JPH0380695B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a parts continuous supply device, more specifically, a part that sequentially sends a large number of aligned parts fed from an intake port at one end to an automatic assembly machine or the like from an exit port at the other end by vibration. This relates to a continuous feeding device.

In general, continuous parts supply devices that use vibration to send out a large number of parts arranged in a line one after another from a pick-up port may become clogged midway due to deformation of the parts or the introduction of foreign matter. Once clogging occurs, this equipment and the automatic assembly machine that receives parts supplied from this equipment must be stopped, but conventionally, when clogging occurs, it must be removed manually. Because of this problem, not only was the operating rate reduced, but it was also a major hindrance to establishing an unmanned assembly process.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and its main purpose is to detect clogging of parts and automatically remove the parts that cause the clogging. To provide a parts continuous supply device capable of eliminating clogging without relying on.

The present invention will be described in detail below based on embodiments shown in the figures. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the continuous parts supply device according to the present invention has an intake port 2 at one end through which a large number of parts 1 are fed in a line, and at the other end each part 1 is fed in. A conveying bed A is provided with a component conveying groove 4 which is a groove having a take-out port 3 and which receives a large number of components 1 fed from an inlet port 2 in a lined form, and a method for applying vibration to the conveying bed A. Therefore, the vibrating means 5 sequentially transports the parts 1 toward the outlet 3 while maintaining the aligned state along the parts transport groove 4, and the vibration means 5 that moves the parts 1 along the parts transport groove 4 over the entire length in the longitudinal direction. A component holder 6 that can be opened and closed to close the component holder 6, a first detection means 7 that is arranged at one end of the component conveyance groove 4 next to the extraction port 3 and detects the presence or absence of the component 1 passing through this part, and a first detection means 7 that detects the presence or absence of the component 1 passing through this part A component removal head B is a head that moves along the component conveyance groove 4 and is equipped with a second detection means 8 for detecting the presence or absence of the component 1 in the component conveyance groove 4, and a removal means 10 for removing the component 1 from the component conveyance groove 4. In this case, when the first detecting means 7 detects the absence of the component 1, the vibrating means 5 stops, the component presser 6 opens, and the component conveying groove 4 opens, and the component removing head B is activated by the first detecting means. Intake port 2 from the installation position of 7
When the second detection means 8 first detects the presence of the component 1 while the component removal head B is moving, the component removal head B stops at this position and the above-mentioned The removing means 10 is characterized in that it comes close to the first detected component 1 and removes this component 1 from the component conveying groove 4. As shown in FIG. 1, the transport bed A is placed on a base 12 equipped with a vibration means 5, and has a linear component transport groove 4 whose upper surface is open over its entire length formed at the top. . Both longitudinal ends of this component conveyance groove 4 are open, and one end serves as an intake port 2 that is connected to a component alignment machine (not shown) that aligns a large number of components 1 and receives components from this alignment machine;
The other end is connected to an automatic assembly machine, and this assembly machine parts 1.
This serves as an outlet 3 for sequentially supplying. The upper opening of the component conveyance groove 4 is closed over its entire length by a pair of component holders 6 which can be opened and closed, leaving a small gap. As shown in FIG. 3, one end of each component holder 6 is pivotally supported on the conveyor bed A by a pin 13, and the parts presser 6 is supported along the width direction of the conveyor bed A by a roller 14 provided below the pivot. The moving pistons 15 are facing each other. A coil spring (not shown) is attached to the pin 13 to bias the component holder 6 in the direction in which it opens, and the piston 15 is driven by compressed air sent to the cylinder 16 in the transport bed A. At this time, the roller 14 is pressed outward to hold the component holder 6 in a closed state against the spring force of the coil spring, and when the compressed air is released, the piston 15 is moved by the spring force.
The component holder 6 opens by being pushed inward, and the supply of compressed air is stopped upon detection of the absence of the component 1 by the first detection means 7, as will be described later. As the first detection means 7, an optical sensor is used, and as shown in FIG. The presence or absence of the component 1 at the position is detected, and when the component 1 is not present at this position, an output is generated to stop the vibrating means 5, open the component holder 6, and drive the component removal head B at the same time. Note that a proximity switch may be used as the first detection means 7 instead of the above-mentioned optical sensor. By the way, if one of the components 1 becomes clogged in the component conveyance groove 4 for some reason, as shown in FIG.
The part 1 after part a remains in place and the previous part 1 is sent to the side of the outlet 3, resulting in a place where there is no part 1 before part 1a, which causes clogging. In the present invention, by utilizing this phenomenon and detecting the absence of the component 1 by the first detection means 7, conversely, clogging can be detected somewhere in the component conveying groove 4. It detects what has happened. On the other hand, the component removal head B is supported by a rail 20 installed above and parallel to the conveyance head A, and receives a driving force from a motor 21 to move along the rail 20, that is, the component conveyance groove 4. It moves back and forth, and the driving force of the motor 21 is transmitted to the parts removal head B using a wire or a feed screw. This component removal head B is attached to a head body 22 supported by a rail 20 so as to be movable up and down.
A second detection means 8 and a component removal means 10 are provided on the lower surface. The second detecting means 8 is an optical sensor, and as mentioned above, the output sent when the first detecting means 7 detects the absence of the component 1 causes the part conveying groove 4 corresponding to the first detecting means 7 to The component removal head B starts moving from the end of the outlet 3 toward the inlet 2, and as shown in FIG.
When reaching the first component, that is, component 1a, which is the cause of the clogging, the second
The detection means 8 detects the presence of the component 1a and stops the component removal head B at this position. The component removing means 10 is a chuck protruding from the lower surface of the component removing head B, and when the component removing head B descends after stopping horizontal movement in response to the detection of the component 1a by the second detection means 8, the component removing head B is already held down. 6 opens and advances into the component conveying groove 4 with the top surface open, grasps the component 1a that causes clogging, and then ascends to remove this component 1a.The vertical movement of the component removal head B is as follows. For example, it is controlled using an air cylinder. After grasping this part 1a,
The component removal head B moves to the side of the intake port 2 of the transport bed A and returns to a predetermined position after storing the component 1a in a collection box (not shown). When the collection of the parts is completed, the parts presser 6 is closed, the driving of the vibrating means 5 is restarted, and the parts 1 are sequentially sent out to the outlet 3 again. Note that when restarting the vibrating means 5, the first detecting means 7 does not act, that is, even if the component 1 has not yet reached the corresponding position, the vibrating means 5 is driven and stopped until then. The operation of the first detecting means 7 is temporarily stopped so that the remaining parts that have been in use move forward one by one to fill in the blank parts. This temporary first detection means 7
To stop the operation, for example, the detection operation of the first detection means 7 is stopped for a predetermined period of time from the removal of the component 1a causing the clogging, assuming the time until the blank is filled in using a timer. In addition, FIG. 4 shows another example of the opening/closing mechanism of the above-mentioned component holder 6,
The parts holder 6 is pivoted to the transport head A by a shaft 24 with a gear wheel 25. This gear wheel 25 has rack teeth 2 provided on the circumferential surface of a piston 27 whose one end is housed in a cylinder 26 in the conveyor bed A.
When compressed air is sent into this cylinder 26, the gear wheel 25 rotates and the parts holder 6 is closed, and when the compressed air is released, the coil spring 2 is connected to the piston 27.
8 allows the component holder 6 to be opened.

