JP2013166640A - Vacuum suction head and article supply device having the vacuum suction head - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve a foreign matter suction problem during vacuum suction of an article in a vacuum suction head 6.SOLUTION: A vacuum suction head 6 comprises: a tubular head body 15 having an air inlet 17 for vacuum sucking an article opened at one end and an air outlet 18 opened at the other end; and a nozzle 16 connected to the head body 15 and jetting compressed air toward the air outlet 18 side so that an air negative pressure is generated in the air inlet 17. Foreign matter sucked from the air inlet 17 into a head body 5 is discharged from the air outlet 18.

Description

  The present invention relates to a vacuum suction head and an article supply apparatus having the vacuum suction head.

  An example of an article supply apparatus that adsorbs articles by vacuum suction and supplies them to a predetermined position is described in Patent Document 1. It is a bolt supply device that supplies a projection bolt as an article supplied from a parts feeder between a movable electrode and a fixed electrode of a resistance welder. This device includes a piston rod that is advanced and retracted horizontally by an air cylinder, and a holding portion that holds a bolt is provided at a tip portion thereof. This holding part is provided with a recessed part opened downward, and a bolt is vacuum-sucked in this recessed part.

  That is, a hose for evacuating and ejecting air is connected to the tip of the piston rod, and a vacuum pump and an air compressor are connected to the hose via a switching valve. In supplying the bolt, a vacuum pump is connected to the hose, and the head of the bolt sent from the parts feeder is held in the recess by vacuum suction. When the bolt moves between the movable electrode and the fixed electrode of the resistance welder by the advancement of the piston rod, the vacuum pump is switched to the air compressor, and the compressed air is sent to the recess. As a result, the bolt is separated from the vacuum suction head.

JP 07-196146 A

  One problem with vacuum suction of articles is that when a vacuum pump is connected to the vacuum suction head with a hose, foreign objects such as dust around the article and metal powder attached to the article are vacuumed when the article is vacuum-sucked. It means that it is sucked into the pump. Therefore, in order to prevent the vacuum pump from sucking foreign matter, it is necessary to provide a filter for removing foreign matter in the air circuit for vacuum suction. Furthermore, there is a problem that maintenance man-hours increase as a result of the necessity of management (prevention of clogging) of the filter.

  There is another problem in the supply of articles by vacuum suction. That is, when the vacuum suction head that has sucked the article moves to a predetermined position, it is necessary to quickly release the vacuum suction in order to separate the article from the vacuum suction head. However, as in the prior art, a separate air compressor is required to send compressed air to the vacuum suction head. In addition, it is necessary to switch the air circuit from the vacuum pump to the air compressor in synchronization with the movement of the article to the supply destination, and the control becomes complicated.

  Therefore, the present application provides a vacuum suction head that solves the problem of foreign matter suction when an article is vacuum-sucked.

  Further, the present application provides an article supply apparatus that can quickly separate an article from a vacuum suction head without requiring switching of an air circuit in the article supply apparatus using vacuum suction.

  In the vacuum suction head according to the present invention, an air suction port and an air discharge port are provided in the head main body for sucking articles in order to solve the problem of sucking in the foreign matter, and compressed air is ejected toward the air discharge port side. Thus, the article was vacuum-sucked to the air suction port side.

  Further, in the article supply apparatus according to the present invention, in order to eliminate the problem of air circuit switching, the supply of compressed air to the vacuum suction head is mechanically interrupted at the same time as the article moves to a predetermined position.

That is, the vacuum suction head presented here has a cylindrical head body in which an air suction port for vacuum-sucking an article on one end and an air discharge port on the other end are opened,
And a nozzle that is connected to the head body and ejects compressed air toward the air discharge port so as to generate an air negative pressure at the air suction port.

  In this vacuum suction head, since compressed air is ejected toward the air discharge port side of the head body, an air negative pressure is generated at the air suction port, and the article is vacuum-sucked. Since the article is vacuum-adsorbed by ejecting compressed air toward the air discharge port side, the foreign matter sucked into the air suction port together with the product is discharged from the air discharge port, eliminating the problem of foreign matter suction and eliminating the need for a filter. .

  The head body may be a straight tube or a curved tube. The nozzle may be connected to the outer wall of the head main body, or may be disposed in the head main body.

