JPS6226121B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method for supplying a switch block built into a lighting equipment into a lighting equipment main body (hereinafter simply referred to as the main body) when the lighting equipment is assembled. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for automatically supplying a block from a housing section to a main body in a positioned state.

Lighting equipment, such as ring-shaped fluorescent lamp lighting equipment, usually has a cylindrical body with a bottom, in which various parts such as a ballast, a glow lamp socket, a safety bulb socket, and a pull switch are installed, and a cylindrical body with a bottom. It has a structure in which a shaped reflector is attached, and a lamp holder is attached at an appropriate location on the periphery of the reflector, a glow lamp and a safety bulb are attached to each socket, and an annular fluorescent lamp is attached to the lamp holder. An appropriate number of ballasts, glow lamps, etc. are provided depending on the number of annular fluorescent lamps to be attached, and in most cases, two ballasts and glow lamps are provided.

By the way, in a lighting fixture for an annular fluorescent lamp, since the accommodation space of the main body is narrow, it is desirable to efficiently arrange each part in a concentrated manner.

Therefore, conventionally, in such lighting equipment, a switch block is formed separately, in which a plurality of glow lamp sockets, safety bulb sockets, pull switches, lamp socket leads, etc. are assembled and electrically connected. Attempts have been made to supply and assemble this switch block to the main body. With this, there is no need to supply and attach individual parts such as a glow lamp to the main body when assembling the lighting equipment, and each part can be efficiently assembled and attached, and the assembly work is also simplified.

However, in the past, this lighting equipment was assembled manually by workers who supplied each part, including the main body, onto an appropriate assembly jig.
Although each part can be assembled compactly, it relies on manual labor, which results in poor workability, inefficiency, and high manufacturing costs.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems in assembling conventional lighting equipment, and to improve and eliminate these problems. That is, the present invention is a supply method in which, when supplying a switch block to a main body, the switch blocks are taken out one by one from a housing section in a positioned state and automatically fed into the main body on an assembly jig, A switch block is formed by integrating a plurality of parts including a pull switch and is provided with a positioning hole, and the positioning hole is inserted into a pin drilled in the tray described later, and the body of the pull switch is inserted into the insertion hole of the tray described later. The tray held in the position inserted into the robot is moved to a predetermined position, and at that position, the chuck mechanism of the robot, which has a chuck mechanism and a positioning pin at the tip of its arm, is used to chuck the protrusion of the switch block, and at the same time, the positioning pin is The switch block is inserted into the hole of the switch block and positioned, and in this state, a special robot is made to take out the switch block from the tray and supply it to the main body on the assembly jig.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

A switch block 1 to which the present invention is applied includes, for example, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, an insulating substrate 2 constructed by stacking two substantially rectangular insulating plates each having a wide end. Two glow lamp sockets 3, 3 are attached to the wide part 2a, one safety ball socket 4 is attached near the glow lamp sockets 3, 3, and a pull switch 5 is inserted through the approximately central part of the narrow part 2b. with the body 5a on the back side and the operation knob 5
b is placed on the front side. Terminals 6, 6 for connecting to a ballast, which is another electric component, are provided on both sides of the insulating board 2 to protrude from between the two insulating boards, and a part of the narrow part 2b of one insulating board is provided. Terminal holes 7, 7 are formed by notches. In addition, positioning holes 8 and 9 for positioning the switch 5 on the tray 12 (to be described later) are formed at appropriate locations on the insulating substrate 2, and holes for fixing the switch 5 to the main body 19 are provided around the body 5a of the switch 5 on the back side. Stopper piece 10, 10
...is set up protrudingly. Terminals (not shown) provided in the glow lamp sockets 3, 3, the safety bulb sockets 4, the terminals 6, 6, and the terminal holes 7, 7
is electrically connected to the lamp socket lead 1 by an appropriate means, and further led out from the insulating substrate 2.
1 and 11.

