JP2017088399A - Component supply control unit - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To achieve structure simplification, improvement of operational reliability, and improvement of versatility for realizing installation at various spots.SOLUTION: In a component supply control unit, a control member 10 is disposed that blocks a supply passage 9 with a stop part 15 and moves the stop part 15 to open the supply passage 9. Further, suction means 19 for preventing a component 1 from backtracking in the supply passage 9 is attached to the control member 10. A positional relationship between the suction means 19 and the supply passage 9 is set so that suction force is applied to the component 1 when the stop part 15 blocks the supply passage 9, and so that suction force is not applied to the component 1 when the stop part 15 opens the supply passage 9.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a component supply control unit in which a suction member for preventing a component from returning backward is attached to a control member that stops or passes a component moving in a supply passage.

  In Japanese Patent No. 4609672, a passage hole and a stop portion are formed in an advancing / retracting stopper piece, and a part that has moved through a supply pipe is temporarily stopped at the stop portion, or a part is passed through the passage hole. It is described.

  Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2015-134682 describes that, in the case where parts are transferred by injecting air into a supply passage, the brake means prevents the parts from returning backward due to the back pressure of the injection air. Yes.

Japanese Patent No. 4609672 Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2015-134682

  The technique described in Patent Document 1 has a problem that when the robot apparatus is displaced in various directions such as up, down, left, and right, back and forth, the parts stopped by the stopping portion are returned in the supply pipe.

  In the technique described in Patent Document 2, the operation of the stopper member for stopping the earliest part and the operation of the braking means for preventing the backward movement are performed by separate independent means. Therefore, it is difficult to make the structure compact.

  The present invention is provided to solve the above-described problems, and realizes a simplified structure, improved operation reliability associated therewith, and improved versatility that enables attachment to various locations. The purpose is to provide a supply control unit.

The invention described in claim 1
A control member of an advancing / retreating operation type that closes the supply passage of parts at the stop portion or moves the stop portion to open the supply passage is provided,
A suction means is attached to the control member for preventing the parts that collide with the stop from moving back through the supply passage.
The positional relationship between the suction means and the supply passage is the operation in which the suction force of the suction means acts on the parts and the stop portion moves to open the supply passage at the operation position where the stop portion closes the supply passage. The component supply control unit is set so that the suction force of the suction means does not act on the component at the position.

  When the stop portion of the control member closes the supply passage, the moved parts collide with the stop portion and stop. When the stop portion opens the supply passage, the parts stopped by the stop portion are transferred to the target location through the passage hole.

  The positional relationship between the suction means and the supply passage is such that the suction force of the suction means acts on the parts in the operating position where the stop portion closes the supply passage, and the stop portion moves to open the supply passage. At the operating position, the suction force of the suction means is set so as not to act on the parts.

  The part that collided with the stop part is bounced back to the stop part and returns later. However, when the stop part is waiting at the part stop position, the suction means is in the suction operation state. For this reason, the bounced parts are attracted to the inner wall surface of the supply passage by the suction force of the suction means and stopped, the return distance can be set to a short length within an allowable range, and the backward return is substantially prevented. Furthermore, when the supply path is attached to the robot apparatus, the parts are adsorbed on the inner wall surface of the supply path even if the robot apparatus is displaced in various directions such as up, down, left, right, and back. , It is possible to reliably prevent the parts from returning.

  Since the suction means is attached to and integrated with the control member, the operation position of the control member and the suction function position of the suction means can be properly matched. That is, when the control member is present at the component stop position, the suction means is at the component suction position. Therefore, the positional relationship between the control member and the suction means fulfills both the function of stopping the transferred parts and the function of sucking and restraining the parts after stopping. Further, the positional relationship between the control member and the suction means fulfills both the function of passing the stopped component and the function of non-adsorption / passage to the passing component. As described above, since the operation state of the suction means when the parts are stopped and the operation state of the suction means when the parts are passing are standardized, there is no malfunction and the operation reliability as a component supply control unit is ensured. The improvement in performance is realized.

  Since the suction means has an integrated structure attached to the control member, the stop portion and the suction means can be arranged close to each other, thereby reducing the size of the main members such as the suction means and the control member. This is effective for making the entire component supply control unit compact.

