JP7559290B1 - Pin acquisition device and pin acquisition method - Google Patents

Abstract

[Problem] To provide a pin acquisition device and pin acquisition method capable of stably acquiring some pins from a large number of pins. [Solution] The pin acquisition device 1 vibrates a pin placement section 3 having a groove 6 formed therein to cause a large number of pins to bounce, stores a number of pins inside a bottle section 23 capable of holding the pins in an upright position by a suction arm 10 that suctions and fixes a number of the bounced pins, vibrates the bottle section to eject a single pin through an insertion hole provided in the bottom surface of the internal space, and brings one end of the single pin into contact with a stopper 40 that is positioned at a distance from the exit of the insertion hole in the pin ejection direction shorter than the entire length of the pin, thereby holding the single pin in an upright position. [Selected Figure] Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a pin acquisition device and a pin acquisition method, and in particular to a pin acquisition device and a pin acquisition method capable of acquiring a portion of pins from a large number of supplied pins.

Conventionally, a large number of pins were stored in a cylindrical case, and workers would remove the pins from the case directly onto a desk or flat workbench, distributing the pins on the workbench, and then manually remove the pins from the multiple pins distributed on the workbench by picking them up with tweezers or similar tools.

The pins in question are very small, for example, with a diameter of around 30 μm and a total length of 10 to 20 mm. Because the pins are small and require delicate handling, operational errors are likely to occur and the worker must be highly skilled.

Patent Document 1 discloses a micropin supplying device that aligns micropins with flanges and inserts (supplies) them one by one to a specified position. According to Patent Document 1, the micropin supplying device is composed of a vibration chute that aligns the micropins in a hopper, a swivel arm that has a protrusion with a suction port that sucks and captures the micropins arranged in contact with the front end of the vibration chute and that moves forward and backward and rotates by a shuttle, and a shutter that is inserted between the tip of the vibration chute and the second micropin, and the protrusion of the swivel arm acts as a stopper to stop the micropin moving forward on the vibration chute, and after the micropin is captured by the suction port of the protrusion, it is separated from the second micropin by the shutter and the adsorbed micropin is moved to the delivery position. This allows the micropins to be supplied to the specified position one by one.

JP 04-45013

Conventionally, the task of picking out just one pin from a large number of small pins was done manually. Because the pins were small and required delicate handling, manual work was prone to errors and required the worker to be highly skilled.

In addition, the pins handled by the micro-pin feeder disclosed in Patent Document 1 are approximately 0.4 mm in diameter and have a flange, so it is expected that it would be difficult to use the micro-pin feeder for pins with a diameter of around 30 μm and no flange.

In this situation, the inventors of the present invention carried out extensive research and experimentation to improve the above-mentioned problem, and came up with the invention, which solves this problem by using vibration to cause some of the pins to bounce from the many pins when obtaining the pins, regulating the axial direction of the bounced pins and suction-fixing them, storing the multiple pins that have been suction-fixed and having an internal space in which the multiple pins are held in an upright position, and discharging a single pin through an insertion hole provided in the bottom of the internal space with a diameter that allows only one pin to pass through, thereby gradually reducing the number of pins from a supply of many pins and making it possible to remove a single pin in an upright position.

The present invention aims to provide a pin acquisition device and method that can stably acquire pins by causing some of the pins to bounce from a large number of pins using vibration, suctioning and fixing the bounced pins, and gradually reducing the number of pins, and further capable of extracting a single pin in an upright state.

In order to achieve the above object, the pin acquisition device according to the present invention is a pin acquisition device for acquiring some pins from a large number of pins, and includes a pin placement section configured in a groove shape and capable of regulating the axial direction of the large number of pins placed inside so that it coincides with the groove direction, a first vibration application section capable of vibrating the pin placement section to cause at least some of the large number of pins to bounce inside the pin placement section, a suction arm that sucks in and fixes a number of the bounced pins via the abdomens of the number of pins above the pin placement section, and a storage device that stores the number of pins that have been sucked and fixed to the suction arm. the bottle portion having an internal space in which the plurality of pins can be held in an upright state, capable of ejecting a single pin through an insertion hole provided on the bottom surface of the internal space and having a diameter allowing only one pin to pass through; a second vibration application portion vibrating the bottle portion to eject the single pin through the insertion hole; and a stopper disposed at a distance from the exit of the insertion hole shorter than the entire length of the pin in the pin ejection direction, wherein one end of the single pin is brought into contact with the stopper and the other end is brought into contact with the insertion hole to hold the single pin in an upright state.

The suction arm of the present invention also has an air intake port facing the pin mounting portion, the air intake port facing the pin mounting portion, configured in a groove shape, and arranged inside a guide portion that can regulate the axial direction of the multiple pins that are suction-fixed to the suction arm so that it coincides with the groove direction.

The internal space of the pin mounting portion of the present invention is also characterized in that the cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the groove direction is configured to widen toward the opening direction.

The bottle portion of the present invention is also characterized in that the multiple pins are stored in the internal space via the lid portion, and the single pin is ejected by vibrating the lid portion vertically with the lid portion closed.

The present invention further includes a compressed air supply unit capable of supplying compressed air to the internal space, and the compressed air supply unit supplies the compressed air when the bottle portion vibrates.

