JPH1059536A - Work conveyance mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To minimize damage to a work by relaxing impact force even if the work hits the feed pawl of a feed piece. SOLUTION: This work conveyance mechanism is provided with the first movable board 3 on which a feed piece 2 and an L-shaped block 4 are fixed, which is disposed in parallel to the feed piece 2 and in whose side surface facing the feed piece 2a magnet 5 is buried, a main block 13 disposed facing the first movable board 3 with a clearance put between, the second movable board 11 which is fixed onto a spacer 18 vertically-formed on a surface facing the L-shaped block 4 of the main block 13 and includes a bone-shaped plate 9 disposed coming into close contact with a magnet buried surface of the L- shaped block 4, and a soft limit mechanism whose main block 13 and L-shaped block 4 are fitted loosely to fix its one end onto the bone-shaped plate 9 and includes a supporting shaft 7 with a coil spring 17 wound between the main block 13 and the L-shaped block 4, and is constituted so that the impact force caused by collision of feed pawls 2a with the work 53 according to forward and backward operations of the feed piece 2 may be attracted in the attracting force of the magnet 5 and the coil spring 17.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic inspection apparatus for inspecting symbols such as characters printed on the surface of a component such as a quartz oscillator sent as a work from a parts feeder in a moving direction of the work. The present invention relates to a work transport mechanism that transports a work by a feed piece that performs a feed-back operation and moves forward and backward in a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the work.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, various types of management data such as a serial number, a part number, and a project number are printed on the surface of various types of parts constituting an electronic device. Printing these management data is extremely important data in production management and quality control. Therefore, conventionally, these management data are identified by a visual recognition device that can be identified visually or automatically.

As shown in FIG. 7, a work 53 (FIG. 8) sent from a parts feeder 52 in which parts are stored is composed of characters printed on the surface thereof. Is transported to the transport path 54 of the inspection station in order to identify

[0004] The work 53 is the transport path 5 of the inspection station.
As shown in FIG. 8, when the start point of the workpiece 4 is reached, the feed piece 55 having a comb-like tip moves forward in a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the workpiece 53, and the workpiece is located between the feed claws 55a. 53 is inserted. Next, the feed piece 55 moves in the traveling direction by the width of the feed claw 55a, then retreats, and then returns by the feed claw 55a. In this way, the feed piece 55 performs a substantially rectangular motion, and holds the workpieces 53 one by one between the feed claws 55a and conveys them one after another.

While the work 53 is being conveyed along the traveling path 54, characters printed on the surface of the work 53 are imaged by a camera (not shown), displayed on a TV monitor 56, and displayed on a TV monitor 56. Is subjected to an image recognition process to determine a non-defective / defective product, and is conveyed to a traveling path 57 in the next inspection stage.

As described above, each work 53 is accurately inserted between the feed claws 55a and 55a of the feed piece 55 by the feed return operation and the forward / retreat operation of the feed piece 55, and is conveyed. However, if the work 53 is shifted and transported for some reason, as shown in FIG.
When the feed piece 55 moves forward, the work 53
5a and is damaged by the impact force.

In order to reduce the impact, a limit mechanism 58 is provided as shown in FIG. In the limit mechanism 58, a feed piece 55 is fixed to one end, and a block 61 having a hole 60 with which the movable tip 59a of the plunger 59 is engaged is fixed to the other end. The movable plate 62 is disposed to face the first movable plate 62 with a fixed interval 65 therebetween.
And a driving mechanism (not shown) constituted by a second movable plate 64 to which an L-shaped block 63 for supporting the movable member 9 is fixed.
As a result, it moves forward and backward in the direction of the work 53.

[0008] With this configuration, when the work 53 is accurately conveyed along the carrying path 54 as shown in FIG. And is accurately fitted between the feed claw 55a and transported.