  Furthermore, since the integrated structure in which the suction means is attached to the control member is a main assembly, and is a component supply control unit that performs the control function as described above by moving the suction means and the control member, for example, It can be widely used in fields such as bolt supply for screw fastening devices and projection bolt supply to electric resistance welders, and a highly versatile device can be obtained.

It is sectional drawing of the whole unit and each part. It is sectional drawing which shows the operation state at the time of components stop. It is a side view at the time of applying to a screwing machine. It is sectional drawing which shows another Example.

  Next, an embodiment for implementing the component supply control unit of the present invention will be described.

  1 to 3 show a first embodiment of the present invention.

  First, components to be supplied will be described.

  There are various parts such as a projection nut, a projection bolt, a normal bolt, and a shaft-like part with a head. Here, a normal iron bolt 1 is a supply target. As shown in each figure, a shaft portion 3 with a male screw cut is integrated with a hexagonal head 2.

  Next, the overall configuration will be described.

  The component supply control unit is denoted by reference numeral 100. A synthetic resin supply hose 5 extending from the parts feeder 4 is connected to the component supply control unit 100. An air injection pipe 6 is attached to the parts feeder 4, and the bolt 1 is conveyed to the parts supply control unit 100 at a high speed by the injection air from here. The bolt 1 that has passed through the component supply control unit 100 is supplied from the synthetic resin delivery hose 7 to the target location at a low speed.

  Next, the component supply control unit will be described.

  The main body 8 is a member having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and a supply passage 9 having a straight circular section is formed. The main body 8 is made of a nonmagnetic material such as stainless steel or synthetic resin. The control member 10 is formed of a long and thin thick plate material, and is inserted into the guide hole 11 so as to slide in the guide hole 11 opened in the main body 8. The guide hole 11 has the same shape as the cross-sectional shape of the control member 10, and has a space shape including the supply passage 9, that is, the guide hole 11 rather than the inner diameter of the supply passage 9 as shown in FIGS. The width of is set larger. The control member 10 performs an advance / retreat operation, and the advance / retreat direction thereof is orthogonal to the center line of the supply passage 9.

  The forward / backward movement of the control member 10 is performed by the air cylinder 12. The air cylinder 12 is coupled to the main body 8 via a bracket 13, and the piston rod 14 is coupled to the end of the control member 10.

  Next, the control member and the suction means will be described.

  The control member 10 is provided with a stop portion 15 that closes the supply passage 9 with the stop portion 15 or moves the stop portion 15 to open the supply passage 9. Stop part 15 is constituted by making a part of control member 10 into the shape as it is. Here, in order to open the supply passage 9, a passage hole 16 is provided in line with the stop portion 15. When the control member 10 advances and retreats, the stop portion 15 closes the supply passage 9, and when the passage hole 16 matches the supply passage 9, the supply passage 9 is opened.

  The suction means functions to restrain bolt movement by adsorbing the bolt 1 in the supply passage 9 to the inner wall surface of the supply passage 9. In order to obtain such a function, various structures can be adopted. In this embodiment, the attractive force of the magnet is utilized.

  A plate-like support member 18 is coupled to the upper end of the control member 10 by bolting or welding. The support member 18 is extended upstream as viewed in the direction in which the bolt 1 is transferred. A permanent magnet 19 is attached to the lower surface of the support member 18 so as to protrude downward. The permanent magnet 19 is accommodated in a square box-shaped container 20, and the container 20 is coupled to the lower surface of the support member 18 by welding or the like. With such a structure, the attraction means is configured by the arrangement of the permanent magnets 19. Therefore, the permanent magnet 19 as the suction means is integrated with the control member 10 via the support member 18 and is described as “suction means 19”.

  A concave portion 21 is formed in the main body 8, and the container 20 is fitted therein. Therefore, the dimension of each part of the recess 21 is set slightly larger than the dimension of each part of the container 20. The thin portion 22 is formed in the main body 8 by forming the concave portion 21.

