JP2691976B2 - Position correction method and apparatus thereof - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a position correcting method and a device therefor, and more particularly to a position correcting method and a device therefor for correcting the height of hands in the exterior assembly of a timepiece.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, when an hour hand, a minute hand, a second hand or the like is attached to a shaft on a dial in assembling an exterior part of a timepiece, if there is an error in the mounting height, especially in the case of a long second hand, The tip will be far from the target height. That is, the needle tip may come into contact with the dial, or the needle tips such as the minute hand and the second hand may come into contact with each other.

In order to prevent such a problem, conventionally, after the needle is press-fitted onto the shaft by a robot, the height of the needle tip is measured by a height measuring device or the like. Then, when the height of the needle tip deviates from the predetermined target position, the needle tip is discharged as a defective product and manually corrected by the operator.

[0004]

However, in the press-fitting by the robot, the spring height due to the elasticity of the needle makes the mounting height unstable and the defective rate is high. Therefore, the weight of the manual repair process is high and the production cost is increased.

In addition, since the accuracy of manual repair is limited, and the accuracy of correction depends on the skill of the operator, the height remains uneven. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a position correction method and an apparatus therefor capable of accurately correcting the press-fitting position of a component without manual labor.

[0006]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, in the position correcting method, a part press-fitted to the shaft-shaped member, for example, a needle press-fitted to the shaft in a timepiece or instrument is imaged and imaged. The position of the component is measured from the image information, and when the measured position is displaced from the target press-fitting position by a predetermined distance or more, the component is attached to the shaft-shaped member until the position is less than the predetermined distance. The object is achieved by pushing it against each other.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the position correcting method according to the first aspect, the above object is achieved by repeating, for one component, from the imaging of the component to the pushing operation of the component with respect to the shaft-shaped member. . According to the invention of claim 3, in the position correcting method of claim 2,
The object is achieved by performing the repeating operation a predetermined number of times.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention, in the position correcting method according to the second aspect, the object is achieved by changing the pushing amount of the component every time. According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the position correcting method according to the first aspect, when the component is imaged, a reference is set to a position that has a constant distance from the target press-fitting position and has the same focal length as the component. By arranging a member, putting this reference member in the same image as the part and capturing the image, the press-fitting position is measured by determining the relative position of the part with respect to the reference member from the captured image information. To achieve the above objectives.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, image pickup means for picking up an image of the part press-fitted into the shaft-like member, position measuring means for measuring the position of the part from image information picked up by the image pickup means, and this position When the position measured by the measuring means deviates from the target press-fitting position by a predetermined distance or more, the pushing means that pushes the component into the shaft-shaped member until the position is less than the predetermined distance. It is provided in a position correcting device to achieve the above object.

[0010]

In the position correcting apparatus according to the sixth aspect, the image pickup means images the part, and the position measuring means measures the position of the part from the image information picked up by the image pickup means. The pushing means, when the position measured by the position measuring means is deviated by a predetermined distance or more from the target press-fitting position, the component is moved with respect to the shaft-like member until the position is less than the predetermined distance. Push in.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 shows a position correction device 10 according to this embodiment. This position correction device 1
Reference numeral 0 denotes a transport unit 12 that transports a pallet P on which a clock W, which is an assembly target, is mounted, an illumination unit 14 that irradiates the clock W transported to a predetermined position by the transport unit 12 with light, and this illumination. An image pickup unit 16 for picking up an image of the hands of the timepiece W illuminated with light by the unit 14 and a pushing operation unit 18 for pushing the hands of the timepiece W set at a predetermined position into the mounting shaft thereof.

The transport unit 12 has a transport belt (not shown) on which the pallet P is placed. By driving this transport belt, the pallet P is moved in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. ing. The imaging unit 16 includes an optical unit 16a including a lens and a reflecting mirror, and a CC that captures an image obtained through the optical unit 16a.
It is mainly configured with a D (Charge Coupled Device) camera 16b. The objective lens of the optical unit 16a faces the timepiece W, and when the illumination unit 14 projects the light from the right side in FIG. 1, the shadow of the timepiece W can be captured by the CCD camera 16b.

The image pickup section 16 is designed to move horizontally by a table mechanism (not shown),
By this movement in the horizontal direction, the area to be imaged can be adjusted according to the length of the hands of the clock W or the like. The image information captured by the CCD camera 16b is supplied to an image processing device (not shown) described later.

