JPS627082B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to an inspection method for inspecting the dimensions, etc. of an article such as a workpiece, which is installed in at least one station in a transfer line provided with a plurality of stations. The present invention relates to an article conveyance device in an article inspection apparatus that sequentially conveys articles to the apparatus using a lift-and-carry method.

(Prior Art) A lift-and-carry method is used as a transport method in which objects to be transported, such as workpieces, are sequentially transported at predetermined intervals to each station on a transfer line where various processing devices or inspection devices are installed. There is something called. As shown in FIG. 1, this lift-and-carry system transport equipment includes stations ST ₁ to _{ST 5} , which serve as stages for processing or inspecting a work W, which is an article to be transported, on a transfer line. A workpiece W is placed on each of these stations _ST1 to _ST5 .
For example, a receiving jig with a groove-shaped workpiece receiving part
F ₁ to F ₅ are sequentially arranged at a distance corresponding to a unit transport section (one pitch) in the transport direction of the workpiece W (arrow 1 in the figure). In addition, a transport bar 2 supported movably in horizontal and vertical directions is installed at each station.
A workpiece mounting section 3 is disposed on both sides of _ST1 to _ST5 , and is disposed on the upper surface 2a of the conveyance bar 2 at an interval corresponding to a unit conveyance section.

Then, the conveyor bar 2 is moved by the arrow a in the figure,
As shown by b, c, and d, it is driven to repeatedly perform movements in which one cycle is each stroke of ascending a, advancing b, descending c, and retreating d. As a result, the workpieces W placed on the receiving jigs _F1 to _F5 of the stations _ST1 to _ST5 are all delivered to and picked up by the workpiece mounting section 3 during the upward stroke of the transport bar 2. After being fed one pitch in the transport direction in this state, the receiving jig for each station ST ₂ to ST ₅ , which is the next station along the work transport route, is moved.
They are placed on F ₂ to _{F 5} and a delivery conveyor (not shown), and thereafter transported to each station in sequence by the same operation.

As mentioned above, lift-and-carry transport equipment can transport objects such as workpieces from the loading station to the unloading station at regular time intervals without causing them to slide or roll. At the same time, a large number of articles to be conveyed can be simultaneously advanced one pitch at a time in the conveying direction.

By the way, at least one of the transfer line stations ST ₁ to ST ₅ as described above
In one case, when an article inspection device is installed, which has an inspection means for measuring the dimensions of the workpiece W, inspects the conveyed workpiece W, and removes defective products from the line, the degree of machining is In order to prevent passing products with good quality from being rejected as defective products,
It becomes necessary to check from time to time whether the testing means is operating normally, that is, the quality of the testing means. For this reason, usually, for example, a reference article such as a master work processed to the standard dimensions of the workpiece W is measured by the inspection means in the same way as the workpiece W to be inspected.
The quality of the inspection means is inspected, but the standard is to inspect the quality of the inspection means provided at at least one station on the transfer line that transports the workpiece W by the lift-and-carry method mentioned above. There are the following problems with an article inspection device that uses a masterwork as an article and a masterwork advancement/retraction device for advancing and retracting the masterwork with respect to the inspection means.

That is, the workpiece W is a receiving jig (F ₁ to F ₅
), the master work cannot be placed on the receiving jig of the inspection means, so it is impossible to inspect the quality of the inspection means.
Further, as shown in FIG. 2, for example, if an article inspection device is installed at the second station ST ₂ and the transfer bar 2 is driven with the master work M placed on the receiving jig F ₂ of the inspection means. , the conveyor bar 2 is the first
During the upward stroke, which is the position indicated by the chain line in the figure, there is a problem that it interferes with both ends of the master work M or the measuring instrument of the inspection device.

One way to solve these problems is to temporarily stop receiving workpieces W sent to the transfer line where the article inspection device is installed, and to move the workpieces W on the transfer line After paying everything out,
With the transfer bar 2 stopped at the lowest position, the master work M is placed on the receiving jig _F2 , and the quality of the inspection means is inspected.After the inspection, the master work M is placed on the receiving jig F2.
A possible strategy is to evacuate the area and resume normal operation of the transfer line. However, when such a measure is adopted, the workpiece W must be carried out of the transfer line every time the inspection means is inspected, which interrupts the processing or inspection inside the transfer line, which wastes time. The disadvantage is that the loss is large.

