Component Supply Device Elastic Member Prevents Entanglement
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing component supply devices face issues with entanglement of components, leading to deformation or breakage, and often output more components than needed, resulting in inefficient operations.
Innovation Solution
A component supply device with a rotating disk and elastic member that controls the movement of components through a via-hole and storage holes, using a stopper and spring to prevent entanglement and ensure only the predetermined number of components are output, utilizing a controller to manage the operation and adjust for accurate counting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If an excitation rod is used to vibrate components vertically to break entanglement, then entanglement between components is reduced, but components may deform or break due to excessive vibration
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies mechanical vibration through an excitation rod that vibrates in the up-down direction to break entanglement between components stored in the housing portion. This vibration mechanism loosens tangled components, allowing them to be supplied individually without deforming or breaking, thus resolving the contradiction between reducing entanglement and maintaining component integrity.
2Quantity of substance
If multiple components are stored in the output groove to ensure supply, then component availability is improved, but more components than needed are output causing inefficient operations
Solution Approach 1:
The output groove is designed to store only a predetermined number of components (e.g., one or a few components) rather than a large quantity. This segmentation of storage capacity ensures that exactly the needed number of components is supplied per cycle, preventing over-supply and improving operation efficiency while maintaining adequate component availability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses a sensor to detect whether a component is present in the output groove and provides feedback to the control unit. The control unit adjusts the supply mechanism based on this feedback, ensuring that components are supplied only when needed and in the precise quantity required, thereby optimizing both availability and efficiency.
3Ease of operation
If a stirring rod is added to break entanglement at the output groove, then component flow is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The stirring rod is integrated with the rotating disk as a single combined structure, where the stirring rod is provided on the front surface of the rotating disk. This merging of functions allows the rotating disk to perform both rotation for component transport and stirring for entanglement breakdown, improving component flow without significantly increasing device complexity.
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 device efficiently outputs the required number of components without deformation or breakage, ensuring precise quantity and reducing unnecessary operations by using the elastic force to manage component movement and storage.
Implementation Method 1
the elastic member elastically deforms by being pressed by the projecting component, so that, while the movable plate moves, the projecting component is sandwiched between the elastic member and a wall surface of the storage hole due to an elastic force caused by the elastic deformation
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
A component supply device includes: a fixing plate having a via-hole through which the components pass, the fixing plate being fixed to a housing; and a movable plate having a storage hole penetrating through the movable plate in an up-down direction and having a size that allows the predetermined number of components to be stored in the storage hole, the movable plate being laminated on a top side of the fixing plate and configured to move such that the storage hole moves relative to the via-hole in a direction parallel to a top face of the fixing plate. The component supply device further includes: a controlling portion configured to control an operation of the movable plate; and an elastic member placed on a top side of the movable plate and configured to elastically deform in a direction parallel to a top face of the movable plate. The controlling portion repeatedly performs the following operations until the predetermined number of components are output: a forward-direction operation of moving the movable plate from a first state in which a top side of the storage hole is opened and a bottom side of the storage hole is closed by the fixing plate to a second state in which the storage hole communicates with the via-hole and the components are movable from the storage hole to the via-hole; and a reverse-direction operation of returning the movable plate to the first state by reversing a moving direction of the movable plate when the movable plate enters the second state. When the movable plate moves in a state where a component partially projects from an upper end of the storage hole, the elastic member removes the projecting component from the storage hole before the movable plate enters the second state, or the elastic member elastically deforms by being pressed by the projecting component, so that, while the movable plate is in the second state, the projecting component is sandwiched between the elastic member and a wall surface of the storage hole due to an elastic force caused by the elastic deformation.