JPH0355264B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a determination device, specifically, a determination device used to determine the content of work on a workpiece moving on a conveyor line at a work station attached to the conveyor line. Regarding equipment.

Conventional technology In the past, for example, a series of operations such as inserting parts at each work station and fixing the parts with screws to a pallet workpiece moving on a conveyor line were carried out independently at each work station. However, there were inconveniences such as screws being tightened even though no parts had been inserted into the workpiece.

For this reason, at present, the pallet on which the work is mounted is provided with an object to be determined, that is, a memory pin, which memorizes the details of the work such as parts insertion errors and screw tightening errors, and the work details are memorized in the memory pin at one work station. At the same time, this is read out at the next work station and the content of the work is determined, thereby determining whether or not to perform the next work on the work.
In this way, you can store your work details on the memory pin,
In order to read out the stored contents, a determination device is used which is separately provided with a moving means and a detecting means.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention By the way, as shown in FIG. 5, the conventional determination device has a cylinder c as a moving means for moving a memory pin b provided on a pallet a, and a cylinder c that is a moving means for moving a memory pin b provided on a pallet a, and a cylinder c that is a moving means for moving a memory pin b provided on a pallet a. Since the detection sensor d as a detection means for detecting whether or not the As the entire system becomes larger,
The number of parts such as the moving means, arms e, angles f, and screws for individually attaching the detection sensors increases, which not only complicates parts management but also increases costs due to the large number of parts. .

Furthermore, since the determining device is bulky, depending on the type and form of work, it is impossible to stack multiple determining devices when it is desired to store multiple work contents in one work station. ,
There is a drawback that multiple memories cannot be stored in one workpiece, and furthermore, since the memory pin is generally cylindrical, the distance between the detection surface of the detection sensor and the outer periphery of the memory pin is cylindrical. This method has the disadvantage that it depends on the deviation of the center position of the pin, which makes the detection result unstable.

Incidentally, an example in which the determination device is applied to a conveyor line has been described in order to help people understand the conventional content, but at least as long as the determination device adopts a configuration in which the moving means and the detection means are separately arranged, the application example described above is applicable. This is a problem that occurs regardless of the situation.

The present invention was devised in view of the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to reduce the space occupied by the determination device, reduce the number of parts, and enable the determination devices to be stacked, so that multiple determinations can be made. The present invention provides a determination device that can be used and has extremely high utility value.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the object, the present invention has a detecting means for detecting whether or not an object to be determined is present in a detection area, and a detecting means for detecting whether or not an object to be determined is present in a detection area. In the determination device that is integrally incorporated in a component of a moving means that can be moved out of the detection area, the moving means moves the object to be determined, which moves in the same direction as the moving means, by pressing it. The cylinder is equipped with an extendable and retractable piston rod that can be moved, and the detection means is a detection sensor that detects the presence or absence of the object to be determined, and the detection sensor is installed inside the piston rod constituting the moving means. The object to be determined is integrally fixed to a peripheral surface, and the object to be determined has a detection surface that can be easily detected, and by pressing the detection surface with the moving means, the object to be determined is It is characterized in that it is moved out of the detection area of the detection means.

Embodiment FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an example of a determination device,
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of application of the determination device. In Figure 2, 1 is a conveyor line,
A pallet 3 movable on guide rails 2, 2 is arranged between a pair of endless chains 4, 4, and the pallet 3 is pulled by frictional force by the driving of the endless chains 4, 4, and the pallet 3 is transferred. It is configured as follows.

A jig plate 5 is placed on the pallet 3, on which a workpiece W is mounted, and a memory pin 6 (detailed configuration will be described later) as an object to be determined is provided.

Each work station A, B... is arranged along the conveyor line 1, and each work station A, B...
... is provided with a determination device 7. Incidentally, when the pallet 3 reaches the work stations A, B, . . . , it is stopped at a predetermined position by a stopper (not shown).

