JP2013173587A - Device and method for feeding component - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a device and method for feeding components, capable of reducing contact between components without increasing complexity or size of the device or deteriorating a work environment.SOLUTION: A device for feeding components comprises: a robot 12 vertically movably, tiltably, and rotatably holding an end effector 11 having two scooping bars 25 disposed parallel to each other at a preset interval; a component box 13 having a storage chamber having an open upper part, wherein slits movably guiding the scooping bars above the storage chamber are formed in a bottom part and a wall part at a side opposite the end effector 11; a control part 15 executing the control for moving the scooping bars along the slits and scooping the stored components and the control for shaking and dropping the scooped components without being pinched between the scooping bars by rotating the scooping bars moved above the storage chamber; and a placing part 14 placing thereon the components scooped from the component box 13.

Description

  The present invention relates to a component supply apparatus and a component supply method.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a component supply device that supplies components in an aligned state to an automatic assembly device such as a robot is known. For example, Patent Document 1 describes a parts feeder (part supply device) that stores a large number of parts in a bowl unit and supplies the parts stored in the bowl unit in an aligned manner. This parts feeder stores a large number of parts in the bowl unit, applies vibration to the bowl unit in a state where the parts are stored, and the vibrationed parts go back up the machining groove provided on the inner wall side of the bowl unit. The parts are aligned.

  However, in the case of the configuration as in Patent Document 1, the components stored in the bowl unit are repeatedly brought into contact with each other when vibration is applied. As a result, there is a risk that the parts may have scratches or the like on the surface, or if the screw is a screw, the thread may be crushed. In this case, since vibration is applied to the bowl unit, the parts come into contact with the whole bowl unit, and there is a possibility that all the stored parts are stamped. Since vibration is continuously applied from when the part is stored in the bowl unit to when it is removed from the parts feeder, contact between the parts or between the part and the bow unit may occur repeatedly, and the parts may be stamped. Was even higher. In addition, it is necessary to provide a vibrator for vibrating the bowl unit, control to change the amount of vibration according to the amount of parts stored, or supply a plurality of parts. In some cases, it is necessary to provide a plurality of bowl units and to provide an anti-vibration mechanism so that vibrations are not transmitted between the bowl units. In addition, there is a problem that the bowl unit needs to be designed for each type of part, so the versatility is poor, and because the bowl unit needs to be maintained according to the usage time, etc., the running cost increases. there were. Furthermore, there is also a problem that noise generated from the vibrator is deteriorating the working environment.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 63-169407

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and its object is to provide a component supply device and a component that can reduce contact between components without causing complication of the device, an increase in size, or deterioration of a work environment. It is to provide a supply method.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the end effector having two scooping bars is held by the robot so as to be movable up and down, tiltable and rotatable. Then, by moving the two scooping bars from the lower side to the upper side while maintaining the horizontal state, the parts stored in the storage chamber are scooped while being sandwiched between the two scooping bars. Taken. The term “horizontal” as used herein includes a state in which the scooping bar and the bottom of the parts box are substantially horizontal. For example, in order to prevent the parts from spilling from the scooping bar, the tip side of the scooping bar is slightly upward. It may be in a state of being inclined to the angle. That is, the component stored in the component box is not vibrated both when it is stored and when it is scooped. Therefore, the contact between components can be reduced, and the risk that the components will be stamped can be reduced. In this case, there is no need to provide a vibrator as in Patent Document 1, so that the apparatus is not complicated and large, and no noise is generated when scooping up parts. There will be no deterioration.

  In addition, the component box is provided with a slit that guides the scooping bar from the bottom to the wall. Therefore, the two scooping bars move from the lower part to the upper part of the parts box through the parts box, more specifically through the storage chamber provided in the parts box. At this time, the two scooping bars are arranged in parallel with each other with a preset interval corresponding to the size of the part. For example, when a screw is assumed as a component, the two scooping bars are arranged at a distance narrower than the screw head and wider than the shaft portion. In this case, the screw is scooped in a state where the shaft portion is sandwiched between two scooping bars and the head is placed on the scooping bar, but the shaft portion is placed on the scooping bar, that is, the shaft There is also a possibility that the part is scooped out without being sandwiched between scooping bars. Therefore, after moving the scooping bar to the upper side of the storage chamber, the end effector, that is, scooping bar is rotated around the rotation axis of the arm part, so that the parts scooped up without being pinched between scooping bars can be simplified In short, parts that could not be scooped up at the correct position can be shaken off. As a result, it is possible to place only the parts that have been correctly scooped, in other words, parts that have been scooped up in a certain orientation.

