JP2547868B2 - Parts separation device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial application] The present invention uses, for example, an image recognition device and based on information on the position and shape of a component, by a component transfer device, a component alignment unit such as a magazine or tape. The present invention relates to a component separating device capable of aligning components on a substrate.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a typical device for separating components, a part feeder or a transfer machine utilizing vibration is known. Here, in the parts feeder, orienteering etc. for each individual part, and in the transfer machine, the figure holes etc. of the parts to be transferred are individually designed, so that the parts can be placed in the required posture. It is configured to be supplied in an aligned state. On the other hand, according to the "part feeder" disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 61-109630, the parts are placed in the parts holder of the pallet by tilting and oscillating the parts pallet into which a large number of parts are loaded. ,
A technique for recognizing a holding state of a component by image processing of a camera is disclosed.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in these conventional component separation devices, the ratio of the dedicated portion to the component is large, and it is difficult to individually adjust the components, and the reliability of the device has a difference depending on the component. Was. In other words, this means that the conventional component separation device is a dedicated component separation device for each type of component, and some components cannot be aligned or supplied.

Therefore, the component separating apparatus of the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to be capable of picking up a large number of supplied components regardless of the type of the components to be picked up. An object of the present invention is to provide a versatile component separation device that can be maintained in various states.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and to achieve the object, the present invention provides a bag-shaped member that is deformable in the state where a large number of components to be separated are accommodated, and a bottom portion of the bag-shaped member. A component separating member that is attached to the base member and that forms a holding portion that holds the component, and that forms a part of the component accommodating portion together with the bag-shaped member, and elevating means that enables the component separating member to move up and down inside the bag-shaped member And a tilting means for tilting the component separating member from the horizontal state to a tilting means, and a picking up means for picking up the component from the holding part, the lifting means after the component is put into the component storing part. To raise the component separating member to temporarily hold the component in or on the holding portion, and tilt the component separating member at the rising position or the raising process of the component separating member to bag the components not held in the holding portion. It is characterized in that the parts held in the holding portion are dropped by the pick-up means so as to be picked up.

Further, it is preferable that the apparatus further comprises control means for driving and controlling the inclining means so as to alternately change the inclined state of the component separating member from the horizontal plane to the clockwise direction and the counterclockwise direction.

And, preferably, a vibration generating means for giving a vibration to the component separating member is provided.

[Operation] In the component separating device configured as described above, after the component is loaded into the component storage unit, the component separating member is raised by the elevating means to temporarily hold the component in or on the holding unit, In the rising position of the separating member or in the rising process, the component separating member is tilted to drop the component not held in the holding portion into the bag-shaped member, and only the component held in the holding portion is picked up by the pick-up means, while the bag-shaped member is formed. It works so that the parts that have fallen inside are collected in the storage part and the dropped parts are held again in the holding part.

[Example] An example of the component separating device of the present invention will be described below.
This will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 9.

As shown in the front view of FIG. 1, the component separating apparatus 10 according to the embodiment includes a base 12 arranged on a base (not shown). On the base 12, three columnar support columns 14a to 14c stand upright and divided into two and one on the left and right in the drawing. As shown in FIG. 3, a donut-shaped mounting plate 16 is fixed on the support columns 14a to 14c.

Here, slide rails 18a and 18b are fixed to the inner surfaces of the two support columns 14a and 14b on the left side so as to extend in the vertical direction, respectively, and slide blocks 20a and 18b are attached to the respective slide rails 18a and 18b. , 20b are slidably mounted. Then, across these slide blocks 20a and 20b,
The elevating platform 22 is fixed.

On the other hand, a drive cylinder mechanism 24 for vertically driving the elevating platform 22 is disposed on the base 12 on the left side in the figure, which is located between the two support columns 14a and 14b on the left side. I have.
The drive cylinder mechanism 24 includes a pneumatically operated cylinder body 24.
It is composed of a and a piston rod 24b which is driven to move back and forth in the vertical direction from the cylinder body 24a, and is set so as to receive an operation signal from the cylinder drive section 24A, as shown in FIG. And this piston rod
As shown in FIG. 4, the upper end of 24b and the lift 22 are substantially L-shaped with both ends bent at 90 degrees to form attachment pieces 26a, 26b.
They are connected so as to move integrally via a connecting member 26 having the following shape.

