JP2008517783A - Workstation assembly and corresponding modular workstation - Google Patents

Abstract

  The present invention relates to an assembly comprising at least one lower workstation 1 and one upper workstation that are placed one on top of the other, the lower workstation comprising a lower and upper platforms 3, 4. The lower and upper platforms 3, 4 are connected to each other by at least one spacer element 5 and have an upper surface 6 and a lower surface 9, respectively. Each having at least one robot 7 fixed to the lower surface, the upper workstation has a robot holding structure including at least one lower platform, and at least one robot is fixed on the upper surface of the lower platform. At least one of the workstations It is associated with means for conveying the workpieces between work stations. The present invention also provides a modular workstation for implementing such an assembly.

Description

  The present invention relates to an assembly of modular modular workstations that are suitable for use, for example, in a workplace or line that manufactures the body of an automobile and a corresponding modular workstation.

  In order to install a line that uses a robot to manufacture the body of an automobile, generally in accordance with a blueprint provided by the designer of the production line, along with means for fixing the robot and various types of processing tools, It is necessary to provide a concrete slab in which electrical cable and pressurized fluid duct passages are formed.

  The site installation conditions are not always good, which results in a relatively long installation time and the risk of errors in the positioning of the robot and cable passage or fluid duct outlets on site. It will be.

  In addition, the installation of a production line may interfere with an adjacent production line.

  Furthermore, this type of installation requires a large floor area.

  Also, European Patent Application No. 0266605 discloses a robot apparatus having a structure that extends on a first manipulator and holds a second manipulator. Each of the two manipulators has a limited number of degrees of freedom, but with this arrangement, the robotic device can serve as a substitute for a robot with multiple degrees of freedom. However, such a configuration cannot reduce the floor area occupied by the production line, nor can it simply pass cables and other ducts.

  An object of the present invention is to provide means for realizing a reliable and quick installation of a robot while occupying a relatively small space.

  To this end, the present invention provides an assembly comprising at least one lower workstation and one upper workstation overlaid, the lower workstation comprising a robot holding constructed from a lower and an upper platform. The lower and upper platforms are connected to each other by at least one spacer element and have an upper surface and a lower surface, respectively, and the upper and lower surfaces are fixed to the upper and lower surfaces, respectively. Each having a robot, the upper workstation has a robot holding structure including at least one lower platform, the at least one robot being fixed on the upper surface of the lower platform, and at least one of the workstations One is a workstation It tied with means for conveying the workpieces between the emissions.

  As a result, it is possible to construct a production line that occupies a small floor area while simplifying the energy distribution network that can pass through the structure of these workstations.

  The present invention also provides a modular workstation for implementing such an assembly. The modular workstation includes a robot holding structure having a lower and an upper platform, the lower and upper platforms being interconnected by at least one spacer element and having an upper surface and a lower surface, respectively, Each of the lower surfaces has at least one robot secured to the upper and lower surfaces.

  As a result, the workstation can be manufactured and installed at the supplier's premises, then supplied to the customer in an already assembled state, where it can be installed relatively quickly. In addition, the workstation has a small size because of its structure in the form of an overlaid platform, so that it can be installed on a limited floor area and easier to transport. To do.

  Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent by reference to the following description of certain non-limiting embodiments of the invention.

  Reference is made to the accompanying drawings.

  The invention will be described in the following in the context of building a production line for automotive body parts. Of course, the present invention is not limited to such applications and can be used to build an assembly line for assembling a vehicle or vehicle parts or for other industrial manufactured articles.

  The workstation according to the invention is given the reference numeral 1 as a whole in FIGS.

  The workstation 1 is generally provided with a holding structure denoted by reference numeral 2, which has a lower platform 3 and an upper platform 4, the lower and upper platforms 3 and 4 being It has columns 5 which extend between them to form spacer elements separating the lower and upper platforms 3 and 4. The lower platform 3 has an upper surface 6 to which a handling robot 7 and a processing tool symbolically indicated by reference numeral 8 are fixed. The upper platform 4 has a lower surface 9, which has a handling robot 10 fixed thereto and a processing tool symbolically indicated by reference numeral 11. The processing tools 8 and 11 are known per se and may include processing tools such as polishing, adhesion, and welding. The handling robots 7 and 10 are of the conventional type. In this case, these are 6-axis robots each having a hand provided with gripping means for gripping the workpiece.

