JP4497389B2 - Method and apparatus for measuring spring pressure - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a spring pressure measuring device that measures the spring pressure of a precision spring that requires a precise spring pressure setting, such as a suspension of a hard disk device.
[0002]
[Prior art]
As shown in FIG. 6, the suspension of the hard disk device that requires precise spring pressure setting includes a thin stainless steel spring body 1 and a hard disk fixed to the distal end portion of the elastic deformation portion 1a of the spring body 1 that is easily deformed. It consists of a read / write core 2 and a thin lead wire 3 drawn out from the core 2. The base 1b of the spring body 1 is fixed to the frame of the head, and the core 2 is brought very close to the rotating hard disk surface. use. During reading / writing of the hard disk, the core 2 and the surface of the hard disk must be kept at a certain minute distance, so that the spring pressure of the suspension is controlled within a narrow allowable range at the time of manufacture. The suspension spring is thin and can be slightly deformed even by a slight external force during manufacturing. The handling of the suspension requires great care, and the handling of the spring pressure is also difficult in the same way.
[0003]
Conventionally, when inspecting the spring pressure of the suspension, setting and resetting of the suspension to the spring pressure measuring device has been performed manually using tweezers. However, in such manual work, the following obstacles are likely to occur, and the manufacturing yield is poor.
[0004]
(1) The suspension is slightly deformed by the external force grabbing the suspension, and the spring pressure changes.
[0005]
(2) Static electricity is generated and the core 2 is destroyed. Note that even if the worker is grounded, there is not much preventive effect.
[0006]
(3) The posture of the thin lead wire 3 cannot be maintained and is tangled or disconnected.
[0007]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The present invention solves the above-described problems and provides a spring pressure measuring method and a spring pressure measuring apparatus suitable for automation and having a good yield.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the spring pressure measuring method of the present invention is configured to adsorb a plurality of springs arranged on a carrier with the adsorbing tool while separating them from the carrier, and the adsorbing tool intermittently By moving, with each base part of the plurality of springs that have been adsorbed in contact with the positioning jig sequentially, the elastic deformation part of the spring is pressed against the measurement terminal, and the spring is displaced by a predetermined amount, The spring pressure at this time is measured by the measurement terminal, and a large number of springs are automatically measured by one handling regardless of manual operation.
[0009]
Further, the plurality of springs placed and arranged on the plurality of spring receiving seats on the carrier are adsorbed by the adsorbing tool in the arrangement and separated from the carrier, and the adsorbing tool moves intermittently, so that the adsorbing remains With each base part of the plurality of springs in contact with the positioning jig sequentially, the elastic deformation part of the spring is pressed against the measurement terminal to displace the spring by a predetermined amount, and the spring pressure at this time is measured as described above. Measure with the terminal, determine the pass / fail of the spring from the measured value, display this determination result on the pass / fail indicator corresponding to the spring seat of the measured spring, and complete the measurement of the total number of the plurality of springs After that, a plurality of springs with the adsorber in the original arrangement are returned to the spring seats on the carrier, and a large number of springs are automatically measured in one handling, and the springs that are defective as a result of the measurement Easy to separate That.
[0010]
Further, the spring placed on the carrier is adsorbed by the adsorbing tool and separated from the carrier, and the adsorbing tool moves so that the adsorbed spring base is in contact with the positioning jig. Then, the elastic deformation portion of the spring is pressed against the measurement terminal, the spring is displaced by a predetermined amount, and the spring pressure at this time is measured by the measurement terminal, and is automatically measured without depending on the manual operation.
[0011]
A spring pressure measuring device according to the present invention includes a carrier having a plurality of spring receiving seats, and an adsorbing tool for adsorbing the plurality of springs placed on the plurality of spring receiving seats in the state where the spring receiving seats are arranged. A positioning jig for sequentially sandwiching the bases of the plurality of springs adsorbed by the adsorbing tool between the adsorbing tool and the positioning jig is fixed, and the base part is fixed to the adsorbing tool and the positioning jig. And a measurement terminal pressed against the elastically deforming portion of the spring sandwiched therebetween, and the spring pressure of the plurality of springs in a state where the measurement terminal is adsorbed by the adsorbing tool is sequentially measured.