  In the case where the nozzle is connected to the outer wall of the head body, an air ejection hole for ejecting compressed air toward the air discharge port is provided on the inner wall of the head body. In the case where the nozzle is disposed in the head body, the rod-shaped nozzle is disposed in the axial direction in the head body, and an air ejection hole for ejecting compressed air toward the air discharge port side is provided on the side wall of the nozzle. Become. The case in which the latter nozzle is arranged in the head body is advantageous for downsizing the vacuum suction head, and it is easy to avoid interference with peripheral devices when the vacuum suction head is moved.

Moreover, the article supply apparatus presented here is provided with the above-described vacuum suction head, and sucks the article supplied from the feeder with the vacuum suction head and supplies it to a predetermined position.
A compressed air pipe having a seal bush at the front end and supplied with compressed air inside;
A hollow rod having an air passage extending in the axial direction, inserted into the compressed air tube and passed through the seal bush;
A drive device for moving the hollow rod back and forth,
On the outer wall of the hollow rod, an air inlet for introducing the compressed air in the compressed air pipe into the air passage is opened,
In the vacuum suction head, the nozzle is connected to the front end of the hollow rod, and compressed air is supplied to the nozzle from an air passage of the hollow rod.
When the vacuum suction head advances together with the hollow rod toward the predetermined position by a predetermined distance, the air introduction port of the hollow rod is blocked by the seal bush at the front end of the compressed air pipe.

  Therefore, when compressed air is supplied to the compressed air tube, the compressed air is introduced into the air passage from the air introduction port of the hollow rod, and is supplied from this air passage to the vacuum suction head. As a result, in the vacuum suction head, compressed air is jetted into the air passage of the head body toward the air discharge port, so that an air negative pressure is generated at the air suction port and the article is vacuum-sucked. When the vacuum suction head moves forward a predetermined distance to supply the article to a predetermined position, the air inlet of the hollow rod is closed by the seal bush at the front end of the compressed air tube. Thereby, the introduction of the compressed air from the compressed air tube to the hollow rod is stopped, and the jet of the compressed air toward the air discharge port of the head body is stopped. As soon as the discharge of compressed air stops, the negative air pressure disappears at the air suction port of the head main body, so that the vacuum suction of the article is quickly released.

  As described above, according to the vacuum suction head of the present invention, the nozzle is connected to the cylindrical head body having the air suction port and the air discharge port, and the compressed air is ejected toward the air discharge port side. Therefore, it is possible to generate a negative air pressure at the air suction port to vacuum-suck the article, and foreign matter sucked into the air suction port together with the article is discharged from the air discharge port. The filter is unnecessary.

  Further, according to the article supply apparatus of the present invention, the air introduction port is provided in the outer wall of the hollow rod, the compressed air in the compressed air pipe is introduced from the air introduction port into the air passage of the hollow rod, and the vacuum is discharged from the hollow rod. When compressed air for vacuum suction is supplied to the suction head and the vacuum suction head that vacuum-sucks the article advances by a predetermined distance, the air inlet of the hollow rod is closed by the seal bush at the front end of the compressed air tube, and the vacuum suction head Since the supply of compressed air is stopped, the vacuum suction of the article can be quickly released without requiring switching of the air circuit at the same time as the vacuum suction head reaches a predetermined position.

It is a perspective view of the nut supply apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a side view which shows the state before nut supply of the apparatus. It is a side view which shows the state which supplied the nut with the apparatus. It is a disassembled perspective view of the same apparatus. It is a side view which shows the relationship between a nut, a head main body, a nozzle, and a hollow rod. It is sectional drawing which shows the state which connected the vacuum suction head to the hollow rod. It is the front view which looked at the head body from the air discharge port side. FIG. 6 is a side view showing the nut supply device with a partial cross section and a part omitted.

  Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The following description of the preferred embodiments is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the invention, its application, or its use.

  FIG. 1 shows a nut supply device 1 as an article supply device. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the nut supply device 1 receives a welding nut N sent from a chute 2 as a nut feeder by a supply head 3 and supplies it onto a work W supported on the lower electrode 4. To do. In the present embodiment, the supply destination of the nut N as the predetermined position is a portion where the nut N of the workpiece W is welded. This nut supply destination is lower in position than the nut receiving position by the supply head 3. The nut N of this embodiment is a cap nut and fits into the pin 10 of the lower electrode 4 that penetrates the workpiece W to which the nut is supplied. The nut N and the workpiece W are welded by being sandwiched between the upper electrode 5 and the lower electrode 4 and energized.