The push-in working unit 18 includes a push-in unit 20 for pushing the hand of the timepiece W into its mounting shaft.
It has a slide table 22 to which the pushing unit 20 is attached, and a table drive mechanism 24 for moving the slide table 22 in the vertical direction, that is, the vertical direction in the drawing.

The table drive mechanism 24 has a ball screw (not shown), a guide member for guiding the slide table 22 in the vertical direction, a motor 26 for rotating the ball screw, and the like. As the motor 26, for example, a servo motor or a pulse motor is used, and the drive amount of the motor 26 controls the movement amount of the slide table 22.

FIG. 2 shows a detailed structure of the pushing unit 20. The pushing unit 20 includes a pushing unit body 28 fixed to the slide table 22.
It has. A stepped rod-shaped member 30 having a large diameter portion 30a and a small diameter portion 30b having different diameters is fixed to the pushing unit body 28. A push pin 32 is formed at the tip portion of the small diameter portion 30b of the rod member 30 by further reducing the diameter. The push pin 32 has a cylindrical hole opened at its lower end surface.

Further, in the small diameter portion 30b of the rod-shaped member 30,
The gauge member 36 is attached. Gauge member 36
Is a large diameter hole portion 38a, a medium diameter hole portion 38b, and a small diameter hole portion 38c.
It has a stepped through hole 38 constituted by the above, and the small diameter portion 30b of the rod member 30 is inserted into this through hole 38. That is, the small diameter portion 30 b is in the medium diameter hole portion 38 b of the through hole 38, and the push pin 32 is in the small diameter hole portion 3 of the through hole 38.
8c is inserted. The small-diameter portion 30b of the rod-shaped member 30 has a medium-diameter hole portion 38b of the through hole 38, and the push pin 32 of the small-diameter portion 30b has almost the same diameter as the small-diameter hole portion 38c. The member 30 can move up and down with respect to the gauge member 36.

Further, in FIG. 2, the step portion located at the lower end of the large diameter portion 30a and the large diameter hole portion 3 in the gauge member 36 are provided.
Between the step portion located at the lower end of 8a, the coil spring 40
Are arranged. The lower end surface of the gauge member 36 in FIG. 2 has an abutting portion 42 having a cylindrical shape divided into two.
Is provided, and the inner peripheral hole 42a has a small-diameter hole portion 38.
It has the same diameter as c and communicates with it. In addition, the gauge member 36
The lower end portion 36a of the above is notched on the side facing the imaging unit 16 as shown in FIG. On the side surface of the optical unit 16a facing the objective lens in the cutout portion, the distance from the objective lens is substantially equal to the center position of the gauge member 36.

On the other hand, two shaft-shaped locates 44 and 46 are arranged on both sides of the pushing unit body 28. These locates 44 and 46 are the slide table 2
It is supported so that it can move up and down by the locate support parts 48 and 50 fixed to 2. That is, the locates 44 and 46 are slidably inserted into the stepped holes 52 and 54 formed in the locate supports 48 and 50. In addition, the locking ring 44 is provided on the upper ends of the locates 44 and 46.
In the state shown in FIG. 2, the locking rings 44a and 46a are attached to the locate support portions 48 and 50.
Locators 44, 4
The downward movement of 6 is restricted.

Steps 44b and 46b of the locates 44 and 46
And coil springs 56 and 58 are arranged between the stepped portions 52a and 54a of the stepped holes 52 and 54. The coil spring 56 is in a compressed state and urges the locates 44 and 46 downward. Further, on the upper surface of the pallet P conveyed immediately below the pushing unit 20, a pedestal P1 for mounting the timepiece W is formed in the central portion, and two guide bushes P2, P3 are formed on both sides thereof. . As shown by the dotted lines in FIG. 2, the guide bushes P2 and P3 are respectively formed with recesses P2a and P3a having a taper capable of fitting with the tips of the locators 44 and 46.

The timepiece W placed on the pallet P is fixed by a pin (not shown) protruding from the upper surface of the pedestal P1 so as not to move in the horizontal direction. Also, watch W
Is before attaching a case, glass, etc., and is mainly composed of a dial W1 and a movement W2.
When the pallet P is conveyed to the predetermined position shown in FIG. 2, the shaft R protruding from the dial W1 and the pushing unit 2
The rod member 30 on the 0 side is located on substantially the same axis, and the guide bushes P2, P3 and the locate 44,
The tips of 46 are opposed to each other.