The present invention also provides a pin acquisition device for acquiring some pins from a large number of pins, the device comprising: a pin placement section configured in a groove shape and capable of regulating the axial direction of the large number of pins placed inside so that it coincides with the groove direction; a first vibration application section capable of vibrating the pin placement section to cause at least some of the large number of pins to bounce inside the pin placement section; a suction arm that sucks and fixes a number of the bounced pins above the pin placement section through the abdomens of the number of pins; a bottle section that stores the number of pins that are sucked and fixed to the suction arm through a lid section, has an internal space in which the number of pins can be held in an upright state, and is capable of discharging a single pin through an insertion hole provided on the bottom surface of the internal space and having a diameter that allows only one pin to pass through; a compressed air supply section that supplies compressed air to the internal space when the lid section of the bottle section is closed to discharge a single pin through the insertion hole; and a stopper that is located at a distance from the outlet of the insertion hole in the pin discharge direction that is shorter than the overall length of the pin. The single pin is held in an upright position by bringing one end of the single pin into contact with the stopper and the other end into contact with the insertion hole.

The present invention also provides a pin obtaining method for obtaining some pins from a large number of pins, the method comprising: a first step of arranging a large number of pins on a pin placement section that is configured in a groove shape and that can regulate the axial direction of each of the large number of pins placed inside the pin placement section so that it coincides with a groove direction; a second step of vibrating the pin placement section to make at least some of the large number of pins bounce inside the pin placement section, and suction-fixing a plurality of the bounced pins to a suction arm that sucks and adsorbs the plurality of pins via the abdomens of the pins above the pin placement section; and a second step of sucking and adsorbing the plurality of pins that have been adsorbed and fixed to the suction arm. and a fourth step of vibrating the bottle portion to eject a single pin through an insertion hole provided on the bottom surface of the internal space and having a diameter allowing only one pin to pass through, and bringing one end of the single pin into contact with a stopper located at a distance from the exit of the insertion hole in the direction in which the pin is ejected that is shorter than the entire length of the pin, thereby holding the single pin in an upright position by the insertion hole and the stopper, thereby making the single pin retrievable.

The present invention also provides a pin obtaining method for obtaining some pins from a large number of pins, the method comprising: a first step of arranging a large number of pins on a pin placement section that is configured in a groove shape and that can regulate the axial direction of each of the large number of pins placed therein so that it coincides with a groove direction; a second step of vibrating the pin placement section to cause at least some of the large number of pins to bounce inside the pin placement section, and suction-fixing a plurality of the bounced pins to a suction arm that sucks and adsorbs the plurality of pins via the abdomens of the plurality of pins above the pin placement section; and a second step of sucking and adsorbing the plurality of pins that have been suction-fixed to the suction arm so that the plurality of pins are aligned with each other. and a fourth step of supplying compressed air to the bottle portion with the lid closed to eject a single pin through an insertion hole provided on the bottom surface of the internal space and having a diameter allowing only one pin to pass through, and bringing one end of the single pin into contact with a stopper located at a distance from the exit of the insertion hole in the direction of ejection of the pin that is shorter than the entire length of the pin, thereby holding the single pin in an upright position using the insertion hole and the stopper, thereby making the single pin retrievable.

According to the present invention, when acquiring a pin, a single pin can be acquired reliably by gradually reducing the number of pins from a supply of multiple pins in two stages.

That is, according to the present invention, in the first step, the pin mounting portion is vibrated to cause at least some of the numerous pins to bounce inside the pin mounting portion, and the suction arm sucks in and fixes several of the bounced pins via their abdomens above the pin mounting portion, and since the axial direction of the sucked pins is aligned with the groove in the suction arm, some of the pins can be stably removed from the pin mounting portion.

Furthermore, according to the present invention, in the second step, a plurality of pins fixed by suction to the suction arm are stored in the internal space of the bottle section, and the bottle section, which has an insertion hole on the bottom surface of the internal space with a diameter allowing only one pin to pass through, is vibrated to eject a single pin through the insertion hole, and one end of the single pin is brought into contact with a stopper located at a distance from the exit of the insertion hole in the direction in which the pin is ejected that is shorter than the entire length of the pin, and the other end is brought into contact with the insertion hole, thereby holding the single pin in an upright position, and thereby enabling the single pin to be stably removed.

In addition, according to the present invention, it is possible to stably obtain pins even with small diameters because there is no need to pinch and grasp them as with tweezers.

In addition, according to the present invention, when obtaining a portion of pins from a large number of pins, no skill is required on the part of the worker, and the pin obtaining work can be performed continuously, thereby improving the productivity of the pin obtaining work.

1 is a perspective view showing an outline of the configuration of a pin acquisition device that acquires a single pin from a large number of pins. FIG. 11 is a diagram including a partial cross-sectional view of the pin mounting stage in the pin mounting portion, showing the shape of the internal space in the pin mounting stage and a state in which pins are mounted on the pin mounting stage. 5A is a perspective view showing the shape of the tip of the pin absorption arm of the pin absorption arm, FIG. 5B is a front view of the tip of the pin absorption arm, FIG. 5C is a bottom view of the tip of the pin absorption arm, and FIG. 5D is a perspective view showing a state in which the tip of the pin absorption arm has adsorbed and fixed a pin. FIG. 2 is a (side) view including a partial cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the bottle portion. 11 is a flowchart showing a process for acquiring a single pin from multiple pins. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a state in which pins are stored on a pin mounting stage of the pin acquisition device. 13 is a diagram showing a state in which the pin is sucked and fixed by the pin suction arm of the pin acquisition device. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a state in which a pin suctioned and fixed by a pin suction arm is supplied to a bottle body. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a state in which the bottle body rises and the pin is stored in the bottle body. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the state in which the pin suction arm is retracted and the pin is stored inside the bottle body. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the state in which the top of the bottle body is closed with the lid and vibrated. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the state in which the pin is ejected from the insertion hole of the bottle body. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a pin acquisition process in which compressed air is supplied to the internal space of the bottle body to eject a single pin, instead of using a bottle section up and down mechanism as the second vibration application section.

