JP6547525B2 - Parts feeder - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a parts feeder capable of adjusting the overflow of a standby work in multiple stages.

  Conventionally, as part feeders, it is possible to determine the posture of workpieces such as electronic parts, and to remove workpieces with an inappropriate posture from the transport path, and to be able to transport workpieces of other appropriate postures downstream. (E.g., Patent Document 1). The parts feeder disclosed in Patent Document 1 acquires image data of a single workpiece conveyed on a conveyance path using a camera, and determines the posture of the workpiece based on the image data. Then, compressed air is injected from the removing means toward the workpiece whose posture is determined to be inappropriate, and the workpiece having the incorrect posture is removed from the conveyance path.

JP, 2015-30566, A

  By the way, in this kind of parts feeder including the parts feeder disclosed in Patent Document 1, the work conveyed to the downstream end of the conveyance path is carried out by the processing apparatus (downstream processing apparatus), and predetermined post-processing is performed (Post process) is applied. In addition, as shown in FIG. 7, in order to adjust the variation between the processing speed of the processing apparatus and the supply capacity of the parts feeder, a standby work place D in which the work 3 is retained (standby) in the downstream end 10a of the transport path 10 It is customary to provide However, when the number of works per unit time carried out of the transport path 10 by the processing device 6 decreases with respect to the number of works per unit time transported to the stand-by work location D, the amount of stand-by work increases excessively. There is. In this case, since the range in which the workpieces 3 are lined up without gaps spreads to the upstream side, for example, if the workpieces 3 stay in front of the air jet nozzle 50 as removing means, incorrect posture based on posture determination processing using the camera 2 Even if compressed air is injected to the work 3, a situation occurs in which the incorrect posture work 3 is not properly removed from the transport path 10 by interfering with another work 3 adjacent thereto.

  Then, it is not preferable that the work 3 stagnates at a position where the work 3 is subjected to some kind of processing, not limited to the process of removing the improper posture work 3 as described above. Therefore, in order to adjust the amount of the waiting work 3y, the work overflowing from the waiting work place D is detected by the overflow sensor 80, and the overflow judging means 46 'provided in the control means 4' determines the presence or absence of the overflow occurrence. It is conceivable that the air jet nozzle 51 provided on the upstream side of the standby work place D in the transport direction excludes the excess standby work 3 y from the transport path 10.

  Here, as the removal process of the incorrect posture work 3, when the work 3 has a quadrangular prism shape, for example, 1⁄4 sorting in which the work 3 with the correct posture with the identification mark located on the upper side is left and the other work 3 is removed. For example, it is conceivable to perform 1/8 sorting in which a positive attitude and positive direction work 3 whose identification mark is located on the upper side and downstream in the transport direction (forward) is left and the other works 3 are excluded. That is, it is conceivable to perform high-precision processing in which only the workpiece 3 identical to the reference posture is left, or low-accuracy processing in which the workpiece 3 slightly different from the reference posture is also left in addition to the workpiece 3 identical to the reference posture.

  When the processing device 6 has a mechanism (posture change mechanism) for reversing the front and back of the workpiece 3, the workpiece 3 can be aligned by 1⁄4 sorting on the part feeder 1 ′ side and supplied to the processing device 6. However, it is general to invert the workpiece 3 by 180 degrees in the processing device 6 to correct the posture, and the processing device 6 takes time to process the workpiece 3 in the direction opposite to the front and rear in comparison with the workpiece 3 not corrected in posture. Hangs. Therefore, if the parts feeder 1 'side is aligned by 1/4 sorting, the processing speed of the processing apparatus 6 is decreased by the amount required for the reverse processing in the processing apparatus 6, and the post-processing time becomes long, or the parts feeder 1 Oversupply is likely to occur on the 'side and overflow is likely to occur.

  Excess standby work 3y can be eliminated using the above-mentioned overflow sensor 80. However, damage to the work 3 caused by the drop from the transfer path 10, and the dropped work 3 are again transferred to the transfer path 10, thereby suppressing adhesion of dust and the like to the work 3 as the total transfer distance increases. Therefore, it is preferable to keep the number of work removals due to overflow small.

  Therefore, it is possible to arrange the work 3 in 1/8 sorting as much as possible and to transfer it to the waiting work place D, but in 1/8 sorting, it is directed to the waiting work place D rather than 1/4 sorting. Since the number of works per unit time to be transported is significantly reduced, the processing speed of the processing device 6 becomes larger than the supply capacity of the parts feeder 1 ', and the standby work 3y can not be stocked. It leads to the reduction of the number of work processing.

  Such a disadvantage is that the maximum processing speed of the processing apparatus 6 in processing the workpiece sorted by 1⁄4 (performing reverse processing at a rate of about 1 time) is low accuracy processing of the parts feeder 1 ′. Although it arises because it exists between the time supply rate and the supply rate at the time of high precision processing, in such a configuration, it is desirable to maximize the processing capacity of both the part feeder 1 'and the processing device 6.

  The present invention aims at effectively solving such problems, and the stock amount of the standby work is excessively increased while driving the processing apparatus and the part feeder main body with the maximum throughput, or the stock of the standby work It is an object of the present invention to provide a parts feeder capable of stably stocking an appropriate amount of waiting work, which can be prevented from becoming out of order.

