JPH02269526A - Tape type article carrying device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To treat an article with a robot device or the like by synchronizing a tape carrying device and a parts assembly device or a parts manufacture device with a detected result of an article existence detecting means in an open surface of a carrying tape. CONSTITUTION:A carrying tape 3 for housing which houses a parts in a recessed part 3a and covered by a cover tape 5 is fed from a reel 6 for a parts device to a winding reel 7 by a sprocket 12 or the like, and the cover tape 5 is removed by a guide roller 17 to be wound by a winding reel 18 on the way, and is passed through a takeoff part 2. When the existence of a parts in the recessed part 3a which is opened is detected by a parts existence sensor 20, a control device 10 operates a robot hand H synchronously to pick-up parts and feed it to a parts assembly device. When parts from a parts manufacture device is housed in the recessed part 3a of the carrying tape 3 and is covered by the cover tape 5, an operation in reverse order to the operation described before is performed. Full automatic robot hand operation is thus performed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a tape-type article conveying device that intermittently conveys articles using a continuous tape.

[Prior Art] In recent years, various automatic assembly devices have been proposed in conjunction with factory automation, but these automatic assembly devices are capable of supplying articles (parts) to be assembled quickly, reliably, and at low cost. This is the technical issue.

In other words, the general and most widespread conventional method of supplying parts to automatic assembly equipment is to prepare a pallet for placing parts in consideration of the external shape, weight, material, etc. of the parts to be supplied.
A pallet system has been used in which parts are placed on the pallet in advance in an aligned state, the pallet is then transported to a predetermined position, and the parts are sequentially taken out and assembled from the pallet by an automatic assembly device. Although this pallet method can be applied to relatively large parts and has some effect, small parts such as screws are too small to be handled by the pallet method, and the quantity used is large. It was impossible to implement this pallet method.

Furthermore, even if a pallet were to be applied to small parts such as screws, it would be very difficult to place them on the pallet in the same direction as it would take a lot of man-hours.

In view of this problem, it is possible to store small parts such as screws separately in a container, vibrate the container to align the orientation of the parts, and feed them one by one in an aligned state. In some cases, a vibrating parts feeder method was used.

However, in both the above-mentioned barre 1 method and vibrating parts feeder method, when feeding multiple types of articles, a problem arises in that pallets or vibrating parts feeders, etc., must be prepared according to the external shape of each item. was there.

Therefore, a cassette system that solves the above-mentioned problems has been proposed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 60-48855 titled "Parts Supply Apparatus." In the present application, parts are continuously housed in a cassette as shown in the external perspective view of FIG. 9 (however, in the present application, FIG. 4).

That is, in FIG. 9, three studs S are suspended from the inner surface of the cassette case 100 shown by the two-dot chain line, and reels 103 and 1 are installed around these studs 3.
05 and 104 are provided so as to be rotatable and to obtain a driving force, respectively, and the heald 101 and belt 102, which can be bonded or brought into contact and separated multiple times, are wound into the reel 1.3. It is configured to hold the state.

In this cassette 100, articles 109 to be conveyed are sandwiched in advance between belts 101 and 102, and are continuously supplied and sent to reel 103.

Next, by rotating the winding reels 104 and 105, the belts 101 and 102 are moved to the rollers 106 and 105, respectively.
, 1.107, 108, but in the middle of the winding, the adhesive state of the belts 1.01, 102 is peeled off, and the sandwiched part 109 appears outside.
The parts 109 were taken out and assembled using a robot hunt or the like. Furthermore, the presence or absence of parts was not detected.

[Problem to be solved by the invention] However, in the conventional cassette format described above,
Since the parts are simply held between the tapes, it is not possible to accurately position the parts on the tape, and as a result, the parts cannot be taken out using robot hands, etc. installed in the parts assembly equipment, and the tape can be repeatedly attached and separated. There is a limit number of contact and separation times, and if the number of times is exceeded, the tape must be replaced.Furthermore, when the tape is wound onto a reel, the tape becomes deflected, making it impossible to send parts reliably. There was a problem that the robot hand could not operate fully automatically because the presence or absence of parts was not detected.

