JPH091085A - Sorting and supplying apparatus for coil spring - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a sorting and supplying apparatus which can sort and supply coil springs which are completely overlaid and cannot be sorted by the outer diameter difference. CONSTITUTION: Coil springs (m) which are transported from a vibration part feeder 100 are sent one by one to a spring seat 31 for inspection held in a horizontal posture by an individually sending system and the spring seat 31 is set in a vertical posture and then the coil springs (m) are contracted in a prescribed length by a twisting inspection apparatus and the spring force is measured based on the force which a load cell receives. Coil springs (m) which are twisted and have high spring force are excluded and only coil springs (m) which are not twisted and have low spring force are supplied to the next process.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a coil spring selection and supply device, and more particularly to a coil spring which eliminates coil springs which are completely entangled and completely overlaps with each other and supplies only unentangled coil springs to the next step. The present invention relates to a sorting and supplying device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Coil springs tend to get entangled, and usually, after passing through an entanglement disentanglement device, the remaining entangled coil springs are visually inspected to eliminate and entangle the entangled coil springs. The coil spring which is not used is supplied to the next step.

For example, as a conventional example, a "coil spring supply device" according to Japanese Patent Application No. 7-18754 filed by the applicant of the present application will be cited. A entangled coil spring having a slightly larger outer diameter than an unentangled coil spring. There is disclosed a coil spring supply device having a sorting mechanism as shown in FIG. 17 for sorting.

That is, FIG. 17 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the entangled coil spring selection section, in which two parallel troughs are connected to the downstream end of the track 625 in the bowl 621 of the vibrating parts feeder for transferring the coil spring m. Sorting trucks 635a, 6
Sorting gates 631a, 61a provided at the downstream end of 35b
31b shows a cross section of 31b and its peripheral portion as viewed from the upstream side. Since the sorting trucks 635a and 635b are independent and have the same configuration including the attached sorting mechanism and operate in the same manner, the suffix is omitted in the following description. In addition, in FIG. 17, reference numerals with subscripts are attached.

The sorting truck 635 is fixedly arranged in an outer frame 630 attached to the outer periphery of the bowl 621, and a sorting gate 631 is provided at the downstream end thereof. A gate block 634 attached to a piston rod 633 of the air cylinder 632 is moved down to the selection gate 631 and is left at a closed position with a gap left so that an unentangled coil spring m on a selection track 635 having a U-shaped cross section can pass through. Then, the gate block 634 is raised to the open position.

The coil spring m, which is entangled and whose outer diameter is slightly increased, cannot pass below the gate block 634 in the closed position, and the steady transfer of the coil spring m is stopped. A transfer stop detection sensor (not shown) is provided in the vicinity of the downstream side of the sorting gate 631. When the transfer stop is detected, the gate block 634 is detected.
And the air is instantaneously ejected from the compressed air pipe 637 provided in the vicinity of the upstream side of the selection gate 631, and the stopped entangled coil spring m is blown away to the side, 634 is adapted to return to the closed position again.

That is, the unentangled coil spring m passes through the selection gate 631 as it is and is transferred to the downstream side, and the entangled coil spring m is blown sideways by the selection gate 631 and collected on the bottom surface 638 of the outer frame 630. Sorting is done.

However, the coil springs m which are entangled are completely overlapped with each other without any difference in outer diameter. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a single coil spring m to be selected and supplied in the present embodiment, which is manufactured by winding a wire of 0.8 mmφ and having an outer diameter of 1.6 mmφ and a length of 6 mm. 2 is a perspective view of the entangled coil spring m, A of FIG. 2 shows the entangled coil spring m which can be distinguished from the outside diameter, and B of FIG. 2 completely overlaps and distinguishes from the outside diameter. Showing the untangled coil spring m

According to the selection gate 631 of the conventional example, the entangled coil spring m as shown in FIG. 2A having a slightly larger outer diameter than the unentangled coil spring m can be selected, but they are completely overlapped. Therefore, the entangled coil spring m as shown in FIG. 2B having no difference in outer diameter cannot be selected.

[0010]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and eliminates entangled coil springs that are completely overlapped and cannot be selected depending on the size of the outer diameter, and only unentangled coil springs are excluded. It is an object of the present invention to provide a coil spring selection and supply device that can be supplied to the next step.

[0011]

[Means for Solving the Problems] The above object is to store one coil spring of a certain size transferred from the vibrating parts feeder in the coil spring receiver by the individual feeding mechanism,
The spring force for one coil spring is measured, and the entangled coil spring having the spring force larger than a predetermined value is eliminated, and the unentangled coil spring having the spring force at the predetermined value is next detected. The present invention is achieved by a coil spring selection and supply device characterized by supplying to a process.

[0012]

Operation: One coil spring of a certain size housed in the coil spring receiver is compressed from one end and the spring force is measured, but the coil spring in which two coil springs are completely overlapped and entangled is not entangled. Since the spring force of the coil spring is twice that of the coil spring, both can be selected, and only the unentangled coil spring can be supplied to the next step.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A coil spring selecting / supplying device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the overall arrangement of the coil spring sorting apparatus according to the embodiment. The vibrating parts feeder 100 supplies the coil springs m in a single row, and the entanglement inspection unit 200 of the coil springs m. The removing unit 300 removes the entangled coil spring m, the transfer unit 400 that transfers the entangled coil spring m from the rail 11 to the rail 21, and the supply unit 500 on the rail 21. Hereinafter, each part will be described in detail.

FIG. 4 is a partially cutaway side view of the vibrating parts feeder 100, and FIG. 5 is a plan view of the same. The vibrating parts feeder unit 100 includes a torsional vibrating parts feeder 110 equipped with a entanglement and loosening device 141, and a linear vibrating parts feeder 180 for transferring and discharging the coil springs m in a single row.