  In view of the above problems, the present invention takes the following means.

  That is, the parts feeder of the present invention determines the degree of difference between the transport path capable of transporting a plurality of workpieces and the workpiece on the transport path in a plurality of stages to determine the attitude. Posture determination means, Exclusion means capable of removing a work determined to be different from the reference attitude from the transport path, Standby work amount acquisition means for obtaining a standby work amount staying downstream of the transport path, The standby Switching means for switching the processing mode of the excluding means based on the amount of work, and the switching means excludes all the works different from the reference posture when the amount of waiting work is relatively large. In the high accuracy processing mode, when the amount of waiting work is relatively small, the low accuracy processing mode in which the work having a relatively small difference from the reference posture is excluded from the exclusion targets It is characterized in.

  With such a configuration, the posture determination means can obtain the degree of difference from the reference posture with respect to the work on the conveyance path in a plurality of steps, and the amount of standby work obtained by the standby work amount acquisition means by the switching means Is switched to the high accuracy processing mode, and to the low accuracy processing mode if the waiting work amount is relatively small. Therefore, when the standby work amount is relatively large and the stock amount of the standby work is enough, only the work of the same posture as the reference posture is supplied to the downstream side, while the standby work amount is relatively small and the standby is When the stock amount of the work is not enough, the work supply amount per unit time can be increased more than in the high accuracy processing mode without excluding the work whose degree of difference from the reference posture is relatively small. . Therefore, even when the processing apparatus and the parts feeder main body having the transport path are driven at maximum processing capacity, it is possible to suppress excessive increase in the stock amount of standby work or lack of stock, and an appropriate amount of downstream of the transport path The standby work can be stocked stably.

  In order to obtain the amount of waiting work without linkage with the processing apparatus, the means for acquiring the amount of waiting work has work detection means for detecting a work at a predetermined position provided on the conveyance path, and Preferably, the standby work amount is obtained based on the distance from the downstream end to the predetermined position and the continuous detection time in which the work detection unit continuously detects the same work.

  On the other hand, in order to obtain the standby work amount without providing an overflow sensor or other device for detecting overflow in the parts feeder, the standby work amount acquiring means takes out the work from the downstream end of the transport path. It is configured to be able to acquire the number of workpieces processed by the processing apparatus performing a predetermined post process and the number of workpieces transported to the downstream end of the transport path, and the number of workpieces processed by the processing apparatus and the downstream of the transport path It is preferable that the amount of waiting work be calculated based on the difference between the number of works conveyed to the side.

  In addition, in order to reliably suppress an excessive increase in the amount of waiting work, a waiting work allowable range is set in the area downstream of the removal means and the downstream end of the conveyance path in the conveyance path, and The switching means drives the excluding means in the high accuracy processing mode or the low accuracy processing mode when it is determined that the last waiting work is positioned within the waiting work allowable range, and the last waiting When it is determined that the work is positioned upstream of the waiting work allowable range, it is preferable to configure the exclusion means to be driven in the all excluding mode in which all the works moving toward the waiting work allowable range are excluded.

  On the other hand, in order to suppress the damage count of the workpiece and the adhesion of dust etc. by suppressing the number of times the workpiece is removed and the distance the workpiece is transported, in order to reliably suppress the excessive increase of the waiting work amount, The waiting work allowable range is set in the area downstream of the removing means and to the downstream end of the transport path, and the switching means is determined that the last waiting work is positioned within the waiting work allowable range. In this case, the removing means is driven in the high accuracy processing mode or the low accuracy processing mode, and the conveyance path can be separately vibrated in the standby work allowable range and the standby work non-permissible range upstream therefrom. And when it is determined that the last waiting work is located upstream of the waiting work allowance, vibration of the transport path corresponding to the waiting work unacceptable range is waited for It is preferably configured so as to be smaller than the vibration of the conveying path corresponding to the volume range.

  In particular, in order to prevent the posture change of the standby work and the drop from the transportation path due to the rear impact of another work transported from the upstream, the transport path is provided with a covering member for covering the work within the standby work allowable range. It is preferable to set it as follows.

  As described above, according to the present invention described above, the processing mode of the removing means can be switched according to the waiting work amount, and the amount of work per unit time conveyed downstream of the conveyance path can be adjusted. It is possible to suppress the excessive increase in stock amount of stand-by work or run out of stock even when driven by the machine, and it is possible to provide a parts feeder capable of stably stocking a suitable amount of stand-by work downstream of the transport path. It becomes.

The side view showing the parts feeder concerning one embodiment of the present invention. The figure for demonstrating the structure which acquires the amount of waiting | standby workpieces in the modification of a structure shown in FIG. The side view which shows the other modification of this invention. The side view which shows the further another modification of this invention. FIG. 5 is a partial side view showing a modification of the configuration shown in FIG. 4; The side view which shows the further another modification of this invention. The figure for demonstrating the problem in a conventional structure.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the parts feeder 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention is provided downstream of the parts feeder main body 1, the line camera 2 installed in the parts feeder main body 1, and the line camera 2. It comprises an exclusion means 5, a fiber sensor 7 provided downstream of the exclusion means 5, a fiber sensor 8 provided downstream of the fiber sensor 7, and a control device 4.

