JPH06191623A - Part alignment method in oscillation part conveyer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To exclude a part not in a prescribed position surely by providing an air jet means near a part posture detecting position as close as possible. CONSTITUTION:When the tip of a part m not in a prescribed posture reaches to the edge d at the downstream side of a transparent acrylic plate 31 which is a part of a track 3 observed from a CCD camera, an air jet is started from air jet small holes ph and qh, and the air jet is continued for a specific time.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a component aligning method in a vibrating component carrier.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in a vibrating parts feeder, a spiral part transfer path is formed on the inner peripheral wall of a bowl that receives a large number of parts, and the torsional vibration of the bowl causes the part to travel along the transfer path. Although the parts are transferred, the transfer attitude of the parts is discriminated on the way, and based on this judgment, the parts which are not in the desired attitude by some part feeding means are moved outward from the transfer path, for example. It is widely known that the compressed air is blown inward of the bowl or is corrected to a desired posture, for example, is corrected by a turntable so as to change the direction by 180 degrees and is guided to a downstream transfer path. ing.

However, as a conventional device for discriminating the posture of a component, for example, a plurality of pairs of light emitting elements and light receiving elements are formed, and a small hole penetrating a transfer path for passing a light beam from each light emitting element is formed. A light receiving element is arranged to receive the light from the light emitting element. Among these, a pair of light emitting element and light receiving element are used for so-called synchronization, and when this light is blocked, the posture is determined. It is determined that the tip of the component to be reached has reached the detection position, and in the computer it is determined whether the light from the light emitting element corresponding to which light receiving element in the other pair of light emitting element and light receiving element at this time has arrived, As a result, as compared with the predetermined posture, when the posture is not the predetermined posture, the components are blown toward the inside of the bowl by the component adjusting means on the downstream side, for example, the air jetting means. Alternatively, when it is determined that the front-back direction is opposite, the posture is corrected to a correct posture by the component reversing means and the component is supplied to the downstream side.

However, if the parts stored in the bowl are constant parts, there is no problem, but if the above-mentioned action is to be performed on parts having other shapes, the attitude of the parts should be judged. It is necessary to change the arrangement of a plurality of pairs of light emitting elements and light receiving elements in order to determine the posture. Or you have to change the number. Recently, since the components to be transported have become very small like electronic components, the work of arranging the light emitting element and the light receiving element is very troublesome. Further, as the size of the component becomes smaller, a through hole must be formed in the transfer path to allow the light from the light emitting element to pass therethrough, but this is also small, and it is very difficult to form this.

In view of the above-mentioned problems, the present applicant can quickly and promptly deal with the change in the shape of the parts, and correctly determine the posture of any shape or any small size parts. For the purpose of providing a component attitude determination device for a vibrating component carrier, which has been developed, a component feeding device for a vibrating component carrier as shown in FIG. 5 has been developed.

In FIG. 5, a spiral track 3 for transferring parts is formed on the inner peripheral wall of the bowl 2 of the vibrating parts feeder 1, and the parts m are placed in a predetermined posture from the discharge end to the next step.
Are being supplied. A movable core 5 is integrally fixed to the bottom wall of the bowl 2, and is connected to a base block 6 by a leaf spring 7 arranged at equal angular intervals. An electromagnet 9 around which a coil 8 is wound is fixed on the base block 6. The vibrating parts feeder 1 is constructed as described above, but the whole is supported on the floor by the vibration-proof rubber 10.

At a predetermined position of the bowl 2, a CCD (Charge C
(Oupled Device) The camera 11 is fixed to the bowl 2 by a mounting member 12 so that its lens portion 11a faces the side wall portion of the bowl 2 (in some cases, as will be described later, it is not fixed to the bowl 2 but on the ground). Supported by.). Further, the image of the part m transported in front of the lens part 11a is picked up, and the light source 13 is arranged in front of the camera 11 through the side wall part 3a 'made of a transparent material (acrylic). Therefore, the shadow of the component m is picked up. That is, the black level signal is picked up according to the shape.

On the downstream side of the CCD camera 11, an air jetting device 14 is fixed to the bowl 2 in the vicinity thereof, and its nozzle portion faces the track 3 and is desired by a computer as will be described later. The component m determined not to be in the posture is configured to be blown into the bowl 2 by this compressed air. The solenoid valve 15 connected to this tube is controlled by a computer.

