JP2012086180A - Method and device for bolt identification, and identified bolt - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a bolt identification device that still reliably identifies a bolt even during an automated bolt fastening process.SOLUTION: The bolt identification device includes: a pad 8 for hermetically sealing an opening of a tool insertion recess 71 that is formed on the head 7a of a bolt 7 and has an opening facing upward; an air supply unit for supplying air into the tool insertion recess 71 sealed hermetically with the pad 8; a measuring unit for measuring the air pressure in the tool insertion recess 71; and an identification unit for identifying the specification of the bolt 7 based on the air pressure.

Description

  The present invention relates to a bolt identification method, a bolt identification device, and an identification bolt that can identify a bolt.

Conventionally, as this type of bolt identification method, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, the dimensions and name of the bolt are engraved or affixed to the bolt head upper surface or bolt head side surface, and visually. Something has been proposed that allows it to be identified.
In such a method, the operator can visually confirm whether or not the bolt is appropriate when fastening the bolt, so that different bolts are not used by mistake.

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 63-193110

  However, in the method disclosed in Patent Document 1, when the bolt fastening process is automated, if a wrong bolt is set in the bolt fastening device, the bolt has a different specification. There was a problem that it could not be identified and was used as it was.

The bolt identification method, the bolt identification device, and the identification bolt of the present invention are intended to ensure the identification of a bolt even in an automated bolt fastening process. To achieve at least a part of this object, I took the measures.
The present invention is a bolt identification method for identifying bolts having different specifications, (a) closing an opening of a tool insertion recess formed so that a tool can be inserted into the upper surface of the head of the bolt, and (b) The gist is to supply air into the tool insertion recess, (c) measure the air pressure in the tool insertion recess, and (d) identify the specifications of the bolt based on the air pressure.

  In the bolt identification method of the present invention, air is supplied into the tool insertion recess with the upper part of the bolt opening the opening of the tool insertion recess, and the specification of the bolt is identified based on the air pressure in the tool insertion recess. Therefore, even if the bolt fastening process is automated, the bolt can be reliably identified by adding the process.

In the bolt identification method of the present invention, the bolts identified in the step (d) may be distributed according to specifications.
In this way, the bolts can be distributed according to the specifications.

Further, in the bolt identification method for distributing the bolts according to the present invention according to the specification, the step (e) is a fastening step as the next step with the bolt identified as the first specification in the step (d) as an appropriate product. And the step of discharging the bolt identified as having the second specification in step (d) as a different product.
If it carries out like this, only an appropriate bolt can be automatically sent to the fastening process which is the next process. Moreover, the bolts that are not appropriate bolts can be discharged as different products.

Further, in the bolt identification method for distributing the bolts according to the specification of the present invention, the step (e) sends the bolt identified as the first specification in the step (d) to the first step as the next step. And it can also be a step which sends out the said bolt identified as the 2nd specification at the said step (d) to the 2nd process as a next process.
If it carries out like this, the identified bolt can be automatically sent to each process.

In the bolt identification method of the present invention, the step (d) identifies the bolt as the first specification when the measured air pressure is less than a predetermined value, and the measured air pressure is It may be a step of identifying the bolt as being the second specification when it is equal to or greater than a predetermined value.
In this way, it is possible to easily identify whether the specification is the first specification or the second specification.

In the bolt identification method of the present invention, the step (d) identifies the bolt as the first specification when the measured air pressure is equal to or higher than a predetermined value, and the measured air pressure is It may be a step of identifying the bolt as the second specification when it is less than a predetermined value.
In this way, it is possible to easily identify whether the specification is the first specification or the second specification.

  Further, the present invention is a bolt identification device for identifying bolts having different specifications, and for closing the opening of a tool insertion recess formed on the upper surface of the bolt head so that a tool can be inserted. Means, an air supply means for supplying air into the tool insertion recess closed by the closing means, a measuring means for measuring the air pressure in the tool insertion recess, and the bolt based on the air pressure. The gist of the present invention is to provide an identification means for identifying the specification.

