JP5890618B2 - One-dimensional alignment supply unit - Google Patents

Description

  In order to convey a minute object, in particular a conveyed object such as a ceramic capacitor, in a one-dimensional direction, the conveyed object is aligned and smoothly guided and supplied to a supply path extending in one dimension. The present invention relates to a one-dimensional alignment supply unit.

  In recent years, high performance and fine multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCC) have been developed and used. This multilayer ceramic capacitor has a rectangular parallelepiped shape including a substantially square cross section. For example, from a size having a short side of 0.5 mm and a long side of 1 mm, a finer short side of 0.1 mm and a long side of 0.2 mm. Even things have been created. However, since it has a rectangular parallelepiped shape, it is not easy to align from a state where a large number are irregularly assembled. In addition, since it is fine and lightweight, it is difficult to stably hold, place, guide, and the like, and it is not easy to transport each individual multilayer ceramic capacitor. Further, it is necessary to examine the defects of each multilayer ceramic capacitor. However, it is not easy to inspect each surface of each multilayer ceramic capacitor.

  In view of this, there has been proposed an apparatus for inspecting the appearance of the four side surfaces of each multilayer ceramic capacitor while aligning and conveying a large number of multilayer ceramic capacitors (for example, see Patent Document 1). In this inspection apparatus, a large number of objects are moved from a supply element to a sloped space (substantially horizontal space), and then moved to a tunnel in a one-dimensional direction to inspect the side surface while being aligned and conveyed. .

JP 2009-216698 A

  However, in the inspection apparatus, when moving the object from the supply element toward the tunnel, first, the object is moved to the tunnel via a sloped space (substantially horizontal space). In this case, the state in which the objects in the supply element are stacked in a three-dimensional state shifts to a two-dimensional distribution state in a gradient space (substantially horizontal space), and then moves to a one-dimensional tunnel. ing. Therefore, clogging of objects occurs at each stage of transition from a supply element to a sloped space (substantially horizontal space) and when moving from a sloped space (substantially horizontal space) to a tunnel. There is a risk that the object will not be smoothly conveyed.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a one-dimensional alignment supply unit for smoothly supplying a fine conveyance object such as a multilayer ceramic capacitor to a supply path extending in a one-dimensional direction.

A one-dimensional alignment supply unit according to the present invention is a one-dimensional alignment supply unit that aligns a conveyed product and introduces it into a supply path extending in a one-dimensional direction,
A conveyed product holding tank having a hollow portion and three-dimensionally holding the plural conveyed items in the hollow portion while stirring with an air flow;
Provided on any surface of the transported object holding tank. An air flow supply pipe for supplying an air flow to the conveyed product holding tank;
A supply path extending in at least one one-dimensional direction provided on a side surface of the transported object holding tank, wherein the individual transported objects are aligned and guided by an air flow in the cavity of the transported object holding tank, Supply, supply path,
Is provided.

  Moreover, the said cavity part of the said conveyed product holding tank may have a dimension 10 times or more larger than each dimension of the said conveyed product.

  Further, the supply path may be provided from a side surface vertically above at least the size of the conveyed product from the bottom surface of the conveyed product holding tank.

  Furthermore, the supply path may be held at a negative pressure rather than the conveyed product holding tank.

Still further, the supply path is
You may provide the reverse feed mechanism which consists of a pressurization part which makes a pressure larger than the said conveyed product holding tank.
In this case, by the reverse feed mechanism, the transported material jammed in the opening from the supply path or the transported object holding tank to the supply path is reversely fed to the transported object holding tank to eliminate the clogging. Can do.

Furthermore, the reverse feed mechanism includes:
You may provide the clogging detection part which detects clogging of the conveyed product conveyed.
In this case, only when the clogging is detected, the conveyed product can be reversely fed to eliminate the clogging.

  In addition, a replenishment unit that is provided vertically above the hollow portion of the transported object holding tank and replenishes the hollow portion with the plurality of transported objects may be further provided.

  Furthermore, the supply path may have a cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the transport direction that is similar to a cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the transport direction of the transported object. The supply path may have a rectangular cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the transport direction.

