JPH06298351A - Positioning and separating device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a positioning and separating device which can quicken work separating and positioning time, and shorten work discharging time. CONSTITUTION:This device is provided with a conveyance guide 10 which aligns works 5 and guides them in the horizontal direction, a separating claw 20 which separates the first work 5 from the other works 5, a setting claw 25 which transfers the separated works 5 to a set position, a discharging claw 30 which discharges the works 5 existing in the set position to the downstream side, and a positioning claw 35 which positions and holds the separated work 5 in the set position in cooperation with the setting claw 25 and the conveyance guide 10. The separating claw 20 and the discharging claw 30 are mounted so as to be orthogonal to a work row 5, interlocked with it, and able to advance and retreat. The setting claw 25 and the positioning claw 35 are mounted so as to be orthogonal to the work row 5, interlocked with it, and able to advance and retreat, and so as to advance and retreat alternately with the advance and retreat of the separating claw 20 and the discharging claw 30.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a positioning / separating device for positioning / separating workpieces conveyed in a line in a horizontal direction.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a device for transporting a large number of works, such as a columnar work, arranged in a line and separating the first work in the work line to a predetermined position, for example, as shown in FIG. Various positioning and separating devices are known.

This device has guides 51 on both sides, and a conveyor 52 for aligning and conveying the works 50 (shown by reference numerals 50a, 50b, 50c) in the horizontal direction, and a work 50 row for moving forward and backward. A separation mechanism 53 having claws 54 and 55 alternately engaged with each other, and a pair of positioning blocks 58 and 58 that are relatively moved forward and backward by cylinders 57 and 57,
It is configured by a positioning mechanism 56 that positions and holds the leading work 50a separated from the work 50 row at the set position A.

In the positioning / separating operation by this apparatus, first, the claw 55 of the separating mechanism 53 is moved forward between the workpiece 50a to be separated and the succeeding workpiece 50b (FIG. 14).
Subsequently, the claw 54 is retracted to release the engagement with the work 50a. As a result, the work 50a is conveyed to the downstream side by the conveyor 52 and separated from the work 50 row (FIG. 15). The work 50a transported downstream is positioned at the setting position A by the positioning block 5 of the positioning mechanism 56.
It is clamped by the forward movement of 8, 58, and positioned and held.
As the work at the set position A is completed, the positioning block 5
8 and 58 are retracted, the positioning and holding of the work 50a is released, and the work 50a is discharged to the downstream side by the conveyor 52.

On the other hand, during positioning and holding of the work 50a,
The claw 54 of the separation mechanism 53 is advanced (FIG. 16), and then
The claw 55 is moved backward to form a new row of workpieces 50 with the workpieces 50b at the front (FIG. 17) to form a workpiece separation system for the next cycle.

As a technique for separating aligned works, for example, JP-A-2-106514 and JP-A-5757 are available.
Nos. 121442, 58-120125 and 56-142938 are proposed. Further, as a mechanism for positioning the separated works, for example, as shown in FIG. 18, rotary actuators 61 and 62 relatively rotate on a horizontal plane,
A system having sandwiching pieces 63, 64 for approaching and separating is also used.

[0007]

However, in the positioning / separating device having such a conventional structure, the separating mechanism and the positioning mechanism are constituted independently, and the works separated from the work row are conveyed by the conveyor. Since it is conveyed and positioned, there is a problem that it takes time for separation and positioning.

Further, since the work is discharged by the conveyor, the work discharge speed is regulated by the convey speed of the conveyor, and it is difficult to shorten the work discharge time.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to perform a positioning / separating operation which can speed up the separation / positioning time of a work and also shorten the discharge time of the work. It is intended to provide a device.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to achieve the above object, and includes a conveyance guide that aligns works in a row and guides them horizontally, and a leading work on the conveyance guide. A separation claw that separates from another work, a setting claw that is provided on the downstream side of the separation claw and that transfers the separated work to a setting position, and a setting claw that is provided on the downstream side of the setting claw and is at the setting position A discharge claw for discharging the work downstream; and a positioning claw provided on the downstream side of the discharge claw for positioning and holding the separated work in the set position in cooperation with the setting claw and the transport guide. The separation claw and the discharge claw are provided to be substantially orthogonal to the work row and capable of advancing and retracting in an interlocking manner, and the setting claw and the positioning pawl are substantially orthogonal to the work row and being capable of advancing and retracting in an interlocking manner. A positioning / separating device characterized in that it is provided so as to be able to advance and retreat alternately with the advance and retreat of the separation claw and the discharge claw.

