JPH0641082B2 - Feeding mechanism - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The feeding mechanism of the present invention will be described according to the following items.

A. Industrial application fields B. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION C. Prior art D. Problems to be Solved by the Invention E. Means for Solving Problems F. Example [FIGS. 1 to 12] a. Structure [FIGS. 1 to 3] b. Operation [FIGS. 4 to 10] b-1. First operation example [FIGS. 4 to 6] b-2. Second operation example [FIGS. 7 to 10] c. Example of use [FIGS. 11 and 12] d. Action G. EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION (A. Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a novel feed mechanism, and more particularly to a novel feed mechanism that has a simple structure and control and can perform complicated feed operations such as a change in feed pitch.

(B. Outline of the Invention) The feed mechanism of the present invention has a simple structure and control and can perform a complicated feed operation such as a change in feed pitch. A main moving body guided in a direction can be reciprocated by a main moving body driving means, and a sub moving body guided by the guide means is provided on one side of the main moving body. Clamping means for fixing the position with respect to the guide means to each of the sub-moving bodies, and having a stopper for stopping against the sub-moving bodies, the stopper is provided with a predetermined stroke along the same direction as the guiding direction by the guide means. A fixed pitch feed means capable of reciprocating movement is provided on the main moving body, and the stopper can fix the positional relationship between the stopper and the sub moving body. It is characterized in that it is provided with a means.

(C. Prior Art) A feed mechanism that can sequentially change the feed pitch is used for assembling and aligning parts. There are various types of such variable pitch type feed mechanisms. The first type is provided with a large number of stoppers that define stop positions of heads and the like, and switches the stoppers that stop the heads and the like (multi-stopper type).
Is. In such a feed mechanism, the number of stoppers must be increased as the number of stop positions (in other words, the number of changes in the feed pitch) increases, which causes a problem of increase in manufacturing cost.

Further, there is a second type in which a motor is used and the feed pitch can be freely controlled by an electronic circuit. Such a feed mechanism is excellent in that the feed pitch can be freely changed, but the control becomes complicated and the IC
It requires an expensive circuit. Therefore, there is a problem that the price becomes very high. Further, as a third type, there is one that is composed of a motor and an air cylinder, or a servo system using only the air cylinder as a drive source. Such a feeding mechanism is also complicated in control and is expensive to manufacture.

There is a feed mechanism used for pick and place that uses a cam, but a feed mechanism that uses such a cam cannot change the feed pitch and cannot be applied to a variable pitch type.

(D. Problems to be Solved by the Invention) As described above, conventionally, the feed mechanism capable of changing the feed pitch must complicate the mechanical structure, or the control part such as the control circuit is complicated. However, there has been no feed mechanism that has a simple structure and is capable of performing complicated feed operations such as changing the feed pitch.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a novel feeding mechanism which has a simple structure and control and can perform a complicated feeding operation such as changing the feeding pitch.

(E. Means for Solving the Problems) In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the feeding mechanism of the present invention uses the main moving body driving means to move the main moving body guided in the predetermined direction by the guide means in one moving area. A clamp for enabling reciprocating movement by means of a sub-moving body guided by the guide means on one side of the main moving body, and fixing the position of the sub-moving body to the guide means to each of the main moving body and the sub-moving body. Means for moving the fixed-pitch feed means for reciprocating the stopper with a predetermined stroke along the same direction as the guide direction by the guide means. It is characterized in that it is provided on the body, and further that the stopper is provided with a locking means capable of fixing the positional relationship between the stopper and the driven body.

Therefore, according to the feeding mechanism of the present invention, the driving operation by the main moving body driving means, the clamping or unclamping operation of each clamping means, the reciprocating movement operation of the constant pitch feeding means, and the locking or unlocking operation of the locking means are appropriately timed. , The main moving body is reciprocated so that the reciprocating stroke thereof changes by the feed pitch of the pitch feeding means while effectively utilizing the follower moving body as will be described later. It can be moved by the feed pitch of.

(F. Embodiment) [FIGS. 1 to 12] The feed mechanism of the present invention will be described below with reference to an embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings.

(A. Structure) [FIGS. 1 to 3] FIGS. 1 to 3 show an embodiment 1 of the feed mechanism of the present invention.

