JP3479800B2 - Parts feeder - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a parts feeder for sequentially aligning and conveying parts such as bolts and nuts put into a drum.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, various parts feeders for aligning and carrying parts such as bolts and nuts have been proposed. For example, there is a transfer device described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 55-61512 and a parts feeder described in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 57-11126. The former transfer device is provided with a partition plate inside the rotary drum, and the parts stirred by the partition plate rotating with the drum are dropped into the groove of the alignment transfer mechanism extending from the inside of the rotary drum to the outside to align the parts. It is transferred by an alignment transfer mechanism. In the latter part feeder, the blades inside the rotary drum stir the parts, and the parts are dropped into the linear feeder groove along the rotation axis of the drum to align them, and the aligned parts are magnetically aligned. The vibrator is used to convey the vibration.

As a device for aligning and conveying parts having a special shape, a cap aligning device described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 59-4520 is a known technique. This cap aligning device is a device for aligning the caps in one direction by utilizing aligning teeth provided on the inner surface of a rotating drum, and then flowing the caps to a chute.

[0004]

The problem of the conventional parts feeder is that the parts such as bolts and nuts are easily damaged when they are aligned. That is, the conventional parts feeder of this type temporarily lifts a part with a partition plate or wing attached to a rotating drum, and when the part falls, drops the part into a predetermined alignment groove or the like, and It has a structure in which the stored parts are aligned. Therefore, parts that were not stored in the alignment groove etc. are dropped to the bottom of the drum, then lifted by the partition plate and wings provided on the rotating drum again, and dropped into the alignment groove when falling. Then, it is repeatedly lifted and dropped until it is stored in the alignment groove. Moreover, since it depends on the contingency at the time of dropping whether or not the falling parts are stored in the alignment groove, it takes an extremely long time to align all the parts. There is also the problem of noise caused by falling parts.

Further, in the latter part feeder, when the aligned parts are conveyed, the parts are vibrated and conveyed. Therefore, in addition to the noise when the parts are dropped, the noise when the parts are conveyed is added. Moreover, the parts conveyed by this parts feeder are structured so that they are always given a shock in any condition during the conveyance during the alignment, such as the impact due to the drop during the alignment or the impact due to the vibration during the transportation. The damage is even bigger.

Further, the cap aligning device for conveying the special parts adopts a structure in which the aligning teeth provided on the inner surface of the drum are aligned in order from the one in which the opening portion of the cap is fitted. It is inevitable that the opening of the cap fits into the aligning tooth. In addition, the cap that has not been fitted to the alignment teeth is lifted up by the rotation of the drum and drops again. Therefore, even in this cap alignment device, the cap is repeatedly dropped until it fits to the alignment teeth. As described above, even an aligning device that conveys special parts has a structure in which the cap is easily damaged.

In addition, in the conventional parts feeder which relies on the contingency of the parts to be dropped, even if the rotation speed of the rotating drum is increased, only the centrifugal force is applied to the parts P to increase the drop probability. I can't.
As a result, it has been extremely difficult to reduce unevenness in conveyance with the conventional parts feeder and aligning device.

Therefore, the present invention was created to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it is possible to minimize the damage to the parts during alignment and transportation and to control the alignment of the parts. The purpose is to provide a parts feeder.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the first means of the present invention is to arrange the opening edges 1A of a pair of rotary drums 1 for accommodating the parts P in a state of being opposed to each other and substantially vertical. A gap Q is provided between the opening edges 1A of the rotary drums 1 that rotate in the same direction, and a part P in the rotary drum 1 is provided in the gap Q.
And aligning the parts P, and extending a pair of endless belt members 2 for conveyance provided along the opening edge 1A of the rotary drum 1 to the outside of the rotary drum to align the aligned parts. It is held at 2 and conveyed to the outside of the rotary drum 1.

The rotary drum 1 of the second means rotates in such a manner that the speed can be adjusted by the rotation of the endless belt member 2 for conveyance connected to the drive motor 3.

The rotating drum 1 of the third means is arranged so that the upper gap is narrower than the bottom gap of the opposing opening edge 1A, and the endless belt member for conveyance provided along the opening edge 1A. The endless belt member 2 for conveyance is bent and extended outward of the rotary drum 1 via a pulley 4 arranged above a position where 2 holds the part P in a sandwiched state.

The endless belt member 2 for transportation of the fourth means uses an elastic belt or a chain as means for solving the problem.

