JP3985802B2 - Air alignment feeder - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an air alignment feeder that supplies a work such as a cap that closes the mouth of a bottle to the downstream side while aligning a normal posture with air.

  For example, in a factory line in which the bottle mouth is closed with a cap, it is necessary to align the caps that are sequentially sent to a certain posture with a posture adjusting device before the cap is attached to the bottle with a capping machine. The same applies to the inspection process at the cap manufacturing factory.

  As the posture adjusting device, for example, by blowing air with a blower from below to a cap as a workpiece that is sequentially supplied, the cap whose opening is directed downward is blown away and the top surface (end surface portion) is removed. ) Is configured to leave only a cap in a normal posture facing downward.

  However, in the above-described conventional posture adjustment device, when the cap is in an irregular posture with the caps superimposed on top and bottom and the top surface of the lower cap faces downward, It may not be possible to eliminate the cap. In addition, in the case of a so-called two-piece cap in which an opening is provided with a ring-shaped member for fixing to the mouth of the bottle, the weight on the opening side increases, so that the outer peripheral surface rises and falls with respect to the air jetted from below. When the vehicle rolls over in the direction, it may be in a stable state with respect to the air in the roll-up irregular posture, and may be supplied to the downstream side in the roll posture.

  That is, there is a possibility that a cap in an irregular posture other than the normal posture in which the top surface is directed downward and individually separated is supplied to the downstream capping machine.

  This invention is made | formed in view of the said situation, and makes it a subject to provide the air alignment feeder which can be supplied downstream after aligning a workpiece | work to a regular attitude | position reliably.

In order to solve the above-described problem, the air alignment feeder according to claim 1 is configured such that a plurality of works in which one end of a cylindrical portion is closed by an end surface portion and the other end is an opening portion by air jetted from below. An air alignment feeder provided with an attitude adjustment unit that supplies a downstream side in the transport direction while adjusting the normal posture to be in a state of being separated into individual parts facing downward, wherein the attitude adjustment unit is downstream of the transport direction A plurality of upright ejection holes for ejecting air having a large velocity component in a direction perpendicular to the inclined conveying surface from the inclined conveying surface, the inclined conveying surface being inclined to be gradually positioned upward toward the side, Each of the plurality of inclined ejection holes for ejecting air having a velocity component toward the downstream side in the conveying direction from the inclined conveying surface, and continuously extending from the posture adjusting unit to the downstream side. Together with the alignment unit to align in a row a plurality of workpieces are provided with a alignment conveying surface having a plurality of aligned air ejection holes for ejecting air obliquely upward toward the downstream side in the transport direction supplied from, The alignment unit is provided so as to be able to supply a plurality of workpieces aligned in a row to a conveyance unit provided on the downstream side of the alignment unit, and the downstream end of the posture adjustment unit or the alignment A back shooter is provided at the upstream end of the part to return the workpiece in the irregular posture that is not in the normal posture state in the upstream direction in the posture adjustment unit, and the upstream portion of the inclined conveyance surface A large number of upright injection holes are formed with a diameter larger than that of the inclined injection holes.

Note that the standing ejection holes and the inclined ejection holes may be arranged so that the inclined ejection holes are distributed more in the downstream portion of the inclined conveying surface. Further, only the inclined ejection holes may be arranged at the downstream end.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the air alignment feeder according to the first aspect, the back shooter is disposed around the main shaft portion and is rotated to move upstream in a lower position. It has a retraction member that returns a workpiece in a normal posture in the upstream direction in the posture adjustment section, and the retraction member has elasticity.

The air alignment feeder according to claim 3 is characterized in that, in the invention according to claim 2 , the back shooter is provided with a plurality of the retraction members and has a rotational speed set to a low speed of 50 to 150 rpm. It is said.