The main feeding mechanism 1 is supported by mounting pieces 3 and 4 at both ends of a plate-shaped base 2. Reference numerals 5 and 6 denote guide shafts horizontally and parallelly supported between the mounting pieces 3 and 4, and the movable table 7 and the stopper block 8 are slidably supported by the pair of guide shafts 5 and 6. It

The moving table 7 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and has guide holes 9 and 10 into which the guide shafts 5 and 6 are slidably fitted. And 6 slidably supported.

Reference numeral 11 denotes a constant-pitch feed portion provided substantially in the center of the upper surface of the moving table 7, and has a protruding rod 12 that reciprocates with a constant stroke by, for example, air. The constant pitch feed section 11 is provided on the moving table 7 in such a direction that the rod 12 is parallel to the sliding direction of the moving table 7 and projects obliquely downward and leftward in FIG. still,
The stroke of the rod 12 can be adjusted during setup. In the description of this embodiment, the diagonally lower left side in FIG. 1 will be referred to as the front side, and the diagonally upper right side in FIG. 1 will be referred to as the rear side.

Reference numeral 13 denotes a plate-shaped stopper fixed to the tip of the rod 12, and a lock portion support plate 14 extending forwardly at the upper end edge thereof.
Are integrally formed.

A lock portion 15 is supported on the upper surface of the lock portion support plate 14, and has an engagement pin 17 that projects downward through a pin insertion hole 16 of the support plate 14. The lock portion 15 reciprocates the engagement pin 17 with a constant stroke by, for example, an electromagnetic force, and when the engagement pin 17 moves downward, it is brought into a locked state in which it engages with an engagement hole of the stopper block 8 described later. When it moves upward, it is unlocked.

Reference numeral 18 denotes a clamp device, which is provided at one corner of the upper surface of the moving table 7 and is driven by, for example, air or electromagnetic force to form a part of the moving table 7 and form a guide shaft
Works to clamp the. Reference numeral 19 is a notch groove provided so as to partition the portion of the moving table 7 where the clamp device 18 is provided and the portion on the front side thereof. When the movable table 7 is clamped to the guide shaft 5 by the operation of the clamp device 18, the position of the movable table 7 is fixed. In addition, this clamp device 18
Since the operating principle of is the same as that of the clamp device of the stopper block 8 which will be described later, its driving principle will be described when the clamp device of the stopper block 8 is described. Reference numerals 20 and 20 denote support rods formed to project on the upper surface of the moving table 7. The support rods 20 and 20 support a work head support plate or the like (not shown in FIGS. 1 to 3). Since the essence of the present invention is not in the work content of the working head, detailed description of the structure and operation of the working head will be omitted.

8 is a stopper block having guide holes 21 and 22 into which the guide shafts 5 and 6 are slidably fitted,
The guide shafts 5 and 6 are slidably supported on the front side of the moving table 7. Reference numeral 23 is an engaging hole formed in a substantially central portion of the upper surface of the stopper block 8,
The engagement pin 17 of the lock portion 15 is engaged with the engagement hole 23. Reference numeral 24 is a clamp device provided on the upper surface of one end of the stopper block 8, and serves to clamp a part of the stopper block 8 by air or electromagnetic force so that the guide shaft 5 is clamped. Reference numeral 25 denotes a notch groove that extends from one end surface of the stopper block 8 to the guide hole 21 and divides one end portion of the stopper block 8 into an upper half portion 26a and a lower half portion 26b.
The half groove 26a, 26b by the cut groove 2 between them.
When the groove width of No. 5 is tightened so that the groove width becomes narrow, the guide shaft 5 is clamped by the half portions 26a and 26b. It should be noted that the cut groove 25 is also formed in the portion of the moving table 7 where the clamp device 18 is provided (the portion behind the cut groove 19).
A notch groove (not shown in the drawing) corresponding to is formed, and the guide shaft 5 can be clamped by clamping the guide shaft 5 at the upper half portion and the lower half portion separated by the notch groove by the clamp device 18. It is like this.

Reference numeral 27 denotes a table feeding device, which is composed of, for example, an air cylinder, and can reciprocate the feeding rod 28. The table feed device 27 is attached to the rear surface of the attachment piece 3, the feed rod 28 is inserted into a rod insertion hole 28a formed in the center of the attachment piece 3, and the tip of the feed rod 28 is fixed to the rear surface of the moving table 7. There is. Then, the moving table 7 is reciprocally moved by the table feeding device 27 via the feeding rod 28.