As shown in FIG. 2, in this embodiment,
The hand S is an hour hand, and is fixed to the shaft R by press fitting in the previous step. However, the press-fitting in the previous step is temporary press-fitting before adjusting the height of the needle S, and the mounting height of the needle S is
It is located above the target height. Also, the needle S
2 is attached in parallel to the left-right direction in FIG. 2, and the notch (see FIG. 1) of the lower end portion 36a of the gauge member 36 above it is substantially equal to the distance from the optical unit 16a.

FIG. 3 shows a control system in the position correcting device 10 of this embodiment. As shown in this figure,
The position correction device 10 includes a CPU (central processing unit) and a ROM.
The controller 60 is provided with a memory such as (read only memory) or RAM (random access memory).

The control device 60 is connected to a motor drive unit 62 for driving the motor 26, and by supplying various control signals to the motor drive unit 62, the height of the pushing unit 20 is controlled. Has become. Also,
The control device 60 is connected to an image processing device 64 that analyzes the image information captured by the CCD camera 16b.
In the analysis processing in the image processing device 64, the CCD camera 16b captures an image of the hand S of the clock W, and the height of the hand S is obtained from the image information. Control device 6
0 recognizes the position of the needle S from the analysis result of the image processing device 64, and controls the drive of the motor 26, that is, the position of the pushing unit 20 according to the position.

Next, the operation of the embodiment thus constructed will be described. In the present embodiment, the position correcting device 10 is installed on the exterior assembly line of the timepiece, and the pallets P, which have been assembled in the previous process, are sequentially conveyed immediately below the pushing unit 20. In the previous step, since the needle S is temporarily press-fitted into the shaft R by a robot (not shown), in the timepiece W to be transported, the mounting height of the needle S is higher than the target normal height. Is off.

When the pallet P is transported to the predetermined position shown in FIG. 2 by the transport unit 12, the control unit 60 first causes the motor 26 to lower the slide table 22 by a predetermined amount to move the contact portion 42 of the gauge member 36. It is brought into contact with the upper surface of the dial W1. FIG. 4 shows the positional change of each part at this time. Although the locator 46 is not shown in this figure, the locator 46 operates similarly to the locator 44.

When the slide table 22 is lowered from the position shown in FIG. 4A, the rod-shaped member 30 and the locates 44 and 46 are also lowered integrally therewith. ), The guide bushes P2, P3 are fitted into the recesses P2a, P3a. In the present embodiment, since the timepiece W is previously fixed on the pedestal P1 of the pallet P so that the guide bushes P2, P3 and the hands S have a fixed positional relationship, the locates 44, 4
By fitting the tip of 6 and the recesses P2a and P3a, the central axis of the axis R and the central axis of the rod-shaped member 30 substantially coincide with each other. That is, the axis R is accurately positioned with respect to the push pin 32 so that its central axis coincides.

Then, the slide table 22 is further lowered, and the entire pushing unit 20 is located at the locates 44 and 46.
And the pallet P are kept in the same positional relationship as in FIG. 4C. That is, locate 44, 46
Locking rings 44a, 46a of the locating support portions 48, 5
By moving the coil springs 56 and 58 apart from the upper end surface of 0, the locate supports 48 and 50, the rod-shaped member 30 and the gauge member 36 are lowered integrally with the movement of the slide table 22, and the abutting portion 42 causes the letters. It contacts the upper surface of the plate W1.

FIG. 5 shows the positional relationship between the contact portion 42 and the needle S in the horizontal direction at this time. As shown in this figure, since the contact portion 42 has a cylindrical shape that is divided into two, it does not contact the needle S or the shaft R when it contacts the upper surface of the dial W1.

Next, in the state shown in FIG. 4C, the area E is imaged by the imaging section 16, and the pushing unit 20 is further lowered based on the image information to correct the height of the needle S. . That is, the height of the needle S is measured from the image data captured by the CCD camera 16b, and when the measured height is more than a predetermined distance from the target height, the rod-shaped member 30 is further lowered, The push pin 32 pushes the needle S down to the target height.

The details of this correcting operation will be described below. FIG. 6 shows an image captured by the CCD camera 16b. As shown in this figure, in the CCD camera 16b, the lower end portion 36a of the gauge member 36 and the needle S
The needle tip of is imaged. Since the lower end portion 36a is notched to the center position as shown in FIG.
The end face of the lower end portion 36a facing the 6a side is located substantially on the same plane as the needle S. Therefore, by focusing on the needle S in the optical unit 16a, at the same time, the lower end portion 36
Since the end face of a is in focus, the outline can be clearly captured by the CCD camera 16b.