[0011]

The present invention is configured as described above, and the leading work of the work row is moved by the advance of the separating claw.
Separate from other work that follows. Further, the separated work is transferred to the setting position by the forward movement of the setting claw.

On the other hand, the forward movement of the discharge claws pushes out the work at the set position downstream and forcibly discharges it. Also,
As the positioning claw advances, the separated work is positioned and held at the setting position in cooperation with the setting claw and the transport guide.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a positioning and separating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a transverse sectional view of the same.

This positioning / separating device separates the work 5 in a line and guides it horizontally, a separation claw 20 for separating the leading work 5 on the transfer guide 10 from other works 5, and a separation claw 20. The setting claw 25 for transferring the separated work 5 to the setting position A, the discharging claw 30 for discharging the work 5 at the setting position A downstream, and the separated work 5 in cooperation with the setting claw 25 and the conveyance guide 10. And a positioning claw 35 for positioning and holding at the set position A. The workpiece 5 handled by this positioning / separating apparatus is preferably a columnar one used for a check valve or the like.

The transport guide 10 has guide edges 11 on both sides.
It is formed in an upward U-shape having 12, and a supply conveyor 13 is provided along the conveyance guide 10 on the upstream side of the setting position A, and a discharge conveyor 14 is provided on the downstream side.
Is provided.

The conveying surface 13a of the supply conveyor 13 faces the guide edge 11 by notching the guide edge 12 and
It is provided so as to be in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the work 5 and to convey the work 5 row in the downstream direction. The conveying surface 14a of the discharge conveyor 14 is provided so as to face the guide edge 12 by notching the guide edge 11 and to contact the outer peripheral surface of the discharged work 5 to convey the work 5 in the downstream direction.

Further, the distance S between the upstream end of the conveying surface 14a of the discharge conveyor 14 and the downstream end of the work 5 at the set position A is in consideration of the length of the oblique side portion 33 of the discharge claw 30 which will be described later. The discharge speed of the work can be increased as the distance S is increased.

The separating claw 20, the discharging claw 30, the setting claw 25, and the positioning claw 35 are configured to be alternately movable back and forth by a cylinder unit 15 provided at the lower portion of the transport guide 10.

The cylinder unit 15 is a double-acting pneumatic cylinder having rods 16a and 16b extending on both sides of the piston, and the axes of the rods 16a and 16b are mounted orthogonally to the center line of the conveyance guide 10. Has been. Further, the claw mounting bracket 17 for mounting the separation claw 20 and the discharge claw 30 is fixed to the tip of the rod 16a, and the claw mounting for mounting the setting claw 25 and the positioning claw 35 is mounted on the tip of the rod 16b. The bracket 18 is fixed.

In the embodiment, the separating claw 20 is formed with a straight portion 21 facing the upstream side and a hypotenuse portion 23 facing the downstream side. The straight portion 21 of the separation claw 20 is orthogonal to the center line of the five rows of works of the conveyance guide 10, and the oblique side portion 23.
Are formed so as to spread outward from the upstream side toward the downstream side. This separation claw 20 is a claw mounting bracket 1
It is attached to a predetermined position of 7 by a bolt 24. Further, the linear portion 21 of the separation claw 20 is arranged so as to be located on the upstream side of the center of the work 5 at the head of the work 5 row.

The setting claw 25 is formed to have a linear portion 26 similar to the separating claw 20 and a hypotenuse portion 28. The straight portion 26 of the setting claw 25 is orthogonal to the center line of the work 5 row, and the hypotenuse portion 28 is formed so as to spread outward from the upstream side toward the downstream side. The setting claw 25 is the separation claw 20.
It is located on the further downstream side and is attached to the claw attachment bracket 18 by a bolt 24.

The discharge claw 30 is formed to have a straight line portion 31 and a hypotenuse portion 33 similar to those of the separation claw 20. The straight portion 31 of the discharge claw 30 is orthogonal to the center line of the five rows of works,
The hypotenuse portion 33 is formed so as to spread outward from the upstream side toward the downstream side. The discharge claw 30 is the setting claw 2
It is located on the downstream side of 5 and is attached to the claw mounting bracket 17.

