JP2900344B2 - Inspection / selection method and apparatus for free length and opposite angle of coil spring - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for inspecting and selecting the free length of all springs formed by a continuous automatic forming apparatus for coil springs having hooks at both ends and a hook opposing angle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a coil spring having both end hooks can be formed by, for example, an apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 62-22698. That is, as shown in FIG. 15, a forming tool 5 having an oblique groove provided at an upper portion of the quill 2 on the mounting surface 1 to advance to the front surface of the quill feeding hole 3 from above and abut with a wire to be fed is arranged. Forming tool 5 is quill 2
The hook and body at both ends are formed by protruding, staying, and retracting at the front of the. In addition, a first forming tool 6 which moves back and forth from the upper right of the quill 2 and also performs bending assist and cutting, a forming auxiliary tool 7 which moves horizontally from the left side of the quill 2, and a second forming tool 8 which moves forward and backward from the lower left side are arranged. Have been. Then, a hook coil spring at both ends is formed in the disclosed process order by these tools.

Further, a first half hole 14 for receiving a body portion of a spring is provided on the right side of the quill 2 in front of the mounting surface 1.
A temporary clamping device 11 is provided for rotatably supporting the movable clip 13 and coaxially rotatably supporting the second movable clip 15 provided with the closed half hole 16 for clamping a cut and cut spring. Swing down. When the primary clamp device 11 swings downward, the fixing piece 18 provided with the receiving notch 19 for biting the rest of the body portion and changing the clamp, and the pinch notch 23
And a secondary clamp device 17 comprising a movable arm piece 22 which can be turned. Further, a bending assist tool 20 is provided on the left side of the lower fixing piece 18 of the quill 2, and a third forming tool 27 having a triangular tip 28 bent downward to the left on the axis of the slide 25 is pivotally supported. As a result, the tip of the third forming tool 27 is moved to the second hook and the fixing piece 1.
The second hook is bent rightward at right angles by the guide roller 10 and the cam edge 30 of the third forming tool 27 to raise the hook.

[0004]

The spring formed by the spring continuous automatic forming apparatus described above has a free length,
A defect may occur at the opposite angle of the hook, and a defective product may be mixed into a non-defective product. In recent years, demands on product quality are severe. For some products, it is not permissible to mix 1 in 100,000 defective products. The inspection is performed manually. In this way, the degree of defective products is extremely small, and there is a limit to the selection by manual labor due to mental fatigue due to simple unchanged work, it is difficult to improve the reliability of quality, and labor costs are an obstacle to cost reduction. There was a problem. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the related art, and has as its object to provide a method and apparatus capable of completely selecting defective products without manual operation.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a coil spring having both end hooks in which the second hook has been raised after forming and cutting, and a measurement preparation position (b).
And the coil spring at the measurement preparation position (b) is defined in the torsion direction of the second hook and the measurement position.
(C) transporting the coil, positioning the first hook of the coil spring at the measurement position (c) , and measuring the free length of the coil spring and the opposing angles of the first and second hooks. And a step of selecting non-defective and defective springs.

A first transfer member (1 ) for positioning the coil spring, which has been cut and formed by the spring forming device and has completed raising the second hook (Sc) , at the transfer preparation position (a).
3, 14, 15, 16) , a second transfer member for transferring to the transfer preparation position (a) and the measurement preparation position (b)
(36, 38, 39, 41 to 44) , a third transfer member (46, 47) for transferring the coil spring gripped by the second transfer member together with the second transfer member to the measurement position (C) , and a measurement position. A stopper (56) for defining the end of the coil spring in (c) and a torsion direction of the second hook ( Sc) of the coil spring for positioning the first hook (Sa) in contact with the stopper. 4th transfer member
(49, 50, 51) and first measuring means (53, 54) for measuring the free length of the coil spring positioned in contact with the coil spring.
Second measuring means (61, 62, 6) for measuring the opposing angle between the first hook and the second hook of the coil spring positioned in contact.
4,66 ) and a sorting means (73, 74) for separating good and defective products based on the signals of the first and second measuring means.

