JP2009137001A - Parts feeder - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a parts feeder increased in reliability by simplifying the operating path of a feed rod and also simplifying a drive means for operating the feed rod. <P>SOLUTION: In this parts feeder, a part 1 positioned at the tip of the feed rod 4 which performs advancing and retreating operations is fed to a target position 28. The feed rod 4 is joined to an advancing and retreating drive means 16. The parts feeder comprises a tilt drive means 21 for the feed rod 4 which is operated when the feed rod 4 advances to a predetermined position. Since the feed rod 4 is moved on a simplified moving path by only advancing and retreating operations and a tilt movement, the feed rod can assure a highly reliable operation, and can be effectively simplified in structure. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a component supply device that holds a component at the tip of a supply rod that moves forward and backward and supplies the component to a target location.

A part is held at the tip of a supply rod that moves forward and backward, the supply rod is stopped in the vicinity of a part supply part, and then the supply rod is lowered to supply the part to a target part.
JP 51-133152 A

  The supply rod as described above has a complicated operation locus, and a mechanism for performing such an operation is also complicated. Therefore, it becomes difficult to simplify the structure of the whole component supply apparatus. Further, it is not preferable in terms of operation reliability.

  The present invention has been provided to solve the above-described problems, and provides a highly reliable component supply apparatus by simplifying the operation trajectory of the supply rod and simplifying the driving means for operating the supply rod. With the goal.

Means to solve the problem

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, a part positioned at the tip of the supply rod that moves forward and backward is supplied to a target location, wherein the supply rod is coupled to forward / backward drive means, and the supply rod is The component supply device is characterized in that it is provided with a tilting drive means for the supply rod that operates in a state where it has advanced to a position.

The invention's effect

  The supply rod advanced by the advancing / retreating drive means stops in the vicinity of a target location such as an electric resistance welding electrode, and the tip of the supply rod tilts at a time following this stop or just before the stop. By this operation, the component moves to the target location and the supply of the component is completed. Therefore, since the supply rod has a simplified movement trajectory of only the forward / backward movement and the inclined movement, a highly reliable operation can be ensured, and at the same time, it is effective in simplifying the structure.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the component supply device according to the first aspect, wherein a guide member is provided for guiding the forward and backward movement of the supply rod.

  By such a guide function of the guide member, the supply rod can be accurately advanced and retracted, and reliable component supply can be obtained.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, the guide member is coupled to the stationary member via a swing shaft, and an inclination driving means is disposed between the stationary member and the guide member. It is a component supply apparatus of description.

  Since the guide member is attached to the stationary member via the swing shaft, the tilting movement of the supply rod can be accurately performed. And since the inclination drive means is arrange | positioned between the stationary member and the guide member, the inclination rocking | fluctuation of a guide member is reliably obtained with a simple structure.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, the tilt driving means is constituted by a tilt mechanism provided in the guide member or a part thereof and a cam means attached to the stationary member. This is a component supply device.

  In this way, since the tilt swing by the cam mechanism is applied to the supply rod, the supply rod can be surely tilted and swinged. Further, since the cam mechanism is utilized, it is not necessary to provide a driving means such as an air cylinder, and the structure is simplified. Furthermore, since it is a cam mechanism, it is easy to convert the forward / backward movement of the supply rod into a swinging motion, and the structure is also simplified.

  The invention according to claim 5 is the component supply apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the supply rod is a component passage member.

  By configuring the elongated supply rod with the component passage member, it is possible to easily transfer the component to the tip of the supply rod by using a pipe member, which is effective in simplifying the structure.

  Next, the best mode for carrying out the component supply apparatus according to the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment.

  First, the shape of the component will be described.

  There are various shapes of components supplied in the component supply apparatus of the present invention, and a projection nut is a preferable example if it is a perforated component. Moreover, if it is a shaft-shaped component, a projection bolt with a flange can be mentioned. In this embodiment, the iron projection nut 1 shown in FIGS. 1B, 1D, and 1E is used. This projection nut 1 has a screw hole 2 formed in the center of a square nut body, and welding projections 3 formed at four corners on one side. In the following description, the projection nut may be simply expressed as a nut.