However, when the work 53 is conveyed while being shifted, the feed claw 55a of the feed piece 55 collides with the work 53 as shown in FIG. Due to this impact force, the movable tip 59a of the plunger 59 retracts, and the first movable plate 62 moves in the direction of the second movable plate 64, whereby
The impact force between the feed claw 55a of the feed piece 55 and the work 53 is reduced.

[0010]

However, since the first movable plate 62 and the second movable plate 64 are engaged by the plunger 59, the force by which the plunger 59 presses the first movable plate 62 is small. The plunger 59 did not operate unless a strong and considerable impact force was applied. Therefore, the workpiece 53 and the feed claw 5 are moved with an impact force enough to operate the plunger 59.
5a collides with the work 5a.
3 is damaged, and the function as the limit mechanism 58 cannot be sufficiently performed.

The present invention has been made in order to eliminate the above-mentioned conventional problems, and has a soft limit mechanism capable of sufficiently reducing the impact force between the workpiece 53 and the feed claw 55a of the feed piece 55. The present invention is to provide a work transport mechanism provided with the above.

Further, the present invention provides a work transport mechanism capable of correcting the displacement of the work 53 to some extent and minimizing the damage of the work 53 by the feed piece 55.

[0013]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, a work to be conveyed along a traveling path is moved back and forth in the traveling direction of the work, and moved forward and backward in a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the work. In a work transport mechanism for transporting a workpiece while holding it on a feed claw, a feed piece and an L-shaped magnet which is arranged in parallel with the feed piece and has a magnet embedded on a side surface facing the feed piece.
A first movable plate to which a shaped block is fixed, a main block disposed to face the first movable plate with a gap therebetween, and a main block disposed to face the L-shaped block; and a main block facing the L-shaped block of the main block. A second movable plate having a bone-shaped plate fixed to a spacer erected on the surface to be fixed and placed in close contact with the magnet-embedding surface of the L-shaped block, and a bone-shaped plate formed by loosely fitting the main block and the L-shaped block. And a soft limit mechanism that has a support shaft with a coil spring wound between the main block and the L-shaped block. It is designed to absorb the force of the magnet and the coil spring.

Further, according to the present invention, a movable plate opposed to the back of the main block is supported by extending a support shaft, and a coil spring is wound between the L-shaped block of the support shaft and the movable plate. The impact force due to the collision between the workpiece and the feed claw of the feed piece is absorbed by a coil spring. Further, in the present invention, soft limit mechanisms are provided at both ends of the feed piece. .

Further, according to the present invention, a sensor is arranged on a second movable plate, and a detector for detecting a minimum width of a gap between the first movable plate and the second movable plate is opposed to the sensor by the first sensor. The work is stopped when the sensor detects the detector.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
This will be described in detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a main part of a soft limit mechanism 19, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a main part of a work transfer unit 1, FIG. 3 is a side view of the work limiter 19 in FIG. FIG. 4 is a plan view of a main part of the work transfer unit 1, and FIGS. 5 and 6 are explanatory diagrams for explaining the operation of the soft limit mechanism 19. The same components as those of the conventional example are denoted by the same names and the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.

In FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, reference numeral 1 denotes a work transfer section, and a work 53 is fitted between the feed claws 2a of the feed piece 2 and sequentially transferred to the inspection station along a transport path 54. Is done. Reference numeral 3 denotes a first movable plate. The feeder piece 2 is fixed to one end of the carriageway 54, and the L-shaped block 4 is fixed to the other end.

A magnet 5 is buried in the surface of the L-shaped block 4 facing the feed piece 2. Furthermore, L-shaped block 4
The support shaft 7 around which a coil spring 17 described later is wound
A hole 8 (FIG. 4) through which the hole is loosely fitted is provided. Reference numeral 9 denotes a bone-shaped plate which is in close contact with the L-shaped block 4 in a state of being attracted to the magnet 5 and has a screw hole 10 for screwing one end of the penetrating shaft 7 therethrough.

