JPH0542971Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention accommodates a large number of screws in a cylindrical container that has a central axis in a substantially horizontal direction and is rotated around the axis. The present invention relates to an arrangement and supply device for screws that aligns the screws in a plurality of screw guide paths formed on the peripheral wall of a container by stirring the screws.

(Prior art and its problems) As this kind of alignment and feeding device,
No. 257505 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 1-104511) is known. In this device, screws that have been stirred and arranged in a cylindrical container are aligned in a plurality of screw guiding paths formed on the peripheral wall of the container. One end of this screw guiding path is opened toward the rotational front of the container in the inner circumferential direction of the container, and the other end is opened to the outside of the container. In addition, a stirring plate for stirring the screws in the container to align them is provided from the peripheral wall toward the center axis of the container, and a shaft body on the center axis for reversing the stirred screws. is formed.

However, according to the above configuration, since the shaft body is placed in the center of the container, the volume for accommodating and stirring the screws is reduced, and not only is it not possible to accommodate many screws, but the volume of the screws is also reduced. There is a problem that the stirring action is inhibited and the alignment efficiency is poor. Similarly, since the stirring plate is formed in the radial direction of the container, it obstructs the action of reversing the oppositely oriented screws to the direction of alignment during stirring, impairing the alignment efficiency.
Furthermore, since the stirring plate is formed from near the inner opening end of the screw rocking path toward the center of the container, the opening of the screws in the container being stirred becomes a blind for the stirring plate. This makes it difficult for the screws in the aligned position to enter the guideway, which also causes poor alignment efficiency.

(Purpose of the invention) The present invention solves the above-mentioned drawbacks, increases the volume of the container, and makes it possible to load many screws.
We have developed a highly efficient aligning and feeding device that can sufficiently stir screws without reducing the volume of the container, and also has a structure that can smoothly guide the screws in an aligned position in the container to the screw guiding path. Its purpose is to provide.

(Means for Achieving the Object) In order to achieve the above object, the device for aligning and supplying screws according to the present invention is arranged in a cylindrical container that has a central axis in a substantially horizontal direction and is driven to rotate around the axis. In a screw alignment and supply device that accommodates a large number of screws and arranges the screws in a screw guiding path formed on the peripheral wall of the container by stirring the screws in the container, the peripheral wall of the container has a A plurality of screw guiding paths each having a cross section large enough to allow a single screw to pass through, one end of which opens inside the container, and the other end of which opens outside the container, and Steps supporting enlarged heads of screws are continuously formed on both sides of the guideway and on the inner peripheral surface of the container, and on one side wall of the cylindrical container, steps are formed radially from the center of rotation of the container toward the peripheral wall. It is characterized by being provided with an agitating body having a ridge of diffused convex stripes.

The ridges of the protrusions of the stirring body are preferably formed into a conical shape with the rotation center side of the container being higher toward the inside of the container.

Furthermore, a plurality of the screw guiding paths are formed at equal intervals on the peripheral wall of the container, and each screw guiding path has an inner opening end that is closer to the rotational direction of the container than an outer opening end of the screw guiding path. Preferably, it is arranged and formed on the front side.

Further, it is preferable that the number of ridges of the stirring body be equal to the number of ridges formed at the inner open end of the screw guide path, and the ridges are arranged at a position away from the inner open end of the screw guide path.

(Functions and effects of the invention) According to the above-mentioned alignment and feeding device, since there is no shaft at the center of the container as in the conventional case, the space for accommodation and stirring inside the container becomes large, and the device does not need to be enlarged. Since it can accommodate a large number of screws and can sufficiently stir them, workability is improved and alignment efficiency is also improved.

In addition, since the stirring body is formed in a conical shape from one side wall instead of from the peripheral wall of the container as in the past, it is possible to increase the space for accommodating and stirring the container, and it is also possible to stir screws inside the container. Since the action is increased and screws facing in the opposite direction can be efficiently overturned, the alignment efficiency can be significantly improved.

Furthermore, in addition to the fact that the stirring body is not formed from the inner peripheral surface of the container, the ridge of the stirring body is placed away from the inner opening end to the screw guiding path, so that the screws in the aligned position can The alignment efficiency can be improved because the introduction into the guide path is not obstructed by the stirring body.

