JP4589891B2 - Element inspection device for belt type continuously variable transmission - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an element inspection apparatus for inspecting warping and twisting of an element of a belt for a belt type continuously variable transmission.

  A belt of a belt type continuously variable transmission is configured by stacking a large number of elements 1 having the structure shown in FIG. 1 and connecting them with metal rings.

  The element 1 has a head portion 2 on the outer peripheral side of the belt and a body portion 4 connected to the lower side of the head portion 2 via a connecting portion 3 and on the inner peripheral side of the belt. The inclined surfaces 4a and 4b on both sides of the body portion 4 serve as contact surfaces that contact the pulleys of the transmission. A dimple 5 (positioning protrusion) is formed on the surface of the head portion 2, and a circular recess 6 having an inner diameter larger than that of the dimple 5 is formed at a position corresponding to the dimple 5 on the back surface.

  The head portion 2, the connecting portion 3, and the body portion 4 form slots 7a and 7b on both sides of the element 1, and the elements 1 are connected to each other by inserting metal rings (not shown) into the slots 7a and 7b, respectively. . The dimple 5 is fitted into a circular recess 6 formed on the back surface of another element 1 stacked on the dimple 5, thereby aligning the elements 1 stacked.

  By the way, since the element 1 is formed by heat-treating a metal plate punched into a predetermined shape, the entire element 1 is warped as shown in FIG. As shown in b), twisting may occur between the head portion 2 and the body portion 4. When warping and twisting of element 1 increase, the total thickness t of element 1 excluding dimple 5 increases, and when element 1 is laminated, a gap is created between elements 1 and a specified number of elements 1 are connected by a metal ring. become unable.

Therefore, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, an element is inserted into a groove having a predetermined width, and a non-defective or defective element is selected depending on whether the element can pass through the groove.
JP 2001-232306 A

  In the inspection method according to the above prior art, it is necessary to align the posture of the element (vertical orientation, front / back orientation, etc.) before inserting the element into the groove, but if the element is not in the correct posture, the element is good. Even so, it cannot pass through the groove and may be judged as a defective product.

  The present invention has been made in view of such technical problems, and it is an object of the present invention to improve the inspection accuracy of an element inspection apparatus by reducing the labor for aligning elements.

The element inspection apparatus according to the present invention aligns the elements so that the belt inner peripheral end surface of the body portion is on the lower side, and connects to the parts feeder that supplies the downstream through the chute, and is connected to the downstream side of the chute, A gauge having a gap penetrating the inside and a non-defective product discharge path connected to the downstream side of the gap. The gauge has a gap with a width obtained by adding a predetermined manufacturing error to the plate thickness excluding the element alignment protrusion, and at the position corresponding to the alignment protrusion, from the gap entrance to the gap exit. Grooves extending to the both sides of the gap are formed.
Further, the upstream side of the chute is composed of two rails arranged in parallel, and the element is supported with an alignment projection placed on one of the two rails, and the belt inner peripheral side end face is The elements are aligned by their own weight so as to be on the lower side.

According to the present invention, since the grooves are formed on both sides of the gap at the position corresponding to the alignment projection, the warp and twist of the element are small regardless of the orientation of the element. If the total thickness excluding the gauge is less than the width of the gap between the gauges, the element can pass through the gauge, and the good and defective elements can be selected.
In addition, since the upstream side of the chute is composed of two rails arranged in parallel, the alignment projection is placed on one of the two rails, regardless of whether the element is facing front or back Supported by

  Therefore, it is not necessary to align the front and back sides in advance for the inspection of the elements, so that the labor for aligning the elements is reduced. As a result, since the elements are not aligned, the element cannot pass through the gauge even though it is a non-defective product, so that it is less likely to be judged as a defective product, and the inspection accuracy of the element inspection apparatus can be improved. .

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 3 shows a schematic configuration of an element inspection apparatus according to the present invention. In this element inspection apparatus, the parts feeder 11 sends the element 1 to the gauge 14, and the element 1 having the structure shown in FIG. 1 depends on whether or not the element 1 can pass through the gap 20 formed in the gauge 14. Judges warpage and twist, and selects good and defective products.

  The parts feeder 11 includes a vibrating drum 10, a hopper 15 that replenishes the vibrating drum 10 with the element 1, and a chute 16 including an upstream chute 12 and a downstream chute 13.

  The vibrating drum 10 amplifies a force generated by ON / OFF of an electromagnet provided therein by a leaf spring, and causes directional vibration to convey the element 1 in the drum along the spiral conveyance path. The elements 1 are aligned in a standing state with any end face (surface around the element excluding the front and back surfaces) facing down by a guide provided along the spiral conveyance path.

