JP4446089B2 - Work transfer system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a workpiece transfer system that loads and transfers workpieces one by one in a workpiece storage section of a transfer table, and in particular, separates the workpieces that have been transferred in contact with each other into the workpiece storage portion of the transfer table. The present invention relates to a workpiece transfer system to be supplied.

Conventionally, a workpiece conveyance system as shown in FIG. 9 is known (see Patent Document 1). In FIG. 9, the workpiece transfer system has a workpiece feeder 28 and a separation mechanism 29. A support base 28a which forms a conveying path for these work feeder 28 work w _10, consists of a cover 28b for scattering prevention of the workpiece w ₁₀ covering the conveying path, to align conveyed by concatenating the workpiece w ₁₀ It has become.

The separation mechanism 29 connected to the downstream end of the work feeder 28 includes a base 22 having a communication path 29a that is flush with the conveyance path of the work feeder 28, and a cover 24 that covers the communication path 29a. In the vicinity of the downstream end of the communication passage 29a, the separation pin 25a of the workpiece stopper 25 is provided to regulate the progress by blocking the first workpiece w ₁₁ of the workpiece w ₁₀ to be aligned conveyed, the separation pin 25a penetrates the base 22 It is provided on the communication passage 29a so that it can freely appear and disappear.

  On the base 22, a turntable 23 having a plurality of work storage grooves 23a at its peripheral edge is provided so as to be intermittently rotatable. When the turntable 23 stops, the work storage grooves 23a and the downstream end of the communication passage 29a face each other. It is supposed to be.

A suction port 26 communicating with the work storage groove 23a is provided through the base 22 at the lower part of the work storage groove 23a facing the downstream end of the communication path 29a. When the separation pin 25a is lowered, the leading end on the communication path 29a is provided. work w ₁₁ becomes being attracted to the suction hole 26 to be loaded into the workpiece storage groove 23a. The projector 27a is provided through the base 22, the light receiver 27b is provided through the cover 24, by these light projector 27a and a light receiver 27b, the state of the workpiece _{w 11} loaded in the workpiece storage groove 23a Is to be detected.

Top workpiece w ₁₁ by the photo detector 27b is detected to have been loaded in the workpiece storage groove 23a, is input to the controller 31, increases a command separation pin 25a is outputted to the drive mechanism 25b from the controller 31, subsequent work _{w 12} is separated from the top workpiece _{w 11} is blocked by the separation pin 25a projecting on the communication passage 29a. At the same time, the turntable 23 is intermittently sent by one step by the driving means of the turntable 23 (not shown).
JP 2002-145445 A

  In such a workpiece transfer system, as the parts become finer, the separation pin 25a becomes extremely thin and easily broken, and it becomes difficult to incorporate the separation pin 25a and the drive mechanism 25b. This causes a limit to the continuous operation of the device such as the 25a infestation operation, and as a result, this is a factor in limiting the speeding up.

Moreover, since it is common to provide the covers 28b and 24 in the conveyance path 28a and the communication path 29a, the workpiece is easily clogged. When the workpiece jam occurs, or lingering recovery, or a mechanism for recovering the so-called recovery apparatus, since it is necessary to remove the jammed workpiece w _10, there is a problem that manufacturing cost becomes high.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of such points, and a work transfer system that can securely load and transfer works one by one in a work storage section of a transfer table without causing work clogging. The purpose is to provide.

  The present invention relates to a table base that is arranged substantially vertically, a transfer table that is rotatably arranged on the table base, and has a plurality of work storage units on the outer periphery, and is arranged perpendicular to the transfer table to store the work. A linear feeder that supplies workpieces to each other and continuously feeds them, and a separation chute that is provided between the linear feeder and the conveyance table and separates workpieces supplied from the linear feeder one by one. Is a workpiece transfer system characterized by

  In the present invention, the linear feeder includes a supply feeder and a return feeder provided in parallel with the supply feeder and disposed below the supply feeder. The supply feeder has a first V-shaped groove, and the first V-shaped groove. Consists of a long side corresponding to the inclined surface inclined to the return feeder side and a short side located on the return feeder side. When the stable bottom surface of the workpiece comes to the long side of the first V-shaped groove, the workpiece is positioned in a normal conveying position. The workpiece conveying system is characterized in that when the stable bottom surface of the workpiece comes to the short side of the first V-shaped groove, the center of gravity of the workpiece is outside the ridge portion of the short side and the workpiece falls back to the feeder side.

