TWI851925B - Method for arranging transported objects and system for arranging transported objects - Google Patents

Abstract

The transport object aligning method and transport object aligning system of the present invention use magnetic force to arrange transport objects transported at high speed and high density in a regular manner without obstacles, efficiently and reliably; in the process of transporting transport objects (CA) containing magnetic materials along a transport path in a transport direction (F), the posture of the transport objects is controlled according to the direction of the magnetic flux (Φm) generated by a magnet (137) arranged beside the transport path, and the direction of the magnetic flux on the transport path is changed toward the transport direction; when the transport objects approach the magnet, the magnetic flux (Φm) is controlled. During the upstream transport process, the transported objects are unified into the second transport posture in which the row direction is inconsistent with the transport direction, and the interval deviation of the front and rear transported objects in the transport direction is reduced through the magnetic repulsion between the transported objects. Then, during the downstream transport process after the transported objects are far away from the magnet, the transported objects gradually change their posture on the transport path according to the change of the direction of the magnetic flux on the transport path toward the transport direction, thereby finally changing to the first transport posture in which the row direction is consistent with the transport direction, so that the transported objects are arranged regularly.

Description

Method for arranging transported objects and system for arranging transported objects

The present invention relates to a method for aligning (regularly arranging) transported objects and a system for aligning transported objects.

In the past, as a conveying device such as a feeder, there is a known conveying device that is configured to supply electronic devices and other conveyed objects to various supply target devices such as inspection devices, installation devices, transfer devices, and tapping devices in a state where the conveyed objects are neatly arranged in a predetermined posture. In such a conveying device, the posture of the conveyed objects on the conveying path is identified by appearance measurement, and air flow is sprayed on the conveyed objects based on the identification results, so that the conveyed objects with unqualified postures are removed from the conveying path, or the conveyed objects are rotated to change their postures, thereby unifying the postures of the conveyed objects.

However, there are conveyed objects that have magnetic materials, such as laminated ceramic capacitors. In such conveyed objects that have magnetic materials, since the posture can be detected by magnetism or changed by magnetic force, various methods for detecting the posture of conveyed objects using electromagnetic magnets or permanent magnets (see Patent Document 1 below) and methods for changing the posture (see Patent Documents 2 to 4 below) have been proposed.

Prior art literature

Patent Literature

Patent document 1: Japanese Patent Publication No. 2014-130912

Patent document 2: Japanese Patent Publication No. 5-229634

Patent document 3: Japanese Patent Publication No. 5-43468

Patent document 4: Japanese Patent Publication No. 2011-18698

However, as a conveyed object that can be subjected to magnetic detection as described above or a posture change based on magnetic force, there are electronic devices having external electrodes made of magnetic material and electronic devices having internal electrodes made of magnetic material such as a laminated ceramic capacitor. For these devices, the direction of the magnet is set to be consistent with the standard posture so that the conveyed object is controlled to the standard posture by magnetic force. For example, in the above-mentioned patent document 4, the internal electrodes 3 of the electronic device 1 are all set to a posture consistent with the magnetic flux direction of the first magnet 21 (refer to Figure 1 (c), Figure 4, Figure 8, Figure 11). In addition, in this document, the electronic device 1 is adsorbed on the conveying surface by the magnetic attraction of the second magnet 22 and the standard posture is maintained.

However, in recent years, conveying devices are required to transport a large number of fine objects, so the objects transported at a high density must be reliably arranged in a regular manner. However, since the posture of the objects is changed one by one in the above-mentioned prior methods, if the transportation is directly increased in speed, there are problems such as obstacles in the transportation posture and inability to arrange them regularly at high speed. For example, when changing the posture of the object, the front and rear objects interfere with each other and cannot be changed correctly, or when changing the posture of the object being transported, the front and rear objects are drawn in, causing the posture of the object that is already in a standard posture to be disrupted.

Therefore, the present invention is an invention to solve the above-mentioned problem, and its subject is to provide a method for arranging transported objects that can be transported at high speed and high density without obstacles, efficiently and reliably in a regular arrangement by means of magnetic force.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the method for arranging transported objects of the present invention is to control the posture of the transported objects according to the direction of the magnetic flux generated by the magnets arranged beside the transport path during the process of transporting the transported objects containing magnetic materials along the transport path in the transport direction, and is configured to change the direction of the magnetic flux on the transport path toward the transport direction, thereby utilizing the magnetic force to arrange the transported objects in a first transport posture on the transport path. In the method for arranging transported objects, in the process of transporting the transported objects on the upstream side of the magnets by being transported on the transport path, the transported objects are unified into a second transport posture on the transport path, and the transported objects are arranged in a second transport posture by the magnets arranged on the transport path. The magnetic repulsive force between the transported objects reduces the interval deviation of the front and rear transported objects in the transport direction, wherein the second transport posture is a posture in which the alignment direction of the transported objects is inconsistent with the transport direction, and the alignment direction should be consistent with the transport direction in the first transport posture; then, in the process of downstream transport of the transported objects away from the magnet by being transported on the transport path, the transported objects are gradually changed in posture on the transport path according to the change of the direction of the magnetic flux on the transport path toward the transport direction, thereby finally changing to the first transport posture in which the alignment direction is consistent with the transport direction, so that the transported objects are arranged regularly. Thus, once the second transport posture is unified by a strong magnetic field, the direction of the magnetic flux gradually changes, and the gradually weakening magnetic field gradually guides it to the first transport posture, so that even at a high transport speed, it can be arranged regularly without causing any obstacles, efficiently and reliably.

