JP2001347943A - Assembling line, carrier car for component, and control method for self-traveling carrier car - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the working efficiency and to secure the accuracy of the works by parallel traveling parts of an assembly carrier car for mounting assembled structures and a component carrier car for mounting assembly components. SOLUTION: The parts of tracks of the assembly carrier car 10 and the component carrier car 50 are made to be along an assembly line and a set of two cars is moved along the assembly line. That is to say, the assembling line adopting this invention is provided with the assembling carrier car 10 self- traveling an assembling carrier car track 31, or a first track and the component carrier car 50 self-traveling a component carrier car track 32, or a second track, the assembling carrier car track 31 and the component carrier car track 32 are formed in parallel to each other in an assembling process 30 comprising a plurality of processes performing the assembling works, and the assembling carrier car 10 and the component carrier car 50 are paired and self-travel in the assembling process 30.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to the transport of a component mounting table for assembly, and more particularly to an assembly line provided with a component transport vehicle separately from the assembly transport vehicle and a control method thereof.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No.
As disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8 (1994) -86, etc., in order to transport a workpiece to an assembly line to an operator, an assembly transport vehicle that is driven independently of the operator and supplies the workpiece is provided. Used.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an outline of a conventional assembling carrier. As shown in FIG. 5, in a conventional assembling carrier, for example, a lift table 101 on which an object to be assembled such as a copying machine is placed, and a set shelf 10 comprising a plurality of stages for setting parts.
2 is provided on the same carriage 100, the assembly 103 is placed on the elevating platform 101, the components for assembly are arranged on the set shelf 102, and transported to the operator. This assembling carrier moves to a plurality of workers in order,
The same work is continuously performed by the worker. As a result, the assembling work on the to-be-assembled object 103 is completed by moving the assembling vehicle to all the workers.

[0004] Also, in Japanese Patent Publication No. 2806175 and JP-A-6-115426, in a vehicle body assembly, a self-propelled vehicle on which one part is mounted travels at the same speed as a transfer device on which products are mounted and moves on a ceiling. Meanwhile, a technique for attaching parts to a product is disclosed. Further, here, a technique is disclosed in which the self-propelled vehicle having the components mounted thereon is separated from the transfer device moving on the ceiling.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In a conventional assembling conveyance vehicle typified by Japanese Patent No. 978, an object to be assembled and a part to be assembled are mounted on the same assembling conveyance vehicle. In these conventional techniques, for example, when the number of parts for assembly is small or when the size of the parts is small, all the parts for assembly can be put on the carrier for assembly, so that work can be performed without any problem. it can.
However, when the number of parts is large or when the capacity of the parts for assembly is large, all the parts cannot be placed on the conventional assembling carrier, so that it is difficult to perform the work only with this configuration. .

Here, for example, without assembling parts to an operator, each of the assembled parts is fixedly arranged in a work place of the worker, and only the to-be-assembled is transferred to the assembling carrier. There is a way to do it. According to this method, even a large-scale component that does not ride on the assembling vehicle or a large number of components can be supplied to the worker, and the assembling work on the assembly target can be performed. That is, the operator may take out the parts in order from the shelf on which the same assembled parts are loaded, and perform the assembling work on the to-be-assembled in the same work. However, according to this method, it is difficult to manage forgetting to attach a part to a conveyed assembly or missing parts. Even if this part is forgotten to be attached, the to-be-assembled part will flow as it is, and the missing part will be finally grasped only from the relationship between the number of to-be-assembled parts and the remaining number of parts arranged on the shelf. For this reason, manufacturing troubles that cannot be recovered have occurred, and useless work such as re-assembly has to be performed.

Further, in the self-propelled vehicle disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 2806175 or JP-A-6-115426, an operator walks in accordance with the self-propelled vehicle and synchronizes only one part with an object such as an automobile. It cannot be applied to an operation of assembling a plurality of parts such as a printer by a plurality of workers. Further, in these publications, parts are attached to a product while chasing an assembly moving on a ceiling. In order to dispose these facilities on the ceiling and the floor side, a line becomes large and an accurate position is required. Since matching is required, complicated control is required.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above technical problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a track of an assembling carrier on which an assembled structure is placed; It is an object of the present invention to improve the working efficiency and ensure the accuracy of the work by arranging a part of the track of the parts carrier on which the assembled parts are placed. Another object of the present invention is to provide a highly versatile assembly line while reducing the cost for configuring the work line.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION With this object in mind, the present invention relates to a method in which a part of a track between an assembling carrier and a parts carrier is arranged along an assembly line, and one set of two vehicles is assembled. It is characterized by being moved along. That is, the assembly line to which the present invention is applied is provided with an assembling transport vehicle that travels on a first track and a component transport vehicle that travels on a second track. The second track is formed along an assembling process including a plurality of processes for performing an assembling operation so that the two are substantially parallel to each other. It is characterized by being self-propelled in pairs.