Referring to FIG. 4, the torsional vibration part feeder 110 comprises a bowl 121 and a drive section 111 for imparting torsional vibration to the bowl 121, and a entanglement and loosening device 141 is combined with the bowl 121. In the drive unit 111, the bowl 1
Movable block 1 that is integrated with the bottom plate of 21 and also functions as a movable core
12 are connected to a lower fixed block 114 by inclined leaf springs 113 arranged at equal angular intervals. Electromagnet 11 having coil 115 wound around fixed block 114
6 is fixed facing the movable block 112 with a slight gap. A soundproof cover 117 is provided around the drive unit 111.
The drive unit 111 is installed on the frame 119 together with the bowl 121 via the anti-vibration rubber 118.
Then, when an alternating current is applied to the coil 115, counterclockwise torsional vibration is applied to the bowl 121, and the coil spring m in the bowl 121 is transferred in the direction indicated by the arrow a with reference to FIG.

The bowl 121 has a bottom surface 1 as shown in FIG.
22 has a large number of coil springs m accommodated therein, and a flat plate-shaped track 123 having an origin at the peripheral edge of the bottom surface 122 is provided in the bowl 12.
Along the inner surface of the peripheral wall 124 of No. 1 is provided so as to rise in a spiral shape. The track 123 is inclined slightly downward toward the outside of the bowl 121, and the coil spring m is transferred in contact with the peripheral wall 124.

The uppermost portion of the circulation, which is the downstream end of the track 123, is a perspective view of the vicinity of the selection notch 125 provided in that portion. Referring also to FIG. 6, the peripheral wall 124 is the downstream end of the track 123. The coil spring m that is not entangled at the location of the downstream end of the peripheral wall 124 that is in contact with the track 123 and the entangled coil spring m that completely overlaps and cannot be externally distinguished from each other pass through and have a large outer diameter. The tangled coil spring m is formed with a selection notch 125 having a height that cannot pass through. Then, the external track 126 is projected from the vicinity of the selection notch 125 to the outside of the diameter of the bowl 121.
Is provided with the communication passage 131 below and the bowl 121.
Is integrally fixed to the outer circumference of. Therefore, the coil spring m which is not entangled passes through the selection notch 125 and is transferred to the external truck 126 and is transferred.
The entangled coil spring m having a large outer diameter that cannot pass through is transferred to the track 123E, which is a lacking portion of the peripheral wall 124 of the track 123, and drops into the lower communication passage 131.

Returning to FIG. 5, the communication passage 131 is enlarged in width by providing a peripheral wall 132 concentrically with the bowl 121 on the downstream side, and the external track 126 is extended as it is, and the communication passage 131 is enlarged in width. Above the 131, it is erected in the air and narrowed to form an alignment track 127,
Further, the coil spring m is a single-row track 128 narrowed to a width that allows the coil spring m to be transferred in a single row, and an excessive coil spring m that cannot ride on the single-row track 128 is provided with a lower communication passage 131.
It is supposed to fall and be collected. The downstream end of the single-row truck 128 is connected to the linear vibration parts feeder 180. Further, a circular opening 133 is formed on the bottom surface of the communication passage 131, and the entangled coil spring m is guided to the entanglement loosening device 141 via the opening 133.

As shown in the partially cutaway view of FIG. 7, the entanglement loosening device 141 is provided with a flange on a cylindrical body 143 in which the introduction elbow 142 whose one end is aligned with the opening 133 formed in the above-mentioned communication passage 131 is horizontally placed. It is connected. Further, a lead-out pipe 144 and a lead-out elbow 145 are provided upward on the discharge side of the cylindrical body 143, and a discharge portion 151 of the coil spring m is integrally welded and attached to a tip end portion of the lead-out elbow 145.

The discharge portion 151 has a diameter larger than that of the lead-out pipe 144 and the lead-out elbow 145, and the net 152, the sponge 153, and the thin plate 154 are attached to the ends by the attaching member 155. Further, an opening 156 is formed at the bottom of the discharge portion 151 so as to face the bottom surface 122 of the bowl 121.

In the cylindrical body 143, an upper half-cylindrical body 143A and a lower half-cylindrical body 143B are joined by a flange portion, and a plurality of rectangular-shaped bodies are formed on the inner wall of the upper half-cylindrical body 143A. The flat plate 161 is fixed at a predetermined pitch as a collided object of the coil spring m in which the flat plate 161 is entwined. Also, the partition wall 16
A transparent peep window 164 that can be opened and closed is provided between 2 and 163.

A compressed air pipe 171 is attached to the outer wall of the bottom surface of the upstream end of the lower semi-cylindrical body 143B, and a jet nozzle 172 thereof is inserted into the semi-cylindrical body 143B, and an opening 172a of the jet nozzle 172 is formed. Is provided so as to eject air in a direction substantially tangential to the circumferential surface of the cylindrical body 143 and slightly inclined in the axial direction of the cylindrical body 143. Further, a compressed air pipe 173 is attached to the outer wall of the bottom surface of the downstream end of the semi-cylindrical body 143B at a position directly below the outlet pipe 144, and is inserted into the semi-cylindrical body 143B. It is designed to blow up to. It should be noted that the cylindrical body 143 is also supported by an L-shaped support plate 147 fixed to the pedestal 119 via a mounting plate 146 mounted vertically to the outer wall of the bottom surface of the cylindrical body 143.