The positioning claw 35 is formed to have a linear portion 36 similar to the separating claw 20 and a hypotenuse portion 38.
The linear portion 36 of the positioning claw 35 is orthogonal to the center line of the work 5 row, and the hypotenuse portion 38 is formed so as to spread outward from the upstream side toward the downstream side. This positioning claw 35
Is attached to the pawl mounting bracket 18 at a position downstream of the ejection pawl 30.

Therefore, the separating claw 20, the setting claw 25, the discharging claw 30, and the positioning claw 35 are sequentially arranged from the upstream side to the downstream side at a predetermined interval.
The discharge claw 30, the setting claw 25, and the positioning claw 35 are arranged substantially opposite to each other with the transport guide 10 sandwiched therebetween, and are alternately moved forward and backward toward the five rows of works by the operation of the cylinder unit 15. Is configured. In addition, the inclination angle of each hypotenuse part 23, 28, 33, 38 is the rod 16a,
It is set in consideration of the advancing / retreating speed of 16b, the work discharging speed, and the like.

Next, the operation of the positioning / separating device thus constructed will be described with reference to the process diagrams of FIGS.

In FIG. 3, the work 5a separated from the work 5 row (for convenience of description, the work 5 is referred to as 5a, 5b, 5c, 5d in the order of arrangement) is positioned and held at the set position A of the transport guide 10. Shows the state. At this time, the setting claw 25 and the positioning claw 35 are at the forward end, and the work 5a
Is sandwiched between the hypotenuse portion 28 and the straight portion 36 and the guide edge 11. Then, the work 5 rows (5b, 5c,
5d ...) is prevented from moving by the linear portion 26 of the setting claw 25, and is urged by the supply conveyor 13 to be movable in the downstream direction. Also, the separation claw 20 and the discharge claw 3
0 is at the retracted end and is not engaged with the work 5.

First, when the separating claw 20 and the discharging claw 30 start moving forward, at the same time, the setting claw 25 and the positioning claw 35 start moving backward. At this time, the setting claw 25 and the positioning claw 3
5 is separated from the work 5a, and the work 5a is left at the setting position A. Further, the tip end of the setting claw 25 comes into contact with the outer periphery of the work 5b and retreats, and the work 5 row gradually moves to the downstream side (see FIG. 4). On the other hand, the separation claw 20 and the discharge claw 30
Is still in a non-engaged state with each work 5.

Further, when the setting claw 25 and the positioning claw 35 retract, the tip of the setting claw 25 moves away from the work 5b,
The five rows of works are conveyed downstream by the supply conveyor 13 (see FIG. 5). At this time, the setting claw 25 and the positioning claw 35 are not engaged with the respective works 5. On the other hand, the separating claw 20 and the discharging claw 30 move forward, the tip of the separating claw 20 contacts the work 5c following the work 5b to be separated, and the oblique side 33 of the discharging claw 30 of the work 5a at the setting position A. It abuts the outer circumference and pushes out downstream.

Further, when the separating claw 20 and the discharging claw 30 advance, the separating claw 20 interrupts between the work 5b and the work 5c, and the linear portion 21 blocks the movement of the work 5 rows after the work 5c, and the oblique side. The part 23 separates and transfers the work 5b to the downstream side. Further, the oblique side portion 33 of the discharge claw 30 further pushes out the work 5a in the downstream direction as it advances, and the work 5a moves on the transport guide 10 and approaches the discharge conveyor 14 (see FIG. 6).

When the discharge claw 30 reaches the forward end, the oblique side 3
The outer periphery of the work 5a extruded to the 3 is the discharge conveyor 14
7 is in contact with the conveying surface 14a (see FIG. 7), and the linear portion 31 is engaged with the separated work 5b. The separation claw 20
Completes the separation of the work 5b at the forward end and blocks the movement of the work 5c and thereafter. On the other hand, the setting claw 25 and the positioning claw 35 are at the retracted end and are not engaged with the work 5.

Next, the separating claw 20 and the discharging claw 30 start retreating, and at the same time, the setting claw 25 and the positioning claw 35 start moving forward. At this time, the hypotenuse portion 33 of the discharge claw 30 is separated from the work 5a, and the work 5a is conveyed to the downstream side by the discharge conveyor 14. Further, the straight portion 31 of the discharge claw 30 abuts on the work 5b, and the straight portion 21 of the separation claw 20 abuts on the work 5c to prevent subsequent movement of the work 5 rows (see FIG. 8). On the other hand, the setting claw 25 and the positioning claw 35
Is still in a non-engaged state with each work 5.