In the present invention, it is preferred that the transported object has a length direction, and the length direction is the alignment direction that is consistent with the transport direction in the first transport posture. Thus, in the process of the transported object approaching the magnet, the transported object is unified into the second transport posture in which the length direction of the transported object is inconsistent with the transport direction on the transport path, so that it is easy to expand the interval between the front and rear transported objects, and thus it is easy to further unify the deviation of the interval, so that the transported objects can be arranged more neatly in the first transport posture. In this case, the second transport posture is preferably a posture in which the length direction is perpendicular to the transport direction. In this way, when the second transport posture is unified, the interval between the transported objects can be further expanded, so it is also easy to further unify the deviation of the interval, and finally the transported objects can be arranged more neatly.

In the present invention, it is preferred that the transport object contains the magnetic body in a manner that keeps it stable in a posture in which the alignment direction is along the direction of the magnetic flux. Thereby, the alignment direction of the transport object can be controlled by the direction of the magnetic flux, and therefore, the following form of magnetic flux distribution can be easily achieved by setting the strength or position of the magnet, that is, after being arranged in a second transport posture, the desired alignment state in the first transport posture can be obtained. In this case, the alignment direction is preferably the length direction of the transport object. In addition, the second transport posture is preferably a posture in which the alignment direction is perpendicular to the transport direction. Furthermore, in this case, it is preferred that the magnet has a magnetic pole facing a direction perpendicular to the transport direction relative to the transport path. However, the magnet may be arranged relative to the transport path so that the direction connecting a pair of magnetic poles is parallel to the transport direction.

In the present invention, it is preferred that during the downstream conveying process, as the conveyed object is conveyed toward the conveying direction and the magnetic influence of the magnet on the posture of the conveyed object decreases, the direction of the magnetic flux on the conveying path gradually approaches the first direction corresponding to the first conveying posture from the second direction corresponding to the second conveying posture. In this way, the posture of the conveyed object can be smoothly changed from the second conveying posture to the first conveying posture, and before the magnetic influence of the magnet disappears, the direction of the magnetic flux will not exceed the first direction, so the first conveying posture of the conveyed object will not be disrupted.

In the present invention, it is preferred that the conveying path is configured to convey the conveyed object by reciprocating vibrations in an obliquely forward and upward direction in the conveying direction. Thus, the conveyed object is conveyed in a suspended state on the conveying path by the above-mentioned vibrations, so that the posture control of the conveyed object based on magnetism can be easily and accurately performed.

In the present invention, it is preferred that the conveying path has a conveying bottom portion having a concave curved cross-sectional profile. In this case, the conveying bottom portion having an arc-shaped or U-shaped circular groove or other concave curved cross-sectional profile is preferably a shape in which the flat surface is reduced compared to the contact area of the conveyed object. Specifically, the curvature radius R of the conveying bottom portion is preferably greater than half of the maximum dimension K of the conveyed object. In addition, when the conveyed object is in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped, the above-mentioned maximum dimension K is the square root of the sum of the squares of the length L, the width W, and the height H, that is, K=(L ² +W ² +H ² ) ^1/2 . Here, when L>W, L>H, it is particularly desired that the above-mentioned curvature radius R is greater than (1/2)L. In addition, the curvature radius R of the above-mentioned conveying bottom portion may also have different values depending on the position. However, it is preferred that the entire concavely curved portion have a curvature radius R that fully satisfies all of the above conditions.

Next, the transport object alignment system of the present invention comprises: a transport object including a magnetic material, a transport path for transporting the transport object in a transport direction, and a magnet, the magnet being arranged beside the transport path and forming a magnetic flux distribution on the transport path within at least a specified range in the transport direction of the transport path to affect the transport posture of the transport object, the transport object alignment system arranges the transport object in a first transport posture; in the transport object alignment system, the magnetic flux distribution within the specified range, the transport object is transported on the transport path in a direction toward the transport direction, and the magnet is arranged beside the transport path and forms a magnetic flux distribution on the transport path to affect the transport posture of the transport object ... In the upstream conveying path region where the conveying direction is conveyed and close to the magnet, the direction of the magnetic flux is gradually changed to a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction in a manner that the conveyed object is gradually guided to a second conveying posture different from the first conveying posture; and the magnetic flux distribution is in the downstream conveying path region where the conveyed object is conveyed toward the conveying direction on the conveying path and away from the magnet, in a manner that the conveyed object is gradually guided from the second conveying posture to the first conveying posture, so that the direction of the magnetic flux is gradually changed to the conveying direction.