  The positional relationship between the suction means 19 and the supply passage 9 is that when the stop portion 15 closes the supply passage 9, the suction force of the suction means 19 acts on the bolt 1 and the stop portion 15 moves to supply. It is set so that the suction force of the suction means 19 does not act on the bolt 1 at the operation position where the passage 9 is opened.

  That is, by the operation of the air cylinder 12, as shown in FIG. 2, when the stop portion 15 closes the supply passage 9, the permanent magnet 19, that is, the suction means 19 is fitted in the recess 21 and is permanently The attractive magnetic force of the magnet 19 acts on the bolt 1, and the bolt 1 is attracted to the inner wall surface of the supply passage 9 and cannot move.

  Further, when the air cylinder 12 is operated, as shown in FIG. 1, when the stop portion 15 is removed from the supply passage 9 and the passage hole 16 matches the supply passage 9 and the supply passage 9 is opened, the permanent magnet 19 is opened. Is separated from the recess 21, and the bolt 1 is smoothly passed through the supply passage 9 without the attractive magnetic force of the permanent magnet 19 acting on the bolt 1.

  Without providing the passage hole 16, the supply passage 9 can be opened and closed by advancing and retracting only the stop portion 15. In this case, as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 1A, the forward / backward force of the air cylinder 12 is transmitted to the upper part of the control member 10.

  By adjusting the length of the support member 18, the position of the permanent magnet 19 is set, whereby the attracting position of the bolt 1 is set in the vicinity of the stop portion 15.

  Reference numeral 23 denotes a stationary member such as a machine frame to which the component supply control unit 100 is attached.

  Next, application examples of the component supply control unit will be described.

  FIG. 3 shows a case where the component supply control unit 100 is incorporated in the screw tightening process. The transition device 25 is mounted on a slide plate 26 in a state in which a rectangular parallelepiped receiving block 27 is slidable, and the receiving block 27 is advanced and retracted by an air cylinder 28 fixed to the slide plate 26. The receiving block 27 has a receiving hole 29 into which the shaft portion 3 of the bolt 1 is inserted. A supply pipe 30 is arranged coaxially with the receiving hole 29.

  The receiving block 27 advances to the position indicated by the two-dot chain line by the operation of the air cylinder 28. The head 2 at the advanced position is held by a screw tightening rod 31 of a screw tightening device (not shown). For this purpose, a socket 32 is coupled to the screwing rod 31 and a hexagonal hole 33 for receiving the head 2 is opened downward. 6 A permanent magnet 34 for preventing fall is fixed to the back of each hole 33.

  When the head 2 is moved to the position shown by the two-dot chain line, the screwing rod 31 is lowered and the head 2 relatively enters the hexagonal hole 33 and is held by the permanent magnet 34. Thereafter, the screwing rod 31 moves to screw the bolt 1 into the screw hole at the target location.

  Next, the operation of the component supply control unit will be described.

  FIG. 2 shows a state in which the control member 10 is pulled down by the air cylinder 12 and the stop portion 15 closes the supply passage 9. In this state, the container 20 in which the permanent magnet 19 serving as a suction means is accommodated is fitted in the recess 21, and the attractive magnetic force of the permanent magnet 19 reaches the supply passage 9. The passage hole 16 stands by at a position off the supply passage 9.

  When the bolt 1 is conveyed by air injection to this state, the bolt 1 collides with the stop portion 15 at a high speed and tries to rebound by the reaction force, but immediately after the rebound, the permanent magnet 19 It is attracted to the inner wall surface of the supply passage 9 by the attractive magnetic force. As a result, the bolt 1 is temporarily stopped, and the bolt 1 does not hit the receiving hole 29 of the transition device 25 at a high speed, and the durability of the receiving hole 29 is improved. Further, when the component supply control unit 100 and the transition device 25 are attached to the robot apparatus, the bolt 1 does not return to the supply hose 5 even if the robot apparatus moves up, down, left, and right. .

