JP7520355B2 - Linear feeder and parts feeder equipped with same - Google Patents

Description

Article 30, paragraph 2 of the Patent Act applies. Sales date: May 21, 2020. Sales location: Alphas Co., Ltd.

The present invention relates to a linear feeder for transporting and supplying workpieces and a parts feeder equipped with the same.

Parts feeders are widely used as devices for aligning and feeding a large number of workpieces. For example, the parts feeder disclosed in Patent Document 1 is configured to pick up the workpieces with the blades of a rotating drum and feed them to a linear feeder, which then transports them by vibration. In addition, the parts feeder disclosed in Patent Document 2 is configured to feed the workpieces to the linear feeder by the vibration of a bowl feeder, which then transports them by vibration.

JP 2002-247726 A JP 2019-123571 A

However, conventional parts feeders that transport and supply workpieces by vibration require a vibrator to generate vibration, which makes it difficult to miniaturize them and limits the locations where they can be installed. There are also problems with the noise generated by the vibrations and the fact that they are prone to malfunction. Furthermore, there is also the problem that when parts become clogged in the linear feeder, it is difficult to deal with the problem.

The present invention aims to provide a linear feeder that can transport workpieces without using vibration, and a parts feeder equipped with the same.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a linear feeder and a parts feeder equipped with the same that can easily clear any clogging that may occur in the linear feeder.

The linear feeder and parts feeder according to the present invention are linear feeders that transport work supplied from a work supply device, and include an endless belt that transports the work in a first direction, a drive mechanism that moves the endless belt in a circular motion in the first direction, and a sensor means that detects a work jam on the endless belt, and when the sensor means detects a work jam, the drive mechanism moves the endless belt in a second direction opposite to the first direction.

The linear feeder and parts feeder of the present invention transport the workpieces using an endless belt that moves in a circular motion, eliminating the need for a vibrator to vibrate the linear feeder, allowing the linear feeder to be made more compact and expanding the options for where it can be installed. It also reduces noise caused by vibration.

In addition, if a workpiece jam is detected, the endless belt moves in the reverse direction, automatically clearing the jam.

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a parts feeder according to an embodiment of the present invention. Cross-sectional view taken along line II-II in FIG. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a state in which a rotating drum is removed from the parts feeder shown in FIG. 1 . FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which a rotating drum is removed from the parts feeder shown in FIG. 1 . FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the parts feeder shown in FIG. 1 . 4 is a flowchart showing an operation control process executed by a control unit of the parts feeder shown in FIG. 1 .

The parts feeder according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the attached drawings. With reference to Figs. 1 and 5, the parts feeder 1 of this embodiment is a device for aligning and transporting a large number of workpieces (components or members) W, and includes a rotating drum 2 as a workpiece feeder, a first drive mechanism 3 for driving the rotation of the rotating drum 2, a linear feeder 4 for transporting the workpieces W in an aligned state, air supply means 8, control means 9, and sensor means 10. In the example shown in Fig. 1, a ring-shaped workpiece W with no front or back is used.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2, the rotating drum 2 supplies the workpieces W to the linear feeder 4, and has a cylindrical drum body 21 with an opening 21a at the front end and a closed rear end, and a number of blade pieces 22 provided at equal intervals in the circumferential direction on the inner peripheral surface 21b of the drum body 21. Each blade piece 22 protrudes radially inward from the inner peripheral surface 21b of the drum body 21 and has a predetermined length in the front-rear direction D1, with its rear end connected to the bottom surface 21c of the drum body 21. The rotating drum 2 is also arranged so that its rotation axis C is inclined downward toward the rear.

The first drive mechanism 3 drives the rotating drum 2 to rotate, and as shown in Figures 1 and 3, comprises a first motor M1, a drive roller 31 that is driven to rotate by the first motor M1, and three driven rollers 32, 33, and 34. The drive roller 31 and the three driven rollers 32 to 34 are arranged at the vertices of a quadrangle in a plan view, and each abuts on the outer circumferential surface of the rotating drum 2. In this configuration, when the first motor M1 is driven, the drive roller 31 rotates, causing the rotating drum 2 to rotate in a predetermined direction around the rotation axis C, and the driven rollers 32 to 34 to also rotate.

