JP7273412B2 - Conveyance control method for conveying system and conveying system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a transport control method for a transport system and a transport system.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a parts feeder that conveys various parts such as electronic parts by vibration has been used. Known parts feeders include a bowl-type vibrating feeder that lifts parts along a spiral track from the inner bottom of a bowl (parts reservoir) and a linear-type vibrating feeder that has a linear track. It is A conveying system in which the bowl-type vibrating feeder and the linear-type vibrating feeder are connected is often used.

In the above transport system, in order to avoid problems when transporting parts from the bowl-type vibrating feeder to the linear-type vibrating feeder, a sensor detects parts stagnation between both feeders (due to clogging on the transport path, etc.). However, there is a known method of eliminating stagnation of parts with pressurized air (see Patent Documents 1 and 2 below).

JP-A-60-204518 JP-A-1-313211

By the way, in the conveying system described above, when parts stagnate between the feeders, the parts are intentionally removed from the track by pressurized air according to the output of the sensor to eliminate the stagnation of the parts. However, the removal of parts by such pressurized air reduces the efficiency of conveying parts, and the occurrence and elimination of stagnation of parts causes a sudden change in the manner of conveying parts, resulting in unstable supply of parts. However, there is a problem that scalding occurs.

In addition, when the type of parts to be transported is changed, the transport mode in the transport system changes due to differences in the size, specific gravity, shape, etc. of the parts. As described above, the drive frequency and drive voltage of the vibration mechanism of the transport system must be set, so the adjustment work is complicated, requires skilled workers, and takes a lot of time. be. In particular, when the conveying system has a configuration in which a plurality of conveying devices such as a bowl type vibrating feeder and a linear vibrating feeder are connected as described above, it is also possible to adjust the conveying speed between the plurality of conveying devices. There is a problem that it requires skill and takes time.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to solve the above problems, and to facilitate and expedite the adjustment work of a conveying system in which a plurality of conveying devices are connected.

In order to solve the above problems, a transport control method for a transport system according to the present invention is provided in which an exit of a first transport route of a first transport device is connected to an entrance of a second transport route of a second transport device. A first transport control method for a transport system, comprising: outputting a detection signal capable of deriving a movement status value in a transport direction having a correlation with a transport capability among transport modes of a transported object on the first transport route; a detector and a second detector outputting a detection signal capable of deriving the movement status value of the transport mode of the transported object on the second transport path, At least the first transport device and the second transport device are configured to maintain a predetermined correspondence relationship between the movement status value on the transport route and the movement status value on the second transport route. It is characterized by controlling one drive mode. Here, the predetermined correspondence relationship means, for example, the moving object that prevents the stagnation of the conveyed product and prevents interruption of the flow of the conveyed product from the first conveying route to the second conveying route. It is preferable to be a relationship of status values.

Further, the transport system of the present invention includes a first transport device having a first transport route, and a second transport device having a second transport route having an entrance connected to an exit of the first transport route. and a first transport system for outputting a detection signal capable of deriving a movement status value in a transport direction having a correlation with a transport capability among transport modes of transported objects on the first transport route a detector, a second detector for outputting a detection signal capable of deriving the movement status value among the transport modes of the transported object on the second transport route, and the first transport route for the transported object. at least one of the first transport device and the second transport device so as to maintain a predetermined correspondence relationship between the movement status value above and the movement status value on the second transport route and a control unit that controls the driving mode. Here, the predetermined correspondence relationship means, for example, the moving object that prevents the stagnation of the conveyed product and prevents interruption of the flow of the conveyed product from the first conveying route to the second conveying route. It is preferable to be a relationship of status values.

In the present invention, the movement status value is a value having a correlation with at least one of the conveying speed, conveying density, and conveying amount of the conveyed object, and the control of the driving mode is performed by controlling the first movement of the conveyed object. Preferably, the relationship between the movement status value on the transport route and the movement status value on the second transport route is maintained in the predetermined correspondence relationship. Among the movement status values, the conveying speed (for example, the distance traveled by the conveyed item on the conveying path per second) and the conveying density (for example, the number of conveyed items arranged per 1 m of the conveying path). corresponds to the transport amount (for example, the number of transported objects passing through a specific position on the transport path per second).

In the present invention, the control of the driving mode is such that the movement status value derived from the detection signal of one of the first transport device and the second transport device reaches a target value. One control process (for example, a first control process to be described later) for controlling the drive mode of the one transport device so that the other transport device out of the first transport device and the second transport device The other control process (for example, second control process). According to this, the control of the movement status value of the first transport device to the target value or the corresponding value and the control of the movement status value of the second transport device to the corresponding value or the target value are performed separately. Therefore, each control process can be performed easily and quickly. In this case, it is desirable that the other control process is executed after the one control process. According to this, after setting the movement status value of the movement status value of one transport apparatus as the target value, by setting the movement status value of the other transport apparatus as the corresponding value corresponding to this target value, It can be controlled more easily and quickly.

