Inspected part transportation device

Abstract

To provide an inspected part transportation device allowing accurate inspection as keeping tension of a transportation passage constant even when using an extra fine diameter wire.SOLUTION: An inspection part transportation device is provided with a transportation passage 2 that transports an inspected part P in one direction with two transportation wires 1. A pair of transportation mechanisms 10 are configured to wind up a respective transportation wire 1. Each of the transportation mechanisms 10 is arranged with a pair of stepping motors 13, 14. Each of the motors is provided with a wind-up reel 11 and a feeding reel 12 interlocked with each of the motors. The transportation real mechanism 10 is vertically movably supported with a tension air cylinder 16. Height of the transportation reel mechanism 10 is detected upon winding-up the transportation wire 1. Rotational speed of the feeding reel 12 is adjusted so as to keep the height.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a device for transporting a component to be inspected used in image processing inspection by wire transportation, and more particularly to a device for transporting a component to be inspected, such as a micro screw or the like, which is suitable for transporting a minute component to be inspected.

Background Art

[0002] The inventor has previously invented an inspection component transport mechanism described in Patent Document 1. This transport mechanism is a device that suspends and transports inspection components such as bolts on two transport wires that move in parallel. The transport wire used at this time is an endless wire with both ends welded in order to sequentially transport a large number of components to be inspected.

[0003] However, the wire that can be welded at both ends has a limit of about 0.4 mm in thickness, and when the diameter of the wire becomes thinner than this, it is impossible to manufacture an endless wire with the current technology. Therefore, it has been difficult to perform image processing inspection with sufficient accuracy as the size of the component to be inspected becomes smaller.

[0004] Therefore, the inventor newly proposed an inspection component transport device described in Patent Document 2. This device is configured to be able to transport minute inspection components such as micro screws with a shaft diameter of 2 mm or less, which are difficult to inspect with an endless wire.

[0005] That is, without using an endless wire, a pair of take-up reels 2 that respectively wind two transport wires 1 running in parallel and a transport device 10 that transports the component to be inspected P with the two transport wires 1 are configured, and this transport device 10 is installed in a reversing machine 20 that reverses in the horizontal direction. When the reversing machine 20 reverses, the component to be inspected P is transported again by the transport wire 1 rewound from the reversed take-up reel 2.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 3136508 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Publication No. 4636421 [Summary of the Invention] [Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

[0007] However, since the device described in Patent Document 2 is configured to invert the conveying device 10 in the horizontal direction, it is necessary to align the upstream end of the conveying device 10 with the downstream end of the straight feeders every time it is inverted, which is a problem that requires time and effort for this adjustment.

[0008] In addition, since the configuration is complicated due to the provision of the inverter 20 for inverting the conveying device 10, there are also problems in terms of manufacturing cost and maintenance.

[0009] Therefore, in order to simplify the configuration, it was found that when changing to a configuration in which a fixed pair of take-up reels is used for conveyance instead of a pair of take-up reels 2 that are inverted, it becomes difficult to maintain the tension of the conveyance path.

[0010] That is, since the device of Patent Document 2 is configured such that one conveying wire 1 is wound around one take-up reel 2, the tension of the conveying wire 1 is always constant. Therefore, it is possible to maintain the tension of the conveyance path 3 formed by the pair of take-up reels 2 and the two conveying wires 1.

[0011] However, when two conveying wires are wound around a fixed pair of take-up reels to form a conveyance path, since the tensions of the respective conveying wires wound around each take-up reel are different, it becomes difficult to make the tensions of the respective conveying wires constant. In particular, in the case of extremely thin wires, inconveniences such as the test parts falling off or the conveying wires coming off may occur even due to a slight difference in tension.

