Alignment plate and parts feeder using the same

Abstract

To provide an alignment plate and a parts feeder using the alignment plate capable of making a size compact in comparison with a conventional parts feeder, and capable of quickly aligning more clips in large quantities.SOLUTION: An alignment plate 100 for aligning clips includes a head part 11 attached to an object component, and a root part attached to a part and including an upper plate part, a lower plate part, and a neck part provided between them. The clip is made of a plate-shaped member provided with a plurality of recessed parts composed of lower side recessed parts formed larger than a lower side plate part of the clip by 0. 1mm to 0. 3mm, and upper side recessed parts formed above the lower side recessed parts, having diameters larger than those of the lower side recessed parts, and formed by curving side surfaces and bottom surfaces.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an alignment plate for aligning clips and a parts feeder using this alignment plate. [Background technology]

[0002] Clips are used to attach various interior parts such as automobile door trims and instrument panels. These clips are often automatically picked up and attached to parts using a robot. This type of automatic clip attachment device is equipped with a robot arm and a parts feeder that supplies clips. The robot arm moves back and forth between the parts feeder and the workpiece, gripping a clip with the parts feeder and attaching it to the clip's attachment portion (clip seat) on the workpiece.

[0003] A parts feeder that sequentially supplies parts to a robot arm supplies parts by aligning clips sequentially. One such parts feeder aligns and supplies each part sequentially by applying vibration. For example, a parts feeder for supplying parts to an object has been proposed, which includes a first aligning and supplying means for aligning and supplying stored parts sequentially by vibration, a second aligning and supplying means disposed between the first aligning and supplying means and the object for supplying parts supplied from the first aligning and supplying means in an aligned state by vibration, and a control unit that selects between the operation of aligning and supplying parts by the first aligning and supplying means and the operation of supplying parts by the second aligning and supplying means based on the arrangement of the parts (Patent Document 1).

[0004] However, such parts feeders have a complex mechanism, and when automated, the machinery required to change multiple clips from serial to parallel or branch them becomes large, requiring a space of at least 50 cm x 50 cm due to its structure. Furthermore, with a conventional parts feeder, it takes about 4 to 5 seconds for one machine to align two clips in parallel, so even if you want to increase the robot speed, it takes time to align the parts feeder, and there is also the problem that the takt time constraints of the process become the parts feeder's alignment capacity. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 10-194434 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide an alignment plate and a parts feeder using the alignment plate that can be made more compact in size than conventional parts feeders and can align more clips quickly and in large quantities. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention employs the following means.

[0008] The alignment plate according to the present invention is an alignment plate for aligning clips, the alignment plate having a head portion to be attached to a target component, and a base portion to be attached to the part, the base portion having an upper plate portion, a lower plate portion, and a neck portion provided therebetween, The clip is characterized by being made of a plate-like member having a plurality of recesses, each recess being 0.1 mm to 0.3 mm larger than the lower plate portion of the clip, and an upper recess formed above the lower recess, having a larger diameter than the lower recess, and having curved sides and a bottom.

[0009] The alignment plate of the present invention allows clips to be fed onto the alignment plate and aligned on the plate by vibration, so the space required for alignment is limited to the size of the alignment plate. Therefore, even when aligning approximately 100 clips, an A3-sized machine is sufficient, requiring less than half the space of conventional devices. This compact design also makes it possible to install multiple machines equipped with different alignment plates in parallel. Furthermore, while a conventional parts feeder takes approximately 4 to 5 seconds to align two clips in parallel, the alignment plate of the present invention makes it possible to align more than 30 clips in a similar amount of time.

[0010] Furthermore, in the alignment plate according to the present invention, the depth of the lower recess may be the sum of the length of the neck portion 18 and the thickness of the lower plate portion 17. By adopting such a configuration, the entire clip below the upper plate portion can be positioned within the lower recess, thereby reducing the possibility that the clips will come off once aligned.