In this case, if the movement status value having a positive correlation with the transport capacity among the movement status values derived from the detection signal is larger than the corresponding target value, the first transport device is moved to the one side. It is desirable that the second transport device be the second transport device and that the other transport device be the second transport device. Further, if the movement status value having a positive correlation with the transport capacity among the movement status values derived from the detection signal is smaller than the corresponding target value, the second transport device is used for the one transport. and the first transport device is preferably the other transport device. According to this, when the movement status value is smaller than the target value, the movement status value is increased toward the target value by the control of the drive mode. By controlling to increase the movement status value of first, the conveying capacity of the second conveying device on the downstream side is more likely to be increased than the conveying capacity of the first conveying device on the upstream side. It is possible to suppress the occurrence of the problem that parts tend to stay in the vicinity of the inlet of the second conveying device. On the other hand, when the movement status value is greater than the target value, the movement status value is decreased toward the target value by controlling the driving mode. By controlling to decrease the status value first, it becomes easier to suppress the transport capacity of the first transport device than the transport capability of the second transport device, so the entrance portion of the second transport device on the downstream side It is possible to suppress the occurrence of the problem that parts tend to stay in the vicinity.

In the present invention, the first detector outputs a detection signal indicating presence/absence of the conveyed object passing through the detection position on the first conveying route, and the second detector outputs the second It is preferable to output a detection signal indicating the presence or absence of the conveyed object passing through the detection position on the conveying route. In this case, the detection value of the movement status value is the passage time of the transported object at the detection position derived from the detection signals of the first detector and the second detector, or It is preferably derived based on transit time intervals between objects.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the first detector is installed at the exit of the first conveying path. This is because the number of articles introduced into the inlet of the second conveying path is considered not to increase or decrease with respect to the number of articles at the exit of the first conveying path. As a reference value for knowing the relationship between the status value and the movement status value of the conveyed items on the second conveying route, the exit end of the first conveying route and the exit of the first conveying route where the number of conveyed items does not change. This is because it is preferable to use the detected value of the movement status value of the part. Here, the outlet portion refers to an area on the exit side of the first conveying path where the number of articles to be conveyed does not substantially increase or decrease between the exit end of the first conveying path.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the second detector is installed at the entrance of the second transport path. This is because it is considered that the number of articles led out from the exit of the first conveying path does not increase or decrease with respect to the number of articles at the entrance of the second conveying path. As a reference value for knowing the relationship between the status value and the movement status value of the conveyed items on the second conveying route, the entrance end of the second conveying route and the entrance of the second conveying route where the number of conveyed items does not change. This is because it is preferable to use the detected value of the movement status value of the part. Here, the entrance portion refers to an area on the entrance side of the second conveying path in which the number of articles to be conveyed does not substantially increase or decrease with respect to the entrance end of the second conveying path.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the second detector is installed at the outlet of the second conveying path. This is because the number of items at the exit of the second transport path often means the number of items finally supplied by the transport system, so the number of items at the exit end of the second transport path and the number of items do not change. By using the detection value at the outlet of the second transport device as a reference for the movement status value of the second transport device, the transport capacity of the second transport device is increased based on the final supply state of the goods to be transported. Therefore, it becomes easy to optimize the conveying capacity of the entire conveying system.

In the present invention, the conveying system moves the conveyed object on the first conveying path or the second conveying path based on the detection signal of at least one of the first detector and the second detector. It is preferable to further include an object stagnation detection means for detecting stagnation, and an object removing means for eliminating the stagnation of the object when the stagnation of the object is detected. In this case, when the stagnation detection means based on the detection signal of the second detector detects the stagnation of the conveyed product, the stagnation of the conveyed product is detected on the upstream side of the detection position of the second detector. It is desirable to further include the transported object removing means for removing the transported object from the transport path downstream of the detection position of the first detector. At this time, it is more desirable that the conveyed article removed by the conveyed article removing means is returned to the upstream side of the first conveying device. An example of the conveyed article removing means is a configuration that removes the conveyed article from the conveying path by fluid pressure. Further, the conveyed object removing means may stop the conveying state itself.

According to the present invention, it is possible to facilitate and speed up the adjustment work of a transport system in which a plurality of transport devices are connected, and to optimize the transport efficiency.

A plan view (a) and a front view ( b). It is a right side view of the same embodiment. It is a perspective view which expands and shows the connection area|region of the conveyance path|route of the 1st conveying apparatus of the same embodiment, and a 2nd conveying apparatus. 5 is an enlarged perspective view showing the connection region of the same embodiment as viewed from a direction different from that of FIG. 4; FIG. It is a perspective view which expands and shows the exit area|region of the conveyance path|route of the 2nd conveying apparatus of the same embodiment. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram schematically showing the configuration of the control system of the same embodiment; FIG. It is a figure which shows the waveform of detection signal 11E, 12E, 12F of each sensor of the same embodiment. It is a schematic flowchart which shows an example of the operation|movement program of the same embodiment. 5 is a schematic flow chart showing the operation of conveying capacity control of the same embodiment;

Next, an embodiment of a transport control method and a transport system according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. First, configurations of the first transport device 11 and the second transport device 12 of the transport system 10 of the embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG.