[0012]
In this spring pressure measuring device, if a plurality of pass / fail indicators are provided corresponding to the plurality of spring seats of the carrier, the quality of the plurality of springs on the carrier can be distinguished after measurement.
[0013]
Positioning by sandwiching a carrier having a spring seat, an adsorbing tool that adsorbs the spring placed on the spring receiving seat, and a base of the spring adsorbed by the adsorbing tool between the adsorbing tool A measurement terminal comprising a jig and a relative position of the positioning jig fixed, and a measurement terminal pressed against an elastically deformed portion of a spring positioned by sandwiching a base portion between the suction tool and the positioning jig Measure the spring pressure of the spring when the terminal is pressed against the spring.
[0014]
In these spring pressure measuring devices, there is a posture holding plate that holds and covers the posture maintaining difficulty portion of the spring between the suction tool and a posture holding plate suction port that sucks the posture holding plate to the suction tool. When equipped, the posture maintenance difficult part does not move during handling, and the posture maintenance difficult part does not break.
[0015]
The holding tool for sucking and holding a part having a posture maintenance difficult portion according to the present invention includes a posture holding plate for holding and covering the posture maintenance difficult portion between the suction tool and a posture holding for sucking the posture holding plate. The plate suction port is provided so that the posture difficult-to-maintain portion does not move during handling, and the posture difficult-to-maintain portion is prevented from being damaged.
[0016]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
[0017]
[Spring carrier]
1A and 1B show a spring carrier used in the present invention, in which FIG. 1A is a plan view and FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. In FIG. 1, the carrier 4 includes a frame-like frame portion 4a, a plate-like support portion 4b formed integrally with the frame portion 4a at the center thereof, and a little from the support portion 4b on the left and right sides of the support portion 4b. It consists of sub-supporting parts 4c and 4c that are separated and formed integrally with the frame part 4a.
[0018]
.. Are arranged in two rows toward the left and right sub-supporting portions 4c, 4c, and a guide pin 5 is projected on the upper surface of the protruding portion 4d. Yes.
[0019]
A pair of auxiliary guide pins 6, 6 project from the upper surface of the auxiliary support portion 4 c so as to correspond to the protruding portion 4 d.
[0020]
The upper surface of the protruding portion 4d, the guide pin 5, the pair of sub guide pins 6, 6 and the upper surface of the sub support portion 4c sandwiched between the sub guide pins 6, 6 constitute a spring seat 7. That is, as shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of spring seats 7 are provided on the carrier 4 and arranged in two rows. Then, a spring (in this embodiment, a suspension of a hard disk device) 10 is held on one spring receiving seat 7.
[0021]
The spring 10 is held by the spring seat 7 as follows.
[0022]
A mounting screw hole 1c (see FIG. 6) of the spring 10 is fitted into the guide pin 5 of the spring receiving seat 7, and the elastic deformation portion 1a of the spring 10 is sandwiched between the auxiliary guide pins 6 and 6, and the protruding portion 4d and It is placed and held on the upper surface of the sub-supporting part 4c. The work of arranging the springs 10 on the carrier 4 is performed manually as usual.
[0023]
[Configuration for measuring spring pressure by adsorbing and transporting a spring from a carrier]
2 to 4 are a front view, a plan view, and a side view showing an embodiment of the spring pressure measuring device of the present invention.
[0024]
2 to 4, the spring pressure measuring device includes a three-axis robot 30, a spring pressure measuring unit 40, a carrier installation unit 50, a control panel 60, and an operation box 70 on a vibration isolation table 20.
[0025]
The vibration isolator 20 is vibration-insulated so as not to transmit vibration from the floor of the building to the spring pressure measuring unit 40 installed thereon.
[0026]
The three-axis robot 30 conveys the suction tool 31 to three axes in the X direction perpendicular to the horizontal plane and the Z direction perpendicular to the Y direction. The transport operation and the suction operation of the suction tool 31 are controlled by a control panel. 60.