Next, an electric circuit connected to the CCD camera 11 will be described. The driving power is supplied from the driving circuit 20 to the coil 8 of the electromagnet 9 which is the driving unit of the vibrating parts feeder 1. This is an alternating current and is supplied to the synchronizing signal generating circuit 21 to generate a signal synchronized with this frequency. It is connected. This is further supplied to the image input control device 22 connected to the output terminal of the CCD camera 11, where C
Only the image synchronized with the vibration by the CD camera 11 is supplied to the computer 23. Ie CCD
According to the present embodiment, the camera 11 performs an image pickup operation at a frequency higher than the drive frequency of the drive circuit 20, so that the logical product of each image pickup signal and the synchronization signal from the synchronization signal generation circuit 21 is taken and when they occur simultaneously. To computer 23 to CC
The image pickup signal of the D camera 11 is supplied. A predetermined attitude of the component m is stored in the computer 23 by operating various buttons, and this is compared with an image pickup signal supplied from the image input control device 22, and when they match, a solenoid valve connected to the computer 23. 1
5 does not drive the solenoid portion, but when they do not match, this solenoid portion is driven to output compressed air to the air ejection device 1
I am trying to supply to 4.

The component feeding apparatus in the vibrating component carrier previously developed by the applicant of the present invention is constructed as described above, and its operation will be described below.

When the coil 8 is excited by the drive circuit 20, the bowl 2 oscillates at the drive frequency of the drive circuit 20, causing the component m to be transferred along the track 3 in the direction indicated by the arrow.

The component m is the lens portion 11 of the CCD camera 11.
When it comes to the front of a, the light source 13 is irradiated with light and its shadow is imaged. This shutter time is higher than the drive frequency of the bowl 2. This image pickup signal is the image input control device 2
2 is supplied. On the other hand, the excitation signal of the coil 8 is supplied from the drive circuit 20 to the synchronization signal generation circuit 21,
1, a rectangular pulse-shaped synchronization signal is transmitted to the image input control device 2
2 is supplied. Here, it is synchronized with the image pickup signal from the CCD camera 11. That is, when the logical product is obtained and coincident, that is, only the synchronized imaging is supplied to the computer 23. Since a desired posture is stored in advance in the computer 23, when compared with this and coincident with each other, the solenoid portion of the solenoid valve 15 is not excited at all, so the component m passes directly in front of the nozzle portion and passes through the track 3. And supplied to the next process. If the computer 23 determines that they do not match, the solenoid portion of the solenoid valve 15 is excited, and the compressed air is ejected from the nozzle portion to blow the part m not in the predetermined posture into the bowl 2. .

As described above, it is possible to supply only one part m having a predetermined posture to the next process, but the input operation of the predetermined posture in the computer 23 is performed by various buttons or by analog operation. Since it can be stored, it is possible to promptly deal with this even if the shape of the part changes. Further, even when the shape of the part whose posture should be determined is very small, the lens portion 11a of the CCD camera 11 is
Since the image can be magnified by the magnifying action and imaged and compared in the computer 23, the present apparatus can be applied to any small component. Further, even if the shape of the part is changed, only the input operation of the desired attitude to the computer 23 need be performed, so that the change in the shape of the part can be dealt with much faster than in the conventional case.

However, in the above device, the CCD camera 1
1, the image of the shadow of the component m whose posture should be determined is taken,
This image pickup signal is supplied to the computer 23 and compared with a predetermined posture stored therein to determine whether or not the computer is in a predetermined posture. When the computer is not in the predetermined posture, it is provided on the downstream side of the CCD camera 11. Air jet nozzle 14
It is arranged so as to be eliminated inside the bowl 2 by driving the. However, in the illustrated example, the distance from the CCD camera 11 to the air ejection nozzle 14 is considerably large, so the track 3 in the bowl 2 is vibrated. There is no problem if the interval of the parts m transferred by means of is sufficiently long, but if the distance along the transfer direction between the air ejection nozzle 14 and the CCD camera 11 is too large, the parts m not in a predetermined posture should be excluded. However, depending on the timing, there are cases where parts with a predetermined posture are excluded.