As shown in the plan view shown in FIG. 1(a), the front view shown in FIG. 1(b), and the right side view shown in FIG. A support base 10b is attached via a spring, rubber, or the like), and a first transfer device 11 and a second transfer device 12 are installed on the support base 10b. Note that the installation table 10a may be omitted. The first conveying device 11 is a bowl-shaped vibrating feeder, and includes a vibration exciter 11a that generates torsional vibration about a vertical axis, and a bowl-shaped vibrating body 11b that vibrates by being connected to the vibration exciter 11a. have The torsional vibration is a reciprocating vibration about an axis directed in a direction having a predetermined tilt angle with respect to the horizontal plane. The vibrating body 11b has an inner bottom portion 11c that accommodates a large number of objects W to be conveyed, and a first transport path 11d that rises spirally from the inner bottom portion 11c. In the illustrated example, two conveying paths are formed in a spiral shape, and have a path aspect in which they merge with each other on the way.

The spiral first conveying path 11d has an inlet end 11dx provided at the inner bottom portion 11c and an outlet end 11dy formed at the outer peripheral upper edge of the vibrating body 11b and connected to the second conveying device 12. have. As shown in FIG. 4, the first conveying path 11d conveys a large number of wide articles W in an overlapping state (not shown) in an obliquely upward direction. is gradually lowered to drop and remove some of the articles W to the inner bottom portion 11c, thereby gradually reducing the overlap of the articles W; and a downstream side transport path portion 11d2 in which the wafers W are transported in a state in which they are arranged substantially in a line in the transport direction. The tip of the downstream transport path portion 11d2 is the outlet end 11dy. A region of the first conveying path 11d (downstream conveying path portion 11d2) near the exit end 11dy serves as an exit portion 11d3. This exit portion 11d3 conveys a plurality of articles W on the conveying path in a row without overlapping, and in a normal conveying state, any article W is excluded from the conveying path. It is an area without

On the other hand, the second conveying device 12 is a linear vibrating feeder having a straight conveying path, and includes a vibration exciter 12a that generates reciprocating vibrations obliquely upward with respect to the horizontal plane along the conveying direction. , and a vibrating body 12b that is connected to the vibrator 12a and vibrates. The vibrating body 12b has a second conveying path 12d for conveying the article W linearly. The vibration of the vibrating body 12b is a reciprocating vibration directed obliquely upward in the conveying direction. The second conveying path 12d extends from an entrance end 12dx to an exit end 12dy, and aligns the articles W while conveying them. The second transport path 12 has an entrance portion 12d1 in a region near the entrance end 12dx. At the entrance portion 12d1, the arrangement of the articles W introduced to the inlet end 12dx does not change, and none of the articles W are removed from the conveying path. This is the area that is being transported. Further, downstream of the entrance portion 12d1, an aligning portion 12d2 is provided in which the orientation of the article W is discriminated, and the orientation is changed or the article W itself is removed depending on the determination result. Further downstream of the aligning section 12d2, there is an exit, which is an area where a plurality of articles W on the conveying route are conveyed in an aligned state and none of the articles W are excluded from the conveying route. A portion 12d3 is provided. In some cases, the outlet 12d3 has a culvert structure in which the upper part of the conveying path is closed so that the postures of the aligned conveyed articles W do not change.

It should be noted that the condition that the arrangement state of the goods W does not change at the exit portion 11d3, the entrance portion 12d1, and the exit portion 12d3 and that the goods W are not removed from the conveying path is performed when the goods W are stagnant, which will be described later. It does not include the case where an intentional removal operation (air overflow) of the conveyed product W is performed. In other words, in the normal arranging operation and alignment operation of the goods W, the arrangement state and alignment state do not substantially change, and the goods W are not removed from the conveying path.

A first detector 11 e for detecting the object W to be conveyed is installed in the first conveying device 11 . In the illustrated example, the first detector 11e is a passage sensor that detects whether or not the article W is passing through a predetermined detection position on the conveying path. composed of instruments. Here, the first detector 11e is configured to output a detection signal 11E capable of deriving a movement status value indicating the movement status of the article W on the transportation path in the transportation direction. Here, the movement status value is a value that correlates with the transport capacity of the transport system 10 . At this time, the conveying capacity means the conveying speed, the conveying amount, the conveying efficiency, and the like of the article to be conveyed. Examples of the above movement status values include the conveying speed V of the conveyed article W, the conveyed amount M of the conveyed article W per unit time, the conveyed density D of the conveyed article W on the conveying route, and times T1 and T2, which will be described later. . In this embodiment, the movement status value is the time T1 or T2, or the conveying speed V in the conveying direction of the conveying object W on the conveying route.

The detection position of the first detector 11e on the first conveying path 11d is not particularly limited, but in the illustrated example, it is provided inside the exit portion 11d3 of the first conveying path 11d. In this way, the arrangement state of the articles W introduced from the first transfer device 11 to the second transfer device 12 (the arrangement state when moving from the outlet end 11dy to the inlet end 12dx) is substantially The movement status of the articles W arranged in the same arrangement is detected by the first detector 11e on the first conveying path 11d. Therefore, when considering the relationship with the movement status of the goods W on the second transport path 12d, the most appropriate detection position for the movement status of the goods W on the first transport path 11d to be compared is position.

