JP2016094274A - O-ring alignment and transport device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an alignment and transport device having a new mechanism capable of being aligned while releasing the entangles of many O-rings but needing no loosening of many O-rings by a hand work.SOLUTION: An O-ring alignment and transport device comprises: a transportation screw 5 enabled to rotate integrally with a sun gear 1 connected to a drive shaft 61 and having an O-ring suspended in a helical groove 51 formed in the outer circumference; a gear mechanism 11 having a planetary gear 2 assembled between the sun gear 1 and an internal tooth gear 3 coaxially arranged; and an entangle releasing mechanism 12, in which an eccentric bar 4 eccentrically attached to the planetary gear 2 is opposed to the base end part of the transportation screw 5. The transportation is performed by loosening the entangle of the O-ring suspended between the eccentric bar 4 and the outer circumference of the transportation screw 5 while the eccentric bar 4 is eccentrically revolving the outer circumference of the transportation screw 5.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1A

Description

  The present invention relates to an apparatus for conveying an O-ring of a soft material in an aligned state while releasing the entanglement of the O-ring.

  Rubber O-rings, which are soft materials, are received in a state where they are intertwined and in close contact with each other because of their strong adhesion. For this reason, when it is desired to continuously convey the O-ring as one of the parts supplied to the production assembly line, it is usually necessary to manually remove the entanglement and then set the O-ring on the conveying device. The conveying device includes, for example, a screw-type feeding means and the like, advances while maintaining a set state with the rotation of the screw, and is sent out to an assembling place.

  Patent Document 1 proposes an apparatus in which an O-ring separation mechanism is added to a transport apparatus. In this device, an upper guide roller arranged in parallel above the feed screw rotates in synchronization with the feed screw, so that the O-rings are separated one by one and fitted into the screw groove, and the lower guide is arranged in parallel below. A plurality of guide rollers of the rod apply tension to the O-ring, and the O-rings are separated from each other back and forth to loosen the jam. In addition, a tapered portion whose opening gradually narrows is provided at the inlet of the upper guide roller in contact with the feed screw, and is aligned while feeding an O-ring into the tapered portion.

JP-A-8-187624

  However, the device of Patent Document 1 has an O-ring alignment function in the taper portion of the inlet, and when entering a narrow portion from a wide portion of the opening, a plurality of O-rings are narrowed. Easy to concentrate. For this reason, it may enter into a lump, and the O-ring is likely to be caught. In order to avoid this, it is necessary to limit the number of O-rings to be supplied or to perform manual unwinding work to some extent, which is not efficient. In addition, the expansion / contraction is performed only by the difference between the outer diameter of the guide roller and the outer diameter of the shaft. For this reason, when transferring from the shaft to the guide roller, there is a possibility that it will be caught by a step and stopped.

  Therefore, the object of the present invention is to eliminate the need for manual untangling of the O-ring, and to align and release many O-rings without causing the O-ring to be caught or stopped. Another object is to provide an O-ring aligning / conveying device that is equipped with a new mechanism that enables efficient conveyance.

The O-ring aligning and conveying apparatus according to claim 1 of the present invention is
A gear mechanism comprising a sun gear coupled to a drive shaft extending in the horizontal direction, an internal gear concentrically arranged with the sun gear, and a planetary gear that revolves while rotating while being incorporated between the two gears;
A conveying screw that is coaxially attached to the sun gear and rotates integrally, and a plurality of O-rings are suspended in a spiral groove formed on the outer periphery, and are sent in the axial direction.
An eccentric bar attached eccentrically to the planetary gear is arranged in parallel with the base end portion of the conveying screw, and a plurality of O-rings are bridged between the eccentric bar and the outer periphery of the base end portion of the conveying screw. A tangling release mechanism that separates a plurality of O-rings while the bar revolves around the outer periphery of the conveying screw while rotating eccentrically.

  In the device according to claim 2 of the present invention, the eccentric bar has a base fixed to the center of the front end surface of the planetary gear, and bends outward from the base to extend parallel to the rotation axis of the planetary gear. It consists of a bar-shaped bar body.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, a locking portion having a diameter larger than that of the bar main body is provided at the tip of the eccentric bar.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a guide bar arranged in parallel with a distance above the tip of the conveying screw.

  In the apparatus according to claim 5 of the present invention, the maximum distance between the outer diameter of the eccentric bar and the conveying screw is set larger than the inner diameter of the O-ring, and the minimum distance is set smaller than the inner diameter of the O-ring.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the width of the spiral groove of the conveying screw is smaller than twice the width of the O-ring, and the depth of the spiral groove is set to a value smaller than the thickness of the O-ring. .