4 and 5, the bowl 121 of the torsional vibration part feeder 110 is provided with a deficiency detector 175 for the coil spring m. The flat plate 1 is placed in the bowl 121 through the arm 177 fixed to the column 176.
78 is attached to the rotating shaft 179, and is set so that the opposite edge of the rotating shaft 179 contacts the bottom surface 122 of the bowl 121. When the coil spring m is sufficiently present, the coil spring m is sandwiched between the flat plate 178 and the bottom surface 122. However, when the coil spring m is not present, the edge of the flat plate 178 comes into contact with the bottom surface 122. A limit switch (not shown) is operated to replenish the coil spring m from a hopper (not shown).

Further, referring to FIG. 5, the vibration trough 191 of the linear vibration parts feeder 180 is connected to the single-row track 128 which is the downstream end of the torsional vibration parts feeder 110. As shown in FIG. 4, the linear vibration parts feeder 180 includes a vibration trough 191 and a drive unit 181 that applies a linear vibration to the vibration trough 191.

In the drive section 181, the vibration trough 19
The movable block 182 attached to the No. 1 via the attachment member 193 is connected to the lower fixed block 184 by a pair of front and rear inclined leaf springs 183. An electromagnet 186 around which a coil 185 is wound is provided on the fixed block 184 so as to face the movable core 187 hung from the movable block 182 with a slight gap. The drive unit 181 is installed together with the vibration trough 191 on a dedicated mount 189 on the mount 119 via a rubber cushion 188. Then, when the coil 185 is energized with an alternating current, the vibration trough 191 is vibrated in the direction indicated by the arrow b, and the coil spring in the vibration trough 191 is transferred in the direction indicated by the arrow c.

The vibrating trough 191 is formed with a U-shaped single-row transfer path 192 having a width that allows the coil spring m to be transferred in a single row in the lengthwise direction and having an open cross section. It is supplied to the entanglement inspection unit 200.

The entanglement inspection unit 200 is connected to the downstream end of the linear vibration parts feeder 180 in the vibration parts feeder unit 100 with reference to FIG. That is, with reference to FIG. 8 which is a partially omitted plan view of the entanglement inspection unit 200 and FIG. 10 which is a partially omitted side view thereof, the entanglement inspection unit 2
00 is the vibration trough 1 of the linear vibration parts feeder 180.
An individual feeding mechanism 210 that is connected to the downstream end of 91 and feeds one coil spring m to an inspection spring bearing 31 described later, and the individual feeding mechanism 210 sandwiching the inspection spring bearing 31. Entanglement inspection device 250 and inspection spring receiver 31
And an air cylinder 281 for pushing up provided immediately below the.

In the individual feeding mechanism 210, referring to FIG. 8, a transfer path 202 having a width of 1.8 mm, through which the coil springs m are transferred in a single row, to the individual feeding stage 201 has an upstream vibration trough 1.
Although not shown in FIG. 10, the first control air cylinder 212 and the first control air cylinder 212 which operate in a direction perpendicular to the transfer path 202 are formed on the same line as the single transfer path 192. The two control air cylinders 222 are installed in parallel. First control air cylinder 21
The tip of the second movable portion 212A and the sharp first control pin 211 attached thereto reciprocate in the groove 203 formed in the individual feeding stage 201, and when moving forward, the coil of the coil spring m in the transfer path 202. It is designed to pierce the gap. This also applies to the second control air cylinder 222, and the tip of the movable portion 222A and the sharp second control pin 221 attached thereto reciprocate in the groove 204 formed in the individual feeding stage 201. . The first
The distance between the control pin 211 and the second control pin 221 is 10 mm in this embodiment. In addition, the individual feeding stage 20
A sensor hole 223 is formed at a position on the opposite side of the first control pin 211 and the second control pin 221 across the first transfer path 202 and corresponding to the upstream side of the second control pin 221. An optical sensor 225 for monitoring the presence / absence of the coil spring m whose transfer is stopped at 221 is inserted in the sensor hole 223.

Although omitted in FIG. 8, FIG.
With reference to FIG.
Air cylinder 2 for individual feed that operates horizontally parallel to 02
32 is provided, and a feed pin air cylinder 233 that operates in the vertical direction is fixed to the movable portion 232A. A sharp feed pin 231 is attached to the lower end of the movable portion 233A of the feed pin air cylinder 233, and when it is lowered, it is pierced into the gap of the coil of the coil spring m on the transfer path 202. That is, the first control pin 211 and the second control pin 221 move forward and backward in a predetermined order, and the first one coil spring m
Is separated from the succeeding coil spring m, and the feed pin 231 serves to send the separated first coil spring m to the inspection spring receiver 31.

One coil spring m from the individual feeding mechanism 210
8 and FIG. 10, the inspection spring receiver 31 is sent to the transfer robot 12 that moves on the rail 11 in the direction perpendicular to the transfer path 202 of the individual feeding stage 201 in the direction indicated by the arrow p. It is loaded. That is, a rotary shaft 15 of a rotary actuator 17 described later is pivotally supported by a horizontal support plate 14 fixed to a vertical support plate 13 on the transfer robot 12, and the inspection spring bearing 31 is integrated with the rotary shaft 15. It is fixed to the arm plate 16. When the inspection spring receiver 31 is in the position shown in FIG.
4a is on the same line as the transfer path 202 of the individual feeding stage 201, and when one coil spring m is accommodated in the spring accommodating hole 34a, the inspection spring receiver 31 is a partially omitted plane corresponding to FIG. Transfer robot 1 to the position shown in FIG.
2, but the spring accommodating hole 34b is moved at that time.
Is on the same line as the transfer path 202 of the individual feeding stage 201.

