TWI872194B - Item supply device - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention properly unifies the orientation of long-shaped articles and supplies them to an external device. The article supply device (1) of the present invention unifies the orientation of long-shaped articles (100) having a first part (104) and a second part (102), wherein the first part (104) has a first diameter, and the second part (102) is connected to one end of the first part and has a second diameter larger than the first diameter. The device comprises a track portion (20), wherein the track portion (20) has a supporting surface (22a, 22b), wherein the supporting surface (22a, 22b) is provided with a slit (24) and a slit diameter expansion portion (24a), wherein the slit (24) has a width that is larger than a first diameter and smaller than a second diameter, and wherein the slit diameter expansion portion (24a) has a width on the slit that is larger than a maximum diameter of the long strip article and smaller than an axis of the long strip article. The supporting surface (22a, 22b) can be used to move a plurality of long strip-shaped articles supplied to one end of the slit in a horizontal state to the other end of the slit, and the rail portion (20) is further provided with a space (S1) below the supporting surface, the height of the space being such that the first part of the long strip-shaped article enters the slit and the edge part is suspended and supported on the supporting surface, thereby the long strip-shaped article can change its posture to a standing state.

Description

Item supply device

The present invention relates to an article supply device, and more particularly to an improvement of an article supply device for supplying an external device with the orientation of a long article having a larger diameter than another part being unified.

It has long been known that there is an article supply device that unifies the orientation of long-shaped articles, one portion of which has a larger diameter than another portion, and supplies them to an external device. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an automatic supply device that unifies the orientation of metal caps with rod-shaped leads and supplies them to an external device. The metal cap with a lead has a straight lead and a cap portion connected to the lead and having a larger diameter than the lead (hereinafter, the metal cap with a lead is referred to as a "lead article"). The automatic supply device has a rail portion that is approximately rectangular and extends in a horizontal direction. A slit having a specified width and depth is provided on the upper surface of the rail portion along the long side direction of the rail portion (hereinafter, the upper surface is referred to as a "support surface"). The width of the slit is larger than the diameter of the lead and smaller than the diameter of the cap. The depth of the slit is greater than the axial length of the lead wire. A vibration generating device capable of applying vibration to the rail portion is connected to the lower surface of the rail portion. The vibration generating device applies vibration to the rail portion so that any object on the support surface moves in a direction from one end of the slit to the other end.

A plurality of lead items are supplied to one end of the slit in a horizontal state. These lead items are supplied to the slit in such a manner that their axes become roughly parallel to the extension direction of the slit. However, the lead items lying on the slit have various orientations. In other words, a plurality of lead items are supplied to the slit in a non-uniform manner in a horizontal state. When the lead items are supplied to the slit, the lead items immediately rotate with the cap as a fulcrum under gravity, and the lead enters the slit and the cap is suspended and supported on the supporting surface (in other words, it is in a standing state). The cap can slide relative to the supporting surface. Therefore, when the vibration generating device applies vibration to the rail portion, the cap slides on the supporting surface, thereby causing the lead article to move along the slit from one end of the slit to the other end of the slit. The lead article moved to the other end of the slit falls from the other end in a predetermined direction (typically, a direction with the lead side facing downward) and is supplied to an external device. [Prior art literature]

[Patent document 1] Japanese Patent Utility Model Publication No. 3-77499.

According to the automatic feeding device of Patent Document 1, it is described that the position of the lead articles on the slit is changed from a lying position to an upright position by utilizing the difference in diameter of the lead articles, thereby making it possible to feed a plurality of lead articles fed in different directions to an external device in a state where their directions are unified. However, in this automatic feeding device, depending on the feeding state of the lead articles, the lead articles may move to the other end of the slit while remaining in a lying position, and as a result, they may be fed to the external device in a state where their directions are inconsistent.

That is, since a plurality of lead items are intermittently supplied to the slit, depending on the supply pace, the lead items still in the horizontal state may get stuck on the lead items that are already in the standing state (in other words, the action of the lead of the lead item in the horizontal state entering the slit is blocked by the lead item in the standing state) and cannot change its posture to the standing state. When these lead items move to the other end of the slit in this state, the lead item in the horizontal state falls directly, so there is a possibility that the lead item in the horizontal state is supplied to the external device in a state of inconsistent orientation.

The present invention is made to cope with the above-mentioned problem. That is, one of the purposes of the present invention is to provide an article supply device that can properly unify the orientation of long-shaped articles whose diameter is larger than that of other parts and supply them to an external device.