  The parts feeder main body 1 has a linear conveyance path 10 and drive means (not shown) for vibrating the conveyance path 10. The driving means vibrates the transport path 10 to transport the plurality of works 3 on the transport path 10 from the left to the right in FIG. 1. The workpiece 3 is conveyed such that its longitudinal direction or short side direction is parallel to the conveyance direction of the workpiece 3. On the downstream side in the transport direction of the transport path 10, a cover 9 that is a covering member that covers the upper side of the workpiece 3 in a standby workpiece allowable range B1 described later is provided.

  At the downstream end 10a of the transport path 10 in the transport direction, the work 3 is carried out from the transport path 10, and a processing device 6 that performs predetermined post-processing (post process) can be installed.

  The processing device 6 is configured to be able to correct the direction of the work 3 brought out of the transport path 10, and reverses the work 3 back and forth as necessary. When such posture correction is performed, the time required for post-processing of one work 3 is longer than when the reversing process is not performed. As the processing device 6, the maximum processing speed in the case of performing the reversing process at a rate of about once every two times is smaller than the supply speed in the low accuracy processing mode described later of the parts feeder 100, and the supply in the high accuracy processing mode The one faster than the speed is used.

  The line camera 2 shown in FIG. 1 is provided above the imaging position (imaging point) P1 set in the conveyance path 10. The line camera 2 has a plurality of high-sensitivity imaging elements (not shown) arranged in a line perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the work 3 (the extension direction of the conveyance path 10), and is conveyed on the conveyance path 10 Take an image of the work 3. The imaging range (imaging area) of the line camera 2 is a range in which a part of the longitudinal direction of the workpiece 3 is imaged in the conveyance direction of the workpiece 3 when the longitudinal direction of the workpiece 3 is parallel to the conveyance direction In the direction orthogonal to the direction, the entire short direction of the work 3 is set as a range to be imaged, and when the short direction of the work 3 is parallel to the conveyance direction, the short direction of the work 3 in the conveyance direction of the work 3 In the range in which a part of the object 3 is imaged, and in the direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the workpiece 3, the range in which the entire longitudinal direction of the workpiece 3 is imaged is set. In addition, such a line camera 2 may be provided not only in one place but in a plurality of places on the upstream side of the transport path 10.

  The image data acquired by the line camera 2 has a smaller number of pixels and a smaller amount of data than an area camera in which a plurality of imaging elements are arranged in a mesh shape to set an entire imaging range of one work 3. The line camera 2 operates so as to continuously perform imaging at constant intervals before the workpiece 3 reaches the imaging position P1, and imaging is performed multiple times while the workpiece 3 being conveyed downstream passes through the imaging position P1 To obtain a plurality of image data in which different positions of the work 3 appear from the front end 3a (work end downstream of the conveyance direction) of the work 3 to the rear end 3b (work end upstream of the conveyance direction) Do. The acquired image data is transferred to a control device (controller) 4 described later each time one imaging is performed.

  A first air injection nozzle 50 for ejecting compressed air to a first exclusion position P2 which is located downstream of the line camera 2 and which is located downstream of the imaging position P1 in the transport direction, A second air injection nozzle 51 provided downstream of the air injection nozzle 50 in the conveyance direction and injecting compressed air to a second exclusion position P3 set downstream of the first exclusion position P2 in the conveyance direction, and a command described later And output means 45. The removing means 5 is configured to be able to remove the improper posture work 3 or the like transported to the first removal position P2 or the second removal position P3 from compressed air on the transfer path 10 by applying an urging force with compressed air.

  The fiber sensor 7 as the work detection means is provided on the upper side of the second removal position P3 on the downstream side in the transport direction. As the fiber sensor 7, a known one capable of detecting the work 3 is used. The fiber sensor 7 is used as an overflow sensor.

  In the present embodiment, the compressed air is injected from the second air injection nozzle 51 in accordance with the detection result of the work 3 by the fiber sensor 7, and the all-exclusion mode described later is performed.

  On the downstream side of the fiber sensor 7 in the transport direction, a fiber sensor 8 as a work detection unit is provided. As the fiber sensor 8, a known one capable of detecting the work 3 is used. In the present embodiment, the fiber sensor 8 is used to determine the presence or absence of the work 3 at the detection position P4 as a predetermined position set at the end in the transport direction of the second area A2 described later. It is used to detect the number.

  The control device 4 shown in FIG. 1 is constituted by a usual microcomputer unit having a CPU, an interface, a memory, etc. (not shown), and an appropriate program is stored in the memory. Read and cooperate with peripheral hardware resources as image capture means 40, preprocessing means 41, attitude determination means 44, command output means 45, allowable standby work position acquisition means 42, selection switching means 43 and overflow detection means 46 Take a role.

  The image capturing means 40 immediately captures image data into the control device 4 each time the line camera 2 captures an image.