[0007]

When the coil hook with hooks at both ends made by the continuous automatic forming device is cut and the second hook is raised, the second transfer member stands by at the transfer preparation position, and the first transfer member holding the spring pivots to rotate. 2 Transfer the spring to the transfer member. The second transfer member moves to the measurement preparation position, the third transfer member moves the second transfer member together with the spring to the measurement position, and the fourth transfer member defines the torsion direction with the second hook interposed therebetween and the spring axial direction. To position the first hook in contact with the stopper. At the same time, the free length measuring device and the hook opposing angle measuring device measure the spring free length and the opposing angles of the first and second hooks and output the measured values to the control device. The defective product is one in which the shutter is opened on the defective product side to sort the products.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The structure of an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. A coil spring having both end hooks shall be made as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 62-22698. The grip and swivel member of the cut spring for connecting the spring in which the second hook Sc has been raised after cutting to the inspection and sorting apparatus of the present invention is the same as in the above publication. Related members are given the same reference numerals as in the prior art as described in the prior art. However, a pressing member having an inclined pressing surface is used instead of the fitting half hole 14 of the first movable holding piece 13. Further, a second movable holding piece having a transfer knife 16 inserted between the coils of the body coil portion Sb instead of the closed half hole 16 is used.

The coil spring inspection and sorting apparatus provided with the both end hooks in which the second hook Sc is raised and completed is provided with a guide rod 32 having two ends fixed horizontally and parallel in parallel to the core of the coil spring to be inspected on the frame 31. A finger base 33 is slidably mounted on the air cylinder 46 fixed to the frame 31.
Is connected to the piston rod 47. Eashirin da
46 and the piston rod 47 constitute a third transfer member.
To achieve. An air cylinder 36 is mounted on the finger base 33 in a direction perpendicular to the guide rod 32, and a mounting plate 38 that slides on the finger base 33 is fixed to the end of the piston rod 37. An air cylinder 39 is mounted on the mounting plate 38 at a position on the same plane as the axis of the spring to be inspected and perpendicular to the spring axis. A spring holder 44 having an inclined surface in which the holding component force is obliquely upward is fixed to the tip of the piston rod 43. Air cylinder 39
, A finger 41 is attached, and a spring receiver 42 is fixed to the lower surface of the tip so that a right-angled step portion faces the spring retainer 44. These members are the second transfer member
Is configured. The positioning stopper 34 and the retreat measurement preparation position where the position of the finger 41 can be adjusted when receiving the forward movement are adjusted.
The positioning stopper 35 of (b) is provided above the finger stand 33.

In order to measure the free length of the coil spring, a bracket 48 is established on the upper surface of the frame 31 and below the spring conveyed to the measurement preparation position (b) , and the air is concentric with the axis of the spring. A cylinder 49 is attached, and a feeler 51 having a groove 51a for horizontally positioning the second hook Sc of the spring is provided at the tip of the piston rod 50 . Air cylinder 49, piston rod 5
0, the feeler 51 constitutes a fourth transfer member.
Also, a connecting piece 52 is attached, and a measuring element 54 of a linear gauge 53 for outputting a signal voltage is attached .
1 constitutes a measuring means.

A stopper 56, which serves as a reference point when measuring the free length of the coil spring, is provided on the frame 31, and a bracket 57 forms a feeler 62 described later on the stopper 56 .
Torsion of the first hook relative to the second hook of the spring
The angle of the feeler 51 with respect to the groove 51a according to the direction
Adjustment to that have been fixed. An air cylinder 58 is provided in parallel with the finger 41. At the end of the piston rod 59 of the air cylinder 58, a connecting piece 61 having a feeler 62 which is in contact with the rising straight portion of the first hook of the spring at right angles is attached. A linear gauge 64 that outputs a signal voltage in parallel with the air cylinder 58 is attached to the bracket 57, and a tracing stylus 66 thereof is connected to the connecting piece 61. These members constitute the second measuring means.
The outputs of the linear gauges 53 and 64 are sent to a control amplifier (not shown), which compares the output with the preset upper and lower limits of the tolerance to output a signal, and opens and closes a shutter described later to select non-defective products and defective products.

A chute 71 connected to a non- defective product box is connected to the frame 31 on the lower side where the spring is measured, and a defective product box 72 is juxtaposed to the chute 71.
The window 74a at the upper part of the defective product box in the middle of 1 is opened and closed by a shutter 74 provided on the output shaft of the rotary actuator 73 of the sorting means. The window 71a is opened and the linear gauge 53,
When it is determined from the signal from the control amplifier 64 that the control amplifier is within the tolerance, the rotary actuator 73 is operated, the shutter 74 is raised, the window 71a is closed, and the defective product path is shut off.

