JPH085542B2 - Parts feeder - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a component supply device, and its main purpose is to reliably supply a projection nut or a projection bolt having a welding projection to a target location. Has been.

(B) Conventional Technology The conventional technology that is considered to be the closest to the present invention is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 59-
This is the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 7549 (B23K11 / 14), and its main points are shown in FIGS. 9 and 10. This consists of a hollow outer shaft 1 and an inner shaft 2
Are slidably combined, and a magnet (permanent magnet) 4 for attracting a component (nut) 3 is fixed to the tip of the inner shaft 2. The counter plate component 5 is placed on the fixed electrode 6, and the guide pin 7 of the fixed electrode 6 penetrates the hole of the sheet metal component 5 and extends upward.

Both shafts 1 and 2 have their end faces aligned on one plane to be flush with each other, and the nut 3 is attracted thereto. In this state, when both shafts advance as a unit and reach a certain position (state of Fig. 9), the inner shaft 2 is prohibited from advancing and only the outer shaft 1 advances and Fig. 10 The nut 3 is fitted to the guide pin 7 as shown in FIG.

On the other hand, in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 52-44267, the feed rod is composed of an inner shaft and an outer shaft, a magnet is installed at the tip of the inner shaft, and a holding hole is provided at the tip of the feed rod. Is formed, and the parts are extruded while rubbing against the fixed magnet.

Next, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 51-109247 discloses that a housing box for holding parts is provided at the tip of a supply rod, and the opening / closing lid of the housing box is forcibly opened.

Finally, in JP-A-61-293684, a recess having an opening is formed in the upper end of the lower electrode that moves up and down, and the nut is pressed against the steel plate part of the other party while being held in the recess, It is disclosed to be welded.

(C) Problems to be solved by the invention According to the prior art shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the nut 3 is attracted to the lower end surfaces of the flat shafts 1 and 2. Therefore, if some external force acts on the nut 3 or the magnetic force of the magnet 4 decreases, there is a problem that the nut 3 shifts or, in the worst case, falls off. Further, in the case of a perforated component such as a nut, there is a tendency that a portion without a hole and the magnet 4 face each other as shown in FIG. 11, and eventually the nut is misaligned.

Further, in the conventional technology, the magnet 4 is stopped and only the outer shaft 1 is moved forward,
The nut 3 has to move in the space before it reaches the destination, and there is a problem that the nut will fall out for some reason during that time. Therefore, if the distance of the space movement is shortened, the nut 3 is again attracted to the magnet 4 because the outer shaft 1 begins to return at a time when the distance between the nut 3 and the magnet 4 is short and magnetic attraction does not completely disappear. In the end, the nut supply will not be fulfilled. In the case where the guide pin 7 is extremely long as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the above-mentioned problems are alleviated to some extent, but it is impossible to always lengthen the guide pin 7 in this way. It must be resolved in some positive way.

In the technology disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 52-44267, the nut is pushed out while rubbing against the fixed magnet.
That is, since the nut is not completely enclosed, if the magnetic force of the magnet of the inner shaft falls below that of the fixed magnet, the nut will be attracted to the fixed magnet and try to remain there, so the nut will not come out of the holding hole. There is a problem of coming off.

Further, since the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 51-109347 is to convey the parts by placing the parts in the container provided at the tip of the supply rod, the size of the container is determined by the outer shape of the nut. If it is not set a little larger than the size, it will not fall smoothly even if the opening / closing lid is opened, and this makes the relative position of the nut relative to the electrode guide pin prone to deviation, thus hindering accurate nut supply. It is.

Further, in the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 61-293684, when the nut is housed in the recess and the lower electrode rises, the nut is not restrained at all, so that it is adjacent to the rising transition period. If the nut is rubbed or some external force acts on the nut, the nut may fall out of the recess.

On the other hand, smooth and reliable transfer of components to the tip of the supply rod is also very important as a highly reliable component supply device, and in the above-mentioned conventional technology, consideration of that aspect is required. Not done.

(D) Means for Solving the Problem and Its Action The present invention is provided to solve the problems as described above, and the supply rod can be slid on the hollow outer shaft and the inside thereof. In this state, it is composed of an inner shaft that is fitted in, a magnet for attracting and holding parts is provided at the tip of the inner shaft, and a projection for holding parts is formed at the tip of the outer shaft. It has a frame shape with an opening, and the shooter is installed in a direction orthogonal to the advancing / retreating direction of the supply rod, and the movement locus of the parts held in the projection is orthogonal to the advancing / retreating direction of the supply rod. It is configured to pass through the opening while being provided with a magnet in a stationary state on an extension line of the movement locus so as to apply a suction force to a part that goes into the protrusion, and both shafts are It is characterized in that it has a drive unit that forcibly retracts the inner shaft after it has advanced to a predetermined location and stopped as a body.Parts are fed in a direction orthogonal to the advancing and retracting direction of the supply rod. , Is introduced into the protrusion while being attracted by the stationary magnet, and then the components are housed in the protrusion and sent out while being attracted to the magnet without contacting neighboring members, and then the inner part is The magnet on the shaft moves to complete the supply of parts.

