JP2008207889A - Workpiece loading method and workpiece taking-out apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a workpiece taking-out apparatus mounted on the wrist portion of a robot without interference between the workpiece taking-out apparatus and a pallet. <P>SOLUTION: When a sheet of glass 3 taken out of a first pallet 4 is loaded on a second pallet 5, an attraction holding mechanism (workpiece holding means) 19 makes an entry into a glass placing part 55 between a pair of workpiece supporting members 50, 50 composing the second pallet 5, while a flip-up member 20, a height copying means 21, a width direction copying means 22 and a division plate inserting means 23 (flip-up mechanism) approach to between the glass placing part 55 and the outer frame 52 of the second pallet 5. Further, a workpiece holding means 61 is positioned outside the outer frame of the second pallet 5. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a work loading method and a work picking apparatus for transferring and loading a work from a first pallet to a second pallet.

  For example, in the assembly process of automobiles, glass picking work has been performed manually until now. However, automation of the picking work is required because of the heavy weight of the glass.

As an example of the automation of the picking operation, for example, a plurality of pallets containing glass by type are arranged in a ring shape, and a glass unloading means for unloading the glass out of the apparatus is provided in the arrangement of the pallets, and the selected pallet A technique is disclosed in which a predetermined glass is held by a hand mechanism, and the glass is transferred to a glass carry-out means by moving a moving body along a rail provided along an array of pallets ( For example, see Patent Document 1).
JP 2000-327108 A

  By the way, the pallet has a difference in the height dimension, the width dimension, and the depth dimension of the pallet because there is a difference in glass makers and an error in processing dimensional accuracy. Therefore, when the glass is taken out from the pallet by the robot hand, the hand may come into contact with the pallet.

  In order to solve this problem, it is necessary to prepare several types of hands that do not interfere with the pallet, but this increases costs.

  Accordingly, the present invention provides a work picking device attached to the wrist portion of a robot and a work picking device free from pallet interference and a work loading method using the work picking device.

  The work stacking method of the present invention is a first of a flat placement type in which a work is placed flat on a partition plate and the partition plate and the work are alternately stacked, or a vertical placement type in which the work is vertically arranged. The workpiece placed on the pallet is taken out by a workpiece take-out device attached to the wrist portion of the robot, and the taken-out workpiece is placed on the side of the first pallet placement area. A workpiece loading method in which a workpiece is transferred to a second pallet that is placed horizontally and then sequentially loaded, and when the workpiece removed from the first pallet is loaded on the second pallet, The work holding means provided enters the glass mounting portion between the pair of work support members and flips up the partition plate provided in the work take-out device. The work holding means for holding the work when the structure part enters between the glass placing part and the outer frame of the second pallet and further takes out the work from the first pallet of the vertical type is the second pallet. It is characterized by being located outside the outer frame.

  Further, the workpiece take-out apparatus of the present invention is of a flat type in which a work is placed flat on a partition plate and the partition plate and the work are alternately stacked, or a vertical type in which the work is vertically arranged. A work holding means for sucking and holding a work placed on the first pallet; a flip-up mechanism for flipping up the partition plate; and a work pressing means for holding the work when the work is taken out from the first pallet of the vertical type. , A set of workpiece support members in which the workpiece holding means constitutes the second pallet when the workpiece removed from the first pallet is loaded on the second pallet. And the flip-up mechanism portion enters between the glass placement portion and the outer frame of the second pallet, and the work pressing means is the second pallet. Characterized in that it is configured to be positioned outside outside the frame.

  According to the present invention, the positional relationship between the workpiece take-out device and the second pallet is such that the workpiece holding means enters the glass platform between the pair of workpiece support members, and the flip-up mechanism is configured with the glass platform. Since it enters between the outer frame of the second pallet and the work pressing means is positioned outside the outer frame, there is no interference between the work picking device and the second pallet, and there are a plurality of pallet dimensional variations. There is no need to prepare a kind of workpiece picking device. Therefore, according to this invention, a workpiece | work can be loaded with respect to the pallet with a dimensional variation with one kind of workpiece pick-up apparatus.

  Hereinafter, specific embodiments to which the present invention is applied will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  The present embodiment is an example in which the present invention is applied to a glass transfer system that takes out glass (work) from the first pallet and transfers it to the second pallet.

“Description of Glass Transfer System”
FIG. 1 is a layout diagram (layout diagram) of a glass transfer system that takes out glass placed on a first pallet with a workpiece take-out device and transfers it to a second pallet.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the glass transfer system includes a handling robot 2 that is a robot that is movable (movable in the X direction in FIG. 1) on a pair of rails 1 laid on a work floor, and the handling robot. The first pallet 4 (4A to 4J) formed by arranging a plurality of glasses 3 arranged at predetermined intervals along the traveling path 2 and the glass 3 is taken out from the first pallet 4 and transferred. A second pallet 5 that is sequentially loaded, and a workpiece take-out device 7 that is attached to the wrist portion 6 of the handling robot 2 and takes out the predetermined glass 3 from the first pallet 4 are provided.