The coil spring m is fed into the inspection spring bearing 31 in a horizontal posture as shown in FIG. 10, but in the entanglement inspection device 250 as will be described later, As shown in the side view of FIG. 11 and the front view of FIG. 12, the spring force is measured with the inspection spring receiver 31 in the vertical posture. for that reason,
The inspection spring bearing 31 together with the arm plate 16 is changed from the horizontal posture to the vertical posture, and from the vertical posture to the horizontal posture, that is, the arrow r.
The rotary actuator 17 for rotating by 90 degrees is attached to the side opposite to the inspection spring bearing 31 with the lateral support plate 14 interposed therebetween.

The details of the spring support 31 for inspection are shown in FIG. 13. A of FIG. 13 is a plan view thereof, and B of FIG. 13 is FIG.
3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line [B]-[B] at A in FIG.
In the spring holder 31 for inspection, the leg portion of the T-shaped push rod locking member 44 is fixed to the spring bearing main body 32 by the screw 43, and the T-shaped head is bent at a right angle to hold 45. It is said that. The spring receiving body 32 is provided with push-out rod holes 33a and 33b at symmetrical positions, and successively provided with spring accommodating holes 34a and 34b having an inner diameter of 1.8 mmφ. In addition, these a, b
The subscripts with the subscripts are symmetrical and have the same configuration, including the other elements described below, and therefore the subscripts are attached to the drawings, except for the case where distinction is necessary. The subscript is omitted in the description.

An extruding rod 51 having a collar 53 and a tip portion 52 having an outer diameter of 1.8 mmφ is inserted into the pushing rod hole 33 with respect to the spring receiving main body 32, and a part of the tip portion 52 is It is inserted into the spring accommodating hole 34. A return spring 54 is interposed between the spring receiving body 32 and the flange 53 of the pushing rod 51.
Is urged so as to press it toward the locking bend 45 side. Then, in this state, the spring accommodating hole 34 has 1
A vacant space is left in which the coil springs m for each piece are just accommodated.

Further, the spring receiving hole 34 of the spring receiving body 32
A pin groove 35 is formed by notching the upper part of the above, and this is for the feed pin 231 of the individual feeding mechanism 210 to enter. It should be noted that the coil spring m shown by the one-dot chain line
As will be described later, is an exposed portion of the coil spring m that is pushed out when the pushing rod 51 is projected from the left side in FIG.

Further, the sensor hole 3 is provided in the spring receiving body 32.
6 is provided and communicates with the spring accommodating hole 34 by the pore 37 that follows, but the spring accommodating hole 3 is provided in the sensor hole 36.
An optical sensor 38 for monitoring the presence or absence of the coil spring m in 4 is inserted.

The entanglement inspection section 200 is shown in a side view in FIG.
1 and FIG. 12 which is a front view thereof, a push-up air cylinder 281 which operates in the vertical direction is fixedly installed below a test spring receiver 31 to a support plate 283 fixed to a floor plate 9. . Then, the two rods 282 attached to the movable portion 281A are entangled, and the two push rods 51 of the inspection spring bearing 31 that are immediately above during the entanglement inspection.
Is pushed up to a predetermined height, and one end portion of each coil spring m accommodated in the two spring accommodating holes 34 is moved by a predetermined length e as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12. It is designed to be exposed by extrusion. The length e that is extruded and exposed is indicated by a dashed line in FIG.

Further, in the entanglement inspection device 250, an L-shaped mounting member 253 is fixed to a horizontal plate 252 which is integrated with a support 251 standing on the pedestal 8 on the floor plate 9, and the L-shaped mounting member 253 is vertically arranged with respect to this mounting member 253. A working air cylinder 254 for measurement is attached. The measuring rod 256 is attached to the head 255 fixed to the movable portion 254A. With reference to FIG. 12, a load cell 258 for measuring the spring force of one coil spring m is built in the attachment portion 257 of the measuring rod 256 in the head 255, and the lead wire 259 is led to the side. Has been done. That is, when the measuring rod 256 compresses one coil spring m by a predetermined length, the force received by the load cell 258 is taken out as an electric signal via the lead wire 259, and the spring force is measured by a processing device (not shown). It Therefore, the entangled coil spring m exhibits a larger spring force than the unentangled coil spring m.

If the entanglement inspection section 200 determines that one of the coil springs m accommodated in the two spring accommodating holes 34 of the inspection spring bearing 31 is entangled, Referring to FIG. 3, the inspection coil spring receiver 31 loaded on the transfer robot 12 is transferred to the exclusion unit 300 on the rail 11 in a vertical posture. Exclusion section 3
Details of 00 are shown in FIG. 14, A of FIG. 14 is a plan view thereof, and B of FIG. 14 is a side view thereof.

Referring to FIGS. 14A and 14B, in the excluding portion 300, a horizontally operating excluding air cylinder 3 for simultaneously pushing the two pushing rods 51 of the inspection spring bearing 31.
01 is fixedly provided on a support plate 303 on the pedestal 8, and two rods 302 are attached to its movable portion 301A. The coil spring m that is entangled is accommodated in one of the two spring accommodating holes 34, but when the coil spring m that is not entangled is accommodated in the other spring accommodating hole 34, the coil spring m is simultaneously extracted from the two spring accommodating holes 34. However, since the twisting / vibration parts feeder 110 has the entanglement loosening device 141 attached thereto as described above, the entanglement inspection unit 2 remains entangled.
The coil spring m up to 00 has a small absolute amount, and does not deteriorate the selection efficiency. Also, the discharge air cylinder 30
An inclined chute 304 is fixedly provided on a support column 305 standing on the floor plate 9 to receive the coil spring m discharged from the inspection spring bearing 31 by the reference numeral 1.
A spring collection box 306 for collecting the removed coil spring m is installed immediately below the downstream end of the coil 4.

