JPH11139542A - Parts feeding method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a parts feeding method capable of satisfactorily feeding parts to a tray. SOLUTION: Multiple parts are put into a bottomed cylindrical tray holder 22 rockable by the drive of a rocking drive source 10, and a tray aligned with holes insertable with the parts is installed in the tray holder 22. The rocking drive source 10 is driven to rock and incline the tray holder 22 by the prescribed angle, and the tray holder 22 is laterally vibrated in the axial direction of its rocking fulcrum by a vibration applying means 30 to feed parts to the tray. The parts can be uniformly spread and dropped on the tray, thus the parts can be satisfactorily fed to the tray.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method of transferring parts such as precision screws, which are stored in a plurality, to a tray configured to arrange them.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in the assembly production site of various machines, machines are assembled on an automation line, and at a work position of the automation line, machine parts necessary for each work position are arranged on a tray. Have been prepared. in this way,
In order to arrange necessary parts on the tray in advance, a part transfer device having a tray holder capable of holding the tray and capable of loading a plurality of parts to be transferred is used. This type of parts transfer device is provided with various drive sources for operating the tray holder, such as vibration applying means for exciting the tray holder or a swing drive source for swinging the tray holder. Work,
It is configured to transfer the input parts to holes and the like provided in the tray.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional parts transfer apparatus, when transferring parts, it is necessary to distribute the parts uniformly on the tray. Required. For this reason, the configuration and control of various driving sources for operating the tray holder become extremely complicated, and accordingly, there arise problems such as an increase in the manufacturing cost of the apparatus.

[0004]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a part transfer method of the present invention is to feed a plurality of parts into a swingable bottomed cylindrical tray holder driven by a swing drive source. At the same time, a tray in which holes in which these parts can be fitted is formed and arranged in a tray holder, and the swing drive source is driven to swing the bottomed cylindrical tray holder to tilt it by a predetermined angle. The tray holder is laterally vibrated in the axial direction of the swing fulcrum by the vibration imparting means. Note that, in the present invention, the tray holder may be held for a predetermined time in a state where the tray holder is tilted at a predetermined angle, and after the predetermined time has elapsed, the tilt angle may be temporarily increased, and then the tray holder may be swung so as to tilt to the opposite side, Further, air may be sucked from the tray holder.

[0005]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 7, reference numeral 1 denotes a part transfer device, which is a swing drive source 10 disposed on a base 2, a holder unit 20 connected to the swing drive source 10, and a vibrating unit for vibrating the holder unit 20. And a vibration imparting means 30 that performs the vibration.

The swing drive source 10 has a first motor 11 installed on a base 2 via a bracket, and an output shaft 11a of the first motor 11 has a crank member 1
The dog 2 and the dog 13 are connected so as to rotate integrally.
The crank member 12 has a crank arm 14 at an eccentric position with the output shaft 11a as a rotation center.
Are rotatably connected to each other, and are configured to perform crank motion in response to driving of the motor 11. Further, a concave portion 12a is formed on the rotation circumferential surface of the crank member 12, and a sensor 15 is provided at a position facing the rotational movement path of the concave portion 12a so that the concave portion 12a can be detected. On the other hand, the dog 13 has two convex portions 13a, 13a protruding from the circumferential surface thereof.
A sensor 16 is also provided at a position facing the rotational movement path of the convex portion 13a so as to detect the rotation. The dog 13 is fixed to the output shaft 11a by a set screw or the like, and the position of the convex portion 13a and the concave portion 12a can be adjusted by rotating the dog 13 by loosening the set screw or the like. .

The holder unit 20 includes the base 2
A swing member 21 is swingably supported between a pair of support columns 2a and 2b extending from the swing member 2 and a tray holder 22 having a bottomed cylindrical shape and disposed on the swing member 21. The crank member 14 is rotatably connected to the swing member 21 at a predetermined distance from the swing fulcrum, and the tray holder 22 swings when the crank arm 14 rotates. Is configured. The tray holder 22 has a bracket 23 fixed to a lower portion thereof, and the bracket 23 is guided by a slide unit 24 attached to the swing member 21 so as to be reciprocally movable. Also, tray holder 2
A holding portion 22a that can fit and hold a tray configured to be able to arrange a plurality of parts is formed at the center of the circular bottom surface of No. 2. The holding portion 22a has a depth at which the upper surface of the fitted tray coincides with the bottom surface of the tray holder 22, and an air suction hole 22b communicating with an external air suction device (not shown) is formed at the bottom. It is open. The slide unit 24 is arranged to reciprocate the tray holder 22 in the axial direction of the swing fulcrum.

