JP4486327B2 - Article supply device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an article supply apparatus that supplies articles one by one.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, various methods have been proposed to extract a predetermined quantity from a large number of relatively small articles.
[0003]
One method is to use firewood. In other words, pile up the goods on the basket and shave it, and measure the remaining amount in the basket as a unit.
[0004]
There is also a method in which articles are arranged in one row using a parts feeder and taken out one by one from the end of the row. A commercially available parts feeder vibrates the bowl into which an article is placed around the central axis, and sets the acceleration (angular acceleration) of the vibration to a small value in a specific direction and to a large value in the opposite direction. Many products take the style of a vibratory feeder, in which an article is flowed in a vortex, and the articles are arranged and sent in a row in the course of the flow.
[0005]
There is also a method of picking up an article from a container by a placer or robot using a gate motion mechanism. When a flexible object is a target, it is often attracted and picked up by air suction as in the device described in Patent Document 1.
[0006]
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-79106
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The method of weighing articles by means of scissors is suitable for articles such as granules and powders that do not matter in number, but is not suitable for articles that are larger in size and require strict counting. In particular, it is difficult to use for an article whose volume is changed by being compressed, or an article that is entangled with each other.
[0008]
The method of aligning articles using a vibration feeder-type parts feeder is such that the articles are easily entangled with each other, such as cotton balls used in surgical medicine (absorbent cotton is formed into a spherical shape). It cannot be used because it creates a lump and cannot be aligned.
[0009]
When picking up an article with a robot, a visual recognition device is required to reliably grasp the article in one try. Even if a visual recognition device is provided, it is difficult to pick up one item separately from the other if it is an easy-to-tangle item such as a cotton ball.
[0010]
The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide an article supply device that can reliably supply articles that are easily entangled with each other like cotton balls.
[0011]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, in the present invention, an article supply apparatus is configured as follows.
[0012]
(1) A hopper for loading an article, a pipe inlet connected to the hopper, an inner diameter slightly larger than the outer diameter of the article, a pipe for receiving the article in a single row, and an inner diameter at the tip of the pipe A suction nozzle that sucks the first article in the row from the pipe outlet , substantially equal to the inner diameter of the pipe, a moving device that moves the suction nozzle in the space, and controls the suction operation of the suction nozzle and the operation of the moving device. And a control device.
[0013]
According to this configuration, even articles that are difficult to align with a normal vibration feeder can be arranged in a line by dropping them into the pipe from the hopper. Also, as the suction nozzle picks up the articles one by one from the pipe outlet and moves them away, the movement of the row of articles occurs in a pipe-like manner in the pipe in order to fill up the trace of the leading article missing. Even if it is an article that itself is soft and it is difficult to force other articles to be moved, it can be aligned and moved without difficulty.
[0014]
(2) In the article supply apparatus as described above, article suction prevention means including a net or a fence is provided at the tip of the suction nozzle.
[0015]
According to this configuration, the suction nozzle does not suck in the article and cause a trouble. Further, it is possible to apply a suction force to the second and subsequent articles while sucking the first article in the row.
[0016]
(3) In the article supply apparatus as described above, the suction nozzle moves the entire article row in the pipe to the pipe outlet side by suction force by performing an air suction operation while being applied to the pipe outlet. It was supposed to be
[0017]
According to this configuration, even an article that exerts a suction force on the entire article row in the pipe and tends to block the pipe itself, such as a cotton ball, can be moved without difficulty.
[0018]
(4) In the article supply apparatus as described above, the suction nozzle is sucked into the second and subsequent articles in the row by being separated from the pipe outlet in a state where the leading part of the row of articles in the pipe is sucked. It was assumed that it would not exert power.
[0019]
According to this configuration, by pulling away the suction nozzle that sucks the top article in the article row from the pipe outlet, the suction force does not reach the second and subsequent articles in the row. Can be cut out. Therefore, an escapement mechanism provided for cutting out the first part of the line in a normal article alignment and supply apparatus is unnecessary, and the apparatus can be simplified.
[0020]
(5) In the article supply apparatus as described above, an entry promoting apparatus that promotes entry of articles in the hopper into the pipe is provided.