Here, if a remote oscillating device for simultaneously starting the carrier for assembly and the carrier for parts is further provided, simultaneous activation of both can be performed by simple remote operation. This is preferable because it can be controlled.

A plurality of assembling vehicles are self-propelled on the first track, and a plurality of parts carriers are self-propelled on the second track. One and two in a transport vehicle for vehicles
If the assembling process is self-propelled by one set, it is possible to arrange a pair of assembling carrier and component carrier for each of a plurality of processes for performing the assembling work. This makes it possible to improve work efficiency.

On the other hand, if the present invention is grasped from another point of view, the present invention relates to a carrier for a self-propelled part which is provided separately from a carrier for assembly. A loading section for loading assembly parts necessary for performing the assembly work, and a receiving section for receiving an activation signal from the remote oscillation device,
It is characterized in that it runs in parallel with this assembling vehicle in an assembling process consisting of a plurality of work processes, and runs in synchronization with the assembling vehicle by an activation signal from this remote oscillation device. it can. Here, the configuration of the receiving section can be the same as that of the assembling vehicle, and can be configured to be activated simultaneously by an activation signal from the remote oscillation device.

[0013] A method for controlling a self-propelled transport vehicle to which the present invention is applied is a method for causing a part of a track of a self-propelled transport vehicle for assembly and a part of a track of a self-propelled transport vehicle for parts to follow an assembly line. When the self-propelled carrier for assembly and the self-propelled carrier for this part move on this assembly line, both self-propelled carriers are started in synchronization. Here, a plurality of self-propelled transport vehicles for assembly and a plurality of self-propelled transport vehicles for parts can be provided, so that they can be simultaneously used in each operation process of an assembly line including a plurality of operation processes. Is preferred. Also, in an assembly line where both tracks are along, it is possible to arrange both tracks substantially parallel.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below in detail based on an embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the overall configuration of the assembly line in the present embodiment. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 denotes a self-propelled assembling carrier (AGV: Automatic Guided Vehicle), which carries, for example, a sequentially assembled structure such as a printer. Reference numeral 50 denotes a self-propelled component carrier (component AGV), which loads and conveys components of a type corresponding to each assembly structure assembled by the assembly carrier 10. In the parts carrier 50, the assembly carrier 1
Large parts and many parts that could not be transported with a capacity of 0 can be loaded. This part carrier 5
0 is empty when all the assembled parts are loaded before the start of the assembling process to be described later and all the assembling of one assembled structure is completed.

Reference numeral 30 denotes an assembling process in which, for example, dozens of workers are arranged, and the assembling work is performed in a work process substantially corresponding to the number of workers. However, FIG. 1 omits and shows only four persons. Numeral 31 denotes an assembling vehicle track, which is a moving route of the assembling vehicle 10, and is formed of, for example, an aluminum tape attached to a floor, and guides the assembling vehicle 10 along the aluminum tape. Numeral 32 denotes a component carrier track which is a moving route of the component carrier 50, and similarly to the assembly carrier track 31, the component carrier 50 is guided by, for example, an aluminum tape having a width of about 50 mm attached to the floor. are doing. The assembling carrier track 31 and the parts carrier track 32 are configured to be substantially parallel during the assembly process 30.

Reference numeral 33 denotes, for example, a width of about 50 affixed to the floor.
An antenna 34 made of stainless steel tape having a diameter of mm is a low-frequency oscillator. The low-frequency oscillator 34 is operated to supply power to the antenna 33, so that the assembling carrier 10 and the parts carrier 50 are started. 35 is a parts storage,
An operation of loading parts required for assembly on the component carrier 50 is provided on a part of the component carrier track 32. An inspection / packing process 36 is provided in a part of the assembling vehicle track 31 to inspect and pack the assembled product such as a printer.