As shown in FIG. 1, the determination device 7 is constructed by integrally incorporating a detection sensor 9 as a detection means into a piston rod 10 of a cylinder 8 as a moving means. Specifically, the piston rod 10 of the cylinder 8 is formed into a hollow shape with an open end, and a detection sensor 9 capable of detecting an object to be determined is housed in the hollow portion 10a, and is fixed with a set screw 11. . In this case, in order to prevent damage to the detection sensor 9, it is desirable to provide the detection portion of the detection sensor 9 in a state slightly retracted from the tip of the piston rod 10.

The cylinder 8 has a cylindrical cylinder body 12.
A piston rod 10 is inserted into the cylinder, and the outer peripheral surface of the piston rod 10 and the inner peripheral surface of the cylinder body 12 are slidably closed with a cap 13 equipped with a sealing material. piston rod 10
A large-diameter piston portion 10b is formed in the middle of the outer periphery of the piston rod 10. When air is injected into one cylinder chamber 14a separated by the piston portion 10b, the piston rod 10 advances in the detection direction. On the other hand, when the injection of air is stopped and the injected air is released, the coil spring 15 provided in the other cylinder chamber 14b (this chamber communicates with the outside) retreats to the original position. piston rod 10
The stroke of is indicated by l in the figure. Whether or not to extend the piston rod 10, that is, the cylinder chamber 1
Whether or not to inject air into 4a depends on whether the screws are not tightened properly or not.
When a situation arises in which work contents should be memorized, such as a component insertion error, a control device (not shown) provided at each work station A, B, etc. makes a decision. In the figure, 16 is a bushing, and 17 is a lead wire of the detection sensor 9.

The determination device 7 is used for each work station A, B...
As shown in Fig. 3, the piston rod 1
0 is aligned with the axis of the memory pin 6, and is fixed to the conveyor frame 18 via an angle member 19. In Fig. 3, reference numerals 20, 20 are resin friction plates attached to both sides of the pallet 3, and one of the plates 20, 20 is elastically attached to the pallet 3, and this plate 20,20 is attachment 2
The endless chains 4, 4 are pressed through the attachments 21 and the plate 20, and frictional force is generated on the contact surfaces between the attachments 21 and the plate 20. 22,2
2 is a cam follower, and a stopper (not shown) for stopping the pallet 3 at the work station acts on this cam follower 22, 22.
28 is a mechanism for resetting the memory pin 6, and is provided at a predetermined position on the conveyor line 1.

As shown in FIG. 4, the memory pin 6 is a cylindrical shaft body with circumferential grooves 25 and 26 formed at two locations on its outer circumferential surface, and is supported by an exterior case 27 so as to be able to slide forward and backward.

The outer case 27 is provided with a ball stopper 30 that presses the pawl 29 against the outer circumferential surface of the memory pin 6 by a spring 28, and the movement of the memory pin 6 causes the ball 29 to fit into the circumferential grooves 25, 26. When stuck, the memory pin 6 is locked. Since there are two circumferential grooves, a first state in which the memory pin 6 advances (a state in which the ball 29 is stuck in the circumferential groove 25);
It is locked in two states: a second state in which it has retreated (a state in which the ball 29 is stuck in the circumferential groove 26). In this case, for example, by setting in advance that there is no abnormality in the work content in the first state and that there is an abnormality in the work content in the second state, the work content can be stored using the memory pin 6.

Note that the tip 6a of the memory pin 6 is connected to the determination device 7.
It is formed to have a larger diameter and a flat surface than the memory pin 6 so that it can be easily pressed and operated by the piston rod 10 of the cylinder 8 as a moving means on the side, and so that detection can be stabilized.

According to the above configuration, if an abnormality such as a component insertion error occurs while the work W on the pallet 3 is being worked at one work station A or B,
A control device (not shown) determines that there is a work abnormality and supplies air to the cylinder 8 of the determination device 7 to advance the piston rod 10 toward the memory pin 6 side. Then, the front end of the piston rod 10 touches the tip 6a of the memory pin 6.
, the memory pin 6 is switched from the first state to the second state, and the presence of a work abnormality is memorized. If there is no work abnormality, the control device does not operate and cylinder 8
Since no air is supplied to the memory pin 6, the memory pin 6 is
maintain the condition.