Therefore, the tape-type article conveyance device of the present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to enable accurate positioning of articles on the tape and to allow the articles to be handled by a robot device or the like. There is no need to change the tape, and there is no bending in the tape when winding it up, so items can be transported reliably, the presence or absence of parts can be detected, and fully automatic robot hand operation is possible. An object of the present invention is to provide a tape-type article conveying device that enables the following.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a tape-type article conveyance device that makes it possible to detect the presence or absence of parts immediately before performing a robot hunt operation, thereby eliminating wasted robot hand operations such as pick-up errors.

[Means and effects for solving the problems] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the objects, the tape-type article conveying device of the present invention uses a conveying tape formed with a plurality of continuous recesses for storing and conveying articles. a cover tape that covers the opening of the concave portion of the transport tape; a first reel that fixes respective ends of the transport tape and the cover tape and simultaneously winds the transport tape and the cover tape; a second reel that fixes an end of the transport tape and winds only the transport tape; a third reel that fixes an end of the cover tape and winds only the cover tape; and a third reel that winds only the cover tape with the end of the cover tape fixed.
a drive assembly that rotates the reel, a second reel, and a third reel in predetermined rotations, respectively; an intermittent drive means that engages with a continuous guide hole bored in the conveying tape and drives the conveying tape intermittently; a control means for controlling and driving a drive assembly and an intermittent drive means; an opening surface portion for taking out and storing articles stored in the recessed portion of the conveying tape; and an opening surface portion provided near the opening surface portion, the presence or absence of an article in the recessed portion. a tape conveyance device comprising a first presence/absence detection means for detecting a component assembly device and a guide positioning device for the component assembly device or the component manufacturing device; The robot hand further includes a main controller and a robot hand, and performs an article storage and assembling operation in synchronization with the tape transport device and the component assembly device or the component manufacturing device based on the detection result of the first presence/absence detection means. to work.

Preferably, a second presence/absence detection means is further provided near the article supply side of the first presence/absence detection means, and
The presence/absence detection means detects the presence/absence state of the article before the first presence/absence detection means, and based on the detection result, the tape conveyance device and the parts assembly device are synchronized to perform the article storage operation. to work.

[Examples] Examples of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a basic principle diagram showing how parts P are stored and taken out from a tape. In Fig. 1, to explain the basic principle by which a part P can be transported and taken out using a tape, the transport tape 3 has an inner part that is slightly larger than the external dimensions (depth, width, height) of the part P, as shown in the figure. Concave portions 3a having the same size are continuously provided at equal intervals.

In addition, pitch holes 3b are continuously drilled near both edges of the transport tape 3 as shown in the figure, and the pitch holes 3b engage with a sprocket 12, which will be described later, to apply driving force to the transport tape 3. I'm trying to convey it. Furthermore, the cover tape 5 covers the part P set inside the recess 3a as shown in the figure, thereby holding the part P set inside the recess 3a in the set position and making it possible to take it out. It is provided.

That is, in a state where the transport tape 3 and the cover tape 5 are moved in the direction of the arrow shown by the broken line in the figure, the part P is moved in the direction of the arrow shown by the broken line and is set inside the recess 3a of the transport tape 3. Afterwards, while covering the upper surface of the part P with the cover tape 5, the conveying tape 3 is moved in the direction of the arrow shown by the solid line in the figure, and is moved by the guide roller 17 which is rotatable around the stud 8. When the cover tape 5 whose direction has been changed is also moved in the direction of the arrow shown by the solid line, the upper surface of the component P is exposed, so that it can be taken out in the direction of the arrow shown by the solid line. In this way, after storing the parts P, the tape is wound up inside the reel for continuous storage and continuous supply.

Next, FIG. 2 is a side view showing a schematic configuration of the tape-type article conveyance device 50 of the embodiment, and shows how the above-mentioned conveyance tape 3 and cover tape 5 are wound inside each reel. .

In FIG. 2, a reinforcing member (not shown) is integrally provided on the board 1, which is processed from a plate material into the shape shown in the drawing. It has strength. On this board 1, a stud S indicated by a symbol S in the figure is installed vertically from a frame (not shown) that is integrally formed with the board 1, and allows the reel and wheel to rotate and pivot freely. I try to support them.

