Shaft forward feeding mechanism and shaft stocker

Abstract

To provide a shaft sequential feeding mechanism and shaft stocker that can stably stop, hold, and sequentially feed a shaft at predetermined intervals. [Solution] The system includes a guide passage that supports and guides each shaft on a virtual feed surface P, a plurality of claw members arranged in series and having upper surfaces that are flat or concave, a biasing means that biases the claw member to rotate downward on the side that is inclined above the pivot axis, and a rotation restricting means that restricts the rotation range of the claw member to a predetermined range. The rotation restricting means restricts the rotation range of the claw member to a range from a release position where the inclined upper end of the upper surface of the claw member coincides with or is lowered below the virtual feed surface, to a stop position where the inclined upper end of the upper surface of the claw member is raised above the position of the inclined upper end of the upper surface of the release position. When two adjacent claw members are in the stop position, a step is formed between the upper surfaces of the two claw members such that the inclined upper end of the upper surface of the lower inclined claw member is positioned above the inclined lower end of the upper surface of the upper inclined claw member.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a shaft sequential feeding mechanism that stops a plurality of cylindrical or tubular shafts at a predetermined holding interval and sequentially feeds each shaft in the feeding direction at the holding interval when the stopping is released, and a shaft stocker using the same.

Background Art

[0002] When storing cylindrical or tubular shafts such as pipes, columns, and welding rods (in this specification, a cylindrical or tubular long straight rod-shaped body is collectively referred to as a "shaft") in a warehouse or the like, a shaft stocker (shaft stocker: rod-shaped body storage device) is used to store many shafts in a limited space. As conventional shaft stockers, those described in Patent Documents 1 to 8 are known.

[0003] Normally, a shaft stocker is configured to provide a plurality of racks for storing tubular bodies, and on these racks, the shafts are stored side by side in a single layer. When classifying these shaft stockers according to the storage form of the shafts, they can be roughly classified into (I) those that store the shafts rollably on the upper surface of an inclined rack and provide a stopper at the lower end of the inclination (Patent Documents 1 to 7), and (II) those that fixedly store the shafts on the upper surface of a rack provided with a plurality of recesses on the upper surface into which the shafts fit (Patent Document 8). In type (I), if some shafts are taken out from the rack, the remaining shafts roll on the inclined surface and are sequentially packed from below the inclined surface, so the storage efficiency is high and loading and unloading are easy. On the other hand, in type (II), if some shafts are taken out from the rack, empty spaces are sparsely generated on the rack, so a larger storage area is required compared to type (I), and loading and unloading are not as easy as in type (I). Therefore, type (I) is often adopted in shaft stockers.

[0004] Figure 27 shows the basic configuration of a conventional Type (I) shaft stocker (see, for example, Figure 1 of Non-Patent Document 2, Figure 1 of Non-Patent Document 3, and Figure 1 of Non-Patent Document 4). A Type (I) shaft stocker has a storage rack in which rack shelves equipped with inclined guide tracks are stacked in multiple layers parallel to each other in the vertical direction. Each rack shelf is equipped with a stopper at the lower end of the inclined guide track to catch the rolling shafts. The shafts to be stored are brought in from the upper end of the inclined guide track of each rack shelf and brought out from the lower end of the inclined guide track. The shafts brought in to the upper end of the inclined guide track are accelerated downward by gravity and roll along the guide track of the rack shelf, and are stored in a line parallel to each other, packed in from the lower end of the inclined guide track as shown in Figure 27. On the loading side of the storage rack (the inclined upper end side of each rack shelf), a shaft loading device is provided to move the shaft into the upper end of each rack shelf, and on the unloading side of the storage rack (the inclined lower end side of each rack shelf), a shaft unloading device is provided to remove the shaft from the lower end of each rack shelf. The guide trajectory of the rack shelf is known to be either straight (Patent Documents 1-6) or zigzag (Patent Document 7). In addition, as in Patent Document 6, there is a known system in which the inclination direction of the guide trajectory of each rack shelf is changed by a cylinder device, allowing the shaft to be loaded and unloaded from only one side of the rack shelf.

[0005] In addition, as a shaft unloading device, Patent Document 1 describes a device for taking out shafts separately as shown in Fig. 28 (see Figs. 4a - 4c of Patent Document 1, the lower right paragraph, line 9 to the upper left paragraph, line 4, page 6, and line 2 of the lower left paragraph to line 16 of the lower right paragraph, page 8 of the specification). In this shaft unloading device, the rolling of each shaft on the guide track is blocked at the lower inclined part of the guide track by the stop and release members 1 and 2 in Fig. 28 (Fig. 28(a)). The five gravity swing stop members located on the lower side of the inclination than the stop and release members 1 and 2 are pivotally supported on the guide track by hinges, and are configured such that the mass of the arm on the upper side of the inclination with respect to the hinge is larger than the mass of the arm on the lower side of the inclination. Therefore, in the state of Fig. 28(a) where the shaft has not yet been unrolled, each gravity swing stop member rotates in the most upper inclined direction (counterclockwise in Fig. 28(a)) by gravity and is supported by the stop member. Then, as the stop and release members 1 and 2 are sequentially rotated up and down by the hydraulic cylinder device, the shafts at the lower inclined part are unrolled one by one downward. The first shaft to be unrolled rolls on the guide track by gravity and stops at the position P1 at the lowest inclined part as shown in Fig. 28(b). At this time, the arm on the lower side of the inclination of the gravity swing stop member at position P1 is pushed by the weight of the shaft and rotated, and the arm on the upper side of the inclination of the gravity swing stop member rises above the upper surface of the guide track. Next, the shaft to be unrolled rolls on the guide track by gravity and stops at the position P2 of the gravity swing stop member located second from the lower inclined part as shown in Fig. 28(c). At this time, the gravity swing stop member at position P2 is rotated by the weight of the shaft, and the arm on the upper side of the inclination of the gravity swing stop member rises above the upper surface of the guide track. Subsequently, the shafts are sequentially unrolled one by one in the same manner, and finally, as shown in Fig. 28(d), the five shafts are held by each gravity swing stop member in a state where they are separated at regular intervals at positions P1 - P5. In this state, the five unrolled shafts are unloaded in the direction perpendicular to the plane of Fig. 28(d) (the axial direction of each shaft).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0006]

Patent Document 1

[0007] In the conventional shaft stocker of type (I) described above, when a shaft is loaded from the inclined upper part of the guide track on the rack shelf, the loaded shaft rolls along the guide track, accelerating due to gravity, and collides with the already stored row of shafts and stops. In this case, if the acceleration distance is long or the gradient of the guide track is steep, the loaded shaft will accelerate to a considerable speed, resulting in a large impact force when it collides with the row of shafts, which may damage the shaft or cause the loaded shaft to ride up on top of the row of shafts. Therefore, the gradient of the guide track is limited to a fairly gentle slope. However, if the gradient of the guide track is too gentle, it may take a long time to store the shaft, or the shaft may stop rolling before colliding with the row of shafts due to slight distortion in the shaft.

[0008] Therefore, it is conceivable to configure the shafts to be stored at regular intervals without colliding with each other by providing gravity-induced oscillation-stopping members, as shown in Figure 28, at regular intervals along the entire guide track above the inclined side of the stopper in Figure 27. However, the inventors conducted a study using computer-based physical simulations and found that the following problems exist.

[0009] (1) Inlet blockage problem If shafts that have not been sufficiently accelerated by gravity move in at a narrow interval near the entrance of the rack shelf, as shown in Figure 1 (Figure 1(t1)), when the leading shaft S1 attempts to overcome the inclined lower arm of the first gravity oscillation stopper A, the following shaft S2 will press against the end of the inclined upper arm of the gravity oscillation stopper A (Figure 1(t2)). Due to the lever principle, the gravity oscillation stopper A will remain fixed in its most inclined upper position, and the slower leading shaft S1 will not be able to overcome the protrusion formed by the inclined lower arm of the gravity oscillation stopper A. It will then reverse direction and stop due to the recoil (Figure 1(t3)). Consequently, the following shafts may get stuck in a jam and fail to move into the inside of the rack shelf.

[0010] (2) Unloading section blockage problem As shown in Figure 2(t1), when the shaft S1 at the bottom of the incline is removed while the shafts are held on the guide track by each gravity oscillation stop member, even after the removal of shaft S1, the gravity oscillation stop member A at the bottom of the incline may maintain equilibrium with its upper arm rising above the upper surface of the guide track due to support from shaft S2 which is in contact with its upper side (Figure 2(t2)), resulting in a blocked state where each shaft above shaft S2 does not move to the bottom of the incline. In this case, even if a new shaft S4 is introduced from the upper part of the guide track (Figure 2(t3)) and the shaft S4 collides with the uppermost shaft S3 in the blocked row of shafts, the blockage is not resolved (Figure 2(t4)).

[0011] (3) Problem of stopping at the bounce dead center As shown in Figure 3(t1), when shaft S2 follows shaft S1 at a predetermined distance and speed, the inclined upper arm of shaft S1 is raised as it passes the gravity oscillation stop member A (Figure 3(t2)). Before the raised inclined upper arm of gravity oscillation stop member A falls due to gravity, the following shaft S2 may collide with the end face or corner of the inclined upper arm of gravity oscillation stop member A (Figure 3(t3)). In this case, shaft S2 bounces back in the inclined upward direction (Figure 3(t4)), falls onto the upper surface of gravity oscillation stop member B adjacent to the inclined upper side of gravity oscillation stop member A, is pushed by the inclined lower arm of gravity oscillation stop member B, and rolls slightly in the inclined upward direction (Figure 3(t5)), and its velocity becomes 0 on the upper surface of gravity oscillation stop member B due to the action of gravity (Figure 3(t6)). Subsequently, shaft S2 slowly rolls downward along the upper surface of gravity oscillation stop member B, but fails to climb the incline of the downward arm of the upright gravity oscillation stop member B and stops at a certain angle where the upward arm of the gravity oscillation stop member B has not fully risen. In this case, if another shaft S3 (not shown) follows shaft S2, shafts S2 and S3 will collide directly.