In the present invention, it is preferred that the transported object has a length direction, and the length direction is consistent with the transport direction in the first transport posture. In this case, the second transport posture is preferably a posture in which the length direction is perpendicular to the transport direction.

In the present invention, it is preferred that the transport object includes the magnetic body in a manner that keeps stability in a posture along the direction of the magnetic flux in a direction consistent with the transport direction in the first transport posture. In this case, the consistent direction is preferably the length direction of the transport object. In addition, the second transport posture is preferably a posture in which the consistent direction is perpendicular to the transport direction. Furthermore, in this case, it is preferred that the magnet has a magnetic pole facing a direction perpendicular to the transport direction relative to the transport path.

In the present invention, it is preferred that in the downstream conveying path area, as the conveyed object is conveyed toward the conveying direction and the magnetic influence exerted by the magnet on the posture of the conveyed object decreases, the direction of the magnetic flux on the conveying path gradually approaches the first direction corresponding to the first conveying posture from the second direction corresponding to the second conveying posture.

In the present invention, it is preferred to further include a recognition control unit, which recognizes the transported objects at the downstream side of the downstream conveying path area and at the position where the transported objects are regularly arranged and transported in the first conveying posture, and controls the transported objects according to the recognition result. As the recognition control unit, there can be cited a recognition exclusion unit that excludes defective products or transported objects with bad postures from the above-mentioned conveying path, a recognition flip unit that rotates the transported objects with bad postures to change their postures, etc.

According to the present invention, a method for arranging transported objects can be provided, which can use magnetic force to arrange transported objects at high speed and high density in an orderly manner without any obstacles, efficiently and reliably.

100: Vibrating conveyor

101: Setting table

102: Support platform

110: Transport material supply department

112: Hopper

120: First conveying unit

130: Second conveying unit

132: Vibrating body

132t:Transportation road

132tr, 132tp, 132ts: Transmission path part

132trs: Magnetic influence range of transmission line

132tr0: closest position

132tr1: Upstream conveyor area

132tr2: Downstream conveyor area

132trb, 132tpb, 132tsb: bottom surface

137(M):Magnet

137a(Ms):Magnetic pole

Φm: Magnetic flux

Sm: magnetic pole area

Bm: Magnetic flux density

CA: Transport

CAx: Column direction axis

L: Length

W: Width

H: Height

K: Maximum size

Q: Magnetic attraction

FIG1 is a top view of an example of a vibrating conveying device constituting an implementation of a conveying material aligning system for implementing the conveying material aligning method of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a side view of the vibrating conveyor.

In Figure 3, (a) is an external view composed of a front view and a side view of the transported object of the embodiment, and (b) is a cross-sectional view composed of a front cross-sectional view and a side cross-sectional view.

FIG4 is an explanatory diagram showing the stable posture of the transported object in the magnetic field according to the implementation method.

FIG5 is a schematic diagram showing the positional relationship between the magnet and the conveying path of the embodiment.

FIG6 is an explanatory diagram showing the state of the conveying path within a specified range where the magnetic field generated by the magnet of the embodiment affects the conveying posture of the conveyed object.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a wider range of the transport path of this embodiment.

Next, the implementation of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. First, the vibration type conveyor device constituting the conveyor arrangement system of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2. The vibration type conveyor device 100 comprises: a conveyor supply unit 110 disposed on a setting table 101, a first conveyor unit 120 for conveying the conveyor supplied from the conveyor supply unit 110, and a second conveyor unit 130 for conveying the conveyor supplied from the first conveyor unit 120. Since the first conveyor unit 120 and the second conveyor unit 130 are provided with an exciter, they are mounted on a support table 102 disposed on the setting table 101 via a vibration absorbing material (coil spring, etc.) for vibration prevention. The transport material supply unit 110 has a driving unit 111 and a hopper 112 mounted on the driving unit 111, and discharges the transport material on the hopper 112 to the first transport unit 120.

The first conveying part 120 is a so-called bowl-shaped feeder, which has a rotary vibrator 121 and a bowl-shaped vibrator 122 mounted on the rotary vibrator 121. The vibrator 122 has a conveying path 122t that rises in a spiral shape from the inner bottom, and the rotary vibration applied by the rotary vibrator 121 causes the conveyed material supplied to the inner bottom of the vibrator 122 to slowly rise along the conveying path 122t while being regularly arranged.

