JP2997864B2 - Screw discriminator - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a screw discriminating apparatus capable of automatically and instantly recognizing the presence or absence of a screw thread, the total length and diameter of a screw without contacting the screw.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, the overall length and diameter of a screw are measured by a micrometer or a caliper, but the efficiency is low due to manual measurement.

In order to accurately measure the outer diameter and effective diameter of a screw, various types of dedicated optical screw discriminating devices using a laser beam or the like have been proposed. For example, a screw discriminating device described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-147834 includes a movable support device for a screw, a measuring device for measuring a moving amount of the device, and a standard for inputting data from the measuring device and conforming to a standard. It is composed of an arithmetic control unit and the like for performing collation.

[0004]

According to the above-mentioned screw discriminating device (described in JP-A-6-147834), the outer diameter, the effective diameter, the pitch, the angle of the thread, the diameter and the shape of the valley, etc. are optically determined. Although accurate measurement can be performed, on the other hand, there are drawbacks in that the overall configuration is large, the measurement speed is low, and the price of the apparatus is high.

An object of the present invention is to provide a screw discriminating apparatus capable of checking the above items instantaneously while narrowing down the screw discriminating items to the presence / absence of a screw thread, the diameter and the overall length, and making the whole apparatus a simple structure. The purpose is.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a screw discriminating apparatus according to the present invention comprises a screw having a diameter slightly larger than the diameter of a screw to be measured and arranged along a vertical line. A passage, an intermittent supply means for supplying the screw one at a time to the upper end of the drop passage, a first light emitting element array and a first light receiving member arranged on both sides of the drop passage in parallel with the drop passage It is characterized by comprising an element row, and a second light emitting element row and a second light receiving element row disposed on both sides of the fall path perpendicular to the drop path.

[0007]

The intermittent supply means supplies the screws located at the lowermost end of the screws arranged along the vertical line one by one to the falling passage.

Next, a light beam is emitted from the first and second light emitting element arrays toward the screw that is naturally falling along the falling path.

Each light beam is received by the first and second light receiving element rows while being partially blocked by the screw.

The amount of light emitted from each light emitting element array is compared with the variation in the amount of light received by each light receiving element array to calculate the presence or absence of a screw and the diameter and length of the screw.

[0011]

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 1, the screw discriminating device 1 forms a drop passage 6 for the screw A below the intermittent supply means 2 for the screw A, and performs a first light projection so as to sandwich the drop passage 6 from right and left. The element array 8 and the first light receiving element array 9 are arranged, and the second light emitting element array 10 and the second light receiving element array 11 are arranged adjacent to the element array 8 so as to sandwich the drop passage 6 from right and left. The whole is configured.

The intermittent supply means 2 is provided for a group of about 30 screws A, which are arranged vertically in the same direction on the vertical line, that is, in the same direction along the longitudinal direction of the screws. 1 includes a first slide plate 3 and a second slide plate 4 which are attached to the left and right directions by an electromagnetic actuator 5 so as to be able to move in and out. The tips of the first and second slide plates 3 and 4 are formed to be thin. In particular, in the case of the second slide plate 4, between the screw A1 at the lowermost end and the screw A2 immediately above the screw A1. It can be inserted.

The drop passage 6 of the screw A is formed by a pipe having a diameter slightly larger than the diameter of the screw A to be measured, so that the screw A can be supplied downward along a vertical line without turning over each screw.

As shown in FIG. 2, the first light emitting element array 8 irradiates the entire axis of the falling screw A1 with the laser beam L1, so that it is at least longer than the length of the screw to be measured. , A large number of light emitting elements such as light emitting diodes, which are arranged in a straight line.
It is arranged vertically so as to be parallel to. The first light-receiving element row 9 has the same length as the first light-emitting element row 8,
A large number of light receiving elements such as a CCD (Electrical Coupling Element) are arranged in a straight line. The light receiving elements are opposed to the first light emitting element row 8 in parallel and are vertically long so as to be parallel to the drop passage 6. Has been established.