An example of the detection signal 11E is shown in FIG. 7(a). The detection signal 11E indicates whether or not the article W is present at the detection position. In the illustrated example, if the object W is passing at the detection position, the light is blocked and the detection signal 11E is turned ON, and if the object W is not present at the detection position, the light is not blocked and the signal 11E is turned OFF. At this time, the duration T1 of the ON signal indicating the passage of the goods W, or the time interval T2 from the passage start time of a certain goods W to the passage start time of the next goods W are both It is inversely proportional to the transport speed V in the transport direction on the W transport path. Therefore, the time T1 or T2 is derived from the detection signal 11E, or the conveying speed V is derived from these times T1 and T2, and either of these is used as a movement status value correlated with the conveying ability. .

On the other hand, second detectors 12e and 12f are installed in the second conveying device 12. As shown in FIG. In the illustrated example, the second detectors 12e and 12f are passage sensors that detect whether or not the article W is passing through a predetermined detection position on the conveying path. It consists of a photodetector. Here, the second detectors 12e and 12f are configured to output detection signals 12E and 12F capable of deriving movement status values indicating the movement status of the article W on the transportation path in the transportation direction. Here, the movement status value is a value that correlates with the transport capacity of the transport system 10 . At this time, the conveying capacity means the conveying speed, the conveying amount, the conveying efficiency, and the like of the article to be conveyed. Examples of the movement status values include the transport speed V of the transported product W, the transport amount M of the transported product W per unit time, the transport density D of the transported product W on the transport route, and the times T3 and T4 described later. be done. In the present embodiment, the movement status values are times T3 and T4, which will be described later, and a transport speed V in the transport direction of the transported object W on the transport route.

The detection position of the second detector 12e on the second conveying path 12d is not particularly limited, but in the illustrated example, it is provided inside the entrance portion 12d1 of the second conveying path 12d. In this way, the articles to be conveyed are arranged in substantially the same arrangement state as the articles W to be introduced into the second conveying device 12 (the arrangement state when moving from the outlet end 11dy to the inlet end 12dx). The movement status of W is detected by the second detector 12e on the second conveying path 12d. Therefore, when considering the relationship with the movement status of the goods W on the first transport path 11d, the most appropriate detection position for the movement status of the goods W on the second transport path 12d to be compared is detection position.

An example of the detection signal 12E is shown in FIG. 7(b). The detection signal 12E indicates whether or not the article W is present at the detection position. In the illustrated example, if the object W is passing at the detection position, the light is blocked and the detection signal 12E is turned ON, and if the object W is not present at the detection position, the light is not blocked and the signal 12E is turned OFF. At this time, the duration T3 of the ON signal indicating the passage of the goods W or the time interval T4 from the passage start time of a certain goods W to the passage start time of the next goods W are both It is inversely proportional to the transport speed V in the transport direction on the W transport path. For this reason, the time T3 or T4 is derived from the detection signal 12E, or the conveying speed V is derived from these times T3 and T4, and either of these is used as a movement status value correlated with the conveying ability. .

In the case of this embodiment, the second detector 12e is also used as a sensor (sensor of conveyed article retention detecting means) for detecting the accumulation of the conveyed articles W at the detection position. As shown in FIG. 7(c), this conveyed object retention detecting means increases the time for the conveyed object W to pass through the detection position, the time T3 or T4 exceeds a certain threshold value, T3' or the interval T4'. , the stagnation of the goods W is detected at the detection position. In this case, the threshold values are contrasted with α=α ₀ ·T3′/T3 and β=β ₀ ·T4′/T4 corresponding to the ratio of time T3′ and interval T4′ to normal time T3 and interval T4. and contrast with γ = γ ₀ · (T3' - T3), δ = δ ₀ · (T4' - T4) corresponding to the difference of time T3' or interval T4' from normal time T3 or interval T4 value. Here, α ₀ , β ₀ , γ ₀ and δ ₀ are coefficients (constants). In any case, when the ratio or the difference exceeds a certain threshold value, it is detected that the goods W are stagnant. In this case, in the above α, β, γ, and δ, even if the threshold values are constant, the longer the time T3 or T4, the longer the time T3' or the interval T4' at which the stagnation is detected. The higher the conveying speed V, the more easily the accumulation is detected, and the slower the conveying speed V, the less likely the accumulation is detected.

By doing so, the susceptibility to detection of stagnation (sensitivity to detect stagnation) is automatically adjusted according to the magnitude of the conveying speed V. Therefore, at the time of high-speed transportation, the detection of the stagnation of the conveyed goods W can be quickly performed. By doing so, it is possible to suppress the overflow of the conveyed goods, and during low-speed conveyance, it is difficult to detect the stagnation of the conveyed goods W, and the removal of the conveyed goods and the stoppage of the apparatus are frequently performed to eliminate the stagnation. It is possible to prevent troubles in the supply of the goods W caused by the occurrence of It should be noted that the method of detecting the accumulation of the goods W described above is merely an example, and various configurations can be employed. For example, the threshold may be changed according to the transport speed V. FIG.