  In the invention according to claim 2, the component box is formed with a mortar-shaped storage chamber in which the inner wall side of the wall portion is inclined toward the slit provided in the bottom portion. Therefore, the parts stored in the storage chamber are collected near the slit. In other words, by forming the storage chamber in a mortar shape, the parts are collected in the vicinity of the moving range of the scooping bar that is guided by the slits and moves. Thereby, the certainty of the scooping of components by a scooping bar can be improved. Also, by collecting the parts in the vicinity of the slit, it is possible to scoop up the parts to the last one. Furthermore, since the scooping bar is guided by the slit, the relative positional relationship between the scooping bar and the parts collected in the vicinity of the slit is always constant. Thereby, control according to the quantity of the components stored in the storage chamber becomes unnecessary, and the apparatus and control are not complicated.

  In the invention described in claim 3, a plurality of component boxes are provided in accordance with the types of components. For this reason, even when a plurality of types of components are placed, there is no need to replace them with another component box each time, and work efficiency can be improved. In addition, since there is no need to vibrate the component box as described above, even if a plurality of component boxes are provided, there is an influence from other component boxes when scooping up the components and placing them on the placement unit. There is nothing. Therefore, even when it is necessary to supply a plurality of types of components, a plurality of types of components can be supplied without requiring a complicated configuration such as the vibration isolation mechanism of Patent Document 1 described above. .

  In the invention according to claim 4, the two scooping bars are provided at positions deviated in the direction of gravity with respect to the rotation axis of the arm portion. Therefore, when the end effector is rotated to shake off the parts placed on the scooping bar, the centrifugal force acts on the parts so that the parts sandwiched between the scooping bars are not shaken off. Parts placed on the bar can be shaken off by rotation. In addition, for example, when the screw is picked up, even if the middle part of the shaft is pinched by the scooping bar, the head is in contact with the scooping bar due to the centrifugal force acting on the parts. The scooped parts can always be sandwiched between scooping bars in a constant state.

  In the invention according to claim 5, the end effector is composed of the fixed portion and the two movable portions to which the scooping bar can be moved relative to the fixed portion, and depending on the type of parts, Change the interval. As a result, even when different types of parts are scraped from a plurality of parts boxes as in the third aspect of the invention described above, the work of replacing the end effector becomes unnecessary, and work efficiency can be improved.

  In invention of Claim 6, while forming a scooping bar with an electroconductive material, the conduction | electrical_connection detection part which detects the conduction | electrical_connection between scooping bars is provided, and it is determined whether the part was scooped up based on the detection result by a conduction | electrical_connection detection part. judge. Thereby, for example, when scooping up a part formed of a conductive material such as metal, it is possible to determine whether or not the part has been scooped up by detecting conduction between scooping bars. Therefore, in a series of work steps from picking up a part to placing it, if scooping fails, scooping can be performed again, and work efficiency can be improved.

  According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, a scooping bar is formed of a conductive material, and a conduction detecting unit is provided for detecting conduction between scooping bars when the scooping bar is brought into contact with an inspection bar formed of a conductive material. Based on the detection result by the continuity detection unit, it is determined whether or not the two scooping bars are arranged in parallel. Therefore, for example, by determining whether or not the scooping bar is parallel before scooping out the parts, the possibility that scooping may fail due to the scooping bar not being parallel can be reduced.

  In the invention described in claim 8, a gravity chute is employed as the placement portion, and the parts are placed by inclining the scooping bar toward the placement portion. It is unclear at which position in the longitudinal direction of the scooping bar the parts scooped up by the scooping bar. That is, the position of the part on the scooping bar changes each time. Therefore, by adopting a gravity chute that can be moved and aligned by its own weight as the mounting part, the scooping bar is inclined toward the mounting part, so that the part is located on the scooping bar. However, the components can be placed on the placement portion in an aligned state.

  In the invention of the parts supply method according to claim 9, the scooping process of scooping up the parts stored in the parts box by moving two scooping bars in the parts box, and the scooping process between the scooping bars A swinging-down process of swinging off the parts scooped up without being pinched, and a mounting process of mounting the parts scooped up by the scooping bar without being shaken off in the swing-down process; Execute. That is, instead of acquiring and aligning parts by applying vibration as described in Patent Document 1 above, after scooping off parts while avoiding contact between parts in the scooping process, The parts that could not be picked up correctly are shaken off. Thereby, the contact between components can be reduced and a possibility that a stamp etc. may arise in components can be reduced.

The figure which shows typically the structure of the components supply apparatus by one Embodiment. Diagram showing the appearance of the robot The figure which expanded the III area | region of FIG. The figure which shows the appearance of the end effector typically The figure which shows the structure of the conduction | electrical_connection detection part typically Diagram showing the appearance of the parts box A diagram schematically showing the relationship between the size of slits, parts, and scoop bars The figure which shows the turntable which mounts the parts box typically The figure which shows the external appearance of a mounting part typically The figure which shows the structure of the part detection part of the gravity chute typically The figure which shows the appearance of the magazine which places the part typically Diagram showing the configuration of the magazine detection unit Diagram showing the flow of parts supply processing Figure 1 schematically showing the bar inspection process Figure 2 schematically showing the bar inspection process Figure 3 schematically showing the bar inspection process Diagram showing scooping process A diagram schematically showing the shake-off process A diagram schematically showing parts scooped up by a scooping bar Diagram showing part inspection process The figure which shows the components in other embodiment typically

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a component supply apparatus and a component supply method will be described with reference to FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 1, the component supply apparatus 10 includes a robot 12 that holds an end effector 11, a plurality of component boxes 13, a plurality of placement units 14, and a robot controller 15 as a control unit.

