JP2009274159A - Parts supply device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a part supply device improving efficiency of assembling in its simple mechanism. <P>SOLUTION: This part supply device 10 is provided with a turntable 12, a screening plate 14, and a plurality of magazines 16a, 16b. The screening plate 14 rises from an upper face of the turntable 12 to partition an operation area of a robot 30 and a worker's work area from each other. The magazine 16 stores the parts to be supplied to the robot 30. Each of magazines 16a, 16b is arranged in each zone on the upper face of the turntable 12 partitioned by the screening plate 14. This parts supply device 10 can move the magazine 16b positioned in the operation area to the work area and move the magazine 16a positioned in the work area to the operation area by rotating the turntable 12. This parts supply device 10 opens and closes the screening plate 14 partitioning the operation area and the worker's work area from each other, and moves the magazines 16a, 16b by a simple structure in a short period of time. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a component supply device that supplies a component to an assembly device that assembles the component to a workpiece.

  In some cases, a component supply device that supplies components to the device is provided near the assembly device that assembles the component to the workpiece. A large number of parts are mounted on the parts supply device. The assembling apparatus receives parts from the parts supply apparatus and assembles the received parts to the workpiece. By providing the component supply device, the operation of attaching the component to the workpiece can be performed continuously. Patent Document 1 discloses an example of such a component supply apparatus.

JP-A-8-174342

By the way, the assembling apparatus for assembling a part to a work has a movable part for carrying the part from the part supplying device to the work. In many cases, a shielding plate is installed around an assembling apparatus having a movable part so that an operator does not enter an operation area of the movable part. The shielding plate may be referred to as a safety fence. In order to ensure the safety of workers, safety measures are often taken to stop the assembly device (more specifically, to turn off the power of the assembly device) when even part of the shielding plate is opened. . Such a safety measure is called an interlock. The time during which the assembling apparatus is stopped due to the opening of the shielding plate is a waste time of the assembly process. The time during which the shielding plate is opened should be as short as possible.
On the other hand, the parts to be attached to the workpiece are carried into the operation area from outside the operation area. That is, at least a part on which a part is mounted in the part supply apparatus needs to move between the outside and the inside of the operation area. A part on which a part is mounted and moves inside and outside the operation area is referred to as a part holding part. When the component holding unit moves into the operation area with a large number of components mounted, and when the component holding unit that has finished supplying the components moves out of the operation area, it is necessary to open and close the shielding plate.
If the operation of moving the component holding part in and out of the operation area and the operation of opening and closing the shielding plate can be efficiently synchronized, the dead time can be shortened and the efficiency of the component assembly process can be improved. .
An object of the present invention is to realize a component supply device that can efficiently synchronize an operation in which a component holding unit moves in and out of an operation area and an operation in which a shielding plate opens and closes.

  The inventor has created a component supply device in which a mechanism for moving the component holding portion in and out of the operation area also serves as a mechanism for opening and closing the shielding plate. Specifically, the component supply apparatus according to the present invention includes a turntable, a shielding plate, and a plurality of component holding units. The shielding plate rises from the upper surface of the turntable, and divides the operation area of the assembling apparatus and the work area of the worker. Each component holding part is arrange | positioned in each area | region of the turntable upper surface divided by the shielding board. In this component supply device, by rotating the turntable, the component holding unit located in the operation area moves to the work area, and the component holding unit located in the work area moves to the operation area. Features.

  In this component supply apparatus, a shielding plate is provided on a turntable that moves a component holding unit in and out of a work area. When the turntable rotates, the shielding plate rotates (that is, the shielding plate is opened), and the component holder moves to the operation area. With a simple mechanism, the opening / closing of the shielding plate and the movement of the component holder can be synchronized. Moreover, in this component supply device, when the turntable rotates, the component holding unit located in the work area moves to the operation area, and the component holding unit located in the operation area moves to the work area. With only one operation of turning the turntable, the opening and closing of the shielding plate, the movement of the component holding part on which the component is mounted into the operation area, and the movement of the component holding part after the component has been supplied are simultaneously performed. Done. Since this component supply device can simultaneously open and close the shielding plate and move the component holding portion with a simple mechanism, the dead time can be shortened. The component holding unit may be referred to as a cartridge that stores a plurality of components or a magazine.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the components supply apparatus which can improve assembly efficiency with a simple mechanism is realizable.

  A component supply apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of the component supply apparatus 10. FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of the component supply apparatus 10. In addition, in order to help an understanding of drawing, in FIG. 1, illustration of the part located above the components supply apparatus 10 among the fixing plates 40 is abbreviate | omitted. Similarly, in FIG. 2, a portion of the fixed plate 40 located on the front side of the component supply device 10 is not shown. 1 and 2 also schematically show a robot (assembly device) 30, a conveyor 32 that carries a workpiece W, and an operator P that exchanges a magazine (component holding unit) 16 of the component supply device 10.

  The component supply device 10 includes a turntable 12 that is rotated by a motor 18. On the upper surface of the turntable 12, a shielding plate 14 rising vertically from the upper surface is attached. The upper surface of the turntable 12 is divided into two by the shielding plate 14. A magazine (part holding unit) 16a and a magazine 16b are attached to respective regions on the upper surface of the turntable 12 divided by the shielding plate. Hereinafter, the magazine 16a and the magazine 16b are collectively referred to as the magazine 16. The magazine 16 can be detached from the turntable 12. The magazine 16 can store a plurality of parts (not shown) therein, and supplies the parts to the robot 30. The parts stored in the magazine 16 are taken out by the robot 30 and assembled to the workpiece W.

