JPH0436809B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Field of Application] The present invention relates to a workpiece alignment and supply device that supplies workpieces in a fixed posture to, for example, a heat treatment furnace or an automatic assembly machine.

[Conventional technology]

BACKGROUND ART In automatic assembly machines and heat treatment furnaces that automatically process workpieces, it is desirable for processing efficiency and process control to process the workpieces in the same orientation. For this reason, for example, there are systems that visually recognize a workpiece in a random position, grip it according to the position of the workpiece, move it to a predetermined position, and feed it to a preset position, or apply high-frequency vibrations.
There is a type called a bowl feeder that feeds only workpieces in a preset posture to a predetermined position while conveying them in a predetermined direction, and various types of feeders have been used depending on the size, shape, quantity, etc. of the workpiece.

One of them is a workpiece alignment and supply device proposed by the present applicant in Japanese Patent Application No. 169203/1983. As shown in FIG. 6, the workpiece aligning and supplying device presented as an embodiment in this application includes a hopper 1 into which, for example, cylindrical workpieces 10 are randomly introduced and stored, and a lower part of the hopper 1 in an inclined direction. means 22, 23, 24, 25 for pushing up the first to fourth works located in the lead-out portion 1a, and the side plate 5.
Adjacent to the workpiece storage section 4 of the hopper 1 across c.
It is mainly composed of a workpiece conveying device 5 including a pair of belt conveyors 5a and 5b whose workpiece mounting surface substantially coincides with the upper end surface 5d of the side plate 5c.

The hopper 1 is provided with an inclined surface 1b so that the workpiece 10 moves in a certain direction (downward in the figure) due to its gravity and is positioned on the lead-out part 1a side. A pair of push-up plates 22a and 23a are located therein. When the push-up plates 22a and 23a are in their lowest position, their upper end surfaces 2
2d and 23d are located at or below the lower end of the inclined surface 1b, and the upper end surfaces 22d and 23d are formed into inclined surfaces parallel to the inclined surface 1b of the hopper 1. Further, the push-up plates 22a and 23a are connected to the air cylinder 2 disposed below via rods 22b and 23b.
2c and 23c, respectively, thereby forming the first and second pushing up means 22 and 23.

The pushing up means 22, 23 via the partition plate 3
Push-up plates 24a and 25a are located at positions facing the
are arranged, and these push-up plates 24a, 25a
Similarly to the first and second push-up means 22, 23, the rods 24b, 25b and the rods 24b,
It is connected to air cylinders 24c and 25c that drive the pump 25b, and these constitute third and fourth pushing up means 24 and 25. The upper end surface 3a of the partition plate 3 substantially coincides with the uppermost position of the upper end surfaces 22d, 23d of the push-up plates 22a, 23a, and the upper end surfaces 24d, 25d of the lowermost positions of the push-up plates 24a, 25a correspond to the uppermost positions of the upper end surfaces 22d, 23d of the partition plate 3. The upper end surfaces 24d and 25d are also formed parallel to the slope of the inclined surface 1b. As a result, the push-up plate 22
a, 23a is in the uppermost position, and the push-up plate 24
When a, 25a is at the lowest position, the upper end surface 22
d, 23d, 3d, 24d, and 25d are set to be lined up almost in a straight line.

In the workpiece alignment and supply device configured as described above, the workpiece 10 guided to the lead-out portion 1a in FIG.
a pushes up above the partition plate 3, and the side surface of the cylindrical workpiece 10 is pushed up by the plates 22a and 23.
Only those placed parallel to the partition plate 3 on the upper end surfaces 22d and 23d of a roll and move in the directions of arrows I and J in FIGS. It is placed on the upper end surfaces 24d, 25d of the third and fourth push-up plates 24a, 23a located on opposite sides, and is pushed up from the P position to the Q position in FIG. Then, from the Q position, the third and fourth push-up plates 24
a, 25a, and climbs over the upper end surface 5d of the side plate 5c to reach the R position, where it is placed on the first belt conveyor 5a.