  In this embodiment, the robot 12 employs a so-called 6-axis vertical multi-rotation joint type and is controlled by a robot controller 15 as is well known. As shown in FIG. 2, the robot 12 includes a base portion 16, a shoulder portion 17, a first arm 18, a second arm 19, a third arm 20, and a fourth arm 21. The third arm 20 is generally also referred to as a wrist rotation axis (wrist rotation axis), and the fourth arm portion 21 is generally also referred to as a wrist bending axis. The base portion 16, the shoulder portion 17, and the first to fourth arms have rotary joints (not shown) at their respective connection portions, and are sequentially connected to each other to form a so-called robot arm. In the case of the robot 12, the base portion 16 is fixed to an installation surface such as a factory floor. The shoulder portion 17 is connected to the base portion 16 so as to be pivotable in the horizontal direction, and the first arm 18 is coupled to be pivotable in the vertical direction (vertical direction) in FIG. 19 is connected to be pivotable in the vertical direction on the distal end side of the first arm 18, and the third arm 20 is coupled to be rotatable on the axial direction of the second arm 19 on the distal end side of the second arm 19. The arm 21 is connected to the distal end side of the third arm 20 so as to be pivotable in the vertical direction around the third arm 20.

  The fourth arm 21 is provided with a flange 22 on the tip side. The flange 22 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape, and is connected to a rotation drive unit (not shown) provided in the fourth arm 21. The rotation drive unit includes a motor and a speed reducer (not shown), and a bearing member that rotatably supports the flange 22, and rotationally drives the flange 22 supported by the bearing member. At this time, the end effector 11 is also rotationally driven together with the flange 22. The fourth arm 21 corresponds to the arm portion described in the claims.

  The end effector 11 is attached to the flange 22. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the end effector 11 includes a fixing portion 23 fixed to the flange 22, two moving portions 24 that can move relative to the fixing portion 23 in the horizontal direction, and each moving portion. 24 includes a scooping bar 25 and a gripping bar 26, respectively. The two moving parts 24 are configured to be able to change the distance between them as shown in FIG. 4 (A) and in a state where they are close to each other and as shown in FIG. 4 (B). ing. Therefore, the space between the scooping bar 25 and the gripping bar 26 provided in each moving part 24 can also be changed.

  The scooping bars 25 are provided in parallel to each other with a predetermined interval in accordance with the type of the target component, particularly the size and shape of the component. The scooping bar 25 can change the interval by moving the moving unit 24 as described above, but before the scooping process (see FIG. 13) described later, depending on the type of the target component. Are arranged with a predetermined interval. As shown in FIG. 3, the scooping bar 25 is located below the rotational axis Lc of the fourth arm 21 in the drawing, that is, below the rotational axis Lc in the gravitational direction. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the scooping bar 25 is provided at a position eccentric to the radially outer side with respect to the center point O that is the center of the fourth arm 21. Further, each scooping bar 25 is configured to be positioned below the rotational axis Lc of the fourth arm 21 along the direction of gravity even when the interval is changed.

  The scooping bar 25 is formed of a conductive material such as metal, for example, and is connected to the conduction detecting unit 27 as shown in FIG. One side of the scooping bar 25 is connected to a DC + 24V power source via a fuse 28, and the other side is connected to a photocoupler 30 via an input resistor 29. Therefore, when the scooping bars 25 are short-circuited by, for example, a metal object (part or inspection bar 60 described later), the scoring bars 25 are connected to the robot controller 15 from the conduction detecting unit 27. The signal shown is output. For this reason, the robot controller 15 can determine whether or not the scooping bars 25 are conducting based on a signal output from the conduction detecting unit 27. The configuration of the continuity detection unit 27 shown in FIG. 5 is an example, and other configurations may be adopted as long as continuity between the scooping bars 25 can be detected.