A description will be given with reference to FIGS. 6 to 14 showing the order of the inspection and sorting process of the present invention configured as described above. In these figures, the upper column is a plan view of the inspection unit, and the lower column is a part of the first tru
It is a process figure consisting of a side view explanatory drawing which added a transfer member. The first transfer member is a first movable holding piece 13 and a holding member.
Member 14, second movable clip 15, transfer knife 16
And The manufactured coil spring is shown in FIG. 4 in a plan view and FIG. 5 in a side view. Tokiko Sho 62-2
No. 2698, the first hook Sa, the body portion Sb, and the second hook Sc are formed and cut out of the coil spring S.
Is transported, the second hook Sc is raised, and the process is completed. The measurement and the sorting process are started from the state where the raising is completed and the holding member 14 and the transfer knife 16 hold the holding member 14 (FIG. 6).

When the raising of the second hook Sc is completed, pressurized air is sent to the rear chamber of the air cylinder 36, the piston rod 37 is advanced, and the spring receiver 42 of the finger 41 is transported.
This is the receiving position (a), which is the storage position (FIG. 7). The transfer knife 16 is provided between the coils of the body part Sb of the coil spring.
Body portion S of the coil spring to pivot upwardly by the gripping state by the first movable clamping piece 13 and the second movable clamping piece 15 which is pierced
b is brought into contact with the right-angled step of the spring receiver 42 of the finger 41 (FIG. 8). The pressurized air is sent to the rear chamber of the air cylinder 39, and the piston rod 43 moves forward to abut the inclined surface of the spring retainer 44, and the force of the retainer facing obliquely upward is reliably applied to the right angle step of the spring receiver 42 at three points. Is grasped. And the first
The movable holding piece 13 turns upward to release the grip of the coil spring S (FIG. 9).

Pressurized air is switched to the front chamber of the air cylinder 36, the piston rod 37 is retracted, and the gripped coil spring S is positioned at the measurement preparation position (b) (FIG. 1).
0). The pressurized air is sent to the rear chamber of the air cylinder 46 to advance the piston rod 47, and the finger base 33 is moved to the guide rod 32.
The coil spring is moved upward and becomes the measurement position (C) (FIG. 1).
1). Next, compressed air is sent to the rear chamber of the air cylinder 49, and the piston rod 50 is advanced. 2nd hook Sc
Since the variation in the torsional direction is small, the horizontal groove 51a of the tip feeler 51 is
The arc portion of the second hook Sc is desired.
The hook Sc is inserted to the end of the groove 51a and the twist direction is defined.
After that, the coil spring S is pressed. The vertex of the first hook Sa of the pressed coil spring S abuts on the end face of the stopper 56 and is positioned. As the piston rod 50 advances, the connecting piece 52 and the measuring element of the linear gauge 53 are also moved (FIG. 12). Then, an output relating to the spring free length corresponding to the position of the tracing stylus at the contact position of the coil spring S is sent from the linear gauge 53 to a control amplifier (not shown).
Simultaneously with the supply of the pressurized air to the air cylinder 49, the pressurized air is also sent to the rear chamber of the air cylinder 58, and the piston rod 59 is advanced, so that the vertical end face of the feeler 62 of the connecting piece 61 faces the side of the straight portion of the first hook Sa. (Fig. 1
2). The straight portion of the first hook Sa is formed by a spring as shown in FIG.
Because it rises from the coil position of the body coil, the second
With respect to the twist direction of the first hook Sa with respect to the hook Sc
If not, the straight portion of the first hook Sa in FIG.
Is displaced up and down. This displacement amount is a positive value of the movement amount of the tracing stylus 66 of the linear gauge 64 advanced by the connecting piece 61.
An output corresponding to a change from the normal position and corresponding to the angle of the first hook Sa to the second hook Sc is output to a control amplifier (not shown).

Pressurized air is sent to the front chambers of the air cylinders 49 and 58, and the feeler 51, the connecting piece 52 and the feeler 62,
Both connecting pieces 61 are retracted (FIG. 13). At the same time, the pressure air is also switched to the front chamber of the air cylinder 46, the piston rod 47 retreats, and the coil spring S gripped by the finger together with the finger stand 33 also retreats and is positioned at the measurement preparation position (b) . 13). The outputs from the linear gauges 53 and 64 are determined by the control amplifier as to whether or not the free length of the coil spring S is within the tolerance, and whether the opposing angles of the first and second hooks are within the tolerance. Chute 7 in which compressed air is sent to encoder 73 and leads to a good product box.
The shutter 74 that has closed 1 pivots to close the window 71a and open the chute 71 (FIG. 13).