Therefore, it is desirable that the position of the air jet nozzle 14 be as close as possible to the CCD camera 11, but in any case, within a short time as much as possible after the computer 23 determines the posture of the component at a predetermined position. It is desirable to exclude this part m in the bowl 2. For this reason, conventionally, after the attitude of the component m is determined, the ejection nozzle 1
Although it depends on the vibration condition at this time to transfer to No. 4, the computer 23 stores how much time it takes, and based on this, the air ejection nozzle 14 is operated. In this case, the vibration condition may fluctuate even if the power supply voltage is constant, and it is not always possible to operate the air ejection nozzle 14 with accurate timing to reliably exclude a component that is not in a predetermined posture in the bowl. Not always possible.

[0016]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and the air ejection means is located as close as possible to the detection position, that is, the downstream side from the image pickup device, and a component that is not in a predetermined posture is surely placed in the bowl. It is an object of the present invention to provide a component aligning method in a vibrating component carrier that can be eliminated.

[0017]

The above-mentioned object is to convey a part by vibration through a predetermined transfer path consisting of a side wall portion and a bottom wall portion substantially perpendicular to the side wall portion, and to transfer a part of this transfer path. Formed of a transparent material, and an illumination means is provided on one of the transfer paths made of the transparent material.
An image pickup device is arranged on the other side, and the image pickup device picks up an image of the shadow of the component caused by the light from the illuminating means, and compares the image pickup with a predetermined posture stored in advance in the computer to determine the predetermined posture. When it is determined that the parts are not in the predetermined posture, the air jetting means provided on the downstream side of the image pickup device is driven so that the jetted air is used to move the parts that are not in the predetermined posture. In a component aligning method for a vibrating component carrier that is excluded outward from a transfer path, the air ejecting unit is set to a predetermined position when a tip end of a component not in a predetermined posture arrives at a downstream end of the transparent material. This is achieved by a component alignment method in a vibrating component carrier, characterized in that driving is started for a time.

Further, for the above purpose, parts are conveyed by vibration through a predetermined transfer path consisting of a side wall part and a bottom wall part substantially vertical to the side wall part, and a part of this transfer path is formed of a transparent material. An illuminating means is provided on one side of the transfer path made of the transparent material, and an image pickup device is provided on the other side, and a shadow of a component due to light from the illuminating means is picked up by the image pickup device and stored in advance in the computer and the image pickup It is determined whether or not it is transported in a predetermined posture by comparing with a predetermined posture, and when it is determined that the posture is not the predetermined posture, the air jetting means provided on the downstream side of the image pickup device is driven. Then, in the component aligning method in the vibrating component transporter in which the component which is not in the predetermined posture is excluded outward from the transfer path by the jet air, in the range of the transparent material and the image capturing of the image capturing device is performed. Predetermined position within the range A region having a predetermined area is set in the computer, and when the shadow of a part passing through the region becomes larger than the area, the air jetting means is started to drive for a predetermined time. And a method for aligning components in a vibrating component carrier.

[0019]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, in the CCD camera, the shadow of the component transferred in contact with the transparent material is imaged through the transparent material, and the imaging signal of the imaging device is supplied to the computer. By comparing with a predetermined posture stored in advance, if it matches, it is determined that the posture is the desired posture, and the predetermined process is performed in the next step without operating the air jetting means arranged on the downstream side. Supply by posture. When the computer determines that the posture is not the predetermined posture, the CCD camera also images the boundary between the transparent material and the side wall or the bottom wall of the transfer path in which the transparent material is fitted. The arrival of the tip of the component can be read, and at this timing the air jetting means provided on the downstream side is started to be driven, and since it continues to be driven for a predetermined time, the specified It is possible to remove the parts determined not to be in the posture from the transfer path to the outside, and also to minimize the position of the air ejecting means from the image pickup device, so that the parts are tentatively contacted on the predetermined transfer path. Even if they are transported in a fixed state, those that have been determined by the imaging device to be in a non-predetermined posture can be reliably eliminated within a short time, and the efficiency of supplying parts in a predetermined posture is greater than in the past. Suitable for width It can be.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since a region having a predetermined area is set in the computer at a predetermined position within the image pickup range of the image pickup device and within the range of the transparent material, the component is If the shadow of the part becomes larger than the above area when passing the position corresponding to, the air ejection time will be started for a predetermined time from this point, so again make sure to exclude the part to be excluded. You can

[0021]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A component posture discriminating apparatus in a vibrating component carrier to which the method of the present invention is applied will be described below with reference to the drawings.