  In the bolt identification device of the present invention, air is supplied into the tool insertion recess with the upper opening of the tool insertion recess closed, and the bolt specifications are identified based on the air pressure in the tool insertion recess. Even if the bolt fastening process is automated, the bolt can be reliably identified using the device.

Moreover, the bolt identification apparatus of this invention can also be provided with the distribution means which distributes the said bolt identified by the said identification means according to a specification.
In this way, the bolts can be distributed according to the specifications.

In the bolt identification device of the present invention, the distribution means sends the bolt identified as the first specification by the identification means to the fastening process as the next process as an appropriate product, and the identification means performs the second operation. The bolt identified as having a specification may be a means for discharging the bolt as a different product.
If it carries out like this, only an appropriate bolt can be automatically sent to the fastening process which is the next process. Moreover, the bolts that are not appropriate bolts can be discharged as different products.

Further, the distribution means in the bolt identification device of the present invention sends the bolt identified as the first specification by the identification means to the first process as the next process, and the second specification by the identification means. It can also be a means for sending out the bolt identified as being to the second step as the next step.
If it carries out like this, the identified bolt can be automatically sent to each process.

Further, the identification means in the bolt identification device of the present invention identifies the bolt as the first specification when the air pressure measured by the measurement means is less than a predetermined value, and measures by the measurement means The bolt may be a means for identifying the bolt as the second specification when the air pressure is equal to or higher than the predetermined value.
In this way, it is possible to easily identify whether the specification is the first specification or the second specification.

Further, the identification means in the bolt identification device of the present invention identifies the bolt as the first specification when the air pressure measured by the measurement means is equal to or higher than a predetermined value, and measures by the measurement means The bolt may be a means for identifying the bolt as the second specification when the air pressure is less than the predetermined value.
In this way, it is possible to easily identify whether the specification is the first specification or the second specification.

Further, the closing means in the bolt identification device of the present invention may be configured such that a portion that contacts the upper surface of the head of the bolt is formed by an elastic member.
If it carries out like this, the opening of a tool insertion recessed part can be made into the state which contact | adhered more closely, and stabilization of the air pressure in a tool insertion recessed part can be aimed at. As a result, erroneous determinations during identification can be reduced.

  Further, the identification bolt of the present invention is an identification bolt comprising a head formed with a tool insertion recess that is open at the top where a tool can be inserted, and a screw portion formed integrally with the head. The gist of the invention is that the head is formed with a communication portion that allows communication between the inside and outside of the tool insertion recess.

  In the identification bolt of the present invention, a communication portion that communicates the inside and outside of the tool insertion recess that opens upward is formed in the bolt head, so that air is supplied into the tool insertion recess with the opening of the tool insertion recess closed. When using a bolt identification device or bolt identification method that identifies bolts based on the air pressure in the tool insertion recess, the air pressure in the tool insertion recess is lower than that of bolts that do not have a communication portion. The bolt can be reliably identified.

Further, the communication portion in the identification bolt of the present invention may be a groove formed in the upper surface of the head from the side surface of the head to the tool insertion recess.
If it carries out like this, a communication part can be ensured simply.

Moreover, the said communication part in the identification bolt of this invention shall be a through-hole formed so that it might penetrate from the side surface of the said head to the said tool insertion recessed part.
If it carries out like this, a communication part can be ensured simply.

It is a schematic front block diagram of a bolt identification device. It is a schematic plane block diagram of a bolt identification device. It is a principal part expansion perspective view of an identification bolt. It is explanatory drawing of the state which made the pad (blocking means) contact | adhered to the head upper surface of the identification bolt. It is a flowchart figure of the bolt identification process in a bolt identification device. It is a principal part expansion perspective view which shows another example of an identification bolt.

