JPH0134894B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a component front-back sorting device in a vibrating component feeder.

A vibrating parts feeder is also called a parts feeder.
It is widely used to supply various parts one by one to the next process in a desired posture. Among these, there is one that feeds plate-shaped parts with the front and back sides aligned, and various sorting means have been developed for this purpose. However, in any case, the front and back sides of the parts are detected, and based on this detection, the face-down parts are removed into the parts feeder. Therefore, the efficiency of parts supply from the parts feeder is not satisfactory, and in some cases, the efficiency of parts supply from the parts feeder is approximately 50%
% will be removed to the inside of the parts feeder.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a component front-back sorting device for a vibrating component feeder that can efficiently supply plate-shaped components with their front and back sides aligned and fed to the next process. According to the present invention, in a component front-back sorting device for a vibrating component feeder in which components are transferred by vibration, a track having a substantially V-shaped cross section and a sloped surface on one side of the track are used. component front and back detection means provided oppositely; a single row on the one inclined surface;
A component front/back correction device comprising: means for guiding a single-layer plate-shaped component; and component reversing means provided on one of the inclined surfaces on the downstream side adjacent to the detection position of the component front/back detection means; a horizontal transfer surface having a width approximately equal to the width of the plate-shaped parts to be sorted;
It is provided with both side walls each slanting downward toward the horizontal transfer surface, and a merging track connected to the component front and back straightening device, so that the plate-shaped component can be moved almost continuously to the one inclined surface. As soon as the plate-shaped component is detected by the component front/back detection means to be on the back side, the component reversing means moves the component to a portion of the other inclined surface of the track where the component faces. The parts are driven in reverse and then transported along the other slope, and the parts that have been transported along the one slope and the parts that have been transported along the other slope are separated on the merging track. This is achieved by a component front-back sorting device in a vibrating component feeder, characterized in that the plate-shaped components are brought together and guided downstream with all the plate-shaped components facing up.

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

1A and 1B are an enlarged perspective view of a plate-shaped component applied to this embodiment with the front side facing upward, and an enlarged perspective view of the plate-shaped component with the back side facing upward. This component 1 is a chip which is an electronic component. It is a resistor with a width of about 1.6 mm.
The length is approximately 3 mm and the thickness is 0.6 mm. This embodiment is used to supply such a component 1 in the state shown in FIG. 1A, that is, with the front facing upward.

In FIGS. 2 and 3, the entire parts feeder is indicated by 2 and consists of a bowl-shaped ball 3 and a drive section 4, and the entire parts feeder is supported on a foundation by vibration-proof rubber 5. The drive unit 4 is built into the casing 6,
The movable core 7 is fixed to the bottom of the ball 3.
The movable core 7 and the base block 11 are coupled by a plurality of plate springs 8 arranged at equal angular intervals and inclined, and an alternating current is applied to a coil 10 wound around an electromagnet 9 fixed on the base block 11. Then, a torsional vibration force is generated and applied to the ball 3.

As shown in FIG. 3, the ball 3 has a track 12 formed in a spiral shape, and the parts 1 put into the center bottom of the ball 3 rise from the opening 12a (a large amount of parts 1 are inside the ball 3). are included, but are shown sporadically to make the drawing easier to understand),
It is transported counterclockwise along the track 12, and along this transport path two single-row straightening sections 17
A single-layer straightening section 13 is provided in line with the single-row straightening section 17 on the downstream side. At the end of the track 12 of the ball 3, there is a component surface straightening device 1.
4 is connected and fixed, and then merging track 1
5 is connected and fixed. The part 1 is discharged from the merging track 15 in the attitude shown in FIG. 1A, and is supplied to the next process although not shown.

The single-row straightening section 17 is constructed by forming step-like arcuate notches 17a and 17b in the side wall of the track 12, so that the width of the track 12 in this part is slightly smaller than the width of the part 1. Of the parts 1 in two or more rows that reach this point, only the parts 1 in the innermost row pass through here, and all the parts 1 in the other outer rows pass through the notches 17a, 17.
The structure is such that the part 1 that has been traveling with its longitudinal direction facing sideways also falls there.