In the assembling step 30, a black tape is applied to the aluminum tape forming the assembling carrier track 31 and the parts carrier track 32 in accordance with the position (work place) where the worker works. This black tape is applied with a width of about 50 mm, and is applied so that the assembling transport vehicle 10 and the component transport vehicle 50 can be stopped at an optimal position for an operator to perform work. With this black tape, the assembling transport vehicle 10 and the component transport vehicle 50 are stopped at substantially the same position, but not so precise alignment of both is required.

In this embodiment, the assembling carrier 1
0 and the movement of the parts carrier 50 are synchronized. That is, when the completion of one of the assembling work steps in the assembling step 30 is completed, the low-frequency oscillator 34 is operated, and the antenna 33 is turned off.
Power. The assembling transport vehicle 10 and the component transport vehicle 50 that have received the power supply are activated by inducing a pickup coil described later and converting the pickup coil into a start signal by a receiver described later. Assembly carrier 10 and parts carrier 50
Moves on the aluminum tape provided on the assembling carrier track 31 and the parts carrier track 32 by this start, detects the black tape provided on this aluminum tape, and stops. As a result, the assembly carrier 10 and the parts carrier 50 move synchronously from the completed assembly operation process,
It stopped almost synchronously in the next assembly work process.

In each of the assembly processes where the assembly carrier 10 and the parts carrier 50 are stopped, the worker takes out the parts necessary for the assembly in charge from the parts carrier 50 and moves them in synchronization. The assembly of the assembled transport vehicle 10 is assembled. The start signal from the low-frequency oscillator 34 is output, for example, by a timer, and each worker needs to finish the operation within a predetermined time by the timer. If the work is not completed within the time set by the timer, the movement of the assembly carrier 10 and the parts carrier 50 can be stopped by pressing a pause button (not shown).

At this time, the operator in each assembly process
Since the assembly carrier 10 and the parts carrier 50 move synchronously, necessary parts can be taken out from a substantially fixed position of the parts carrier 50, and a certain workability can be secured. it can. In addition, since the parts move synchronously, it is unlikely that a part is forgotten to be attached, etc., and even if work is lost for some reason, it is possible to easily find the missing part in the next step.

When each of the assembling steps in the assembling step 30 is completed, the assembled transport vehicle 10 is in a state in which the finished product is loaded. The assembling transport vehicle 10 transports the assembled product along the assembling transport vehicle track 31 to the next inspection / packing step 36, and returns to the assembling step 30 after the product is unloaded. At this time, for example, a main frame serving as a basic structure for assembling, or a structure partially assembled in another assembling process, for example, may be mounted. On the other hand, the component carrier 50 becomes empty when all the assembly work steps in the assembly step 30 are completed. In the empty state, it moves to the parts storage 35 along the parts transportation vehicle track 32. Here, all types of components used in the assembly process 30 are stacked at fixed positions on the shelf, and the process returns to the assembly process 30, whereby a continuous assembly operation can be smoothly performed.

Next, the assembling carrier 10 in the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a schematic configuration of the assembling vehicle 10. In the drawing, reference numeral 11 denotes a work table, on which a structure such as a main frame can be mounted, and then assembled on the work table 11 in each work process. Reference numeral 12 denotes an elevating device, which is configured so that the height of the worktable 11 can be changed as needed. The state shown by a dashed line in the figure indicates a state in which the work table 11 has been moved up by the elevating device 12. Reference numeral 13 denotes a motor as a rotary drive source for raising and lowering the worktable 11, and the lifting device 12 is operated by a ball screw mechanism (not shown). However, the elevating device 12 may be configured by a hydraulic mechanism using a hydraulic pump or the like.
Reference numeral 14 denotes a height setting switch, and when the operator presses the height setting switch 14, the height can be adjusted according to the mounting position.