  As shown in FIGS. 6A to 6C, the component box 13 includes a bottom portion 31, a front wall portion 32 that surrounds the bottom portion 31, a side wall portion 33, and a rear wall portion 34. The front wall portion 32, the side wall portion 33, and the rear wall portion 34 correspond to the wall portions described in the claims. 6A is a plan view of the component box 13, FIG. 6B is a front view, and FIG. 6C is a side view. The component box 13 is provided with two slits 36 that continue from the bottom 31 to the top of the front wall 32 (in the case of the present embodiment, the cut portion 35 provided in the front wall 32). In the case of the present embodiment, the front wall portion 32 corresponds to the “wall portion on the side facing the end effector” recited in the claims. As shown in FIG. 6B, the side wall 33 is inclined toward the slit 36 in which the inner wall 33 a on the storage chamber 37 side formed by the bottom 31 and each wall is provided on the bottom 31. Further, as shown in FIG. 6C, the rear wall portion 34 is also inclined toward the slit 36 provided in the bottom portion 31 with the inner wall 34 a on the storage chamber 37 side. For this reason, the storage chamber 37 is formed in a tapered mortar shape toward the slit 36 provided in the bottom 31.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the slit 36 has a width W1 larger than the diameter φd of the scooping bar 25 and smaller than the diameter φD of the shaft portion of the screw 38 when a screw 38 is assumed as a part. Has been. Therefore, the relationship among the diameter φD of the shaft portion of the screw 38, the width W1 of the slit 36, and the diameter φd of the scooping bar 25 is φD> W1> φd. At this time, the interval W2 between the slits 36 is set in accordance with the size in which the scooping bar 25 can be inserted, that is, the type of component, in addition to the spacing W3 of the scooping bar 25. The space W2 between the scooping bars 25 is set smaller than the width W4 of the head of the screw 38 and larger than the diameter φD of the shaft portion. Further, the width W5 of the bottom 31 is set to be less than twice the width W4 of the head so that the two screws 38 are not arranged side by side.

  As shown in FIG. 1, eight component boxes 13 are provided on the index table 40. These eight component boxes 13 may store different types of components, or may store the same components. As shown in FIG. 8, a motor 41 and a speed reducer 42 are provided below the index table 40, and the index table 40 is rotated together with the component box 13. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 1, any one of the eight parts boxes 13 is arranged at a position facing the robot 12, that is, the end effector 11. In other words, in the present embodiment, the robot 12 and the parts box 13 are configured to always have a certain positional relationship.

  The mounting portion 14 is a so-called gravity chute in which two alignment rails 43 arranged in parallel as shown in FIG. 9A are installed in an inclined state as shown in FIG. 9B. 9A and 9B, when the component, for example, the screw 38 is inserted from the scooping bar 25, the component moves downward (to the left in the drawing) under its own weight and is aligned. Aligned by rails 43. Then, the components are taken out one by one from the left end side of the placement portion 14. The inclination of the mounting portion 14 depends on the type of component by the height adjusting portion 44 shown in FIG. 9B and the elongated hole 45 into which the upper end of the height adjusting portion 44 shown in FIG. 9C is inserted. It can be adjusted accordingly. For example, when the component is relatively light, the inclination of the mounting portion 14 is set to be large, and when the component is relatively heavy, the inclination is set to be small.

  Moreover, the mounting part 14 is provided with the mounting detection part 46 and the full load detection part 47, as shown in FIG. The placement detection unit 46 has the same configuration as the conduction detection unit 27 described above. When the electrode 46a and the electrode 46b on the left end side of the alignment rail 43 illustrated in FIG. 9A are short-circuited, A signal indicating that is output to the robot controller 15. On the other hand, when the right end electrode 47a and the electrode 47b of the alignment rail 43 shown in FIG. 9A are short-circuited, the full load detection unit 47 outputs a signal indicating that to the robot controller 15. Then, the robot controller 15 controls the acquisition of the component and the mounting of the acquired component on the mounting unit 14 as described later, based on the signals output from the mounting detection unit 46 and the full load detection unit 47. The placement unit 14 is also provided with a pressing plate 48 for pressing components moving on the alignment rail 43.

  The robot 12 according to the present embodiment has a function of attaching the supplied component to the workpiece in addition to the function as the component supply device 10 for supplying the component. Specifically, the robot 12 has a function of inserting a part into the hole 51 of the magazine 50 as shown in FIG. This function is an example of attaching a part to a work, and may be a function of screwing the work, for example. The magazine 50 is provided with a contact 52 formed of a conductive material. When the magazine 50 is inserted in the magazine rack 53, the contact 52 and the terminal portion 54 of the magazine rack 53 come into contact with each other. As shown in FIG. 11B, the terminal portion 54 has two electrodes 54a and 54b at positions corresponding to the contacts 52. When the contacts 52 come into contact with each other, there is a gap between the electrodes 54a and 54b. Shorted. Four terminal portions 54 are provided on the magazine rack 53 side, and four magazine detection portions 55 are provided corresponding to the respective terminal portions 54 as shown in FIG. Each magazine detection unit 55 has the same configuration as the above-described conduction detection unit 27, and outputs a signal indicating that when the electrodes are short-circuited. That is, a 4-bit signal is output to the robot controller 15.

  The contact 52 is provided at a different position corresponding to the terminal portion 54 of the magazine rack 53 according to the type of the magazine 50. Therefore, the robot controller 15 can identify up to 4 bits, that is, 16 types based on the output signal. Since at least one contact 52 is required to detect that the magazine 50 is installed by the contact 52, the number of types of the identifiable magazine 50 is, for example, 15 types at the maximum.

