JPH0790896B2 - Composite parts aligner - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial field of application) The present invention distinguishes the direction of a composite part such as a contact part formed by joining two materials, silver and copper, and determines the orientation of the composite part to be aligned in the same direction. The present invention relates to a composite part aligning device for taking out parts.

(Prior Art) A relay includes a contact part fixed to a terminal part.
FIG. 8 shows a make-break relay of such relays, in which a contact part having contacts on both sides is fixed to a central terminal part 2a, and only one side is a contact on both side terminal parts 2b. The contact point component 6 is fixed. Conventionally,
To attach a contact part of one side contact to a terminal part of a relay, generally, two small cylindrical materials of silver and copper are joined by crimping or the like, and at the same time, as shown in FIG. 9, the silver material part has a semi-spherical shape. Prepare a rivet-shaped contact part molded so that it becomes the top of the head, the bottom of the hemispherical head where the copper material part follows the silver material, and the columnar leg of smaller diameter. This is done by riveting the relay terminal parts.

However, various shapes of contact parts must be prepared depending on the type of terminal part. FIG. 9 shows an example of those contact parts. The one shown in FIG. 9 (A) is a standard one, whereas the one shown in FIG. 9 (B) is a leg. Has the same diameter as the standard contact piece, but with a smaller head and longer legs.
The contact part shown in FIG. 9 (B) has a drawback that the bonding force between the silver material and the copper material is weak because the head must be formed small.

In order to eliminate such a defect, a cylindrical contact part has been recently prepared in which silver and copper materials as shown in FIG. 10 are tightly pressure-bonded to each other by, for example, a cladding process and the like. It has come to be performed to supply to the rivet-shaped contact parts and process them into rivet-shaped contact parts. Then, at that time, it is necessary to align the cylindrical contact parts so that the silver portion is at the top. That is, since the silver parts of the contact parts must be supplied so that they are oriented in a hemispherical shape by the rivet forming machine, the contact parts are aligned in the same direction and supplied to the rivet forming machine.

(Problems to be solved by the invention) However, when the cylindrical contact parts are aligned and supplied to the rivet molding machine, it has been done so far by hand to align the contact parts in the same direction. It was a difficult task. Also, the contact parts themselves are extremely small, and the silver part and the copper part are distinguished from each other based on the color difference of these materials. I often made mistakes.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a composite part aligning device that determines the direction of a composite part such as a cylindrical contact part and takes out the composite parts aligned in the same direction.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a first pipe for supplying a rod-shaped composite component made of two kinds of materials having end portions joined to each other. And a plurality of first small holes at equal intervals in the periphery, and one first small hole is positioned below the tip of the first pipe and supplied from the first pipe. A rotatable circular table configured to be placed on a slide block disposed below and temporarily accommodated in the one first small hole; and the composite part including the one first When it is in the small hole, the discriminating device for discriminating the direction of the composite part and generating a signal, and the circular table rotating in either direction in response to the signal from the discriminating device are combined in the same direction. Rotating and sorting means for sorting parts and taking out composite parts at the rotated position Means,
The circular table is provided with an opening radially outward of each first small hole, and the discriminator is a part of the composite part housed in the one first small hole through the opening. And a light projecting device that gives light to the component, receives the light reflected from the composite component, and extracts the color component of the light to determine the material of the composite component,
And a color extracting device for generating a signal according to the color extracting device.

(Example) Next, this invention is demonstrated with reference to drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic front view showing the entire system of a composite component aligning device of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a front view showing details of main parts of the composite component aligning device, and FIG. 3 is a composite component aligning device. FIG. 5 is a plan view showing details of main parts of the apparatus, FIG. 4 is a side view showing details of main parts of the composite component aligning apparatus, and FIG.
FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view in a radial direction passing through a small hole portion of a circular table of a composite part aligning device, and FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of a small hole portion of a circular table of the composite part aligning device as viewed from the outside in the radial direction. Yes, FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing the operation of the sorting and rotating means of the composite component aligning device.