  The preprocessing unit 41 includes a binarization processing unit 41a, an end detection unit 41b, and a composite image data generation unit 41c. The binarization processing unit 41 a immediately performs predetermined preprocessing such as binarization processing for each image data captured by the image capturing unit 40. Further, the end detection unit 41b determines the front end 3a and the rear end 3b of the work 3 in the image data through appropriate image processing. For example, in the image data acquired by the line camera 2, the hue etc. differ between the portion where the workpiece 3 appears and the portion where something other than the workpiece 3 appears (specifically, the transport path 10). Since a slight gap is formed between the workpieces 3 and 3 even when the workpieces 3 and 3 are closely transported along the transport direction, the image data obtained by imaging the front end 3a or the rear end 3b of the workpiece 3 is a workpiece Different portions of color intensity appear across the direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction 3. The end detection unit 41 b detects (image determination) the front end 3 a and the rear end 3 b of the workpiece 3 appearing in the image data based on the difference in color density and the like. Alternatively, the end detection unit 41b may be configured to detect the front end 3a and the rear end 3b by determining an R shape at a corner of the workpiece 3 in the image data. The composite image data generation unit 41c connects the image data acquired by the line camera 2 from the image data in which the front end 3a of the workpiece 3 appears to the image data in which the rear end 3b of the workpiece 3 appears in imaging order Then, composite image data is generated as two-dimensional image data in which substantially one entire work 3 has appeared.

  The posture determination means 44 performs posture determination processing to determine the posture of the workpiece 3 (image determination) based on such composite image data. The posture determination means 44 prestores, for example, the image data of the work 3 of an appropriate posture in the above-mentioned memory as a reference posture, and compares the composite image data etc. with the image data stored in the memory by pattern matching. , The posture of the work 3 is determined.

  Here, the posture of the work 3 may be the same as the reference posture, the reverse of the reference posture, or the state in which the front-rear direction is reversed with respect to the reference posture. In the present embodiment, as the work 3, one having a quadrangular prism shape provided with an identification mark M as shown in the plan view of FIG. 2 on one of six faces is used. In this case, for example, assuming that the identification mark M is located on the upper side and the one on the front side (downstream side in the transport direction) is the reference posture, the workpiece 3 in which the identification mark M does not appear in the image data is opposite to the reference posture. It is possible to judge that the identification mark M does not face upward and is different with respect to the reference posture, for example, in reverse. In addition, even if the identification mark M appears in the image data, it can be determined that the work 3 located behind (upstream in the transport direction) is reversed in the front-rear direction with respect to the reference posture and is different with respect to the reference posture.

  The posture determination means 44 can determine the degree of difference from the reference posture in a plurality of stages, as well as whether or not the difference from the reference posture is thus made. Specifically, in the present embodiment, since the identification mark M is upward, the work 3 whose direction is reversed is more similar to the reference posture than the work 3 whose front and back is reversed, and the degree of difference Is relatively small. On the other hand, it is determined that the degree of difference with respect to the reference posture is relatively large for the workpiece 3 in which the identification mark M is not positioned above.

  In the present embodiment, the discrimination mark M is not positioned upward, and a posture having a relatively large degree of difference from the reference posture is regarded as an illegal posture, and the excluding means 5 is in any of the processing modes described later. Be excluded. In addition, a workpiece whose identification mark M is located above and behind and whose degree of difference from the reference posture is relatively small is excluded or excluded from exclusion depending on the processing mode described later.

  The command output means 45 constituting the exclusion means 5 shown in FIG. 1 performs an exclusion process (exclusion operation) for excluding at least the work 3 determined to be an incorrect attitude from the conveyance path 10 based on the determination result of the attitude determination means 44. A command to be performed is output to the first air injection nozzle 50 or the second air injection nozzle 51.

  Such excluding means 5 excludes the work 3 having a relatively small degree of difference between the high accuracy processing mode in which all the work 3 different from the reference posture are excluded and the low accuracy from the exclusion target. It is driven in any one of the processing mode and the all elimination mode in which the second air injection nozzle 51 applies an urging force to all the workpieces 3 including the workpiece 3 whose posture is determined to be appropriate.

  In the high accuracy processing mode, the removing means 5 removes the workpiece 3 different from the reference posture at the first removal position P2 based on the determination result of the posture determining means 44. That is, 1/8 sorting is performed excluding the work 3 other than the work 3 in the normal posture and the normal direction, in which the identification mark M is positioned above and in the front.

  In the low accuracy processing mode, based on the determination result of the posture determination unit 44, the removal unit 5 removes only the workpiece 3 having a large degree of difference from the reference posture at the first removal position P2. That is, while excluding the work 3 where the identification mark M is not on the upper side, the work 3 in which the identification mark M is located on the upper front and the front and the work 3 where the identification mark M is located on the upper and rear are left. .

  In the all excluding mode, the excluding means 5 excludes all the works 3 reaching the second excluding position P3 by the second air jet nozzle 51, including the works 3 having the same attitude as the reference attitude.

  The allowable standby work position detection unit (standby work allowable position detection unit) 42 as the standby work amount acquisition unit acquires the amount of the standby work 3 y staying on the downstream side of the transport path 10 using the fiber sensor 7 . Similarly, the overflow detection means 46 as the waiting work amount acquisition means acquires the waiting work amount using the fiber sensor 8.