Reference numeral 11 denotes a second movable plate, which is opposed to the first movable plate with a gap 12 interposed therebetween, and a main block 13 opposed to the L-shaped block 4 is fixed. The main block 13 is provided with a hole 14 in which the support shaft 7 is loosely fitted with the coil spring 17 wound around the hole 8 at a position facing the hole 8 of the L-shaped block 4. 15 is a movable plate,
A hole 16 through which the support shaft 7 penetrates is provided. The coil spring 17 is wound around the support shaft 7, and both ends thereof are held between the back surface of the L-shaped block 4 and the front surface of the movable plate 15. Reference numeral 18 denotes a spacer, which protrudes from the main block 13 and regulates the gap 12 between the first movable plate 3 and the second movable plate 11 so as to be constant.

Therefore, one end of the support shaft 7 is fixedly screwed to the bone-shaped plate 9, passes through the hole 8 of the L-shaped block 4 and the hole 14 of the main block 13, and the other end is connected to the movable plate 15. L-shaped block 4 with butterfly
A coil spring 17 is wound from the rear surface of the movable plate 15 to the front surface of the movable plate 15. The movable plate 15
Is not always necessary, in this case, the coil spring 1
The elasticity of 7 is adjusted appropriately.

The elasticity of the coil spring 17 is set relatively weak so that the workpiece 53 is not damaged when the feed piece 2 collides with the workpiece 53. For this reason, the contact surface between the L-shaped block 74 and the bone-shaped block 9 is separated by the inertia when the soft limit mechanism 19 moves forward and backward in the directions of arrows A and B shown in FIG. Work 53 in between
May not be transported correctly. In order to solve such a problem, the L-shaped block 4 and the bone-shaped block 9 are closely adhered by the magnet 5.

In this embodiment, the coil spring 17 has a shape integrally connected from the rear surface of the L-shaped block 4 to the front surface of the movable plate 15.
Even when the coil spring 17a is wound around the support shaft 7 only between the main block 13 and the L-shaped block 4, the same operation and effect can be obtained.

Accordingly, the soft limit mechanism 19 comprises a first movable plate 3 to which the feed piece 2 and the L-shaped block 4 for supporting the bone-shaped plate 9 attracted and held by the buried magnet 5 are fixed. A second movable plate 11, which is disposed opposite to one movable plate 3 with a gap 12 interposed therebetween and has a main block 13 disposed opposite to the L-shaped block 4 fixed thereto, and the main block 13 and the L-shaped block 4 The support shaft 7 is loosely fitted, and has a support shaft 7 having a coil spring 17 wound between the main block 13 and the L-shaped block 4 and having one end fixed to the bone plate 9. In this embodiment, the soft limit mechanisms 19 are provided at both ends of the feed piece 2 (see FIG. 2). However, they may be provided at one place. It is arranged at a substantially central part.

A sensor 20 is fixed to the second movable plate 11. Reference numeral 21 denotes a detector, which is a sensing area 2 of the sensor 20.
Oa is fixed to the first movable plate 3 with a predetermined gap therebetween. When the gap 12 between the first movable plate 3 and the second movable plate 11 becomes smaller than a specified width due to the impact force caused by the collision between the feed claw 2a of the feed piece 2 and the work 53, the tip of the detector 21 21a enters the sensing area 20a of the sensor 20, and the sensor 2
0 is configured to detect this and stop the operation of the entire work transfer unit 1.

Reference numeral 22 denotes a motor, which is a power source for the entire work transfer section 1. Reference numeral 23 denotes a clutch / brake, which transmits rotation and stop of the motor 22 via a belt 24.
Reference numeral 25 denotes a cam shaft. A horizontal groove cam 26 for moving the feed piece 2 back and forth in the traveling direction of the work 53 and a vertical groove cam 27 for moving forward and backward in a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the work 53 are supported by the shaft. .

