Rotating Drum Screw Supply Aligning Micro Screws
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing screw supply apparatuses face challenges in efficiently aligning and discharging small-sized micro screws, as they often overlap on carrier rails and are not completely aligned, leading to inefficient transfer and potential misalignment during discharge.
Innovation Solution
A screw supply apparatus featuring a rotating drum with obliquely extending blade units, a screw transfer unit with linear transfer rails, and a screw discharging unit equipped with a cam roller and brush mechanism, which aligns screws through rotation and air flow, ensuring precise alignment and efficient transfer of micro screws.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the carrier rail is curved upright from the predetermined inclination angle, then the screw discharge function is improved, but micro screws may overlap each other on the carrier rail and cannot be completely aligned
Solution Approach 1:
The carrier rail is divided into a horizontal section and an inclined section, with each section serving a specific function. The horizontal section aligns screws using vibration, while the inclined section facilitates discharge. This segmentation allows both alignment precision and discharge efficiency to be optimized independently in each section.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a vibration mechanism that dynamically adjusts the alignment of screws on the carrier rail. The vibration allows screws to self-align in the horizontal section before being transferred to the inclined section for discharge, ensuring both precision and efficiency.
2Ease of operation
If the whole groove of the carrier rail is upright, then screw discharge is facilitated, but comparatively small-sized components such as micro screws may overlap each other and may not be completely aligned
Solution Approach 1:
The carrier rail groove is segmented into a horizontal alignment groove and an inclined discharge groove. The horizontal groove with vibration ensures precise alignment, while the inclined groove facilitates easy discharge. This segmentation resolves the contradiction between alignment precision and discharge ease.
Solution Approach 2:
Screws are preliminarily aligned in the horizontal section of the carrier rail using vibration before being transferred to the inclined section for discharge. This preliminary alignment action ensures that screws are properly positioned before the discharge process begins, maintaining both precision and ease of operation.
3Quantity of substance
If a scoop blade of the inside of a screw feeding drum is provided over the full length of the drum, then screw feeding capacity is increased, but some screws may not fall to a receiving plate and screws often fall to positions deviated from the receiving plate
Solution Approach 1:
The scoop blade in the screw feeding drum is divided into multiple sections along the drum's length, with each section responsible for feeding screws to specific positions. This segmentation ensures that screws are delivered to the correct location on the receiving plate, preventing deviation while maintaining feeding capacity.
Solution Approach 2:
Different sections of the scoop blade have different geometries and angles optimized for their specific functions. The local quality of each blade section is tailored to ensure screws are fed to the correct position, resolving the contradiction between feeding quantity and position precision.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The apparatus effectively aligns and discharges micro screws, preventing overlap and misalignment, with the rotating drum and air flow mechanisms ensuring smooth operation and stability, eliminating the need for additional driving sources and simplifying maintenance.
Implementation Method 1
In the vicinity of the outer circumference of the rotating drum, a drive cam is provided. Further, a cam roller is provided so as to come into contact with the drive cam according to rotation of the rotating drum. If a screw is mounted on the transfer rails so as to be on top of any other screw, the cam roller is operated, whereby a screw dropping mechanism is operated so as to drop the unaligned screw into the rotating drum.
Implementation Method 2
a brush mechanism provided so as to come into contact with screws on the transfer rails according to rotation of the rotating drum. If a screw is mounted on the transfer rails so as to be on top of any other screw, the brush mechanism aligns the screw on the transfer rails.
Data Source
AI summary
A screw supply apparatus includes a screw feeding unit, a screw transfer unit, and an escape unit. In the screw supply apparatus, the screw feeding unit includes a rotating drum having a horizontal rotating shaft. At a rear surface fixation bearing portion positioned on the rear surface side of the rotating drum, a screw input portion is provided for introducing screws into the rotating drum. Also, at a front surface fixation bearing portion positioned on the front surface side of the rotating drum, an opening is formed. The screw transfer unit includes a pair of transfer rails, which has a central groove and is inserted from the opening of the front surface fixation bearing portion into the rotating drum. In the vicinity of the outer circumference of the rotating drum, a drive cam is provided.