If the entanglement inspection unit 200 determines that none of the coil springs m accommodated in the two spring accommodating holes 34 of the inspection spring bearing 31 is entangled, Referring to FIG. 3, the inspection spring receiver 31 loaded on the transfer robot 12 is transferred to the transfer unit 400 on the rail 11 in a vertical posture. With reference to FIG. 15 which is a side view of the transfer unit 400, the transfer unit 4
Immediately below the inspection spring bearing 31 stopped at 00, a lifting air cylinder 401 that operates in the vertical direction is installed, and a transfer air cylinder 405 that horizontally operates across the rail 11 and the rail 21 above. Is installed.

The push-up air cylinder 401 is attached to a support plate 403 fixed to the floor plate 9, and the two rods 402 of the movable portion 401A of the push-up air cylinder 401 are directly above the two springs 31 of the inspection spring bearing 31. Push rod 51
Is pushed up by a predetermined height to expose the unentangled coil spring m upward by a predetermined length e. In addition, the transfer air cylinder 405 is the support frame 404.
Is attached to the movable part 40 that moves in the horizontal direction.
A chucking air cylinder 406 that operates vertically with respect to 5A is fixed. And the movable part 4
A guide pin 407 and a chuck 408 driven by an air cylinder (not shown) are attached to 06A.
The guide pin 407 is inserted into the axial center portion of the coil spring m that is exposed upward from the inspection spring receiver 31 by a predetermined length e, and the chuck 408 operates so as to grip the coil spring m from both sides.

Further, the rail 21 is provided at a position where the coil spring m is transferred by the transfer air cylinder 405.
The supply spring receiver 61 loaded on the transfer robot 22 moving in the direction indicated by the arrow q is stopped. The supply spring receiver 61 has a different outer shape, but is basically configured in the same manner as the inspection spring receiver 31 described above. That is,
Referring to FIG. 15, which is a vertical cross-sectional view, and a supply unit 50 described later.
A horizontal plate 24 is fixed to a support plate 23 that is erected on the transfer robot 22, and a central portion thereof is used with reference to A of FIG. 16 which is a partially omitted plan view of 0 and B of FIG. 16 which is a partially cutaway side view. The spring bearing body 62 of the supply spring bearing 61 is inserted and attached through the bayer ring 25, and the spring bearing body 62 is rotatable in a horizontal plane. This rotation makes it easier for the robot in the next step to pick up the coil spring m in the supply unit 500 described later. A push rod hole 63 and a spring accommodating hole 64 following the push rod hole 63 are formed in the spring receiving body 62. A seat plate 73 is integrally fixed to the spring receiving main body 62, and a push rod locking member 74 having a locking bend 75 is attached to the seat plate 73.

The two extruding rods 81 have a collar 83 and a small-diameter tip portion 82, and are inserted into the extruding rod hole 63 of the spring receiving main body 62, and a part of the tip portion 82 is in the spring accommodating hole 64.
Has been inserted into. Further, the return spring 8 is provided between the bottom surface of the spring receiving body 62 and the flange 83 of the pushing rod 81.
4 is interposed and urges the collar 83 to be pressed against the locking fold 75. Further, a sensor hole 66 is formed in the spring receiving main body 62, and the sensor hole 66 is communicated with the spring accommodating hole 64 by the fine hole 67 following the sensor hole 66. Then, an optical sensor 68 for monitoring the presence / absence of the coil spring m in the spring accommodating hole 64 is inserted into the sensor hole 66, and the lead wire 69.
Is derived.

Further, a cushioning material 76 is attached to the end surface of the seat plate 73, and the cushioning member 76 on the side of the transfer robot 22.
Is a stopper 2 provided on a support plate 23 on the transfer robot 22.
It is in contact with 8. Furthermore, a spring 38 for suppressing vibration is stretched between the locking member 77 on the lower surface of the seat plate 73 and the locking member 27 on the transport robot 22. In addition, referring to FIG. 3, in supply spring receiver 61 in transfer portion 400, one of cushioning members 76 of seat plate 73 is in contact with stopper 409 provided on floor plate 9.

When the coil spring m is transferred to the supply spring receiver 61 by the transfer air cylinder 405 and the chucking air cylinder 406, the optical sensor 68 detects this, so referring to FIG. The receiver 61 is moved from the transfer unit 400 to the supply unit 5 by the transfer robot 22.
It is transported to 00. 16A is a partially omitted plan view of the supply unit 500 in which the supply spring receiver 61 is stopped, and FIG. 16B is a partially cutaway side view thereof. Referring to FIG. 16B, the L-shaped support member 5 fixed to the pedestal 8 is provided at a position directly below the supply spring receiver 61 that stops at the supply unit 500.
03, a push-up air cylinder 501 is installed, and two rods 502 of the movable portion 501A of the push-up air cylinder 501 are used to push the two push-out rods 81 of the supply spring receiver 61.
Is pushed up to a predetermined height, and the coil spring m is pushed out from the supply spring receiver 61 by a predetermined length e to be exposed. The push-up air cylinder 501 is adapted to operate upon receiving a signal from the robot in the next process. Further, as shown in A of FIG. 16, a cushioning material 76 provided on the end surface of the washer 73 of the supply spring receiver 61 is provided on the floor plate 9.
A stopper 504 that abuts against is set up.

The coil spring selecting and supplying apparatus of the embodiment is constructed as described above, and its operation will be described below.

