with a sensor provided in the middle of the conveyance path and forcibly removing parts that are not in a predetermined posture from the conveyance path with compressed air or the like. In this method, it is difficult to ensure alignment accuracy, and parts that are not in a predetermined posture may be supplied to the next process.

  An object of the present invention is to make it possible to efficiently perform the setup work when changing the type of component supplied by the component supply apparatus.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention has a component alignment function by forming a part alignment portion of a transfer member on the outer peripheral surface of a shaft that is detachably attached to the transfer member body, and forming a part of the transfer path. A conveyance groove was provided.

  In other words, the parts alignment part of the transport member is formed by a separate member that is detachably attached to the transport member body, and when changing the type of parts to be supplied, only the member that forms the part alignment part is changed. They can be replaced with ones that are suitable for the dimensions and shape of the later parts.

  Here, if the shaft has a round bar shape, the processing of the conveying groove is facilitated.

  The conveying groove has a cross-sectional shape into which at least a part of a part in a predetermined posture is fitted, opens upward at both ends of the shaft, and is twisted around the central axis of the shaft between both ends. By being formed, it can have a component alignment function.

  In the above configuration, when the component has irregularities on the surface facing the side wall of the conveyance groove when fitted in the conveyance groove in a predetermined posture, the irregularity of the component is associated with the side wall of the conveyance groove. By forming a retaining part that fits together, by increasing the twist angle of the conveying groove, parts with a posture that does not fit in the conveying groove can be more reliably dropped and eliminated, improving the part alignment accuracy be able to.

  As described above, the component supply device of the present invention is formed by forming the component aligning portion of the conveying member with a shaft that is detachably attached to the conveying member main body. In addition, when changing the type of parts to be supplied, the time required for setup is short and the work can be performed efficiently.

  In addition, since the number of parts is small as compared with an apparatus of a type in which a part alignment portion is formed by two long materials for guiding parts, the number of man-hours during assembly is small and the work is easy. On the other hand, compared to the method of aligning parts in a very small part of the transport path using a sensor or the like, the parts are aligned at a long distance. Therefore, it is easy to ensure alignment accuracy and stable supply of the parts is possible. Furthermore, since the conveying surface is formed on the shaft surface, there is an effect that the conveying surface is easy to clean and stable component conveyance can be performed.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, this component supply apparatus is a return type feeder in which two vibration type linear feeders 1 and 2 are arranged side by side so as to convey components in opposite directions, and one linear feeder. Reference numeral 1 denotes an alignment supply trough (conveying member) 3, and the other linear feeder 2 has a return trough (conveying member) 4. Further, the target component P is a waterproof connector rubber plug having the shape shown in FIG. 5, in which a seal portion S having a corrugated cross-sectional shape is formed on one end side of a cylinder.

  The one linear feeder 1 is configured such that a vibrating body 7 is attached to a base 5 fixed to a floor F via an anti-vibration rubber 6, and this vibrating body 7 is connected to an alignment supply trough 3. Thus, the trough 3 is reciprocally oscillated to convey the component P along the conveyance path 8 in the right direction of the drawing and to supply the next process from its discharge end. Further, the other straight advance feeder 2 has its return trough 4 connected to the connecting member 7a of the vibrating body 7 by a leaf spring 9, and the return trough 4 is reciprocally vibrated by the vibrating body 7. 3 is conveyed to the left in the drawing along the return conveyance path 10 and supplied again to the alignment supply trough 3.

  The alignment supply trough 3 is provided with a side plate 11 that guides the component P so that the component P stands in a step portion in the middle of the conveyance path 8, and a component alignment unit 12 that aligns and conveys the component P on the downstream side. It has been. The component aligning portion 12 is provided with a conveying groove 14 that forms a part of the conveying path 8 on the outer peripheral surface of a round bar-shaped shaft 13 that is detachably attached to the main body of the trough 3. The shaft 13 is fitted into the recesses of the fixing members 15 and 16 bolted to the mounting plate 3a of the trough 3 body as shown in FIG. 3 on the supply end side, and can be easily replaced. . A receiving plate 17 is attached to the side of the conveyance path 8 to receive the component P removed from the conveyance path 8 and send it to the return trough 4.