  Here, the waiting work allowable range B1 is set in the area downstream of the second air jet nozzle 51 and to the downstream end 10a of the conveying path 10 in the conveyance path 10, and the upstream side of the waiting work allowable range B1. The standby work non-permissible range B2 is set to. The waiting work allowable range B1 is a waiting work place for holding the work 3 in order to adjust the variation between the processing speed of the processing device 6 and the supply capacity of the parts feeder main body 1.

  Further, the waiting work allowable range B1 is divided downstream into a first area A1 and a second area A2. The processing device 6 brings out the waiting work 3y out of the transport path 10 sequentially from the second area A2.

  The fiber sensor 7 is provided in the vicinity of the boundary between the waiting work allowable range B1 and the waiting work non-permissible range B2, and can detect the last work 3 present in the first region A1. Here, the transport speed of the waiting work 3y depends on the processing speed of the processing device 6, and stays relatively long at the same position. The overflow detection means 46 stands by at the detection position P5 set near the boundary with the standby work non-permissible range B2 of the first area A1 based on the continuous detection time in which the fiber sensor 7 continuously detects the same work 3 When it is determined that the same workpiece 3 is detected at the detection position P5 for a predetermined time, it is determined that the last standby workpiece 3y is located in the standby workpiece non-permissible range B2. That is, the fiber sensor 7 is used to detect an overflow.

  The present invention is not limited to such a configuration, and an area camera may be used instead of the fiber sensor 7. The area camera is provided at a position where the transport direction upstream end A1 'of the first area A1 appears on the downstream side of the imaging area E (see FIG. 2), and images the last work 3 present in the first area A1. It is possible. In this configuration, when the overflow detection means 46 determines that the same work 3 is detected for a certain period of time at the upstream end A1 'of the first area A1 in the transport direction based on the image data acquired by the area camera, It is determined that the standby work 3y is located in the standby work non-permissible range B2.

  The fiber sensor 8 shown in FIG. 1 is provided in the vicinity of the boundary between the first area A1 and the second area A2, and can detect the last workpiece 3 present in the second area A2. If the allowable standby work position detection means 42 determines that the same work 3 is detected by the fiber sensor 8 for a fixed time, it determines that the standby work 3y is present in the first area A1, and the same work 3 must be detected for a fixed time. For example, it is determined that the last waiting work 3y is located in the second area A2. As described above, the allowable waiting work position detection unit 42 determines the presence / absence of the waiting work 3 at the detection position P4 based on the continuous detection time in which the fiber sensor 8 continuously detects the same work 3. Further, the allowable waiting work position detecting means 42 determines that the waiting work 3y is present in the first area A1, and the overflow detecting means 46 determines that the last waiting work 3y is located in the waiting work non-permissible range B2. If not, it is determined that the last waiting work 3y is located in the first area A1. As described above, the allowable waiting work position detecting means 42 and the overflow detecting means 46 detect the position of the last waiting work 3y to obtain the waiting work amount.

  When it is determined that the last standby work 3y is located in the second area A2 of the standby work allowable range B1, the selection switching means 43 switches the excluding means 5 to the low accuracy processing mode, and the last standby work 3y is in standby If it is determined to be located in the first area A1 of the workpiece allowable range B1, the exclusion means 5 is switched to the high precision processing mode, and if it is determined that the last standby workpiece 3y is located in the standby workpiece unacceptable range B2, all Switch to exclusion mode.

  Therefore, when the last waiting work 3y is located in the second area A2, the work is sorted by 1/4, and the work 3 with the identification mark M facing upward is conveyed regardless of the waiting work allowable range B1 in the front-rear direction. Yes (supply priority). As a result, the number of waiting works 3y increases, and the direction of the work 3 that has been reversed is corrected by the processing device 6. In addition, when the last waiting work 3y is located in the first area A1, alignment is performed by 1/8 sorting, and only the work 3 in the normal posture and the forward direction is conveyed to the waiting work allowable range B1. Such a work 3 does not require the reversing process in the processing device 6, and the processing speed (processing capacity) of the processing device 6 can be improved. Furthermore, when the last stand-by work 3y is located in the stand-by work non-permissible range B2, it is assumed that the supply is excessive, and all the works 3 that reach the second exclusion position P3 by the second air injection nozzle 51 are transported along Eliminate from the top and eliminate the overflow. In this way, the parts feeder 100 is supplied by compensating for the shortfall with the 1⁄4 sorted work 3 while aligning the 1⁄4 sorting and the 1⁄8 sorting as much as possible with the 1⁄8 sorting. The capacity and the processing capacity of the processor 6 can be maximized.

  As described above, the parts feeder 100 according to the present embodiment has a plurality of degrees of difference between the transport path 10 capable of transporting a plurality of works 3 and the predetermined reference posture with respect to the works 3 on the transport path 10. Attitude determination means 44 for determining the attitude and determining means for removing the posture, Exclusion means 5 capable of removing the work 3 determined to be different from the reference attitude from the conveyance path 10, and the amount of standby work staying on the downstream side of the conveyance path 10 And a sorting switching means 43 for switching the processing mode of the excluding means 5 based on the waiting work amount, and the sorting switching means 43 comprises the waiting work amount. Is relatively high, the high accuracy processing mode is set to exclude all workpieces 3 different from the reference posture, and when the waiting work amount is relatively small, the degree of difference from the reference posture is relative Exclude small workpiece 3 from elimination target configured to lower precision processing mode.

