JPH07125815A - Automatic container supply device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To automatically supply a container housing a part necessary for work to an operator. CONSTITUTION:The container housing parts 17 having multistage housing shelves are arranged in plural rows on a board, and are formed so as to move integrally. An automatic container supply device is formed so that a container transferring-loading device 26 capable of the vertical movement and an advance and a retreat freely by a moving mechanism and a container receiving part 20 having a rack capable of the vertical movement freely by a raising and lowering mechanism are arranged in positions sandwiching these container housing parts 17 between them. Thereby, since a part necessary for work arrives always at hand of an operator, work time is shortened, and forgetfullness to assemble the part is also eliminated. Since a container placed on a container rack is always moved to a specific height, the part can be easily taken out of the container even if the operator does not stoop down or does not stretch himself.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic container feeder for automatically supplying a required container to a predetermined position.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when assembling an apparatus having a large number of parts in a high-mix low-volume production, many kinds of parts are required. These parts are sorted into containers by containers and placed at predetermined positions. Workers go to get it and assemble it.

[0003]

When assembling a device having a large number of parts in a high-mix low-volume production as described above, if a screw is required, for example, an operator goes up to the container of the screw to obtain the desired screw. As described above, if there is a necessary part, the operator repeatedly goes to the container in the parts storage place to pick up the parts each time, and the round trip time between the parts storage place and the work place, etc. Spending wasted time. In addition, when the production model is changed many times a day, it is necessary to search for the part corresponding to the model, and it takes time to search for the part, Nevertheless, there is a problem in that the parts are mistaken and the work is considerably delayed due to this, and there is a strong demand for solving these problems.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above problems and to provide an automatic container feeder for automatically supplying a container containing a component necessary for work to a worker. In order to achieve this object, a plurality of rows of container storage units having a plurality of storage shelves are provided on the substrate and are configured to move integrally. Then, at a position sandwiching this container storage part, a container transfer device that can be moved up and down and forward and backward by a moving mechanism, and a container receiving part equipped with a rack that can be moved up and down by an elevating mechanism are installed. Has been done.

[0005]

In the above automatic container feeder, when the container storage unit moves and the desired row is located between the container transfer unit and the container receiving unit, the container transfer unit and the container receiving unit move up and down. Then, it moves to a position where the desired storage rack is sandwiched. Then, the container transfer section moves forward to push out the desired container from the storage shelf and transfer it to the rack of the container receiving section. In this state, the rack moves up and down, moves to a certain height, and then stops. After the worker takes out the component from the container, the rack returns to the position where the container is received, and the container is pulled back to the storage rack by the operation of the container transfer section.

[0006]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. 1 to 3, reference numeral 1 denotes an automatic container feeder, which includes a substrate 2 having a substantially elliptical shape. Two rotary shafts 3, 3 are rotatably provided on the long axis of the substrate 2, and disk-shaped sprockets 4, 4 are provided near the upper and lower ends of the rotary shafts 3, 3, respectively. Is inserted and fixed. A transmission gear 5 which is concentric with the sprocket 4 and has a smaller diameter than the sprocket 4 is inserted and fixed on the upper surface of the sprocket 4 on the upper end side of the one rotating shaft 3.

Hollow rectangular parallelepiped struts 6 and 6 are erected between the rotating shafts 3 and 3, and one side of the stanchion 6 has a side surface.
A servo motor 7 is attached, and a sprocket shaft 8 having sprocket 8a fixed at both ends is connected to the motor shaft of the servo motor 7. The same sprocket shaft 8 is also provided on the substrate 2 vertically below the sprocket shaft 8.
Is rotatably attached to the lower sprocket shaft 8
An endless chain 9 is wound between the upper sprocket shaft 8 and the upper sprocket shaft 8 to form a moving mechanism for activating a container transfer device 26 described later, and the container transfer device 26 can be vertically moved on the endless chain 9. Is attached to. The container transfer device 26 has a rectangular mounting plate 10, to which a pushing cylinder 11 is connected. The rod 11a of this pushing cylinder 11
An electromagnet 12 is attached to the tip end of the container 18 so that the container 18 described later can be pushed out and pulled back.

