JPS62290627A - Alignment feeder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the probability of alignment, by making parts drop to a transfer conveyor from the up-grade storage conveyor installed in a storage hopper as well as feeding an aligning conveyor consisting of plural conveyors with these parts. CONSTITUTION:Parts at a lower part in a hopper 11 are conveyed by the up- grade storage conveyor 12 installed in the bottom of the storage hopper 11, and these parts are dropped in a transfer conveyor 25 at the tailing end part 13. These parts are conveyoed upward by the transfer conveyor 25, and dropped in a starting end 19 of an aligning conveyor 18 consisting of plural belts 181 and 182. With these belts 18a and 182, these parts are going toward a tailing end 20 after being arranged by an aligning wall 21. Overflown parts are dropped on a chuting wall 22 and recovered inside the storage hopper 11. With this constitution, the probability of alignment is improved, and a drop in stopping rate is realized, thus automatic feed is made ever so easy.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] 3. Detailed Description of the Invention Industrial Application Field The present invention relates to the supply of parts. 0 The stable supply of parts is an essential task for automation including automatic assembly. It is a well-known fact that the success or failure of this automation determines the success or failure of automation. At the same time, with the progress of unmanned production processes, there has been a growing demand for supplying large quantities of parts to parts supply machines at once.The present invention relates to automatic supply as part of automation to meet such demands. It is used in all industrial fields where automation is performed.

Conventional technology Conventionally, parts feeding machines such as vibrating parts feeding machines and rotating parts feeding machines have been used to supply parts. It was not possible to store a large amount of this in the feeder. To this end, a hopper with a vibrator attached in front of the feeder or a belt-type hopper, which was previously filed by the applicant, have been installed to assist in increasing the storage capacity of the parts feeder. Therefore, it has become necessary to detect the amount of parts to be fed in the parts feeder and automatically operate the auxiliary hopper.

In addition, as shown in Figure 1, two wooden belt conveyors are installed in parallel, and the two conveyors run in opposite directions, so that one of the conveyors used for storage is aligned from a lower position than the conveyor used for alignment. A model that is installed tilted to the beginning of the conveyor has been announced. However, in this system, a guide is simply provided at the end of the storage conveyor in order to transfer the supplied parts from the storage conveyor to the alignment conveyor. For this reason, when there are a large number of parts to be fed on the storage conveyor, a large amount of parts to be fed may accumulate in the transfer area, or when the parts are transferred to one of the alignment conveyors for alignment, the parts may be in a normal position. Currently, the supplied parts, along with the incorrectly oriented supplied parts, fall from the alignment conveyor to the storage conveyor and are returned to the storage conveyor, reducing the efficiency of alignment and supply.

Also, the feeding method and feeding machine that the applicant had previously applied for (1933)
1 year patent application No. 06220), the alignment conveyor is formed by a single conveyor, so it is possible to put the parts to be supplied in a neck-hanging position or to actively rotate the position of the parts to be supplied. Since the alignment method could not be applied, it was not possible to significantly increase the quantity supplied.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention The present invention not only makes it possible to store a large amount of parts to be supplied, but also enables high-speed alignment and supply. Since the parts to be supplied come out from the storage section in multiple rows, overlapping each other, it is necessary to separate these parts as much as possible to improve the efficiency of alignment and increase the amount of storage. The purpose is to actively rotate the person or hang him or her by the neck.

Patent Application No. 0622 filed in 1986 by the applicant
The feeder described in No. 0 is shown in Fig. 1, and the parts to be supplied are sequentially tilted and then fall onto rollers 2 at the end of a belt conveyor l installed on an upward slope. The slight difference in the tilt of a part determines whether it will fall or not. In FIG. 2, when the inclination of the supplied parts 4 is the boundary, those whose inclination is smaller than that will not fall, and those whose inclination is greater will immediately fall. Since the inclination of the supplied parts corresponds to the distance from the end of the belt conveyor, the interval between the supplied parts is widened by this fall.

By combining a belt-type hopper with this property and an alignment conveyor, the interval at which the parts to be supplied are traveled is increased, and the parts to be supplied can be aligned and fed at high speed. In addition, in order to selectively align supplied parts using an alignment conveyor, the side edges of the alignment conveyor must be kept constant from the alignment wall in order to sort the supplied parts according to their shape, dimensions, and characteristics. Since the alignment conveyor must run as follows,
Not only did the structure of the alignment conveyor have to be taken into consideration, but it was also impossible to forcibly change the orientation.

