JP6883206B2 - Powder supply device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a powder supply device.

For example, as described in Patent Document 1 below, a powder supply device that supplies powder (for example, a mold release agent) to a predetermined device (for example, a mold) is known. This device includes a supply pipe connected to the predetermined device and a container in which powder is temporarily stored. The container is fixed to the tip of the rod of the actuator. The actuator is a first actuator that moves the rod in the horizontal direction to carry the container into the supply pipe, and rotates the rod around its central axis to invert the container to disperse the powder in the container. It has a second actuator that is charged into the supply pipe.

Jikkenhei 5-72839 Gazette

Since the powder supply device of Patent Document 1 includes two actuators (a first actuator and a second actuator), its cost is high. Further, when the adhesiveness of the powder contained in the container is relatively high, a part of the powder in the container adheres to the container simply by rotating the rod and inverting the container. There is a high possibility that all the powder cannot be put into the supply pipe. Therefore, when the powder is repeatedly supplied to the predetermined device, there is a high possibility that the amount of powder supplied to the predetermined device will be different each time. In this case, for example, it may be possible to apply an impact to the container to vibrate the container and shake off the powder remaining in the container. However, in this case, since the container is fixed (completely restrained) to the rod, the impact may be transmitted from the rod to the drive portion of the actuator, and the drive portion of the actuator may be damaged. That is, the durability of the powder supply device is low.

The present invention has been made to address the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a powder supply device that is inexpensive, has high durability, and suppresses variations in the amount of powder supplied. In the following description of each component of the present invention, in order to facilitate understanding of the present invention, the reference numerals of the corresponding parts of the embodiments are described in parentheses, but each component of the present invention is described. It should not be construed as limited to the configuration of the corresponding parts indicated by the reference numerals of the embodiments.

In order to achieve the above object, the features of the present invention include a supply pipe (10) extending in the vertical direction and having an opening (111) at the top, and a rod (52) that can move in the horizontal direction. It has an actuator (50), a guide member (21) extending from the outside of the supply pipe through an opening into the supply pipe, and a storage portion (211) for accommodating powder, and is driven by the actuator. The container is provided with a container (40) for advancing into the supply pipe along the guide member and charging the powder into the supply pipe, and a vibrating device (60) for vibrating the supply pipe. The rear end side portion in the direction is attached to the tip of the rod so as to be rotatable around a rotation axis (SH) extending in a direction parallel to the horizontal direction and perpendicular to the traveling direction of the container. When the container advances further forward than the tip of the guide member, the container rotates around the rotation axis due to the weight of the container, and a part of the container comes into contact with the inner surface of the supply pipe. The present invention is a powder supply device in which the rotation of the container is restricted.

It is preferable that a protrusion that comes into contact with the container and regulates the rotation of the container is provided on the inner surface of the supply pipe.

Further, in this case, it is preferable that the tip end portion of the guide member is curved downward.

In the present invention, the powder in the container is charged into the supply pipe by advancing the container into the supply pipe using an actuator and rotating the container around the rotation shaft by the weight of the container. That is, unlike the conventional powder supply device described above, the powder supply device of the present invention does not need to include an actuator for rotating (reversing) the container. Therefore, the configuration of the powder supply device of the present invention can be simplified as compared with the configuration of the conventional powder supply device, and the powder supply device can be provided at low cost.

Further, the vibration applied to the supply pipe by the vibration exciter is also transmitted to the container via the joint portion (protrusion portion) between the container and the supply pipe. Even if some of the powder remains attached to the supply pipe and the container when the container rotates and remains without being supplied to the supply destination device, the powder is shaken off by the vibration transmitted to the container. Can be done. According to this, even when the powder is repeatedly supplied using the powder supply device according to the present invention, it is possible to suppress variations in the amount of powder supplied. Further, since it is not necessary to separately provide a vibration device for the supply pipe and the container, the configuration of the powder supply device can be simplified and the powder supply device 1 can be provided at low cost. Further, when an external force is applied to the container, the container can rotate around the rotation axis. That is, the container is not completely fixed (restrained) to the rod of the actuator, but is allowed some movement with respect to the rod. Therefore, even if the vibration generated by the vibration exciter is transmitted to the container, it is difficult for the vibration to be transmitted to the actuator. Therefore, the durability of the powder supply device can be improved as compared with the case where the container is vibrated by using the vibration device in the conventional powder supply device.