<First pallet>
2 is a perspective view of the first pallet, FIG. 3 is a front view of the first pallet in a state where partition plates and glass are alternately stacked, FIG. 4 is a side view of FIG. 3, and FIG. It is a figure which shows the flip-up operation | movement.

  The first pallet 4 is a dedicated pallet that circulates between a glass manufacturer that manufactures the glass 3 and a vehicle production factory that uses the glass 3 to assemble an automobile. It is a stand-type pallet. A plurality of the first pallets 4 are arranged at predetermined intervals along the traveling route (robot traveling route) of the handling robot 2 that moves along the rail 1, and are respectively disposed on both sides of the robot traveling route. ing. In this example, as shown in FIG. 1, five first pallets 4 are provided on one side of the robot travel route, and a total of ten first pallets 4 are arranged on both sides. These first pallets 4 are arranged in a pallet arrangement area A surrounded by the fence 100 and the phototube column 101. A sensor for stopping the glass picking operation when a person enters the pallet arrangement area A is attached to the phototube column 101.

  For example, a plurality of the same type of glass 3 is arranged on the first pallet 4 at a predetermined interval, and different types of glass 3 are arranged on each first pallet 4 depending on the vehicle type or specification. . On the first pallet 4A farthest from the second pallet 5, a rear glass for car A is arranged, and on the first pallet 4B adjacent thereto, a rear glass for car B is arranged. A rear glass for a C car is arranged on one pallet 4C. In the present embodiment, the glass 3 corresponds to a work for assembling the vehicle body.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the first pallet 4 has a front surface and a ceiling so that a workpiece take-out device 7 to be described later can access to take out the glass 3 stacked on the first pallet 4. The surface is open. The first pallet 4 is provided with two struts 8 and 8 on the intrusion back side of the workpiece picking device 7. A partition plate 9 on which the glass 3 is placed in a flat position is rotatably attached to the support columns 8 and 8. The partition plate 9 includes a first arm 9A and a second arm 9B that rotatably attach a base end portion to each of the support columns 8 and 8 provided at a predetermined interval, and the first arm 9A and the second arm. It consists of connecting arms 9C and 9D that connect 9B.

  As shown in FIG. 5, two shafts 10 and 11 are provided at the base ends of the first arm 9A and the second arm 9B. One shaft 10 is a rotation center axis when the partition plate 9 is rotated, and the other shaft 11 is a first state in which the partition plate 9 is in a substantially horizontal state and a flip-up state in which the glass 3 can be taken out. 2 is a shaft that holds the position in the state of 2. Hereinafter, one shaft 10 is referred to as a rotation center shaft 10, and the other shaft 11 is referred to as a position holding determination shaft 11. The rotation center shaft 10 is slidably inserted into and engaged with a long-hole-shaped first cam groove 12 formed in the support column 8. The position holding determination shaft 11 is slidably inserted into and engaged with an inverted U-shaped second cam groove 13 formed in the support column 8.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2 or FIG. 4, a rotation operation for rotating the partition plate 9 from the first state to the second state is performed on the proximal end side portions of the first arm 9A and the second arm 9B. A coil spring 14 for reducing the force is hung. The coil spring 14 has one end locked in a spring locking hole 15 formed in the support column 8 and the other end locked in a spring locking piece 16 provided in the first arm 9A and the second arm 9B. It is hung between the plate 9 and the support columns 8 and 8.

  In addition, a space forming member 17 is formed at the distal ends of the first arm 9A and the second arm 9B so that the partition plates 9 are stacked in a state where the glass 3 is sandwiched therebetween and a predetermined interval is maintained. . A space in which the glass 3 is disposed between the upper and lower partition plates 9 and 9 by the space forming member 17 being in contact with the top surfaces of the front end portions of the first arm 9A and the second arm 9B of the partition plate 9 disposed therebelow. Is formed.

  A plurality of glass pressing members 18A and 18B are mounted on the upper and lower surfaces of the connecting arms 9C and 9D, respectively, for pressing the glass 3 placed flat on the partition plate 9 to prevent positional displacement. Yes. The glass pressing members 18A and 18B are made of a material having high elasticity such as rubber or urethane without damaging the glass 3 and applying a large load.

  The partition plate 9 configured in this manner is in a first state (the state shown in FIG. 5A) in which the glass 3 is placed in a flat state and in a flip-up state in which the glass 3 can be taken out. It can be freely opened and closed between the two states (the states of FIGS. 5B and 5C). The state of FIG. 5C shows a state in which the second state in which the partition plate 9 is flipped up is held (locked). The opening / closing operation of the partition plate 9 and the operation for positioning and maintaining the second state of the partition plate 9 will be described later.

  The first pallet 4 has a difference in height, width and depth of each pallet because there is a difference between glass manufacturers and errors in processing dimensional accuracy. Similarly, the height and width of the partition plate 9 are different. The dimensions are not constant and have variations.