  With such a configuration, the posture determination means 44 can obtain the degree of difference from the reference posture with respect to the work 3 on the conveyance path 10 in a plurality of stages, and the selection switching means 43 detects the allowable standby work position. When the amount of standby work obtained by the means 42 is relatively large, the removal means 5 is switched to the high accuracy processing mode, and when the amount of standby work is relatively small, the removal means 5 is switched to the low accuracy processing mode. Therefore, when the standby work amount is relatively large and the stock amount of the standby work 3y is enough, only the work 3 having the same posture as the reference posture is supplied to the downstream side, while the standby work amount is relatively small. When the stock amount of the standby work 3y is not enough, the work 3 supplied amount per unit time is higher than that in the high accuracy processing mode without excluding the work 3 whose degree of difference with the reference posture is relatively small. It can be increased. Therefore, even when the part feeder main body 1 having the processing device 6 and the transport path 10 is driven at the maximum processing capacity, it is possible to suppress an excessive increase in the stock amount of the standby work 3y or the loss of stock. An appropriate amount of waiting work 3y can be stocked downstream.

  Further, the allowable standby work position detection means 42 has a fiber sensor 8 as a work detection means for detecting the work 3 at a detection position P4 as a predetermined position provided on the conveyance path 10, and the downstream end of the conveyance path 10 The standby work amount is obtained based on the distance from the unit 10a to the detection position P4 and the continuous detection time in which the fiber sensor 8 continuously detects the same work 3.

  Since the standby work 3y is stopped or stays relatively long at the same position, it can be determined that the work 3 having a long continuous detection time is the standby work 3y, and it can be determined that the work 3 having a short continuous detection time is not the standby work 3y. Therefore, when the fiber sensor 8 detects the waiting work 3y, it can be determined that the waiting work 3y exists at least between the downstream end 10a of the conveyance path 10 and the detection position P4, and the number of works processed from the processing device 6 The standby work amount can be obtained without obtaining data such as.

  In addition, the waiting work allowable range B1 is set in the area downstream of the removing means 5 in the conveyance path 10 and to the downstream end 10a of the conveyance path 10, and the sorting switching means 43 has the last waiting work 3y If it is determined that the stand-by work allowable range B1 is determined, the removing means 5 is driven in the high accuracy processing mode or the low accuracy process mode, and the last stand-by work 3y is upstream of the standby work allowable range B1. If it is determined to be positioned on the side, the exclusion means 5 is driven in the all exclusion mode in which all the works 3 directed to the waiting work allowable range B1 are excluded, so that an excessive increase in the waiting work quantity can be suppressed. At positions where the work 3 is subjected to some processing such as the process of removing the improper posture work 3 (eg, the first excluded position P2, the second excluded position P3). 3 is prevented from staying, so perform various processes appropriately.

  Furthermore, since the cover 9 as a covering member for covering the work 3 in the waiting work allowable range B1 is provided on the conveyance path 10, the posture change (posture of the waiting work 3y due to the rear impact of another work 3 conveyed from the upstream) Miss) and falling from the transport path 10.

  As mentioned above, although one Embodiment of this invention was described, the specific structure of each part is not limited only to embodiment mentioned above.

  For example, in the present embodiment, the workpiece W is excluded by the second air injection nozzle 51 in the all exclusion mode, but the second air injection nozzle 51 is not used as in the part feeder 102 shown in FIG. According to the detection result of the work 3, the first air injection nozzle 50 may be driven in the all elimination mode. In such a configuration, in the high accuracy processing mode (1/8 sorting) and the low accuracy processing mode (1/4 sorting), the excluding means 5 is in the first exclusion position P2 based on the result of the posture determination as in the above embodiment. The work 3 is excluded, and in the all exclusion mode, all the works 3 reaching the first exclusion position P2 are excluded.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 4, the fiber sensor 7 and the second air jet nozzle 51 are not used, the area camera 111 is used instead of the line camera 2, and the posture determination and overflow of the work 3 using the area camera 111 (all It may be configured to perform both the switching to the exclusion mode and the determination). That is, the image data may be supplied from the area camera 111 to the posture determination means 44, and the area camera 111 may be used as a work detection means for obtaining the standby work 3y. In this case, the area camera 111 is used as a line camera capable of capturing an arbitrary acquired image (a part of imaging elements) in the imaging available area (all imaging elements) (line mode). Photographing is performed at an imaging position P1 for obtaining image data used for posture determination and a detection position P5 (a position corresponding to the fiber sensor 7 in FIG. 1) for detecting the presence or absence of overflow. In such a parts feeder 103, the removing means 5 receives a signal from the fiber sensor 8, and in the high accuracy processing mode (1/8 sorting) and the low accuracy processing mode (1/4 sorting) as in the above embodiment. While the work 3 is excluded at the first exclusion position P2 by the first air injection nozzle 50 based on the posture determination result, the detection result of the presence or absence of the overflow by the image at the overflow position (detection position P5) captured by the area camera 111 When the mode is switched to the all exclusion mode, the first air injection nozzle 50 totally excludes the work 3 at the first exclusion position P2.