Another feature of the present invention is a measuring device in which the container containing the powder is placed to measure the weight of the powder, and a lift device (22) for raising and lowering the guide member or the measuring device. The rod and the container are provided with a lift device for setting the weight of the powder in a measurable state by separating the container containing the powder and the guide member in the vertical direction. _{A shaft member (SH) is provided on one of them, and a hole (H 42} ) into which the shaft member is inserted is provided on the other side of the rod and the container, and a hole extending in the vertical direction is provided. , It is a powder supply device.

According to this, the hole portion is an elongated hole extending in the vertical direction, and when the guide member or the measuring device is moved up and down, the shaft member can move up and down in the hole portion. According to this configuration, the actuator can be fixed and only the guide member or the weighing device can be moved up and down. Therefore, a lift device having a small output can be adopted.

It is a perspective view which looked at the powder supply apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention from an oblique rear. It is a perspective view which looked at the powder supply apparatus of FIG. 1 from an oblique front. It is an exploded perspective view of a guide device and the perspective view of a weighing device. It is a perspective view of a container, an actuator and a shaft member. It is an enlarged side view of the connection part between an actuator and a container. It is the schematic which shows the process of measuring the powder. It is the schematic which shows the process which raises a guide member and separates a container from a load cell. It is the schematic which shows the process of advancing a container and putting powder into a supply pipe.

The powder supply device 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described. The powder supply device 1 is a device that supplies a fixed amount of powder (powder-like mold release agent) to a mold. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the powder supply device 1 includes a supply pipe 10, a guide device 20, a weighing device 30, a container 40, an actuator 50, and a vibration device 60. The supply pipe 10, the guide device 20, the weighing device 30, the actuator 50, and the vibrating device 60 are fixed to the floor surface, wall surface, or the like where the powder supply device 1 is installed (see FIG. 6). Further, as will be described in detail later, the container 40 is supported by the guide device 20. In the following description, the vertical direction is referred to as the vertical direction. Further, the two directions orthogonal to each other and both perpendicular to the vertical direction are referred to as a front-rear direction and a left-right direction (see FIG. 1).

The supply pipe 10 is formed in a tubular shape extending in the vertical direction. The supply pipe 10 is open upward and downward. The diameter of the upper portion 11 of the supply pipe 10 is constant in the vertical direction (see FIG. 6). The diameter of the lower portion 12 of the supply pipe 10 gradually decreases from the upper end side to the lower end side. A mold (or a supply path to the mold) as a powder supply destination is connected to the lower end of the supply pipe 10. The rear portion of the upper portion 11 of the supply pipe 10 is cut out to form the opening 111. Further, a protrusion 121 is formed on the inner surface of the lower portion 12 of the supply pipe 10. The protrusion 121 is located on the rear side (below the opening 111) of the lower portion 12.

The guide device 20 is installed on the rear side of the supply pipe 10. As shown in FIG. 3, the guide device 20 includes a guide member 21 and a lift device 22. The guide member 21 has a bottom plate portion 211 and side plate portions 212 and 213. In the plan view of the guide member 21, the bottom plate portion 211 has a rectangular shape. The front-rear dimension of the bottom plate portion 211 is slightly longer than the left-right dimension. The rear portion of the bottom plate portion 211 is horizontal, and the front end portion of the bottom plate portion 211 is curved downward. That is, at the front end portion of the bottom plate portion 211, the gradient gradually increases from the rear end side to the front end side. Hereinafter, the rear portion of the bottom plate portion 211 is referred to as a horizontal portion 211a, and the front end portion of the bottom plate portion 211 is referred to as a curved portion 211b. The horizontal portion 211a is provided with a _{circular hole H 211.} The curved portion 211b enters the supply pipe 10 through the opening 111 (see FIG. 6). The side plate portions 212 and 213 extend in the front-rear direction along the left and right end portions of the bottom plate portion 211. The side plate portions 212 and 213 extend upward from the left and right ends of the bottom plate portion 211.