The linear feeder 4 aligns and transports the workpieces W supplied from the rotating drum 2, and as shown in Figs. 1 to 3, includes a guide 5 extending in the front-rear direction D1, an endless belt 6, and a second drive mechanism 7 for moving the endless belt 6 in a predetermined direction D2. The rear portion of the guide 5 is inserted into the rotating drum 2 through an opening 21a. The guide 5 includes a pair of left and right guide pieces 51, 51 arranged with a gap 51a in the width direction D3, and a pair of left and right cover pieces 52, 52 located above the guide pieces 51, 51 and arranged with a gap 52a in the width direction D3.

The rear portion of the gap 51a between the guide pieces 51, 51 is tapered so that the width gradually decreases toward the front, while the remaining front portion has a uniform width (hereinafter, the former is referred to as the "tapered portion" and the latter as the "alignment portion"). In this embodiment, the alignment portion of the gap 51a has a width slightly larger than the diameter of the workpiece W. The longitudinal dimension of the cover pieces 52, 52 in the front-rear direction D1 is shorter than the longitudinal dimension of the guide pieces 51, 51, and the cover pieces 52, 52 are placed on the upper surface of the guide pieces 51, 51 in a portion closer to the front. The width of the gap 52a between the cover pieces 52, 52 is smaller than the diameter of the workpiece W, and the alignment portion of the gap 51a is partially covered from above by the cover pieces 52, 52.

As shown in Figures 2 and 4, the second drive mechanism 7 includes a pair of front and rear driven rollers 71, 72 arranged at the front and rear ends of the guide 5, a pair of front and rear driven rollers 73, 74 arranged below the guide 5, a drive roller 75 arranged below the driven rollers 73, 74, and a second motor M2 capable of forward and reverse rotation, and the drive roller 75 is driven to rotate by the second motor M2.

The endless belt 6 is stretched around these driven rollers 71 to 74 and the driving roller 75, and moves in a predetermined direction (first direction) D2 when the driving roller 75 is rotated by the second motor M2. More specifically, the endless belt 6 is stretched around the outside of the pair of driven rollers 71 and 72, around the inside of the pair of driven rollers 73 and 74, and around the outside of the driving roller 75. The upper ends of the pair of driven rollers 71 and 72 are arranged to be slightly lower than the guide pieces 51 and 51, and the endless belt 6 passes directly below the guide pieces 51 and 51 between the pair of driven rollers 71 and 72, so that a part of the endless belt 6 is exposed upward through the gap 51a. Here, the distance from the upper surface of the endless belt 6 to the cover piece 52 is set to be slightly larger than the thickness of the work W and smaller than twice the thickness of the work W.

The air supply means 8 (Fig. 5) includes an air supply unit (not shown) and a nozzle 81 (Fig. 3) connected to the air supply unit. As shown in Fig. 3, the nozzle hole 81a of the nozzle 81 is located forward of the rear end 52b of the cover piece 52, above the gap 51a, and faces rearward. In this configuration, air supplied from the air supply unit to the nozzle 81 is sprayed rearward from the nozzle hole 81a.

The control means 9 controls the first drive mechanism 3 (first motor M1), the second drive mechanism 7 (second motor M2), and the air supply means 8, and executes the operation control process shown in FIG. 6. As described above, the second motor M2 can rotate forward and backward, and when the control means 9 controls the motor to rotate forward, the endless belt 6 moves in a specified direction D2, and when the control means 9 controls the motor to rotate backward, the endless belt 6 moves in the reverse direction (second direction). In addition, the control means 9 rotates the second motor M2 in an inching manner (intermittent rotation) when rotating it forward. This causes the endless belt 6 to inch in the specified direction D2 (repeating small movements and stops).

