JP2729913B2 - Electronic component alignment equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a device for aligning electronic components which sequentially sends out rectangular electrical components in a predetermined direction.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When electronic components are packed in a magazine for an automatic insertion machine, it is necessary to arrange the electronic components in a certain direction. Conventionally, when aligning the direction of electronic components, a vibration type parts feeder is generally used. This parts feeder vibrates in the supply direction of electronic components and pushes it along a narrow transport path, so that components other than electronic components in a predetermined direction fall from the transport path and circulate again in the transport path. As a means for removing components, the shape of electronic components, the position of the center of gravity, and the like are used.

[0003]

This kind of parts feeder is suitable for simple alignment in which the shape greatly differs depending on the direction, for example, when the protruding directions of the terminals are aligned, but also has the following disadvantages. Was. (1) Since the direction in which the electronic components are arranged is determined by the structure of the parts feeder, the direction in which the electronic components are arranged cannot be easily changed. However, when preparing various types of parts feeders,
It takes time and effort to exchange, and the cost is high. (2) It cannot cope with a minute change in the shape of an electronic component. For example, it is difficult to follow a change in the number of terminals. (3) For an electronic component having pin-shaped terminals, a large number of errors occur when the feeding speed is increased. On the other hand, if the speed does not cause an error, the alignment speed becomes extremely slow.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention can easily cope with various kinds of electronic components even if the shape and the number of terminals are slightly different as long as they are square.
Moreover, it is an object of the present invention to provide an electronic component aligning device capable of high-speed processing.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, there is provided an electronic component aligning apparatus for aligning an electronic component having a substantially quadrangular prism in a fixed direction. The electronic component aligning device is rotatable about an axis and can be stopped at four positions at 90 ° intervals. A rotating body having a substantially cross-shaped passage through which electronic components can pass, the center of the cross-shaped passage being on this axis, and a passage mounted on the rotating body and movable along the axial direction of the rotating body. Four shutters each capable of closing the four passages surrounding the center of the shutter, and an upper chute for holding the electronic components to be supplied in the passage of the rotating body in a line,
A sensor for detecting the direction of the electronic component in the upper chute, and holding one electronic component received from the upper chute in the center of the path of the rotating body with four shutters, and responding to the detection signal of the sensor After rotating the rotating body by a predetermined angle, one shutter is opened and the electronic component is discharged from the passage.

[0006]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a schematic configuration of an alignment apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a side sectional view thereof. An upper chute 6 for holding the electronic components 4 before alignment in a line is fixed to the base 2, and a rotating body 8 is mounted by a ball bearing 10 so as to be rotatable about an axis S (FIG. 2). . The electronic component 4 in this embodiment has a substantially quadrangular prism shape in which the terminal 5 is led out in one direction, and is inserted into the groove of the upper chute 6 with only the direction of the terminal 5 aligned. The rotator 8 is provided with a recess as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 to form a substantially cross-shaped passage 12, and the four shutters 14 movable along the direction of the axis S are provided with through holes 9 Installed through. Although the center 12a of the passage 12 is raised, the bottom of the passage 12 is flattened when the four shutters 14 retreat to the right as shown in FIG.
The passage 12 has a size that allows the electronic component 4 to pass when the shutter 14 is retracted. The central portion 12a of the passage 12 is located on the rotation axis S, and each shutter 14 is provided with a spring so that the tip of each shutter 14 projects into four passages 12 surrounding the central portion 12a.
At 16 it is urged toward the passage 12 side. A cover for preventing the electronic component 4 from dropping is attached to the front surface of the rotating body 8, but is not shown.

The upper chute 6 faces a part of the passage 12 of the rotating body 8, and on an extension of the upper chute 6 and the passage 12,
Lower chute that receives the electronic component 4 discharged from the passage 12
18 is arranged. The electronic components 4 having a fixed orientation are arranged in a line on the lower chute 18. At the end of the lower chute 10, a magazine (not shown) for supplying the electronic components 4 to the automatic insertion machine is arranged so that the lower chute 18 inserts the electronic components 4 into the magazine. In addition, lower shoot
Electronic component 4 discharged from passage 12 without using 18
May directly enter the magazine. The upper chute 6 is arranged at a position higher than the lower chute 18 so that the electronic component 4 moves from the upper chute 6 through the passage 12 of the rotating body 8 into the lower chute 18 by gravity. The upper chute 6 and the lower chute 18 may be set upright on the floor, or may be slightly inclined.

