JP4905883B2 - Parts supply device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a supply device for a thin plate-like component such as an element for a belt type continuously variable transmission (CVT).

  FIG. 4 is an external view of the CVT belt. In this figure, a CVT belt 1 is composed of a plurality of (for example, 400) elements 4 in two belt laminates 3, 3 in which a plurality of ring-shaped steel belts 2, 2,. The element laminated body 5 which consists of 4, ... is carried and assembled.

  5A and 5B are structural diagrams of the element, in which FIG. 5A is a front view, FIG. 5B is a side view, and FIG. 5C is a state diagram when assembled to the CVT belt 1. As shown in (a) and (b), the element 4 is a component (thin plate-shaped component) formed by punching a metal thin plate into a predetermined shape, and specifically, the lower end portion is a thin plate portion 6a. And a body portion 6 that forms the thick plate portion 6b, a substantially triangular head portion 7, and a neck portion 8 that connects the body portion 6 and the head portion 7 on both sides of the neck portion 8. Cutout portions 9 and 10 for fitting the belt laminates 3 and 3 are formed. The belt laminates 3 and 3 correspond to a binding band described in the gist of the invention, that is, a “binding band” in which a large number of elements 4 are stacked and bound. In addition, the small protrusion 11 formed on one surface of the head 7 is for fitting to the recess 12 on the other surface of the adjacent element 4 for positioning.

  When assembling the element 4 having such a structure to the CVT belt 1, first, 400 elements (or a smaller number for adjusting the number of layers) are aligned and aligned for manual alignment. It has been practiced that the element laminate 5 is formed side by side on the rail 12 and the element laminate 5 is put into a CVT belt manufacturing process (not shown). However, such an artificial work is troublesome and troublesome. So automation is required.

  As a conventional technique that can be used for the automation of the above work, for example, there is “a method and an apparatus for housing a polarized chip component” described in Patent Document 1 below.

  FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram of an element supply apparatus to which the prior art is applied. In this figure, a disk-shaped index table 14 is arranged facing the exit of a guide path 13 that guides the elements 4 that flow down sequentially from a parts feeder (not shown). The index table 14 is intermittently rotated in the clockwise direction (a direction) toward the drawing, and the index table 14 includes a plurality of index tables arranged in the circumferential direction at equal angles in the radial direction of the rotation shaft 15. Eight concave portions 16a to 16h and negative pressure passages (air suction passages) 17a to 17h that open to the bottom surfaces of the concave portions 16a to 16h are provided.

  In such a configuration, when the element 4 is allowed to freely flow down from the parts feeder (not shown) to the guide path 13 in synchronization with the intermittent rotation of the index table 14, it is located at the exit of the guide path 13 for each intermittent rotation. The elements 4 are sequentially stored in the recesses of the index table 14 (in the illustrated example, the recesses 16a). Therefore, for example, the element 4 is pushed out from the concave portion 16b on the right side of the concave portion 16a in the front direction (or the reverse direction) in the drawing, and sequentially placed on the alignment rail 12 in FIG. The element laminate 5 can be created.

Japanese Patent No. 3200612

  However, the application example of FIG. 6 has the following problems because the element 4 is simply dropped and accommodated in the recess 16a of the index table 14.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of the problem.
First, as shown to (a), the element 4 which fell freely may bounce off the bottom face of the recessed part 16a, and a part of element 4 may be accommodated in the state exposed from the recessed part 16a. In this case, as shown in FIG. 5B, there is a problem that the exposed element 4 is caught by the exit of the guide path 13 with the intermittent rotation of the index table 14 in the clockwise direction (b direction).

  Here, in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, a negative pressure is used to prevent such a housing failure (see negative pressure paths 17a to 17h in FIG. 6), but this method is expected in the case of the element 4. The effect that I did is not obtained. As described above, the element 4 is a thin plate-shaped part formed by punching a metal thin plate into a predetermined shape. Therefore, sufficient suction can be applied to the end surface of the element 4 (thin plate end surface). This is because power cannot be obtained.

