JPH0796402B2 - Parts transfer control method - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (A) Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a method of controlling the transfer of parts, and is used when a part supply pipe toward a device for consuming parts is extremely long. An example of the most representative target part is a projection nut that has welding protrusions with a length and width of 10 mm and a thickness of about 5 mm, and is suitable for supplying this to a consumer device that is 10 to 20 m away. ing.

(B) Conventional technology and its problems Conventionally, a component consuming device and a control unit that interrupts the passage of components are connected by a long component supply pipe, for example, extending up to 20 m. It was being sent individually.

In such a case, since it takes a long time to move the parts, the worker has to wait for the arrival of the parts, which is inefficient. As a countermeasure, a method is known in which some parts are placed in standby immediately before the consuming device, but it is particularly remarkable to properly replenish this standby number in relation to the consumed number. In the case of a long component supply pipe, there is no known related art in the range investigated by me.

(C) Means for Solving the Problem and Its Action The present invention is provided to solve the above-mentioned problems. The invention of claim 1 is a component connected to a component consuming device. The supply pipe is provided with a control unit for intermittently passing parts, and the detection sensor for detecting the number of parts waiting for the consumption device detects the shortage of the number of standby parts and the shortage number is counted by the operation sensor of the consumption device,
A method of setting a replenishment number by this and operating the control unit to satisfy the standby number,
The signal from the detection sensor is used to replenish the shortage of the waiting number. This replenishment is performed by counting the number to be replenished by the operation sensor attached to the consuming device, and replenishing the number according to the counted number.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a control unit for interrupting the passage of the component is provided in the component supply pipe connected to the component consumption device, and the standby number is detected by a detection sensor that detects the standby number of the component to the consumption device. The shortage of the number is detected and the number of the shortage is counted by the operation sensor of the consuming device, thereby setting the number of replenishments and operating the control unit to satisfy the standby number, which is sent from the control unit and passed through the component supply pipe. The method is characterized by detecting the counted number with a passage sensor and subtracting the counted number, wherein in addition to the function of claim 1, the number sent from the control unit and passed through the component supply pipe. Is detected and the subtraction is performed.

(D) Examples The present invention can be applied to various small parts such as bolts and washers. In the illustrated embodiment, the target part is a projection nut, and the nut is a welded nut. Supplied to the electrodes.

The fixed electrode 1 and the movable electrode 2 are paired, the steel plate component 3 is placed on the fixed electrode 1, and the guide pin 4 of the fixed electrode 1 penetrates the steel plate component 3 and projects as shown in the figure.

In order to supply the projection nut 5 to the guide pin 4, a nut feeder 6 which is a component consumption device.
Is installed. The nut feeder device 6 is of a type in which the nut 5 in the temporarily fixed state is skewered and supplied by the supply rod 7, and the supply rod 7 has a small-diameter guide portion 8 and a large-diameter rod that enter into the screw holes of the nut 5. Consisting of part 9,
An extrusion surface 10 is provided at the boundary between the guide portion 8 and the rod portion 9. The box-shaped head 11 is provided with an opening 12 serving as an outlet of the nut 5, and a stop plate 13 is fixed to an end portion of the head 11, to which a magnet (permanently) for temporarily locking the nut 5 is provided. Magnet 14) is buried. A guide cylinder 14 'is welded to the upper surface of the head 11, and the supply rod 7 is inserted therein.
Is housed. Air cylinder 15 for guide tube 14 '
A piston rod (not shown) of the air cylinder 15 is connected to the supply rod 7 (only shown in FIG. 1). When the supply rod 7 advances due to the output of the air cylinder 15, its guide portion 8 enters into the screw hole of the nut, and when the supply rod further advances, the pushing surface 10 hits the upper surface of the nut 5 and the attraction force of the magnet 14 is exerted. The nut 5 is pushed out against it, and is transferred from the state of FIG. 1 to the guide pin 4.

The component supply pipe 16 is made of a flexible material such as vinyl chloride or polypropylene, and its cross section is rectangular according to the shape of the nut. The component supply pipe 16 fitted in the head 11 is connected to a component feeder 18 via a control unit 17 which connects and disconnects the passage of components. The component supply pipe 16 is, for example, a long pipe having a length of 10 to 20 m, and by doing so, it is possible to supply a henatte at a place where the robot type welding machine is complicated.

Explaining the control unit 17, the component supply pipe 16 is fitted in a metal conduit 19 having a rectangular cross section, and the control members that move forward and backward into the conduit 19 are the first control member 20 and the second control member. The first control member is made of a thin round bar that enters into the screw hole of the nut 5, and is configured to be moved back and forth by an air cylinder 22. The second control member 21 is formed in a square shape so as to block the entire passage area when it enters the conduit 19, and is connected to the piston rod 24 of the air cylinder 23. In order to allow the passage of both control members 20 and 21, through holes 25,
26 is open. A bracket 27 is welded to the conduit 19 for fixing both air cylinders 22 and 23 to the conduit 19.
The nozzle 28 is welded in a state of penetrating the conduit 19,
The nut 5 that has passed through the control member 21 is accelerated and pressure-fed by the air injection from the nozzle 28. As shown in Fig. 1, when there is a part that is horizontally arranged in the component supply pipe 16 or when the nut must be pushed upward, it is necessary to convey air, but the nut should be placed almost directly below. On the other hand, it is also possible to stop the air transfer when the component supply pipe is relatively short.

