JP2006213440A - Work handling assistance device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an assistance device for handling a work facilitating attitude variation of the assistance device. <P>SOLUTION: The assistance device 10 hung down and supported on a work conveying device 1 comprises a body support part 11; a vertical angle adjustment part 12; left/right pivot part 13; and a clamp part 14, and an engine 7 is grasped by a clamp arm 15. The vertical angle adjustment part 12 vertically pivotably load-controls the clamp part 14 in the weightless state and the left/right pivot part 13 load-controls it pivotably in a left/right direction in the weightless state. Further, it is movable in a longitudinal direction. Thereby, the engine 7 is directly retained by a hand and the attitude is freely and easily varied. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an assist device capable of saving labor when working while changing a posture while a heavy workpiece is clamped and lifted.

Arm that can move up and down and rotate in a horizontal plane, a clamp that is supported at the lower end of the arm and that can rotate 90 ° around a horizontal axis, and the weight of a work that is a heavy object supported by the clamp 2. Description of the Related Art There is a well-known heavy-weight conveying apparatus that includes a balance unit that generates a lifting force commensurate with the above-described condition and is capable of changing posture while lifting a workpiece in an unloaded state. Here, the no-load state refers to a state where there is no work load for the operator.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-40547

By the way, the above device moves the handle provided on the back of the clamp up and down and forward and backward while holding it with one hand, and at the same time, performs the clamp operation and the posture change while operating the switch such as clamp and lift with the other hand. It has become. For this reason, the position of switch operation and handle operation is far from the work clamping place, and the work cannot be handled directly by hand, so the precise posture change required for accurate positioning with respect to the assembly part etc. Therefore, it is desirable to change the posture in an assisted state while holding the workpiece directly with hands.
However, it is also desired that the posture can be changed not only at a horizontal and vertical 90 ° rotation position but also at an arbitrary angle and in a free direction such as up, down, left and right, as in the above-described example. Therefore, an object of the present application is to provide an assist device that can freely change its posture while directly holding a work by hand.

In order to solve the above problems, the invention of claim 1 relating to the work handling assist device of the present application is the work handling assist device for changing the posture of the work in a suspended state,
A clamp part for clamping the work, a vertical rocking part for rocking the work in the vertical direction, and a horizontal rocking part for rocking the work in the horizontal direction,
The vertical swinging part suspends and supports the left and right swinging part and the clamp part so that they swing together in the vertical direction.
The left and right swinging part supports the clamp part so as to be swingable in the left and right direction,
Each of the up and down swinging portions and the left and right swinging portions is provided with balance means for swinging the workpiece into an arbitrary swinging state with no load.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the balance means of the vertical swing portion is a balance cylinder disposed in the vertical direction. The push rod extends downward to freely swing the left and right swing portion. It is characterized in that it is supported by hanging.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the right and left rocking portion is provided with a rocking lock that enables the rocking to be restricted or released.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the balance means of the left and right oscillating portion includes an oscillating shaft that oscillates integrally with the clamp portion, and a balance cylinder. Are connected.

  A fifth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the first aspect, the clamp portion is detachably engaged with the left-right swinging portion.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the assist device includes the up-and-down swing portion, the left-right swing portion, and the clamp portion, and the up-and-down swing portion causes the left-right swing portion and the clamp portion to swing integrally in the up-down direction. And this swing can be arbitrarily adjusted with no load by the balance means. Further, the left / right swinging part swings the clamp part in the left / right direction, and this swinging can be arbitrarily adjusted with no load by the balancing means.

  Therefore, if you hold the work clamped in the clamp part directly with your hand and move it in the desired direction such as up and down direction and left and right direction, you can freely swing with assistance and free swing amount, The posture of the work clamped by the clamp part can be changed arbitrarily, and it is easy to handle and can be positioned accurately. For this reason, even a heavy work can be easily performed in an unloaded state, and an accurate and quick work can be performed.