[0012] Therefore, the present invention was created to solve the above-described problems, and an object thereof is to provide an inspection target component transport device that can maintain a constant tension in the transport path and enable accurate inspection even when using an ultra-thin wire.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0013] To achieve the above object, a first means in the present invention is an inspection target component transport mechanism that forms a transport path 2 for transporting an inspection target component P in one direction by two transport wires 1 running in parallel, and a pair of transport reel mechanisms 10 that respectively wind the transport wires 1. Each transport reel mechanism 10 includes a take-up reel 11 and a supply reel 12 that are respectively interlocked with a pair of stepping motors 13 and 14, and is mounted on a tension air cylinder 16 and provided so as to be vertically movable. When the rotation speed of the supply reel 12 becomes slower than the take-up speed of the take-up reel 11, the transport reel mechanism 10 is configured to rise, and the height of the transport reel mechanism 10 when the transport wire 1 is taken up is detected, and the rotation speed of the supply reel 12 is adjusted so that this height becomes constant.

[0014] In the transport reel mechanism 10 of the second means, a moving plate 15 that horizontally supports the take-up reel 11 and the supply reel 12 is provided, and the tension air cylinder 16 is vertically movably connected to a fixed substrate 20. The height of the transport reel mechanism 10 is detected by the height of the moving plate 15 fixed to the tension air cylinder 16.

[0015] In the third means, the height of the moving plate 15 is detected by a position detection sensor 18 installed on the fixed substrate 20.

[0016] A fourth means is to mount a pair of wire pulleys 17 at a position above the transport reel mechanism 10 on the fixed substrate 20, and form the transport path 2 with the transport wires 1 between the wire pulleys 17.

[0017] The supply reel 12 of the fifth means is configured to rewind the transport wire 1 wound around the take-up reel 11 at a high-speed reverse rotation.

Advantages of the Invention

[0018] As in the present invention, by detecting the height of the transport reel mechanism 10 when the transport wire 1 is being wound and adjusting the rotation speed of the supply reel 12 so that this height becomes constant, it becomes possible to keep the tension applied to the transport wire 1 in the transport path 2 constant. As a result, it becomes possible to transport the component P to be inspected using an extremely thin wire having a thickness of 0.1 to 0.2 mm or less.

[0019] Moreover, even when using a transport wire 1 that cannot be welded at both ends, the conventional reversing device becomes unnecessary, and since the position of the transport path 2 is always constant, the configuration of the entire device can also be simplified.

[0020] As described above, according to the present invention, even when using an extremely thin wire, the tension in the transport path is kept constant and accurate inspection becomes possible, etc., which is an effect unique to the present invention.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0021]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0022] The conveying device of the present invention is used, for example, in image processing inspection. In the illustrated example, a plurality of cameras C directed from each angle with the conveying path 2 as a shooting point are arranged around the conveying path 2, and it is an inspection device used when performing image inspection on a minute component to be inspected such as a micro screw (see Fig. 1).

[0023] The conveying device of the present invention has a conveying path 2 that conveys the component P to be inspected in one direction by two conveying wires 1 that run in parallel (see Fig. 2). And a pair of conveying reel mechanisms 10 that wind each conveying wire 1 are used.

[0024] Each conveying reel mechanism 10 has a take-up reel 11 and a supply reel 12 (see Fig. 3). These are interlocked with a pair of stepping motors 13 and 14 respectively, and the rotations of the take-up reel 11 and the supply reel 12 are adjusted by the respective stepping motors 13 and 14. And when winding the conveying wire 1 wound around the supply reel 12 onto the take-up reel 11, it is wound by the rotation of the stepping motor 13 of the take-up reel 11. At this time, the supply reel 12 also rotates by the stepping motor 14 in accordance with the rotation of the take-up reel 11.

[0025] Furthermore, the conveying reel mechanism 10 is connected to a tension air cylinder 16 and is provided so as to be movable up and down (see Fig. 4). In the illustrated example, a moving plate 15 that horizontally supports the take-up reel 11 and the supply reel 12 is provided. Furthermore, this moving plate 15 is fixed to the tension air cylinder 16, and the tension air cylinder 16 fixed to the fixed substrate 20 supports the moving plate 15 so as to be movable up and down (see Fig. 5). Therefore, the conveying reel mechanism 10 moves up and down together with the moving plate 15 (see Fig. 4).

[0026] Also, a pair of wire pulleys 17 are mounted on the fixed substrate 20 at a position above the conveying reel mechanism 10 (see Fig. 4). The conveying path 2 is formed by the conveying wire 1 spanned between these wire pulleys 17.

