KR20180108076A - Automatic supply apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an automatic supply apparatus. The automatic supply apparatus comprises: a supply part which adsorbs and grasps an object supplied from the outside and transfers the same to an area installed previously; an aligning part mounted at a position corresponding with the object transferred by the supply part to align a supply direction of the object while transferring the object in one direction; and a transferring part for transferring the object aligned by the aligning part to take out the object. The aligning part includes an aligning unit, which transfers the object in one direction while aligning the object in a vertical direction while supporting one side of the object to align the object in a predetermined supply direction while supporting one side of the transferred object. The automatic supply apparatus according to the present invention has a simple structure and can be manufactured in a small size and accurately supply the object in the predetermined supply direction by simultaneously performing an aligning action and a reversing action of the object by using self-weight of the object or through the structure to support one side of the object.

Description

Automatic supply apparatus

More particularly, the present invention relates to an automatic feeder, and more particularly, to an automatic feeder that uses a center of gravity of a supply object in a state in which a supply object is upright or presses one side of a supply object to allow the target surface to be turned upward The present invention relates to an automatic feeding apparatus which can be manufactured in a simple structure and can be manufactured in a small size and can supply a supply object in a predetermined direction on both sides.

Recently, with the rapid development of semiconductor technology, high performance and low price of computer equipment have been achieved, and computers have been widely used in all fields of the industry, so that application technology using computers has been widely developed.

Particularly, since all information processing is possible by using characters, sentences, drawings, voice and image processing techniques of computers, automation and rationalization using the above information processing technology can be applied to all fields of a product production system in a factory. The target of use thereof is expanding.

In general, a factory automation system can be largely composed of a processing apparatus for processing a base material provided from the outside, a cleaning apparatus for cleaning the processed molded article, and a device for taking out the washed molded article to the outside. In recent years, On becoming Accordingly, an automatic feeder for aligning the base material provided from the outside in one direction and supplying it to the processing apparatus has been developed and used.

1 is a block diagram schematically showing a conventional automatic feeder.

1, the conventional automatic feeder 100 includes a hopper 110 into which a supply object provided from the outside is inputted, a feeder 120 which feeds the feed object into the hopper 110 in one direction, An aligning device 130 for aligning the fed objects to be fed, an inverting device 140 for inverting the aligned fed objects in a predetermined feeding direction, and an outgoing device 150 for carrying out the inverted feeding objects to the processing device Respectively.

When a plurality of feed objects are fed into the hopper unit 110, the conventional automatic feeder 100 feeds the objects to be fed through the feeder unit 120, such as a stepped hopper or an orthogonal operation type pick & And aligns the plurality of supply objects through the aligning device 130 such as a circular alignment feeder and transfers the plurality of supply objects to the inverting device 140. When the supply object inverted by the inverting device 140 is delivered to the delivery device 150 ).

However, in the above-described conventional automatic supplying apparatus 100, a considerable installation area is required since the feeding, aligning, inverting and moving devices 150 are separately provided, and in addition, in the aligning apparatus 130, Only an operation of aligning the objects is performed and a separate inverting device 140 is provided to supply the supply object in a predetermined supply direction, so that a considerable cost is required for manufacturing or purchasing the inverting device 140, There was a problem that was required.

Korean Patent No. 1669842 entitled " Automatic insert feeding apparatus and injection molding method using the same " Korean Patent Publication No. 2015-0089632 "Inverting device for supplying parts"

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been conceived to solve the problems as described above, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and a method for supplying a target object to a target object by using a center of gravity of the target object, So that the supply object can be aligned and supplied in a predetermined direction on both sides of the automatic feeder.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a gripper that can feed or re-grip a supply object according to the weight of a supply object, that is, prevent the gripper from simultaneously gripping two supply objects, Thereby providing an automatic feeder.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an automatic supply apparatus for supplying a supply object having at least one protrusion formed on one surface thereof to a predetermined supply position, And a feeding unit for feeding the feeding object conveyed by the feeding unit and conveying the fed feeding object in an upright state, wherein when the feeding target is discharged, And a transporting unit for transporting the supply object discharged from the aligning unit in one direction and carrying it out to the outside, wherein the aligning unit includes at least a pair of guide units, Wherein the opposite surface of the target object of the supply object is a surface of at least one of the pair of guide portions And conveyed in a state of being anticipated on one side of the guide part.