The article supply device (1) of the present invention is configured to unify the orientation of the long article (100) during the process of moving the long article (100). The long article (100) has a first part (104) and a second part (102), wherein the first part (104) is in the shape of a rod having a maximum diameter of a first diameter (d1), and the second part (102) is connected to one end of the first part (104) and includes a boundary portion (102b) having a second diameter (d2) larger than the first diameter (d1) at least on the boundary with the first part (104). The article supply device (1) has a track portion (20) and a discharge port (32), The rail portion (20) has a supporting surface (22a, 22b), the supporting surface (22a, 22b) is provided with a slit (24) and a slit diameter expansion portion (24a, 24b), the slit (24) having a width (w1) that is larger than the first diameter (d1) of the elongated article (100) and smaller than the second diameter (d2). , extending in a direction intersecting the vertical direction, the slit expansion portion (24a, 24b) has a diameter (d6) on the slit (24) that is larger than the maximum diameter (d3) of the elongated article (100) and smaller than the axial length (L1) of the elongated article (100), and the supporting surface (22a, 22b) is configured to be capable of being horizontally disposed. The plurality of long strip articles (100) supplied to one end (E3) of the slit (24) in a state are moved to the other end (E4) of the slit (24), the slit (24) being arranged along the long side direction of the supporting surface (22a, 22b), the track portion (20) being further provided with a space (S1) below the supporting surface (22a, 22b), the height of the space (S1) being such that the first portion (104) of the long strip article (100) enters the slit (24), and the boundary portion (102b) is suspended and supported on the supporting surface (22a, 22b), thereby the long strip article (100) can change its posture to a standing state, The discharge port (32) has a diameter (d7) that is larger than the maximum diameter (d3) of the long strip article (100) and smaller than the axial length (L1) of the long strip article (100), and is connected to the other end (E4) of the slit (24), so that the long strip article (100) that has moved to the other end (E4) of the slit (24) falls down.

According to the present invention, the orientation of a long strip-shaped article, one portion of which has a larger diameter than another portion, can be properly unified and supplied to an external device.

As shown in FIG1 , an article supply device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a supply unit 10, a track unit 20, a discharge unit 30, a chute unit 40, a storage unit 50, a vibrator 60, and a frame 70. The article supply device 1 is configured to uniformly direct a plurality of lead terminals 100 and supply them to an external device (not shown). In addition, the illustration of components not directly related to the present embodiment is omitted.

The supply portion 10 is roughly rectangular in shape and is configured to supply the lead terminal 100 to the rail portion 20. The upper surface 12 of the supply portion 10 has a surface 12a on one side in the longitudinal direction thereof (the side connected to the rail portion 20). The cross section of the surface 12a when cut by a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal direction thereof is roughly V-shaped. That is, the surface 12a is composed of a pair of inclined surfaces descending toward the approximate center in the width direction thereof. The approximate central portion in the width direction of the surface 12a (that is, the straight line portion formed by the intersection of a pair of inclined surfaces) extends in a horizontal direction. A plurality of lead terminals 100 (described later) are supplied to one end E1 of the surface 12a from an external device not shown in the figure.

The upper ends of a pair of side walls 14 (side walls on both sides of the width direction of the supply portion 10) of the supply portion 10 are located above the upper end of the surface 12a. This prevents the lead terminal 100 supplied to the surface 12a from falling off the surface 12a due to the vibration of the vibrator 60 (described later).

An adjustment plate 16 extending in the width direction and the vertical direction of the surface 12a is provided on the other end E2 side of the surface 12a (see FIGS. 3 and 4 ). The adjustment plate 16 blocks the opening on the other end E2 side of the surface 12a by about half of the width direction. This prevents the lead terminal 100 from being supplied from the supply portion 10 to the rail portion 20 at an excessive pace.

Here, the lead terminal 100 is described with reference to Fig. 2. As shown in Fig. 2, the lead terminal 100 is in a strip shape and includes a lead piece terminal 102 and a rod-shaped lead 104. The lead piece terminal 102 includes an extended portion 102a and a rod-shaped portion 102b.

The rolled portion 102a is formed by performing a press working on an axial part of a metal rod such as aluminum in a radial direction and performing a cutting process to cut its periphery in a thickness direction. Furthermore, the metal rod is chemically treated in advance with a chemical liquid containing boric acid, adipic acid, etc. so that its outer surface is covered with an oxide film. The rod-shaped portion 102b is the portion of the above-mentioned metal rod that is left without performing a press working and a cutting process. A lead 104 is connected to one end of the rod-shaped portion 102b by welding. The axis of the lead 104 is coaxial with the axis of the rod-shaped portion 102b. The lead 104 can be formed, for example, by a CP wire having a copper layer provided on the outer peripheral surface of an iron wire.