An object of the present invention is to make it possible to forcibly change the attitude of a supplied part in accordance with the characteristics of the previously applied supply machine.

An example of means for solving the problem will be explained. FIG. 2 is a sketch for explaining the present invention. Reference numeral 11 denotes a storage hopper with an open top and a storage conveyor 12 running upward at the bottom.The storage conveyor 12 running at the bottom of the storage hopper 11 is connected to a drive source (not shown). A terminal end 13 of the storage conveyor 12 is located at a higher level than the L surface of the storage hopper 11, and the terminal end 13 of the storage conveyor 12 is wound around a roller 14. Adding walls to the inside and outside of the storage conveyor 12 between the openings on the roller 14 side of the storage holes 11 to L of the rollers 14 to prevent the parts to be supplied from falling off changes the gist of the present invention. isn't it. A transfer conveyor 15 is provided below the rollers 14, and is rotated by a drive source (not shown). Installing walls on the inside and outside of the transfer conveyor 15 to prevent the supplied parts from falling off does not change the spirit of the present invention.The starting end 16 of the transfer conveyor 15 is located outside the rollers 14. , is provided below the gold mine of the storage conveyor 12 and is inclined so as to rise toward the inside of the storage conveyor 12. An alignment conveyor 18 driven by a drive source (not shown) is provided below the terminal end 17 of the transfer conveyor 15, and a starting end 19 of the alignment conveyor 18 is located outside the transfer conveyor 15. The alignment conveyor 18 is composed of one or more belts as shown in FIG.

Figure 3 (a) shows three belts 181 installed in parallel.
182 and 183, and FIG. 3 (b) shows two belts 181 and 186 and a stationary spacer 18.
5 is partially interposed between two wooden bells 181 and 186. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the belts are individually driven by a drive source (not shown), and the speed of each belt can be set individually. These belts are 1
The belt 181, 182, 183 is driven by a separate drive source, and distributed and transmitted using a mechanical transmission mechanism to achieve a predetermined rotation does not change the spirit of the present invention.
run on the same plane, and their running speeds are adjusted individually. It is also possible to gradually gather the supplied parts on the lowest belt by changing the running height of the belt (181, 182, 183), or to align the parts by running the belt at an angle from the horizontal. An alignment wall 21 is fixed by a member (not shown) above the alignment conveyor 18 which is composed of one or more belts, and the upper surface of the alignment conveyor 18 is connected to the storage hopper 11. is higher than the top surface of The side of the alignment conveyor 18 facing the storage hopper 11 and the upper end of the side of the storage hopper 11 facing the alignment conveyor 18 are connected by a sliding wall 22 without a gap. The terminal end 20 of the alignment conveyor 18 is connected to a machine for the next process. Even if the drive sources for the alignment conveyor 18, the transfer conveyor 15, and the storage conveyor 12 are independent, the gist of the present invention changes even if the rotation is transmitted from one or two drive sources by means of rotation transmission. It's not a thing.

When the parts to be supplied are relatively small, the relative position between the alignment wall 21 and the edge of the alignment conveyor 18 on the storage hopper 11 side must always be kept constant while the alignment conveyor 18 is running. A pin is fixed to the lower side of the belt 183 on the outside of the belt 183, that is, at a portion that does not affect the alignment action on the outside of the belt 183.
It does not change the gist of the present invention to prevent meandering of the belt 183 by guiding the pin by providing a groove in the alignment plate provided below the belt 83 through which the pin can pass.
Further, when the belt 183 is constituted by a round belt, it does not change the spirit of the present invention to provide a large number of rollers on the alignment plate to serve as meandering prevention means.

Further, it does not change the spirit of the present invention to use, as the alignment conveyor, a slat conveyor in which a plate is attached to a chain that runs in a groove provided in an alignment plate while being guided by the groove.

If the parts to be supplied in alignment are not transferred due to rotation due to the upward slope of the storage conveyor, the storage conveyor may be provided with a crosspiece or claws to ensure transfer, or the storage conveyor may be replaced by a chain conveyor with one or more claws. This does not change the spirit of the present invention.