[0021]
According to this configuration, the articles in the hopper are actively fed into the pipe by the approach promoting device, and the article row in the pipe is not interrupted in the middle.
[0022]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 are schematic configuration diagrams of the article supply device, showing different states, FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the suction nozzle, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the suction nozzle in a modified mode.
[0023]
The article supply device 1 supplies articles 2 one by one. Article 2 is a cotton ball. The article supply apparatus 1 includes a hopper 10 for loading the article 2. The hopper 10 has a funnel shape, and a pipe inlet 12 portion of the pipe 11 is connected to the bottom of the hopper 10. The pipe 11 has an inner diameter that is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the article 2. The pipe 11 is formed in a J-shape or a U-shape, and the pipe outlet 13 portion is lifted by a predetermined height from the lowest portion and faces upward. The pipe 11 may be either hard and inflexible, or soft and flexible. It is only necessary that the portion of the pipe outlet 13 is fixedly positioned in the space.
[0024]
The pipe 11 accepts the articles 2 in a row, and the hopper 10 is provided with an approach promoting device 20 that promotes the article 2 to enter the pipe 11. The approach promoting device 20 includes a motor 21 with a speed reducer having an output shaft 22 on the vertical axis, a turning arm 23 fixed to the output shaft 22, and a stirring bar 24 protruding obliquely downward from the tip of the turning arm 23. Is done. The output shaft 22 is arranged coaxially with the central axis of the hopper 10. When the output shaft 22 rotates at a predetermined speed, the stirring rod 24 moves in the hopper 10 so as to draw a conical surface. As a result, the article 2 in the hopper 10 is stirred, and the article 2 smoothly enters the pipe 11 without being caught at the pipe inlet 12.
[0025]
Picking up the articles 2 one by one from the pipe outlet 13 is a suction nozzle 40 that is moved in the space by a moving device. The moving device is constituted by a horizontal articulated robot 30, and a suction nozzle 40 as an end effector is attached to the tip of the arm 31. A suction nozzle lifting device 32 using an air cylinder or the like as a power source is installed at the tip of the arm 31, and the suction nozzle 40 moves in a three-dimensional space in combination with the two-dimensional horizontal movement given by the arm 31. .
[0026]
The tip of the suction nozzle 40 has an inner diameter substantially equal to the inner diameter of the pipe 11. If the product is left as it is, the product 2 is sucked into the suction nozzle 40. Therefore, a product suction prevention means is provided at the tip of the suction nozzle 40. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, a metal or synthetic resin net 41 is stretched at the tip of the suction nozzle 40 to serve as an article suction prevention unit. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, a metal or synthetic resin fence 42 is fixed to serve as an article suction prevention means.
[0027]
The suction nozzle 40 is connected to a vacuum source 44 by a flexible vacuum hose 43. The control device 50 controls the operations of the vacuum source 44, the robot 30, and the approach promoting device 20.
[0028]
Next, the operation of the article supply apparatus 1 will be described. The articles 2 are arranged in a line in the pipe 11, and the head of the line reaches a position close to the pipe outlet 13. Here, the control device 50 operates the arm 31 of the robot 30 and aligns the suction nozzle 40 directly above the pipe outlet 13 (state shown in FIG. 1).
[0029]
Subsequently, the control device 50 operates the suction nozzle raising / lowering device 32 to lower the suction nozzle 40 so that its tip is closely fitted to the pipe outlet 13 and then opens the valve of the vacuum source 44 to start suction of air. (State of FIG. 2). The entire air flow in the pipe 11 is sucked by the air flow generated in the pipe 11 and moved toward the pipe outlet 13. Then, the first article 2 in the row is sucked by the suction nozzle 40. Since there is an article suction prevention means, the article 2 is not sucked into the suction nozzle 40. Further, since the adsorbed article 2 does not completely block the tip of the adsorption nozzle 40, an air flow continues to exist in the pipe 11, and the second and subsequent articles 2 in the row are connected to the pipe outlet 13. It continues to be sucked towards.