(Object of the Invention) In view of the above, the present invention provides an inspection means for inspecting the dimensions of articles such as workpieces at at least one station of a transfer line, and a master workpiece for inspecting the quality of this inspection means. The article is transported by a lift-and-carry method to an article inspection device configured with a master work advance/retreat device that advances and retracts a reference article such as the above, and inspects the quality of the inspection means. An object of the present invention is to provide an article conveyance device in an article inspection apparatus that can easily carry out the inspection using a reference article, and can reduce time loss and decrease in conveyance efficiency during quality inspection of inspection means.

(Structure of the Invention) The article conveyance device in the article inspection apparatus according to the present invention has the dimensions, etc. of the article to be conveyed sent to at least one of the plurality of stations equipped with receiving jigs arranged for each unit conveyance section. An inspection means to be inspected;
A plurality of article loading sections are installed at intervals corresponding to a unit conveyance section for the article inspection means, which is provided with a reference article advancing and retracting device that advances and retracts a reference article for quality inspection of the inspection means. The first drive means moves the transport bar forward and backward, and the second drive means raises and lowers the transport bar. The bar is advanced and retreated with a first stroke corresponding to a unit conveyance section, and when inspecting the quality of the inspection means, the conveyance bar is advanced with a second stroke shorter than the first stroke. After that, the device is temporarily stopped and then moved forward with a third stroke whose total with the second stroke corresponds to the first stroke. At the same time, the conveyance bar that has advanced with the first stroke is lowered, and the conveyor bar that has retreated with the first stroke is raised. The conveyor bar, which has stopped after moving forward, is lowered until its upper surface is located below the article receiving part of the station provided with the inspection means, and after the inspection of the inspection means is completed, it is raised to perform the third stroke. It is made possible to make further progress.

With this configuration, it is possible to sequentially transport the transported articles to the inspection device at regular time intervals, and it is possible to extremely rationally avoid interference between the transport bar and the reference article when inspecting the quality of the inspection means. Therefore, the quality of the inspection means can be easily inspected using the reference article, and the transportation of the conveyed article is prevented from being interrupted for a long time, reducing time loss.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram schematically showing a transfer line to which an example of the article conveyance device in the article inspection apparatus according to the present invention is applied. In the figure, 1
is an arrow indicating the conveyance direction of the workpiece W, which is an article to be conveyed, 2 is a conveyance bar, 3 is a workpiece mounting section,
ST ₁ to _{ST 5} are stations, F ₁ to _{F 5} are fixed receiving jigs, and these are constructed and arranged in the same manner as those of the transport equipment shown in FIG. 1 described above. Workpiece receiving parts _f1 to _f5 are formed in the receiving jigs _F1 to _F5 , respectively. In addition, the transport bar 2
A support frame 5 is connected to the column 4 via a column 4.
The conveyance bar 2 and the support frame 5 are capable of vertical vertical movement and horizontal reciprocation.

Two swing arms 6 are located below the support frame 5.
is pivotally supported by a fixed portion by a pin 7, and a slider 9 is connected to its upper end so as to be rotatable about a boss 8. A roller 10 is attached to the slider 9 and rolls into contact with the lower surface of the support frame 5, and the support frame 5 is supported so as to be able to slide horizontally on the roller 10 of the slider 9.

The lower end of the swing arm 6 is rotatably supported via a pin 14 on a rod member 13 connected to a piston rod 12 of a lifting cylinder 11. Further, the tip of a piston rod 18 of a reciprocating cylinder 17 rotatably supported by a pin 16 on a fixed portion is connected to a fixed pin 15 provided on the side of the support frame 5 via a pin 19. ing.

Here, in this example, the first driving means is configured using the above-mentioned reciprocating cylinder 17 as a main component, and the second driving means is configured using the above-mentioned lifting cylinder 11 as a main component. .

On the other hand, the second station ST ₂ and the third station ST ₃ in the transfer line in this example
In this step, a workpiece W, for example, an inspection unit for measuring dimensions such as the shaft diameter of a crankshaft, and a masterwork M, which is a reference article for inspecting the quality of this inspection unit, are placed at second and third stations.
A master work advancing/retracting device is provided to move the master work forward/backward with respect to the work receivers f ₂ and f ₃ of ST ₂ and ST ₃ to constitute an article inspection device. Article inspection equipment is
For example, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the configuration of the second station ST ₂ includes three inspection units 20 that sandwich a workpiece W or a master workpiece M placed on the workpiece mounting section 3. The air jet holes 21 are arranged as shown in FIG.
Air is injected onto the workpiece W or masterwork M from the flow rate, and the dimensions of the workpiece W or masterwork M are measured by changing the flow rate.