The diameter d1 of the lead 104 is constant in the entire axial direction. The maximum diameter of the rod-shaped portion 102b, i.e., the diameter d2, is larger than the diameter d1 (d2>d1). The extended portion 102a is in the shape of a flat plate, and its width is constant over the entire length. The width d3 of the extended portion 102a is larger than the diameter d2 (d3>d2). On the other hand, the thickness d4 of the extended portion 102a is smaller than the diameter d1 (d4<d1). Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the maximum diameter of the lead terminal 100 (i.e., the width of the largest part of the lead terminal 100 in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction) is the width d3 of the extended portion 102a.

The lead terminal 100 is one of the components of the electrolytic capacitor. That is, the article supply device 1 is installed on the production line of the electrolytic capacitor. The lead terminals 100 facing backward are uniformly supplied to an external device (typically, a device for crimping and connecting the electrode foil on the extended portion 102a of the lead terminal 100) through the article supply device 1.

As shown in FIG1 , the rail portion 20 is substantially rectangular parallelepiped and is configured to change the posture of the lead terminal 100 from a horizontal position to a standing position. One end E3 of the rail portion 20 is connected to the other end E2 of the supply portion 10. The direction from the one end E3 of the rail portion 20 to the other end E4 is substantially parallel to the direction from the one end E1 of the supply portion 10 to the other end E2.

3 and 4 are used for specific explanation. As shown in FIG3 and FIG4, the upper wall 22 of the rail portion 20 has a pair of surfaces 22a and 22b. The surfaces 22a and 22b are inclined surfaces that descend toward the approximate center in the width direction of the upper wall 22. A slit 24 is provided between the surfaces 22a and 22b along their long sides from one end E3 to the other end E4. The cross section of the surfaces 22a and 22b when cut by a plane perpendicular to the long sides of the surfaces 22a and 22b is approximately V-shaped.

The slit 24 extends in the horizontal direction. The height of the upper end of the slit 24 is substantially the same as the height of the substantially central portion of the surface 12a of the supply portion 10 in the width direction. The position of the slit 24 in the width direction of the upper wall 22 is substantially consistent with the position of the substantially central portion of the surface 12a in the width direction (see FIG. 4 ). Thus, the lead terminal 100 can be smoothly moved from the supply portion 10 to the rail portion 20.

The track portion 20 is hollow. The slit 24 is connected to the space S1 (see FIG. 3 ) inside the track portion 20. The width w1 of the slit 24 is larger than the diameter d1 of the lead 104 of the lead terminal 100 and smaller than the diameter d2 of the rod-shaped portion 102b of the lead-out terminal 102 (d1＜w1＜d2). The height of the space S1 is such that the lead 104 of the lead terminal 100 enters the slit 24 and the rod-shaped portion 102b is suspended and supported on the surfaces 22a and 22b, thereby allowing the lead terminal 100 to change its posture to a standing state. That is, the distance from the contact position of the rod-shaped portion 102b with the surfaces 22a and 22b to the lower end of the space S1 is longer than the axial length L2 of the lead 104. Thus, the posture of the lead terminal 100 supplied from the supply portion 10 to the rail portion 20 (more specifically, mainly on the slit 24) changes from a lying state to an upright state on the slit 24 (described later).

The slit 24 has an expanded diameter portion 24a at a position spaced a predetermined distance from one end E3 toward the other end E4, and has an expanded diameter portion 24b at a position spaced a predetermined distance from the expanded diameter portion 24a toward the other end E4. The expanded diameter portion 24a and the expanded diameter portion 24b are substantially the same shape, and therefore, the expanded diameter portion 24a will be specifically described below with reference to FIG. 5. As shown in FIG. 5, the expanded diameter portion 24a is substantially circular in a plan view, and its center C is located on the center line of the slit 24 in the width direction. The diameter d6 of the expanded portion 24a is sufficiently larger than the width d3 (i.e., the maximum diameter d3) of the extended portion 102a of the lead terminal 100 and is smaller than the axial length L1 of the lead terminal 100 (d3＜d6＜L1). The expanded portion 24a and the expanded portion 24b are connected to the space S1 of the track portion 20. Therefore, only the lead terminal 100 in the standing state will fall from the expanded portion 24a and the expanded portion 24b into the space S1 (described later).