As shown in FIG. 1, the lower position of the lifting table 22 is attached to the base 12 and elastically abuts on the lower surface of the horizontal portion of the connecting member 26.
Is defined by The position above the elevating platform 22 is determined by positioning pins 32 attached to a first support member 30 provided over the outer surfaces of the upper ends of the support columns 14a and 14b.
In this case, the upper end of the piston rod 24b is precisely defined by the contact. Here, the positioning pin 32 is screwed to the first support member 30 so as to be able to move back and forth along the vertical direction, and its upper position is set to be adjustable.

A second support member 34 is attached to the inner surface of the first support member 30, and the upper end of the piston rod 24b is attached to the inner end of the second support member 34 by the positioning pin 3.
Before contacting the lower end of the second 2, a second shock absorber 36 is mounted on the upper surface of the horizontal portion of the connecting member 26 to elastically contact and absorb the shock.

On the other hand, on the mounting plate 16 described above, a substantially funnel-shaped separation table 38 is provided.
Is attached. The separation table 38 includes a donut-shaped main body portion 38a formed in accordance with a shape just superimposed on the mounting plate 16 and a slope 38b extending obliquely upward from the inner peripheral surface of the main body portion 38a. It is formed integrally with the inclined portion 38c having a peripheral surface.

Here, as shown in FIG. 3, the tip of the elevating platform 22 extends just below the central through-hole 16a constituting the donut shape of the mounting plate 16 in a state of being horizontally extended. Piece 4
0a and 40b are attached. A pair of standing pieces 42a, 42b facing each other are attached to the extending pieces 40a, 40b in a state of vertically extending. As shown in FIG. 1, the upper ends of the standing pieces 42a and 42b are set so as to be located below the mounting plate 16 by a predetermined distance in a state where the elevator 22 is pushed down to the lowest position. .

And, at the upper ends of both upstanding pieces 42a, 42b, a separating piece support frame 4 is provided.
4 is rotatably supported. In detail, the separation frame support frame 44 is formed of a substantially square frame body, and as shown in FIG. 3, support shafts 46a, 46b are provided at the center portions of the frame portions corresponding to the standing pieces 42a, 42b, respectively. Are mounted in a state protruding outward. Here, the support shafts 46a, 46b are rotatably supported by bearing bushes 48a, 48b attached to the upper ends of the corresponding standing pieces 42a, 42b so as to penetrate therethrough.

Note that a separation piece 50 formed in a substantially square plate shape is mounted on the separation piece support frame 44 in a state where four sides are supported. As shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of, in this embodiment, twenty component separating recesses 52 are formed on the upper surface of the separating piece 50 in a 4 × 5 array.
Here, each separation recess 52 is set to a shape corresponding to the shape of the component to be separated, specifically, a circular shape slightly larger than a circumscribed circle of the component.

The partial piece 50 is formed as a semitransparent diffusion plate, and the lower surface of the partial piece 50 is irradiated with light from the lower side as shown in FIGS.
A backup upright 54 connected to 54A is provided. By forming the separating piece 50 from the diffusion plate and arranging the back light 54 on the lower surface of the separation piece 50, the parts W separated and stored in the respective recesses 52 are irradiated from below through the diffusion plate. , Will emerge that silette.

That is, also in this embodiment, it is determined whether or not the component W separated by the separation piece 50 is recognized, that is, whether or not only one component W is separated and stored in each recess 52. Similarly, the image recognition camera 56 takes an image of the entire separation piece 50, and the recognition / discrimination unit 56A performs image processing to recognize the image. At the time of this image processing, the parts W separated and housed in the respective recesses 52 emerge as a sillette, so that the image recognition of the parts is surely executed.

