JP2009192201A - Production apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a small and low cost production apparatus capable of carrying out clean work even if a workpiece such as an unclean component is inputted. <P>SOLUTION: The production apparatus 1 is provided with a first chamber 2 having a cover 8 for carrying out clean work with respect to the workpiece W, and a second chamber 3 provided apart from the first chamber 2 by a trestle 4 for feeding the workpiece W to the first chamber 2 and carrying it out from a communication opening 4A. The apparatus is equipped with: a robot 6 installed in the first chamber 2 and carrying out work with respect to the workpiece W; a clean unit 9 attached to the first chamber 2 and supplying clean air into the first chamber 2; washing units 11A, 11B provided in the second chamber 3 for washing the workpiece W; and a conveyance mechanism provided in the second chamber 3 and moving the workpiece W between the first chamber 2 and the second chamber 3 through the communication opening 4A. The clean unit 9 is attached so that at least one part of the supplied clean air flows toward the conveyance mechanism through the communication opening 4A. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a production apparatus for performing operations on parts and the like in a clean environment.

  In order to maintain product quality such as preventing foreign matter from adhering to members and preventing foreign matter from entering the product, the production equipment may be operated in a clean environment to produce the product. At this time, making the entire room in which the production apparatus is installed a clean environment has many harmful effects in terms of space and cost, and is also harmful from the viewpoint of the worker's working environment. Therefore, production is often performed by locally cleaning around the production apparatus without cleaning the entire room.

  When assembling in a locally cleaned production device, it is necessary to supply cleaned parts (parts) in order to maintain a clean environment, but in order to supply parts while maintaining the state after cleaning. It must be carried in a sealed and clean container and passed through a clean processing chamber.

For example, in the apparatus described in Patent Document 1, the processing chambers for performing each process are connected in series in a clean state. The cleaned parts are then supplied to the processing chambers only for supply so as not to affect the downstream processing chamber, and are sequentially transported to the processing chambers, and are taken out of the processing chambers only for unloading. It is.
JP 2003-302083 A

  However, in the apparatus described in Patent Document 1, in order to maintain the environment in the local clean area and maintain the quality of the product, it is only for supplying the cleaned parts that are the contact points with the outside environment and for carrying out the product. It is necessary to install a clean processing chamber independently, and there is a problem that there is a lot of waste in terms of space, cost, and environment.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a production apparatus that can be configured in a small size and at a low cost and can perform a clean operation even when a work such as an unclean part is introduced. To do.

  The present invention is provided with a first chamber that is shielded from outside air by a cover and performs a clean operation on a workpiece, and is partitioned from the first chamber by a partition wall, and the first chamber and the second chamber are provided. A production apparatus having a second chamber for supplying and unloading the workpiece to and from the first chamber through a communication port to be communicated, the robot being installed in the first chamber and performing work on the workpiece; A clean unit attached to the first chamber for supplying clean air into the first chamber, a cleaning unit for cleaning the workpiece provided in the second chamber, and provided in the second chamber. A transfer mechanism that moves the workpiece between the first chamber and the second chamber through the communication port, and the clean unit is configured so that at least part of the supplied clean air is supplied with the communication. Through the mouth Characterized in that it flows toward the mechanism.

  In the present invention, the “workpiece” includes a single part and a product or semi-finished product in which a plurality of parts are combined.

  According to the production apparatus of the present invention, the workpiece supplied into the second chamber is cleaned by the cleaning unit, and is moved to the first chamber by the transport mechanism while being applied with clean air supplied from the clean unit.

  The second chamber may be provided below the first chamber, and the air flowing from the clean unit toward the transport mechanism may be a downflow. In this case, the vaporized substance of the cleaning liquid used in the cleaning unit is discharged out of the apparatus by downflow, and the cleanliness of the first chamber can be maintained better.

  In the cleaning unit, a plurality of cleaning units capable of cleaning the workpiece independently of each other may be arranged to face the transport mechanism. In this case, the workpiece can be transported to the first chamber more efficiently.

  According to the production apparatus of the present invention, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and a production apparatus that can be configured in a small size and at low cost and can perform a clean operation even when an unclean work is introduced. Can be provided.

A production apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a production apparatus 1 according to this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the production apparatus 1 includes an upper first chamber 2, a lower second chamber 3 partitioned from the first chamber 2 by a flat frame (partition) 4, and the entire production apparatus 1. And a control unit 5 that performs operation control.

  The first chamber 2 is an area for performing various operations such as assembly and soldering on the workpiece W in a clean environment. The robot 6 for carrying the workpiece W and performing operations on the workpiece W and the above various operations. A plurality of work units 7 on which necessary mechanisms are mounted are all provided on the gantry 4.