An auxiliary plate 26a is provided on the other end E4 side of the expanded diameter portion 24a as an auxiliary member for closing the opening of the slit 24. The auxiliary plate 26a is adjacent to the expanded diameter portion 24a. The upper surface of the auxiliary plate 26a is located at the same height as or slightly lower than the upper end of the slit 24 (refer to FIG. 3). The length of the auxiliary plate 26a in the long side direction of the slit 24 is greater than the diameter d6 of the expanded diameter portion 24a. Similarly, an auxiliary plate 26b having the same structure as the auxiliary plate 26a is provided on the other end E4 side of the expanded diameter portion 24b (refer to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4). The auxiliary plates 26a and 26b can prevent the pressed portion 102a of the lead terminal 100 in a horizontal position from being accumulated near the expanded diameter portion 24a or the expanded diameter portion 24b (described later).

A pin 28a and a pin 28b in the form of a rod-shaped member extending in a direction parallel to the width direction of the slit 24 are fixed to the inner wall of the rail portion 20 (see FIG. 3 ). The pin 28a is substantially cylindrical and is fixed at a position that is a predetermined distance D1 lower in the vertical direction from the upper end of the slit 24 (see FIG. 9A ) and is spaced a distance D2 from the center C of the expanded diameter portion 24a in a plan view toward one end E3 (see FIG. 5 and FIG. 9A ). The distance D1 is shorter than the axial length L2 of the lead 104 of the lead terminal 100 (see FIG. 9A ). The distance D2 is set to a value such that the expanded diameter portion 24a and the pin 28a partially overlap in a plan view (that is, a portion of the pin 28a can be seen from the expanded diameter portion 24a). Similarly, the pin 28b is substantially cylindrical and fixed at a position that is a predetermined distance D1 lower than the upper end of the slit 24 in the vertical direction and a distance D2 away from the center of the expanded diameter portion 24b in a plan view toward one end E3. This prevents the lead terminal 100 that falls along the expanded diameter portion 24a or the expanded diameter portion 24b from rotating in the space S1 and falling sideways with the extended portion 102a facing downward (described later).

As shown in Figures 3 and 4, the discharge portion 30 is roughly rectangular in shape and is provided adjacent to the other end E4 of the track portion 20. The discharge portion 30 has a discharge port 32 and an inclined surface 34. The discharge port 32 is roughly circular in shape when viewed from above, and its center is located on the center line of the width direction of the slit 24 (refer to Figure 4). The diameter d7 of the discharge port 32 is sufficiently large compared to the maximum diameter d3 of the lead terminal 100 and is smaller than the axial length L1 of the lead terminal 100 (d3＜d7＜L1). The discharge port 32 is connected to the slit 24 and the space S1. In addition, the discharge port 32 extends in the height direction of the discharge portion 30 and is connected to the interior of the slide groove 42c of the slide groove portion 40 through the space S2 in the connecting portion 46c described later (refer to Figure 3). As a result, only the lead terminal 100 in the standing state falls from the discharge port 32 into the chute 42 c (described later).

The inclined surface 34 faces the rail portion 20 across the outlet 32. The inclined surface 34 is roughly rectangular in a plan view, and its long side direction is parallel to the extension direction of the slit 24 (see FIG. 4 ). In addition, the center of the inclined surface 34 in the width direction in a plan view is located on the center line of the slit 24 in the width direction, and the length of the inclined surface 34 in the width direction is roughly equal to the diameter d7 of the outlet 32 (see FIG. 4 ). In other words, when the slit 24 and the inclined surface 34 are viewed from above, the inclined surface 34 intersects with the imaginary extension line extending from the other end E4 of the slit 24.

The inclined surface 34 is inclined so as to descend toward the discharge port 32. The lower end 34a of the inclined surface 34 (see FIG. 3) is located slightly higher than the upper end of the slit 24. That is, the upper end of the slit 24 faces the inner peripheral surface of the discharge port 32. Therefore, even if the lead terminal 100 moves to the other end E4 of the slit 24 in a horizontal state, the extended portion 102a is stuck on the inclined surface 34. As a result, the lead terminal 100 falls along the discharge port 32 with the lead 104 facing downward, so that the lead terminal 100 can be supplied to an external device (described later) in a uniform state.

As shown in FIG1 , the chute section 40 has three cylindrical chute sections 42a, 42b, and 42c and a transfer section 44. Connecting sections 46a, 46b, and 46c are installed on the lower surface of the track section 20 (strictly speaking, the connecting section 46c is installed on the lower surface of the track section 20 and the lower surface of the discharge section 30). A space S2 is provided inside the connecting sections 46a to 46c (refer to FIG3 ). The inside of the chute 42a and the chute 42b are connected to the space S1 in the track section 20 through the space S2 in the connecting section 46a and the connecting section 46b, respectively. More specifically, the chute 42a and the connecting portion 46a are located below the expanded diameter portion 24a of the slit 24, and the chute 42b and the connecting portion 46b are located below the expanded diameter portion 24b of the slit 24 (see FIG. 3 ). On the other hand, the interior of the chute 42c is connected to the discharge port 32 of the discharge portion 30 via the space S2 in the connecting portion 46c. More specifically, the chute 42c and the connecting portion 46c are located below the discharge port 32 (see FIG. 3 ).