  According to the invention of claim 2, the balance means of the vertical swing part is a balance cylinder arranged in the vertical direction, and this push rod is extended downward to support the left and right swing part in a swingable manner. Therefore, when the workpiece is swung in the vertical direction, this movement is transmitted from the clamp portion and the left and right rocking portion to the push rod, and the vertical movement is assisted to freely adjust the swing of the workpiece in the vertical direction.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, the swing of the left and right swinging portion can be freely restricted or released by the swing lock provided on the left and right swinging portion.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the balance cylinder and the swing shaft that swings integrally with the clamp portion are provided as the balance means of the left and right swing portion, and the push rod and the swing shaft of the balance cylinder are connected. When the work is swung to the left and right, the clamp and the swing shaft swing together. The swing of the swing shaft is transmitted to the balance cylinder via the push rod, and freely swings left and right with assistance.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the clamp portion is detachably engaged with the left and right swinging portion, only the clamp portion can be easily separated or connected.

  Hereinafter, as an embodiment of the present invention, an example of an assist device used for an assembly of an engine body which is a heavy work will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows the whole of the work transfer device 1. The work transfer device 1 includes a base 2 fixed to the ceiling of the work place, a rotary shaft 3 supported on the base 2 so as to be rotatable around an up-down axis C 1, A first arm 4 supported so as to be swingable in the vertical direction with respect to the rotary shaft 3, a balance cylinder 5 that generates a lifting force for moving the first arm 4 up and down, and a tip of the first arm 4. And an assist device 10 supported by the lower end of the second arm 6 which is the other end of the second arm 6.

  The assist device 10 supporting the engine 7 is suspended and supported by the second arm 6 and can freely move up and down. At this time, the assist device 10 and the engine 7 are supported in a weightless state by the balance cylinder 5, and can move to a vehicle body frame (not shown) to perform assembly work while assembling the vehicle body to assemble the vehicle body.

  The assist device 10 includes a columnar body support 11 attached to the lower end of the second arm 6, a vertical angle adjustment unit 12 supported on the upper end of the body support 11, and the vertical angle adjustment unit 12. A left-right swinging portion 13 supported by hanging and a clamp portion 14 supported below hanging are provided. The clamp part 14 is provided with a pair of left and right clamp arms 15 for clamping the engine 7 which is a heavy work.

  The main body support portion 11 includes an auxiliary switch 16 that is a safety device at the time of clamping work, a center grip 17 for holding the main body support portion 11 when moving up and down, a clamp switch 18 for clamping work, and a side grip 19 provided on the side portion. Have The clamp switch 18 is provided in a pair of left and right so that it can be operated on either the left or right side.

  FIG. 2 shows a posture change state, and the operator 8 directly holds the engine 7 clamped by the assist device 10 and supported by the work transfer device 1 with the hand 9 while freely changing the posture. Can be assembled. The posture change of the engine 7 at this time includes any of movement in the front-rear direction, swinging in the left-right direction, and vertical movement. Note that the front / rear, up / down, and left / right directions are directions viewed from the operator 8 holding the engine 7.

  Details of the assist device 10 will be described below. FIG. 3 is a side view of the assist device 10. The vertical angle adjustment unit 12 includes a first balance cylinder 22 supported by an upper end support unit 20 provided at the upper end of the main body support unit 11 via a slider 21 so as to be movable back and forth. The upper end support portion 20 projects forward and is bolted to the lower end of the second arm 6.

  The first balance cylinder 22 is movable in the front-rear direction with respect to the upper end support portion 20 by the slider 21. The push rod 23 extending from the lower end of the first balance cylinder 22 is provided with a roller 24, and a swing rail 25 is supported by the roller 24 so as to be swingable in the left-right direction.

  The first balance cylinder 22 swings the clamp portion 14 up and down to adjust the tilt angle of the clamp arm 15 up and down. Further, the clamp part is attached and detached as will be described later. Furthermore, in order to avoid a sudden operation of the first balance cylinder 22 during a sudden load change when the engine 7 is unclamped, the operation start timing is delayed by a timer.

