JP5072013B2 - Nut feeder for welding machine - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a nut feeder for a welding machine that can reliably and stably convey a relatively small component such as a nut to a component consuming device through a supply hose.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an assembly plant such as an automobile, a part called a nut feeder for a welding machine that automatically supplies relatively small parts such as nuts sequentially to a welded portion of a door steel plate as disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example. Many supply devices are used.
In such a nut feeder for a welder, a parts feeder and a supply head provided in a nut supply device are connected by a supply hose made of a hollow tube, and the nuts are blown off one by one by compressed air from an escape provided on the part feeder side. At the same time, the nut is usually replenished / supplied to the supply head through the supply hose.

However, the nut feeder for a welding machine as shown in Patent Document 1 has a structure for controlling the number of used nuts and the number of nuts to be supplied to be completely coincident with each other. In addition, it is necessary to perform complex control by linking the signals of each sensor. As a result, there is a problem that a failure is likely to occur and that it takes time to repair it. There is also a problem that a nut having a corner in the supply hose is caught in the middle and does not reach the supply head smoothly. On the other hand, in the automation line of the welding process, we want to make the supply hose as long as possible to widen the space around the welding equipment and improve safety. At present, there is a limit of about 3 m, and there is a problem that there is a limit in securing space.
Furthermore, the escape is a type in which the nuts supplied from the parts feeder are blown one by one into the supply hose by compressed air. Due to the structure of the escape, the compressed air is dispersed or the compressed air hits the wall and becomes a reverse flow state. In some cases, the nut could not be reliably fed into the supply hose.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-124622

  The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems, and smoothly and reliably conveys small parts such as nuts to a parts consumption device through a supply hose without complicated control by a small number of sensors. It is possible to provide a nut feeder for a welding machine that does not cause clogging failure even with a long hose of about 10 to 20 m, and thereby can widen the peripheral space of the welding apparatus. It was completed as a purpose.

The nut feeder for a welding machine of the present invention made to solve the above problems is a connection between a parts feeder which is a supply source of a nut and a nut supply head provided on the welding machine side with a supply hose made of a hollow tube, A nut feeder for a welding machine that supplies a nut to a supply head by an escape provided on the part feeder side through the supply hose, and an air flow toward the supply head is formed in the supply hose for a predetermined time. A nut feeder configured to guide the nut into the air flow by an escape provided on the feeder body side, and to transport the nut to the supply head by being placed in the air flow, the parts feeder, the nut supply head, the escape, a sensor for detecting the presence or absence of the nut in each of the sites, whereas, before The escape consists of an escape body provided with a horizontal hole and a push bar that slides in the left and right direction in the hole, and this push bar forms a through-hole-shaped nut receiving pocket, The nut supplied in the pocket is moved to the upper part of the supply hose by the push bar, and then pushed downward by the compressed air and dropped into the supply hose .

  Further, the parts feeder, the nut supply head, and the sensor provided in the escape may be individually operated so as to detect the presence or absence of the nut.

  Furthermore, it is preferable to connect an indicator for supplying nuts to the welder side by an operator's operation to the nut supply head provided on the welder side.

  The present invention has a simple structure in which a parts feeder, a nut supply head, and an escaper are provided with a sensor that operates independently for detecting the presence or absence of a nut in each part, and the nut is reliably replenished. In addition to complicated control. Further, an air flow toward the supply head is formed in the supply hose for a predetermined time, and the nut is guided into the air flow by escape, and the nut is transported to the supply head by being placed on the air flow. Therefore, the resistance of the nut in the supply hose is small, and the nut is caught in the middle and does not stop, so that the nut can be smoothly and reliably conveyed to the supply head. Furthermore, the length of the supply hose can be greatly increased as compared with the conventional one, and the space around the welding apparatus can be widened to improve safety.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
The drawing shows a case where the nut is sequentially supplied to a welding machine in an assembly plant such as an automobile. FIG. 1 is a schematic side view showing the whole of a nut parts feeder device for a welding machine, and FIG. It is a front view of FIG.
1 and 2, 1 is a nut hopper, 2 is a parts feeder, 3 is a nut supply head provided on the welding machine side, and 4 is a supply rod attached to the nut supply head 3. The parts feeder 1 and the supply head 3 are connected by a supply hose 14 made of a hollow tube, and the nut discharged from the escape 5 is sequentially supplied to the supply head 4 through the supply hose 14. Yes.

