JPH0474135B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention provides a method for automatically assembling various products by supplying components to a plurality of component storage sections provided in the main body of the assembly of the product. , relates to a parts supply device.

[Prior Art] In recent years, automatic assembly equipment that automatically assembles various products has been widely used in various industrial fields.
A parts supply device is used to automatically supply necessary parts to the main body of the members constituting this product. Here, the methods of feeding parts in the parts feeding device are usually a method of forcibly feeding the parts using a pick-and-press means, and a method of feeding the parts by dropping them under their own weight, such as a parts feeder. There is.

In the method of forcibly feeding parts, the parts are taken out one by one from the parts supply source, and the parts are sent to a predetermined position by an appropriate conveyance means.
After positioning at the relevant position, the device is taken out by a pick-and-place means having a mechanism such as vacuum suction or a chuck, and then attached to the main body. On the other hand, in the gravity drop method, a transport path for transporting parts is installed in a vertical or inclined state, and the parts are allowed to slide down by their own weight along this transport path.

Here, since the above-mentioned dead weight drop method has an extremely simple component transport mechanism, it is recommended to use this method when the component can be mounted by dropping it into the main body. It's advantageous.
Therefore, in order to supply parts by this dead weight drop method, a parts feeder is used as a parts supply means,
A device in which parts supplied from the parts feeder are automatically stored in a parts storage section provided in the main body of the assembly is conventionally known.

Normally, when parts are fed directly into the main body of an assembly from a baht feeder, it is difficult to connect the parts discharge port of the parts feeder directly to the parts storage section. It is also known to provide a parts supply head that can be connected to a parts feeder, to connect a connection passage between the parts supply head and the parts feeder, and to supply parts from the parts feeder to the parts supply head via this connection passage. ing.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] By the way, when parts are supplied from a parts feeder using the above-mentioned connection passage, the side receiving the parts supply receives the parts at a fixed position. If you have
The above-mentioned connecting passage may be straight and relatively short, and furthermore, component separating means for separating and supplying components one by one may be provided in the component supply head. However, there are cases where a member receiving parts supply has a plurality of component receiving positions, and the relative position between each of these receiving positions and the component supply head must be adjusted on the part supply head side. In this case, the connecting passage for connecting the parts feeder and the parts supply head must be formed by a flexible tube. As the amount of movement of this parts supply head increases, the tube must be made longer in order to convey the parts smoothly.
The bending angle of the tube must be gentle. In addition, if the parts supply head is moved while parts remain in the tube, the tube may be damaged, so a component separation means for separating the parts individually should be provided on the parts supply head side. I can't. From the above, if the main body has a large number of parts storage parts and the intervals between these parts storage parts are large, it will be necessary to use a long tube, and the parts supply device as a whole will be This method is large in size, and each time the component supply head faces each component storage section, the components must be fed into the tube one by one, resulting in a drawback that the component supply operation becomes extremely time-consuming.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and has a small and simple configuration, and is independent of the position and number of parts supply parts supplied to the main body of an assembly, and can be assembled with parts supply parts. To provide a parts supply device that can easily and quickly supply parts from a parts supply part to each part storage part in a main body part of an assembly even if the main body part of a three-dimensional body is arranged at a spatially distant position. The purpose is to

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention arranges components supplied from one or more component supply units at a position spatially distant from the component supply units. established,
This is a parts supply device that selectively supplies parts to each parts storage part of an assembly in which a plurality of parts storage parts are arranged horizontally at different positions, and has a parts loading port at the top end and a parts loading port at the bottom end. A shuttle member capable of accommodating the number of parts to be formed and supplied to the assembly is provided with a shutter at its outlet, and two parts are connected from the outlet.
The shuttle member is provided with a means for separating individual parts by disposing a clamping member for clamping the component located at the second position, and the shuttle member has a position where its inlet is connected to the component supply section, and a position where the outlet is connected to the assembly. A guide means that guides in the vertical direction and a vertical drive means that can move toward and away from the guide means in order to reciprocate between a position facing the parts storage openings arranged in a row or a position on an extension thereof. Shuttle reciprocating means;
Shuttle pitch feeding means for separating the shuttle member transported to a predetermined position by the shuttle reciprocating means from the vertical driving means and pitching the shuttle member in the horizontal direction so that the exit port thereof sequentially faces each component storage section; The present invention is characterized in that, while the shuttle member is being connected in pitches, the components are selectively fed into each component storage section by the component individual separating means.

[Function] In this way, a shuttle member is provided between the parts supply unit consisting of a parts feeder or the like and the main body of the assembly serving as a member to which parts are supplied, and parts are delivered by this shuttle member. By doing so, parts can be supplied extremely reliably and quickly regardless of the number, position, etc. of the parts storage sections on the main body side.