  Furthermore, in the configuration shown in FIG. 4, the area camera 112 shown in FIG. 5 may be used instead of the area camera 111. In the parts feeder 104 having such a configuration, an attitude determination area C1 for imaging the work 3 for attitude determination is set on the upstream side of the first air injection nozzle 50 within the imaging range of the area camera 112. An overflow determination area C2 for detecting the waiting work 3y is set downstream of the first air injection nozzle 50. In this configuration, when it is detected that the waiting work 3y exists in the overflow determination area C2 based on the continuous detection time, the mode is switched to the all exclusion mode.

  The standby work amount acquisition unit obtains the standby work amount using the fiber sensors 7 and 8, but as shown in FIG. 6, it does not use the fiber sensors 7 and 8 and cooperates with the processing device 6, The standby work amount may be determined based on data obtained from the processing device 6.

  In this configuration, the control device 4 is configured to be able to acquire the number of workpieces 3 subjected to the post-processing and the number of workpieces 3 transported to the waiting workpiece allowable range B1 from the processing device 6. The number of workpieces 3 transported to the waiting workpiece permissible range B1 is obtained, for example, by counting the workpieces 3 downstream of the first removal position P2 and upstream of the waiting workpiece permissible range B1. Then, the standby work number detection means 49 as standby work amount acquisition means measures the difference between the number of works 3 subjected to the post-processing and the number of works 3 transported to the standby work allowable range B1. It is determined as the number of

  In addition, the maximum number of workpieces 3 that can be accommodated in the standby work allowable range B1 and the second area from the respective lengths of the standby work allowable range B1 and the second area A2 and the conveyance direction length in the normal direction ) In advance.

  If the number of waiting works 3y obtained by the waiting work number detection means 49 is less than the maximum work accommodation number (second threshold) of the second area A2, the selection switching means 43 determines that the last waiting work 3y is the second area. And the exclusion means 5 is set to the low accuracy processing mode, and the number of waiting works 3y obtained by the waiting work amount acquiring means is equal to or greater than the maximum number of workpieces accommodated in the second area (second threshold) and the waiting work allowable range B1. If it is less than the maximum number of workpieces accommodated (the first threshold value), it is determined that the last waiting workpiece 3y is located in the first area, and the excluding means 5 is put into the high accuracy processing mode. Furthermore, if the number of the standby works 3y obtained by the standby work amount acquisition means is equal to or larger than the maximum number of workpieces accommodated in the standby work allowable range B1, it is determined that the last standby work 3y is located in the standby work unacceptable range B2. , And the exclusion means 5 in the all exclusion mode.

  As described above, the standby work number detection unit 49 as the standby work amount acquisition unit is the number of work pieces processed by the processing device 6 that carries out the predetermined post process by taking out the work 3 from the downstream end 10 a of the conveyance path 10 It is configured to be capable of acquiring the number of workpieces transported to the downstream end 10a of the transport path 10, and based on the difference between the number of workpieces processed by the processing device 6 and the number of workpieces transported to the downstream side of the transport path 10 Since the amount of work is calculated, the amount of standby work can be appropriately determined without providing an apparatus for detecting overflow, such as an overflow sensor, in the parts feeder 101.

  In the above embodiment, by setting the excluding means 5 in the all exclusion mode, the standby work 3y is prevented from being positioned within the standby work non-permissible range B2, but the present invention is not limited to such a configuration. It is also possible to cope with the overflow by stopping or reducing the vibration of the conveyance path 10 corresponding to the waiting work non-permissible range B2. Such a configuration can be implemented in a configuration in which the conveyance path 10 can be separately vibrated (separate vibrators) in the waiting work allowable range B1 and the waiting work non-permissible range B2. Then, while it is determined that the last stand-by work 3y is positioned in the stand-by work allowable range B1, the exclusion means 5 is driven in the high accuracy processing mode or the low accuracy processing mode as in the above embodiment, When it is determined that the standby work 3y is located in the standby work non-permissible range B2, the transport path 10 corresponding to the standby work non-permissible range B2 is maintained while the vibration state of the transport path 10 corresponding to the standby work permissible range B1 is maintained. The vibration of the driving means (not shown) is temporarily stopped or reduced, and the supply of the work 3 to the waiting work allowable range B1 is temporarily stopped or reduced. Thereby, the excess increase of the waiting | standby work 3y can be suppressed.

  As described above, the waiting work allowable range B1 is set in the area downstream of the removing means 5 and the downstream end 10a of the conveyance path 10 in the conveyance path 10, and the sorting switching means 43 determines the last waiting work 3y. Is determined to be within the standby work allowable range B1, the removal means 5 is driven in the high accuracy processing mode or the low accuracy processing mode, and the standby work allowable range upstream of the standby work allowable range B1 and the standby work allowable range When it is determined that the conveyance path 10 can be separately vibrated at B2 and the last waiting work 3y is positioned on the upstream side of the waiting work allowable range B1, the conveyance corresponding to the waiting work unpermitted range B2 The vibration of the path 10 is configured to be smaller than the vibration of the transport path 10 corresponding to the waiting work allowable range B1. As described above, one workpiece 3 is transferred by stopping or reducing the vibration of the transfer path 10 according to the amount of standby work and adjusting the amount of standby work, instead of removing the work 3 from the transfer path 10. Since the average number of times dropped from 10 can be reduced, damage to the workpiece 3 caused by the drop can be suppressed, and the workpiece 3 is transported to the transport path 10 many times, and the total transport distance of the workpiece 3 is extended. Adhesion of dust and the like to the work 3 due to

  In the configuration in which the conveyance path 10 can not be separately vibrated in the standby work allowable range B1 and the standby work non-permissible range B2, if control is performed to stop or reduce the vibration of the conveyance path 10 as described above, the conveyance path is resumed There is a risk that the work 3 will be extremely reduced on 10 and the work 3 will not be sufficient.