According to invention of Claims 1-3 , when a workpiece | work is supplied to an attitude | position adjustment part, about the workpiece | work in which the end surface part has faced even the air ejection side as much as possible from a standing ejection hole and an inclination ejection hole. The ejected air flows at high speed between the end face and the inclined conveyance surface, and the pressure of the air in this high-speed flow is lower than the pressure of the surrounding atmosphere. become. In addition, the workpiece can be conveyed downstream by the velocity component air that is ejected from the inclined ejection holes toward the downstream side in the conveying direction. In addition, air with a large velocity component in the direction perpendicular to the inclined conveyance surface is ejected from the standing ejection holes, so that more force is exerted on the workpiece so that the end surface of the workpiece is parallel to the inclined conveyance surface. Will do. Accordingly, the posture of the workpiece can be immediately adjusted to a stable state in which the end surface portion is substantially parallel to the inclined conveyance surface.

On the other hand, for a workpiece whose end face is not directed to the side of the air ejected from the standing ejection hole, the end face is ejected from the standing ejection hole because the air ejected from the standing ejection hole becomes extremely unstable. It is immediately converted to the above-described stable state in the direction orthogonal to the air (that is, the direction in which the end face is substantially parallel to the inclined conveyance surface). Such workpieces can also be supplied to the downstream side after aligning to the normal posture, and the ability to convert the irregular posture workpiece to the normal posture in the posture adjustment unit is improved. It is possible to drastically reduce the quantity of workpieces sent to Therefore, since the quantity of the workpieces to be knocked back by the back shooter can be drastically reduced, it is possible to improve the supply efficiency of the workpiece to the downstream side .

  Furthermore, the workpieces that are stacked one above the other are individually separated by wind power generated by air.

  However, if the end surface of the lower part of the workpiece in an irregular posture that is stacked vertically is facing the air ejection side, it is not separated by the wind force and remains in the superimposed state against the air. It may become stable. Further, even when another work accidentally rides on a stable work in a normal posture, it may be in a stable state in a state where it is vertically overlapped. Furthermore, even in the case of an irregular posture workpiece such as a two-piece cap whose weight on the opening side has increased, such as a two-piece cap, whose outer peripheral surface faces the air ejection side, It can be in a stable state.

  That is, although it is extremely rare, a workpiece in an irregular posture in a state of being overlaid or overturned may be supplied downstream from the posture adjustment unit.

However, a back shooter is provided at the downstream end of the posture adjusting unit or the upstream end of the aligning unit to return the irregular posture work in the upstream direction in the posture adjusting unit. Can be reliably prevented from being supplied to the downstream side of the posture adjusting unit.

In this case, since the height of the workpiece upper and lower directions of irregular posture which may be supplied to the downstream side from the orientation adjuster increases relative to the normal orientation work, the downstream end of the orientation adjuster If the back shooter is installed at a height where a normal posture workpiece that moves at the upstream end of the section or the alignment portion can pass and a workpiece in an irregular posture cannot pass, It is possible to reliably return the workpiece in the posture in the upstream direction in the posture adjustment unit.

  In addition, for workpieces that overlap vertically, only the upper workpiece or both of the upper and lower workpieces are knocked back in the upstream direction in the posture adjustment unit, and the workpiece that rolls over is knocked back in the upstream direction in the posture adjustment unit. Will be. Then, the returned workpieces are individually separated and converted to a normal posture by the air ejected from below. However, here, the workpiece that has not been converted to the normal posture is again returned to the upstream in the posture adjustment unit by the back shooter.

  As a result, it is possible to reliably supply only the workpiece aligned in the normal posture to the downstream side of the posture adjustment unit. In addition, since it is not necessary to provide the posture adjustment unit in a long section in order to reliably align the workpiece with the normal posture, space saving can be achieved.

  In the case where a back shooter is provided in the posture adjustment unit, it is a downstream end portion of the inclined conveyance surface, and has a height at which a normal posture workpiece that moves downstream on the inclined conveyance surface can pass, and The workpiece is placed at a height at which an irregular posture moving on the inclined conveyance surface cannot pass.