Next, the form for implementing this invention is demonstrated using an Example.
FIG. 1 is a schematic front configuration diagram of the bolt identification device, and FIG. 2 is a schematic plan configuration diagram of the bolt identification device.
The bolt identification device 1 is a device that identifies a bolt before an operator takes the bolt, that is, before the bolt is supplied to a line.

The bolt identification device 1 is provided with a moving base 3 on a base base 2 so as to be movable in the horizontal direction, and a stopper 5 for the moving base 3 is provided at the right end in the figure. The moving base 3 is connected to the rod 32 of the cylinder 30 and moves in the horizontal direction on the base base 2 by the protrusion and withdrawal of the rod 32.
Further, a bolt holding unit 4 is provided on the moving base 3, and a lifting plate 9 having a pad 8 made of an elastic material on the lower surface is disposed above the bolt holding unit 4. The plate 9 can be moved up and down via a lifting cylinder 10.
Air passages 9a and 8a communicating with each other are formed through the elevating plate 9 and the pad 8, and an air passage 11a communicating with the air passages 9a and 8a is formed on the upper surface of the elevating plate 9 inside. A connecting member 11 is attached, and an air supply pipe 12 is connected to the connecting member 11. Air is supplied to the air supply pipe 12 through an air switching valve 13.

  The bolt holding unit 4 includes a shutter 6 capable of sandwiching the neck portion of the bolt 7 and a shutter cylinder 60 having a rod 62 connected to the shutter 6. The shutter 6 is driven by driving the rod 62 in the protruding direction. Is closed, and the shutter 6 is opened by retracting the rod 62 into a cylinder (not shown) of the shutter cylinder 60.

  Further, a pressure sensor 14 for measuring the air pressure is connected to the connecting member 11 side of the air supply pipe 12. A signal from the pressure sensor 14 is sent to the control device 15, and the control device 15 is configured to perform switching of the air switching valve 13, opening and closing of the shutter 6, and movement control of the moving base 3. The device 15 includes a microprocessor centered on a CPU. In addition to the CPU, the device 15 includes a ROM that stores a processing program, a RAM that temporarily stores data, an input / output port and a communication port (not shown).

The identification bolt has a structure as shown in the enlarged perspective view of the main part in FIG.
The identification bolt 7 hangs integrally with the head 7a and is formed with a threaded portion 7b. The head 7a is formed with a tool insertion recess 71 for inserting a tool whose upper surface is open. In addition, a pair of concave grooves 72 and 72 are formed on the upper surface of the head portion 7a so as to be able to communicate between the inside and outside of the tool insertion recess 71 from the side surface of the head 7a to the tool insertion recess 71. ing.

FIG. 4 shows a state in which a bolt is identified in a cross-section of the main part.
That is, in a state where the identification bolt 7 is set on the shutter 6 of the bolt holding unit 4, the elevating cylinder 10 is lowered, and when the elevating plate 9 is lowered, the pad 8 as an elastic member is placed on the upper surface of the head 7 a of the identification bolt 7. When brought into close contact, the upper surface opening 71a of the tool insertion recess 71 is closed. In this state, air is supplied from the air switching valve 13 into the air supply pipe 12, and as shown in FIG. Air is supplied into the tool insertion recess 71 of the identification bolt 7 through air passages 11 a, 9 a, and 8 a that are coaxially formed in the elevating plate 9 and the pad 8, respectively.

When the air pressure is measured by the pressure sensor 14 in this state and the measured value is transmitted to the control device 15, the control device 15 identifies the bolt according to the processing program shown in the flowchart of FIG. 5 stored in the ROM.
That is, in step S1 in FIG. 5, as described above, whether or not the identification bolt 7 is supplied to the bolt holding unit 4 is identified, and if it is supplied, the pad 8 is lowered and identified in step S2. In this state, air is supplied into the tool insertion recess 71 of the identification bolt 7 via the air supply pipe 12 in step S3, and the air pressure is measured via the pressure sensor 14 in step S4. When the air pressure is less than the predetermined value, that is, in the case of the identification bolt 7 having the concave grooves 72 and 72 as shown in FIG. 3, the air escapes from the concave grooves 72 and 72. Therefore, since the air pressure measured by the pressure sensor 14 is less than a predetermined value, it is determined that the identification bolt 7 is a proper product, and in step S5, the lifting cylinder 10 is moved. To increase the pad 8 to.