According to the invention, the rotating drums 1 facing each other
The parts P housed therein are brought into an aligned state by falling into the gap Q as the rotary drum 1 rotates, and are sent out in order from the part held by the endless belt tool 2 for conveyance.

[0014]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

Reference numeral 1 shown in FIG. 1 is a rotary drum that accommodates and rotates parts P such as bolts and nuts.
The rotary drum 1 is a pair of rotary drums 1 having opening edges 1A facing each other, and rotate together in a substantially vertical direction (see FIG. 2). A gap Q is provided between the opposing opening edges 1A of the rotary drum 1 (see FIG. 3). This gap Q is for aligning the parts P in the rotary drum 1 in a line.
Parts P are locked and aligned with the endless belt 2 for conveyance. Further, although not shown, the opening edge 1 of the rotary drum 1
The part P may be provided so as to be directly locked to A.

The inner surface of each rotary drum 1 is provided with a taper inclined toward the gap Q so that the parts P gather in the gap Q (see FIG. 3). Further, by providing a protrusion or a member having high frictional resistance on the inner surface of the rotating drum 1 on the inner surface of the rotating drum 1, the entangled parts P can be stirred and loosened when the parts P slide. (Not shown).
The rotary drum 1 shown in FIG. 4 is arranged so that the gap Q in the upper part is narrower than the gap Q in the bottom part of the opposing opening edge 1A.
The transporting endless belt 2 provided along the opening edge 1A is provided so as to gradually hold the aligned parts P by sandwiching. By arranging the rotary drum 1 in this way, the parts P aligned at the bottom of the gap Q are gradually clamped and held as they move to the top of the gap Q. The rotary drum 1 shown in FIG. 1 is provided with an insertion port 1C so that the part P can be inserted from the side surface of the rotary drum 1. Further, if the inside of the rotary drum 1 is seen through by covering the side surface of the rotary drum 1 with a transparent material, the aligned state of the parts P can be confirmed.

Reference numeral 2 designates a pair of endless belt members for conveyance provided along the opening edge 1A of the rotary drum 1, and the parts P aligned in the gap Q are held between the endless belt members for conveyance 2. To transport. The endless conveyor belt 2 extends from the opening edge 1A of the rotary drum 1 toward the outer edge of the rotary drum 1. The parts P inside the rotary drum 1 are sequentially arranged in the extension direction of the endless conveyor belt 2. Transport (see FIG. 1). The transporting endless belt 2 is connected to a drive motor 3 and rotates in a speed adjustable manner. Then, each rotary drum 1 is rotated by utilizing the rotational force of the endless belt member 2 for conveyance (see FIG. 2).

The endless belt member 2 for conveyance of the illustrated example uses a rubber endless belt member 2 for conveyance which has a sectional structure which fits into a rail 1B provided on the outer periphery of the opening edge 1A of the rotary drum 1 (FIG. 3). The rotation of the carrying endless belt 2 rotates the rotating drum 1 and the carrying endless belt 2 carries the aligned parts P.

Further, a pulley 4 is arranged in the vicinity of a position where the carrying endless bandage 2 holds and holds the part P, and the direction of the carrying endless bandage 2 is directed through the pulley 4 to the rotary drum 1. Change to the outside and extend to any position. The extension destination of the endless belt 2 for transportation is, for example, an inspection device or a storage container.
It is set according to the purpose of conveying the parts P (see FIG. 5). Then, the endless belt member 2 for conveyance after the parts P are conveyed is arranged so as to return to the rotary drum 1 side again (FIG. 1).
reference). Although the illustrated endless belt 2 for transportation uses an elastic belt, a chain-shaped endless belt 2 for transportation may be used instead of the elastic belt. At this time, instead of the pulley 4, a gear or the like that meshes with the chain-shaped endless belt member 2 for transportation is used.