First, the configuration of the composite component aligning device of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. A composite parts aligning device (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as a device) 10 has a base 12
Reference numeral 12 includes a table base 12a and a camera base 12b fixed to each other by screws (see FIG. 2). A bearing 14 is attached to the center of the table base 12a.
It is rotatably supported by. The stepping motor 20 is fixed to the motor base 50 below the bearing 14, and the motor base 50 is fixed to the table base 12a via the collar 52. Axis 18 of the circular table 16 mentioned above
Shaft 20 of stepper motor 20 via coupling 54
The circular table 16 is connected to a and is rotated by the stepping motor 20 in a certain angle in any direction, for example, in the forward direction (for example, clockwise direction) or the reverse direction (for example, counterclockwise direction) in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the circular table 16 has a plurality of circular small holes formed around the circular table 16 at equal intervals.
A composite component 8 such as a cylindrical contact component made of silver and copper is supplied from a pipe 24, which will be described later, into a small hole 46 having 46 and located at a left end position (accommodation position) indicated by a symbol “C” and is temporarily supplied. Housed in. Further, the positions on both sides of the code "C" indicated by the codes "D" and "E" are discharge positions, that is, when the rotary table 16 is rotated by a certain angle by the stepping motor 20 for the selection of composite parts, A discharge position where the small hole 46 located at the accommodation position indicated by the reference numeral "C" is brought (for example, a discharge position indicated by the reference numeral "D" in the forward rotation, and a discharge position indicated by the reference numeral "E" in the reverse rotation). Positions) at which the composite parts within the stoma are ejected.

The slide block 22 is attached to the table base 12a so that the slide surface is located immediately below the above-mentioned storage position. The slide block 22 is provided with a small hole (not shown) for discharging the composite component below the two discharge positions, and the slide block 22 is provided with the composite component 8 in the small hole 46 at the storage position. Support from below, the rotary table
The composite part 8 is slidably supported during rotation of 16.

A pipe 24 for supplying composite parts from a feeder (not shown) for supplying composite parts is provided above the storage position.
It is attached by 56, and the lower end of the pipe 24 is arranged so as to be directly above the small hole 46 in the storage position. Two speed control valves 26 (see FIGS. 1 and 4) of the air blowing device are attached to the pipe 24 so as to direct air toward the small hole 46 of the circular table 16 at the discharge position. Pipe 28 is a speed control valve so that it blows out
It is derived from 26. The speed adjusting valve 26 is connected to a compressor (not shown) via a pipe (not shown).

A transparent pipe 30 is arranged below the small hole of the slide block 22 at the discharge position on the forward rotation side indicated by the symbol “D”, and the transparent pipe 30 takes out the composite part from the discharge position, for example, The composite part is guided so as to feed the composite part, which is a contact part, to a rivet forming machine (not shown). A photo sensor 32 is arranged near the pipe 30 by an angle member 34 attached to the lower side of the camera base 12b. This photo sensor 32 is composed of a light emitting element 32a and a light receiving element 32b (shown by dotted lines in FIG. 3) arranged on both sides of the pipe 30, and it is possible to detect that the composite component momentarily blocks light from the light emitting element to the light receiving element. Detect and pipe composite parts
Detect passage within 30. In addition, this photo sensor 32
Not only detects the passage of the composite component, but also detects that the composite component is full in the pipe 30 and continues to be in the cutoff state, and also detects the full condition of the composite component.

Two photosensors 36 are attached to the table base 12a on the side opposite to the pipe 24 by photosensor attachment fittings 58, and each photosensor 36 includes a light emitting element 36a and a light receiving element 36b similar to the photosensor 32. . These photosensors 36 are arranged so as to detect the positions of the second small holes 48 formed inside the small holes 46 of the circular table 16 in the radial direction. Preferably, these two photosensors
The reference numeral 36 designates edges of the two second small holes 48 of the rotary table 16 opposite to each other (an edge on the side close to the edge or an edge on the side away from each other).
Since the optical axes thereof are aligned in close proximity to each other, the area where the two photosensors 36 simultaneously sense the light transmission state is set to be extremely narrow, and the circular table 16 can be accurately positioned. In addition, the photo sensor as described above
When the arrangement of 36 is adopted, the rotation direction of the circular table 16 can also be detected. That is, since one of the photosensors 36 is initially in the light-shielding state depending on the rotation direction, the rotation direction is determined by detecting the order of the light-shielding states of these photosensors. This rotation direction is detected, for example,
It can be used to monitor whether or not it matches the rotation command signal of the rotary table 16.