Referring to FIG. 5, a large number of coil springs m housed in the bowl 121 of the torsional vibration part feeder 110 are subjected to torsional vibration and moved to the peripheral portion of the bottom surface 122 and in the direction indicated by arrow a. Be transferred. Then, on the truck 123 having the starting point on the bottom surface 122, the bowl 1
It is transported in contact with the peripheral wall 124 of 21 and rises spirally to reach the top of the circulation. Referring to FIG. 6, the peripheral wall 124
In the selection notch 125 formed in the portion of the downstream end portion of the disk that contacts the track 123, the unentangled coil spring m and the entangled coil spring m that completely overlaps and cannot be distinguished from the outside diameter pass through as they are. Attached truck 12
6, but the coil spring m having a large outer diameter which is entangled cannot pass through the track 123 in which the peripheral wall 124 is missing.
After falling through the downstream end portion 123E, it falls into the lower communication passage 131 and is sorted.

Returning to FIG. 5, the entangled coil spring m transferred to the external track 126 and the entangled coil spring m which cannot be distinguished from the outside diameter are arranged in the hollow in the alignment track 127. Excessive coil spring m
Is transferred to the lower communication passage 131 while being dropped, and further, the surplus coil spring m remaining in the single-row truck 128 is dropped to the lower communication passage 131, and the coil spring m is made into a single row to form a linear vibration part feeder. 180 is moved to.

The entangled coil spring m having a large outer diameter, which drops into the communication passage 131, drops into the introduction elbow 142 of the entanglement loosening device 141 through the opening 133 on the bottom surface. FIG.
With reference to, the entangled coil spring m is guided to the cylindrical body 143 from the introduction elbow 142. At the upstream end of the cylindrical body 143, the air ejected from the opening 172a of the air ejection nozzle 172 is blown in the circumferential direction and blown in the circumferential direction, and the collision with the plurality of flat plates 161 is repeated to loosen the entanglement. Each is transferred to the downstream side. The entangled coil spring m is blown upward by the jet air from the compressed air pipe 173 at the downstream end of the cylindrical body 143 and reaches the discharge portion 151. Then, it collides with the sponge 153 of the cushioning material through the net 152 and is returned into the bowl 121 of the torsional vibration part feeder 110 through the opening 156 at the bottom.

Returning to FIG. 5, the linear vibration parts feeder 180
The unentangled coil spring m that has been transferred to and the entangled coil spring m that cannot be distinguished from the outside diameter are the vibration trough 191.
The single-column transfer path 192 is transferred to the downstream end as it is and transferred to the individual feeding mechanism 210 of the entanglement inspection unit 200.

Referring to FIG. 8, in the individual feeding stage 201 of the individual feeding mechanism 210, when the second control pin 221 is in the forward position and the first control pin 211 is in the backward position, transfer from the upstream vibration trough 191 is performed. The coil spring m on the moving transfer path 202 stops being transferred to the second control pin 221.
The succeeding coil spring m is pushed from the rear to be in a connected state.
The optical sensor 225 of the individual feeding stage 201 has the second control pin 2
When the coil spring m stopped at 21 is detected, the first control pin 211 is advanced, and the second control pin 221 pierces the coil gap of the next coil spring m following the stopped coil spring m and transfers it. Is stopped. Next, the second control pin 221 is retracted, and the coil spring m _{1 for} one piece (a suffix is added to the one for the individual feeding unit) is separated from the succeeding coil spring m.

Next, referring to FIG. 10, the feed pin 231 is lowered by the feed pin air cylinder 233 and pierces into the gap of the coil of the coil spring m ₁ which is separated as indicated by the alternate long and short dash line. Is operated to move the feed pin 231 in the horizontal direction as shown by the chain double-dashed line, and also referring to FIG. 8, the spring accommodating hole 34a of the inspection spring receiver 31 in the horizontal position on the same line as the transfer path 202 is provided. The coil spring m ₁ is fed into. At this time, the feed pin 231 enters into the pin groove 35 shown in FIG. 13B to feed the coil spring m ₁ to the bottom of the spring accommodating hole 34a. After that, the feed pin 231 is raised and retracted to return to the original position. On the other hand, the optical sensor 22 of the individual feeding stage 201
5 is the coil spring m at the stop position by the second control pin 221.
Of the second control pin 221 is detected.
Is moved forward and the first control pin 211 is moved backward, and one cycle of feeding the coil springs m is completed. Individual feeding mechanism 210
In, the cycle is repeated, and the coil springs m are fed one by one.

When the optical sensor 38a monitoring the spring accommodating hole 34a of the inspection spring bearing 31 detects the coil spring m ₁ , the movement of the feed pin 231 is stopped and the inspection spring bearing 31 is moved to the transfer robot 12 by the transfer robot 12. 8 is moved from the position of FIG. 8 to the position of FIG. 9, the movement of the feed pin 231 is restarted, one coil spring m _{2 of the} next individual feed cycle is fed into the spring accommodating hole 34b, and the feed pin 231 is fed. Returns to its original position. When the optical sensor 34b monitoring the spring accommodating hole 34b detects the coil spring m ₂ , the feed pin 23
1 is stopped and the inspection spring bearing 31 is shown in FIG.
And is rotated by the rotary actuator 17 from the horizontal posture shown in FIG. 10 to the vertical posture shown in FIG.

The entanglement inspection by the entanglement inspection apparatus 250 is as follows.
With reference to FIG. 11 and FIG. 12, the two rods 282 attached to the movable portion 281A of the lifting air cylinder 281 are lifted to a predetermined height with respect to the inspection spring bearing 31 in the vertical posture. The push-out rod 51 of the inspection spring receiver 31 is pushed up to a predetermined height, and the two spring accommodating holes 3
The coil springs m ₁ and m ₂ in 4 are pushed out by a predetermined length e. Then, from above, the measurement air cylinder 254
The movable portion 254A of the measuring rod 256 is lowered to a predetermined position and is suspended from the head 255 which is integral with the movable portion 254A.
After compressing the coil springs m ₁ and m ₂ pushed out from the spring accommodating hole 34 of the inspection spring bearing 31 by a predetermined length,
The measuring rod 256 returns to the original position. Further, the rod 282 of the pushing-up air cylinder 281 is also returned, and the pushing rod 51 of the inspection spring receiver 31 is also returned to its original position by the return spring 54. Measuring rod 25 when compressed
The force received by the load cell 258 incorporated in the mounting portion 257 of No. 6 is taken out by the lead wire 259 as an electric signal, and the spring force is measured by a processing device (not shown). Depending on the magnitude of the spring force, the two spring receiving holes 34
It is determined whether each of the coil springs m ₁ and m ₂ housed in ₁ is entangled or not entangled.

