JP6540349B2 - Parts feeder - Google Patents

Description

  BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a parts feeder capable of automatically adjusting the deviation of the conveyance speed of the entire workpiece conveyed on the conveyance path from the reference value.

  Conventionally, as part feeders, posture determination of workpieces such as electronic parts is performed, and workpieces with an inappropriate posture (incorrect posture) are removed from the transport path, while workpieces with other proper postures are transported to a predetermined supply destination. Possible ones are known (e.g. Patent Document 1). The parts feeder disclosed in Patent Document 1 obtains image data of a single workpiece conveyed on the conveyance path, and determines the posture of the workpiece based on the image data. In addition, the image data is also used to calculate the transport speed of the single work, and the timing at which the removing unit jets compressed air toward the work whose posture is determined to be inappropriate is adjusted based on the calculated transport speed. Do. By such timing correction, even if there is a slight difference in transport speed between each of the plurality of works continuously transported on the transport path, it is possible to stably remove the work of the improper posture from the transport path.

JP, 2015-30566, A

  By the way, in this kind of parts feeder including the parts feeder disclosed in Patent Document 1, driving means is constantly driven at a theoretical frequency and amplitude at which the work conveyance speed becomes a predetermined reference conveyance speed. Is customary. And, by giving vibration to the conveyance path from such a drive means, the conveyance speed of the work is stabilized, and even if there is a slight deviation in the conveyance speed of each work, it is a standard in the whole work on the conveyance path It was estimated that it was conveyed at the conveyance speed of.

  However, in this case, due to time-dependent changes such as wear of the transport road surface due to transport of work and generation of shavings of work surface material, adsorption of work onto transport path due to static electricity, change of friction coefficient due to lot difference, etc. A deviation (error) may occur between the actual transport speed of the entire workpiece on the transport path and the reference transport speed.

  If such an error occurs, in the configuration disclosed in Patent Document 1, if there is a gap between the workpieces, the timing of the processing (posture correction, elimination) of the workpieces is corrected to correct the incorrect posture work. It is possible to suppress a decrease in inversion efficiency, which is a probability that the posture can be appropriately corrected on the conveyance path, and a decrease in sorting efficiency, which is a probability that an incorrect posture work can be appropriately eliminated on the conveyance path. However, if the speed of the work supply to the linear feeder greatly exceeds the work transfer speed of the linear feeder due to an error between the actual transfer speed of the entire work and the reference transfer speed, the gap between the works is clogged. In this state, the above-mentioned timing correction alone can not be properly dealt with.

  Specifically, in a state where the gap between the workpieces is clogged, even if the compressed air is injected from the removing means to the target incorrect posture work, the incorrect posture work interferes with other adjacent work and is removed from the conveyance path There is also a possibility that no work or an adjacent work with a positive posture is removed from the conveyance path, and there is a possibility that the reduction in the sorting efficiency can not be suppressed. Alternatively, when changing the posture on the conveyance path by compressed air or the like instead of removing the work in the incorrect posture on the conveyance path, even if the compressed air is injected, the target irregular work is adjacent to another work. There is a risk that the posture will not be corrected due to interference, or the posture of the adjacent work in the normal posture may be changed, and there is a possibility that the reduction in the reversing efficiency can not be suppressed.

  On the other hand, when the work is transported with the gap between the works being opened, the posture correction and removal of the work are properly performed, but under the condition that the actual work speed of the work is lower than the reference speed The number of workpieces per unit time transported to the end decreases, leading to a decrease in the discharge capacity of the parts feeder.

  The present invention is intended to effectively solve such a problem, and when the transport speed of the entire work on the transport surface of the transport path deviates from the reference value, the displacement can be automatically adjusted. Good discharge efficiency and forward direction rate (hereinafter referred to as forward direction rate, which is the above-mentioned reverse efficiency and sorting efficiency, and alignment efficiency, which is the probability that incorrect posture work can be aligned in one row and one line in the same direction) The purpose is to provide a parts feeder that can be maintained in a stable state.

  In view of the above problems, the present invention takes the following means.

  That is, the parts feeder according to the present invention calculates the transport speed of a single work that transports the transport surface, the transport surface on which a plurality of workpieces can be placed, drive means for applying vibration to transport the workpiece to the transport surface, Means for calculating the average speed of a plurality of workpieces on the transport surface based on the transport speed of the workpiece alone, the average speed of the workpieces, and the reference transport speed of the predetermined workpiece And D. drive unit control means for outputting a command value based on the above to the drive means.

  With such a configuration, the drive means vibrates the transfer surface to transfer a plurality of works, and the transfer speed of the single work at that time is calculated by the single speed calculation means. The average speed calculation means calculates an average speed of a plurality of workpieces on the conveyance surface based on the conveyance speed of a single workpiece, and the drive control means drives a command value taking into consideration the average speed of the work and the reference conveyance speed. Output to As a result, the average of the work is due to time-dependent changes such as wear of the transfer surface with the transfer of the work and generation of shavings of the work surface material, adsorption to the transfer surface of the work due to static electricity, and change of friction coefficient due to lot difference Even if the speed changes, the transfer speed of the work can be automatically adjusted to the reference transfer speed by changing the vibration of the drive means according to the command value. Therefore, the actual transport speed of the entire workpiece transported on the transport surface can be properly maintained, and the discharge capacity and the forward direction rate can be maintained in a good state.