  The O-ring aligning / conveying device of the present invention is attached to the sun gear of the gear mechanism with a conveying screw that sends out the O-ring, and the planetary gear of the gear mechanism is attached with an eccentric bar that revolves around the base end of the conveying screw, Configure the entanglement release mechanism. When an entangled O-ring is set so as to cover the two shafts of the entanglement release mechanism, the eccentric bar that revolves while rotating around the rotating conveying screw moves around the inner circumference of the O-ring in an irregular orbit. The O-ring extends or relaxes in the vertical direction or the horizontal direction, and the entanglement gradually loosens. The entangled O-ring is sequentially pulled out from the tip of the eccentric bar, transferred to the conveying screw, and smoothly fed in the axial direction in an aligned state.

  Accordingly, since the entanglement of a large number of O-rings can be released and aligned and transported, manual entanglement and untangling work is not necessary, and there is a risk of O-ring catching or stopping of the apparatus as in the conventional apparatus. Absent. Therefore, O-rings can be aligned and conveyed at a high rate, and productivity can be greatly improved.

It is a side view which shows the whole structure of the O-ring alignment conveyance apparatus of 1st Embodiment. It is a front view of the O-ring aligning and conveying apparatus showing the operation of each part of the gear mechanism and the entanglement releasing mechanism. It is a principal part front view for demonstrating operation | movement of the eccentric bar of a tangle release mechanism. It is a principal part front view for demonstrating operation | movement of the eccentric bar of a tangle release mechanism. It is a schematic diagram which shows the change (1-4 rotations) of the eccentric position of an eccentric bar. It is a schematic diagram which shows the change (5-8 rotations) of the eccentric position of an eccentric bar. It is a schematic diagram which shows the change (9-12 rotations) of the eccentric position of an eccentric bar. It is a schematic diagram which shows the change (13-16 rotations) of the eccentric position of an eccentric bar. It is a typical figure showing change (17-20 rotations) of an eccentric position of an eccentric bar. It is a schematic diagram which shows the change (1-20 rotations) of the eccentric position of an eccentric bar. It is a partial expanded side view of the front-end | tip part vicinity of the eccentric bar which comprises a entanglement cancellation | release mechanism. It is a schematic diagram which shows the side view for demonstrating the action | operation of an O-ring alignment conveyance apparatus, and the position (start position) of a sun gear and an eccentric bar. It is a schematic diagram which shows the position (1/4 rotation) of the side view for demonstrating the action | operation of an O-ring alignment conveyance apparatus, a sun gear, and an eccentric bar. It is a schematic diagram which shows the side view for demonstrating the action | operation of an O-ring alignment conveyance apparatus, and the position (1/2 rotation) of a sun gear and an eccentric bar. It is a side view for demonstrating the action | operation of an O-ring alignment conveyance apparatus, and a schematic diagram which shows the position (3/4 rotation) of a sun gear and an eccentric bar. It is a schematic diagram which shows the side view for demonstrating the action | operation of an O-ring alignment conveyance apparatus, and the position (one rotation) of a sun gear and an eccentric bar. It is a schematic diagram which shows the position (5/4 rotation) of the side view for demonstrating the action | operation of an O-ring alignment conveyance apparatus, a sun gear, and an eccentric bar. It is a schematic diagram which shows the side view for demonstrating the action | operation of an O-ring alignment conveyance apparatus, and the position (3/2 rotation) of a sun gear and an eccentric bar. It is a side view for demonstrating the action | operation of an O-ring alignment conveyance apparatus, and a schematic diagram which shows the position (7/4 rotation) of a sun gear and an eccentric bar.

  Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1A shows an overall schematic configuration of an O-ring aligning / conveying device 10 of the present embodiment, and includes a sun gear 1 and an internal gear 3 arranged concentrically and a gear mechanism 11 including a planetary gear 2 incorporated between both gears. An entanglement release mechanism 12 composed of a feed screw 13 provided integrally with the sun gear 1 and an eccentric bar 4 provided integrally with the planetary gear 2 so as to face the base end of the transport screw 5; A motor 6 serving as a driving source is arranged on a base 14, and a large number of O-rings are sent out while being separated and aligned. The O-ring is made of a soft elastic material such as a rubber material, and is supplied to the manufacturing process of various products by the alignment conveyance device 10.

