JPH0829833B2 - Tray feeding / discharging device - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a tray feeding / discharging device in an automatic assembly machine that picks up a work in a tray and assembles it.

<Outline of the Invention> The present invention has a structure in which a tray feeding / discharging device is linearly arranged in the order of a pickup stage, a tray stacking unit, and an empty tray stacking unit, and other feeding devices and auxiliary work are provided around the pickup stage. Made it possible to place units. In addition, the tray is stored in the upper row and the empty tray whose pickup is completed is stored in the lower row.
The trays are supplied and discharged by the tray elevator, the horizontally moving U-shaped tray transfer arm, and the empty tray transfer claws attached to the tray transfer arm. It can be performed by three operations of discharging, lowering the tray elevator, and supplying trays, which shortens the time for supplying and discharging trays and simplifies the structure.

<< Prior Art >> Conventionally, trays have been supplied and discharged by a tray supply / discharge device as shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. The trays in which the works are stored are stacked on the left side, and in the center, the pickup stage 1 where the works are picked up, and on the right side, empty trays that have been picked up and are empty are stacked. The tray at the bottom of the tray stacking unit is taken out by the tray take-out unit 15 and placed on the transport rail 8. After the pickup of the work in the tray on the pickup stage 1 is completed, the tray under the work tray stacking unit 2 and the empty tray on the pickup stage 1 are simultaneously moved by the tray transfer arm 10 attached to the tray transfer cylinder 9. The tray is transported to the position of the pickup stage 1, and the empty tray is transported to the position of the empty tray stacking unit 3. After that, pickup of the work in the tray is started. The conveyed empty trays are stacked on the empty tray stacking unit 3 by the empty tray stacking cylinder 12. An illumination 14 is installed below the pickup stage 1 so that the image processing apparatus can recognize the work.

Further, conventionally, a tray feeding / discharging device as shown in FIG. 7 has also been used. The pickup stage 1 is located on the left side, the trays are stacked in the center, and the empty trays are stacked on the right side. The tray at the bottom of the tray stacking unit 2 is taken out by the tray take-out unit 15 and placed on the transport rail 8. After the pickup is completed, the pickup stage 1 is lowered by the pickup stage up-and-down cylinder 16, and the empty tray after the pickup is conveyed to the empty tray stacking unit 3 by the empty tray conveying belt 17 driven by the motor. Empty tray
After being discharged by the pickup stage 1, the pickup stage 17 moves up. After that, the tray below the tray stacking unit 2 is conveyed onto the pickup stage 1 by the cylinder, and the pickup is started. The empty trays conveyed to the empty tray stacking unit 3 are stacked on the empty tray stacking unit 3 by the empty tray stacking cylinder 12.

<< Problems to be Solved by the Invention >> In the tray feeding / discharging device of FIGS. 5 and 6, the pickup stage is located at the center of the tray stacking section and the empty tray stacking section. Therefore, when this tray feeding / discharging device is used in combination with a conveyor, the conveyor can be arranged only in parallel with the transport direction of the tray. If the tray feeding / discharging device is arranged at a right angle to the conveyor, the conveyor interferes with the tray stacking section or the empty tray stacking section. In addition, it becomes difficult to replenish the trays and collect empty trays. When the tray feeding / discharging device is arranged in parallel with the conveyor, it is impossible to dispose another feeding device or auxiliary work unit around the pickup stage because of the tray stacking part and the empty tray stacking part. When the robot is used to pick up the work in the tray on the pickup stage, the movable area of the robot becomes small due to the empty tray stacking unit and the tray stacking unit.

Therefore, a tray feeding / discharging device as shown in FIG. 7 has been considered. Since the position of the pickup stage is located at the left end portion of the tray feeding / discharging device, the conveyor can be arranged at right angles to the tray conveying direction. As a result, it is possible to arrange other material supply devices and auxiliary work units around the pickup stage, and the robot can be effectively used. However, in the tray feeding / discharging device of FIG. 7, the mechanism is complicated, a large number of drive sources are required to supply and discharge the tray, and it is expensive. Further, as the operations for supplying and discharging the tray, four operations of lowering the pickup stage, discharging the empty tray, raising the pickup stage, and supplying the tray are required, and it takes a long time to supply and discharge the tray.

Therefore, according to the present invention, the pickup stage, the tray stacking unit, and the empty tray can be arranged in the same manner as the tray feeding / discharging device shown in FIG. 7 so that other feeding devices and auxiliary work units can be arranged around the pickup stage. The trays are arranged linearly in the order of the stacking parts. The purpose is to obtain a tray feeding / discharging device that is simpler in structure and cheaper than the tray feeding / discharging device in FIG. 7, and that has a short tray supply / discharge time. I am trying.

<Means for Solving Problems> In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a tray feeding / discharging device, a pickup stage, a tray stacking unit,
The empty tray stacking section is arranged linearly in this order,
It is located at the bottom of the tray stacking unit, moves vertically, has a two-tiered tray storage unit, has a tray elevator in the upper stage and a tray elevator that stores empty trays in the lower stage, and has a U-shaped arm that moves horizontally. The tray transfer arm and the empty tray discharge tab attached to the tray transfer arm are used to supply and discharge the tray.