This kind of switch block 1 has a dedicated tray 1.
A plurality of pieces, for example, five pieces, are positioned and fixed on 2. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the tray 12 is made of synthetic resin and formed into a gate shape, and has an insertion hole 13 at the rear of the flat surface into which the body 5a of the switch 5 is inserted together with the locking piece 10. 13...
Five long and short pins 14 and 15 are formed at equal intervals at equal intervals, and long and short pins 14 and 15 that fit into positioning holes 8 and 9 drilled in the switch block 1 with this insertion hole 13 as a reference are provided respectively, and each insertion hole 13 , 13 . . . are protrudingly provided with stopper pins 16 , 16 for positioning the lamp socket leads 11 , 11 led out from each switch block 1 , 1 . . . at a predetermined angle. Then, in the switch block 1, the body 5a of the pull switch 5 is inserted into the insertion hole 13 of the tray 12 together with the locking piece 10, and a long pin 14 passing through one of the positioning holes 8 is inserted.
A short pin 15 that does not pass through the other positioning hole 9 is inserted into the other positioning hole 9 to be positioned and fixed, and furthermore, the lamp socket leads 11, 11 are connected to the stopper pin 1.
It is positioned and held at 6 and 16. The trays 12 on which five switch blocks 1 are placed are stacked in a plurality of stages, for example ten stages, and housed in a suitable container 17.

When the switch block 1 is supplied, the assembly jig 18 is taken out from the tray 12 at a predetermined position, and is transported on a suitable conveyor.
Above, in the previous process, as shown in FIG.
The ballasts 20, 20 are caulked and fixed with the connection terminals 20a, 20a butted against each other at predetermined positions inside the switch 9, and the ballasts 20, 20 are supplied into the main body 19, which is supported with the opening side facing upward, and the body 5a of the switch 5 is inserted into the main body 19. While touching the main body 19, the lower ends of the locking pieces 10, 10...
The terminals 6, 6 are connected to the connecting terminals 20a, 20a of the ballasts 20, 20 by overlapping them, respectively. Incidentally, the main body 19 is supported on a plurality of supports 18a, 18a, 18a provided on the assembly jig 18. The ends of the power line 22 inserted into the main body 19 are inserted into the terminal holes 7, 7 of the switch block 1 and connected to the terminals.

The device for supplying the switch block 1 to the main body 19 is constructed as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. That is, in the figure, 23 is the first conveyor that conveys the container 17 containing the tray 12, and 24 is the tray 1.
2 is a second conveyor that conveys 2, 25 is an assembly jig 1
This is the third conveyor that conveys 8. The first conveyor 23 and the second conveyor 24 are, for example,
A roller conveyor or the like capable of conveying the trays 7 and 12 by their own weight is provided at an angle. Further, the first conveyor 23 is provided with a first stopper 26 and a second stopper 27 that can move back and forth to stop the container 17 at the tray take-out position a and the tray discharge position b.
The conveyor 24 has a switch block take-out position c.
A third stopper 28 is provided for stopping the tray 12 at a point. 29, 29 are the first conveyor 2 at the tray take-out position a and the tray discharge position b.
3 and the second conveyor 24, the guide shaft 3 is moved along the horizontal crosspiece of the support frame 30.
1 and move the moving block 3 onto the guide shaft 31.
2 is slidably attached. Moving block 32
A guide rod 33 is passed through so as to be vertically movable.
A holding plate 34 is integrally attached to the lower end of the holding plate 34, and this holding plate 34 is moved up and down by the expansion and contraction of a cylinder 35 attached to the moving block 32. The vertical stroke by the cylinder 35 is set to a stroke that allows all the trays 12 in the container 17 to be taken out. The holding plate 34 is formed to have approximately the same size as the tray 12, and suction heads 36, 36, . The suction head 3
6 is formed into a hollow cylindrical shape, for example, and its upper end is connected to a negative pressure generation source via a pneumatic control device (not shown) such as a switching valve. The moving block 32 is moved along the guide shaft 31 by an appropriate drive means (not shown) such as a cylinder or a drive motor.
It is configured to reciprocate between the conveyor 23 and the second conveyor 24. 37 is an articulated robot provided between the second conveyor 24 and the third conveyor 25 corresponding to the switch block take-out position c, which takes out the switch blocks 1 on the tray 12 one by one, and assembles the assembly jig 18. It is supplied into the upper body 19.

The robot 37 has a support shaft 40 rotatably supported in a housing 39 fixed on a support base 38.
A first arm 41 and a second arm 42 constituting the expansion mechanism are integrally fixed to this support shaft 40, and forward and reverse drive motors are connected to the upper end of the support shaft 40 and the upper end of the joint shaft 43 at the tip of the first arm 41, respectively. 44,
45 is provided, and each motor 44, 45 drives the spindle 40.
By rotating the first arm 41 about the joint axis 43 as a fulcrum and rotating the second arm 42 about the joint shaft 43 as a fulcrum, the tip of the second arm 42 can be moved to any desired position. An operating shaft 47 having a holding mechanism 46 for holding the switch block 1 at the tip of the second arm 42 is mounted so as to be able to move up and down as well as rotatably, and is moved up and down by a lift cylinder 48. Further, links 49 and 50 are connected between the lower parts of the support shaft 40, the joint shaft 43, and the operating shaft 47, respectively, so that even if the first arm 41 and the second arm 42 move in any direction, the operating shaft 47 and the holding mechanism 46 is configured to always move in parallel.
Incidentally, the robot 37 operates in a predetermined position and according to a predetermined process by a control device.