The second conveying section 130 is a so-called linear feeder, which has a linear exciter 131 and linear vibrators 132 and 133 mounted on the linear exciter 131. Here, the vibrator 132 has a linear supply conveyor path 132t connected to the outlet end of the conveyor path 122t. In addition, the vibrator 133 has a conveyor path 133t extending parallel to the conveyor path 132t, and the conveyor path 133t is the following conveyor path: that is, it is used to receive the conveyed material excluded from the conveyor path 132t, convey the conveyed material in the opposite direction of the conveyor path 132t, and return the conveyed material to the recovery conveyor path in the vibrator 122.

A magnet 137 is arranged beside the above-mentioned conveying path 132t. The magnet 137 is not limited to various permanent magnets such as neodymium magnets, but may also be an electromagnetic magnet. The magnet 137 is mounted on a mounting member 136 held by a supporting arm 135 mounted on a supporting member 134, wherein the supporting member 134 is mounted on the above-mentioned support platform 102. In the illustrated example, the above-mentioned mounting member 136 is arranged on the side of the vibrating body 132 by passing the supporting arm 135 above the above-mentioned vibrating bodies 132 and 133 relative to the supporting member 134 arranged on the side of the vibrating body 133, so that the magnet 137 is arranged at a position adjacent to the vibrating body 132 from the side opposite to the supporting member 134. In addition, in the illustrated example, as described later, the vibrators 132 and 133 are made of non-magnetic materials such as (non-magnetic) stainless steel such as SUS303 and 304, aluminum, or aluminum alloys such as A5051 and A5052.

Next, the transport object involved in the present invention is explained with reference to Figures 3 and 4. As shown in Figure 3, the transport object CA to be transported in this embodiment is configured as a rectangular parallelepiped. The transport object CA in the illustrated example is a stacked ceramic capacitor having external electrodes OE1 and OE2 at both ends and a plurality of internal electrodes IE1 and IE2 sandwiched by a dielectric DE such as a ceramic layer. There is a case where the internal electrodes IE1 and IE2 are composed of Ni and the external electrodes OE1 and OE2 are composed of Cu. In the above example, since the internal electrodes IE1 and IE2 are surrounded by a non-magnetic body such as a dielectric DE such as a ceramic layer, the material Ni is a ferromagnetic body, and therefore the transport object CA is strongly affected by the magnetic field. In the example shown in the figure, the alignment direction of the axis CAx of the transport object CA (which is consistent with the length direction in the example shown in the figure) is consistent with the length direction of the internal electrodes IE1 and IE2. The alignment direction of the axis CAx of the alignment direction (length direction) is consistent with the transport direction F in the first transport posture which is the standard posture of the transport object CA.

As shown in Figure 4, when the transported object CA is placed in the magnetic field (magnetic flux distribution) generated between a pair of magnetic poles Ms of the magnet M, magnetic polarization is generated in the length direction (the direction of length L shown in Figure 3) of the internal electrodes IE1 and IE2, which are ferromagnetic bodies, and becomes stable, so the transported object CA is guided to a posture in which the direction of its length L is along the direction of the magnetic flux. In addition, since the internal electrodes IE1 and IE2 are also along the direction of the width W, when the direction of the width W is compared with the direction of the height H, the situation in which the direction of the width W is along the direction of the magnetic flux is more stable than the situation in which the direction of the height H is along the direction of the magnetic flux.

As shown in FIG. 5 , in the example shown in the figure, one magnetic pole 137a of the magnet 137 is arranged so as to face the transport path 132t of the vibrating body 132. Here, the transport path 132t facing the magnet 137 is set as a circular groove-shaped transport path portion 132tr, and the circular groove-shaped transport path portion 132tr is a bottom portion 132trb having a concave curved cross-sectional profile. The above-mentioned cross-sectional profile can be either an arc or a U-shape, but it is preferably a smooth curved surface shape that makes it easy to change the posture of the transported object CA. For example, the concave curved surface shape of the above-mentioned bottom portion 132trb of the transport path portion 132tr is set so that the curvature radius R satisfies the condition represented by the formula R>(1/2)．L relative to the length L of the transported object CA. More generally, in the above formula, instead of the length L, the maximum dimension K of the transported object CA may be the square root of the sum of the squares of the length L, the width W, and the height H (L ² +W ² +H ² ) ^1/2 . In the illustrated example, the cross-sectional shape of the bottom portion 132trb perpendicular to the transport direction F is set to an arc shape having a certain radius of curvature R, but the radius of curvature R may also vary within the bottom portion 132trb. In this case, the average value of the radius of curvature R of the bottom portion 132trb only needs to satisfy the above conditions. However, it is more ideal if the overall radius of curvature R of the bottom portion 132trb satisfies the above conditions. In addition, the upper limit of the radius of curvature R is preferably less than 5 times the above L or K, and more preferably less than 3 times.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 5 , the magnetic pole 137a of the magnet 137 is arranged to face the above-mentioned conveying path portion 132tr in the horizontal direction. However, the magnetic pole 137a of the magnet 137 may also be arranged to face the above-mentioned conveying path portion 132tr from the upper and lower inclined directions. Furthermore, when the conveying direction to be aligned is different from that in the embodiment, the direction connecting a pair of magnetic poles may be parallel to the conveying direction F of the conveying path, or may be arranged to face each other from the top or bottom.