Next, the operation of the component supply apparatus 10 and the component supply method described above will be described.
The robot controller 15 of the component supply apparatus 10 executes the component supply process shown in FIG. The robot controller 15 first executes a bar inspection process (step S1). In this bar inspection process, the parallelism of the scooping bars 25, that is, whether or not the scooping bars 25 are arranged in parallel to each other is inspected. The robot controller 15 brings the scooping bars 25 close to the inspection bar 60 made of a conductive material as shown in FIG. 14, and then narrows the interval between the scooping bars 25 as shown in FIG. At this time, the robot controller 15 narrows the interval between the scooping bars 25 to a position where it should come into contact with the scooping bars 25 so as to be symmetric about the inspection bar 60. For this reason, when the scooping bars 25 are not parallel, even if one scooping bar 25 contacts the inspection bar 60, the other scooping bar 25 does not contact the inspection bar 60, so that the scooping bars 25 are short-circuited. There is no. That is, when the scooping bars 25 are not parallel, that is, when the interval between the scooping bars 25 is not set correctly, the conduction detection unit 27 does not detect the conduction between the scooping bars 25. Therefore, the robot controller 15 determines that the scooping bar 25 is not parallel when it does not detect continuity even if the spacing of the scooping bar 25 is narrowed to a position where it should contact the scooping bar 25. On the other hand, when the robot controller 15 detects continuity, the robot controller 15 determines that the scooping bar 25 is parallel.

  In addition, the robot controller 15 also inspects the irregularity of the end of the scooping bar 25 in this bar inspection process. Even if continuity can be confirmed in the inspection shown in FIG. 15, there is a possibility that the components cannot be scooped up correctly if the tips are not aligned. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 16, the robot controller 15 rotates the end effector 11 by 90 degrees from the normal position (see FIGS. 3 and 4), and from the side of the inspection bar 60 (right side or left side). ) By contacting the scooping bar 25 with the inspection bar 60, the degree of unevenness of the tip is inspected.

  When the ends of the scooping bar 25 are aligned, when the end effector 11 is moved to a position where the scooping bar 25 should contact the inspection bar 60, as shown in FIG. Simultaneously contact the inspection bar 60. At this time, since the scooping bars 25 are short-circuited, the continuity detection unit 27 detects continuity. Therefore, when conduction is detected, it can be determined that the ends of the scooping bar 25 are aligned. On the other hand, when the end of the scooping bar 25 is not uniform, the end effector 11 is moved to a position where the scooping bar 25 should contact the inspection bar 60 as shown in FIG. Even if it is made, any scooping bar 25 does not contact the inspection bar 60. In this case, the continuity detection unit 27 does not detect continuity because the short bars 25 are not short-circuited. Therefore, when the continuity is not detected, it can be determined that the ends of the scooping bar 25 are uneven.

  In this way, the robot controller 15 first checks the parallelism and unevenness of the scooping bar 25, and if the scooping bar 25 is not parallel or the tips are uneven, for example, this is indicated to the operator. By notifying, confirmation of the end effector 11 is urged. In addition, the bar inspection process is executed at the start of the first work of the day, executed when the type of part is changed, or executed every time a scooping process described later is performed, etc. It may be executed as appropriate.

Hereinafter, the case where the screw 38 is assumed as a component will be described. At this time, it is assumed that the screw 38 is not placed on the placement portion 14.
If the robot controller 15 determines that the screw 38 is not placed based on the detection result by the placement detector 46, the robot controller 15 executes a scooping process (step S2). In this scooping process, as shown in FIG. 17A, the end effector 11 is moved upward while the scooping bar 25 is kept substantially horizontal with respect to the bottom 31 of the component box 13. At this time, the scooping bar 25 moves in the storage chamber 37 while being guided by the slit 36 as shown in FIG. 17B, and scoops up the screw 38 stored in the storage chamber 37. Thereby, the screw 38 stored in the storage chamber 37 can be scooped out without being exposed to excessive vibration and in a state in which the possibility that the screws 38 are in contact with each other is reduced.

  Now, when the screw 38 is scooped with the scooping bar 25, it is assumed that the shaft portion of the screw 38 is scooped while being pinched between the scooping bars 25. However, since a large number of screws 38 are stored in the component box 13, the screws 38 are placed on the scooping bar 25 without being sandwiched by the scooping bar 25 as shown in FIG. There is a possibility of being crawled.