Next, the transport tape 3 and the cover tape 5 with the component P set in the recess 3a as described above are moved to cover the opening of the recess 3a with the cover tape 5 as shown in the figure, and the component mounting reel 6 is reeled. For this purpose, there is a component mounting reel 6, a cover tape take-up reel 8 for winding and supplying the cover tape 5, and a tape winding reel 8 for winding and supplying the transport tape 3. Each of the reels 7 is rotatable around the stud S, while the center of rotation 6 of these reels
c, 7c, 8c, the respective tape ends are fixed parts 6d, 7d,
8d, and each tape is wound up by the outer peripheral surface of the rotation center portion 6c, 7c8c of each reel. Each of these reels is provided with a rotating means, and the rotating means is in contact with the outer peripheral edge of the reel to transmit rotational driving force.

Therefore, the component mounting reel 6, the tape winding reel 7, and the cover tape winding reel 8 are each provided with a rotating means for applying a driving force.

FIG. 3 is an external view showing the drive assembly 13 of the component mounting reel 6 among the rotating means. In FIG. 3, a tape take-up reel 7 and a cover tape take-up reel 8 are shown.
Drive assemblies 14 and 15 having a similar configuration are respectively provided in the drive assemblies 14 and 15, and the drive assembly 13 will be explained as a representative, and the explanation of the drive assemblies 14 and 15 will be omitted.

In FIG. 3, while driving the various tapes mentioned above,
A pair of rubber rollers 13b made of urethane rubber are attached to both ends of the output shaft of a motor 13a for generating tension on the tape. The outer peripheral surface of these rubber rollers 13b is connected to the hub 6 of the component mounting reel 6.
The motor 13a is mounted at the tip of an arm member 13c rotatably supported around a stud 8 hanging from the base plate 1 so that the motor 13a comes into contact with the outer peripheral edges of the motors a and 6b with biasing force. It is provided in the section as shown in the figure, so that it is in the abutting position shown in the figure.

Furthermore, a tension spring 13e is stretched between the other end 1.3d of this arm member 13c and the stud S, and is designed to apply a biasing force to rotate the arm member 13c in a clockwise direction. The outer circumferential surface of the rubber roller 13b is brought into contact with the outer circumferential edges of the hubs 6a, 6b of the component mounting reel 6 with a biasing force, thereby causing frictional driving.

Again, in FIG. 2, wiring indicated by two-dot chain lines in the figure is connected to the control device 10 from the motors 1.3a, 14a, 15a configured as explained based on FIG. The motors 13a and 1 are used to drive the motors 13a and 1, which will be described later.
I try to do either 4a or 15a.

This control device 10 has a built-in counter, and a changeover switch 10a and a counter 10b are provided at positions that can be operated from the outside. 10b is provided for counting and displaying the number of accommodated parts P.

As shown in the figure, this control section 10 is incorporated in a tape type article conveying device 50, and when set to an assembly device M and a parts manufacturing device N, which will be described later, a signal and a power line are connected to the assembly device M and a parts manufacturing device N. It is configured to automatically connect with device N.

Further, when the tape type article conveyance device 50 is set in the parts manufacturing device 8 or the assembly device M, the power is automatically turned on, and the operation mode switching performed by the above-mentioned changeover switch 10a is automatically performed. is also possible.

Next, the stepping motor 9 indicated by a broken line is connected to a control device 10 through wiring indicated by a two-dot chain line in the figure, and is driven by control from the control device section 1o. However, the rotational driving force of the stepping motor 9 is transmitted to the sprocket gear 12b of the sprocket 12, which is rotatable around the stud S, via a belt 11 shown in broken lines. .

Bins 12a that engage with the pitch holes 3b of the conveying tape 3 are planted on the outer circumferential surface of the subblock 1-12 at equal intervals with the pitch holes 3b of the conveying tape 3. It is possible to transport by the rotational drive of. These two sprockets 12 are integrally constructed with a sprocket gear 12b, and are adapted to engage with two rows of pitch holes 3b of the conveying tape 3.

Between these two sprockets 1 to 12, two component presence sensors 20 are placed adjacent to the recess 3a of the transport tape 3 and are fixed to the board 1 at the same pitch as the recess 3a. , the presence or absence of the component P in the recess 3a is detected and counted.

Here, of the two component presence sensors 20, the component presence sensor 20, which is installed near the component supply side, detects the presence or absence of the component P before it is taken out by the robot hunt H, and based on this detection result, the component presence sensor 20 is installed near the component supply side. Since the article retrieval operation is performed in synchronization with the tape conveyance device and the component assembly device M, unnecessary operations of the robot hunt H can be prevented.