29 and 30 are stop means provided on the mounting pieces 3 and 4, both of which are rods 31 and 31 having thread grooves formed on their outer peripheral surfaces.
Is screwed into the screw holes 32 and 32 of the mounting pieces 3 and 4, and nuts 33 and 33 are screwed into the rod 31. The stop means 29 defines the rear movement limit point of the moving table 7, and the stop means 30 defines the front movement limit point of the stopper block 8.

(B. Operation) [FIGS. 4 to 10] (b-1. First operation example) [FIGS. 4 to 6] FIGS. 4 (A) to 4 (F) are views of the feeding mechanism 1. It is an operation | movement explanatory drawing explaining the operation example of 1 in order of operation | movement. It should be noted that, in the figure, only the elements necessary for the operation explanation are simply shown, and the elements unnecessary for the operation explanation are omitted. Further, for convenience, the clamp device 1 is formed by a figure composed of a rectangle and two diagonal lines thereof.
8 and 24 indicate the clamped state, but do not indicate the unclamped state.

(A) FIG. 4 (A) shows an initial state, in which the stopper block 8 is located at the front movement limit point stopped by the stop means 30, and the moving table 7 has its constant pitch feed portion 11 moved forward. In the state, that is, the rod 12 is protruded to the frontmost side, and is located at the rear movement limit point stopped by the stop means 29. That position will be referred to as the origin.

(B) Table feeding device 27 [not shown in FIG. 4] ] To move the moving table 7 forward. Then, the moving table 7 moves to a position where the stopper 13 is stopped by the stopper block 8 as shown in FIG. 4 (B).

(C) Next, as shown in FIG. 4 (C), the lock portion 15 of the moving table 7 is operated to bring the engaging pin 17 into the engaging hole 23 into a locked state, and further, the moving table 7 The clamp device 18 is operated to bring the movable table 7 into a clamped state in which the position is fixed.

(D) Next, the rod 12 of the constant pitch feed unit 11 is retracted. Then, the stopper block 8 in the unclamped state is retracted by the movement stroke of the rod 12 as shown in FIG. 4 (D).

(E) Next, as shown in FIG. 4 (E), the stopper block 8 is clamped to fix its position, and then the lock portion 15 is changed from the locked state to the unlocked state. The clamped state of 7 is released to make the movable table 7 movable.

(F) After that, the moving table 7 is moved backward by the table feeding device 27 and the rod 12 of the constant pitch feeding portion 11 is moved forward. Then, as shown in FIG. 4 (F), the moving table 7 returns to the origin, and the rod 12 of the constant-pitch feeding section 11 advances. This state is different from the initial state shown in FIG. 4 (A) in that the stopper block 8 is located on the rear side by one movement stroke of the rod 12 of the constant pitch feed section 11 and is in the clamped state. , Otherwise it is exactly the same. And after that,
Operations similar to those shown in FIGS. 4B to 4F are repeated. Then, the movement of the moving table becomes the movement shown in FIG. 5 (for convenience, this movement is referred to as "first movement"). That is, the moving table 7 located at the origin first reciprocates between the front side movement limit points, and then behind the front side movement limit point by one movement stroke of the rod 12 of the constant pitch feed unit 11. The reciprocating stroke of the moving table 7 such as reciprocating between the displaced position and the origin becomes shorter by one moving stroke of the rod 12.

FIG. 6 shows another way of moving the moving table 7 obtained by slightly changing the operation of the first example of operation shown in FIG. 4 (referred to as “second way of moving” for convenience). In the second movement method, the moving stroke when the moving table 7 reciprocates is lengthened by one moving stroke of the rod 12 of the constant pitch feed unit 11. In order to make such a movement, the stopper block 8 is clamped at an arbitrary position deviated rearward from the position stopped by the stop means 30 in the initial state shown in FIG. 4 (A). Position with. Further, the constant pitch feed unit 11 of the moving table 7 is set in a state where the rod 12 is retracted. When the moving table 7 is moved by the stopper block 8, the stopper block 8 is pushed forward instead of being pulled backward. By slightly differentiating the operation shown in FIG. 4 as described above, the movement shown in FIG. 6, that is, the movement stroke of the moving table 7 can be gradually lengthened. .

(B-2. Second operation example) [FIGS. 7 to 10] FIGS. 7A to 7E are operation explanatory views for explaining the second operation example of the feeding mechanism 1 in operation order. .

