JPS587566B2 - automatic feeding device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a feeding device for reliably picking up and feeding a large number of suspended items one by one.

In automatic assembly equipment, automatic molding equipment, etc., it is possible to mechanically take out a large number of items, such as ring-shaped bodies, arbitrarily suspended on a suspension rod or the like at a storage position one by one and feed them one by one to a conveyor, etc. required.

At the storage position, the items are simply suspended on simple suspension means such as rods, and the position of the items is not fixed, so it is difficult to mechanize the retrieval and feeding of the items. It was handed over to etc.

Therefore, one worker is always required to feed each item to an assembly device, a molding device, or the like.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a device that automatically and mechanically performs the work of reliably feeding one item at a time, which was conventionally done manually.

This object has been achieved by the invention by creating an apparatus having a detection device for detecting articles and a gripping device for picking out the detected articles one by one.

The details of the present invention will be explained based on embodiments shown in the drawings.

1 and 2, an article 1, for example a ring 1, is suspended on a suspension rod 2 of a storage device.

The supply device 3 includes a motor 5 fixed to a support frame 4, a screw shaft 6 connected to the output shaft of the motor 5 and rotatably supported by the support frame 4, and a nut 7 screwed onto the screw shaft 6. .

The screw shaft 6 and the nut 7 can also be designed as a ball screw shaft and a ball screw nut.

A guide rod 8 is fixed to the support frame 4, and since the guide rod 8 passes through the nut 7, the nut 7 moves in the axial direction without rotating due to the rotation of the screw shaft 6.

A support leg 9 is formed on the nut 7, and a guide rod 10 is slidably supported on the support leg 9.

A bracket 11 is fixed to the guide rod 10.

The guide rod 10 has springs 1 on both sides with support legs 9 in between.
2 is installed.

The bracket 11 is normally attached to the support leg 9 by the action of the spring 12.
It maintains a constant relative position.

A phototube detection device 13 is fixed to the bracket 11 .

An aligning rod 14 is fixed to the bracket 11, and as the nut 7 moves, the aligning rod 14 comes into contact with the article 1 to correct the orientation of the articles 1, which are oriented in different directions.

Two claws 16 and 17 serving as gripping devices are rotatably supported on the bracket 11 by pins 15.

One of the gears 18 and 19 is fixed to each pawl 16 and 17, and the gears 18 and 19 mesh with each other.

The claw 17 prevents backlash from occurring by a spring 20 and ensures smooth movement.

A cylinder 21 pivotally supported on the bracket 11 is attached to the claw 16.
When the cylinder 21 is actuated, the pawl 16 is rotated from the open position to the closed position shown by the chain line.

At this time, the pawl 17 is rotated by the meshing of the gears 18 and 19 to the closed position shown by the chain line.

When releasing the item, the cylinder 21 operates to release the claw 1.
6.17 is rotated to the open position.

The pawl 16.1 is moved so that the item 1 is located between the alignment bar 14 and the pawls 16, 17 when the pawl 16.17 is rotated to the closed position.
7 mounting positions are selected.

Since the item 1 is corrected in its posture by the aligning rod 14, the claws 16,
17, the disadvantage of having the item 1 on the outside is avoided.

As the gripping device, an appropriate means is selected depending on the item, such as an external chuck with claws or a suction device.

The nut 7 is moved by the operation of the motor 5, and when the closest item 1 comes between the aligning rod 14 and the claws 16, 17, the detection device 13 detects and stops the motor 5.

Even when the motor 5 does not stop immediately due to inertia, the bracket 11 stops when the aligning rod 14 comes into contact with the item 1.

In consideration of the inertia of the motor, the position of the detection device 13 is selected so that the position where it stops due to inertia is the position where the gripping device grips the article.

When the amount of movement of the nut 7 until the mork 5 stops does not match the amount of movement until the bracket 11 stops, the force is absorbed by the spring 12, so that no unreasonable force is applied to each part.

After the bracket 11 has stopped, the cylinder 21 is activated and the pawls 16, 17 are closed.

After that, the motor 5 reverses and the nut 7 moves backwards, so the pawl 16
, 17 moves the article 1 while being held between it and the aligning rod 14, pulls out only one article 1 from the suspension rod 2, and transfers it to a conveyor or the like.

Since the article cannot be gripped before the gripping device reaches a predetermined stop position, the proximity switch 25 is moved to the alignment rod 1.
4, so that the position can be corrected without operating the gripping device when the presence of the article is not detected.

When the detection device 13 detects the item 1 and the claws 16 and 17 stop, the claws 16 and 17 are set in advance to be located between the detected item and the next item, so two or more items can be detected at the same time. There is no risk of supply.

When the detection device 13 does not detect the item 1 and reaches the end position, the nut immediately moves backwards and returns to the standby position by the operation of a limit device, etc., and if there is no item on one suspension bar 2, it is immediately moved to another suspension bar. Try to supply bar items.

Although it is possible to arrange one device for each suspension rod, considering the equipment cost, it is possible to manage several suspension rods with one device.

In this case, it is convenient to attach a pedestal 23 for supporting the wheel 22 to the support frame 4 so that the support frame 4 can be moved in a direction perpendicular to the movement direction of the nut 7 by means of a rail 24 intersecting the threaded rod 6.

According to the present invention, it is possible to detect an item in any position, stop it at that spot, and reliably take out only one item, so there is no need to strictly determine the position of the item when storing it. Moreover, it was possible to reliably supply one piece.

This device has made it possible to mechanize the supply work that conventionally required manual labor, making it possible to automate the work.

Although an example of a mechanical drive system is shown, a hydraulic drive system may also be used depending on the requirements for moving the bracket.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of the device according to the invention, and FIG. 2 is a side view. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Goods, 2... Suspension rod, 3... Supply device, 11... Bracket, 13... Detection device, 16.17... Claw.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. An automatic feeding device that supplies one article suspended from a suspension rod, comprising: a bracket that moves substantially parallel to the suspension rod; a detection device that is fixed to the bracket and detects the article; at least two presser bars fixed to the bracket while being spaced apart from each other and having a size that makes contact with the article; and the bracket C extends in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the bracket. An automatic feeder comprising a claw attached movably between a gripping position and a release position, the claw being formed so as to be able to clamp an article between the presser bar and the presser bar at the gripping position. Device.