[0012] Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a shaft sequential feeding mechanism and a shaft stocker using the same, which can stably stop and hold shafts at predetermined intervals along an inclined surface on which the shafts roll, and which can stably sequentially feed subsequent shafts at predetermined intervals once the lowest shaft on the inclined surface is discharged. [Means for solving the problem]

[0013] The first configuration of the shaft sequential feeding mechanism according to the present invention is a shaft sequential feeding mechanism that holds a plurality of cylindrical or cylindrical shafts at predetermined holding intervals along a virtual feeding surface which is a virtual plane that is inclined diagonally downward, and when the holding intervals are released, each shaft is sequentially fed in the feeding direction which is inclined downward from the virtual feeding surface, A guide passage is installed at an angle along the virtual feed surface, and supports and guides each sequentially fed shaft so that it does not fall below the virtual feed surface, Multiple seesaw claw members are mounted in series at the holding interval along the virtual feed surface within the guide passage, rotatably positioned as the center of a horizontal pivot axis perpendicular to the feed direction, and their upper surfaces extending from the inclined upper side to the inclined lower side of the pivot axis are formed to be flat or concave. A biasing means that biases the seesaw claw member so that the side of the seesaw claw member that is inclined upward relative to the pivot axis rotates downward, regardless of the mass of the seesaw claw member, The system includes a rotation restricting means for restricting the rotation range of the seesaw claw member to a predetermined range, The rotation restricting means restricts the rotation range of the seesaw claw member from a rotation position where the inclined upper end of the upper surface of the seesaw claw member coincides with or is lower than the virtual feed surface (hereinafter referred to as the "release position") to a rotation position where the inclined upper end of the upper surface of the seesaw claw member is higher than the position of the inclined upper end in the release position (hereinafter referred to as the "locked position"). The two adjacent seesaw claw members, one on the upper side of the inclination and the other on the lower side, are characterized in that when both are in the stop position, a step is formed between the upper surfaces of the two seesaw claw members such that the upper end of the upper surface of the lower seesaw claw member is positioned higher than the lower end of the upper surface of the upper seesaw claw member.

[0014] With this configuration, the seesaw claw member is biased to rotate in the return direction by a biasing mechanism that does not rely on gravity. Therefore, when the shaft rolls over the upper surface of the seesaw claw member, even if the seesaw claw member rotates in the pushing direction (a direction of rotation that rotates the part of the seesaw claw member that is inclined upward above the axis of rotation) and the arm on the inclined side (the part inclined above the axis of rotation) springs up, it is quickly accelerated in the return direction from the springed-up state, and the time it takes to return to the release position is shortened, thus making the aforementioned problem of stopping at the dead center of the bounce less likely to occur. In addition, since the seesaw claw member is biased to rotate in the return direction by a biasing mechanism that does not rely on gravity, as described above, the rotational biasing force in the return direction acts regardless of the rotation angle of the seesaw claw member. Therefore, by adjusting the rotational biasing force of the biasing mechanism independently of the mass of the seesaw claw member, it is possible to prevent the discharge section blockage problem described in Figure 2.

[0015] Here, as a biasing means, it is preferable to use one in which the biasing force increases as the seesaw claw member rotates in the pushing direction from the release position. This is because when the seesaw claw member rotates in the pushing direction and the upper arm of the inclination springs up, it accelerates to rotate more quickly in the return direction from the springed-up state. As such a biasing means, it is preferable to use an elastic body whose biasing force acts according to Hooke's Law, such as a coil spring, torsion spring, or rubber spring.

[0016] The second configuration of the shaft sequential feeding mechanism according to the present invention is that, in the first configuration, the seesaw claw member is The distance from the center of the pivot axis to the inclined lower end of the upper surface of the seesaw claw member is, This is characterized by being greater than the distance from the center of the pivot axis to the inclined upper end of the upper surface of the seesaw claw member.

[0017] With this configuration, due to the lever principle, the torque acting on the seesaw claw member in the pushing direction when the shaft pushes the inclined end due to gravity is greater than the torque acting on the seesaw claw member in the returning direction when the shaft pushes the inclined end due to gravity. As a result, the problem of the loading section becoming blocked, as explained in Figure 1, is less likely to occur.

[0018] To further reduce the likelihood of blockage in the loading section, it is preferable to make the distance from the upper inclined end to the lower inclined end of the seesaw claw member less than 1.5 times the diameter of the shaft.

[0019] A third configuration of the shaft forward feed mechanism according to the present invention is characterized in that, in the first configuration, the corner portion of the inclined lower end of the upper surface of the seesaw claw member is provided with a return prevention portion that is chamfered in a planar or concave curved shape so as to bend in the opposite direction to the curvature of the upper surface.

[0020] By providing this return prevention mechanism, when the lower-angled seesaw claw member W1 of two adjacent seesaw claw members W1 and W2 is in the locking position and the upper-angled seesaw claw member W2 is in the release position, the force with which the shaft S would bounce back upwards when it moves onto the upper surface of the upper-angled seesaw claw member W2 and collides with the upper-angled end of the upper surface of the seesaw claw member W1 is braked by the return prevention mechanism.

[0021] A fourth configuration of the shaft sequential feeding mechanism according to the present invention is characterized in that, in the first configuration, a receiving portion is provided at the corner portion of the inclined upper end of the upper surface of the seesaw claw member, which is chamfered in a planar or concave curved shape so as to bend in the opposite direction to the curvature of the upper surface.

[0022] By providing a receiving portion in this manner, when the lower-sloping seesaw claw member W1 of two adjacent seesaw claw members W1 and W2 is in the locking position and the upper-sloping seesaw claw member W2 is in the release position, when the shaft S moves onto the upper surface of the upper-sloping seesaw claw member W2 and collides with the upper-sloping end of the upper surface of the seesaw claw member W1, the shaft S collides surface-to-surface with the inclined receiving portion. As a result, the rotational angular momentum of the shaft S is greatly attenuated (or bounces upward) due to friction and sliding between the shaft S and the receiving portion at the time of collision, making it difficult for the shaft S to overcome the upper-sloping end of the seesaw claw member W1.

[0023] A fifth configuration of the shaft sequential feeding mechanism according to the present invention is that, in the first configuration, a stepped entry-side projection is formed on the inclined upper side of the upper surface of the seesaw claw member, When the seesaw claw member is in the release position, the entry-side projection is located below the virtual feed surface. The characteristic feature is that when the seesaw claw member is in the stop position, the entry side projection is positioned above the virtual feed surface.

[0024] A sixth configuration of the shaft sequential feeding mechanism according to the present invention is that, in the first configuration, the guide passage section is provided with a guide track that supports and guides both ends of each shaft to be sequentially fed so as to be able to roll, The upper surface of the guide track is always inclined downward from the inclined upper to the inclined lower part of the virtual feed surface, and a step is formed at the position between the rotation axes of two adjacent seesaw claw members, or the inclination gradient between the rotation axes of two adjacent seesaw claw members is formed such that the inclination on the inclined upper side is relatively gentle and the inclination on the inclined lower side is relatively steep.

[0025] This helps to suppress the "bouncing collision problem" (see Example 2) described later.

[0026] A seventh configuration of the shaft sequential feeding mechanism according to the present invention is characterized in that, in the first configuration, the guide passage is installed above the virtual feeding surface and includes an upward restricting guide member that restricts each sequentially fed shaft from rising above a predetermined distance from the virtual feeding surface.

[0027] This completely prevents the "climbing over problem" and "caught-in-the-middle problem" (see Example 3) described later.

[0028] The shaft stocker according to the present invention is a shaft stocker for storing and retrieving a plurality of cylindrical or cylindrical shafts, Storage shelves with multiple levels for storing shafts, A shaft sequential feeding mechanism according to any one of the configurations 1 to 7 above is provided in each of the storage shelves, The present invention is characterized by comprising an outlet locking member provided at the inclined lower end of the guide passage portion of the shaft sequential feeding mechanism, which locks the shaft loaded onto the seesaw claw member located at the lowest inclined side of the guide passage portion so as to be able to be released. [Effects of the Invention]

[0029] As described above, the present invention provides a shaft sequential feeding mechanism and a shaft stocker using the same, which can stably stop and hold shafts at predetermined intervals along an inclined surface on which the shafts roll, and when the shaft at the bottom of the incline is discharged, can stably sequentially feed subsequent shafts at predetermined intervals. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0030] [Figure 1] This diagram illustrates the problem of blockage in the loading section that occurs when a gravity oscillation stopping member is applied to the guide track. [Figure 2] This diagram illustrates the problem of blockage in the discharge section that occurs when a gravity oscillation stopping member is applied to the guide track. [Figure 3] This diagram illustrates the bounce dead-point stopping problem that arises when a gravity oscillation stopping member is applied to a guide trajectory. [Figure 4] This figure shows the basic configuration of the shaft sequential feeding mechanism according to the present invention. [Figure 5] This figure shows the state immediately after a shaft O, rolling on a virtual feed surface, collides with the inclined upper end P of a seesaw claw member located at the stop position. [Figure 6] This figure shows the shaft forwarding operation of the shaft forwarding mechanism shown in Figure 4(a). [Figure 7] (a) A side view of the main part of the shaft forwarding mechanism and (b) A side view of the seesaw claw member 3 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. [Figure 8] Figure 7 is a magnified perspective view showing a portion of the lower, inclined side of the shaft forwarding mechanism. [Figure 9] This figure shows the results of verifying the operation of the shaft retraction mechanism of Example 1 through physical simulation. [Figure 10] This figure shows the results of a physical simulation conducted to verify the operation of the shaft forwarding mechanism of Example 1 when the shafts are moved in close proximity to each other. [Figure 11] This figure shows the results of verifying the operation of the shaft ejection mechanism in Example 1 through physical simulation. [Figure 12] This figure shows an example of a rotational biasing force adjustment mechanism 6. [Figure 13] This diagram illustrates the rebound collision problem that occurs when the angular velocity of the shaft is large during transfer. [Figure 14] This is a side view of the main part of the shaft sequential feeding mechanism according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. [Figure 15] This is a side view of the main part of another configuration example of the shaft sequential feeding mechanism according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. [Figure 16] Figure 14 shows the results of verifying the operation of the shaft retraction mechanism using physical simulation. [Figure 17]Figure 15 shows the results of verifying the operation of the shaft retraction mechanism using physical simulation. [Figure 18] This is a diagram illustrating the "caught between" problem. [Figure 19] (a) A side view of the main part and (b) A perspective view of the main part of a shaft sequential feeding mechanism according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. [Figure 20] This figure shows the results of verifying the operation of the shaft retraction mechanism in Example 3 using physical simulation. [Figure 21] This is a side view of the main part of the shaft sequential feeding mechanism 1 according to Embodiment 4. [Figure 22] This figure shows the difference in operation when the shaft is moved in the shaft forwarding mechanism 1 shown in Figure 21, when the upper surface of the guide track 2c is flat and when it has a V-shaped sawtooth structure. [Figure 23] This figure shows a comparison of the seesaw claw member at the uppermost inclined end of the guide passage 2 in the shaft sequential feeding mechanism 1 of Embodiment 4, when it is the seesaw claw member shown in Figure 21(b) and when it is the seesaw claw member shown in Figure 7(b). [Figure 24] This figure shows a comparison of the operation of the shaft sequential feeding mechanism 1 of Embodiment 4 when the shafts are in close proximity to each other and when they enter the seesaw claw member at the uppermost inclined end of the guide passage section 2, with and without an opening section at the entrance. [Figure 25] This figure shows another form of the seesaw claw member 3 in the middle section of Figure 21. [Figure 26] (a) a plan view and (a) a cross-sectional view along line AA of a shaft stocker according to Embodiment 6 of the present invention. [Figure 27] This diagram shows the basic configuration of a conventional shaft stocker of type (I). [Figure 28] This is a diagram illustrating the mechanism of the device for separating and removing the shaft described in Patent Document 1. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0031] Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. [Examples]

[0032] (1) Basic configuration Figure 4 shows the basic configuration of the shaft sequential feeding mechanism according to the present invention. Figure 4(a) shows the case where the upper surface of the seesaw claw member is flat, and Figure 4(b) shows the case where the upper surface of the seesaw claw member is concave. Note that Figure 4 shows the shaft sequential feeding mechanism viewed from the side (shaft end face side).