As shown in FIG. 8, the holding mechanism 46 has an operating shaft 47.
A check mechanism 52 for checking the switch 5, which is a protrusion of the switch block 1, and a pin 53 for positioning by being inserted into one of the positioning holes 9 drilled in the insulating substrate 2 are provided on a board 51 fixed to the switch block 1. There is. The chuck mechanism 52 is constructed such that a plurality of chuck claws 52a, 52a can be opened and closed using the upper part as a fulcrum, and the chuck claws 52a, 52a are mechanically opened and closed by appropriate means. Note that this substrate 51 may also be provided with a suction head (not shown) for suctioning the insulating substrate 2 as necessary.

To explain the feeding operation of the switch blocks 1, a container 17 containing a large number of switch blocks 1 which are aligned and held on the tray 12 is placed on the first conveyor 23 and transferred. When the container 17 is stopped at the tray take-out position a by the first stopper 26, a cylinder 35 provided on the moving block 32 waiting above the tray take-out position a expands to move the holding plate 34 to the guide rod 33. The suction heads 36, 36, . . . are brought into contact with the tray 12. After that, the tray 12 is suctioned and held by the suction heads 36, 36, .
Take it out from 7. When the tray 12 is taken out, the moving block 32 is guided by the guide shaft 31 and moves a predetermined stroke to move the tray 12 held by suction to the second
It is placed on the conveyor 24. Then cylinder 3
5 extends and lowers the holding plate 34, and the tray 12
is placed on the second conveyor 24. Thereafter, the adsorption of the suction heads 36, 36, . The above operation is repeated by the transfer mechanism 23 at the tray take-out position a, and the trays 12 are taken out one by one from the container 17 and placed on the second conveyor 24. When the container 17 is empty, the first
The stopper 26 retracts and the tray is conveyed by the first conveyor 23, and is stopped by the second stopper 27 at the tray discharge position.

The tray 12 placed on the second conveyor 24 is also conveyed by a drive roller, and the third stopper 28
The switch block is stopped at the take-out position c. When the tray 12 stops at the position c, the forward/reverse drive motors 44 and 45 of the robot 37 operate to rotate the first arm 41 and the second arm 42 forward by a predetermined angle around the support shaft 40 and the joint shaft 43, respectively. (clockwise rotation), and the holding mechanism 46 at the tip of the second arm 42 is placed above the switch block 1 in front of the tray 12. Subsequently, the lifting cylinder 48 is moved downward, lowering the board 51 with the chuck mechanism 52 open, and placing the chuck mechanism 52 over the switch 5 of the switch block 1 and activating it, while punching the pin 53 into the insulating board 2. It is inserted into the provided positioning hole 9 to perform positioning. When the positioning is completed, the lifting cylinder 4
8 moves upward to raise the substrate 51 and lift the tray 1.
Remove switch block 1 from 2. Subsequently, the forward and reverse drive motors 44 and 45 operate to drive the first arm 41.
Then, the second arm 42 is reversely rotated by a predetermined angle (counterclockwise rotation), and the switch block 1 held on the base plate 51 is placed above the main body 19 on the assembly jig 18 waiting on the third conveyor 25. have it placed.
After that, the lifting cylinder 48 moves downward, and the board 5
1 is lowered to feed the switch block 1 into the main body 19, and the lower surface of the body 5a of the switch 5 is brought into contact with the main body 19, and the locking pieces 10, 10...
are inserted into locking holes 21, 21... bored in the main body 19 and fixed, and the terminals 6, 6 are inserted into the stabilizer 2.
The switch block 1 is fixed by overlapping the connecting terminals 20a and 20a of the terminals 0 and 20. When the fixation is completed, the chuck mechanism 52 is opened to open the switch 5, and in this state, the lifting cylinder 48 moves upward to lift the board 51.