The following describes the embodiments of the pin acquisition device and pin acquisition method according to the present invention with reference to the drawings. The present invention provides a pin acquisition device and pin acquisition method for acquiring some pins from a large number of pins, which vibrates a pin placement section with many pins placed inside, causing some of the many pins to bounce inside the pin placement section, and then sucks and fixes some of the bounced pins by using a suction arm through the abdomens of some of the pins to acquire some of the many pins. By gradually reducing the number of pins when acquiring pins, the present invention provides a pin acquisition device and pin acquisition method that can stably acquire some of the pins and further extract a single pin. The "some of the pins" refers to a plurality of pins including a single pin.

[Configuration of pin acquisition device]
First, a pin obtaining device capable of obtaining some pins from a large number of small pins will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 4. The size of the pins in the pin obtaining device of the present invention is, for example, very small, with a diameter of about 30 μm and a total length of 10 to 20 mm, but the present invention is envisioned for implementation as long as the diameter is 10 μm or more, and the size of the pins is not limited to very small ones, and there are no limitations on both the diameter and the total length.

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing an outline of the configuration of a pin acquisition device that acquires some pins from a large number of pins. Figure 2 is a view including a partial cross-sectional view of the pin mounting stage in the pin placement section, and shows the shape of the internal space in the pin mounting stage and the state in which the pins are placed on the pin mounting stage. Figure 3 is a view showing the shape of the tip of the pin suction arm of the pin suction arm, where Figure 3(a) is a perspective view of the tip of the pin suction arm, Figure 3(b) is a front view of the tip of the pin suction arm, Figure 3(c) is a bottom view of the tip of the pin suction arm, and Figure 3(d) is a perspective view showing the state in which the tip of the pin suction arm suctions and fixes the pin. Figure 4 is a (side) view including a partial cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the bottle section. As shown in Figure 1, the pin acquisition device 1 has a pin placement section 3, a suction arm 10, and a bottle section 23.

[Configuration of the pin placement unit in the pin acquisition device]
First, the pin mounting section 3 of the pin acquisition device 1 will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the pin mounting section 3 of the pin acquisition device 1 has a pin mounting stage 5 that stores a large number of pins 50 (shown in FIG. 2) therein, and a swing mechanism 8. As shown in FIG. 2, the pin mounting stage 5 is configured in a groove shape, and a cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the groove direction is configured to be divergent toward the opening direction. For example, the pin mounting stage 5 has a V-shaped or U-shaped groove 6. As a result, the groove 6 is provided so that the axial direction of each of the large number of pins 50 placed therein coincides with the groove direction, and this makes it possible to regulate the axial direction of the pins 50. The groove 6 of the pin mounting stage 5 has a size that can store, for example, 100 or more pins 50.

1, the pin mounting unit 3 has a rocking mechanism 8 as a first vibration application unit that rocks the pin mounting stage 5 and vibrates the pins 50 inside the pin mounting stage 5. The rocking mechanism 8 mounts the pin mounting stage 5 and rocks the pin 50 mounting stage 5 so that it vibrates in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the numerous pins 50 mounted inside the pin mounting stage 5. The vibration direction 43 of the pin mounting stage 5 rocked by the rocking mechanism 8 is shown by an arrow in FIG. 1.

When the pin mounting stage 5 is oscillated by the oscillating mechanism 8, the pins 50 stored inside the pin mounting stage 5 vibrate, and the axial direction of the pins 50 becomes aligned with the groove direction of the pin mounting section 3. Furthermore, the pins 50 whose pin axial directions on the surface are aligned inside the pin mounting stage 5 jump up, and the pins 50 become scattered. The pins 50 that jump up at this time are only a part of the many pins 50 stored inside the pin mounting stage 5, and may be around 10 pins, for example. The number of pins 50 that jump up can be changed by adjusting the vibration frequency of the oscillating mechanism 8.

The oscillating mechanism 8 as the first vibration applying unit is preferably a linear motor capable of generating vibration by reciprocating in one axial direction. Note that the oscillating mechanism 8 is not limited to a linear motor that generates vibration by reciprocating, and may be another mechanism that generates vibration, such as a vibrator.

[Configuration of the suction arm in the pin acquisition device]
Next, a description will be given of the suction arm that sucks and fixes the abdomens of multiple pins above the pin mounting stage with reference to Figures 1 and 3. As shown in Figure 1, the suction arm 10 of the pin acquisition device 1 has a pin suction arm 12, a pin suction arm tip 13, a vacuum suction connection section 17, a pin suction arm slide section 18, a pin suction arm drive mechanism 19, a rotating shaft 20, a rotating shaft arm 21, and a rotating shaft drive section (not shown).

