JPH06219529A - Vibration control device, and vibration type goods carrying and supplying devices using vibration control device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To automatically adjust the carrying speed of a goods in an optimum condition, and stably carry or supply the goods to a machine. CONSTITUTION:Parts such as bolts are fed from a parts storing part 6 of a parts feeder 1 to a goods carrying passage 7, and successively supplied to a machine 2 through goods carrying passages 7, 9. Exciters 8, 10 generate the vibrations which are the propulsive force for each parts, and apply the vibrations to the goods carrying passages 7, 9, and the respective goods are carried along the goods carrying passages 7, 9 thereby. A plurality of S1-S4 are arranged in the goods carrying passage 9, and the stagnated condition of goods on the goods carrying passage 9 or the supplying speed of goods are detected thereby. A controller 5 generates the signal to control the vibration to be applied to the goods carrying passages 7, 9 according to the detected stagnated condition or the supplying speed of the goods, and the driving of exciting parts 8, 10 are controlled.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention conveys a large number of mechanical parts such as bolts and electric parts such as resistors (hereinafter simply referred to as "objects" or "parts") at the same time, or these machines can be carried by a predetermined machine The present invention relates to a device for feeding objects one after another, and in particular, the present invention, like a parts feeder, conveys an object by applying vibration to an object conveying path as a propulsive force of the object and also supplies it to a machine. The present invention relates to a vibrating object transporting device and a vibrating object supplying device, and a vibration control device introduced into these devices.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, a conventional parts feeder has a parts storage part filled with a large number of parts and an object transfer path for transferring the parts led out from the parts storage part to a predetermined machine. By applying a propulsive force to each component by applying vibration to the component storage section and the object transport path,
While aligning the components in the component storage unit, the components are sequentially sent to the object transport path and each component is transported along the object transport path.

The parts feeder is provided with a vibration exciter for generating the vibration and acting on the parts storage section and the object conveying path, and a vibration control device for controlling the driving of the vibration exciter. The control device performs feedback control so that the amplitude of vibration and the like become constant, thereby making the component conveyance speed and the component supply speed to the machine constant.

[0004]

It is necessary to supply the parts to the machine at such a supply speed that the capacity of the machine can be sufficiently exerted, and always at a stable level, even if the amplitude of vibration is constant. Even if control is performed so that if the frictional state between the parts and the object transport path changes,
The transfer speed of parts and the supply speed of parts to machines are not constant. If the transportation speed of parts becomes too fast, the pushing force of each part will exert a strong force on each part, causing overflow or clogging of parts on the object transport path. However, there is a problem that the supply speed of the machine becomes slow and the capacity of the machine is not fully exhibited.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and provides a vibration control device capable of automatically adjusting the conveying speed of an object to an optimum state, and at the same time, stably conveys and supplies the object to and from the machine. It is an object of the present invention to provide a vibrating object transporting device and a vibrating object supplying device that are capable of performing their capabilities sufficiently.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vibration control device for controlling vibration applied to an object conveying path as propulsive force of a large number of objects to be conveyed, wherein the object on the object conveying path is From the detection means for detecting the staying state of the object, and the control means for generating and outputting a signal for controlling the vibration applied to the object conveying path according to the staying state of the object detected by the detecting means. Become.

In the vibration control device according to the second aspect of the present invention, since the detecting means is constructed at a low cost, a sensor for detecting whether or not the stay amount of the object on the object transport path has reached the upper limit value, A sensor for detecting whether or not the lower limit value has been reached constitutes the detecting means.

