Conveying system and wire housing mechanism

Abstract

To provide a transport system and a wire storage mechanism capable of improving transport efficiency. [Solution] The transport system 100 according to this disclosure comprises a wire storage mechanism 1 for housing coil wires and a drive mechanism 2 for moving the wire storage mechanism 1. The wire storage mechanism 1 has a support part 13 for supporting coil wires and a gripping part 14 for gripping coil wires with a spring mechanism 143. With this configuration, the transport system according to this disclosure can properly hold coil wires during transport and easily remove coil wires when transport is complete. As a result, the transport system according to this disclosure can improve transport efficiency.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a conveying system and a wire accommodating mechanism.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a coil conveying mechanism. The coil conveying mechanism described in Patent Document 1 includes a conveying rail that forms a conveying path for swirling and conveying a strip-shaped coil along a coil winding jig, and a conveying body configured to be movable along the conveying rail while holding a plurality of straight portions of the strip-shaped coil respectively.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In the coil conveying mechanism described in Patent Document 1, since the straight upper portions of the strip-shaped coil are gripped at a plurality of locations, it is not easy to take out the coil after conveyance, and as a result, there is a problem that the conveyance efficiency is reduced.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made to solve such problems, and an object thereof is to provide a conveying system and a wire accommodating mechanism capable of improving the conveying efficiency.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The conveying system according to the present disclosure includes a wire accommodating mechanism that accommodates a strip-shaped coil wire, and a drive mechanism that moves the wire accommodating mechanism. The wire accommodating mechanism has a support portion that supports the coil wire and a gripping portion that grips the coil wire by a spring mechanism.

[0007] With this configuration, the transport system according to this disclosure can properly hold the coil wires during transport and easily remove the coil wires when transport is complete. As a result, the transport system according to this disclosure can improve transport efficiency.

[0008] In the conveying system according to this disclosure, the support portion may support the coil conductor vertically upward. The gripping portion may fix the coil conductor horizontally.

[0009] In the conveying system according to this disclosure, the gripping portion may include a claw portion for fixing the coil wire and a rotating shaft for rotatably fixing the claw portion. The spring mechanism may rotate the gripping portion in a direction in which a part of the claw portion is pressed against the coil wire.

[0010] The transport system according to this disclosure may further include a retrieval mechanism for removing coil wires stored in the wire storage mechanism. The gripping portion may further include a rod-shaped portion extending in a direction parallel to the rotation axis. The retrieval mechanism may release the coil wires from the gripping portion by pressing the rod-shaped portion and rotating the gripping portion.

[0011] The wire housing mechanism according to this disclosure comprises a support portion for supporting a coil wire and a gripping portion for gripping the coil wire by a spring mechanism. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] This disclosure makes it possible to provide a transport system that can improve transport efficiency. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0013] [Figure 1] This is a block diagram showing the configuration of the transport system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 2] This is a schematic perspective view showing the configuration of the wire housing mechanism according to the first embodiment. [Figure 3]This is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the wire housing mechanism according to the first embodiment. [Figure 4] This is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the wire housing mechanism according to the first embodiment. [Figure 5] This is a flowchart showing the transport method according to the first embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0014] <First Embodiment> (Configuration of the transport system) The first embodiment of this disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. First, the configuration of the transport system according to this embodiment will be described in detail.

[0015] Figure 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a transport system according to the first embodiment. The transport system 100 according to this embodiment transports coil wires. The coil wires to be transported are typically those used as materials for stator coils in vehicle motors, etc. However, the use of the coil wires to be transported is not particularly limited; any wire that can be accommodated in the wire housing mechanism 1 described later may be used for any purpose.

[0016] As shown in Figure 1, the transport system 100 according to this embodiment includes a wire storage mechanism 1 for storing coil wires, a drive mechanism 2 for moving the wire storage mechanism 1, and a removal mechanism 3 for removing the coil wires stored in the wire storage mechanism 1.

[0017] Figure 2 is a schematic perspective view showing the configuration of the wire housing mechanism according to the first embodiment. It should be noted that, naturally, the right-handed xyz orthogonal coordinate system shown in Figure 2 and other drawings is for convenience in explaining the positional relationships of the components. In this embodiment, the positive z-axis is vertically upward, and the xy-plane is the horizontal plane, and these are common to all drawings.