The parts corresponding to those in FIG. 4 are designated by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 1 shows a component posture discriminating apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In the component posture discriminating section 30, an acrylic plate 31 made of a transparent material is fitted and fixed to a part of the bowl 2. However, it has a substantially L-shaped cross section, and has a side wall portion 31a and a bottom wall portion 31 that is substantially perpendicular to the side wall portion 31a.
b is integrally formed, and a second light source 32 is provided in a recess 33 formed below the bottom wall portion 31b. Light that is substantially perpendicular to the bottom wall surface f of 31b is projected. The first light source 13 is the same as the one developed earlier by the present applicant, and from now on, the light q substantially perpendicular to the side wall portion 31a is projected.

As described above, the vibrating carrier is constructed, and the shadow of the component m in contact with the transparent material 31 is imaged by the CCD camera 11 as shown in FIG. That is, although the transparent material is rectangular in FIG. 1, it is composed of an upper side a, a lower side b, a left side c, and a right side d.
2 is vibrated from the left to the right in FIG. 2 and enters the frame of the transparent material 31, the CCD camera 11 acts as an area sensor for a predetermined time and can reliably take an image of the movement posture of the component. However, according to this embodiment, the front end of the part m reaches the right side d as shown by the alternate long and short dash line and starts driving the air ejection means to eject air from the through small holes ph and qh. According to the present embodiment, this ejection time is set to the time required for the component m to be transferred by vibration by a distance equal to the total length L ₀ of the part m in the transfer direction.

The embodiment of the present invention is constructed as described above. Next, this operation will be described.

In FIG. 2, the component m looks as if it is floating within the rectangular frame formed by the sides a, b, c and d of the transparent material 31, which is the transfer path according to this embodiment. Is a side wall 31a and a bottom wall 31b made of a transparent material.
The light from the light source 32 disposed below the bottom wall portion 31b cannot see the line indicating the boundary between the bottom wall portion 31b and the side wall portion 31a. In the vibration phase that does not actually jump, in FIG. 1, the lower side of the component m is in contact with the upper surface of the bottom wall portion 31b.

The component m is transferred by vibration while being in contact with the side wall portion 31a made of a transparent material. The component m is imaged when it is at the position shown by the solid line in FIG. 2 and is supplied to the computer. When it is determined that the component m is in a predetermined posture as compared with the transfer posture of the component, the component m passes through the transparent material, and also the side of the air ejection small holes ph and qh also pass through, and the predetermined direction is provided on the downstream side. Supplied with posture.

Next, the part m which is not in a predetermined posture is the transparent material 31.
When this posture is imaged at the position shown in FIG. 2 and does not match the posture stored in the computer, the tip end of this part m is indicated by the alternate long and short dash line on the right side d of the transparent material 31. At the same time, the electromagnetic valve is opened and the air ejection nozzle is activated, and the ejection air starts to be ejected from the through small holes ph and qh, which causes the component m to be vibrated by a distance equal to the length L of the component. Since the jetting is continued for the required time (while the part m is in contact with the side d), the small holes ph and qh are provided in the part m in a much wider area than the conventional one, as shown in the figure. However, since it reaches the air in a short time and receives the jet air, and the center of gravity of the whole body or its vicinity can be surely jetted the jet air before the entire length of the jet air passes, the component m is swift and reliable. In It can be eliminated in the Le 2.

At this time, in the frame of the transparent material 31, the component m
Even when the parts m are considerably in contact with each other, the driving of the air ejecting means is stopped by the time the preceding part m passes the side d, so that if the following part m is in a desired posture. Can be reliably guided to the downstream side in this predetermined posture without being eliminated by the jet air. Further, when the posture of the following component m is also not in a predetermined posture, the tip end portion thereof reaches the side d and the ejection means starts to operate.
The blown air can reliably remove parts that are not in this predetermined posture into the bowl.

As described above, according to the method of the present invention,
Even if the space between the parts on the transfer path is smaller and, in extreme cases, they are in close contact with each other, only the parts that are not in the specified posture can be eliminated in the bowl, and the position where the air ejection means is arranged is smaller than that in the conventional case. Since it is possible to greatly approach the image pickup device side, it is possible to greatly increase the component supply efficiency.

