WO2014168241A1

WO2014168241A1 - Component supply device, and component supply control method

Info

Publication number: WO2014168241A1
Application number: PCT/JP2014/060530
Authority: WO
Inventors: 邦秀芦澤; 裕一後藤
Original assignee: 株式会社オーテックメカニカル
Priority date: 2013-04-12
Filing date: 2014-04-11
Publication date: 2014-10-16
Also published as: JPWO2014168241A1; JP6329531B2

Abstract

The present invention addresses the problem of providing: a component supply device (11) which forms a pool section (20) on which workpieces (12) are densely placed, and is capable of maintaining the length of the pool section (20) at an appropriate length; and a component supply control method therefor. Specifically, a component supply device (11), and a component supply control method therefor are characterised in that the device comprises: a rotating circular table (14); a bowl feeder (16) comprising a chute (17) that supplies workpieces (12) onto the table (14); and a pool section sensor (21) that detects the length of a pool section (20), which is an area where the workpieces (12) supplied onto the table (14) are placed, and in that the workpieces are supplied (12) onto the table (14) by moving or rotating the bowl feeder (16) only by a prescribed angle, and forming the area of the pool section (20) on the basis of the detection result of the pool section sensor (21).

Description

Component supply apparatus and component supply control method

The present invention relates to a component supply device that continuously supplies components to a processing unit in automatic assembly or the like, and more particularly to an image processing type component supply device and a component supply control method that continuously supply components using image processing.

In automatic assembly machines and automatic inspection machines in factories, the posture of minute electronic components (workpieces) supplied from the parts feeder is recognized (for example, whether the workpiece is the front surface or the back surface) and the desired posture. Only the workpiece is supplied to a downstream automatic assembly machine or automatic inspection machine.

In order to recognize the posture of such a workpiece, an image recognition device for photographing the workpiece is installed in the workpiece conveyance path, and the workpiece image being conveyed is compared with a predetermined image. The workpiece that matches the condition is picked up by the pickup unit and supplied to the downstream automatic assembly machine and automatic inspection machine.

As such a device, a component appearance sorting device described in Patent Document 1 is known. The device supplies and transports chip parts, which are parts to be inspected, from a parts feeder onto a transparent disk that rotates continuously, and captures part images without stopping the chip parts and selects parts based on the imaging results. Processing is in progress.

On the other hand, in automatic assembly machines and automatic inspection machines, whether or not workpieces are supplied continuously has a significant effect on productivity, so it is important to supply workpieces so that the pickup unit can exert its maximum capacity. Become. In order to cope with such a problem, the component alignment apparatus and method of patent document 2 are proposed.

This document describes a component aligning apparatus and method capable of aligning and supplying components with the minimum necessary vibration energy without deteriorating the component supply capability even if the state changes to the components to be aligned and supplied. .
In this parts alignment apparatus and method, the parts supply capability is calculated from the number of parts passing within a predetermined time or the average place where the parts pass the sensor, and the number of parts supplied within a predetermined time can be achieved. The amplitude of the feeder is controlled so that it can be done.

Japanese Patent No. 2585133 JP 2004-352395 A

However, in the parts alignment apparatus described in Patent Document 1, the parts to be inspected are placed in a line on the transparent disk from the guide part, but the workpiece supplied from the feeder is in the front state or the back state Is a probability of 50%, the part selection will forego almost half of the supplied workpiece, and the pickup unit cannot exhibit its maximum capacity.

Further, in the component aligning device described in Patent Document 2, it is possible to adjust the work supply capability of the feeder to some extent by adjusting the amplitude width of the feeder, but the work supplied from the feeder is in the front state. Whether the state is the back or the back is still 50% of the probability, and further, the work supply from the feeder decreases as the work capacity in the feeder decreases, and the work interval in the feeder is open However, it is not possible to adjust the amplitude width of the feeder to continuously supply the workpiece with this interval narrowed. For this reason, the pickup unit cannot be fully utilized.

In order to allow the pickup unit to exert its maximum capacity and continuously supply the workpiece to the downstream automatic assembly machine or automatic inspection machine, it does not supply the workpiece to the pickup area in a single row, but transports parts immediately before the pickup area. It is necessary to provide a so-called pool section in which a large number of workpieces are gathered and exist on a continuously rotating disk (table) that is a path.

At this time, if the work is placed in a state of being stacked on the pool portion on the table, three-dimensional image processing by a plurality of cameras is required to recognize the work to be picked up, and the image recognition apparatus becomes expensive. At the same time, the image processing speed is significantly reduced. For this reason, this supply method is not suitable for an automatic assembly machine and an automatic inspection machine that need to supply a very large number of workpieces quickly and continuously.

