JPH0425331A - Automatic assembling device for tensile coil spring - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable automatic assembling of tensile coil spring, even if its free length is short, by transferring tensile coil springs which are supplied from a supply means by arranging them in a row while they face the sideways, and assembling them to a product by an assembling means. CONSTITUTION:A product 3 which is sent from the previous process is transferred by a conveyor 11 on a product transfer system 1. When it reaches the predetermined position where tensile coil springs 13 are assembled, it stop and is positioned. On the other hand, the springs 13 which are supplied to a vibration ball feeder 7 in disorder are arranged lengthwise in a row by a guide passage of the feeder 7 and fed into a tilted end of groove of a vibration direct advance feeder 6. When the springs 13 pass the tilted section of the groove, they are arranged sideways and transferred. They pass over space between a separation transfer mechanism 5 and it at outlet of the vibration direct advance feeder 6 and are delivered into the separation transfer system 5. The springs 13 which are received at the delivery position are assembled to the product 3 by an assembling system 4.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention provides an automatic assembly apparatus for a tension coil spring,
In particular, the present invention relates to an automatic assembly device which is advantageous for assembling tension coil springs having a small ratio of free length to outer diameter of the coil.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, the assembly of tension coil springs has mostly been done manually by workers; As mentioned above, automatic assembly is also automated using equipment.In such conventional automatic assembly equipment, generally a tension coil spring is installed in the longitudinal direction Kfi at the delivery part to the mechanism. Line up and supply them.

FIG. 12(A) shows an example of such a supply means for tension coil springs, in which tension 1 coil springs 15 are arranged in a line in the vertical direction by a belt 25 and supplied to the delivery section 22. ing.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, with the above-mentioned conventional technology, during the transportation of the tension coil springs to be supplied to the delivery section, the springs that are in contact with each other become tangled, resulting in problems such as the tension coil springs not being conveyed smoothly. Sometimes it happened. In addition, the above conventional technology
This is an automatic assembly device that mainly targets tension coil springs with a long free length. Therefore, we are trying to automatically assemble a tension 1 coil spring with a short free length, that is, a small ratio of the free length to the coil outer diameter. Then, as shown in FIG. 11412 (B)K, for example, there is a problem that the tension coil spring 15' crosses the barrier between the belt 25' and the transfer section 22' and gets caught. This makes automatic assembly of short tension coil springs difficult. Such problems are
Considering that recently, with the progress of converting equipment, tension coil springs with short free lengths are being used more and more, this is an important impediment to automating the entire manufacturing process of equipment. This reduces the operating efficiency of the production line.

An object of the present invention is to solve the drawbacks of the prior art, to automatically assemble a tension coil spring without any trouble, and to make it possible to assemble a tension coil spring automatically without any trouble, even if the tension coil spring has a short free length. It is proposed to provide an apparatus for automatically assembling a tension coil spring that allows automatic assembling.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention includes a supply mechanism that aligns and supplies the tension coil springs housed in a disorderly manner in a line in the vertical direction, and a supply mechanism that aligns and supplies the tension coil springs that are housed in a disorderly manner in a row in the vertical direction, and a supply mechanism that aligns the tension coil springs that are housed in a disorderly manner in a line in the vertical direction. A transport mechanism that aligns and transports the tension coil springs; a separation and transfer mechanism that receives the tension coil springs transported by the transport mechanism, separates them one by one, and transports them to a delivery position; An assembly mechanism is provided for assembling the product at a location.

The conveyance mechanism has a groove into which the winding part of the tension coil spring is indented, and a support surface that supports the tension coil spring by contacting the hook part of the tension coil spring on both sides of the groove, It can be a vibrating linear feeder that conveys a tension coil spring along the groove.

Further, the above-mentioned assembly mechanism may be any mechanism capable of automatically assembling the tension coil spring, but for example, the tension coil spring is tensioned and biased at the above-mentioned delivery position by engaging members with the hook portions at both ends. At the same time, the hook part is engaged with the engaging hook of the product at the assembly position, and the assembly jig is held between the delivery position and the assembly position. and a moving mechanism for moving it along a predetermined route.