<< Operation >> In the tray feeding / discharging device 2 configured as described above, it is possible to dispose another feeding device or an auxiliary work unit around the pickup stage. When the tray is supplied and discharged, the empty tray on the pickup stage is moved to the lower stage of the tray elevator by the tray transfer arm, and the empty tray on the lower stage of the tray is moved to the empty tray stacking section by the empty tray discharge tab attached to the tray transfer arm.
Carry at the same time. The tray elevator moves down. The tray stored in the upper part of the tray elevator is transferred to the pickup stage by the tray transfer arm. This is three operations, and it is possible to shorten the tray supply / discharge time. This simplifies the structure of the tray feeding / discharging device, which leads to cost reduction and reliability improvement of the device.

<< Example >> Below, it demonstrates using drawing of this invention. Figure 1,
2 and 3, the pickup stage 1, the tray stacking unit 2, and the empty tray stacking unit 3 are linearly arranged with the pickup stage 1 as an end.
Therefore, it is possible to arrange other material supply devices and auxiliary work units around the pickup stage 1. The tray has a shape as shown in FIG. 4, and steps for separation are provided on both sides. The work is stored in the tray.

The tray elevator 4 which is located under the work tray stacking unit and has two stages is lifted by the elevator vertical motor 5 to lift all the stacked trays so that the tray shutter 6 is separated from the tray. After that, the shutter is opened and closed by the cylinder 7, and the tray shutter 6 is opened.
, The tray elevator 4 is lowered by the elevator vertical motor 5 for one tray, and the tray shutter 6 is closed. After that, the lower part of the tray elevator 4 lowers the tray elevator 4 to a position where it becomes the height of the transport rail 8 and stands by. By the above operation, the lowermost tray of the tray stacking unit 2 is moved to the tray elevator 4
Can be stored in the upper part of.

When the pickup of the work in the tray on the pickup stage 1 is completed, the empty empty tray is moved by the tray transfer arm 10 attached to the tray transfer cylinder 9.
The tray elevator 4 is conveyed to the lower stage. After that, until the upper stage of the tray elevator 4 reaches the height of the transport rail 8,
The tray elevator 4 is lowered. Tray transfer arm 10
Has a U-shape, and the tray is stored in the tray transfer arm 10, and the tray transfer cylinder 9 moves the tray transfer arm 10 to pick up the tray.
Transport to. After that, pickup of the work in the tray is started.

While picking up, the lowermost tray of the tray stacking unit 2 is housed in the upper stage of the tray elevator 4 by the same operation as described above. When the pickup is completed again, the empty tray that has become empty on the pickup stage is conveyed to the lower stage of the tray elevator by the tray transfer arm 10, but at the same time, the empty tray discharge pawl 11 attached to the tray transfer arm 10 causes the tray elevator to move. 4 The empty tray stored in the lower stage is conveyed to the empty tray stacking unit 3. After that, the empty trays transported are
The empty tray stacking cylinder 12 opens the empty tray shutter 13 to stack the empty tray stacking unit 3.
After that, the same operation is repeated.

The operations during tray supply / discharge are three operations of tray discharge, tray elevator 4 lowering, and tray supply, and the tray supply / discharge time is shortened. Since the tray transfer arm 10 is U-shaped and is located outside the tray, the illumination 14 can be installed below the pickup stage 1, and the image processing apparatus can recognize the work in the tray. Has become.

<< Effects of the Invention >> As described above, the present invention has a configuration in which the tray feeding / discharging device is linearly arranged in the order of the pickup stage, the tray stacking unit, and the empty tray stacking unit, and the other parts are provided around the pickup stage. It is possible to arrange a material supply device and an auxiliary work unit. In addition, the tray is stored in the upper part and the empty tray whose pickup has been completed is stored in the lower part. The tray elevator has two stages that move up and down, the tray transfer arm that moves horizontally and the tray transfer. By supplying and discharging the tray with the empty tray discharge claw attached to the arm, the tray can be supplied and discharged in three operations: tray discharge, tray elevator lowering, and tray supply. Has been shortened. As a result, the structure of the tray feeding / discharging device is simplified, and the cost of the device can be reduced and the reliability can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a tray feeding / discharging device according to the present invention,
FIG. 2 is a front view of the same, and FIG. 3 is a side view of the same. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the tray. FIG. 5 is a plan view of a conventional tray feeding / discharging device, and FIG. 6 is a front view of the same. FIG. 7 is a front view of another conventional tray feeding / discharging device. 1 …… Pickup stage 2 …… Tray stacking section 3 …… Empty tray stacking section 4 …… Tray elevator 10 …… Tray transfer arm 11 …… Empty tray ejection tab

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A tray feeding / discharging device in an automatic assembling machine for picking up and assembling a work from a tray storing a work to be assembled.
A pickup stage for picking up the work, a tray stacking unit for storing the trays, an empty tray stacking unit for storing the empty trays, and a two-stage tray storage located under the tray stacking unit. A tray elevator that has a portion on the upper surface and moves up and down, a tray transfer arm that horizontally moves between the pickup stage and the tray stacking unit, and an empty tray attached to the tray transfer arm, the empty tray stacking unit. A tray feeding / discharging device, comprising: an empty tray discharge tray for transporting to an empty tray, and the pickup stage, the tray stacking section, and the empty tray stacking section are arranged in this order.