When stagnation is detected by the conveyed object stagnation detection means, fluid such as pressurized air is ejected from the ejection port 12g shown in FIG. Remove from above the entrance portion 12d1) of the path 12d. An inclined surface 12h is formed in the vibrating body 12 below the entrance portion 12d1, and the expelled article W is returned to the inside of the vibrating body 11b of the first conveying device 11 via the inclined surface 12h. The conveyed object removing means for applying fluid pressure from the ejection port 12g is, for example, a fluid pressure source such as a compressor or a gas cylinder, a fluid pipe such as a metal pipe or a resin tube, a valve mechanism such as an electromagnetic valve, and a valve mechanism for opening/closing control. It can be configured by a controller or the like. For example, the removal of the transported article W may be repeated multiple times at predetermined intervals, or may be performed only once at a predetermined time. Further, as the conveyed object removing means, the operating state of the first conveying device 11 may be temporarily stopped.

The detection position of the second detector 12f on the second conveying path 12d is not particularly limited, but in the illustrated example, it is provided inside the exit portion 12d3 of the second conveying path 12d. In this manner, the articles W sent out from the second conveying path 12 are arranged (in this case, in an aligned state), that is, are supplied to an inspection device, a mounting device, or the like connected downstream from the outlet end 12dy (not shown). the moving state of the goods W in substantially the same arrangement state (aligned state) as the supply state of the goods W at the time is detected by the second detector 12f on the second conveying path 12d; Become. Therefore, when used for the control for optimizing the supply state, this is the most appropriate detection position.

An example of the detection signal 12F is shown in FIG. 7(d). The detection signal 12F indicates whether or not the article W is present at the detection position. In the illustrated example, if the object W is passing through the detection position, the light is blocked and the detection signal 12F is turned ON, and if the object W is not present at the detection position, the light is not blocked and the signal 12F is turned OFF. At this time, the duration T5 of the ON signal indicating the passage of the goods W or the time interval T6 from the passage start time of a certain goods W to the passage start time of the next goods W are both It is inversely proportional to the transport speed V in the transport direction on the W transport path. For this reason, the time T5 or the interval T6 is derived from the detection signal 12F, or the conveying speed V is derived from these times T5 and T6, and either of these is used as the movement status value correlated with the conveying ability. do. Since the detection signal 12F indicates the movement state of the exit portion 12d3 of the second conveying path 12d, the final supply state or supply efficiency of the conveying system 10 can be derived from this movement state. For example, in the detection signal 12F shown in FIG. 7E, the transport density D is higher (closer to 1) than in the case shown in FIG. ) increases, it can be seen that the transport efficiency is high. 3 to 5 show that the articles W are arranged in a discrete state, in reality, the conveying density D is close to 1, and there is almost no gap between the articles W to be conveyed. It is designed to be transported in good condition. In the normal transport control, which will be described later, when the transport density D is close to 1 as described above, it is preferable that the transport status value be the transport speed V or the transport amount M other than the transport density D.

FIG. 6 shows the configuration of the control system of this embodiment. The transport system 10 includes a control unit 10X including a computer, a circuit device, and the like. The control unit 10X controls the driving mode of the vibration exciters 11a and 12a, and controls the first transport device 11 and the second transport device 11. It is configured so that the transport mode of the transport device 12 can be changed and adjusted. More specifically, the detection signals 11E, 12E and 12F of the first detector 11e and the second detectors 12e and 12f are output to the controller 10X. Further, control signals X1 and X2 of the control section 10X are sent to the controllers 11x and 12x. The controller 11x constitutes a control circuit for the vibration exciter 11a, and the controller 12x constitutes a control circuit for the vibration exciter 12a.

FIG. 8 is a schematic flow chart showing an example of a transport control method for the entire transport system according to this embodiment. Although this example shows a state in which one operating program is executed by a computer, the present invention is not limited to such a control mode. When the control unit 10X starts operating, it first reads setting information necessary for controlling various parts. This setting information includes set values such as a predetermined drive frequency and drive voltage for controlling the controllers 11x and 12x. At this time, setting values may be stored for each type of article W to be transferred, and the setting values may be switched by an operation input. Further, it is preferable that the set values necessary for driving and controlling the normal transport control and the transport capacity control, which will be described later, are included. Each set value is configured to be changeable by an operation.

Next, when a transport activation operation is performed, the first transport device and the second transport device are activated, and the transported object W in the vibrating body 11b is transported along the first transport path 11d, and eventually, substantially in a row. are sent to the exit portion 11d3 in a state of being arranged in a row. After that, the article W is introduced from the outlet 11d3 to the inlet 12d1 of the second conveying path 12d. At the aligning section 12d2 of the second conveying path 12d, the orientation of the articles W to be conveyed is further detected, and the articles W are eventually arranged in a row in a predetermined orientation and sent to the exit section 12d3. At the outlet end 12dy, the aligned goods W are supplied to an inspection device, a mounting device, or the like.