The second light emitting element array 10 emits the laser beam L2 to the entire diameter of the axis of the falling screw A, so that the light is emitted so as to be longer than at least the maximum width of the screw to be measured. A large number of light projecting elements, such as diodes, are arranged in a straight line, and are arranged horizontally long so as to be perpendicular to the falling path 6. The second light receiving element array 11 is formed by arranging a large number of light receiving elements such as CCDs in a straight line so as to have the same length as the second light emitting element array 11. The drop passage 6 faces the element row 10 in parallel.
It is arranged horizontally so as to be vertical.

Light emitting element rows 8, 10 and light receiving element rows 9, 1
Distributing part 13 of screw A is connected below 1.
The distribution unit 13 can switch between a supply pipe 15 for non-defective products and a discharge pipe 16 for defective products by a panel 14, for example.

The electromagnetic actuator 5, which slides the slide plates 3, 4, the light projecting element rows 8, 10, the light receiving element rows 9, 11, and the distribution section 13 are connected to a control section 18,
Each is operated as described below. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4A, a description will be given of a measurement in a case where a screw A (M6 × 20 mm hexagon socket head cap screw) having a predetermined length formed with a screw is a good product.

As shown in FIG. 1 (a), the second slide plate 4 is pulled out from between the screw A1 and the screw A2, and the first slide plate 3 is inserted into the inside of the drop passage 6, and the first slide plate 3 is inserted. The state in which the lowermost screw A1 is placed on the slide plate 3 is an initial state.

From this initial state, as shown in FIG. 1B, the controller 18 is operated to insert the second slide plate 4 between the screw A1 and the screw A2, and as shown in FIG. To
A laser beam L1 is emitted from the first light emitting element array 8 toward the first light receiving element array 9 and a laser beam L2 is emitted from the second light emitting element array 10 toward the second light receiving element array 11. . Next, as shown in FIG. 1 (c), the first slide plate 3 is pulled out from the screw A1, and the lowermost screw A1 is naturally dropped along the falling path 6 and is conveyed downward.

The screw A1 is, as shown in FIG.
The laser beams L1 and L2 emitted from the second light emitting element rows 8 and 10 are blocked toward the distribution unit 13 while being blocked. At this time, the first and second light receiving element rows 9 and 11
Receives the laser beams L1 and L2 leaking from above and below and from the left and right of the falling screw A1.

The control unit 18 processes signals from the first and second light emitting element arrays 8, 10 and the first and second light receiving element arrays 9, 11 to calculate the total length of the screw A1 and the screw A1. The outer diameter (different type discrimination level) and whether a screw portion is formed on the dropped screw A1 is measured.

That is, when the screw A1 falls, the laser beam L1 leaking from the upper end and the lower end of the screw A1 is transmitted to the first
The light receiving element array 8 receives the light, and the control unit 18 calculates the amount of received light, so that the entire length of the screw A1 is measured with high accuracy.

When the screw A1 falls, the laser beam L2 leaking from the left end and the right end of the screw head is received by the second light emitting element array 10, and the amount of received light is calculated by the control unit 18. Thereby measuring the maximum outer diameter of the screw A1, that is, the diameter of the head.

Further, when the screw A1 falls, the laser beam L2 leaking from the left end and the right end of the shaft is received by the second light emitting element array 10, and the amount of received light is calculated by the control unit 18. The outer diameter of the shaft and the presence or absence of a screw are measured.
Regarding the presence or absence of this screw, at least half or more of the screw thread is confirmed.

For example, as shown in (a), (c), and (d) in FIG. 4, in the case of screws A, C, and D in which a screw is formed on the shaft portion, as shown in FIG. In addition, the amount of received light fluctuates in a wave-like manner corresponding to the peaks and valleys of the shaft portion, and when the amount of the fluctuation is a predetermined value, it is determined that the screw to be measured is the normal screw A1.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4B, in the case of the screw B having no screw formed in the shaft portion, FIG.
As shown in (1), since the amount of received light keeps a constant value, it is determined to be defective.