  Further, in order to avoid the above exposure trouble, it is conceivable to cut out a part 13a of the exit of the guide path 13 as shown in (c). The element 4 may rotate (for example, rotate in the direction B) at 13a, causing a trouble that the rotated element 4 cannot enter the recess 16a.

  Alternatively, even if a part of the rotated element 4 is accommodated in the recess 16a, as shown in (d), due to the intermittent centrifugal rotation of the index table 14 in the clockwise direction (b), There may be a problem that the element 4 jumps out in the direction C.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a component supply device that can reliably accommodate a thin plate-like component (for example, an element) in a recess of an index table.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a disk-shaped index table having concave portions formed at equal intervals along the circumferential direction, a rotation driving means for intermittently rotating the index table in a predetermined direction, and a thin plate-shaped component. A guide path to be inserted into the recess of the index table; an alignment rail connected to the index table to align the thin plate-like components discharged from the index table; and an outer periphery of the index table from the vicinity of the exit of the guide path And the anti- spinning tool that extends to the alignment rail and an elastic wall that forms a part of the wall in the vicinity of the exit of the guide path and on the rotation direction side of the index table. Includes a slope portion and an arc portion, and a space is provided between the slope portion and the index table. There is a component supply device, characterized in that provided along the outer periphery of said index table.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the component supply device according to the first aspect, further comprising an extruding means for extruding the thin plate-shaped component accommodated in the concave portion and placing the thin plate-shaped component on the alignment rail. is there.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, the thin plate-like component is an element of a belt for a continuously variable transmission, has a notch portion to be attached to the ring, and a protrusion having a shape corresponding to the notch portion. which it is a component supply device according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that formed on the bottom surface of the recess.
The invention according to claim 4, wherein the alignment rail is a component supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that it has a shape corresponding to the cutout portion according to claim 3 .

According to the present invention , a thin plate-like component (for example, an element) can be reliably accommodated in the concave portion of the index table, and furthermore, a problem of popping out of the thin plate-like component can be avoided by the splash preventing tool.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that the specific details or examples in the following description and the illustrations of numerical values, character strings, and other symbols are only for reference in order to clarify the idea of the present invention, and the present invention may be used in whole or in part. Obviously, the idea of the invention is not limited. In addition, a well-known technique, a well-known procedure, a well-known architecture, a well-known circuit configuration, and the like (hereinafter, “well-known matter”) are not described in detail, but this is also to simplify the description. Not all or part of the matter is intentionally excluded. Such well-known matters are known to those skilled in the art at the time of filing of the present invention, and are naturally included in the following description.

  Fig.1 (a) is a block diagram of the components supply apparatus in this embodiment. In this figure, a component supply apparatus 20 includes a ball-shaped container 21 in which a large number of thin plate-shaped elements 4 are accommodated, and a guide path 22 that guides the elements 4 that sequentially flow free from the container 21 obliquely downward. The index table 25 is disposed at the exit of the guide path 22 and intermittently rotates by a motor 23 about a rotation shaft 24 in a fixed direction (clockwise direction toward the drawing).

  The index table 25 includes a plurality of (eight in the figure) recesses 26a to 26h arranged in the circumferential direction at an equal angle in the radial direction of the rotating shaft 24, and protrusions standing on the bottom surfaces of the recesses 26a to 26h. 27a-27h. The size of the recesses 26a to 26h is such that the entire element 4 placed in the horizontal direction can be accommodated, and the widths and heights of the protrusions 27a to 27h are the sizes of the elements 4 accommodated in the recesses 26a to 26h. One cut-out portion (see cut-out portion 10 in FIG. 5) is set to a degree that can be accommodated.