Next, a guide roller 16 rotatably supported around a stud S on the substrate 1 is provided to change the direction of transport of the transport tape 3 from the vertical direction toward the sprocket 12 as shown in the figure. ing.

Further, a guide roller 17 which is supported by a shaft in the same way as the guide roller 16 is provided in order to change the conveying direction of the cover tape 5 from the direction toward the sprocket 12 as shown in the figure to the direction toward the component mounting reel 6. It is being

Furthermore, as shown in the figure, the guide rail 18, which is provided on the substrate 1 and is formed by processing so as to form a circular arc in the plate material, has a cover tape 5 covering the ``-'' of the conveying tape 3 around the outer periphery of the circular arc. It is provided to guide you along the route.

Furthermore, a pair of cam followers 19 rotatably supported around studs S near the left and right ends of the base l are attached to an assembly device M or a parts manufacturing device N, which will be described later, to assemble the entire tape-type article conveyance device 50. It is used as a guide for relative positioning when setting.

Next, FIGS. 4(a) and 4(b) are external perspective views showing how the tape type article conveying device 50 is set in an assembly device M or a parts manufacturing device N equipped with a robot hand H.
After being inserted into the mounting section 22 that is provided integrally with the assembly device M or the component manufacturing device N, a pair of cam followers 19 are inserted into the latching grooves 22a of the mounting section 22 as guides for relative positioning. It shows how it is pushed down and set in a predetermined position.

Each of these assembly devices M or parts manufacturing device N is provided with a robot hand H, and the movement of the robot hand H is completely synchronized with the stepping motor 9 of the tape-type article conveyance device 50, and the movement of the robot hand H is completely synchronized with the stepping motor 9 of the tape type article conveyance device 50. When the part P manufactured by When the parts P are stored, the parts P are supplied to the assembly device M.

Next, the operation of the tape-type article conveying device 50 will be explained based on the operation diagram of the tape-type article conveying device 50 shown in FIG.

In this figure, the operation of emptying the part P in the recess 3a of the transport tape 3 of the tape-type article transport device 50 and storing the part P manufactured by the parts manufacturing apparatus N in the recess 3a of the transport tape 3 The operation modes in which the concave portion 3a of the conveying tape 3 is filled with parts P and the parts P are supplied to the assembly device M will be explained separately using the arrows shown in broken lines.

(Operation mode in which the component P manufactured by the component manufacturing device N is accommodated in the transport tape 3) The cam follower 19 is guided and set in the component manufacturing device N, and the component P is stored in the recess 3a of the transportation tape 3. When carrying out this work, the transport tape 3 is fully wound by the tape take-up reel 7, and the cover tape 5 is also fully wound by the cover tape take-up reel 8. There is.

Previously, the component mounting reel 6 was in an empty state, and the transport tape 3 was placed at the rotation center 6c of the component mounting reel 6.
Only the overlapping ends of the cover tape 5 and the cover tape 5 are fixed.

Next, the switch 10a of the control unit 10 is automatically set to the accommodation side. Or set manually.

Then, the drive assembly 13, 14, 15 and the stepping motor 9 are rotated to accommodate the component P in the recess 3a of the conveying tape 3, but the component mounting reel 6 and the cover tape winding reel are rotated. 8, the tape winding reel 7, and the sprocket wheel 12 are rotated in the direction of the arrow shown by the broken line, respectively, and the tape is moved in the direction of the broken line arrow in FIG. P is accommodated, and the component mounting reel 6 is brought into a full winding state, while the tape winding reel 7
And the cover tape take-up reel 8 is made empty.

At this time, while the chipping motor 9 is rotated intermittently, the drive assemblies 13, 14, and 15 are also rotated with a predetermined driving force. 3 is moved and conveyed by a sprocket wheel 12. This moving conveyance force applies a rotational force to the tape take-up reel 7 in the direction of the dashed line arrow, but in this operating state, the driving force of the rotation assembly 14 is applied to the tape take-up reel 7 as shown by the solid line arrow. This rotational driving force is set to be sufficiently smaller than the tension applied to the conveying tape 3, so that the conveying tape 3 can be prevented from curling.

On the other hand, the rotational driving force by the rotation assembly 13 rotates the component mounting reel 6 in the direction of the dashed arrow, or winds the conveying tape 3 and cover tape 5 around the component mounting reel 6 by rotating in the direction of the dashed arrow. At the same time, the tension applied to the cover tape 5 causes the cover tape take-up reel 8 to rotate in the direction of the dashed arrow, but the rotational driving force of the component mounting reel 6 is set to be smaller than the tension of the transport tape 3. This prevents walnuts from forming on the transport tape 3.