In addition, the masterwork advancing and retracting device is fixed to the frame 22, and the piston rod 23 is fixed to the receiving jig _F2 and
It has a cylinder 24 that moves forward and backward on _F3 , and the tip of the piston rod 23 grips both ends of the master work M.

As mentioned above, the second and third stations ST ₂
The article inspection device of this example, which is configured in relation to the article inspection device installed at ST 3 and ST ₃ , and includes the transport bar 2 operates as follows.

When carrying out normal transportation, first, hydraulic oil is supplied to the right chamber in the lifting cylinder 11 from the original position shown in FIG. 3, and the piston rod 12 protrudes.
The swing arm 6 is made to stand upright. As a result, the reciprocating cylinder 17 rotates clockwise, the support frame 5 is pushed up by the slider 9, the transport bar 2 rises vertically, and the workpiece mounting section 3 provided on the transport bar 2 is moved upward. receives the work W placed on the receiving jigs F ₁ to F ₅ . Next, hydraulic oil is supplied to the right chamber in the reciprocating cylinder 17 to operate it, and the support frame 5 is moved to each station.
The conveyance bar 2 slides on the roller 10 by the first stroke corresponding to the separation distance between each of the receiving jigs F ₁ to F ₅ in ST ₁ to _{ST 5} , that is, a unit conveyance section (1 pitch). advance, and each workpiece loading section 3
With the workpiece W mounted thereon, only one of the receiving jigs F ₁ to F ₅ of the stations ST ₁ to _{ST 5} reaches above the unloading side. Subsequently, the working pressure oil is removed from the right chamber in the lifting cylinder 11, and the working pressure oil is supplied to the left chamber, thereby lowering the transport bar 2 and moving the receiving jig _F1.
~Place the workpiece W on _F5 . Then, the working pressure oil is removed from the right chamber of the reciprocating cylinder 17, and the working pressure oil is supplied to the left chamber, and the support frame 5 slides on the rollers 10 and returns to its original position. , the transport bar 2 also moves back by the first stroke and returns to its original position. Then, the transport bar 2 repeatedly performs the cycle of each stroke of raising, moving forward, lowering, and retreating, whereby each workpiece W is sequentially sent to each of the stations ST ₁ to ST ₅ , and then to the station ST ₅ . will be removed from.

As described above, during normal transportation, the aforementioned lift-and-carry method is used, but
At this time, the work W for the two article inspection devices
transportation is carried out. FIG. 6A shows the unit transport section between the second station ST ₂ and the third station ST ₃ where these article inspection devices are installed. Here, as shown by each arrow, the conveyor bar 2 moves upwards a, forwards b, downwards c with the workpiece mounting section 3.
Each time each workpiece W is moved in such a way that each stroke of "and backward d" constitutes one cycle, each workpiece W is first placed on the receiving jig _F2 in the article inspection device of the second station _ST2 , and then inspected. Then, it is sent to and placed on the receiving jig _F3 in the article inspection device of the third station _ST3 , and another inspection is performed.

Next, when inspecting the quality of the inspection unit 20 of the article inspection device at the second station ST ₂ and the third station ST ₃ , as shown by the arrows in FIG. 6B, the same procedure as above is carried out. The transport bar 2 is raised a to receive the workpiece W at the workpiece mounting section 3, and then moved forward _b1 with a second stroke shorter than the first stroke,
It will be temporarily stopped. At this time, the upper surface portion 2a of the transfer bar 2 is located above the workpiece receiving portions _f2 and _f3 of the receiving jigs _F2 and _F3 , as shown by the chain line P in FIGS. 4 and 6B. In this state, the transfer bar 2 becomes an obstacle to the master work M and the receiving jigs F ₂ and F ₃
It cannot be placed on the Next, hydraulic oil is supplied to the left chamber of the lifting cylinder 11, and hydraulic oil is removed from the right chamber, and the conveyor bar 2 is lowered _c1 , and then, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 6. The position indicated by the chain line Q in B, that is, the receiving jig _F2 and
At a position where the upper surface portion 2a of the transport bar 2 is lower than the work receiving portions f ₂ and f ₃ of F ₃ , the operation of the lifting cylinder 11 is stopped and the transport bar 2 is stopped. In addition, in the case of this example, the workpiece receiving parts f ₂ and f ₃
is part of a groove with a triangular cross section, and both ends of the master work M have a circular cross section, so the stopping position of the upper surface 2a of the conveyor bar 2 is slightly more than the position indicated by the chain line Q. The lowering of the transport bar 2 is stopped when the upper surface 2a of the transport bar 2 is positioned below the both ends of the master work M placed on the receiving jigs _F2 and _F3 . Bye.