  The element 1 that has exited the vibrating drum 10 is placed on the upstream chute 12 of the chute 16. As shown in FIG. 4, the upstream chute 12 has two inclined rails 12a and 12b arranged in parallel, and a gap 12g opened in the vertical direction is formed between the two rails 12a and 12b. It is formed. The two rails 12a and 12b are arranged at a sufficient interval so that both good and defective products can flow.

  The element 1 is supported with the dimples 5 (positioning protrusions) placed on one of the rails, and is sent downstream. At this time, due to the weight of the element 1, the element 1 becomes the belt of the body portion 4. It is automatically aligned so that the inner peripheral side end face is on the lower side.

  FIG. 5 shows how the elements 1 are automatically aligned in the upstream chute 12. As shown by the broken line, when the element 1 is placed on the upstream chute 12 with the belt inner peripheral end face of the body portion 4 facing upward, the element 1 rotates with the dimple 5 as a fulcrum by its own weight, and the body portion 4 are automatically aligned so that the end surface on the inner periphery side of the belt is on the lower side. Here, the lower side of the gap 12g of the upstream chute 12 is opened, but it is not essential to open the lower side of the gap 12g, and a sufficient space is secured so as not to hinder the rotation of the element 1. Any configuration can be used.

  The element 1 that has passed through the upstream chute 12 is further sent to the gauge 14 via the downstream chute 13 connected thereto. The downstream chute 13 is composed of two rails 13a and 13b that are inclined in the same manner as the upstream chute 12 and arranged in parallel at the same interval, but a gap formed between the two rails 13a and 13b. The underside is closed. This is because the element 1 is supported in an inclined state so that it can be easily inserted into the gauge 14.

  A cutting device 17 (cutting means) is provided in the middle of the downstream chute 13. The cutting device 17 is composed of a pair of extendable stoppers 17a and 17b. By alternately expanding and contracting the stoppers 17a and 17b to block the course of the element 1, the element 1 can be sent to the gauge 14 one by one. For example, from the state where the upstream stopper 17a is open and the downstream stopper 17b is closed (state A), the upstream stopper 17a is closed and at the same time the downstream stopper 17b is opened (state B), and one element 1 flows out. The upstream stopper 17a is opened and the downstream stopper 17b is closed (returns to the state A). By repeating this operation, the elements 1 can be sent to the gauge 14 one by one.

  The element 1 exiting the cutting device 17 is sent to the gauge 14. The gauge 14 includes a fixed gauge 14a and a movable gauge 14b that can be displaced in a direction away from the fixed gauge 14a by expanding and contracting the air cylinder 18. Between the fixed gauge 14a and the movable gauge 14b, a downstream is provided. A gap 20 that connects to the downstream side of the side chute 13 and penetrates the gauge 14 is formed.

  FIG. 6 shows a cross section of the gauge 14. The gap 20 has a plate thickness excluding the dimples 5 of the element 1 and a width W obtained by adding a predetermined manufacturing error to the plate thickness. Further, the gaps 20 are located on both sides of the gap 20 at positions corresponding to the dimples 5. Grooves 21a and 21b extending from the inlet to the outlet are formed. Each of the grooves 21 a and 21 b has a groove width larger than the diameter of the dimple 5 and a depth larger than the height of the dimple 5 from the surface of the element 1.

  Here, the gap 20 is formed by forming the recess 23 only in the movable gauge 14a. However, the gap 20 may be formed between the fixed gauge 14a and the movable gauge 14b. You may form by forming a recessed part in the fixed gauge 14a side. Alternatively, a recess may be formed in both the fixed gauge 14a and the movable gauge 14b, and the two recesses may be combined to form the gap 20.

  When the warp and twist of the element 1 are small and the total thickness t excluding the dimple 5 is smaller than the width W of the gap 20, the element 1 passes through the gauge 14 and is connected to the downstream side of the gap 20. 25 and discharged to the non-defective product receiving box 26.

  On the other hand, when the warping and twisting of the element 1 is large and the total thickness t excluding the dimple 5 is larger than the width W of the gauge 20, the element 1 cannot enter the gap 20 of the gauge 14 and can enter the gap 20. Or stop by being caught inside the gap 20. If the element 1 cannot pass through the gauge 14, the movable gauge 14 b is displaced away from the fixed gauge 14 a by the air cylinder 18 to separate the gauge 14 at the gap 20, and the element 1 is placed below the gauge 14. Drop off and sort out defective products. The element 1 dropped below the gauge 14 is discharged to the defective product receiving box 29 through the defective product discharge path 28.

  Here, the fact that the element 1 cannot pass through the gauge 14, that is, the element 1 is defective is provided in the middle of the operation timing of the cutting device 17 and the non-defective discharge path 25. Judgment is made on the basis of the detection result of the element passage sensor 30 (element passage detection means) that detects passage of the passage 25.