  The robot 6 has a known configuration and has an articulated work arm 6A. A work hand 6B for transporting the workpiece W is detachably attached to the tip of the work arm 6A. A plurality of work hands 6B having different shapes are prepared (not shown), and can be exchanged according to the work content of the work W.

The work unit 7 has a connection portion such as a connector (not shown) and is connected to the control portion 5 through the connection portion, thereby automatically performing a predetermined work on the workpiece W. The connecting portion is configured to be detachable, and the work unit 7 on the gantry 4 can be exchanged according to the work to be performed.
In FIG. 1, the work units 7 on the gantry 4 actually have different shapes, but all are simplified in the same shape for easy understanding of the description.

  A space on the gantry 4 where the robot 6 and the work unit 7 are installed is covered with a cover 8. That is, the first chamber 2 that is shielded from the outside air is formed by the cover 8, the gantry 4, and the control unit 5 on the back side. As a material of the cover 8, resin, glass, or the like can be used, and a transparent one is more preferable because the inside of the first chamber 2 can be visually recognized.

  A known clean unit 9 is attached to the cover 8, and clean air is supplied into the first chamber 2 to keep the first chamber 2 in a clean environment. Part of the clean air supplied from the clean unit 9 flows into a transfer path that is a transfer path of the transfer mechanism 10 described later, and the rest is discharged outside the first chamber 2 through an exhaust port (not shown).

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the interior of the second chamber 3 in a broken state, and FIG. 3 is a horizontal sectional view of the second chamber 3 at the height of the cleaning unit described later. As shown in FIG. 2, in the second chamber 3, the transfer mechanism 10 for exchanging the workpiece W with the first chamber 2, and the workpiece W is cleaned before being transferred to the transfer mechanism 10. Cleaning units (cleaning units) 11A and 11B and processing units 12A and 12B that perform pre-processing on the workpiece W before cleaning are provided.

  The transport mechanism 10 includes a stage 13 on which the workpiece W is placed and a drive source such as a motor (not shown), and is connected to the control unit 5. The transfer mechanism 10 moves up and down substantially vertically with respect to the gantry 4 to transfer the workpiece W between the first chamber 2 and the second chamber 3.

As shown in FIG. 1, the transport mechanism 10 is installed so as to be positioned at a communication port 4 </ b> A provided in the gantry 4 near the robot 6 when the stage 13 is at the same height as the gantry 4. And the conveyance path | route in which the conveyance mechanism 10 exchanges the workpiece | work W between the 1st chamber 2 and the 2nd chamber 3 by the side wall 19 (refer FIG. 3) provided so that the circumference | surroundings of the conveyance mechanism 10 might be enclosed, It is formed substantially vertically downward from the communication port 4A on the gantry 4.
The clean unit 9 is attached above the stage 13 so that clean air from the clean unit 9 flows down into the transport path.
In each drawing excluding FIG. 3, the side wall 19 is not shown in order to make the drawing easy to see.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the cleaning units 11 </ b> A and 11 </ b> B are installed in the second chamber 3 so as to face the transport mechanism 10 and the transport path. The cleaning units 11A and 11B have a connection portion (both not shown) for connection to the cleaning mechanism and the control unit 5, and are configured to be able to perform work cleaning work independently of each other. Then, under the control of the control unit 5, the workpieces W respectively sent from the processing units 12 </ b> A and 12 </ b> B are cleaned using a cleaning liquid such as a solvent so that a clean work can be performed. The cleaned workpiece W is moved onto the stage 13 of the transport mechanism 10 through a hole (not shown) provided in the side wall 19 by a moving mechanism 14 such as a belt conveyor.

  The cleaning units 11A and 11B may be the same, or may have different cleaning mechanisms and cleaning liquids and correspond to different works. Moreover, it is good also as a structure which can replace | exchange a washing | cleaning unit according to a workpiece | work by making the connection part of each washing | cleaning unit a detachable structure, such as a connector.

The processing units 12A and 12B have the same connecting portions as a pre-processing processing mechanism and a cleaning unit (not shown), and are connected to the control unit 5 and controlled by the control unit 5, Predetermined pre-processing. The workpiece W after completion of the pre-processing is sent to the cleaning units 11A and 11B by a moving mechanism (not shown).
The processing units 12A and 12B may be the same as the cleaning units 11A and 11B, or may have different configurations and perform different pre-processing, or may have a replaceable configuration.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the first door 15 and the second door 16 for loading the workpiece W and the workpiece W after the work in the first chamber 2 is carried out are carried to the outer wall of the second chamber 3. A work carry-out port 17 is provided.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the first doors 15 provided at two locations are provided at positions where the processing units 12A and 12B can be accessed, respectively, and are used when a work that requires pre-processing before cleaning is loaded. It is done. Similarly, the second door 16 is provided in a passage connected to each of the cleaning units 11A and 11B, and is used when a workpiece that does not require pre-processing is loaded. When the processing unit and the cleaning unit are configured to be replaceable, the units may be inserted from the first door 15 and the second door 16 and installed in the second chamber 3, respectively.