[0018] As shown in FIG. 2, the wire accommodating mechanism 1 according to the present embodiment includes a main body portion 11, an upper surface protection portion 12, a support portion 13, a gripping portion 14, and a rod-shaped portion 15. As shown in FIG. 2, the upper surface protection portion 12, the support portion 13, and the gripping portion 14 are attached to the main body portion 11, and the rod-shaped portion 15 is attached to the gripping portion 14.

[0019] The main body portion 11 is the main body of the wire accommodating mechanism 1, and as described above, the upper surface protection portion 12, the support portion 13, and the gripping portion 14 are attached thereto. The main body portion 11 according to the present embodiment is a lattice-shaped member arranged parallel to the yz plane, but any member having a shape capable of appropriately holding the upper surface protection portion 12, the support portion 13, and the gripping portion 14 may be used.

[0020] More specifically, the main body portion 11 according to the present embodiment has a plurality of sets of two support portions 13 and gripping portions 14 arranged side by side in the y-axis direction and attached in the z-axis direction. In the present embodiment, a set of two support portions 13 and gripping portions 14 arranged side by side in the y-axis direction are used to fix the same wire for the coil. That is, in the present embodiment, the wire for the coil to be conveyed is fixed to the wire accommodating mechanism 1 at two locations. Note that the number of the support portions 13 and the gripping portions 14 arranged side by side in the y-axis direction does not have to be two, and may be three or more.

[0021] As described above, by holding the wire for the coil by a plurality of support portions 13 and gripping portions 14 arranged side by side in the y-axis direction, that is, in the horizontal direction, the wire accommodating mechanism 1 according to the present embodiment can stably accommodate the wire for the coil. Also, by arranging a plurality of sets of a set of support portions 13 and gripping portions 14 arranged side by side in the horizontal direction in the z-axis direction, that is, in the vertical direction, the wire accommodating mechanism 1 according to the present embodiment can improve the amount of the wire for the coil that can be accommodated.

[0022] The upper protective portion 12 is a member positioned to cover at least a portion of the upper surface of the coil conductor. The upper protective portion 12 serves to hold the housed coil conductor so that it does not move vertically upward.

[0023] As shown in Figure 2, the upper protective portion 12 may be positioned only on the upper part of the support portion 13 located at the top in the z-axis direction, i.e., the vertical direction. In this case, the upper part of the coil conductor supported by the support portion 13 located second from the top in the vertical direction may be covered by the bottom surface of the support portion 13 located one position above that support portion 13. With this configuration, the transport system 100 according to this embodiment can reduce the number of parts.

[0024] The support section 13 supports the coil wire in the positive z-axis direction, vertically upward. The gripping section 14 grips the coil wire using a spring mechanism. More specifically, the coil wire is fixed in the xy-plane direction, i.e., horizontally.

[0025] Figures 3 and 4 are schematic diagrams showing the configuration of the wire housing mechanism according to the first embodiment. More specifically, Figure 3 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which the coil conductor C housed in the conductor housing mechanism 1 is supported by the support portion 13 but not fixed by the gripping portion 14, with Figure 3(a) being a perspective view and Figure 3(b) being a side view. Figure 4 is a schematic diagram showing the state in which the coil conductor C housed in the conductor housing mechanism 1 is supported by the support part 13 and fixed by the gripping part 14, with Figure 4(a) being a perspective view and Figure 4(b) being a side view. The configuration of the support portion 13 and the gripping portion 14 will be further explained below with reference to Figures 3 and 4.

[0026] As shown in Figures 3 and 4, the support section 13 supports multiple coil wires C in the positive z-axis direction, i.e., vertically upward. As described above, the support section 13 supports the coil wires in pairs. In addition, one pair of support sections 13 supports multiple coil wires C.

[0027] Furthermore, the support portion 13 according to this embodiment covers the upper surface of the coil conductor supported by a support portion 13 located one position below it in the vertical direction. In addition, a gripping portion 14 is rotatably fixed to the support portion 13.

[0028] As shown in Figures 3(b) and 4(b), the gripping portion 14 includes a claw portion 141 for fixing the coil wire, a rotating shaft 142, and a spring mechanism 143.

[0029] The claw portion 141 is a member that is rotatably attached to the support portion 13. Here, the claw portion 141 is pressed by the spring mechanism 143. More specifically, the claw portion 141 receives a force from the spring mechanism 143 in a direction that rotates counterclockwise when viewed from the negative y-axis direction to the positive y-axis direction.