  FIG.1 (b) is a principal part enlarged view of a components supply apparatus. In this figure, the guide path 22 has a passage 22a having a width slightly larger than the height H of the element 4, and an elastic wall 22b provided on one side of the outlet of the passage 22a. Here, “one side” means the intermittent rotation direction side of the index table 25, and here, the index table 25 intermittently rotates clockwise in the direction of the drawing, and is the right side of the drawing.

  The elastic wall 22b may be configured by a leaf spring, for example. The length L of the elastic wall 22b is such that even when the element 4 bounces off the bottom surface of the recess 26a and a part of the element 4 is accommodated exposed from the recess 26a, the exposed element 4 is elastic. It is assumed that there is no excess or deficiency to the extent that the wall 22b can be elastically deformed smoothly.

  The guide path 22 further has a splash prevention tool 22c. The splash preventing tool 22c is also made of an elastic member, and may be made of a leaf spring in the same manner as the elastic wall 22b.

  One end side (the left end side in the drawing) of the splash preventing tool 22c is fixed to the passage 22a on the upper part of the elastic wall 22b, and the other end side is provided with a slight gap F along the outer periphery of the index table 25. And is extended over the adjacent recess 26b.

  FIG. 2 is a relationship diagram between the index table 25 and the alignment rail 28. In this figure, the alignment rail 28 is arranged so that its longitudinal direction is perpendicular to the table surface 25 a of the index table 25, and the end surface 28 a of the alignment rail 28 is 0 of the index table 25. It faces the protrusion 27b of the recess (in the example shown, the recess 26b) located at a degree (0 degrees is the celestial direction).

  An extrusion mechanism 29 is provided on the back side of the concave portion (the concave portion 26b in the illustrated example) positioned at 0 degrees of the index table 25. The push-out mechanism 29 includes a pressing member 29c connected to an actuator 29b via a shaft 29a, and the push-out mechanism 29 causes a recess (in the illustrated example, a recess 26b) positioned at 0 degrees. By pushing out the accommodated elements 4 and sequentially placing them on the alignment rails 28, the element laminate 5 can be created without human intervention.

  A groove 29d is formed in the pressing member 29c. The groove 29d is provided so that the protrusion 27b of the recess 26b does not get in the way when the element 4 is pushed out.

  In such a configuration, when the element 4 is allowed to freely flow from the container 21 to the guide path 22 in synchronization with the intermittent rotation of the index table 25, the index table 25 positioned at the exit of the guide path 22 for each intermittent rotation. The elements 4 are sequentially stored in the recesses (in the example shown, the recesses 26a). At the same time, the element 4 is pushed out from the concave portion 26b (the concave portion 26b positioned at 0 degree) adjacent to the right side of the concave portion 26a by the push-out mechanism 29 in FIG. 2, and is sequentially placed on the alignment rail 28. The element laminated body 5 can be created without going through.

  Now, this embodiment is also the same as the application example (FIG. 6) described at the beginning in that the element 4 is freely dropped and accommodated in the recess 26a of the index table 25.

  For this reason, the element 4 may bounce off the bottom surface of the recess 26a, and a part of the element 4 may be accommodated in a state of being exposed from the recess 26a (see FIG. 7A). In the example, the exposed element 4 is not caught by the exit of the guide path 22.

  This is because the elastic wall 22 b is provided on one side of the exit of the guide path 22. That is, the element 4 that is partially exposed from the recess 26a moves in the same direction as the index table 25 is intermittently rotated in the clockwise direction. Since 22b is deformed, there is no obstacle that obstructs the movement of the element 4, and as a result, the trouble that the exposed element 4 is caught by the exit of the guide path 22 (see FIG. 7B) can be avoided. .

  Further, by providing the elastic wall 22b, it is possible to avoid the trouble that the element 4 rotates in the vicinity of the exit of the guide path 22 (see FIG. 7C).