When the center of gravity of the object to be supplied is on the opposite side of the target surface, the aligning portion is provided with an inlet port on the upper portion thereof, and an upright portion for supporting one side of the supply object, A conveying guide portion extending from the upright aligning portion in the direction of the conveying portion and conveying the upright feeding object toward the conveying portion, and a conveying guide portion provided at one side of the upper end of the conveying guide portion, And a planar alignment portion including a first guide portion to which the surface is to be transferred in anticipation.

When the center of gravity of the object to be supplied is located on the target surface side, the aligning unit includes an upright aligning unit having an inlet formed at an upper portion thereof and supporting one side of the supply object drawn in through the inlet, A conveying guide portion extending from the upright aligning portion in the direction of the conveying portion and configured to convey the upright feeding object toward the conveying portion and a conveying guide portion projecting inwardly from the one side of the conveying guide portion, And a second guide portion that presses the object to be fed in a state in which the object to be fed is inclined in a direction opposite to the target surface.

The supply unit may include a rotary arm rotatably installed on one side of the installation target region with respect to the center of the installation space, a free end rotatably coupled to the rotary arm end, vertically disposed by its own weight, It is preferable to include a grip portion.

The grip portion is rotatably coupled to the rotary arm end portion and is vertically disposed by its own weight. The grip portion is coupled to a lower end portion of the main body and grips the supply object provided from the outside with a magnetic force. And a grip sensor for detecting a weight of the gripper gripped by the gripper and a grip sensor for detecting a weight of the gripper gripped by the gripper when the weight of the gripper is greater than a preset reference value, And a control unit.

According to the present invention as described above, since the center of gravity of the supply object is used in the upright state of the supply object, or the one side of the supply object is pressed to be transmitted to the transfer part, And it is also possible to supply the supply object in a predetermined direction on both sides.

In addition, the present invention enables the gripper to transmit or re-grip the supply object according to the weight of the supply object, that is, prevent the gripper from grasping the two supply objects at the same time, .

1 is a block diagram schematically showing a conventional automatic feeder,
Figure 2 is a side view of an automatic feeder according to one embodiment of the present invention;
3 is an enlarged view of a grip portion according to an embodiment of the present invention,
4A is a perspective view of an alignment unit according to an embodiment of the present invention,
4B is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the alignment unit according to the embodiment of the present invention,
FIG. 5 is a view illustrating a state in which a grip part grips a supply metabolite according to an embodiment of the present invention;
6 is a view illustrating a state in which a supply object is delivered to an aligning unit according to an embodiment of the present invention;
7 is a view showing a state in which a supply object is transferred to the alignment unit by the push portion according to the embodiment of the present invention,
FIG. 8 is a view illustrating a state in which the 'A' shaped supply object shown in FIG. 2 passes through the alignment unit according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 9 is a view showing a state in which a supply object of the 'B' shape shown in FIG. 2 passes through the alignment unit according to an embodiment of the present invention;
10 is a view illustrating a state in which a supply object is moved to a transfer unit according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 2 is a side view of an automatic feeder according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a grip portion according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. And FIG. 4B is a perspective view showing another form of the alignment unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 to 4B, the automatic feeding apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a support table 10, a supply unit 20, an alignment unit 30, and a transfer unit 40.

The support table 10 is formed in a general table shape and is fixedly installed on one side of the installation target area and has an installation area on the upper surface to which the following structures are to be installed to provide an installation area of each structure and to support it do.