  The nut supply apparatus 1 includes a vacuum suction head 6 that vacuum-sucks the nut N when schematically described. The vacuum suction head 6 is connected to the front end of the hollow rod 7. As shown in FIG. 4, the hollow rod 7 is coupled to a piston rod 11 of an air cylinder 8 as a driving device. As the hollow rod 7 advances and retreats, the vacuum suction head 6 reciprocates between the nut receiving position by the supply head 3 and the nut supply destination.

  The hollow rod 7 is inserted into the compressed air tube 9 together with the piston rod 11. The supply head 3 is coupled to the front end of the compressed air tube 9. The vacuum suction head 6 vacuum-sucks the nut N using compressed air. The compressed air is supplied from the air compressor to the compressed air tube 9, and is supplied from the compressed air tube 9 to the vacuum suction head 6 through the hollow rod 7.

  The compressed air tube 9 is held by a holder 12, and the nut supply device 1 is supported by a support or the like via the holder 12.

<Vacuum suction head>
As shown in FIG. 5, the vacuum suction head 6 includes a head main body 15 and a nozzle 16 that ejects compressed air connected to the head main body 15.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the head body 15 is formed in a cylindrical shape having an air suction port 17 opened at the front end (one end) and an air discharge port 18 opened at the rear end (the other end). An intermediate wall 22 having a screw hole 21 at the center is provided at an intermediate portion of the head body 15. As shown in FIG. 7, the intermediate wall 22 is provided with a plurality of through holes 23 at intervals in the circumferential direction. A step portion facing the air suction port 17 is provided on the inner peripheral wall of the head body 15 on the air suction port 17 side. When the nut N is vacuum-sucked, the flange F is received by the stepped portion, and the head H is fitted in the back of the stepped portion.

  The nozzle 16 is inserted on the air discharge port 18 side of the head body 15, and the front end portion is screwed into the screw hole 21 of the intermediate wall 22. This nozzle 16 is rod-shaped and has an air hole 25 extending in the axial direction, and an air inlet is opened at the rear end of the nozzle 16. The front end side of the air hole 25 is closed, and an air ejection hole 26 is provided on the side wall of the nozzle 16.

  The air ejection hole 26 is located in the head main body 15 and is inclined from the front end side to the rear end side of the nozzle 16 so that the compressed air is ejected toward the air discharge port 18 side. On the outer surface of the side wall of the nozzle 16, a guide groove 27 extending from the opening of the air ejection hole 26 toward the air ejection port 18 is provided so as to guide the compressed air ejected from the air ejection hole 26 toward the air ejection port 18. Is provided. Further, a screw 28 for coupling to the head body 15 is provided at the front end portion of the nozzle 16, and a screw 29 for connecting to the hollow rod 7 is provided at the rear end portion.

  Therefore, in the vacuum suction head 6, the compressed air is jetted from the nozzle 16 toward the air discharge port 18, whereby an air flow from the air suction hole 17 side to the air discharge port 18 is generated in the head body 15. Arise. As a result, an air negative pressure is generated at the air suction port 17, and the nut N can be vacuum-sucked to the air suction port 17 side. The foreign matter sucked into the air suction port 17 together with the article is discharged from the air discharge port 18.

<Hollow rod and compressed air tube>
As shown in FIG. 6, the hollow rod 7 has an air passage 31 extending in the axial direction, the front end is screwed to the rear end portion of the nozzle 16, and the air passage 31 communicates with the air hole 25 of the nozzle 16. . The rear end of the hollow rod 7 is screwed to the piston rod 11 of the air cylinder 8, and the rear end of the air passage 31 is closed. At the rear end portion of the outer wall of the hollow rod 7, an air introduction port 32 for introducing the compressed air from the compressed air tube 9 into the air passage 31 of the hollow rod 7 is opened.

  As shown in FIG. 4, a compressed air introduction port 33 is opened on the outer wall of the compressed air tube 9, and a joint 34 shown in FIG. 1 is coupled to the introduction port 33. An air hose that supplies compressed air from an air compressor is connected to the joint 34. The compressed air tube 9 has a front end coupled to the supply head 3 and a rear end coupled to the air cylinder 8 and is closed.

  As shown in FIG. 8, a seal bush 33 is fitted to the front end portion of the compressed air tube 9, and the hollow rod 7 is passed through the seal bush 33. The vacuum suction head 6 is connected to the front end protruding forward from the seal bush 33 of the hollow rod 7. The air introduction port 32 of the hollow rod 7 is positioned so as to be blocked by the seal bush 33 at the front end of the compressed air tube 9 when the vacuum suction head 6 advances together with the hollow rod 7 toward the nut supply destination by a predetermined distance. ing. In this embodiment, the vacuum suction head 6 is 10 mm before the point where the nut is supplied and the air inlet 32 of the hollow rod 7 is closed by the seal bush 33.