In addition, as an effect corresponding to claim (2), the ridge of the convex strip of the stirring body is formed in a conical shape with the rotation center side of the container facing inward of the container, and the inner opening of the screw guide path. Since the parts near the ends are lowered and a larger space can be obtained, screws facing in opposite directions within the container can be more efficiently overturned, and the alignment efficiency can be greatly improved.

As an effect corresponding to claim (3), when the stirred screws fall downward due to gravity, they often jump into the inner open end of the screw guiding path. The screw guiding path is formed along the circumferential wall of the container, with the inner opening end located further forward in the rotational direction of the container than the outer opening end thereof, so that the inner opening end is formed along the circumferential wall of the container. From the lowest position, you will gradually move upwards. Therefore, the screws introduced from the inner open end naturally move along the screw guide path due to gravity, and no special means for feeding the screws in the screw guide path is required.

As an effect corresponding to claim (4), since the ridge of the stirring body is arranged at a position away from the inner open end of the screw guiding path, the screws in a normal posture are not disturbed by the stirring body. Since the screws jump into the screw guideway without any movement, the alignment efficiency is further improved.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

In FIGS. 1 to 5, reference numeral A indicates a device for aligning and feeding screws. This screw aligning and supplying device A is composed of a bottomed cylindrical container 1 that accommodates a large number of screws, and a storage body 2 that accommodates the container 1.

The central axis P of the container 1 is set substantially horizontally, and a plurality of screw guide paths 4 are provided on the peripheral wall 3 of the container 1.
is formed. The cross section of this screw guiding path 4 is formed to a size that allows one of the screws N to pass through,
One end 4a thereof opens inside the container 1, and the other end 4b
is opened to the outside of the container 1, and further includes a screw guide path 4.
The intermediate portion of is formed along the inside of the peripheral wall 3.
A plurality of screw guide paths 4 are formed at equal intervals on the peripheral wall 3 of the container 1, and each screw guide path 4 is located closer to the inner open end 4a than the outer open end 4b thereof along the circumferential wall 3. is arranged and formed on the front side of the container 1 in the rotational direction.

Further, step portions 5a are formed on both sides of the screw guiding path 4 and on the inner peripheral surface of the container 1 to support the lower surface of the enlarged head N1 of the screw N. This stepped portion 5a is also formed continuously on the inner peripheral surface of the peripheral wall 3 of the container 2.

A star-shaped cone-shaped stirrer 7 having a ridge 20 of protrusions 7a radially formed from the center of rotation of the container 1 toward the peripheral wall is fixed to one side wall 6 constituting the bottom of the container 1. . The convex strip 7 of this stirring body 7
The edge 20 of a is formed into a conical shape with its center facing inward of the container 1 and becoming taller. Edge 20 of stirring body 7
are formed in the same number as the inner open end 4a of the screw guide path 4, and the ridge 20 is arranged at a position away from the inner open end 4a of the screw guide path 4. In addition, the ridge 20 of the stirring body is connected to the screw guide path 4.
The same number of inner opening ends 4a are formed, and the ridge 2
0 is arranged at a position away from the inner open end 4a of the screw guide path 4.

An opening/closing lid (not shown) is attached to the opening of the container 1. In addition, a rotating shaft 8 is provided at the center of the outside of the side wall 6.
is formed protrudingly.

Next, the storage body 2 has an annular outer wall 9 provided around the container 1 at a predetermined distance from the outer circumferential surface of the container 1, and one side wall 10 has a ring-shaped outer wall 9 that is arranged around the container 1 at a predetermined distance from the outer peripheral surface of the container 1. It has a bearing part 11 for a shaft 8,
The rotating shaft 8 is operatively connected to a rotational drive device (not shown). As a result, the container 1 is transferred to the storage body 2.
The rotary shaft 8 rotates approximately horizontally around the central axis P of the rotating shaft 8 inside the rotary shaft 8 .