A camera 38 having, for example, a CCD solid-state image pickup device is attached to the camera base 12b. In this camera 38, light projected from a light projecting device 44 arranged in a proper position as indicated by an arrow A is combined with the composite component 8 Upon receiving the light, the reflected light is received as shown by the arrow B. The light received by the camera 38 is converted into an electric signal through the CCD solid-state image sensor, and the monitor TV 42
Is transmitted to the control unit 40 having

In particular, referring to FIG. 5, which is an enlarged radial cross-sectional view through the small hole portion of the circular table, an opening 46a is formed in the small hole 46 of the circular table 16 from its lower portion toward the outer side in the radial direction. There is. Light from the above-mentioned light projecting device strikes the composite component 8 through the opening 46a, and reflected light is directed to the camera 38. Therefore, the camera 38 is attached to the camera base 12b so that the focal axis of the camera 38 passes through the opening 46a. Also, as is clear from FIG. 5, the opening
46a is for the direction in which the silver part of the composite component 8 is at the lower end,
It is dimensioned to expose both the silver and the copper overlying it, and as a result will have a window that limits the camera's field of view to either area of the silver or the copper, as will be described later. Can be set selectively.

Further, as is clear from FIG. 5, with the composite component 8 mounted on the slide block 22, the small hole of the circular table 16 is
The thickness of the circular table 16 is set so as to project slightly upward from 46. Since the composite part 8 projects slightly from the small hole 46, the following next composite part 8 rests on the composite part 8 in this small hole 46, but when the rotary table 16 is rotated, The composite part 8 in 46 slides against the underside of the next composite part 8, then the next composite part 8 rests on its slightly lower upper surface of the circular table 16 in its stowed position, and the circular table 16 Since it comes to slide on the lower surface of the composite component 8, it does not hinder the rotation of the circular table 16. Then, when the circular table 16 is rotated by a predetermined angle, the next composite component falls and is accommodated in the small hole 46 brought to the accommodation position.

Next, a discriminating device for discriminating the orientation of the composite part used in the device 10 of the present invention will be described. The discriminator is
Basically, different characteristics (material, color, reflectance, etc.)
Any suitable one may be used as long as it can determine the orientation of the composite part including at least two substances having
However, in order to determine the orientation of a composite part such as a silver-copper contact part, it has been experimentally found that accurate judgment without malfunction can be obtained if the judgment is made based on the difference in color tone. Therefore, it is preferable that such a discriminating apparatus is used in the present invention. Therefore, a discrimination device based on color extraction detection will be described as a preferred embodiment. This discriminating device comprises, as a mechanical configuration, the camera 38, the camera controller having the monitor television 42, and the light projecting device 44 which have already been described. First, the discriminant value (upper and lower limit values) of the color of the silver part and the copper part of the composite part of the standard sample is R (red) -B (blue)-
It is set for the item of Y (yellow). This means that the windows 60 and 62 are set in the corresponding regions with respect to the field of view of the camera 38 as shown in FIG. 6 when the light is projected from the light projecting device 44 to the composite component through the opening 46a. For the silver part, and for the window 62, the discriminant value of the copper part. For the image pickup from the window 60 or 62 into the camera 38, each item of R-B-Y converted into an electric signal through the CCD solid-state image sensor of the camera 38 is stored in the nonvolatile memory of the camera control unit 40. Is stored as a discriminant value. Further, the monitor television 42 is used as a monitor when adjusting a color to be extracted or setting a window. If the discriminant value (upper and lower limit values) of the item R-B-Y set in this way is compared with the value of the item R-B-Y obtained from the composite part to be discriminated, it should be discriminated. If the value from the composite part is within the range of the upper and lower limits, it is determined that it is a silver part or a copper part, and if it is not within the range, it is determined that it is not a silver part or a copper part.