The workpiece unloading port 17 is provided at a height different from that of the processing units 12A and 12B and the cleaning units 12A and 12B, and is closed by the third door 18 except when the workpiece W is unloaded. The work W after the completion of the work in the first chamber 2 is carried to the same height as the carry-out port 17 by the transport mechanism 10 and passes through a hole (not shown) provided in the side wall 19 by a moving mechanism (not shown). It is moved to 17 and carried out of the production apparatus 1.
In addition, it replaces with attaching the 3rd door 18, and the workpiece input part and the workpiece carry-out port 17 of the other production apparatus which perform the operation | work of a next process may be directly connected.

  The control unit 5 stores production programs for a plurality of types of products and parts. The control unit 5 is connected to an input unit (not shown) for inputting various types of information such as the type of work and the work content instructed by the user to the control unit 5. As shown in FIG. 1, the control unit 5 may be integrated into the production apparatus 1 or may be stored in an external device such as a personal computer connected to the production apparatus 1.

The operation at the time of using the production apparatus 1 configured as described above will be described below.
First, the user installs the work unit 7 corresponding to the work on the gantry 4 in the first chamber 2 and connects to the control unit 5 through the connection unit. Similarly, the cleaning units 11A and 11B and the processing units 12A and 12B are also appropriately selected and installed in the second chamber 3, and connected to the control unit 5 through the connection unit.

  When the connection is completed, the user activates the production apparatus 1. The clean unit 9 operates to clean the air in the first chamber 2 and prepare for work. The clean unit 9 continues to operate during work on the workpiece W and maintains a clean environment. A part of the downflow supplied downward from the clean unit 9 flows directly toward the stage 13 of the transport mechanism 10 and also flows into the second chamber 3 along the transport path.

  In parallel, the control unit 5 recognizes the types and positions of the connected work unit 7, cleaning units 11A and 11B, and processing units 12A and 12B. The user inputs various information necessary for work such as the order of steps performed using each unit to the control unit 5 via an input unit (not shown).

After inputting various information, the user inputs the workpiece W from the first door 15 or the second door 16 into the processing units 12A and 12B or the cleaning units 11A and 11B. Which of the first door 15 and the second door 16 is to be inserted and which of the two doors is to be inserted are appropriately selected depending on the presence or absence of the pre-processing, the content of the pre-processing, the cleaning method, and the like. .
Alternatively, by installing a processing unit or a cleaning unit containing the workpiece W in the second chamber 3, the installation of these units and the loading of the workpiece W may be performed at the same timing.

  The workpiece W input into the processing units 12A and 12B is subjected to predetermined pre-processing based on the control of the control unit 5 in the unit, and is sent to the adjacent cleaning units 11A and 11B by a moving mechanism (not shown).

  The workpiece W sent from the processing units 12A and 12B and the workpiece W directly fed to the cleaning units 11A and 11B are subjected to predetermined cleaning in the cleaning units 11A and 11B based on the control of the control unit 5. As a result, the clean environment in the first chamber 2 is clean enough not to be contaminated. Then, it is moved onto the stage 13 of the transport mechanism 10 by the moving mechanism 14 as shown in FIG.

  When the workpiece W is placed on the stage 13, the transport mechanism 10 moves upward under the control of the control unit 5, and the workpiece W moves toward the first chamber 2. During the movement, since the down flow from the clean unit 9 is constantly applied to the work W on the stage 13, even if the cleaning liquid or the like adhering in the cleaning unit remains on the surface of the work W, it is quickly dried. Further, the vaporized cleaning liquid and the like around the work W are prevented from flowing into the first chamber 2 by being downflowed by the downflow.

  As shown in FIG. 4, when the stage 13 on which the workpiece W is placed moves to the gantry 4, the robot 6 uses the work hand 6 </ b> B as shown in FIG. 1 under the control of the control unit 5. To grip the workpiece W. Then, based on the information input from the input unit, work in each process is performed on the work W using the work units 7 in a predetermined order while appropriately replacing the work hands 6B.

After the process in the first chamber is completed, the robot 6 grips the workpiece W and places it on the stage 13. The stage 13 is lowered to a height substantially equal to the workpiece carry-out port 17, and the workpiece W is moved by a moving mechanism (not shown) and carried out from the workpiece carry-out port 17.
Instead of this, an unloading container capable of maintaining an internal clean environment is installed near the third door 18, the moving mechanism moves the workpiece W into the unloading container, and the user opens the third door 18. The production apparatus 1 may be configured to take out the unloading container.

