Patent Application
20170080535
The subject matter herein generally relates to a screw driving apparatus and a screw feeding assembly of the screw driving apparatus.
Screw driving apparatus are used to driving a screw into a workpiece. A conventional screw driving apparatus includes a screw feeding assembly and a fastening assembly. In operation, the screws can be separated by the screw feeding assembly, and then screwed into the workpiece by the screw fastening assembly. The screws can drop into a unloading hole by gravity in the screw feeding assembly.
Implementations of the present technology will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the attached figures.
It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration, where appropriate, reference numerals have been repeated among the different figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements. In addition, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments described herein. However, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the embodiments described herein can be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, methods, procedures and components have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the related relevant feature being described. Also, the description is not to be considered as limiting the scope of the embodiments described herein. The drawings are not necessarily to scale and the proportions of certain parts may be exaggerated to better illustrate details and features of the present disclosure.
Several definitions that apply throughout this disclosure will now be presented.
The term “coupled” is defined as coupled, whether directly or indirectly through intervening components, and is not necessarily limited to physical connections. The connection can be such that the objects are permanently coupled or releasably coupled. The term “comprising” when utilized, means “including, but not necessarily limited to”; it specifically indicates open-ended inclusion or membership in the so-described combination, group, series and the like.
The present disclosure is described in relation to a screw driving apparatus and a screw feeding assembly thereof.
In at least one embodiment, the sliding plate 54 can include a first sliding plate 542 and a second sliding plate 544. The guiding posts 526 can penetrate the first sliding plate 542 and the second sliding plate 544. The first sliding plate 542 can be coupled to the driving member 56, and the second sliding plate 544 can be coupled to the screwdriver 57. The elastic member 59 can be positioned between the second sliding plate 544 and the second fixing plate 524. A buffer member 55 can be positioned between the first sliding plate 542 and the second sliding plate 544. The buffer member 55 can be an elastic member having a high elasticity. When the first sliding plate 542 moves toward the workpiece 200, the first sliding plate 542 and the second sliding plate 544 would not move relative to each other. When the screwdriver 57 tightens the screw on the workpiece 200, the buffer member 55 can be compressed, thus the impact on the workpiece 200 and the screw fastening assembly 50 can be decreased.
The frame 52 can further include a connecting plate 528 positioned between the first fixing plate 522 and the second fixing plate 524. The connecting plate 528 can be distanced from the guiding posts 526. The screw driving apparatus 100 can further include an adjusting screw bolt 58 coupled to the first fixing plate 522. The first fixing late 522 can define a screw hole 523 coupled to the adjusting screw bolt 58.
The screw feeding assembly 70 can be coupled to the frame 52 via a fixing frame 80, thus the screw feeding assembly 70 can move with the screw fastening assembly 50. The screw feeding assembly 70 can include a feeding member 72, an unloading member 74, a moving member 76, and a cylinder 79 mounted on the fixing frame 80. The moving member 76 can be movably mounted between the feeding member 72 and the unloading member 74. The feeding member 72 can be configured to feed the screws to the unloading member 74. The moving member 76 can move between a first position to a second position, thereby transferring the screw in the feeding member 72 to the unloading member 74. The unloading member 74 can be coupled to the feeding member 72 and positioned below the screwdriver 57.
The four clamping jaws 745 can tightly clamp the screw. When the screw driver 57 stretched into the unloading hole 742 driven by the driving member 56, the screw driver 57 can push the screw clamped by the four clamping jaws 745, and then the four clamping jaws 745 can release the screw.
A positioning fixture 95 that includes a positioning portion 952 can be mounted on the table 20 for holding the workpiece 200. When a sidewall of the workpiece 200 abuts the positioning portion 952, a screwed hole (not shown) of the workpiece 200 can be aligned with the screwdriver 57. The positioning portion 952 can include a second sensor (not shown). When the sidewall of the workpiece 200 abuts the positioning portion 952, the second sensor can transmit a signal to the driving member 56, and then the driving member 56 can drive the screwdriver 57 to move toward the workpiece 200.