Incidentally, the apparatus of the present invention, in order to determine the orientation of the composite component, to continuously and smoothly select the composite component of the same direction,
In addition to the above-mentioned discriminant value, a discriminant value indicating whether or not the composite part exists in the small hole 46 is also set. This discriminant value is set, for example, when both the silver portion and the copper portion (the copper portion can be arranged in the window 60 by reversing the direction of the composite part) in the window 60. It is obtained by

Next, referring to FIG. 7, the rotation selection means using the discriminant value of the discriminator (the vertical direction of the composite part using the discriminant value of the discriminator (for example, a desired direction, a reverse direction) Orientation, unrecognizable orientation) is determined, and the composite component in the desired direction is rotated in one direction, and the other composite component is rotated in the other direction. The operation of (selecting) will be described.

The discriminator sets in advance a discriminant value indicating the presence of the composite part in the small hole of the circular table, a discriminant value indicating the silver portion and a discriminant value indicating the copper portion.

Step S1: First, it is judged whether or not the composite part exists in the small hole of the circular table by comparing the preset judgment value with the value obtained by the image pickup of the camera on the window 60. Then, when it is confirmed that the composite part is present in the small hole, the process proceeds to the next step.

Step S2: In order to confirm whether or not the silver portion of the composite part is at the lower end in the small hole, the value obtained from the image pickup of the camera with respect to the window 60 and the value regarding the preset silver portion are compared and obtained. If the value is within the set upper and lower limit values, it is determined to be a silver portion, and if it is not within the range, it is determined to be not a silver portion. If it is a silver portion, proceed to step S3. If it is not a silver portion, step S4.
Proceed to.

Step S3: To determine if the copper part of the composite part is above the silver part in the stoma, the value obtained from the camera imaging on the window 62 is compared with the value for the preset copper part. When the obtained value is within the set upper and lower limit values, it is determined that it is a copper portion, and when it is not within the range, it is determined that it is not a copper portion. If it is a copper part, the process proceeds to step S5, and if it is not a copper part, the process proceeds to step S4.

Step S4: If it is determined in step S2 or step S3 that it is not the silver part or the copper part, it is not sure that the composite part is oriented so that the silver part is at the lower end and the copper part is at the upper part. It is not allowed and must be discharged without sending it to the rivet machine. As a result, the stepping motor 20 is rotated in the opposite direction to bring the small hole 46 at the storage position "C" of the circular table 16 to the discharge position "E".

Step S5: In Step S2 and Step S3, those determined to be the silver portion and the copper portion, respectively,
It is recognized that the composite part is oriented so that the silver portion is at the bottom and the copper portion is at the top. Therefore, the stepping motor 20 is rotated in the forward direction in order to send the composite part in the storage position “C” to the rivet forming machine, and the rotary table 16 is rotated.
The small hole 46 at the storage position "C" is brought to the discharge position "D" provided below by the extraction pipe 30. In this way, the composite parts in the same direction are selected.

Step S6: The composite part brought to the discharge position "D" is sent to the rivet forming machine through the pipe 30, and the photo sensor 32 determines whether or not the composite part has passed through the pipe. . In the case where the passage is confirmed and the stepping motor is rotated in the opposite direction in step S4, the next cycle is continued to determine the next composite part. On the other hand, if the passage is not confirmed or the inside of the pipe 30 is found to be full (the photo sensor remains in the light-shielded state), the process proceeds to step S7.

Step S7: If the passage of the composite parts is not confirmed, some trouble may occur, and when the composite parts are full, further sorting cannot be continued, so that the operation is stopped.