The sensor means 10 detects the occurrence of a blockage of the workpiece W in the linear feeder 4. During the transport process of the workpiece W described below, the workpiece W may become stuck near the rear end 52b of the cover piece 52 or at the tapered portion of the gap 51a. When the workpiece W becomes stuck in this way, the endless belt 6 continues to move in a circular motion, but the transport of the workpiece W is interrupted. One method for detecting the occurrence of a blockage of the workpiece W is, for example, to monitor the passage of the workpiece W through the alignment portion of the gap 51a between the guide pieces 51, 51, and determine that a blockage of the workpiece W has occurred if no subsequent workpiece W can be detected for a predetermined time or more.

Next, the method of supplying the workpieces W by the parts feeder 1 will be described together with the operation control of FIG. 6 executed by the control means 9. First, the operator puts a large number of workpieces W into the rotating drum 2. Because the rotating drum 2 is tilted diagonally downward toward the rear, the workpieces W in the rotating drum 2 are accumulated at the rear due to their own weight. In this state, the operation control of FIG. 6 is executed. In this operation control, first, the first motor M1 and the second motor M2 are rotated forward (S1). This causes the rotating drum 2 to rotate and the endless belt 6 to move in a circumferential direction (inching movement) in the specified direction D2. Then, the workpieces W in the rotating drum 2 are scooped up by the blades 22, and some of the workpieces W fall randomly onto the endless belt 6.

The workpieces W that have fallen onto the endless belt 6 are transported forward as the endless belt 6 moves in the predetermined direction D2. However, since the width dimension of the gap 51a between the guide pieces 51, 51 gradually decreases as it moves forward, the workpieces W are guided by the guide pieces 51, 51 and aligned in a line, and are transported forward while maintaining this alignment. At this time, if multiple workpieces W are stacked vertically, the upper workpieces W are blocked by the cover pieces 52, 52, preventing the workpieces W from being transported while stacked vertically. In other words, the cover pieces 52, 52 function as a regulating member that prevents multiple workpieces W from being transported while stacked or while protruding from the gap 51a. The workpieces W that have fallen off the endless belt 6 are picked up again by the blade pieces 22 of the rotating drum 2 and supplied to the endless belt 6.

When the sensor means 10 detects the occurrence of a blockage of the workpiece W during this transport process of the workpiece W (S2: YES), the control means 9 reverses the rotation of the second motor M2 to move the endless belt 6 in the opposite direction by a predetermined amount, and at the same time controls the air supply means 8 to spray air from the nozzle hole 81a (S3). By moving the endless belt 6 in the opposite direction in this way, the workpiece W that caused the blockage is also transported in the opposite direction, and the blockage of the workpiece W is automatically cleared.

In addition, since air is sprayed backward from the nozzle hole 81a, the sprayed air blows away the workpiece W that caused the blockage, more reliably eliminating the overlap of the workpiece W that caused the blockage, and it is possible to prevent the workpiece W from becoming clogged again when the movement of the endless belt 6 in the specified direction D2 is resumed. Note that it is preferable that the location where the sensor means 10 monitors the workpiece W is in a position forward of the nozzle hole 81a (downstream in the conveying direction of the workpiece W).

Then, the second motor M2 resumes forward rotation and air injection from the air injection port 81a is stopped (S4), and the process returns to S2.

In this way, the parts feeder 1 according to this embodiment transports the workpieces W using the endless belt 6 that moves in a circular motion, so the entire device can be made more compact than conventional devices that use vibration, and since no vibration is generated, it can be installed anywhere. Furthermore, noise caused by vibration can be avoided.

In addition, because the endless belt 6 moves in an inching motion, deformation of the workpiece W can be reduced even if the workpiece W is soft. In other words, if soft workpiece W is transported by the continuously moving endless belt 6, the workpieces W will be crushed and deformed as they push against each other. However, if the workpiece W is repeatedly moved forward and stopped by the inching motion of the endless belt 6, the workpiece W that was deformed when moving forward will return to its original shape when it is stopped, and it is possible to prevent the workpiece W from being transported in a deformed state.