The vibration applying means 30 includes a second motor 31 mounted on the bracket 23, a rotating member 32 mounted on an output shaft 31 a of the second motor 31, and a rotation center on the rotating member 32. The engaging member 33 is eccentrically protruded from the engaging member 33, and the tray holder 22 is reciprocated by the rotational movement of the engaging member 33. That is, a guide 25 having an elongated hole 25a extending perpendicular to the reciprocating direction is fixed to the bracket 23, and the engaging member 33 is fitted into the elongated hole 25a of the guide 25. It has become.

[0009] The parts transfer device 1 configured as described above.
When the parts P are transferred to the tray T, the tray T is set on the holding portion 22a of the tray holder 22 and the parts P are put into the tray holder 22. As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the tray T is made of a plate material having a shape matching the holding portion 22 a of the tray holder 22.
(In the embodiment of the present invention, 1000 holes h to which a head-like rod-like component such as a precision screw can be fitted) are arranged in 40 rows and 25 columns, and each hole h is formed through the tray T. Have been. Therefore, when an air suction mechanism (not shown) is operated in this state, air is sucked from the air suction holes 22b of the holding portion 22a, so that dust and the like put together with the parts P are sucked out and the tray T Clogging of the hole h can be prevented.

Thereafter, when a start switch (not shown) is pressed, the first motor 11 is driven to rotate the crank member 12 in a predetermined phase, that is, the projection 13a of the dog 13
6. Rotate until detected. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 8, the crank arm 14 rotates and swings the swing member 21 and the tray holder 22 so as to be inclined at a predetermined angle. On the other hand, since the second motor 31 is also driven to rotate the rotating member 32, the engaging member 33 is rotated around the output shaft 31 a of the second motor 31, and the engaged tray holder 22 is rotated. Is laterally vibrated in the axial direction of the pivot point. Note that the inclination angle of the tray holder 22 can be changed by rotating the dog 13 around the output shaft of the first motor 11 and adjusting the position of the projection 13a. In the embodiment of the present invention, Before the inclination angle becomes maximum, the convex portion 1
3a is set to be detected.

As described above, as the tray holder 22 tilts and laterally vibrates, the parts P gradually slide down while spreading uniformly on the tray T. During this downhill process,
The parts P are transferred into the holes h of the tray T in conformity with each other. At this time, more parts P can be made to conform to the holes h of the tray T due to the influence of the lateral vibration.
In addition, since the above-described suction of air is continued during the transfer operation, the suction force is exerted on the parts P transferred to the tray T, so that the parts P can be satisfactorily held.

The parts P that slide down while spreading on the tray holder 22 are gathered at the lowest part of the peripheral edge of the tray holder 22 because the tray holder 22 has a circular shape. When the predetermined time has elapsed in this way, the first motor 11 is driven again, and the tray holder 22 is swung so as to incline to the opposite side. At this time, the rotation angle of the crank member 12 and the crank arm 14 temporarily increases the inclination angle of the tray holder 22, as shown in FIG. It is possible to assemble at the periphery of the holder 22.

By re-driving the first motor 11, FIG.
By tilting the tray holder 22 to the opposite side as shown in FIG. 7, it is possible to slide down the parts assembled on the peripheral edge of the tray holder 22 again. At this time, since the drive of the vibration applying means is continued, the parts that slide down spread uniformly on the tray as described above, and are uniformly transferred into the holes of the tray. In this way, in the present part transfer apparatus, since the tray holder 22 has a circular bottom surface, the parts P can always be gathered at one place,
On the other hand, by oscillating the tray holder 22 in the axial direction of the swing fulcrum, the parts P sliding down
It can be spread evenly on top.