Since the present invention has the above configuration, if one of the components becomes clogged while the components are sequentially progressing toward the extraction port along the component conveying groove,
The first detection means detects the occurrence of this clogging and stops the feeding of the parts, and in response, the second detection means
The detecting means detects a component that causes clogging, and the component removing means removes this component from the open component conveying groove. The work leading to the removal of the component causing the problem can be performed automatically without relying on human hands, and therefore, the transport of parts can also be automatically restored, and the process from transporting parts to assembly can be performed automatically. This invention can contribute to unmanned operation, and in particular, the present invention is such that when a component is clogged, the conveyance removal head moves to the first position along the component conveyance groove.
Since the detecting means moves toward the intake port to detect the clogged parts and removes them using the removal means, it is possible to detect the clogged parts at any point between the removal port and the intake port of the conveyance/removal head. Even if clogging occurs, the clogging can be detected reliably and the clogged parts can be removed. In addition, when the parts next to the ejection port are sequentially transferred toward the ejection port while maintaining the aligned state along the parts transport groove, the parts transport groove Since a part holder that can be opened and closed is provided to cover the entire length of the opening of the part in the longitudinal direction, when the part is conveyed in the part conveying groove by applying vibration to the part by the vibration means, the part does not come out from the opening of the part conveying groove. This will prevent it from flying out.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing one embodiment of the present invention;
The figure is a perspective view showing the main parts of the same as above, FIG. 3 is a partial sectional view showing the opening and closing mechanism of the component holder used in the above, and
The figure is a partial sectional view showing another example of the opening/closing mechanism of the component holder applied to the above, in which 1 is the component, 2 is the intake port, 3 is the output port, 4 is the component conveying groove, 5 is the vibration means, and 6 is the Component holder, 7 is the first detection means, 8 is the second
10 is a detection means, 10 is a parts removal means, A is a conveyance bed, and B is a parts removal head.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 A groove that has an intake port at one end through which a large number of parts are fed in in a line, and has an outlet for each part at the other end, and a groove in which a large number of parts fed through the intake port are arranged in a line. A transport bed equipped with a component transport groove for receiving the parts, and a vibration means that vibrates the transport bed to sequentially transport the parts toward an ejection port while keeping the parts aligned along the component transport groove. , an openable and closable component holder that closes the opening of the component conveyance groove over the entire length in the longitudinal direction, and a component holder that is arranged at one end of the component conveyance groove next to the take-out port and detects the presence or absence of a component passing through this part. A component removal head that includes a first detection means, a second detection means that is a head that moves along a component conveyance groove and detects the presence or absence of a component in the component conveyance groove, and a removal means that removes a component within the component conveyance groove. and when the absence of a component is detected by the first detection means, the vibration means stops, the component holder opens, the component conveyance groove is opened, and the component removal head moves to the location where the first detection means is provided. When the second detection means first detects the presence of a component while the component removal head is moving, the component removal head stops at this position and the above-mentioned procedure is performed. A continuous parts supply device characterized in that a removing means moves close to the first detected part and removes this part from an open part conveying groove.