The suction arm 10 is for suctioning and fixing the pins 50 from the pin mounting stage 5, and the pin suction arm 12 of the suction arm 10 has a pin suction arm tip 13 that suctions and fixes the multiple pins 50 at its tip. Figure 3 shows the shape of the pin suction arm tip 13 of the pin suction arm 12. As shown in Figure 1, the pin suction arm tip 13 is arranged to face the pin mounting part 3, and as shown in Figures 3(a), 3(b) and 3(c), it has a guide part 15 that is groove-shaped and can regulate the axial direction of the multiple pins 50 suction-fixed to the pin suction arm tip 13 so that it coincides with the groove direction, and an air intake 16 is provided inside the guide part 15. As shown in Figure 3(d), the multiple pins 50 are suction-fixed to the pin suction arm tip 13 so that the axial direction of the pin coincides with the groove direction. Therefore, the groove direction of the groove-shaped guide part 15 is arranged to face the groove direction of the groove 6 of the pin mounting stage 5.

1, the pin suction arm 12 has a vacuum suction connection 17 at its upper part. The vacuum suction connection 17 is connected to the intake port 16 at the pin suction arm tip 13 by an exhaust path (not shown) provided inside the pin suction arm 12. An external vacuum suction device (not shown) is also connected to the vacuum suction connection 17 of the pin suction arm 12, and the pin 50 is sucked and fixed to the intake port 16 by the vacuum suction device. The vacuum suction device can control its vacuum suction operation by an ON/OFF signal.

The pin suction arm 12 is provided on a pin suction arm slide section 18 that can move in the vertical direction, and the pin suction arm slide section 18 can be moved in the vertical direction by a pin suction arm drive mechanism 19. As the pin suction arm slide section 18 moves in the vertical direction, the pin suction arm tip section 13 descends above the pin mounting stage 5, making it possible to adsorb the pin 50. The movement direction 44 of the pin suction arm slide section 18 is shown by an arrow in Figure 1.

The pin suction arm drive mechanism 19 that drives the pin suction arm slide portion 18 is provided on a rotating shaft arm 21, which is directly connected to a rotating shaft 20. The rotating shaft 20 is driven by a motor (not shown) of the rotating shaft drive portion.

The rotating shaft arm 21 is configured to be rotatable 90 degrees vertically by the rotating shaft 20. When the rotating shaft 20 rotates the rotating shaft arm 21 90 degrees counterclockwise in the rotation direction 45 of the rotating shaft arm 21 shown by the arrow in Figure 1, the pin suction arm slide portion 18 also rotates 90 degrees and the groove direction of the pin suction arm tip portion 13 is positioned vertically. Furthermore, with the pin suction arm 12 rotated 90 degrees, the pin suction arm slide portion 18 is moved by the pin suction arm drive mechanism 19, so that the pin suction arm tip portion 13 can move horizontally. Note that Figure 8, which will be described later, shows the pin suction arm slide portion 18 rotated 90 degrees counterclockwise from the state shown in Figure 1.

[Configuration of the bottle part in the pin acquisition device]
Next, a bottle unit that stores a plurality of pins fixed by suction to the suction arm and holds the pins in an upright state will be described with reference to Figures 1 and 4. As shown in Figures 1 and 4, the bottle unit 23 of the pin acquisition device 1 has a bottle body 24, a lid 30, and a stopper 40. As shown in Figure 4, the bottle body 24 of the bottle unit 23 is generally cylindrical, and the lower part of the bottle body 24 gradually tapers downward to form an inverted truncated cone with a horizontal lower end.

The bottle body 24 shown in the cross-sectional view of Figure 4 stores multiple pins 50 fixed by suction to the pin suction arm 12, and has an internal space 25 in which the multiple pins 50 can be held in an upright state. An insertion hole 28 having a diameter that allows only one pin 50 to pass through is provided in the bottom surface of the internal space 25 of the bottle body 24, and the insertion hole 28 is located at the center of the bottom surface of the internal space 25 of the bottle body 24. In this way, the bottle body 24 is capable of ejecting a single pin 50 through the insertion hole 28.

Although the bottom surface of the internal space 25 of the bottle body 24 shown in Figure 4 is flat, for example, the bottom surface of the internal space 25 of the bottle body 24 may have an inclined surface for guiding the pin 50 into the insertion hole 28, and the inclined surface may be provided from the inner peripheral surface at the bottom surface of the internal space 25 toward below the through hole.

[Configuration of the lid part of the bottle part]
1 and 4, the lid 30 is provided on a lid slide part 32 located toward the upper part of the bottle body 24, and is movable in the up and down direction by the lid slide part 32. The movement direction 47 of the lid slide part 32 is indicated by an arrow in FIG.

4, the lid portion 30 has a space at the bottom, which covers the upper part of the internal space 25 of the bottle body 24 when the bottle body 24 vibrates, preventing the pin 50 from popping out. On the other hand, when the pin 50 is supplied from the suction arm 10 to the bottle body 24, the lid portion 30 moves to open the upper part of the internal space 25 of the bottle body 24. In addition, the upper surface of the lid portion 30 has an air supply connection portion 31 that supplies compressed air to the internal space 25 of the bottle body 24, and the lid portion 30 blows the compressed air supplied from the air supply connection portion 31 into the internal space 25 of the bottle body 24.

As shown in Figures 1 and 4, the bottle body 24 and the lid slide part 32 are provided in an L-shaped bottle slide part 29, with the bottle body 24 located at the bottom of the bottle slide part 29 and the lid slide part 32 disposed at the top of the bottle slide part 29. The bottle slide part 29 can move up and down (vertically) and is driven by a bottle up and down mechanism 35.