Further, when the shutter 6 is opened in step S6, the identification bolt 7 determined to be a proper product is dropped on the lower regular product chute 16 and is set on the washer W previously set on the regular product chute 16 to be a washer W. At the same time, it is sent to the bolt fastening process, which is the next process, through the regular product chute 16.
In the case of the bolt in which the concave groove 72 is not formed, the air pressure measured in step S4 is not less than a predetermined value because air does not escape, so when the air pressure exceeding the predetermined value is measured, In step S8, the pad 8 is raised, and in step S9, the bolt holding unit 4 is moved to the position where it abuts against the stopper 5 on the right side in FIG. After the movement is completed, the shutter 6 is opened in step S10, the bolt is dropped, and the bolt is discharged into the foreign product discharge chute 17 disposed below (step S11).

  As described above, in the bolt identification device 1, air is supplied into the tool insertion recess 71 in a state where the opening 71 a of the tool insertion recess 71 whose top is opened is covered with the pad 8, and based on the air pressure in the tool insertion recess 71. Since the bolt specification is identified, even if the bolt fastening process is automated, the bolt can be reliably identified using such a bolt identification device. Moreover, the bolts that are not appropriate can be discharged as different products, and only the bolts that are determined to be appropriate can be automatically sent to the fastening process.

FIG. 6 shows a modification example of the identification bolt. In the identification bolt 7 of FIG. 6, through holes 73 and 73 are formed so as to penetrate from the side surface of the head 7a to the tool insertion recess 71. It is.
Even in such a structure, when air is supplied into the tool insertion recess 71 for identification, the air passes through the through holes 73 and 73 and escapes to the outside, so the air pressure measured by the pressure sensor 14 is low ( Less than a predetermined value). That is, since the air pressure is lower than that of the bolt that does not have the through hole 73, the bolt can be reliably identified.

  In addition, in this example, the case where only the bolt identified as the proper product is sent to the fastening process as the next process is illustrated, but the bolt identified as the proper product is sent to the first process, The identified bolt may be sent to the second process, and the identified bolt can be automatically sent to each subsequent process. In this case, a chute for sending bolts to the fastening process as the second process may be arranged instead of the discharge chute 17.

  Further, in this example, when identifying the bolt, when the air pressure is less than a predetermined value, it is identified as a proper product, and when the air pressure is greater than or equal to a predetermined value, it is identified as a different product. On the contrary, it can be configured such that it is identified as a proper product when the air pressure is equal to or higher than a predetermined value, and is identified as a different product when the air pressure is less than a predetermined value.

  In addition, in the bolt identification device 1 of this example, the bolt is identified before the bolt is supplied to the fastening line to be fastened to the workpiece. However, when the bolt is fastened to the workpiece, the bolt is identified. I do not care. In this case, the identification function of the present invention is provided to the bolt fastening device, that is, the function of supplying air into the tool insertion recess 71 and measuring the air pressure and identifying whether or not the bolt is appropriate based on the value of the air pressure. It should be.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention has been described above with reference to the embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. Of course, it can be implemented in the form.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Bolt identification device 3 Movement base 4 Bolt holding unit 6 Shutter 7 Identification bolt 7a Head 7b Screw part 8 Pad (elastic member)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 9 Elevating plate 10 Elevating cylinder 11 Connecting member 12 Air supply pipe 13 Air switching valve 14 Pressure sensor (air pressure measuring means)
15 Control device (identification means)
30 cylinder 32 rod 60 shutter cylinder 62 rod 71 tool insertion recess 71a upper surface opening 72 recess groove (communication portion)
73 Through hole (communication part)
W washer