In addition, the alignment unit that aligns the plurality of caps supplied from the inclined conveyance surface in a row extends continuously downstream from the attitude adjustment unit, and the alignment conveyance in which the plurality of alignment air ejection holes are formed. Since the plurality of caps arranged in a row can be supplied to the transport unit provided on the downstream side of the alignment unit by the surface, the cap is aligned with the end surface part of the workpiece supplied downstream from the posture adjustment unit. High-speed air ejected from the aligned air ejection holes between the conveying surface flows downstream. Therefore, the workpiece can be conveyed downstream in a stable state where the workpiece is sucked to the alignment conveyance surface. In addition, since the workpiece is in a state of being lifted from the alignment conveyance surface via air and the frictional force of the workpiece against the alignment conveyance surface becomes substantially zero, the width of the alignment conveyance surface is directed toward the conveyance unit on the downstream side. By gradually narrowing, it is possible to smoothly align a plurality of workpieces so that they can be supplied to the transport unit.

In the case where a back shooter Alignment unit is an upstream end portion of the alignment conveyor surface, the work of normal orientation of the workpiece to be moved on the or aligned conveying surface inclined conveying surface to the downstream side It will be installed at a height that allows it to pass and a workpiece with an irregular posture cannot pass.

According to the second aspect of the invention, the back shooter is provided that has a retraction member that drives the workpiece in the irregular posture back in the upstream direction in the posture adjustment unit by being rotationally driven to move upstream in the lower position. Therefore, it is possible to reliably return the irregularly-positioned workpiece in the upstream direction in the posture adjustment unit.

  In this case, the back shooter is set so that the retraction member rotated to the lower position is higher than the normal posture workpiece conveyed from the upstream side of the posture adjustment unit and lower than the irregular posture workpiece. Will be installed.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment as the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, in the air alignment feeder 1 shown in this embodiment, one end of a cylindrical portion (cylindrical portion) C <b> 1 is closed by a top surface (end surface portion) C <b> 2 by air jetted from below. A posture adjusting unit 10 for supplying the cap (work) C having the other end as an opening to a downstream side in the conveying direction A while adjusting the normal posture in which the top surface C2 is individually separated with the top surface C2 facing downward; The alignment unit 20 disposed on the downstream side of the posture adjustment unit 10 is provided with a back shooter 40 that returns the cap C in an irregular posture that is not in the normal posture state in the upstream direction in the posture adjustment unit 10.

  Here, the cap C to be transferred and supplied is made of plastic, aluminum, or the like, and is for closing the mouth of a bottle (not shown). The concept of the cap includes a cylindrical portion C1 and a top surface C2. Other cap-shaped workpieces are also included. In addition, the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical part C1 may be formed in a polygonal cylinder shape or other shapes.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, the posture adjusting unit 10 has a plurality of ejection holes 12 for ejecting air, and is inclined so as to be gradually positioned upward toward the downstream side in the conveyance direction A. 11. The ejection holes 12 are formed from a plurality of standing ejection holes 12 a that eject air in the direction orthogonal to the inclined conveyance surface 11 from the inclined conveyance surface 11 (air that has a large velocity component in the orthogonal direction) and the inclined conveyance surface 11. And a plurality of inclined ejection holes 12b for ejecting air having a velocity component toward the downstream side in the transport direction A.

  These standing ejection holes 12a and inclined ejection holes 12b are arranged in a lattice shape over the entire inclined conveying surface 11, and the same number of them is substantially in the conveying direction A and the width direction orthogonal to the conveying direction A. They are arranged to be evenly distributed. Note that the rising ejection holes 12a may be distributed more in the upstream portion of the inclined conveyance surface 11, and the inclined ejection holes 12b may be distributed more in the downstream portion. Furthermore, at the downstream end of the inclined conveyance surface 11, only the inclined ejection holes 12b may be arranged.

  The alignment unit 20 is provided so as to continuously extend downstream from the posture adjustment unit 10, and is arranged in a row so that the cap C supplied from the inclined conveyance surface 11 can be further supplied to the conveyance unit 30 on the downstream side. It is comprised so that it may align. The alignment unit 20 has an alignment conveyance surface 21 in which a plurality of alignment air ejection holes 21a for injecting air obliquely upward toward the downstream side in the conveyance direction A are opened. Moreover, the conveyance part 30 has the conveyance surface 31 in which the conveyance air ejection hole 31a which ejects air diagonally upward toward the downstream of the conveyance direction A opens two or more.