  Next, the configuration of the entire component supply apparatus will be described.

  The entire component supply apparatus is denoted by reference numeral 100. The supply rod 4 holds the nut 1 at its tip and supplies it to a target location. For this purpose, the supply rod 1 can be moved back and forth and swinging. In order to perform this advance / retreat operation, a guide member 5 and a later-described advance / retreat drive means are provided. A swing shaft 8 is attached to a support member 7 fixed to a stationary member 6 such as a machine frame, and a bracket 9 fixed to the lower side of the guide member 5 is coupled to the swing shaft 8. The axis of the oscillating shaft 8 is perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the supply rod 4.

  In the guide member 5, a guide rail 12 is welded toward a longitudinal direction of the support plate 11 on an elongated support plate 11 extending in the longitudinal direction of the supply rod 4. As shown in FIG. 1E, a slide member 13 having a U-shaped cross section is assembled in a state of straddling the guide rail 12, a coupling piece 14 is fixed thereto, and the supply rod 4 is fixed to the coupling piece 14. Has been. Therefore, the supply rod 4 is coupled to the slide member 13 via the coupling piece 14.

  A thick plate-like bracket 15 is fixed to the support plate 11, and an air cylinder 16 which is a forward / backward drive means is fixed to the bracket 15. The piston rod 17 of the air cylinder 16 is fixed to the coupling piece 14, the slide member 13 slides on the guide rail 12 by the advance / retreat output of the air cylinder 16, and the supply rod 4 advances / retreats in the left / right direction in FIG. To do.

  An arm member 18 is formed on the support member 7, and an inclination angle of the guide member 5 is regulated by an adjustment bolt 19 penetrating therethrough. That is, when the supply rod 4 swings around the swing shaft 8, the predetermined inclination angle is set by the adjustment bolt 19.

  In order to swing the supply rod 4, an air cylinder 21, which is an inclination driving means, is disposed between the stationary member 6 and the guide member 5. The stationary member here is the support member 7, and the air cylinder 21 is disposed between the bracket 22 and the support plate 11 coupled to the support member 7. A piston rod 23 of the air cylinder 21 is coupled to the support plate 11 via a pivot 24, and a lower portion of the air cylinder 21 is coupled to a bracket 22 via a pivot 25. The supply rod 4 swings by the forward / backward output of the air cylinder 21.

  Next, the supply rod will be described.

  The supply rod 4 in this embodiment is constituted by a component passage member that can transfer the nut 1 to the tip of the supply rod 4. As this component passage member, a tubular member having a rectangular cross section or a long member having a U-shaped cross section can be used. In this embodiment, it is the latter one.

  The supply rod 4 is a long member made of stainless steel having a U-shaped cross section that is open upward. As shown in FIG. 1 (E), the supply rod 4 has a cross section in which the lateral members 4B stand on both sides of the bottom plate 4A. A passage space 20 is formed inside thereof. The nut 1 slides inside the supply rod 4 having such a shape. The supply destination of the nut 1 here, that is, the target location is an electric resistance welding electrode. The fixed electrode 26 and the movable electrode 27 are coaxially arranged, and the nut 1 is supplied to a guide pin 28 provided on the fixed electrode 26.

  In order to allow the guide pin 28 to enter the screw hole 2, a passage groove 29 is formed in the bottom plate 4 </ b> A of the supply rod 4. In order to prevent the nut 1 from jumping out from the supply rod 4, an elongated restricting member 30 is disposed on the upper side of the supply rod 4 (passage space 20). Further, a supply hose 40 made of a synthetic resin such as urethane resin or polypropylene resin is joined via a connection fitting 39. The supply hose 40 has a rectangular cross section and extends from a parts feeder (not shown).