  Still further, the supply path may have an average distance from the side surface of the transported object to be transported of 5% or more of the size of the transported object.

  In the supply path, the size of the opening to the supply path provided on the side surface of the transported object holding tank is larger than the short side of the transported object and smaller than the long side of the transported object. It may be a thing.

  According to the one-dimensional alignment and supply unit according to the present invention, a supply path that can guide and guide the transported articles one by one from the transported article holding tank to the supply path by the alignment effect due to the airflow. The conveyed product can be smoothly fed through.

(A) is the schematic which shows arrangement | positioning with the conveyance holding | maintenance tank and supply path of the one-dimensional alignment supply unit which concerns on Embodiment 1, (b) rotates the one-dimensional alignment supply unit of (a). It is the schematic which shows arrangement | positioning of the conveyed product holding tank and supply path at the time of making it carry out. It is the schematic which shows the effect | action by which a conveyed product is aligned and guide | induced by the alignment effect by an airflow from the opening part provided in the conveyed product holding tank of the supply path of the one-dimensional alignment supply unit of FIG. It is the schematic which shows the whole structure of the one-dimensional alignment supply unit which concerns on Embodiment 1. FIG. It is the schematic which shows the whole structure of the one-dimensional alignment supply unit which concerns on Embodiment 2. FIG.

  A one-dimensional alignment supply unit according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, substantially the same members are denoted by the same reference numerals.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating an overall configuration of the one-dimensional alignment supply unit 20 according to the first embodiment. By this one-dimensional alignment supply unit 20, the conveyed product 1 can be aligned and introduced into the supply path 2 extending in the one-dimensional direction. The one-dimensional alignment supply unit 20 includes a supply path 2, a conveyed product holding tank 3 having a cavity 4, an air supply pipe 5, and an air supply part 6 that sends air to the air supply pipe 5. The conveyed product holding tank 3 holds the plural conveyed items 1 in the cavity 4 in a three-dimensional manner while being agitated by the air flow supplied from the air supply pipe 5. Further, the air supply pipe 5 is provided on any surface of the conveyed product holding tank 3 and supplies an air flow into the cavity 4 of the conveyed product holding tank 3. The supply path 2 is a supply path provided in the side surface of the conveyed product holding tank 3 and extending in at least one one-dimensional direction.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the individual transported objects 1 are aligned by the air flow in the cavity 4 of the transported object holding tank 3, guided into the supply path 2, and supplied. According to this one-dimensional alignment supply unit 20, the individual conveyance objects 1 are aligned and guided from the conveyance object holding tank 3 to the supply path 2 by the alignment effect due to the air flow in the cavity 4 of the conveyance object holding tank 3, and smooth. Can be supplied to. FIG. 2 shows an example of the alignment effect caused by the airflow of the conveyed product 1 and is not limited to this.

  Below, each structural member which comprises this one-dimensional alignment supply unit 20 is demonstrated.

<Transported object holding tank>
It is preferable that the cavity part 4 of the conveyed product holding tank 3 has a dimension at least 10 times larger than each dimension of the conveyed object 1 such as length, width, and height. Thereby, the agitation of the conveyed product 1 is sufficiently performed, and the effect of aligning the conveyed product 1 to the supply path 2 is obtained.

<Supply department>
Further, a replenishing unit 8 may be provided on the upper part of the conveyed product holding tank 3. The replenishment unit 8 is provided vertically above the cavity 4 of the conveyed product holding tank 3 and replenishes the cavity 4 with a plurality of conveyed items 1.

<Supply path>
As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the supply path 2 is a supply path extending in at least one one-dimensional direction. Note that the number of supply paths 2 is not limited to one, and may be two or more, for example, four as shown in FIG. Further, it is preferable that the supply path 2 is provided on the side surface vertically above the bottom surface of the conveyed product holding tank 3 by a predetermined distance. The predetermined interval from the bottom surface is preferably an interval at least equal to the size of the conveyed product 1. Thereby, the alignment effect by the three-dimensional airflow including the direction from the bottom face in the cavity 4 of the conveyed product holding tank 3 can be obtained.