[0027] Therefore, when the rotation speed of the supply reel 12 is slower than the winding speed of the take-up reel 11, the transport reel mechanism 10 is configured to rise. At this time, the tension of the transport wire 1 in the transport path 2 increases. Therefore, when the rotation speed of the supply reel 12 is increased to match the rotation speed of the take-up reel 11, the transport reel mechanism 10 descends, and the tension of the transport wire 1 also decreases.

[0028] However, since there is a difference in the winding diameters of the take-up reel 11 and the supply reel 12, the moving plate 15 moves up and down accordingly. Therefore, in order to detect the height of the transport reel mechanism 10 when the transport wire 1 is being wound, a position detection sensor 18 is arranged on the fixed substrate 20 to detect the height of the moving plate 15. By adjusting the rotation speed of the supply reel 12 with an industrial PC so that the height of the moving plate 15 becomes constant, the tension of the transport wire 1 in the transport path 2 is kept constant.

[0029] That is, the vertical position of the moving plate 15 is detected by the position detection sensor 18 as being above or below the reference position. Based on this signal, when the moving plate 15 moves upward, the supply reel 12 is accelerated by a certain amount to change the moving plate 15 to move downward.

[0030] Conversely, when the moving plate 15 moves downward, the supply reel 12 is decelerated by a certain amount to change the moving plate 15 to move upward. During the transport by the transport wire 1 in the transport path 2, while repeating this operation, by keeping the vertical position of the moving plate 15, that is, the vertical position of the transport reel mechanism 10 at a constant position, the tension of the transport wire 1 in the transport path 2 is kept constant.

[0031] After the transport wire 1 of the supply reel 12 is wound onto the take-up reel 11, the supply reel 12 is rotated reversely to wind it back onto the supply reel 12. At this time, the transport wire 1 is configured to be wound back at high speed by the high-speed reverse rotation of the stepping motor 14.

[0032] Furthermore, the conveying device of the present invention is not limited to components such as bolts, and can be used in many fields. Also, the configuration of the device of the present invention is not limited to the illustrated example, and design changes such as the shape and structure of the conveying reel mechanism 10, the fixed substrate 20, etc. can be arbitrarily made.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0033] 1 Conveying wire 2 Conveying path 10 Conveying reel mechanism 11 Take-up reel 12 Supply reel 13 Stepping motor 14 Stepping motor 15 Moving plate 16 Tension air cylinder 17 Wire pulley 18 Position detection sensor 20 Fixed substrate

Claims

1. An inspection part conveying mechanism that forms a conveying path for conveying an inspection part in one direction with two conveying wires running in parallel, and a pair of conveying reel mechanisms that respectively wind each conveying wire, each conveying reel mechanism includes a take-up reel and a supply reel that are respectively interlocked with a pair of stepping motors, and is mounted on a tension air cylinder and provided so as to be vertically movable. When the rotation speed of the supply reel becomes slower than the winding speed of the take-up reel, the conveying reel mechanism is configured to rise, The inspection part conveying device is characterized in that it is configured to detect the height of the conveying reel mechanism when the conveying wire is being wound and to adjust the rotation speed of the supply reel so that this height becomes constant.

2. The conveying reel mechanism is provided with a moving plate that horizontally supports the take-up reel and the supply reel, and the tension air cylinder is connected to a fixed substrate so as to be vertically movable. The height of the conveying reel mechanism is detected by the height of the moving plate fixed to the tension air cylinder. The inspection part conveying device according to claim 1.

3. The inspection part conveying device according to claim 2, wherein the height of the moving plate is detected by a position detection sensor installed on the fixed substrate.

4. A pair of wire pulleys are mounted at positions above the conveying reel mechanism on the fixed substrate, and the conveying path is formed by the conveying wire between the wire pulleys. The inspection part conveying device according to claim 2.

5. The inspection part conveying device according to claim 1, wherein the supply reel is configured to unwind the conveying wire wound around the take-up reel at a high-speed reverse rotation.

Images