In the vibration control device according to the third aspect of the present invention, the control means includes a fuzzy reasoning device as a main body of control / calculation.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vibrating object transporting apparatus for transporting each object along the object transport path by applying vibration to the object transport path as a propulsive force of a large number of objects to be transported. Detecting means for detecting a staying state of the object on the conveying path, and generating and outputting a signal for controlling vibration applied to the object conveying path according to the staying state of the object detected by the detecting means It is provided with a vibration control means, and a vibrating means for generating a vibration according to a signal input from the vibration control means and acting on the object transport path.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, vibration is applied to the object conveying path as a propulsive force for a large number of objects to be conveyed, whereby each object is conveyed along the object conveying path and supplied to a predetermined machine. In the object transporting device, a first detecting means for detecting a staying state of the object on the object transporting path, and a second detecting means for detecting a supply state of the object from the object transporting path to the machine. A vibration control means for generating and outputting a signal for controlling a vibration applied to the object conveying path in accordance with the staying state and the supply state of the object detected by the first and second detecting means; And a vibrating means for generating a vibration in response to a signal input from the vibration control means to act on the object transport path.

[0011]

[Function] Since the staying state of the object on the object transporting path and the supply speed of the object to the machine are detected, and the vibration applied to the object transporting path is controlled according to the detected staying status and the supply speed,
The conveying speed of the object is automatically adjusted to the optimum state without being affected by the frictional state between the object and the object conveying path. As a result, the transportation and the supply of the object to the machine are stabilized, and the transportation and the supply of the object are performed so that the capability of the machine is fully exerted.

[0012]

1 and 2 show a schematic structure of a parts feeder 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The parts feeder 1 conveys mechanical parts such as bolts to the machine 2 and supplies them one after another. The ball feeder 3,
Linear feeder 4, controller 5, four sensors S ₁ ~
It is composed of S ₄ etc.

The ball feeder 3 is provided with a spiral object conveying path 7 on the outer periphery of a component storage section 6 having an upper surface opening, and a vibrator 8 is disposed below the object conveying path 7. The component storage unit 6 is for storing a large number of components P that are thrown in from the upper surface opening, and these components P are guided from the component storage unit 6 to the object transport path 7 and set in the object transport path 7. They are transported in an aligned state while being arranged. The vibration exciter 8 generates a vibration as a propulsive force of each component P and causes the component storage unit 6 and the object transport path 7 to act on the vibration.

The linear feeder 4 has an object conveying path 9 connected to the end of the object conveying path 7 of the ball feeder 3, and a vibrator 10 is arranged below the object conveying path 9. Is. The object transport path 9 is for transporting the parts P continuously transported from the ball feeder 3 to the position of the machine 2. The end of the object transport path 9 is located close to the table 17 of the machine 2. I am allowed. The vibration exciter 10 generates a vibration as a propulsive force of each component P and causes it to act on the object transport path 9.

The machine 2 takes in the parts P successively supplied from the linear feeder 4 and performs a predetermined work. The table 17 of the machine 2 is provided with a pocket 18 for receiving the supply of the component P from the object conveying path 9.
A component take-out mechanism 16 such as a robot hand is provided on the table 17, and the component P in the pocket 18 is taken out by the component take-out mechanism 16 and sent to a predetermined working position.

The first of the _four sensors S _{1 to} S ₄
The third sensors S _{1 to} S ₃ detect the staying state of the parts P on the object transport path 9. The first sensor S ₁ is the object transport path 9
The third sensor S _{3 at} an intermediate position of the object transport path 9 and the second sensor S _{2 at} an intermediate position between the first sensor S ₁ and the third sensor S _3. I am doing it. The second sensor S ₂ determines whether or not the staying amount of the component P on the object transport path 9 has reached the lower limit value, and the third sensor S ₃ determines the staying amount of the component P on the object transport path 9 as the upper limit. It is for detecting whether or not the value has been reached.

In FIG. 2, under the control of the controller 5, states a through e show that the staying state of the parts P on the object conveying path 9 changes with the passage of time. “A” is a state where the end of the component row has not reached the position of the second sensor S _{2 and} the number of components is insufficient. In this state, the first sensor S ₁
Only the second and third sensors S ₂ and S ₃ are off. In b, c, and e, the end of the component row has reached the position of the second sensor S ₂ , but has not reached the position of the third sensor S ₃ , that is, the amount of retention of the component is appropriate. In this state, the first and second sensors S ₁ and S ₂ are on, but the third sensor S ₃ is off. d is a state in which the end of the component row has reached the position of the third sensor S _{3 and} the number of components is excessive. In this state, the first, second and third sensors S ₁ , S ₂ , S ₃ Are both on.