That is, in the case where the separating piece 50 is not used as a diffusion plate and the light is not projected by the back-up light 54, if a film that reflects all or a part of the surface of the component is coated, the light from the component surface may be lost. Due to the reflected light, an image that enters the camera 56 may not be an accurate image. However, by using a backlit light 54 as a silt image as in this embodiment, the above-described problem of reflection can be solved.

In addition, a vibration solenoid is mounted as a vibration mechanism 58 on the lower surface of the back-up light 54. As shown by the dashed line in FIG. 4, the arrangement range of the vibration solenoid 58 is defined.

The lower end edge is clamped around the entire circumference between the separation piece 50 and the separation piece support frame 44, and the main body of the mounting plate 16 and the separation table 38 is held.
A bag member 60 for accommodating a large number of parts W to be separated is attached with the upper end edge thereof being clamped over the entire circumference between the bag member 38a and the base member 38a. The bag member 60 is formed to have flexibility and elasticity.

The tilting mechanism 62 for tilting the set angle with respect to the horizontal plane is connected to the separating piece 50 configured as described above. This tilt mechanism 62, as shown in FIG.
A driven pulley 64 integrally attached to the protruding end of the support shaft 46a on the near side, and a mounting stay 66 attached to a lower portion of the upright piece 42a on the near side as shown in FIGS.
And a drive motor 68 including a stepping motor attached to the attachment stay 66, and the drive motor 68.
A motor driving unit 68A for driving the motor 68, a driving pulley 70 integrally attached to a driving shaft 68a of the driving motor 68, and a timing belt wrapped endlessly over the driving pulley 70 and the driven pulley 64. It consists of 72.

Since the tilting mechanism 62 is configured as described above, the separation piece 50 is tilted at an arbitrary angle and along an arbitrary tilting direction when the drive motor 68 is started.

In the component separating apparatus 10 in this embodiment configured as described above, the component separating operation in the control unit 10A as a component separating method which is a feature of the present invention will be described below.

First, a plurality of parts W of the same type to be separated from this are put into the bag member 60. After this closing operation, the separation operation command is input to the control unit 10A. Then, a signal is output from the control unit 10A to each part in accordance with the procedure described below, whereby the separating operation is performed.

That is, in this separating operation, first, as shown in FIG.
Start to excite. Then, as shown in FIG.
Working compressed air is introduced into the cylinder chamber below the cylinder body 24a of the drive cylinder mechanism 24, and the piston rod 24b rises. Further, as shown in (c) of the figure, the first tilt drive signal S ₁ is output from the control unit 10A to the tilt mechanism 62 in response to the activation of the vibration mechanism 58. That is, the first
In response to the tilt drive signal S _{1 of (1)} being input to the motor drive unit 68A, the drive motor 68 is activated, and the separation piece 50 is moved in one tilt direction via the drive pulley 70, the timing belt 72, and the driven pulley 64. The angle of inclination is the first angle of inclination with respect to the horizontal plane, and in this embodiment, about 5 degrees with respect to the horizontal plane as shown in FIG. 6 in the counterclockwise direction.

In this way, the separation piece 50 is driven upward from the lowermost position while being vibrated and inclined. Due to the upward movement of the separation piece 50, the intermediate portion of the bag member 60 once hangs downward, and hangs down to the maximum when the separation piece 50 passes the side of the mounting plate 16. Thereafter, as the separating piece 50 further rises, the intermediate portion of the bag member 60 gradually returns to the original tensioned state, and the upper end of the piston rod 24b is brought into contact with the lower end of the positioning pin 32 as shown in FIG. It comes into contact and rises to the highest position.

Along with such a lifting operation of the separating piece 50, during the ascent, the separating piece 50 is tilted at the first tilt angle, and a number of parts W mounted thereon are separated.
It will slide down on the top of 50. When sliding down, the parts W fall sequentially into the recesses 52, where they are stored and separated.