In addition, the lid slide part 32 of the bottle slide part 29 is moved up and down by the lid drive part 33, which is provided on the bottle slide part 29. This allows the lid part 30 of the lid slide part 32 to move up and down independently on the bottle slide part 29, and further allows the lid part 30 to move up and down together with the bottle body 24 by the bottle slide part 29.

The lid drive unit 33 moves the lid 30 of the lid slide unit 32 up and down, and when the pin suction arm 12 supplies the pin 50 to the bottle body 24, the lid drive unit 33 raises and retracts the lid 30 to open the upper part of the internal space 25 of the bottle body 24. When the bottle body 24 is vibrated or compressed air is supplied, the lid 30 is lowered to seal the inside of the bottle body 24.

The air supply connection 31 of the lid 30 is connected to an external air supply device (not shown), and compressed air is supplied from the top of the lid 30 to the through hole 28 of the bottle body 24, supplying air so as to eject the single pin 50. The air supply device can control the air supply operation by an ON/OFF signal.

Furthermore, the bottle section 23 has a bottle section up-down mechanism 35 that moves the bottle body 24 and the lid section 30 up and down in the vertical direction, and when the pin suction arm 12 supplies the pin 50 to the bottle body 24, the bottle section up-down mechanism 35 moves the bottle body 24 up and down. The bottle section up-down mechanism 35 is also used as a second vibration application unit that vibrates the bottle body 24 (and the lid section 30). By reciprocating the bottle section up-down mechanism 35 up and down over a short distance at high speed, the bottle body 24 is vibrated in the vertical direction, and a single pin 50 is ejected from the outlet of the insertion hole 28.

The ejection operation of the pin 50 in the bottle section 23 can be exemplified by the following three operations. As a first operation, only the bottle body 24 is vibrated by the bottle section up-down mechanism 35. As a second operation, compressed air is supplied to the bottle body 24. As a third operation, the bottle body 24 is vibrated and compressed air is supplied simultaneously. The ejection operation can be performed by any of these operations. Note that the bottle section up-down mechanism 35 only vibrates the bottle body 24 in the vertical direction, but it may also be a mechanism that vibrates the bottle body 24 in the horizontal direction or in a direction that is a combination of the vertical and horizontal directions, for example, as the second vibration application unit.

It is also possible to connect a vacuum ejector used as a means for transporting objects by suction to the air supply device, and to connect the negative pressure flow path of the vacuum ejector to the air supply connection part 31. The vacuum ejector generates negative pressure by flowing compressed air into a diffuser (vacuum generating mechanism) to perform suction operation. In this case, the air supply connection part 31 can not only supply compressed air from the air supply device, but also switch to supplying compressed air and connect the negative pressure flow path for suction operation by the vacuum ejector. In other words, it is also possible to perform suction operation by flowing compressed air into the diffuser and reversing the air flow by the vacuum ejector. When stopping the suction operation, it is possible to send breaking air (compressed air from the air supply device) into the negative pressure flow path of the vacuum ejector to ensure that the suction operation is stopped.

When a vacuum ejector is connected to the air supply device, when the vacuum ejector performs its suction operation, the pin 50 stored inside the bottle portion 23 is sucked in and moves towards the lid portion, and when the suction operation stops, breaking air (compressed air from the air supply device) is supplied to the negative pressure flow path of the vacuum ejector, and a single pin 50 is ejected from the outlet of the insertion hole 28 along with the flow of breaking air.

[Configuration of stopper in bottle part]
1 and 4, the stopper 40 of the bottle part 23 is disposed at a position that is a distance from the exit of the insertion hole 28 that is shorter than the overall length of the pin 50 in the direction in which the pin 50 is discharged. The pin 50 that is extended from the bottle main body 24 is received by the stopper 40 located on the lower side of the bottle main body 24, and the pin 50 stops on the stopper 40. The bottle part 23 holds the single pin 50 in an upright state by bringing one end of the single pin 50 into contact with the stopper 40 and the other end into contact with the insertion hole 28.

As shown in Figures 1 and 4, a first pin detection sensor 41 that detects the presence or absence of a pin 50 is provided near the upper part of the bottle body 24. The first pin detection sensor 41 detects the presence or absence of a pin 50 in the internal space 25 of the bottle body 24, and the detection signal is used to control the supply operation of the pin 50 from the pin suction arm 12.

In addition, a second pin detection sensor 42 is provided to detect whether the pin 50 has been ejected from the bottle body 24. The second pin detection sensor 42 is provided near the midpoint between the through hole of the bottle body 24 and the stopper 40. The first pin detection sensor 41 and the second pin detection sensor 42 are, for example, reflective sensors that irradiate light from a light emitting unit and receive reflected light from an object to detect the presence of the object, to detect the presence or absence of the pin 50.

The pins 50 ejected from the bottle body 24 are in a state where they can be obtained using a pin gripping device or pin suction device (not shown). That is, the pins 50 ejected from the bottle body 24 are held by the stopper 40 below the bottle body 24 and are in an upright state, and one pin 50 can be obtained by sucking or gripping the pins 50 from the horizontal direction via the abdomen of the pins 50 using a pin gripping device (not shown) or the like, and then raising the bottle body 24 in that state.

The pin acquisition device 1 also has a control unit (not shown) with a built-in computer, and the motors, sensors, etc. of each driving unit of the pin placement unit 3, suction arm 10, and bottle unit 23 are controlled by executing a computer program.

[About the pin acquisition process]
Next, a pin acquisition method for acquiring a single pin from a large number of pins will be described with reference to FIGS.