[0027]
The suction tool 31 includes a plurality of spring suction ports 31a, 31a,... Corresponding to the plurality of springs 10, 10,. Plate suction ports 31b, 31b,... Are attached downward.
[0028]
Each of the spring suction port 31a and the posture holding plate suction port 31b is of an air chuck type that is suctioned by vacuum.
[0029]
The posture holding plate suction port 31b sucks the posture holding plate 32 that holds and covers the lead wire (posture maintenance difficult portion) 3 of the spring 10 with the suction tool 31. The lead wire 3 has a length of about 5 cm and a core wire diameter of 0.08 mm or less. If there is nothing to support, the lead wire 3 tends to be tangled so long that its posture cannot be maintained by its own weight. There may be a case where the number of core wires is only one and a case where there are a plurality of core wires.
[0030]
FIG. 1 shows the positional relationship between the posture holding plate 32 and the springs 10, 10,. In order to set in this manner, the posture holding plate 32 is preliminarily hung on the frame 4a of the carrier 4, and then the spring (suspension) 10 is placed on the spring receiving seats 7, 7,. Lines 3, 3,... Are placed on the posture holding plate 32. Alternatively, after placing the spring bodies 1,... And the posture holding plate 32 on the carrier 4, the cores 2, 2,. You may make it attach to.
[0031]
When the posture holding plate 32 is sucked by the posture holding plate suction ports 31b and 31b of the suction tool 31, the lead wire (posture maintenance difficult portion) 3 is held and covered therebetween. This causes the lead wire 3 to move while the suction tool 31 conveys the springs 10, 10,... And performs processing such as processing and measurement on the springs 10, 10,. Can be prevented from being entangled or disconnected. In other words, the suction tool 31 provided with the posture holding plate suction port 31b and the posture holding plate 32 constitute a holder for sucking and holding a component having a posture maintenance difficult portion. The number and positions of the posture holding plate suction ports 31b are appropriately selected so that the lead wire 3 is stably held and covered between the suction tool 31 and the posture holding plate 32.
[0032]
The spring pressure measuring unit 40 measures the spring pressure of the spring 10 one by one. The spring pressure measuring unit 40 includes an electronic balance 41 mounted on the vibration isolator 20 and the electronic balance. A pair of positioning jigs 42 and 42 whose relative position to the measurement terminal 41a of 41 is fixed, and a pair of three-dimensionals which are fixed to the relative position after finely adjusting the X, Y and Z directions of the positioning jig 42 Adjustment tables 43 and 43 are provided.
[0033]
On the upper surface of the positioning jig 42, a guide surface for forcibly correcting the position and position of the base portion 1b of the spring 10, for example, a positioning pin fitted into the screw hole 1c of the spring 10, etc. Is formed.
[0034]
The three-dimensional adjustment table 43 is provided with micro screws 44, 45 and 46 for position adjustment in the X direction, Y direction and Z direction. The position of the positioning jig 42 is finely adjusted by these micro screws 44, 45 and 46. It comes to adjust. The three-dimensional adjustment table 43 is also provided with lock means (not shown) for locking each direction adjustment of the adjusted three-dimensional adjustment table 43.
[0035]
The carrier installation unit 50 installs the carrier 4 (see FIG. 1) on which a plurality of springs 10, 10,. Is used for the simultaneous adsorption in the state of the spring seats 7, 7,... Or for returning the spring seats 7, 7,. is there. As shown in FIG. 3, the carrier installation unit 50 is provided with a plurality of pass / fail indicators (LEDs) 51, 51,... Corresponding to the plurality of spring seats 7, 7,. In this embodiment, the pass / fail indicator 51 at the position corresponding to the defective product whose spring pressure deviates from the allowable value is turned on according to the pass / fail of the spring determined from the measurement value measured by the spring pressure measuring unit 40. It is like that.