When the next component W 'attempts to slide into the concave portion 52 in which the component W is stored, the component W' passes over the already stored component W, and It will fall into the concave part 52 located below.

In this manner, while the separating piece 50 rises to the uppermost position in a state where the separating piece 50 is tilted at the first tilt angle, the component W riding thereon is stored and separated in the recess 52 while sliding down. Will be. The component W that has fallen from the separation piece 50 without entering the recess 52 will be accumulated between the slope 38b and the bag member 60 on the left side portion of the separation table 38 in the figure.

Here, in the state brought to this top position,
Although the bag member 60 has an inclined posture, as described above, since the bag member 60 is formed of a material having elasticity,
The tensioned state is maintained over the entire circumference of the bag member 60. Further, even after the separation piece 50 has been raised to the uppermost position in this way, the supply of working compressed air to the cylinder chamber below the cylinder body 24a of the drive cylinder mechanism 24 is continued, and this uppermost position is maintained. Become.

With such uppermost position is maintained for a predetermined time t _1,
As shown in FIG. 5 (b), the vibration operation by the vibration mechanism 58 is completed, and as shown in FIG. 5 (c), in the tilting mechanism 62, the control unit 10A moves the tilting mechanism 62 to the second position. The tilt drive signal S _{2 of} is output. That is, in response to the input of the second tilt drive signal to the motor drive unit 68A, the drive motor 68 is restarted, and the separation piece 50 is separated by the drive pulley 70, the timing belt 72, and the driven pulley 64. Along the one tilt direction described above, only a second tilt angle that is set to be larger than the above-described first tilt angle is not shown in this embodiment, but about the second tilt angle is set along the counterclockwise direction. 35
It will be inclined with respect to the horizontal plane only by a degree.

Since the separation piece 50 is tilted at the large second tilt angle in this manner, in a state where the separation piece 50 is partially locked on the separation piece 50, a large number of unseparated parts W resting thereon are removed. , Based on this large slope, forced to slide down from above,
It will be collected in the left side portion inside the bag member 60. And
When a predetermined time t _{2 has} elapsed since the second tilt drive signal S ₂ was output, in the tilt mechanism 62, the drive motor 68 is driven in the reverse direction, that is, clockwise, and the separation piece 50 returns to the horizontal state. Will be done.

In this way, the component separating device 10 of this embodiment separates a predetermined number of components W from a plurality of components and takes a predetermined separating posture in each concave portion 52.
Thereafter, these parts W separated in the separation piece 50 are
The image is taken by the camera 56 for image recognition, and the recognition / discrimination unit 56
At A, it is determined whether or not only one component W has been separated for each recess 52, and whether or not the separation posture is correct.

Then, when the recognition / determination unit 56A determines that only one component W is separated in each recess 52 in the correct posture, the separated component W is transferred from the corresponding recess 52 to FIG. As shown, the parts are sequentially taken out by the component transfer device 74, transported to, for example, the magazine M, and sequentially stored therein.

On the other hand, when all the parts W stored and separated in the respective recesses 52 are taken out by the part transfer device 42, the lowering operation of the separation pieces 50 is started to execute the next separating operation. That is, when the last separated component W is gripped by the component transfer device 74 and taken out of the separation piece 50, the control unit 10A outputs a lowering signal to the drive cylinder mechanism 24, and responds to the lowering signal. Thus, the working compressed air is selectively introduced into the cylinder chamber above the cylinder body 24a.

As a result, the piston rod 24b is pushed down,
By bringing the connecting member 26 into contact with the shock absorber 28 from above in a buffered state, the state shown in FIG. 1 is brought about again. As a result, the remaining parts W that have rolled down between the separation table 38 and the bag member 60 fall into the bag member 60 again based on the inclination of the slope 38b and are accommodated therein, in other words. , Will be placed on the separation piece 50.
In this way, a series of separating operations is completed, and the next separating operation is started.