[0010] A flange 15 is provided at the rear end of each shutter 14, and driving pieces 24, 26 which can be engaged with the flange 15 are provided on pistons 21, 23 of two air cylinders 20, 22 fixed to the base 2. Installed. One air cylinder 20 is arranged behind the shutter 14 facing the upper chute 6, and the other air cylinder 22 is arranged behind the shutter 14 facing the lower chute 18. That is, the positional relationship between the driving pieces 24 and 26 of the air cylinders 20 and 22 and the flange 15 of each shutter 14 is as shown in FIG. In FIG. 5, reference numeral 11 denotes a pulley fixed to the rotating body 8, and reference numeral 40 denotes a timing belt hung on the pulley 11. As shown in FIG. 2, the air cylinders 20 and 22
The shutter 14 is retracted while compressing the spring 16 by engaging the respective driving pieces 24 and 26 with the flange 15 and pulling them backward. When the driving pieces 24 and 26 are advanced to release the flange 15, the shutter 14 advances by the force of the spring 16 to move the passage 12
Is closed. FIG. 2 shows a state immediately after the shutter 14 on the side facing the lower chute 18 is retracted and opened, and one electronic component 4 located at the center 12 a of the passage 12 of the rotating body 8 falls on the lower chute 18. I'm on the verge of it.

Reference numeral 28 in FIG. 1 denotes a sensor for detecting the direction of the electronic component 4 at the lowermost end of the upper chute 6.
In this embodiment, a total of four sensors 28 are provided, two on each side of the electronic component 4. As the sensor 28, for example, a reflective photoelectric sensor may be used. The reflection type photoelectric sensor includes a light emitting body and a light receiving body, and detects the presence or absence of the terminal 5 of the electronic component 4 based on the intensity of the reflected light. Although the electronic component 4 in this embodiment has three terminals 5,
The four sensors 28 detect the presence or absence of the terminal 5 at each position to determine the direction of the electronic component 4. In addition, instead of the photoelectric sensor, the sensor unit may be configured with an electric contact and a detection circuit, and the contact may be brought into contact with the terminal 5 to measure a built-in circuit of the electronic component and detect the alignment direction. is there. Further, in the embodiment, the direction of the electronic component 4 at the lowermost end of the upper chute 6 is detected by the sensor 28. However, the mounting position of the sensor 28 is changed to a position convenient for mounting, and the processing is performed by an electric signal. You may do so.

Reference numeral 30 denotes a stopper pin for stopping the electronic component 4 immediately above it. The stopper pin 30 is biased toward the electronic component 4 by a spring 31. When the piston 33 of the air cylinder 32 is moving forward, the piston 33
Is disengaged from the stopper pin 30, the stopper pin 30 pushes the electronic component 4 from the side by the force of the spring 31 to stop and hold it. Piston 33
And the driving piece 34 engaged with the stopper pin 30
By pulling backward, the stopper pin 30 retreats,
The force pressing the electronic component 4 is released. The rotating body 8 is driven by a pulse motor 42 via a timing belt 40,
By rotating 90 °, 180 °, 270 ° in one direction or 90 ° in the opposite direction, it is possible to stop at these four positions including the stop position before rotation. The position to which the rotating body 8 rotates and stops is determined by the detection result of the sensor 28. The alignment direction of the electronic components 4 is set in advance by a control unit including an electric circuit (not shown) connected to the sensor 28. The air cylinders 20, 22, 32, the pulse motor 42 and the like are all fixed to a part of the base 2, but are not shown.

