JPH0478529B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Field of Application] The present invention relates to a spherical object transfer device that accurately transports spherical objects such as cyokolate balls from a spherical object storage container to a predetermined location.

[Conventional technology and its issues]

Generally, there are the following three methods for transporting a spherical body to a predetermined location. The first method is to install a substrate with a predetermined space under the mounting plate on which the spherical body is placed, and to install a sliding plate with a hole between the mounting plate and the substrate. , and a first hole is provided at a predetermined position on the mounting plate, and a second hole is provided at a predetermined position on the substrate. Then, the slide plate is slid to align the hole with the first hole of the mounting plate, and the spherical body on the mounting plate is dropped into the hole of the slide plate through the first hole formed in the mounting plate.
At this time, since the substrate is located below the slide plate, the bottom of the hole in the slide plate is closed with the substrate. Next, slide the slide plate from this state and align the hole with the second hole of the board. This causes the spherical body to fall into a predetermined location through the hole in the substrate. In this case, if a spherical body with a diameter greater than the thickness of the slide plate enters the hole of the slide plate, the upper part of the spherical body will come into contact with the mounting plate when the slide plate slides, causing damage. On the other hand, two spherical bodies having a diameter less than the thickness of the slide plate (or one spherical body and a part of the second spherical body) enter the hole of the slide plate, causing damage to the second spherical body. This method therefore has the disadvantage that only uniformly shaped spheres of uniform diameter can be transported. The second method is to use vibration to align the spherical bodies in a line within the transfer path, provide a first shutter that can be opened and closed at the open end of the transfer path, and send the spherical bodies into the forward end of the transfer path. a second shutter for isolating the spherical body from subsequent spherical bodies;
In this method, the spherical bodies are dropped one by one from the open end of the transfer path to a predetermined location by opening and closing the shutter. This method has the disadvantage that the spherical bodies at the head of the row are easily damaged because they are cut off from the following ones by opening and closing the shutter.
Another problem is that if the dimensions of the spherical bodies vary, the spherical bodies are likely to be damaged. The third method is to transfer the spherical bodies by inserting a vacuum suction cup into a group of spherical bodies housed in a container. In this method, many spherical objects are attached to one suction cup.
This results in the phenomenon that spherical objects with large diameters are not adsorbed, resulting in a lack of reliability in operation.

[Means to solve the problem]

The present invention was made in view of the above circumstances, and includes a container for storing spherical objects having a plurality of holes arranged in the bottom surface, and a spherical object contained in each of the plurality of holes in the bottom surface by vibrating or tilting the container. a spherical body hole insertion means for inserting the spherical body; a spherical body push-up rod having a concave portion on the upper end surface and fitted into each of the plurality of holes of the container so as to be vertically movable; , a base elastically supported via an elastic material, and a spherical pusher that causes the concave upper end of the spherical push rod to protrude from the bottom surface of the container by moving the container downward relative to the base. A lifting rod protruding means, a plurality of vacuum suction cups positioned directly above each hole on the bottom of the container, a suction cup holder that integrally holds these vacuum suction cups, and a suction cup holder that is attached to a base. a suction cup holder vertical movement means for moving the suction cup holder up and down relative to the base, a suction cup holder horizontal movement means for horizontally moving the suction cup holder relative to the base, and a control for controlling on/off the vacuum suction of the vacuum suction cup. The gist thereof is a spherical object transporting device equipped with means.

Next, the present invention will be explained in detail based on examples.

〔Example〕

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a conveying device for a spherical ball.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a container for storing Chiyoko rate balls (hereinafter abbreviated as "Chiyoko balls"), and a plurality of through holes 3 which are circular in plan view are arranged in a bottom surface 2. Inside this hole 3 is a Chiyoko ball push-up rod 4 whose upper surface is formed into a substantially hemispherical recess.
is inserted so that it can move up and down.

As shown in FIG. 2, this push-up rod 4 is constituted by an upper closed cylindrical body, and a core rod 7 having a spring 6 wound around its outer periphery is inserted inside the push-up rod 4. The lower end of the core rod 7 is fixed to the base 8 by screws 9a screwed into it from the underside of the base 8 through washers 9, and the spring 6 is fixed to the base 8.
The push-up rod 4 is elastically supported in the vertical direction.

The lower surface of the base 8 is connected to the piston rod of the air cylinder 10, and in the initial state, the upper surface of the push-up rod 4 is positioned at the opening edge of the bottom surface 2 of the container 1, and the air cylinder 10 is connected to the piston rod of the air cylinder 10. By this pushing operation, the upper part of the push-up rod 4 protrudes from the bottom surface of the container 1, as shown in FIG. Therefore, the air cylinder 10 functions as a push-up rod projecting means. In addition, in these figures, the chain line shows the chiyoko ball thrown into the container 1.