The vibrating body 132 shown in FIG. 5 actually shows a part of the vibrating body 132, that is, a transport section having a transport path 132t. The transport section is preferably made of non-magnetic materials such as non-magnetic stainless steel, aluminum or aluminum alloy as described above. This is because: since the magnetic flux Φm passes through the transport section, it is not easy to affect the direction of the magnetic flux on the transport path 132t. This is especially true when the transport path 132t itself becomes the shadow of the transport section when observing from the magnetic pole 137a of the magnet 137 along the direction of the magnetic flux Φm, as shown in the example in the figure.

As shown in FIG6 , the magnetic field (magnetic flux distribution) formed by the magnet 137 forms a magnetic flux Φm as shown by the double-dotted line in the figure. Here, the magnetic flux Φm is represented by the product of the surface area Sm of the magnetic pole 137a (Ms) and the magnetic flux density Bm on the magnetic pole 137a (Ms). In addition, the distance Dm between the magnetic pole 137a (Ms) and the closest position 132tr0 of the conveying path portion 132tr is set according to the size of the magnetic flux Φm. In addition, in the present embodiment, since the magnet 137 is set so that the magnetic pole 137a faces the conveying path 132t, the above-mentioned closest position 132tr0 becomes the position directly facing the magnetic pole 137a.

If the above-mentioned closest position 132tr0 on the conveying path 132t is taken as a reference, when the conveyed object CA is conveyed on the conveying path 132t along the conveying direction F, in the upstream conveying path area 132tr1 which is further upstream than the above-mentioned closest position 132tr0, the conveyed object CA gradually approaches the magnet 137 as it is conveyed. Therefore, during the upstream conveying process, the magnetic flux density on the conveying path 132t gradually increases, and the direction of the magnetic flux Φm on the conveying path 132t gradually changes from the conveying direction F to the direction perpendicular to the conveying direction F (width direction). On the other hand, in the downstream conveying path area 132tr2 which is further downstream than the closest position 132tr0, the conveyed object CA gradually moves away from the magnet 137 as it is conveyed. Therefore, during the downstream conveying process, the magnetic flux density on the conveying path 132t gradually weakens, and the direction of the magnetic flux Φm gradually changes from a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction F to the conveying direction F.

In the present embodiment, in the above-mentioned conveying path portion 132tr, at the most upstream portion within the magnetic influence range 132trs of the conveying path where the magnetic influence of the magnet 137 acts on the conveyed object CA on the conveying path 132t, the direction of the magnetic flux is consistent with the conveying direction F, and at the above-mentioned closest position 132tr0, the direction of the magnetic flux is perpendicular to the conveying direction F, and further, at the most downstream portion, the direction of the magnetic flux is consistent with the conveying direction F again. In addition, the so-called magnetic influence refers to the influence of the magnet 137 on the change in the posture of the conveyed object CA on the conveying path 132t. That is, the above-mentioned magnetic influence range 132trs of the conveying path is the range of the conveying path 132t observed in the conveying direction F, where the posture of the conveyed object CA is affected by the direction of the magnetic flux of the magnet 137. In this embodiment, the transport object CA is transported in a suspended state on the transport path 132t most of the time by vibration transport, and the contact area with the transport object CA is reduced because the bottom surface 132trb is formed into a concave surface at the transport path portion 132tr, so the posture of the transport object CA is in a state that can be easily changed.

Usually, on the conveying path 132t, the conveyed object CA is conveyed in various postures in the conveying direction F. In particular, in a vibrating conveying device, since the conveyed object CA moves in a suspended state due to the vibration of the vibrating body 132, the posture of the conveyed object CA is easy to change, and as long as there is no restriction in the width direction, the conveying posture of the conveyed object CA and the interval during conveyance will also be very chaotic as shown in the upstream part of the magnetic influence range 132trs of the conveying path. In this state, when the transported object CA advances in the upstream transport path area 132tr1, as shown by the magnetic attraction force Q shown in FIG6, the magnetic influence gradually increases, and at the same time, the direction of the magnetic flux gradually tilts from the transport direction F, so that the alignment direction (length direction) axis CAx, which is the direction of the length L of the transported object CA, also gradually tilts. Finally, near the closest position 132tr0, corresponding to the situation where the direction of the magnetic flux is perpendicular to the transport direction F, the alignment direction axis CAx of the transported object CA is also perpendicular to the transport direction F. In addition, in the upstream transport path area 132tr1, the transported object CA receives a small amount of magnetic attraction force Q due to the component of the magnetic flux in the transport direction F, so the transport speed and interval between the transported objects CA are slightly increased. In addition, in the example shown in the figure, initially, most of the transported objects CA are along the transport direction F in the length direction. Afterwards, due to the magnetic influence of the magnet 137, the transported objects CA gradually change their posture so that the length direction is perpendicular to the transport direction F, so the distance interval of the transported objects CA on the transport path 132t also gradually increases.