The pressurized air is switched to the front chamber of the air cylinder 39, the piston rod 43 and the spring retainer 44 are retracted, the grip of the coil spring is released, and the coil spring S is driven by the chute 7
1 and put into a non-defective box (FIG. 14). If it is determined that the product is defective, the shutter 74 closes the chute 71 and opens the window 71a.
It is put into the defective product box 72 through the window 71a from above.

[0018]

The present invention has the following effects because it is configured as described above. In the past, 100% inspection was performed manually, so it was almost impossible to completely inspect small items with a low percentage of defective products, especially due to the limitations of physical and mental strength. Since it is incorporated, a complete 100% inspection can be realized, and the reliability of quality has become extremely high. In addition, labor costs can be significantly reduced, and the labor and management of maintaining the physical condition and concentration of workers are relieved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view in which two measuring device air cylinders 46 and 49, which are a part of an inspection and sorting device of the present invention, are omitted and a side surface of a second hook raising gripping member is added.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory plan view of an inspection and sorting device in which a spring receiver 42 and a spring retainer 44 are omitted.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory side view of the spring free length measuring device.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the coil spring according to the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the coil spring of the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a view showing a state in which the coil spring is gripped when the second hook is raised in the process diagram.

FIG. 7: Finger receiving position in the process diagramTransport preparation position
It is the figure which advanced to (a).

FIG. 8 is a view showing a state in which a coil spring is passed to a finger in a process chart.

FIG. 9 is a view in which the delivery of the spring from the finger is completed in the process diagram.

FIG. 10 is a drawing retracted to a finger measurement preparation device (b) in the process diagram.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a state where the finger is moved to a finger measurement position (C) in the process chart.

FIG. 12 is a view showing a state in which a coil spring is positioned and a free length and a facing angle are measured in a process chart.

FIG. 13 is a view in which a finger is moved to a measurement preparation position (b) after measurement is completed in a process diagram and a shutter is opened by a pass signal.

FIG. 14 is a view illustrating a process chart in which a coil spring is discharged and selected.

FIG. 15 is a tool layout diagram of the coil spring automatic forming apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

31 Frame 33 Finger stand 36, 39, 46, 49, 58 Air cylinder 41 Finger 42 Spring receiver 44 Spring holder 53, 6
4 Linear gauge 51, 62 Feeler 56 Stopper 71 Chute 72 Defective product box 7 3 Rotary actuator 74 Shutter

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP 1-17398 (JP, Y2) JP 3-40442 (JP, Y2) (58) Fields surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) B07C 5/00-5/38 B21F 35/02 B21C 51/00 B21F 3/027

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A coil spring provided with hooks at both ends where the raising of a second hook is completed after forming and cutting is performed at a measurement preparation position (b).
And the coil spring at the measurement preparation position (b) is defined in the torsion direction of the second hook and the measurement position.
(C) transporting the coil, positioning the first hook of the coil spring at the measurement position (c) , and measuring the free length of the coil spring and the opposing angles of the first and second hooks. A method of inspecting a free length and a facing angle of a tension spring of a coil spring, the method including a step of selecting good and defective springs. A first transfer member for positioning the coil spring, which has been cut after being formed by the spring forming device and has completed the raising of the second hook (Sc) , at the transfer preparation position (a) .
14, 15 and 16), and the second transfer member (3 ) to be transported to the transport preparation position (a) and the measurement preparation position (b).
6, 38, 39, 41 to 44) and a third transfer member for transporting the coil spring held by the second transfer member to the measurement position (c) together with the second transfer member.
(46, 47) , a stopper (56) for defining the end of the coil spring at the measurement position (C) , and a second hook of the coil spring.
A fourth transfer member for defining the twist direction of (Sc) and positioning the first hook (Sa) in contact with the stopper;
(49, 50, 51) and first measuring means (53, 54) for measuring the free length of the coil spring positioned in contact with the coil spring.
Second measuring means (61, 62, 6) for measuring the opposing angle between the first hook and the second hook of the coil spring positioned in contact.
4, 66) and a selection unit (73, 74) for separating non-defective products and non-defective products based on signals from the first and second measurement units.