(A) FIG. 7 (A) shows an initial state, in which the stopper block 8 is in the clamped state at an intermediate position, that is, an arbitrary amount rearward of the front side movement limit point stopped by the stopper 30. ing. The movable table 7 has the constant pitch feed section 11 in the retracted state,
The position of the moving table 7 is the origin, that is, the stopper 2
It is in the position where it was stopped by 9.

(B) Table feeding device 27 (not shown in FIG. 7)
When the moving table 7 is moved forward by the moving table 7 as shown in FIG. 7B, the moving table 7 is moved forward by the stopper 13 to a position where it is stopped by the stopper block 8 and stops there. Next, the moving table 7 is clamped and its position is fixed.

(C) Next, the clamped state of the stopper block 8 is released, and thereafter, the stopper block 8 is moved forward by one constant stroke by the constant pitch feed section 11, and then the lock section 15 is brought into the locked state, as shown in FIG. ) Make the state as shown in.

(D) Next, as shown in FIG. 7 (D), the stopper block 8 is clamped to fix its position.

(E) Next, the clamped state of the moving table 7 is released, and thereafter, the rod 12 of the constant pitch feed portion 11 is moved backward to move the moving table 7 forward by one movement stroke of the rod 12. FIG. 7 (E) shows the state after the forward movement is completed.

After that, the operations shown in FIGS. 7C to 7F are repeated. Then, the movement table 7 moves as shown in FIG. 8 (for convenience, this movement is referred to as "third movement").
do. That is, the moving table 7 is the stopper block 8
After moving to the position where it is stopped by the constant pitch feed unit 11
Moves forward by the movement stroke of.

In addition, by changing a part of the operation shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 7, in order to move the moving table 7 backward by one moving stroke of the rod 12 of the constant pitch feeding section 11, the constant pitch feeding section 11 is normally kept in the forward movement state. (C) When the stopper block 8 is moved by the operation of the constant pitch feed section 11, the constant pitch feed section 11 retracts the stopper block 8, and
When the movable table 7 is moved by the operation of the constant pitch feed unit 11 of FIG. 7 (E), the rod 12 is moved forward to move the movable table 7 backward.

In this way, the moving table 7 can be moved forward by one stroke as shown in FIG. 8 or can be moved backward as shown in FIG.

It should be noted that the movement of the moving table 7 can be extremely controlled by appropriately combining the first operation example shown in FIG. 4 or an operation similar thereto with the second operation example shown in FIG. 7 or an operation similar thereto. It can have complicated movements. FIG. 10 shows an example of the complicated movement method (the movement method shown in FIG. 10 is referred to as “fifth movement method”). The movement of the moving table 7 basically follows the second movement shown in FIG. 6, but the moving destination of the moving table 7 moved from the origin is NG (no good [eg, parts to be fed by the feeding mechanism 1). Is not at the destination]], the moving table 7 for one stroke of the constant pitch feed unit 11 from the destination is displayed as shown in FIG.
Move forward and then return to the origin.

(C. Usage example) [Figs. 11 and 12] Fig. 11 shows one usage example of the feeding mechanism 1. In the figure, 34 is the rod 2 of the moving table 7.
A support plate fixed to 0 and 20 is a shaft vertical movement device 35 provided at the tip of the support plate 34, and vertically moves a chuck support shaft 36 attached thereto. Reference numeral 37 denotes a component gripping chuck provided at the lower end of the chuck support shaft 36, and serves to convey the components 41, 41, ... On the component mounting table 40 to the alignment claws 39, 39 on the alignment table 38. Fulfill.

In this application example, one feed mechanism 1 is used and parts 41, 41, ... Which are arranged in one row along the same direction as the feed direction.
.. are moved one by one in order from the distant one or the nearer one so that the parts 41 are aligned with each other.

FIG. 12 shows an application example in which two chucks 1, 1a are combined so that the chuck 37 can be moved in the XY direction. The chuck 1 is used as shown in FIG. For example, another feeding mechanism 1 similar to that
and the chuck 37 by the feed mechanism 1a.
Is moved in the X direction, and the chuck 37 is moved in the Y direction by the feed mechanism 1. With this configuration, the components 41 arranged vertically and horizontally on the component mounting table 40,
, 41 can be sequentially transported by the chuck 37 one by one onto the alignment table 38.