"Second palette"
6 shows a second pallet, (A) is a front view of the second pallet, (B) is a plan view of the second pallet, (C) is a right side view of the second pallet, and FIG. It is a left view of a 2nd pallet.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the second pallet 5 sequentially arranges the glasses 3 taken out from the first pallet 4 by the work take-out device 7 attached to the wrist portion 6 of the handling robot 2 described later. This is a production permutation pallet. On the second pallet 5, the glass 3 taken out according to the vehicle body assembly production order from the different types of glass 3 for each of the first pallets 4A to 4J is stacked. The second pallet 5 travels in a direction substantially perpendicular to the traveling direction of the handling robot 2 on the side of the pallet placement area A where the first pallet 4 is placed on the work floor.

  The second pallet 5 includes a pair of workpiece support members 50 and 50 for placing the glass 3 flat, and the set of workpiece support members 50 and 50 at a predetermined interval in the height direction. A plurality of support receiving portions 51 to be fixed, an outer frame 52 for preventing contact with the glass 3 loaded on the work support members 50, 50, a chassis 53 on which these are placed, and a second frame provided below the chassis 53. AGV 54 for automatically running the pallet 5.

  The workpiece support member 50 is a so-called cantilever state in which the glass 3 is made of a round bar having a cushioning material on its surface so as not to damage the glass 3, and one end is a free end and the other end is fixed to the support receiving portion 51. It is said that. These work support members 50 are attached so as to form a plurality of sets in the height direction on both sides of the support receiving portion 51 as a set of two work support members 50, 50 arranged in parallel at a predetermined interval. ing.

  The space between the pair of workpiece support members 50 is a glass stacking portion 55 on which the glass 3 is placed. Among these glass mounting portions 55, the first stacking portion 56 is a front side in the traveling direction of the second pallet 5, and a second stacking portion 57 is the rear side in the traveling direction on the opposite side. In other words, the second pallet 5 has a first stacking unit 56 for stacking the glass 3 from the front in the traveling direction and a second stacking unit 57 for stacking the glass 3 from the rear in the traveling direction.

  The support receiving portion 51 includes two support columns 58 that stand vertically from the chassis 53 at a predetermined interval, and a connecting column 59 that connects the ends of the two support columns 58. The workpiece support member 50 is fixed to each support 58 of the support receiving portion 51.

  The outer frame 52 is provided on the chassis 53 so as to cover the glass 3 loaded on the first stacking unit 56 and the second stacking unit 57 inadvertently from the four sides and the top surface.

  The chassis 53 has wheels 60 that are used when the second pallet 5 is transported by a glass manufacturer and when it is transported to an assembly factory. However, the wheel 60 is not used when the glass 3 is loaded on the second pallet 5.

  The AGV 54 is attached below the chassis 53 and causes the second pallet 5 to travel based on a predetermined program. The traveling of the second pallet 5 will be described later.

<Work picking device>
8 is a perspective view of the workpiece removal device, FIG. 9 is a front view of the workpiece removal device, FIG. 10 is a plan view of the workpiece removal device, and FIG. 11 is a side view of the workpiece removal device.

  The workpiece take-out device 7 takes out the predetermined glass 3 from the desired first pallet 4 according to the assembly production order of the vehicle body from the glass 3 made different for each of the first pallets 4A to 4J. The taken glass 3 is transferred to a workpiece transfer position by the handling robot 2, and is repeatedly arranged to be sequentially arranged and loaded on the second pallet 5 so as to be in the assembly production order. It is attached to the wrist portion 6 of the handling robot 2 that reciprocates.

  As shown in FIGS. 8 to 11, the workpiece take-out device 7 includes a suction holding mechanism portion 19 which is a workpiece holding means for sucking and holding the glass 3, and a partition plate 9 in a first state that is in a substantially horizontal state. The partition plate 9 is flipped up and the partition plate 9 is flipped up, and the partition plate 9 is in a second state in which the glass 3 can be taken out. The handling robot 2 is instructed, the height copying means 21 for aligning the workpiece take-out device 7 with its height position, and the handling robot 2 is instructed in the width direction position of the partition plate 9, and the workpiece take-out device 7 is in the width direction. When the partition plate 9 is flipped up and brought into the second state, the partition plate 9 is pushed in by an elastic force, and the rotation center shaft 10 and the position holding determination shaft 1 are aligned. Are inserted into the positioning holding positions of the first cam groove 12 and the second cam groove 13 to position and hold the partition plate 9 in the second state, and the glass pressing means 61 is a work pressing means. It is equipped with.

  The suction holding mechanism 19 is provided on a plate 25 protruding from the apparatus main body 24 attached to the wrist portion 6 of the handling robot 2. The suction holding mechanism unit 19 includes a suction pad 26 for sucking and holding the glass 3, a swinging mechanism (not shown) that enables the suction pad 26 to follow and swing along the curved surface of the glass 3, and the glass 3. And a position adjustment mechanism unit 27 that matches the glass holding position in the depth direction with the reference position of the handling robot 2. In the present embodiment, three suction holding mechanism portions 19 are provided to hold the glass 3 by suction.