  In order to prevent the nut 1 positioned at the foremost end of the supply rod 4 from inadvertently dropping from the distal end side of the supply rod 4, a temporary fixing mechanism 31 is provided. A variety of temporary fixing mechanisms 31 can be employed. 1B and 1C are of a type in which the protruding steel ball 32 is pushed in and the nut 1 remains on the guide pin 28. FIG. A steel ball 32 is accommodated in a through hole 33 provided in the transverse member 4B in a state of slightly protruding toward the passage space 20 and is pressed in the pushing direction by a compression coil spring 34. The compression coil spring 34 is received by a bolt 35 screwed into the through hole 33.

  FIG. 1A shows a state in which the supply rod 4 is extended to a predetermined position by the operation of the air cylinder 16 and stopped at a position where the screw hole 2 of the nut 1 and the guide pin 28 are coaxial. Yes. Then, when the air cylinder 21 moves and the tip of the supply rod 4 is inclined in a lowering direction and the guide pin 28 relatively enters the screw hole 2, the operation of the air cylinder 16 causes the supply rod 4 to move to the position shown in FIG. Go back to the right. At this time, since the welding projection 3 strongly contacts the protruding steel ball 32, the steel ball 32 pushes the steel ball 32 against the tension of the compression coil spring 34, and the supply rod 4 moves to the right. The nut 1 remains on the guide pin 28.

  FIG. 1D shows a modification of the temporary fixing mechanism. This is a plate spring deformed in place of the steel ball 32 pressurized by the compression coil spring 34. That is, an elongated strip-shaped leaf spring 36 is bent in an approximately L-shape and fixed to both lateral members 4B with bolts 37, and the tip portion is bent in an arc shape to form an engaging portion 38. The engaging portion 38 corresponds to the steel ball 32, and the nut 1 is prevented from falling off when the welding projection 3 contacts the engaging portion 38. When the supply rod 4 is retracted to the right, the welding projection 3 elastically pushes the engaging portion 38 and the nut 1 remains on the guide pin 28.

  The supply rod 4 also has a function of transferring the nut 1, but this is constituted by a rod-shaped member, and the nut 1 is supplied from a separate supply hose to the component holding portion provided at the tip portion thereof. Also good.

  It should be noted that an electric motor that performs forward / backward output can be employed instead of the various air cylinders.

  The above-described operation can be easily performed by a generally adopted control method, and a signal is transmitted at a predetermined position of an air switching valve or an air cylinder operated by an operation signal from a control device or a sequence circuit. This can be ensured by combining sensors that emit and transmit to the control device.

  The operational effects of the first embodiment described above are as follows.

  The supply rod 4 that has advanced by the operation of the air cylinder 16 that is the advancing / retreating drive means stops at the position where the guide pin 28 that is the target location and the screw hole 2 are coaxial, and then the operation of the air cylinder 21 is stopped. The leading end of the supply rod 4 moves in an inclined manner immediately after a continuous period, that is, after stopping. By this operation, the nut 1 moves to the guide pin 28 and the supply is completed. Accordingly, since the supply rod 4 has a simplified movement trajectory of only forward and backward movement and tilting movement, a highly reliable operation can be secured and at the same time effective in simplification in terms of structure.

  A guide member 5 for guiding the advance / retreat operation of the supply rod 4 is provided.

  By such a guide function of the guide member 4, the supply rod 4 accurately advances and retracts, and a reliable nut supply can be obtained.

  The guide member 5 is coupled to a support member 7 which is a stationary member via a swing shaft 8, and an air cylinder 21 which is an inclination driving means is disposed between the support member 7 and the guide member 5.

  Since the guide member 5 is attached to the support member 7 via the swing shaft 8, the supply rod 4 can be tilted accurately. And since the air cylinder 21 is arrange | positioned between the support member 7 and the guide member 5, the inclination rocking | fluctuation of the guide member 5 is reliably obtained with a simple structure. In other words, since the air cylinder 16 attached to the guide member 5 is interposed between the supply rod 4 and the guide member 5, the forward / backward movement and the inclined movement of the supply rod 4 can be easily ensured. In addition, since the guide member 5 includes a guide rail 12 and a slide member 13 integrated with the supply rod 4 is assembled thereto, the slide function of the slide member 13 is ensured and the supply rod is ensured. The forward / backward movement of 4 can be obtained smoothly and accurately.