[0033] The shaft forward feed mechanism shown in Figures 4(a) and 4(b) is a mechanism that holds a cylindrical or cylindrical shaft, indicated by a gray circle, in place at a predetermined holding interval D along a virtual feed plane, which is a hypothetical plane inclined diagonally downwards, indicated by a dashed line, and when the locking is released, each shaft is advanced in the feed direction, which is inclined downwards along the virtual feed plane, at the holding interval.

[0034] First, a guide passage section is installed at an incline along the virtual feed surface to support and guide each shaft so that it can roll freely and prevent it from falling below the virtual feed surface. This guide passage section consists of, for example, a pair of rail-shaped guide tracks (guide rails) that support and guide both ends of each shaft being fed in sequence so that they can roll freely, and a groove-shaped guide track (guide groove) that supports and guides the lower part of each shaft so that it can roll freely.

[0035] Multiple seesaw claw members are installed in series along the virtual feed surface within this guide passage section at holding intervals D. These seesaw claw members are rotatably mounted as the center of a horizontal pivot axis perpendicular to the feed direction, and their upper surfaces, which extend from the upper to the lower inclined side of the pivot axis, are formed to be either planar (Figure 4(a)) or concave (Figure 4(b)). Furthermore, the seesaw claw members are configured such that the distance l2 from the center O of the pivot axis to the lower inclined end of the upper surface of the seesaw claw member is greater than the distance l1 from the center O of the pivot axis to the upper inclined end of the upper surface of the seesaw claw member (see Figures 4(a-2) and (b-2)).

[0036] Furthermore, each seesaw claw member is provided with a biasing means that biases the seesaw claw member in a direction that causes the side of the seesaw claw member that is inclined upward relative to the axis of rotation of the seesaw claw member to rotate downward (hereinafter referred to as the "return direction"), regardless of the mass of the seesaw claw member. As the biasing means, it is possible to use a spring such as a coil spring or torsion spring (in this specification, for readability, "spring" will be written as "spring"), or an elastic body such as rubber, an air cylinder, or a magnetic biasing means that provides biasing force by the magnetic force of a permanent magnet or electromagnet. In addition, from the viewpoint of suppressing the oscillation of the seesaw claw member as early as possible after the shaft has passed, it is preferable to use a biasing means such as a spring, in which the biasing force in the return direction increases as the rotation angle of the seesaw claw member in the opposite direction to the return direction (hereinafter referred to as the "pushing direction") increases. Here, an example using a tension coil spring as the biasing means is shown.

[0037] Furthermore, each seesaw claw member is provided with a rotation restricting means that restricts the rotation range of the seesaw claw member to a predetermined range. This rotation restricting means restricts the rotation range of the seesaw claw member from a rotation position where the inclined upper end of the upper surface of the seesaw claw member coincides with or is lower than the virtual feed surface (hereinafter referred to as the "release position") to a rotation position where the inclined upper end of the upper surface of the seesaw claw member is higher than the position of the inclined upper end at the release position (hereinafter referred to as the "locked position"). When considering two adjacent seesaw claw members on the inclined upper and inclined lower sides, a step is formed between the upper surfaces of the two seesaw claw members such that, when both are in the locked position, the inclined upper end of the upper surface of the lower seesaw claw member is positioned higher than the inclined lower end of the upper surface of the upper seesaw claw member.

[0038] Here, when the seesaw claw member is in the stop position, the distance h (see Figures 4(a) and 4(b)) from the virtual feed surface to the inclined upper end of the upper surface of the seesaw claw member (i.e., the size of the step between the upper surfaces of two adjacent seesaw claw members in the stop position) is set to the optimal size so that the shaft does not go over the step when it collides with the step at the assumed maximum angular velocity ω0, depending on the shaft radius R, mass M, moment of inertia I, the inclination angle α of the virtual feed surface, and the assumed maximum rotational angular velocity ω0 around the central axis of the shaft just before the shaft collides with the step. Specifically, this can be determined as follows. If we consider the state immediately after the shaft O rolling on the virtual feed surface collides with the inclined upper end P of the seesaw claw member in the stop position as shown in Figure 5, then, assuming there is no slip between the shaft O and point P, the angular velocity ω(φ) (φ: angle that line segment PO makes with the horizontal plane) of the shaft O as it rotates (revolves) around point P after the collision is,

[0039]

number

[0040]

number

[0041] Next, the basic operation of the shaft sequential feeding mechanism according to the present invention, shown in Figure 4, will be explained. Figure 6 is a diagram showing the shaft sequential feeding operation of the shaft sequential feeding mechanism in Figure 4(a). The same applies to the shaft sequential feeding mechanism in Figure 4(b), so the shaft sequential feeding mechanism in Figure 4(a) will be explained here as a representative example.

[0042] First, consider the state shown in Figure 6(a), where shafts S1, S2, and S3 are held by the three seesaw claw members W1, W2, and W3 at the bottom of the incline, respectively. In this state, the seesaw claw members W1, W2, and W3 are in the "chock position," which is the rotation position where they are rotated most in the pushing direction (the direction in which the arms on the lower side of the seesaw claw member's rotation axis rotate downwards). Also, the shaft S1 at the very bottom of the incline is locked in place by a stopper provided at the bottom of the incline. Now, suppose the shaft S1 at the very bottom of the incline is removed. In this state, the load acting on the lower side of the seesaw claw member W1 at the bottom of the incline is removed, and the seesaw claw member W1 is rotated in the return direction (the direction in which the arms on the upper side of the seesaw claw member's rotation axis rotate downwards) by the rotational biasing force of the coil spring K1 connected to it. As the seesaw claw member W1 rotates in the return direction, the shaft S2, which is in contact with the inclined upper end of the seesaw claw member W1, is pushed back slightly upward.

[0043] When the seesaw claw member W1 rotates to the release position (the position where it has rotated the furthest in the return direction), as shown in Figure 6(b), the upper end of the seesaw claw member W1 coincides with or is lowered below the virtual feed surface, and consequently, the shaft S2, which was being held in place by the seesaw claw member W1, begins to roll downwards. Here, in the release position, as shown in Figure 6(b), the upper part of the inclined upper surface of the seesaw claw member W1 is inclined (slightly) downwards in the feed direction, or, if the upper surface is concave as shown in Figure 4(b), it is positioned completely below the virtual feed surface. This is because if the upper part of the inclined upper surface of the seesaw claw member W1 is inclined upwards in the feed direction, the shaft S2 will not begin to roll downwards. As shaft S2 rolls down the inclined side of the upper surface of seesaw claw member W1, which is in the release position, it is accelerated, passes over the upper part of the pivot axis of seesaw claw member W1, reaches the inclined lower arm of seesaw claw member W1 and passes the balance position with coil spring K1 in the feed direction, its own weight pushes down the inclined lower arm, rotating seesaw claw member W1 in the pushing direction to the stop position, where it collides with the stopper at the bottom of the inclination and stops. As a result, shaft S2 is advanced by the holding interval D. Meanwhile, seesaw claw member W2, which was initially on which shaft S2 was placed and is adjacent to the inclined upper side of seesaw claw member W1, loses the load pushing it in the pushing direction as shaft S2 moves out, and is rotated in the return direction by the rotational biasing force of the coil spring K2 connected to it.

[0044] When the seesaw claw member W2 rotates to the release position, as shown in Figure 6(c), the upper end of the seesaw claw member W2 coincides with or is lower than the virtual feed surface, and consequently, the shaft S3, which was held in place by the seesaw claw member W2, begins to roll downwards. As the shaft S3 rolling on the upper surface of the seesaw claw member W2 passes the upper part of the pivot axis of the seesaw claw member W2 and reaches the inclined lower arm of the seesaw claw member W2, it passes the balance point with the coil spring K2 in the feed direction, and its own weight pushes down the inclined lower arm, rotating the seesaw claw member W2 to the stop position in the pushing direction, where it collides with the upper end of the seesaw claw member W1, which is adjacent to the inclined lower side of the seesaw claw member W2 and is in the stop position, and stops. As a result, the shaft S2 is advanced by the holding interval D.

[0045] In this way, each time a shaft at the bottom of the incline is discharged, each shaft held at a holding interval D on the virtual feed surface by each seesaw claw member is automatically moved forward by the holding interval D so that it is loaded down on the lower side of the incline.

[0046] Here, we will explain the difference between a shaft sequential feeding mechanism using a gravity oscillation stopping member as described in Prior Art 1 and the shaft sequential feeding mechanism according to the present invention.

[0047] (i) First, in the case of a gravity oscillation stop member as described in Prior Art 1, the gravity oscillation stop member (corresponding to the seesaw claw member of the present invention) is rotationally biased by gravity in the return direction. However, in the case of biasing by gravity, the larger the angle at which the gravity oscillation stop member rotates from the release position in the pushing direction, the smaller the torque acting to push the gravity oscillation stop member back in the return direction due to gravity. This is because gravity always acts vertically downward, so the closer the angle at which the upper inclined arm of the gravity oscillation stop member rises to vertical, the closer the moment acting on the arm approaches zero. Therefore, when a shaft rolls over the upper surface of the gravity oscillation stop member, and the gravity oscillation stop member rotates in the pushing direction and the upper inclined arm springs up, it does not accelerate back in the return direction from the springed-up state for a long time, and the time it takes to return to the release position again becomes longer. If the time it takes to return to the release position is long, when the subsequent shaft rolls after the previous shaft has rolled past, the subsequent shaft may collide with the end face of the upper inclined arm and stop, as explained in Figure 3, leading to problems such as a bounce-back dead-point stop. On the other hand, in the shaft forward feeding mechanism according to the present invention, the seesaw claw member is biased to rotate in the return direction by a biasing means that does not rely on gravity. Therefore, when a shaft rolls over the upper surface of the seesaw claw member, even if the seesaw claw member rotates in the pushing direction and the upper inclined arm bounces up, it is quickly accelerated in the return direction from the bounced state, and the time it takes to return to the release position is shortened. Consequently, the aforementioned bounce-back dead-point stop problem is less likely to occur. Furthermore, since the seesaw claw member is biased to rotate in the return direction by a biasing mechanism that does not rely on gravity, as described above, a rotational biasing force acts in the return direction regardless of the rotation angle of the seesaw claw member. Therefore, by adjusting the rotational biasing force of the biasing mechanism independently of the mass of the seesaw claw member, it is possible to prevent the discharge section blockage problem described in Figure 2.