A stock portion 12 for holding screws N is formed between the inner peripheral surface of the outer wall 9 and the outer peripheral surface of the container 1. The cross section of the stock portion 12 is also formed to a size that allows a single screw N to pass through, similar to the screw guide path 4 described above, and the cross section of the stock portion 12 is formed to have a size that allows a single screw N to pass through.
A stepped portion 5b that is continuous with the stepped portion 5a of the screw guide path 4 is formed on the outer circumferential surface and the inner circumferential surface of the outer wall 9, respectively. A discharge port 13 is formed in the outer wall 9 for discharging the alignment screws N inside the stock section 12 from the stock section 12 to the outside.

In addition, a guide plate 1 is provided in the stock part 12 for guiding the screws N in the stock part 12 to the discharge port 13.
4 are provided. The guide plate 14 is arranged so that its one side edge 15 is at the same level as the stepped portion 5b of the stock portion 12. One end 14a of the guide plate 14 is disposed close to the outer peripheral surface of the container 1, and the other end 14b faces the discharge port 13.

Note that the guiding plate 14 allows the screws N in the stock portion 12 to move from the screw guiding path 4 to the container 1 due to gravity.
It is preferable to provide it so as to cover the upper part of the container 1 so as to prevent it from going back inside.

Furthermore, an elastic member 16 is normally provided on the outer circumferential surface of the container 1 and is capable of protruding into the stock part 12 and being retractable from the stock part 12. Such an elastic member 16 may be attached to a space S formed in the peripheral wall 3, as shown in FIG. 4, using a spring, piano wire, brush, or the like. Note that a groove 17 is formed in the guide plate 14 in the longitudinal direction to allow the elastic member 16 to escape.

In the above configuration, after the screws N are housed in the container 1 and the lid is closed, the screws N are driven to rotate approximately horizontally around the central axis P of the rotating shaft 8 by a rotational drive device. As a result, the internal screws N are stirred in the direction of the arrow. Screws N with enlarged heads N1 facing the open side (lid side) are guided and supported by the step 5a of the screw guiding path 4 during stirring, jump into the screw guiding path 4, and are further guided by the screw guiding path 4. Road 4
toward the outer open end of the The screws N, whose enlarged heads N1 are facing the bottom side, reverse their positions while hitting the stirring body at the bottom of one side wall during stirring.
In the same way, jump into the screw guideway 4. Incidentally, when the stirred screws N fall downward due to gravity, they often jump into the inner open end 4a of the screw guiding path 4. However, screw guideway 4
along the peripheral wall 3 of the container 1, its outer open end 4b
Since the inner open end 4a is arranged and formed further forward in the rotational direction of the container 1, the inner open end 4a gradually points upward from the lowest position as the container 1 rotates. It turns out. Therefore, the screws N introduced from the inner open end naturally move along the screw guiding path 4 due to gravity to the outer open end 4.
It moves towards b and is ejected from there. The discharged screws N are sent to the stock section 12, and the enlarged head N1 of each screw N is sent to the stock section 12.
are held in an aligned state by being supported by the stepped portion 5b.

By the way, since the container 1 is rotating and the elastic member 16 provided on its outer peripheral surface is also rotating at the same time,
During rotational movement, it engages with the screws N aligned within the stock portion 12 and forcibly transfers them in the rotational direction. These screws N are connected to the guide plate 14.
When sent to the position, each screw N is scooped by one end of the guide plate 14 close to the outer peripheral surface of the container 1,
The one side edge 15 of the guide plate 14 and the stepped portion 5 of the outer wall 9
b and guided to the outside of the guide plate 14, and separated from the screws N inside the stock part 12.
At this time, the elastic member 16 protrudes outward from the groove of the guide plate 14 and continues to feed the screws N in the rotational direction, so the screws N move along the guide plate 14 to the outer wall 9.
is guided to the discharge port 13, further discharged, and sequentially supplied to a tool such as a screw tightening machine. Note that when a stopper (not shown) is provided on the tip side of the guide plate 14, the screws N are held by the guide plate 14 and the stock part 12, and the elastic member 16 is retracted from the stock part 12 due to its elasticity. and then send it to the destination.

Note that the shape of the stirring body 7 is not limited to the shape shown in the above example. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, six protrusions 7a are made to protrude radially from the center of the container, and the ridges 20 of three of the protrusions 7a are shaped like a chevron.
A wide convex plate portion 7b may be formed at the tip of the ridge 20 of the other three convex strips 7a.