An upper surface frame 13 is installed on the upper surface of the pillar 6 so as to intersect the pillar 6 at a right angle. The upper end surface of the rotary shaft 3 is rotatably supported at both ends of the upper frame 13, and the servo motor 1 is provided on the upper surface.
4 is attached. A pinion gear 15 is fixed to the motor shaft of the servomotor 14, and the pinion gear 15 is engaged with the transmission gear 5.

An endless chain 16 is wound between the sprockets 4 and 4 of the rotary shaft 3, and 22 container storage parts 17 are connected to the endless chain 16 at equal intervals. The container storage section 17 has six-stage storage shelves 17a, and a container 18 is stored in each of the storage shelves 17a. Four cam followers 17b are attached to the bottom surface of the container storage portion 17, and the guide rails 2a laid in a substantially elliptical shape on the upper surface of the substrate 2 are sandwiched between the container storage portion 17 and the guide rail 2a.
Is configured to move along the guide rail 2a. In addition, a guide roller 19 is attached to the lower surface of the container storage unit 17 so as to support the weight of the container storage unit 17 when the container storage unit 17 moves and to move the container storage unit 17 smoothly. There is. Further, an iron plate 18a is attached to the rear surface of all the containers 18 in the container storage section 17.

On the other hand, a rectangular protrusion 2 is formed on the substrate 2.
b is formed, and the container receiving portion 20 is located on the upper surface of the protruding portion 2b. This container receiving section 20
Has four columns 20a standing on the protrusion 2b, and an upper surface table 20b is fixed to the upper ends of the columns 20a. A servo motor 21 is installed on the upper surface table 20b, and a sprocket 21a is fixed to the motor shaft of the servo motor 21. A drive sprocket shaft 22 having sprocket 22a attached to both ends and a position corresponding to the sprocket 21a of the servo motor 21 is rotatably attached at a position adjacent to the servo motor 21 in the horizontal direction. Further, a driven sprocket shaft 23 having sprockets 23a attached at both ends is rotatably disposed on the substrate 2 vertically below the drive sprocket shaft 22.
And an endless chain 24 are connected to form an elevating mechanism that moves a rack 25 described later. The endless chain 24 is wound around sprockets 22a and 23a at both ends of drive and driven sprocket shafts 22 and 23, and a container rack 25 that is vertically movable along the pillar 20a is connected to the endless chain 24. There is. The container rack 25 has a box shape, and a rotatable roller 25a is attached to the bottom of the container rack 25 along the bottom.

Next, the operation of the embodiment will be described. In the automatic container feeder 1, when the servomotor 14 is driven, its rotational force is transmitted from the pinion gear 15 to the transmission gear 5, and is transmitted to the sprocket 4 via the rotary shaft 3. As the upper and lower sprockets 4 and 4 rotate, the endless chain 16 is driven and the endless chain 16
The container storage section 17 connected to starts moving along the guide rail 2a. The driving of the servomotor 14 is temporarily stopped when the container storage unit 17 in which the necessary container 18 is stored reaches behind the container receiving unit 20.

When the servo motor 14 is stopped, the servo motor 7 is driven, the pushing cylinder 11 is moved to the rear of the container 18 in which the necessary parts are stored, and at the same time, the servo motor 21 is also driven, and the container rack 25 is stored in the necessary parts. The container 18 is moved to the front. In this state,
As shown in FIG. 4, the pushing cylinder 11 extends to push the container 18 to the front of the container storage unit 17,
8 is transferred to the container rack 25. Container rack 2
When the container 18 is transferred to 5, the servo motor 21 is driven to move the container rack 25 to a certain height. At this time, the height of the container rack 25 is about the waist of the worker, and is set so that the worker can take out the parts without bending or stretching.