  The present invention is the workpiece transfer system characterized in that the long side of the first V-shaped groove of the supply feeder is inclined by 35 ° or more with respect to the horizontal plane.

  The present invention is the workpiece conveyance system, wherein the separation chute is formed corresponding to the first V-shaped groove of the supply feeder and has a second V-shaped groove having a long side and a short side.

  In the second V-shaped groove of the separation chute, the suction hole for temporarily sucking the workpiece supplied from the linear feeder, and the injection for ejecting air to the defective workpiece located on the downstream side of the suction hole are eliminated. It is a workpiece conveyance system provided with a hole.

  The present invention is the workpiece conveyance system, wherein the bottom surface of the workpiece storage portion of the conveyance table corresponds to the long side of the second V-shaped groove of the separation chute.

  The present invention is a work transfer system characterized in that a work loading hole for sucking a work on the separation chute into a work storage part of the transfer table is provided in a portion corresponding to the second V-shaped groove of the separation chute of the table base. is there.

  The present invention is a workpiece transfer system characterized in that a workpiece detection sensor is provided on the downstream side of a separation chute from the supply feeder by one pitch or more from the supply feeder.

  The present invention is a workpiece transfer system characterized in that a workpiece discharge hole is provided in a portion of the table base corresponding to the workpiece detection sensor.

  In the present invention, the long side of the first V-shaped groove of the supply feeder is flush with the long side of the second V-shaped groove of the separation chute, and the short side of the first V-shaped groove is flush with the short side of the second V-shaped groove. It is the workpiece conveyance system characterized by being on.

  The present invention is a workpiece transfer system in which air injection from the injection hole is started immediately before the rotation of the transfer table is started, and is controlled by the control unit to stop immediately after the transfer table is stopped.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the separation and supply of the workpiece is performed using the suction force and the timing without providing the separation pin as in the prior art. Problems can be eliminated, continuous operation of the apparatus can be realized, and high speed can be realized. Furthermore, since there is no need to provide a cover, clogging of the workpiece does not occur, and therefore a recovery mechanism or the like is not required, so that simple and stable separation and supply of the workpiece is possible, and the product cost can be reduced. .

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of a work transfer system according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a front view showing the work transfer system, FIG. 3A is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a linear feeder in a normal transfer state, and FIG. b) is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the linear feeder in an abnormally transported state, FIGS. 4A to 4C are explanatory views of the supply feeder, FIG. 5 is a front view showing a separation chute, and FIG. 6 is a side view showing a work loading hole. FIG. 7 is a side view showing the work discharge hole.

  1 and 2, a workpiece transfer system 1 is provided on a vertical table base 2 and a vertical surface 2 a of the table base 2 so as to be intermittently rotatable around a horizontal rotation shaft 3 a. A workpiece transfer means 3 having a plurality of U-shaped workpiece storage grooves (work storage portions) 4 on the outer periphery and a workpiece table 3 are arranged orthogonal to the carrier table 3 so that the workpieces w are in contact with each other and are continuous. The linear feeder 6 serving as a workpiece supply means for supplying the workpiece into the workpiece storage groove 4, and a separation chute provided between the linear feeder 6 and the conveying table 3 for separating the workpieces w supplied from the linear feeder 6 one by one. 7.

  Among these, the linear feeder 6 includes a supply feeder 6a that supplies the workpiece w to the conveyance table 3, and a return feeder 6b that returns the workpiece w discharged from the supply feeder 6a or the conveyance table 3 to the upstream end of the supply feeder 6a. The linear feeder 6 is provided at a right angle to the transport table 3. Further, the separation chute 7 is sandwiched between the downstream end of the supply feeder 6 a and the transport table 3.

  The return feeder 6b is arranged below the supply feeder 6a and in parallel with the supply feeder 6a.