The transported object CA near the closest position 132tr0, which is in a posture (second transport posture) in which the axis CAx in the row direction (length direction) is perpendicular to the transport direction F, is mainly magnetically polarized (magnetized) in its length direction by the internal electrodes IE1 and IE2. At this time, a mutual repulsive force is generated between the front and rear transported objects CA that are magnetized in the same direction in the same posture, thereby increasing the distance between each other, and thus reducing the deviation in the intervals between each other. Under ideal conditions, the intervals between multiple transported objects CA at the position close to the closest position 132tr0 are roughly equal in front and back.

When the transported object CA passes the closest position 132tr0, this time it moves away from the magnet 137 as it moves forward along the transport direction F. Therefore, in the downstream transport path area 132tr2, contrary to the above-mentioned upstream transport path area 132tr1, the magnetic influence gradually decreases as it moves forward along the transport direction F, and the direction of the magnetic flux gradually tilts from the direction perpendicular to the transport direction F and gradually changes toward the transport direction F. Then, when the direction of the magnetic flux becomes close to the conveying direction F and the axis CAx in the arrangement direction (length direction) of the conveyed object CA corresponds to the magnetic flux and approaches the conveying direction F, as shown by the magnetic attraction force Q shown in Figure 6, the magnetic influence gradually decreases and no posture change occurs. Therefore, the conveyed object CA changes to a conveying posture (first conveying posture) in which its axis CAx in the arrangement direction (length direction) is consistent with the conveying direction F, and maintains this posture while moving toward the downstream side. At this time, the queue of the transported object CA passes through the closest position 132tr0 starting from the above-mentioned upstream conveying path area 132tr1, thereby reducing the deviation of the posture and the deviation of the interval in the second conveying posture. Therefore, when it is restricted to the first conveying posture through the above-mentioned downstream conveying path area 132tr2, a neat alignment state (regular arrangement state) can be obtained. However, in the alignment state, although the alignment is performed in the first transport posture in which the alignment direction axis CAx of the transported object CA is consistent with the transport direction F, in the case of the illustrated example, the first transport posture may include the following two postures, namely: the posture in which the surface of the width W corresponding to the width direction of the internal electrodes IE1 and IE2 faces the bottom surface 132trb, and the posture in which the surface of the height H faces the bottom surface 132trb.

In the present embodiment, in the downstream conveying path area 132tr2, as the conveyed object CA is conveyed in the conveying direction F and the magnetic influence of the magnet 137 on the posture of the conveyed object CA decreases, the direction of the magnetic flux Φm on the conveying path 132t gradually approaches the first direction corresponding to the first conveying posture from the second direction corresponding to the second conveying posture. As a result, the conveyed object CA is gradually guided from the second conveying posture to the first conveying posture, and does not receive an opposite magnetic force (e.g., a magnetic force returning to the second conveying posture). Therefore, even when conveyed at a high speed and high density, the conveyed object CA can be effectively and reliably arranged in the first conveying posture. In order to form such a magnetic flux distribution, it is preferable to adjust the magnetic force of the magnet 137 or the above-mentioned distance Dm, etc. In the present embodiment, since the position of the mounting component 136 can be adjusted, the above-mentioned distance Dm can be adjusted. However, the magnetic flux distribution can also be adjusted by, for example, replacing the magnet 137 or by adjusting the power value such as the current value when an electromagnetic magnet is used. In this case, it is further preferable to analyze the magnetic influence on the transported object by processing the image obtained by a shooting device such as a camera, especially the transport posture or its changing form of the transported object in the above-mentioned closest position 132tr0 and its surroundings or the downstream side transport path area 132tr2, so as to automatically control the above-mentioned distance Dm or the above-mentioned power value. Image processing in this case can utilize pattern matching processing or AI such as a neural network that has completed learning. It is preferred that the above-mentioned manual distance Dm or power value adjustment unit, or the automatic distance Dm or power value adjustment unit be installed on the controller of the transport system.

FIG. 7 shows a wider range of the transport path 132t. In the transport path 132t, a transport path portion 132tp is provided on the upstream side of the above-mentioned transport path portion 132tr, and a transport path shape having a flat bottom portion 132tpb is formed on the transport path portion 132tp. The flat bottom portion 132tpb has a characteristic that the transport posture of the transport object CA is relatively stable. At this time, in the example shown in the figure, by providing a relatively wide bottom portion 132tpb in the transport path portion 132tp, the transport object CA can be transported in a state where the axis CAx of the alignment direction (length direction) is oriented in the width direction. Then, in the above-mentioned conveying path portion 132tr, the concave bottom surface 132trb makes it easy to change the conveying posture of the conveyed object CA, so it is easy to produce posture changes based on the magnetic effect of the magnet 137 in the magnetic influence range 132trs of the conveying path.