  Thereafter, when the air cylinder 12 is operated, as shown in FIG. 1, the stop 15 is separated from the supply passage 9, the passage hole 16 is aligned with the supply passage 9, and the permanent magnet 19 is separated from the recess 21. Due to this separation, the attractive magnetic force of the permanent magnet 19 does not act in the supply passage 9, so that the bolt 1 adsorbed on the inner wall surface of the supply passage 9 passes through the passage hole 16 by the downward inclination of the supply air 9 or the supply passage 9. It passes through and is supplied to the receiving hole 29 at a low speed. Thereafter, as described above, the screw tightening rod 31 is operated to perform screw tightening.

  It should be noted that an electric motor that performs forward / backward output can be employed instead of the various air cylinders. It is also possible to replace the permanent magnet with an electromagnet.

  Operations such as the advancing / retreating operation of the control member 10 and the air injection from the air injection pipe 6 can be easily performed by a generally adopted control method. A predetermined operation can be ensured by combining an air switching valve that operates with a signal from the control device or the sequence circuit, a sensor that emits a signal at a predetermined position of the air cylinder, and transmits the signal to the control device.

  The operational effects of the first embodiment described above are as follows.

  When the stop portion 15 of the control member 10 closes the supply passage 9, the moved bolt 1 collides with the stop portion 15 and stops. When the stop portion 15 opens the supply passage 9, the bolt 1 that has been stopped by the stop portion 15 is transferred through the passage hole 16 to the receiving hole 29 that is the target location.

  The positional relationship between the suction means 19 and the supply passage 9 is such that the suction force of the suction means 19 acts on the bolt 1 and the stop portion 15 moves in the operating position where the stop portion 15 closes the supply passage 9. Thus, the suction force of the suction means 19 is set so as not to act on the bolt 1 at the operating position where the supply passage 9 is opened.

  The bolt 1 that has collided with the stop 15 is bounced back and returned to the stop 15, but when the stop 15 is waiting at the bolt stop position, the suction means 19 is in the suction operation state. For this reason, the bounced bolt 1 is attracted to the inner wall surface of the supply passage 9 by the suction force of the suction means 19 and stops, so that the return distance can be set to a short length within an allowable range. The Further, when the supply passage 9 is attached to the robot apparatus, the bolt 1 is attracted to the inner wall surface of the supply passage 9 even if the robot apparatus is displaced in various directions such as up, down, left, and right. Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent the bolt 1 from returning backward.

  Since the suction means 19 is attached to and integrated with the control member 10, the operating position of the control member 10 and the suction function position of the suction means 19 can be properly matched. That is, when the control member 10 is in the bolt stop position, the suction means 19 is in the bolt suction position. Therefore, the positional relationship between the control member 10 and the suction means 19 fulfills both the function of stopping the bolt 1 that has been transferred and the function of attracting and restraining the bolt 1 after stopping. Further, the positional relationship between the control member 10 and the suction means 19 fulfills both the function of passing the stopped bolt 1 and the function of non-adsorption / passage to the passing bolt. As described above, the operation state of the suction means 19 when the bolt is stopped and the operation state of the suction means 19 when the bolt is passed are standardized, so that no malfunction occurs and the component supply control unit 100 is used. The operational reliability of the system is improved.

  Since the suction unit 19 has an integrated structure attached to the control member 10, the stop portion 15 and the suction unit 19 can be arranged close to each other, and thereby main members such as the suction unit 19 and the control member 10 can be arranged. The assembly can be reduced in size, which is effective for making the entire component supply control unit 100 compact.

  Further, an integrated structure in which the suction means 19 is attached to the control member 10 is a main assembly, and the component supply control unit 100 that performs the above-described control function by the moving operation of the suction means 19 and the control member 10. Therefore, for example, it can be widely used in fields such as bolt supply of a screw tightening device and projection bolt supply to an electric resistance welder, and a highly versatile device can be obtained.

  Since the concave portion 21 is provided in the main body 8 and the suction means 19 is fitted therein, the position where the suction force is applied to the bolt 1 in the supply passage 9 is always set uniformly, and the restraining position of the bolt 1 is constant. Further, by providing the concave portion 21, the thin portion 22 is formed in the main body 8, whereby the magnetic force of the permanent magnet 19 acts more strongly on the bolt 1 and the bolt restraint is reliably achieved.