  And the conveyance groove 14 of the said shaft 13 has a cross-sectional shape in which the seal part S of the components P which turned one end to the shaft 13 central axis fits, as shown to Fig.4 (a)-(f), In addition, the shaft 13 is formed so as to open upward at both ends of the shaft 13 and to be twisted around the central axis of the shaft 13 between both ends. The twist angle is about 70 degrees at the maximum, and the downstream side of the position where the twist angle is maximum is maintained as a gentle upward gradient to maintain the conveying force. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, a protrusion 14 a is formed on the opening edge of the side wall of the conveying groove 14 as a retaining portion that engages with the unevenness of the seal portion S of the component P.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the return trough 4 returns and conveys the component P sent from the receiving plate 17 of the alignment supply trough 3 and returns it to the supply end of the conveyance path 8 again. Therefore, the return conveyance path 10 having a sawtooth cross section is formed in an inclined state from the side of the receiving end of the receiving plate 17 to the side of the supply end of the conveyance path 8.

  Next, the flow of the component P will be described with reference to FIG. First, the component P supplied to the supply end of the conveying path 8 of the alignment supply trough 3 is guided by the side plate 11 at a stepped portion in the middle of the conveying path 8 and a posture in which most of the parts stand (an attitude in which the seal portion S faces downward). (FIGS. 4A and 4B). On the downstream side, the component P in a standing posture is conveyed to the component alignment unit 12 so that the seal portion S is fitted in the conveyance groove 14 at the supply end of the shaft 13 (FIG. 4C). On the other hand, the component P with the seal portion S facing upward falls from the conveyance path 8 to the receiving plate 17, and the component P whose longitudinal direction is directed to the conveyance direction is conveyed so as to be placed on the opening edge of the conveyance groove 14. Go. In the component aligning section 12, the component P having the longitudinal direction in the transport direction falls to the receiving plate 17 by its own weight in the vicinity of the position where the twist angle of the transport groove 14 becomes maximum (FIG. 4 (d)). On the other hand, the component P in which the seal portion S is fitted in the conveyance groove 14 is inclined with the twist of the conveyance groove 14, but is transported without being dropped by the protrusion 14 a of the conveyance groove 14 ( 4 (e)), the posture is again stood near the discharge end of the shaft 13 and supplied to the next process (FIG. 4 (f)). Further, as described above, the component P dropped on the receiving plate 17 is sent to the return trough 4, is transported in the return transport path 10, and is returned to the alignment supply trough 3 again (FIG. 4B).

  This component supply device has the above-described configuration, and when changing the type of component to be supplied, only the shaft forming the component alignment portion is replaced with one having a conveyance groove corresponding to the size and shape of the component. Because it is good, it takes less time to set up and can work efficiently.

  The present invention is not limited to the return-type feeder as in the embodiment, and can be widely applied to a component supply apparatus of a type that aligns components in the middle of conveyance with a linear feeder.

Front view of the component supply apparatus of the embodiment Plan view of FIG. Sectional drawing which shows the attachment state of the shaft of FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of the shaft structure and the flow of components of the component supply apparatus of FIG. 1, b is a plan view of the main part of a, c is a sectional view taken along the line CC of a, and d and e are D of a. Explanatory drawing of the difference in the behavior by the component posture in the cross section along the -D line, f is a cross-sectional view along the FF line of a a is a front view of an example of a part, b is a plan view of a

Explanation of symbols

1, 2, Straight feeder 3, 4 Trough (conveying member)
8, 10 Conveying path 11 Side plate 12 Parts alignment part 13 Shaft 14 Conveying groove 14a Projection (preventing part)
15, 16 Fixing member 17 Receiving plate P Parts S Seal part

Claims (4)

  In the parts supply device that supplies parts to the next process with the parts aligned in the middle of the conveying path while conveying the parts with the conveying member, the parts aligning part of the conveying member can be attached to and detached from the conveying member body. A part supply device, wherein a part of the transport path is formed on the outer peripheral surface of a shaft attached to the base, and a transport groove having a part alignment function is provided.   The component supply apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the shaft has a round bar shape.   The conveying groove has a cross-sectional shape into which at least a part of a part in a predetermined posture is fitted, and opens upward at both ends of the shaft, and is twisted around the central axis of the shaft between both ends. The component supply device according to claim 1, wherein the component supply device is formed as described above.   The component has irregularities on the surface facing the side wall of the conveyance groove when fitted in the conveyance groove in a predetermined posture, and the side wall of the conveyance groove is engaged with the irregularity of the component. The component supply device according to claim 3, wherein a stop portion is formed.

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