The coil spring m by the entanglement inspection device 250.
_When it is determined that any _{one of 1} and m ₂ is entangled, the inspection spring receiver 31 is conveyed to the excluding unit 300 on the rail 11 by the conveyance robot 12 in the vertical posture. With reference to FIG. 14, the inspection spring bearing 31 that has reached the excluding unit 300.
Is made horizontal by the rotary actuator 17. Next, the movable portion 301A of the exclusion air cylinder 301
The two rods 30 that are activated and attached to it
2 simultaneously pushes the push-out rod 51 of the inspection spring receiver 31, so that the coil springs m ₁ , m from the two spring accommodating holes 34.
₂ is discharged. The discharged coil springs m ₁ and m ₂ are collected in the spring collection box 306 via the inclined chute 304.

Movable part 301 of the exclusion air cylinder 301
When A returns to the original position, the pushing rod 51 of the inspection spring receiver 31 is returned to the original position by the return spring 54. Then, the inspection spring receiver 31 is conveyed to the position of the entanglement inspection unit 200 shown in FIG. 8 by the conveyance robot 12 in the horizontal posture, and the next coil spring m to the spring accommodating hole 34.
Acceptance of ₃ , m ₄ begins.

When it is determined by the entanglement inspection device 250 that neither of the coil springs m ₁ and m _{2 in} the _two spring accommodating holes 34 is entangled, the inspection spring receiver 31 remains on the rail 11 in the vertical posture. Is transferred to the transfer unit 400 by the transfer robot 12. With reference to FIG. 15, the inspection spring receiver 31 that has reached the transfer unit 400 has two movable parts 401A of the lower lifting air cylinder 401 because the movable part 401A is raised to a predetermined height together with the two rods 402. The pushing rod 51 of is protruded by a predetermined length, and the coil spring m
₁ and m ₂ are extruded by a predetermined length e.

At the same time, by the chucking air cylinder 406 fixed to the movable portion 405A of the transfer air cylinder 405 shown by the dashed line above, the movable portion 406 is moved.
The two guide pins 407 and the two chucks 408 fixed to A are lowered, the guide pins 407 are inserted into the coil springs m ₁ and m ₂ , respectively, and the chuck 408 is closed to close the coil springs m ₁ and m _2. Grasp the extruded and exposed part of from both sides and pull out upward. On the other hand, the lifting air cylinder 401 lowers the movable portion 401A. In the spring support 31 for inspection, the push rod 51 returns to its original position,
Moreover, the optical sensor 38 of the inspection spring receiver 31 is a coil spring m.
_Since it is detected that ₁ and m ₂ are pulled out, the inspection spring bearing 31 is returned to the position of the entanglement inspection unit 200 in FIG. At the same time, the rotary actuator 17 rotates it horizontally, and the coil springs m ₃ and m ₄ for the next cycle are received in the two spring accommodating holes 34.

When the chuck 408 of the chucking air cylinder 406 picks up the coil springs m ₁ and m ₂ , the movable portion 405A of the transfer air cylinder 405 moves to the rail 2
1 is moved to the upper position, and is stopped immediately above the supply spring receiver 61 which is previously stopped downward. With reference also to FIG. 16A, two guide pins 407 and two chucks 408 are lowered together with the movable portion 406A of the chucking air cylinder 406, and the chucks 408 are opened to guide the coil springs m ₁ and m ₂ respectively. It falls along the pin 407 and is accommodated in the two spring accommodating holes 64 of the supply spring receiver 61. After that, chucking air cylinder 4
The movable portion 406A of 06 is pulled up, and the movable portion 405A of the transfer air cylinder 405 is returned to the position above the rail 11.

When it is detected that the coil springs m ₁ and m ₂ are accommodated in the _two spring accommodating holes 64 by the optical sensor 68 of the supply spring receiver 61, the supply spring receiver 61 is railed by the transfer robot 22. 21 is conveyed from the transfer unit 400 to the supply unit 500. Referring to FIG. 16, supply spring receiver 61 contacts stopper 504 and stops.
Upon receiving a signal from the robot in the next step, the movable portion 501A of the lifting air cylinder 501 is raised to a predetermined height, and the two rods 502 attached to this move the pushing rod 81 of the supply spring receiver 61 to a predetermined value. The coil springs m ₁ and m ₂ in the spring accommodating hole 64 are pushed up by a predetermined length e, and stand by for the robot pick-up in the next step.

The coil spring m is used by the robot in the next step.
Air cylinder 501 for pushing up when ₁ and m ₂ are pulled out
The rod 503 is moved down, and the pushing rod 81 of the supply spring receiver 61 is returned to its original position by the return spring 84. The optical sensor 68 of the supply spring receiver 61 detects that the coil springs m ₁ and m ₂ have been pulled out.
The upper part is returned to the transfer part 400, and the cushioning material 76 of the seat plate 73 of the supply spring receiver 61 comes into contact with the stopper 409 to stop and waits for the next transfer.

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications can be made based on the technical idea of the present invention.