That is, from the state shown in FIG. 1, the raising operation of the separation piece 50 is started as described above, and the separation piece 50 is vibrated by the vibration mechanism 58, so that one component W is provided in each recess 52. It will be stored separately from the others.

As shown as a flow chart in FIG. 9, in the control unit 10A, in the next separating operation, the tilting direction of the tilting mechanism 62 is set to be switched to the tilting direction opposite to the previous tilting direction. ing.

That is, as shown in FIG. 9, in step S10,
When it is detected that the separating piece 50 has descended to the lowest position,
In step S12, it is determined whether or not the tilting direction of the separating piece 50 by the tilting mechanism 62 in the previous separating operation is clockwise. If YES is determined in this step S12, that is, if it is determined in the previous separating operation that the separating piece 50 is tilted in the clockwise direction by the tilting mechanism 62, in step S14, the current separating operation is performed. The tilting direction of the separating piece 50 by the tilting mechanism 62 in the operation is set to the counterclockwise direction, and the process returns to the original control routine. On the other hand, if NO in step S12, that is,
If it is determined by the tilting mechanism 62 that the separating piece 50 is tilted in the counterclockwise direction in the previous separation / movement, in step S16, the separation piece 50 of the separating piece 50 by the tilting mechanism 62 in the present separating operation is moved. The tilt direction is set clockwise, and the process returns to the original control routine.

By thus defining the tilt direction of the tilt mechanism 62 in the control unit 10A, the tilt direction of the separation piece 50 in the tilt mechanism 62 is clockwise every time the separation piece 50 is driven upward by the drive cylinder mechanism 24. → Counterclockwise → Clockwise → Counterclockwise → ... will be set alternately.

In this way, the unseparated parts that slide down from the separation piece 50 and fall into the bag member 60 based on the inclination of the separation piece 50 are distributed in a good balance to the left and right of the separation piece 50 for each separation operation. As a result, the amount of the components accumulated in the bag member 60 is always maintained in the left and right even state. As a result, when the separation piece 50 is lowered to the lowest position, the parts are placed on the separation piece 50 in an even state, and the probability that the separation piece 50 separates is maintained to the maximum. Will be.

As described in detail above, according to this embodiment, one component is separated from the other components in each recess 52 from a plurality of components W of the same type by the above-described separating operation.
Separation can be performed in a predetermined separation posture.

Further, in this embodiment, when the separating piece 50 is being raised from the lowered position, the separating piece 50 is vibrated,
The tilt angle is set to a smaller first tilt angle, and vibration is stopped at the uppermost position to set a larger second tilt angle. As a result, while the separating piece 50 is rising, a certain amount of the parts W slides down from above, and the individual parts W enter into the recesses 52 that are in the middle of falling, so that the above-described reliable separating operation is performed. Will be done. In addition, the part W that has been locked to a part of the separation piece 50 without slipping off at the first inclination angle during the ascending, at the uppermost position, the separation piece 50 should be largely inclined to the second inclination angle. The locking state is reliably released by the
50 will fall from above. In this way, after the separation operation is completed, only the parts W that are respectively housed in the recesses 52 and separated are placed on the separation piece 50, and all the parts that are not separated are placed on the separation piece 50. Sliding down, bag member
It will fall into 60 and be stored.

In particular, in this embodiment, during the ascent of the separation piece 50 described above, the separation piece 50 is
Since the state excited by 58 will be continued,
The degree to which the component W slides down from the separation piece 50 during the ascent is increased, and the probability of separation is increased.

Further, in this embodiment, when the separation piece 50 is raised to the uppermost position, the vibration operation by the vibration mechanism 58 is stopped when the separation piece 50 is tilted at the large second tilt angle. Is set. As a result, the component W once housed and separated in each recess 52 is taken out from this, based on this large second inclination angle, falls into the bag member 60, and performs the bending and separation operations. The part W that has been removed
It is prevented from being collected inside and the separation efficiency is reduced.