3 (a) and 3 (b), the vertical axis shows the output (V) of the photodetector of the received laser beam L, and the height of this voltage is proportional to the length of the screw. When the voltage is low, the total length of the screw to be measured is long as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, and when the voltage is high, the total length of the screw to be measured is shown in FIGS. 4C and 4D. So short. For this reason, as shown in FIGS.
Does not reach the predetermined voltage and is determined to be defective.

In the present embodiment, the measuring operation of the screw described above is performed one by one every one second, but the measuring time can be adjusted appropriately according to the type of the screw to be detected.

As a result of the measurement, for example, when it is determined that the screw A1 to be measured is a non-defective product, the panel 14 is tilted toward the discharge pipe 16 by a signal from the control unit 18, and the measured screw A1 is used for a non-defective product. Through the supply pipe 15.
Further, as a result of the measurement, when it is determined that the screw A1 to be measured is defective, the panel 14 is controlled by a signal from the control unit 18.
Is tilted toward the supply pipe 15 and the measured screw A1
Are discharged through a discharge pipe 16 for defective products.

As described above, according to the present invention, while having a very simple structure, the lowermost screw A is naturally dropped one by one into the drop passage 6, and the falling screw A1 is vertically and horizontally applied to the laser beam L1, By irradiating L2 and calculating the variation in the amount of received light, the presence or absence of a screw portion and the determination of a similar foreign product can be determined.
Instant and reliable.

During the measurement of the screw A1, the control unit 18
The electromagnetic actuator 5 is operated so that the first slide plate 3 is inserted into the inside of the drop passage 6 and the second slide plate 4 is pulled out of the drop passage 6. Then, the state is returned to the initial state shown in FIG. 1A again, and then the screw A2 located at the lowermost end is measured as described above.

By repeating the timing of inserting and removing the slide plates 3 and 4 in this manner, 30 screws A
Are measured one by one in order from the bottom.

In particular, this embodiment can be easily incorporated in-line because of its small size, and can easily and quickly remove defective products. As a result, defective or different types of screws are mixed into specific types of screws and do not flow to subsequent processes.
Trouble occurrence and loss can be prevented beforehand.

[0034]

According to the present invention, the screws which are dropped one by one by the intermittent supply means can be screwed down by the two sets of the light projecting element and the light receiving element while the overall structure is extremely small and inexpensive. The presence / absence, diameter, and overall length can be automatically and reliably determined at high speed without contacting the screw.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of the present embodiment, in which (a) shows an initial state of a measurement process, (b) shows a state in which a second slide plate is operated, and (c) shows a measurement state.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a measurement state by a light emitting element array and a light receiving element array.

FIG. 3 shows voltage fluctuations at the time of measurement, in which the vertical axis represents voltage and the horizontal axis represents time, (a) showing a case with a screw, and (b) showing a case without a screw.

FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of a screw to be measured according to the present invention, wherein (a) is a normal screw, (b) is a screw without a screw portion, (c) is a screw having a different length, (d) ) Represents screws of different diameters.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Screw discriminating device 2 Intermittent supply means 6 Drop passage 8 First light emitting element array 9 First light receiving element array 10 Second light emitting element array 11 Second light receiving element array A, B, C, D screws

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A drop passage for a screw having a diameter slightly larger than the diameter of a screw to be measured and arranged along a vertical line, an intermittent supply means for supplying the screws one by one to an upper end of the drop passage, A first light-emitting element row and a first light-receiving element row disposed on both sides of the drop passage in parallel with the drop path; and a second light-receiving element row disposed perpendicularly to the drop path on both sides of the drop path. And a second light receiving element row.