According to this embodiment, the following effects are also obtained. That is, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, in the conventional device of FIG. 6, the track 3 in the bowl 2 has a side wall portion 3a,
It is composed of a bottom wall 3b which is substantially perpendicular to this, and the side wall of the posture determining section is formed of an acrylic plate 3a 'which is a transparent material (a notch is formed in the side wall 3a of the bowl 2, and the acrylic is formed on the side wall 3a). The plate 3a 'is fitted and fixed.)
As shown in FIG. 5, the part m is transferred by the torsional vibration in the direction indicated by the arrow a, and in the above-described device, the camera 1
Since the shutter is released in synchronism with the driving force of the feeder drive circuit 20 by 1, the camera 11 is fixed to the bowl 2 so that when the component m is moving with the bottom wall surface 3b, Since there is no relative motion between the part m and m, the posture of the part m is surely determined. However, there is a phase in which the part m jumps from the bottom wall surface 3b, and during this transfer. If the shutter of the camera 11 is released, for example, as shown in FIG.
The shadow of is captured by the camera 11. In other words, the posture is such that the component m is rotated by a certain angle around the center of gravity G of the component m, and if the shutter of the camera 11 is released in such a phase, the bottom wall surface 3
b is captured as a thin black line. If the light beam from the light source 13 is perpendicular to the acrylic plate 3a 'forming the side wall, that is, parallel to the bottom wall surface 3b, a black line may not appear, but in reality it is slightly inclined, so , A thin black line appears. Therefore, before being compared with a predetermined posture in the computer 23, the component m is not rotated around the center of gravity G, that is, is rotated around the center of gravity G so as to be parallel to the bottom wall surface 3b, and the posture is changed to the computer 23.
It must be compared to the posture stored in it. That is, coordinate conversion is performed in the computer 23, and the postures are compared on the computer 23. At this time, the bottom wall surface 3b is a black line, and if it is determined that this is a part of the component m, the center of gravity is determined. Since an error occurs when the angle is converted around G, the black line 3b is erased before the angle conversion.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the component m may take its rotational posture even in the vibration phase in which a part of the component m lands on the bottom wall surface 3b and is transferred together with the bottom wall surface 3b. It does not always take a posture.

However, in the present embodiment, when the coil 8 is energized with an alternating current as described above, the component m is transferred along the track 3 and when it reaches the attitude determination section 30, the transfer attitude is imaged by the camera 11. However, at this time,
Even if the shutter is released in a phase synchronized with the state of jumping from the bottom wall surface S, there is no shadow of the bottom wall surface S, the angle conversion around the center of gravity thereof can be easily performed, and before comparison with a predetermined posture. Processing can be performed easily.
That is, only the shadow of the component m is imaged in a state of floating in the air, so that its posture can be reliably determined.

FIG. 3 shows a component posture discriminating apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The parts corresponding to those in FIG. 2 of the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be given. Omit it.

That is, in this embodiment, the area Q is set in the computer at a position as shown in the image pickup range B of the CCD camera 11 and the transparent material 31. That is, as is well known, the CCD camera 11 has a large number of CCDs arranged vertically and horizontally, and the pixels from the x _1st pixel to the xnth pixel are arranged in the horizontal direction and the y _{1 in the} vertical direction. The ym-th pixel to the ym-th pixel, that is, n × m number of pixels are selected, and this can correspond to a predetermined area. However, the pixels in this area Q are shaded when the component m passes through. When the area, that is, the number of pixels of the black level becomes larger than the number of CCDs of the number n × m in the area Q, that is, the area, or after a predetermined time from this time, air is ejected from the air ejection small holes ph and qh. I'm trying to make it gush out. By doing so as well, it is possible to surely exclude the component in the predetermined posture or the following component without interfering with the component.
In this case, the air ejection small hole p is larger than that in the first embodiment.
Since the positions h and qh can be brought closer to the CCD camera 11 side, it is possible to further improve the supply efficiency of the components in a predetermined posture.

Although the CCD cameras 11 are arranged vertically and horizontally in the imaging range B, they are scanned at a predetermined timing in the arrow direction S, and when scanning the area Q as described above, The number of black levels in the range is counted, and pixels at black levels larger than this number are clearly read at the position of the component m as shown in the figure. Therefore, air is ejected at a predetermined timing as described above. Thus, the component m to be eliminated can be surely eliminated in the bowl.

In the above description, the area Q is fixed to the position shown in the figure, but it may be a larger area or an area having another shape depending on the shape of the part. Furthermore, depending on the shape of the part, a plurality of regions Q ₁ ,
Q ₂ may be provided, or one or a plurality of areas Q ₁ , Q ₂ ... May be movable according to the shape of the component.