The supply unit 20 includes a hopper 21 installed on one side of the upper surface of the support table 10, a support 22 vertically installed on one side of the upper surface of the support table 10, A rotary arm 23 rotatably installed and a grip portion 24 freely rotatably installed on one end of the rotary arm 23. The supply object provided from the outside is arranged in an alignment portion 30 It is a role to deliver.

Here, the supply object according to the present invention can be applied to all of the circular plate-like parts having protrusions on one surface. In this embodiment, 'A' used in ~~ and 'B' parts used in ~ In the following description of the operation, the alignment operation according to each part will be described.

The hopper 21 is formed in a substantially funnel shape and is installed on one side of the upper surface of the support table 10 as described above. When the supply object provided from the outside is inserted into the hopper 21, it holds it for a predetermined time.

The supporting portion 22 is formed in a rod shape having a length in the substantially vertical direction and fixed to the upper surface of the support table 10 near the hopper 21 and rotatably supported by a rotary arm 23 As shown in FIG.

The rotary arm 23 is formed in a substantially rod shape and has a central portion rotatably installed on one side of the upper end of the support portion 22 and a grip portion 24 coupled to the end portion of the rotary arm 23, To the position corresponding to the portion (30).

The rotary arm 23 provides a movement force to the grip portion 24 in the X, Y, Z axis, that is, in a linear direction when the grip portion 24 is moved to the position corresponding to the hopper 21 or the alignment portion 30 It is possible to minimize not only the installation area but also the operating radius along the line of the grip portion 24 by moving the grip portion 24 through the rotation direction.

The grip portion 24 includes a main body 24a that is freely rotatably coupled to an end portion of the rotary arm 23, a gripper 24b that is provided at a lower end portion of the main body 24a, And a control unit (not shown) electrically connected to the gripper 24b and the weight detection sensor 24c. The grippers 24a and 24b grip the objects to be fed into the hopper 21 one by one, (30).

The main body 24a is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. As described above, since the upper end portion is freely rotatably coupled to the end portion of the rotary arm 23, the vertical arrangement state is maintained by its own weight even when the rotary arm 23 is rotated The gripper 24b, and the weight detection sensor 24c, as well as supporting the mounting area.

The gripper 24b may be a general electromagnet. When the main body 24a is positioned at a position corresponding to the supply object inserted into the hopper 21, the gripper 24b is magnetically held by the gripper 24b, When the main body 24a is located at a position corresponding to the aligning portion 30, it releases the magnetic force to transmit the supply object to the aligning portion 30.

It is to be understood that the above-described electromagnets are well known to those of ordinary skill in the art, so that they can be purchased and used commercially.

The weight detection sensor 24c is installed at one side of the main body 24a and is electrically connected to the gripper 24b to detect the weight of the gripped object gripped by the gripper 24b.

The control unit (not shown) is installed on one side of the support table 10 and is electrically connected to the gripper 24b and the weight detection sensor 24c as described above, so that the weight of the supply object detected from the weight detection sensor 24c When the preset reference value is exceeded, the magnetic force of the gripper 24b is released, and the gripping object is released from the gripper 24b.

In other words, when the weight of the supply object detected from the weight detection sensor 24c exceeds a preset reference value, that is, when the gripper 24c grips two or more supply objects simultaneously, 24c so that the gripper 24c can grip only one supply object by allowing the gripped object to be removed from the gripper 24c.

On the other hand, in the present embodiment, one set of grip portions 24 may be provided on the end portion of the rotary arm 23 as a pair of two grip portions 24 for improving workability.

The aligning unit 30 includes a pushing unit 31 for pushing and feeding the supply object conveyed by the supply unit 20 in one direction and a pushing unit 31 for aligning the supply object conveyed by the pushing unit 31, And an aligning unit 32 for supplying an object to be fed to a transporting unit 40 to be described later and supplying the object to a predetermined feeding direction.