Then pallet 3 moves to the next work station A.
or B, and when the axes of the memory pin 6 on the pallet 3 and the piston rod 10 of the determination device 7 on the work station A or B side almost match,
The detection sensor 9 as a detection means is activated to detect whether or not the memory pin 6 is present within the detection area. When the memory pin 6 is in the first state, the tip 6a of the memory pin 6 is within the detection area of the detection sensor 9, and it is determined that there is no work abnormality. In this case, a predetermined screw tightening operation or the like is performed. On the other hand, memory pin 6
is in the second state, the tip 6a is the detection sensor 9
is outside the detection area, and it is determined that there is a work abnormality. In this case, work such as screw tightening is not performed.
Therefore, pallet 3 is transferred as is,
The workpiece W is extracted during the transfer or at the end of the transfer.

By the way, in the above-mentioned determination device 7, the detection sensor 9 as the detection means is integrated into the hollow part 10a of the piston rod 10 inserted into the cylinder 8 as the moving means, so that the occupied space is not bulky. Moreover, the number of parts to be attached can be reduced, and the necessary number of determination devices 7 can be installed in order to store and read out a plurality of work contents. Furthermore, since the detection sensor 9 detects the large diameter flat surface of the tip 6a of the memory pin 6, the detection result is stable.

Further, in the above embodiment, the determination device 7 is applied to the equipment for transferring the workpiece W by the conveyor line 1, but it is also applicable to the work in which the workpiece W is placed on an intermittent feeding table and transferred between each work station A or B. It can also be applied to equipment. Further, the detection sensor 9 as the detection means can be a proximity sensing type sensor or a contact type limit switch.

Although the storage pin 6 is used as the object to be determined in the embodiment, it is not limited to a device that stores work contents, and may be, for example, the workpiece W itself.

Furthermore, although the memory pin 6 is configured to be switched between two states in the embodiment, it can also be implemented with a configuration where it is switched between three or more multiple states. Furthermore, the memory pin 6 can not only store the contents of the work, but also store the grade of the workpiece W and an instruction as to which work station A or B should perform the work. Note that the work station A or B also includes an inspection station that performs inspection work on the workpiece W.

Effects of the Invention As explained above, according to the determination device according to the present invention, since the detection means is integrally incorporated into the component of the moving means, the occupied space can be made small and compact, and the configuration of the detection means can be made compact. Since the object to be judged can be moved out of the detection area using the member, a mechanism for removing the object to be judged can be omitted, the number of parts to be attached is small, and parts management is easy. It also has the effect of reducing costs by reducing the number of parts. In addition, when the object to be determined is a memory pin and multiple memory pins are used to store multiple work contents, the space occupied by the determination device itself is small.
This has the effect that it can be handled by equipping the necessary number of determination devices without adding much bulk.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a determination device as an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example in which the determination device is applied to assembly line work equipment of a conveyor line, and FIG. 3 is a detailed cross-section of FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a memory pin, and FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a conventional determination device. 7... Determination device, 8... Moving means, 9... Detecting means.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A detection means for detecting whether or not an object to be determined is present in a detection area is configured to move the object to be determined, which is provided facing the detection means, out of the detection area. In a determination device that is integrally incorporated into a component of a moving means, the moving means includes an extendable piston rod that can move, by pressing, an object to be determined that moves in the same direction as the moving means. The detection means is a detection sensor for detecting the presence or absence of the object to be determined, and the detection sensor is integrally fixed to the inner circumferential surface of a piston rod constituting the moving means. A determination device characterized by: 2. The object to be determined has a detection surface that is easy to detect, and by pressing the detection surface with the moving means, the object to be determined is moved out of the detection area of the detection means. A determining device according to claim 1.