JP-7855426-B2 - Parts supply device

JP7855426B2JP 7855426 B2JP7855426 B2JP 7855426B2JP-7855426-B2

Inventors

志村洋一
梶本武志
松井周平

Assignees

ＮＴＮ株式会社

Dates

Publication Date: 20260508
Application Date: 20220623

Claims (4)

A vibrating bowl feeder having a bowl that transports and supplies the placed workpieces along a transport path while aligning them by vibration, The system includes a conveying table for transporting the workpieces supplied in an aligned state from the vibrating bowl feeder, The transport platform is arranged in a ring shape along the outer circumference of the vibrating bowl feeder. The conveying table is a parts supply device having a rotating disc on which the workpiece conveying surface is formed on its upper surface, A parts supply device provided with a posture stabilization means on the transport surface that suppresses changes in the position and orientation of the workpiece while the transport table is being transported.
A parts supply device according to claim 1, wherein the rotating disk is provided with a work supply area for supplying the workpieces, a sensing area downstream of the work supply area in the workpiece flow direction for detecting the position and orientation of the workpieces, a pickup area downstream of the sensing area in the workpiece flow direction for picking up the workpieces, and a workpiece recovery area downstream of the pickup area in the workpiece flow direction for returning workpieces not picked up by the pickup area to the bowl.
A parts supply device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the attitude stabilization means is a groove extending in the circumferential direction of the conveying table formed on the conveying surface.
A parts supply device according to claim 3, wherein the radially inner wall surface of the groove is inclined upward toward the radially inward direction.

Description

This invention relates to a parts supply device for supplying workpieces such as mechanical parts and electronic components to a transport table. There are parts supply devices for machine parts, electronic components, etc., that automatically align the workpieces and supply them to a conveyor table, and then a robot picks up the workpieces on the conveyor table and supplies them to the next process (for example, Patent Document 1). Patent No. 6892952 This is a plan view showing a parts supply system including a parts supply device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.This is a side view showing the parts supply system.This is a perspective view showing the parts supply system.This is a cross-sectional view showing a groove, which is a type of attitude stabilization means for the component supply device.This is a front view showing a close-up of the handle of the parts supply system.Figure 5A is a side view of the hand as seen from the direction of arrow VB.This is a front view showing a hand in a different position than Figure 5A.Figure 6A is a side view of the hand as seen from the direction of arrow VIB.This is an enlarged front view showing the handle of a parts supply system including a parts supply device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.Figure 7A is a side view of the hand as seen from the direction of arrow VIIB.This is an enlarged front view showing the handle of a parts supply system including a parts supply device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.Figure 8A is a side view of the hand seen from the direction of arrow VIIIB.This is a side view showing a modified example of the same hand. The following describes preferred embodiments of the present invention with reference to the drawings. Figures 1 to 3 are cross-sectional, side, and perspective views of a parts supply system SY according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In the following description, "upstream" and "downstream" refer to the "upstream" and "downstream" directions of the workpiece flow. [Entire System] As shown in Figure 1, the parts supply system SY automatically picks up the workpieces W, which have been aligned by the parts supply device 2, using a robot 4 and a hand 6 (Figure 2) to supply them to the next automated machine or the like. More specifically, the parts supply system SY comprises a parts supply device 2 that supplies the workpieces W to a transport table 8, a robot 4 that transports the workpieces W from a first area A1 where the transport table 8 is located to a second area A2 different from the first area A1, and a hand 6 (Figure 2) attached to the tip of the arm 10 of the robot 4. In this embodiment, the workpiece W is a cylindrical member such as a bolt. However, the workpiece W is not limited to this and may be, for example, a machine part, an electronic part, a plastic part, a pharmaceutical product, a medical product, a food product, a general merchandise item, etc. The parts supply device 2, robot 4, and hand 6 are synchronously controlled by the control device 12. Specifically, the position and orientation of the workpiece W on the transport table 8 are detected by the workpiece detection means 14. The robot 4's arm 10 moves to the position detected by the workpiece detection means 14, and the hand 6 grasps the workpiece W at an angle corresponding to the orientation detected by the workpiece detection means 14. Then, the robot 4's arm 10 moves to the second area A2, and the hand 6 releases the workpiece W. This operation is then repeated. In this embodiment, the workpiece detection means 14 is a photographic means such as a camera. However, the workpiece detection means 14 is not limited to a camera; for example, it may be a distance sensor or a contact-type workpiece detection means. The camera may be provided exclusively for detecting the position and orientation of the workpiece W, or it may be used for other purposes as well. Furthermore, the camera may be fixed or attached to the arm 4 of the robot 4. [Parts supply equipment] The parts supply device 2 includes a vibrating bowl feeder 16 that aligns the received workpieces W by vibration, and a transport table 8 that transports the workpieces W supplied in an aligned state from the vibrating bowl feeder 16. The transport table 8 is arranged along the outer circumference of the vibrating bowl feeder 16 so as to surround the outer circumference of the vibrating bowl feeder 16. The vibrating bowl feeder 16 comprises a bowl-shaped bowl 18 with a transport path 18a on its inner circumference, and a vibrator (not shown) that vibrates the bowl 18. Workpieces W contained in the bowl 18 are sequentially transported along the transport path 18a to the workpiece discharge section 18b located at the top of the transport path 18a, while being aligned by the vibration of the vibrator. The parts supply device 2 of this embodiment has vertical walls 20 that protrude above the upper sur