In the above process, the first and second push-up plates 22
a, 23a (also 24a, 25a) are shown in Figure 7a,
As shown in Fig. 7b, when pushing up, both of them simultaneously rise to the position shown in Fig. 7b by the operation of the air cylinders 22c and 23c, and when they reach the uppermost position, they are separated from the partition plate 3 as shown in Fig. 7c. side, that is, the first push-up plate 2 on the hopper 1 side
2a descends first. For this reason, Fig. 7a,
As shown in Figure b, only when the side surface of the workpiece 10 is placed on the upper end surfaces 22d and 23d of the push-up plates 22a and 23a and is in a certain posture parallel to the upper end surface 3d of the partition plate 3, the arrow Although the workpiece 10 can be moved in the I and J directions, if the cut end surface of the workpiece 10 is placed on the upper end surfaces 22d and 23d of the push-up plate as shown in FIG.
As shown in Figure c and Figure 8a, I lost my balance and
It will fall in the direction of arrows K and L.

Therefore, objects that cannot be pushed up in a predetermined posture fall and are returned to the work storage section 4 of the hopper 1, where they are mixed with other objects.
When a and 23a are lowered, another workpiece 10 is again placed on the upper end surfaces 22d and 23d, and the above operation is performed without interruption.

The third and fourth parts provided on the opposite side of the partition plate 3
The push-up plates 24a and 25a also perform similar operations, but their operations are associated with the first and second push-up plates.
After 2a and 23a have been raised to the positions shown in FIGS. 7b and 8b, a pushing-up operation is performed. In addition to this, the push-up plates 22a, 23a, 2
4a and 25a have relatively large dimensions in the width direction, the workpiece 10 pushed up by the push-up plates 24a and 25a while being conveyed by the belt conveyors 5a and 5b is transferred to the first belt conveyor. The workpiece 10 at the R position on the belt conveyor 5a is pushed and moved to the S position on the second belt conveyor 5b, and the belt conveyors 5a, 5 formed in two rows are moved to the S position on the second belt conveyor 5b.
b can be transported to the subsequent process in a fixed posture. This makes it possible to efficiently align and supply the works 10.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

By the way, in the workpiece alignment and supply device configured as described above, the pair of push-up plates 22a and 23a
The key point is the relative movement of the pair of push-up plates 22a, 25a, and the first or third push-up plate 22a, 24a, which is the one farther from the partition plate 3 or the side plate 5c, By lowering the second or fourth push-up plates 23a, 25a, which are closer to the partition plate 3 or the side plate 5c, the above-mentioned effect can be achieved.

Therefore, in order to perform this action reliably, each push-up plate 22a, 23a, 24a, 25
It is necessary to control the raising and lowering of a in a timely manner.
Therefore, in the above example, air cylinders 22c, 23c, 24c, 25c and rods 22b, 23b, 24b, 25b are required for each push-up plate.
Furthermore, a control device for controlling these mutual operations has become necessary. However, each push-up plate 22a,
Providing an air cylinder for each of 23a, 24a, and 25a and further providing a control device to control the operation of the air cylinder increases the number of parts and complicates the control system of the control device that sets the individual timings. At the same time, these problems also led to higher costs.

This invention has been made in view of the above technical background, and its purpose is to improve the workpiece alignment and supply device according to the above proposal, and to provide a workpiece alignment and supply device with a small number of parts, easy control, and low cost. The goal is to provide equipment.

[Means for solving problems]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention includes a hopper for storing a large number of works, a conveying means provided adjacent to the hopper via a partition plate, and a transport means for transporting the works in the hopper along the partition plate. In the workpiece aligning and supplying apparatus, the workpiece aligning and supplying apparatus includes a pushing means including a driving means for pushing up onto the conveying means in a predetermined posture, and a driving means for driving the pushing means, wherein the pushing means is driven by the driving means, and the lifting means is driven by the driving means to A driving plate whose upper end is located at a higher position than the upper end of the partition plate when positioned, and a driving plate that is movable with a preset stroke for this driving plate, and whose upper end is higher than the upper end of the driving plate when positioned at the top. a driven plate that is low and located at a position that is approximately the same as or higher than the upper end of the partition plate;
A latch means is provided for holding the driven plate at the uppermost position when the driven plate reaches the uppermost position and allowing the main driving plate to move relative to the driven plate by the amount of the stroke.

[Effect]

According to the above means, when the driving plate is raised, the driven plate is also raised, and when it reaches the uppermost position, the driven plate is held at that position by the latch means, and the driving plate is lowered by a preset stroke. Since the driven plate also lowers for the first time, the delayed movement of the driven plate becomes possible simply by moving the main driving plate up and down. This simplifies the drive means and facilitates control.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a partially cross-sectional schematic side view showing the internal structure of the workpiece alignment and supply device according to the embodiment, FIG. 2 is a schematic rear view of the device, and FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view of the device. In the following description, components that are the same as or can be considered to be the same as those of the conventional example are given the same reference numerals, and redundant description will be omitted as appropriate.