Next, the rotational force of the rotating assembly 15 that applies rotational driving force to the cover tape take-up reel 8 is set to be smaller than the tension applied to the cover tape 5, so that the cover tape 5 is not walnuted. This is to prevent this.

Further, the stepping motor 9 is set in advance so that the recess 3a of the conveying tape 3 is accurately and intermittently driven in the take-out section 2 when storing and taking out the parts P.

Therefore, the movement of the robot hand H of the parts manufacturing machine N is completely synchronized with the stepping motor 9, and the parts P manufactured by the parts manufacturing machine are transferred to the sprocket 1 in the take-out section 2.
2, the conveyor tape 3 can be accurately accommodated in the recess 3a.

In this way, the component mounting reel 6 is brought into a full winding state.

(Operation mode for supplying the part P from the transport tape 3 to the assembly device M).

When the component mounting reel 6 is fully wound, the tape-type article conveying device 50 is removed from the component manufacturing machine and moved to a robot hand H as shown in FIG. 4(a). The cam follower 19 of the tape type article conveyance device 50 is guided and set to the provided assembly device M.

Next, the switch 10a of the control unit 10 is automatically or manually set to the supply side.

After this, the drive assembly 13, 14, 15 and the stepping motor 9 are rotated, so that the component mounting reel 6
The cover tape take-up reel 8, the tape take-up reel 7, and the sprocket wheel 12 are each rotated in the direction of the arrow shown by the solid line, and the respective tapes are moved in the direction of the solid line arrow in FIG. , the component P accommodated in the recess 3a of the transport tape 3 can be taken out by a robot hand FH in the take-out section 2.

Next, the transport tape 3 is transported in the direction of the arrow shown by the solid line by the driving force of the stepping motor 9, thereby applying a rotational force to the component mounting reel 6 in the direction of the arrow shown by the solid line.

On the other hand, the cover tape take-up reel 8 is rotated in the direction of the arrow shown by the solid line by the driving force of the rotation assembly 15, and the cover tape 5 is conveyed in the direction of the arrow shown by the solid line. Further, the driving force of the rotating assembly 13 applies a rotating force to the component mounting reel 6 in the direction of the arrow shown by the broken line, but this rotating force is set to be smaller than the tension of the conveying tape 3 and the cover tape 5. This prevents the conveyor tape 3 and cover tape 5 from becoming walnuts.

On the other hand, the driving force of the rotating assembly 14 is such that the tape winding reel 7 is rotated in the direction of the arrow shown by the solid line to wind up the transport tape 3, and the rotational force is set to be smaller than the tension of the transport tape 3. This is to prevent walnuts from forming on the conveying tape 3.

When all the parts P stored in the transport tape 3 are taken out in the take-out section 2 in this way, the tape-type article transport device 50 is removed from the assembly device M, and is attached to the parts manufacturing machine again to accommodate the parts P. .

Thereafter, by repeating the above operations, the parts P manufactured by the parts manufacturing apparatus N are supplied to the assembly apparatus M. Here, if a large number of tape-type article conveyance devices 50 are prepared, the operating rate of the assembly device M and the parts manufacturing device N can be increased, so as shown in FIG. Multiple pieces (two in the figure) can be set.

Next, in the explanation of the operation of the tape type article conveying device 50, the control performed by the control device IO will be explained based on a flowchart.

FIG. 6 is a schematic block diagram of the tape-type article conveyance device 50, and the configuration of the tape-type article conveyance device 50 in this figure includes components connected to the control device 10 having the configuration described based on FIG. , which shows the elements, and the components and elements already explained in Fig. 2 are numbered the same as in Fig. 2.
I will omit the explanation by adding a symbol.

Now, in FIG. 6, the motors constituting the drive assembly 13, 14, 15 and the stepping motor 9, respectively, and the stepping motor are connected to a motor driver that is connected to the control device 10 and generates a driving voltage and current. . An alarm device A is further connected to this control device 10,
Workers are notified of abnormalities. Further, an optical connector C2 and a power connector C1, which are optically coupled to the central control device of the parts manufacturing device N or the assembly device M, and exchange signals and supply power, are each connected to the control device.