  The flip-up member 20, the height copying means 21, the width direction copying means 22, and the partition plate insertion means 23 are all tips of arms 28, 28 that are attached to both sides of the apparatus main body 24 and have an inverted L shape in plan view. Provided on both sides of the suction holding mechanism portion 19. The flip-up member 20, the height tracing means 21, the width direction tracing means 22, and the partition plate insertion means 23 are attached to a block main body 30 that is moved up and down by a first cylinder 29 attached to the distal end portion of the arm 28. Yes.

  The height copying means 21 includes a contact member 31 that contacts the upper surfaces of the first arm 9A and the second arm 9B of the partition plate 9, and a direction in which the contact member 31 approaches and separates from the first arm 9A and the second arm 9B. A first cylinder 29 that is a first drive unit that is moved up and down, and an upper position that faces the first arm 9A and the second arm 9B by moving the contact member 31 in the horizontal direction, and the first arm 9A and the second arm. 9B, and a second cylinder 32 that is a second drive unit that moves to a retreat position that does not face 9B.

  As the contact member 31, a roller that makes point contact with the upper surfaces of the first arm 9A and the second arm 9B is used. A plurality of such contact members 31 are provided to be attached to the support plate 33 and to absorb variations occurring in the width dimension of the partition plate 9 for each pallet. The support plate 33 is attached to a second cylinder 32 fixed to the block body 30 and is moved in the horizontal direction by the second cylinder 32. In addition, the contact member 31 is moved up and down by the first cylinder 29, approaches the first arm 9A and the second arm 9B, and is brought into contact with the upper surface thereof.

  The width direction copying means 22 is a contact member 34 that contacts the side surfaces of the first arm 9A and the second arm 9B of the partition plate 9, and the contact member 34 approaches and separates from the first arm 9A and the second arm 9B. And a third cylinder 35, which is a third drive unit that is horizontally moved.

  The contact member 34 is formed of a sphere attached to the support plate 36, and the contact portion having a spherical shape is brought into contact with the side surfaces of the first arm 9A and the second arm 9B. The support plate 36 is moved in the horizontal direction by the third cylinder 35 fixed to the block body 30, and the contact portion of the contact member 34 having a spherical shape contacts the side surfaces of the first arm 9A and the second arm 9B. Let

  The partition plate inserting means 23 is a contact member 37 that contacts the tip of the space forming member 17 provided at the tip of the first arm 9A and the second arm 9B, and a direction in which the partition member 9 is pushed into the contact member 37. And a coil spring 38 that is an elastic member that applies an elastic force to be pressed in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG.

  The contact member 37 is fixed to a contact member attaching member 40 provided on a plate 39 attached to the third cylinder 35 for horizontally moving the width direction copying means 22. The coil spring 38 is mounted on a shaft 42 provided between a spring support member 41 provided on the plate 39 and the contact member mounting member 40. The abutting member 37 is made of, for example, rubber or urethane rich in elasticity.

  The flip-up member 20 is fixed to a flip-up member attachment member 43 provided on the plate 39 attached to the third cylinder 35 described above. The flip-up member 20 enters under the partition plate 9 in the first state that is in a substantially horizontal state (in contact with the lower surfaces of the first arm 9A and the second arm 9B) and jumps the partition plate 9. It consists of a cylindrical roller that raises. When the handling robot 2 lifts the workpiece picking device 7 upward, the flip-up member 20 comes into contact with the lower surfaces of the first arm 9A and the second arm 9B and flips up while rotating the partition plate 9. Yes. Further, the flip-up member 20 moves horizontally together with the width-direction copying means 22 by driving the third cylinder 35, and is arranged at a position corresponding to the lower surfaces of the first arm 9A and the second arm 9B. The

  The glass pressing means 61 is fixed to the tips of the two support arms 65 protruding from the apparatus main body 24 described above. The glass pressing means 61 includes a drive cylinder 62 that operates by air or hydraulic pressure that constitutes a vertical movement mechanism, and a pad 64 made of urethane or the like attached to the tip of a cylinder rod 63 of the drive cylinder 62. When the vertical holding type pallet is used for the first pallet 4, the glass pressing unit 61 is configured to suck the glass 3 placed vertically on the vertical pallet 1 with the suction pad 26. In addition, the glass 3 is prevented from falling and sucking in the pallet back direction (glass arrangement direction). That is, when the glass 3 is sucked by the suction pad 28, the glass pressing means 61 moves the cylinder rod 63 forward and backward so that the pad 64 provided at the tip of the cylinder rod 63 stands upright on the first pallet 4. The glass 3 is prevented from falling by being pressed against the upper end of the glass 3.

  The handling robot 2 having the workpiece take-out device 7 configured as described above operates in response to a command from a control unit (not shown), reciprocates on the rail 1, and works attached to the wrist portion 6. The take-out device 7 is moved according to the command.

"Workpiece removal method"
Next, a work picking method for picking up the glass 3 placed on the first pallet 4 by the work picking device 7 will be described.