The transfer part 44 is cylindrical, and its interior is connected to the interiors of the chute 42a to the chute 42c, respectively. The lower surface of the transfer part 44 is inclined so as to descend in the direction from the chute 42a to the chute 42c.

The storage portion 50 is substantially rectangular and opens upward. One end of the storage portion 50 is connected to the downstream end of the transfer portion 44 of the chute portion 40. The lead terminals 100 sliding down the transfer portion 44 are stored in the storage portion 50 while maintaining their orientation. The lead terminals 100 stored in the storage portion 50 are taken out one by one from the storage portion 50 while maintaining their orientation and supplied to an external device.

The vibrator 60 as a vibration generating device is connected to the lower surface of the supply portion 10 and the lower surface of the rail portion 20. The vibrator 60 applies vibration to the supply portion 10 so that the lead terminal 100 on the surface 12a of the supply portion 10 moves in a direction from one end E1 of the surface 12a to the other end E2 of the surface 12a, and applies vibration to the rail portion 20 so that the lead terminal 100 on the slit 24 of the rail portion 20 moves in a direction from one end E3 of the rail portion 20 to the other end E4 of the rail portion 20. Hereinafter, the moving direction of the lead terminal 100 is referred to as "movement direction A".

The frame 70 is connected to the lower surface of the vibrator 60. The frame 70 is configured to support the components 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60.

Next, the operation of the article supply device 1 is described. As shown in FIG1 , a plurality of lead terminals 100 are supplied from an external device (not shown) to one end E1 of the surface 12a of the supply portion 10. These lead terminals 100 slide down the inclined surface of the surface 12a and gather in the approximate center portion in the width direction of the surface 12a. As a result, the lead terminals 100 are gathered on the surface 12a in such a manner that their axial directions become approximately parallel to the moving direction A. At this point in time, the orientations of the lead terminals 100 are inconsistent. That is, there are a mixture of lead terminals 100 whose side of the extended portion 102a is facing the moving direction A and lead terminals 100 whose side of the lead 104 is facing the moving direction A.

When the vibrator 60 is used to vibrate the supply unit 10, the gathered lead terminals 100 slide on the surface 12a while moving toward the other end E2. By controlling the vibration of the vibrator 60, the moving speed of the lead terminals 100 moving on the surface 12a is controlled. The lead terminals 100 reaching the other end E2 of the surface 12a are supplied to one end E3 of the rail unit 20. At this time, the adjustment plate 16 of the supply unit 10 prevents the lead terminals 100 from being supplied to the rail unit 20 at an excessive pace.

The lead terminals 100 supplied to the rail portion 20 slide down on the pair of surfaces 22a and 22b and gather on the slit 24. FIG. 6A shows the plurality of lead terminals 100 just after they are gathered on the slit 24. FIG. 6A is a side view of a portion of the rail portion 20 in the long side direction, and in order to make the attached figure easier to see, the upper wall 22 and the like located near the front side relative to the lead terminal 100 are omitted. The same is true for FIG. 6B and FIG. 7.

As shown in FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B , when the lead terminal 100 gathers on the slit 24, the lead terminal 100 immediately rotates with the rod-shaped portion 102b as a fulcrum under gravity, and the lead 104 (the heavier side between the lead 104 and the extended portion 102a) enters the slit 24, and the rod-shaped portion 102b is suspended and supported on the surface 22a (omitted in the figure) and the surface 22b (refer to FIG. 6B ). At this time, the lead-out terminal 102 is exposed upward from the upper end of the slit 24.

That is, since the slits 24 are provided on the rail portion 20 , the posture of the lead terminal 100 supplied in a lying state is changed to an upright state. This phenomenon can occur regardless of the direction of the lead terminal 100 . However, the plurality of lead terminals 100 are intermittently supplied from the supply portion 10 to the slit 24. Therefore, depending on the supply pace, as shown in FIG. 7 , the lead terminal 100B that is still in a horizontal position may sometimes get stuck on the lead terminal 100A and the lead terminal 100C that are already in an upright position (in other words, the action of the lead 104B of the lead terminal 100B in a horizontal position entering the slit 24 is blocked by the lead terminal 100A and/or the lead terminal 100C in an upright position) and cannot change its posture to the upright position. When vibration is applied to the rail portion 20 by the vibrator 60 , the lead terminals 100A to 100C move in the moving direction A along the slit 24 while maintaining the positional relationship therebetween.