The operation of the tape type article conveying device 50 having the above configuration will be explained based on the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 7 and 8.

First, the flowchart of FIG. 7 shows the operation mode for storing the parts P manufactured by the parts manufacturing apparatus N on the conveying tape 3. When the cam follower 19 is guided and set in the parts manufacturing apparatus N, step SIO is performed. The power is automatically turned on and the process proceeds to step Sll, where the component presence/absence sensor 20 determines the presence or absence of the component P, and when it is determined that the component P is off, that is, the component J is absent, the central control unit is instructed to allow the component supply. On the other hand, in step Sll, when the component presence sensor 20 determines that the component P is present and turns it on, the process advances to step S13, where the remaining number (N) is incremented.Next, in step S14, the remaining number It is determined whether (N) is greater than or equal to the set remaining number, and if the number is greater than or equal to the set remaining number, the alarm device A is operated in step S15 to notify that the number is almost full.On the other hand, next step S14 If the remaining number (N) is less than the set remaining number, the process proceeds to step 316, where it is determined whether the remaining number (N) is equal to the full number, and if they are equal, the process proceeds to step S18, where the device is stopped. Later, in step S19, an alarm of an abnormal state is issued.

On the other hand, in step S16, if the remaining number (N) is not equal to the full number, the process advances to step S17, and the step motor SM9 reverses (in the direction of the broken line arrow in FIG. 5) based on the synchronized operation with the robot hand H. On the other hand, drive assembly 1
Motors 13a and 14a forming each of 3.14.15
, 15a are respectively supplied with driving voltages of 15V (volts), 5V, and 5V to drive the respective reels described above to generate appropriate tension on each tape to remove walnuts. This operation is repeated until N is full.

Next, the operation mode for supplying the parts P from the transport tape 3 to the assembly apparatus M will be explained based on the flowchart of FIG.

When the component mounting reel 6 is in the full winding state, the tape type article conveying device 50 is transferred to the component manufacturing device N.
The cam follower 19 of the tape type article conveying device 50 is guided and set in the assembly device M equipped with the robot hand H shown in FIG. The switch 10a is manually or automatically set to the supply side, and the power is automatically turned on in the following step S30, and then the switch 10a is turned on in step S31.
Then, the component presence sensor 20 detects the presence or absence of the component P.
When it is determined that the part P is on, that is, that the part P is present, an instruction is given to the central control device of the assembly apparatus M to enable the part to be taken out.

On the other hand, in step S31, when the component presence sensor 20 determines that the component P is absent and is turned off, the process proceeds to step S33, where the remaining number (N) is subtracted.

Next, in step 334, it is determined whether the remaining number (N) is greater than the set remaining number, and if it is smaller, step S
At step 35, the alarm device A is operated to notify that there are few remaining numbers.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S34 that the remaining number (N) is greater than or equal to the set remaining number, the process proceeds to step S36, where it is determined whether or not the remaining number (N) is li'OJl.
'', the process proceeds to step S39, the device is stopped, and in the next step S40, alarm device A is operated, and the process ends. Also, in step S36, the remaining number (N) is F.
If it is determined that it is not OJI, the process advances to step S37,
The number of consecutive OFF state detections n of the component presence sensor 2o is (Q
), and if it is, the process proceeds to step S39, where the apparatus is stopped and the next step S40 is performed.
At this point, the alarm device A is activated and the process ends.

On the other hand, if the number of continuous OFF state detections n is less than (Q), the process advances to step S38, and the step motor 9 rotates normally (in the direction of the solid arrow in FIG. 5), while the drive assembly 13
．． Motors 13a and 14a constituting each of 14 and 15
, 15a are supplied with driving voltages of 5 volts, 15 V, and 5 V, respectively, to drive the aforementioned reels to generate appropriate tension on each tape to remove the walnuts. This operation is repeated until N reaches 1 mJ.

Thereafter, by repeating the above operations, the parts P manufactured by the parts manufacturing apparatus N are supplied to the assembly apparatus M.

In the above embodiment, the control section 10 is incorporated in the tape type article conveyance device 50, and when set in the assembly device M and the parts manufacturing device, the signal lines are automatically connected, but it functions independently. Anything is fine.

As explained above, by conveying the assembled parts using a tape provided with a recess that matches the shape of the assembled parts, it becomes possible to accurately position the assembled parts when installing and taking them out. Furthermore, automation of the conveyance and supply of small articles, which was quite difficult in the past, has become easier with Roch I et al.