  In addition, a bowl feeder having a helical first transport path and a first drive means for vibrating the first transport path, and a linear form connected to the end of the first transport path and having the transport surface formed thereon In the configuration including the second transport path and the linear feeder having the second drive means for vibrating the second transport path, even if the transport speed of the work on the second transport path changes, the work on the second transport path In order to keep the filling rate of the workpiece suitably and to keep the forward direction rate of the work such as alignment efficiency, reversing efficiency and sorting efficiency, and discharge ability stable and in good condition, the longitudinal direction of the second transport path Work filling rate calculation means for obtaining a work filling rate, which is a rate at which a work is present, and a bowl drive unit for outputting a command value based on the work filling rate and a predetermined reference filling rate to the first drive means Control It is preferable to adopt a configuration comprising a means.

  In particular, in a configuration in which a processing apparatus for processing a workpiece can be installed at the end of the second transport path, in order to make the discharge capacity and forward direction ratio of the workpiece better, the maximum processing capacity of the processing apparatus It is preferable to determine the reference transport speed of the work based on the basis.

  Furthermore, in order to make it possible to accurately notify the inspection time, abnormality, and the like of the parts feeder, the system further comprises notification means for sounding an alarm when the command value out of the predetermined condition is outputted from the drive unit control means. It is preferable to set it as a structure.

  In particular, the average speed of the workpiece is calculated in a configuration including a camera for imaging the workpiece transported along the transport surface, and quality determination means for determining the quality of the workpiece based on image data acquired by the camera. In order to make it possible to easily calculate the average speed without separately providing a device for the purpose, the single speed calculation means sequentially calculates the transport speed of the single work based on the image data acquired by the camera, It is preferable that it is the structure which makes the said average speed the average value of the several said conveyance speed calculated.

  As described above, according to the present invention described above, the average speed of a plurality of workpieces conveyed on the conveyance surface is calculated based on the conveyance speed of a single workpiece, and the driving means is controlled based on the average speed and the reference conveyance speed. It is possible to provide a parts feeder capable of automatically adjusting the average speed of workpieces even if a deviation occurs from the reference transport speed, and maintaining the entire workpiece on the transport path at an appropriate transport speed.

The side view showing the parts feeder concerning one embodiment of the present invention. Explanatory drawing for demonstrating the timing control processing which the parts feeder performs. The timing chart for demonstrating the operation | movement which concerns on the exclusion process of the parts feeder. The figure for demonstrating the calculation method of a workpiece | work filling rate. The figure for demonstrating the modification of this invention.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the parts feeder 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a bowl feeder 7, a linear feeder 1 connected to the bowl feeder 7, and a line camera 2 installed in the linear feeder 1. A means 5 and a control device 4 are provided.

  The bowl feeder 7 includes a bowl body 71 capable of accommodating the work 3 and a first driving means 70 disposed at a lower portion of the bowl body 71 and vibrating the bowl body 71 by torsional vibration.

  The bowl body 71 is a substantially partially inverted conical member whose upper portion is opened, and a spirally rising first transport path 73 is formed in a groove shape in the inner peripheral wall 72 thereof. When the bowl body 71 vibrates in the twisting direction by the first drive means 70, the work 3 is conveyed upward along the first conveyance path 73 toward the connection portion 74 with the linear feeder 1. Therefore, the vibration of the first drive means 70 affects the work supply amount from the bowl feeder 7 to the linear feeder 1, and the first transport path 73 is transported as the amplitude and frequency of the first drive means 70 increase. The conveyance speed of the work 3 is increased, and the number of units supplied to the linear feeder 1 per unit time is increased.

  The linear feeder 1 has a linear second transport path 10 connected to the end of the first transport path 73 and a second drive unit 11 that vibrates the second transport path 10. The second drive unit 11 vibrates the second conveyance path 10 to convey the plurality of works 3 on the second conveyance path 10 from the left to the right in FIG. 1. The workpiece 3 is conveyed such that its longitudinal direction or short side direction is parallel to the conveyance direction of the workpiece 3.

  In the initial state, the second drive unit 11 is set to a theoretical frequency and amplitude that can transport the workpiece 3 at the reference transport speed described later in the second transport path 10. The reference transport speed, the amplitude of the first driving means 70 related to the work supply amount from the bowl feeder 7 to the linear feeder 1, etc. are also considered in the initial state in consideration of the performance etc. of the processing device 6 described later. 2) It is set to a theoretical value that allows the workpieces 3 and 3 to be transported at predetermined intervals on the transport path 10. The amplitudes of the first drive unit 70 and the second drive unit 11 are detected by a sensor (not shown) and maintained constant unless a command is output from a bowl drive control unit 47a or a linear drive control unit 47b described later. Be done. Further, the frequencies of the first drive unit 70 and the second drive unit 11 are tracked at resonance points in accordance with the amplitude for energy saving.