  FIGS. 12 to 19 show a series of steps of a method for taking out a glass from a first pallet by the work take-out device, and FIG. 12 is an overall view showing a step for causing the work take-out device to approach a teaching position by a handling robot. FIG. 13 is an enlarged view of a main part showing a step of causing the handling robot to approach the teaching position by the handling robot, FIG. 14 is an enlarged view of a main part showing the height copying process, and FIG. 15 is an enlarged view of the main part showing the width copying process. 16 is an enlarged view of a main part showing the flip-up process, FIG. 17 is an overall view showing the process of positioning and holding the partition plate in the second state, and FIG. 18 shows the process of positioning and holding the partition plate in the second state. FIG. 19 is an overall view showing a process of taking out the glass after flipping up the partition plate.

  First, the handling robot 2 moves along the rail 1 to the first pallet 4 on which the glass 3 to be taken out is received in response to a command from the control unit. Then, as shown in FIG. 12, the control unit causes the workpiece take-out device 7 attached to the wrist portion 6 of the handling robot 2 to approach the taught position taught in advance. With this approach, the workpiece take-out device 7 is arranged in the vicinity of the partition plate 9 at the top of the first pallet 4.

  Next, the workpiece take-out device 7 is aligned with the height position of the partition plate 9 by the height follower 21 provided in the workpiece take-out device 7 (height follow step). The first pallet 4 has a difference in height dimension and width dimension of the pallet (including the partition plate 9) because there is a difference between glass makers and an error in processing dimensional accuracy. The variation in the height and width dimensions of the partition plate 9 becomes an obstacle to taking out the glass 3 with the handling robot 2 and hinders automation. Therefore, the actual height position and width position of the partition plate 9 for each pallet. The workpiece picking device 7 is aligned (copied) to cope with this variation.

  In the height copying step, the second cylinder 32 is operated to move the height copying means 21 to a position above the first arm 9A and the second arm 9B as shown in FIG. At this time, since the height tracing means 21 is provided with a plurality of contact members 31 in contact with the upper surfaces of the first arm 9A and the second arm 9B in the horizontal direction (width direction of the partition plate 9), the partition plate 9 The position in the width direction is different for each pallet, or the position in the width direction is different for each partition plate 9 arranged in an overlapping manner in the same pallet.

  Next, the first cylinder 29 is operated to lower the height copying means 21, and as shown in FIG. 14, the contact member 31 of the height copying means 21 is placed on the upper surfaces of the first arm 9A and the second arm 9B. Contact. 13 to 16 show only one arm (second arm 9B). At this time, since a plurality of contact members 31 are provided, any one of them contacts the upper surfaces of the first arm 9A and the second arm 9B. When the contact member 31 comes into contact with the upper surfaces of the first arm 9A and the second arm 9B, the height position of the partition plate 9 is taught to the handling robot 2, and the workpiece take-out device 7 is positioned at the height position. Matched (height follows).

  Next, the workpiece take-out device 7 is aligned with the position in the width direction of the partition plate 9 by the width-direction copying means 22 provided in the workpiece take-out device 7 (width-direction copying step). In the width direction copying step, the third cylinder 35 is operated to bring the width direction copying means 22 closer to the side surfaces of the first arm 9A and the second arm 9B of the partition plate 9, as shown in FIG. Then, the contact member 34 of the width direction copying means 22 is brought into contact with the side surfaces of the first arm 9A and the second arm 9B. When the contact member 34 comes into contact with the side surfaces of the first arm 9A and the second arm 9B, the position in the width direction of the partition plate 9 is taught to the handling robot 2, and the workpiece take-out device 7 is positioned at the position in the width direction. Are aligned (the width direction follows).

  In the state where the contact member 34 is in contact with the side surfaces of the first arm 9A and the second arm 9B, the flip-up member 20 is located below the first arm 9A and the second arm 9B as shown in FIG. The position is a position having a predetermined gap without contacting the lower surface of the arm. Then, the handling robot 2 jumps up the partition plate 9 from the state in which the contact member 34 of the width direction copying means 22 is disposed under the partition plate 9 in the first state which is in a substantially horizontal state (bounce up). Process).

  In the flip-up process, the workpiece take-out device 7 is rotated by the arc motion of the handling robot 2 to flip up the partition plate 9. When the workpiece take-out device 7 is rotated by the arc motion of the handling robot 2, the flip-up member 20 first comes into contact with the lower surfaces of the first arm 9A and the second arm 9B as shown in FIG. When the flip-up member 20 contacts the lower surfaces of the first arm 9A and the second arm 9B, the jump-up operation is temporarily stopped. Then, the second cylinder 32 is operated to retract the height copying means 21 from the upper position of the first arm 9A and the second arm 9B to the original position. Subsequently, the flip-up operation is resumed. Then, the partition plate 9 is lifted upward by the flip-up member 20 in contact with the lower surfaces of the first arm 9A and the second arm 9B.