In addition, since the transport tape and cover tape are wound up without any adhesives, they can be used repeatedly semi-permanently, eliminating the need to replace the tapes.
We were able to significantly reduce running costs.

Furthermore, since the stepping motor 9 for driving and the rotating assemblies 13, 14, and 15 are used, troubles such as tape winding errors and parts P falling due to tape bending, etc., almost no longer occur. .

Furthermore, the tape drive section can be installed outside the tape type article conveyance device 50 and used in common.

In the above embodiment, the part P is a rectangular parallelepiped, but if the recess 3a of the conveying tape 3 is formed to allow accurate positioning of the part P, it can also be used for parts with complex shapes. Needless to say.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, the article can be accurately positioned on the tape, the article can be handled by a robot device, etc., there is no need to replace the tape, and there is no sway on the tape when winding the tape. Therefore, it is possible to provide a tape-type article conveying device that can reliably convey articles because no error occurs, and also enables detection of the presence or absence of parts and enables fully automatic robot hunt operation.

Furthermore, it is possible to provide a tape-type article conveyance device that enables the detection of the presence or absence of a component immediately before performing a robot hand operation, thereby eliminating wasted robot hand operations such as pick-up errors.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a basic principle diagram showing how parts P are stored and taken out on a tape, Fig. 2 is a side view showing a schematic configuration of the tape type article conveying device 50 of the embodiment, and Fig. 3 is a diagram of the rotating means. Among them, an external view showing the drive assembly 13 of the component mounting reel 6, and FIG. 4(b) is an external perspective view showing how the tape-type article conveyance device 50 is set in the parts manufacturing apparatus N equipped with the robot hand H, and FIG. 5 is an explanation of the operation of the tape-type article conveyance device 50. Figure 6 is a schematic block diagram of the tape type article conveying device 50, Figures 7 and 8 are flowcharts, and Figure 9 is a part supplying device proposed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 60-48855. Figure 4 shows the current situation. In the figure, 1... Board, 2... Take-out part, 3... Conveying tape, 3a... Recessed part, 3b... Pitch hole, 5...
...Cover tape, 6...Reel for parts equipment, 7...
・Tape winding reel, 8...Cover tape winding reel, 9...Stepping motor, 10...
・Control device, 11... Belt, 12... Sprocket, 1314.15... Rotating assembly, 16.17...
・Guide roller, 18...Guide rail, 19...
Cam follower, 20... parts presence sensor 5o.
... Tape type article conveyance device, P ... Parts, H ... Robot hand, M ... Assembly device, N ... Parts manufacturing device, S ... Stuffed, A ... Alarm device, I ...Optical connector, ...Power connector. Patent applicant Canon Co., Ltd.

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A transport tape with a plurality of continuous recesses for storing and transporting articles, a cover tape that covers the openings of the recesses of the transport tape, and fixing ends of the transport tape and the cover tape, respectively. a first reel that simultaneously winds the conveyor tape and the cover tape; a second reel that fixes an end of the conveyor tape and winds only the conveyor tape; and a second reel that fixes an end of the conveyor tape and winds only the conveyor tape; a third reel that winds only the cover tape, a drive assembly that rotates the first reel, the second reel, and the third reel in predetermined rotations, and a continuous guide hole formed in the conveying tape; an intermittent drive means for stopping and intermittently driving the conveying tape; a control means for controlling and driving the drive assembly and the intermittent drive means; and an opening surface portion for taking out and storing articles accommodated in the recess of the conveyance tape. a tape conveyance device comprising: a first presence/absence detecting means provided near the opening surface portion to detect the presence or absence of an article in the recess; and a guide positioning means for a component assembly device or a component manufacturing device; and the component assembly device. The device and the component manufacturing device each further include a main control device and a robot hand connected to the control means, and the tape transport device, the component assembly device, or A tape-type article conveyance device, characterized in that it performs an article storage and assembly operation in synchronization with the parts manufacturing device. (2) A second presence/absence detection means is further provided near the article supply side of the first presence/absence detection means, and the second presence/absence detection means detects the presence/absence state of the article more than the first presence/absence detection means. A tape-type article conveyance device, characterized in that the tape type article conveyance device performs a storing operation of the article in synchronization with the tape conveyance device and the component assembly device based on the detection result.