[0011] The present invention is also provided for use in a parts feeder, which is characterized by comprising a vibration section on which the above-mentioned alignment plate can be placed, and a supply section capable of supplying clips to the vibration section. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a clip 10 used in an alignment plate 100 according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the alignment plate 100 according to the embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the alignment plate 100 according to the embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 shows a parts feeder 200 for using the alignment plate 100 according to the embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the process of aligning the clips 10 on the alignment plate 100 according to the embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a table showing the experimental results of the clips 10 on the alignment plate 100 according to the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] The following describes in detail an alignment plate 100 according to an embodiment and a parts feeder 200 using the alignment plate 100, with reference to the drawings. Note that the embodiments and drawings described below are intended to exemplify some of the embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. Appropriate modifications can be made within the scope of the present invention. Corresponding components in each drawing are denoted by the same or similar reference numerals. Note that in the following description, "part" refers to a component (e.g., a door trim) to which the clip 10 is directly attached, and "target component" refers to a component (e.g., a door panel) to which the part to which the clip 10 is attached is attached.

[0014] First, we will explain the clip 10 aligned by the alignment plate 100 of the present invention. The clip 10 has a head 11 and a base 15. The head 11 is the portion that fits into the target component when attaching a part to which the clip 10 is attached to the target component. For example, as shown in FIG. 1A, there is a type of head 11 that has an egg-shaped configuration and can be attached by elastically deforming to the target product. The configuration of the head 11 is not particularly limited, and various conventionally known configurations can be adopted. For example, as shown in FIG. 1B, a conventionally known configuration can be adopted, such as one that is composed of an elastic plate portion 13 with a V-shaped cross section that is symmetrically arranged with respect to the shaft plate 12.

[0015] The base portion 15 includes an upper plate portion 16, a lower plate portion 17, and a neck portion 18 provided therebetween. The upper plate portion 16 is formed in a circular plate shape extending from the center to the periphery and is provided at a distance from the lower plate portion 17. The lower plate portion 17 is also formed in a circular plate shape extending from the center to the periphery and is provided on the bottom surface. The diameter of the lower plate portion 17 is smaller than the diameter of the upper plate portion 16. The neck portion 18 is provided in a cylindrical shape at the axial center of the clip 10 between the upper plate portion 16 and the lower plate portion 17. The diameter of the neck portion 18 is designed to be slightly smaller than the clip locking hole in the clip mounting seat provided on the target component and slightly larger than the groove inserted into the clip locking hole. In addition, above the upper plate portion 16, a thin, dish-shaped anti-rattle plate portion 19 may be provided, which is a circular plate with a larger diameter than the upper plate portion 16, in order to prevent rattles caused by gaps that form when the plate portion is attached to the target component.

[0016] Next, the alignment plate 100 will be described. The alignment plate 100 according to the present invention is dedicated to aligning the above-mentioned clips 10, and as shown in Fig. 2, has a plurality of recesses 30 on a flat plate. In consideration of space saving, the size of the alignment plate 100 should be A4 size or smaller, preferably about 10 cm to 20 cm x 20 cm to 30 cm. As shown in Fig. 3, each recess 30 is formed in two stages, with a lower recess 31 formed below and an upper recess 32 formed above this lower recess 31.

[0017] The lower recess 31 is formed in a cylindrical shape with a diameter slightly larger than that of the lower plate 17 of the clip 10. Preferably, it is formed to be approximately 0.1 mm to 0.3 mm larger than the diameter of the lower plate 17. The depth (β) of the lower recess 31 is formed to be approximately the same as the length of the neck 18 plus the thickness (α) of the lower plate 17 (see FIG. 1), and the upper plate 16 is formed to contact the bottom surface of the upper recess 32, which will be described later. The inner wall 31a is formed as a vertical surface.

[0018] The upper recess 32 is formed coaxially above the lower recess 31 and has a cylindrical shape with a diameter larger than that of the lower recess 31. The diameter of the upper recess 32 is larger than that of the upper plate 16 so that the upper plate 16 can be inserted into the upper recess 32. The upper recess 32 has a curved surface 32a that curves from the side surface toward the bottom surface. Therefore, when the upper plate 16 is placed, the clip 18 can be moved so that it is positioned in the center.

[0019] As shown in Fig. 2, a plurality of recesses 30 prepared as described above are provided on the alignment plate 100. There is no particular limitation on the number of recesses 30. In this embodiment, 6 x 8 = 48 recesses 30 are provided on an alignment plate measuring 15 cm x 21 cm.