[0048] (ii) Next, with respect to the seesaw claw member, by configuring it so that the distance l2 from the center O of the pivot axis to the lower inclined end of the upper surface of the seesaw claw member is greater than the distance l1 from the center O of the pivot axis to the upper inclined end of the upper surface of the seesaw claw member (see Figures 4(a-2), (b-2)), the torque acting on the seesaw claw member in the pushing direction when the shaft pushes the lower inclined arm by gravity is greater than the torque acting on the seesaw claw member in the returning direction when the shaft pushes the upper inclined arm by gravity, due to the lever principle. This makes it less likely for the loading section to become blocked, as explained in Figure 1. Furthermore, to make the loading section blockage problem even less likely, it is preferable to make the distance from the upper inclined end to the lower inclined end of the upper surface of the seesaw claw member less than 1.5 times the diameter of the shaft.

[0049] (2) Specific details The following describes a more specific configuration of the shaft sequential feeding mechanism according to the present invention, based on the basic mechanism concept described above. Figure 7 is a side view of the main part of (a) the shaft sequential feeding mechanism and (b) the seesaw claw member 3 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. Figure 7(a) shows the overall structure of the mechanism, and Figure 7(b) shows one seesaw claw member taken out. Figure 8 is a perspective view showing an enlarged portion of the inclined lower side of the shaft sequential feeding mechanism of Figure 7. In Figure 8, for ease of understanding, the outlet locking member 2a is omitted from the illustration, and the shaft 10 is made semi-transparent.

[0050] In Figure 7, the shaft forwarding mechanism 1 of this embodiment holds the shafts 10 at a constant holding interval along a virtual feed surface P that is inclined diagonally downward at an angle α, and when the hold is released, each shaft 10 is forwarded at the holding interval in the feed direction which is downward from the inclination of the virtual feed surface. As explained in the basic configuration of Figure 4, this shaft forwarding mechanism 1 comprises a guide passage section 2 installed at an inclination along the virtual feed surface P, an outlet locking member 2a provided at the lowest part of the inclination of the guide passage section 2, a plurality of seesaw claw members 3 provided in series at holding intervals D along the virtual feed surface P within the guide passage section 2, and a rotation restricting member 4 and a biasing means 5 provided for each seesaw claw member 3. The guide passage section 2 comprises a guide track 2c that supports both the left and right ends of each shaft 10 from below, and a guide side plate 2g that is provided vertically from the outer end of the guide track 2c, and the rows of each seesaw claw member 3 are provided in pairs on the left and right sides inside the left and right guide tracks 2c respectively (see Figure 8). The upper surface of the guide track 2c is always inclined downward from the inclined upper part to the inclined lower part of the virtual feed surface P. Note that Figures 7(a) and 8 show only one side of the left and right guide tracks 2c and the row of seesaw claw members 3.

[0051] The shaft forward feed mechanism 1 shown in Figures 7 and 8 is basically the same as that described in Figures 4 to 6, but in Embodiment 1, the shape of the seesaw claw member 3 has been further improved. As shown in Figure 7(b), the seesaw claw member 3 of this embodiment has an upper surface 3b that is curved in the shape of an inverted "shi" character, with the upper side of the slope being flat and the lower side being a smooth concave curved surface that is approximately a 1 / 6 arc shape. A return prevention portion 3c is formed at the corner of the lower end of the slope of the upper surface 3b, which is chamfered in a flat shape (or a concave curved surface) so as to bend in the opposite direction to the curvature of the upper surface. Also, a receiving portion 3d is formed at the corner of the upper end of the slope of the upper surface 3b, which is chamfered in a flat shape (or a concave curved surface) so as to bend in the opposite direction to the curvature of the upper surface 3b. In addition, a swiveling piece 3e in the shape of a hexagon is formed at the lower part of the seesaw claw member 3. Furthermore, the distance l from the upper inclined end to the lower inclined end of the upper surface 3b, including the return prevention section 3c, is configured to be shorter than 1.5 times the diameter of the shaft 10 that is intended to be moved in. The seesaw claw member 3 is pivotally supported in the guide passage section 2 by a pivot shaft 3a. On the other hand, a V-shaped rotation restricting member 4 is fixedly installed in the guide passage section 2 at the lower part of the seesaw claw member 3, and the oscillating piece 3e at the bottom of the seesaw claw member 3 is positioned to be loosely recessed in the V-shaped recess on the upper surface of the rotation restricting member 4.

[0052] When the seesaw claw member 3 rotates by a certain angle in the return direction around the pivot axis 3a (a direction in which the portion of the seesaw claw member 3 that is inclined above the pivot axis 3a rotates downward; see Figure 7(b)), the inclined lower side surface of the oscillating piece 3e comes into contact with the inner wall of the recess of the rotation restricting member 4, restricting the range of rotation in the return direction. This rotation position is the "release position" (see Figure 7(a)). Also, when the seesaw claw member 3 rotates by a certain angle in the pushing direction around the pivot axis 3a (a direction in which the portion of the seesaw claw member 3 that is inclined below the pivot axis 3a rotates downward; see Figure 7(b)), the inclined upper side surface of the oscillating piece 3e comes into contact with the inner wall of the recess of the rotation restricting member 4, restricting the range of rotation in the pushing direction. This rotation position is the "locked position" (see Figure 7(a)).

[0053] In the release position, the inclined upper flat portion 3b' of the upper surface 3b of the seesaw claw member 3 is located completely below the virtual feed surface P or at approximately the same height as the virtual feed surface P. In this state, the shaft 10 rolling on the guide passage 2 can enter the flat portion 3b' of the seesaw claw member 3 without resistance. On the other hand, at the locking position, the flat portion 3b' rises diagonally above the virtual feed surface P, the arcuate portion 3b'' on the lower side of the inclined upper surface 3b of the seesaw claw member 3 is completely below the virtual feed surface P, and the return prevention portion 3c is approximately parallel to and at approximately the same height as the virtual feed surface P. In this state, the shaft 10 that is locked on the guide passage portion 2 comes into contact with the return prevention portion 3c, pushing down the portion of the seesaw claw member 3 that is inclined lower than the pivot axis 3a in the pushing direction (see Figure 7(a)). At this time, the shaft 10 also comes into contact with the receiving portion 3d of the seesaw claw member 3 at the locking position (or the outlet locking member 2a in the case of the lowest inclination) adjacent to the lower side of the seesaw claw member 3, and is locked to prevent it from rolling down the virtual feed surface P.

[0054] Furthermore, one end of a tension coil spring 5, which is a biasing means, is connected to the portion of the seesaw claw member 3 that is inclined above the pivot axis 3a, and the other end of the tension coil spring 5 is connected to a spring fixing shaft 2b fixed to the guide passage 2. The seesaw claw member 3 is always biased to rotate in the return direction by this tension coil spring 5, and according to Hooke's Law, this rotational biasing force increases as the seesaw claw member 3 rotates in the pushing direction.

[0055] (3) Explanation and verification of operation The basic operation of the shaft forward feed mechanism 1 in this embodiment is the same as that already described in Figure 6. However, here we will explain the effects of providing the return prevention part 3c and the receiving part 3d on the seesaw claw member 3, using the results of a computer-based physical simulation.

[0056] (A) Operation when the shaft is moved in Figure 9 shows the results of a physical simulation verifying the operation of the shaft forward feed mechanism of Example 1 during shaft entry. In Figure 9, the state changes from (t1) to (t14) as time progresses. The arrows extending from the center of each shaft S1, S2, and S3 represent the velocity vector of the center of gravity (the same applies to the results of the physical simulation below). At time (t1), each shaft S1, S2, and S3 is in a stopped state. Also, in Figure 9, for the sake of explanation, three seesaw claw members W1, W2, and W3 are used (hereinafter, "seesaw claw members" will be abbreviated as "claw members". The same applies to other operation explanations). Furthermore, in order to clearly explain the effect of providing the return prevention part 3c and the receiving part 3d, we consider the case in which shafts S1, S2, and S3 enter continuously at a distance from each other.

[0057] (A-1) First, let's focus on the leading shaft S1. (i) At time (t2), it moves into the uppermost claw member W3 which is in the release position and collides with the arc-shaped portion 3b''. (ii) At time (t3), the arcuate surface portion 3b'' of the claw member W3 is pushed while rolling and rotated in the pushing direction to the stop position, thereby causing the flat portion 3b' to rise above the virtual feed surface P. (iii) At times (t4) to (t5), the intermediate claw member W2, which is in the release position, moves into the arcuate surface portion 3b'', (iv) At time (t6), the arc-shaped portion 3b'' of the claw member W2 is pushed while rolling and rotated in the pushing direction to the stop position, causing the flat portion 3b' to rise above the virtual feed surface P, and to move into the lowest claw member W1 which is in the release position. (v) Between times (t7) and (t14), the arc-shaped portion 3b'' of the claw member W1 is pushed while rolling, causing it to rotate to the stop position in the pushing direction, which raises the flat portion 3b' above the virtual feed surface P, causing it to collide with the outlet locking member 2a at the bottom of the slope and come to a stop.

[0058] The movement of this series of shaft S1 is almost the same as that described earlier with reference to Figure 4. In this embodiment, since there is an arc-shaped portion 3b'' on the inclined lower side of the upper surface 3b of each claw member W, the shaft S rolls up the arc-shaped portion 3b'' and rotates the claw member W in the pushing direction, so that each claw member W rotates smoothly to the stop position.

[0059] (A-2) Next, let's focus on the second shaft S2. (i) Initially, the shaft S2 moves in along the guide passage 2, but at time (t3), the shaft S2 collides with the receiving portion 3d of the claw member W3, which has been rotated to near the stop position by the shaft S1 that passed earlier, and stops, and as long as the shaft S1 is on the upper side of the claw member W3, the shaft S2 is prevented from moving above the claw member W3.

[0060] Here, when the shaft S2 collides with the claw member W3, it does not collide linearly with the upper inclined corner of the claw member W3 as shown in Figure 6(d), but rather collides planarly with the receiving portion 3d. As a result, the rotational angular momentum of the shaft S2 is greatly attenuated by friction and sliding between the shaft and the receiving portion 3d during the collision, making it difficult for the shaft S2 to overcome the upper inclined end of the claw member W3. In other words, in the case of a linear collision, the rotational angular momentum of the shaft S2 immediately before the collision is somewhat attenuated by sliding and linear friction, but basically the angular momentum is almost conserved, and the rotational angular momentum of the shaft S2 is converted into the orbital angular momentum of the shaft S2 around the collision line, resulting in a large initial orbital angular velocity, making it easier to overcome the upper inclined end of the claw member W3. On the other hand, when the shaft S2 collides with the receiving portion 3d in a planar manner, the rotational angular momentum of the shaft S2 immediately before the collision is consumed by the sliding and planar friction between the shaft S2 and the receiving portion 3d after the collision, causing the rotation to slow down. After the collision, the shaft S2 rotates while rolling up the inclination of the receiving portion 3d, making it more difficult to overcome the inclined upper end of the claw member W3 compared to a linear collision.