[0030]
Subsequently, the control device 50 operates the suction nozzle lifting / lowering device 32 to raise the suction nozzle 40 and pulls its tip away from the pipe outlet 13 (state of FIG. 3). The valve of the vacuum source 44 remains open, and the first article 2 in the row remains adsorbed by the adsorption nozzle 40, but the pipe outlet 13 is opened to the atmosphere, so that the second and subsequent items 2 in the row Does not reach the suction force. For this reason, the second and subsequent articles 2 in the row remain in the same positions. That is, only the top article 2 in the row is cut out.
[0031]
Thereafter, the control device 50 rotates the arm 31 of the robot 30 to move the suction nozzle 40 onto a container (not shown) waiting for the article 2, and then operates the suction nozzle lifting device 32 to lower the suction nozzle 40. When the article 2 enters the container, the valve of the vacuum source 44 is closed and the suction by the suction nozzle 40 is cut off. Thereby, the article 2 is released from the suction nozzle 40 and stays in the container, and the pick-and-place of the article 2 is completed. The above operation is repeated.
[0032]
In the present embodiment, the pipe outlet 13 faces upward, but the posture of the pipe outlet 13 is not limited to this. It is also possible to arrange it obliquely upward. In short, it is sufficient that the article 2 does not spill out from the pipe outlet 13 after the suction nozzle 40 is separated.
[0033]
A plurality of hoppers 10 are prepared, and a plurality of pipe outlets 13 extending from the hoppers 10 are arranged in a row or in an array, and the same number and same arrangement of suction nozzles 40 are provided so that a plurality of articles 2 can be arranged at a time. Pick and place can also be performed.
[0034]
Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.
[0035]
【The invention's effect】
The article supply apparatus of the present invention includes a hopper for loading articles, a pipe inlet connected to the hopper, an inner diameter that is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the articles, and a pipe that receives the articles in a row, An inner diameter of the tip is substantially equal to the inner diameter of the pipe, and an adsorption nozzle that adsorbs the first article in the row from the pipe outlet , a moving device that moves the adsorption nozzle in the space, an adsorption operation of the adsorption nozzle, and an operation of the moving device Even an article that is difficult to align with a normal vibratory feeder can be arranged in a row by dropping it from the hopper into the pipe and taken out one by one from the pipe outlet. Since the pick-up is performed by the suction nozzle, there is no problem in picking up even a soft article such as a cotton ball.
[0036]
In addition, the suction nozzle is applied to the outlet of the pipe and air suction is performed, so that suction force is exerted on the entire row of articles in the pipe, and the article tends to close the pipe softly like a cotton ball. However, it can be moved without difficulty. In addition, by pulling the suction nozzle away from the pipe outlet in a state where the top part of the article row in the pipe is sucked, the second and subsequent articles in the row will not have a suction force, without using an escapement mechanism, You can cut out the first part of a row.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an article supply device. FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of an article supply device showing different operation states. FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of an article supply device showing different operation states. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the suction nozzle.
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Article supply apparatus 2 Article 10 Hopper 11 Pipe 12 Pipe inlet 13 Pipe outlet 20 Approach promotion apparatus 20 Film 30 Robot (moving apparatus)
40 Suction nozzle 41 Net (article suction prevention means)
42 fence (item suction prevention means)
44 Vacuum source 50 Control device

Claims (3)

A hopper for introducing articles, to connect the pipe inlet to the hopper has an outer diameter by Redirecting a hearing inner diameter of said article, a pipe for receiving said articles in a manner that forms a column, the inner diameter of the distal end of the pipe inner diameter equal properly, the suction nozzle from the pipe outlet to adsorb the leading article columns, a moving device for moving the suction nozzle in the space, the control device for controlling the operation of the suction operation and the moving device of the suction nozzle And an article suction preventing means comprising a net or a fence provided at the tip of the suction nozzle,
The adsorbing nozzle performs an air suction operation in a state applied to the pipe outlet, thereby moving the entire article row in the pipe to the pipe outlet side with a suction force. . The suction nozzle is configured so as not to exert a suction force on the second and subsequent articles in the row by being separated from the pipe outlet in a state where the top part of the article row in the pipe is sucked. The article supply apparatus according to claim 1. The article supply device according to claim 1, further comprising an entry promoting device that promotes entry of an article in the hopper into the pipe.

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