In FIGS. 1 to 3, the workpiece aligning and supplying device includes a hopper 1 and a first push-up plate 2 disposed at a lower end lead-out portion 1a of an inclined surface 1b of the hopper 1.
2a and a second push-up plate 23a, a partition plate 3 provided adjacent to this second push-up plate 23a, and a third push-up plate 24a and a fourth push-up plate 24a provided adjacent to this partition plate 3. The fourth push-up plate 25a is adjacent to the hopper 1 via the partition plate 3, and the conveying device 5 has a side plate 5c adjacent to the fourth push-up plate 25a.

First push-up plate 22a and second push-up plate 2
3a, the third push-up plate 24a, and the fourth push-up plate 25a are in the relationship of a driving plate and a driven plate, respectively, and as shown in FIG. Boards 22a, 24a
A screw hole 31 is screwed in a predetermined position in the second and fourth push-up plates 23a and 25, which are driven plates.
A hole 32 having a length preset in consideration of the relative positional relationship between the driving plate and the driven plate is bored at a position corresponding to the screw hole 31 in a.

A large screw 33 is screwed into the screw hole 31, inserted into the elongated hole 32, and has a screw hole 33a on the end face in the axial direction. and the first and third
The push-up plates 22a, 23a are attached to the second and fourth push-up plates 23a, 25a by machine screws 36, respectively.
and the push-up plates 24a, 25a are aligned with each other through the elongated hole 3.
2. The stroke defined by the length of 2 can be moved relative to each other. In addition, second and fourth push-up plates 23a, 2 which are driven plates
The side surface of 5a has an engagement groove 37 and an upwardly inclined surface 38.
An engaged member 39 is provided.

The push-up plates 22a and 24a are the side plates of the device 1m,
The engaged members 3 on the side surfaces of the push-up plates 23a and 25a are provided in the full width between 1n and can be moved up and down along the side surfaces 1m and 1n.
As shown in FIG. 5, a ball body 40 and a spring 41 that biases the ball body 40 in the lateral direction of the push-up plates 23a and 25a are provided at a location facing the disposed portion of 9 and capable of holding the uppermost position. It is provided with an engaging member 42 consisting of. The engaged member 39 and the engaging member 42 constitute a latch means.

One ends of connecting rods 51 and 52 are connected to the first and third push-up plates, which are the main moving plates, respectively. The other ends of these connecting rods 51, 52 are connected to first and second rotating wheels 53, 54, respectively, with a phase difference of 180 degrees, and these rotating wheels 53, 5
sprockets 55 and 56 coaxially connected to sprocket 4, coaxial sprockets 57 and 58 chain-connected thereto, and further these sprockets 5
Sprocket 59 coaxially mounted with 7 and 58
The sprocket 61 that is attached to the rotating shaft of the motor 60 connects the motor 60 via the chain 62.
The rotation of the rotating wheels 53, 54 is transmitted to the rotating wheels 53, 54, and the connecting rods 51, 52 convert the rotational motion of the rotating wheels 53, 54 into linear reciprocating motion of the push-up plates 22a, 24a. Others, work 1
The conveying device 5, hopper 1, etc. of 0 are constructed in the same manner as in the conventional example.

Next, the operation of the workpiece aligning and supplying device configured as described above will be explained.

First, when the connection point 51a of the connecting rod 51 of the rotating wheel 53 is located at the bottom dead center due to the rotation of the motor 60, the first push-up plate 22a is lowered to the lowest position, and the upper end surface 22d of the push-up plate 22a is pushed up. It has reached almost the same level as the derived section 1a of No. 1. At this time, the inner edge of the upper end of the elongated hole 32 of the second push-up plate 23a comes into contact with the upper part of the roller 34, which is inserted through the large screw 33 screwed into the first push-up plate 22a, and the lowering position of the second push-up plate 23a is regulated. , both push-up plates 22
The upper end surfaces 22d and 23d of the upper end surfaces 22d and 23d of the upper end surfaces 22d and 23d of the upper end surfaces 22d and 23d of the upper end surfaces 22d and 23d of the upper end surfaces 22d and 23d of the upper end surfaces 22d and 23d of the upper end surfaces 22d and 23d of the upper end surfaces 22d and 23d of the upper end surfaces 22d and 23d of the upper end surfaces 22d and 23d of the upper end surfaces 22d and 23d of the upper end surfaces 22d and 23d of the upper end surfaces 22d and 23d of the hopper 1 and the upper end surfaces 22d and 23d of the hopper 1 are inclined and positioned on the same plane following the lead-out part 1 a of the hopper 1 . As a result, the workpiece 10 loaded into the storage section 4 of the hopper 1 is guided from the inclined surface 1b to the lead-out section 1a, and
d, placed on 23d.