At this time, since the expanded diameter portion 24a is provided on the slit 24, when the lead terminal 100A reaches the expanded diameter portion 24a, the lead terminal 100A falls from the expanded diameter portion 24a in an upright state. Thereafter, when the lead terminal 100C reaches the expanded diameter portion 24a, the lead terminal 100C also falls from the expanded diameter portion 24a in an upright state. As a result, the jamming caused by the lead terminals 100A and 100C is eliminated, and at this time, the lead terminal 100B immediately becomes in an upright state at this point in time and moves in the moving direction A along the slit 24, and falls from the expanded diameter portion 24b. Furthermore, when the lead terminal 100B is freed from the stuck state at the time when the lead terminal 100A falls from the expanded diameter portion 24a, the lead terminal 100B immediately becomes the upright state at that time, and then falls from the expanded diameter portion 24a.

That is, except for the case of the stacked state described later, all the lead terminals 100 in the standing state on the one end E3 side (upstream side) relative to the expanded diameter portion 24a fall from the expanded diameter portion 24a. In other words, only the lead terminals 100 in the lying state move to the other end E4 side (downstream side) relative to the expanded diameter portion 24a. As described above, the lead terminals 100 that have moved to the downstream side of the expanded diameter portion 24a immediately change their posture to the standing state due to the lead terminals 100 in the standing state that caused the jam falling from the expanded diameter portion 24a, but at this time, a new jam may occur depending on the supply pace. Even in such a case, since another expanded diameter portion 24b is provided on the slit 24, the lead terminal 100 in the standing state will fall from the expanded diameter portion 24b, and the jamming is eliminated and the lead terminal 100 that has changed its posture to the standing state falls from the discharge port 32. As a result, the lead terminal 100 can fall with its lead 104 facing downward. As a result, the lead terminal 100 can be supplied to the external device in a state where the orientation is unified. In addition, the number of expanded diameter portions is not limited to two, and may be one or more than three. The number of expanded diameter portions can be determined according to the supply pace and/or the frequency of jamming.

However, although the frequency of occurrence is low, there is a possibility that the lead terminal 100 in the horizontal position without being stuck may reach the discharge port 32. At this point, the lead terminal 100 in the horizontal position also remains stuck on the lead terminal 100 in the standing position and tries to move in the moving direction A under the vibration generated by the vibrator 60.

Here, in the case of the lead terminal 100 of the type in which the side of the pressed portion 102a faces the moving direction A, the vibration causes the pressed portion 102a to be stuck on the inclined surface 34 (refer to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4) at a certain moment and to rise in this state. As a result, the lead 104 enters the slit 24, and the lead terminal 100 rotates with the lower end 34a of the inclined surface 34 as a fulcrum, thereby causing the lead terminal 100 to fall from the discharge port 32 connected to the slit 24.

On the other hand, in the case of the lead terminal 100 of the type in which the lead 104 side faces the moving direction A, the lead terminal 100 cannot move forward in the moving direction A, and therefore, the top end of the lead 104 continues to hit the inner peripheral surface of the discharge port 32 in a fragmentary manner. When vibration is continuously applied by the vibrator 60 in this state, the positional relationship between the lead terminal 100 and the lead terminal 100 in the standing state gradually changes, and finally, the lead terminal 100 in the standing state moves forward in the moving direction A and falls from the discharge port 32. As a result, the jam is eliminated, and the lead terminal 100 in the lying state changes its posture to the standing state and falls from the discharge port 32.

The lead terminal 100 dropped from the expanded diameter portion 24a slides down in the chute 42a through the space S1 in the rail portion 20 and the space S2 in the connecting portion 46a (see FIG. 3 ), and is stored in the storage portion 50 through the transfer portion 44. The lead terminal 100 dropped from the expanded diameter portion 24b slides down in the chute 42b through the space S1 and the space S2 in the connecting portion 46b (see FIG. 3 ), and is stored in the storage portion 50 through the transfer portion 44. The lead terminal 100 dropped from the discharge port 32 slides down in the chute 42c through the space S2 in the connecting portion 46c (see FIG. 3 ), and is stored in the storage portion 50 through the transfer portion 44. In either case, the lead terminals 100 are dropped with the leads 104 facing sideways, and are therefore stored in a uniform orientation in the storage portion 50. As a result, the lead terminals 100 can be supplied to an external device in a uniform orientation.

