JPS6245122B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an electromagnetic parts feeder that aligns parts and supplies them to automatic assembly machines, processing machines, etc.

Conventionally, an electromagnetic vibration type parts feeder has a ball with a spiral track supported on the top end of a leaf spring installed at an angle on the top surface of the base, which is vibrated by an electromagnet placed on the base. Particularly, the parts were arranged and transported within the truck.

However, such conventional parts feeders are single-layer type, so when feeding several types of parts to one machine, several parts feeders must be installed, which requires a large floor space. Not only does this have drawbacks, but because the base that supports the ball also vibrates as the ball vibrates, the installation stability of the entire machine is extremely poor.

Therefore, in order to eliminate these drawbacks, multiple layers of balls are stacked on a single axis, each supported by a leaf spring, and half of these balls and the other half are placed in opposite phases to each other in the circumferential direction. A ball unit is constructed by a multi-layered parts feeder that applies vibrations, or a pair of inner and outer balls that are supported on the bottom surface of the bottom plate by a leaf spring and are concentrically arranged to apply vibrations with opposite phases to each other. However, a multilayer parts feeder in which a plurality of ball units are stacked on one axis has been proposed. This made it possible to reduce the floor space and further reduce the vibration per layer by canceling out the vibrations between the balls through anti-phase vibrations. Since the vibrations increase due to this provision, a satisfactory effect in preventing vibrations could not be expected. In other words, the amount of parts supported by both the inner and outer balls to which vibrations of opposite phase are applied in the circumferential direction is
As the parts change relative to each other as they are carried out, the difference in mass between the two balls causes a difference in inertia, and the inertia of one of the balls generates a torque that acts on the column. As a result, the machine base vibrates, and if it is fixed, the vibrations will be transmitted to others, and if the machine base is simply placed, it will rotate or move, causing problems.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and includes a pair of inner and outer balls that vibrate in opposite phases, each of which is supported by a leaf spring, and a structure that is provided between a bracket to which the base of the leaf spring is attached and a column supporting the ball. To provide a parts feeder that improves the parts feeding function by inserting an elastic member into the parts feeder to prevent movement of the machine table due to the rotational torque generated by the vibration inertia of the ball acting on the column. be.

Hereinafter, its configuration and the like will be explained in detail with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway front view of an embodiment of a parts feeder according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway plan view. In these figures, reference numeral 1 denotes a base that is vertically adjustable with adjustment bolts 2 and is installed on the floor, and a ball unit 5, which will be described later, is attached to the upper end of the base.
A pillar 3 supporting the is erected with its flange fixed by bolts 4.

The ball unit 5 is equipped with a cylindrical bracket 6 having six radially protruding protrusions dividing the entire circumference equally, and each of the protrusions has a rectangular plate-like plate. A spring 7 is attached. This leaf spring 7 is composed of two sets of leaf springs, one set having three leaf springs arranged alternately in the circumferential direction, and the tip of each set of leaf springs 7. , blocks 8 and 9 are screwed together. An inner ball 10 formed in a cylindrical shape with a bottom is attached to the block 8 with the bottom plate facing upward and a leaf spring 7 positioned inside the cylinder. A track 12 is protrudingly formed in a spiral shape that increases in height as it goes clockwise in FIG. 2, and has a chute 11 extending outward from the machine in a parabolic shape at the end of the spiral. Further, the other block 9 is attached with a dish-shaped outer ball 13 formed concentrically with the inner ball 10. And both balls 10 and 13 are
They are supported with a gap between their respective inner surfaces and the periphery of the leaf spring 7, so that they are isolated from each other without interfering with each other. Furthermore, three electromagnets 14 are attached to the lower surface of the bottom plate of the inner ball 10, hanging down at locations that equally divide the entire circumference.
Furthermore, three armatures 15 are mounted on the bottom plate of the outer ball 1 in correspondence with the respective electromagnets 14 with a predetermined suction interval therebetween.
A cylindrical spacer 17 is attached to the inner peripheral portion of the bracket 6 via an elastic member 16 formed in a cylindrical shape from an elastic material such as synthetic rubber or synthetic resin.
The bracket 6, the elastic member 16, and the spacer 17 are integrally fixed so that they do not move in the circumferential direction and the axial direction. Further, the spacer 17 is formed so that its total length in the axial direction is slightly longer than the total length of the bracket 6.