  The gear mechanism 11 fixes a bottomed cylindrical gear case 31 whose axial direction is a horizontal direction to one side surface of a support stand 15 erected on a base 14, and an internal gear 3 on an inner peripheral surface thereof. Is forming. The sun gear 1 is accommodated concentrically inside the internal gear 3 and is connected to a drive shaft 61 of the motor 6 fixed to the other side surface of the support stand 15. The planetary gear 2 is incorporated between the internal gear 3 and the sun gear 1 and is set to rotate while meshing with each other. A transport screw 5 having a spiral groove 51 on the outer periphery of the shaft extending in the horizontal direction is coaxially fixed at the center of the tip surface of the sun gear 1 and is suspended in the spiral groove 51 as the sun gear 1 rotates. A feed section 13 for feeding the O-ring in the axial direction is configured. An upper guide bar 7 supported by a guide bar stand 8 is disposed at the front end portion of the conveying screw 5 so as to be opposed to the upper portion of the O ring.

  The entanglement release mechanism 12 has an eccentric bar 4 extending in the horizontal direction in parallel with the conveying screw 5, and a large number of Os on the outer periphery of the part (base end portion) on the proximal end side of the opposing conveying screw 5 and the eccentric bar 4. Cross the ring and feed it in the axial direction while untangling it. The eccentric bar 4 has a bar main body part in which the vicinity of the base fixed to the center of the front end surface of the planetary gear 2 is bent outward in a substantially L shape, and the bar main body part is located on the front end side from the bent part. The rod-like portion is located eccentric and parallel to the rotation axis of the planetary gear 2. A locking portion 41 having a diameter slightly larger than that of the bar main body portion having a constant diameter is provided at the tip of the eccentric bar 4. At this time, in FIG. 1B, when the sun gear 1 rotates around the rotation axis, the planetary gear 2 revolves while rotating around the outer periphery of the sun gear 1 (arrow in the figure). Along with this, the bar main body portion of the eccentric bar 4 rotates eccentrically with respect to the planetary gear 2, revolves around the outer periphery of the conveying screw 5 that rotates integrally with the sun gear 1, and the distance between the two changes.

  The entanglement release mechanism 12 is arranged so that the eccentric bar 4 and the conveying screw 5 can support the inner periphery of the O-ring at two points. Preferably, the eccentric amount of the eccentric bar 4 and the outer diameter of the conveying screw 5 are adjusted so that the maximum distance between the eccentric bar 4 and the conveying screw 5 is slightly larger than the inner diameter of the O-ring. Here, as an example, the maximum distance L between the outer diameters of the eccentric bar 4 and the conveying screw 5 with respect to the inner diameter Dl (for example, 54 mm) of the O-ring is about 1.1 to 1.3 times Dl, preferably , 1.2 times or more (for example, 65 mm). The minimum distance between them may be equal to or smaller than the inner diameter of the O-ring. However, when the distance is set slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the O-ring, the O-ring can be easily set.

  FIG. 1B shows a state in which the planetary gear 2 is located immediately above the sun gear 1, the eccentric bar 4 is at the upper end position, and the distance between the upper surface of the eccentric bar 4 and the lower surface of the conveying screw 5 is maximized (outer diameter). It shows how the eccentric bar 4 moves closer to the conveying screw 5 due to the rotation and revolution of the planetary gear 2. The O-ring extends at a position where the distance between the eccentric bar 4 and the conveying screw 5 is larger than the inner diameter, and relaxes when the distance decreases. That is, the O-ring rotates around the conveying screw 5 irregularly according to a change in the distance between the position of the eccentric bar 4 and the conveying screw 5.

FIG. 2A is an example of the locus of the eccentric bar 4, where the inner peripheral radius of the internal gear 3 is A, the radius of the planetary gear 2 is B, and the rotational radius of the eccentric bar 4 is C. The trajectory of the main body draws an inner trochoid curve represented by (x, y).
x = (A−B) cos θ + C cos [{(A−B) / B} · θ]
y = (A−B) sin θ + C sin [{(A−B) / B} · θ]
However, A> B ≧ C> 0
In FIG. 2A, when the planetary gear 2 rotates and revolves around the outer periphery of the sun gear 1, the eccentric bar 4 rotates eccentrically around the rotation axis of the planetary gear 2, and its locus becomes an inward arc shape. The circular arc trajectory drawn by the eccentric bar 4 can be arbitrarily changed according to the diameter and gear ratio of each gear of the gear mechanism 11.

