JP2011031377A - Method and apparatus for assembling onboard operation panel - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for assembling an onboard operation panel, which improves an assemblability of the panel by efficiently, quickly and accurately, carrying out automatic insertion of sliding shafts of a push switch into holes in the panel regardless of their head shapes. <P>SOLUTION: A plurality of sliding shafts are cut and sorted by a sliding shaft supply section 1, and are pressure fed to a sliding shaft insertion section 3 by a pressure feeder 2. The axles of the sliding shafts pressure-fed to the sliding shaft insertion section 3 are gripped by openable and closable chuck arms 24. While the sliding shafts are held vertically, the sliding shaft insertion section 3 is moved down to the position of an onboard operation panel 50. After the front ends of the sliding shafts are inserted into the holes of the panel 50, the sliding shafts are released from the holding of the chuck arms 24 through the opening of the arms 24, and the holding-released sliding shafts are inserted by pressure into the holes of the onboard operation panel 50. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for assembling an in-vehicle operation panel by automatically inserting a slide shaft into a hole formed in the in-vehicle operation panel and then assembling an operation knob on the head of the slide shaft.

  In-vehicle operation panels such as an air conditioner operation panel, an audio operation panel, and a car navigation operation panel are provided with a plurality of push switches, and each push switch includes a switch body disposed on a control board, an operation knob, A sliding shaft that connects the operation knob and the switch body is included (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

  In such a push switch, the sliding shaft passes through the hole of the operation panel, and one end of the sliding shaft inserted into the in-vehicle operation panel is connected to the switch body and exposed to the outside of the operation panel. An operation knob is assembled to the other end of the. Therefore, when the occupant presses the operation knob, the sliding shaft slides and the push switch is turned on.

  By the way, when assembling the in-vehicle operation panel, as shown in FIG. 10, the operator manually inserts the slide shaft 110 of the push switch into the plurality of holes 151 formed in the in-vehicle operation panel 150 one by one. Was. As described above, it is inefficient and requires a long time for the operator to manually insert the slide shafts 110 one by one into a large number (for example, 8 to 16) holes 151 formed in the vehicle-mounted operation panel 150. There was a problem. Further, because of manual operation, there is a possibility that the insertion of the sliding shaft 110 may be forgotten, or a different type of sliding shaft 110 having a different length or thickness may be erroneously inserted.

  Therefore, the applicant of the present invention can improve the assemblability of the in-vehicle operation panel by automatically inserting the sliding shaft of the push switch into the hole of the in-vehicle operation panel efficiently and in a short time. An operation panel assembling method and an assembling apparatus have been proposed previously (in Japanese Patent Application No. 2008-242720).

  In the assembly method and the assembly apparatus, the plurality of slide shafts cut and distributed by the slide shaft supply unit are pumped to the slide shaft insertion unit by the pumping unit, and the slides fed to the slide shaft insertion unit are pumped. With the moving shaft held in the first position, the sliding shaft insertion portion is lowered to the position of the in-vehicle operation panel and the tip of the sliding shaft is inserted into the hole of the in-vehicle operation panel. Is moved in the horizontal direction, the sliding shaft is positioned at the second position of the sliding shaft insertion portion to release the holding of the sliding shaft, and the holding of the sliding shaft is released by pressure. It is inserted into the hole of the on-vehicle operation panel. Here, as shown in the plan view of FIG. 11, the engagement hole 30 in which the head portion 10a of the sliding shaft 10 (see FIG. 12B) is engaged with the first position A of the sliding shaft insertion portion. In the second position B, a through hole 31 through which the sliding shaft 10 can pass is formed, and the engagement hole 30 and the through hole 31 communicate with each other.