In addition, in the article supply device 1, auxiliary plates 26a and 26b are respectively provided adjacent to the expanded diameter portions 24a and 24b. In the case where the auxiliary plates 26a and 26b are not provided, the following stacking state will occur. That is, as shown in FIG8, when the expanded diameter portion 24a is provided, it is easy to eliminate the jamming, but on the other hand, there is a situation in which the pressed portion 102aC of the lead terminal 100C enters the expanded diameter portion 24a instantaneously due to vibration, and in this state, it advances in the moving direction A, thereby being embedded in the slit 24 on the other end E4 side (downstream side) relative to the expanded diameter portion 24a. This is also the same for the expanded diameter portion 24b. In this case, the lead terminals 100A and 100B moving from the upstream side cannot move further in the moving direction A, and thus a piled state occurs.

In contrast, in the article supply device 1, the lead terminals 100 in a horizontal position are guided by the auxiliary plates 26a and 26b so as to pass over the upper surfaces of the auxiliary plates 26a and 26b, thereby significantly reducing the possibility of the above-mentioned accumulation state. Furthermore, the auxiliary plates 26a and 26b (the upper surfaces) are preferably at the same height as the upper end of the slit 24, but they may not be at the same height as long as the accumulation state can be suppressed.

Furthermore, in the article supply device 1, pins 28a and 28b are provided in the space S1 in the rail portion 20. When the lead terminal 100 changes its posture on the slit 24, the lead terminal 100 swings greatly with the rod-shaped portion 102b as a fulcrum due to the reaction during the rotation. In the case where the pins 28a and 28b are not provided, when the lead terminal 100 falls from the expanded diameter portion 24a or the expanded diameter portion 24b in such a state, there is a case where the lead terminal 100 rotates in the space S1 and falls in a state where the extended portion 102a faces downward.

In contrast, in the article supply device 1, by providing the pins 28a and 28b, even if the lead terminal 100 falls while being swung, the situation of falling with the extended portion 102a facing sideways is suppressed. This is explained in detail with reference to FIGS. 9A to 9C. The lead terminal 100 shown in FIG. 9A is moving forward in the moving direction A while swinging greatly just after changing its posture. When the lead terminal 100 moves forward in the moving direction A and the lead 104 contacts the pin 28a as shown in FIG. 9B, a part of the swinging energy of the lead terminal 100 is absorbed by the pin 28a (that is, the swinging momentum is attenuated), and the lead terminal 100 falls as shown in FIG. 9C (refer to the double-dotted line). At this time, the residual swing energy causes the lead terminal 100 to rotate a certain amount (see the solid line) in the direction opposite to the moving direction A with the pin 28a as a fulcrum, and as a result, the lead terminal 100 falls in the space S1 and the space S2 with the lead 104 facing sideways. Thus, the lead terminal 100 is prevented from falling with the extended portion 102a facing sideways.

Furthermore, the pin 28a is preferably disposed at a position (on the side of one end E3) spaced apart from the expansion portion 24a in the direction opposite to the moving direction A. More specifically, the pin 28a is preferably disposed at a position spaced apart from the expansion portion 24a in the direction opposite to the moving direction A by an arbitrary distance so that when the lead 104 of the lead terminal 100 moving toward the expansion portion 24a contacts the pin 28a and the lead-out terminal 102 tilts in the moving direction A due to inertia, the lead-out terminal 102 can fall smoothly from the expansion portion 24a. This is also the same for the pin 28b.

The article supply device according to the present embodiment has been described above, but the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the purpose of the present invention.

For example, an external force capable of moving the lead terminal 100 in the moving direction A may be applied by means other than the vibrator 60. For example, the lead terminal 100 may be moved by wind pressure.

In addition, the slit 24 may be inclined, that is, it may extend in a direction intersecting the vertical direction at a non-orthogonal angle.

In addition, the supply unit 10 may not be provided. For example, the lead terminal 100 may be supplied to the one end E3 of the rail portion 20 manually instead of the supply unit 10 .

Furthermore, the present invention can also be applied to an article supplying device for supplying an article other than the lead terminal 100 and a long article having a portion with a larger diameter than another portion (for example, a screw with a head portion) to an external device.