  That is, since the first balance cylinder 22 is connected and integrated with the lower left and right rocking portion 13 and the clamp portion 14 by the push rod 23 extending downward, the push rod 23 is moved forward and backward in either the vertical direction. The portion below the push rod 23 of the assist device 10 swings in the vertical direction around the swing center described later, and the swing angle in the vertical direction can be freely adjusted. For this reason, the engine 7 clamped by the clamp arm 15 of the clamp part 14 can be freely swung up and down.

  In the neutral state of the assist device 10 in the up-and-down swing, the first balance cylinder 22 adjusts the air pressure so that the push rod 23 is maintained at the predetermined neutral position, and the waiting force balances with the weight below the push rod 23. As a result, the swing of the assist device 10 in the vertical direction is maintained in a neutral state.

  Therefore, if the engine 7 is held by the hand 9 and is swung by applying a slight force in any desired direction up and down, the movement of the engine 7 is transmitted to the push rod 23, and the push rod 23 is It moves forward and backward with respect to the first balance cylinder 22. In response to this movement, the air pressure is adjusted so that the first balance cylinder 22 continues the forward / backward movement of the push rod 23 in the moving direction without applying any subsequent force with the hand 9. 8 is assisted to continue swinging in the intended vertical direction.

  Thereafter, when the engine 7 is held by the hand 9 and is stopped by swinging a predetermined amount, the forward / backward movement of the push rod 23 is stopped and the air pressure is adjusted so as to maintain the position. As a result, the engine 7 can be maintained in a desired swinging state in the vertical direction. Therefore, the vertical swing of the engine 7 is assisted with almost no load.

  The left / right swinging portion 13 includes a roller 24 supported by a push rod 23 extending from the lower end of the first balance cylinder 22 and a swing rail 25 supported by the roller 24 so as to be swingable in the left / right direction. The swing rail 25 includes a swing lock 26 at the top and a side plate 27 at the side, and a joint pin 28 is supported on the side plate 27.

  The clamp portion 14 is supported by being suspended from the left and right swinging portion 13 via a hook 30 locked to the joint pin 28. A hook mounting plate 31 is provided below the hook 30 and is bolted to the upper portion of the clamp cylinder 32. A rear end fitting portion 33 of the clamp arm 15 is detachably fitted and fixed to the clamp cylinder 32 from the front.

  A joint stay 34 protrudes rearward from the clamp cylinder 32, and a swing shaft 37 supported by a central joint 36 in a guide groove 35 that is long in the front-rear direction is supported so as to be movable in the front-rear direction. . A lid 34 a is bolted to the rearward projecting end portion of the joint stay 34, and the rear end portion of the guide groove 35 is closed. The swing shaft 37 penetrating the central joint 36 is supported by the joint stay 34 so as to be rotatable about the axis. As a result, the clamp portion 14 swings up and down around the swing shaft 37 and the angle of the clamp arm 15 is increased. Can be adjusted freely in the vertical direction.

  A mounting shaft 38 of the central joint 36 extends upward and is fixed to the base plate 39. The base plate 39 extends in the left-right direction from the bottom of the main body support portion 11, and a clamp switch 18 and a side grip 19 are provided so as to protrude upward at both left and right ends thereof. The clamp switch 18 is for clamping or unclamping by operating the clamp cylinder 32 to change the distance between the left and right clamp arms 15. The lever 18a is integrated with the base of the side grip 19 so that the lever of the clamp switch 18 can be operated while holding the side grip 19, and the lever 18a is disposed in front of the side grip 19 and pivotally supports the lower end. It extends for a long time. The auxiliary switch 16 provided on the upper back of the main body support portion 11 has the lever 16a at the upper end near the center grip 17 so that it can be quickly operated with the other hand while holding the center grip 17 with one hand. And is arranged so as to extend downward downward.

  FIG. 4 shows the front side of the assist device 10 and is a diagram in which some parts such as the back side are omitted. The left and right rocking portion 13 connects the upper portions of the side plates 27 provided with the rocking rails 25 on the left and right sides, and has an upper surface provided with a guide groove that is long in the left and right directions (see FIG. 7). Make 40. The arc surface 40 is guided by the roller 24 supported by the lower end of the push rod 23 that protrudes downward through the guide groove, and swings in the left-right direction.

