JP2009057159A - Shaft body conveying device and shaft body inspection device using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To correct the posture of a shaft body during its conveyance irrespective of presence/absence of any head, and to reliably correct the posture even when the length of the shaft body is large. <P>SOLUTION: A shaft body conveying device comprises a rotary disk 2, an outer frame guide 3, and a feeder 5 for feeding a shaft body 10 to be conveyed to a conveying passage 4 formed therebetween. A shaft part 10b of the shaft body 10 is held between the rotary disk 2 and the outer frame guide 3, and the shaft body is driven by the rotary disk 2, and conveyed toward an outlet of the conveying passage 4 in a rotating manner. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a shaft body transport device that transports shaft bodies such as screws, bolts, rivet pins, support shafts, support pins, and connecting pins while correcting the posture so that the axis is perpendicular to the transport direction. And an inspection apparatus that checks whether the shaft being conveyed is a non-defective product or a defective product.

  For example, screws and bolts, which are representative shaft bodies, are shipped after quality inspection. The pass / fail inspection is performed on the shape of the head, the presence or absence of scratches, the state of plating, the diameter and length of the shaft, the quality of the thread, the presence or absence of bending of the shaft, and the like.

  Among the above pass / fail inspections, there is also an inspection that is performed by observing the end face of the shaft body in the axial direction, and the inspection requires that the shaft body be kept parallel to the observation direction in order to increase the inspection accuracy. Is done. However, some shafts to be inspected have an inevitable inclination with respect to the observation direction. For example, in the case of the inspection apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 below, if the shaft body to be inspected is a screw with a washer incorporating a spring washer, the head of the screw is turned through a washer that is twisted in a coil shape. The suspended screw is tilted and cannot be stably inspected.

Therefore, a posture correction device disclosed in Patent Document 2 below has been proposed. The device developed by the inventors of the present application suspends a shaft body with a head by inserting the shaft portion into a notch groove provided in the rotary table. Then, the shaft body that is moved by the rotation of the rotary table is pushed up by a push-up guide that is fixed in the middle of the conveyance path, and the head portion of the shaft body is lifted from the upper surface of the rotary table. Inclination is corrected by pressing against the inner surface of the notch groove with pressing means.
JP 2004-354367 A JP 2007-55763 A

  In the posture correcting device of Patent Document 2, the shaft body is transported by supporting the head of the shaft body with a rotary table, so that the inspection target is limited to the shaft body with a head. Further, in this apparatus, the shaft body having a long shaft portion is not smoothly pushed up by the push-up guide, and the shaft body is easily inclined due to friction with the push-up guide. Since the inclination is corrected by sandwiching a small part under the neck between the pressing means and the rotary table, it is difficult to surely correct the inclination.

  The present invention solves these problems, that is, enables the posture of the shaft body to be corrected during conveyance with or without the head, and further corrects the posture of a long shaft body. The challenge is to make sure it is done.

  In order to solve the above problems, in the present invention, the shaft body transport device includes a rotary disk, an outer frame guide along the outer periphery of the rotary disk, and a shaft body to be transported as the rotary disk and outer frame guide. And a feeder that feeds into a conveyance path formed between the rotary disk and the outer frame guide, the shaft portion of the shaft body is sandwiched between the rotary disk and the shaft body, and the shaft body is driven by the rotary disk to rotate. However, it was conveyed toward the exit of the conveyance path. The conveying path of this apparatus has a width larger than the diameter of the shaft portion of the shaft body on the inlet side, the width becomes narrow in the middle, and the shaft portion of the shaft body is outside the rotary disk at the narrowed position. It is better to be sandwiched between frame guides.

  The rotary disk of this device may be any one that rotates with a vertical axis as a fulcrum, one that rotates with a horizontal axis as a fulcrum, and one that rotates with an inclined axis as a fulcrum. In any rotary disk, when the rotary disk and the base surface on which the outer frame guide is installed are used as a reference, the axis of rotation is perpendicular to the base surface. The base surface may be a horizontal surface, a vertical surface, or an inclined slope. Moreover, the shaft body to be transported may or may not have a head.