  In the illustrated example, an indicator 15 such as a pedal or a push button is connected to the nut supply head 3 provided on the welder side to supply the nut to the welder side by the operator's operation. The nut is supplied to the supply head 3 by the input of a signal from the indicator 15.

In the present invention, the parts feeder 2, the nut supply head 3, and the escape 5 are provided with sensors 21, 22, and 23 such as proximity switches for detecting the presence or absence of a nut in each part.
The sensor 21 is for detecting whether or not a predetermined amount of nuts is replenished in the parts feeder 2, and simply outputs a signal to replenish from the hopper 1 when the replenishment amount of nuts is insufficient.
The sensor 22 is for detecting whether or not a predetermined amount of nut is replenished in the nut supply head 3 and outputs a signal so as to replenish through the supply hose 14 when the stock amount of the nut is insufficient. To do.
The sensor 23 is for detecting whether or not a predetermined amount of nut is replenished in the escape 5. When the replenishment amount of the nut is insufficient, the sensor 23 simply outputs a signal to replenish from the parts feeder 2.
The sensors 21, 22, and 23 do not interlock with each other, but merely detect the presence / absence of a nut in each part, and only output a signal to that effect when there is no nut.
These sensors 21, 22, and 23 are connected to the control panel 24, but each sensor operates independently and operates individually without any interlocking. In the figure, although connected to the same control panel 24 for space reasons, it is basically connected to three individual control panels.

  An indicator 15 for supplying the nut to the welder side by the operator's operation is connected to the nut supply head provided on the welder side, and the nut for welding is consumed, and the sensor 22 is When a shortage of the stock amount of the nut is detected, the nut is automatically replenished.

In the present invention, an air flow toward the supply head 3 is formed in the supply hose 4 for a predetermined time, and a nut is guided into the air flow by an escape 5 provided on the part feeder side. This is characterized in that the nut is transported to the supply head 3 in a flow.
The predetermined time here means the time from the time when a signal indicating that a nut is supplied into the escape is received to the time when a signal indicating that the nut is not discharged from the escape is received. The air flow is formed for a predetermined time so as to be carried on the air flow.

FIG. 3 shows an example of the escape 5.
In the figure, 6 is an escape body, 7 is a horizontal hole provided in the escape body, 8 is a push bar that slides in the left and right direction in this hole by a cylinder or the like (not shown), and 9 is a push bar. It is a formed pocket for receiving a nut. A hose 10 is connected to the parts feeder 1 and supplies a nut 30 into the escape 5.
A compressed air supply pipe 11 is connected to the front portion of the escape 5 so that an air flow toward the supply head 3 is formed in the supply hose 4 for a predetermined time.

In such an escape 5, as shown in FIG. 3, first, the push bar 8 is retracted rightward.
Next, as shown in FIG. 5, when the push bar 8 moves to the left and the pocket 9 comes below the hose 10, one nut 30 falls into the nut receiving pocket 9.
Further, as shown in FIG. 6, when the push bar 8 is pushed leftward and the pocket 9 reaches the lower part of the compressed air supply pipe 11, the nut 30 is pushed downward by the compressed air, and the supply hose is pushed. Falls within 4. Thereafter, the nut 30 rides on the air flow formed in the supply hose 4 and is smoothly and surely stably conveyed toward the supply head 3 in the supply hose 4.
Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 6, the push bar 8 moves rightward again to return to the initial position, and thereafter the nut 30 is introduced into the supply hose 4 according to the same procedure and supplied by riding on the air flow. It will be conveyed smoothly, reliably and stably toward the head 3.

  With such a nut parts feeder for welders, the feeding time of the nut is 5 seconds for the supply hose 4 is about 1 second, about 2 seconds for 10 m, about 4 seconds for 15 m, about 6 seconds for 20 m, and extremely short and smooth. It was confirmed that it can be conveyed stably. Moreover, the nut 30 was not caught at all and stopped.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 7, the escape bar 5 has a wide push bar 8 and pushes out two nuts at the same time so as to be put on the air flow formed in the supply hose 4. In this case, the nut can be supplied more quickly.
FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing the operating state of this escape.