The fourth sensor S ₄ is provided on the table 17 of the machine 2 and detects whether or not the part P exists in the pocket 18 of the table 17. This makes it possible to determine the loading time of the part P from the linear feeder 4 to the machine 2, in other words, the supply speed of the part P to the machine 2. In addition, each of the first to third sensors S _{1 to} S _{3 described above} includes the object transport path 9
Although the detection means for detecting the staying state of the upper part P is configured, the detection means is not limited to this, and an imaging device such as an image sensor may be used.

Next, the controller 5 controls the driver 12 for driving the vibrator 8 of the ball feeder 3, the driver 13 for driving the vibrator 10 of the linear feeder 4, and the control for controlling the operations of the drivers 12, 13. And part 11,
A display device 14, an input device 15, and the like are connected to the control unit 11 in addition to a power supply device (not shown).

The control unit 11 is composed of a first arithmetic control unit 11A shown in FIG. 3 and a second arithmetic control unit 11B shown in FIG. 4, and each arithmetic control unit 11A, 11B has an arithmetic processing unit. Circuits 20 and 30, fuzzy inference devices 21 and 31, integrators 22 and 32, and adders 23 and 33 are provided.

The first arithmetic control unit 11A has the above-mentioned first to first
The detection signals i _{1 to} i ₃ from the _third sensors S _{1 to} S ₃ are input to determine the staying state of the component P on the object transport path 9,
An amplitude set value V _B is generated as a signal for controlling the vibration applied to the object conveying path 7 of the ball feeder 3, and this is output to the driver 12. The second arithmetic control unit 11B
The detection signal i ₄ from the fourth sensor S ₄ is input to determine the loading time of the part P into the machine 2, and the amplitude set value V _{L is used} as a signal for controlling the vibration applied to the object conveying path 9 of the linear feeder 4. Is generated and is output to the driver 13.

FIG. 5 shows the operating principle of the arithmetic processing circuit 20 in the first arithmetic control unit 11A. The arithmetic processing circuit 20 inputs the detection signals i _{1 to} i ₃ from the _{first to third} sensors S _{1 to} S ₃ to generate the excess determination signal and the insufficient determination signal shown in FIG. An excessive discriminant value OT and an insufficient discriminant value LT for discriminating the staying state of the component P in the object conveying path 9 of the linear feeder 4 from the signal;
An excessive change determination value OT 'and an insufficient change determination value LT' for determining changes in the excessive state and the insufficient state are calculated using the following equations (1) to (4). The excessive discriminant value OT and the insufficient discriminant value LT take values of "0" to "1", and the excessive change discriminant value OT 'and the insufficient change discriminant value LT' take values of "-1" to "+1". Then, these calculated values are output to the fuzzy inference device 21.

[0023]

[Equation 1]

[0024]

[Equation 2]

[0025]

[Equation 3]

[0026]

[Equation 4]

In the above equations (1) to (4), ΣT
_OT is the second, third at the predetermined measurement time T, provided that the detection signal i _{1 of} the first sensor S ₁ is on.
Means the sum of the time lengths of the detection signals i ₂ and i ₃ of the respective sensors S ₂ and S ₃ being ON, that is, the sum of the time lengths of the levels indicating the excess of the excess determination signal. Further, ΣT _LT is the second and second at the predetermined measurement time T, provided that the detection signal i _{1 of} the first sensor S ₁ is ON.
It means the sum of the time lengths when the detection signals i ₂ and i _{3 of the third} sensors S ₂ and S ₃ are all off, that is, the sum of the time lengths of the levels indicating the shortage of the shortage determination signal.
Further, OT ₀ is the excess determination value calculated this time, OT ₋₁ is the excess determination value calculated last time, LT ₀ is the shortage determination value calculated this time, and LT ₋₁ is the shortfall determination value calculated last time.

