JPH0750105Y2 - Ball feeder - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial field of application] The present invention relates to a ball supply device for supplying a ball to a ball hole formed in a work, and particularly to a ball supply device for automatically supplying a ball to a running work. Regarding

[Conventional technology]

As shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, when the check ball 3 is put into the ball hole 2 provided in the valve body 1, conventionally, the ball 3 is manually inserted into the ball hole 2.
Or as shown in FIG. 15, the insertion hole 4 is fitted to the outer circumference of the valve body 1 and aligned with the ball hole 2.
The ball 3 was put into the ball hole 2 by using the jig 5 in which the mark was formed.

Alternatively, as described in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 59-12532, a pipe that slidably penetrates through the bottom of a container that contains balls all together is provided, and the pipe is moved up and down to take out the balls. A proposal is known in which a ball is supplied to a ball hole of a work.

Further, as a proposal of this kind, as described in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 61-141039, a jig having a positioning pin for positioning a moving work is attached to the lower end of the upper leg piece in a floating state. A proposal is also known in which the jig is attracted by a magnet to be freely centered.

[Problems to be solved by the device]

However, among the proposals by the above publications, the former can automatically supply the ball to the ball hole of the work by reducing the generation of vibration and noise, but regarding the automatic supply of the ball to the work traveling on the conveyor. Was not considered.

Therefore, unlike the assembling work of the valve body, the ball supplying work cannot be performed simultaneously with other assembling works on the assembling conveyor that moves at a constant speed.

Further, if the size and material of the check balls are different, it is not possible to confirm whether or not the predetermined check balls have been reliably supplied to the predetermined position, and there is a problem that erroneous insertion occurs. Further, when the check ball supply position differs depending on the type of valve body, it is not easy to change the setup of the device, and it is impossible to prevent an error in the supply position.

The latter of the above publications relates to a positioning device for a moving work, and does not consider means for supplying a ball to a ball hole of the work.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is possible to supply a ball to a ball hole of a moving workpiece automatically and reliably while preventing incorrect insertion, and it is possible to reduce the number of working steps. An object is to provide a ball supply device.

[Means for Solving the Problems]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention is a ball supply device for automatically supplying a ball to a ball hole formed in a moving work, which comprises a support member supported by a rail so as to be movable back and forth and left and right. The lower part is provided with a ball supply means for supplying the ball to the ball hole, a positioning means for positioning the ball supply means with respect to the work, and a detection means for detecting the ball supplied to the ball hole. A ball supply device is provided, and the movement of the work on the work conveying conveyor is detected by the detection means equipped in the ball supply device, and the signal is used to move the ball supply device in synchronization with the movement of the work. It is characterized by being configured in.

[Action]

According to the above configuration, for example, by mounting the work table on which the work is placed and moving on the conveyor and the positioning member provided on the support member movably supported on the rail, the work table is provided on the same support member. The ball supply means moves together with the work in a state where the positions of the formed ball supply means and the ball holes formed in the work match. Therefore, the balls can be reliably supplied to the ball holes of the work while the work is moving.

Further, it is possible to determine whether or not the ball has been normally supplied to the ball hole of the work by the detection means provided on the support member.

〔Example〕

An embodiment of a ball supply device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

1 to 3 show a first embodiment of the present invention. A conveyor 6 that moves in the direction of arrow A is provided on the floor surface, and a work table 7 is placed on the conveyor 6. A work 9 is fixed to the work table 7 by two pins 8, and a positioning hole 11 into which a pilot bar 10 described later is fitted is formed on the outer side of the work 9 of the work table 7.

On the other hand, the upper part of the conveyor 6 is parallel to the conveyor 1
A pair of rails 12 are provided, and a first support member 14 is suspended on the rails 12 via a plurality of wheels 13 so that the first support member 14 can travel freely. A motor 15 is fixed to the first support member 14, and a pulley 16 fixed to the rotation shaft of the motor 15 is in contact with the lower surface of the third rail 17. The rotation of the motor 15 allows the first support member 14 to be guided by the rails 12 and run. Below the first support member 14, a pair of guide bars 18 are provided at right angles to the rails 12, and a second support member 19 is slidably supported by these guide bars 18. ing.