Reference numeral 15 denotes a control box, which controls the start and stop of the assembling carrier 10 described later and includes a battery as a power source necessary for operating the assembling carrier 10. ing. Reference numeral 16 denotes a traveling sensor, which is provided at a distance of about 20 mm from the bottom of the floor and is spaced apart from the aluminum tape, and observes reflection from an aluminum tape attached as an assembling vehicle track 31. Reference numeral 17 denotes a pickup coil, which is similarly provided with its tip approximately 20 mm apart from under the floor, and is induced by a current from the antenna 33. Reference numeral 18 denotes a drive roll, and the control box 15
It is rotated by a motor (not shown) that operates on the basis of the control and power from the vehicle, and drives the assembling vehicle 10. 19 is a bumper which functions as a collision prevention sensor. Reference numeral 20 denotes a photoelectric sensor, and reference numeral 21 denotes a reflection plate.
When the reflector 21 is detected, the assembling carrier 10 can be stopped.

Next, the component carrier 50 according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a schematic configuration of the component carrier 50. In the figure, reference numeral 51 denotes a standard kit stand having a predetermined number of stages, on which various assembly parts assembled by the assembling carrier 10 can be placed. Reference numeral 52 denotes a control box which controls the start and stop of the component carrier 50 and includes a battery which is a power source necessary for operating the component carrier 50. Numeral 53 denotes a travel sensor, similar to the travel sensor 16 described above, whose tip is provided at a distance of about 20 mm from below the floor, and observes reflection from an aluminum tape attached as the component carrier track 32. 54
Is a pickup coil, whose tip is spaced apart from the floor by about 20 mm from under the floor similarly to the above-described pickup coil 17, and is induced by a current from the antenna 33. 55 is a drive roll, and a motor (not shown)
And the component carrier 50 is driven.
Reference numeral 56 denotes a bumper that functions as a collision prevention sensor. Reference numeral 57 denotes a photoelectric sensor, and 58 denotes a reflection plate. When the photoelectric sensor 57 detects the reflection plate 58 of the component carrier 50 running ahead, the component carrier 50 can be stopped. 59 is a collision prevention sensor,
It is provided before and after the upper end portion of the component carrier 50, and is stopped by the contact of the sensor.
And prevent collisions.

Next, the construction of the AGV remote starter, which is the assembly carrier 10 and the parts carrier 50, will be described. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a connection state of the remote starting device of the AGV according to the present embodiment. On the control side, a low-frequency oscillator 34 whose output is adjusted, an antenna 33 attached to the floor, and a current from this low-frequency oscillator 34
, A switch 42 provided on the two-core cord 41, and an external control unit 43 for turning on / off the switch 42. On the AGV side, which is the assembling carrier 10 and the parts carrier 50, pickup coils 17 and 54 induced by receiving power from the antenna 33,
A single core shield 45 for transmitting a signal from the control box 54 and a receiver 46 located in each of the control boxes 15 and 52 are provided.

After the assembly operation time in one of the assembly steps 30 has elapsed, that is, when a predetermined time has elapsed by the timer of the external control section 43, the switch 42 is turned on by an instruction from the external control section 43. And the operating low-frequency oscillator 34
The starting current having a predetermined frequency generated by the above-mentioned is supplied to the antenna 33 via the two-core cord 41. By feeding power from the antenna 33, the pickup coil 17 on the AGV side, which is the assembling carrier 10 and the parts carrier 50,
54 is induced, and the generated signal is transmitted to the receiver 46 via the single-core shield 45. The receiver 46 converts the signal into an oscillating signal, and the carrier 10 for assembly and the carrier 5 for parts.
AGV which is 0 is started. Before the switch 42 is turned on by the external control unit 43, the worker who is working in the assembling process 30 is notified that the operation is performed by a bell, for example. Workers who have not finished work can press each pause button (not shown) to
The start of V is awaited. If the pause button is released when the work is completed, the external control unit 43
The switch 42 is turned on.

In this embodiment, the assembling step 3 shown in FIG.
0 for all the assembly vehicles 10 and parts vehicles 5
0 is activated by an instruction from the external control unit 43. By this activation, the assembling carrier 10
Moves while detecting the reflection from the aluminum tape provided as the assembling vehicle track 31 by the traveling sensor 16 and stops when the traveling sensor 16 detects the black tape of about 50 mm on the aluminum tape. Similarly, the component carrier 50 moves along the component carrier trajectory 32 while observing reflection from the aluminum tape by the traveling sensor 53 by this activation, and a black tape of about 50 mm on the aluminum tape is detected. Stop by being done.

