JPS63312028A - Rotary part supplying device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To efficiently perform a parts-supplying operation by arranging plural rotatable tray-bedplates loaded with plural trays one upon another on a rotary shaft installed perpendicular to parts-supply cassettes which move vertically relative to a control arm, and forming notches on each tray-bedplate so that they do not interfere with the control arm. CONSTITUTION:When a command for requiring parts held, for example, in a tray A2 is outputted during assembling parts by a control arm X, the whole of cassettes 6 or the control arm X moves vertically relative to the mating side with notches of each tray-bedplate A, B,... being opposed to the control X-side by a controller 21 and the tray-bedplate A loaded with the required tray A2 stops at a specified position corresponding to a holding height of the control arm X. And then a drive mechanism 20 drives only the tray-bedplate A around a rotary shaft 14 and sets the required tray A2 at a high speed just below the control arm X. Under the condition, the required parts are held and delivered by the control arm X, the parts thus being efficiently assembled.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a parts supply device for supplying parts to automatic assembly equipment and the like, and particularly relates to measures for improving work efficiency.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, as this type of component supply device, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 82-24936, for example, a cassette equipped with a shelf that individually stores trays for loading components, and The assembly operation arm is equipped with a drive mechanism that slides so that each tray can be taken in and out from the shelf of the cassette, and when the assembly operation arm takes out the necessary parts from the tray, it sends the tray from the shelf to the work area and also takes out the parts. It is known that the tray is returned to the shelf after completion of the operation, so that parts of the tray can be sequentially supplied to the operating arm.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) This device can be used as a parts supply device for assembling a wide variety of parts.

However, on the other hand, if you take out parts from one tray and then take them out from the next tray, you have to put the previous tray back on the shelf before you can start the next operation, which results in a lot of wasted time. There is a drawback.

The present invention has been made in view of the above, and its purpose is to reduce the lost time required for replacing trays and improve work efficiency by moving the trays through rotational motion. It is in.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above object, the solving means of the present invention is as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.
), the cassette (6) has a parts supply cassette (6) installed to be movable up and down relative to the operating arm (X), and the cassette (6) has a rotating shaft (14) vertically installed corresponding to the operating arm (X). and a notch (AO), (B
O), a plurality of tray placement plates (A) having...

(B), ... and each tray placement plate (A), (B)
...A plurality of component storage trays (A1) to (A3), (B+) to (B3) placed in the upper circumferential direction
,... and the plurality of tray placement plates (A), (B
), . . . are arranged.

Furthermore, when supplying parts, each of the above tray placement plates (A),
(B),... by rotating each tray (A+) to (
A3), (B+) to (B3), ... are moved to the position directly below the operating arm (X), while the above notches of each tray placement plate (A), (B), ... are moved when parts are not supplied. (AO), (BO), ... with the operating arm (X
) side is provided with a control means (21) for controlling the drive mechanism (20).

(Function) With the above configuration, in the present invention, when a command for requesting parts in a certain tray (A2) is output when assembling parts by the operation arm (X), the control means (21) controls each tray. Place plate (A).

With the notches (AO), (BO), ... of (B), ... facing the operating arm (X) side, the entire cassette (6) or the operating arm (X) is facing toward the other party. Tray placement plate (A) that moves up and down relatively and has the requested tray (A2) placed on it.
stops at a predetermined position corresponding to the gripping height of the operating arm (X). Thereafter, only the tray placement plate (A) is rotationally driven by the drive mechanism (20), and moved so that the requested tray (A2) is placed directly below the operating arm (X), and in this state, The operating arm (X) is connected to the tray (A2
), and then assemble the parts.

Hereinafter, in the same manner as above, the relative vertical movement of the cassette (6) or the operating arm (X) and the tray placement plate (A), (
B),..., the sequential tray (A1
) ~ (As), (B+) ~ (B3), ... are supplied to the working area of the operating arm (X), and the operating arm (
The assembly work of each part is performed by X).

At that time, each tray (A1) to (A3), (B
1)~(B3)! When moving ... to the work area directly under the operating arm (X), instead of the conventional linear sliding movement, each tray placement plate (A), (B), ...
Since the tray itself is rotated and used as a workbench, the movement speed is increased due to the shortened stroke and rotational movement, and the lost time required for replacing the tray is reduced as much as possible.

Therefore, it is possible to improve the efficiency of parts assembly using the operating arm (X).

In addition, multiple trays (
Since trays A1) to (A3) are loaded, a large number of trays (A1) to (A3), (B+
) to (B3), .

In addition, cutouts (AO), (BO), etc. are provided on the outer periphery of each tray placement plate (A), (B), etc., so that when the cassette (6) is moved up and down, Operation arm (
There is no interference with X), ensuring smooth work.