In addition, the second support member 19 is the pair of guide bars 18
The first fixed to the first support member 14 in the middle of
The cylinder 20 drives the rail 12 in a direction perpendicular to the rail 12.

A bracket 19a is fixed to the lower end of the second support member 19, and a pair of guide rod receivers 21 and a second cylinder 22 are fixed to the bracket 19a. A ball supply device 24 is fixed to the lower end of the cylinder rod 23 of the second cylinder 22.
A pair of guide rods 25 provided on the upper part of the above are slidably guided by the guide rod receivers 21.

The ball supply device 24 is constructed as shown in FIG. That is, the pair of upper and lower mounting plates 26 and 27 are four columns 28.
The upper mounting plate 26 is fixed to the lower end of the cylinder rod 23 of the second cylinder 22.

In addition, the lower mounting plate 27 has a pushing guide 29 for feeding balls.
And a pair of pilot bars 10 are fixed, and a detection plate 30 is mounted on the column 28 so as to be slidable in the vertical direction in parallel with the mounting plates 26, 27. And push guide 29
A parts feeder 32, which stores the balls, is connected via a hose 31 to the parts feeder 32.
The compressed air is sent to the pushing guide 29 through the hose 31 by being driven, and is supplied to the ball hole 9a formed in the work 9 on the work table 7.

The detection plate 30 is provided with a third cylinder 33, and the upper end of the cylinder rod 34 of the third cylinder 33 is connected to the lower surface of the upper mounting plate 26. A detection rod 36 is vertically slidably mounted on the detection plate 30 via a guide 35, and the lower end of the detection rod 36 is inserted into the pushing guide 29. Further, a pair of dogs 37, 38 are attached to the upper portion of the detection rod 36, and a pair of proximity switches 39, 40 are mounted on the detection plate 30 so as to face the dogs 37, 38 with a bracket 41. Is attached through. Further, a handle switch 44 for driving the second cylinder 22 is mounted on the lower mounting plate 27 via brackets 42, 43, respectively.
And a handle switch 45 for driving the parts feeder 32.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.

The work 9 is fixed on the work table 7 with pins 8 and moves on the conveyor 6 in the direction of arrow A shown in FIG. The original position of the ball supply device 24 should not disturb the operator,
As shown by P in FIG. 4, the conveyor 6 is on the opposite side of the worker 46.

When the work 9 approaches, it is detected by a detection means (not shown), and the first cylinder 20 is actuated by this detection signal to move the ball supply device 24 to the position Q in FIG. It will be in the state of waiting for. After that, the ball supply device 24 is guided by the rail 12 and moves corresponding to the movement of the work until the operation of one cycle is completed. When the work 9 has passed the point Q, the worker 46 operates the handle switch 44 to drive the second cylinder 22 and lower the ball supply device 24. Then, the pilot bar 10 is fitted into the positioning hole 11 of the work table 7, and when completely fitted, the handle switch 45 is operated to force-feed the ball from the parts feeder 32 as shown in FIG. 31 and pushing guide
It is supplied to the ball hole 9a of the work 9 via 29. During this time, the ball supply device 24 is moving in the direction of arrow A together with the work table 7. When the handle switch 45 has been operated, the worker 46 can leave the device to perform other work, and the device automatically moves.

After the balls are supplied to the ball holes 9a of the work 9, the third cylinder 33 operates and the detection plate 30 descends. And detection rod
When 36 is inserted into the pushing guide 29 and the lower end of the detection rod 36 comes into contact with the ball 47 in the ball hole 9a of the work 9 as shown in FIG. 6, the detection plate 30 descends by a predetermined stroke. However, the detection rod 36 remains at a fixed position. Therefore dog
By setting 37, 38 and proximity switches 39, 40 to proper positions, if one ball 47 shown in Fig. 6 (a) is contained, the ball shown in Fig. 6 (b) is inserted. If not, it is possible to separately detect the case where two balls 47 shown in FIG. In the example shown in FIG. 6, both proximity switches 39 and 40 are OFF in FIG.
(B) is OFF and ON respectively, and (c) is O respectively.
N, OFF. The detection result can be displayed by a lamp or a buzzer to know the incorrect insertion.