On the other hand, two-dimensional image processing with one camera is suitable for an assembly line where an image recognition device is inexpensive and the image processing speed is high, so that an extremely large number of workpieces need to be supplied quickly and continuously. ing. When performing the two-dimensional image processing, it is necessary to place the work on the table without being stacked.

In order to supply the workpiece onto the table in a non-stacked state, a table that continuously rotates as shown in FIG. It is also conceivable that the workpiece 2 can be placed on 3. However, as described above, whether or not the workpiece supply from the feeder is continuous is a stochastic phenomenon. Therefore, when the workpiece interval is wide in the feeder, the workpiece 2 is as shown in FIG. The blank portion 4 is placed on the table 3 in a sparse state, and no workpiece is placed thereon.

If the work 2 is placed sparsely on the table, the work will not enter the image field for picking up the work, the pick-up efficiency will drop, and the pick-up unit will not be able to exert its maximum capacity. Therefore, in order for the pickup unit to exert its maximum capacity, it is necessary to arrange the workpieces 2 closely on the table 3 as shown in FIG. 11C and to secure a large quantity of the workpieces 2 to be pooled.

The present invention has been developed to solve the above-described problems, and the object of the present invention is to form a pool portion in which workpieces are placed densely so that the pickup unit can exhibit the maximum processing capacity. In addition, an object of the present invention is to provide a component supply device and a component supply control method capable of maintaining the length of the pool portion at an appropriate length.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 includes a rotating circular table, a ball feeder including a chute for supplying a work on the table, and a placement area for the work supplied on the table. A pool portion sensor that detects the length of a pool portion is provided, and based on the detection result of the pool portion sensor, the ball feeder is moved or rotated by a predetermined angle to form the pool portion region, The component supply apparatus is characterized in that the workpiece is supplied onto the table.

The invention according to claim 2 is the component supply device, wherein the circular table has an opening in the center, and the ball feeder rotates.

The invention according to claim 3 is a component supply device in which the pool unit includes a unit for picking up a workpiece by image processing, and a work spraying mechanism is provided at the tip of the chute.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the spray mechanism is provided with a chute swinging portion swingably provided at the tip of the chute, and the swinging portion swings left and right within the range of the work placement width on the table. It is a component supply apparatus consisting of a mechanism for spraying and spraying.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a component supply device in which the chute rocking portion includes a work passage sensor, and the chute rocking portion is swung by a rocking sequence based on a detection signal of the work passage sensor. It is.

The invention according to claim 6 is the component supply apparatus, wherein the swing sequence is a sequence that sequentially repeats swing and stop at a plurality of locations in accordance with the work placement width on the table.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, the work is supplied from the ball feeder onto the table while the ball feeder is moved or rotated while maintaining a relative positional relationship with the table, When the swing limit is reached, the component feeder is configured to move or rotate the ball feeder in the opposite direction relative to the table.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a step of supplying a work from the ball feeder to the table while moving or rotating the ball feeder while maintaining a relative positional relationship with the table, and a supply to the table. And a step of detecting the length of the pool portion formed by the workpiece by a pool portion sensor, and when the pool portion sensor detects that the length of the pool portion has reached the shortest reference, the ball Supplying the workpiece while moving or rotating the feeder in the opposite direction relative to the table, and increasing the number of the workpieces placed on the pool portion It is a control method.

The invention according to claim 9 is that for the pool part, the length of the pool part has been shortened to the restart standard after the pool part sensor has detected that the length of the pool part has reached the longest standard. The component supply control method is characterized in that the supply of the workpiece from the ball feeder is stopped until the sensor detects it.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the position at which the workpiece is supplied from the ball feeder to the table via the chute by appropriately moving or rotating the ball feeder by a predetermined angle based on the signal from the pool unit sensor. Therefore, the length of the pool portion formed on the table can be maintained at an appropriate length.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the ball feeder can be arranged in the opening portion of the circular table and the workpiece can be supplied onto the table by rotating the ball feeder, the configuration of the apparatus is simplified and reduced in size. Can be

According to the invention of claim 3, a workpiece in a desired posture can be picked up from the table by the pickup unit and supplied to the automatic assembling machine and automatic inspection machine, and the workpiece is supplied onto the table by the workpiece spraying mechanism. be able to.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the work is supplied while the chute swinging portion provided swingably at the tip of the chute is swung left and right within the range of the work placement width on the table. The pool portion can be formed by placing the workpieces in a plurality of rows using the placement width as much as possible.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the work passage sensor for detecting that the workpiece has passed is provided in the chute rocking portion, and the chute rocking portion is rocked according to a predetermined sequence based on the workpiece passage detection signal. The chute swinging part swings only after the workpiece has actually passed. Therefore, even when the workpiece supply from the ball feeder is discontinuous, the influence is removed and the horizontal space on the table is removed. A workpiece can be continuously placed without forming a portion.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the rocking sequence repeats rocking and stopping sequentially at a plurality of locations in accordance with the workpiece placement width on the table. A pool portion on which the work is placed can be formed.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, since the work is supplied from the ball feeder to the table while the ball feeder is moved or rotated while maintaining a relative positional relationship with the table, the work mounting on the table is performed. In the placement portion, the workpiece can be placed substantially in a line on the line connecting with the rotation center of the table from the outside to the inside or from the inside to the outside without generating a blank portion.