[0036]
FIG. 5 shows a main part of the spring measuring device of FIG. In FIG. 5, one spring suction port 31 a of the suction tool 31 moves while attracting the spring 10, presses the spring 10 onto the positioning jig 42, and the base portion 1 b of the spring 10 causes the spring suction of the suction tool 31. It is sandwiched between the mouth 31a and the positioning jig 42 and positioned by the positioning jig 42, and the elastically deforming portion 1a of the spring 10 is pressed against the measuring terminal 41a of the electronic balance 41 and elastically deformed by a predetermined amount. It shows the state. Then, the electronic balance 41 measures the spring pressure of the spring 10 by the minute displacement of the measurement terminal 41a. 5, the lead wire 3 of the spring 10 and the posture holding plate 32 are not shown, but the posture holding plate 32 covers the lead wire 3 of the spring 10 from below even in this spring pressure measurement state. , Preventing disconnection and tangles.
[0037]
[Method of measuring spring pressure by adsorbing and transporting a spring from a carrier]
The spring pressure measuring method in this embodiment will be described below.
[0038]
First, the operator sets the carrier 4 on which the posture holding plate 32 is hung on the frame portion 4a and the springs 10 are placed one by one on all the spring seats 7 on the carrier installation portion 50, and the operation box. Operate 70 to start measurement. Thereby, the control panel 60 starts operation.
[0039]
Under the control of the control panel 60, the three-axis robot 30 is operated to move the suction tool 31 directly above the carrier 4 of the carrier installation unit 50, and then descends right below, so that the spring suction port 31 a of the suction tool 31. , 31a,... Are opposed to the springs 10, 10,... On the carrier 4, and the springs 10, 10,. To adsorb and separate from the carrier 4.
[0040]
At the same time, the posture holding plate suction port 31b of the suction tool 31 sucks the posture holding plate 32 by vacuum. Thus, the lead wires 3, 3,... Of the springs 10, 10,... Are held between the suction tool 31 and the posture holding plate 32 and are covered by the posture holding plate 32. With this cover, the lead wires 3, 3,... That are easily tangled and broken are almost fixed during movement by the triaxial robot 30 and during spring pressure measurement, causing troubles such as tangling. Disappears.
[0041]
Next, the triaxial robot 30 moves the adsorbing tool 31 adsorbing the plurality of springs 10, 10,... To the upper portion of the spring pressure measuring unit 40, and for the screw of the lower left spring 10-1 in FIG. After the hole 1c is positioned directly above the positioning pin of the positioning jig 42, the suction tool 31 is lowered, and the base 1b of the spring 10-1 is brought into contact with the positioning jig 42 to position the suction tool 31. The base portion 1b is sandwiched by the jig 42, and the spring 10-1 is adjusted to the correct spring pressure measurement posture and positioned. In this state, the elastic deformation portion 1a of the spring 10-1 is pressed against the measurement terminal 41a of the fixed electronic balance 41, the relative position of the spring 10-1 being adjusted in advance by the micro screws 44 to 46, It is elastically deformed by a predetermined amount. Further, the measuring terminal 41a is also displaced by a minute amount due to the spring pressure of the spring 10-1, and the electronic balance 41 detects the spring pressure of the spring 10-1 by this displacement and outputs the spring pressure value.
[0042]
This spring pressure value is compared with a preset allowable value by a pass / fail determination means (not shown). And when it determines with disqualification, the pass / fail indicator 51-1 (refer FIG. 3) corresponding to the lower left spring seat 7-1 of FIG. 1 is made to light. Illumination of the pass / fail indicator 51 indicates failure.
[0043]
When the measurement of the spring pressure of the spring 10-1 is finished, the triaxial robot 30 raises the suction tool 31 and moves intermittently by moving in the Y direction for 1 pitch p (see FIG. 1) and moving downward. Similarly, the spring 10-2 is made to correspond to the positioning jig 42, the spring pressure of the spring 10-2 is measured in the same manner, pass / fail is determined, and the pass / fail result is displayed on the adjacent pass / fail indicator 51-2.
[0044]
Hereinafter, the three-axis robot 30 intermittently moves the suction tool 31 in the Y direction, sequentially measures the spring pressure of all the springs 10, 10,..., And displays pass / fail on the pass / fail indicator 51. .
[0045]
When all the measurements of the left row of springs are completed, the triaxial robot 30 moves in the X direction so that the elastic deformation portion 1a of the right row of springs faces the measurement terminal 41a, and the suction tool 31 is intermittently moved in the Y direction. In the same manner, the spring pressure of the springs in the right column is sequentially measured, and each pass / fail indicator 51 displays the pass / fail indications.