(Example) Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

1 and 2 show the overall configuration of a parts supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which (1) is a support stand installed adjacent to an operating arm (X) of a parts assembly robot; ,
The operation arm (A) of the support base (1) has two guide shafts (3), (3) erected at a part of both corners on the opposite side, and the two guide shafts (3) , (3) and closer to the center, one ball screw shaft (4) is installed upright.

(6) is a parts supply cassette for supplying parts to the operating arm (X) of the robot; (5) is a cassette frame forming the outer frame of the cassette frame (5);
) is formed by a plate member bent into a U-shape at its upper and lower parts, and has horizontal supporting parts (5a) facing each other vertically, whose tips extend to the vicinity of the operating arm (X), ( 5
b). Vertical holes are formed vertically through each of the upper and lower support parts (5a) and (5b) of the cassette frame (5) at 211 places on the left and right inside near the base, and the two guides The shafts (3), (3) are slidably fitted through a pair of bushes (7), (7). On the other hand, in the upper support part (5a) of the cassette frame (5), a through hole (5c) having a vertical central axis is formed between the pushers x (7) and near the center. A pole screw nut (8) screwed onto the ball screw shaft (4) is fitted and fixed in the through hole (5C). And the above two guide shafts (3)
, (3) The upper end part is connected to the upper fixing plate (
9), and a first motor (10) is installed on the upper surface near the center of the upper fixing plate (9).
The upper end of the ball screw shaft (4) is drivingly connected to the ball screw shaft (10), and the ball screw shaft (10) is rotated by the drive of this motor (10), thereby connecting the ball screw shaft (10) and the pole screw nut (8). ) through screwing with the cassette (6
) The entire body can be moved up and down.

On the other hand, the upper and lower support parts (5a) of the cassette frame (5)
) and (5b), a rotating shaft (14) is vertically installed inside near the center thereof, facing the operating arm (X), and the upper and lower ends of the rotating shaft (14) are connected to each support. H (5g)
, (5b). In addition, this rotating shaft (14) has five first to fifth tray placement plates (A).
- (E) are each rotatably supported in a horizontal plane and vertically aligned via thrust bearings (not shown).

Each of the above-mentioned tray placement plates (A) to (E) has the same configuration, and as a representative example, for example, the first tray placement plate (A)
I will explain about it. That is, the first tray placing plate (A), as shown in its planar shape in FIG. It is formed into a substantially semi-disc shape with a notch (AO), and has a center hole (15A) at a position corresponding to the center of the disc, and in the circumferential direction of the upper surface of the center hole (15A).
There are three trays (A1) to (A3) each containing 9 trays, which are divided into many small rooms and which individually store assembly parts, etc.
They are fixedly placed radially at intervals of 0 degrees with pins (not shown). In addition, each other tray placement plate (B), (C)
, . . . Similarly, notches (BO), (Co), . . .
are formed, and three trays (B1) to (B
3), (C+) to (Ca), ... are placed.

Each of the tray plates (A) to (E) has five clutches (16) provided around the rotating shaft (14).
A) to (16E) are connected for driving to a rotating shaft (14), and furthermore, the rotating shaft (14) is connected to a rotary drive shaft installed on the upper support part (5a) of the cassette frame (5). It is connected to a second motor (17), and the clutches (16A) to
(16E), each of the tray placement plates (A) to (E) is individually driven to rotate. Therefore, the second motor (17) and each clutch (16A) to (16
E) constitutes a drive mechanism (20) that rotates each of the tray plates (A) to (E) individually.

In addition, (21) is a controller (
21), the controller (21) rotates each of the tray placement plates (A) to (E) to move each tray (AI) to (E3) to the operating arm (X) when supplying parts.
While moving to the position directly below, when parts are not being supplied, the above-mentioned notches (AO) of each tray placement plate (A) to (E) are
(Eo) toward the operation arm (X) side, and the drive mechanism (20) is controlled so that the tray placement plates (A) to (E) and the operation arm (X) do not interfere with each other. There is.

Next, to explain the operation of the present invention, first, a component request command signal is output from the controller (21).

For example, if the request is for a part in the bottom tray (A2), the entire cassette (6) is moved by the operation of the first motor (10) into the notch (A) of each tray placement plate (A) to (E).
0) to (EO) are raised toward the operating arm (X) of the robot (steady state), and the tray plate (A) on which the request tray (A2) is placed grips the operating arm (X). It stops at a predetermined position corresponding to the height. Thereafter, only the tray placing plate (A) is rotationally driven by the operation of the second motor (17) and the clutch (16A) corresponding to the tray placing plate (A), and the requested tray (A2) is operated. Move and stop so that it is located directly below the arm (X) (
(See Figure 1). The operating arm (X) then moves the tray (
A2) moves according to each part gripping position (x-y coordinate position), and after gripping the required part in the tray (A2), assembles the parts at another station.