  Specifically, the elapsed time from when the downstream stopper 17b of the cutting device 17 is opened and one element 1 is sent to the gauge 14 is measured. Is not detected, it is determined that the element 1 has not passed the gauge 14 and is defective. The predetermined time here is set based on the time required for the element 1 exiting the cutting device 17 to pass through the gauge 14 and pass through the mounting position of the sensor 30, and a value of about several seconds is set.

  Next, operations and effects of the element inspection apparatus will be described.

  In the element inspection apparatus, the non-defective product and the defective product are selected depending on whether or not the element 1 can pass through the gap 20 formed in the gauge 14.

  The element 1 is aligned in the parts feeder 11 such that the end surface on the belt inner peripheral side of the body portion 4 is on the lower side. This alignment is achieved by aligning the dimple 5 of the element 1 with one of the two rails 12a and 12b. This is automatically performed by the weight of the element 1 because it is supported in a state where it is placed on the element 1. Also, the elements 1 sent to the gauge 14 are not aligned in the front and back directions, but the gap 20 of the gauge 14 has a width W obtained by adding a predetermined manufacturing error to the plate thickness to the plate thickness excluding the dimples 5 of the element 1. In addition, as shown in FIG. 6, grooves 21 a and 21 b corresponding to the dimples 5 are formed on both sides, so that the warp and twist are small and the dimples 5 are excluded regardless of the orientation of the element 1. It can pass as long as the total thickness t is less than or equal to the width W.

  Therefore, according to the present invention, the labor for aligning the elements 1 is reduced. As a result, the elements 1 are not aligned, so that the elements 1 cannot pass through the gauge 14 even though they are non-defective. It is possible to improve the inspection accuracy of the element inspection apparatus because it is determined that the product is defective.

  In addition, the good / defective product is judged based on whether or not the sensor 30 detects the passage of the element 1 within a predetermined time from when the downstream stopper 17b is opened and the element 1 is sent to the gauge 14. If it is determined as a defective product, the defective product is discharged by dividing the gauge 14, so that the determination of the defective product and the selection thereof can be performed easily and reliably.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, the said embodiment only showed an example of the structure to which this invention was applied, and is not the meaning which limits the application range of this invention to the said structure. The above configuration can be modified without departing from the gist of the present invention, and these modified examples are of course included in the technical scope of the present invention.

It is a front view of an element. FIG. 2A shows a defect mode of an element, where FIG. 2A shows warping that occurs in the element, and FIG. 2B shows twist that occurs in the element. It is a schematic block diagram of the element inspection apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is the schematic which shows the structure of an upstream chute. It is the figure which showed a mode that the element was automatically aligned in the upstream chute. It is sectional drawing of a gauge.

Explanation of symbols

1 Element 2 Head part 4 Body part 5 Dimple (positioning protrusion)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Vibrating drum 11 Parts feeder 12 Upstream chute 12a, 12b Rail 13 Downstream chute 13a, 13b Rail 14 Gauge 16 Chute 17 Cutting device (cutting means)
20 Clearance 25 Good product discharge path 28 Defective product discharge path 30 Element passage sensor (element passage detection means)

Claims (2)

Element inspection for inspecting the warping and twisting of belt type continuously variable transmission belts, which have a protrusion for alignment with the element and which is composed of a head part on the outer peripheral side of the belt and a body part on the inner peripheral side of the belt A device,
A parts feeder that aligns the elements so that the belt inner peripheral end surface of the body portion is on the lower side and supplies the downstream through a chute;
A gauge connected to the downstream side of the chute and having a gap penetrating through the inside;
A non-defective discharge path connected to the downstream side of the gap;
The gauge has a gap between the plate thickness excluding the alignment projection of the element and a width obtained by adding a predetermined manufacturing error to the plate thickness, and at a position corresponding to the alignment projection. Ri Contact grooves extending from the inlet of the gap to the exit of said gap is formed on both sides of the gap,
The upstream side of the chute is composed of two rails arranged in parallel,
The element is supported in a state in which the alignment protrusion is placed on one of the two rails, and the element is aligned by its own weight so that the belt inner peripheral side end surface is on the lower side. Element inspection device for belt type continuously variable transmission.   Cutting means provided in the middle of the chute and sending the elements one by one downstream;
  An element passage detection means provided in the non-defective product discharge path for detecting passage of the element;
When the element passage detecting means does not detect passage of the element even if a predetermined time has elapsed after the cutting means sends the element one downstream, the element is configured to be splittable. 2. The belt-type continuously variable transmission element according to claim 1, wherein the element is determined to be a defective product, and the element is discharged below the gauge by dividing the gauge. Inspection device.

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