Next, the operation of the electronic component alignment apparatus will be described. Now, the stopper pin 30 is retracted,
All the shutters 14 move forward to move the center 12 as shown in FIG.
The passages 12 other than a are closed. In this state, a large number of electronic components 4 aligned only in the direction of the terminals 5 are sequentially supplied into the upper chute 6 from above by a vibrating parts feeder or the like. The electronic components 4 fall in a line in the upper chute 6, and the leading electronic component 4 a reaches the lowermost end of the upper chute 6, stops against the shutter 14 a facing the upper chute 6. The electronic components 4 in the upper chute 6 are aligned only in the terminal 5 direction, but the other directions are scattered, and components of four types are mixed. Therefore, the direction of the lowermost electronic component 4a is detected by the sensor 28, and the second lower electronic component 4b is pressed and held by the stopper pin 30.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 7, the shutter 14a facing the upper chute 6 is retracted and opened, and the lowermost electronic component 4a is dropped into the passage 12 of the rotating body 8. Electronic components 4
When "a" hits the shutter 14b and stops at the center 12a, the shutter 14a is closed as shown in FIG. At this time, the electronic component 4 a is sandwiched by the four shutters 14 and
12a. The rotator 8 does not rotate in accordance with the direction of the electronic component 4a detected by the sensor 28, but does not rotate. The rotator 8 may be any one of four operations of 90 ° rotation, 180 ° rotation, and 90 ° rotation in the opposite direction. Is driven by the pulse motor. Then, the rotating body 8 is stopped, the shutter 14 facing the lower chute 18 is opened as shown in FIG. 2, the electronic component 4 on the central portion 12a is dropped into the lower chute 18, and the shutter 14 is closed. . In addition, from the state of FIG. 8 in which the shutter 14a is closed and the electronic component 4a is held at the central portion 12a, the stopper pin 30 is retracted to move the next electronic component 4b to the upper chute 6 in parallel with the above operation. It is moved to the lower end, the direction of the electronic component 4b is detected by the sensor 28, and the second electronic component 4c from the bottom is
Hold at 30. By repeating the above operation, the electronic components 4 are arranged in a certain direction and are sequentially supplied into the lower chute 18.

[0013]

According to the present invention, it is possible to construct a highly versatile alignment apparatus which can not only process at three times or more the speed of the conventional parts feeder but also easily change the alignment direction by switching electric signals. In addition, it is possible to cope with fluctuations in the size and position of a detection portion such as a terminal of an electronic component, and to perform stable and accurate alignment.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway front view showing a schematic configuration of an alignment apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional side view taken along the line AA of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front view of a rotating body.

FIG. 4 is a side sectional view of a rotating body.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a main part taken along line BB of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an operation explanatory diagram of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 S Rotating shaft 4 Electronic component 6 Upper chute 8 Rotating body 12 Passage 12a Center of passage 18 Lower chute 28 Sensor

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] An electronic component alignment device for aligning electronic components having a substantially quadrangular prism in a predetermined direction is rotatable about an axis, can be stopped at four positions at 90 ° intervals, and can pass electronic components. A substantially cross-shaped passage is formed, and a center portion of the cross-shaped passage is mounted on the rotating body and the rotating body.
It can move along the axial direction of the rotating body and surrounds the center of the passage
Four shutters that can block each of the four passages
And an upper chute for holding the electronic components to be supplied in the passage of the rotating body in a line, and a sensor for detecting the direction of the electronic components on the upper chute, and one electronic component received from the upper chute is provided. four sheets in the center of the rotating body passageway
Held by being sandwiched Yatta, after rotating the rotating body by a predetermined angle in response to the detection signal of the sensor, open one shutter
Aligning apparatus for electronic component which is characterized by being configured so as to discharge the electronic component from the passageway Te. 2. An electronic component discharged from a passage is received.
The lower chute faces the upper chute via the path of the rotating body
To the upper chute.
First driving means for retracting one shutter from the passage;
The second shutter facing the lower chute is retracted from the passage.
A second driving means for driving the first shutter and the second driving means.
So that the tip of the shutter is alternately retracted from inside the passage
The electronic component aligning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein