JP2009227391A - Part feeder - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve such problems that although horizontal non-linear vibration conveying conveys a workpiece by generating relative slip by reducing vertical acceleration of the workpiece more than gravity acceleration when the workpiece on a conveying passage is fed in a conveying direction and is returned, in order to easily generate the slip, slide resistance of the workpiece relative to the conveying passage must be reduced, large drive force is required, slip is generated relative to the workpiece and it and conveying efficiency is reduced when acceleration in conveying is increased more than the coefficient of static friction with the workpiece. <P>SOLUTION: In the part feeder, the workpiece fed to a vibration plate is linearly conveyed by vibrating the vibration plate at vibration with difference of acceleration in advancement and returning. The vibration plate is rotatably connected to and supported by a plurality of vibration links freely rotatably provided to perform arcuate vibration. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to an improvement of a parts feeder.

  Parts feeders are widely used for the purpose of aligning and supplying workpieces to automatic assembly equipment. Such a parts feeder is a structure which conveys the workpiece | work on a conveyance path by vibrating the conveyance path supported by the leaf | plate spring etc. with vibration mechanisms, such as an electromagnet and a piezoelectric element.

  There is horizontal non-linear vibration as a conveying method invented by the present inventors. This is a method of conveying a workpiece using frictional force and inertial force by horizontally vibrating a horizontally rotating bowl or a horizontally moving feeder with an acceleration difference in a reciprocating manner.

In the parts feeder based on the horizontal nonlinear vibration shown in Patent Document 1, since the workpiece is conveyed only by the horizontal vibration, there is an excellent effect that problems such as noise and breakage hardly occur.
Shokai Sho 55-007852

In horizontal non-linear vibration transfer, near the forward end of the transfer path when the work on the transfer path is returned in the transfer direction, the vertical acceleration of the work is made smaller than the gravitational acceleration to increase the efficiency of transfer. Figured. However, in order to easily cause the slip, the sliding resistance of the work with respect to the conveyance path must be reduced, and a large driving force is required. Further, if the acceleration during conveyance becomes larger than the coefficient of static friction with the workpiece, there arises a problem that slip occurs between the workpiece and the conveyance efficiency is lowered.

  In view of the above problems, the present inventor has achieved the present invention as a result of intensive research. A component supply device that linearly conveys a workpiece supplied to a plate, wherein the vibration plate is rotatably connected to and supported by a plurality of vibration links provided so as to be freely rotatable.

  Here, the “diaphragm” in this specification refers to a member that is provided with a feeding path for placing and transporting a workpiece to be supplied to an assembling apparatus or the like and vibrates in the feeding direction with a separate vibrating device. . In the present invention, the diaphragm is rotatably connected to the plurality of vibration links. In this state, the diaphragm is caused to oscillate in a circular arc by reciprocating in the feed direction. And the efficiency of conveyance is aimed at by vibrating a diaphragm with an acceleration difference reciprocatingly.

  The diaphragm does not necessarily have to be translated by changing the distance from the rotation axis of each vibration link or changing the connection angle with each vibration link. Further, the rotating shaft of the vibration link may be supported by a method such as rolling with rotation, or may be vibration other than circular vibration. In the present invention, the range of arc vibration such as arc vibration is basically the range from the vicinity of the bottom end to the vicinity of the horizontal, and the forward end is provided in the process in which the diaphragm rises obliquely forward.

Since the workpiece is ideally conveyed at a constant acceleration with the upper limit of the coefficient of static friction with the diaphragm feed path, vibration by cam drive is preferred. The vibration caused by the cam includes a combination of a cam and an elastic body such as a spring or a groove cam. However, in the present invention, it is possible to increase the inclination angle in the vicinity of the forward end by using the arc vibration of the trajectory having a long horizontal amplitude and a short vertical amplitude. Accordingly, the acceleration in the vertical direction of the workpiece at the forward end of the diaphragm is reduced, and the slip at the start of return is increased. For this reason, even a vibration device using an electromagnet, a piezoelectric element, or the like can be driven efficiently.