In addition, when the chute swinging part reaches the swing limit of the left position or the right position, the ball feeder is moved one step in the opposite direction relative to the table or rotated one step, and then the ball feeder and the table are moved relative to each other. Since the movement or rotation of the ball feeder is resumed while maintaining a specific positional relationship, the position at which the workpiece is supplied is just before the ball feeder is moved or rotated one step in the opposite direction relative to the table. The position is lowered by one step from the position where the workpiece is placed on. According to the sequence from this position, the work is placed while swinging the chute swinging part toward the opposite side, so that a pool part is formed in which the work is placed tightly without generating a blank part on the table. be able to

According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, the workpiece placement portion on the table is substantially lined without causing a blank portion from the outside to the inside or from the inside to the outside on the line connecting to the rotation center of the table. It is possible to form a pool part in which workpieces are placed densely, and the number of workpieces picked up by the pickup unit exceeds the number of workpieces supplied, and the length of the pool part has been shortened to reach the shortest standard. When the pool unit sensor detects, the rotation of the table is stopped and the work is supplied onto the table while moving or rotating the ball feeder in the opposite direction with respect to the table. The length can be restored.

According to the invention of claim 9, after the ball feeder is moved or rotated in the opposite direction with respect to the table, the work is supplied onto the table until the length of the pool portion reaches the longest standard, and after the longest standard is reached By stopping the supply of work from the ball feeder until the length of the pool part is reduced to the restart standard, a sufficient number of works are supplied to the pool part, and the length of the pool part is unnecessary. The pick-up unit has the maximum processing capacity for the length of the pool section formed on the table by preventing the extension and restarting the work supply after the pool section length is reduced to the restart standard. Can be maintained at such a length that can be exhibited. *

It is a schematic top view which shows one Embodiment of the components supply apparatus in this invention. It is a partially notched schematic cross section of the component supply apparatus shown in FIG. It is a model front view of a rocking | fluctuation mechanism. FIG. 4 is a schematic side view of the swing mechanism shown in FIG. 3. It is a model top view of the rocking | fluctuation mechanism shown in FIG. It is a conceptual diagram of the imaging part of the component supply apparatus shown in FIG. It is a block diagram of the components supply apparatus shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the control flow of the component supply apparatus shown in FIG. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the control effect of this invention. It is a model top view which shows other embodiment of the components supply apparatus in this invention. It is a conceptual diagram explaining the workpiece | work mounting condition on a table, (a) is a workpiece | work mounting condition on the rotation table in the ideal case where a workpiece | work is continuously supplied from a feeder, (b) is from a feeder. (C) is a conceptual diagram which shows the workpiece | work mounting condition on a rotation table in case a workpiece | work is supplied discontinuously, (c) is an ideal workpiece | work mounting condition on a table.

A preferred embodiment of a component supply apparatus and a component supply control method according to the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic top view showing an embodiment of a component supply apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view of the component supply apparatus shown in FIG. In the drawing, a component supply device 11 is arranged so as to be rotatable in a circular table 14 having a hole 13 at the center where a work 12 is placed and rotated in a horizontal plane, and in the hole 13 of the table 14. The ball feeder 15 and the workpiece 12 fixed integrally with the ball feeder 15 and supplied from the ball feeder 15 via the chute 17 provided outside the ball portion 16 can be slid to the tip of the chute 17. A sprinkling mechanism 19 that spreads on the table 14 by a swinging portion 18 provided on the table 14, a pool portion sensor 21 that detects the length of the pool portion 20 formed by the workpiece 12 sprinkled on the table 14, and An imaging unit 22 that is disposed below the table 14 and captures the workpiece 12 placed on the table 14 and a workpiece 12 in a desired posture are picked from the table 13. And up, and the pickup unit 24 is supplied to the downstream of the automatic assembling machine or the automatic inspection machine 23 includes a control mechanism 25 (not shown).