Furthermore, similar to the general automatic assembly of tension coil springs, in the present invention, in order to position the product to which the tension coil spring is assembled at a predetermined assembly position, the product is assembled into the above assembly. A product transport mechanism is provided which transports the product intermittently along a path passing through the position and stops the above-mentioned predetermined assembly at the position.

[Effect]

The conveyance mechanism aligns and conveys the tension coil springs supplied in vertical rows from the supply mechanism in a horizontal direction. Therefore, the tensile coil spring is transported so that adjacent objects do not become entangled, and at the exit of the transport mechanism, it smoothly crosses the gap between the two and the separation transport mechanism and is received by the separation transport mechanism. passed on. Specialization, when the conveyance mechanism is the vibrating linear feeder mentioned above, KFi, tension)
Coil spring is Volume 1! The wire portion is guided by the recessed groove, and the hook portions at both ends thereof are supported by support surfaces on both sides of the groove, so that the wire portion is conveyed smoothly.

〔Example〕

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 1 is a product transport mechanism, and the product transport machine #11 includes a table 10 and a product 3 on the table 10. A guide rail 2 for guiding the product 3 along a route, a conveyor 11 for transporting the product 3, and a tension coil spring for the product 3 transported by the conveyor 11 to be stopped at a predetermined position. Stopper mechanism for positioning (
(not shown). The product 3 is formed with an engaging hook 51.degree. 32 (a sectional view thereof taken along the line B--B in FIG. 2) is fitted with a tension coil spring.

Reference numeral 36 denotes a tension coil spring supply mechanism, in which a vibrating ball feeder 7 is used in this embodiment. As shown in the enlarged view of FIG. 4, it has a guide path 7a (FIG. 5 shows a sectional view taken along line 0C) for supplying the tension coil springs 13 in a vertically aligned manner.

6 is a vibrating linear feeder that constitutes the conveyance mechanism, and the person -
A cross-section is shown in Fig. 3. As is clear from the figure, the vibrating linear feeder 6 has a groove 6a into which the winding portion of the tension coil spring 13 is inserted, and support surfaces 6b that support the hook portion of the spring 15 on both sides of the groove 6a. There is. Support surface 6b
An upper guide 45 is provided above one of the springs 13 to prevent the springs 13 from riding up or jumping out upwards. The groove 6& is 1 as shown in FIG.
One end thereof is adjacent to the guide path 7aK of the vibrating ball feeder 7, and this adjacent end is inclined so as to descend from the vibrating ball feeder 71II, as shown in cross section DD in FIG. A guide rod 50 (its E-1 sectional view is shown in FIG. 7) is provided near the groove 6a following this inclined portion.

Returning to FIG. 1, reference numeral 5 denotes a separation and transfer mechanism, which is provided on the exit side of the vibrating linear feeder 6, and has a column 5 fixed to the workbench 9a.
Supported by 4. As shown in the enlarged view of FIG. 8, this separation and transfer mechanism 5 includes a main body 35, a moving block 22 movably supported by a pair of guide shirts 20 fixed to the main body 35, and 22
an air cylinder 18 that drives the feeder, a movable separation block 16 provided on the moving block 22, a sensor 17, a stopper 21, an air cylinder 19, and a stopper 14 provided above the outlet of the vibrating linear feeder 6. It is configured. This separation transfer mechanism 5 stops the tensile coil spring 13 fed from the vibrating linear feeder 6 on the separation block 16 by a stopper 21, and detects its arrival by a sensor 17, and uses the detection output to detect air. The cylinder 19 is driven to raise the separation block 16 to separate the arriving tension coil spring from the following one, and the moving block 22 is moved to the predetermined delivery position of the tension coil spring by the extractor cylinder 18. be. Stopper 1
Reference numeral 4 is used to prevent the subsequent tension coil spring from being fed from the feeder 6 after the moving block 22 has moved, and the tip is tapered before the moving block 22 moves. A pair of blades 1
4a is lowered by an air cylinder 14m) and inserted into the hook portion of the following tension coil spring to lock the coil spring. As is clear from FIG. 9 showing the FF cross section of the separation block 16, the hook part 55.5 of the tension coil spring 15 supported by one compression spring 57, 57' is attached to the separation block 16.
6.