(E) Example FIG. 1 is a side view of the entire apparatus, and up to FIG. 7 is a case where a projection nut is supplied to the fixed electrode of the spot welding machine.

The sheet metal part 9 is placed on the fixed electrode 8 and
The guide pin 10 of FIG. 11 is a movable electrode. The component supply device 12 comprises a supply unit 13 and an air cylinder 14. Explaining the supply unit 13, the supply rod 17 is configured by combining the inner shaft 16 in a slidable manner inside the hollow outer shaft 15. As is clear from FIG. 4, the outer shaft 15 has a cross-sectional shape in which flat portions 1
8 and 19 are provided to make a so-called oval type, which serves as a detent to be described later. A magnet (permanent magnet) 20 is joined (adhered, for example) to the tip of the inner shaft 16, and the magnet 20 and the end surface of the outer shaft 15 are the first.
As is clear from the drawings and FIG. 2, the surface is flush so as to form a plane until the advance position reaches a predetermined position, and the projection nut 21 is suction-held therein.

The restriction pin 22 fixed to the inner shaft 16 penetrates a long hole 23 opened in the stroke direction of the outer shaft 15 and further projects from the outer shaft 15. A compression coil spring 24 is provided inside the outer shaft 15 between the inner shaft 16 and the outer shaft 15,
The tension of the spring 24 is received by the restriction pin 22 hitting the lower end of the elongated hole 23, and in this state, the lower ends of the magnet 20 and the outer shaft 15 are flush with each other.

The supply rod 17 has a piston rod 25 of the air cylinder 14.
Are combined. Outer cylinder 26 containing the supply rod 17
The air cylinder 14 is fixed to its upper end, and the shooter 27 guiding the nut 2 is welded to its lower end.
By forming a circular hole 29 in the upper plate 28 of the shooter 27, which allows the outer shaft 15 to fit snugly,
The end of 27 has a bifurcated shape as is apparent from FIG. 4, and the guide plate 31 is fixed to the end face of the bifurcated portion 30, whereby the flat portion 18 of the outer shaft is brought into close contact with the guide plate. ing. Further, if a gap is formed between the circular hole 29 and the flat surface portion 19, the movement of the nut 21 may be hindered. Therefore, the filling piece 32 is welded so as to be in close contact with the flat surface portion 19. Guide plate 31 for each flat surface 18, 19
The close contact of the filling pieces 32, etc. is to prevent the outer shaft 15, i.e., the supply rod 17, from rotating, and as shown in the figure, both flat portions 18, 19 are provided. It may be in contact, or may be in contact with either one.

A protrusion for holding a component is provided at the tip of the outer shaft 15. This protrusion is a frame-shaped (substantially U-shaped) protrusion 34 having an opening 33 on one side as shown in FIG.
The shooter 27 faces the opening 33 as shown in FIG. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the shooter 27 is installed in a direction orthogonal to the advancing / retreating direction of the supply rod 17, and the movement locus of the nut 21 held in the protrusion 34 is the supply rod. The shape is orthogonal to the forward / backward direction and passes through the opening 33. In other words, the opening 33 is located on the extension line of the shooter 27.

As described above, another magnet (permanent magnet) 35 is embedded in the guide plate 31 placed in the fixed state, and the position of this magnet is the extension of the above-mentioned movement locus as shown in FIG. The magnets 35 are installed on a line, the magnet 35 itself is in a stationary state, and a suction force is applied to the nut that goes into the protrusion 34.

Opening / closing plates 36 and 37 are provided to make the temporary locking of the nut 21 more reliable. This is the forked part 30 of the shooter
It is pivotally attached to pivots 38 and 39 fixed to. In short, one wing piece of the hinge serves as the opening / closing plates 36, 37 and the other wing piece is fixed to the bifurcated portion 30 as the fixing plates 40, 41 by the bolts 42, 43. The spiral spring 42 '(only the side of the pivot 38 is shown in FIG. 6) assembled to the pivots 38, 39 gives the opening and closing plates 36, 37 elastic force in the closing direction so that the state shown in FIG. I am maintaining.
The alternate long and two short dashes line in FIG. 6 shows a state in which the opening / closing plate 36 is pushed open.

One of the features of the present invention is that the inner shaft and the outer shaft are integrally united to advance to a predetermined position and stop, and then the inner shaft is forcibly retracted. A drive device 44 for doing so is attached to the side surface of the outer cylinder 26. Although there is a system such as an electromagnetic solenoid as a drive device, an air cylinder 45 is adopted in this embodiment, and an engagement piece is provided at the tip of the piston rod 46.
47 is fixed. The engaging piece 47 is a long hole 48 opened in the outer cylinder 26.
It penetrates through and looks into the outer cylinder 26, and that part is facing so that it can abut against the regulation pin 22.