FIG. 4 shows a component posture discriminating apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention. The parts corresponding to those of the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

That is, also in this embodiment, the side wall portion 41
An acrylic plate 41 having an L-shaped cross section in which a and a bottom wall portion 41b are integrated is fitted in the opening of the bowl 2. Further, inside the acrylic plate 41, the reflecting mirror 50 has an inclination angle shown in the figure. The second light source 32 is omitted, unlike the first embodiment. That is, in the present embodiment, the light q from the light source 13 projects the side wall portion 41a and is reflected by the reflecting surface of the reflecting mirror 50 as indicated by an arrow p to become a light beam substantially orthogonal to the bottom wall surface f. Air jet nozzle and CCD
The positional relationship with the camera 11 and the ejection timing of the air ejection nozzles are the same as in the first embodiment.

Although it is clear that the present embodiment has the same effect as that of the first embodiment, the present embodiment may have one light source and can have a simpler structure. The light source 13 'is sized so as to illuminate almost the entire left surface of the acrylic plate 41.

FIG. 5 shows the fourth embodiment of the present invention. A frame F (determination range) for determining the attitude of the component n in the area of the CCD camera as the area sensor is provided as shown in the figure. . According to this embodiment, the frame F has a rectangular shape and is composed of an upper side g, a lower side h, a downstream side edge e, and an upstream side edge f. If M, the distance from the upstream edge f ′ of the frame F to the right side d ′ of the transparent material 31 is L, which is smaller than 2L. The lengths of the upper side g'and the lower side h'are larger than M. A distance P'between the side e'and the side d'is a distance that progresses in the time required to determine the attitude of the component n. That is, L <2M and M
<LP '.

According to the present embodiment, the posture of the component n is further determined within the frame F, but after the front end portion na has passed the upstream side edge f of the frame F, the position is as shown in the figure. , The posture is completely determined in the computer, but the posture of the part n preceding this is also similarly determined, and as described above, this is the posture that should be excluded. The front end na is the right side d of the transparent material.
When the air jet nozzle is activated, the hole g
Air is ejected from h and ph and is discharged to the inside of the bowl. Further, according to the present embodiment, L is twice M in FIG.
Since it is smaller, the air ejection nozzle has already been driven when the posture of the component n is determined as shown by the solid line in FIG. 4, and the subsequent component n is transferred while being in contact with it. Even if this is the case, since the air ejection nozzle is operated before the posture of the subsequent component n is determined, there is no possibility that the posture of the subsequent component n may be erroneously determined by a part of the preceding component n ′. Absent.

Even when the component n is in considerable contact, there is no possibility that the posture of the succeeding component n will be erroneously determined as described above, but when a certain space is provided between the component n and the preceding component n. Since L is smaller than M, which is twice as large, it is determined more reliably first, and the component having the different posture is reliably removed into the bowl by the air ejection nozzle.

Although the respective embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these, and various modifications can be made based on the technical idea of the present invention.

For example, the so-called vibrating part feeder has been described in the above embodiments, but the present invention can be applied to a linear linear vibrating feeder instead.

In the above embodiment, the driving time of the air ejecting means is set equal to the time required to transfer the parts by vibration for a distance equal to the total length of the parts in the transfer direction.
The time is not limited to this, and may be shorter than this. In this case, when the center of gravity or the vicinity of the center of gravity passes through the air ejection small holes ph and qh, the air may still be ejected.

Further, in the above embodiment, not only the side wall portion 31a but also the bottom wall portion 31b are made of a transparent material, and as shown in FIG. 2, the component m is an image of the edge of the transparent material 31 taken by the CCD camera 11. Although the component m looks as if it flew in the transparent material 31, the present invention is applicable even if the side wall portion is made of a transparent material as in the conventional case.
At this time, since the imaging signal is supplied to the computer as a black line on the upper surface of the bottom wall portion, a process for erasing this black line is necessary, but the present invention is still applicable.

Although the CCD camera 11 is fixed to the bowl 2 in the above embodiment, the shutter may be released in synchronization with the signal from the feeder drive circuit without fixing.

In the above embodiment, the shutter timing of the CCD camera 11 and the driving force of the vibration driving unit are synchronized to image the posture of the component in synchronization with the vibration. The light source 13 may be composed of a strobe, and the flash timing of this strobe may be synchronized with the vibration driving unit to capture an image.