As clearly shown in FIG. 4, the single-layer straightening section 13 is composed of a wiper block 16 fixed to the ball 3, and extends from a notch formed on the bottom surface of the wiper block 16 to the conveying surface of the track 12 facing the wiper block 16. The distance is configured to be slightly larger than the height of the component 1. As shown in FIG. 3, a taper 16a is formed on the inner circumferential surface of the wiper block 16, which prevents the parts 1 in the outer row from falling downward among the overlapping parts 1 and the parts 1 in multiple rows. It's easy.

The component front/back correction device 14 mainly includes a block 21 having a groove 22 having a V-shaped cross section as shown in FIG. It consists of an air jet nozzle device 20.

The width of one sloped surface 23 of the groove 22 is larger than the width of the component 1, and the component 1 advances along this sloped surface 23 with its longitudinal direction facing the transfer direction, but as shown in FIG. There is a circular recess 28 at the detection position.
is formed. A component front/back detector 19 is fixed to the block 21 facing the recess 28, and is configured so that light from a light source (not shown) provided in the detection portion 19a illuminates the recess 28. . The detection unit 19a further includes an analyzer (not shown) and is arranged to receive reflected light from the recess 28, that is, the front and back detection position of the component. One of the inclined surfaces 23 of the block 21 is specular, and if the recess 28 is not formed, the detector 19
Although the light from the light source a is almost completely reflected toward the analyzer, the light from the light source is diffusely reflected due to the recess 28, and only a small amount of reflected light is projected onto the analyzer. On the other hand, the front surface of component 1 is non-specular, but the back surface is specular. Thereby, the front and back sides of the component 1 are configured to be detected based on the intensity of the reflected light from the component 1 to the analyzer.

As shown in FIG. 6, an air jet hole 27 is opened on the downstream side adjacent to the recess 28 in one of the inclined surfaces 23, and an air jet nozzle device 20 is installed at the opening of this hole 27 on the outer peripheral side of the block 21. The nozzle 20a is connected to the nozzle 20a.

The width of the other inclined surface 24 of the groove 22 is greater than the width of the component 1, but smaller than the length of the component 1, and the block 21 is further formed with a vertical surface 25 continuous to this inclined surface 24. Note that one inclined surface 23
Although a vertical surface 26 is formed continuously on both sides, the width of the inclined surface 23 may be larger than the length of the component 1.

As shown in FIG. 7, the merging track 15 is constituted by a block 29 having a groove 30 having an inverted trapezoidal cross-sectional shape. The groove 30 consists of a horizontal transfer surface 31 having a width approximately equal to the width of the part 1, and both side walls 32, 33 that are continuous with this transfer surface 31 and slope downwardly at equal angles toward it. .
In addition, the level of the horizontal transfer surface 31 is the bottom of the groove 22 of the component front and back correction device 14, that is, the level of the both inclined surfaces 23, 2
It is on almost the same level as the intersection point of 4.

In this embodiment, one inclined surface 23 of the groove 22 of the component surface straightening device 14 forms an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the horizontal plane, and the track 12 of the ball 3 forms an angle of one inclined surface of the groove 22 as shown in FIG. 23 is slightly inclined in the opposite direction. Therefore, in order to smoothly introduce the component 1 from the track 12 into the inclined surface 23 of one side of the groove 22, the discharge end of the track 12 has a V-shaped cross section and the width gradually increases toward the downstream side. , and a deepening groove 18 is formed, and this groove 1
One inclined surface of the downstream end of groove 8 is aligned with one inclined surface 23 of groove 22 . Also, merging track 1
The slopes of the side wall portions 32 and 33 of the groove 30 of No. 5 form an angle of 30° with respect to the horizontal plane, so that the part 1 can be smoothly introduced into the groove 30 of the merging track 15 from one slope 23 of the groove 22. Similarly, a groove 34 having a V-shaped cross section and gradually increasing in width and depth toward the downstream side is formed at the downstream end of one of the inclined surfaces 23. That is, a groove 34 whose planar shape is shown in FIG. 3 is formed in the block 21 forming the inclined surface 23, but this is due to the horizontal movement of the groove 30 of the merging track 15 as shown in FIG. The groove 34 is formed by a slope 34a that slopes downward in the component transfer direction up to the level of the surface 31 and the vertical inner wall surface 21a of the block 21, and the cross-sectional shape of the groove 34 becomes a V-shape that becomes larger toward the downstream side. ing. Note that the other inclined surface 24 of the groove 22 forms an angle of 30° with respect to the horizontal plane, and the wall portion 33 of the groove 30 of the merging track 15 makes the same angle with the horizontal plane. Other inclined surface 2
The component 1 that has progressed along the track 4 is smoothly guided into the merging track 15.