  The alignment transport surface 21 and the transport surface 31 are formed in the same plane extending in the horizontal direction. Further, the aligned air ejection holes 21a are the same as the range in the width direction in which the ejection holes 12 are disposed on the inclined conveyance surface 11 within a range where at least the back shooter 40 is provided from the upstream end of the alignment conveyance surface 21. They are arranged in a grid in the range in the width direction, and are arranged in a grid in a range in which the width gradually decreases linearly from this range toward the transport unit 30 on the downstream side. Furthermore, the conveyance air ejection holes 31a are arranged in a straight line (may be curved) at a certain distance from the position where the conveyance air ejection holes 31 have penetrated the alignment conveyance surface 21 toward the downstream side.

  Further, the inclined transport surface 11 is formed in a planar shape by the upper surface of the inclined transport plate 52, and the aligned transport surface 21 and the transport surface 31 are formed in a planar shape by the upper surface of the transport plate 62. In FIG. 2, the inclined transport surface 11 and the aligned transport surface 21 are shown in the shape of a shape in which the plane and the flat surface are simply abutted at a predetermined angle. By smoothly curving at least one end of 21, they are connected so as to be continuously connected via this smooth curved surface. That is, the connecting portion between the inclined transport surface 11 and the aligned transport surface 21 does not hinder the movement of the cap C.

  The standing ejection hole 12 a is formed by a hole having a circular cross section that extends linearly through the inclined conveyance plate 52 and extends in a direction perpendicular to the inclined conveyance surface 11. The inclined ejection hole 12b is formed by a circular hole that crosses the inclined conveyance plate 52 in a straight line and is inclined so as to be positioned gradually upward (inclined conveyance surface 11 side) toward the downstream side in the conveyance direction A. ing. In this embodiment, the diameter of the standing ejection hole 12a is larger than the diameter of the inclined ejection hole 12b in order to make it easy to convert the two-piece cap C to the normal posture. That is, the function of converting the cap C into the normal posture is enhanced by increasing the flow rate of the air ejected from the standing ejection holes 12a.

  The alignment air ejection holes 21a and the conveyance air ejection holes 31a pass through the conveyance plate 62 in a straight line, and are positioned gradually upward (on the alignment conveyance surface 21 side or the conveyance surface 31 side) toward the downstream side in the conveyance direction A. It is formed by a hole having a circular cross section that is inclined as much as possible.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the inclined conveyance plate 52 is constituted by a top plate portion of a box-like body 51 constituting a plenum chamber 50 into which pressurized air is introduced from an air supply source.

  Further, a box-like body 61 having the same cross-sectional shape as the downstream end of the box-like body 51 is connected to the downstream side of the box-like body 51. The box-shaped body 61 has a top plate portion serving as a conveyance plate 62. Further, the inside of the box-shaped body 61 is a plenum chamber 60 that communicates with the plenum chamber 50.

  On the other hand, on the inclined conveyance plate 52, as shown in FIG. 3, along the upstream end of the inclined conveyance surface 11 and each side edge in the width direction, a breathable member such as a net, a porous panel, a plurality of rod-shaped members, etc. The guide wall 13 comprised by these is provided. The guide wall 13 is blown up by the air ejected from the ejection hole 12 by the cap C put on the inclined transport surface 11 (that is, in the posture adjusting unit 10), and outside the inclined transport surface 11 (outside the posture adjusting unit 10). It is designed to prevent jumping out.

  The conveyance plate 62 is provided with guide walls 22 and 32 on the downstream side of the back shooter 40 along the side edges in the width direction of the alignment conveyance surface 21 and the conveyance surface 31, respectively.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the back shooter 40 is disposed at the upstream end of the alignment conveyance surface 21, and the back shooter 40 is moved from the inclined conveyance surface 11 to the position corresponding to the alignment conveyance surface 21. Of these, the cap C having an irregular posture is driven back in the upstream direction of the posture adjustment unit 10.

  That is, the back shooter 40 includes a main shaft portion 40a having a circular cross section extending linearly, a pair of disk portions 40b and 40b fixed coaxially to both ends of the main shaft portion 40a, and these disks. There are provided a plurality of (six in this embodiment) return members (return members) 40c that connect the peripheral portions of the opposing surfaces of the portions 40b and 40b.