[0030] The claw portion 141 is pressed by the spring mechanism 143, so that a portion of it is pressed against the coil wire C. More specifically, a portion of the claw portion 141 is pressed against the side of the coil wire located on the negative x-axis side, applying a force in the negative x-axis direction to the coil wire C. As a result, the gripping portion 14 can fix the coil wire C in the horizontal direction.

[0031] The rotating shaft 142 rotatably fixes the claw portion 141. More specifically, the rotating shaft 142 rotatably fixes the claw portion 141 with respect to the support portion 13.

[0032] The spring mechanism 143 presses against the claw portion 141. More specifically, the spring mechanism 143 rotates the claw portion 141 so that a portion of the claw portion 141 is pressed against the coil wire C. In Figure 4(b), the spring mechanism 143 applies a force in the positive x-axis direction to a portion of the claw portion 141, and as a result, presses a portion of the claw portion 141 against the side surface of the coil wire C. In this way, by using a spring mechanism to fix the coil wires, the coil wires can be properly secured during transport and easily released when transport is complete. As a result, the transport system 100 according to this embodiment can improve transport efficiency.

[0033] The spring mechanism 143 according to this embodiment is configured as a pin-shaped member having a spring inside. In other words, 143 according to this embodiment has a spring that is compressed inside, and the claw portion 141 is pressed by utilizing the repulsive force of the spring. The configuration of the spring mechanism 143 according to this disclosure is not limited to the above. For example, the spring mechanism 143 according to this disclosure may be a mechanism having a spring attached to the rotating shaft 142 in a twisted state, and the restoring force of the spring may be used to rotate the claw portion 141. In other words, the spring mechanism 143 according to this disclosure may have any configuration as long as the gripping portion 14 is capable of outputting a force for gripping the coil wire.

[0034] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the gripping portion 14 is further provided with a rod-shaped portion 15 that extends in a direction parallel to the rotation axis 142. The rod-shaped portion 15 is a rod-shaped member fixed to the claw portion 141. In addition, the rod-shaped portion 15 in this embodiment connects each of a pair of gripping portions 14 that are aligned in the y-axis direction.

[0035] In this embodiment, the rod-shaped portion 15 is used to release the coil wire from being fixed by the gripping portion 14. When releasing the coil wire, the rod-shaped portion 15 is pressed by a dog provided in the extraction mechanism 3, which will be described later. In this case, with the gripping portion 14 holding the coil wire in place, i.e., in the state shown in Figure 4, the rod-shaped portion 15 receives a force in the negative x-axis direction from the dog provided by the extraction mechanism 3. As a result, the claw portion 141 rotates clockwise when viewed from the negative y-axis direction to the positive y-axis direction, resulting in the state shown in Figure 3, i.e., the state in which the gripping portion 14 releases the wire. With this configuration, it becomes easier to remove the coil wires upon completion of transport. As a result, the transport system according to this embodiment can achieve greater transport efficiency.

[0036] Returning to the explanation of Figure 1. The drive mechanism 2 moves the wire storage mechanism 1. More specifically, the drive mechanism 2 moves the wire storage mechanism 1, which contains the coil wires, to the destination at the location where the coil wires are stored. Then, after the coil wires are removed from the wire storage mechanism 1 at the destination, the drive mechanism 2 moves the wire storage mechanism 1 back to its storage location.

[0037] The drive mechanism 2 may consist of, for example, a servo motor and a conveyor belt connected to the wire housing mechanism. In this case, the drive mechanism 2 may rotate the belt by driving the servo motor, and as a result move the wire housing mechanism 1 fixed to the belt. Furthermore, the drive mechanism 2 may consist, for example, of a motor installed inside the wire housing mechanism, wheels connected to the motor, and rails on which the wheels run. In this case, the drive mechanism 2 rotates the wheels on the rails by the drive of the motor, and as a result moves the wire housing mechanism 1. In other words, the drive mechanism 2 can be any mechanism that can move the wire housing mechanism 1.

[0038] The extraction mechanism 3 is a device installed at the destination where the coil wires are transported, and it extracts the coil wires from the wire storage mechanism 1. As mentioned above, the extraction mechanism 3 has a dog. As described above, the removal mechanism 3 releases the coil wire from being fixed by the gripping part 14 by pressing the rod-shaped part 15 with the dog and rotating the gripping part 14.