The control of the transport state at the beginning of the activation is a "normal transport control" performed in a predetermined driving mode, for example, a predetermined driving frequency and driving voltage. At this time, feedback control using the detection signal of the vibration sensor may be performed. Further, it is also possible to appropriately select and apply one of a plurality of driving modes (driving frequency and driving voltage) prepared in advance for each type of goods W to be conveyed. If a transport stop operation is performed while the transport state is being controlled, or if a predetermined condition prepared in the control unit 10X is satisfied and an emergency stop occurs, driving is stopped and transport is also stopped. After that, if an end operation is performed, the operating program ends. If the end operation is not performed, the setting value operation and the transport start operation are waited for again.

When the transfer capacity control operation (capability tracking ON) is performed while the normal transfer control is being performed, or when a predetermined condition is satisfied, the controller 10X automatically shifts to the transfer capacity control (capability control). Tracking ON) occurs, the process shifts to "carrying capacity control". This conveying capacity control detects the conveying state of the article W using the above-described first detector 11e and second detector 12e or 12f. 2 controls the driving mode of the conveying device 12 . More specifically, the movement status value in the transport direction of the article W is derived from the detection signals 11E and 12E or 12F, and the drive frequency and drive voltage are adjusted according to this movement status value. A specific example (one example) of this transport capacity control is shown in the schematic flow chart of FIG.

When the transfer capacity control is switched to, as shown in FIG. 9, control is initially performed in a drive mode corresponding to the initial set value (the set value before control switching). After that, the transport mode is derived from the detection signals 11E, 12E or 12F of the first detector 11e and the second detector 12e or 12f. By deriving this transport mode, the first transport device to be controlled is selected. In the case of this embodiment, in the transport capacity control, target values relating to the transport capacity are set for each of the first transport device 11 and the second transport device 12, and these target values are the derived It is compared with the transportation mode (movement status value).

For example, if the derived transport mode (movement status value) is the transport speed V1 (transport speed of the first transport device) and V2 (transport speed of the second transport device) of the transported object W, then the corresponding The magnitude of the target values V01 and V02 is determined. In this embodiment, the transport speed having a positive correlation with the transport capability is used as the movement status value. This will increase the conveying capacity of the system. In order to prevent the objects W from stagnation when improving the carrying capacity, the first carrying device (one of the carrying devices) to be controlled is the second carrying device 12 . At this time, in order to increase the carrying capacity of the second carrying device 12, the second carrying device 12 is targeted and the first control process (one of the above control processes) is executed so as to raise the carrying speed V2 to the target value V02. , and the driving mode for the second conveying device 12 is changed. At this time, control can be performed by normal feedback control. For example, the driving voltage is increased so that the conveying speed V2 becomes V02.

When the conveying speed V2 reaches the target value V02 as described above, then the second control process (the other control process above) is started. This time, the conveying speed V1 of the first conveying device 11 (the other conveying device) is set to a desirable corresponding value V11 preset with respect to the conveying speed (target value) V02 of the second conveying device 12. , controls the driving mode for the first conveying device 11 . At this time, control can be performed by normal feedback control. For example, the driving voltage is increased so that the conveying speed V1 becomes V11. After that, the first control process and the second control process are alternately and repeatedly executed, and are always controlled so that the transport speed V2 is maintained at the target value V02 and the transport speed V1 is maintained at the corresponding value V11.

On the other hand, if V1>V01 and V2>V02, the target value is lower than the current transport mode. Therefore, the transport capacity of the transport system as a whole is reduced. In order to prevent the stagnation of the goods W when attempting to lower the carrying capacity, the first carrying device (one of the carrying devices) to be controlled is the first carrying device 11 . At this time, in order to reduce the transport capability of the first transport device 11, the first transport device 11 is targeted, and the first control process is executed so as to lower the transport speed V1 to the target value V01. It controls the drive mode for the device 11 . At this time, control can be performed by normal feedback control. For example, the driving voltage is increased so that the conveying speed V1 becomes V01.

When the conveying speed V1 reaches the target value V01 as described above, then the second control process is started. This time, the second conveying device 12 (the other conveying device) has a conveying speed V2 corresponding to the conveying speed V01 of the first conveying device 11 and the desired corresponding value V12 set in advance. The driving mode for the conveying device 12 is changed. At this time, control can be performed by normal feedback control. For example, the driving voltage is increased so that the conveying speed V2 becomes V12. After that, the first control process and the second control process are alternately and repeatedly executed, and are always controlled so that the transport speed V1 is maintained at the target value V01 and the transport speed V2 is maintained at the corresponding value V12.