On the cam shaft 25, a belt 32 is mounted on a pulley 30 fixed to one end and a pulley 31 fixed to a shaft 23a of the clutch / brake 23, and the rotation of the motor 22 is transmitted. Further, the rotation of the cam shaft 25 is controlled by the rotation of the belt 33, the pair of pulleys 34 and 35, and the belt 36.
Is transmitted to the pulley 38 of the shutter cam mechanism 37 via the.

The end of the follower 39 which comes into direct contact with the lateral groove cam 26 is, as shown in FIG.
Fixed to 1. The first movable plate 3 and the second movable plate 11 are integrally mounted on the base 40 so as to be able to be moved back and forth. It is configured to perform a retreat operation.

Reference numeral 42 denotes a forward / backward movement transmitting mechanism. The follower 43 of the vertical groove cam 27 is fixed to a rail 44 fixed to the second movable plate 11, and the forward / backward movement of the vertical groove cam 27 is performed in the first direction. 2 to the movable plate 11.

Accordingly, when the motor 22 is driven, its rotation is transmitted to the clutch / brake 23 via the belt 24, and this rotation is transmitted to the cam shaft 25 via the belt 32. When the cam shaft 25 rotates, the forward / backward movement caused by the rotation of the vertical groove cam 27 is transmitted to the second movable plate 11 via the contact 43 of the forward / backward movement transmission mechanism 42, and further via the soft limit mechanism 19. The feed piece 2 is transmitted to the first movable plate 3 so that the feed piece 2 moves forward and backward.

The lateral groove cam 26 caused by the rotation of the cam shaft 25
The feed-back operation due to the rotation of
The first movable plate 3 and the second movable plate 1 placed on the base 40 are transmitted to the base 40 via the support columns 41.
1 and 1 perform a return operation integrally. Therefore, by this, the sending piece 2 performs the sending back operation. At this time, the forward / backward movement transmitting mechanism 42 is at a fixed position,
The rail 44 is configured to move by an integrated feed-back operation of the movable plate 3 and the second movable plate 11.

The shutter cam mechanism 37 includes a shutter 45 (FIGS. 2 and 4) that closes the traveling path 54 until the work 53 supplied from the parts feeder 52 is sent to the starting point of the traveling path 54. , A work detection sensor 46 for detecting that the work 53 has been sent to the shutter 45
And a shutter cam 47 that opens and closes a shutter 45 via a gear train. When the work detecting sensor 46 detects the work 53, the rotation of the motor 22, which is connected to the clutch 23 and constantly rotates, is stopped. Communicated,
The entire work transfer section 1 is configured to start operation.

As shown in FIG. 2, reference numeral 48 denotes a camera for picking up a character printed on the surface of the work 53, and reference numeral 49 denotes a traveling path height adjustment mechanism for manually adjusting the height of the traveling path 54. It is.

As shown in FIG. 4, the feed piece 2
The part a is formed of a synthetic resin member such as MC nylon, polycarbonate, epoxy resin, polyacetal resin, and the other part is formed of a metal member such as SK4 material. Further, the feed claw 2a in the traveling direction of the workpiece 53
Is formed in a structure inclined in the traveling direction.
Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the work 53 fitted between the feed claws 2a and the feed claws 2a from being damaged by contact with the wall surface of the feed claws 2a while the work is being conveyed by the feed piece 2.

Next, the operation will be described. When the work 53 supplied from the parts feeder 52 reaches the shutter 45, the work 53 is detected by the detection sensor 46. Then, the clutch 23 is connected, and the rotation of the motor 22 is transmitted to the camshaft 25 via the belt 24, the clutch / brake 23, and the belt 32, thereby rotating the camshaft 25 and further rotating the camshaft 25.
3, the shaft 3 of the shutter cam mechanism 37 via the belt 36
7a and transmitted to the shutter cam 47 via a gear train.
Is rotated, the shutter 45 closing the entrance of the traveling path 54 is opened, and the work 53 is carried into the traveling path 54 by the feed piece 2.