Then, the shuttle member reciprocating movement means connects the entrance of the shuttle member to the parts supply section.
Here, the component supply section is not limited to one that supplies one type of component, but may be one that supplies multiple types of components. In the case of supplying a plurality of parts, the parts supply parts may be arranged in parallel, and the shuttle member may be moved by the shuttle pitch feeding means so that the entrance of the shuttle member faces each of the parts supply parts.
At this time, the shutter constituting the individual component separating means in the shuttle member is kept closed. Thereby, a plurality of parts to be fed into the main body of one assembly are dropped from the parts supply section into this shuttle member.

Next, the shuttle member is displaced by the shuttle reciprocating movement means from a state in which its loading port is connected to the component supply section to a position in which its loading port faces the component storage section of the main body into which the component is to be installed. In this state, the shuttle pitch feeding means is operated to displace the exit of the shuttle member to a position facing the component storage section of the main body. Then, by clamping the second component with the clamping member constituting the component individual separation means and opening the shutter, the component can be fed into the component storage section by falling under its own weight. Then, by activating the shuttle pitch feeding means, the exit of the shuttle member is made to face the parts storage section into which parts are sequentially supplied, and by activating the individual component separation means each time, the shuttle member is placed in the movable parts storage section. Store parts.

When the components are completely stored in each component storage section in the main body of the assembly as described above, the shuttle member is returned to the component supply section by the shuttle pitch feeding means and the shuttle reciprocating movement means, and the shuttle member is returned to the component supply section. At the same time, the assembly in which the parts have already been assembled is ejected, and a new assembly is brought in.

Thereafter, by repeating the above-described operations, parts can be continuously supplied to the assembly.

In this way, the shuttle member is used, and the shuttle member is reciprocated between the component supply section and the component storage section in the main body of the assembly by the shuttle reciprocating movement means and the shuttle pitch feeding means. Therefore, the component supply section can be installed at a location close to the assembly position, and the component supply device as a whole can be made smaller and more compact. In addition, the components to be stored in the main body of one assembly are accommodated in a shuttle member having separate component separation means at a portion on the exit side, and the shuttle pitch feeding means is operated while the shuttle member is connected to the main body. Since the parts individual separation means is operated while the parts are being moved, the parts can be stored extremely reliably and quickly.

In particular, complex parts supply is required, such as when parts are selectively stored in the parts storage section, or when parts are selectively stored in the parts storage section and different types of parts need to be supplied. However, since the operation of the shuttle member is controlled by the shuttle pitch feeding means, and the shuttle member is provided with a means for separating the parts individually,
Control of parts supply is significantly simplified.

[Example] Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described in detail based on the drawings.

First, as shown in FIG.
A plurality of parts storage parts 2 ₁ , 2 ₂ , 2 ₃ , ... 2 _o are formed in the main body part 1 , and the main body part 1 is transported to a position where parts are supplied by an appropriate conveyance means such as a conveyor, and the parts are stored Parts are supplied and stored in sections 2 ₁ to 2 _o .

A parts supply device that supplies these parts is composed of a parts feeder 3 and a shuttle member 4.
Hearts Feeder 3 is a fixedly installed part P.
A supply section 3a, and a chute section 3b for supplying parts P to the supply section 3a, and the supply section 3a is provided with a shutter mechanism (not shown) for controlling the quantity of parts to be supplied. There is.

On the other hand, the shuttle member 4 has a parts loading port 4a provided on the side facing the supply section 3a of the parts feeder 3, that is, the upper position, and a parts P port 4a provided on the side facing the main body 1 of the assembly, that is, the lower position. Export port 4b
and between the loading port 4a and the loading port 4b,
As shown in FIG. 2, a component accommodating portion 4c is formed for accommodating the components P supplied to the shuttle member 4 vertically and in an aligned state. and,
This component storage portion 4c is formed to have a capacity that allows loading of the number of components P to be supplied to at least one assembly main body portion 1.

Thus, the shuttle member 4 is connected to the parts feeder 3.
It is configured so that it can be displaced between a parts loading position where parts P are supplied from the main body 1 and a parts unloading position where parts P are supplied to each parts storage section ₂₁ to _2o of the assembly main body 1. For this purpose, a cylinder device 5 is provided as a shuttle reciprocating means for moving the movable chute 4 in its axial direction, and a cylinder device 5 is provided as a shuttle pitch feeding means capable of pitch feeding in a direction perpendicular to this axis. A ball screw device 6 is provided. In the ball screw device 6, a ball screw 7 is arranged parallel to the assembly body 1, and one end of the ball screw 7 is connected to a motor 8 that rotates the ball screw 7. And the third
As shown in the figure, by attaching the shuttle member 4 to the ball nut 9 attached to the ball screw 7, the shuttle member 4 is attached to the assembly body 1.
It is constructed so that pitch feeding can be performed in a state parallel to the upper surface of the machine.