  As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the work conveyance path of the supply feeder 6 a has a first V-shaped groove 9. The first V-shaped groove 9 functions as means for discriminating the front and back of the workpiece as shown in FIG. 4A, has a long side 9a and a short side 9b, and the internal angle of the first V-shaped groove 9 is a right angle. Thus, the oblique angle of the long side 9a is approximately 45 ° with respect to the horizontal plane. As shown in FIG. 4B, the height dimension L of the short side 9b of the first V-shaped groove 9 is larger than the radius of the corner portion R of the workpiece w. As shown in FIG. 4C, when the workpiece w does not take a normal conveyance position (when the front and back of the workpiece w are reversed), the perpendicular line of the center of gravity G of the workpiece w is the short side 9b of the first V-shaped groove 9. It comes outside the ridge 9c. In FIG. 4C, the dimension x is 0 or more. As a result, if the workpiece w does not take a normal conveyance position in the supply feeder 6a (when the front and back of the workpiece w are abnormal), the workpiece w in the supply feeder 6a slides over the return feeder 6b beyond the short side 9b. Returned.

  Here, as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the long side 9a of the first V-shaped groove 9 of the supply feeder 6a corresponds to the inclined surface inclined toward the return feeder 6b, and the short side 9b is the return feeder 6b. Located on the side.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the conveying surface of the separation chute 7 has a second V-shaped groove 15 corresponding to the first V-shaped groove 9 of the supply feeder 6a. The second V-shaped groove 15 includes a long side 15 a that is on the same plane as the long side 9 a of the first V-shaped groove 9 and a short side 15 b that is on the same plane as the short side 9 b of the first V-shaped groove 9. . The second V-shaped groove 15 has a long side 15a that coincides with the bottom surface of the U-shaped workpiece storage groove 4 provided at the peripheral edge of the conveying table 3 when the conveying table 3 stops, and the second V-shaped groove 15 The 15 short sides 15 b coincide with the rear side surface of the work storage groove 4 in the rotation direction.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, a suction hole 10 is provided in the long side 15 a of the second V-shaped groove 15 of the separation chute 7 through the separation chute 7 on the supply feeder 6 a side. An injection hole 11 is provided on the side. The suction hole 10 and the injection hole 11 are each communicated with a vacuum generation source and a compressed air generation source via an air control means (not shown).

  As shown in FIGS. 1, 5, and 6, a work loading hole 12 that penetrates the table base 2 is provided opposite to the second V-shaped groove 15, and the work loading hole 12 communicates with a vacuum generation source (not shown). As a result, the work loading hole 12 is always negatively pressurized.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 7, a projector 8a of the workpiece detection sensor 8 is provided through the separation chute 7 at a position separated from the workpiece supply means 6 by one pitch or more of the workpiece storage groove 4; A light receiver 8b is provided so as to face the light projector 8a and be separated from the surface of the separation chute 7 by at least the thickness dimension of the workpiece w. The light projector 8 a of the workpiece detection sensor 8 is provided in the separation chute 7 on the downstream side of one pitch or more of the workpiece storage groove 4 from the supply feeder 6 a.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 7, a work discharge hole 13 is provided through the table base 2 so as to face the work detection sensor 8, and this work discharge hole 13 generates compressed air via an air control means (not shown). Communicated with the source. Note that the workpiece w loaded in the workpiece storage groove 4 in FIG. 2 is always sucked by a suction means (not shown) and is rotated and conveyed.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the workpiece | work w used for this invention has a stable part (henceforth a stable bottom face). For example, it is preferable to have a long side surface if the cross section of the work w is rectangular, and a designated stable surface (long side surface in the case of the work in FIG. 3) if the cross section is irregular. 9a is transported on the surface side. The stable bottom surface is appropriately selected depending on the state of the workpiece w.

  Next, the operation of the present embodiment having such a configuration will be described.

  In FIG. 1, the linear feeder 6 is composed of, for example, a vibration type linear feeder, and the supply feeder 6 a is aligned with the work w having a stable bottom surface, for example, a long side 20 a having a rectangular cross section, in contact with each other with the conveyance table 3 side as the downstream side. Be transported. On the other hand, the return feeder 6b is configured so that the workpiece w is conveyed with the conveyance table 3 side upstream, and the workpiece w on the return feeder 6b is returned upstream of the supply feeder 6a.