For example, in this embodiment, the spring accommodating holes 34 and 64 are provided in the inspection spring receiver 31 and the supply spring receiver 61, respectively, for holding the coil spring m during the entanglement inspection of the coil spring m and during transportation. However, it may be held by other methods. For example, it is possible to hold the coil spring m by providing a holding pin, covering the coil spring m, and covering the coil spring m.

Further, in the present embodiment, the two spring accommodating holes 34 are provided in the inspection spring receiver 31, and the spring force is measured simultaneously for the _two coil springs m ₁ and m _2. Of course, this measurement may be performed one by one, or three or more may be performed simultaneously.

Further, in the present embodiment, as a method for measuring the spring force, a method of obtaining the force required to compress one coil spring m by a predetermined length is adopted. The spring force may be obtained from the deformation amount of the coil spring m when the coil spring m is compressed or stretched.

In this embodiment, the spring force is measured in the vertical posture of the coil spring m, but it may be measured in other postures, for example, in the horizontal posture.

[0068]

As described above, according to the coil spring selection and supply device of the present invention, since the selection is performed by the magnitude of the spring force, the coils are completely overlapped and cannot be excluded by the selection due to the difference in outer diameter. Be sure to remove the entangled coil springs,
Only the unentangled coil spring can be supplied to the next step.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a coil spring selectively supplied in an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a entangled coil spring, in which A shows an outer diameter sortable one, and B shows an outer diameter sortable outer diameter sortable one.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the arrangement of the entire coil spring selection and supply device according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a partially cutaway side view of a vibrating parts feeder portion.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the same.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the vicinity of a selection notch in the torsional vibration parts feeder.

FIG. 7 is a partially cutaway side view of the entanglement loosening device in the torsional vibration parts feeder.

FIG. 8 is a partially omitted plan view of the entanglement inspection unit.

9 is a partially omitted plan view of the entanglement inspection unit in which the inspection spring bearing is moved from the position of FIG.

FIG. 10 is a partially omitted side view of the entanglement inspection unit.

FIG. 11 is a side view of the entanglement inspection device.

FIG. 12 is a front view of the same.

13A and 13B show an inspection spring bearing, A of FIG. 13 is a plan view thereof, and B of FIG. 13 is [B]-[B] in A of FIG.
It is sectional drawing of a line direction.

FIG. 14 shows an excluding unit, FIG. 14A is a plan view thereof, and FIG. 14B is a side view thereof.

FIG. 15 is a side view of a transfer unit.

16A and 16B show a supply unit, FIG. 16A is a partially omitted plan view thereof, and FIG. 16B is a partially cutaway side view thereof.

FIG. 17 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a tangled coil spring selection unit in a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 rail 12 transfer robot 17 rotary actuator 21 rail 22 transfer robot 31 inspection spring bearing 34 spring accommodating hole 38 optical sensor 44 push rod locking member 51 push rod 53 flange 54 return spring 61 supply spring bear 81 push rod 100 vibration Parts feeder unit 110 Torsional vibration parts feeder 180 Linear vibration parts feeder 191 Vibration trough 200 Entanglement inspection unit 201 Feeding stage 202 Transfer path 210 Feeding mechanism 211 First control pin 212 First control air cylinder 221 Second control pin 222 Second Control air cylinder 225 Optical sensor 231 Feed pin 232 Feed air cylinder 233 Feed pin air cylinder 250 Entanglement inspection device 254 Measuring air cylinder 255 Head 256 Measuring rod 258 Load cell 281 Push-up air cylinder 300 Exclusion part 301 Exclusion air cylinder 304 Tilt chute 306 Spring collection box 400 Transfer part 401 Push-up air cylinder 405 Transfer air cylinder 406 Chucking air cylinder 407 Guide pin 408 Chuck 500 Supply part 501 press Lifting air cylinder

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A constant size coil spring transferred from a vibrating parts feeder is housed in a coil spring receiver by an individual feeding mechanism, the spring force of the coil spring is measured, and the spring force is measured. A coil spring selection and supply device, characterized in that entangled coil springs having a value greater than a predetermined value are excluded, and unentangled coil springs having the spring force at the predetermined value are supplied to the next step. 2. The coil spring sorting and supplying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the spring force is measured by measuring a force required to compress one coil spring by a predetermined length. 3. The control pin of the upstream side and the downstream side of the control pin, wherein the individual feeding mechanism operates substantially orthogonal to the transfer path of the coil spring and is provided at a predetermined interval on the upstream side and the downstream side. Between the upstream side and the downstream side control pin, the feed pin operates in a direction substantially orthogonal to the transfer path from a direction different from that of the downstream side control pin, and operates in the transfer direction of the coil spring. The coil spring is separated from the following coil spring by operating in the order of
The coil spring sorting and supplying device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the feed pin feeds the separated one coil spring into the coil spring receiver. 4. The coil spring receiver is the coil spring 1.
The hole is formed as a bottomed hole having an outer diameter slightly larger than the outer diameter of one piece, and the spring force is measured in a state where one coil spring is fed and one end side thereof is exposed. The coil spring selection and supply device according to claim 3. 5. A notch for allowing the feed pin to enter the inside of the coil spring receiver when the feed pin feeds one coil spring into the coil spring receiver, and a cutout is formed from an opening end surface of the coil spring receiver to a bottom surface. 5. The coil spring selection and supply device according to claim 4, wherein the selection and supply device is formed to have a predetermined length toward the front. 6. The feeding of one coil spring into the coil spring receiver is performed by horizontally moving the one coil spring, and the measurement of the spring force is performed with the one coil spring being vertical. The coil spring selection and supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, which is performed. 7. The coil spring according to claim 1, wherein the measurement of the spring force is performed simultaneously for each of the coil springs in the coil spring receiver arranged in a plurality of rows. Sorting and feeding device.