Figure 5 is a flowchart showing the pin acquisition process for acquiring a single pin from a large number of pins. Figure 6 is a diagram showing the state in which a pin is stored on the pin mounting stage of the pin acquisition device. Figure 7 is a diagram showing the state in which a pin is adsorbed and fixed by the pin suction arm of the pin acquisition device. Figure 8 is a diagram showing the state in which a pin adsorbed and fixed by the pin suction arm is supplied to the bottle body. Figure 9 is a diagram showing the state in which the bottle body rises and the pin is stored in the bottle body. Figure 10 is a diagram showing the state in which the pin suction arm has retracted and the pin is stored inside the bottle body. Figure 11 is a diagram showing the state in which the top of the bottle body is closed with the lid and vibrated. Figure 12 is a diagram showing the state in which the pin is ejected from the insertion hole of the bottle body.

[First step of pin acquisition]
5 and 6, first, in a first step, a large number of pins 50 are stored inside the grooves 6 of the pin mounting stage 5 in the pin mounting section 3 (step S1). At this time, it is sufficient that the axial direction of each of the large number of pins 50 roughly coincides with the groove direction of the grooves 6. This is because, in the next second step, the pin mounting stage 5 is vibrated, thereby making it possible to regulate the axial direction of each of the large number of pins 50 mounted therein so that it naturally coincides with the groove direction.

[Regarding the second step of pin acquisition]
Next, in a second step, the pin mounting stage 5 is reciprocated at high speed by the swing mechanism 8 in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the pins 50, as shown in the pin mounting stage vibration direction 43 indicated by the arrow in Fig. 7, thereby vibrating the pin mounting stage 5 (step S2). As a result, some of the pins 50 stored in the pin mounting stage 5 bounce upward within the internal space of the pin mounting stage 5.

7, the pin suction arm 12 is lowered above the pin mounting stage 5 to suck up the abdomens of the pins 50, and the pins 50 are fixed to the pin suction arm 12 with their axial direction horizontal (step S3). At this time, the number of pins 50 that are sucked up by the pin suction arm 12 is around 10. At this time, the axial direction of the sucked pins matches the groove direction of the guide portion 15 formed in the groove shape of the pin suction arm tip 13, so the pins can be stably removed from the pin mounting stage 5.

In this case, the number of pins 50 adsorbed by the pin suction arm 12 can be adjusted by the vibration frequency of the oscillating mechanism 8, the distance between the pin suction arm tip 13 and the pin mounting stage 5 when the pin suction arm 12 is lowered, the suction force of the vacuum suction device, the groove shape of the groove-shaped guide portion 15 at the pin suction arm tip 13, etc.

[Regarding the third step of pin acquisition]
5 and 8, in the third step, the pin suction arm 12 is raised and the rotating shaft 20 is rotated 90 degrees toward the bottle part 23 as shown in the rotation direction 45 of the rotating shaft arm indicated by the arrow in Fig. 8, so that the axial direction of the attracted pins 50 changes from horizontal to vertical. The pin suction arm slide part 18 moves the pin 50 in the vertical state horizontally, and the pin 50 is moved onto the bottle main body 24 (step S4).

5 and 9, after the pin 50 has moved onto the bottle body 24, the bottle body 24 is raised by the bottle part up-down mechanism 35, and the pin 50 is inserted into the internal space 25 from the top of the bottle body 24 so that a part of the entire length of the pin 50 is positioned in the internal space 25. In this state, the suction of the pin suction arm 12 is released, and after the suction is released, the pin 50 falls into the internal space 25 of the bottle body 24 and is stored (step S5). As a result, as shown in FIG. 10, the multiple pins 50 fixed by the pin suction arm 12 are stored in the bottle body 24, which has an internal space 25 in which the multiple pins 50 can be held in an upright state.

[Regarding the fourth step of pin acquisition]
Next, as shown in Figures 5 and 11, in the fourth step, after the multiple pins 50 are stored in the bottle body 24, the pin suction arm 12 is retracted away from the bottle body 24, and the lid portion 30 is lowered to contact the upper part of the bottle body 24 and seal the inside of the bottle body 24 (step S6).

5 and 12, the bottle body 24 is then reciprocated up and down at high speed by the bottle part up-down mechanism 35 to vibrate the bottle body 24 and bounce the pin 50 inside the bottle body 24 (step S7). A single pin 50 falls from a single pin insertion hole 28 (shown in FIG. 4) on the underside of the bottle body 24 due to the vibration. The dropped pin 50 is received by the stopper 40 at the bottom of the bottle body 24 and stops at the bottom of the bottle body 24. The second pin detection sensor 42 checks whether the pin 50 has been ejected (step S8), and when the pin 50 has been ejected (step S9), the vibration of the bottle body 24 is stopped (step S10).

The stopper 40 is provided at a distance shorter than the total length of the pin 50 in the ejection direction of the pin 50 from the exit of the insertion hole 28 of the bottle body 24 of the bottle portion 23, so that one end of the single pin 50 contacts the insertion hole 28 and the single pin 50 is held in an upright position by the stopper 40.

The pins 50 discharged from the bottle body 24 are ready to be obtained using a pin gripping device or pin suction device (not shown). The pins 50 are sucked or gripped horizontally via the abdomen of the pins 50 using a pin gripping device (not shown), and the bottle body 24 is raised in this state, allowing one pin 50 to be obtained.