The lift device 22 includes a main body portion 221 extending in the vertical direction and a vertical plate 222 that can move in the vertical direction with respect to the main body portion 221. The main body 221 is fixed to a floor surface, a wall surface, or the like. The vertical plate 222 is directed forward. An electric (or pneumatic, hydraulic, etc.) actuator (not shown) is incorporated in the main body 221, and the vertical plate 222 is raised and lowered by this actuator. A guide member 21 is attached to the front surface of the vertical plate 222 via a bracket BKT.

The weighing device 30 is installed between the supply pipe 10 and the lift device 22. The weighing device 30 has a support base 31 and a load cell (table scale) 32. The support base 31 is fixed to the floor surface or the wall surface. The load cell 32 is mounted on the support base 31. The upper surface of the load cell 32 is located slightly above the lower end of the opening 111 (see FIG. 6). Further, the central axis of the load cell 32 _{coincides with the central axis of the hole H 211} of the bottom plate portion 211 (see FIG. 3). As described above, the guide member 21 is raised and lowered by the lift device 22, but the guide member 21 has a first position (see FIG. 6) in which the upper surface of the bottom plate portion 211 is located below the upper surface of the load cell 32 and a bottom plate. The upper surface of the portion 211 can move between the second position (see FIG. 7) located above the upper surface of the load cell 32. When the guide member 21 moves between the first position and the second position, the load cell 32 passes through the _{hole H 211.} When the guide member 21 is in the first position, the horizontal portion 211a of the bottom plate portion 211 is located above the lower end of the opening 111, and the front end of the curved portion 211b is slightly below the lower end of the opening 111. Is located in.

The container 40 is placed on the guide member 21. As shown in FIG. 4, the container 40 has an accommodating portion 41 for accommodating powder and a bracket portion 42 connected to an actuator 50 described later. The accommodating portion 41 has a bottom plate portion 411, side plate portions 421, 413, and a rear plate portion 414. The bottom plate portion 411 is formed in a plate shape perpendicular to the vertical direction. The side plate portions 421 and 413 extend upward from the left and right end portions of the bottom plate portion 411, respectively. Further, the rear plate portion 414 extends upward from the rear end portion of the bottom plate portion 411. The left and right ends of the rear plate portion 414 are connected to the rear end portions of the side plate portions 421 and 413, respectively.

The bracket portion 42 projects rearward from the rear surface of the rear plate portion 414. The bracket portion 42 is provided at the central portion of the rear plate portion 414 in the left-right direction. The bracket portion 42 is formed in a plate shape perpendicular to the left-right direction. _{A hole H 42} penetrating in the left-right direction is formed in the bracket portion 42. The hole H ₄₂ is an elongated hole extending in the vertical direction.

The actuator 50 is installed behind and above the guide device 20. The actuator 50 is an air cylinder device. That is, the actuator 50 includes a cylinder 51 and a rod 52. Compressed air is introduced into the cylinder 51, and the compressed air moves the rod 52 in the front-rear direction. A connecting member 53 is attached to the front end of the rod 52. The connecting member 53 has a main body portion 531 extending in the front-rear direction and a pair of support plate portions 532, 533 extending forward from the left and right end portions on the front end surface of the main body portion 531. The support plate portions 532 and 533 are formed in a plate shape perpendicular to the left-right direction. A gap is formed between the support plate portion 532 and the support plate portion 533. The left-right dimension of this gap is slightly larger than the left-right dimension (thickness dimension) of the bracket portion 42 of the container 40. _{Circular holes H 532} and H ₅₃₃ penetrating in the left-right direction are formed in the central portion of the support plate portions 532 and 533 in the vertical direction, respectively. The inner diameters of the holes H ₅₃₂ and H _{533 are slightly smaller than the width of the holes H 42} (dimensions in the front-rear direction).

The container 40 and the actuator 50 are connected as follows. The bracket portion 42 is inserted between the support plate portions _{532 and 533,} and the shaft member SH is inserted into the holes H 532, H ₄₂ , and H 533 from the left side (or right side). The outer diameter of the shaft member SH is slightly larger than _{the holes H 532} and H _{533 and} slightly smaller than the width of _{the hole H 42.} The shaft member SH is _{press-fitted into the holes H 532} and H ₅₃₃ and fixed to the support plate portions 532 and 533. With the container 40 and the actuator 50 connected, the container 40 is rotatable around the shaft member SH. Further, as described above, since the hole H ₄₂ is an elongated hole extending in the vertical direction, the container 40 can be slightly moved in the vertical direction (see FIG. 5).