  Further, the supply path 2 has a cross-sectional area perpendicular to the transport direction so that the transported object 1 can be transported in a one-dimensional direction. Specifically, it is a necessary condition that the cross-sectional area perpendicular to the transport direction is larger than the cross-sectional area of the transported object 1 in the transport direction. Furthermore, the supply path 2 preferably has an average distance from the side surface of the conveyed product 1 to be 5% or more of the size of the conveyed product 1 in its cross-sectional shape. Further, in the supply path 2, the size of the opening to the supply path 2 provided on the side surface of the transported object holding tank 3 is larger than the length of the short side of the transported object 1 and smaller than the long side of the transported object 1. It is preferable.

  Further, the shape of the cross section perpendicular to the conveying direction of the supply path 2 may be any of a circular shape, a rectangular shape, a triangular shape, and a polygonal shape. The cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the conveying direction of the supply path 2 is preferably similar to the cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the conveying direction of the conveyed product 1. By making the cross-sectional shape of the supply path 2 similar to the cross-sectional shape of the transported object 1, each surface of the transported object 1 and the supply path 2 can be made to correspond. In addition, when the cross-sectional shape perpendicular | vertical to the conveyance direction of the conveyed product 1 is a rectangular shape, it is preferable that the cross-sectional shape perpendicular | vertical to the conveyance direction of the supply path 2 is a rectangular shape. Thereby, the side surface of the rectangular parallelepiped-shaped conveyance thing 1 and each plane of the supply path 2 can be matched, and it can be made easy to identify each side surface of a conveyance thing.

  As shown in the schematic diagram of FIG. 2, the size of the opening of the supply path 2 with respect to the conveyed product holding tank 3 is not less than the dimension of the short side of the conveyed object 1 and not more than twice the dimension of the short side. It is preferable that In addition, when the conveyed product 1 is a multilayer ceramic capacitor, when the short side is set to W, the long side is 2 W of about twice the short side. Therefore, when the opening has a rectangular shape, the dimension range of one side is W or more and 2W or less. By making the size of one side of the opening of the supply path 2 less than twice the short side W (<2 W) of the multilayer ceramic capacitor that is the transported object, the long side direction of the transported object 1 is transported in the supply path 2 It is easy to make it parallel to the direction, and the conveyance can be performed smoothly. If the opening is larger than the length (2W) in the long side direction, the long side direction of the conveyed product 1 may be perpendicular to the conveying direction of the supply path 2, and clogging may occur during the conveyance. is there.

  The supply path 2 is preferably held at a negative pressure as compared with the inside of the cavity 4 of the conveyed product holding tank 3. In order to hold the supply path 2 at a negative pressure rather than the conveyed product holding tank 3, a decompression unit may be provided. The decompression unit may be constituted by a vacuum pump, for example. Thus, by holding the negative pressure rather than the conveyed product holding tank 3, the conveyed item 1 can be easily introduced from the conveyed object holding tank 3 into the supply path 2.

(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an overall configuration of the one-dimensional alignment supply unit 20a according to the second embodiment. In contrast to the one-dimensional alignment / supply unit 20 according to the first embodiment, the one-dimensional alignment / supply unit 20a, when the transported object 1 is clogged in the supply path 2, removes the transported object 1 that is clogged. 3 is different in that it includes a reverse feeding mechanism 10 that reversely feeds the belt 3 to eliminate clogging. By this reverse feed mechanism 10, the transported object 1 clogged in the opening from the supply path 2 or the transported object holding tank 3 to the supply path 2 can be sent back to the transported object holding tank 3 to eliminate the clogging.

  The reverse feed mechanism 10 includes a pressurizing unit 12 that increases the pressure as compared with the conveyed product holding tank 3. Further, the reverse feed mechanism 10 may include a clogging detection unit 11 that detects clogging of the conveyed product 1 being conveyed.

  The clogging detection unit 11 determines clogging from the relationship between the irradiation unit 13 that irradiates light from the upper part of the supply path 2, the reflected light detection unit 14 that detects reflected light from the conveyed object, and time and reflected light, for example. The control unit 15 may be provided. In this case, when the reflected light from the conveyed product 1 is continuously detected by the reflected light detection unit 14 and is not interrupted, the control unit 15 may determine that clogging has occurred.