The push portion 31 is provided on the other side of the upper surface of the support table 10 and has a seating plate 31a having a seating surface on which an object to be fed transmitted from the feeding portion 20 is seated, A push cylinder 31b which is installed on the upper surface of the seating plate 31a and presses and feeds the feeding object in one direction and which is placed on the upper surface of the seating plate 31a; And a swash plate 31c which is installed to be inclined downward in the direction of the swash plate 32 and in which the supply object conveyed by the push cylinder 31b is moved to the aligning unit 32 along the inclined plane.

One of the supply objects transmitted from the two grip portions 24 is provided on the swash plate 31c so that the swash plate 31c is rotated by the swash plate 31c. And the other is placed on the upper surface of the seating plate 31a and then pressed by the push cylinder 31b to the alignment unit 32 .

The aligning unit 32 includes an upright aligning unit 32a for vertically arranging the supply object delivered from the pushing unit 31 and a planar direction aligning unit 32b extending from the upright aligning unit 32a in the direction of the transporting unit 40 And serves to transmit a desired target surface of the supply object to the upper side of the supply object when the supply object is discharged to the transfer unit 40 while transferring the supply object in an upright state.

The upright aligning portion 32a has a pair of vertically arranged plates spaced apart from each other and a space between the pair of plates is disposed at a position corresponding to the lower end of the swash plate 31c. Respectively.

Here, the upright aligning portion 32a serves to support one side of the supply object when the supply object moved along the swash plate 31c is drawn into the pair of plate spacing spaces, thereby to be arranged upright.

The planar direction alignment section 32b includes a conveyance guide section 32ba extending from the upright alignment section 32a in the direction of the conveyance section 40 and a first guide section 32bb provided on the conveyance guide section 32ba, And a second guide part 32bc protruding inward from the inner surface of the conveyance guide part 32ba. The target surface of the conveyance object conveyed in the conveyance direction of the conveyance part 40 is conveyed while being directed upward, So that the object is aligned in a predetermined direction on both sides.

Here, the first guide portion 32bb and the second guide portion 32bc may be selectively used depending on the shape of the object to be fed. However, as in the present embodiment, the conveyance guide portion 32ba and the first guide portion 32bb, The conveyance guide portion 32bb, and the second guide portion 32bc. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the conveyance guide portion 32ba, the first guide portion 32bb, (32bc) may be simultaneously formed and used.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the conveyance guide portion 32ba and the first guide portion 32bb, the conveyance guide portion and the second guide portion 32bc are separately formed, or the conveyance guide portion 32ba The transport guide portion 32ba, the first guide portion 32bb, and the second guide portion 32bc will be described in order, without separately distinguishing them from each other.

The conveying guide portion 32ba is formed in a block shape of approximately "U ", and is inclined in the direction of the conveying portion 40 so as to move the conveying object in the direction of the conveying portion 40, And a passage 32baa of the supply object communicating with the space and having an open top is formed.

The conveying guide portion 32ba has a groove 32bab formed on one side of the lower portion of the inner surface of the inner surface on which the lower portion of the supply object is supported in the direction of the transfer portion 40. A lower portion of the supply object is inserted into the groove portion 32bab, It is preferable to stably transfer the toner along the groove 32bab.

The first guide portion 32bb is provided at one side of the upper portion of the conveyance guide portion 32ba and has an insertion port 32bba into which an upper portion of the object to be fed, which is cut in the direction of the conveyance portion 40, When the upper part of the supply object is inserted into the insertion port 32bba, one side of the supply object on which the supply object is formed is the opposite side of the supply object target surface, that is, the supply object on which the protrusion is formed, When the supply object is discharged from the transfer guide part 32ba while being transported in a supported state, the supply object is caused to conduct in a direction in which the projection is formed, thereby aligning the supply object in a desired target surface direction.

The second guide portion 32bc is formed so as to protrude inward of the conveying guide portion 32ba from one side of the inner side of the conveying guide portion 32ba and is provided with a conveying guide portion 32ba, So that the feeding object is fed in a state in which it is inclined in a direction opposite to the target surface.