The table 14 places the work 12 and rotates it in the horizontal plane in the direction of the arrow 26 at a constant speed, and supplies the work 12 to the pickup area 27 sequentially. In order to determine the posture of the workpiece 12 supplied to the pickup area 27 by photographing with the imaging unit 22 provided at the lower part of the table, the table 14 is formed of a transparent material. In this embodiment, the table 14 is made of glass. However, the material of the table 14 is not limited to this embodiment, and any material that is transparent and has a certain strength, such as a synthetic resin plate, can be used. Absent. Further, when the imaging unit 22 is arranged above the table, the table 14 does not need to be formed of a transparent material.
In the component supply device 11 according to the present invention, since the ball feeder 15 is disposed in the central opening 13 of the table 14, it is necessary to form the opening 13 having a sufficient diameter in the center of the table 14. is there.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the table 14 is supported by a support roller 28 in the vertical direction and constrained by a restraining roller 29 for preventing lateral displacement in the horizontal direction, and a driving roller 31 attached to a motor 30. Rotational force is supplied from. In this embodiment, a stepping motor is used as the motor 30, but any motor other than the stepping motor may be used as long as it can rotate the table 14 at a constant angular velocity.

The ball feeder 15 is disposed in the opening 13 at the center of the table 14, and is pivotally attached to a rotation shaft 33 protruding above the rotation mechanism 32 disposed on the lower side of the ball feeder 15. Since the rotation shaft 33 is provided coaxially with the rotation axis of the table 14, the ball feeder 15 can freely rotate within the opening 13 of the table 14 independently of the rotation of the table 14. can do.

The ball feeder 15 includes a ball portion 16 that accommodates a large number of workpieces 12 and a vibration exciter 34 positioned below the ball portion 16. A spiral work path is formed on the inner peripheral wall of the ball portion 16. The ball portion 16 is torsionally vibrated by the vibrator 34 to convey the workpiece 12 to the outside of the ball portion 16 along the spiral workpiece path.

As shown in FIG. 1, the spray mechanism 19 includes a chute rocking portion 18 on a tip 35 of a circular chute 17 having a downward slope provided integrally with the ball portion 16 outside the ball portion 16 of the ball feeder 15. 2, and as shown in FIG. 2, an arm 38 is horizontally provided on an upper end 37 of a support column 36 that is erected on the upper surface of the ball portion 16 of the ball feeder 15 so as to be coaxial with the rotating shaft 33. A swing mechanism 40 is provided at the outer peripheral end 39 of the sway, and as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the chute swing is attached to the tip of a swing shaft 41 suspended from the swing mechanism 40 via a mounting bracket 42. The unit 18 is configured to be coupled. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, the chute rocking portion 18 can be swung left and right independently of the chute 17. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, since the swing shaft 41 is mounted so as to be positioned on the center line 44 of the work placement width 43 of the table 14, the work placement width 43 of the table 14 is effectively used. It can be used to spread the workpiece 12 on the table 14.

Further, as described above, the spraying mechanism 19 has the arm 38 horizontally provided on the upper end 37 of the column 36 which is erected on the upper surface of the ball portion 16 of the ball feeder 15 so as to be coaxial with the rotating shaft 33. Since the swinging mechanism 40 is provided at the outer peripheral end portion 39, the swing mechanism 32 rotates integrally with the ball feeder 15.

Further, since the workpiece passage sensor 45 is attached to the chute swinging portion 18, it is detected that the workpiece 12 has passed through the chute swinging portion 18, and a detection signal is sent to the control mechanism 25 (not shown) via the cable 46. be able to. In this embodiment, an optical sensor is used as the workpiece passage sensor 45, but the type of sensor is not limited to this, and it is only necessary to be able to detect the passage of the workpiece. For example, depending on the material of the workpiece, a magnetic sensor may be used. There may be.

A workpiece scattering prevention plate 47 attached to the ball feeder 15 is disposed in front of the chute swinging portion 18, but as described above, the spray mechanism 19 and the ball feeder 15 rotate integrally. The relative positional relationship between the chute swinging portion 18 and the workpiece scattering prevention plate 47 is always constant, and the workpiece scattering prevention plate 47 effectively receives the workpiece 12 sprayed from the chute swinging portion 18, It is possible to prevent scattering around the table 14.

The imaging unit 22 includes a camera 48 and illumination (not shown), and is disposed below the table 14 as shown in FIGS. Since the image of the workpiece 12 photographed by the camera 48 is analyzed by a predetermined program included in the control mechanism 25, the posture of the workpiece 12 is determined, and the position of the workpiece 12 and the position of the pickup are calculated. A CCD camera is suitable, and a CCD camera was also used in this example.

The pickup unit 24 includes a pickup arm 49 that freely turns and expands and contracts, and a pickup head 50 that freely rotates and expands and contracts at the tip of the pickup arm 49, and picks up the work 12 by the pickup head 50 and picks up from the table 14. To do. The operation of the pickup arm 49 and the pickup head 50 is controlled by the control mechanism 25 based on data from the imaging unit 22.