<Others>
A double door 35 is provided in front of the supply head 3, and this door 35 is biased by a spring in the closing direction.

<Nut supply operation>
As shown in FIG. 2, when the air cylinder 8 moves the vacuum suction head 6 backward from the nut receiving position of the supply head 3, the nut N of the chute 2 falls to the nut receiving position. The compressed air of the air compressor is supplied to the compressed air pipe 9, and the vacuum suction head 6 is advanced together with the hollow rod 7 by the air cylinder 8. As a result, the nut N is fitted into the head main body 15 of the vacuum suction head 6 from the air suction port 17 side and is in a vacuum suction state.

  That is, the compressed air in the compressed air tube 9 is introduced from the air introduction port 32 of the hollow rod 7 into the air passage 31 of the hollow rod 7 and supplied from the hollow rod 7 to the nozzle 16 of the vacuum suction head 6. When this compressed air is ejected from the air ejection hole 26 of the nozzle 16 toward the air discharge port 18 side of the head body 15, negative air pressure acts on the air suction port 17, and the nut N is vacuum-adsorbed.

  The vacuum suction head 6 that vacuum-sucks the nut N pushes the door 35 of the supply head 3 forward and advances. As shown in FIG. 3, when the vacuum suction head 6 moves forward to just before the nut supply destination (on the workpiece W supported on the lower electrode 4), as shown in FIG. 32 is closed by the seal bush 33. Thereby, since the ejection of the compressed air from the nozzle 16 stops, no negative air pressure is generated at the air suction port 17 of the head main body 15, and the vacuum suction of the nut N is quickly released. Therefore, when the vacuum suction head 6 reaches the workpiece W, the nut N is immediately dropped from the head body 15 and fits into the pin 10 of the lower electrode 4.

  Although the said embodiment is a case which employ | adopted the nut N as an article | item, this invention is applicable also to the vacuum suction and supply of articles | goods other than a nut.

  For example, the vacuum suction head according to the present invention can also be applied to a workpiece transfer device for pressing and other transfer devices. In that case, the vacuum suction head according to the present invention is attached to the tip of the transfer hand or transfer rod.

  Further, for supplying / stopping the compressed air to the vacuum suction head, a solenoid valve may be used instead of the mechanical means that combines the hollow rod 7 and the seal bush 33 as in the above embodiment. For example, a solenoid valve that can be switched between a compressed air supply position and its supply stop position is provided in the air piping that supplies compressed air to the vacuum suction head, and the supply and stop of compressed air is electrically switched by this solenoid valve. Can be controlled.

1 Nut supply device (article supply device)
2 Chute (feeder)
3 Supply head 6 Vacuum suction head 7 Hollow rod 8 Air cylinder (drive device)
9 Compressed air pipe 15 Head body 16 Nozzle 17 Air suction port 18 Air discharge port 26 Air ejection port 31 Air passage 32 Air introduction port 33 Seal bush

Claims (3)

A cylindrical head body having an air suction port for vacuum-adsorbing an article at one end and an air discharge port at the other end;
A vacuum suction head, comprising: a nozzle that is connected to the head body and ejects compressed air toward the air discharge port so as to generate an air negative pressure at the air suction port. In claim 1,
The nozzle is rod-shaped and is arranged in the axial direction in the head body, and an air ejection hole for ejecting compressed air toward the air discharge port side is provided on a side wall of the nozzle. Vacuum suction head. An article supply apparatus comprising the vacuum suction head according to claim 1 or 2, wherein an article supplied from a feeder is sucked by the vacuum suction head and supplied to a predetermined position.
A compressed air pipe having a seal bush at the front end and supplied with compressed air inside;
A hollow rod having an air passage extending in the axial direction, inserted into the compressed air tube, and passed through the seal bush;
A drive device for advancing and retracting the hollow rod toward the predetermined position;
On the outer wall of the hollow rod, an air inlet for introducing the compressed air in the compressed air pipe into the air passage is opened,
In the vacuum suction head, the nozzle is connected to the front end of the hollow rod, and compressed air is supplied to the nozzle from an air passage of the hollow rod.
The article supply apparatus, wherein when the vacuum suction head advances together with the hollow rod toward the predetermined position by a predetermined distance, an air inlet of the hollow rod is closed by a seal bush at a front end of the compressed air pipe .

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