After the operator takes out the parts from the container 18, the container rack 25 is driven by the servo motor 21 to move to the position where the container 18 is taken out and stop.
When the container rack 25 arrives, the pushing cylinder 1 is pushed again.
1 extends to bring the electromagnet 12 at the tip of the rod 11a into contact with the iron plate 18a on the rear surface of the container 18, and
Electricity is applied to 2 to adsorb the container 18. In this state, as the air is discharged from the pushing cylinder 11, the container 18 is stored in the original storage shelf 17a of the container storage unit 17, and at the time when the container 18 is stored in the container storage unit 17, the electromagnet is stored. The power supply to 12 is stopped and the container 18 is opened.

After that, when the container 18 required for the next work is in the same container storage unit 17, the pushing cylinder 11 and the container rack 25 repeat the above operation to take out the container 18, but the necessary container 1
If there is not 8, the servo motor 14 is driven to move the container storage unit 17 to move the necessary container storage unit 17 to a position sandwiched between the container receiving unit 20 and the pushing cylinder 11, and then the above-described operation is performed. The container 18 is taken out by. In this way, since the parts required for assembly are sequentially supplied to the worker according to the work procedure, it is possible to efficiently assemble a machine or the like having a particularly large number of parts.

In this embodiment, the electromagnet 12 is provided at the tip of the push-out cylinder 11 as a means for pulling the container 18 into the storage rack 17a. However, the invention is not limited to this. However, the same effect is obtained, and the same effect can be obtained by using a hooking means such as a hook. Further, the pushing cylinder 11 and the container rack 25 are driven by separate servo motors 7 and 21, but not limited to this, the pushing cylinder 11 and the container rack 25 are integrally moved up and down by using one servo motor. The same effect can be obtained even with the above configuration.

[0016]

As described above, according to the present invention, a plurality of container storage sections having a plurality of storage shelves are provided on a substrate and are configured to move integrally. Then, at a position sandwiching this container storage part, a container transfer device that can be moved up and down and forward and backward by a moving mechanism, and a container receiving part equipped with a rack that can be moved up and down by an elevating mechanism are installed. It is an automatic container feeder. With this automatic container feeder, the parts required for the work at that time are always in the hands of the worker, so the worker does not have to go to the storage place of the parts each time to get the necessary parts, and the work time is shortened. As soon as it is done, you will not forget to assemble the parts. Further, the container placed on the container rack always moves to a certain height, and the operator can easily take out the parts from the container without bending or stretching the container, so that the work can be performed easily. Such a unique effect can be obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an automatic container feeder according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the automatic container feeder according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the main part taken along the line AA of FIG.

FIG. 4 is an operation explanatory diagram.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Container Automatic Supply Device 2 Substrate 2a Guide Rail 2b Projection 3 Rotating Shaft 4 Sprocket 5 Transmission Gear 6 Strut 7 Servo Motor 8 Sprocket Shaft 8a Sprocket 9 Endless Chain 10 Mounting Plate 11 Extrusion Cylinder 11a Rod 12 Electromagnet 13 Top Frame 14 Servo Motor 15 Pinion Gear 16 Endless Chain 17 Container Storage 17a Storage Shelf 17b Cam Follower 18 Container 19 Guide Roller 20 Container Receiving 20a Strut 20b Top Table 21 Servo Motor 21a Sprocket 22 Drive Sprocket Shaft 22a Sprocket 23 Driven Sprocket Shaft 25 Container End Sprocket 23 Rack 25a Roller 26 Container transfer device

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of rows of container storage units 17 having a plurality of storage shelves are provided on a substrate so as to move integrally, and a vertical movement and a forward / backward movement are performed by a moving mechanism at positions sandwiching the container storage units 17. An automatic container feeder, which is provided with a container transfer device 26 that can be freely moved and a container receiving portion 20 that is provided with a rack that can be vertically moved by an elevating mechanism.