The pool portion sensor 21 includes a pool portion 20 of workpieces 12 placed on the upper surface of the table 14 (in FIG. 1, the workpieces 12 shaded on the table 14 are densely and continuously placed in a plurality of rows. For example, an optical sensor or a CCD camera may be used as the sensor. There are three criteria for the length of the pool section 20 to be detected: shortest, longest, and restart. As shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of pool unit sensors 21 may be installed and detected at the lower part of the table 14, for example, an angle formed by a pickup area 27 and an arm 38 that supports the spraying mechanism 19 by a potentiometer. You may determine by measuring.

In FIG. 7, the block diagram of the components supply apparatus in this invention is shown. The control mechanism 25 is based on signals from the workpiece passage sensor 45, the imaging unit 22, and the pool unit sensor 21, the table drive motor 31, the ball feeder 15, the rotation mechanism 32, the swing mechanism 40, and the pickup unit 24. Is controlling the operation.

The control mechanism 25 controls the motor 14 for driving the table 14, and while the work 12 is picked up by the pick-up unit 24, the table 14 on which the work 12 is placed is continuously moved in the direction of the arrow 26 at a constant angular velocity. It is rotating. The control mechanism 25 controls the supply of the workpiece 12 from the ball feeder 15 to the table 14 by ON / OFF control of the operation of the vibrator 34 of the ball feeder 15. Further, the control mechanism 25 controls the rotation mechanism 32 to freely rotate the ball feeder 15 within the central opening 13 of the table 14 independently of the rotation of the table 14. The control mechanism 25 includes a sequencer (not shown), and the swing mechanism 40 is controlled by the sequencer to swing the chute swing unit 18.

In addition, the control mechanism 25 has an image processing function and an arithmetic function, and processes the output image of the workpiece 12 in the pickup area 27 photographed by the camera 48 of the imaging unit 22. The control mechanism 25 determines the posture of the workpiece 12 from the output image, measures the position of the workpiece 12a in a desired posture, and predicts and calculates the pickup position of the workpiece 12a on the assumption that the table 14 rotates at a constant angular velocity. Then, the pickup head 50 of the pickup unit 24 is moved to the predicted position to pick up the workpiece 12a.

The picked-up work 12a is supplied to the downstream automatic assembly machine or automatic inspection machine 23 by the pick-up unit 24, and the work 12b that is not in the desired posture and the work 12a that has not been picked up even in the desired posture are picked up as they are. The ball passes through the area 27 and is collected by the collecting plate 51 into the ball portion 16 of the ball feeder 15.

Next, a method for controlling the operation of the component supply apparatus according to the present invention will be described. The component supply control method can be broadly divided into two types: a component supply control method for forming a pool portion by placing workpieces densely on a table, and a component supply control method for forming a sufficiently long pool portion. it can.

First, a component supply control method for forming a pool part by placing workpieces densely on a table will be described below. In order to place the work closely on the table, it is a stochastic phenomenon whether or not the work supply from the ball feeder is continuous, so the work is not always supplied continuously. It is necessary to respond.

In order to cope with this phenomenon, in the component supply apparatus according to the present invention, as described above, the ball feeder 15 is pivotally attached to the rotation shaft 33 of the rotation drive mechanism 32 so that the ball feeder 15 can rotate independently of the table 14. Yes. A chute rocking portion 18 is disposed at the tip 35 of the chute 17, and the chute rocking portion 18 is swung left and right by sequence control. Further, a work passage sensor 45 is attached to the chute swinging portion 18 to detect the passage of the work 12. How these mechanisms are controlled and what effects are obtained will be described below.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of the component supply control method according to the present invention. The component supply control method for forming the pool portion by placing the work densely on the table is performed according to the flow on the left side of the figure. After the component supply device 11 is started, in step 101, the ball feeder 15 and the pickup unit 24 start operating. Next, in step 102, the table 14 and the ball feeder 15 start rotating at an equal angular velocity. For this reason, the relative positional relationship between the table 14 and the chute swinging portion 18 does not change.

In step 103, it is determined whether or not the length of the pool unit 20 is equal to or longer than the shortest reference. Next, in step 104, it is determined whether or not the length of the pool unit 20 is equal to or shorter than the longest reference. Then, the flow is advanced assuming that the length of the pool unit 20 is equal to or greater than the shortest standard and equal to or smaller than the longest standard.

Since the ball feeder 15 of the component feeder 11 is already operating, the supply of the workpiece 12 is started from the ball portion 16 of the ball feeder 15, and the workpiece 12 descends the chute 17 and passes through the chute swinging portion 18. And placed on the table 14. At this time, the workpiece passage sensor 45 attached to the chute rocking portion 18 detects the passage of the workpiece 12 and transmits a detection signal to the control mechanism 25 via the cable 46.