On the other hand, the connection point 52a of the connection member 52 connected to the rotating wheel 54 with a phase difference of 180 degrees is at the top dead center, and the third push-up plate 24a connected to the connection rod 52 is also located at the highest position. and its upper end surface 24
d is the upper end surface 5d of the side plate 5c of the workpiece conveyance device 5
is at almost the same level as the fourth push-up plate 25a.
are also on the same level due to the above structure.

As the motor 60 rotates from the above position, the rotating wheels 53 and 54 also rotate, and the upper end surfaces 22d of the first and second push-up plates 22a and 23a
The workpiece 10 located at 23d is pushed up by both plates 22
a, 23a to push up along the partition plate 3. At this time, the third and fourth push-up plates 24
a, 25a are lowered in the opposite direction, and when the first and second push-up plates 22a, 23a reach the uppermost position,
The groove 37 of the engaged member 39 attached to the side surface of the second push-up plate 23a engages with the ball body 40, and the second push-up plate 23a is held in the engaged position, and the third and Fourth push-up plate 2
4a and 25a are located at the lowest position. As a result, the push-up plates 22a, 23a, 2
4a, upper end surfaces 22d, 23d, 24d of 25a,
25d holds the upper end surface 3d of the partition plate 3 in the middle, and the upper end surface 25d side of the fourth push-up plate 25a is lower than the upper end surface 22d side of the first push-up plate 22a, so that the five are positioned on the same plane. I will do it. Then, as the rotation progresses further, the first push-up plate 22a descends, and the third push-up plate 2
4a starts to rise, but the first push-up plate 22a
Even when it begins to descend, the second push-up plate 23a is still held at the uppermost position because the engaged state of the engaged member 39 and the ball body 40 continues, and the second push-up plate 23a is in the same state as in FIG. 7c described above. . As a result, work 1
0, the upper end surfaces 22d and 23d in the state shown in Fig. 8b.
Only those located at the upper end 3d of the partition plate 3 pass through the upper end 3d of the partition plate 3,
The one placed on the upper end surfaces 24d and 25d of a, with the cut end side placed, is placed on the upper end surface 24d, 25d as described above.
It falls from 2d and 23d and returns to the hoppa again.

Then, push up the plate 22 in a preset posture.
Only those placed on the upper end surfaces 22d and 23d of the third and fourth push-up plates 24a and 23a
It is placed on the upper end surfaces 24d and 25d of the motors 25a and 25a, and is pushed up onto the side plate 5c as the motor 60 rotates. In parallel with this operation, the roller 34 loosely fitted into the large screw 33 screwed into the first push-up plate 22a comes into contact with the inner edge of the lower end of the elongated hole 32 of the second push-up plate 23a, and the second push-up occurs. Board 2
Pull down 3a. This pulling down action causes the grooves 39 of the engaged member of the ball body 40 to
The engagement with the second push-up plate 2 is released.
3a is lowered together with the lowering operation of the first push-up plate 22a.

Raised third and fourth push-up plates 24a, 2
5a also includes first and second push-up plates 22a, 23a.
Similarly, it acts on the side plate 5c in the same manner as the partition plate 3, and similarly to the conventional example, the workpiece 10 is transferred to the first and second belt conveyors 5a,
5b, and can be transported to a post-processing device (not shown) in a preset fixed posture.

In this way, according to the above embodiment, the first and third push-up plates 22a and 24a are used as active plates,
A conventional workpiece aligning and supplying device can be constructed by simply moving the push-up plates 22a and 24a up and down, and since there are only two members to be driven up and down, the driving device can be simplified. Further, since the operations of both the push-up plates 22a and 24a may be set in opposite phases to each other, it is easy to set the operation timings of both of them. Therefore, in this embodiment, the rotating wheels 53 and 54 are mounted on the same rotating shaft.
The connecting points 51a and 52a of the connecting rods 51 and 52 are set at 180 degrees, and the four push-up plates 22
It is no longer necessary to adjust the operation timings of each of a, 23a, 24a, and 25a.