[0061] Furthermore, because the collision angle between the shaft S2 and the receiving part 3d is large, after the collision, the shaft S2 bounces slightly upward and falls, then reverses direction slightly upward and rolls before being reversed again by gravity and rolling downward, hitting the receiving part 3d and coming to a stop. This bounce and reversal consume the kinetic energy of the shaft S2 at the time of the collision, and the subsequent rolling speed of the shaft S2 slows down, making it difficult for the shaft S2 to overcome the inclined upper end of the claw member W3 and the subsequent claw members W2 and W1.

[0062] (ii) Next, at times (t4) to (t5), when the shaft S2 rolls out from the upper side of the claw member W3, the claw member W3 is quickly returned to the release position by the tension coil spring (biasing means) 5, and at times (t6) to (t7), the shaft S2 rolls into the upper surface 3 of the claw member W3. While the shaft S2 rolls on the upper surface 3 of the claw member W3, the shaft S1 passes over the claw member W2 and the claw member W2 returns to the release position, so at times (t8) to (t9), the shaft S2 rolls continuously into the upper surface 3 of the claw member W2 and collides with the receiving portion 3d of the claw member W1 which is in the stop position. At this time, the shaft S2 is resting on the upper surface of the return prevention portion 3c of the claw member W2. Due to the force of the collision, the shaft S2 bounces upward, and following this, the claw member W2 also rotates slightly in the return direction and the return prevention portion 3c rises.

[0063] (iii) Then, at times (t8) to (t9), when the shaft S2 falls, it comes into contact with the return prevention part 3c of the raised claw member W2, and falls to the upper surface (virtual feed surface P) of the guide passage 2 while pushing and rotating the claw member W2 in the pushing direction against the negative force of the tension coil spring 5 of the claw member W2. As a result, the falling speed is reduced. In this way, by providing the return prevention part 3c, the kinetic energy of the shaft S2 after the collision is reduced, so that the shaft S2 does not reverse sharply upward due to the reaction after the collision.

[0064] (iv) Then, between times (t10) and (t14), the shaft S2, due to the recoil, rolls slightly upward on the upper surface (virtual feed surface P) of the guide passage 2, then reverses direction and rolls downward, pushing the claw member W2 in the pushing direction and keeping it in the stop position, and stops in contact with the receiving portion 3d of the claw member W1 on the lower side of the inclined position which is in the stop position.

[0065] Furthermore, the operation of the third shaft, S3, is almost the same as that of shaft S2, so we will omit the explanation.

[0066] Here, as mentioned above, the shaft S that was transferred earlier... i (i=1,2,3) is the claw member W j While (j=1,2,3) is above, the subsequent shaft S i+1 Claw member W j Since it is not possible to enter the upper side, the problem of blockage of the loading section as explained in Figure 1 is also resolved. This is because each shaft S i The difference from the case in Figure 1 is clearly visible when the shafts are moved in closer together. Figure 10 shows the results of a physical simulation of the shaft forwarding mechanism of Example 1, verifying the operation when the shafts are moved in close together. In Figure 10, the state changes from (t1) to (t8) as time progresses.

[0067] When shafts S1, S2, and S3 approach each other and move in at time (t1), at time (t2), the leading shaft S1 moves into the upper surface 3b of the claw member W3 on the inclined upper part, and at time (t3), the leading shaft S1 pushes the return prevention part 3c of the claw member W3, causing it to rotate to the stop position. As a result, the following shaft S2 is pushed back by the receiving part 3d of the claw member W3 and cannot enter the upper surface 3b of the claw member W3, thus separating shafts S1 and S2. In the case of Figure 10, shaft S2 is in a state of pushing the receiving part 3d of the claw member W3, and the direction of the force acting from shaft S2 to the claw member W3 is approximately parallel to the direction of the vector from the rotation axis 3a of the claw member W3 to the contact point between shaft S2 and the claw member W3. Therefore, the torque acting from shaft S2 to the claw member W3 is approximately 0, and the weight of shaft S2 does not push the claw member W3 back in the return direction.

[0068] When shaft S1 detaches from the upper surface of claw member W3 at time (t4), the rotational biasing force in the return direction of the tension coil spring 5 connected to claw member W3 causes shaft S2 to move into the upper surface 3b of claw member W3, and shafts S1 and S2 are separated in the same manner as above (times (t5) to (t6)). In this way, claw member W3 at the uppermost end of the inclination moves towards shaft S above the inclination. i The action of repeatedly transferring one by one into the upper surface and then transferring out at a downward slope will be referred to below as the "sequential intermittent transfer action."

[0069] Thus, in the shaft sequential feeding mechanism 1 of this embodiment, even when shafts are transferred in close proximity to each other, the problem of blockage of the loading section as described in Figure 1 can be resolved.

[0070] (B) Operation when the shaft is removed The operation during shaft discharge has already been explained in Figure 6, but we have verified it using a computer-based physical simulation, and the results are shown in Figure 11. Figure 11 shows the results of verifying the operation during shaft discharge using a physical simulation for the shaft sequential feeding mechanism of Embodiment 1. The difference from shaft insertion is that during shaft insertion, the shaft enters the upper surface of the claw member at the release position with kinetic energy in its initial state, whereas during shaft discharge, the shaft is stationary on the upper surface of each claw member at the stop position in its initial state.

[0071] In Figure 11, assume that at time (t1), the shaft is ejected from the upper surface of the claw member W1 at the bottom of the incline. At this time, claw member W1 and the claw members W2 and W3 above it are in the locking position, and the shafts S1 and S2 on the upper surfaces of claw members W2 and W3 are stationary, resting on the return prevention section 3c. Next, at time (t2), claw member W1, freed from the load of the shaft, rotates in the return direction due to the rotational biasing force of the tension coil spring 5 connected to it, and stops in the release position. Next, at time (t3), the shaft S1 on claw member W2 begins to roll down the incline and moves to the upper surface 3b of claw member W1, and claw member W2 is freed from the load of the shaft. Next, at time (t4), the shaft S1 rotates the claw member W1 to the stop position and collides with the outlet locking member 2a, stopping there. Simultaneously, the released claw member W2 rotates in the return direction due to the rotational biasing force of the tension coil spring 5 connected to it, and stops at the release position. Next, at time (t5), the shaft S2 on the claw member W3 begins to roll down the incline and moves to the upper surface 3b of the claw member W2, and the claw member W3 is released from the load of the shaft. Then, at time (t6), the shaft S2 rotates the claw member W2 to the stop position and collides with the receiving portion 3d on the inclined upper end of the claw member W1 at the stop position, stopping there. At the same time, the released claw member W3 rotates in the return direction due to the rotational biasing force of the tension coil spring 5 connected to it, and stops at the release position. In this way, each claw member W j The shaft S was being held back i However, it moves sequentially in the feeding direction from the lower side of the incline by a holding interval D.

[0072] Here, as shown by times (t1) and (t3), when the pawl member W at the braking position is released from the load on the shaft from above, it is rotationally biased in the return direction by the rotational biasing force of the tension coil spring (biasing means) 5 regardless of gravity. Therefore, by adjusting the biasing force of the tension coil spring 5 to an appropriate value in advance, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of the carry-out part closing problem as described in FIG. 2. In particular, if a tension coil spring or a torsion spring is used as the biasing means, according to Hooke's law, the rotational biasing force becomes maximum when the seesaw pawl member 3 is at the braking position, so it is possible to more reliably prevent the occurrence of the carry-out part closing problem. j

[0073] Incidentally, regarding the operations described in FIGS. 9 to 11 above, it has also been verified by experiments using the actual machine conducted by the present inventor that the same operations are achieved.

[0074] Furthermore, it is preferable to adjust the rotational biasing force of the biasing means 5 to an optimal value according to the radius, mass, and moment of inertia of the shaft 10 that enters the shaft forwarding mechanism 1. For this reason, it is preferable to provide a rotational biasing force adjustment mechanism 6 that adjusts the rotational biasing force of the biasing means 5 of each seesaw claw member 3. For example, in the case of the shaft forwarding mechanism 1 of this embodiment shown in Figure 7, if a rotational biasing force adjustment mechanism 6 consisting of a semi-fixed parallel crank mechanism is provided at the lower part of each rotation restricting member 4 as shown in Figure 12, the rotational biasing force of each tension coil spring (biasing means) 5 can be adjusted simultaneously and evenly. The rotation biasing force adjustment mechanism 6 shown in Figure 12 consists of a parallel link 6a that is movable parallel to the guide passage 2 (and virtual feed surface P), a plurality of swing links 6b, one end of which is rotatably supported on the parallel link 6a and the other end of which is rotatably supported on the guide passage 2, and an arc-shaped fixing guide groove 6c and fixing bolt 6d for fixing the rotational position of the parallel link 6a and swing links 6b at any position. The spring fixing shaft 2b to which each tension coil spring 5 is connected is fixed to the parallel link 6a, not to the guide passage 2. With this configuration, the rotation biasing force of each tension coil spring 5 can be changed by changing the swing angle of each swing link 6b and adjusting the distance between the parallel link 6a and the virtual feed surface P. Then, the parallel link 6a can be fixed to the fixing guide groove 6c with the fixing bolt 6d at a swing angle that provides an appropriate rotation biasing force.

[0075] Furthermore, the shaft feeding mechanism 1 shown in Figures 4 and 7 in this embodiment can also be applied to a shaft stocker rack, such as the one shown in Figure 27, to configure a shaft stocker that can store shafts without them touching each other, while maintaining a constant holding distance D. [Examples]

[0076] In the shaft sequential feeding mechanism 1 shown in Figures 4 and 7, a certain seesaw claw member W i Shaft S that will be transferred to j However, the seesaw claw member W on the lower side of the slope i-1 When it collides with the inclined upper end of the upper surface 3b, shaft S j It bounces back towards the uphill side of the slope. Shaft S during entryj If the angular velocity of the rolling object is large, this rebound will be large, and the rebounding shaft S j However, other shafts that were transferred in afterwards... j+1 Collisions can occur (hereinafter, this problem will be referred to as the "rebound collision problem"). Figure 13 illustrates the rebound collision problem that occurs when the angular velocity of the rolling shaft is large during entry. Figure 13 shows the process by which shafts S1, S2, and S3 are entered into and held by the seesaw claw members W1, W2, and W3 (hereinafter, "seesaw claw members" will be abbreviated as "claw members"), and changes from state (t1) to state (t8) as time progresses. At time (t1), shaft S1 is already locked and held on claw member W1 in the locked position, and shaft S2 enters from the inclined upwards onto claw member W2 in the released position with a large angular velocity. At time (t2), the incoming shaft S2 collides with the receiving portion 3d of the claw member W1, which is in the stop position, and bounces upward. At time (t3), the shaft S2 falls and collides with the receiving portion 3d again. At time (t4), the collision with the receiving portion 3d causes the shaft S2 to bounce upward on the incline and begin to roll upward. If the speed of the shaft S2 after bouncing is high, the shaft S2 will roll to the inclined upper side of the claw member W2, and the claw member W2 will return to the release position due to the biasing force of the tension coil spring (biasing means) 5 (time (t5)). In this state, the subsequent shaft S3 moves onto the claw member W3 in the release position, which is adjacent to the inclined upper side of the claw member W2. Then, at time (t6), the shaft S3 collides with the shaft S2. Subsequently, at times (t7) to (t8), shafts S2 and S3 bounce and finally stabilize in a state where they are held in place by the teeth on claw members W2 and W3.