When the rotational speed of the container 1 is high, the screws N contained therein adhere to the peripheral wall 3 of the container 1 due to the centrifugal force, are carried upwards to some extent, and are then dropped, which greatly enhances the stirring action. be done. Therefore, it is sufficient that the protruding height of the ridge 20 of the stirring body 7 is not so large. In this case, the ridge 20 mainly serves to reverse the screws N by hitting one end of the screws extending from the top to the bottom.

On the other hand, if the rotational speed of the container 1 is set low due to the state of tightening screws or noise conditions due to rotation, the stirring action due to centrifugal force will be reduced, so the stirring body 7 should be moved as shown in Fig. 6. By forming this, the wide convex plate portion 7b can compensate for this.

According to the screw alignment and supply device described above, the container 1
Since there is no shaft in the center of the container 1, the space for storage and stirring inside the container 1 becomes larger, and a large number of screws can be accommodated without increasing the size of the device.Since sufficient stirring can be performed, workability is improved. This improves alignment efficiency.

In addition, since the stirring body 7 is formed into a conical shape from one side wall 6, the space for accommodating and stirring the container 1 can be increased, and the stirring action of the screws in the container 1 is increased, so that Since the screws facing each other can be efficiently turned over, the alignment efficiency can be greatly improved.

Furthermore, in addition to the fact that the stirring body 7 is not formed from the inner peripheral surface of the container 1, the ridge of the stirring body 7 is placed away from the inner opening end 4a to the screw guide path 4, so that it is not formed in an aligned position. The alignment efficiency can be improved because the loose screws are not obstructed by the agitator and are not prevented from being introduced into the guide path.

In addition, when the ridge 2 of the convex strip 7a of the stirring body 7 is formed into a conical shape with the rotation center side of the container 1 facing inward of the container 1, the ridge 2 of the protrusion 7a of the stirring body 7 is formed into a conical shape that is high toward the inside of the container 1. Since the closer part is lowered and a larger space can be obtained, screws facing in the opposite direction in the container 1 can be more efficiently overturned. Since the screws N are placed in a position away from the inner opening end 4a of the passage 4, the screws N are in a normal posture.
The screw guide path 4 is unobstructed by the agitator 7.
Since it jumps inside, the alignment efficiency is further improved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a screw alignment and feeding device according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the alignment and feeding device.
Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line X-X in Fig. 2, Fig. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the attachment mode of the elastic member, Fig. 5 is an exploded perspective view thereof, and Fig. 6 is an illustration of another example of the stirring body. FIG. Symbol A... Screw alignment and supply device, N... Screws, P... Central axis, 1... Container 1, 4... Screw guide path, 7... Stirring body, 7a... Convex shape, 9 ...Outer wall, 12...Stock part, 13...Discharge port, 14
...Guidance plate, 20...ridge.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] (1) A large number of screws are housed in a cylindrical container that has a central axis in a substantially horizontal direction and is driven to rotate around the axis, and the screws in the container are stirred. In a screw alignment and supply device for aligning screws in a screw guiding path formed on a peripheral wall of a container, the peripheral wall of the container has a cross section large enough to allow one screw to pass through, In addition, a plurality of screw guiding paths are formed, one end of which opens inside the container and the other end opening outside the container, and screws are enlarged on both sides of the screw guiding path and the inner peripheral surface of the container. A step part supporting the head is continuously formed, and one side wall of the cylindrical container is provided with a stirrer having a convex ridge that is radially diffused from the center of rotation of the container toward the peripheral wall. A device for aligning and feeding screws. (2) The apparatus for aligning and feeding screws according to claim 1, wherein the edge of the convex strip of the stirring body is formed into a conical shape with the rotation center side of the container being taller toward the inside of the container. (3) A plurality of the screw guiding paths are formed at equal intervals on the peripheral wall of the container, and each screw guiding path is formed along the peripheral wall so that the inner opening end thereof is located in the direction of rotation of the container than the outer opening end thereof. 2. The device for aligning and supplying screws according to claim 1, wherein the device is arranged and formed on the front side of the screw. (4) Claim (1), wherein the number of ridges of the stirring body is equal to the number of ridges formed at the inner open end of the screw guide path, and the ridges are arranged at a position apart from the inner open end of the screw guide path. A device for aligning and feeding the screws described.