Further, in this embodiment, the inclination direction of the separation piece 50 in the previous separation operation and the inclination direction of the separation piece 50 in the next separation operation are switched and set in opposite directions. As a result, the bag member slips off from the separating piece 50.
The parts falling into the 60 will be switched to the left and right for each separating operation, and the parts will not be biased in the bag member 60.
It will be stored in a uniform state. In this way, the probability of being separated by the separating piece 50 is always maintained at the maximum.

It goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above-described embodiment and can be variously modified without departing from the scope of the present invention.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, the first tilt angle is set to 5 degrees, and the second tilt angle is set to 35 degrees. However, the present invention is not limited to such numerical values. The second inclination angle may be any value as long as it is set to be larger than the first inclination angle.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, a versatile component separating device capable of holding a large number of components to be picked up regardless of the types of components to be picked up is provided. Can be provided.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 is a front view showing the construction of an embodiment of the component separating apparatus according to the present invention; FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the construction of a control system in the component separating apparatus shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 4 is a top view showing the component separating device shown in the figure with a part of the separation table cut away; FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the component separating device shown in FIG. 1 cut along the line VII-VII. FIG. 5 is a timing chart for explaining the separation control operation in the control unit as one embodiment of the method for separating parts according to the present invention; FIG. 6 is a front view showing the separation piece in a tilted state; FIG. 7 is a front view showing a state in which a separating piece is raised; FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a structure of a transfer device for transferring the parts separated by the part separating device shown in FIG. 1 to a magazine; The figure shows a flow chart showing the switching control means of the inclination direction in the control unit. Is Chiyato. In the drawing, 10 ... part separating device, 10A ... control unit, 12 ... base, 14a; 14b; 14c ... support column, 16 ... mounting plate, 18a; 18b ...
… Slide rail, 20a; 20b …… Slide block, 22
... Elevating table, 24 ... Cylinder mechanism, 24a ... Cylinder body, 24b ... Piston rod, 24A ... Cylinder drive section, 26 ... Connecting member, 26a; 26b ... Mounting piece, 28 ... First
Shock absorber, 30 …… first support member, 32 ……
Positioning pin, 34 second support member 36 second shock absorber 38 separation table 38a body part 3
8b …… Slope, 38c …… Slope, 40a; 40b …… Extension piece, 42
a; 42b ... standing piece, 44 ... separating piece support frame, 46a; 46b ... support shaft, 48a; 48b ... bearing bush, 50 ... separating piece, 52 ...
Recessed part, 54 ... Back-up plump, 54A ... Light control part, 56 ... Camera, 56A ... Recognition / discrimination part, 58 ... Excitation mechanism (excitation solenoid), 60 ... Bag member, 62 ... Inclination mechanism, 64 …… Drive pulley, 66 …… Mounting stay, 68 …… Drive motor, 68A …… Motor drive section, 68a …… Drive shaft, 70…
... Drive pulley, 72 ... Timing belt, 74 ... Parts transfer device.

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A bag-shaped member which is deformable in the state of containing a large number of parts to be separated, and a holding portion which is attached to the bottom of the bag-shaped member and holds the parts, and together with the bag-shaped member. A component separating member that forms a part of the component housing, an elevating unit that enables the component separating member to move up and down inside the bag-shaped member, an inclining unit that changes the component separating member from a horizontal state to an inclined state, A component separating device comprising: a pick-up means for picking up the component from a holding part, wherein the component separating member is raised by the elevating means after the component is put into the component storing part, Alternatively, the component is temporarily held on the holding portion, and the component which is not held in the holding portion by tilting the component separating member in the rising position or the raising process of the component separating member is used. A component separating apparatus configured to drop into the bag-shaped member and pick up the component held in the holding portion by the pick-up means. 2. A control means for driving and controlling the tilting means so as to alternately change the tilted state of the component separating member from a horizontal plane to a clockwise direction and a counterclockwise direction. The component separation device according to item. 3. The component separating apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising vibration generating means for applying a vibration to the component separating member.