  The line camera 2 shown in FIG. 1 is provided above the imaging position (imaging point) P1 set in the second conveyance path 10. The line camera 2 has a plurality of high-sensitivity imaging elements (not shown) arranged in a line orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the work 3 (the extension direction of the second conveyance path 10). Image of the workpiece 3 conveyed. The imaging range (imaging area) of the line camera 2 is a range in which a part of the longitudinal direction of the workpiece 3 is imaged in the conveyance direction of the workpiece 3 when the longitudinal direction of the workpiece 3 is parallel to the conveyance direction In the direction orthogonal to the direction, the entire short direction of the work 3 is set as a range to be imaged, and when the short direction of the work 3 is parallel to the conveyance direction, the short direction of the work 3 in the conveyance direction of the work 3 In the range in which a part of the object 3 is imaged, and in the direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the workpiece 3, the range in which the entire longitudinal direction of the workpiece 3 is imaged is set.

  The image data acquired by the line camera 2 has a smaller number of pixels and a smaller amount of data than an area camera in which a plurality of imaging elements are arranged in a mesh shape to set an entire imaging range of one work 3. The line camera 2 operates so as to continuously perform imaging at constant intervals before the workpiece 3 reaches the imaging position P1, and imaging is performed multiple times while the workpiece 3 being conveyed downstream passes through the imaging position P1 The different positions of the work 3 are different from the front end 3a of the work 3 (work end on the downstream side in the transport direction, see FIG. 2) to the back end 3b (work end on the upstream side in the transport direction, see FIG. 2) Acquire the multiple image data that has appeared. The acquired image data is transferred to a control device (controller) 4 described later each time one imaging is performed.

  The control device 4 shown in FIG. 1 is constituted by a general microcomputer unit provided with a CPU and an interface (not shown), storage means 48 (memory) and the like, and an appropriate program is stored in the storage means 48. The CPU sequentially reads the program and cooperates with peripheral hardware resources to acquire the image capturing means 40, the pre-processing means 41, the attitude determination means 44, the single speed calculation means 42a, the command output means 45, the timing control means 46, It plays a role as average speed calculating means 42b, speed judging means 42c, work filling rate calculating means 43a, filling rate judging means 43b, bowl drive control means 47a, linear drive control means 47b, and notification means 49.

  The image capturing means 40 immediately captures image data into the control device 4 each time the line camera 2 captures an image. The preprocessing unit 41 includes a binarization processing unit 41a, an end detection unit 41b, and a composite image data generation unit 41c. The binarization processing unit 41 a immediately performs predetermined preprocessing such as binarization processing for each image data captured by the image capturing unit 40. Further, the end detection unit 41b determines the front end 3a and the rear end 3b of the work 3 in the image data through appropriate image processing. For example, in the image data, the color tone or the like is different between the portion where the workpiece 3 appears and the portion where something other than the workpiece 3 appears (specifically, the second conveyance path 10). Since there is a slight gap between the workpieces 3 and 3 even when the workpieces 3 and 3 are being transported closely, the image data obtained by imaging the front end 3a or the rear end 3b of the workpiece 3 is the transport direction of the workpiece 3 Different portions of color depth appear in the direction orthogonal to. The end detection unit 41 b detects (image determination) the front end 3 a and the rear end 3 b of the workpiece 3 appearing in the image data based on the difference in color density and the like. Alternatively, the end detection unit 41b may be configured to detect the front end 3a and the rear end 3b by determining an R shape at a corner of the workpiece 3 in the image data. Furthermore, the composite image data generation unit 41c connects the image data in which the front end 3a of the work 3 appears to the image data in which the rear end 3b of the work 3 appears in imaging order, and substantially the entire work 3 is equivalent to one Composite image data is generated as the appearing two-dimensional image data.

  The posture determination unit 44 as the quality determination unit performs a posture determination process of determining (image determination) the posture of the work 3 based on such composite image data. For example, the image data of the work 3 with an appropriate posture is stored in advance in the storage unit 48 described above, and the composite image data is compared with the image data stored in the storage unit 48 by pattern matching. To determine In addition, as postures other than a predetermined posture, for example, it is mentioned that the front and back are reversed, or the direction of the front-back direction is reversed. In this embodiment, since the front end 3a and the rear end 3b of the work 3 are detected in the image data as described above, the image in which the front end 3a of the work 3 appears even if the transport speed of the work 3 changes. From the data to the image data where the rear end 3b of the work 3 appears is connected in the order of imaging to obtain composite image data where substantially the entire work 3 appears, and the line camera 2 is used to determine the posture of the work 3 it can.

  The single speed calculation means 42a performs speed calculation processing to calculate the transfer speed of the single work 3 based on the composite image data that is also used for posture determination. Specifically, the single-piece velocity calculation means 42a calculates the conveyance velocity Vw (m / s) of the work 3 based on the following equation (1).

      Vw = Lw1 / S · A (1)

  Here, S is a scan rate of the line camera 2, that is, an imaging interval (sec) of the line camera 2. A is the number of imaging times (times) required for the line camera 2 to image substantially the entire work 3 as a single piece, that is, from the front end side to the rear end side of the work 3. Lw1 is the conveyance direction length (m) of the work 3 as shown in FIG. The single-piece velocity calculating means 42a regards the required imaging time which is the product of the imaging interval S of the line camera 2 and the number of times of imaging A as the time required for the work 3 to pass the imaging position P1. The transport speed of the work 3 is calculated based on the transport direction length Lw1. The conveyance direction length Lw1 of the work 3 is set in advance for the real work 3. The conveyance direction length Lw1 of the work 3 and the imaging interval S of the line camera 2 are input through the input means 48. In addition, the single speed calculation means 42a has an imaging frequency acquisition unit 42a1, and the imaging frequency acquisition unit 42a1 calculates the imaging frequency A from the number of pixels of image data obtained by one imaging and the number of pixels of composite image data Do.