2 and 3 show a nut 21 (illustrated by a chain double-dashed line)
Is entering the frame-shaped projection 34 and is firmly attracted and held by the magnet 20. In this way, when the nut 21 enters the protrusion 34, the nut 21 follows the above-described movement path and passes through the opening 33, and in particular, the attraction force of the magnet 35 in the stationary state acts on the nut 21. do it,
Active introduction of nuts. Now, when the air cylinder 14 operates and the supply rod 17 advances, the nut 21 opens and closes the open / close plate.
Push 36 and 37 open to reach the point where the supply rod 1
7 advance stops. Then, when the air cylinder 45, which is the drive device, operates, the inner shaft 16 is forcibly retracted via the engagement piece 47 and the restriction pin 22, and the magnet 20 moves to a position where the attraction force for the nut 21 disappears. , The nut is released and the other guide pin 10
It matches.

The timing of forcibly retracting the inner shaft 16 will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8. In FIG. 7, the inner shaft 16 is retracted at a position where the guide pin 10 and the screw hole of the nut 21 are extremely close to each other. This is the case with the highest certainty. FIG. 8 shows that the bolt 49 is fitted into the hole 50. In this case, the bolt 49 should be dropped into the hole 50 by stopping the bolt 49 slightly before the hole 50 and then retracting the inner shaft 16. It is said that it is a behavior.

The compression coil spring 24 installed between the inner shaft 16 and the outer shaft 15 can be omitted if the inner shaft 16 can secure the positions shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 by its own weight.

(F) Effect According to the present invention, since the protrusion is formed on the tip of the outer shaft to hold the component by suction while using the magnet, the component can be reliably held,
Even when the supply rod is in the process of being advanced, parts do not accidentally shift or come off.

Since the inner shaft and the outer shaft are integrally united to advance to a predetermined position and stop and then a drive device for forcibly retracting the inner shaft is provided, the above-mentioned predetermined position is connected to the parts and the partner supply destination. If the setting is made as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 in accordance with the characteristics, it is not necessary to move the component in the air in an unstable state, and the problem in the conventional technique can be reliably solved. Further, the retracted length of the inner shaft may be appropriately set depending on the strength of the magnetic force of the magnet, and the phenomenon that the parts are not pulled back again unlike the prior art shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 does not occur.

In particular, since the protrusion has a frame-like shape having an opening on one side, it is in a state in which it surrounds the periphery of the component at a place other than the opening, and therefore the component held by the protrusion interferes with surrounding members. A reliable holding state can be obtained without performing. The advantage is that there is no sliding phenomenon between the component and the fixed magnet as in the technique of Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 52-44267, and the relative position between the component and the supply rod is maintained correctly.

Since the component is in a restrained state in which it is attracted by the magnet of the inner shaft within the frame-shaped protrusion, the relative position between the component and the supply rod is determined. In the case of adopting a storage box-like type at the tip of the supply rod as in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 51-109247, the parts move within the storage box, and the accurate position of the parts cannot be determined. I have a problem,
In the present invention, such a problem of the position of the parts does not occur due to the operation as described above.

Similarly, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 61-293684, the nut is raised without being restrained. However, in the present invention, since the magnets of the inner shaft restrain the parts to move the supply rod, the above-mentioned Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. The problem like is solved.

Finally, the most important effect is the movement trajectory of the parts and the installation of the stationary magnet. The shooter is installed in a direction orthogonal to the advancing / retreating direction of the supply rod, the movement locus of the component is also set to the direction orthogonal to the advancing / retreating direction of the supply rod, and the movement trajectory is such that the component passes through the opening of the protrusion, Furthermore, since the magnet is installed stationary on the extension line of the movement trajectory, the movement trajectory of the part that goes into the protrusion is simple, it can enter the protrusion extremely smoothly, and the attractive force of the stationary magnet is received to positively The reliable entry into the protrusion is achieved.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 to 8 show an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a side view showing the appearance of the apparatus, 2nd cormorant is a vertical side view, FIG. 3 is a vertical front view, and FIG. 4 is a vertical view. (4)-(4) cross-sectional view, FIG. 5 is a three-dimensional view, FIG. 6 is a side view of the opening / closing plate, and FIGS. 7 and 8 are partial cross-sectional views showing a supply transition period of parts. Ninth
FIGS. 1 to 11 are prior arts, FIGS. 9 and 10 are partial sectional views, and FIG. 11 is a plan view. 17 …… Supply rod, 15 …… Outer shaft, 16 …… Inner shaft, 21,49 …… Parts, 20 …… Magnet, 3
4 …… Projection, 33 …… Opening, 27 …… Shooter, 35 …… Magnet, 44 …… Driving device.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A supply rod is constituted by a hollow outer shaft and an inner shaft slidably fitted in the hollow outer shaft, and a magnet for attracting and holding a component is provided at a tip end portion of the inner shaft. A protrusion for holding the component is formed at the tip, and this protrusion is a frame-like one with an opening on one side.The shooter is installed in the direction orthogonal to the advancing / retreating direction of the supply rod, and the component is A part in which the movement locus held in the protrusion is orthogonal to the advancing / retreating direction of the supply rod and passes through the opening, and the magnet is installed in a stationary state on the extension line of the movement locus and goes into the protrusion. A drive device that is configured to apply suction force to the inner shaft and forcibly retracts the inner shaft after both shafts have integrally advanced to a predetermined position and stopped. Component supply device according to claim.