GB2135982A

GB2135982A - Rotary parts feeder

Info

Publication number: GB2135982A
Application number: GB08401477A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Robert Eugene Kraft; David Alan Bailey
Original assignee: FMC Corp
Current assignee: FMC Corp
Priority date: 1983-01-21
Filing date: 1984-01-20
Publication date: 1984-09-12
Also published as: GB8401477D0; DE3402139C2; AU2367584A; GB2135982B; CA1205045A; DE3402139A1; FR2539721A1; AU562497B2; FR2539721B1

Abstract

A rotary parts feeder is provided with a feeder bowl 10 having arcuate sidewalls 74 defining a portion of a sphere. An inclined drive shaft 44 supports a disc 12 rotatably mounted generally inside the feeder bowl. The major axis of the feeder bowl and disc are angularly offset with each axis passing through the spherical centerpoint of the feeder bowl. An adjustable fence 14 is mounted above the feeder bowl so that track width and fence height can be changed without difficulty. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Rotary parts feeder This invention concerns rotary parts feeders of the type having a feeder bowl and a disc generally located inside the feeder bowl. The bowl and the disc may be rotated so that individual parts can be fed out of the feeder bowl.

Feeder bowls are generally cylindrical drum sections having straight walls perpendicular to the base of the bowl. An inclined disc or plane has been mounted inside the bowl on an axle angularly offset from the major plane of the feeder bowl. The disc position in the bowl is then generally inclined so that as the disc is rotated parts to be fed will move up the wall of the bowl to be discharged from the disc at the top edge of the bowl. The parts then ride on the bowl rim for generally threefourths of a revolution whence they are ultimately discharged from the feeder.

A rotary feeder is provided having a base supporting the housing that supports, in a generally horizontal position, a feeder bowl and also supports a disc in an inclined displacement relative to the major axis of rotation of the feeder bowl. The sides of the feeder bowl are arcuate surfaces defining a section of a sphere. The major axis of rotation of the disc intersects the spherical centerpoint of the feeder bowl while the disc substantially bridges the interior of the feeder bowl. The gap between the edge of the disc and the interior of the bowl is uniform at each point on the circumference of the disc due to the specialized shape of the feeder bowl.

An adjustable fence is provided that allows adjustment of either the height or horizontal position of the fence.

In the drawing figures: Figure 1 is a plan view of the rotary feeder; Figure 2 is a side elevation view of the feeder with parts broken away to expose the drive components; Figure 3 is a vertical section taken through 3-3 of Fig. 1; Figure 4 is a section through 4-4 of Fig. 1 to show the vertical adjustment of the fence; Figure 5 is a section through 5-5 of Fig. 1 to show the radial adjustment of the fence.

A clear understanding of the invention will be possible through a perusal of the drawing figures when read in conjunction with the following description of the invention. In Figs.

1 and 3 the feeder bowl generally 10, the disc generally 1 2 and the adjustable fence generally 14 can be readily seen.

Fig. 3 clearly shows the feeder bowl and disc apparatus of the invention and reference numbers in the figure represent like elements in the other figures.

The horizontal base plate 1 6 supports a housing 20 that serves the dual function of supporting the bowl hub 22 and the disc 24.

The housing 20 is angularly offset from the vertical by a fixed amount. In a preferred embodiment the included angle is 1 2 from vertical. At the bowl end of the housing a flange 26 is provided to accommodate a circumferential bearing 30. The bearing supports and allows rotation of the bowl hub 22.

The bowl hub 22 is provided with a sheave portion 32 that accommodates a bowl drive belt 34. The upper portion of the bowl hub is provided with a flange 36 to which the feeder bowl 40 is fixedly attached. Thus the feeder bowl 40 may be rotated around its major vertical axis when the bowl drive belt is driven by the feeder bowl drive sheave 1 2.

The housing 20 contains a shaft 44 mounted and supported for axial rotation in housing 20 by bearings 46 and 48. The disc 24 is attached to an end 50 of the shaft and is maintained in position above the bearing 46 by a fastener 54. The disc 24 has a substantial bevel or chamfer on it making it a frustrum of a cone. It could also be a cone rather than a disc as shown. Bearing 46 is restricted in its movement on shaft 44 by ledge 56 of the shaft.

The shaft 44 may be moved axially through the housing 20 through the adjustment of externally threaded nut 60 which is threaded into the lower end of the housing. As the nut 60 is screwed into the housing 20 the disc 24 will be moved upwardly in the feeder bowl 40 and as the nut is released the disc moves lower in the bowl thus resulting in positioning of the disc relative to either the top or the bottom of the bowl as necessary. The bearing 48 is fixed in the interior bore of said externally threaded nut 60.

The shaft 44 is driven by drive belt 62 which is driven by sheave 64 to turn shaft sheave 66. A belt tensioner 70 is provided.

Drive for the sheave 64 and the feeder bowl drive sheave 44 come from a right angle worm gear reducer 72 which is driven by motor 73.

Base support cabinet 75 may be provided.

The feeder bowl 40 has a sidewall 74 that is an arcuate section of a sphere that defines a spherical centerpoint along the major axis of rotation of the feeder bowl. This feeder bowl profile is matched to the disc 24 diameter or size and disc inclination on its shaft 44. This provides almost zero clearance between these two components allowing much smaller parts to be fed than was previously possible.