  The transport speed of the work 3 alone calculated in this manner is sequentially stored in the storage means 48 shown in FIG. 1 and is used for timing control for excluding the incorrect posture work 3 described later and calculation of the average speed of the work 3 described later. Used.

  When the command output unit 45 determines that the posture determination unit 44 has an incorrect posture, the command output unit 45 causes the removal unit 5 to execute a removal process (a removal operation) for removing the incorrect posture work 3 from the second conveyance path 10. Output. The exclusion means 5 as an inappropriate work processing means has an air injection nozzle 50 for injecting compressed air toward an exclusion position P2 set downstream of the imaging position P1 in the conveying direction. The removing means 5 applies an urging force to the incorrect posture work 3 transported to the removal position P 2 with compressed air injected from the air injection nozzle 50, and removes the work 3 from the second transport path 10. The air injection nozzle 50 injects compressed air by receiving the energization command as the command. A target position Ps (see FIG. 2) to which the biasing force is applied is set in advance on the work 3. In this embodiment, the center in the transport direction of the side of the work 3 facing the removing means 5 is set as the target position Ps. There is. By applying an urging force to the target position Ps, it is possible to suppress movement of the workpiece 3 to be excluded while horizontally rotating when being excluded from the second conveyance path 10.

  The timing control means 46 controls the timing at which the command output means 45 outputs an energization command to the air jet nozzle 50 based on the conveyance speed of the work 3 alone calculated by the single speed calculation means 42 a. Specifically, based on the following equation (2), the waiting time tα (sec) from when the posture determination means 44 determines that the posture is incorrect until the command output means 45 outputs the energization command (see FIG. 3). By controlling the timing at which the command output unit 45 outputs an energization command to the air jet nozzle 50 based on the waiting time tα, even if the transport speed of the work 3 alone changes from the reference transport speed described later. A biasing force can be applied to the target position Ps.

      tα = {(L−Lw2) / Vw} −tp−td (2)

  Here, Vw is the transport speed (m / s) (see FIG. 2) of the single work 3 transported on the second transport path 10, and L is the distance (m) from the imaging position P1 to the exclusion position P2 (FIG. 2) Lw2 is the distance (m) from the rear end 3b of the workpiece 3 to the target position Ps (see FIG. 2), and tp is the completion of the capture of one workpiece 3 by the image capture means 40 Image processing time (sec) (see FIG. 3) required to complete the posture determination by the posture determination unit 44. td is a mechanical transmission time (sec) (see FIG. 3) until the removing means 5 having received the energization command applies an urging force to the work 3 through the removing process, and the parameter setting for each removing means 5 is performed. is there.

  The operation of the parts feeder 100 configured as described above will be described with reference to the timing chart shown in FIG. In the following, an operation is described from the time when one work 3 in an incorrect posture is imaged by the line camera 2 to the time it is excluded by the excluding means 5.

  When the workpiece 3 transported on the transport path 10 is imaged at time t01, the image data acquired thereby is immediately captured (transferred) through the image capturing means 40, and the binary value is applied to the image data The quantization processing unit 41a performs preprocessing such as binarization. Further, the end detection unit 41b detects the front end 3a and the rear end 3b of the work 3, and the front end 3a of the work 3 is detected in the image data acquired at time t01. Even after imaging at time t01, imaging is sequentially performed at predetermined intervals, and each time capturing of image data and preprocessing are performed immediately. Then, when the rear end 3b of the work 3 is recognized by the end detection unit 41b in the image data acquired by imaging at time t02, the composite image data generation unit 41c starts generation of composite image data at time t03. Based on the composite image data, attitude determination processing by the attitude determination unit 44 and speed calculation processing by the speed calculation unit 42 are performed. The processing up to time t03 is performed by hardware (for example, an FPGA (field-programmable gate array)), and the processing after time t03 is performed software by executing a program stored in a memory. Thereafter, the timing control unit 46 calculates the standby time tα, and the timing control unit 46 controls the command output unit 45 so that the energization command is output at time t05 when the standby time tα has elapsed from time t04. And thereby, compressed air is injected from the air injection nozzle 50 of the removal means 5, and the urging | biasing force by air actually acts on the workpiece 3 at time t06 when transmission time td passes from time t05. If it is determined that the workpiece 3 subjected to the posture determination processing is an appropriate posture and that the posture is determined to be a predetermined posture, the processing for removing the workpiece 3 from the conveyance path 10 (Output of energization command and injection from the air injection nozzle 50) are not performed. In this explanation, the operation was explained with one work 3 for easy understanding.

  In this manner, the work 3 having an inappropriate posture is eliminated, and only the work 3 having an appropriate posture is supplied to the processing device 6 (see FIG. 1) provided at the end 10b of the second transport path. The processing device 6 sequentially carries out the work 3 that has reached the end portion 10 b of the second conveyance path 10 and performs predetermined post-processing.

  Next, control for adjusting the transport speed of the entire plurality of workpieces 3 transported on the second transport path 10 will be described.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the average speed calculation unit 42 b calculates an average speed of the plurality of works 3 conveyed on the second conveyance path 10 based on the conveyance speed of the work 3 alone. Specifically, the average speed calculation means 42b calls, for example, the speed distribution data of the transport speed of the work 3 alone stored sequentially in the storage means 48, and changes the speed distribution data excluding rising and falling times. The plurality of transport speeds in a relatively small range are extracted, and the average value of these transport speeds is taken as the average speed of the workpiece 3. The calculated average speed is stored in the storage means 48.