  When work is performed on a large number of workpieces W, the workpieces W are cleaned using the two cleaning units 11A and 11B, and the cleaned workpieces W are alternately moved to the transport mechanism 10 to perform the operations. You may go. In this way, the next workpiece W can be cleaned while a certain workpiece W is being worked in the first chamber 2, so that a larger number of workpieces can be worked more efficiently. Can do.

  According to the production apparatus 1 of this embodiment, when a workpiece W that is not in a clean state is input, the cleaning units 11A and 11B perform cleaning to such an extent that the clean environment in the first chamber 2 is not contaminated, and are supplied from the clean unit 9. While being subjected to a downflow of clean air, the transfer mechanism 10 moves the first chamber 2 into a clean environment. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a separate clean environment for loading and unloading workpieces, and a production apparatus that can perform clean work at low cost and in a small space can be configured.

  In addition, since the clean unit 9 is installed above the communication port 4A that is the opening of the transport path, clean air can flow down without providing a special mechanism for adjusting the air direction in the clean unit 9. And flows into the second chamber 3 from the communication port 4A. Therefore, it is possible to prevent dirt and the like in the second chamber 3 from entering the first chamber 2 with a simple configuration, and to keep the clean environment in the first chamber 2 well.

  Furthermore, since clean air supplied from the clean unit 9 flows into the first chamber 2 and the second chamber 3, the cleanliness management of the first chamber 2 and the second chamber 3 can be performed by one clean unit 9. it can. Therefore, the production apparatus 1 capable of performing a clean operation can be configured at a lower cost.

  Furthermore, since the processing units 12A and 12B for performing the pre-processing are arranged in the second chamber 3, pre-processing (for example, workpieces that cannot be performed in the first chamber 2 in order to affect the clean environment). Even workpiece W that requires grinding processing that generates dust when removing burrs from the edge, laser processing that generates gas when printing or engraving patterns on the workpiece, etc., is simply pre-processed Subsequently, cleaning is performed, and the product is sent to the first chamber in a state where it can be cleaned. Therefore, the production process can proceed smoothly.

  Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, an example in which an articulated robot is used as the robot 6 has been described. Xyz orthogonal robots may be used. The number of robots is not limited to one, and a plurality of robots may be used.

In the above-described embodiment, the example in which the clean unit 9 is attached above the communication port 4A where the transport path opens is described. However, the positional relationship between the clean unit 9 and the transport path is not limited to this. The transport path only needs to be positioned downstream of the flow of clean air supplied from the clean unit 9.
For example, if the production chamber has a first chamber and a second chamber that are partitioned by a partition wall and are arranged horizontally, and the end of the transport path is opened as a communication port in the partition wall, clean toward the communication port. As long as clean air from the unit flows in, the installation position of the clean unit is not particularly limited. In such a case, the installation position of the clean unit may be appropriately determined in consideration of the overall air circulation in the first chamber.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the example in which the cleaning unit is attached when the production apparatus is used has been described. However, when the cleaning method is not diverse, it is installed in the second chamber in a state of being connected to the control unit in advance. It may be in a so-called installation state.

It is a perspective view which shows the production apparatus of one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the production apparatus partially broken. It is a horizontal sectional view in the height of a washing unit of the 2nd chamber of the same production device. It is a figure which shows the production apparatus partially broken.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Production apparatus 2 1st chamber 3 2nd chamber 4 Stand (partition wall)
4A Communication port 6 Robot 8 Cover 9 Clean unit 10 Transport mechanism 11A, 11B Cleaning unit (cleaning unit)
W Work

Claims (3)

A first chamber that is shielded from outside air by a cover and performs a clean operation on a work, and a communication port that is provided to be separated from the first chamber by a partition and communicates the first chamber and the second chamber A production apparatus having a second chamber for feeding and unloading the workpiece from the first chamber,
A robot installed in the first chamber and performing work on the workpiece;
A clean unit attached to the first chamber for supplying clean air into the first chamber;
A cleaning unit provided in the second chamber for cleaning the workpiece;
A transport mechanism that is provided in the second chamber and moves the workpiece between the first chamber and the second chamber through the communication port;
With
The production apparatus, wherein the clean unit is attached so that at least a part of supplied clean air flows toward the transport mechanism through the communication port.   2. The production apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second chamber is provided below the first chamber, and air flowing from the clean unit toward the transfer mechanism is downflowed. .   The production apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of cleaning units capable of cleaning the workpiece independently of each other are disposed in the cleaning unit so as to face the transport mechanism. .

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