The transfer capacity control returns to the normal transfer control when a transfer capacity control cancellation operation (capacity tracking OFF) is performed or when the transfer capacity control cancellation (capacity tracking OFF) occurs automatically. At this time, the drive mode (set values such as drive collection frequency and drive voltage) when the transfer capacity control cancellation operation (capacity tracking OFF) is performed or automatic transfer capacity control cancellation (capacity tracking OFF) occurs It is preferable that normal transport control be performed while maintaining

The above mode of carrying capacity control is an example, and for example, if the stagnation of the goods W to be carried is not taken into consideration, the one carrying device and the other carrying device may be fixed and controlled. Also, in the above example, when the transfer speed matches the target value or the corresponding value in the first control process and the second control process, the process proceeds to the next process. The first control process and the second control process may be performed alternately. Alternatively, both processes may be configured to be performed in parallel. It is desirable that the relationship between the target values V01, V02 and the corresponding values V11, V12 between different transport devices be optimized in advance for each transport system. For example, the target value V01 and the corresponding value V12, or the target value V02 and the corresponding value V11 may be the same. Alternatively, it may be slightly smaller, and the corresponding value for the first transport device 11 may be slightly smaller or slightly larger than the target value for the second transport device 12 . Such a relationship is set according to the actual transportation situation.

Either of the second detectors 12e and 12f installed in the second conveying device 12 may be used in the above conveying capacity control. Alternatively, both of them may be used to perform optimum control. For example, using the second detector 12e, the movement status value of the goods W on the second transport device 12 and the movement status of the goods W on the first transport device 11 detected by the first detector 11e are detected. , and the second detector 12f is used to detect the feeding state of the goods W at the outlet 12d3 (outlet end 12dy) of the second conveying path 12d. , the target value and corresponding value may be adjusted (optimized).

In this embodiment, the second detector 12e is also used as a sensor for detecting stagnation of the goods W in the transport system. The stagnation of the objects W is caused when the transportation is stopped, or when the supply amount of the objects W exceeds the processing amount of the inspection device or the mounting device on the downstream side, the transportation speed V1 excessively exceeds the transportation speed V2. In such a case, it occurs when the article to be conveyed W is caught in the culvert-shaped conveying path of the exit portion 12d3. Such stagnation of goods W is detected by the above-described method shown in FIGS. 7(b) and 7(c) using the detection signal 12E of the second detector 12e. It is preferable that the sensitivity of detection at this time is automatically adjusted according to the magnitude of the conveying speeds V1 and V2 as described above. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, the automatic adjustment of the detection sensitivity may be performed each time the mode of transport control is changed, and is performed each time the transport amount or transport speed is greatly changed. You may do so.

When the stagnation of the conveyed articles W is detected, the conveyed articles W on the second conveying path 12d are intermittently or continuously removed by the fluid pressure such as pressurized air provided from the ejection port 12g. be. Further, the detection signals 11E and 12F of the first detector 11e and the second detector 12f may be used for the function of detecting the stagnation of the goods W as described above. In this case, if it is possible to detect at a plurality of points in which range the stagnation of the goods W occurs, the removal mode of the goods removing means (for example, intermittent fluid pressure This makes it easy to select (either continuous supply or continuous supply) and to decide whether to stop the transportation itself.

The transfer control method and transfer system of the present invention are not limited to the illustrated examples described above, and can of course be modified in various ways without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, in each of the above embodiments, a bowl-type vibrating feeder and a linear-type vibrating feeder are used, but the present invention is not limited to such a combination, and may be a combination of linear-type feeders. It can also be used for conveying devices based on other principles, such as belt conveyors and air chutes. Further, the control of the carrying capacity is not limited to controlling the driving modes of both the first carrying device 11 and the second carrying device 12 as described above. The driving mode of only one of the transport devices 12 may be controlled.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10... Conveyance system, 10a... Installation base, 10b... Support base, 10X... Control part, 11... 1st conveying apparatus, 11a... Vibrator, 11b... Vibrator, 11c... Inner bottom part, 11d... First conveyance Route 11dx Entrance end 11dy Exit end 11d1 Upstream transport path part 11d2 Downstream transport path part 11d3 Exit part 11e First detector 11x Controller 12 Second Conveying device 12a Vibrator 12b Vibrator 12d Second conveying path 12dx Entrance end 12dy Exit end 12d1 Entrance portion 12d2 Alignment portion 12d3 Exit portion 12e, 12f ... second detector, 12x ... controller

Claims (9)