According to the illustrated example, the parts P that have fallen into the gap Q of the rotary drum 1 are initially aligned between the loose transport endless belts 2 and then centrifuged to the holding position of the transport endless belts 2. After being fed by force, etc., the endless belt 2 for conveyance is gradually secured to the endless belt 2 for conveyance from the position where the parts P are clamped and the part P is conveyed to the outside of the rotary drum 1. Held in. In the embodiment, the position where the conveying endless belt 2 holds the part P is set to a position of about 1/2 of the height of the rotary drum 1, and the position where the pulley 4 is installed is provided further above. The head of the part P held by the endless belt tool 2 for conveyance is set to face downward from the horizontal. By setting in this way, it becomes possible to shake off the part P which is not sufficiently held at this position. However, the position where the part P of the endless belt 2 for transporting is sandwiched and the position where the pulley 4 is installed are not limited to the illustrated example, and may be set arbitrarily according to the usage situation.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, the illustrated parts P aligned in the gap Q move to the holding position of the endless conveyor belt 2 when the endless conveyor belt 2 contacts the side surface of the part P. . Even when the endless belt 2 for transportation is not in contact, the part P can be moved to the holding position of the endless belt 2 for transportation by the centrifugal force of the contact rotary drum 1.
Further, in another embodiment, the internal pressure of the rotary drum 1 may be set higher than the external pressure, and the parts P may be transported by utilizing this atmospheric pressure difference and the gap Q (not shown).

[0022]

The present invention, which is configured as described above, achieves the initial object of minimizing damage to parts and controlling the alignment of parts.

According to the first aspect, since the parts P in the rotary drum 1 are slidably brought into the gap Q provided between the opening edges 1A of the rotary drum 1 while the parts P are aligned, the parts P are aligned. Since it is not necessary to lift and drop the part P above the rotary drum 1, the damage to the part P is extremely reduced. In addition, since there is no impact sound when dropped, it is possible to suppress noise when the parts P are aligned and to perform quiet work.

According to the second aspect, the rotating drum 1 is rotated by the rotation of the endless belt member 2 for transportation connected to the drive motor 3, so that the rotating drum 1 can be rotated by changing the rotating speed of the rotating drum 1. It is now possible to control the part P that slides into the gap and adjust the probability of dropping it into the gap Q. As a result, in the related art, whether or not falling parts are accommodated in the alignment groove depends on the contingency at the time of falling, but in the present invention, by adjusting the rotation speed of the rotary drum 1, It is possible to reduce uneven supply of the parts P. That is, even if the speed of the rotary drum is increased by the conventional parts feeder, the centrifugal force is applied to the parts P, so that the efficiency of the alignment work by dropping the parts P cannot be increased. Moreover, if the part P falls at the speed to which the centrifugal force is applied, the impact that the part P receives will also increase. However, in the present invention, when the rotation speed of the rotary drum 1 is increased, the sliding contact speed of the part P toward the gap Q is increased, and the probability of dropping into the gap Q can be increased. Further, even if the rotation speed of the rotary drum 1 increases, the part P does not drop from a high position, so that the damage to the part P remains small.

According to the third aspect, the holding state of the part P can be selected at the position of the pulley 4. As a result, along with the rotation of the rotary drum 1, the parts P are aligned, conveyed, and sorted in a continuous rotary motion, and extremely efficient conveyance becomes possible.

By the selection according to the fourth aspect, it is possible to use the endless belt tool 2 for transportation which is suitable for the shape and size of the part P.

As described above, according to the present invention, the damage to the parts can be minimized, and the alignment of the parts can be controlled, so that the parts P can be transported very efficiently. It has a beneficial effect.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of an essential part showing a gap of a rotating drum.

FIG. 4 is a schematic side view showing a gap of a rotating drum.

FIG. 5 is a schematic front view with a part omitted showing another embodiment of the endless belt member for conveyance.

[Explanation of symbols]

P parts Q gap 1 rotating drum 1A opening edge 1B rail 1C insertion slot 2 Endless belts for transportation 3 drive motor 4 pulley

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A pair of rotary drums for accommodating parts are arranged such that their opening edges are opposed to each other, and a gap is provided between the opening edges of the rotating drums that rotate in substantially the same vertical direction. While aligning the parts by dropping the parts inside, a pair of endless belts for transportation provided along the opening edge of the rotating drum is extended to the outside of the rotating drum, and the aligned parts are conveyed with this endless belt for conveying. A parts feeder that holds and conveys it to the outside of the rotating drum. 2. The parts feeder according to claim 1, wherein the rotating drum is rotated by a rotation of an endless belt member for conveyance connected to a drive motor so that the speed can be adjusted. 3. The rotary drum is arranged such that a gap at an upper part thereof is narrower than a gap at a bottom part of the opening edge facing each other, and an endless belt for conveyance provided along the opening edge clamps parts. The endless belt member for conveyance is bent and extended outward of the rotary drum via a pulley arranged above the holding position.
Alternatively, the parts feeder described in 2. 4. The parts feeder according to claim 1, wherein an elastic belt or a chain is used as the conveying endless belt.