Next, the operation of the apparatus 10 of the present invention will be outlined. The composite component 8 supplied from the feeder (not shown) through the pipe 24 is stored in the small hole at the storage position "C" of the circular table 16. , Supported by the slide block 22. In this state, the orientation of the composite component is determined by the determination device including the camera 38, the camera control unit 40, and the light projecting device 44. Then, when it is confirmed that the silver part of the composite part is at the lower end and the copper part is at the upper part, the stepping motor 20 is rotated in the forward direction by a certain angle and the inside of the small hole 46 of the circular table 16 is rotated. The composite parts of are brought to the discharge position "D". At this time, the photo sensor 36 contributes to accurate positioning of the circular table 16. The composite parts, which have come to the discharge position "D", fall in the pipe by their own weight or with the help of the air blowing device 26, and are sent to a rivet forming machine (not shown). Photosensor 32 shows the passage of composite parts through the pipe.
Once sensed by and confirmed to pass, the next cycle continues, but if not confirmed or full, operation is stopped. On the other hand, when the orientation of the composite part is opposite or unknown, the stepping motor 20 is rotated in the opposite direction to bring the composite part to the ejection position "E",
From there, it is discharged into a saucer, for example.

(Effects of the Invention) As described in detail above, according to the present invention, a composite component aligning device that determines the orientations of composite components and sorts composite components in the same direction is provided, and the composite components are automatically aligned without error. By doing so, it is possible to eliminate the difficult, time-consuming, and erroneously arranging work that has been performed manually.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic front view showing the entire system of the composite component aligning device of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a front view showing details of main parts of the composite component aligning apparatus. FIG. 3 is a plan view showing details of a main part of the composite component aligning device. FIG. 4 is a side view showing details of main parts of the composite component aligning apparatus. FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view in the radial direction passing through a small hole portion of a circular table of the composite component aligning device. FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of the small hole portion of the circular table of the composite component aligning device as viewed from the outside in the radial direction. FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing the operation of the sorting / rotating means of the composite component aligning device. FIG. 8 is a schematic plan view of a relay in which rivet-shaped contact parts are used. FIG. 9 is a side view of the rivet-shaped contact part. FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a composite component aligned by the composite component aligning device of the present invention. 8 …… Composite parts, 10 …… Composite parts aligner, 12 …… Base, 16 …… Rotary table, 20 …… Stepping motor, 22 …… Slide block, 24 …… Composite parts supply pipe, 26 …… Air Blow-off speed control valve, 28 …… pipe, 30 …… pipe, 32 …… photo sensor, 34 …… angle member, 36 …… photo sensor, 38 …… camera, 40 …… camera control unit, 42 …… monitor TV , 44 ... Projector, 46 ... Small hole, 48 ... Second small hole, A, B ... Arrow, C ... Storage position, D, E ... Discharge position.

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A first pipe for supplying a rod-shaped composite part composed of two kinds of materials having end portions joined to each other,
A plurality of first small holes are provided at equal intervals in the periphery, and one first small hole is positioned below the tip of the first pipe to lower the composite part supplied from the first pipe. A rotatable circular table configured to be placed on a slide block disposed in the first small hole and temporarily accommodated in the one first small hole; and the composite part including the one first small hole. When in the hole, a discriminating device that discriminates the orientation of the composite component to generate a signal, and the composite table in the same direction by rotating the circular table in either direction in response to the signal from the discriminating device. The rotary table has a rotary selecting means for selecting and a take-out means for taking out the composite component at the rotated position, and the circular table is provided with an opening radially outward of each of the first small holes, and the discrimination is performed. The device is a composite part housed in the one first stoma through the opening. A light projecting device for giving light to a part, and a light extracting device for receiving the light reflected from the composite part, extracting the color component of the light to determine the material of the composite part, and generating a signal according to it. A composite parts aligning device characterized by the above. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising positioning means for positioning the circular table, the positioning means forming second small holes inside each of the first small holes of the circular table. An apparatus comprising two photosensors for respectively detecting the positions of two small holes of the holes. 3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein each photosensor is arranged to simultaneously detect light passing near edges of two of the second small holes opposite to each other. A device characterized by the above. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the take-out means is a transparent second pipe arranged below the first small hole at a rotated position, and the second pipe is provided with light. A device characterized by being transparent and sensing the passage of a composite part. 5. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein air is blown toward the composite part in the first small hole in the rotated position to assist in taking out the composite part. An apparatus characterized in that it further comprises air blowing means. 6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the circular table is rotated by a constant angle by a stepping motor.