Further, on one side of the container 1 (returning to FIG. 1), a magnetic intermittent open vibrator 11 is installed which constantly applies slight vibrations to the container 1. Then, the Chiyoko Ball placed in the container 1 is moved little by little and dropped into the hole 3 in the bottom 2. Therefore, the vibrator 11 functions as a horizontal ball drilling means.

On the other hand, above the container 1, a suction cup holder 12 is provided.
is provided, and a plurality of pipes 16 each having a rubber vacuum suction cup 16a at the lower end extend downward from this lower surface in a position corresponding to the plurality of holes 3 of the container 1.

The suction cup holder 12 is attached so as to be movable in the left-right direction along the support frame 13, and can be positioned at any position in the left-right direction by the operation of the air cylinder 14. Therefore, the air cylinder 14 functions as a means for horizontally moving the suction cup holder. Further, both left and right ends of the support frame 13 are connected to piston rods of left and right air cylinders 17, 17 mounted downward, so that the suction cup holder 12 can move up and down together with the support frame 13. Therefore, the left and right air cylinders 17, 17 function as means for moving the suction cup holder up and down. In the initial state where each of the air cylinders 14, 17, 17 does not operate,
The suction cup holder 12 is positioned at the position shown in FIG. 1, and each rubber vacuum suction cup 16a is
Each is positioned directly above each hole 3 of the container 1.

In addition, 15 is a vacuum pipe that vacuums the inside of the suction cup holder 12, and is equipped with a solenoid valve (air solenoid valve, not shown) in the middle, and the vacuum suction is controlled on and off by opening and closing the valve. It's becoming like that. Therefore, by vacuum suction from the vacuum pipe 15, each rubber vacuum suction cup 16a can perform a suction operation via the pipe 16 extending from the suction cup holder 12.

Further, 18 is a Chiyoko ball receiving plate which receives Chiyoko balls sequentially from inside the container 1 by the rubber vacuum suction cup 16a, and corresponds to the hole 3 in the bottom surface 2 of the Yamaki container and the arrangement of the rubber vacuum suction cup 16a. A plurality of recesses 19 are formed.

Using the above-mentioned apparatus, it is possible to transfer the Chiyoko balls manufactured in the following manner to the Chiyoko ball receiving plate 18 in an accurate arrangement. That is, first, manufactured Chiyoko balls are randomly placed into the container 1. At this time, since the container 1 is constantly vibrated by the vibrator 11, the chiyoko ball of the container 1 is shaken by the vibration, and the holes in the bottom surface 2 are
A nearby ball falls into the corresponding hole 3 and rests on the recessed portion of the upper surface of the push-up rod 4 fitted into the hole 3 (see FIG. 2).

Next, the base 8 that resiliently holds the push-up rod 4 from below is raised by a predetermined distance by the operation of the air cylinder 10, and the push-up rod 4 is pushed up so that its upper part is lifted from the bottom surface 2 of the container 1. protrude upwards. At this time, in response to the operation of the air cylinder 10,
Left and right air cylinders 17, 17 provided above
is activated, and the support frame 13 is lowered together with the suction cup holder 12 by a predetermined distance. As a result, the rubber vacuum suction cup 16a descends toward each hole 3 in the bottom surface 2 of the container.
As shown in FIG. 3, the push-up rod 4 stops with the Chiyoko ball resting on the recess on the upper surface being clamped therebetween. At the same time as the suction cup holder 12 is lowered, the solenoid valve of the vacuum pipe 15 is activated, and each rubber vacuum suction cup 1 is activated.
Since the suction operation is applied to the push-up rods 6a, the Chiyoko ball is sucked by the rubber vacuum suction cup 16a while resting on the recessed portion of the upper surface of each push-up rod 4.

Note that even if the sizes of the Chiyoko balls are uneven, the variation in size is absorbed by the elasticity of the spring 6 that lifts and supports the push-up rod 4, so the rubber vacuum suction cup 16a can absorb the variation in size. Movement is not hindered. In other words, when a large-sized chiyoko ball is located between the rubber vacuum suction cup 16a and the push-up bar 4, the push-up bar 4 is pushed down significantly. Therefore, the pressure applied to the horizontal ball is almost constant regardless of the size due to the buffering action of the spring 6, and no cracking or damage to the horizontal ball occurs due to the large or small size.