In the present embodiment, when the image of the needle tip of the needle S is taken, the image processing device 64 first finds the gap D between the needle S and the lower end portion 36a based on this image data. As shown in FIG. 4C, when the contact portion 42 is in contact with the upper surface of the dial W1, the height from the upper surface of the dial W1 to the lower end 36a of the gauge member 36 is constant. The image processing device 64 obtains the height H of the needle S from the obtained gap D. For example, if the height of the lower end portion 36a is T (see FIG. 1),
Since H = TD, the image processing device 64 calculates the height H from this relationship.

When the height H is obtained by the image processing device 64,
The control device 60 compares the obtained height H with the target normal needle height (hereinafter, this is referred to as height H0),
It is determined whether or not the height H matches the target height H0. However, it is not practical that the height H of the needle S exactly coincides with the target height H0. Therefore, in this embodiment, the target height H0 has a certain width within an allowable range, and The upper limit value (hereinafter, referred to as “allowable value”) is compared with the obtained height H. The allowable value, the target height H0, and the like are stored in advance in a memory (not shown) of the control device 60.

As a result of the comparison between the target height H0 and the actual height H, if the height H is not less than the above-mentioned allowable value, the control device 60 lowers the pushing unit 20 by a predetermined amount, and the rod-shaped member 30. The needle S is pushed in with the push pin 32 of. FIG. 7 shows the relationship between the push pin 32 and the needle S at this time.

When the slide table 22 is further lowered while the contact portion 42 is in contact with the upper surface of the dial W1, only the rod-shaped member 30 is integrally lowered with the slide table 22. That is, by contracting the coil spring 40 (see FIG. 2), the position of the contact portion 42 remains unchanged and the rod-shaped member 30 is kept.
Only move down. Therefore, the push pin 32 slides on the small diameter hole portion 38c and further on the inner peripheral hole 42a of the abutting portion 42 to come into contact with the sleeve portion S1 of the needle S, and pushes it downward. As a result, the mounting height of the needle S is corrected. The amount of lowering of the push pin 32 at this time, that is, the amount of movement of the slide table 22 is determined by the shape, size, material, etc. of the needle S. For example, the lowest end position of the push pin 32 has the above-mentioned allowable value as the upper limit. It is controlled by the controller 60 so as to be located within a certain allowable range.

The needle S pushed into the shaft R by the push pin 32 may spring back due to its elasticity and return slightly above the amount of movement of the push pin 32. Therefore, in this embodiment, the correction operation is repeated a plurality of times, for example, three times until the height of the needle S becomes equal to or less than the allowable value. That is, after pushing the needle S by a predetermined amount with the push pin 32, the CCD camera 16b again pushes the needle S and the lower end portion 36.
The images a and a are imaged (see FIG. 5), and the gap D is measured again by the image processing device 64. And similarly, the height H of the needle S
If it is not below the predetermined allowable value, the correction work is repeated by lowering the push pin 32 again as described above. If it is less than the allowable value, it means that the needle S has been corrected to almost the target height, so the slide table 22 is raised and returned to the original position shown in FIG. 4 (A).

It should be noted that the push pin 3 is used for the correction work after the second time.
The descent amount (pushing amount) of 2 may be slightly larger than the previous time. For example, in the first time, the lower end of the push pin 32 is set to the above-described allowable value (allowable upper limit height), in the second time it is set between the allowable value and the target height H0, and in the third time the target value is set. The descending amount of the push pin 32 may be gradually changed so that the height becomes H0. Alternatively, the push pin 32 may be constantly lowered. For example, the lower end of the push pin 32 may be lowered to the same height as the target height H0 every time.

In this embodiment, when the height H does not fall below the allowable value even after three measurements, for example, the control device 6
0 determines that the watch W is defective. Then, the timepiece W judged to be defective is discharged from the line by a robot or the like not shown, and the correction work for the next timepiece carried by the carrying section 12 is started. The control device 60 is
If the height H is not below the allowable value in the measurement of the fourth time, the fourth time, or the fifth time and thereafter, it may be judged as a defective product.