  When the workpiece w is transported on the supply feeder 6a of the linear feeder 6, as shown in FIGS. 3 (a) and 4 (b), the workpiece w is placed on the long side 9a of the first V-shaped groove 9 of the supply feeder 6a. The surface corresponding to the long side 20 a which is the stable bottom surface of the cross section comes into contact, and the corner portion R of the work w comes into contact with the short side 9 b of the first V-shaped groove 9. In this way, the workpiece w assumes the conveying posture in which the front and back are normal. In this case, since the center of gravity G is located on the long side 9a side of the first V-shaped groove 9, the work w is stably conveyed.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 3 (b) and 4 (c), in the inverted state where the long side 20a of the cross section of the workpiece w is in contact with the short side 9b, the perpendicular from the center of gravity G is the ridge 9c. It will come off. For this reason, the workpiece w falls down to the outside of the first V-shaped groove 9 of the supply feeder 6a, is discharged onto the return feeder 6b, and is supplied again to the upstream end of the supply feeder 6a.

  Next, the workpiece w having a normal conveying posture is conveyed to the downstream side of the supply feeder 6a, and is sucked by the negative pressure of the suction hole 10 at the upstream end of the separation chute 7, so that the movement is restricted.

  Here, the timing of suction / stop of the negative pressure of the suction hole 10 of the separation chute 7, the injection / stop of separation air of the injection hole 11, and the intermittent rotation / stop of the transfer table 3 controlled by the control unit 1a is shown in FIG. Show.

During the rotation of the transfer table 3, the workpiece w is separated and sucked and held on the separation chute 7 by the suction hole 10, and at the same time, the separation air is discharged from the injection hole 11 assuming that there is a defective workpiece w before the stopped workpiece w. The remaining work w is ejected from the separation chute 7 by being injected. Immediately thereafter, the transfer table 3 stops. In this case, the separation air from the injection hole 11 starts to be injected immediately before the rotation of the transport table 3 starts. Further, immediately after the conveyance table 3 is stopped, both the injection from the injection hole 11 and the suction from the suction hole 10 are stopped. Next, as shown in FIG. 6, the table base 2 positioned at the back of the work storage groove 4 of the transport table 3 that is stopped is the top work w ₁ that has been sucked into the suction hole 10 and stopped on the separation chute 7. Are sucked through the workpiece loading hole 12 and loaded into the workpiece storage groove 4.

  In this case, although the workpiece loading hole 12 is always at a negative pressure, the suction of the workpiece w is performed when the workpiece storage groove 4 of the transfer table 3 and the loading suction hole 12 face each other. The timing at which the workpiece w is loaded depends on the position of the transfer table 3 as shown in FIG.

When the leading work w ₁ on the separation chute 7 is loaded into the workpiece storage groove 4, the suction hole 10 again becomes negative pressure, the subsequent workpiece w ₂ is separated and sucked on the separation chute 7 and stops, and the leading work w ₁ is stopped. And are to be separated.

These operations are all performed at a scheduled timing without confirmation by a confirmation sensor or the like. Therefore, subsequent work w ₂ is also conceivable that get through the suction holes 10 in succession beginning work w ₁ by mistake. In this case, immediately before the carrying table 3 is stopped, it is dropped onto subsequent work w ₂ back to discharge from the separating chute 7 feeder 6b by jet air from the injection hole 11.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 7, when the loading posture of the workpiece w loaded in the workpiece storage groove 4 is incomplete and a part of the workpiece w protrudes from the workpiece storage groove 4, the workpiece w is detected by the workpiece detection sensor. 8 is detected. Next, compressed air is jetted into the workpiece discharge hole 13 in accordance with a command from the control unit 1a by a signal from the workpiece detection sensor 8. At this time, the workpiece w is discharged from the workpiece storage groove 4 and falls to the return feeder 6 b via the outer peripheral curved surface of the separation chute 7.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, each work can be reliably loaded into the work storage groove of the transfer table without causing work clogging.

  In addition, the workpiece conveyance system by this invention is used also for the apparatus which has the conveyance table which rotates intermittently like a taping apparatus.

  In addition, the example in which the oblique angle of the long side 9a of the first V-shaped groove 9 is 45 ° is shown, but not limited to this, the long side 9a side is set to 35 ° or more from the horizontal plane according to the shape of the workpiece w. It may be easy to fall to the short side 9b side, and the oblique angle of the long side 9a is not limited to 45 °.