FIG. 6 shows the operating principle of the arithmetic processing circuit 30 in the second arithmetic control unit 11B. The arithmetic processing circuit 30, from the fourth sensor S ₄ receives a detection signal i _4, in each case determine the length of time that the detection signal i ₄ are OFF as the input time PT parts P to the machine 2 ,
The closing time determination value ΔPT for determining the increase amount of the closing time with respect to the initial setting value PT _S, and the time change determination value ΔPT for determining the change state of the increasing amount of the closing time PT.
'And are calculated using the following equations (5) and (6), and these calculated values are output to the fuzzy inference apparatus 31. In the expression (6), PT ₀ is the charging time determination value calculated this time,
PT ₋₁ is the previously calculated closing time determination value.

[0029]

[Equation 5]

[0030]

[Equation 6]

Arithmetic processing circuit 2 of the first arithmetic control unit 11A
The excess discriminant value OT, the shortage discriminant value LT, the excessive change discriminant value OT ′, and the insufficient change discriminant value LT ′ calculated at 0 are given as inputs to the fuzzy inference device 21, and the fuzzy inference device 2
1 executes a fuzzy inference operation according to a predetermined fuzzy rule, and as a result of the inference, the vibration amplitude adjustment value ΔV _B
Is output. The amplitude adjustment value ΔV _B is given to the adder 23 via the integrator 22, and the adder 23 adds the integrated output and the initial setting value of the amplitude to output the amplitude setting value V _B of the vibration to the driver 12. To do.

The fuzzy rules are if and then
It is expressed in the form of (if, if), and FIG. 7 shows the table of rules of this fuzzy rule.
(1) (2) (3). In FIG. 7 (1), the abscissa indicates the excess determination value OT (0 to 1), and the ordinate indicates the excess change determination value OT '.
(-1 to +1) are respectively taken. See also FIG.
In (2), the horizontal axis shows the shortage determination value LT (0 to 1), and the vertical axis shows the shortage change determination value LT '(-1 to +1). Further, in FIG. 7 (3), the abscissa represents the closing time determination value Δ
PT is the time change determination value ΔPT 'on the vertical axis.

In FIG. 7, NL, NM, NS, ZR,
PS, PM, PL are fuzzy labels, and generally,
ZR is "zero", PS is "positive and small", PM is "positive and medium", PL is "positive and large", NS is "negative and small", NM is "negative and medium", and NL is "Negative and big"
Respectively mean. Therefore, in the rule group shown in FIG. 7 (1), for example, when the excessive discriminant value OT is a medium value and the excessive change discriminant value OT 'is a medium value, the amplitude adjustment value ΔV _B is negative and small ( NS), which is a fuzzy rule.

These linguistic expressions are represented by a membership function. The input membership function is shown in FIGS. 8 (1) and 8 (2), and the output membership function is shown in FIG. . In each figure, the horizontal axis is the fuzzy variable, the vertical axis is the goodness of fit (membership value),
In FIG. 8 (1), the horizontal axis indicates the excess determination value OT and the shortage determination value LT, and in FIG. 8 (2), the horizontal axis indicates the excessive change determination value OT ′,
The insufficient change determination value LT ′, the closing time determination value ΔPT, and the time change determination value ΔPT ′ are shown on the horizontal axis in FIG.
V _B and ΔV _L are respectively taken. Note that FIG. 8 (1)
In, S is a fuzzy label meaning “small”, M is “medium”, L is “large”, and LL is “very large”.

In the parts feeder 1 having the above-described structure, at the time of start-up, the initial setting values of the vibration amplitude which are set in advance are set as the amplitude setting values V _B and V _L for the drivers 12 and 1, respectively.
3 is given to the ball feeder 3 and the linear feeder 4
The respective exciters 8 and 10 are driven. When vibrations are generated by the driving of the respective exciters 8 and 10 and act on the component storage section 6 and the object transport paths 7 and 9, a plurality of components P are transferred from the component storage section 6 of the ball feeder 3 to the object transport path 7. It is continuously sent out and supplied to the machine 2 via the object transport paths 7 and 9.