  In this example, the platforms 3 and 4 are rectangular in shape and have the same dimensions. The workstation 1 is open on all four sides 12, 13, 14, and 15. Side 15 forms the inlet side for the workpiece. Side 12 forms the exit side for the workpiece. A maintenance technician can access the workstation via the side 13 and install a new device or a new robot into the workstation. The side 14 has a staircase 16 that is fixed to itself, thereby allowing access to the upper platform 4.

  FIG. 2 shows a production line comprising two workstations 1 arranged side by side and respectively identified by the letters a and b.

  Each workpiece (not shown) is extracted from the conveyor 17 by the handling robot 7a, and the handling robot 7a supplies the workpiece to the processing tool 8a. The workpiece is acquired by the handling robot 10a, and the handling robot 10a unloads the workpiece through the outlet side portion 12a and delivers it to the handling robot 7b at the inlet side portion 11b of the workstation 1b. The handling robot 7b supplies the workpiece to the processing tool 8b, where the workpiece is acquired by the handling robot 10b, and the handling robot 10b unloads the workpiece to be processed through the outlet side portion 12b. And placed on the conveyor 18. The conveyors 17 and 18 are known per se.

  FIG. 3 shows a stack of workstations 1a, 1b, where workstation 1a is a lower workstation and workstation 1b is an upper workstation. It should be understood that workstation 1a is sized to support workstation 1b and is configured to allow workstation 1b to be secured thereto. Platforms 4b and 3a are secured to each other by conventional means. The workpiece is transferred from the outlet side portion 12a of the workstation 1a to the inlet side portion 15b of the workstation 1b by the handling robot 10a that delivers the workpiece to the handling robot 7b. The workpiece is unloaded from the workstation 1b by a handling robot 10b that places the workpiece on a conventional suspension conveyor 19.

  By arranging such a stack of workstations side by side, a production line extending both vertically and horizontally can be formed.

  FIG. 4 shows a modification of the above-described stacked body.

  In this variant, the workstation, generally given reference numeral 21, extends below the workstation, generally given reference numeral 51, and has a lower part separated by pillars 25 and A holding structure 22 composed of upper platforms 23, 24 is included.

  The platform 23 has an upper surface 26, and a handling robot 27 is fixed on the upper surface 26 together with a processing tool 28.

  The upper platform 24 has a lower surface 29 to which the handling robot 30 is fixed together with the processing tool 31. In this case, the processing tools 28 and 31 are each composed of an adhesive gun and a spot welder.

  Both the entrance and exit of the workstation 21 are provided on the same side 32 thereof.

  The upper platform 24 includes an upper surface 33, and the upper surface 33 includes means for fixing a column 34 that supports the upper platform 35. These fixing means can be composed of, for example, screw holes formed in the upper platform 24 from the upper surface 33 and centering studs or fixing flanges fixed to the upper surface 33 of the upper platform 24.

  The upper surface 33 of the upper platform 24 of the workstation 21 also holds a handling robot 36, a welding robot 37, and a processing tool 38 and a processing tool 39 such as a table and a hole puncher, respectively. The upper platform 35 has a lower surface 40, and the lower surface 40 has a handling robot 41 fixed thereto. The upper platform 35 also has an upper surface 42, and the upper surface 42 includes a handling robot 43 and other handling robots 45 fixed to the upper platform 42 together with a processing tool 44 such as a spot welder. It should be understood that the elements given reference numerals 33-45 form a workstation 51, and the lower platform of the workstation 51 is composed of the upper platform 24 of the workstation 21.

  The production line thus constructed further includes a workpiece supply conveyor 46 and a suspension conveyor 47 for removing the workpiece. The production line also includes an elevator 48 that extends along one of the sides of the workstation 21 that is remote from the side 32.

  Hereinafter, the operation of this production line will be described.

  Each workpiece is extracted from the conveyor 46 by the handling robot 27, and the handling robot 27 supplies the workpiece to the processing tool 28 and then to the handling robot 30. The handling robot 30 receives the workpiece and conveys it to the processing tool 31. When the processing tool 31 completes its work, the handling robot 30 unloads the workpiece from the workstation 21 via the side portion 32, and as a result, the workpiece is received by the handling robot 36. The handling robot 36 places the workpiece on the processing tool 38 so that the workpiece can be welded by the welding robot 37. Thereafter, the handling robot 36 carries the workpiece out of the workstation 51 in order to deliver the workpiece to the handling robot 43. The handling robot 43 delivers the workpiece to the processing tool 44. Next, the handling robot 45 obtains the workpiece and passes it to the handling robot 41, which hangs the workpiece from the conveyor 47 or places it in the processing tool 39 before placing it on the elevator 48. Deploy.