  The striking bar 40c is made of a rigid material that can maintain a predetermined shape, such as metal or plastic, and is formed into a straight bar shape with a circular cross section, and is arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction of the disk portion 40b. Has been. The hitting bar 40c is fixed to the disk portions 40b and 40b in a state where a linear member such as rubber that is easily deformable or a linear member that cannot maintain a linear state such as a thread is stretched linearly. You may make it do.

  Further, the back shooter 40 is configured such that the main shaft portion 40a is rotatably supported by rotation support portions 41a and 41b arranged on the left and right sides of the disk portions 40b and 40b. The one rotation support portion 41a is provided with a motor (not shown) that drives the back shooter 40 to rotate. This motor is configured to rotationally drive the back shooter 40 in the direction in which the retraction bar 40c positioned below moves upstream.

  The rotation support portions 41 a and 41 b are connected to a height adjustment portion 43 that can be fixed at an arbitrary height position of the column portion 42 that extends in the vertical direction, and the column portion 42 is erected on the pedestal portion 44. . The pedestal portion 44 is fixed to the upper surface of a bracket 62 a provided to protrude on both sides in the width direction of the transport plate 62.

  Further, the back shooter 40 has a height that allows the cap C in the normal posture to pass downstream on the alignment conveyance surface 21 by the height adjusting unit 43 and the height that the cap C in the irregular posture cannot pass. Is set to. That is, the backshooter 40c is rotated such that the retraction bar 40c rotated to the lower position is higher than the cap C in the normal posture conveyed from the upstream side of the posture adjustment unit 10 and lower than the cap C in the non-normal posture. 40 will be installed.

  According to the air alignment feeder 1 configured as described above, when the cap C is supplied to the posture adjusting unit 10 from above, the top surface C2 faces the air ejection side even a little. The air ejected from the standing ejection holes 12a and the inclined ejection holes 12b approaches the inclined transport surface 11 while the top surface C2 is held downward.

  When the top surface C2 comes close to the inclined transport surface 11, the air ejected from the upright ejection holes 12a and the inclined ejection holes 12b flows between the top surface C2 and the inclined transport surface 11 at a high speed. Since the pressure of the high-speed air is lower than the pressure of the surrounding atmosphere, the cap C is sucked to the inclined transport surface 11. Further, the cap C moves to the downstream side by the air of the velocity component that goes to the downstream side ejected from the inclined ejection hole 12b. That is, the cap C can be stably transported to the downstream side while being sucked by the inclined transport surface 11.

  Further, since air in a direction perpendicular to the inclined conveyance surface 11 is ejected from the standing ejection holes 12a, more force is exerted on the cap C to make the top surface C2 of the cap C parallel to the inclined conveyance surface 11. It will be. Accordingly, the posture of the cap C can be immediately adjusted to a stable state in which the top surface C2 is substantially parallel to the inclined conveyance surface 11.

  On the other hand, for the cap C whose opening portion faces the air ejection side even a little, since the resistance to air is large, the top surface C2 side with less resistance is immediately converted so as to face the air ejection side. become. Also in this case, since air in a direction perpendicular to the inclined conveyance surface 11 is ejected from the standing ejection holes 12a, the force for converting the cap C to a normal posture in which the top surface C2 is parallel to the inclined conveyance surface 11 is larger. It acts on the cap C. Therefore, the cap C in the irregular posture can be immediately converted into the regular posture and stably supplied to the downstream side.

  As a result, the posture adjustment unit 10 can convert the cap C to the normal posture with a very high probability.

  However, the top surface C2 of the cap C is held in parallel with the inclined conveyance surface 11, and the cap C in an irregular posture where the cap C is further overlapped on the cap C and the weight on the opening side are increased. For example, the cap C in an irregular posture in which the outer peripheral surface is in a rollover state facing the inclined conveyance surface 11 side is stable against air ejected from the standing ejection holes 12a and the inclined ejection holes 12b. May be in a state. For this reason, the cap C of such an irregular posture may rarely be supplied downstream from the posture adjustment unit 10.

  However, since the back shooter 40 is provided at the upstream end of the alignment unit 20, it is possible to reliably prevent the cap C having an irregular posture from being supplied to the downstream side of the posture adjustment unit 10.