  The speed determination means 42c calls the reference conveyance speed (work speed setting value) of the work 3 and the average speed of the work 3 from the storage means 48, and determines the availability of the average speed based on the reference conveyance speed. The difference between the reference transport speed and the average speed is determined, and a loop control such as a general PID is performed so as to obtain the reference transport speed, and a command value is calculated. The command value is output to the second drive unit 11 by the linear drive unit control unit 47 b.

  Alternatively, the speed determination unit 42c determines the difference between the reference transfer speed and the average speed, and determines that the transfer speed of the entire work 3 is maintained at the reference transfer speed if the difference is equal to or less than a first predetermined value. When it is determined that the adjustment of the second drive unit 11 is unnecessary, but the difference exceeds the first predetermined value, it is determined that the transport speed of the entire work 3 is deviated from the reference transport speed, and the second drive is performed. It may be determined that the adjustment of the means 11 is necessary.

  In the present embodiment, the reference transport speed of the work 3 is determined in advance in accordance with the processing capacity of the processing device 6. In the processing device 6, generally, the maximum number of work pieces 3 that can be processed per unit time is determined. Therefore, the workpiece 3 can be transported to the end portion 10b of the second transport path 10 at a pace substantially equal to the maximum number of processing units per unit time of the processing apparatus 6 while taking into consideration the workpiece filling rate described later. Value is set.

  For example, when it is determined that the adjustment of the second drive unit 11 is necessary as described above, the speed determination unit 42 c raises the amplitude of the second drive unit 11 by a constant value based on the difference between the reference transport speed and the average speed. It is determined whether or not the fixed value is lowered, and the linear drive control means 47 b outputs the command value corresponding to the determination result to the second drive means 11. Alternatively, the speed determination means 42c determines the amount of change in amplitude of the second drive means 11 which is estimated to be necessary to offset the difference between the reference transport speed and the average speed, and linearizes the command value corresponding to the change amount. It may be made to output to the 2nd drive means 11 from drive part control means 47b. Alternatively, the speed determination unit 42c cancels the difference based on the current amplitude of the second drive unit 11 and the change amount of the amplitude of the second drive unit 11 estimated to be necessary for canceling the difference. The amplitude of the second drive unit 11 estimated to be possible may be determined, and a command value corresponding to the amplitude may be output from the linear drive unit control unit 47 b to the second drive unit 11.

  In addition, as long as the vibration of the second drive unit 11 can be adjusted, a configuration for changing the frequency of the second drive unit 11 may be output as the command value. As described above, the linear drive unit control means 47 b performs feedback control of the vibration of the second drive means 11.

  The amplitude of the second drive unit 11 is changed in accordance with the command value output from the linear drive unit control unit 47b. Therefore, when the average speed of the workpiece 3 is less than the reference transport speed, the amplitude of the second driving means 11 can be increased by a value corresponding to the command value. On the other hand, when the average speed of the workpiece 3 exceeds the reference transport speed, the amplitude of the second driving means 11 can be lowered by a value corresponding to the command value. As a result, the actual average speed of the workpiece 3 is automatically adjusted in the direction approaching the reference transport speed.

  The notification means 49 shown in FIG. 1 is configured to sound an alarm when a command value out of the predetermined condition is output from the linear drive unit control means 47b. For example, the second transport path 10 is inclined with the end portion 10b downward due to any cause, or the wind from the other device having an air blowing function such as an ionizer (electrostatic removal device) is the second transport path 10 If an abnormal situation occurs such that the work 3 is being conveyed by itself, the work for the reference conveyance speed is performed no matter how much control is performed to lower the amplitude of the second drive means 11. The average speed of 3 may continue to be high. On the other hand, when a large amount of shavings, dust, etc. of the surface material of the work 3 accumulates in the second conveyance path 10 and the inspection such as cleaning of the conveyance surface 10a becomes necessary, the work 3 becomes difficult to be conveyed. The average speed of the workpiece 3 may be slow relative to the reference transport speed, regardless of how much control is performed to increase the amplitude of.

  In order to cope with these conditions, for example, the upper limit value of the number of times the command value of the same content (command value for raising or lowering the amplitude of the second driving means 11 by a constant value) is continuously output, the reference transport speed and the average speed The upper limit value of the change amount of the amplitude of the second drive means 11 necessary for the cancellation of the difference of the above and the upper and lower limit values of the amplitude of the second drive means 11 estimated to be capable of canceling the difference When the command value of the content exceeding the upper limit value or the content falling below the lower limit value is output from the linear drive unit control means 47b, it is judged that the condition is out of the predetermined condition and an alarm is sounded to notify. Therefore, for example, when a command to greatly reduce the amplitude of the second drive unit 11 is output from the linear drive unit control unit 47b, the notification unit 49 outputs the amplitude of the second drive unit 11 necessary to offset the difference. It is determined that the amount of change in the value exceeds the upper limit value and notification is performed. As a result, the user can check the parts feeder 100 at an appropriate timing, and the amplitude of the second drive unit 11 falls within the predetermined range even if the control by the linear drive unit control unit 47 b is performed. You can