Note that these first and third push-up plates 22a,
As in this embodiment, the pushing up means 24a includes a motor 60 and sprockets 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, which are chain-driven by the motor 60.
61 or the like, two air cylinders similar to the conventional example may be used and controlled so that their operations are opposite to each other. Even with this configuration, the number of parts is reduced compared to the conventional example, and control is also simplified.

Further, in the above embodiment, the workpiece 10 is pushed up in two stages, but
It goes without saying that the structure may be configured to have one or several pushing stages depending on the shape and use of the workpiece 10.

〔effect〕

As is clear from the explanation so far, the active plate,
This driven plate is pushed up by a driven plate attached to the driven plate so as to be movable by a preset stroke, and a latch means that holds the driven plate at its uppermost position and allows the driven plate to move relative to the driven plate by the amount of the above-mentioned stroke. According to the present invention, the number of driving means can be reduced, so the number of parts can be reduced, and the lifting control can be simplified, and a workpiece alignment and feeding device can be provided at a low cost. can be provided.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 to 5 are for explaining an embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1 is a schematic side view showing the internal structure of the workpiece alignment and supply device, FIG. 2 is a rear view thereof, and FIG. The figure is a plan view of the same, Figure 4 is a perspective view of the main parts showing how the push-up plates are attached to each other, Figure 5 is an enlarged view of the main parts showing the latch structure, and Figures 6 to 8 are for explaining the conventional example. Fig. 6 is a schematic side view showing the internal structure of the workpiece alignment and supply device;
FIGS. 7a, 7b, and 7c are explanatory diagrams showing the operation of the pushing up means, respectively, and FIGS. 8a and 8b are explanatory diagrams showing the selection function of the pushing up means, respectively. In the figure, 1 is a hopper, 1a is a lead-out part, 3 is a partition plate, 5 is a conveyance device, 5c is a side plate, 10 is a workpiece,
22, 23, 24, 25 are push-up means; 22
a, 23a, 24a, 25a are push-up plates, 32
33 is a long hole, 33 is a large screw, 34 is a roller, 39 is an engaged member, 40 is a ball body, 41 is a spring, 51,
52 is a connecting rod, 53, 54 is a rotating wheel, 55, 5
6, 57, 58, 59, 61 are sprockets, 6
0 is a motor, and 62 is a chain.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A hopper for storing a large number of workpieces, a transport means installed adjacent to the hopper via a partition plate, and a transport means for transporting the workpieces in the hopper in a predetermined posture along the partition plate. In a workpiece aligning and supplying device comprising a pushing means including a driving means placed on the means, the pushing means is driven by the driving means, and when located at the top, the upper end thereof is higher than the upper end of the partition plate. A drive plate located at a high position, and a movable drive plate attached to the drive plate with a preset stroke, the upper end of which is lower than the upper end of the drive plate when positioned at the top, and is approximately the same as the upper end of the partition plate. Or a driven plate located at a higher position than that, and a latch that holds the driven plate at the uppermost position when the driven plate reaches the uppermost position and allows the main driving plate to move relative to the driven plate by the above stroke amount. A workpiece alignment and supply device comprising: means. 2. The work aligning and supplying device according to claim 1, wherein the driving means is an air cylinder driven by compressed air. 3. In claim 1, the driving means includes a connecting rod having one end connected to the driving plate, a rotating member connecting the other end of the connecting rod, a motor for rotating the rotating member, and a motor for rotating the rotating member. A workpiece aligning and supplying device comprising a transmission means for transmitting rotation to the rotating member. 4. In claim 1, the means for movably attaching the driven plate to the main driving plate with a preset stroke includes an elongated hole drilled in the driven plate and having a length corresponding to the stroke; A workpiece aligning and supplying device characterized in that it is a threaded member that is inserted into a hole and has one end threadedly engaged with the driving plate. 5. In claim 1, the latching means includes an engaged member that is attached to a side surface of the driven plate and includes a groove and an inclined guide surface that continues above the groove, and a side surface of the driven plate. a ball body that is attached to a frame disposed on the side surface of the driven plate, is capable of reciprocating in a direction perpendicular to the side surface of the driven plate, and is capable of engaging with the groove; A workpiece alignment and supply device characterized by a spring that biases the workpiece to the side.