  2B shows the locus of the tip of the eccentric bar 4 corresponding to FIG. 2A by a dotted line, and shows the positional change of the eccentric bar 4 at a plurality of positions on the locus and the outer periphery of the conveying screw 5. . The O-ring extends when the eccentric bar 4 is at the uppermost position where the eccentric gear 4 is located outside the internal gear 3 outside the planetary gear 2 and the distance to the conveying screw 5 is larger than the inner diameter of the O-ring, and then the planetary gear rotates. As a result, the eccentric bar 4 moves downward while being displaced from the sun gear 1, and relaxes as the distance from the conveying screw 5 gradually decreases. As described above, the eccentric bar 4 moves in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction and draws an irregular trajectory, so that an irregular force in the extension direction or the relaxation direction repeatedly acts on the inner periphery of the O-ring. While repeating this, the tangled O-rings move forward while gradually loosening, the adjacent O-rings are separated, and move to the tip side of the eccentric bar 4.

  In this example, when the planetary gear 2 makes one round of the outer periphery of the sun gear 1, the eccentric bar 4 does not return to the same position on the planetary gear 2, and the locus after the second round is different. 3A to 3E show the locus of the eccentric bar 4 every four rotations of the sun gear 1, and return to the original position after the tenth rotation of FIG. 3C from the start position (ST) of FIG. 3A. FIG. 3F shows the start position (ST) in FIG. 3A to the 20th rotation in FIG. 3E, and it can be seen that the positional relationship and distance between the eccentric bar 4 and the conveying screw 5 are constantly changing.

  FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the tip of the entanglement release mechanism 12, and the O-ring moved to the tip of the eccentric bar 4 is guided by the spiral groove 51 of the opposite conveying screw 5 and is aligned in order. Since a large-diameter locking portion 41 is provided at the tip of the eccentric bar 4, even if the distance between the outer diameters of the eccentric bar 4 and the conveying screw 5 is equal to or less than the inner diameter φDl of the O-ring, a plurality of O-rings overlap. It is prevented from falling off and gets over the locking portion 41 one by one. The size of the locking portion 41 can be set as appropriate according to the size and material of the O-ring so that the transfer is smooth. For example, the radial protruding amount and the axial width are circular cross-sections. The diameter of the O-ring is set to be equal to or less than the wire diameter φDT (for example, 2 mm).

The O-ring that has passed over the locking portion 41 is transferred to the conveying screw 5 of the feeding portion 13, is engaged with the spiral groove 51 one by one, and is fed in the axial direction. For this reason, the spiral groove 51 of the conveying screw 5 needs to have a groove width WS larger than the width of the O-ring (here, wire diameter φDT), and more than twice the width of the O-ring. A small range is desirable.
DT <WS <2DT
As a result, the O-ring can be smoothly engaged with the spiral groove 51, and the width can be such that the two O-rings do not enter the one spiral groove 51.
Further, the groove depth HS of the spiral groove 51 is set to 0.5 times or more of the thickness of the O-ring (here, the wire diameter φDT) so that the O-ring is easily held in the groove, and the thickness of the O-ring is further increased. As a smaller range, it is preferable that the depth be such that two O-rings do not overlap with one spiral groove 51.
1 / 2DT ≦ HS <DT
Preferably, the groove width WS of the spiral groove 51 is about 1.5 times the wire diameter φDT of the O-ring (for example, 3 mm), and the groove depth HS is an intermediate value between 1 / 2DT and DT (for example, 1.. About 5 mm).

  FIGS. 5 and 6 sequentially show the O-ring entanglement operation and the feeding operation by the aligning and conveying apparatus 10 of the present embodiment. FIGS. 5A to 5D and FIGS. 6A to 6D show how the planetary gear 2 of the gear mechanism 11 revolves around the sun gear 1 for every ¼ rotation of the planetary gear 2. Accordingly, the eccentric position of the eccentric bar 4 changes as shown in FIG. First, as shown in FIG. 5A, a large number of O-rings are collectively set on the base end side (right side in the drawing) of the entanglement release mechanism 12, and the drive shaft 61 of the motor 6 is rotated to drive the gear mechanism 11. The entanglement release mechanism 12 is mounted such that the bar body portion of the eccentric bar 4 is positioned above the conveying screw 5 and an O-ring is placed on the outer periphery of these two shafts. The set amount of the O-ring is appropriately set according to the axial length of the eccentric bar 4.