That is, when the center of gravity of the supply object is on the target surface, the second guide portion 32bc presses the target surface such that the center of gravity is inclined toward the target surface by the center of gravity and is not conducted, So that the supply object is aligned in a desired direction.

The second guide portion 32bc is configured to move from the one end corresponding to the upright alignment portion to the other end portion so as to naturally press the target surface of the supply object in the course of the supply object passing through the passage 32baa of the conveyance guide portion 32ba. It is preferable that the thickness thereof is gradually increased to a certain extent.

The conveying unit 40 may be a general belt conveyor. The conveying unit 40 is provided at a rear end of the aligning unit 30 to receive a supply object aligned in a predetermined feeding direction from the aligning unit 30 and take it out to the outside. It is to be understood that such a transfer unit 40 is well known to those of ordinary skill in the art so that they can be purchased and used commercially, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 5 is a view illustrating a state in which a grip part grips a supply metabolite according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 illustrates a state in which a supply object is delivered to an alignment part according to an embodiment of the present invention And FIG. 7 is a view illustrating a state in which a supply object is transferred to the alignment unit by the push portion according to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the alignment unit according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 9 is a view showing a state in which the 'B' shaped supply object shown in FIG. 2 passes through the aligning unit according to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. And FIG. 10 is a view illustrating a state in which a supply object is moved to a transfer unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The operation of the automatic feeding apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention having such a configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 10 below.

When the object to be supplied from the outside is fed into the hopper 21, the rotary arm 23 rotates and the grip portion 24 is positioned in a region corresponding to the object to be fed into the hopper 21.

When the grip portion 24 grasps the supply object charged into the hopper 21 by the magnetic force, the weight detection sensor 24c detects the weight of the supply object gripped by the grip portion 24, When the weight of the object exceeds a predetermined reference value, the magnetic force of the grip portion 24 is released, so that the gripped gripped object is removed from the grip portion 24, and then gripped until gripping one supply object.

When the grip portion 24 grasps one supply object, the grip portion 24 grips the supply object and the grip portion 24 rotates upward by a certain angle in the state in which the grip portion 24 grips the supply object, When the grip portion 24 is located at a position corresponding to the alignment portion 30, the control portion releases the magnetic force of the grip portion 24 so that the supply object is transferred to the alignment portion 930.

In this embodiment, a pair of grip parts 24, that is, two grip parts 24 are provided at one end of the rotary arm 23 so that the two supply objects are transferred to the alignment part 30, One of the objects is transferred to the alignment unit 32 while being transferred to the swash plate 31c of the push portion 31 and the other is placed on the upper surface of the seat plate 31a and then pressed against the push cylinder 31b, And is conveyed to the alignment section 32a.

The supply object which has been moved to the aligning unit 32 by the swash plate 31c is drawn into the space between the pair of plates and is supported on one side of the inner wall of the pair of plates and arranged to stand upright in the vertical direction.

The next object to be fed is conveyed to the conveying portion through the passage 32baa of the conveying guide portion 32ba communicated with the pair of plate spacing spaces in an upright state. When the conveying portion is conveyed, the first guide portion 32bb or And the second guide portion 32bc conducts the desired target surface of the both sides of the object to be fed upward.

To be more specific, in order to align and feed the object to be fed 'A' shown in FIG. 2, a plane direction aligning part 32b formed of a conveying guide part 32ba and a first guide part 32bb may be used .

The upper portion of the supply object passing through the passage 32baa of the transport guide portion 32ba is inserted into the insertion opening 32bba formed in the first guide portion 32bb. The upper one side of the supply object is conveyed in a state where it is expected to be positioned on one side of the inner surface of the first guide portion 32bb where the insertion port 32bba is formed.

Accordingly, when the object to be fed passes through the passage 32baa of the conveying guide portion 32ba and is transmitted to the conveying portion, the target surface, which is the opposite surface of the one surface with the center of gravity, And then transferred to the transporting unit.