Here, how the chute rocking part 18 is controlled will be described. The chute swing portion 18 is not always controlled to swing continuously to the left and right at a constant angle. As long as the detection signal from the workpiece passage sensor 45 is not transmitted, the chute swing portion 18 is moved to the right position 53 and the center shown in FIG. It stops at any one of the three positions of position 54 and left position 55. Each time a detection signal from the workpiece passage sensor 45 is transmitted, the chute swinging portion 18 is controlled by a sequencer (not shown) in the control mechanism 25 so as to swing these three points.

The movement of the chute rocking part 18 will be specifically described. For example, in FIG. 5, when the work passing sensor 45 detects the passage of the work 12 when the chute rocking part 18 is stopped at the right position 53, The control mechanism 25 stops the chute swinging portion 18 after swinging it to the central position 54 according to the control law stored in the sequencer. Next, when the workpiece passing sensor 45 detects the passage of the workpiece 12, the chute swinging portion 18 is swung to the left position 55 and then stopped. Then, when the workpiece passage sensor 45 detects the passage of the workpiece 12, the chute swinging portion 18 is swung back to the central position 54 and then stopped. As described above, the chute swinging portion 18 swings in the order of the right position 53, the center position 54, the left position 55, the center position 54, and the right position 53 each time the workpiece passage sensor 45 detects the passage of the workpiece 12. It is controlled by a sequence control law that repeatedly stops.

In step 105, if the workpiece passage sensor 45 does not detect the passage of the workpiece 12, the chute rocking portion 18 is maintained in a stopped state without rocking, so the table 14 and the ball feeder 15 continue to rotate at a constant angular velocity. However, the relative positional relationship between the table 14 and the chute rocking portion 18 does not change. In FIG. 9, it is assumed that the work 12 has passed through the chute rocking portion 18 that has been swung to the right position 53, and the work 12 has been placed at a position 56 on the table 14. Since the workpiece passage sensor 45 detects the passage of the workpiece 12, in step 105, the chute swinging portion 18 swings to the center position 54 by the sequence control law.

Next, in step 107, it is determined whether or not the chute rocking portion 18 is at the right position 53 or the left position 55. Since the chute rocking portion 18 is at the central position 54, the table 14 and the ball feeder are The rotation at the equiangular speed is continued, and it waits for the work 12 to be placed at the position 57. Thus, until the next workpiece 12 is supplied, the chute rocking unit 18 remains stopped, and the table 14 and the ball feeder 15 continue to rotate at a constant angular velocity. The relative positional relationship with 18 does not change. Therefore, even when the interval between the workpieces 12 is open in the ball portion 16 of the ball feeder 15 and the workpieces 12 are not continuously supplied, the next supplied workpiece 12 is next to the position 56. It can be reliably placed at the position 57.

Next, when the supplied workpiece 12 is placed at the position 57 on the table 14, the workpiece passage sensor 45 detects the passage of the workpiece 12, and the chute rocking portion 18 is rocked to the left position 55. Next, the next supplied workpiece 12 is placed at a position 58 on the table. During this time, the table 14 and the ball feeder 15 continue to rotate at an equiangular speed, and the relative positional relationship between the table 14 and the chute swinging portion 18 does not change. Therefore, as shown in FIG. , 12 and 12 are placed substantially in a straight line at

positions

56, 57 and 58 on a straight line 59 extending radially from the center of the table 14, and do not form a blank portion on which the work 12 is not placed.

If it is determined in step 107 that the chute rocking part 18 is at the right position 53 or the left position 55, the work 12 is moved to the same position even if the chute rocking part 18 is swung in the opposite direction according to the control sequence. It is meaningless because it will be placed. For this reason, in step 108, after the ball feeder 15 is rotated backward by one step with respect to the table 14, the angular velocity rotation between the ball feeder 15 and the table 14 is resumed. By controlling the rotation of the ball feeder 15 in this way, the workpiece 12 can be placed at the position 60 after the position 58. The amount of reverse rotation when the ball feeder 15 is moved backward by one step secures a space necessary for determining the posture of the workpiece in image processing between the workpiece 12 at the position 58 in the front row and the workpiece 12 at the position 60 in the rear row. It needs to be set so that it can.

After this, the flow returns to step 103 and is repeated until the length of the pool portion 20 of the work 12 on the table 14 becomes equal to or less than the reference. Since the control is performed as described above, the workpiece 12 is placed on the table 14 along the path indicated by the alternate long and short dash line 61 as shown in FIG. A pool portion 20 having a high density can be formed.