Then, when the work on the component in the tray (A2) is completed and a request command signal to grasp another component in the tray (El) is outputted from the controller (21), the above-mentioned driver (20) causes the tray placement plate (A) to rotate and return its notch (AO) to its original normal position facing the operating arm (X),
The entire cassette (6) moves downward and the tray placement plate (E
) stops at a location located at a predetermined height from the operating arm (X). Below, the same operation as above is performed, and the tray (
The assembly work of the parts in E+) is executed.

Regarding the other trays (A1) to (E3), as described above, the vertical movement of the cassette (6) and the tray placement plates (A) to (
By the rotational movement of E), each tray (A1) to (E
3) is supplied to the work area of the operating arm (X), and the operating arm (X) assembles each part.

Therefore, in this case, when moving the trays (A1) to (E3) to the work area directly under the operating arm (X), the trays are not pulled out to the workbench by a linear sliding movement from the shelf as in the conventional method. No, each tray placement plate (A1)
Since ~ (E3) is rotated and used as a workbench itself, the movement speed is increased due to the shortened stroke and rotational movement, allowing the operation arm (X) to assemble parts at high speed. Therefore, the lost time required for replacing the tray can be reduced as much as possible.

In addition, many trays (A1) can be placed on one tray plate (A).
~(A3) can be placed on each tray (A3), so if the work is set to sequentially perform work on the parts in trays (A1) ~ (A3) on one tray placement plate (A), each tray (A) can be placed.
Since the movement between 1) and (A3) requires only the rotation of the tray placement plate (A), it is possible to significantly speed up the movement.

Furthermore, since a plurality of trays (A1) to (A3) are placed on one tray placement plate (A) in this way,
The number of trays (A1) to (E3) disposed in the parts supply device can be increased, and the present invention can be fully applied to automatic assembly processes for high-mix, low-volume production.

Furthermore, since notches (AO) to (Eo) are provided on the outer periphery of each tray placement plate (A) to (E), they interfere with the operating arm (X) when the cassette (6) moves up and down. The safety of the work is ensured.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, but also includes various modified embodiments. For example, in the above-mentioned embodiments,
Although the cassette (6) is configured to move up and down, it may be changed so that the entire cassette (6) is fixed and the entire operating arm (X) moves up and down, or even both can be moved up and down. You may also do so.

Further, the tray placement plates (A) to (E) are not limited to the shapes of the above embodiments, and for example, FIG. 4 (A) or (
As shown in (b), a part of the circle is cut out in a substantially fan shape (
AO) may be provided. In that case, there is an advantage that the number of trays (A+), etc. placed on one tray (A) can be particularly increased. Further, the shapes of the tray placement plates (A) to (E) do not need to be perfectly circular, and various shapes such as an ellipse, an ellipse, a triangular circle, etc. can be adopted.

(Effects of the Invention) As explained above, according to the parts supply device of the present invention,
A tray placement plate on which a plurality of trays are placed is arranged in a stacked manner on one axis in a parts supply cassette that moves up and down relative to the operation arm, and the tray placement plate does not interfere with the operation arm. Since notches are formed to enable individual rotational movements, it is possible to improve the efficiency of parts supply work through rapid rotational movement.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show an embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1 is an overall side view of a component supply device, FIG. 2 is a plan view of a tray placement plate, and FIG. 3 is a plan view of the component supply device. FIG. 4 is a view corresponding to FIG. 2 showing a modification of the tray placement plate. (6)...Cassette, (14)...Rotating shaft, (20
)... Drive mechanism, (21)... Controller (control means) (A) to (E)... Tray placement plate, (A1) to (
E3)...Tray, (AO) to (Eo)...Tray, (X)...Operation arm. -1'I Fig. 4 Δ1 7 A6 Fig. 3

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) It has a parts supply cassette (6) that is installed to be movable up and down relative to the parts assembly operation arm (X), and the cassette (6) has a component supply cassette (6) that corresponds to the operation arm (X). A rotating shaft (14) is vertically installed, and each of the rotating shafts (14) is rotatably supported in a horizontal plane and vertically lined up, and a portion of the outer periphery of each shaft is supported relative to the operating arm (X). A plurality of tray placement plates (A), (B), . . . having cutout portions (A_O), (B_O), . . . that do not interfere with each other, and each tray placement plate (A), (B) .・Multiple component storage trays (A_1) to (A_3) placed in the upper circumferential direction (
B_1) to (B_3), . . . and a drive mechanism (20) that individually rotates and drives the plurality of tray placement plates (A), (B), . When supplying, rotate each of the tray placement plates (A), (B), etc. to feed each tray (A_1) to (A_3), (B_1) to
(B_3), ... are moved to the position directly below the operating arm (X), while each tray placement plate (A), when parts are not supplied.
(B), the above-mentioned notches (A_O), (B_O),
A rotary parts supply device comprising: a control means (21) for controlling the drive mechanism (20) so as to direct the drive mechanism (20) toward the operating arm (X).