On the other hand, a conveying path portion 132ts is connected to the downstream side of the conveying path portion 132tr. In the conveying path portion 132ts, the conveying path shape having a flat bottom portion 132tsb makes the conveying posture of the conveyed object CA more stable. Here, the width dimension of the conveying path portion 132ts is preferably a value corresponding to the first conveying posture. In the case of the illustrated example, since the first conveying posture is that the entire row direction (length direction) is consistent with the conveying direction F, the width of the bottom portion 132tsb is configured to be narrower than the conveying path portions 132tp and 132tr on the upstream side.

In the transport path portion 132ts, a recognition control unit 132S is provided on the transport path 132t. The recognition control unit 132S is provided with a region for recognizing the appearance, posture and other characteristics of the transported object CA, that is, a measurement region ME. The transported object CA is recognized by performing various measurements on the transported object CA in the measurement region ME, and the transported object CA is excluded from the transport path 132t or the transport posture is reversed according to the recognition result. In the illustrated example, when the transport object CA is identified through image processing based on the image captured by the camera CM and the identification result is that the transport object CA is not suitable for direct downstream transportation, the transport object CA is removed from the transport path 132t by using the air flow blown from the air nozzle OP, or the posture of the transport object CA is changed by flipping or other rotational actions. As an example of the identification control unit 132S, a situation in which the rotation posture of the transport object CA around the row direction (length direction) axis CAx is identified as appropriate can be cited.

In addition, the method and device of the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned illustrated example, and various changes can be added without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, in the above-mentioned embodiment, a magnetic pole 137a of the magnet 137 is set to face the closest position 132tr0 of the conveying path 132t, and the following magnetic flux distribution is formed in the magnetic influence range 132trs of the conveying path: that is, the direction of the magnetic flux generated by the magnet 137 is basically consistent with the conveying direction F at the upstream end of the upstream conveying path region 132tr1 and the downstream end of the downstream conveying path region 132tr2, and the magnetic flux distribution is perpendicular to the conveying direction F near the closest position 132tr0. However, the present invention is not limited to such a magnetic flux distribution. For example, the magnet may be arranged in such a manner that the arrangement direction of a pair of magnetic poles is parallel to the conveying path 132t, and the direction of the magnetic flux may be close to the direction perpendicular to the conveying direction F on the upstream and downstream sides, and may be substantially consistent with the conveying direction F near the closest position 132tr0. In this case, it is sufficient to configure the conveyed object to assume the first conveying posture when the direction of the magnetic flux is perpendicular to the conveying direction F, and to assume the second conveying posture when the direction of the magnetic flux is consistent with the conveying direction F. In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the arrangement direction axis CAx of the transported object CA is the length direction, and the arrangement direction axis CAx is along the direction of the magnetic flux Φm to determine the posture of the transported object CA by magnetic force. However, the present invention is not limited to this case, and the arrangement direction axis CAx may be in a direction other than the length direction. In addition, the arrangement direction axis CAx may not be along the direction of the magnetic flux Φm, but may be, for example, along a direction perpendicular to the magnetic flux Φm to keep the transported object CA stable.

132tr:Transmission path part

132tr0: closest position

132tr1: Upstream conveyor area

132tr2: Downstream conveyor area

132trs: Magnetic influence range of transmission line

137(M):Magnet

137a(Ms):Magnetic pole

Φm: Magnetic flux

Sm: magnetic pole area

Bm: Magnetic flux density

CA: Transport

F: Transport direction

CAx: Column direction axis

Q: Magnetic attraction

Dm: The distance between the magnetic pole 137a (Ms) and the closest position 132tr0

Claims (13)