Detection sensor PX ₁ , passage sensor PX ₂ and actuation sensor
LS, etc. are the presence or passage of nuts or air cylinders.
Any type may be used as long as it has a function of detecting the movement of the piston 15 and the like, but in this embodiment, the proximity switch serves as a sensor.

The detection sensor PX ₁ detects the number of nuts waiting for the nut feeder device 6, and in the case of FIG. 2, the number of waiting nuts is 6 (excluding the foremost nut), and the parts supply pipe 16
It is attached to the outer surface of the with a fixing band (not shown). The passage sensor PX ₂ is for detecting that the nut has been sent from the control unit 17 and has passed through the component supply pipe 16, and is attached in the same manner as the detection sensor PX ₁ . Further, the operation sensor LS is attached to the outer peripheral surface of the air cylinder 15 with a fixed band (not shown) or the like, and emits a signal when the piston in the cylinder passes.

Although the wiring circuit for the device shown is not shown, PX ₁
These sensors, timers, solenoid-type air switching valves, relays, and other ordinary electrical components are used to form a sequence circuit.

The operation of the entire apparatus described above will be described with reference to the flow chart of FIG. First, when an operator operates a start switch such as a foot switch and a switch ON signal is output, the air cylinder 15 operates and the nut feed CYL.
As the robot moves forward, the nut supply is completed while the timer TD ₁ is set for a certain period of time, and the air cylinder 15 operates again to restart nut feeding CYL. The operation sensor LS detects the operation of the air cylinder 15 at this time, a welding machine start signal is issued, the movable electrode 2 descends, and the nut 5 is welded to the steel plate part 3. The signal from the operation sensor LS is also used for counter addition, and counts how much the standby feeder 6 should be replenished. When the waiting number is a predetermined number as shown in FIG. 2, the detection sensor PX ₁ outputs a YES signal to perform counter reset and returns to the switch for the start signal. Therefore, there is no supplement to the waiting number.

When the waiting number falls below the specified number, the detection sensor PX ₁ becomes NO.
If it is a signal, the counter stores not the number of replenishment but the number of replenishment to be stored, so that the control unit 17 is opened and one nut 5 is sent to the component supply pipe 16 and set in advance. When the timer TD ₂ measures the nut sending time, the control unit 17 is closed this time and the sending of one set of nuts is completed. At the same time, air is jetted from the nozzle 28, and the timer TD measures the transfer time according to the length of the component supply pipe 16.
_{When 3} clocks, air injection is closed. At this time, since the passage sensor PX ₂ detects the passage of the nut, the number of memories of the counter is decremented by 1 according to the signal. Until the counter shows 0, the operations of the control unit 17 and the following are repeated and the waiting number is set to the predetermined amount.

(E) Effect According to the method of the present invention, the standby number of the consumption device is detected and the supplemental quantity of the component is detected from the operation frequency of the consumption device. Can be avoided and production efficiency can be improved, and at the same time, quantity detection is made at the source of consumption,
It is the most reliable replenishment quantity detection. Since the supply is replenished each time the number of standby units decreases, it is possible to prevent a situation in which the number of standby units becomes insufficient and it becomes impossible to supply components to the consumer device. Since the above advantages are obtained, smooth component supply can be achieved even if the component supply pipe is long.

Furthermore, since the number of passing parts supply pipes is detected and the number of replenishing parts is subtracted, the number of memories of the counter is subtracted due to the fact that parts are passing, and a reliable operation can be realized.

For example, if you want to replenish three, if the first one stops before the detection sensor PX ₁ for some reason and then stops inside the component supply pipe 16, it will be subtracted by the passage sensor PX ₂ . By passing the 2nd and 3rd counters, the counter will be in the 0 state, so it will not be replenished anymore, the clogging number will be 3 and the number of troubles will be reduced. Will be easier. If there is no subtraction by the passage sensor PX ₂ , the parts will be congested from the point where it gets caught to the entire parts supply pipe, and its own weight will cause the parts supply pipe to bend abnormally or the parts supply pipe to It is necessary to remove it and take out all the traffic jam parts, which is troublesome for post-processing.

In the initial state when such a device is newly installed, the control unit is opened by some method (for example, by opening it by hand).
If the memory capacity of the counter is 6 when the second part is passed, the number of waiting units will be 6 (that is, the counter will display 0) and the YES signal will be output from the PX ₁ or counter. Until it comes out, the initial number of standby units is automatically replenished, which simplifies the initial operation of the device.

[Brief description of drawings]

The drawings are embodiments of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a general side view, FIGS. 2 and 3 are partial longitudinal side views, and FIG. 4 is a flow chart. 5 ... parts, 6 ... consumer, 16 ... parts supply pipe, 17 ...
… Control unit, PX ₁ …… Detection sensor, LS …… Actuation sensor, PX ₂ …… Passage sensor.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A component supply pipe connected to a component consuming device is provided with a control unit for interrupting passage of the component, and a detection sensor for detecting the standby number of the component to the consuming device detects a shortage of the standby number. At the same time, the deficient number is counted by the operation sensor of the consuming device, thereby setting the replenishment number and operating the control unit to satisfy the standby number. 2. A component supply pipe connected to a component consuming device is provided with a control unit for interrupting passage of the component, and a shortage of the standby number is detected by a detection sensor for detecting the number of components waiting for the consuming device. At the same time, the deficient number is counted by the operation sensor of the consuming device, thereby setting the replenishment number and operating the control unit to satisfy the standby number, and passing the number sent from the control unit and passed through the component supply pipe. A component transfer control method, wherein the count number is subtracted by detecting with a sensor.