  In the above embodiment, two or more line cameras may be used to determine the posture, an area camera may be used instead of the line camera, and a plurality of fiber sensors may be used.

  Further, instead of the fiber sensor 7 functioning as an overflow sensor in the present embodiment, a line camera, a laser or the like may be used. In this configuration, in order to be able to perform the second attitude determination near the second excluded position P3, it is conceivable to install a line camera in the vicinity of the fiber sensor. Furthermore, instead of using a fiber sensor, a camera, a laser or the like may be used as the stock number detection means.

  Further, although the waiting work allowable range B1 is divided into two in the above embodiment, the waiting work allowable range B1 may be divided into more areas and sorted in a plurality of stages.

  Furthermore, the proportion of the time when the processing device 6 completely reverses the work 3 and the time when it is not reversed at all may be determined, and the control of the parts feeder 100 may be performed based on the balance.

  Furthermore, in the above embodiment, although the line camera 2 uses an imaging element arrayed in one row, the imaging device may be arrayed in two or more lines within the range where the effects of the present invention are exhibited. Good.

  Other configurations can be variously modified without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

2 ... line camera (work detection means)
3 ... Work 5 ... Exclusion means 6 ... Processing device 7, 8 ... Fiber sensor (work detection means)
9 ・ ・ ・ Cover (covering member)
10 ... conveying path 10a ... downstream end 42 ... acceptable waiting work position detecting means of the transport path (standby workpiece amount acquiring means)
43 · · · Sorting switching means (switching means)
44 ··· Posture determination means 49 ··· Standby work number detection means (standby work amount acquisition means)
100, 101, 102, 103, 104 Parts feeder B1 ... Wait work allowable range B2 ... Wait work unacceptable range P4 ... Detected position (predetermined position)

Claims (6)

A transport path capable of transporting a plurality of workpieces,
Posture determination means for determining the degree of difference between the work on the transport path and a predetermined reference posture in a plurality of stages, and determining the posture;
Removing means capable of removing a work determined to be different from the reference posture from the transport path;
Standby work amount acquisition means for obtaining a standby work amount staying on the downstream side of the transport path;
Switching means for switching the processing mode of the excluding means based on the waiting work amount;
The switching unit sets the high accuracy processing mode in which all the workpieces different from the reference posture are excluded when the standby workpiece amount is relatively large, and the reference posture when the standby workpiece amount is relatively small. A parts feeder characterized by being in a low accuracy processing mode in which a workpiece whose degree of difference with the object is relatively small is excluded from exclusion targets.   The standby work amount acquisition means has a work detection means for detecting a work at a predetermined position provided on the conveyance path, and the distance from the downstream end of the conveyance path to the predetermined position and the work detection means The parts feeder according to claim 1, wherein the amount of standby work is determined based on a continuous detection time in which the same work is continuously detected.   The standby work amount acquisition means calculates the number of workpieces processed by the processing apparatus which takes out the workpiece from the downstream end of the transport path and performs a predetermined post process, and the number of workpieces transported to the downstream end of the transport path The part according to claim 1, wherein the part is configured to be capable of acquiring and to calculate the waiting work amount based on a difference between the number of workpieces processed by the processing device and the number of workpieces transported to the downstream side of the transport path. feeder. A waiting work allowable range is set in an area on the downstream side of the removing means and on the downstream side end of the transporting path in the transporting path,
The switching means drives the excluding means in the high accuracy processing mode or the low accuracy processing mode when it is determined that the last standby work is located within the standby work allowable range, and the last operation is performed. When it is determined that the waiting work is positioned upstream of the waiting work tolerance, the excluding means is driven in the all excluding mode in which all the works moving toward the waiting work tolerance are excluded. Parts feeder in any one of -3. The waiting work allowable range is set in the area downstream of the removing means and the downstream end of the conveying path in the conveyance path, and the switching means is such that the last waiting work of the switching means is within the waiting work allowable range If it is determined to be located, driving the excluding means in the high accuracy processing mode or the low accuracy processing mode;
It is determined that the transport path can be separately vibrated in the waiting work allowable range and the waiting work non-permissible range upstream therefrom, and that the last waiting work is positioned upstream of the waiting work allowable range The parts feeder according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the vibration of the transport path corresponding to the standby workpiece non-permissible range is smaller than the vibration of the transport path corresponding to the standby workpiece permissible range. . The parts feeder according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a covering member which covers the work within the waiting work allowable range is provided on the transport path.

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