Preferred forms of this transport device are listed below.
(1) The rotary disk can be replaced with a different size product (one having a different outer diameter or thickness).
(2) The rotary disk and the outer frame guide are provided with a thickness such that the full length or almost the full length of the shaft portion of the shaft body is sandwiched between them.
(3) At least one of the rotary disk and the outer frame guide is formed of resin.
(4) Either one of the rotary disk and the outer frame guide receives one end of the shaft body supplied to the conveyance path, and the other end of the shaft body is maintained at a position protruding from between the rotary disk and the outer frame guide. A support surface is provided.
(5) The rotary disk and the outer frame guide are provided with a groove that avoids interference with a radial protrusion formed in the middle of the shaft.

  The shaft body transporting device can transport both a shaft body with a head and a shaft body without a head. A shaft body having a radial protrusion at a position between the rotary disk and the outer frame guide can also be conveyed by providing a groove in the rotary disk and the outer frame guide to avoid interference with the radial protrusion. .

  The present invention includes the above-described shaft body transport device and a CCD camera or an optical sensor that directly looks at the other end of the shaft body whose posture is corrected by the device, and captures an image of the CCD camera or an output signal of the optical sensor. Thus, a shaft body inspection apparatus for inspecting the quality and quality of one end of the shaft body is also provided.

  The inspection apparatus includes a first sensor that detects that a shaft body to be inspected is supplied from a feeder of a shaft body transport apparatus to the transport path, and the supplied shaft body is a predetermined position of the transport path. A second sensor for detecting whether or not the shaft has passed, and when the shaft to be detected by the second sensor is not detected, the shaft supplied from the feeder bends in the shaft portion. It is more preferable to include a determination circuit that determines that the

The shaft that enters the transport path and contacts the outer peripheral surface of the rotary disk rotates by receiving a driving force from the rotary disk, and rolls on the inner peripheral surface of the outer frame guide to move toward the exit of the transport path. I will do it. Since the rotation and rolling at this time occur with reference to the outer peripheral surface of the rotary disk and the inner peripheral surface of the outer frame guide, if the shaft body is inclined with respect to the axis of the rotary disk, the shaft body The force that corrects the posture works, and the shaft body is naturally straight (parallel to the axis of the rotary disk).
Further, since the correction force acting on the shaft body increases as the length of the portion sandwiched between the rotary disk and the outer frame guide increases, the longer the shaft body, the better the correction effect.

  Furthermore, since the shaft part of the shaft body is sandwiched between the rotary disk and the outer frame guide, not only a device with a horizontal axis axis of the rotary disk but also a transport device with a vertical axis center shaft body without a head. It can be transported (however, a supporting surface for retaining is necessary in a portion where the width of the transport path is larger than the diameter of the shaft portion of the shaft body), and the use range of the apparatus is expanded.

  The operations and effects related to the preferred configuration will be described in the next section.

  Next, in the shaft body inspection device of the present invention, the posture of the shaft body to be inspected is stabilized by the correction effect by the shaft body transport device, and therefore, a stable inspection is performed and the inspection accuracy is increased.

  Further, the shaft body having the bent shaft portion cannot enter the portion where the width of the transport path is narrowed, and stops without rotating at the entrance portion of the transport path. Since the inspection apparatus further including the first and second sensors and the determination circuit can detect this, it is possible to simultaneously inspect for bending defects of the shaft portion. Note that the shaft stopped at the entrance of the transport path is removed from the transport path as a defective product.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6 of the accompanying drawings. 1 and 2 show a first embodiment of a shaft body conveying apparatus. The shaft body conveying device 1 is formed between a rotary disk 2, an outer frame guide 3 along the outer periphery of the rotary disk 2, and a shaft body 10 to be conveyed between the rotary disk 2 and the outer frame guide 3. And a feeder 5 to be fed into the conveying path 4.

  The illustrated shaft body 10 is a cross-recessed screw, and the illustrated feeder 5 is a well-known vibration feeder. The shaft body 10 is suspended by supporting the head portion 10a with two rails 5a. 4 to the inlet.

  The rotary disk 2 has a rotation drive source 6 such as a servo motor capable of rotation control, and is driven by the rotation drive source 6 to continuously rotate. When the rotary disk 2 provided on the horizontal base surface B is formed of a resin having excellent wear resistance, such as a polyamide-based resin, in order to protect a shaft body (for example, a metal screw) 10 to be conveyed. preferable. Here, the rotary disk 2 is arranged so that the axis C is perpendicular (also perpendicular to the base surface B) and can be exchanged with a different size product having different outer diameters and thicknesses. It is possible to cope with the change in the diameter and length of 10b by exchanging the rotary disk 2.