  In the parts feeder according to the present invention, a vibration plate that vibrates with an acceleration difference in a reciprocating manner for the purpose of transporting a workpiece is connected to and supported by a plurality of vibration links that are freely and freely rotatable. It is possible to increase the efficiency of conveyance by the non-linear vibration mechanism by increasing the slip near the forward end.

In addition, since the diaphragm is rotatably supported by a suspension structure using a vibration link, the driving resistance is extremely small, and the capacity of the vibration device can be reduced.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned problem by connecting and supporting a vibration plate to a plurality of vibration links provided in a rotatable manner so that the vibration plate can reciprocate in an arc.

  FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a parts feeder 1 according to the present invention, which has a structure in which a diaphragm 4 is rotatably connected to three vibration links 3 provided on a base 2 so as to be rotatable. In this example, a vibration device 5 is provided on the base 2 to vibrate the diaphragm 4 in a substantially horizontal direction, and the diaphragm 4 is urged by a coil spring 6 in the conveying direction.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the vibration plate 4 has a structure in which the vibration link 3 rotatably provided by the fixed pin 31 is rotatably supported by the vibration pin 32. The position of the vibration link 3 that is hatched in the figure is a position where the vibration link 3 naturally converges. For example, the vibration link 3 is vibrated in a range indicated by a dotted line in the figure.

  The locus of arc vibration in this case is shown in FIG. By vibrating the diaphragm 4 in a circular arc, the horizontal amplitude H can be increased with respect to the vertical amplitude V, and the inclination angle at the forward end is increased. This leads to a reduction in the vertical movement of the workpiece and a longer conveyance distance, and further reduces the vertical acceleration of the workpiece at the forward end, thereby easily moving the workpiece away from the diaphragm 4 and increasing the conveyance efficiency. It becomes possible.

The vibration device 5 that vibrates the diaphragm 4 shown in FIG. 1 has a structure in which the cam follower 52 is reciprocally vibrated by the non-linear cam 51 shown in FIG. In the parts feeder 1 of FIG. 1, the diaphragm 4 is urged in the conveying direction by a coil spring 6 and is returned by a cam follower 52 connected to the diaphragm 4 via a rod 53. As a result, the workpiece is transported by causing an acceleration difference in the reciprocation of the vibration. That is, the diaphragm 4 is fed in the conveying direction without causing any slip between the coil spring 6 and the non-linear cam 51 causes the diaphragm 4 to move backward with a large acceleration, thereby causing slip between the work and the work. It is a vibration to make.

The diaphragm 4 does not necessarily have to be moved in parallel. As shown in FIG. 5A, the length (r <R) of the fixed pin 31 and the vibration pin 32 of each vibration link 3 may be changed, or the same figure (b). As described above, the angle of the vibration link 3 may be changed and the diaphragm 4 may be connected.

Further, if the fixed pin 31 of the vibration link 3 is not only rotated at a fixed position, but also supported so as to roll along with the rotation as shown in FIG. Also, the ratio of the amplitude H in the horizontal direction can be increased.

It is a front view which shows one Example of the parts feeder which concerns on this invention. Example 1 It is a schematic front view which shows the connection state of the diaphragm and vibration link in the parts feeder which concerns on this invention. It is the schematic which shows a locus | trajectory when carrying out circular arc vibration of the diaphragm. It is the schematic which shows one Example of the vibration apparatus of the parts feeder shown in FIG. The other Example of the parts feeder which concerns on this invention is shown, (a) (b) is a schematic front view which shows the connection of a diaphragm and a vibration link, respectively. (Example 2) It is a schematic front view which shows the further another Example of the parts feeder which concerns on this invention, and shows the state which supported the fixing pin of the vibration link so that rolling was possible. (Example 3)

Explanation of symbols

1 Parts feeder 2 Base 3 Vibration link
31 Fixing pin
32 Vibrating Pin 4 Diaphragm 5 Vibrating Device
51 Nonlinear cam
52 Cam Follower
53 Rod 6 Coil spring

Claims (1)

  A component supply device that conveys a workpiece supplied to the diaphragm in a straight line by vibrating the diaphragm with a vibration having an acceleration difference in a reciprocating manner, wherein the diaphragm is provided in a plurality of freely rotatable manners. A parts feeder characterized in that it is connected to and supported by a vibration link in a rotatable manner to cause arc vibration.

Images