  Further, although not shown, the work discharge hole 13 may be omitted by providing a confirmation sensor in the work storage groove 4. The confirmation sensor in this case may be a method using a negative pressure sensor or image processing in addition to the optical sensor. If the work w can be confirmed to be loaded in a complete posture in the work storage groove 4, the sensor It is not related to the kind of.

  Further, the dimensions of the long sides 9a and 15a and the short sides 9b and 15b of the first V-shaped groove 9 and the second V-shaped groove 15 can be changed depending on the shape of the workpiece w so that the operation can be performed reliably.

The top view which shows one Embodiment of the workpiece conveyance system by this invention. The front view which shows one Embodiment of the workpiece conveyance system by this invention. The figure which shows a linear feeder. The figure which shows the supply feeder of a linear feeder. The front view which shows a separation chute. The side view which shows a workpiece | work loading hole. The side view which shows a workpiece | work discharge hole. The time chart which shows the effect | action of this invention. The figure which shows the conventional workpiece conveyance system.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Work conveyance system 2 Table base 3 Conveyance table 4 Work storage groove 6 Linear feeder 6a Supply feeder 6b Return feeder 7 Separation chute 8 Work detection sensor 8a Emitter 8b Light receiver 9 1st V-shaped groove 9a Long side 9b Short side 9c Edge 10 Suction hole 11 Injection hole 12 Workpiece loading hole 13 Work discharge hole 15 Second V-shaped groove 15a Long side 15b Short side

Claims (6)

A table base arranged substantially vertically;
A transport table that is rotatably arranged on the table base and has a plurality of work storage portions on the outer periphery;
A linear feeder that is arranged orthogonally to the transfer table, and in which the workpieces are brought into contact with each other and continuously supplied to the workpiece storage unit;
A separation chute that is provided between the linear feeder and the transfer table and separates workpieces supplied from the linear feeder one by one;
The linear feeder has a supply feeder and a return feeder that is provided in parallel with the supply feeder and disposed below the supply feeder to return the work discharged from the supply feeder to the upstream end of the supply feeder,
The supply feeder has a first V-shaped groove, and the first V-shaped groove has a long side corresponding to an inclined surface inclined toward the return feeder side and a short side positioned on the return feeder side,
The separation chute is formed corresponding to the first V-shaped groove of the supply feeder, and has a second V-shaped groove having a long side and a short side,
In the part corresponding to the second V-shaped groove of the separation chute of the table base, a work loading hole for sucking the work on the separation chute into the work storage part of the transfer table is provided,
The second V-shaped groove of the separation chute has a suction hole for temporarily sucking the workpiece supplied from the linear feeder and an injection hole for injecting air to the remaining workpiece on the separation chute located downstream of the suction hole. Provided,
While the conveyance table is stopped by the control unit, the workpiece is sucked into the workpiece storage unit of the conveyance table by the workpiece loading hole,
Air injection from the injection hole is started immediately before the start of rotation of the transport table, the remaining work on the separation chute is discharged toward the feeder, and stopped immediately after the stop of rotation of the transport table,
Conveying table and work loading hole so that suction from the suction hole starts when the work is loaded from the separation chute to the work storage part of the transport table, temporarily sucks the work and stops immediately after the rotation of the transport table stops A workpiece transfer system that controls suction by the air, air injection by the injection hole, and suction by the suction hole .   The work conveying system according to claim 1, wherein a long side of the first V-shaped groove of the supply feeder is inclined by 35 ° or more with respect to a horizontal plane. The bottom surface of the workpiece storage unit of the conveying table, work conveying system according to claim 1, characterized in that it corresponds to the long side of the 2V-shaped groove of the separate chute. Of the separated shoot, on the downstream side more than one pitch of the workpiece storage unit from the supply feeder workpiece transfer according to claim 1, characterized in that a workpiece detection sensor for detecting a workpiece which is not properly loaded in the workpiece storage unit system. A portion corresponding to the work detection sensor of the table base, according to claim 4, characterized in that a workpiece discharge hole for discharging toward the back to air ejection in not properly loaded in the workpiece storage unit work feeder Work transfer system. The long side of the first V-shaped groove of the supply feeder is flush with the long side of the second V-shaped groove of the separation chute, and the short side of the first V-shaped groove is flush with the short side of the second V-shaped groove. The workpiece transfer system according to claim 1 .

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