As a method of synchronizing the vibration of the transfer path and the image pickup of the image pickup apparatus, the shutter itself of the image pickup apparatus may be synchronized with the driving power itself to release the shutter.

Further, in the above embodiment, the electromagnet type driving unit was explained as the vibration driving source, but the present invention can be applied to a vibrating component carrier having another vibration driving unit.

[0052]

As described above, according to the method of arranging parts in the vibrating parts carrier of the present invention, even when the parts are transferred in a state where they are in close contact with the transfer path, they are transferred at intervals. However, it is possible to reliably determine the posture of a component at a predetermined position by the image pickup device, and a component that is not in the predetermined posture is reliably excluded without interfering with the determination of the posture of the succeeding component, or is it succeeding. It is possible to reliably supply one component having a predetermined posture to the next process.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part of a component attitude determination device in a vibrating component carrier according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged front view of a main part of the same apparatus as seen from a CCD camera.

FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged front view of a main part as seen from a CCD camera in a component attitude determination device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part of a component attitude determination device in a vibrating component carrier according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged front view of a main part as seen from a CCD camera in a component attitude determination device according to a fourth example of the present embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a partially cutaway side view of the component feeding device in the component carrier previously developed by the applicant.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged front view of a main part for explaining the same action.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged front view similar to FIG. 6 for further explaining the same action.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 CCD camera 13 Light source 30 Component attitude determination unit 31 Acrylic plate d Side ph Air jet small hole qh Air jet small hole

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A component is conveyed by vibration through a predetermined transfer path composed of a side wall part and a bottom wall part substantially perpendicular to the side wall part, and a part of this transfer path is formed of a transparent material. The illuminating means is provided on one of the transfer paths, and the image pickup device is provided on the other, and the image pickup device picks up an image of the shadow of the component caused by the light from the illuminating means, and the image pickup and a predetermined image stored in the computer in advance. By comparing with the posture, it is determined whether or not it is transferred in a predetermined posture, and when it is determined that the posture is not the predetermined posture, the air jetting means provided on the downstream side of the image pickup device is driven to discharge this jet. In a component aligning method in a vibrating component carrier in which the components not in the predetermined posture are removed outward from the transfer path by air, a tip end of the component not in the predetermined posture is provided at a downstream end of the transparent material. Air jet when it arrives A method for arranging parts in a vibrating parts carrier, characterized in that the means is driven for a predetermined time. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined time is equal to a time required to transfer the component by vibration by a distance equal to the entire length of the component in the transfer direction. 3. A distance between the downstream end of the transparent material and the downstream end of the transparent material, which is an imaging range larger than the outer shape of the component, is used as a determination range to determine the posture of the component by the computer. The distance L from the upstream end of the imaging range to the downstream end of the transparent material is set to be equal to or greater than the distance at which the component is transferred by vibration in the required time, and the total length in the transfer direction of the component is 3. The component aligning method for a vibrating component carrier according to claim 1, wherein M is L <2M. 4. A component is conveyed by vibration through a predetermined transfer path consisting of a side wall part and a bottom wall part substantially perpendicular to the side wall part, and a part of this transfer path is formed of a transparent material. The illuminating means is provided on one of the transfer paths, and the image pickup device is provided on the other, and the image pickup device picks up an image of the shadow of the component caused by the light from the illuminating means, and the image pickup and a predetermined image stored in the computer in advance. By comparing with the posture, it is determined whether or not it is transferred in a predetermined posture, and when it is determined that the posture is not the predetermined posture, the air jetting means provided on the downstream side of the image pickup device is driven to discharge this jet. In a component aligning method in a vibrating component carrier configured to remove the component not in the predetermined posture from the transfer path to the outside by air, a predetermined component within the range of the transparent material and within the image capturing range of the image capturing apparatus is provided. Area of a certain area at the position In the computer, and when the shadow of a component passing through the area becomes larger than the area, the air jetting means is started to be driven for a predetermined time. Parts alignment method. 5. The component aligning method in a vibrating component carrier according to claim 4, wherein a plurality of the regions are set. 6. The component alignment method in a vibrating component carrier according to claim 4, wherein the area is set to be movable. 7. The component alignment method in a vibrating component carrier according to claim 4, wherein the size of the area can be changed.