  A support member 18 is coupled to the end of the control member 10, and a suction means 19 is fixed to the lower surface thereof. The recess 21 that receives the suction means 19 is in a positional relationship facing the suction means 19. Therefore, by selecting the length of the support member 18 and selecting the installation location of the support member 18 and the recess 21, the location where the suction force of the suction means 19 acts can be freely selected. Thereby, the distance of the stop part 15 and a suction force application location can be made suitable for the dimension of the bolt 1, and the stop location of the bolt 1 can be made appropriate. In particular, since the bolt 1 rebounds after colliding with the stop part 15, it is desirable to set the distance between the stop part 15 and the suction force acting part including all or part of the rebound distance. It can be set as a desirable mode.

  FIG. 4 shows a second embodiment of the present invention.

  In the second embodiment, the suction means 19 is not in the form of using the permanent magnet 19 as described above, but in the form of air suction.

  A plurality of minute suction ports 36 are opened in the thin portion 22 of the recess 21, and the recess 21 and the supply passage 9 are communicated with each other through the suction ports 36. A suction protrusion 37 is fixed to the lower surface of the support member 18 by welding or bolting. The suction protrusion 37 is formed of a square block-shaped member, and is formed with a suction recess 38 opened downward on the lower surface thereof. When the lower surface of the suction protrusion 37 comes into close contact with the bottom surface of the recess 21 and the air pressure in the suction recess 38 becomes low, the head 2 of the bolt 1 is attracted to the inner wall surface of the supply passage 9. In other words, the suction recess 38 functions as a collecting chamber that collects air from a large number of suction ports 36.

  An air passage 39 opening in the suction recess 38 is opened in the suction projection 37 and the support member 18, and an air hose 40 coupled to the support member 18 is connected to a suction pump (not shown). Other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment including the portions not shown, and members having the same functions are denoted by the same reference numerals.

  The above-described advance / retreat operation of the control member 10, the operation of air injection from the air injection pipe 6, the air suction operation when the lower surface of the suction projection 37 is in close contact with the bottom surface of the recess 21, etc. are generally adopted. It is possible to carry out easily by the control method which exists. A predetermined operation can be ensured by combining an air switching valve that operates with a signal from the control device or the sequence circuit, a sensor that emits a signal at a predetermined position of the air cylinder, and transmits the signal to the control device.

  FIG. 4 shows a state in which the lower surface of the suction protrusion 37 is in close contact with the bottom surface of the recess 21 and the stop portion 15 closes the supply passage 9. At this time, air suction is performed. Here, when the bolt 1 is transferred at a high speed, the bolt 1 is received by the stop portion 15, and immediately after that, the bolt 1 is attracted to the suction port 36 and is attracted to the inner wall surface of the supply passage 9.

  The operational effects of the second embodiment described above are as follows.

  By selecting the number of suction ports 36, the opening density, the opening location, etc., the location where the suction force is applied to the bolt 1 can be set accurately, and the stop location of the bolt 1 can be set reliably. Other functions and effects are the same as those of the first embodiment.

  As described above, according to the component supply control unit of the present invention, it is possible to simplify the structure, improve the operation reliability associated therewith, and improve the versatility that enables attachment to various locations. Therefore, it can be used in a wide range of industrial fields, such as an automobile body assembly process and a home appliance sheet metal assembly process.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Bolt, parts 2 Head 3 Shaft 8 Body 9 Supply passage 10 Control member 15 Stop part 16 Passing hole 19 Suction means, permanent magnet 21 Recess 36 Suction port 37 Suction protrusion 38 Suction recess 39 Air passage

Claims (1)

A control member of an advancing / retreating operation type that closes the supply passage of parts at the stop portion or moves the stop portion to open the supply passage is provided,
A suction means is attached to the control member for preventing the parts that collide with the stop from moving back through the supply passage.
The positional relationship between the suction means and the supply passage is the operation in which the suction force of the suction means acts on the parts and the stop portion moves to open the supply passage at the operation position where the stop portion closes the supply passage. The component supply control unit, wherein the component supply control unit is set so that the suction force of the suction means does not act on the component at the position.

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