However, the shuttle member 4
In order to connect the ball nut 9 to the ball nut 9 in a state where it can be displaced in its axial direction, that is, in a direction orthogonal to the axis of the ball screw 7, the structure is such that they are connected via a guide rail 10 extending in the axial direction of the shuttle member 4. It is becoming. In order to reciprocate the shuttle member 4 in the vertical direction, an engagement plate 11 having an engagement groove 11a is attached to the shuttle member 4 so as to protrude laterally. Also, this engagement plate 1 is attached to the piston rod 5a of the cylinder 5.
A gripping member 12 for gripping the shuttle member 4 is attached, and by operating the cylinder 5 while the gripping member 12 and the engagement plate 11 are engaged, the shuttle member 4 is moved along the guide rail 10. It is constructed so that it can be moved in its axial direction.

Next, the shuttle member 4 is provided with an individual component separating means 13 on the side of the exit port 4b for separating the components P one by one and supplying the components P to each of the component storage sections 2 ₁ to 2 _o . The component individual separation means 13 includes a shutter 14 that opens and closes the outlet 4b, and a shutter 14 that opens and closes the outlet 4b.
The shutter 14 and the clamping member 15 are configured to be actuated by actuators 16 and 17, such as solenoids, respectively.

This embodiment is constructed as described above, and its operation will now be described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 7.

First, by driving the ball screw device 6 as a shuttle reciprocating means and the cylinder 5 as a shuttle pitch feeding means, the shuttle member 4 is moved into the inlet 4a to constitute the parts feeder 3 as shown by the dashed line in FIG. It is arranged at a component loading position connected to the supply section 3a, and a predetermined number of components P are dropped into the component storage section 4c via the supply section 3a. Here, in this embodiment, there are 10 parts storage areas 2.
Parts P are installed in eight parts storage parts ₁ to 2 ₁₀ excluding two parts storage parts 2 ₃ and 2 ₇ , and for this purpose, parts P are installed in the parts storage parts 4 c of the shuttle member 4. is designed to store eight parts P. Here, it goes without saying that the number of components that can be stored in the component storage section 4c of the shuttle member 4 must be at least the number that can be stored in the component storage section of one assembly main body 1. As described above, when the parts are completely loaded into the shuttle member 4, the cylinder 5 is contracted and the shuttle member 4 is moved in the direction shown by the arrow A in the figure.
is moved to move the shuttle member 4 to the position shown by the solid line in the figure. As a result, the exit port 4b of the shuttle member 4 is located at approximately the same level as the surface of the assembly main body 1 on the component storage side.

Thereafter, the ball screw device 6 is operated to pitch the shuttle member 4 in the direction shown by arrow B in FIG. Each time a connection is made, the component individual separation means 13 is activated to feed the components one by one. That is, the output port 4b of the components accommodated in the component storage section 4c by the clamping member 15
With the second part clamped and fixed from the position,
Open the shutter 14. As a result, the component located at the lowest end is carried out from the exit 4b of the shuttle member and sent into the component storage section of the assembly main body 1 by falling under its own weight. And shutter 14
When the parts P are closed and the part is released from being clamped by the clamping member 15, the second component P mentioned above is brought to the lowest position, and the subsequent parts P are lowered one by one by their own weight. When this sequential feeding is completed, the clamping member 15 is again held in a displaced state in which it clamps the component. When the shuttle member 4 moves to the position where the next part is to be supplied, the shuttle member 4 moves to the position where the next part is to be supplied.
, and send the parts into the parts storage section.

As described above, when the parts P are stored in the eight parts storage parts in the assembly body 1, the shuttle member 4 is moved in the direction of arrow C in FIG. 7 by the ball screw device 6. When the engagement plate 11 provided on the shuttle member 4 moves to a position where it engages with the gripping member 12 on the piston rod 5a of the cylinder 5, the operation of the ball screw device 6 is stopped, the cylinder 5 is extended, and the shuttle Move the member 4 in the direction shown by arrow D in the figure, displace it again to the parts loading position, and move it to the parts feeder 3.
Receives parts supply from. In this state, the assembly main body 1 whose parts have been stored is ejected, and
A new assembly main body 1 is carried in, the cylinder 5 is contracted and the shuttle member 4 is moved to the position of this assembly main body 1, and while the shuttle member 4 is being pitch-fed by the ball screw device 6, this new assembly main body 1 is moved in. The work of storing parts in the assembly main body 1 is performed.

Therefore, by sequentially repeating this operation, parts can be automatically stored in the assembly main body 1 that is successively transported.