  As described above, the processing apparatus 6 has determined the maximum value of the number of work pieces 3 that can be processed per unit time. Therefore, when the work 3 continues to be transported to the end 10b of the second conveyance path 10 at a pace exceeding the maximum processing capability of the processing device 6, an overflow occurs in which the work 3 accumulates at the end 10b of the second conveyance path As the work progresses, the adjacent works 3 and 3 are transported without a gap between them, so that the sorting efficiency, which is a probability that the improperly oriented work 3 can be properly removed from the second transport path 10 by the injection of compressed air, is lowered. Do. Alternatively, the reverse efficiency, which is the probability that the posture of the incorrect posture work 3 can be properly corrected on the second conveyance path 10 by the injection of compressed air, is reduced. In addition, if the number of workpieces 3 transported to the end portion 10 b of the second transport path 10 per unit time is smaller than the processing capacity of the processing device 6, the discharge capacity of the parts feeder 100 is reduced.

  Therefore, as described above, by adjusting the transport speed of the entire work 3 transported on the second transport path 10, the discharge capacity, the reversing efficiency and the sorting efficiency can be favorably maintained, but as in the present embodiment, the linear feeder In the configuration in which the work 3 is supplied from the bowl feeder 7 to 1), the discharge capacity, the reversing efficiency and the sorting efficiency can be maintained more stably and favorably by controlling the work filling rate of the second conveyance path 10 together. .

  The work filling rate is a rate at which the work 3 is present in the second conveyance path 10 along the longitudinal direction, and indicates at what distance the plurality of works 3, 3 are conveyed on the conveyance surface 10a. It is.

  The work filling rate calculation means 43a shown in FIG. 1 calculates the work filling rate Pw (%) based on the following equation (3).

      Pw = S · Aw / α · 100 (3)

  Here, α is an arbitrary measurement time (sec) by the line camera 2 as shown in FIG. 4A. S is a scan rate of the line camera 2 within the measurement time α, that is, an imaging interval (sec) of the line camera 2. Aw is the number of times the line camera 2 imaged the work 3 within the measurement time α. That is, the product of S and Aw is the sum of the times shown by solid arrows in FIG. 6A as shown in FIG. The work filling rate Pw thus obtained is stored in the storage means 48 shown in FIG.

  When the work filling rate Pw is 100%, it indicates that the plurality of works 3 are continuously transported without a gap, and the smaller the work filling rate Pw is, the larger the gap between the transported works 3 and 3 is larger. Indicates If the work filling rate Pw is 100%, there is a high possibility that the target incorrect posture work 3 interferes with another adjacent work 3 and is not properly processed by an inappropriate work processing means such as the exclusion means 5. Furthermore, if the plurality of workpieces 3 and 3 are adjacent to each other, even if the compressed air is jetted to the workpiece 3 to be transported with the short side direction (or longitudinal direction) parallel to the transport direction, the transport surface 10a It becomes difficult to rotate the work 3 horizontally at right angles to change the transport direction. That is, the alignment efficiency of the work 3 at the start end portion or the like of the second conveyance path 10 is reduced. Further, if the work filling rate Pw is too small, the number of work pieces 3 transported per unit time toward the processing device 6 decreases even if the average speed of the work 3 on the second conveyance path 10 is high, and parts It becomes easy for the discharge capacity of the feeder 100 to fall.

  If the number of works 3 per unit time supplied to the second conveyance path 10 is constant, changing the average speed of the works 3 conveyed on the second conveyance path 10 by the linear drive unit control means 47 b The work filling rate Pw changes in the transport path 10. Specifically, when the average speed of the workpiece 3 is increased, the interval between the workpieces 3 and 3 is increased, and the workpiece filling rate Pw is decreased. On the other hand, when the average speed of the workpieces 3 decreases, the distance between the workpieces 3 and 3 decreases, and the workpiece filling rate Pw increases. Therefore, in order to keep the forward direction rate and the discharge ability stable and good, the first driving means 70 (bowl feeder) is used so that the work filling rate Pw is maintained constant even if the average speed of the work 3 changes. It is preferable to perform feedback control of the drive section to adjust the number of workpieces 3 transported from the first transport path 73 to the second transport path 10.

  The filling rate determination means 43b shown in FIG. 1 calls the reference filling rate of the work 3 and the work filling rate Pw calculated by the work filling rate calculating means 43a from the storage means 48 and determines whether the work filling rate Pw can be obtained based on the reference filling rate. For example, the difference between the reference filling rate and the work filling rate Pw is determined, and a loop control such as a general PID is performed to obtain the reference filling rate, and a command value is calculated. This command value is output to the first drive means 70 by the bowl drive portion control means 47a.

  Alternatively, the filling rate determination unit 43b determines the difference between the reference filling rate and the work filling rate Pw, and determines that the work filling rate Pw is maintained at the reference filling rate when the difference is less than or equal to a second predetermined value. If it is determined that the adjustment of the first drive means 70 is unnecessary, but the difference exceeds the second predetermined value, it is determined that the workpiece filling rate Pw deviates from the reference filling rate, and the first drive means It may be determined that 70 adjustments are necessary.

  The reference filling rate is preferably, for example, about 95%, and is stored in advance in the storage means 48.