[0077] Thus, if the angular velocity of shaft S2 when it moves in is large, and the time interval between its movement and that of the subsequent shaft S3 is short, shaft S2 will collide with the subsequent shaft S3. To suppress this rebound collision problem, one can either reduce the angular velocity of shaft S2 when it moves in, or make the time interval between the movement of the subsequent shaft S3 sufficiently long. However, it is also possible to suppress the rebound collision problem by improving the configuration of the shaft forwarding mechanism 1. Therefore, in this embodiment, an example of an improved configuration to suppress this rebound collision problem is shown.

[0078] Figure 14 is a side view of the main part of a shaft sequential feeding mechanism according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. In Figure 14, the same reference numerals are used for parts that are the same as those in Figure 7 of Embodiment 1. Also, for ease of understanding, the seesaw claw member 3 and the outlet locking member 2a are shown with dotted lines. Compared with Figure 7, the shaft sequential feeding mechanism 1 of this embodiment differs in the shape of the upper surface of the guide track 2c of the guide passage section 2. In this embodiment, the upper surface of the guide track 2c is always inclined downward from the inclined upper part to the inclined lower part of the virtual feeding surface P, and furthermore, a step 2d is formed at a position between the rotation axes 3a, 3a of two adjacent seesaw claw members 3, 3. More specifically, the step 2d is formed between the rotation axis 3a of the seesaw claw member 3 and the position of the inclined lower end of the upper surface 3b of the seesaw claw member 3 when it is in the release position, and at a position above the inclined return prevention part 3c of the seesaw claw member 3 when it is in the stop position. Hereinafter, this structure of the upper surface of the guide track 2c will be called the "stepped sawtooth structure". Furthermore, the lower corner of the receiving portion 3d of the seesaw claw member 3 is rounded off (see Figure 14(b)). This is to prevent the shaft 10 from getting caught.

[0079] In this way, by forming a step 2d on the upper surface of the guide track 2c, (i) The slope gradient of the upper surface of the guide track 2c, excluding the step 2d portion, is reduced, which suppresses the acceleration of the shaft 10 rolling on the upper surface of the guide track 2c, thereby reducing the collision velocity of the shaft 10 when it collides with the inclined upper end of the upper surface 3b of the seesaw claw member 3 at the stop position, and thus reducing the rebound velocity after the collision. (ii) After the collision, the shaft 10 bounces back and rolls upward on the incline, hitting the step 2d, which prevents it from rolling any further upward on the incline. As a result, the seesaw claw member 3 located below the shaft 10 is prevented from returning from the locking position to the release position, and the shaft 10' following the shaft 10 cannot enter the seesaw claw member 3, thus preventing a collision between the shaft 10 and the following shaft 10'. This effect occurs.

[0080] In addition to providing a step 2d, the gradient between the rotation axes 3a, 3a of two adjacent seesaw claw members 3, 3 may also be changed to a mountain shape that is convex upwards. Figure 15 is a side view of the main part of another configuration example of the shaft sequential feeding mechanism according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. In Figure 15, on the upper surface of the guide track 2c, a mountain point 2e, which is a gradient change point where the gradient changes to a convex upwards, is provided between the rotation axes 3a, 3a of two adjacent seesaw claw members 3, 3. The section Δ1 above the mountain point 2e is a relatively gentle slope section, and the section Δ2 below the mountain point 2e is a relatively steep slope section. However, both the gentle slope section Δ1 and the steep slope section Δ2 are inclined downwards from the top to the bottom of the virtual feed surface. The connection point between the steep slope section Δ2 on the upper side and the gently sloped section Δ1 on the lower side that connects to it is a valley point 2f. Hereafter, the structure of the upper surface of this guide track 2c will be referred to as a "mountain-shaped sawtooth structure." This configuration also yields the same effects as shown in Figure 14.

[0081] As described above, Figures 16 and 17 show the results of a physical simulation to verify the operation when a step 2d or a fold point 2e is provided on the upper surface of the guide track 2c. Figure 16 shows the results of a physical simulation to verify the operation when the shaft moves in with respect to the shaft forward feeding mechanism of Figure 14. Figure 17 shows the results of a physical simulation to verify the operation when the shaft moves in with respect to the shaft forward feeding mechanism of Figure 15.

[0082] In Figure 16, at times (t2) to (t3), the shaft S2, which has moved into the upper surface 3b of the claw member W2, collides with the receiving portion 3d of the claw member W1, bounces back, and rolls upward on the incline. However, at times (t4) to (t6), it collides with the step 2d, bounces back again, hits the receiving portion 3d of the claw member W1 and stops, so the claw member W2 does not return to the release position and is maintained in approximately the locked position. Therefore, even if the shaft S3 moves into the claw member W3 on the inclined upper side of the claw member W2 following the shaft S2, the shaft S3 hits the receiving portion 3d of the claw member W2 in the locked position and bounces back, thus avoiding a collision with the shaft S2.

[0083] In Figure 17, at times (t1) to (t3), the shaft S2, which has entered the upper surface 3b of the claw member W2, collides with the receiving portion 3d of the claw member W1 and bounces up. At times (t4) to (t5), it falls, and at times (t6) to (t7), it rolls up the steeply inclined section Δ2 in the inclined direction. Here, since the steeply inclined section Δ2 is greater than the inclination of the virtual feed surface P, the shaft S2 rolling up the inclined direction is rapidly decelerated and reversed, and at time (t8), it rolls slightly down the inclined direction again, collides with the receiving portion 3d of the claw member W1 and stops. As a result, the claw member W2 is maintained in approximately the locked position without returning to the released position. Therefore, even if shaft S3 moves into the inclined upper claw member W3 of claw member W2 following shaft S2, shaft S3 will hit the receiving portion 3d of claw member W2 at the stop position and bounce back (times (t8) to (t10)), thus avoiding collision with shaft S2.

[0084] In this way, the aforementioned "rebound collision problem" can be avoided by providing a step 2d at the position between the rotation axes 3a, 3a of two adjacent seesaw claw members 3, 3, or by shaping the inclination between the rotation axes 3a, 3a of two adjacent seesaw claw members 3, 3 such that the upper side of the inclination is relatively gentle and the lower side is relatively steep. [Examples]

[0085] In a shaft sequential feeding mechanism 1 as shown in Example 1 and Example 2, a certain seesaw claw member W i Shaft S that will be transferred toj If the angular velocity of the rolling motion increases further, shaft S j This is the seesaw claw member W located at the stop position on the lower side of the slope. i-1 After colliding with the inclined upper end of the upper surface 3b, it moves over the inclined upper end and onto the inclined lower seesaw claw member W i-1 It may penetrate to the upper surface 3b (see explanation in Figure 5). Hereafter, this problem will be referred to as the "climbing problem".

[0086] Furthermore, the biasing force of the biasing means 5 is large, and the incoming shaft S j If the angular velocity of the rolling is large, the seesaw claw member W i Shaft S that will be transferred to j The seesaw claw member W is located at the stop position on the lower side of the incline. i-1 After colliding with the inclined upper end of the upper surface 3b, it bounces up and falls while the seesaw claw member W i The biasing force of the biasing means 5 returns the shaft S to its original position. j However, the seesaw claw member W in the release position i The inclined lower end face and the stopper position of the seesaw claw member W i-1 The shaft may stop in a state where it is trapped between the inclined upper end face and the shaft (similar to (t4) in Figure 17). Hereafter, this problem will be referred to as the "trapping problem". Figure 18 shows the shaft S when the trapping problem occurs. j and seesaw claw member W i ,W i-1 This shows the movement.

[0087] Therefore, in this embodiment, we will describe the configuration of the shaft forwarding mechanism 1 that has been further improved to solve the above-mentioned overhang and pinching problems. Both the overhang and pinching problems are caused by the shaft S colliding with the inclined upper end of the upper surface 3b of the seesaw claw member W, which is in the stop position, and bouncing up. Therefore, if this bouncing up is suppressed, the above-mentioned overhang and pinching problems can be solved. That is, an upward restricting guide member is provided that restricts each forwarding shaft from rising above a certain predetermined distance from the virtual feed surface P.

[0088] FIG. 19 is a (a) side view of the main part and (b) perspective view of the main part of the shaft forward feeding mechanism according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. In FIG. 19, the same reference numerals are assigned to the same parts as in FIGS. 7 and 8. Compared with FIGS. 7 and 8, in this embodiment, the height from the virtual feeding surface P of the guide side plate 2g is increased, and an ascending regulation guide member 2h protruding inward of the guide passage portion 2 is provided at the upper end of the guide side plate 2g. The distance d from the virtual feeding surface P (the lowest envelope surface of the upper surface of the guide track 2c) to the bottom surface of the ascending regulation guide member 2h is at least larger than the diameter 2R of the shaft 10 to be transferred, and is within a range smaller than the distance 2R + h obtained by adding the height h of the inclined upper end of the seesaw claw member 3 at the tooth stopping position and the diameter 2R of the shaft 10. However, in the result of the physical simulation in FIG. 18, although the maximum height (the height of the upper end of the shaft S2) when the shaft S2 bounces up is 0.96(2R) + h from the virtual feeding surface P, there is a problem of being pinched. Therefore, in order to surely prevent the occurrence of the pinching problem, it is desirable that the distance d satisfies 2R < d < 0.95(2R) + h.

[0089] Thus, by providing the ascending regulation guide member 2h, when the shaft 10 collides with the inclined upper end of the upper surface of the seesaw claw member 3 at the tooth stopping position and bounces up, the height of the bounce is regulated, and the shaft 10 is prevented from overcoming the inclined upper end. Also, when the shaft 10 on the upper surface of the seesaw claw member W i collides with the inclined upper end of the seesaw claw member W i-1 at the tooth stopping position on the lower side of the inclination and bounces up, and the bounced-up shaft 10 collides with the ascending regulation guide member 2h, it bounces back downward and immediately pushes down the inclined lower end of the seesaw claw member W i to the tooth stopping position, thereby preventing the occurrence of the pinching problem.