[0020] The alignment plate 100 fabricated as described above is attached to a parts feeder 200 for use, as shown in FIG. 4. The parts feeder 200 includes a vibration unit 210 that vibrates the alignment plate 100 attached thereto, and a supply unit 220 that randomly supplies clips 10 to the vibration unit 210. The vibration unit 210 is formed in the shape of a container on which the alignment plate 100 can be placed and is surrounded by walls. The vibration unit 210 is connected to a vibration actuator 230 and can vibrate the alignment plate 100. The vibration characteristics are not particularly limited, and may be a micro-vibration in only one direction, for example, the vertical direction, or a vibration that can oscillate in a combination of three directions, the vertical direction, and the horizontal direction (longitudinal and lateral directions). The vibration unit 210 may also be provided with a mechanism that allows it to tilt the alignment plate 100 at an angle, as shown in FIG. 4B.

[0021] The supply unit 220 is a device that randomly supplies clips 10 onto the alignment plate 100, and the supply method is not particularly limited, and may include supplying by a belt conveyor or by turning a container upside down when a certain number of clips have accumulated in the container.

[0022] When clips 10 are supplied onto the alignment plate 100 attached to the parts feeder 200, the clips 10 are aligned as follows. Specifically, when the clips 10 are supplied, they are randomly arranged as shown in FIG. 6A . When the alignment plate 100 is vibrated from this state, clips 10 with their heads 11 facing downward rotate so that their bases 15 are facing downward, since their tips are tapered and their centers of gravity are biased toward their bases 15. When the bases 15 are placed in the recesses 30, the upper recesses 32 are curved from the side to the bottom, so that the lower plate 17 slides into the lower recesses 31, and the clips are positioned in the recesses 30 with their heads 11 facing upward. Once the clips 10 are placed, the outer diameter of the lower recesses 31 has almost no gap with the lower plate 17 of the bases 15, and the inner wall surface is perpendicular, reducing the likelihood of the clips 10 coming off due to vibration. In this way, the plurality of clips 10 are arranged in the recess 30 in a line with the heads 11 facing upward.

[0023] The clips 10 aligned in this way are picked up by an external picking robot and attached to parts. At this time, since all the clips 10 are facing the same direction and aligned in an orderly fashion, it is only necessary to determine whether or not a clip 10 is present, so two-dimensional analysis using a camera or laser is sufficient, and the control system moves the robot arm efficiently and accurately, allowing for rapid picking.

[0024] (Example) Using an alignment plate measuring 15 cm x 21 cm and having 6 x 8 = 48 recesses 30, 48 clips 10 were fed. After applying vertical and horizontal vibrations for 4 seconds, the number of clips 10 aligned within the recesses 30 was measured. The results of 20 tests are shown in Figure 6. According to the experimental results, the minimum number of clips aligned was 31, the maximum was 42, and the average number aligned within the 20 tests was 37.6. Thus, by using the alignment plate 100 of the present invention, it is possible to align clips 10 at a rate of approximately 70% to 80% of the number of recesses 30. While a conventional parts feeder takes approximately 4 to 5 seconds to align two clips in parallel, the alignment plate of the present invention can align more than 30 clips in a similar amount of time. Furthermore, since the machine does not need to operate until there are enough clips to be picked up by the robot arm, power consumption can be reduced.

[0025] It goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be embodied in various forms as long as they fall within the technical scope of the present invention. [Industrial Applicability]

[0026] As shown in the above-described embodiment, the present invention can be industrially utilized as a parts feeder that aligns clips and supplies them to a robot. [Explanation of symbols]

[0027] 10...clip, 11...head, 12...shaft plate, 13...elastic plate portion, 15...base portion, 16...upper plate portion, 17...lower plate portion, 18...neck portion, 19...preventive plate portion, 30...recess, 31...lower recess, 31a...inner wall, 32...upper recess, 32a...curved surface, 100...alignment plate, 200...parts feeder, 210...vibration portion, 220...supply portion, 230...vibration actuator

Claims

1. An alignment plate for aligning clips, the alignment plate comprising: a head portion to be attached to a target component; and a base portion to be attached to the part, the base portion comprising an upper plate portion, a lower plate portion, and a neck portion provided therebetween; An alignment plate characterized by comprising a plate-shaped member having a plurality of recesses, each recess being a lower recess formed 0.1 mm to 0.3 mm larger than the lower plate portion of the clip, and an upper recess formed above the lower recess, having a larger diameter than the lower recess, and having curved sides and a bottom.

2. 2. The alignment plate according to claim 1, wherein the depth of the lower recess is the sum of the length of the neck portion and the thickness of the lower plate portion.

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