In this manner, with the conveyor bar 2 not interfering with the master work M, the advance/retreat cylinder 24 of the master work advance/retreat device is activated to move the piston rod 23 downward to advance the master work M e ₁ and place it on receiving jigs F ₂ and F ₃ . Then, the inspection unit 20 is inspected using this master work M.

Once the inspection of the inspection unit 20 is completed,
The advancing/retracting cylinder 24 is activated, and the piston rod 23 is moved upward to move the master work M.
is retracted e ₂ and evacuated from receiving jigs F ₂ and F ₃ . Thereafter, the lifting cylinder 11 is activated to raise the conveyor bar 2 a ₁ , and then move forward again with a third stroke whose total with the second stroke corresponds to the first stroke.
b Let ₂ . Thereafter, operations during normal conveyance are performed.

In this manner, the quality inspection of the inspection unit 20 of the article inspection apparatus is performed without the workpiece W being discharged from the entire transfer line.

In addition, in the above-mentioned example, although the conveyance bar 2 is arranged outside the receiving jigs F ₁ to F ₅ , the conveyance bar 2 may be arranged inside the receiving jigs F ₁ to F ₅ . In such a case, it becomes possible to reduce the area occupied by the entire transfer line.

Furthermore, it goes without saying that the article inspection device may be provided at only one station on the transfer line.

(Effects of the Invention) As is clear from the above description, the article conveyance device in the article inspection apparatus according to the present invention inspects the dimensions of articles such as workpieces placed at at least one station in the transfer line. It is possible to sequentially transport multiple objects such as multiple workpieces using a lift-and-carry method, and to check the quality of the inspection means of the product inspection device using a reference object such as a master work. This can be done automatically and easily. In particular, when inspecting the quality of the inspection means, there is no need to take the transported goods out of the transfer line, so processing and inspection of the transported goods are not interrupted for a long time, reducing time loss. This means that the transfer line can be operated efficiently.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram for explaining a lift-and-carry type conveyance equipment, and Fig. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram for explaining the positional relationship between a master work and a conveyance bar in a station equipped with an inspection device. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a transfer line to which an example of an article conveying device in an article inspection apparatus according to the present invention is applied, FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the - line in FIG. 3, and FIG. Figures 6A and 6B, which are used to explain the inspection unit, show the operation of an example of the article conveying device in the article inspection apparatus according to the present invention shown in FIG. 3 during normal conveyance and when inspecting the quality of the inspection unit. FIG. In the figure, 2 is a transfer bar, 3 is a workpiece mounting section, 6 is a swing arm, 11 is a lifting cylinder, 17 is a reciprocating cylinder, 20 is an inspection unit, 24 is a cylinder for advancing and retracting the master work, ST ₁ to _{ST 5} is the station, F ₁ to _{F 5} are the receiving jig, f ₁ to _{f 5} are the workpiece receiving part, W
is work, and M is master work.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. At least one of the plurality of stations equipped with receiving jigs arranged for each unit transport section is provided with an inspection means for inspecting the dimensions, etc. of the transported article;
In order to check the quality of the inspection means, an article inspection device is provided with a reference article advancing/retracting device that advances and retreats the reference article with respect to the article receiving part of the receiving jig of the station where the inspection means is installed. , a conveyor bar having a plurality of article loading sections arranged at intervals corresponding to the unit conveyance section; and during normal conveyance, the conveyor bar is moved with a first stroke corresponding to the unit conveyance section. move forward and backward;
When inspecting the quality of the inspection means, the conveyance bar is moved forward with a second stroke shorter than the first stroke, and then stopped once;
Thereafter, a first driving means that moves forward with a third stroke whose total with the second stroke corresponds to the first stroke; While lowering the conveyor bar that has moved forward,
The conveyor bar that has retreated with the first stroke is raised, and when inspecting the quality of the inspection means, the conveyor bar that has moved forward with the second stroke and then stopped is raised so that its top surface is above the The station is lowered until it is located below the article receiving part of the station provided with the inspection means, and after the inspection of the inspection means is completed, it is raised to a state where it can move forward with the third stroke. An article conveyance device in an article inspection apparatus, which is configured to include a second drive means.