In this case, the detection signals i _{1 to} i ₃ are input from the _{first to third} sensors S _{1 to} S ₃ to the arithmetic processing circuit 20 of the first arithmetic control unit 11A, and the arithmetic processing circuit 20 operates. Values indicating the staying state of the parts P on the object transport path 9, that is, the excess determination value OT, the insufficient determination value LT, and the excessive change determination value O
T ′ and the insufficient change determination value LT ′ are calculated and output to the fuzzy inference device 21. The fuzzy inference device 21 infers the conveying force of the component P in the ball feeder 3, that is, the amplitude adjustment value ΔV _B of the vibration from each discriminant value, and automatically changes the amplitude setting value V _B.

On the other hand, the detection signal i ₄ is input from the fourth sensor S ₄ to the arithmetic processing circuit 30 of the second arithmetic control unit 11B, and the arithmetic processing circuit 30 indicates the state of loading the part P into the machine 2. The values, that is, the input time determination value ΔPT and the time change determination value ΔPT ′ are calculated and output to the fuzzy inference apparatus 31. The fuzzy inference device 31 infers the conveying force of the component P in the linear feeder 4, that is, the amplitude adjustment value ΔV _L of vibration from each discriminant value, and automatically changes the amplitude setting value V _L.

[0038]

As described above, the present invention detects the staying state of an object on the object conveying path and the supply speed of the object to the machine,
Since the vibration applied to the object transportation path is controlled according to the detected staying state and supply speed, the object transportation speed is automatically optimized without being affected by the frictional state between the object and the object transportation path. Can be adjusted. As a result, it is possible to stabilize the transportation and supply of objects to the machine,
In addition, it is possible to convey and supply an object so that the capability of the machine is fully exerted, and other remarkable effects are achieved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing the outer appearance of a parts feeder according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing object transport paths of a ball feeder and a linear feeder.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a first arithmetic control unit.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a second arithmetic control unit.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an operation principle of an arithmetic processing circuit in the first arithmetic control unit.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an operation principle of an arithmetic processing circuit in a second arithmetic control unit.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a table of a set of fuzzy rules.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing an input membership function.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing an output membership function.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Parts Feeder 3 Ball Feeder 4 Linear Feeder 5 Controller 8 and 10 Object Transport Path S _{1 to} S ₄ Sensor 11 Control Unit 20 and 30 Arithmetic Processing Circuit 21 and 31 Fuzzy Reasoning Device

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A vibration control device for controlling a vibration applied to an object transport path as a propulsive force of a large number of objects to be transported, a detection means for detecting a staying state of the object on the object transport path. A vibration control device configured to generate and output a signal for controlling a vibration applied to the object transport path according to a staying state of the object detected by the detection means. 2. A sensor for detecting whether or not the amount of staying of an object on an object transport path has reached an upper limit value, and a sensor for detecting whether or not the amount has stayed at a lower limit value. The vibration control device according to claim 1, which is configured by: 3. The vibration control device according to claim 1, wherein the control means includes a fuzzy reasoning device as a main body for controlling and computing. 4. A vibrating object carrying device for carrying each object along an object carrying path by vibrating the object carrying path as a propulsive force of a large number of objects to be carried. A detection unit for detecting the staying state, and a vibration control unit for generating and outputting a signal for controlling the vibration applied to the object transport path according to the staying state of the object detected by the detecting unit, A vibrating object carrying device, comprising: a vibrating means for generating a vibration in response to a signal input from the vibration control means to act on the object carrying path. 5. A vibrating object carrying device for carrying each object along an object carrying path and supplying it to a predetermined machine by vibrating the object carrying path as a propulsive force of a large number of objects to be carried, First detecting means for detecting a staying state of the object on the object conveying path; second detecting means for detecting a supply speed of the object from the object conveying path to the machine; Vibration control means for generating and outputting a signal for controlling vibration applied to the object transport path according to the staying state and the supply speed of the object detected by the second detection means; A vibrating object supply device, comprising: a vibrating means for generating a vibration in response to a signal input to act on the object conveying path.