Return to FIG. 1 (FIG. 1C again), 4 is a mechanism that is assembled, and this assembly consists of a mechanism 4 #i, a pace 38 that is slidably supported on a column 9 fixed to a workbench 9a JC, and a pace 38 that is fixed to the base 38. A pair of horizontal guides 40iC supported movably, an air cylinder 39 for driving the movable base 41, and a pair of mounting guides 45 slidably provided with respect to the movable base 41. The mounting plate 4 is guided by the guide 45 and driven up and down by the air cylinder 42.
4 and a mounting jig 8 attached to the mounting plate 44. The mounting jig 8 has a pair of pins 24 and their guides 25 as shown in FIG. It is biased by and slidably held. One of the guides 25 (the right guide) is connected to the guide shaft 2 by an air cylinder 27.
6, thereby changing the distance between the pair of pins 240 from the standard distance (the distance between the hook portions at both ends of the tension coil spring) to the engaging hooks 51, 52 of the product 3 shown in FIG. It is now possible to expand the interval to . A locking shaft 7) 47 (the function of which will be described later) is provided at a standard interval position of the pin 24.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be explained. In FIG. 1, a product 3 that has been appropriately sent from the previous process is conveyed along a guide rail 2 by a conveyor 11 on a product conveyance mechanism 1, and when it reaches a predetermined position where a tension coil spring 13 is to be attached, it is It is automatically stopped and positioned by the stopper. On the other hand, the tensile coil springs 13Fi randomly supplied to the vibrating ball feeder 7 are aligned vertically along the guide path 7aK of the vibrating pole feeder 7, and the inclined end (fourth (See figure)K sent) is sent. When passing through the inclined end of this $6a, the tension coil spring 13 is aligned laterally, enters the horizontal portion of the groove 6a, and the guide rod 50
, and is transported sideways while being guided by an upper guide 45 (see FIG. 5). By conveying it sideways, it is possible to prevent the tension file springs 13 that come into contact with K11l during conveyance from riding up or getting caught. In particular, in this embodiment, the tension filter spring 1
30 winding part is guided along %6aK, and its hook part is supported by the support surface of w#6aWf4@ for conveyance, so smoother conveyance can be achieved. When the tension coil spring 13 reaches the separation block 16 of the separation and transfer mechanism 5 shown in FIG. At the same time as separating one tension coil spring 13 from the following one, the stopper 14 is lowered by the air cylinder 14b, and its blade 14a is inserted into the hook part of the following tension coil spring 13.
prevent the sending of

The temporary moving block 22 is moved along the guide shaft 20 by the air cylinder 18, and the separated tension coil spring 15 is moved to a predetermined delivery position. On the other hand, in the assembly shown in FIG. 15 is moved to a predetermined delivery position, the mounting jig 8 on the mechanism 4 is lowered from the standby position by the air cylinder 42, and the pin 2 of the pair is moved to the predetermined delivery position.
4 (see FIG. 10) is inserted into the hook portion of the tension coil spring 13 on the separation block 16. Here, as shown in FIG. 9, the separation block 16 has its hook receiving portions 55, 56 supported by compression springs 57, 57'), while the pin 24 of the jig 8 is As shown in FIG. 11, the guide 25 is supported by a compression spring 46, and the spring constant of the compression spring 46 is larger than that of the compression springs 57, 57'. Accordingly, the hook receiving part 55.55 is pushed down by this, and the pin 24 is deeply inserted into the hook part of the coil spring 13. Next, the air cylinder 27 of the jig 8 is Move the pin 24 on the right side and set the pin spacing to the specified distance (the engaging hooks 31, 5 of the product 3 shown in FIG. 2).
2), so that the tension coil spring 13 is stretched against its spring force and the tension coil spring 13 is
It will be in a state where it is gripped by 4. Note that when the tension coil spring 13 is expanded, its winding portion is attached to the receiving portion 561/
In order to avoid contact with C, the shaft 47 provided in the assembly jig 8 is inserted so that the receiving part 56 is sufficiently pushed in when the assembly jig 8 is lowered, and the shaft 47 is held in the lowered position. It has become.