  The pressurizing unit 12 may be configured by a cylinder such as compressed air, compressed nitrogen, or helium. Periodically or when the clogging detection unit 11 detects clogging of the conveyed product 1 in the supply path 2, the inside of the supply path 2 is pressurized by compressed air or the like from the pressurizing unit 12, The jammed conveyed product 1 is reversely fed to the conveyed product holding tank 3 to eliminate the clogging. In addition, the pressurization of the supply path 2 by the pressurizing unit 12 is not limited to continuous pressurization, and the pressurization unit 12 may pressurize in one or a plurality of pulses.

  According to the one-dimensional alignment supply unit according to the present invention, due to the alignment effect due to the airflow in the cavity of the conveyed product holding tank, the individual conveyed items are aligned and guided from the conveyed object holding tank to the supply path and supplied smoothly. Can do. Therefore, the one-dimensional alignment supply unit according to the present invention is useful, for example, as an alignment supply unit for conveying a multilayer ceramic capacitor in a one-dimensional direction.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Conveyed object 2 Supply path 3 Conveyed object holding tank 4 Cavity part 5 Air supply pipe 6 Air supply part 7 Bottom face 8 Replenishment part 9 Opening part 10 Reverse feed mechanism 11 Clogging detection part 12 Pressurization part 13 Irradiation part 14 Reflected light detection part 15 Control unit 20, 20a Alignment unit

Claims (10)

A one-dimensional alignment supply unit that aligns the conveyed product and introduces it into a supply path extending in a one-dimensional direction,
A conveyed product holding tank having a hollow portion and three-dimensionally holding the plural conveyed items in the hollow portion while stirring with an air flow;
An air supply pipe that is provided on any surface of the transported object holding tank and supplies airflow to the transported object holding tank;
At least one of a supply passage extending in a one-dimensional direction, aligning effect on Therefore the conveyance by the three-dimensional air flow in the hollow portion of the conveyance object holding tank provided on the side surface of the conveyed object holding tank A supply path that guides and supplies objects in a one-dimensional direction without shifting to a two-dimensional distribution state ; and
One-dimensional alignment supply unit equipped with.   2. The one-dimensional alignment supply unit according to claim 1, wherein the hollow portion of the transported object holding tank has a dimension that is at least 10 times larger than each dimension of the transported object.   3. The one-dimensional alignment supply unit according to claim 1, wherein the supply path is provided on a side surface vertically above at least a distance corresponding to the size of the conveyed object from the bottom surface of the conveyed object holding tank.   The one-dimensional alignment supply unit according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the supply path is held at a negative pressure as compared with the inside of the cavity of the transported object holding tank. The supply path is
A clogging detection unit for detecting clogging of a conveyed product to be conveyed;
Periodically or when detecting the clogging of the conveyed product, a pressurizing unit that increases the pressure than the conveyed product holding tank;
5. A reverse feed mechanism comprising: a transported product that is clogged in an opening from the supply path or the transported object holding tank to the supply path, and reversely transported to the transported object holding tank to eliminate clogging. The one-dimensional alignment supply unit described in 1.   The one-dimensional alignment supply unit according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the supply path has a cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the conveyance direction that is similar to a cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the conveyed product.   The one-dimensional alignment supply unit according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the supply path has a rectangular cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the transport direction.   The one-dimensional alignment supply unit according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein an average interval between the supply path and a side surface of the transported object to be transported is 5% or more of a size of the transported object.   In the supply path, the size of the opening to the supply path provided on the side surface of the transported object holding tank is larger than the short side of the transported object and smaller than the long side of the transported object. Item 9. The one-dimensional alignment supply unit according to any one of Items 1 to 8.   The one-dimensional alignment according to any one of claims 1 to 9, further comprising a replenishing unit that is provided vertically above the cavity of the transported object holding tank and replenishes the cavity with a plurality of the transported objects. Supply unit.

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