Claims (16)

A bolt identification method for identifying bolts having different specifications,
(A) plugging the opening of the tool insertion recess formed so that the tool can be inserted into the upper surface of the head of the bolt;
(B) supplying air into the tool insertion recess,
(C) measure the air pressure in the tool insertion recess,
(D) A bolt identification method for identifying the specifications of the bolt based on the air pressure. The bolt identification method according to claim 1,
(E) A bolt identification method for distributing the bolts identified in step (d) according to specifications.   In the step (e), the bolt identified as the first specification in the step (d) is sent as a proper product to the fastening process as the next process, and identified as the second specification in the step (d). The bolt identifying method according to claim 2, wherein the bolt is discharged as a different product.   In the step (e), the bolt identified as the first specification in the step (d) is sent to the first process as the next process, and the second specification is identified in the step (d). The bolt identification method according to claim 2, wherein the bolt is a step of sending the bolt to a second process as a next process.   The step (d) identifies the bolt as the first specification when the measured air pressure is less than a predetermined value, and turns the bolt when the measured air pressure is equal to or greater than the predetermined value. The bolt identification method according to claim 3, wherein the bolt identification method is a step of identifying the second specification.   The step (d) identifies the bolt as the first specification when the measured air pressure is greater than or equal to a predetermined value, and removes the bolt when the measured air pressure is less than the predetermined value. The bolt identification method according to claim 3, wherein the bolt identification method is a step of identifying the second specification. A bolt identification device for identifying bolts having different specifications,
A closing means for closing the opening of the tool insertion recess formed on the upper surface of the head of the bolt so that a tool can be inserted;
Air supply means for supplying air into the tool insertion recess closed by the closing means;
Measuring means for measuring the air pressure in the tool insertion recess,
Identification means for identifying the specifications of the bolt based on the air pressure;
A bolt identification device comprising: The bolt identification device according to claim 7,
A bolt identifying device, comprising: sorting means for sorting the bolts identified by the identifying means according to specifications.   The allocating means sends the bolt identified as the first specification by the identification means to the fastening process as the next process as an appropriate product, and the bolt identified as the second specification by the identification means The bolt identification device according to claim 8, wherein the bolt identification device is a means for discharging the product as a different product.   The allocating means sends out the bolt identified as the first specification by the identifying means to the first process as the next process, and the bolt identified as the second specification by the identifying means is the next. The bolt identification device according to claim 8, which is means for sending to a second step as a step.   The identifying means identifies the bolt as the first specification when the air pressure measured by the measuring means is less than a predetermined value, and the air pressure measured by the measuring means is the predetermined value. 11. The bolt identification device according to claim 9, which is means for identifying the bolt as being the second specification when the above is true.   The identifying means identifies the bolt as the first specification when the air pressure measured by the measuring means is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, and the air pressure measured by the measuring means is the predetermined value. 11. The bolt identification device according to claim 9, wherein the bolt identification unit is a unit that identifies the bolt as being in the second specification when it is less than the value.   The bolt identification device according to any one of claims 7 to 12, wherein the closing means is formed by an elastic member at a portion that contacts the upper surface of the head of the bolt. An identification bolt comprising: a head formed with a tool insertion recess that is open at the top where a tool can be inserted; and a screw part formed integrally with the head.
An identification bolt formed on the head is formed with a communication portion capable of communicating inside and outside the tool insertion recess.   The identification bolt according to claim 14, wherein the communication portion is a concave groove formed in a top surface of the head from a side surface of the head to the tool insertion concave portion.   The identification bolt according to claim 14, wherein the communication portion is a through hole formed so as to penetrate from a side surface of the head to the tool insertion recess.

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