  The partition plate 9 is rotated and flipped up as shown in FIGS. 5B and 17 from the first state shown in FIG. 5A as a substantially horizontal state with the rotation center shaft 10 as a fulcrum. At this time, the position holding determination shaft 11 is slidably engaged along the second cam groove 13 having an inverted L shape. Then, when the partition plate 9 is flipped up to the maximum extent (the state shown in FIG. 5B), the glass 3 placed under the jumped partition plate 9 can be taken out by the workpiece take-out device 7 (second state). State).

  When the partition plate 9 is in the second state, as shown in FIG. 18, the contact member 37 of the partition plate insertion means 23 contacts the space forming member 17 provided at the tips of the first arm 9A and the second arm 9B. . When the abutting member 37 comes into contact with the space forming member 17, this time, the handling robot 2 stops the flip-up operation and shifts to the partition plate insertion operation (partition plate insertion step).

  In the partition plate insertion step, when the handling robot 2 pushes the partition plate 9, the partition plate 9 is pushed in by the elastic force of the coil spring 38 from the second state shown in FIG. The rotation center shaft 10 inserted and engaged with each other and the position holding determining shaft 11 inserted and engaged with the second cam groove 13 slide along the respective cam grooves, and the first cam groove 12 and the second cam groove 13 thereof. It can be moved to the rearmost positioning and holding position. When the rotation center shaft 10 and the position holding determination shaft 11 are moved to the innermost positioning holding position of the first cam groove 12 and the second cam groove 13, the partition plate 9 is as shown in FIG. Locked to the second state, which is the flip-up state.

  In this partition plate insertion step, the contact portion of the contact member 37 that is brought into contact with the space forming member 17 is formed in a spherical shape in order to absorb variations in the insertion angle when the partition plate 9 is inserted. Since the partition plate 9 is pressed, the partition plate 9 having a different insertion angle can be prevented from being damaged by directly pushing the partition plate 9 with the handling robot 2.

  Then, after locking the partition plate 9 in the second state, the third cylinder 35 is operated to retract the width direction copying means 22 from the side surfaces of the first arm 9A and the second arm 9B to the original positions. The workpiece take-out device 7 is moved to the glass 3 disposed under the splashed partition plate 9. Next, the glass 3 is sucked and held by the suction pad 26 of the suction holding mechanism portion 19 provided in the workpiece take-out device 7, and then the glass 3 is taken out from the first pallet 4 by the handling robot 2.

  In the above-described embodiment, all the first pallets 4 are horizontally placed pallets. However, as shown in FIG. 20, the vertically placed pallet in which the glass 3 is placed vertically is replaced with a horizontally placed pallet. It may be arranged in the traveling direction of the handling robot 2 by exchanging with several of the first pallets 4. The vertical pallet 44 is provided with a glass placement support member 45 for arranging and supporting the glass 3 in a vertical position at the bottom of the pallet, and a glass support member 46 for maintaining the vertical placement state of the glass 3 at the pallet side part. Is provided. Further, the vertically placed pallet 44 is rotatably provided with a pressing member 47 that presses the upper edge 3a of the vertically placed glass 3 and presses the glass 3 against the glass arrangement support member 45.

  In order to take out the glass 3 from the vertical pallet 44, the glass pressing member 21 is not attached to the upper edge 3 a of the glass 3 without using the above-described height copying means 21, width direction copying means 22, flip-up means and partition plate insertion means 23. After the pad 64 of the means 61 is pressed to keep the glass 3 standing, the glass 3 is sucked by the suction pad 26 and taken out from the pallet. By doing in this way, falling of the glass 3 to the pallet depth direction can be prevented and the glass 3 can be reliably taken out from the pallet.

"Work loading method"
Next, a method for stacking the glass 3 taken out from the first pallet 4 by the work take-out device 7 on the second pallet 5 will be described.

  FIG. 21 to FIG. 27 show a series of steps of a work loading method for loading glass on the second pallet, and FIG. 21 shows a state in which the glass is loaded on the first loading portion of the second pallet by the work take-out device. FIG. 22 is a plan view showing the positional relationship between the second pallet and the workpiece removal device when glass is loaded on the first loading section of the second pallet, and FIG. 23 is the first loading of the second pallet. FIG. 24 is a plan view showing a state in which glass is stacked on the second stacking portion of the second pallet by the work take-out device, and FIG. 25 is a second stacking of the second pallet. FIG. 26 is a plan view showing a state in which glass has been loaded on both the first and second loading parts of the second pallet, and FIG. 27 is a second pallet. First loading section and Both 2 stacking portion is a diagram showing a state where finished loading the glass.

  As shown in FIG. 21, the glass 3 taken out from the first pallet 4 by the work take-out device 7 is transferred to the second pallet 5 by the handling robot 2 that is movable on the rail 1. It is moved to the transfer position.