  The roller 24 is located on the center line C3 in the left-right direction of the assist device 10, and the swing center P2 located below the roller 24 is located on this line. For this reason, the lower part of the assist device 10 from the left and right swinging portion 13 can swing left and right around the swing center P2 with the distance R between the upper end surfaces of the rollers 24 as the swing radius.

  The swing lock 26 is attached to the upper portion of the side plate 27 by a bolt 41 with its both ends in the left-right direction bent. A lock plate 42 is attached to the middle portion of the swing lock 26 in the left-right direction. Details of the rocking lock mechanism will be described later.

  The lower portions of the left and right side plates 27 are connected by joint pins 28. The hook 30 is locked to a small diameter portion 29 formed at the middle portion in the length direction of the joint pin 28. The hook 30 is positioned by the fixing jig 43 so that the axial position thereof is on the center line C3, is integrated with the joint pin 28, and the left / right swinging portion 13 and the clamp portion 14 swing integrally. Further, if the fixing jig 43 is removed, the hook 30 can be detached from the joint pin 28 and the clamp part 14 can be separated from the left and right rocking part 13.

  The clamp unit 14 includes a clamp cylinder 32 that is horizontally placed in the left-right direction, and adjusts the interval between the pair of left and right clamp arms 15 in a wide and narrow manner. The rear end fitting portion 33 on one side of the left and right clamp arms 15 is fixed to the side portion of the clamp cylinder 32. On the other side, the rear end fitting portion 33 is fitted and fixed to the upper portion of the movable fixing portion 45 in which the tip of the push rod 44 extending from the clamp cylinder 32 is integrated.

  The movable fixing portion 45 extends downward, and one end of the slide pin 46 is fixed to the lower end portion thereof. The slide pin 46 is disposed in parallel to the lower side of the push rod 44, and the other end side is slidably fitted to a guide portion 47 formed on the bottom of the clamp cylinder 32 and projecting downward. The movement of the clamp arm 15 is stabilized.

  The clamp cylinder 32 extends and retracts the push rod 44 to change the distance between the left and right clamp arms 15 to grip and release the engine 7. The operation of the clamp cylinder 32 is performed by operating the clamp switch 18. The clamp switch 18 is provided on the left and right in consideration of operability, and either one may be operated.

  FIG. 5 shows the back side of the main body support 11 and is a diagram in which some parts such as the front side are omitted. A lower portion of the main body support portion 11 having a substantially U-shaped cross section opened forward is mounted on a central portion of the base plate 39 extending to the left and right. A pair of left and right second balance cylinders 50 are provided at the left and right ends of the base plate 39. The second balance cylinder 50 is used to control the load without weight with respect to the left / right swing of the left / right swing portion 13. In this figure, in order to distinguish left and right, L is attached to the left side and R is attached to the right side.

  Push rods 51 extending downward from the left and right second balance cylinders 50L and 50R respectively extend downward through the base plate 39 and to both ends of the swing shaft 37 extending laterally by the side joint 52. It is connected. The left and right swing shafts 37 are shaft members that penetrate the central joint 36 and extend to the left and right, and the left and right ends thereof are guided to swing up and down by the guide plate 53.

  The guide plate 53 is overlaid on the lower surface of the base plate 39 and is fastened together with the left and right second balance cylinders 50L and 50R by bolts 54, respectively. The upper portion of the guide plate 53 extends to the left and right of the base plate 39, and the clamp switch 18 and the side grip 19 are supported at the tip thereof.

  The center joint 36 is located on the center line C3, and when the left and right swinging portion 13 and the clamp portion 14 swing left and right, the joint stay 34 swings integrally therewith. Since the joint stay 3 extends to the left and right of the central joint 36, the left and right end portions swing in opposite directions across the central joint 36, and the swing shaft 37 connected thereto swings up and down. The movement of the swing shaft 37 is transmitted from the side joint 52 to the push rod 51.

  As a result, when the engine 7 is slightly pushed by the hand 9 and swung in either the left or right desired direction, the push rods 51 of the left and right second balance cylinders 50L and 50R move forward and backward in the opposite directions due to this swinging, respectively. In addition, each advance and retreat movement is assisted so as to continue the movement without further pressing force with the hand 9, and this assist is continued until the engine 7 is held by the hand 9 and the swinging is stopped, almost no load. Can be swung.