  In other words, the cap C in the irregular posture described above has a higher height in the vertical direction than the cap C in the regular posture, so that the back shooter 40 can surely strike back in the upstream direction in the posture adjustment unit 10. .

  For example, with respect to the cap C that overlaps vertically, the upper cap C or both the upper and lower caps C can be driven back in the upstream direction in the posture adjustment unit 10, and the cap C that has been rolled over is itself the posture adjustment unit 10. It is possible to strike back in the upstream direction. The caps C that have been knocked back are individually separated, and the probability of being converted into a normal posture by the air ejected from below is extremely high. However, here, the cap C that has not been converted into the normal posture is again driven back by the back shooter 40.

  As a result, only the cap C aligned in the normal posture can be reliably supplied to the downstream side of the posture adjusting unit 10. In addition, since it is not necessary to provide the posture adjustment unit 10 in a long section in order to align the cap C with the normal posture, space saving can be achieved.

  Further, since the probability that the posture adjustment unit 10 converts to the normal posture becomes extremely high, the number of caps C of the non-normal posture sent to the back shooter 40 can be drastically reduced. Accordingly, since the number of caps C to be driven back by the back shooter 40 can be reduced, it is possible to improve the supply efficiency of the caps C to the downstream side.

  Further, in the aligning portion 20, the air ejected from the align air ejection holes 21a flows between the top surface C2 of the cap C and the align transport surface 21 as a high-speed flow and flows downstream. It can be conveyed to the downstream side in a stable state attracted to the alignment conveying surface 21. In addition, since the cap C is lifted from the aligning and conveying surface 21 via air, the frictional force of the cap C against the aligning and conveying surface 21 becomes almost zero. As a result, the caps C can be smoothly aligned in a row that can be supplied to the transport unit 30 by being gradually narrowed toward the transport unit 30 on the downstream side.

  In the above embodiment, the back shooter 40 is provided at the upstream end of the posture adjusting unit 10. However, the back shooter 40 is provided at the downstream end of the inclined conveyance surface 11. You may comprise as follows. Also in this case, the cap C in the normal posture that moves downstream on the inclined conveyance surface 11 can pass, and the cap C in the irregular posture that moves downstream on the inclined conveyance surface 11 cannot pass. It will be installed at a certain height.

  Further, in the back shooter 40, an example in which six return bars 40c are provided is shown. The number of the return bars 40c is the relationship between the speed of the cap C moving downstream and the rotational speed of the back shooter 40. As long as it is certain that the cap C in the irregular posture does not pass under the back shooter 40, any number of 1 or more may be used. However, it is preferable to set the rotational speed of the back shooter 40 to a low speed of about 50 to 150 rpm by providing a plurality of rebound bars 40c. By rotating the back shooter 40 at such a low speed, the failure rate of the back shooter 40 and the motor driving the back shooter 40 can be made substantially zero.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 6A, the back shooter 40 is configured by providing a plurality of return plates (return members) 40d that protrude radially from the outer peripheral surface of the main shaft portion 40a, instead of the return bar 40c. May be. In this example, the striking plate 40d is formed of a rectangular plate, and is disposed at a position that divides the main shaft portion 40a into six equal parts. Further, the striking plate 40d may be formed of a material having rigidity capable of maintaining a predetermined shape such as metal or plastic, or may be formed of an easily deformable material having elasticity such as rubber. Alternatively, it may be formed of a material that cannot maintain the plate state such as a sheet or cloth. For example, even when the return plate 40d is made of a deformable material such as a sheet or cloth, the return plate 40d extends outward from the main shaft portion 40a due to the centrifugal force generated by the rotation around the main shaft portion 40a. Therefore, it has a function of returning the cap C of the irregular posture in the upstream direction of the posture adjustment unit 10.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 6B, the back shooter 40 is provided with a plurality of linear members (return members) 40e that project radially from the outer peripheral surface of the main shaft portion 40a, instead of the retraction bar 40c. You may comprise.