In the present part transfer apparatus 1, since the vibration applying means 30 uses the second motor 31 as a drive source,
By adjusting the number of rotations, the lateral frequency of the tray holder 22 can be changed to adjust the degree of spread of the parts P on the tray T. Therefore, the efficiency of each of the trays T of various shapes can be improved. A good transfer operation can be performed.

[0015]

As described above, according to the parts transfer method of the present invention, a tray is set on a circular tray holder, and the tray holder is inclined at a predetermined angle to gradually slide down the parts. Since the horizontal vibration is applied in the axial direction of the swing fulcrum, the parts that slide down due to the inclination of the tray holder can be spread on the tray by the horizontal vibration, and the tray can be easily shaken and vibrated by a very simple method. There is an advantage that parts can be transferred well to the device. Further, since the inclination angle is once increased after the tray holder is held at the predetermined angle for the predetermined time, there is an advantage that parts can be surely gathered on the peripheral edge of the tray holder. Furthermore, since air is sucked from the tray holder, there is an advantage that foreign substances such as dust in the tray holder can be sucked out, and parts transferred to the tray can be sucked and securely held on the tray. .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway front view of a parts transfer device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the parts transfer device according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a side view in which a part of the parts transfer device according to the present invention is cut away.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line BB of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged partial cutaway front view of a main part near a first motor in the parts transfer device according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged partial cutaway cross-sectional view of a main part near a second motor in the parts transfer device according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the parts transfer device according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory view of the operation of the parts transfer device according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of an operation of the parts transfer device according to the present invention.

FIG. 11 is an enlarged plan view of a tray for transferring parts.

FIG. 12 is an enlarged partial cutaway sectional view of a main part of a tray into which parts are transferred.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 parts transfer device 10 swing drive source 11 first motor 20 holder unit 21 swing member 22 tray holder 24 slide unit 30 vibration applying means 31 second motor 33 engaging member

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[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] January 30, 1998

[Procedure amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0008

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

[0008] The vibrating means 30, the swing member 2
1 and a rotating member 32 attached to an output shaft 31a of the second motor 31.
And an engaging member 33 eccentrically protruding from the center of rotation on the rotating member 32.
The tray holder 22 is configured to reciprocate by rotating the tray 3. That is, the bracket 23 has an elongated hole 25 extending perpendicularly to its reciprocating direction.
The guide 25 formed with a is fixed, and the engaging member 33 is fitted into the elongated hole 25a of the guide 25. ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ───

[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] October 13, 1998

[Procedure amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] Claims

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

[Claims]

[Procedure amendment 2]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0004

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

[0004]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a parts transfer method according to the present invention is directed to a method for transferring a plurality of parts into a tray holder having a bottomed cylindrical shape capable of swinging by being driven by a swing drive source. A tray having an array of holes that can be fitted therein is installed, and the swing drive source is driven so that the tray installation surface of the tray holder is inclined at a predetermined angle to swing the tray holder; The tray holder is vibrated by the vibration applying means so that the installation surface of (1) laterally vibrates on the same surface orthogonal to the inclination direction. Note that, in the present invention, the tray holder may be held at a predetermined angle in a tilted state for a predetermined time, and after the predetermined time has elapsed, the predetermined angle may be temporarily increased, and the tray holder may be swung to tilt to the opposite side, Further, air may be sucked from the tray holder.

Claims (3)

[Claims] A plurality of parts are put into a bottomed cylindrical tray holder which can be swung by receiving a drive from an oscillating drive source, and a tray in which holes into which these parts can be fitted is formed in a tray holder. The swing drive source is driven to swing the bottomed cylindrical tray holder to incline it at a predetermined angle, and the vibration applying means causes the tray holder to laterally vibrate in the axial direction of the swing fulcrum. A part transfer method characterized by the following. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the tray holder is held at a predetermined angle in a state of being tilted at a predetermined angle, and after the predetermined time has elapsed, the tilt angle is once increased and then swung so as to tilt to the opposite side. Item 1 is a part transfer method. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein air is sucked from the tray holder.