Since the component supply device 11 continuously forms the high-density pool portion 20 on the table 14 as described above even while the pickup unit 24 is picking up the workpiece 12, the pickup unit 24 continues. The maximum processing capacity can be demonstrated. On the other hand, when the processing of the workpiece 12 by the pickup unit 24 proceeds very smoothly, the pool amount of the workpiece 12 decreases, and the pickup unit 24 cannot exhibit the maximum processing capability. Therefore, in step 103, it is determined whether or not the length of the pool unit 20 is equal to or greater than the shortest reference and has a sufficient pool amount. When it is determined that the length of the pool portion 20 is equal to or shorter than the shortest reference, control for forming a sufficiently long pool portion is performed.

The component supply control method for forming a sufficiently long pool portion is performed by the upper right flow in FIG. If it is determined in step 103 that the length of the pool unit 20 is equal to or shorter than the shortest reference, the control flow proceeds to step 109. In step 109, the operation of the pickup unit 24 is stopped, and in the next step 110, the rotation of the table 14 and the ball feeder 15 at an equal angular velocity is stopped. In this manner, the formation of the pool portion 20 on the table 14 is prioritized over the pickup of the workpiece 12 by the pickup unit 24.

At this time, since the operation of the ball feeder 15 is continued, the supply of the workpiece 12 is also continued. In step 111, the workpiece passage sensor 45 detects the passage of the workpiece 12, and receives this detection signal. In step 112, the chute rocking portion 18 operates according to the sequence, and in step 113, the chute rocking portion 18 is moved to the right position 53 or left. It is determined whether or not it is at position 55. When the chute swinging portion 18 is at the right position 53 or the left position 55, the ball feeder 15 is rotated backward by one step with respect to the table 14 at step 114. Except for step 114, this series of operations is the same as the control operation of the component supply control method in which the above-described workpieces are densely placed on a table to form a pool portion. Thereafter, in step 115, it is determined whether or not the length of the pool unit 20 exceeds the resumption criterion. If the length of the pool unit 20 is less than or equal to the restart criterion, the operations from step 110 to step 114 are repeated until the restart criterion is exceeded.

If it is determined in step 115 that the length of the pool section 20 has exceeded the resumption criterion, the operation of the pickup unit 24 is resumed in step 116, and the equiangular speed rotation of the table 14 and the ball feeder 15 is resumed in step 117. The flow returns to step 104.

On the other hand, when the number of workpieces 12 processed by the pickup unit 24 is significantly lower than the number of workpieces 12 supplied from the ball feeder 15 due to some reason, the length of the pool portion 20 formed on the table 14 is long. Although the length of the pool portion 20 is not allowed to be allowed to extend without limitation due to the mechanism of the apparatus, whether the length of the pool portion 20 is equal to or less than the preset longest standard in step 104. It is determined whether or not. When it is determined that the length of the pool unit 20 is equal to or longer than the longest reference, control for shortening the length of the pool unit is performed.

The part supply control method for shortening the length of the pool part is performed according to the lower right flow in FIG. If it is determined in step 104 that the length of the pool unit 20 is greater than or equal to the longest reference, the control flow proceeds to step 118. In step 118, the operation of only the ball feeder 15 is stopped. Since the operation of the ball feeder 15 is stopped, the supply of the workpiece 12 to the table 14 is interrupted, but the table 14 and the ball feeder 15 continue to rotate at an equiangular speed, and the pickup of the workpiece 12 of the pickup unit 24 continues. Done. For this reason, among the workpieces 12 placed on the table 14, the workpiece 12a having a desired posture is picked up by the pickup unit 20, and the workpiece 12b not having the desired posture flows downstream of the pickup area 24, and the pool portion. The length of 20 decreases.

In step 119, the length of the pool unit 20 on the table 14 is continuously measured, and it is determined whether or not the length of the pool unit 20 is equal to or less than the restart criterion. If it is determined in step 119 that the length of the pool section 20 has become equal to or less than the resumption criterion, the operation of the ball feeder 15 is resumed in step 120 and the supply of the work 12 onto the table 14 is resumed. In this state, since the pool unit 20 in which a sufficient number of works 12 are placed on the table 14 is formed, the control flow proceeds to step 105, and the work 12 is placed on the table by the flow on the left side of FIG. The operation of forming the pool portion 20 by being placed densely on 14 is repeated. For this reason, a pool part can always be maintained on a suitable length on the table 14.