In assembling the screw driving apparatus 100, the bracket 30 can be mounted on the table 20, the frame 52 can be slidably mounted on the bracket 30, and the adjusting screw bolt 58 can penetrate through the first fixing plate 522 and coupled to the bracket 30. Then, the first sliding plate 542 and the second sliding plate 544 can be slidably sleeved on the guiding posts 526, and the buffer member 55 can be positioned between the first sliding plate 542 and the second sliding plate 544. The driving member 56 can be mounted on the first mounting plate 522 and coupled to the first sliding plate 542, and the screw driver 57 can be coupled to the second sliding plate 544. One end of the screw driver 57 can be movably pass through the second fixing plate 524. After that, the fixing frame 80 can be coupled to the frame 52, and the fixing frame 80 can be positioned between the screw fastening assembly 50 and the table 20. The feeding member 72 can be mounted on the fixing frame 80, and the unloading member 74 can be coupled to the feeding member 72 and positioned below the screw driver 57. The moving member 76 can be slidably inserted into the connecting groove 722, and the cylinder 79 can be mounted on the fixing frame 80 and coupled to the moving member 76.
In operation, the workpiece 200 can be placed on the positioning fixture 95. For example, two workpieces 200 can be placed on the positioning fixture 95 and stacked together. The screw holes of the two workpieces 200 can be aligned to the unloading hole 742. The second sensor can transmit a signal to the driving member 56, and the driving member 56 can drive the sliding plate 54 move along the guiding posts 526. The screw driver 57 can move toward the unloading hole 742, and the elastic member 59 can be compressed. When the sensing portion 53 moves to a sensing area of the first sensor 92, the first sensing 92 can transmit the signal the screw driver 57, and the screw driver 57 can be rotated.
The cylinder 89 can drive the moving member 76 to the first position. One screw can drop into the notch 764 from the receiving groove 721 along the first slide path 724. Then, the cylinder 89 can drive the moving member 76 to the second position. At this time, the first slide path is sealed by the moving member 76, and the notch 764 can be in communication with the second slide path. The screw in the notch 764 can drop into unloading hole 742 along the second slide path 726 by gravity. Then, the screw can be clamped by the clamping portion 744.
The screw driver 57 can continue to move toward the unloading hole 742 driven by the driving member 56, thereby the screw driver 57 can push against the clamping portion 744, the clamping portion 744 can be opened to release the screw. The screw driver 57 can be rotated to tighten the screw on the two workpieces 200. When assembling the screw, the buffer member 55 can be compressed. After the screw is assembled, the buffer member 55 and the elastic member 59 can be restored from elastic deformation to drive the screw driver 57 to move to the initial position.
The screw driving apparatus 100 can include the screw feeding assembly 70, and the screw feeding assembly 70 can include the first slide path 724, the second slide path 726, the connecting groove 722, and the moving member 76. The screw can drop into the notch 746 when the moving member 76 is located at the first position, and the screw can drop into the second slide path 726 when the moving member 76 is located at the second position. Therefore, the moving member 76 can transfer the screw from the first slide path 724 to the second slide path 726, and only one or a predetermined number of screws can be separated and provided to the screw fastening assembly 50. Thus, assembly time can be shortened. The adjusting screw bolt 58 can be rotated to drive the screw fastening assembly 50 and the screw separating assembly 70 to move along the bracket 30, thereby a distance between the workpiece 200 and the unloading hole 74 can be adjusted. Therefore, the screw driving apparatus 100 can be adapted to workpieces having different sizes. The clamping jaws 745 mounted on the free end of the unloading member 74 can release the screw gradually, so the screw would not be inclined to the workpiece during assembling. The screw can be coaxial with the workpiece, and the assembling accuracy is high. Morever, the buffer member 55 and the elastic member 59 can decrease the impact on the workpiece. The screw driver 57 and the driving member 56 can be controlled by the first sensor 92 and the second sensor, thereby the screw can be automatically assembled, reducing manpower and cost.
In other embodiments, the notch 764 can be omitted. When the moving member 76 is located at the first position, the screw can drop into the connecting groove 764 from the first slide path 724 and stayed in the connecting groove 764. When the moving member 76 moves toward the second position, the moving member 76 can be pushed by the moving member 76 and drop into the second slide path 726 and the unloading 742.
In other embodiments, the fixing frame 80 and be omitted, and the screw separating assembly 70 can be mounted on the bracket 30 or the table 20. In other embodiments, the frame 52 can be omitted, and the screw fastening assembly 50 can be mounted on the bracket 30.
The embodiments shown and described above are only examples. Many details are often found in the art such as the other features of a screw driving apparatus and a screw separating assembly thereof. Therefore, many such details are neither shown nor described. Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present technology have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the present disclosure, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in the detail, especially in matters of shape, size and arrangement of the parts within the principles of the present disclosure up to, and including, the full extent established by the broad general meaning of the terms used in the claims. It will therefore be appreciated that the embodiments described above may be modified within the scope of the claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 201510602167.X | Sep 2015 | CN | national |