  On the other hand, the second pallet 5 automatically travels by the AGV 54 that is travel-controlled by the control unit, and the second pallet 5 of the first pallet 4 is along the second pallet travel axis directed in a direction substantially orthogonal to the robot travel axis. Move to the side of pallet placement area A. At this time, as shown in FIG. 21, the second pallet 5 is between the handling robot 2 and the first pallet 4J (the pallet 4J on the near side closest to the workpiece transfer position) facing the handling robot 2. In addition, the second pallet 5 is stopped at an offset position in front of the traveling direction of the second pallet 5 from the intersection position of the robot traveling axis and the second pallet traveling axis. Hereinafter, the stop position of the second pallet 5 is referred to as a first stop position.

  In order to stop the second pallet 5 at the first stop position, the second pallet 5 is stopped by the pallet stop device 66 placed on the travel path of the second pallet 5. The pallet stop device 66 is driven and controlled by the control unit, and stops the second pallet 5 by projecting a stop pin 67 that can be moved in and out to contact the front end in the traveling direction of the second pallet 5. . When the second pallet 5 is caused to travel, the stop pin 67 is retracted.

  When the second pallet 5 is stopped at the first stop position, the second pallet 5 is offset to the opposite side of the traveling direction from the intersection of the traveling axis of the robot and the traveling axis of the second pallet 5. The space (space) increases ahead by the amount offset. Using the increased space, the glass 3 is stacked on the first stacking portion 56 of the second pallet 5 from the side opposite to the offset side of the second pallet 5 (front where the space has increased).

  When the work picking device 7 attached to the wrist portion 6 of the handling robot 2 is moved to the first stacking portion 56 of the second pallet 5, there is sufficient space, so that the handling robot 2 or the work picking device 7 Accidents such as contact with the phototube column 101 can be avoided in advance.

  When the workpiece take-out device 7 places the glass 3 sucked and held by the suction pad 26 on the first stacking portion 56 of the second pallet 5, as shown in FIG. 19 enters a glass placing portion 55 between a pair of work support members 50, 50, and a flip-up mechanism portion having a flip-up member 20, a height copying means 21, a width direction copying means 22, and a partition plate insertion The means 23 enters between the glass placing portion 55 and the outer frame of the second pallet 5, and the glass pressing means 61 is positioned outside the outer frame of the second pallet 5.

  If the positional relationship between the workpiece pick-up device 7 and the second pallet 5 is the dimensional relationship as described above, it is possible to prevent the glass 3 from coming into contact with each other when the glass 3 is loaded on the first stacking unit 56. In addition, by doing so, the workpiece take-out device 7 is also compact.

  As illustrated in FIG. 23, the glass 3 is stacked in order from the bottom of the first stacking unit 56. When all the glasses 3 are stacked on the first stacking unit 56 (10 sheets in the present embodiment), the AVG 54 automatically travels based on a command from the control unit, and as shown in FIG. Is moved forward to stop at an offset position opposite to the first stop position (this position is referred to as a second stop position). In order to stop the second pallet 5 at the second stop position, the pallet stop device 66 described above is used.

  At the second stop position, like the first stop position, the second pallet 5 is offset forward from the intersection of the travel axis of the handling robot 2 and the travel axis of the second pallet 5 and thus forward. The space (space) increases backward by the offset amount. Using the increased space, the glass 3 is stacked on the second stacking portion 57 of the second pallet 5 from the side opposite to the offset side of the second pallet 5 (the rear side where the space has increased). When the glass 3 is placed on the second stacking portion 57, the positional relationship between the workpiece pick-up device 7 and the second pallet 5 is the positional relationship shown in FIG. 22, and therefore the handling robot 2 or the workpiece pick-up device 7 and the phototube. Contact with the pillar 101 is avoided.

  FIG. 25 shows a state in which several glasses 3 are stacked on the second stacking unit 57. When all (10 sheets) of the glass 3 are loaded on the second stacking unit 57, the AGV 54 automatically travels based on a command from the control unit, and further forwards the second pallet as shown in FIG. 5 is moved and stopped on the same row as the first pallet 4 in the upper row in FIG. The stop position of the second pallet 5 is defined as a third stop position. FIG. 27 shows a state in which the glass 3 is loaded on all of the first stacking unit 56 and the second stacking unit 57 of the second pallet 5 stopped at the third stop position.

  The second pallet 5 stopped at the third stop position is moved to the automobile assembly line in which the glass 3 is assembled to the vehicle body by the AGV 54. Next, the empty second pallet 5 on which the glass 3 is not loaded is moved to the first stop position. Thereafter, the above-described operation is repeated, and the glass 3 is stacked on both the first stacking unit 56 and the second stacking unit 57 by the handling robot 2 having the work picking device 7 attached to the wrist portion 6.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the positional relationship between the workpiece picking device 7 and the second pallet 5 is determined based on the suction holding mechanism (work holding means) 19 between the pair of workpiece support members 50 and 50. , The flip-up mechanism portion enters between the glass placement portion 55 and the outer frame 52 of the second pallet 5, and the work pressing means 61 is positioned outside the outer frame 52. Thus, there is no interference between the work picking device 7 and the second pallet 5, and there is no need to prepare a plurality of types of work picking devices due to dimensional variations of the pallet. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to load a work on a pallet having a dimensional variation with one kind of work picking device 7.