When the extension of the tension coil spring 13 is completed, the assembly jig 8 is pulled up by the air cylinder 42Vc, and then the air cylinder 59 is activated to move the moving pace 41 along the guide 40. The assembly jig 8 is moved to a predetermined assembly position above the product 30, and then the assembly jig 8#i is lowered onto the product 3 by the air cylinder 42. Along with this descent, the pin 24 becomes the engaging hook of the product 3! 51 and 52 in the vertical direction, and when the jig 8 is further lowered for assembly, the pin 24 is pulled into the guide 25 against the biasing force of the compression spring 46, and the engaging hook 51. ! 12 enters the guide 25, and along with this,
The hook portion of the tension coil spring 15 is connected to the guide 25.
is pushed by the end of the pin 24, and the engaging hook 51.
521fC installed.

In addition, in the above assembly, in order to ensure that the pin 24 and the engaging hooks 51, 52 are aligned in the vertical direction as the jig 8 is lowered, the pin 24 is
4 and the engaging hooks 51, 32 and K are shown in FIGS. 2 and 11, respectively.
As shown in the figure, a tapered surface is formed to serve as a guide for the vertical alignment. After the tension coil spring 13 is assembled to the engaging hooks 51 and 52 of the product 5 in this way, the assembly jig 8 is pulled up by the air cylinder 42, and then the air cylinder 39 is moved to the minute transfer mechanism. 5 above the delivery position IIC is returned. Thereafter, the same operation as above is repeated, and the tensile coil spring 1
3 are sequentially assembled to the engaging hooks 31 and 32 of the product 3.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the present invention, by aligning and conveying the tension coil springs supplied in the vertical direction rows from the supply mechanism in the horizontal direction, adjacent tension coil springs are In addition, when transferring the tension coil spring from the outlet of the conveyance mechanism to the separation transfer mechanism, even if the tension coil spring has a short free length, the spring This eliminates troubles such as the tension coil spring getting caught in the gap between the two mechanisms, and the assembly of the tension coil spring can be automated regardless of the length of its free length.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line A-^ in the figure, FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged view of the vibrating ball feeder 7 and vibrating linear feeder 6 in FIG. 1, and FIG. C-C sectional view,
Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line D-D, Fig. 7 is a sectional view shown in Fig. 8;
The figures are an enlarged view of the separation and transfer mechanism 5 in Fig. 1, Fig. 9 is a sectional view taken along the line FF, Fig. 10 is an enlarged view of the assembly jig 8 shown in Fig. 1, and Fig. 11 is an enlarged view of the pin 24 thereof. and a sectional view of the guide 25 portion, and FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining the conventional technique. 1... Product transport mechanism, 3... Product, 4... Assembly mechanism, 5... Separation transfer mechanism, 6... Vibrating linear feeder (transport mechanism), 7... Vibrating pole feeder (supply mechanism), 8... assembly jig, 13... tension coil spring, 4... pin (engaging portion). 1st tree system 2nd diagram 6th 40th 50th 60th 7th [21 80th

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A supply mechanism that vertically aligns and supplies the tension coil springs housed in a disorderly manner, and a conveyor that transports the tension coil springs supplied from the supply mechanism in horizontal alignment. a separation and transfer mechanism that receives the tension coil springs transported by the transport mechanism, separates them one by one and transports them to a delivery position; and a separation and transfer mechanism that receives the tension coil springs transported by the transport mechanism, and transports the tension coil springs received at the delivery position to a predetermined assembly position as a product. An automatic tension coil spring assembling device, characterized in that it is equipped with an assembling mechanism for assembling the spring, and an assembling mechanism for assembling the spring. 2. The conveying mechanism has: a groove into which the winding portion of the tension coil spring is indented; and support surfaces that support the tension coil spring by contacting hook portions of the tension coil spring on both sides of the groove; 2. The automatic tension coil spring assembling apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus is a vibrating linear feeder that conveys the tension coil spring along the groove. 3. At the delivery position, the tension coil spring is stretched and biased by engaging members with the hook portions at both ends, and at the assembly position, the hook portion is engaged with the engaging hook of the product. Claim 1 or claim 1, comprising: an assembly jig for aligning the assembly jig; and a moving mechanism for moving the assembly jig through a predetermined path between the delivery position and the assembly position. The automatic assembly device for a tension coil spring according to item 2. 4. In order to position the product at a predetermined assembly position of the tension coil spring, the product is intermittently conveyed along a path passing through the assembly position and stopped at the predetermined assembly position. An automatic tension coil spring assembling apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, comprising a product conveyance mechanism.