Five ball units 5 having the same structure are provided, and FIG. 1 shows three of them. Each of these ball units 5 has 18 colors.
The collars 18 are fitted to the pillars with a predetermined distance therebetween, and are inserted through the through holes of the brackets 6 between the collars 18 and the flange of the main pillar 3. It is fixed in the axial direction by a bolt 19 inserted as shown in FIG.

When parts are fed into the outer ball 13 of the parts feeder configured as described above and the electromagnet 14 is excited, both the balls 10, 13 are vibration is applied to. That is, because the electromagnet 14 is attached to the inner ball 10 and the armature 15 is attached to the outer ball 13, both balls 10 and 13 experience vibrations that are in opposite phases to each other in the circumferential direction. Granted. Due to this vibration, the parts inside the outer ball 13 slide on the inclined surface of the bottom of the ball and are guided to the track 12, and after being transferred while being aligned on the spiral conveying surface, from the chute 11 at the end of the transfer. Supplied to external machines.

In this device that operates in this manner, both balls 10 and 13 vibrate in opposite phases to each other in the circumferential direction, so that the vibration energy is canceled out, so vibration is reduced compared to conventional parts feeders. Decrease. However, as mentioned above, when the change in the amount of parts inside the inner ball 10 and the outer ball 13 increases due to the removal of parts, a difference in vibration inertia occurs between the two balls due to the change in mass, and this cannot be canceled out. The difference in inertia acts on the bracket 6 and generates a torque that tends to rotate the column 3. However, since the elastic member 16 is interposed between the spacer 17 and the bracket 6, which are integrally fixed to the column 3, this torque only causes internal strain in the elastic member 16 and is not absorbed. Therefore, it is not possible to actually rotate the support column 3. Generally, the amount of parts inside the outer ball 13 is larger than the amount of parts inside the inner ball 10, but in this embodiment, the armature 15 with a small mass is attached to the outer ball 13, and the electromagnet 14 with a large mass is attached to the inside ball 10. Since it is attached to the ball 10, the masses of both balls 10 and 13 are balanced, and the generation of the rotational torque is reduced. Furthermore, by locating the leaf spring 7 within the cylinder of the inner ball 10 as in this embodiment, the ball unit 5 can be configured extremely compactly, and the height of the machine base can be shortened. The occurrence of vibrations can be further reduced.

As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, in a parts feeder, a pair of inner and outer balls that vibrate in opposite phases are supported by respective leaf springs, and a bracket to which the base of the leaf spring is attached and a column supporting the ball are provided. By inserting an elastic member between the inner and outer balls, the vibrations of the inner and outer balls cancel each other out, reducing the vibrations, and also allowing the inner and outer balls to hold each other during transport. Torque due to inertia that cannot be canceled out due to changes in the number of parts is absorbed by the elastic member, so that it does not reach the point where the column actually rotates. Therefore, the vibration of the machine base can be reduced and the machine base can be prevented from moving.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway front view of a parts feeder according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway plan view. 3... Support column, 6... Bracket, 7... Leaf spring, 10
...Inner ball, 13...Outer ball, 14...Electromagnet, 1
5... Armature, 16... Elastic member.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A bracket pivotally attached to a column, two sets of leaf springs each consisting of a plurality of leaf springs attached radially to the bracket, and one set of leaf springs among the two sets of leaf springs. It includes an inner ball held by a leaf spring, an outer ball held by the other set of leaf springs, and an electromagnet and an armature that vibrate both balls in mutually opposite phases in the circumferential direction. Also, a parts feeder characterized in that an elastic member is inserted between the support column and the bracket. 2. The parts feeder according to claim 1, wherein the leaf spring is located within the cylindrical portion of the inner ball.