(D. Action) According to the above-described feeding mechanism, the position of one stopper block 8 is made immovable or movable by the clamp device 24, and the constant pitch feeding portion 11 provided on the moving table 7 and By moving the stopper block 8 by the movement of the lock portion 15, the position where the stopper block 8 moves as a stopper with respect to the moving table 7 can be changed by one movement stroke of the constant pitch feed portion 11. Therefore, the moving table 7
Can be reciprocated between the origin and the stopper block 8 first, and the movement stroke can be made to be successively shorter or longer by one movement stroke of the constant pitch feed section 11. Further, the moving table 7 is moved by following the stopper block 8 which is moved by one movement stroke of the constant pitch feeding section 11, so that the moving table 7 is moved by the constant pitch feeding section 1.
It is possible to move one by one movement stroke. Then, the moving amount of the moving table can be arbitrarily set by adjusting the moving stroke of the constant pitch feed unit 11 at the time of setup.

Further, in the main feed mechanism 1, even if the clamping operation of the clamping device 18 or 24 is incomplete and a slight deviation occurs in the movement of the moving table 7, the deviation causes the stopper block 8 to move to the front side. Since the correction is made when the position reached by the stop means 30 that defines the limit is reached, it is possible to prevent a minute deviation from accumulating and producing a very large deviation.

Since the moving table 7 and the constant pitch feed unit 11 are driven by air, compared to the case where a motor is used, the moving table 7 and the constant pitch feed unit 11 are excellent in high speed performance, have a good start-up, and have a sufficiently strong power, and yet have an abnormal load. Does not cause destruction accidents. Further, since the servo mechanism is not required, the control is easy, and the structure of the feed mechanism can be made simple in spite of the complicated operation, and the price can be lowered.

(G. Effect of the Invention) As is clear from the above description, the feed mechanism of the present invention reciprocates between the main moving body guided in the predetermined direction by the guide means within one moving region and the main moving body. A main moving body drive means that can be moved, a subsidiary moving body that is guided by the guide means on one side of the main moving body, and a clamp that can fix the position of the main moving body with respect to the guide means. Means, a clamp means capable of fixing the position of the sub-movement body with respect to the guide means, and a stopper for stopping against the sub-movement body, the stopper being provided along the same direction as the guiding direction by the guide means. Constant-pitch feed means attached to the main moving body, which is capable of reciprocating with a predetermined stroke, and the position of the stopper and the sub-moving body. It is characterized by comprising lock means capable of fixing the positional relationship.

Therefore, according to the feeding mechanism of the present invention, the driving operation by the main moving body driving means, the clamping or unclamping operation of each clamping means, the feeding operation of the constant pitch feeding means, and the locking or unlocking of the locking means are simple in structure. While making effective use of the sub-moving body by simple control for performing the operation at appropriate timing and order, the main moving body is reciprocally moved so that its reciprocating stroke changes by the feed pitch of the pitch feeding means, or fixed. It is possible to perform a complicated operation such as moving the pitch feed means by the feed pitch.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 to 3 show an embodiment of the feeding mechanism of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a perspective view, FIG. 2 is a plan view, FIG. 3 is a front view, and FIGS. F) is the first of the feeding mechanism of the present invention
5 is an explanatory view showing an example of the operation of the main moving body in order of operation, FIGS. 5 and 6 are explanatory views of the first and second movements of the main moving body, and FIGS. 7 (A) to 7 (E) are feed mechanisms of the present invention. And FIG. 8 to FIG. 10 are explanatory diagrams of the third to fifth movements of the main moving body, and FIG. 11 and FIG. 12 are each of the feeding mechanism of the present invention. It is a perspective view which shows the usage example of. Explanation of symbols 1, 1a ... Feed mechanism, 5, 6 ... Guide means, 7 ... Main moving body, 8 ... Slave moving body, 11 ... Constant pitch feeding means, 13 ... Stopper, 15 ... Lock Means, 18 ... Clamping means, 24 ... Clamping means, 27 ... Main moving body driving means

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A main moving body guided in a predetermined direction by a guide means within one moving area, a main moving body driving means capable of reciprocating the main moving body, and one of the main moving bodies. On the side, the subsidiary moving body guided by the guide means, the clamp means that can fix the position of the main moving body with respect to the guide means, and the position of the subsidiary moving body with respect to the guide means can be fixed. The main moving body, which has a clamp means and a stopper that is stopped by the sub-moving body, can reciprocate with a predetermined stroke along the same direction as the guide direction of the guide means. A fixed pitch feed means attached, and a lock means capable of fixing the positional relationship between the stopper and the slave moving body. Characteristic feeding mechanism