  The linear member 40e shown in this example is formed by a linear rod having a circular cross section, and is arranged at a position equally divided into six in the circumferential direction of the main shaft portion 40a, and in the axial direction of the main shaft portion 40a. They are arranged at a plurality of positions with a predetermined interval. The linear member 40e may be formed of a material having rigidity that maintains a predetermined shape, such as metal or plastic, or may be formed of an easily deformable material having elasticity such as rubber. You may form with the material which cannot maintain a state. Further, even when the retraction plate 40d is made of a deformable material such as a thread, the retraction plate 40d extends outward from the main shaft portion 40a due to the centrifugal force caused by the rotation of the main shaft portion 40a. The normal posture is returned to the upstream direction of the posture adjustment unit 10.

  In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the cap C is inserted into the posture adjustment unit 10 from above is shown. However, by removing the guide wall 13 on the upstream side of the posture adjustment unit 10, You may comprise so that the cap C in which the normal attitude | position and the irregular attitude | position were mixed may be supplied to the said attitude | position adjustment part 10 from the conveyance part of the side. Also in this case, the cap C in the irregular posture can be converted into the cap C in the regular posture, and only the cap C in the regular posture can be supplied to the downstream side.

It is a figure of the air alignment feeder shown as one Embodiment of this invention, Comprising: It is sectional drawing which follows the II line | wire of FIG. It is a figure which shows the same air alignment feeder, Comprising: It is sectional drawing which follows the II-II line | wire of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the same air alignment feeder. It is a perspective view which shows the box-shaped body which comprises the inclination conveyance surface of the same air alignment feeder. It is a top view which shows the same air alignment feeder. It is a figure which shows the other example of the back shooter in the same air alignment feeder, Comprising: (a) is a perspective view which shows a 1st other example, (b) is a perspective view which shows a 2nd other example. is there.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Air alignment feeder 10 Attitude adjustment part 11 Inclined conveyance surface 12 Ejection hole 12a Standing ejection hole 12b Inclined ejection hole 20 Alignment part 21 Alignment conveyance surface 21a Alignment air ejection hole 30 Conveyance part 31 Conveyance surface 31a Conveyance air ejection hole 40 Back shooter 40a Main shaft 40c Return bar (return member)
40d strike back plate (strike member)
40e Linear member (return member)
C cap (work)
C1 Cylindrical part (tubular part)
C2 Top (end face)

Claims (3)

While aligning a large number of workpieces in which one end of the cylindrical portion is closed by the end surface portion and the other end is an opening portion into a normal posture in which the end surface portion faces downward and is individually separated by air ejected from below An air alignment feeder provided with an attitude adjustment unit that supplies the downstream side in the transport direction,
The posture adjusting unit has an inclined conveyance surface that is inclined so as to be positioned gradually upward toward the downstream side in the conveyance direction, and air having a large velocity component in a direction perpendicular to the inclined conveyance surface from the inclined conveyance surface. Each having a plurality of standing ejection holes for ejecting air, and a plurality of inclined ejection holes for ejecting air having a velocity component from the inclined conveyance surface toward the downstream side in the conveyance direction,
An alignment unit that extends continuously downstream from the posture adjustment unit and aligns a plurality of workpieces supplied from the inclined conveyance surface in a row ejects air obliquely upward toward the downstream side in the conveyance direction. together provided with a plurality of aligned air ejection holes-aligned conveying surface formed with said alignment unit, a plurality of workpieces aligned in the one row can be supplied to the transport section that is provided on the downstream side of the sorting unit Subeku is provided,
A back shooter is provided at the downstream end of the posture adjusting unit or the upstream end of the aligning unit to return the workpiece in an irregular posture that is not in the normal posture in the upstream direction in the posture adjusting unit. The air alignment feeder is characterized in that a large number of the standing injection holes are formed with a diameter larger than that of the inclined ejection holes in the upstream portion of the inclined conveying surface. The back shooter is disposed around the main shaft portion, and has a retraction member that drives the workpiece in an irregular posture back in the upstream direction in the posture adjustment portion by being rotationally driven to move upstream in the lower position. The air alignment feeder according to claim 1, wherein the return member has elasticity . 3. The air alignment feeder according to claim 2 , wherein the back shooter is provided with a plurality of the repelling members and has a rotational speed set to a low speed of 50 to 150 rpm .

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