Although the embodiment of the present invention is configured as described above,
Next, this effect will be explained.

When an alternating current is applied to the coil 10 of the drive section 4, the ball 3 undergoes torsional vibration approximately around its center line, and the large number of parts 1 inserted into the ball 3 move up a spiral track 12. Among the plurality of rows of parts 1 that have reached the single-row straightening section 17, the parts 1 in the rows other than the outermost part fall into the lower track 12 through steps 17a and 17b. In addition, the part 1 that has been traveling sideways in the longitudinal direction also falls here. As clearly shown in FIG. 4, the track 12 is inclined slightly downwardly toward the outside of the ball 3, so the parts 1 in the outermost row advance while coming into contact with the side wall. Furthermore, the reason why the single-row correction section 17 is provided at two locations is because not all the parts 1 are thrown into the center bottom of the ball 3 and the track 12 is not necessarily transferred from the ascending opening 12a. This is because in some cases, parts 1 that have been straightened into a single row may be re-aligned into multiple rows due to interaction.

The parts 1 that have arrived at the single-layer correction section 13 in an overlapping manner are removed by the wiper block 16, and then proceed to the part front-back correction device 14 as a single layer. Note that the overlapping parts 1 are smoothly guided by the tapered surface 16a of the wiper block 16 and are guided downwardly onto the track 1.
It is broken down into two parts. Furthermore, since the component 1 is dropped onto the track 12 immediately below the single-row straightening section 17 and the single-layer straightening section 13, the time it takes to reach the straightening sections 16 and 17 again is longer than that of the conventional ball. Compared to being dropped to the center bottom of 3, this will be much shorter.

The parts 1, which have reached the discharge end of the track 12 of the balls 3 in a single row and in a single layer with the longitudinal direction facing the transport direction, are smoothly guided through the groove 18 onto one inclined surface 23 of the part surface straightening device 14. , proceed along this inclined surface 23. When it reaches the recess 28, it receives light from the detection section 19a of the component front/back detector 19, thereby detecting the front and back sides. If it is facing up, it will continue to move on one of the inclined surfaces 23. Further, as shown in FIG. 6, when the component 1' facing down reaches the recess 28, the detecting section 19a of the component front/back detector 19 detects that the component 1' is facing down, and based on this, the air jet nozzle device 20 is driven, and compressed air is blown out from the hole 27a. This ejected air causes parts 1 to
is inverted and placed on the other inclined surface 24 with the front facing upward as shown by the arrow in FIG. At this time, depending on the frictional force between the part 1 and the inclined surfaces 23 and 24 and the direction of the ejected air, the inverted part 1 may try to rotate on the other inclined surface 24 along this surface. However, this co-movement is prevented by the vertical surface 25, and the part 1' continues to move forward stably with its longitudinal direction facing the transport direction.