  Therefore, the robot controller 15 executes a shake-off process after the scooping process (step S3). In this swing-off process, the robot controller 15 rotates the end effector 11 by 90 degrees clockwise and counterclockwise. In addition, you may rotate only in any one. As a result, as shown in FIG. 18B or 18C, the screw 38 placed on the scooping bar 25 falls downward, that is, into the storage chamber 37 by gravity. On the other hand, the screw 38 sandwiched between the scooping bars 25 is pressed against the scooping bars 25 by the centrifugal force. As a result, as shown in FIG. 18D, only the screw 38 sandwiched between the scooping bars 25 remains. As a result, the screw 38 that has not been properly scooped (not sandwiched between scooping bars 25) is shaken off from scooping bar 25 and is correctly scooped (sandwiched between scooping bars 25). For example, the screw 38 scooped up with the head slightly lifted is pressed against the scooping bar 25 and moved to the correct position. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 19, the screw 38 is correctly sandwiched between the scooping bars 25 (in the case of the screw 38, the shaft portion is located between the scooping bars 25 and the head is in contact with the scooping bar 25. For example, it is possible to prevent the screw 38 from falling to the floor while moving from the box to the placement unit 14.

  Thereafter, the robot controller 15 confirms the continuity between the scooping bars 25 by the continuity detecting unit 27 and determines whether or not the screw 38 has been scooped up. At this time, if it is determined that the screw 38 has not been scooped, the scooping process is executed again. Here, the confirmation of the continuity by the continuity detection unit 27 is performed after the shake-off process in consideration of the possibility that the scooped screw 38 is shaken off in the shake-off process.

  When it is confirmed that the parts have been picked up, the robot controller 15 executes a placement process (step S4). In this placing step, the screw 38 is thrown into the placing portion 14 by tilting the scooping bar 25 toward the placing portion 14 as shown in FIGS. The inserted screw 38 moves to the left in the drawing by its own weight along the alignment rail 43 of the mounting portion 14. As a result, as will be described later, the screws 38 can be gripped one by one by the gripping bar 26 of the end effector 11. Then, the robot controller 15 determines whether or not the screw 38 is fully loaded (step S5). If the screw is not fully loaded (S5: NO), the processes of steps S2 to S4 are repeated until the screw 38 is fully loaded. And when it is fully loaded (S5: YES), a component inspection process is performed (step S6).

  In this component inspection process, the robot controller 15 first acquires one screw 38 from the placement unit 14. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 20A, the robot controller 15 grips the head of the screw 38 with the grip bar 26 provided on the end effector 11. Subsequently, the robot controller 15 holds the screw 38 as shown in FIG. 20B, and until the shaft portion of the screw 38 abuts against the pressing table 61 as shown in FIG. 11 is moved. Whether or not the coordinates at which the end effector 11 is stopped are within a predetermined position, more specifically, whether the coordinates are within a range that includes a tolerance set in advance according to the length of the reference shaft portion. Based on whether or not, the length of the shaft portion of the screw 38 (so-called neck length) is inspected. For example, if the shaft portion is longer than the reference, the end effector 11 stops before reaching the predetermined position, and if the shaft portion is shorter than the reference, the end effector 11 moves beyond the predetermined position. Whether or not is appropriate. In addition, the part determined to be defective in the part inspection process is placed, for example, in the foreign material place 62 (see FIG. 1).

  When the component inspection process is completed, the robot controller 15 executes an assembly process (step S7). In this assembly process, as described above, the screw 38 is inserted into the hole 51 of the magazine 50 installed in the magazine rack 53. Then, when the screws 38 are inserted into all the holes 51, the component supply process is terminated.

  In this way, the component supply apparatus 10 places the component picked up from the component box 13 on the mounting unit 14, thereby reducing the risk of scratching the component, such as engraving. In the case of the embodiment, the parts are supplied in such a manner that the parts can be obtained one by one in the parts inspection step and the assembly step).

According to the component supply apparatus 10 and the component supply method described above, the following effects can be obtained.
The component supply device 10 is attached to the robot 12 so that the end effector 11 having the two scooping bars 25 can be moved up and down, tilted, and rotatable, and the two scooping bars 25 are kept in a horizontal state. By moving from the lower side of 37 to the upper side, the parts stored in the storage chamber 37 are scooped up. For this reason, the components stored in the component box 13 are not subjected to vibration both when stored and when scooped. As a result, the contact between components can be reduced, and the risk of engraving on the components can be reduced.

In this case, since parts are scooped up, there is no need to vibrate the parts box 13. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a vibrator or the like, and the apparatus is not complicated or enlarged. In addition, since no noise or vibration is generated, the work environment is not deteriorated.
The component box 13 of the component supply apparatus 10 is provided with a slit 36 that movably guides the scooping bar 25 from the bottom 31 to the wall, and the two scooping bars 25 are provided in the component box 13. It moves from the lower part to the upper part of the parts box 13 through the storage chamber 37. Thereby, the screw 38 as a part can be scooped in a state where the shaft portion is sandwiched between the two scooping bars 25 and the head is placed on the scooping bar 25.

  The slit 36 needs to have its width W1 and interval W2 set according to the type of part, for example, when the part is a screw 38, the diameter of the shaft part is the same even if the length of the shaft part is different. If you can share it. Therefore, the component box 13 can be made common to a plurality of types of components, and versatility can be improved. Further, since the slit 36 itself is a simple groove, it can be easily processed, and the processing cost can be reduced.