A transport control method for a transport system in which an exit of a first transport route of a first transport device is connected to an entrance of a second transport route of a second transport device,
a first detector for outputting a detection signal capable of deriving a movement status value in a conveying direction having a correlation with a conveying ability among conveying modes of conveyed objects on the first conveying route;
a second detector for outputting a detection signal capable of deriving the movement status value among the transport modes of the transported object on the second transport path;
and a first conveying device for maintaining a predetermined correspondence relationship between the movement state value on the first conveying route and the movement state value on the second conveying route of the conveyed object. controlling the driving mode of at least one of the second conveying devices;
A target value of the movement status value is set for each of the first transport device and the second transport device,
The control of the driving mode includes:
One of the first transport device and the second transport device is controlled such that the movement status value derived from the detection signal of the transport device becomes the target value of the one transport device. one control process for controlling the driving mode of the conveying device of
The movement status value derived from the detection signal of the other one of the first transport device and the second transport device has a predetermined relationship with the target value of the one transport device. and another control process for controlling the drive mode of the other transport device so as to achieve the corresponding value,
In the first transport device and the second transport device, among the movement status values derived from the detection signal, movement status values having a positive correlation with the transport capacity are larger than the corresponding target values. In the first case , the first transport device is used as the one transport device, and in the one control process, the movement status value is controlled to decrease toward the target value, and 2 is used as the other transport device, and in the other control process, the movement status value is controlled to be the corresponding value;
In the first transport device and the second transport device, among the movement status values derived from the detection signal, the movement status value having a positive correlation with the transport capacity corresponds to the movement status value of each of the transport devices. If the second case is smaller than the target value, the movement status value is controlled to increase toward the target value in the one control process with the second transport device as the one transport device. and controlling the movement status value to be the corresponding value in the control process of the other by using the first transport device as the other transport device,
The one control process and the other control process are executed in chronological order such that the one control process is executed first, or alternately such that the one control process is executed first. by executing at or in parallel with
In the first case, controlling to decrease the movement status value of the first transport device before the movement status value of the second transport device;
In the second case, controlling to increase the movement status value of the second transport device before the movement status value of the first transport device;
A conveyance control method characterized by: A conveying system comprising: a first conveying device having a first conveying route; and a second conveying device having a second conveying route having an entrance connected to an exit of the first conveying route. hand,
a first detector for outputting a detection signal capable of deriving a movement status value in a conveying direction having a correlation with a conveying ability among conveying modes of conveyed objects on the first conveying route;
a second detector that outputs a detection signal from which the movement status value can be derived from the transport mode of the transported object on the second transport path;
and a first conveying device for maintaining a predetermined correspondence relationship between the movement state value on the first conveying route and the movement state value on the second conveying route of the conveyed object. a control unit that controls the driving mode of at least one of the second conveying devices;
and
A target value of the movement status value is set for each of the first transport device and the second transport device,
The control of the driving mode includes:
One of the first transport device and the second transport device is controlled such that the movement status value derived from the detection signal of the transport device becomes the target value of the one transport device. one control process for controlling the driving mode of the conveying device of
The movement status value derived from the detection signal of the other one of the first transport device and the second transport device has a predetermined relationship with the target value of the one transport device. and another control process for controlling the drive mode of the other transport device so as to achieve the corresponding value,
In the first transport device and the second transport device, among the movement status values derived from the detection signal, movement status values having a positive correlation with the transport capacity are larger than the corresponding target values. In the first case , the movement status value is controlled to decrease toward the target value of the one transport device in the one control process with the first transport device as the one transport device. and controlling the movement status value to be the corresponding value in the control process of the other by using the second transport device as the other transport device,
In the first transport device and the second transport device, among the movement status values derived from the detection signal, a movement status value having a positive correlation with a transport capacity is smaller than the corresponding target value. In the second case , the second transport device is used as the one transport device, and in the one control process, the movement status value is controlled to increase toward the target value, and controlling the movement status value to be the corresponding value in the control process of the other by using one transport device as the other transport device;
The one control process and the other control process are executed in chronological order such that the one control process is executed first, or alternately such that the one control process is executed first. by executing at or in parallel with
In the first case, controlling to decrease the movement status value of the first transport device before the movement status value of the second transport device;
In the second case, controlling to increase the movement status value of the second transport device before the movement status value of the first transport device;
A transport system characterized by: The movement status value is a value that correlates with at least one of the conveying speed, conveying density, and conveying amount of the conveyed object,
The control of the driving mode maintains the relationship between the movement status value on the first transport path and the movement status value on the second transport path of the transported object in the predetermined correspondence relationship. be done,
3. The transport system according to claim 2. The first detector outputs a detection signal indicating the presence or absence of the conveyed object passing through the detection position on the first conveying path,
The second detector outputs a detection signal indicating the presence or absence of the conveyed object passing through the detection position on the second conveying route.
4. The transport system according to claim 2 or 3. The first detector is installed at an exit portion of the first conveying path, and the exit portion is a first detector in which the number of conveyed items does not substantially increase or decrease between the exit portion of the first conveying path and the exit end of the first conveying path. is the area on the exit side of the transport path of
A transport system according to claims 2-4. The second detector is installed at the entrance of the second conveying path, and the entrance of the second conveying path does not substantially increase or decrease the number of conveyed items between the entrance of the second conveying path and the entrance end of the second conveying path. is the area on the entrance side of the transport path of
A transport system according to any one of claims 2-5. The second detector is installed at an exit of the second conveying path, and the exit is a second detector in which the number of conveyed items does not substantially increase or decrease between the exit of the second conveying path and the exit of the second conveying path. is the area on the entrance side of the transport path of
A transport system according to any one of claims 2-6. Conveyed goods stagnation detecting the stagnation of the conveyed goods on the first conveying path or on the second conveying path based on the detection signal of at least one of the first detector and the second detector. Further comprising detection means, and conveyed object removing means for eliminating the stagnation of the conveyed object when the stagnation of the conveyed object is detected,
A transport system according to any one of claims 2-7. The predetermined correspondence relationship is a relationship of the movement status value that prevents the stagnation of the conveyed articles and prevents interruption of the flow of the conveyed articles from the first conveying route to the second conveying route. be,
A transport system according to any one of claims 2-8.

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