The vibration exciter 60 is installed in front of the supply pipe 10. The vibration exciter 60 has a striking member that can move in the front-rear direction. This striking member strikes the side surface of the supply pipe 10 to vibrate the supply pipe 10.

Next, the process of supplying the powder to the mold (the device of the supply destination) will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 8. 6 to 8 show a cross section perpendicular to the left-right direction of the supply pipe 10 in order to explain the internal structure of the supply pipe 10. First, the actuator 50 pulls the container 40 toward the rear end side of the guide member 21. Then, as shown in FIG. 6, the lift device 22 lowers the guide member 21 and sets the guide member 21 in the first position. In this state, the guide member 21 is separated from the container 40. The container 40 is placed on the load cell 32. Further, the shaft member SH is located slightly below the upper end of the _{hole H 42.} That is, the load of the container 40 does not act on the actuator 50, but acts only on the load cell 32.

Next, the powder is supplied to the accommodating portion 41 of the container 40, and the supply amount (weight) thereof is measured by the load cell 32. When a predetermined amount of powder is supplied to the accommodating portion 41, as shown in FIG. 7, the lift device 22 raises the guide member 21 and sets the guide member 21 in the second position. In this state, the container 40 is separated from the load cell 32. Further, the shaft member SH is located slightly above the lower end of the _{hole H 42.}

Next, as shown in FIG. 8, the actuator 50 pushes the container 40 forward. The container 40 advances along the horizontal portion 211a of the guide member 21. When the container 40 is pushed out so that the front end of the container 40 is positioned further forward than the front end of the horizontal portion 211a of the guide member 21, the container 40 rotates around the shaft member SH due to its own weight and guides. Further advance along the curved portion 211b of the member 21. As a result, the powder moves to the front end side of the container 40 due to its own weight and begins to fall into the supply pipe 10. Then, the front end portion of the container 40 comes into contact with the protrusion 121, and the rotation of the container 40 is restricted. In this state, the container 40 is slightly tilted with respect to the vertical direction. Further, the rear end of the container 40 is in contact with the curved portion 211b of the guide member 21. As described above, the powder charged into the supply pipe 10 from the container 40 falls due to its own weight and is supplied to the mold provided below the supply pipe 10. However, a part of the powder remains attached to the inner surfaces of the container 40 and the supply pipe 10.

Next, the supply pipe 10 is hit by the vibration exciter 60. As a result, the supply pipe 10 vibrates, and the powder remaining attached to the supply pipe 10 is shaken off. Further, the impact of this impact is transmitted to the container 40 via the protrusion 121. As a result, the container 40 vibrates, and the powder remaining attached to the container 40 is also shaken off. Next, the actuator 50 pulls the container 40 backward. The container 40 moves along the curved portion 211b of the guide member 21, rotates around the shaft member SH, returns to the horizontal state, and further retracts along the horizontal portion 211a of the guide member 21, and is retracted along the horizontal portion 211a of FIG. Return to the state. The guide device 20, the weighing device 30, the actuator 50, and the vibration device 60 may be controlled by a computer device, and the above series of steps may be executed according to a predetermined computer program. In addition, all or part of the above steps may be performed manually.

In the present embodiment, the container 40 is pushed forward by using the actuator 50, and the container 40 is rotated around the shaft member SH by the weight of the container 40, so that the powder in the container 40 is charged into the supply pipe 10. doing. That is, unlike the conventional powder supply device, the powder supply device 1 does not need to include an actuator for rotating (reversing) the container 40. Therefore, the configuration of the powder supply device 1 can be simplified as compared with the configuration of the conventional powder supply device, and the powder supply device 1 can be provided at low cost.