  1 and 2, reference numeral 32 denotes a conveyor that conveys the workpiece W. The conveyor 32 conveys the workpieces W to the vicinity of the robot 30 one after another. Each time a new workpiece W is conveyed, the robot 30 picks up a part from the magazine 16 and attaches it to the new workpiece W.

  The operation area 90 of the robot 30 and the work area 92 of the worker P are partitioned by a fixed plate 40 fixed to the floor and a shielding plate 14 fixed to the turntable 12. The operation area 90 is defined as an area substantially equal to the range in which the robot 30 can move. As shown in FIG. 1, when the fixed plate 40 and the shielding plate 14 are aligned, the worker P located in the work area 92 is isolated from the robot 30. That is, the fixed plate 40 and the shielding plate 14 prevent the worker P from coming into contact with the operating robot 30, and the safety of the worker P is ensured. The fixing plate 40 and the shielding plate 14 are made of, for example, transparent PET (polyethylene terephthalate) or polycarbonate.

  1 and 2, one magazine 16 a is located in the work area 92 and the other magazine 16 b is located in the operation area 90. In this state, the robot 30 picks up a part (not shown) from the magazine 16b and attaches it to the work W. When all the parts are taken out from the magazine 16b by the robot 30, the parts supply device 10 drives the motor 18 to rotate the turntable 12 halfway. Then, the magazine 16b located in the operation area 90 moves to the work area 92, and the magazine 16a located in the work area 92 moves to the operation area 90. The robot 30 takes out the parts from the magazine 16a newly moved to the operation area 90 and continues the assembling work. On the other hand, the worker P replaces the empty magazine 16b moved to the work area 92 with a new magazine loaded with parts while the robot 30 is performing work.

  The component supply device 10 is surrounded by a safety fence 50. The fixing plate 40 and the shielding plate 14 described above also form a part of the safety fence 50. The safety fence 50 has a door 52. The component supply device 10 incorporates an interlock circuit that stops operation while the door 52 is open. The robot 30 incorporates an interlock circuit that stops operation while both the door 52 and the shielding plate 14 are open.

  When rotating the turntable 12, the worker P closes the door 52 and isolates the component supply device 10. Since the worker P can be isolated further outside the work area 92, when the turntable 12 is rotated, the safety of the worker P can be ensured without stopping the robot 30. The parts can be continuously supplied to the robot 30 without stopping the robot 30. That is, the magazine 16 (part holding device) can be replaced without interrupting the assembly work by the robot 30. By using the component supply apparatus 10, the efficiency of the component assembling process can be improved.

The component supply device 10 can simultaneously move the magazine 16 and open and close the shielding plate 14 by rotating the turntable 12. That is, the movement of the magazine 16 and the opening and closing of the shielding plate 14 are completed by one operation of rotating the turntable 12. The component supply device 10 can execute the movement of the magazine 16 and the opening and closing of the shielding plate 14 in a very short time.
The turntable 12 rotates while the conveyor 32 conveys the next workpiece W. That is, the turntable 12 rotates while the robot 30 waits for the next workpiece W to be conveyed. Therefore, the component supply apparatus 10 does not need to stop the robot 30 for the movement of the magazine 16. By using the component supply apparatus 10, the efficiency of the component assembling process can be improved.

  The component supply device 10 can simultaneously open and close the shielding plate 14 and move the magazine 16 with a simple structure of the turntable 12. In addition, the component supply device 10 can open and close the shielding plate 14 and move the magazine 16 by one operation of rotating the turntable 12. The component supply apparatus 10 has an extremely simple structure and can improve the efficiency of the component assembly process.

  In the component supply apparatus 10 described above, the shielding plate 14 divides the upper surface of the turntable 12 into two. The shielding plate 14 may divide the upper surface of the turntable 12 into three or more regions. In that case, a magazine (part holding unit) may be disposed in each of the regions divided by the shielding plate 14. In addition, a plurality of magazines 16 (component holding units) may be provided in one area divided by the shielding plate 14.

Specific examples of the present invention have been described in detail above, but these are merely examples and do not limit the scope of the claims. The technology described in the claims includes various modifications and changes of the specific examples illustrated above. For example, in the component supply apparatus 10 of the embodiment, the turntable 12 has a rotating shaft that extends in the vertical direction. The rotation axis of the turntable is not limited to the vertical direction.
The technical elements described in this specification or the drawings exhibit technical usefulness alone or in various combinations, and are not limited to the combinations described in the claims at the time of filing. In addition, the technology exemplified in this specification or the drawings can achieve a plurality of objects at the same time, and has technical usefulness by achieving one of the objects.

It is a typical top view of a components supply apparatus. It is a typical side view of a component supply apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

10: parts supply device 12: turntable 14: shielding plates 16a, 16b: magazine (part holding part)
18: Motor 30: Robot (assembly device)

Claims (1)

A component supply device that supplies components to an assembly device that assembles components to a workpiece.
A turntable,
A shielding plate that stands up from the top surface of the turntable and divides the operation area of the assembly device and the work area of the worker;
A component holding part arranged in each region of the upper surface of the turntable divided by the shielding plate,
By rotating the turntable, the component holding unit located in the operation area moves to the work area, and the component holding unit located in the work area moves to the operation area. .

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