Next, at the same time as the base 8 is lowered, the support frame 13
The suction cup holder 12 and the suction cup holder 12 rise together and return together to the initial position. The suction cup holder 12 is attached to the air cylinder 1
4, the Chiyoko ball is moved to the vacuum suction cup 16a.
While it is adsorbed, move in the direction of the arrow in Figure 1,
It reaches right above the Chiyoko ball receiving plate 18. Next, the left and right air cylinders 17, 17 are operated again to lower the support frame 13 together with the suction cup holder 12, and the vacuum suction cup 16a is placed in each recess 19 of the horizontal ball receiving plate 18 as shown in FIG. bring them closer. In this state, the vacuum suction to the suction cup holder 12 is cut off,
The Chiyoko ball falls into each recess 19 of the Chiyoko ball receiving plate 18. Then, the support frame 13 rises together with the suction cup holder 12 and returns to the initial position.

By repeating this series of operations, as many Chiyoko balls as can be sucked and held by the rubber vacuum suction cups 16a can be continuously transferred to the Chiyoko ball receiving plate 18.

In the above embodiment, a magnetic intermittent open vibrator is used as the means for making holes in the holes, but an eccentric cam is provided on the rotary shaft to make the container 1.
It is also possible to apply vibration to the Alternatively, the hole may be made by tilting the container 1.

Further, the push-up rod 4 may be projected from the hole 3 in the bottom surface 2 of the container (see Fig. 3) by pushing up the base 8 and lowering the container 1 at the same time, or by lowering only the container 1. You may do so depending on the situation.

Further, the rubber vacuum suction cup 16a may be used to attract the Chiyoko ball by raising the base 8 instead of lowering the suction cup holder 12, or both may be done at the same time.

Further, it is preferable to use a rubber vacuum suction cup 16a from the viewpoint of adsorption ability and prevention of damage to the ball. However, since the object to be transferred is not limited to Chiyoko balls, a vacuum suction cup made of steel or the like may be used when transferring a hard object or the like.

Furthermore, the movement of the base 8, suction cup holder 12, etc.
Of course, it is also possible to use a motor or the like instead of using an air cylinder. Furthermore, a hydraulic cylinder may be used instead of the air cylinder.

Note that the suction cup holders 12 may be provided in multiple rows and suctioned and moved in sequence to improve the transfer efficiency.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, the spherical object transfer device of the present invention has the following features:
A spherical body is inserted into a hole in the bottom of the container, and the spherical body is pushed upward from the bottom hole by a spherical body push-up rod whose top surface is formed with a recess, so even if multiple spherical bodies are in the bottom hole, Even if the spherical object is inserted, the excess spherical object falls from the upper recess of the spherical object push-up rod, leaving only one spherical object in the upper recess. Since the spherical body push-up rod is elastically supported by the base via an elastic material, the vacuum suction cup descends and suctions the spherical body placed on the top surface of the push-up rod while pressing it against the top surface. At this time, the pressing force of the vacuum suction cup applied to the spherical body is alleviated by the elastic material. In other words, even if the spherical body varies in size, the variation in the pressing force of the vacuum suction cup against the spherical body due to the variation is relaxed and absorbed by the elastic material. Therefore,
Even if there are variations in the dimensions of the spherical bodies, no scratches or cracks will occur due to variations. That is, the spherical object transfer device of the present invention has the advantage of being able to adsorb spherical objects one by one to a plurality of suction cups and repeatedly transfer them to a predetermined location accurately and without causing any damage or cracks to the spherical objects. It has the same effect.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a sectional view explaining the positional relationship between the bottom hole of the container and the push-up rod in the initial state, and Figs. 3 and 4 are explanatory diagrams of its operation. It is. 1... Container, 2... Bottom, 3... Hole, 4... Push-up rod,
6... Spring spring, 8... Base, 10, 14, 1
7... Air cylinder, 11... Vibrator, 12... Suction cup holder, 13... Support frame, 15... Vacuum pipe, 16...
Pipe with suction cup, 16a...Rubber vacuum suction cup.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A container for accommodating a spherical object having a plurality of holes arranged in its bottom surface, a means for inserting spherical objects into each of the plurality of holes in the bottom surface by vibrating or tilting the container, and a top. A spherical body push-up rod having a concave portion on an end face and fitted into a plurality of holes of the container so as to be vertically movable, and a base that resiliently supports the spherical body push-up rod through an elastic material. a spherical body push-up rod protruding means for projecting the upper end concave surface of the spherical body push-up rod from the bottom surface of the container by moving the container downward relative to the base; A plurality of vacuum suction cups respectively positioned on the top, a suction cup holder that integrally holds these vacuum suction cups, and a suction cup holder vertical movement means that moves the suction cup holder up and down relative to the base. A spherical object transfer device comprising: a horizontal suction cup holder moving means for horizontally moving the suction cup holder horizontally relative to a base; and a control means for controlling on/off the vacuum suction of the vacuum suction cup.