1: Article supply device 10: Supply part 12: Upper surface 12a: Surface 14: Side wall 16: Adjustment plate 20: Track part 22a, 22b: Surface 24: Slit 24a, 24b: Diameter expansion part 26a, 26b: Auxiliary plate 28a, 28b: Pin rod 30: Discharge part 32: Discharge outlet 34: Inclined surface 34a: Lower end 40: Slide part 42a, 42b, 42c: Slide 46a, 46b, 46c: Connecting part 50: Storage part 60: Vibrator 70: Frame 100, 100A, 100B, 100C: Lead terminal 102: Lead terminal 102a, 102aC: Extruded part 102b: Rod-shaped part 104, 104B: Lead wire

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an article supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the lead terminal.

FIG3 is a partial enlarged view of the track portion and the discharge portion of FIG1 and their vicinities.

FIG. 4 is a top view of FIG. 3 .

FIG. 5 is a top view of the vicinity of the expanded diameter portion provided on the slit.

FIG. 6A is a side view showing a plurality of lead terminals immediately after being arranged on the slits of the rail portion.

FIG. 6B is a side view showing that the lead terminal shown in FIG. 6A has been changed to a standing state.

FIG. 7 is a side view showing a state in which a lead terminal in a lying state is caught on a lead terminal in an upright state.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the stacking state.

FIG. 9A is a cross-sectional view when the slit is cut along a vertical plane passing through the approximate center in the width direction of the slit, and is a view used to explain the effect of the pin.

FIG9B is a cross-sectional view when the slit is cut along a lead vertical plane passing through the approximate center in the width direction of the slit, and is a diagram for explaining the effect of the pin.

FIG9C is a cross-sectional view when the slit is cut along a lead vertical plane passing through approximately the center in the width direction of the slit, and is a diagram used to illustrate the effect of the pin.

10: Supply section 12: Upper surface 12a: Surface 14: Side wall 16: Adjustment plate 20: Track section 22a, 22b: Surface 24: Slit 24a, 24b: Expanded diameter section 26a, 26b: Auxiliary plate 28a, 28b: Pin 30: Discharge section 32: Discharge outlet 34: Inclined surface 34a: Lower end 40: Slide section 42a, 42b, 42c: Slide 46a, 46b, 46c: Connecting section

Claims (5)

An article supply device, which unifies the direction of a long article having a first part and a second part during the process of moving the long article, wherein the first part is a rod-shaped part having a maximum diameter of a first diameter, and the second part is connected to one end of the first part and includes a boundary portion having a second diameter larger than the first diameter at least on the boundary with the first part. The article supply device is characterized in that it has: The rail portion has a supporting surface, the supporting surface is provided with a slit and a slit diameter expansion portion, the slit has a width greater than the first diameter of the elongated article and smaller than the second diameter, and extends in a direction intersecting the vertical direction, the slit diameter expansion portion has a diameter greater than the maximum diameter of the elongated article and smaller than the axial length of the elongated article on the slit, and the supporting surface is configured to be supplied to the elongated article in a horizontal state The plurality of long strips at one end of the slit are moved to the other end of the slit. The slit is arranged along the long side direction of the support surface. The track portion is further provided with a space below the support surface. The height of the space is as follows: the first part of the long strip enters the slit, and the boundary portion is suspended and supported on the support surface, thereby the long strip can change its posture to a standing state; and a discharge port having a diameter larger than the maximum diameter of the long strip and smaller than the axial length of the long strip, connected to the other end of the slit, so that the long strip moved to the other end of the slit falls. The article supply device according to claim 1 is characterized in that, it further has a vibration generating device that generates vibrations with a specified vibration direction, the vibration generating device is configured to apply the following vibrations to the rail portion: the plurality of long articles slide on the support surface, thereby being able to move from the one end of the slit to the other end. The article supply device according to claim 1 or 2 is characterized in that, it further has an inclined surface opposite to the rail portion across the discharge port, when the slit and the inclined surface are viewed from above, the inclined surface intersects with an imaginary extension line of the slit extending from the other end, and the inclined surface is inclined in a manner descending toward the discharge port. The article supply device according to claim 1 or 2 is characterized in that, it further comprises an auxiliary member, the auxiliary member is adjacent to the slit expansion portion at the other end side of the slit relative to the slit expansion portion, and has a surface with a height substantially the same as the upper end of the slit, the auxiliary member blocks the opening of the slit over a predetermined length in the longitudinal direction of the slit. The article supply device according to claim 1 or 2 is characterized in that, in the space of the rail portion, a rod-shaped member extending in a direction parallel to the width direction of the slit is provided at the following position: descending from the upper end of the slit by a prescribed distance shorter than the axial length of the first portion of the elongated article, and spaced from the slit expansion portion in a direction opposite to the moving direction of the elongated article by an arbitrary distance within the prescribed distance range.