Operation The operation of the present invention will be explained with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. The storage conveyor 12 is driven by a drive source (not shown), in which the parts to be supplied are thrown into the storage hopper 11 from the upper opening.
The parts to be supplied loaded into the storage hopper 11 ride on the storage conveyor 12 and move toward the terminal end 13 of the storage conveyor 12. Since the storage conveyor is installed so that the parts to be supplied are inclined upward, the parts to be supplied are moved toward the terminal end 13 in small φ increments, and the parts to be supplied toward the starting end of the storage conveyor 12 are moved. The deepest part of the storage hopper 11 will be empty! The parts to be supplied that are stored near the starting end of the ripping conveyor 12 collapse into the vacant area and fill the void. In this way, the parts to be fed reach the end 13 of the storage conveyor, where they are rolled up by the rollers 14 in small needles. As shown in FIG. 2, the supplied parts that have reached the terminal end 13 of the storage conveyor 12 are slightly rounded due to the semi-cylindrical roundness of the terminal end 13 of the storage conveyor 12 formed by the rollers 2, that is, the rollers 14. Due to a change in the position of the center of gravity, one or several pieces fall onto the transfer conveyor 15. Since the transfer conveyor 15 is driven by a drive source (not shown) at a speed corresponding to the rate at which the supplied parts fall, the fallen supplied parts are immediately moved, and the supplied parts are moved without increasing the distance between them. It is moved in the direction of the end g17 of the loading conveyor. At the end 17, the parts to be fed are separated by the difference in the center of gravity, similar to the end 14 of the storage conveyor 12, and fall onto the alignment conveyor 18. The case where the alignment conveyor 18 has the structure shown in FIG. 3(A) will be explained. Bel) 181, 182 and 183 are running in parallel in the same direction, with Bel) 181 running at the slowest speed, Belt 182 running faster than 181, and Belt 183 running at the lowest speed.
It is running faster than 82. slowest belt 181
The speed of the transfer conveyor 15 is higher than that of the belt tat.
182 and 183 are individually driven by three drive sources (not shown). The supplied parts are moved while further widening the interval between them. The widths of the belts 181, 182 and 183 are selected depending on the shape and required posture of the parts to be supplied. Most of the supplied parts that have fallen from the terminal end 17 of the transfer conveyor 15 fall onto the belt 181 and travel while widening the interval between the supplied parts. Since the speed is higher than that of belt 181, the parts to be supplied are moved so that the part that rides on belt 182 comes first.

The supplied parts moved by the belt 181 are aligned 12
1 to the belt 182, and then to the belt 183, the parts to be supplied are aligned in the longitudinal direction, and the parts to be supplied are spread apart and run on the belt 183. Due to the interaction with the alignment wall 21 at the second end of the belt 183, the belt 183 is moved toward the terminal end 20 while moving toward the storage hopper on the belt 183, and the alignment wall 21 is provided with an alignment wall 21 (not shown). By interacting with the attachment for the purpose, only the supplied parts in the desired posture can be selectively aligned depending on the shape and center of gravity of the supplied parts, or the sensor and removal mechanism (not shown) attached to the alignment wall 21 can selectively align only the supplied parts in the desired posture. Only the parts to be supplied that are selected by and in the required normal posture are moved on the alignment conveyor, transported to the terminal end 20 of the alignment conveyor 18, and supplied to the next process. The supplied parts removed mechanically or by the sensor fall from the belt 183 onto the sliding wall 22 and are returned to the storage hoe 2pa 11. It does not change the spirit of the present invention to make the alignment conveyor 18 slope upward in the direction of movement of the alignment conveyor or to incline it in a direction perpendicular to the direction of movement, depending on the characteristics of the parts to be supplied.