Further, the impact applied to the supply pipe 10 is also transmitted to the container 40 via the protrusion 121. As a result, the powder remaining in the supply pipe 10 and the container 40 can be shaken off. According to this, all the powders weighed by the measuring device 30 can be supplied to the mold. That is, even when the powder is repeatedly supplied to the mold by using the powder supply device 1, it is possible to suppress variations in the amount of powder supplied. Further, since it is not necessary to separately provide the vibration device 60 for the supply pipe 10 and the container 40, the configuration of the powder supply device 1 can be simplified and the powder supply device 1 can be provided at low cost. Further, the hole H ₄₂ is a long hole, and the shaft member SH can move freely in the _{hole H 42 to some extent.} That is, the container 40 is not fixed (completely restrained) to the rod 52 of the actuator 50, but is allowed to move to some extent with respect to the rod 52. Therefore, even if the impact of the vibration exciter 60 is transmitted to the container 40, it is difficult for the impact to be transmitted to the actuator 50. Therefore, the durability of the powder supply device 1 can be improved as compared with the case where the container is vibrated by using the vibration device in the conventional powder supply device.

Further, the hole H ₄₂ is an elongated hole extending in the vertical direction (vertical direction), and when the guide member 21 is moved up and down, the shaft member SH can move up and down in the _{hole H 42.} According to this configuration, the actuator 50 can be fixed and only the guide member 21 can be raised and lowered. Therefore, the lift device 22 having a small output can be adopted.

Furthermore, the practice of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made as long as the object of the present invention is not deviated.

For example, in the above embodiment, the protrusion 121 is provided on the supply pipe 10, but instead, a protrusion similar to the protrusion 121 may be provided on the lower surface of the container 40. In this case, the portion of the bottom plate portion 211 of the guide member 21 through which the protrusion passes may be cut out so that the protrusion and the guide member 21 do not interfere with each other.

Further, for example, a member capable of absorbing the impact of the vibration exciter 60 may be attached around the shaft member SH or the hole H _42. According to this, the durability of the powder supply device 1 can be further improved.

Further, the vibrating device 60 may be a device that applies vibration having a constant or fluctuating period to the supply pipe 10 instead of striking the supply pipe 10.

Further, in the above embodiment, the measuring device 30 is fixed, the guide member 21 is lowered when measuring the powder, the container 40 is placed on the load cell 32, and the guide member 21 is raised when the powder is charged. The container 40 is separated from the load cell 32. Instead of this, the guide member 21 is fixed, the measuring device 30 is raised when measuring the powder, the container 40 is placed on the load cell 32, and the measuring device 30 is lowered when the powder is charged. , The container 40 may be separated from the load cell 32.

1 ... Powder supply device, 10 ... Supply pipe, 20 ... Guide device, 21 ... Guide member, 22 ... Lift device, 30 ... Weighing device, 31 ... Support stand , 32 ... load cell, 40 ... container, 41 ... accommodating part, 42 ... bracket part, 50 ... actuator, 51 ... cylinder, 52 ... rod, 53 ... connection Member, 60 ... Vibration device, 111 ... Opening, 121 ... Projection, 211 ... Bottom plate, 211a ... Horizontal part, 211b ... Curved part, BKT ... Bracket , SH ・ ・ ・ Shaft member

Claims (4)

A supply pipe that extends vertically and has an opening at the top,
Actuators with rods that can move horizontally,
A guide member extending from the outside of the supply pipe through the opening into the supply pipe,
A container having an accommodating portion for accommodating powder, driven by the actuator, traveling along the guide member into the supply pipe, and charging the powder into the supply pipe.
A vibration device that vibrates the supply pipe and
With
The rear end side portion in the traveling direction of the container is attached to the tip of the rod so as to be rotatable around a rotation axis parallel to the horizontal direction and extending in a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the container. When the container advances further forward than the tip of the guide member, the container rotates around the rotation axis due to the weight of the container, and a part of the container hits the inner surface of the supply pipe. A powder supply device that comes into contact with and restricts the rotation of the container. In the powder supply device according to claim 1,
A powder supply device in which a protrusion that comes into contact with the container and regulates the rotation of the container is provided on the inner surface of the supply pipe. In the powder supply device according to claim 2,
A powder supply device in which the tip of the guide member is curved downward. In the powder supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.
A weighing device on which the container containing the powder is placed and the weight of the powder is measured.
A lift that raises and lowers the guide member or the weighing device, and sets the weight of the powder in a measurable state by separating the container containing the powder and the guide member in the vertical direction. Equipment and
With
A shaft member is provided in one of the rod and the container, and a hole in which the shaft member is inserted and extends in the vertical direction is provided in the other of the rod and the container. Powder supply device.

Images