  The supply rod 4 is a component passage member that performs the transfer function of the nut 1.

  By configuring the elongate supply rod 4 with the component passage member, it is possible to easily transfer the component to the distal end portion of the supply rod 4, which is effective in simplifying the structure. In addition, since the component passage member is made of a metal material such as stainless steel, the supply rod 4 can be reliably moved forward and backward, or can be tilted and swung. The function is obtained under high reliability.

  FIG. 2 shows a second embodiment.

  In the second embodiment, the tilt driving means is a cam mechanism type. An inverted L-shaped support member 42 is fixed to the stationary member 6, and an inclined cam 44 is fixed to the lower side of the horizontal portion 43. A roller 46 is attached to a bracket 45 fixed to the supply rod 4, and this roller 46 is in contact with the cam surface 47 of the inclined cam 44.

  A roller 48 is attached to the lower part of the coupling piece 14 and rolls on the guide member 5. The tip end side of the guide member 5 is inclined according to the inclination of the cam surface 47. That is, the inclined portion 49 is provided on the distal end side of the guide member 5 and is attached to the stationary member 6 via the pivot 50. A compression coil spring 52 is disposed between the shelf-like support plate 51 fixed to the stationary member 6 and the inclined portion 49. These structures are the tilting mechanism part. In order to correspond to the lift amount of the cam surface 47, a structure in which the entire guide member 5 can be inclined is also possible.

  FIG. 2 shows a state in which the guide pin 28 relatively enters the screw hole 2. The tilting cam 44 causes the supply rod 4 to tilt downward. At this time, the inclined portion 49 is pressed downward by the roller 48, and thus swings counterclockwise against the tension of the compression coil spring 52. In this way, the tip of the supply rod tilts and moves just before the supply rod 4 stops moving forward. The guide pin 28 enters the screw hole 2 by such a series of operations, and thereafter, the same operation as in the first embodiment is performed. Other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment including the portions not shown, and members having the same functions are denoted by the same reference numerals.

  In this way, since the tilt swing by the cam mechanisms 44 and 46 is applied to the supply rod 4, the supply rod 4 can be reliably tilted and swinged. Further, since the cam mechanism is utilized, it is not necessary to provide a driving means such as the air cylinder 21, and the structure is simplified. Furthermore, since it is a cam mechanism, it is easy to convert the forward / backward movement of the supply rod 4 into a swinging motion, and the structure is also simplified. Other functions and effects are the same as those of the first embodiment.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the operation trajectory of the supply rod is simplified, and the driving means for operating the supply rod is simplified to obtain a highly reliable component supply apparatus. And can be used in a wide range of industrial fields such as sheet metal welding processes for home appliances.

It is the side view of a component supply apparatus, and the fragmentary figure of each part. It is a side view which shows another Example.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Projection nut 2 Screw hole 4 Supply rod 5 Guide member 12 Guide rail 13 Slide member 14 Connection piece 16 Air cylinder, advance / retreat drive means 21 Air cylinder, inclination drive means 26 Fixed electrode 27 Movable electrode 28 Guide pin, Target location 31 Temporary fixing Mechanism 44 Inclined cam 46 Roller

Claims (5)

  It is of a type that supplies a part positioned at the tip of the supply rod that moves forward and backward to a target location, and operates in a state in which the supply rod is coupled to advance / retreat driving means and the supply rod has advanced to a predetermined position. An apparatus for supplying a component, characterized in that an inclination drive means for the supply rod is provided.   The component supply apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a guide member is provided for guiding an advance / retreat operation of the supply rod.   The component supply apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the guide member is coupled to the stationary member via a swing shaft, and an inclination driving unit is disposed between the stationary member and the guide member.   The component supply apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the tilt driving unit includes a tilt mechanism provided on the guide member or a part thereof and a cam unit attached to a stationary member.   The component supply apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the supply rod is a component passage member.

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