[Regarding the fourth step in pin acquisition]
On the other hand, as another fourth step, after step S6, instead of the step of vibrating the bottle body 24 by reciprocating up and down at high speed, it is also possible to supply compressed air from an air supply device. Fig. 13 is a flow chart showing a pin acquisition step in which compressed air is supplied to the internal space of the bottle body to discharge a single pin, instead of using a bottle part up and down mechanism as a second vibration application part. Note that the steps shown in Fig. 13 are the same steps up to step S6 shown in Fig. 5, so only the steps after step S6 will be described.

As shown in Figure 13, after sealing the inside of the bottle body 24, compressed air is supplied to the inside (step S11). This causes a single pin 50 to be ejected (fall) along the air flow from an insertion hole 28 for one pin on the underside of the bottle body 24. The dropped pin 50 is received by a stopper 40 at the bottom of the bottle body 24, and the pin 50 stops at the bottom of the bottle body 24. The second pin detection sensor 42 checks whether the pin 50 has been ejected (step S12), and when the pin 50 has been ejected (step S13), the supply of compressed air to the inside of the bottle body 24 is stopped (step S14).

The stopper 40 is provided at a position in the bottle portion 23 that is shorter than the overall length of the pin 50 in the ejection direction of the pin 50 from the exit of the insertion hole 28 of the bottle body 24. This holds the single pin 50 in an upright state.

The pins 50 discharged from the bottle body 24 are ready to be obtained using a pin gripping device or pin suction device (not shown). The pins 50 are sucked or gripped horizontally via the abdomen of the pins 50 using a pin gripping device (not shown), and the bottle body 24 is raised in this state, allowing one pin 50 to be obtained.

Furthermore, as a new fourth step, it is also possible to simultaneously vibrate the bottle body 24 and supply compressed air to eject a single pin.

In addition, when the negative pressure flow path of the vacuum ejector is also connected to the air supply connection part 31 of the air supply device, after the inside of the bottle body 24 is sealed by the lid part 30, the suction operation is always performed except when the single pin 50 is discharged from the bottle part 23, so that it is possible to prevent the single pin 50 from being discharged from the outlet of the insertion hole 28 of the bottle part 23 at an unintended timing. In this case, when the single pin 50 is discharged from the bottle part 23, the suction operation is stopped and breaking air (compressed air from the air supply device) is supplied to the negative pressure flow path of the vacuum ejector, and the single pin 50 can be discharged from the outlet of the insertion hole 28 by using the flow of breaking air. In addition, it is also possible to use the vibration of the bottle body 24 at the same time in combination with this suction operation and the supply of compressed air as breaking air.

As described above, according to the present invention, when acquiring a pin, a single pin can be acquired stably by gradually reducing the supply of pins from a large number of pins in two stages.

Furthermore, according to the present invention, in a first step, the pin mounting portion is vibrated to cause at least some of the numerous pins to bounce inside the pin mounting portion, and the suction arm sucks in and fixes several of the bounced pins via the abdomens of the several pins above the pin mounting portion, and since the axial direction of the sucked pins coincides with the groove of the suction arm, some of the pins can be stably removed from the pin mounting portion.

Furthermore, according to the present invention, in the second step, a plurality of pins fixed by suction to the suction arm are stored in the internal space of the bottle section, and the bottle section, which has an insertion hole on the bottom surface of the internal space with a diameter allowing only one pin to pass through, is vibrated to eject a single pin through the insertion hole, and one end of the single pin is brought into contact with a stopper located at a distance from the exit of the insertion hole in the direction in which the pin is ejected that is shorter than the entire length of the pin, and the other end is brought into contact with the insertion hole, thereby holding the single pin in an upright position, and thereby enabling the single pin to be stably removed.

In addition, according to the present invention, it is possible to stably obtain pins even with small diameters because there is no need to pinch and grasp them as with tweezers.

In addition, according to the present invention, when obtaining a portion of pins from a large number of pins, no skill is required on the part of the worker, and the pin obtaining work can be performed continuously, thereby improving the productivity of the pin obtaining work.

In addition, according to the present invention, it is possible to eject a single pin by simultaneously vibrating the bottle body 24 and, in combination with this, moving the pin by sucking in gas from the internal space of the bottle portion and supplying the gas switched from the sucked in gas to the internal space, thereby enabling the single pin to be reliably removed.

The present invention can be embodied in many forms without departing from its essential characteristics. Therefore, it goes without saying that the above-described embodiments are merely illustrative and are not intended to limit the present invention.

1 Pin acquisition device 3 Pin placement unit
5 pin mounting stage 6 groove 8 swing mechanism (first vibration applying unit)
10 Suction arm 12 Pin suction arm 13 Pin suction arm tip 15 Guide section 16 Air intake 17 Vacuum suction connection section 18 Pin suction arm slide section 19 Pin suction arm drive mechanism 20 Rotation shaft 21 Rotation shaft arm 23 Bottle section 24 Bottle body 25 Internal space 28 Insertion hole 29 Bottle slide section 30 Lid section 31 Air supply connection section 32 Lid slide section 33 Lid drive section 35 Bottle section up/down mechanism (second vibration application section)
40 Stopper 41 First pin detection sensor 42 Second pin detection sensor 43 Vibration direction of pin mounting stage 44 Movement direction of pin suction arm slide part 45 Rotation direction of rotation axis arm 46 Movement direction of bottle slide part 47 Movement direction of lid slide part 50 Pin