A method for arranging transported objects, in the process of transporting transported objects containing magnetic materials along a transport path in a transport direction, the posture of the transported objects is controlled according to the direction of the magnetic flux generated by a magnet arranged beside the transport path, and the direction of the magnetic flux on the transport path is changed toward the transport direction, thereby using magnetic force to regularly arrange the transported objects on the transport path into a first transport posture, the characteristics of the method for arranging transported objects are as follows: In the upstream transport process of the transported objects approaching the magnet by being transported on the transport path, the transported objects are unified into a second transport posture on the transport path, and the interval deviation of the front and rear transported objects in the transport direction is reduced through the magnetic repulsion between the transported objects, wherein the second transport posture is a posture in which the alignment direction of the transported objects is inconsistent with the transport direction, and the alignment direction is in the first transport posture. Then, during the downstream transportation process of the transport object away from the magnet by being transported on the transport path, the transport object is gradually changed in posture according to the change of the direction of the magnetic flux on the transport path toward the transport direction, thereby finally changing to the first transport posture in which the alignment direction is consistent with the transport direction, so that the transport object is regularly arranged and the transport path is non-magnetic. The conveying bottom portion has a concave curved cross-sectional profile along the width direction orthogonal to the conveying direction, and the conveying bottom portion has a cross-sectional profile with a radius of curvature R on both sides of the width direction relative to the lowest part of the width direction, and the radius of curvature R is in the range of R>L/2 relative to the length L of the conveyed object in the length direction, or R>K/2 relative to the maximum size K of the conveyed object. The method for arranging transported objects as described in claim 1, wherein the transported objects have a length direction; The length direction is the arranging direction that is consistent with the transport direction in the first transport posture. The method for arranging transported objects as described in claim 2, wherein the second transporting posture is a posture in which the length direction is perpendicular to the transporting direction. A method for arranging transported objects as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein, during the downstream transport process, as the transported objects are transported toward the transport direction and the magnetic influence exerted by the magnet on the posture of the transported objects decreases, the direction of the magnetic flux on the transport path gradually approaches the first direction corresponding to the first transport posture from the second direction corresponding to the second transport posture. A method for aligning transported objects as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the transported objects contain the magnetic body in a manner that keeps the magnetic body stable in a posture in which the aligning direction is along the direction of the magnetic flux. A method for arranging transported objects as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the transport path is configured to transport the transported objects by reciprocating vibrations in an obliquely forward and upward direction of the transport direction. A method for arranging transported objects as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the transport path has a second transport path portion and a third transport path portion, the second transport path portion is arranged on the upstream side of the first transport path portion having the transport bottom portion and has a flat bottom portion, the third transport path portion is arranged on the downstream side of the first transport path portion and has a flat bottom portion, the dimension of the bottom portion of the second transport path portion in the width direction is set to be able to transport the transported object in a state including the longitudinal axis facing the width direction, the dimension of the bottom portion of the third transport path portion in the width direction is a value that can transport the transported object in the first transport posture, and is configured to be narrower than the bottom portion of the first transport path portion and the bottom portion of the second transport path portion. A conveyance alignment system comprises: a conveyance object including a magnetic body, a conveyance path for conveying the conveyance object in a conveyance direction, and a magnet, wherein the magnet is arranged beside the conveyance path and forms a magnetic flux distribution on the conveyance path within at least a specified range in the conveyance direction of the conveyance path, which affects the conveyance posture of the conveyance object; the conveyance alignment system arranges the conveyance object in a first conveyance posture, and the conveyance alignment system is characterized in that the magnetic flux distribution in the specified range in the upstream conveyance path region where the conveyance object approaches the magnet by being conveyed in the conveyance direction on the conveyance path gradually guides the conveyance object to a second conveyance posture different from the first conveyance posture, so that the direction of the magnetic flux gradually changes to a direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction. The direction of the magnetic flux changes; and the magnetic flux distribution is in the downstream conveying path area away from the magnet when the conveyed object is conveyed toward the conveying direction on the conveying path, so as to guide the conveyed object from the second conveying posture gradually to the first conveying posture, so that the direction of the magnetic flux gradually changes toward the conveying direction, the conveying path is composed of a non-magnetic body and has a conveying bottom surface, the conveying bottom surface has a concave curved surface cross-sectional profile along the width direction orthogonal to the conveying direction, the conveying bottom surface has a cross-sectional profile with a curvature radius R on both sides of the width direction relative to the lowest part of the width direction, and the curvature radius R becomes a range of R>L/2 relative to the length L of the length direction of the conveyed object, or R>K/2 relative to the maximum size K of the conveyed object. A transport object aligning system as described in claim 8, wherein the transport object has a length direction; the length direction is consistent with the transport direction in the first transport posture. A conveying object aligning system as described in claim 8 or 9, wherein the conveying object includes the magnetic body in a manner that keeps the magnetic body stable in a posture along the direction of the magnetic flux in a direction consistent with the conveying direction in the first conveying posture. A conveying object aligning system as described in claim 8 or 9, wherein, in the downstream conveying path area, as the conveying object is conveyed toward the conveying direction and the magnetic influence exerted by the magnet on the posture of the conveying object decreases, the direction of the magnetic flux on the conveying path gradually approaches the first direction corresponding to the first conveying posture from the second direction corresponding to the second conveying posture. The transport object aligning system as described in claim 8 or 9, wherein the transport object aligning system further comprises a recognition control unit, which recognizes the transport object at the downstream side of the downstream conveying path area and at the position where the transport object is regularly arranged and transported in the first conveying posture, and controls the transport object according to the recognition result. A conveying object aligning system as described in claim 8 or 9, wherein the conveying path is configured to convey the conveying object by reciprocating vibration in an obliquely forward and upward direction toward the conveying direction.