Subsequently, when the separation claw 20 and the discharge claw 30 retract, the tip of the separation claw 20 comes into contact with the outer periphery of the work 5c and retracts, and the work 5 row gradually moves to the downstream side. Further, the discharge claw 30 is separated from the work 5b, and the work 5a is conveyed further downstream by the discharge conveyor 14 (FIG. 9).
reference). On the other hand, the setting claw 25 and the positioning claw 35 are not in engagement with the respective works 5 yet.

When the separating claw 20 and the discharging claw 30 further retract, the tip of the separating claw 20 separates from the work 5c, and the work 5 row moves to the downstream side. At this time, the separation claw 20 and the discharge claw 30 are not engaged with the respective works 5. On the other hand, the setting claw 25 and the positioning claw 35 move forward, the setting claw 25 interrupts between the work 5b and the work 5c, and the front end blocks the movement of the work 5 row in place of the separation claw 20, Hypotenuse 28
Transfers the work 5b downstream. In addition, the positioning claw 35
The oblique side portion 38 of the workpiece 5 is being conveyed by the discharge conveyor 14.
a, and accelerates the conveyance and discharge of the work 5a (see FIG. 10).
reference).

Further, as the setting claw 25 and the positioning claw 35 move forward, the oblique side 28 of the setting claw 25 transfers the work 5b to approach the setting position A, and the oblique side 38 of the positioning claw 35 moves the work 5a. Is extruded to the downstream side to further accelerate the discharge speed (see FIG. 11).

When the setting claw 25 and the positioning claw 35 reach the forward end, the work 5a is further pushed out, separated from the oblique side 38, and conveyed to the downstream side by the discharge conveyor 14. Further, the work 5b is transferred to the setting claw 25 and reaches the setting position A, and at the setting position A, the setting claw 25 is set.
It is sandwiched between the oblique side portion 28, the linear portion 36 of the positioning claw 35, and the guide edge 11 (see FIG. 12). As a result, the work 5b is positioned at the set position A, and the state is maintained until the start of the next positioning / separating process cycle.

The present invention is not limited to the above description and the illustrated examples, and the embodiment can be changed without departing from the technical idea of the present invention. For example, even if the separation claw and the discharge claw, and the setting claw and the positioning claw are provided so as to be able to advance and retreat alternately from one side of the transport guide, the same operational effect is obtained. A linear feeder may be provided instead of the supply / discharge conveyor.

[0038]

As described above, according to the positioning / separating apparatus of the present invention, the separation and the positioning of the works from the work row can be performed simultaneously by the same mechanism. Can be fast.

Further, since the work is forcibly transferred and discharged by the discharge claw and the positioning claw regardless of the conveying speed of the discharge conveyor, the work discharge time can be shortened.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a positioning / separating device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line II-II of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a positioning and separating step of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the next step of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing the next step of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing the next step of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing the next step of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing the next step of FIG.

FIG. 9 is a plan view showing the next step of FIG.

FIG. 10 is a plan view showing the next step of FIG.

11 is a plan view showing the next step of FIG.

FIG. 12 is a plan view showing the next step of FIG. 11.

FIG. 13 is a plan view showing an example of a conventional positioning / separating device.

FIG. 14 is a plan view showing a conventional positioning / separating step.

FIG. 15 is a plan view showing the next step of FIG.

16 is a plan view showing the next step of FIG.

FIG. 17 is a plan view showing the next step of FIG.

FIG. 18 is a plan view showing another conventional positioning device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 5 Work 10 Transfer Guide 20 Separation Claw 25 Setting Claw 30 Discharge Claw 35 Positioning Claw

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A conveyance guide that aligns works in a line and guides them in a horizontal direction, a separation claw that separates the first work on the conveyance guide from other works, and a downstream side of the separation claws. A setting claw for transferring the separated work to a setting position, a discharge claw provided on the downstream side of the setting claw for discharging the work at the setting position to the downstream side, and a discharge claw provided on the downstream side of the discharge claw, A positioning claw that positions and holds the separated work in cooperation with the setting claw and the transport guide at the setting position, and the separation claw and the discharge claw are substantially orthogonal to the work row and interlock with each other. The setting claw and the positioning claw are provided so as to be substantially orthogonal to the work row and capable of advancing and retreating in conjunction with each other, and also capable of advancing and retracting alternately with the advance and retraction of the separation claw and the discharge claw. Positioning / separating device characterized by the following.