  When the engine 7 is held by the hand 9 and the swinging is stopped, the movement of the left and right push rods 51 that have been moved forward and backward in the reverse direction is stopped, and the left and right second balance cylinders 50L and 50R The forward / backward movement of the push rod 51 is stopped, and the air pressure is adjusted so as to maintain the position. Thereby, the engine 7 can be maintained in a desired swinging state.

  FIG. 6 is a plan view of the clamp portion 14. The pair of left and right clamp arms 15 includes an attachment surface 56 extending in parallel in the front-rear direction, and a resin pad 57 is detachably attached thereto with a bolt or the like. The resin pad 57 is for gripping the engine 7 without damaging it, and can be replaced with one having an appropriate shape according to the object to be gripped. The rear end fitting portion 33 of the clamp arm 15 fitted to the clamp cylinder 32 and the operation fixing portion 45 is prevented from being detached by a pin 33a. The pin 33a can be freely inserted into and removed from the clamp cylinder 32, the operation fixing portion 45, and the rear end fitting portion 33 of the clamp arm 15. A ring (see also FIG. 4) is provided on the exposed head of the pin 33a so that the fingertip can be hung. The clamp arm 15 shown in the figure holds the cylinder portion of the upright engine, and various shapes are prepared according to the engine type.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram showing details of the rocking lock 26, in which A indicates an unlocked state and B indicates a locked state. The lock plate 42 is L-shaped, and is provided on the left and right sides with an interval approximately equal to the outer diameter of the push rod 23. It is relatively movable in the left-right direction within a guide groove 58 that is long in the left-right direction. For this reason, the swing rail 25 is swingable in the left-right direction with respect to the push rod 23 and the left-right swing portion 13 is swingable, so that the left-right swing portion 13 is unlocked.

  As shown in B in the figure, when the swing lock 26 is rotated rearward, the left and right lock plates 42 are also rotated rearward to sandwich the left and right of the push rod 23. As a result, the left and right lock plates 42 and the push rod 23 interfere with each other, the push rod 23 and the swing rail 25 are integrated, and the swing rail 25 is not swingable by the push rod 23, so It will be in a locked state against swing.

  FIG. 8 shows a side shape of the guide plate 53. A guide groove 59 opened downward is formed in the guide plate 53 so as to be long in the vertical direction, in which the swing shaft 37 is linearly regulated in the front-rear direction. It moves up and down and can swing freely in the vertical direction.

  Next, the operation will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the assist device 10 is moved to the engine 7, the cylinder portion 7 a of the engine 7 is sandwiched by the clamp arm 15, and the clamp switch 18 is operated to grip the engine 7. In this state, it is lifted together with the assist device 10 and moved to the vehicle body frame. During this time, the assist device 10 and the engine 7 can move without weight by the work transfer device 1.

  At the time of assembling the vehicle body, the posture is changed by directly holding the engine 7 by hand as shown in FIG. At this time, if the engine 7 is moved in a desired direction such as a vertical direction and a horizontal direction, the engine 7 can be arbitrarily swung with an assist by each no-load adjustment of the first balance cylinder 22 and the second balance cylinder 50. In addition, since the swing amount can be freely set, the posture of the engine 7 clamped to the clamp portion 14 by the clamp arm 15 can be arbitrarily changed, and accurate positioning and the like can be easily performed. For this reason, the engine 7 which is a heavy workpiece can be easily operated in a no-load state and can be accurately and quickly operated.

  Since the balance means of the vertical swing portion 12 is the first balance cylinder 22 arranged in the vertical direction, the push rod 23 is extended downward and the left and right swing portion 14 is suspended and supported in a swingable manner. 7 is swung in the vertical direction, this movement is transmitted from the clamp portion 14 and the left and right rocking portion 13 to the push rod 23, and the vertical movement of the engine 7 is assisted to freely adjust the vertical swing of the engine 7 to no load. it can.