  The screw 38 as a part may be scooped in a state where the shaft portion is placed on the scooping bar 25, that is, in a state where the shaft portion is not sandwiched by the scooping bar 25, but the scooping bar 25 is placed above the storage chamber 37. The end effector 11 is rotated about the axis of rotation of the arm part after being moved to the position, so that it is picked up without being sandwiched between the scooping bars 25, more simply picking up at the correct position. The parts that could not be shaken off. Thereby, only the components sandwiched between the scooping bars 25, in other words, the components scooped up in a certain direction can be mounted on the mounting portion 14.

  The storage chamber 37 is formed in a tapered mortar shape toward the slit 36 provided in the bottom 31. Therefore, the parts stored in the storage chamber 37 are collected in the vicinity of the slit 36, that is, in the vicinity of the moving range of the scooping bar 25. Thereby, the certainty of scooping of parts when the scooping bar 25 is moved can be improved. Further, by collecting the parts in the vicinity of the slit 36, the parts can be scooped up to the last one.

  In this case, since the scooping bar 25 is guided by the slit 36, the relative positional relationship between the scooping bar 25 and the parts collected in the vicinity of the slit 36 is always constant. Thereby, the control according to the quantity of the components stored in the storage chamber 37 becomes unnecessary, and the apparatus and the control are not complicated.

  Since a plurality of component boxes 13 are provided in accordance with the types of components used in the post-process, there is no need to replace the component boxes 13 when using a plurality of types of components, and work efficiency can be improved. . In this case, since it is not necessary to vibrate the component box 13 as described above, even if a plurality of component boxes 13 are provided, other component boxes are used when scooping up the components and when placing them on the placement unit 14. No influence from 13 will occur. Therefore, even when a plurality of types of components are supplied, a plurality of types of components can be supplied without complicating the apparatus.

  Further, by providing the component box 13 on the index table 40, one component box 13 is always arranged at a position facing the robot 12. Although the operation of the robot 12 is set by so-called teaching, since the positional relationship with the component box 13 is always constant, teaching for the scooping process needs to be performed only once. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the load of preparation work.

  The two scooping bars 25 are provided at positions eccentric in the direction of gravity with respect to the rotation axis Lc of the arm portion. Therefore, when the end effector 11 is rotated to shake off the parts placed on the scooping bar 25, the parts sandwiched between the scooping bars 25 are not shaken off due to the centrifugal force acting on the parts. On the other hand, the components placed on the scooping bar 25 can be shaken off by rotation. Further, for example, even when the screw 38 is scooped up, even if it is in a state where the middle part of the shaft is sandwiched by the scooping bar 25, it is moved to a state where the head contacts the scooping bar 25 by centrifugal force. The scooped parts can always be sandwiched between scooping bars 25 in a constant state.

Since the component supply device 10 changes the interval between the scooping bars 25 according to the type of the component, even when scooping out different types of components from the plurality of component boxes 13, work such as replacing the end effector 11 is performed. It becomes unnecessary, and work efficiency can be improved.
Since the scooping bar 25 is formed of a conductive material, for example, when scooping a part formed of a conductive material such as metal, the scooping bar 25 is electrically connected, so it is confirmed whether or not the part has been scooped up. It can be determined by doing. In this case, by making a determination after the scooping process, if scooping fails, the scooping process is executed again, so that the placing process is executed meaninglessly even though the parts are not picked up. This can be suppressed and work efficiency can be improved.

Since the parallelism and unevenness of the scooping bar 25 are determined before the scooping process, it is possible to reduce the possibility that scooping will fail because the scooping bar 25 is not parallel.
Since a gravity chute is employed as the mounting portion 14, the component is moved and placed by its own weight by inclining the scooping bar 25 toward the mounting portion 14. Thus, by tilting the scooping bar 25 toward the mounting unit 14, the component can be placed on the mounting unit 14 in an aligned state regardless of the position of the component on the scooping bar 25. become.
By adopting the parts supply method that performs the scooping process and the shake-off process, it is possible to acquire parts without applying vibration to the parts, so that contact between parts is reduced and parts are stamped. The fear can be reduced.

(Other embodiments)
The present invention is not limited to the one exemplified in the embodiment, and can be modified or expanded as follows, for example.

  In one embodiment, the screw 38 is targeted as a part, but another part may be used. For example, in the case of a sems screw 70 as shown in FIG. 21 (A), when the parts are repeatedly contacted, the washer meshes, and therefore, it is difficult to supply with the vibration type parts feeder as in Patent Document 1. There is. However, if the component supply device 10 and the component supply method of the present invention are employed, even if the structure is the Sems screw 70, the components are mounted on the mounting portion 14 without being engaged with each other. be able to. Further, even for a spherical component 71 as shown in FIG. 21B or an elliptical component 72 as shown in FIG. 21C, the component supply apparatus 10 and the component supply method of the present invention can be employed. For example, it can be supplied without causing a dent due to collision between parts.