Here, the assembly main body that is transported to the position where the parts are to be stored is not only designed to always store the same number of parts at the same position, but also to store parts for each assembly main body. In some cases, the desired position may be different. Even in this case, parts can be stored smoothly and quickly by using the shuttle member. That is, the shuttle member is positioned and stopped by the shuttle pitch feeding means each time it faces each component storage section of the assembly main body, and when it faces the component storage section in which the component is to be stored, the shutter in the individual component separation means is activated. control the supply of parts, or
Alternatively, the location for storing components can be arbitrarily selected by moving the shuttle member so as to skip component storage sections in which no components are stored, based on a preset program.

As mentioned above, the device of the present invention is capable of quickly and reliably automatically supplying parts to arbitrary positions in an assembly main body having a large number of parts storage parts. It can be particularly suitably used for storing a tumbler in the cylinder body.

Furthermore, the device of the present invention can be configured to feed multiple types of parts to the assembly main body. In this case, parts feeders corresponding to the types of parts are arranged in parallel, and the shuttle pitch feeding means is connected to the parts feeder. Therefore, the shuttle member is sequentially connected to each parts feeder through its delivery port, and the various parts are stored in the parts storage section of the shuttle member in a predetermined order in an aligned state, and each of these parts is placed in the assembly body. What is necessary is to store it in a predetermined parts storage section. In this case, by controlling the order in which the shuttle member is connected to each of the baht feeders or the order in which it is connected to each component storage section, the predetermined components can be reliably stored in the predetermined component storage sections.

Note that the shuttle reciprocating movement means and the shuttle pitch feeding means for driving the shuttle member can be not only the ball screw device and cylinder described above, but also various types such as a rack-and-pinion mechanism, a belt drive mechanism such as a timing belt, etc. .

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, the component supply device according to the present invention uses a receiving shuttle member driven by the shuttle reciprocating movement means and the shuttle pitch feeding means, and connects the outlet of the shuttle member to the assembly. By facing each of the plurality of component storage sections provided in the main body and activating the component individual separation means,
Since it is configured so that parts can be selectively supplied to these multiple parts storage parts,
The parts supply section and the assembly that stores the parts supplied from the parts supply section are located at separate locations, and the assembly has a plurality of component storage sections arranged in rows at different positions in the horizontal direction. When the parts are selectively stored in each of these parts storage parts, parts can be supplied extremely quickly and smoothly, and the structure of this parts supply mechanism can be extremely simple and compact, and the shuttle member can be By activating the individual component separation means while pitch feeding and controlling the supply of components or prohibiting the supply of components, the component storage section for supplying components for each assembly can be freely controlled. Furthermore, it is possible to easily select and change parts, and control the supply of parts is extremely easy.Furthermore, since the shuttle member is separated from the vertical drive means when pitch-feeding, it can be used together with the shuttle member. The number of parts to be fed in pitch can be minimized, simplifying and downsizing,
The weight is reduced, the load on the pitch feed drive means is light, and the positioning accuracy at the position facing each component storage section is improved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a parts supply device showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the exit side portion of the shuttle member, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of FIG.
FIG. 4 is a configuration explanatory diagram showing the engaged state of the engaging member and the gripping member, and FIGS. 5 to 7 are operation explanatory diagrams showing different operating states. 1: Assembly body, 2 ₁ ~ 2 _o : Parts storage section, 3:
parts feeder, 4: shuttle member, 4a: loading port, 4b: loading port, 4c: component storage section, 5: cylinder, 6: ball screw feeding device, 13: component individual separation means, 14: shutter, 15: clamping member.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An assembly in which components supplied from one or more component supply sections are arranged at a position spatially distant from the component supply sections, and a plurality of component storage sections are arranged in multiple rows at different positions in the horizontal direction. In a parts supply device that selectively supplies parts to each parts storage section, the shuttle member is formed with a parts inlet at the upper end and a parts outlet at the lower end, and is capable of storing the number of parts to be supplied to the assembly; A shutter is provided at the exit, and a means for separating individual parts is provided, which includes a clamping member that clamps the second component from the exit.
In addition, the shuttle member is configured to reciprocate between a position where its loading port connects to the component supply section and a position where its loading port faces or is an extension of the component storage ports arranged in the assembly. For this purpose, there is provided a shuttle reciprocating means comprising a guide means for guiding in the vertical direction and a vertical drive means capable of moving toward and away from the guide means, and a shuttle member conveyed to a predetermined position by the shuttle reciprocating means. A shuttle pitch feeding means is connected to the shuttle pitch feeding means, which is separated from the vertical driving means and feeds the parts in pitch in the horizontal direction so that the outlet faces each component storage section sequentially. 1. A component supply device, characterized in that the components are selectively fed to each component storage section by individual component separation means.