[0090] In Figure 19, the upward restricting guide member 2h is shown covering the entire guide track 2c for ease of manufacture. However, the upward restricting guide member 2h does not necessarily need to cover the entire guide track 2c; it is sufficient to cover the portion where the shaft 10 bounces up, that is, at least the upper part of the area around the inclined upper end of the upper surface of each seesaw claw member 3. Also, in Figure 19, the position of the upward restricting guide member 2h is shown as being on the upper side of the guide track 2c, but the position of the upward restricting guide member 2h can be anywhere within the width of the guide passage 2. For example, the upward restricting guide member 2h can be placed in the center of the guide passage 2. Alternatively, the upward restricting guide member 2h can be placed so as to cover the entire upper part of the guide passage 2.

[0091] Figure 20 shows the results of a physical simulation verifying the operation of the shaft forwarding mechanism of Example 3 during shaft insertion. Note that the operation during shaft removal is the same as in Figure 11, so only the shaft insertion operation will be explained here.

[0092] In Figure 20, at time (t1), the shaft S1 is locked onto the lowest claw member W1, and the claw member W1 is in the locked position. In this state, the shaft S2 moves into the upper claw member W2 of the inclined claw member W1 with a large angular velocity. At time (t2), the shaft S2 pushes and rotates the claw member W2 to the locked position and collides with the receiving portion 3d of the claw member W1, which is in the locked position. At time (t3), the shaft S2 is repelled by the receiving portion 3d of the claw member W1 and bounces upward. At time (t4), the shaft S2 immediately collides with the upward restricting guide member 2h above it and bounces downward. At this time, the shaft S2 hits the return prevention portion 3c of the claw member W2 and pushes the claw member W2, which has been biased to rotate in the return direction by the tension coil spring (biasing means) 5, back to the locked position. At time (t5), the shaft S2 falls onto the guide track 2c, and at time (t6), the shaft S2 bounces upward again. At this time, most of the kinetic energy of the shaft S2 is lost, and the bounce velocity decreases. At time (t7), the shaft S2 falls again onto the receiving portion 3d of the claw member W2, which is biased to rotate in the return direction by the tension coil spring (biasing means) 5, pushing the claw member W2 back to the stop position. As a result, the movement of the shaft S2 is further dampened, and at time (t8), the shaft S2 comes to rest on the upper surface of the receiving portion 3d of the claw member W2.

[0093] In this way, by providing the upward-restricting guide member 2h, the aforementioned problems of climbing over and getting caught can be prevented. [Examples]

[0094] In this embodiment, another example is described in which the shape of the seesaw claw member 3 is changed from the shaft sequential feeding mechanism 1 of Embodiment 1. Figure 21 is a side view of the main part of the shaft sequential feeding mechanism 1 according to Embodiment 4. In Figure 4, the components corresponding to Figures 7, 15, and 19 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

[0095] In the shaft sequential feeding mechanism 1 of this embodiment, the seesaw claw member has a seesaw claw member 3' at the inlet on the upper side of the incline, a plurality of seesaw claw members 3 in the middle section, and a seesaw claw member 3'' at the outlet on the lower side of the incline, and the seesaw claw member 3' and the seesaw claw member 3'' have a different shape from the seesaw claw member 3 in the middle section. The seesaw claw members 3' and 3'' are of the same type as the seesaw claw member 3 of the shaft forward feed mechanism 1 described in Embodiment 1. The intermediate seesaw claw member 3 has the shape shown in the enlarged view of Figure 21(b). The intermediate seesaw claw member 3 has a trapezoidal entry-side projection 3f formed on the inclined upper end of the planar upper surface 3b, and a trapezoidal exit-side projection 3g formed on the inclined lower end. The entry-side projection 3f is located below the virtual feed surface when the seesaw claw member 3 is in the release position, and above the virtual feed surface when the seesaw claw member 3 is in the locking position. Similarly, the exit-side projection 3g is located above the virtual feed surface when the seesaw claw member 3 is in the release position, and below the virtual feed surface when the seesaw claw member 3 is in the locking position. In this case, the inclined upper side surface of the entry-side projection 3f becomes the receiving portion 3d, and the upper surface of the exit-side projection 3g becomes the return prevention portion 3c.

[0096] Furthermore, similar to Figure 19, the upper end of the guide side plate 2g, which is erected vertically outside the guide track 2c, is provided with an upward-restricting guide member 2h that protrudes toward the inside of the guide passage 2. This is to prevent the occurrence of the aforementioned "overcoming problem" and "pinching problem." However, the upward-restricting guide member 2h is formed only on the lower side of the incline than the entrance opening section at the upper end of the incline of the guide track 2c, and this entrance opening section is open upward (see Figure 21(a)). This "entrance opening section" is defined as the section above the incline of the pivot axis 3a of the seesaw claw member 3' located at the uppermost part of the incline of the guide track 2c.

[0097] Furthermore, the guide passage section 2 of this embodiment has the form shown in the enlarged view of Figure 21(c). Similar to Figure 15, a ridge point 2e, which is a point of gradient change where the slope changes convex upward, is provided on the upper surface of the guide track 2c between the rotation axes 3a, 3a of two adjacent seesaw claw members 3, 3. The section Δ1 above the ridge point 2e is a relatively gentle slope section, and the section Δ2 below the ridge point 2e is a relatively steep slope section (however, both the gentle slope section Δ1 and the steep slope section Δ2 are inclined downward from the top to the bottom of the virtual feed surface). This is to prevent the occurrence of rebound collision problems, as explained in Figure 15. In particular, in the seesaw claw member 3 shown in Figure 21(b), the distance from the upper inclined end to the lower inclined end of the upper surface 3b is long, approximately 1.8 times the diameter of the shaft 10. Therefore, it is important to make the upper surface of the guide track 2c a mountain-shaped sawtooth structure in which gently sloping sections Δ1 and steeply sloping sections Δ2 alternate.

[0098] Figure 22 shows the difference in shaft insertion operation when the upper surface of the guide track 2c is flat and when it has a V-shaped sawtooth structure. In Figure 22, the left column shows the case when the upper surface of the guide track 2c is flat, and the right column shows the case when the upper surface of the guide track 2c has a V-shaped sawtooth structure.

[0099] When the upper surface of the guide track 2c is flat, at time (t11), shaft S2 collides with the claw member W1 in the locking position, and at time (t12), shaft S2 bounces back in an inclined upward direction. At time (t12), shaft S2 bounces back to near the pivot axis of claw member W2 and stops, causing claw member W2 to return to the release position. When shaft S2 reverses direction from a stopped state to an inclined downward direction, the speed of shaft S2 is slow, so the speed at which shaft S2 moves inclined downward while pushing claw member W2 in the release position becomes very slow. Meanwhile, when the subsequent shaft S3 enters claw member W3 (time (t13)), it enters the upper surface of claw member W2 in the release position, presses down on the entry side projection 3f of claw member W2 (time (t14)), collides with shaft S2, and stops on the upper surface of the entry side projection 3f of claw member W2 (time (t15)). In this way, the two shafts S2 and S3 come into contact and become stuck (hereinafter, this phenomenon will be referred to as the "double stuck phenomenon"). Once the double stuck phenomenon occurs, even if the lower shaft of the two shafts that caused the double stuck phenomenon (hereinafter referred to as the "stuck shaft") is discharged, the stuck shaft will not be moved forward to the lower side of the incline, and the mechanism will remain stuck at the position of the stuck shaft.

[0100] On the other hand, if the upper surface of the guide track 2c has a mountain-shaped sawtooth structure, at time (t21), shaft S2 collides with the claw member W1 at the stop position, and at time (t22), shaft S2 bounces back up the incline. As shaft S2 is decelerated and stops in the steep incline section Δ2 on the claw member W2, then at time (23), shaft S2 reverses direction and rolls down the incline of the steep incline section Δ2, collides with the claw member W1 and stops. As a result, the claw member W2 is held in the stop position without returning to the release position. Meanwhile, even if the subsequent shaft S3 moves into the claw member W3 (time (t24)), shaft S3 collides with the claw member W2 at the stop position and stops, and does not penetrate onto the claw member W2 (time (t25)). In this way, by making the upper surface of the guide track 2c a mountain-shaped sawtooth structure, the double stagnation phenomenon in which two shafts are in contact and stagnant, as shown in (t15) of Figure 22, is prevented.

[0101] Furthermore, in addition to the mountain-shaped sawtooth structure with alternating gentle slopes Δ1 and steep slopes Δ2 as shown in Figure 21(c), the upper surface structure of the guide track 2c can also be a stepped sawtooth structure with a series of equally spaced steps as explained in Figure 14.

[0102] Next, we will explain the effects of using the seesaw claw member shown in Figure 7(b) instead of the seesaw claw member shown in Figure 21(b) for the uppermost inclined end of the guide passage section 2. For the seesaw claw member 3 in Figure 21(b), the distance l from the upper end of the inclined side to the lower end of the inclined side of the upper surface 3b (including the upper surfaces of the inlet projection 3f and the outlet projection 3g) is approximately 1.6 times the diameter 2R of the incoming shaft 10. That is, the size ratio l / 2R is greater than 1.5, making it easy for the shaft 10 to get stuck when it enters the entrance of the uppermost inclined end of the guide passage section 2 at short intervals. On the other hand, for the seesaw claw member 3' in Figure 7(b), the size ratio l / 2R is approximately 1.4, which is smaller than 1.5, and can prevent the shaft 10 from getting stuck at the entrance of the uppermost inclined end of the guide passage section 2. This can be shown using a computer-based physical simulation as shown in Figure 23.

[0103] Figure 23 is a diagram showing a comparison of the shaft sequential feeding mechanism 1 of Embodiment 4, specifically the case where the seesaw claw member at the uppermost inclined end of the guide passage section 2 is the seesaw claw member shown in Figure 21(b) (hereinafter referred to as the "wide claw member") (left column) and the case where the seesaw claw member shown in Figure 7(b) (hereinafter referred to as the "narrow claw member") (right column).

[0104] Claw member W at the uppermost inclined end of guide passage section 2 e When the claw member is wide (Figure 23, left column), the shaft S3 that newly enters at time (t12) is the claw member W e It collides with the claw member W, and at time (t13), shaft S3 bounces and decelerates, and at time (t14), shaft S3 slowly moves towards the claw member W e As it moves onto the claw member W, the following shaft S4 follows it. e It moves onto the top. At time (t15), both shafts S3 and S4 are on the claw member W. e The shaft S3 is placed on top of the claw member W. ePushing in the forward direction, shaft S4 moves claw member W e To push it in the return direction, claw member W e It cannot rotate in the pushing direction, and at time (t16), both shafts S3 and S4 are claw member W e It stops and becomes blocked while resting on top of it.

