Rotating Table Workpiece Inspection Equipment Compact Footprint
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional workpiece inspection equipment for automotive engine valves requires increased installation space as the number of inspection items grows, and the cycle time is prolonged due to the need for a rotating table with extended feed paths, which complicates the efficient transfer of workpieces between inspection stages.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a rotating table with workpiece housing portions at equally divided circumferential positions, where inspection stages are positioned along the table's circumference, and a workpiece transfer mechanism that rises and falls in sync with the table's rotation to transfer workpieces between the rotating table and dedicated jigs, reducing the cycle time by eliminating the need for lengthy return transfers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If inspection devices are disposed along a workpiece feed path in a line form, then each inspection can be performed sequentially, but the workpiece feed path is lengthened in proportion to the number of inspection items, extending the overall length of the inspection equipment and increasing installation space
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from a linear one-dimensional arrangement of inspection devices to a two-dimensional circular arrangement around a rotating table. Multiple inspection devices are positioned at different angular positions around the table's circumference, allowing workpieces to undergo multiple inspections while moving in a circular path rather than a linear path. This dimensional change enables more inspection devices to be accommodated within a compact footprint, reducing the overall length of the equipment while maintaining or increasing the number of inspection items.
2Area of stationary object
If a rotating table structure is adopted to downsize the inspection equipment, then the installation space is reduced, but the cycle time of the workpiece inspection equipment becomes slow due to the time necessary for transferring workpieces back to the rotating table after inspection
Solution Approach 1:
The patent eliminates the idle transfer time by implementing a continuous operational cycle where the rotating table and workpiece transfer mechanism operate in synchronization. While one workpiece is being inspected at a stationary inspection device, the rotating table continues to rotate and position the next workpiece. The transfer mechanism continuously moves workpieces between the rotating table and inspection devices without interruption, ensuring that the inspection process flows continuously without stopping for return transfers, thereby reducing cycle time while maintaining compact installation space.
3Measurement precision
If workpieces are transferred to dedicated jigs for inspection, then precise inspection can be performed, but the time necessary to transfer workpieces back to the rotating table increases the inspection time
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a synchronized workpiece transfer mechanism as an intermediary between the rotating table and dedicated inspection jigs. This transfer mechanism operates in coordination with both the rotating table's rotation and the inspection process, transferring workpieces to and from the jigs at optimal moments. The synchronization ensures that transfer operations occur during periods when the rotating table is naturally positioned or when inspection devices are already engaged, eliminating the need for separate return transfer cycles and reducing overall inspection time while maintaining the precision benefits of dedicated jigs.
Data Source
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AI summary
[Object] To provide workpiece inspection equipment that allows increasing inspection items without increasing the installation space of the inspection equipment as a whole by disposing a plurality of inspection stages around a rotating table for workpiece feeding. [Solution] Workpiece inspection equipment 20 including a rotating table 21 for workpiece feeding which intermittently rotates with workpiece housing portions 22 provided at a plurality of circumferentially equally divided positions, a workpiece carry-in stage S0 and a workpiece carry-out stage S6 provided at predetermined positions separated in the circumferential direction of the rotating table 21, and a plurality of inspection stages S1 to S5 provided at predetermined circumferential positions of the rotating table between both stages S0 and S6, in which by increasing the number of workpiece housing portions 22 to be provided in the rotating table 21, the number of inspection stages can be increased without increasing the rotating table 21 in diameter.