As described above, in the present embodiment, since the correction is performed based on the height of the needle S obtained from the image data, the accurate correction can be stably performed. Therefore, the incidence of defective products can be extremely reduced.
Further, since the skill is not required for the modification, the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

Further, in this embodiment, since the lower end portion 36a of the gauge member 36 whose distance from the optical unit 16a is equal to the needle S is used as a reference for obtaining the height of the needle S, the CCD camera 16b is used. At, the contour of the lower end portion 36a is obtained clearly, and the value of the gap D is accurately obtained. Therefore, more accurate correction can be performed.

Further, in this embodiment, since the height is corrected in several steps, more accurate correction can be performed. Furthermore, even if the height of the hand S is corrected a predetermined number of times (for example, twice), if the measured height H does not fall below the allowable value, it is judged as a defective product and the correction work for the watch is performed. Since it stops, the efficiency of the assembly line is good.

In the above embodiment, the hand S press-fitted into the shaft R is the hour hand, but the present invention can be applied to the case of correcting the heights of the minute hand and the second hand. Further, in the above embodiments, the height of the hand S is measured with the lower end portion 36a of the gauge member 36 as a reference, but when the minute hand is temporarily press-fitted onto the hour hand on the axis R, the minute hand is moved to the hour hand. Along with this, the height of the minute hand may be corrected based on the height of the hour hand. Similarly, the height of the second hand may be corrected with reference to the minute hand.

In the above embodiment, the target position of the needle is set to the height H0 from the upper surface of the dial plate, but as shown in FIG. 7, the target position is a predetermined distance D0 from the lower end surface of the gauge member 36. It may be the position. In the above embodiment,
Although the height correcting device 10 has been used in the exterior assembly of the timepiece, the press-fitting height of the hands may be similarly corrected in the assembly of various analog instruments, for example. Furthermore, the present invention can be applied to the correction of the press-fitting position in parts other than the needle as long as they are press-fitted in the shaft-shaped member.

[0044]

According to the position correcting method and apparatus of the present invention, the position of a component can be corrected accurately.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing an overall configuration of a position correction device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged front view showing a pushing unit of the apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram schematically showing a control system of the device.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing the operation of the device.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a positional relationship between a contact portion and a needle of the same device.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an image captured by a CCD camera of the same device.

FIG. 7 is a detailed view showing the relationship between the push pin and the needle of the same device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Position Correcting Device 12 Conveying Section 14 Illuminating Section 16 Imaging Section 16a Optical Unit 16b CCD Camera 18 Pushing Working Section 20 Pushing Unit 22 Slide Table 24 Table Drive Mechanism 26 Motor 28 Pushing Unit Main Body 30 Rod Member 30a Large Diameter Section 30b Small Diameter Section 32 Push pin 36 Gauge member 36a Lower end 38 Through hole 38a Large diameter hole 38b Medium diameter hole 38c Small diameter hole 40, 56, 58 Coil spring 42 Abutment 42a Inner peripheral hole 44, 46 Locate 48, 50 Locate support 52 , 54 stepped holes 60 control device 62 motor drive unit 64 image processing device P pallet W clock

Claims (6)

(57) [Claims] 1. A component press-fitted into a shaft-shaped member is imaged, the position of the component is measured from the imaged image information, and when the measured position deviates from a target press-fitting position by a predetermined distance or more, A position correcting method, characterized in that the component is pushed into the shaft-shaped member to a position where the displacement is less than the predetermined distance. 2. The position correcting method according to claim 1, wherein the process from the imaging of the component to the pushing operation of the component with respect to the shaft-shaped member is repeated for one component. 3. The position correcting method according to claim 2, wherein the repeating operation is performed a predetermined number of times. 4. The position correcting method according to claim 2, wherein the amount of pushing in the component is changed every time. 5. When imaging the component, a reference member is arranged at a position having a fixed distance from the target press-fitting position and the same focal length as the component, and the reference member is the same as the component. 2. The position correcting method according to claim 1, wherein the position of the press-fitting position is measured by obtaining the relative position of the component with respect to the reference member from the captured image information. 6. An image pickup means for picking up an image of a part press-fitted into a shaft-like member, a position measuring means for measuring the position of the part from image information picked up by the image pickup means, and a position measuring means for measuring the position of the part. When the position deviates from the target press-fitting position by a predetermined distance or more, a pushing means that pushes the component into the shaft-shaped member is provided to a position where the deviation is less than the predetermined distance. Position correction device.