After this determination is completed, the second cylinder 22 and the third cylinder 33 are operated to raise the detection plate 30 and the ball supply device 24, respectively, and further the first cylinder 20 is operated to operate as shown in FIG. As shown in the drawing, the R position is retracted to the S position, the motor 15 is moved in the direction of arrow B, the motor is returned to the original position, and one cycle is completed.

This device can supply any number of balls,
Further, it is possible to supply a predetermined ball to a predetermined position by providing the part feeder 32 for each size of the ball 47 and each kind of material.

According to the present embodiment, since the ball supply device 24 also moves integrally with the movement of the work 9, the ball 47 can be automatically supplied to the ball hole 9a of the work 9 simultaneously with other assembling work. A single worker can perform many assembly works within a predetermined cycle time. Also a ball hole
Since the ball 47 supplied to the 9a is detected by the detection rod 36 each time, erroneous insertion can be detected.

FIG. 7 shows a second embodiment of the present invention.

In this embodiment, two sets of ball supply devices 24 are provided on the second support member 19.
Is provided. This embodiment is used when two kinds of works 9 are alternately flowing on the conveyor 6. The operation is the same as that of the first embodiment, except that the operator lowers the supply device 24 and repeats the operation of the handlebar switches 44 and 45 for supplying the ball twice. It is also possible to operate the left and right supply devices 24 in the same manner by operating one of the two handle switches 44 and 45 to operate one handle.

A third embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 8, 9 and 10. In this embodiment, the lower mounting plate 27 is provided with a cylinder 48, and the pushing guide 29, the detection rod 36 and the dog 3 are provided by the cylinder 48.
7, 38 are integrally slid in the direction of arrow C-C, and the position where the balls are supplied differs depending on the work 9 and is used when there are two types.

11 and 12 show a fourth embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the pushing guide 29 and the detection rod in the third embodiment are used.
Instead of changing the positions of 36 and dogs 37, 38, the pilot bar 10 is slid in the direction of arrow DD by the cylinder 49.

When the parts feeder 32 is provided for each type of ball in the first embodiment, it is also possible to stop the driving of the ball pressure feed by each parts feeder 32 by an external type instruction signal.

[Effect of device]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention, the ball supply device is moved in synchronization with the movement of the work, and the detection rod is used to confirm whether or not the ball is correctly inserted into the ball hole of the work. Therefore, it becomes possible to insert the ball in the middle of the transportation of the work placed on the moving conveyor, and the worker can perform other work during that time. Therefore, while performing other assembling work, the ball can be automatically supplied to the ball hole at the same time, and erroneous insertion of the ball can be detected.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side view of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is an enlarged front view showing the ball feeding device of FIG. 1, and FIGS. FIG. 6 is a plan view and a front view showing the operation of this embodiment, FIG. 7 is a front view showing the second embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 8, 9 and 10 are respectively the first and second views of the present invention. 3 is a front view, a side view and an XX arrow view, FIG. 11 and FIG. 12 are a front view and a plan view, respectively, showing a fourth embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. The drawings are a plan view and a vertical sectional view showing a conventional ball supply method. 9 ... Work, 9a ... Ball hole, 10 ... Pilot bar, 12 ... Rail, 14,19 ... Supporting member, 24 ... Ball feeding device, 36 ... Detection rod.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Creator Kajiura Tateo Toyota Town, Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture 1 (1) Toyota Motor Corporation (56) Bibliography Sho 63-127839 (JP, U) JP 62- 22739 (JP, B2)

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A ball supply device for automatically supplying a ball to a ball hole formed in a moving work, wherein the ball is provided below a support member movably supported by a rail so as to be movable back and forth and left and right. A ball supply device provided with a ball supply means for supplying the ball hole, a positioning means for positioning the ball supply means with respect to the work, and a detection means for detecting the ball supplied to the ball hole, Further, the detecting means provided in the ball supply device detects the movement of the work on the work conveying conveyor, and the signal is used to move the ball supply device in synchronization with the movement of the work. Ball feeder.