The number of component boxes 13 and placement parts 14 is not limited to that shown in the embodiment.
In the case of targeting a non-conductive component, a configuration may be adopted in which a proximity sensor or the like is provided to determine whether or not the component has been scooped up.
The parts box 13 of one embodiment employs a shape in which the upper part of the storage chamber 37 is fully open. In order to prevent the entry of parts from the adjacent parts box 13 in the case of dust or a shake-off process, etc. A lid may be provided on the top. In this case, if the end effector 11 is moved to the notch 35 (see FIG. 6B) of the component box 13 and the swing-off process is performed, the end effector 11 is pulled out to the near side (robot 12 side). Good. In other words, the parts box 13 does not have to have a shape in which the upper part, that is, the upper part of the storage chamber is completely opened, and may have a shape that has a size that can be partially closed or that allows the scooping bar 25 to be taken in and out. .

The parts box 13 installed on the index table 40 is configured so that the type can be identified in the same manner as the magazine 50, and the parts box 13 storing necessary parts based on the identification result is arranged at a position facing the robot 12. It is good also as composition to do.
In the embodiment, the interval between the scooping bars 25 can be changed, but it is needless to say that a plurality of end effectors 11 may be replaced.

  In the drawings, 10 is a parts supply device, 11 is an end effector, 12 is a robot, 13 is a parts box, 14 is a placement unit, 15 is a robot controller, 23 is a fixed unit, 24 is a moving unit, 25 is a scooping bar, 27 Is a continuity detection part, 31 is a bottom part, 32 is a front wall part (wall part), 33 is a side wall part (wall part), 33a is an inner wall, 34 is a rear wall part (wall part), 34a is an inner wall, 36 is a slit, Reference numeral 37 denotes a storage chamber, and 60 denotes an inspection bar.

Claims (9)

A component supply device that supplies components to be attached to a workpiece in an aligned state,
There is an arm portion for holding the end effector having two scooping bars arranged in parallel with each other at a predetermined interval according to the size of the component so as to be movable up and down, tiltable and rotatable. With robots,
A storage chamber formed by a bottom portion and a wall portion surrounding the bottom portion and having an upper opening; and the two scooping bars on the bottom portion and the wall portion facing the end effector from below the bottom portion. A parts box in which two slits are formed to guide the storage chamber so as to be movable up through the storage chamber;
Control for scooping out the parts stored in the storage chamber by moving the two scooping bars along the slit while keeping the two scooping bars horizontal with respect to the bottom of the parts box. And a control for rotating the scooping bar that has been moved above the storage chamber together with the end effector about the rotation axis of the arm unit to shake down the parts scooped up without being sandwiched between the scooping bars. A control unit to execute;
A placement unit for placing the parts picked up by the scooping bar from the parts box;
A component supply apparatus comprising:   In the component box, an inner wall of the wall portion on the storage chamber side is inclined toward the slit provided in the bottom portion, and the mortar-shaped storage chamber tapered toward the bottom portion is formed. The component supply device according to claim 1, wherein:   The component supply apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the component boxes are provided according to a type of the component.   The two scooping bars of the end effector are provided at positions eccentric in the gravitational direction with respect to the rotation axis of the arm portion. Parts supply equipment. The end effector has a fixed portion fixed to the arm portion, and two moving portions that can move relative to the fixed portion and to which the scooping bar is attached, respectively.
The control unit further executes control for changing the interval between the two scooping bars by moving the moving unit relative to the fixed unit in accordance with the type of the part scooped from the storage chamber. The component supply device according to claim 1, wherein the component supply device is a component supply device. The two scooping bars are each made of a conductive material,
A continuity detecting unit for detecting continuity between the two scooping bars;
The component supply device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit determines whether or not the component has been scooped based on a detection result by the conduction detection unit. The two scooping bars are each made of a conductive material,
An inspection bar formed of a conductive material and short-circuiting between the scooping bars when in contact with the scooping bars;
A continuity detecting unit for detecting continuity between the two scooping bars;
The said control part determines whether two said scooping bars are arrange | positioned in parallel based on the detection result by the said conduction | electrical_connection detection part, The any one of Claim 1 to 6 characterized by the above-mentioned. Parts supply equipment. The mounting portion is a gravity chute in which the mounted component moves by its own weight,
The said control part performs the control which inclines the said scooping bar toward the said mounting part, and mounts the said part, The component supply apparatus as described in any one of Claim 1 to 7 characterized by the above-mentioned. Two scooping bars arranged in parallel with each other at a predetermined interval according to the size of the parts are moved in the parts box, and the parts stored in the parts box are moved between the scooping bars. The scooping process to scoop up and pinch,
In the scooping step, the sprinkling step of sprinkling off the parts scooped up by the scooping bar without being sandwiched between the two scooping bars by rotating the scooping bar;
A placement step of placing the parts picked up by the scooping bar without being shaken off in the shake-off step on the placement portion;
The component supply method characterized by performing.

Images