  For example, when it is determined that the adjustment of the first drive means 70 is necessary as described above, the filling rate determination means 43b determines the amplitude of the first drive means 70 based on the difference between the reference filling rate and the work filling rate Pw. It is determined whether to increase the fixed value or decrease the fixed value, and the bowl drive control means 47a outputs the command value corresponding to the determination result to the first drive means 70. Alternatively, the filling rate determination means 43b determines the amount of change in amplitude of the first drive means 70 which is estimated to be necessary to offset the difference between the reference filling rate and the work filling rate Pw, and the command corresponding to the change amount. The value may be output from the bowl drive control means 47a to the first drive means 70. Alternatively, the filling rate determination unit 43b cancels the difference based on the current amplitude of the first drive unit 70 and the change amount of the amplitude of the first drive unit 70 which is estimated to be necessary for canceling the difference. The amplitude of the first drive means 70 which is estimated to be possible may be determined, and a command value corresponding to the amplitude may be output from the linear drive control means 47 b to the second drive means 11.

  The amplitude of the first drive means 70 is changed in accordance with the command value output from the bowl drive portion control means 47a. For example, when the work filling rate Pw is less than the reference filling rate, it is determined that the work 3 is not in the dense state, and the number of the works 3 supplied per unit time from the first conveyance path 73 to the second conveyance path 10 To increase the amplitude of the first drive means 70 by a value corresponding to the command value. On the other hand, when the work filling rate Pw exceeds the reference filling rate, it is determined that the work 3 is in the dense state, and the number of work 3 supplied per unit time from the first conveyance path 73 to the second conveyance path 10 decreases. Thus, control is performed to lower the amplitude of the first drive means 70 by a value corresponding to the command value. Thereby, the filling rate of the work 3 is automatically adjusted in the direction approaching the reference filling rate.

  As described above, the part feeder 100 according to the present embodiment includes the conveyance surface 10 a of the second conveyance path 10 having the conveyance surface 10 a on which the plurality of works 3 can be placed, and the vibration for conveying the work 3 as the second conveyance path 10. The second drive means 11 to apply to the single, the single speed calculation means 42a for calculating the transfer speed of the work 3 alone carrying the transfer surface 10a, and the plurality of transport speeds on the second Linear drive control means for outputting to the second drive means 11 an average speed calculation means 42b for calculating the average speed of the workpiece 3 and a command value based on the average speed of the workpiece 3 and the reference transport speed for the predetermined work 3 And 47b.

  With such a configuration, the second drive unit 11 vibrates the transport surface 10a to transport the plurality of works 3, and the transport speed of the work 3 alone at that time is calculated by the single-speed calculation unit 42a. The average speed calculation means 42b calculates the average speed of the plurality of workpieces 3 on the conveyance surface 10a based on the conveyance speed of the workpiece 3 alone, and the linear drive control means 47b calculates the average speed of the workpiece 3 and the reference conveyance speed. The command value considered is output to the second drive means 11. Thereby, time-dependent changes such as wear of the conveyance surface 10a accompanied by conveyance of the work 3 and generation of shavings of the surface material of the work 3, adsorption of the work 3 to the second conveyance path 10 due to static electricity, change of friction coefficient due to lot difference Even if the average speed of the workpiece 3 changes due to the like, the vibration of the second drive means 11 can be changed according to the command value to automatically adjust the transport speed of the workpiece 3 to the reference transport speed. Therefore, the actual transport speed of the entire work 3 transported in the second transport path 10 can be maintained appropriately, and the discharge capacity and the forward direction rate can be maintained in a good state.

  In addition, the bowl feeder 7 having the first drive means 70 for vibrating the spiral first transport path 73 and the first transport path 73, and the end of the first transport path 73 are formed with the transport surface 10a. Linear feeder 1 having second drive means 11 for vibrating linear second transport path 10 and second transport path 10, and work at a rate at which work 3 is present in second transport path 10 along its longitudinal direction With the work filling factor calculation means 43a for obtaining the filling factor Pw, and the bowl drive part control means 47a for outputting a command value based on the work filling factor Pw and a predetermined reference filling factor to the first drive means 70 Since the linear drive control unit 47b changes the transfer speed of the entire work 3 transferred on the second transfer path 10, the bowl drive control unit 47a can control the work filling rate Pw and the base The command value based on the filling rate is output to the first drive means 70 to adjust the number of workpieces 3 per unit time transported from the first transport path 73 of the bowl feeder 7 to the second transport path 10 of the linear feeder 1 it can. Therefore, the work filling rate Pw in the second conveyance path 10 can be maintained at an appropriate value, and the forward direction rate of the work 3 such as the alignment efficiency, the reversing efficiency and the sorting efficiency, and the discharging ability are stable and good. Can be maintained.

  In particular, the processing device 6 for processing the workpiece 3 can be installed at the end 10 b of the second transport path 10 having the transport surface 10 a, and the reference transport speed of the workpiece 3 is determined based on the maximum processing capacity of the processing device 6 Thus, the discharge capacity and forward direction rate of the work 3 can be made better.

  Furthermore, when the command value out of the predetermined condition is output from the linear drive unit control means 47b, the notification means 49 for sounding an alarm is further provided, so that it is possible to accurately notify the inspection timing, abnormality and the like of the parts feeder.