  The outer frame guide 3 sets an installation area in consideration of the shaft portion diameter of the shaft body to be conveyed and the like. The outer frame guide 3 is required to have a length range in which the posture of the shaft body having the largest shaft portion diameter among the objects to be conveyed is sufficiently corrected. In the apparatus, the outer frame guide 3 is arranged in an area of about half of the outer periphery of the rotary disk 2. The outer frame guide 3 is made of a structural metal material, which is formed of resin to protect the shaft body, or the outer frame guide 3 can be replaced with one having a different inner diameter. It is also possible to deal with the size variation of 10 by exchanging the outer frame guide 3. However, since the rotary disk 2 is more replaceable, and it is not necessary to adjust the positional relationship between the rotary disk 2 and the feeder 5 after replacement, it is more advantageous to replace the rotary disk 2 than the outer frame guide 3. is there.

The rotary disk 2 and the outer frame guide 3 have a thickness such that the entire length of the shaft portion 10b of the shaft body is sandwiched therebetween. Since the correction force of the posture acting on the shaft body 10 increases as the length of the portion sandwiched between the rotary disk 2 and the outer frame guide 3 becomes longer, this structure has a higher correction effect and is more reliable and stable. Correction is made.

  In the conveyance path 4, the width W on the inlet side is larger than the diameter of the shaft portion 10 b of the shaft body 10. The width W of the transport path 4 is narrowed in the middle, and the shaft portion 10b of the shaft body 10 is sandwiched between the rotary disk 2 and the outer frame guide 3 at the narrowed portion, and the shaft body 10 is driven by the rotary disk 2. It is configured to be transported toward the exit of the transport path 4 while rotating. When the rotary disk 2 rotates, the shaft 10 that contacts the outer periphery of the disk rotates in the opposite direction to the rotary disk 2, and rolls on the inner peripheral surface of the outer frame guide 3 to exit the conveyance path 4 through the exit side. Move towards. The rotation and rolling at this time cause the shaft body 10 to have a vertical posture with its inclination corrected naturally. This effect of correcting the posture is also exhibited when the shaft body 10 is a screw with a washer.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the support surface 7 that receives one end of the shaft body 10 and keeps the other end of the shaft body protruding from between the rotary disk 2 and the outer frame guide 3 is attached to the rotary disk 2 or When the outer frame guide 3 is provided, the shaft body without a head can also be conveyed in a vertical arrangement. In the transport apparatus of the present invention, the shaft body 10 is sandwiched between the rotary disk 2 and the outer frame guide 3, so that the support surface 7 is the entrance portion of the transport path 4 (the width W is larger than the diameter of the shaft portion 10 b). Even with the structure provided only in the portion), the shaft body without a head can be erected.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4, by providing the rotary disk 2 and the outer frame guide 3 with the groove 8, the shaft body 10 in which the radially projecting portion 10c is provided on the outer periphery of the shaft portion is also the radially projecting portion 10c. It can be transported without causing interference.

  The rotary disk 2 may be arranged with the axis centered horizontally. In this case, the headless shaft body can be conveyed without the support surface 7.

  5 and 6 show the above-described shaft body transport device 1 and a CCD camera 11 that directly looks in the axial direction of the rotary disk 2 on the other end side (the upper end in the drawing) of the shaft body 10 whose posture is corrected by the device. A specific example of a shaft inspection apparatus configured by combining (it can be replaced by an optical sensor) is shown. This inspection apparatus takes an image of the CCD camera 11 (or an output signal of an optical sensor) into a determination unit (not shown), and compares the shape and property of one end of the shaft body 10 with a preset threshold value. inspect.

  The illustrated inspection apparatus includes a first sensor 12 that detects that the shaft body 10 to be inspected is supplied from the feeder 5 of the shaft body transport apparatus 1 to the transport path 4, and the supplied shaft body 10 is transported. A second sensor 13 that detects whether or not a predetermined position on the path 4 has been passed, and a determination circuit 14 that takes in signals from the first and second sensors 12 and 13 and makes a pass / fail determination. .

  If the shaft to be detected by the second sensor 13 is not detected, it may be considered that the shaft 10 supplied from the feeder 5 to the transport path 4 is not transported and stops at the entrance of the transport path 4. . The reason why the shaft body 10 stops at the entrance portion of the conveyance path 4 is none other than a defective product in which the shaft portion is bent. Therefore, in the illustrated inspection apparatus, in addition to the quality inspection of one end of the shaft body, the presence or absence of bending of the shaft portion is also simultaneously performed. The second sensor 13 does not have to be a dedicated sensor, and the CCD camera 11 can also be used as the second sensor.