At this time, since the cam shaft 25 is rotating at the same time, the vertical groove cam 27 rotates and the forward / backward movement transmitting mechanism 4
The forward and backward movement is transmitted from the second movable plate 11 to the first movable plate 3 via the soft limit mechanism 19 via the second movable plate 2, and the feed piece 2 performs the forward and backward movement. Therefore, work 5
At the same time as the workpiece 3 is carried into the traveling path 54, as shown by the arrow A in FIG.
Are inserted between the feed claws 2a.

Also, the lateral groove cam 2
6 rotates, first, the feed operation by this rotation is performed from the follower 39 of the lateral groove cam 26 to the base 40 via the support column 41.
Is transmitted to the first movable plate 3 and the second movable plate 11 placed on the base 40, and the feed piece 2 is sent in the direction shown by the arrow B. At this time, the second movable plate 11 also moves in the feed direction together with the base 40, but the rail 44 fixed to the second movable plate 11 also moves together with the second movable plate 11, and the forward and backward operation is performed. The transmission mechanism 42 does not perform the return operation.

In this way, the work 53 is moved to
When the frames have been fed, the feed piece 2 is retracted by the vertical groove cam 27 as shown by the arrow C, and then returns by the horizontal groove cam 26 as shown by the arrow D. When the cycle is completed, the shutter mechanism 37 operates, and the transport path 54 is temporarily closed by the shutter 45.

In this way, the work 53 is successively conveyed by the feeder piece 2, and the characters printed on the surface of the work 53 are successively imaged by the camera 48 arranged in the middle of the traveling path 54, and the image is displayed. Recognition processing is performed to determine good / defective products.

In this way, as shown in FIG. 5, when the work 53 is accurately carried in between the feed claws 2a of the feed piece 2 and the feed claws 2a, as described above, The work 53 is conveyed one after another accurately by the feed piece 2.

However, when the work 53 is displaced, the feed claw 2a collides with the work 53 due to the forward movement of the feed piece 2 as shown in FIG. Then, the L-shaped block 4 retreats (in the direction of the second movable plate 11) against the elasticity of the coil spring 17 due to the impact force, and the first movable plate 3
In the direction of the movable plate 11. Therefore, the L-shaped block 4
Is separated from the bone plate 9. Bad work 5
When 3 is removed, the first movable plate 3 returns to its original position due to the elasticity of the coil spring 17, and the bone plate 9 is attracted to the magnet 5 again. By such a series of operations, the impact force due to the collision between the work 53 and the feed claw 2a is reduced.

In the normal operation, when the gap 12 between the first movable plate 3 and the second movable plate 11 becomes narrow due to the collision between the work 53 and the feed claw 2a, the tip 21a of the detector 21 is detected by the sensor 20. Then, the operation of the entire work transfer section 1 stops.

Further, since the wall surface of the feed pawl 2a of the feed piece 2 in the work traveling direction is inclined in the traveling direction of the work 53, if the work 53 is slightly displaced, the displacement is corrected. Then, it is fitted between the feed claws 2a of the feed piece 2 and the feed claws 2a.

[0043]

According to the present invention, a work to be conveyed along a traveling path is fed back to a feed piece of a feed piece which moves back and forth in the direction of travel of the work and moves forward and backward in a direction perpendicular to the direction of travel of the work. In a work transport mechanism for holding and transporting a workpiece, a first movable plate fixed with a feeder and an L-shaped block disposed in parallel to the feeder and having a magnet embedded on a side surface facing the feeder; The L-shaped block is fixed to a main block which is arranged to face the first movable plate with a gap therebetween, and which is arranged to face the L-shaped block, and a spacer which is provided upright on a surface of the main block opposed to the L-shaped block. A second movable plate having a bone-shaped plate disposed in close contact with the magnet burying surface, a main block and an L-shaped block are loosely fitted to each other, and one end is fixed to the bone-shaped plate; A soft-limit mechanism having a support shaft wound with a coil spring between the form blocks,
The impact force caused by the collision between the feed claw and the workpiece due to the forward / backward movement of the feed piece is absorbed by the attraction force of the magnet and the coil spring. The force is reduced, and damage to the work can be minimized.