  Above all, a line camera 2 for picking up an image of the work 3 conveyed along the conveyance surface 10a, and a posture judging means 44 as good / not good judging means for judging whether the work 3 is good or not based on image data acquired by the line camera 2 The single-piece velocity calculation means 42a sequentially calculates the conveyance velocity of the single workpiece 3 based on the image data acquired by the line camera 2 and sets the average value of the calculated plurality of conveyance velocities as the average velocity. By using the image data acquired by the line camera 2 not only for the posture determination as the quality determination of the work 3 but also for the calculation of the average speed of the work 3, the apparatus for calculating the average speed can be simplified without separately providing Average speed can be calculated.

  As mentioned above, although one Embodiment of this invention was described, the specific structure of each part is not limited only to embodiment mentioned above.

  For example, in the present embodiment, the conveyance speed of the work 3 alone is calculated based on the image data acquired by the line camera 2. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration, and the calculation is performed by another method using an area camera or a proximity sensor. It may be done. When an area camera is used, for example, imaging is performed twice with an area camera (area scan method), and the distance (detection position amount) by which the target workpiece 3 has moved in the first and second times, and the first and second imaging times The transfer speed of the work 3 alone is calculated from the movement time of the target work 3 which is the difference of. When the proximity sensor is used, for example, the presence or absence of the target workpiece 3 is detected by two or more proximity sensors, and the transport speed of the workpiece 3 alone is calculated from the time of ON / OFF of these proximity sensors and the distance between the proximity sensors.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the work filling rate Pw is calculated based on the image data acquired by the line camera 2. However, the invention is not limited thereto. For example, even if calculated using various sensors such as a fiber sensor and a proximity sensor Good. In this case, the work filling rate Pw (%) is calculated based on the following equation (4).

      Pw = Tws / α · 100 (4)

  Here, α is an arbitrary measurement time (sec) by the sensor as shown in FIG. Tws is the total value (work detection time) (sec) of the time when the work 3 is detected by the sensor within the measurement time α, and is the sum of the detection time Tw of the work 3 alone shown by the solid arrow in FIG. That is, Tws is Tw + Tw +... + Tw + Tw.

  Further, although the present embodiment includes the notification unit 49, the configuration may be such that the notification unit 49 is not provided.

  Further, the configuration may be such that the work filling rate Pw is not calculated. In this case, even when the average speed of the workpieces 3 on the second transport path 10 is changed, it is preferable that the workpiece filling rate Pw be maintained constant.

  Further, in the present embodiment, although the incorrect posture work 3 is excluded from the conveyance path 10, the posture of the incorrect posture work 3 may be corrected on the conveyance path 10. The posture correction may be performed, for example, by injecting compressed air, and the timing of the injection may be controlled by the timing control unit 46.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, a camera in which the imaging devices are arranged in one line is used as the line camera 2. However, even if the imaging devices are arranged in two or more lines in a range where the effects of the present invention are exhibited. Good.

  Further, although the line camera 2 is used in the present embodiment, instead of the line camera 2, one or two rows of the plurality of imaging elements in the area camera are arranged orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the work 3 It is also possible to use an area camera that can be used in the same manner as the line camera 2 in the present embodiment, using only a certain degree of imaging device.

  Other configurations can be variously modified without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Linear feeder 2 ... Line camera 3 ... Work 6 ... Processing apparatus 7 ... Bowl feeder 10 ... 2nd conveyance path 10a ... conveyance surface 10b ... 2nd conveyance End portion of the path 11 Second drive means 42a Single speed calculation means 42b Average speed calculation means 43a Work filling rate calculation means 44 Posture judgment means (good or bad judgment means)
47a: bowl drive unit control means 47b: linear drive unit control means 49: notification means 70: first drive means 73: first conveyance path 100: parts feeder Pw: Work filling rate

Claims (5)

A transport surface on which multiple workpieces can be placed,
Driving means for applying a vibration for transporting a work to the transport surface;
A single speed calculation means for calculating the speed of conveyance of a single workpiece conveyed on the conveyance surface;
An average speed calculation unit that calculates an average speed of a plurality of workpieces on the transport surface based on the transport speed of a single workpiece;
A part feeder comprising: drive part control means for outputting a command value based on the average speed of the work and a predetermined reference transport speed of the work to the drive means. A bowl feeder having a helical first transport path and a first drive means for vibrating the first transport path;
A linear feeder having a linear second transport path connected to the end of the first transport path and having the transport surface formed thereon, and a second drive unit for vibrating the second transport path;
Work filling rate calculating means for obtaining a work filling rate which is a rate at which a work is present in the second transport path along the longitudinal direction thereof;
The parts feeder according to claim 1, further comprising: a bowl drive unit control means for outputting a command value based on the work filling rate and a predetermined reference filling rate to the first driving means. A processing device for processing a workpiece can be installed at the end of the second transport path,
The parts feeder according to claim 2, wherein the reference transport speed is determined based on the maximum throughput of the processing device.   The parts feeder according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising notification means for sounding an alarm when the command value out of the predetermined condition is outputted from the drive part control means. A camera for imaging a workpiece conveyed along the conveyance surface;
And a quality determination unit configured to determine the quality of the work based on the image data acquired by the camera.
The said single-piece | unit speed calculation means calculates the conveyance speed of a workpiece | work single-piece sequentially based on the image data which the said camera acquired, The average value of the calculated said several conveyance speed is made into the said average speed. Parts feeder according to any one.

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