Claims (8)

A pin acquisition device for acquiring a portion of pins from a large number of pins,
a pin placement portion configured in a groove shape and capable of regulating the axial directions of a number of pins placed therein so as to coincide with a direction of the groove;
a first vibration applying unit capable of vibrating the pin mounting portion to cause at least some of the multiple pins to bounce inside the pin mounting portion;
a suction arm that sucks and fixes a plurality of the bounced pins by way of the abdomens of the plurality of pins above the pin placement portion;
a bottle portion that stores the plurality of pins that are fixed by suction to the suction arm, has an internal space in which the plurality of pins can be held in an upright state, and is capable of discharging a single pin through an insertion hole that is provided on a bottom surface of the internal space and has a diameter that allows only one pin to pass through;
a second vibration applying unit that vibrates the bottle portion to eject a single pin through the insertion hole;
a stopper disposed at a position from the exit of the insertion hole at a distance shorter than the entire length of the pin in a direction in which the pin is discharged;
Equipped with
A pin obtaining device, characterized in that one end of the single pin is brought into contact with the stopper and the other end is brought into contact with the insertion hole, thereby holding the single pin in an upright position. the suction arm has an intake port facing the pin placement portion,
2. The pin acquisition device according to claim 1, wherein the air intake faces the pin placement portion, is configured in a groove shape, and is disposed inside a guide portion that can regulate the axial direction of the multiple pins that are suction-fixed to the suction arm so that it coincides with a direction of the groove. The pin acquisition device according to claim 1, characterized in that the space inside the pin placement section has a cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the groove direction that diverges toward the opening direction. 2. The pin acquisition device according to claim 1, wherein the bottle portion stores the plurality of pins in the internal space via a lid portion, and the single pin is discharged by vibrating the bottle portion vertically with the lid portion closed. Further comprising a compressed air supply unit capable of supplying compressed air to the internal space,
5. The pin acquisition device according to claim 4, wherein the compressed air supply unit supplies the compressed air when the bottle portion vibrates. A pin acquisition device for acquiring a portion of pins from a large number of pins,
a pin placement portion configured in a groove shape and capable of regulating the axial directions of a number of pins placed therein so as to coincide with a direction of the groove;
a first vibration applying unit capable of vibrating the pin mounting portion to cause at least some of the multiple pins to bounce inside the pin mounting portion;
a suction arm that sucks and fixes a plurality of the bounced pins by way of the abdomens of the plurality of pins above the pin placement portion;
a bottle portion that stores the pins fixed to the suction arm by suction through a lid portion, has an internal space in which the pins can be held in an upright state, and is capable of discharging a single pin through an insertion hole provided on a bottom surface of the internal space and having a diameter allowing only one pin to pass through;
a compressed air supply unit that supplies compressed air to the internal space with the lid of the bottle closed to eject a single pin through the insertion hole;
a stopper disposed at a position from the exit of the insertion hole at a distance shorter than the entire length of the pin in a direction in which the pin is discharged;
Equipped with
A pin obtaining device, characterized in that one end of the single pin is brought into contact with the stopper and the other end is brought into contact with the insertion hole, thereby holding the single pin in an upright position. A pin acquisition method for acquiring a portion of pins from a large number of pins, comprising the steps of:
A first step of arranging a large number of pins in a pin placement section that is configured in a groove shape and that can regulate the axial direction of each of the large number of pins placed therein so that it coincides with the groove direction;
a second step of vibrating the pin mounting portion to cause at least some of the multiple pins to bounce inside the pin mounting portion, and suction-fixing a plurality of the bounced pins to a suction arm that is above the pin mounting portion and sucks and holds the plurality of pins by sucking them through the abdomens of the pins;
a third step of storing the plurality of pins fixed by suction to the suction arm inside a bottle portion having an internal space capable of holding the plurality of pins in an upright state;
a fourth step of vibrating the bottle portion to eject a single pin through an insertion hole provided on the bottom surface of the internal space and having a diameter allowing only one pin to pass therethrough, and bringing one end of the single pin into contact with a stopper disposed at a distance from the exit of the insertion hole in the direction in which the pin is ejected that is shorter than the entire length of the pin, thereby holding the single pin in an upright position by the insertion hole and the stopper, thereby making the single pin retrievable;
A pin acquisition method comprising: A pin acquisition method for acquiring a portion of pins from a large number of pins, comprising the steps of:
A first step of arranging a large number of pins in a pin placement section that is configured in a groove shape and that can regulate the axial direction of each of the large number of pins placed therein so that it coincides with the groove direction;
a second step of vibrating the pin mounting portion to cause at least some of the multiple pins to bounce inside the pin mounting portion, and suction-fixing a plurality of the bounced pins to a suction arm that is above the pin mounting portion and sucks and holds the plurality of pins by sucking them through the abdomens of the pins;
a third step of storing the pins fixed by suction to the suction arm through a lid in a bottle having an internal space capable of holding the pins in an upright state;
a fourth step of supplying compressed air to the bottle portion with the lid portion closed, discharging a single pin through an insertion hole provided on the bottom surface of the internal space and having a diameter allowing only one pin to pass therethrough, and bringing one end of the single pin into contact with a stopper disposed at a distance from the outlet of the insertion hole in the direction in which the pin is discharged that is shorter than the entire length of the pin, thereby holding the single pin in an upright position by the insertion hole and the stopper, thereby making the single pin retrievable;
A pin acquisition method comprising:

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