  It should be noted that the shaft body that has stopped at the entrance of the conveyance path 4 and is determined to be defective is naturally removed. The removal may be performed manually, or a removal device using a robot hand or the like may be additionally provided.

  In addition, the rotary disk 2 and the outer frame guide 3 are installed on an inclined base surface (a vertical surface is also possible) so that the entrance of the transport path 4 is up and the exit is down, and an outer frame (not shown) A moving mechanism for the guide 3 is provided. When a defective shaft is detected, the outer frame guide 3 is moved away from the rotary disk 2 by the moving mechanism to widen the width of the conveying path 4 and stops at the entrance of the conveying path 4. The shaft body can be rolled down and discharged to the defective product outlet. When this method is adopted, it is also effective to additionally install a mechanism for temporarily stopping the shaft body supply from the feeder 5 until the outer frame guide 3 returns.

  A shaft body that is subjected to a heat treatment such as quenching at the time of manufacture, for example, a support pin that supports a rotating body such as a roller or a gear or a connection pin that requires high strength, may be bent by the heat treatment. If the above-described inspection apparatus is used, it is possible to remove the defective product that has been bent by detecting the bending in the inspection process immediately after manufacturing.

The top view which shows an example of the shaft conveyance apparatus of this invention Sectional view along line XX in FIG. Sectional drawing of other embodiment of a shaft conveying apparatus Sectional drawing of further another embodiment of a shaft conveyance device The top view which shows an example of the inspection apparatus using the conveying apparatus of FIG. Sectional drawing which shows the outline | summary of the apparatus of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Shaft body conveying apparatus 2 Rotary disk 3 Outer frame guide 4 Transport path 5 Feeder 5a Rail 6 Rotation drive source 7 Support surface 8 Groove 10 Shaft body 10a Head part 10b Shaft part 10c Radial protrusion part 11 CCD camera 12 1st sensor 13 Second sensor 14 Determination circuit B Base surface

Claims (8)

  A rotary disk (2) that rotates about an axis perpendicular to the base surface (B), an outer frame guide (3) along the outer periphery of the rotary disk (2), and the rotary disk (2) And a feeder (5) that feeds the shaft body (10) to be conveyed into a conveyance path (4) formed between the rotary disk (2) and the outer frame guide (3). 3), the shaft portion (10b) of the shaft body (10) is sandwiched, and the shaft body is driven by the rotary disk (2) and conveyed toward the outlet of the conveyance path (4) while rotating. A shaft conveying device configured to be configured.   The shaft conveying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rotary disk (2) can be replaced with a different size product.   The shaft body conveyance device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the rotary disk (2) and the outer frame guide (3) are provided with a thickness such that the entire length or almost the entire length of the shaft portion of the shaft body is sandwiched therebetween. The shaft conveying apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein at least one of the rotary disk (2) and the outer frame guide (3) is formed of a resin.   Either one of the rotary disk (2) or the outer frame guide (3) receives one end of the shaft body (10) supplied to the transport path (4), and the other end of the shaft body is connected to the rotary disk (2). The shaft body conveying device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a support surface (7) that maintains a position protruding from between the outer frame guide (3) and the outer frame guide (3).   The groove (8) which avoids interference with the radial direction protrusion part (10c) formed in the longitudinal direction of the said shaft body (10) in the said rotary disc (2) and the outer frame guide (3) was provided. The shaft body conveying apparatus in any one of -5.   The shaft body transport device (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 6, and a CCD camera (11) or an optical sensor for directly viewing the other end of the shaft body (10) whose posture is corrected by the device. A shaft body inspection apparatus for inspecting the quality and quality of one end of the shaft body (10) by taking the image of the CCD camera (11) or the output signal of the optical sensor.   A first sensor (12) for detecting that the shaft body (10) to be inspected is supplied from the feeder (5) of the shaft body transport device (1) to the transport path (4), and the supplied shaft A second sensor (13) for detecting whether or not the body (10) has passed a predetermined position of the transport path (4), and a shaft to be detected by the second sensor (13) When the shaft (10) supplied from the feeder (5) is not detected, the shaft (10) is provided with a determination circuit (14) for determining that the shaft (10b) is bent. Item 8. The shaft inspection apparatus according to Item 7.

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