Embodiment FIG. 3 (b) shows an example of an embodiment in which bolts or the like are used as neck hooks to align and supply the present invention. Although this embodiment was explained in FIG. 2, a spacer 185 and a gap 187 having the same width as the spacer 185 are interposed between the two belts 181 and 186 running in the f row on the alignment conveyor 18. be. The two belts 181 and 186 run at the same speed and are driven by the same drive shaft. From the starting end of the alignment conveyor 18, which is composed of two belts and a spacer 185, to the gap 187 in which the supplied parts are hung, a spacer 185 is located between the belts 181 and 186, and between the belts 181 and 186, and the spacer. 1
The upper surfaces of 85 are installed at a height such that they form the same plane. Since the belts 181 and 186 run in parallel, the width of the gap 187 is constant. The rollers at the ends of the belts 181 and 186 are divided into two parts so that the parts to be supplied can pass through them in a hanging position.

The parts to be fed into the storage hopper 11 are carried up by the storage conveyor 12, and the terminal end 13 of the quiet conveyor 12 is rounded by the rollers 14, so that the parts to be fed are spaced apart from each other. In this way, it falls onto the transfer conveyor 15, and the I! : Falling from Bear 15 to the beginning of Bell) 181 and l86. The parts to be supplied that have fallen by the alignment wall 21 are transferred by belts 181 and 186. Since [1] of the spacer 185 provided between the belts 181 and 186 is selected to be smaller than the thin part of the supplied part and smaller than the head thereof, it is difficult to transport the supplied part by the belts 181 and 186. By means of an alignment wall 21 fixed to a member (not shown) above the belt 181, the alignment wall 21 moves the supplied parts to the spacer 185.
Since the parts to be supplied are pushed out toward the alignment wall 21 and the alignment wall 2
1, the air gap 187 is
Because it moves while being forced to maintain its posture in the longitudinal direction,
The thin part of the part to be fed falls into the gap 187 and is moved to the end of the belts 181 and 186 with the head of the part hanging over the edges of the belts 181 and 186 and discharged. The supplied parts that fail to enter the gap 187 are removed from above the belt by a wiper (not shown) provided on the alignment wall 21, fall into the storage hopper 11, and are recycled. In this way, the supply system would be freed from this trouble, whereas conventionally the supply would have been stopped every time the part to be supplied failed in seedling measurement. Using a chute instead of the transfer conveyor 15 does not change the spirit of the present invention.

Effects of the Invention The present invention can combine a feeding machine with a hopper for auxiliary storage, and by using an appropriate number of belt conveyors in the alignment section of the feeding machine, the probability of alignment is improved and the stoppage rate is reduced. Since it is possible to realize this, it will make an extremely large contribution to automatic supply, and in turn will greatly contribute to the promotion of automation and unmanned operation.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 Detailed explanation of the previously filed invention FIG. 11: Storage hopper, 12; Storage conveyor, 13; End of storage conveyor, 14; Roller. 15, transfer conveyor, 16; transfer conveyor start end, 17; transfer conveyor end, 18; alignment conveyor, 19, alignment conveyor start end, 20; alignment conveyor end, 21; alignment wall, 22; sliding wall FIG. 2 Detailed explanation of the present invention FIG. 11: Storage hopper, 12; Storage conveyor, 13; End of storage conveyor, 14; Roller, 25; Transfer chute, 26; End of transfer chute, 18; Aligning conveyor, 19 : Starting end of the aligning conveyor, 20; End of the aligning conveyor, 21; Aligning wall, 22; Sliding wall 181: Belt 182: Belt Figure 3 Explanatory diagram of the aligning conveyor (a) An implementation consisting of three wooden belts Example ゛181:
Belt 182: Belt 183: Belt (B) In the case of a two-wood belt with a gap 181: Belt 185 Ni spacer 186: Belt 187: Gap

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A hopper that stores supplied parts, a storage conveyor that runs upward on the bottom of the hopper, and an alignment conveyor that has one or more belts arranged in parallel diagonally above the hopper; A sliding wall constructed between the hopper side of the leveling conveyor and the upper edge of the leveling conveyor side of the hopper, and an upward slope whose lowest point is below the end of the storage conveyor, and the end thereof is the starting point of the leveling conveyor. The conveyor consists of a transfer conveyor located above, and has an alignment conveyor having one or more belts whose running speeds can be individually adjusted so as to forcibly align the postures of the supplied parts. Characteristic alignment feeding machine. 2. An alignment feeder according to claim 1, comprising an alignment conveyor composed of two belts arranged in parallel with a gap corresponding to the shape of the parts to be supplied.