Furthermore, when the sensor means 10 detects a jam in the workpiece W, the second drive mechanism 7 moves the endless belt 6 in the reverse direction, automatically clearing the jam in the workpiece W. In addition, air is blown onto the workpiece W that caused the jam to blow it away, so that it is possible to more reliably prevent the workpiece W from jamming again when the movement of the endless belt 6 in the specified direction D2 is resumed.

It is preferable to use a transparent material for the rotating drum 2 to make it easier to visually check the remaining amount of work W.

Although the parts feeder according to the embodiment of the present invention has been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment, and various modifications and alterations are possible without departing from the scope of the present invention.
For example, in the above embodiment, when a blockage of the workpiece W occurs, the endless belt 6 is moved in the reverse direction and air is sprayed from the nozzle hole 81a, but it is also possible to configure the endless belt 6 to only move in the reverse direction and not spray air.

In addition, if the workpiece W is hard and there is no risk of deformation during transportation, the endless belt 6 may be moved continuously in the specified direction D2 to transport the workpiece W. Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the rotating drum 2 is used as the workpiece supply device, but the workpiece supply device is not limited to this.

In the above embodiment, a pair of cover pieces 52, 52 arranged opposite each other with a gap 52a is used as the restricting member, but the restricting member is not limited to this. For example, the gap 51a may be partially covered by only one cover piece, or the gap 51a may be entirely covered by one cover piece (i.e., the gap 52a does not necessarily have to be provided). In the latter case, the cover pieces may be made of a transparent material to make it possible to see the workpiece W passing underneath.

The amount of work W dropped onto the endless belt 6 may be regulated using a regulating plate (not shown). The air supply means 8 may be equipped with another nozzle 82 (FIG. 4) in addition to the nozzle 81, and the amount of work W transported by the endless belt 6 may be adjusted by the air sprayed from the nozzle 82.

In the above embodiment, the workpiece W is described as being ring-shaped, but the shape of the workpiece W is not limited to this and may be disk-shaped, polygonal, etc.

1 Parts feeder 2 Rotating drum (work supply device)
3 First driving mechanism 4 Linear feeder 5 Guide 51 Guide piece 52 Cover piece 6 Endless belt 7 Second driving mechanism 8 Air supply means 81a Nozzle hole 9 Control means 10 Sensor means M1 First motor M2 Second motor W Workpiece

Claims (4)

A linear feeder that conveys a workpiece supplied from a workpiece supply device,
an endless belt that conveys the workpiece supplied from the workpiece supply device from the rear to the front along a first direction ;
a drive mechanism that moves the endless belt in the first direction;
a sensor means for detecting a jam of a workpiece on the endless belt;
A guide;
The guide has a pair of guide pieces arranged with a gap therebetween in a width direction perpendicular to the first direction,
The endless belt passes under the pair of guide pieces,
The workpieces supplied from the workpiece supply device to the endless belt are guided in a line by the pair of guide pieces and transported forward through the gap,
The gap has a rear portion and a front portion, and the rear portion has a tapered shape in which a width dimension gradually decreases toward the front,
When the sensor means detects a workpiece jam, the drive mechanism moves the endless belt in a second direction opposite to the first direction. the front portion of the gap has a uniform width dimension;
The guide further includes a cover piece that covers the front portion of the gap from above,
The linear feeder according to claim 1 , wherein the rear end of the cover piece is located forward of the rear portion of the gap. further comprising air supply means having a nozzle ;
When the sensor means detects a blockage of the workpiece, the air supply means injects air backward from the nozzle hole of the nozzle ,
The linear feeder according to claim 2 , wherein the nozzle hole is located forward of the rear end of the cover piece and above the gap. A linear feeder according to any one of claims 1 to 3;
A rotating drum as the work supply device,
The rotating drum has a drum body for accommodating a large number of workpieces and a vane piece provided in a circumferential direction on an inner peripheral surface of the drum body,
The rotating drum uses the blades to pick up the workpieces and drop them onto the endless belt ,
the drive mechanism includes a drive roller around which the endless belt is wound, a motor that drives the drive roller to rotate, and a control means that drives the motor;
The control means rotates the motor intermittently to cause the endless belt to inch in the first direction .

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