  In addition, in the present embodiment, the anti-annealing tool 22c, that is, one end side is fixed to the passage 22a at the top of the elastic wall 22b, and the other end side is provided with a slight gap F along the outer periphery of the index table 25. The element 4 that has passed through the elastic wall 22b (is still exposed from the recess 26b at this stage) is provided with the anti-reflection tool 22c that is curved and extended above the adjacent recess 26b. Since the spring force of the splash preventing tool 22c is pushed back into the recess 26a, the problem of jumping out of the element 4 described at the beginning (see FIG. 7D) can be avoided.

  In the above description, as the structure of the anti-reflection tool 22c, one end side is fixed to the passage 22a on the upper part of the elastic wall 22b, and the other end side is provided with a slight gap F along the outer periphery of the index table 25. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, an element collapse prevention portion may be provided on the splash prevention tool 22c.

  FIGS. 3A and 3B are external views of the splash preventing tool 22c, in which FIG. 3A shows an element that does not have an element collapse prevention section, and FIG. 3A shows an element that has an element collapse prevention section. That is, the anti-annealing tool 22c shown in (a) is formed entirely of an elastic member, for example, a single leaf spring, whereas the anti-annealing tool 22c shown in (b) is made up of, for example, a single leaf spring. The side surface of the elastic member is hung downward, and the hung portion is used as an element collapse preventing portion 22d.

  This is preferable because the side surface of the index table 25 can be guarded by the element collapse prevention portion 22d, and the fall of the element 4 accommodated in the recess 26a can be avoided.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the exposure of the element 4 from the recess 26a can be prevented, the rotation of the element 4 in the vicinity of the exit of the guide path 22 can be prevented, and the element 4 can fall over. Can be prevented. Accordingly, various troubles in the application example of the prior art described at the beginning (see FIG. 6) can be avoided, and the thin plate component (for example, the element 4) can be reliably accommodated in the recess 26a of the index table 25. Can be provided.

  Further, in the present embodiment, projections 27a to 27h are formed on the bottom surfaces of the recesses 26a to 26h of the index table 25, and one notch portion of the element 4 (the notch portion 10 in FIG. 5) is formed on the projections 27a to 27h. Since the element 4 accommodated in the recesses 26a to 26h can be prevented from rattling, the extrusion from the recesses 26a to 26h to the alignment rail 28 can be performed reliably.

It is the block diagram of the components supply apparatus in this embodiment, and its principal part enlarged view. FIG. 4 is a relationship diagram between an index table 25 and an alignment rail 28. It is an external view of the splash prevention tool 22c. It is an external view of a CVT belt. FIG. 3 is a structural diagram of an element. It is a conceptual diagram of the element supply apparatus which applied the prior art. It is explanatory drawing of a problem.

Explanation of symbols

4 elements (thin plate parts)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Notch 20 Component supply apparatus 23 Motor (rotation drive means)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 22 Guide path 22b Elastic wall 22c Crack prevention tool 25 Index table 26a-26h Recessed part 27a-27h Projection 28 Alignment rail 29 Extrusion mechanism (extrusion means)

Claims (4)

A disk-shaped index table having recesses formed at equal intervals along the circumferential direction;
Rotation driving means for intermittently rotating the index table in a predetermined direction;
A guide path for inserting a thin plate-like component into the recess of the index table;
An alignment rail connected to the index table and on which the thin plate-like components discharged from the index table are aligned;
An anti-spinning tool extended from the vicinity of the exit of the guide path to the alignment rail along the outer periphery of the index table ;
An elastic wall that is a wall near the exit of the guide path and forms a part of a wall on the rotational direction side of the index table ;
The splash preventing tool includes a slope portion and an arc portion, and a space is provided between the slope portion and the index table, and the arc portion is provided along the outer periphery of the index table. A component supply device.   2. The component supply apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an extruding means for extruding the thin plate-like component accommodated in the recess and placing the thin plate component on the alignment rail. The thin plate-like component is an element of a continuously variable transmission belt, has a notch for mounting on a ring, and has a protrusion corresponding to the notch formed on the bottom surface of the recess. The component supply apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: The alignment rails, component supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that it has a shape corresponding to the cutout portion of claim 3.