The sidewall 74 of the feeder bowl has a diameter that constantly increases from the base or floor of the bowl to the lip area 76.

This allows the disc 24 to be moved axially out of the bowl an unlimited amount thereby facilitating its removal after removal of the fastener 54. In a preferred embodiment a narrow portion of the bowl above the equator is formed with a straight wall rather than with an arcuate wall as below the equater.

The adjustability of the disc 24 along its major axis provides a means for getting a tight fit between the bowl and the disc. In rare cases it is beneficial to have the disc placement such that it discharges parts above the lip enabling the parts being fed to be flipped over as they are discharged onto the bowl track 80.

In Fig. 3 the lip 76 of the feeder bowl 40 is at the equator of the section of the sphere defined by the arcuate sidewall of the bowl although the lip 76 could be above or below the equator as long as the major axis of rotation of the feeder bowl and of the shaft for the disc intersect at the spherical centerpoint.

By having the equator of the sphere substantially at the lip of the feeder bowl the smallest diameter feeder bowl in which the disc can be moved up axially without interference with the walls of the bowl is provided.

In Fig. 5 a modified bowl generally 10 is shown. Here a standard bowl is lined with a polymeric liner such as polyurethane. The line 78 may extend above the equator of the bowl a slight amount as shown.

The adjustable fence generally 14 can best be seen in Figs. 2, 4 and 5 wherein the fence 82 is seen to be supported above the bowl track 80 of the feeder bowl generally 10 on supports such as 84 which are mounted onto the base plate 1 6 by suitable fasteners. The preferred embodiment uses four supports as shown in Fig. 1 although a greater or lesser number of supports is contemplated by the inventor.

Although a fixed fence could be used on this feeder, the preferred embodiment incorporates the illustrated adjustable fence. The geometry of the fence would be individually matched to the requirements of the part being fed. Furthermore, this fence allows track width to be changed at each of the four supports without effecting the track width at the other three supports.

Adjacent each of the supports 84 is an elongated adjustment means 86 having a horizontal aperture that accommodates a threaded shaft 90 having a nut 92 that when tightened secures the threaded shaft 90 in a fixed location in the horizontal aperture of the elongated adjustment means 86.

The threaded shaft 90 is supported in an internally threaded horizontal thumb screw 94. The thumb screw is carried in cylinder 96 which is integral with a vertical cylinder 100.

The vertical cylinder contain the socket head screw 102 which is threaded into the support 84. Since the socket head screw is fixed but rotatable in the vertical cylinder 100, adjustment of this screw serves to vertically adjust the fence 84 as the horizontal adjustment means and the threaded shaft 90 are integral with the vertical cylinder 100. Roll pin 104 is received in a horizontal aperture of said support 84 and extends into vertical slots such as 106 of the vertical cylinder 100 and prevents the vertical adjustment from exceeding a predetermined maximum while preventing cylinder 100 from rotating.

Thus it can be shown that there has been provided a rotary parts feeder that fully satisfies the objects and advantages of this invention. While the apparatus herein shown and described constitutes a preferred embodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to this particular form of apparatus and that changes may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the

Claims

appended claims. CLAIMS

1. A rotary parts feeder comprising: a feeder bowl having an arcuate sidewall defining a section of a sphere, said feeder bowl having a spherical centerpoint; a disc having an axis of rotation, said disc mounted in said feeder bowl with said axis of rotation of said disc located on said spherical centerpoint.

2. The invention in accordance with claim 1 wherein said feeder bowl has an axis of rotation and said axes of rotation of said feeder bowl and said disc are angularly offset.

3. The invention in accordance with Claim 2 wherein said rotary parts feeder further comprises: a horizontal base plate; a housing supported by said base plate, said housing being angularly offset from a vertical reference and provided with a flange at an upper portion of said housing, said flange horizontally disposed and having an axial centerpoint on said vertical reference; a bowl hub supported for rotation on said flange of said housing, said bowl hub attached to said feeder bowl; a shaft supported for axial rotation in said housing, said shaft fixedly attached to said disc; drive means for rotating said feeder bowls through said bowl hub and said disc through said shaft.

4. The invention in accordance with claim 3 wherein said housing includes adjustment means for displacing said shaft longitudinally along said axis of rotation of said disc.

5. The invention in accordance with claim 4 wherein said feeder bowl has a lip slightly above the equator of said section of a sphere defined by said arcurate sidewall.

6. The invention in accordance with claim 2 wherein said disc and said feeder bowl are mounted for independent rotation.

7. The invention in accordance with claim 6 wherein said disc and said feeder bowl are rotatable at different speeds.

8. A rotary parts feeder comprising: a base plate; a housing supported on said base plate; a bowl hub supported on said housing; a feeder bowl supported by said bowl hub, said feeder bowl having an arcuate sidewall defining a section of a sphere and a spherical centerpoint on the major axis of rotation said feeder bowl; a disc having an axis of rotation passing through said spherical centerpoint of said feeder bowl, said axis of rotation of said disc angularly displaced from said feeder bowl axis of rotation; an adjustable fence supported above said feeder bowl by supports mounted to said base plate.

9. The invention in accordance with claim 8 wherein said feeder bowl and said disc are rotatably driven.

10. The invention in accordance with claim 8 wherein said feeder bowl and said disc are rotatably driven at different rotational speeds.

11. A rotary parts feeder substantially as described and shown by the accompanying drawings.