  Although specific embodiments to which the present invention is applied have been described above, the above-described embodiments are examples of the present invention and are not limited to these embodiments.

It is a layout view (layout diagram) of a glass transfer system that takes out the glass placed on the first pallet with a work take-out device and transfers it to the second pallet. It is a perspective view of a 1st pallet. It is a front view of the 1st pallet in the state where the partition plate and the glass were alternately stacked. FIG. 4 is a side view of FIG. 3. It is a figure which shows the raising operation of a partition plate. The 2nd pallet is shown, (A) is a front view of the 2nd pallet, (B) is a top view of the 2nd pallet, and (C) is a right view of the 2nd pallet. It is a left view of a 2nd pallet. It is a perspective view of a workpiece removal apparatus. It is a front view of a workpiece removal apparatus. It is a top view of a workpiece taking-out apparatus. It is a side view of a workpiece removal apparatus. It is a general view which shows the process of making a workpiece taking-out apparatus approach a teaching position with a handling robot. It is a principal part enlarged view which shows the process of approaching a workpiece taking-out apparatus to a teaching position with a handling robot. It is a principal part enlarged view which shows a height copying process. It is a principal part enlarged view which shows the width copying process. It is a principal part enlarged view which shows the flip-up process. It is a general view which shows the process of positioning and holding a partition plate in a 2nd state. It is a principal part enlarged view which shows the process of positioning and holding a partition plate in a 2nd state. It is a general view which shows the process of taking out glass, after flipping up a partition plate. The pallet which arrange | positions glass vertically is shown, (A) is the top view, (B) is the front view. It is a top view which shows the state which mounts glass on the 1st stacking part of a 2nd pallet with a workpiece taking-out apparatus. It is a top view which shows the positional relationship of a 2nd pallet and a workpiece taking-out apparatus when glass is loaded on the 1st loading part of a 2nd pallet. It is a figure showing the state where glass was loaded on the 1st loading part of the 2nd pallet. It is a top view which shows the state which glass is loaded on the 2nd loading part of a 2nd pallet with a workpiece taking-out apparatus. It is a figure which shows the state which loaded the glass on the 2nd loading part of the 2nd pallet. It is a top view which shows the state which finished loading glass on both the 1st loading part and the 2nd loading part of the 2nd pallet. It is a figure which shows the state which finished loading glass on both the 1st loading part and the 2nd loading part of a 2nd pallet.

Explanation of symbols

2 ... Handling robot (robot)
3 ... Glass 3
4 (4A-4J) ... 1st pallet 5 ... 2nd pallet 6 ... wrist part (wrist part of handling robot)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 7 ... Work pick-up apparatus 9 ... Partition plate 19 ... Adsorption holding mechanism part 20 ... Bounce-up member (bounce-up means)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 21 ... Height copying means 22 ... Width direction copying means 23 ... Partition plate insertion means 26 ... Suction pad 50 ... Work support member 52 ... Outer frame (outer frame of second pallet)
53 ... chassis (2nd pallet chassis)
54 ... AGV
55 ... Glass placing part (glass placing part of second pallet)
56... First loading section (first loading section of the second pallet)
57 ... 2nd loading part (2nd loading part of the 2nd pallet)
61 ... Glass holding means 101 ... Photoelectric tube column (phototube column surrounding the pallet arrangement area)
A ... Glass placement area

Claims (2)

A workpiece placed on a partition plate and placed on a first pallet of a flat placement type in which the partition plates and the workpiece are alternately stacked, or a vertical placement type in which the workpieces are arranged vertically. The workpiece is taken out by a workpiece take-out device attached to the wrist portion of the robot, and the taken-out workpiece is placed flat on a set of workpiece support members arranged on the side of the arrangement area of the first pallet. It is a work loading method that moves to the pallet and loads sequentially.
When the work taken out from the first pallet is loaded on the second pallet, the work holding means provided in the work take-out device enters the glass placing portion between the pair of work support members. A flip-up mechanism portion that flips up the partition plate provided in the workpiece take-out device enters between the glass placing portion and the outer frame of the second pallet, and further, a vertically placed first pallet A work loading method, characterized in that a work holding means for holding a work when the work is taken out of the second pallet is located outside the outer frame of the second pallet. A workpiece placed on a partition plate and placed on a first pallet of a flat placement type in which the partition plates and the workpiece are alternately stacked, or a vertical placement type in which the workpieces are arranged vertically. A work picking device comprising: a work holding means for sucking and holding; a flip-up mechanism section for flipping up a partition plate; and a work pressing means for pressing the work when picking up the work from the first vertical pallet. ,
When the work taken out from the first pallet is loaded on the second pallet, the work holding means enters the glass placing portion between a set of work support members constituting the second pallet, and The flip-up mechanism section enters between the glass placing section and the outer frame of the second pallet, and the work pressing means is configured to be positioned outside the outer frame of the second pallet. A workpiece picking device.

Images