The parts 1 that have reached the downstream end of the groove 22 in the above manner are guided onto the groove 30 of the merging track 15 one after another from both inclined surfaces 23 and 24 without changing the front and back directions and without overlapping each other. . That is,
The parts 1 from one inclined surface 23 of the groove 22 are guided along the central horizontal transfer surface 31 by the guiding action of the side walls 32, 33 of the merging track 15, while the parts 1 from the other inclined surface 24 of the groove 22 are guided along the central horizontal transfer surface 31. Part 1 (which reaches the merging track 15 at a certain distance from the part 1 on one inclined surface 23) is also moved onto the central horizontal transfer surface 31 by the guiding action of both side walls 32 and 33 of the merging track 15. guided to follow. In this way, the parts 1 with the front facing upward are supplied one by one from the discharge end of the merging track 15 to the next process.

The embodiments of the present invention have been described above, but of course the present invention is not limited thereto, and various modifications can be made based on the technical idea of the present invention.

For example, in the above embodiments, a parts feeder having a spiral track has been described, but the present invention is also applicable to a recently developed so-called circulating linear parts feeder having a straight track.

Further, in the above embodiment, the component front/back detector 19 is a so-called reflected light type detector, but the detection means is not limited to this, and various known front/back detecting means can be applied. Furthermore, although air ejected from the hole is used as the component reversing means, a pin that can freely protrude from the hole may be used instead.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the component front and back correction device 14
A groove 34 is formed at the downstream end of one of the inclined surfaces 23 of the groove 22 to smoothly introduce the component 1 into the groove 30 of the merging track 15. The effectiveness of the invention will not be lost. Depending on the dimensional relationship between the inclined surface 23 of the groove 22 and the groove 30 of the merging track 15 (for example, the inclination angle of the side wall portion 32 or the angular difference with the horizontal surface 31), or the shape and material of the parts. can be introduced into the merging track 15 sufficiently smoothly even if the groove 30 is omitted.

Note that in this specification, the front side of a component refers to the side that should face upward.

As described above, according to the configuration of the component front-back alignment device in the vibrating component feeder of the present invention, plate-shaped components can be efficiently supplied to the next process almost continuously with the front and back sides aligned.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B are enlarged perspective views of parts applied to the embodiment of the present invention as seen from the front and back, respectively, and FIG. 2 is a parts feeder equipped with a parts front-back sorting device according to the embodiment of the present invention. 3 is a plan view of the same, FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view in the - line direction of FIG. 3, FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of - line direction in FIG. Figure 7 is a partial enlarged plan view in the - line direction.
It is an enlarged sectional view in the - line direction in the figure. In the figure, 1... parts, 2... parts feeder, 3... balls, 4... drive section, 12...
Truck, 14... Parts front and back straightening device, 15...
Merging track, 19...Component front and back detector, 20...
...Air jet nozzle device, 21, 29...Block, 22, 30...Groove, 23...One inclined surface,
24...Other inclined surface, 27...hole, 28...recess, 30...horizontal transfer surface, 32, 33...both side walls.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. In a parts front-back sorting device in a vibrating parts feeder that transports parts by vibration,
A track having a substantially V-shaped cross section, a component front/back detection means provided opposite to one inclined surface of the track, and a plate-shaped component guided to the one inclined surface in a single row and in a single layer. and a component reversing means provided on the one inclined surface on the downstream side adjacent to the detection position of the component front and back detection means, and the plate-shaped component to be sorted. a horizontal transfer surface having a width approximately equal to the width of the board; and both side walls respectively inclined downwardly toward the horizontal transfer surface, and connected to the component surface straightening device; A shaped part is almost continuously guided onto the one inclined surface, and as soon as it is detected that the plate-shaped part is on the back side by the part front/back detection means, the part is moved onto the track by the part reversing means. The component is reversely driven to the opposite part of the other inclined surface, and thereafter transferred along the other inclined surface, and the part that has been transferred along the one inclined surface in the merging track; Components front and back sorting in a vibrating component feeder, characterized in that the components transferred along the other inclined surface are merged with each other, and all the plate-shaped components are guided downstream with their faces facing up. Device. 2. The above item 1, wherein the width of the other sloped surface is larger than the width of the plate-shaped component but smaller than its length, and a vertical surface is formed continuously to the sloped surface. A component front and back sorting device in the vibrating component feeder described above.