[0046]
While the spring pressure of one spring is measured, the other spring remains adsorbed by the adsorbing tool 31.
[0047]
When all the pass / fail indications have been displayed, the triaxial robot 30 moves the suction tool 31 to the carrier installation unit 50, and the suction tool 31 is a plurality of springs in the original arrangement. Are returned to the spring seats 7, 7,... On the carrier 4, and the suction tool 31 releases the springs 10, 10,.
[0048]
Here, the worker removes the spring of the defective product in a position lit in the pass / fail indicators 51, 51,..., Leaves only the non-defective product on the carrier 4, and sends it to the next step.
[0049]
During the above-described spring pressure measurement process, the adsorber 31 is a good electric conductor, so that it is naturally grounded unlike the human body in the case of manual work, so that static electricity is not accumulated and the core 2 of the spring 10 is not destroyed. .
[0050]
In this embodiment, 20 springs 10 are placed on the carrier 4. In this case, the work speed including the transfer time was about twice as fast as the conventional manual work. In addition, since the yield was greatly improved to almost 100%, the spring pressure inspection cost could be significantly reduced.
[0051]
In the above-described embodiment, a plurality of springs are sucked by the suction tool at one time, but the springs can be sucked and transported by a single item to measure the spring pressure. Also in this case, since the failure of static electricity such as manual work is eliminated, the yield is surely improved. The work speed can also be increased.
[0052]
Of course, the posture holding plate is not necessary in the case of a spring of a single spring body, and if the conveyance speed is lowered, even if there is a posture maintaining difficult portion, the posture holding plate can be eliminated.
[0053]
A pass / fail indicator is not necessarily required. This is because, for example, the spring can be forcibly removed from the suction tool with an exclusion tweezer or the like immediately after the measurement based on the determination signal that the pass / fail determination means determines to be defective.
[0054]
【The invention's effect】
As described above in detail, in the present invention, the spring on the carrier is adsorbed by the adsorbing tool and separated from the carrier, and the adsorbing tool is moved so that the elastic deformation portion of the spring is pressed against the measurement terminal to apply the spring pressure. Since measurement is performed, it is possible to eliminate the manual work of handling springs that are prone to static electricity failure, disconnection, etc., shorten the time required for the spring pressure measurement process for springs such as hard disk drive suspensions, and significantly improve the yield. did it.
[0055]
In addition, a plurality of springs are adsorbed by an adsorbing tool and separated from the carrier while being arranged on the carrier, and the elastically deforming portion of each spring is pressed against the measurement terminal while moving the adsorbing tool intermittently. If the pressure is measured, it is suitable for automation and the working efficiency is remarkably improved. In addition, the carrier which has judged the pass / fail of the spring and displays it on the pass / fail indicator, and the plurality of springs which have been measured are sucked by the suction tool, and the pass / fail indicator is displayed on the carrier. If it returns to, work efficiency will improve further.
[0056]
If the posture holding plate is sucked by the posture holding plate suction port of the suction tool and the posture maintenance difficult part such as the spring lead wire is held and covered between the suction tool and the posture holding plate, the posture is maintained. It is possible to prevent breakage and entanglement of difficult parts, facilitating automation, and improving yield.
[Brief description of the drawings]
1A and 1B show a spring carrier used in the present invention, wherein FIG. 1A is a plan view and FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG.
FIG. 2 is a front view showing an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a plan view of FIG. 2;
4 is a side view of FIG. 2. FIG.