Further, according to the present invention, a spacer for regulating the gap between the first movable plate and the second movable plate is provided between the main block and the bone-shaped plate. A sensor is arranged on the second movable plate at the corresponding position, and a detector for detecting the minimum width of the gap between the first movable plate and the second movable plate is placed on the first movable plate facing the sensor. When the sensor detects the detector, the transfer of the work is stopped, so that the apparatus can be operated safely.

Further, according to the present invention, since the wall of the feed pawl of the feed piece in the traveling direction of the work is inclined in the traveling direction of the work, it is possible to correct a slight displacement of the work.

Further, in the present invention, since the feed claw portion of the feed piece is formed of a synthetic resin member, the work is not damaged by the feed-back operation of the feed piece.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a main part of a soft limit mechanism 19 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2, showing an embodiment of the present invention, is a perspective view of a main part of a work transfer mechanism.

3 shows the embodiment of the present invention, and is a side view of a main part of FIG. 2 viewed from a work advancing direction.

FIG. 4 shows an embodiment of the present invention and is a plan view of a main part of a work transfer unit 1;

FIG. 5 shows an embodiment of the present invention and is an explanatory diagram for explaining the operation of the soft limit mechanism 19.

FIG. 6 illustrates an embodiment of the present invention, and is an explanatory diagram for explaining an operation of a soft limit mechanism 19.

FIG. 7 is a front view of the work transfer device.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an operation of a conventional limit mechanism 58;

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an operation of a conventional limit mechanism 58.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Work conveyance part 2 Sending piece 2a Feeding claw of sending piece 2 3 First movable plate 4 L-shaped block 5 Magnet 7 Support shaft 9 Bone plate 11 Second movable plate 12 Gap 13 Main block 15 Movable plate 17 Coil spring 18 Spacer 19 Soft limit mechanism 20 Sensor 21 Detector 53 Work 54 Runway

Claims (4)

[Claims] A work to be conveyed along a traveling path is held back by a feed claw of a feed piece which moves back and forth in the traveling direction of the work and moves forward and backward in a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the work. In a work transfer mechanism for transferring, a first movable plate fixed with the feeder and an L-shaped block arranged in parallel with the feeder and having a magnet embedded on a side surface facing the feeder; The L-shaped block is fixed to a main block opposed to the L-shaped block and a spacer provided on a surface of the main block opposed to the L-shaped block. A second movable plate having a bone-shaped plate disposed in close contact with the magnet-embedding surface of the block, the main block and the L-shaped block being loosely fitted to each other, and one end fixed to the bone-shaped plate; A soft limit mechanism having a support shaft with a coil spring wound between the main block and the L-shaped block, wherein an impact force caused by a collision between the feed claw and the workpiece due to the forward / backward movement of the feed piece,
A work transfer mechanism, wherein the magnet force is absorbed by the attraction force of the magnet and the coil spring. 2. A movable plate, which is opposed to a back surface of the main block, is supported by extending the support shaft, and a coil spring is wound between the L-shaped block of the support shaft and the movable plate. The work transfer mechanism according to claim 1, wherein an impact force caused by a collision between a work and a feed claw of the feed piece is absorbed by the coil spring. 3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said soft limit mechanisms are provided at both ends of said feed piece.
The work transport mechanism according to claim 2. 4. A sensor is arranged on the second movable plate, and a detector for detecting a minimum width of a gap between the first movable plate and the second movable plate is opposed to the sensor by the detector. 4. The work transfer mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the work transfer is stopped when the sensor detects the detector, and the work transfer is stopped.