  In FIG. 5A, when the planetary gear 2 revolves around the sun gear 1 as the sun gear 1 rotates, the eccentric bar 4 revolves while rotating eccentrically following the planetary gear 2. At this time, as shown in FIGS. 5B to 5D, the planetary gear 2 rotates in the front direction of the drawing, and the eccentric bar 4 revolves around the outer periphery of the conveying screw 5 along the irregular orbit shown in FIG. 3A. Then, the positional relationship between the eccentric bar 4 and the conveying screw 5 changes according to the position of the planetary gear 2, and the O-ring moves up and down by irregularly moving around the inner periphery of the O-ring, repeatedly extending or relaxing. , Gradually loosen. As the O-ring moves in the feeding direction of the conveying screw 5 (leftward in the figure), the entanglement is gradually eliminated, and the O-ring comes out of the tip of the eccentric bar 4 and transfers to the conveying screw 5.

  Thereafter, as shown in FIGS. 6A to 6D, the O-rings that have been entangled by the entanglement release mechanism 12 are sequentially moved to the feeding unit 13 and are suspended and conveyed by the spiral groove 51 of the conveying screw 5. Here, as shown in FIG. 1A, an upper guide bar 7 is disposed at a predetermined interval above the tip of the conveying screw 5 on the delivery side of the feeding unit 13, and the O-ring to be conveyed is It covers the top. If the axial length of the conveying screw 5 is increased, the tip of the conveying screw 5 may be shaken as the motor 6 and the gear mechanism 11 are driven. However, excessive displacement is caused by the upper guide bar 7 being installed. Is suppressed, and the O-ring interferes with the spiral groove 51 to prevent sliding and the like.

  As described above, the O-ring aligning and conveying apparatus 10 of the present embodiment can be arranged and conveyed in order after releasing the entanglement simply by setting a large number of O-rings. Therefore, since it can convey efficiently to the following process, without damaging a soft O-ring, productivity improves greatly.

  In the above-described embodiment, an O-ring having a circular cross section is used. However, an oval or other cross-sectional shape may be used, and the groove shape or the like of the conveying screw 5 may be determined so as to be optimal according to the O-ring shape. . Further, the gear mechanism 11 is connected to the motor 6 and driven. However, the driving method is not particularly limited, and other driving sources may be used. Further, the upper guide bar 7 is not necessarily installed depending on the axial length of the conveying screw 5, and the support structure of the gear mechanism 11 and other device configurations can be changed as appropriate.

  As described above, the O-ring aligning and conveying apparatus of the present invention is useful for improving the productivity by efficiently conveying O-rings having various shapes by being used in the manufacturing process of various products.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 O-ring alignment conveyance apparatus 11 Gear mechanism 12 Tangle release mechanism 13 Feed part
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Sun gear 2 Planetary gear 3 Internal gear 4 Eccentric bar 41 Locking part 5 Conveying screw 51 Spiral groove 6 Motor 61 Drive shaft 7 Upper guide bar (guide bar)

Claims (6)

A sun gear (1) connected to a drive shaft (61) extending in the horizontal direction, an internal gear (3) arranged concentrically with the sun gear, and revolves while rotating by being incorporated between these two gears. A gear mechanism (11) comprising a planetary gear (2);
A conveying screw (5) that is coaxially attached to the sun gear and rotates integrally, and a plurality of O-rings are suspended in a spiral groove (51) formed on the outer periphery and fed in the axial direction;
An eccentric bar (4) eccentrically attached to the planetary gear is arranged in parallel with the base end portion of the conveying screw, and a plurality of O-rings are bridged around the eccentric bar and the outer periphery of the base end portion of the conveying screw. And an entanglement release mechanism (12) for separating a plurality of O-rings while the eccentric bar revolves around the outer periphery of the conveying screw while rotating eccentrically.   2. The eccentric bar comprises a base fixed to the center of the front end surface of the planetary gear, and a bar-shaped bar main body that is bent outward from the base and extends parallel to the rotation axis of the planetary gear. O-ring alignment transport device.   The O-ring aligning / conveying device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a locking portion (41) having a diameter larger than that of the bar main body is provided at a tip of the eccentric bar.   The O-ring aligning and conveying apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a guide bar (7) arranged in parallel with a gap above the tip of the conveying screw.   5. The O according to claim 1, wherein a maximum distance between the outer diameter of the eccentric bar and the conveying screw is set larger than an inner diameter of the O-ring, and a minimum distance is set smaller than an inner diameter of the O-ring. Ring alignment transport device. The width of the spiral groove of the conveying screw is smaller than twice the width of the O-ring, and the depth of the spiral groove is set to a value smaller than the thickness of the O-ring. O-ring alignment transport device.

Images