FIG. 5 is an enlarged front view showing a main part of the spring measurement device of FIG. 2;
6A and 6B show a suspension of a hard disk device, where FIG. 6A is a front view and FIG. 6B is a plan view.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Spring body 1a Elastic deformation part 1b Base 1c Attachment screw hole 2 Core 3 Lead wire (attitude maintenance difficult part)
4 Carrier 7 Spring seat 10 Suspension (spring)
20 Vibration isolator 30 Triaxial robot 31 Suction tool 31a Spring suction port 31b Posture holding plate suction port 32 Posture holding plate 40 Spring pressure measurement unit 41a Measurement terminal 42 Positioning jig 50 Carrier installation unit 51 Pass / fail indicator

Claims (8)

Adsorb the base of the plurality of springs arranged on the carrier with an adsorber , separate the adsorbed springs from the carrier in the arrangement,
With the suction tool moving intermittently, the elastic deformation portion of the spring is pressed against the measurement terminal in a state where each base portion of the plurality of the springs that have been attracted is sequentially in contact with the positioning jig, A spring pressure measuring method, comprising: displacing a spring by a predetermined amount; and measuring the spring pressure at this time with the measurement terminal. Adsorb the bases of the multiple springs placed and arranged on the multiple spring seats on the carrier with an adsorber, and separate the adsorbed multiple springs from the carrier in that arrangement,
With the suction tool moving intermittently, the elastic deformation portion of the spring is pressed against the measurement terminal in a state where each base portion of the plurality of the springs that have been attracted is sequentially in contact with the positioning jig, Displace the spring by a predetermined amount, measure the spring pressure at this time with the measurement terminal,
Judgment of pass / fail of the spring from the measured value,
Display this determination result on the pass / fail indicator corresponding to the spring seat of the measured spring,
After the measurement of the total number of the plurality of springs is completed, the plurality of springs whose adsorbers remain in the original arrangement are returned to the spring seats on the carrier. Adsorb the base of the spring placed on the carrier with an adsorber , separate the adsorbed spring from the carrier,
As the adsorbing tool moves, the elastic deformation portion of the spring is pressed against the measurement terminal while the adsorbed base portion of the spring is in contact with the positioning jig, and the spring is displaced by a predetermined amount. The spring pressure is measured by the measurement terminal. A carrier having a plurality of spring seats;
An adsorbing tool that adsorbs the bases of the plurality of springs placed on the plurality of spring receiving seats in the state of the arrangement of the spring receiving seats;
A positioning jig for sequentially sandwiching the bases of the plurality of springs adsorbed by the adsorber between the adsorbers,
A relative position with respect to the positioning jig is fixed, and comprises a measurement terminal pressed against an elastic deformation portion of a spring sandwiched between a base portion between the suction tool and the positioning jig,
Adsorbing the bases of a plurality of springs placed and arranged on a plurality of spring seats on the carrier with the adsorbing tool, separating the adsorbed springs from the carrier in the arrangement,
When the suction tool moves intermittently, the elastic deformation portion of the spring is pressed against the measurement terminal in a state in which the base portions of the plurality of springs that have been attracted are sequentially in contact with the positioning jig. Then, the spring is displaced by a predetermined amount, and the spring pressure at this time is measured by the measurement terminal.   5. The spring pressure measuring device according to claim 4, further comprising a plurality of pass / fail indicators corresponding to the plurality of spring seats of the carrier. A carrier having a spring seat;
An adsorber that adsorbs the base of the spring placed on the spring seat;
A positioning jig for sandwiching and positioning the base of the spring adsorbed by the adsorbing tool between the adsorbing tool,
A relative position with the positioning jig is fixed, and a measuring terminal pressed against an elastically deforming portion of a spring positioned by sandwiching a base portion between the suction tool and the positioning jig,
Adsorbing the base of the spring placed on the carrier with an adsorber, separating the adsorbed spring from the carrier,
When the suction tool moves, the spring elastically deformed portion is pressed against the measurement terminal while the base portion of the spring that has been sucked is in contact with the positioning jig, and the spring is displaced by a predetermined amount. The spring pressure at this time is measured by the measurement terminal.   It has a posture holding plate that covers and holds the spring posture difficult portion between the suction tool and the suction tool, and is provided with a posture holding plate suction port for sucking the posture holding plate. The spring pressure measuring device according to claim 4 or 6.   In a holder for sucking and holding a part having a posture maintenance difficult portion, a posture holding plate for holding and covering the posture maintenance difficult portion between the suction tool and a posture holding plate suction port for sucking the posture holding plate. A holder characterized by being provided.

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