[0105] In contrast, the claw member W at the uppermost inclined end of the guide passage section 2 e When the claw member is narrow (Figure 23, right column), at time (t21), shaft S2 is claw member W e The shaft S2 moves upward, and the claw member W e When the wheel is rotated to the stop position, the subsequent incoming shaft S3 moves into the claw member W e It collides with the claw member W at time (t22). e It bounces back and moves backward up the slope at time (t23). At time (t24), the bounced shaft S3 collides with the following shaft S4, causing shaft S4 to decelerate, and shaft S3 bounces again, and shaft S3 hits the claw member W e The shafts S3 and S4 come to a stop upon collision with the claw member W. Subsequently, at time (t25), shaft S2 moves towards the claw member W. e When it is transferred from above, the claw member W e It returns to the release position. Then, at time (t26), shaft S3 is in the claw member W e It moves upward, and at time (t27), shaft S3 is on claw member W e When the wheel is rotated to the stop position, the subsequent incoming shaft S4 moves into the claw member W e It collides with the claw member W and bounces upwards down the slope. The same process continues for the claw member W. e The shaft is S i The movement of one unit moving in and then moving out is repeated. This is the sequential intermittent movement described in Figure 10, and the claw member W e Each wide claw member that slopes downwards has a shaft S at regular time intervals. i They are transferred in one by one. As a result, the claw member W at the uppermost end of the incline e Shaft S i This prevents clogging, and also prevents the two shafts from moving in close together due to the sequential intermittent movement of the wide claw members below the incline, so shaft S iThis prevents clogging.

[0106] Finally, the effects of providing an opening section at the entrance (see Figure 21(a)) on the upward restricting guide member 2h above the seesaw claw member at the uppermost inclined end of the guide passage section 2 will be explained. Figure 24 is a diagram showing a comparison of the operation of the shaft sequential feeding mechanism 1 of Embodiment 4 when the shafts are in close proximity to each other and when they enter the seesaw claw member at the uppermost inclined end of the guide passage section 2, with and without the opening section at the entrance.

[0107] If there is no opening section at the entrance of the upward restricting guide member 2h on the upper inclined side of the guide passage section 2 (Figure 24, left column), when shafts S1 to S4 approach each other at time (t11) and move into the uppermost inclined end of the guide passage section 2, at time (t12) the leading shaft S1 first moves into the claw member W at the uppermost inclined end. e Transferred to, at time (t13), shaft S1 is claw member W e The shaft S2 rotates in the pushing direction, but the subsequent shaft S2 is the claw member W e It is pushed up by the inclined upper end and collides with the upward restricting guide member 2h. As a result, at time (t13), the claw member W e The rotation in the pushing direction is prevented, and it stops without rotating to the stop position, and at time (t14), the claw member W protruding above the guide passage 2 is blocked from the shaft S1. e When it comes into contact with the return prevention part 3c, at time (t15), the shaft S1 is on the claw member W e It stops before overcoming the return prevention part 3c. Then, at times (t16) to (t17), the shaft S1 moves towards the claw member W e The shaft S2 pushes the claw member W in the pushing direction, and the claw member W e The claw member W is balanced when pushed in the return direction. e The shafts S1 and S2 are jammed together at the top.

[0108] On the other hand, if there is an opening section at the entrance of the upward restricting guide member 2h on the inclined upper side of the guide passage section 2 (right column of Figure 24), the time from (t21) to (t23) is the same as from (t11) to (t13) described above, but the upward restricting guide member 2h is the claw member W eSince it is not located in the inlet opening section on the inclined upper side of the pivot axis 3a, the claw member W e The shaft S2, which is pushed up upon hitting the upper end of the inclined surface, is not restricted in its upward movement by the upward restricting guide member 2h, and at time (t24), the claw member W e The shaft S1 is rotated to the stop position by collision, and at time (t25), the shaft S1 is on the claw member W e It moves out from the top and downwards at an incline. The sequential intermittent movement in and out, as explained in Figure 10, causes the claw member W at the uppermost end of the incline to move out. e However, the shaft S on the slope upwards i The shafts are moved in one by one to the upper surface and then repeatedly moved out towards the downward slope. In this way, by providing an open section at the entrance, when the shafts move into the seesaw claw member at the uppermost end of the inclined guide passage 2 while in close proximity to each other, the moved shafts will move into the claw member W e The problem of blockage is prevented when the upward-restricting guide member 2h is sandwiched between them.

[0109] Furthermore, regarding the operation of the shaft transfer mechanism 1 in this embodiment when the shaft is discharged, it is the same as the operation already described in Figures 6 and 11 of Embodiment 1, so the explanation will be omitted.

[0110] Furthermore, in this embodiment, instead of the multiple seesaw claw members 3 in the intermediate section shown in Figure 21(b), we can use the shapes shown in Figures 25(a) and 25(b). Note that in Figure 25, the parts corresponding to those in Figures 7(b) and 21(b) are denoted by the same reference numerals. [Examples]

[0111] Figure 26 is a (a) plan view and a (a) cross-sectional view along line AA of a shaft stocker according to Embodiment 6 of the present invention. In Figure 26, the shaft stocker 20 consists of three parts: a storage rack 21 for storing shafts, a shaft loading device 22 for loading shafts into the storage rack 21, and a shaft unloading device 23 for unloading shafts from the storage rack 21. The storage rack 21 comprises a housing 24 and a plurality of storage shelves 25 arranged vertically in parallel and inclined inside the housing 24. Each of these storage shelves 25 is equipped with a shaft sequential feeding mechanism 1 in any form of Embodiment 1 to Embodiment 5. The shaft loading device 22 moves the shaft 10 to be loaded by a belt conveyor up and down and loads the shaft from the uppermost inclined end of one of the storage shelves 25. The shaft unloading device 23 unloads the shaft from the lowermost inclined end of one of the storage shelves 25. The shaft unloading device 23 is equipped with an outlet locking member 2a that can be released to lock the shaft loaded onto the seesaw claw member located at the lowest inclined end of the guide passage 2 of the shaft sequential feeding mechanism 1 of each storage shelf 25. By releasing the outlet locking member 2a, the shaft unloading device 23 can unload shafts 10 one by one from the guide passage 2. Then, each time a shaft 10 at the lowest inclined end is unloaded, the shaft sequential feeding mechanism 1 of each storage shelf 25 sequentially feeds the shafts 10 stored in that storage shelf 25 downwards by a holding interval D through a sequential feeding operation as described in Figures 6 and 11. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0112] 1. Shaft forward feed mechanism 2 Guide passage section 2a Outlet locking member 2b Spring fixed shaft 2c Guide orbit 2d step 2e Mountain break point 2f Taniori point 2g Guide side plate 2h Lifting restriction guide member 3. Seesaw claw member 3a Rotating shaft 3b Top surface 3c Anti-return section 3D receiving part 3e Oscillating piece 3f Entrance side protrusion 3g Exit protrusion 4 Rotation restricting member 5. Tension coil spring (biasing means) 6-rotation force adjustment mechanism 10 shafts 20 Shaft Stocker 21 Storage racks 22 Shaft loading device 23 Shaft unloading device 24 enclosure 25 Storage shelves

Claims

1. A shaft sequential feeding mechanism that, along a virtual feed plane which is a virtual plane inclined diagonally downward, holds multiple cylindrical or cylindrical shafts at predetermined holding intervals, and when the holding intervals are released, sequentially feeds each shaft in the feed direction which is inclined downwards from the virtual feed plane, A guide passage is installed at an angle along the virtual feed surface, and supports and guides each sequentially fed shaft so that it does not fall below the virtual feed surface, Multiple seesaw claw members are mounted in series at the holding interval along the virtual feed surface within the guide passage, rotatable about a horizontal pivot axis perpendicular to the feed direction, and have an upper surface extending from the inclined upper side to the inclined lower side of the pivot axis, which is formed to be flat or concave. A biasing means that biases the seesaw claw member so that the side of the seesaw claw member that is inclined upward relative to the pivot axis rotates downward, regardless of the mass of the seesaw claw member, The system includes a rotation restricting means for restricting the rotation range of the seesaw claw member to a predetermined range, The rotation restricting means restricts the rotation range of the seesaw claw member from a rotation position where the inclined upper end of the upper surface of the seesaw claw member coincides with or is lower than the virtual feed surface (hereinafter referred to as the "release position") to a rotation position where the inclined upper end of the upper surface of the seesaw claw member is higher than the position of the inclined upper end in the release position (hereinafter referred to as the "locked position"). The two adjacent seesaw claw members, one on the upper side of the incline and the other on the lower side, are configured such that when both are in the locking position, the upper end of the upper surface of the lower seesaw claw member is positioned higher than the lower end of the upper surface of the upper seesaw claw member, thus creating a step between the upper surfaces of the two seesaw claw members. A shaft forward feed mechanism characterized by the following.

2. The seesaw claw member is The distance from the center of the pivot axis to the inclined lower end of the upper surface of the seesaw claw member is, The rotation axis is greater than the distance from the center to the inclined upper end of the upper surface of the seesaw claw member. The shaft sequential feeding mechanism according to claim 1, characterized by the following:

3. The shaft forward feed mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that the upper end of the seesaw claw member is provided with a return prevention portion that is chamfered in a planar or concave shape so as to bend in the opposite direction to the curvature of the upper surface, at the corner portion of the inclined lower end.

4. The shaft sequential feeding mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that the upper end of the inclined upper end of the seesaw claw member is provided with a receiving portion that is chamfered in a planar or concave shape so as to bend in the opposite direction to the curvature of the upper surface.

5. A stepped entry-side projection is formed on the inclined upper side of the upper surface of the seesaw claw member. When the seesaw claw member is in the release position, the entry-side projection is located below the virtual feed surface. The shaft sequential feeding mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that when the seesaw claw member is in the stop position, the entry side projection is positioned above the virtual feed surface.

6. The guide passage section is equipped with a guide track that supports and guides both ends of each sequentially moving shaft so as to be able to roll. The shaft sequential feeding mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that the upper surface of the guide track is always inclined downward from the inclined upper to the inclined lower part of the virtual feed surface, and a step is formed at the position between the rotation axes of two adjacent seesaw claw members, or the inclination gradient between the rotation axes of two adjacent seesaw claw members is formed such that the inclination on the inclined upper side is relatively gentle and the inclination on the inclined lower side is relatively steep.

7. The shaft forwarding mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that the guide passage is installed above the virtual feed surface and includes an upward restricting guide member that restricts each sequentially fed shaft from rising above a predetermined distance from the virtual feed surface.

8. A shaft stocker for storing and retrieving multiple cylindrical or cylindrical shafts, Storage shelves with multiple levels for storing shafts, A shaft sequential feeding mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 7 is provided in each of the aforementioned storage shelves, An outlet locking member is provided at the inclined lower end of the guide passage of the shaft sequential feeding mechanism, and locks the shaft, which is loaded onto the seesaw claw member located at the lowest inclined side of the guide passage, so as to be able to be released. A shaft stocker characterized by having the following features.

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