  By rotating the rocking lock 26 provided on the left and right rocking part 13 to be turned up and down, it is possible to freely select a locked state that restricts rocking of the left and right rocking part 13 or an unlocked state that freely rocks. .

  As a balancing means for the left and right swinging portion 13, a swing shaft 37 swinging integrally with the clamp portion 14 and a pair of left and right second balance cylinders 50 are provided, and a push rod 51 of the left and right second balance cylinders 50 is provided. Since the left and right ends of the swing shaft 37 are connected, the clamp portion 14 and the swing shaft 37 swing together with the engine 7 swinging left and right. The swing of the swing shaft 37 is transmitted to the left and right second balance cylinders 50 via the push rod 51 and freely swings left and right with assistance.

  Since the hook 30 of the clamp part 14 is detachably engaged with the joint pin 30 of the left and right swing part 13, the clamp part 14 can be easily connected and integrated with the left and right swing part 13 by connecting with the fixing jig 43. If the fixing jig 43 is removed, the clamp portion 14 can be swung left and right simply by removing the hook 30 from the joint pin 30 and further removing the lid 34a (FIG. 3) from the joint stay 34 and separating it from the swing shaft 37. It can be easily separated from the moving part 13.

  Further, if the engine 7 is pushed in the front-rear direction, the first balance cylinder 22, the left / right swinging part 13 and the clamp part 14 are integrally slid in the front-rear direction via the slider 21, thereby facilitating front-rear position adjustment. .

  Further, a timer is set for the operation of the first balance cylinder 22, and when the engine 7 is lowered from the clamp portion 14, the first balance cylinder 22 is not immediately activated. Therefore, even if there is a load change due to the attachment and detachment of the engine 7, the operation start timing is adjusted so that the clamp part 14 does not move up and down suddenly to facilitate handling.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the said Example, A various deformation | transformation and application are possible, for example, the 2nd balance cylinder 50 may be independent instead of a left-right pair. Further, the present invention can be applied to an operation of assembling a heavy object such as an engine in various vehicles other than a motorcycle while changing its posture freely. Furthermore, the engine 7 is not limited to the illustrated upright type, and can be applied to various types such as a horizontally opposed engine. In this case, the shape of the clamp arm 15 can be easily changed.

The perspective view of the whole workpiece conveyance apparatus which concerns on embodiment The figure which shows the posture control state at the time of assembly Side view of assist device The figure which shows the principal part of a front side same as the above The figure which shows the principal part of a back side same as the above Plan view of clamp part Illustration of swing lock Side view of guide plate

Explanation of symbols

1: Work transfer device, 10: Assist device, 11: Main body support portion, 12: Vertical angle adjustment portion, 13: Left / right swinging portion, 14: Clamp portion, 15: Clamp arm, 22: First balance cylinder, 32: Clamp cylinder, 50: Second balance cylinder

Claims (5)

In the work handling assist device for changing the posture of the work in the suspended state,
A clamp part for clamping the work, a vertical rocking part for rocking the work in the vertical direction, and a horizontal rocking part for rocking the work in the horizontal direction,
The vertical swinging part suspends and supports the left and right swinging part and the clamp part so that they swing together in the vertical direction.
The left and right swinging part supports the clamp part so as to be swingable in the left and right direction,
These up and down swinging portions and left and right swinging portions are each provided with balancing means for swinging the workpiece to an arbitrary swinging state without any load,
A work handling assist device characterized by the above. The balance means of the vertical swing part is a balance cylinder arranged in the vertical direction, and the push rod is extended downward to suspend and support the horizontal swing part so as to be swingable. 1 Work handling assist device. 2. The work handling assist device according to claim 1, wherein a swing lock is provided on the left and right swinging portion to allow the swinging to be restricted or released. 2. The balance means of the left and right oscillating part comprises an oscillating shaft oscillating integrally with the clamp part and a balance cylinder, and the push rod of the balance cylinder and the oscillating axis are connected to each other. Assist device for workpiece handling. 2. The workpiece handling assist device according to claim 1, wherein the clamp portion is detachably engaged with the left-right swinging portion.

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