In order to align and supply the supply object of 'B' shown in FIG. 2, a planar direction alignment unit 32b formed of a conveyance guide unit 32ba and a second guide unit 32bc may be used.

Here, the supply object of 'B' shown in FIG. 2 has its center of gravity located on the target surface side, and the supply object passing through the passage 32baa of the transport guide portion 32ba is inclined toward the target surface by the center of gravity The second guide portion 32bc having a variable thickness pressurizes the target surface of the supply object so that the supply object is inclined in the opposite direction to the target surface having the center of gravity.

Accordingly, when the object to be fed passes through the passage 32baa of the conveying guide portion 32ba and is conveyed to the conveying portion, the object is conveyed in the opposite direction to the target surface having the center of gravity, And is conveyed to the conveying unit in a state aligned toward the conveying unit.

The supply object transferred to the transfer unit 40 is transferred to the outside while being transferred in one direction by the transfer unit 40. [

Although the present invention has been described in connection with the above-mentioned preferred embodiments, it is possible to make various modifications and variations without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the appended claims are intended to cover such modifications or changes as fall within the scope of the invention.

10: support table 20: supply part
21: Hopper 22: Support
23: rotary arm 24: grip portion
24a: main body 24b: gripper
24c: weight sensor 30:
31: push portion 31a: seat plate
31b: Push cylinder 31c: Swash plate
32: alignment unit 32a:
32b: plane direction aligning portion 32ba: conveying guide portion
32baa: passing through 32bab: groove
32bb: first guide portion 32bba:
32bc: second guide portion

Claims (5)

An automatic feeder for feeding a feed object, on which at least one protrusion is formed, to a predetermined feed position,
A supply unit for adsorbing and holding an object to be supplied from the outside and transferring the object to a predetermined area;
The supply target conveyed by the supply unit is delivered and the delivered target object is conveyed in an upright state so that when a target to be supplied is discharged, An alignment unit; And
And a transporting unit for transporting the supply object discharged from the aligning unit in one direction and taking it out to the outside,
Wherein the aligning portion includes at least one pair of guide portions and the opposite side of the target surface of the supply object is conveyed while being anticipated on one side of at least one of the pair of guide portions Automatic supply.
The method according to claim 1,
When the center of gravity of the supply object is on the opposite side of the target surface,
An upright aligning unit having an inlet port formed at an upper portion thereof and supporting one side of the supply object drawn in through the inlet port so as to be arranged upright;
A conveying guide portion extending from the upright aligning portion in the direction of the conveying portion and configured to convey the upright feeding object toward the conveying portion and a conveying guide portion provided at one side of the upper end of the conveying guide portion, And a first guide portion which is fed to the first guide portion.
The method according to claim 1,
When the center of gravity of the supply object is on the target surface side,
An upright aligning unit having an inlet port formed at an upper portion thereof and supporting one side of the supply object drawn in through the inlet port so as to be arranged upright;
A conveying guide portion extending from the upright aligning portion in the direction of the conveying portion and configured to convey the upright feeding object toward the conveying portion and a conveying guide portion protruding inwardly from one side of the conveying guide portion and pressing one side of the target surface of the feeding object And a second guide portion for allowing the supply object to be transported in a state inclined in a direction opposite to the target surface.
The method according to claim 1,
The supply part
A rotary arm rotatably mounted on one side of the installation subject area with reference to a central portion;
And a grip portion which is freely rotatably coupled to the rotary arm end and is vertically disposed by its own weight and which grips an object to be supplied from the outside.
5. The method of claim 4,
The grip portion
A body rotatably coupled to the rotary arm end and disposed vertically by its own weight;
A gripper coupled to a lower end of the main body and gripping the supply object provided from the outside with a magnetic force;
A weight detection sensor installed at one side of the main body and detecting a weight of the supply object gripped by the gripper; And
And a controller for releasing the magnetic force of the gripper when the weight of the supply object applied from the weight sensor exceeds a preset reference value.

Images