  Of course, the production line configuration described above is not optimized and serves only to facilitate an understanding of the present invention.

  The number and type of robots and the number and type of processing tools mounted on the workstation can be changed according to the process to be executed.

  Naturally, the invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but variations can be applied without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. .

  In particular, the platforms can have different shapes and dimensions and / or different shapes and dimensions than those shown.

  It would also be possible for an intermediate platform to extend between the upper and lower platforms.

  The height of the pillar may be adjustable.

  Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the upper workstation can be realized simply by fixing the robot and possibly the processing tool on the upper surface of the upper platform of the workstation 1 forming the lower workstation. This robot can function as a means for transporting workpieces from the lower workstation to the upper workstation, or a dedicated transport means can be installed on one of these workstations It is.

1 is a schematic perspective view of a workstation according to the present invention. It is a schematic front view of the workstation in a production line. It is a schematic front view of the laminated body of the workstation of this invention. It is a figure similar to FIG. 3 which shows the stacked body of the workstation in one modification of this invention.

Claims (13)

An assembly comprising at least one lower workstation (1, 21) and one upper workstation (51) stacked;
The lower workstation includes a robot holding structure (2, 22) composed of a lower and upper platform (3, 4; 23, 24; 24, 35), and the lower and upper platforms (3, 4; 23, 24; 24, 35) are connected to each other by at least one spacer element (5; 25; 34) and have an upper surface (6; 26; 33) and a lower surface (9; 29; 40) respectively. The upper surface (6; 26; 33) and the lower surface (9; 29; 40) have at least one robot (7, 10; 27, 30; 36, 37, 41) fixed to the upper and lower surfaces. Each with
The upper workstation has a robot holding structure including at least one lower platform (34), and at least one robot (37) is fixed on an upper surface (33) of the lower platform;
An assembly wherein at least one of the workstations is associated with means (48) for transporting workpieces between the workstations.   The assembly according to claim 1, wherein the lower platform of the upper workstation (51) and the upper platform of the lower workstation (21) are formed by a single platform (24).   The retaining structure of the upper workstation (51) includes an upper platform (35), which is connected to the lower platform (24) via at least one spacer element (34). The assembly according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising at least one robot (41) secured to the lower surface (40) of the upper platform. Modular workstation (1, 21, 51) for realizing the assembly according to any one of claims 1-3,
Comprising a robot holding structure (2, 22) comprising a lower and upper platform (3,4; 23, 24; 24, 35);
The lower and upper platforms (3, 4; 23, 24; 24, 35) are connected to each other by at least one spacer element (5, 25; 34), and the upper (6; 26; 33) and lower ( 9; 29; 40), respectively, and each of the upper surface (6; 26; 33) and the lower surface (9; 29; 40) is fixed to the upper and lower surfaces (7, 10; 27, 30; 36, 37, 41), modular workstation (1, 21, 51).   5. A workstation according to claim 4, characterized in that it includes a side inlet (15) for the workpiece to be processed.   6. A workstation according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that it includes a side outlet (12) for the workpiece to be processed.   5. A workstation according to claim 4, characterized in that it is configured to support the same type of workstation (16).   Said upper platform (24) has an upper surface (33) comprising means for securing at least one robot (36, 37) and at least one spacer element (34) supporting the upper platform (35). The workstation according to claim 4, wherein:   9. A workstation according to claim 7 or 8, further comprising conveying means (48) for conveying the workpiece between the workstations.   10. The workstation according to claim 9, wherein the transport means is the robot (7) fixed under the upper platform (4) of the lower workstation (1).   10. A workstation according to claim 9, wherein the conveying means is an elevator (48) extending along a side of the lower workstation (21).   5. A workstation as claimed in claim 4, characterized in that it is provided on the side with access means (16) for providing access to the upper platform.   The workstation according to claim 4, characterized in that the upper platform (24) has an upper surface (33) to which at least one robot (36, 37) is fixed.

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