At this time, in the assembling process 30, all the assembly transport vehicles 10 and the component transport vehicles 50 are simultaneously started, and a set of the assembly transport vehicles is set on substantially parallel tracks. The car 10 and the parts carrier 50 move between each assembly process. Then, the set of the transporting vehicle 10 for assembly and the transporting vehicle 50 for parts can be stopped at the optimal work position of each worker in each assembly process according to the position of the black tape. An operator in each work process can take out the parts from the stopped parts carrier 50 and perform an assembling operation on the work of the assembly carrier 10 stopped in synchronization. In the case where the preceding set of the assembly carrier 10 and the parts carrier 50 exist in front of the moving track, the reflectors 21 and 58 of the previous set are connected to the photoelectric sensors 20 and 57.
In this case, the assembly transport vehicle 10 and the component transport vehicle 50, which are a set, stop almost synchronously.

As described in detail above, according to the present embodiment, the worker in each assembly process is
The parts carrier 50 moves synchronously, so that necessary parts can be taken out from a substantially fixed position of the parts carrier 50, and a certain work procedure by the operator can be secured. Also, there are two types of A for assembly and parts.
In a line using GV, with a simple configuration,
These two lines can be controlled simultaneously. Furthermore, by providing the parts transporting vehicle 50 that moves in synchronization, it becomes possible to load a large-scale component or a large number of components that could not be transported with the capacity of the assembly transporting vehicle 10.
Furthermore, since the assembly carrier 10 and the parts carrier 50 move synchronously, it is unlikely that a worker forgets to attach a part or the like, and the work has dropped out for some reason. Even in this case, it is possible to easily find that the user has forgotten to attach it in the next step.

[0030]

As described above, according to the present invention, a part of an assembly carrier on which an assembled structure is mounted and a part carrier on which an assembly component is mounted are run in parallel. Thus, it is possible to improve the work efficiency and ensure the accuracy of the work.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an overall configuration of an assembly line according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a view for explaining a schematic configuration of an assembling vehicle 10;

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a schematic configuration of a component carrier vehicle 50;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a connection state of an AGV remote starter according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an outline of a conventional assembling carrier.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 ... Conveyor for assembly (AGV for assembly), 11 ... Work table, 1
2 lifting device, 13 motor, 14 height setting switch, 15 control box, 16 running sensor, 17 pickup coil, 18 driving roll, 19 bumper,
Reference numeral 20: photoelectric sensor, 21: reflection plate, 30: assembly process, 3
1 ... Transportation vehicle track, 32 ... Parts transportation vehicle track, 33
... antenna, 34 ... low frequency oscillator, 35 ... parts storage, 36
... Inspection / packing process, 41 ... 2-core cord, 42 ... Switch, 43 ... External control unit, 45 ... Single-core shield,
46: Receiver, 50: Parts carrier (AGV for parts), 5
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Standard kit stand, 52 ... Control box, 53 ... Travel sensor, 54 ... Pickup coil, 55 ... Drive roll, 56 ... Bumper, 57 ... Photoelectric sensor, 58 ... Reflector,
59: Collision prevention sensor

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A carrier for assembly that runs on a first track, and a carrier for parts that runs on a second track, wherein the first track and the second track are In the assembling process including a plurality of processes for performing the assembling operation, both are formed along with each other, and the assembling carrier and the parts carrier are self-propelled in pairs in the assembling process. An assembly line characterized by: 2. The assembly line according to claim 1, further comprising a remote oscillating device for simultaneously activating the carrier for assembly and the carrier for parts. 3. A plurality of assembling vehicles are self-propelled on the first track, and a plurality of parts carriers are self-propelled on the second track. 2. The assembly line according to claim 1, wherein the assembling step is carried out by one set of one carrier in the transporting vehicle and one set of two transporters in the transporting vehicle for the plurality of parts. 4. A self-propelled parts carrier provided separately from an assembling carrier, wherein the assembling parts required for performing an assembling operation by the assembling carrier are loaded. A loading section, and a receiving section for receiving a start signal from the remote oscillating device. A carrier for parts which is self-propelled in synchronization with the carrier for assembly. 5. A part of the track of the self-propelled carrier for assembly and the track of the self-propelled carrier for parts are arranged along an assembly line, and the self-propelled carrier for assembly and the part on the assembly line are provided. A method for controlling a self-propelled carrier, wherein the two self-propelled carriers are started synchronously when moving with the self-propelled carrier.