[0039] (Operation of the transport system) Next, the operation of the transport system, that is, the transport method according to the first embodiment, will be described in detail. Figure 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the transport system according to the first embodiment. Figures 1 to 4 will be referred to as appropriate in the following explanation.

[0040] First, in the conveying method according to this embodiment, the coil wires are placed on the support section 13 (step ST1). That is, in step ST1, the coil wires C are housed in the wire housing mechanism 1 as shown in Figure 2, and the wire housing mechanism 1 and the coil wires C are arranged as shown in Figure 3. Step ST1 may be performed while the rod-shaped portion 15 is being pressed by the dog. With this configuration, the coil wire C can be accommodated when the fixing by the gripping portion 14 is released, thus allowing for efficient accommodation of the coil wire.

[0041] Next, in the conveying method according to this embodiment, the coil wire is fixed with the gripping part 14 (step ST2). In other words, in step ST2, the wire housing mechanism 1 is changed from the unlocked state shown in Figure 3 to the fixed state shown in Figure 4. Step ST2 may also be a step of releasing the pressure on the rod-shaped portion 15 by the dog. In other words, step ST2 may be a step of rotating the claw portion 141 by the spring mechanism 143 by releasing the pressure on the rod-shaped portion 15 by the dog.

[0042] Next, in the transport method according to this embodiment, the wire housing mechanism 1 is moved (step ST3). More specifically, in step ST3, the wire housing mechanism 1 containing the coil wires C is moved to the transport destination by driving the drive mechanism 2.

[0043] Next, in the transport method according to this embodiment, the fixing of the coil wires is released (step ST4). More specifically, in step ST4, the dog of the extraction mechanism 3 presses against the rod-shaped portion 15, releasing the fixing of the coil wires. In other words, in step ST4, the rod-shaped portion 15 is pressed by the dog, causing the claw portion 141 to rotate. As a result, the coil wire is released, and the wire housing mechanism 1 enters the released state as shown in Figure 3.

[0044] Finally, in the transport method according to this embodiment, the coil wires are removed, and the series of operations is completed (step ST5). More specifically, in step ST5, the removal mechanism 3 removes the coil wires housed in the wire housing mechanism 1.

[0045] As described above, the transport system according to this embodiment includes a wire housing mechanism for housing the coil wires to be transported, and this wire housing mechanism secures the coil wires using a spring mechanism. With this configuration, the coil wires can be properly secured during transport, and the coil wires can be easily removed when transport is complete. As a result, the transport system 100 according to this embodiment can improve transport efficiency.

[0046] Although the present invention has been described above in reference to the embodiments described above, the present invention is not limited to the configuration of the embodiments described above, and of course includes various modifications, alterations, and combinations that can be made by a person skilled in the art within the scope of the claims of the present patent application. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0047] 1. Wire housing mechanism 11 Main body 12 Top protection part 13 Support part 14 Gripping part 141 Nail area 142 Rotation axis 143 Spring mechanism 15 Rod-shaped part 2. Drive mechanism 3. Extraction mechanism 100 Conveyor Systems

Claims

1. A wire housing mechanism for housing coil wires, It comprises a drive mechanism for moving the wire housing mechanism, The wire housing mechanism includes a support portion for supporting the coil wire and a gripping portion for gripping the coil wire by a spring mechanism. Conveyor system.

2. The support portion supports the coil conductor in an upward vertical direction, The gripping portion fixes the coil conductor in the horizontal direction. The transport system according to claim 1.

3. The gripping portion comprises a claw portion for fixing the coil conductor and a rotating shaft for rotatably fixing the claw portion. The spring mechanism rotates the claw portion such that a part of the claw portion is pressed against the coil wire. The transport system according to claim 2.

4. The wire housing mechanism further comprises a removal mechanism for removing the coil wires that have been housed within it. The gripping portion further comprises a rod-shaped portion extending in a direction parallel to the rotation axis, The removal mechanism releases the coil wire from being fixed by the gripping portion by pressing the rod-shaped portion and rotating the gripping portion. The transport system according to claim 3.

5. A support part that supports the coil wires, It includes a gripping part that grips the coil conductor wire by a spring mechanism, Wire housing mechanism.

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