As is clear from the above description, the present invention is a simple one in which the parts feeder, the nut supply head, and the escape are each provided with a sensor that individually operates to detect the presence or absence of a nut in each part. The structure ensures nut replenishment and eliminates the need for complicated control.
The present invention also relates to a nut part for a welding machine in which a parts feeder and a supply head attached to a nut supply device are connected by a supply hose comprising a hollow tube, and a nut is supplied to the supply head through the supply hose. In the feeder hose, an air flow toward the supply head is formed for a predetermined time in the supply hose, and a nut is guided into the air flow by an escape provided on the parts feeder side, and placed on the air flow. Since the nut is transported to the supply head, the nut is caught in the middle of the supply hose and does not stop, and can be transported smoothly and reliably to the supply head. Further, the length of the supply hose can be extended up to about 20 m, and the space around the welding apparatus can be widened to improve safety.

In the present invention configured as described above, even if welding is performed and the nut is consumed, the nut supply signal is simply replenished in accordance with the instruction signal of each sensor regardless of the welding signal of the operator.
In the present invention, the parts feeder 2, the nut supply head 3, and the escape 5 are provided with sensors 21, 22, and 23 such as proximity switches for detecting the presence or absence of a nut in each part. 21 detects whether or not a predetermined amount of nuts is replenished in the parts feeder 2. When a no signal is transmitted, the signal is simply output so that the nut is replenished from the hopper 1.
Similarly, the sensor 22 detects whether or not a predetermined amount of nut is replenished in the nut supply head 3. When a NO signal is sent, the signal is simply output through the supply hose 14 until the nut stock reaches a predetermined level.
Further, the sensor 23 detects whether or not a predetermined amount of nut is replenished in the square tube 11. When a signal indicating NO is transmitted, the signal is simply output so that the nut is replenished until the nut replenishment amount reaches a predetermined level.
By the above operation, the nut is reliably replenished without running out.

  Although the above description has been given of the case of a nut as a conveying part, the present invention is not limited to this, and it is of course applicable to all small parts such as nuts such as contact tips and bolts. .

It is a side view which shows embodiment of this invention. It is a front view of FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows an escape. It is sectional drawing which shows the operating state of an escape. It is sectional drawing which shows the operating state of an escape. It is sectional drawing which shows the operating state of an escape. It is sectional drawing which shows another escape. It is sectional drawing which shows the operation state of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Hopper 2 Parts feeder 3 Nut supply head 4 Supply rod 5 Escape 6 Escape body 15 Indicator 7 Hole part 8 Push bar 9 Nut receiving pocket 10 Hose 14 Supply hose 15 Indicator 21 Sensor 22 Sensor 23 Sensor 24 Control panel

Claims (3)

A nut feeder is connected to a parts feeder, which is a nut supply source, and a nut supply head provided on the welding machine side by a supply hose made of a hollow tube, and the nut is supplied to the supply head through an escape provided on the parts feeder side through this supply hose. In the nut feeder for a welder , an air flow toward the supply head is formed in the supply hose for a predetermined time, and the nut is guided into the air flow by an escape provided on the feeder body side. In the nut feeder configured to carry the nut to the supply head by being carried on the air flow, the parts feeder, the nut supply head, and the escape are provided with sensors for detecting the presence or absence of the nut in each part. whereas, the escape and escape body provided with a horizontal hole, the hole portion A push bar that slides in the right direction is formed, and a pocket for receiving a nut in the form of a through hole is formed in this push bar, and the nut supplied in this pocket is moved to the top of the supply hose by the push bar. A nut feeder for a welding machine, which is extruded downward by compressed air and dropped into a supply hose .   The nut feeder for a welding machine according to claim 1, wherein the parts feeder, the nut supply head, and the sensor provided in the escape are each independently operated so as to detect the presence or absence of the nut.   The nut feeder for welding machines according to claim 1 or 2, wherein an indicator for supplying nuts to the welding machine side by an operator's operation is connected to the nut supply head provided on the welding machine side.

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