When the supply of the first switch block 1 is finished, the robot 37 moves the first arm 41 and the second arm 42 to the second position as shown by the chain lines in FIG. Take it out from the tray 12 as shown in
It is supplied to the main body 19 on the subsequent assembly jig 18.
Then, when all five switch blocks 1, 1, . let

The empty tray 12 is conveyed to the tray discharge position b by the second conveyor 24 and stopped there. When the tray 12 stops, the cylinder 35 of the moving block 32 that is waiting above the tray ejection position b extends and lowers the holding plate 34 while guiding it to the guide rod 33, so that each suction head provided on the holding plate 34 36, 36... are brought into contact with the tray 12 to attract them. Thereafter, the cylinder 35 is shortened, the holding plate 34 is raised, and the tray 12 is taken out from the second conveyor 24. When the tray 12 is taken out, the moving block 32 is guided by the guide shaft 31 and moves a predetermined stroke to remove the tray 12 held by suction.
Empty container 1 waiting on the first conveyor 23
Position it on top of 7. After that, the cylinder 35 is extended to lower the holding plate 34 and move the tray 12 to the container 17.
insert it inside. And suction heads 36, 36...
... is released, the cylinder 35 is shortened, and the holding plate 34 is raised. When the holding plate 34 rises, the moving block 32 moves back along the guide shaft 31 and is positioned on the second conveyor 24. After that, the empty tray 12 is placed at the tray discharge position b of the second conveyor 24.
When the tray 12 arrives, the above operation is repeated and the tray 12 is
is stored in the container 17.

When a predetermined number of empty trays 12 are stored in the container 17, the second stopper 27 is retracted and the container 17 is closed.
is conveyed to the tray ejection position, and then projected again to stop the subsequent empty container 17 at the tray ejection position.

By repeating the above series of operations, the switch blocks 1 housed in the container 17 in a state of being aligned and held on the tray 12 are taken out one by one, and the assembly jig 18 is removed.
Continuously feed into the upper body 19.

In the above embodiment, a suction head 36,
36... are provided to hold the tray 12 by suction, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the holding plate 34 may be provided with a chuck mechanism to chuck the tray 12.

Also, a holding mechanism 4 that holds the switch block 1
The pin 53 provided on the substrate 51 of switch block 6 is inserted into one of the positioning holes 9 formed in the insulating substrate 2 of switch block 1 for positioning. Alternatively, a pin 53 may be provided at the front and inserted into the glow lamp socket 3 provided on the insulating substrate 2 for positioning. In this case, the pins 14 and 15 protruding from the tray 12 are both formed long, and the insulating substrate 2
When inserted into positioning holes 8 and 9 drilled in , it passes through these and protrudes upward. In this way, even if vibration occurs during transfer of the switch block 1 housed in the container 17, the positioning holes 8 and 9 will not come off the pins 14 and 15, and positional deviation will not occur, improving stability during transfer. do.

As explained above, according to the present invention, the switch block is held in a position on the tray using the positioning hole and the pull switch, and the protrusion provided thereon is attached to the tip of the arm of the robot. Then, the pin is inserted into the appropriate hole of the switch block to position it, and after the positioning is done, it is taken out from the tray and sent to the predetermined position by the robot. , the switch block can be automatically and efficiently supplied to the main body, and by automating the work, work efficiency and productivity can be improved, and manufacturing costs can be reduced.
At the same time, the burden on the workers can be significantly reduced.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a switch block supplied by the method of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side view thereof,
Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the tray that holds the switch block, Fig. 4 is a sectional view of main parts showing the relationship between the tray and the switch block, and Fig. 5 is a plan view showing the arrangement relationship between the lighting equipment body and the switch block. , 6th
The figure is a perspective view showing one embodiment of the feeding device used in carrying out the method of the present invention, FIG. 7 is a plan view thereof, FIG. 8 is a sectional view of a main part of a holding mechanism provided in the robot, and FIG. 9 FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of main parts showing another embodiment of the holding mechanism. 1...Switch block, 2...Insulating board, 3
...Glow lamp socket, 5...Pull switch, 8, 9...Positioning hole, 12...Tray, 1
8...Assembling jig, 19...Main body, 37...Robot, 46...Holding mechanism, 52...Chuck mechanism, 53...Positioning pin.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 A switch block that integrates multiple parts including a pull switch and is equipped with a positioning hole,
The positioning hole is inserted into the pin drilled in the tray described later, and the body of the pull switch is inserted into the insertion hole of the tray described later, and the tray is positioned and held to a predetermined position. The chuck mechanism of the robot, which has a chuck mechanism and a positioning pin at the tip, chucks the protrusion of the switch block, inserts the positioning pin into the hole of the switch block, positions it and holds it, and then operates the robot to remove the switch from the tray. A method for supplying a switch block, characterized in that the block is supplied into a lighting equipment body after being taken out.