Next, another embodiment of the component supply apparatus according to the present invention will be briefly described. In addition, about the number which shows a common structure and components, the same number as the said embodiment is used.
As shown in FIG. 10, in the component supply device 65 of another embodiment, the ball feeder 15 and the rotation mechanism 32 are disposed on the outer peripheral side of the table 14. A drive mechanism (not shown) is provided below the rotation mechanism 32, and the drive mechanism is controlled by the control mechanism 25, and an arrow 67 is placed on the rail 66 provided on the arc around the rotation center of the table 14. It is configured to move freely in the direction. The control mechanism 25 controls the drive mechanism so that the ball feeder 15 maintains a relative positional relationship with the table 14 or moves on the rail 66 independently of the table 14. In addition, without providing the rail 66, the drive mechanism is disposed at the rotation center of the table 14, and the ball feeder 15 and the rotation mechanism 32 are attached to the tip of the arm protruding from the drive mechanism toward the outer periphery of the table 14, The same effect can be obtained even if the arm is rotated by the drive mechanism.
In addition, since other configurations, operations and effects, and control methods in the other embodiments are the same as those in the above-described embodiments, description thereof will be omitted.

In the component supply device 65 of this other embodiment, since the ball feeder 15 is arranged on the outer peripheral side of the table 14, the ball feeder 15 can be easily replaced when the capacity of the ball feeder 15 is changed. Further, since a space is generated below the table 14, other devices can be arranged below the table 14. For example, a pallet for supplying workpieces to an automatic assembly machine or an automatic inspection machine can be arranged to save the space. Utilizing in three dimensions, each device can be arranged compactly.

In the above description, the ball feeder is used to supply the workpiece onto the table. However, the workpiece can be supplied onto the table even if a hopper is used instead of the ball feeder.
Specifically, it can be realized by replacing the ball feeder with a concave container and replacing the chute swinging portion of the spraying mechanism with a component hopper. The container collects and accommodates a workpiece that has not been picked up by the pickup unit. The hopper is provided with a workpiece supply hole at the bottom and a workpiece passage sensor is attached to the supply hole to swing the hopper. The work can be supplied on the table while swinging left and right by the mechanism. The supply of the workpiece from the above to the hopper can be performed, for example, by providing a very small belt conveyor. With such a configuration, substantially the same function as in the embodiment can be obtained.

Since the component supply apparatus according to the present invention is configured and controlled as described above, an appropriate space is provided on the periphery of the table to form a pool portion in which workpieces are placed densely and continuously in multiple rows. Therefore, it is possible to quickly select the workpieces by a simple image processing method, and the pickup unit can exert the maximum processing capability and supply the workpiece in a desired posture to the assembly line on the downstream side. . For this reason, the production efficiency of the automatic assembly machine or automatic inspection machine in the factory can be greatly improved, and its economic value is extremely large.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Parts supply apparatus 12 Work 13 Opening part 14 Table 15 Ball feeder 17 Chute 18 Chute rocking part 19 Spraying mechanism 20 Pool part 21 Pool part sensor 24 Pickup unit 43 Work placement width 45 Work passage sensor

Claims

A rotating circular table, a ball feeder provided with a chute for supplying a work on the table, and a pool part sensor for detecting the length of the pool part which is a placement area for the work supplied on the table are provided. The work is supplied onto the table by forming the pool area by moving or rotating the ball feeder by a predetermined angle based on the detection result of the pool section sensor. A parts supply device.
The component supply device according to claim 1, wherein the circular table has an opening at the center, and the ball feeder rotates.
The component supply apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the pool unit includes a unit for picking up a workpiece by image processing, and a workpiece spraying mechanism is provided at a tip of the chute.
The spray mechanism includes a mechanism in which a chute swinging portion is swingably provided at a tip of the chute, and the swinging portion is swung left and right within a range of a work placement width on the table to spray. The component supply apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3.
The component supply device according to claim 4, wherein the chute swinging unit includes a workpiece passing sensor, and the chute swinging unit swings by a swinging sequence based on a detection signal of the workpiece passing sensor.
The component supply device according to claim 5, wherein the swing sequence is a sequence in which swing and stop are sequentially repeated at a plurality of locations according to a work placement width on the table.
When the workpiece is supplied from the ball feeder onto the table while the ball feeder is moved or rotated while maintaining a relative positional relationship with the table, and the chute swinging unit reaches the swing limit, The component supply apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ball feeder is moved or rotated in the opposite direction relative to the table.
A step of supplying a work from the ball feeder onto the table while moving or rotating the ball feeder while maintaining a relative positional relationship with the table, and a pool formed by the work supplied on the table A step of detecting the length of the pool portion with a sensor for the pool portion, and when the sensor for the pool portion detects that the length of the pool portion has reached the shortest reference, the ball feeder is relative to the table. A component supply control method characterized in that the workpiece is supplied while being moved or rotated in the reverse direction and the number of workpieces placed on the pool portion is increased.
9. The component supply control method according to claim 8, wherein after the pool unit sensor detects that the length of the pool unit has reached the longest reference, the pool unit has been shortened to the restart reference. A component supply control method, wherein the supply of the workpiece from the ball feeder is stopped until the part sensor detects it.