  The first position A is a position where the sliding shaft 10 is vertically supported as shown in FIG. 12 and the posture thereof is properly maintained, and the engagement hole formed in the first position A is the first position A. The inner diameter of 30 is set equal to the outer diameter d of the shaft portion 10b of the sliding shaft 10 (actually slightly larger). Accordingly, the sliding shaft 10 first inserted into the engagement hole 30 is supported vertically as shown in FIG. 12 because only the shaft portion 10b passes through the engagement hole 30 and the head portion 10a cannot pass. The posture is properly maintained. At this time, since the sliding shaft 10 is pressurized by the pressure of the compressed air at the head 10a, the posture thereof is stabilized.

  On the other hand, the second position B is a position that allows the sliding shaft 10 to pass (drop), and the inner diameter of the through hole 31 formed in the second position B is the outer diameter of the sliding shaft 10. It is set equal to D (actually slightly larger). Therefore, in the second position B, the sliding shaft 10 can pass (fall) through the through hole 31.

  Thus, the sliding shaft 10 is inserted into the first position A of the sliding shaft insertion portion, and is supported vertically at the first position A as shown in FIG. The Then, while maintaining this state, when the pumping portion and the sliding shaft insertion portion are lowered and the sliding shaft 10 reaches the position of the in-vehicle operation panel 50, as shown in FIG. The portion is inserted into the hole 51 formed in the in-vehicle operation panel 50 by a predetermined length L, and the position is fixed.

  And if the sliding shaft insertion part is horizontally moved in the direction of arrow c in FIG. 14 while maintaining the state shown in FIG. 13, the through-hole 31 formed at the second position B of the sliding shaft insertion part. Is fitted to the sliding shaft 10, and the through hole 31 allows the sliding shaft 10 to pass through. As shown in FIG. 15, the sliding shaft 10 drops and is formed in the in-vehicle operation panel 50. It is pushed into 51 and completely inserted.

JP 62-123618 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-156002

  However, application of the above assembling method and assembling apparatus is limited to the sliding shaft 10 having a horizontal seating surface on the head 10a as shown in FIG. 16 (a), for example, as shown in FIG. 16 (b). Such a sliding shaft 10 having an R-shaped seating surface on the head 10a or a sliding shaft 10 having a tapered seating surface on the head 10a as shown in FIG. There was a problem that it could not be applied for the following reasons.

  That is, for example, the shaft portion 10b of the sliding shaft 10 having an R-shaped seat surface on the head portion 10a as shown in FIG. 16B is formed at the first position A of the sliding shaft insertion portion. In a state where the sliding shaft 10 is held by passing through the engaging hole 30 and engaging the head portion 10a with the engaging hole 30, the sliding shaft 10 is inclined and not supported vertically. In this state, the sliding shaft When the insertion portion is lowered, there arises a problem that the sliding shaft 10 is not inserted into the hole 51 of the in-vehicle operation panel 50.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and the object of the present invention is to efficiently and quickly and accurately insert the sliding shaft of the push switch into the hole of the in-vehicle operation panel regardless of the shape of the head. It is an object of the present invention to provide an in-vehicle operation panel assembling method and an assembling apparatus capable of improving the assemblability of the in-vehicle operation panel by automatic insertion.

  In order to achieve the above object, the on-vehicle operation panel assembling method according to claim 1 is configured such that a plurality of sliding shafts cut and distributed by the sliding shaft supply unit are pumped to the sliding shaft insertion unit by the pumping unit. The sliding shaft insertion portion is mounted on the vehicle-mounted operation panel in a state where the shaft portion of the sliding shaft fed to the sliding shaft insertion portion is held by a chuck arm that can be opened and closed and the sliding shaft is held vertically. The slide shaft is lowered and inserted at the end of the slide shaft into the hole of the in-vehicle operation panel. Then, the chuck arm is opened to release the holding of the slide shaft. The vehicle-mounted operation panel is inserted into a hole.

The in-vehicle operation panel assembling apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the slide shaft is automatically inserted into the hole formed in the on-vehicle operation panel, and then the operation knob is assembled to the head of the slide shaft. A device for assembling
A sliding shaft supply section that cuts out and distributes a plurality of aligned sliding shafts one by one;
A pumping unit that pumps the sliding shaft supplied from the sliding shaft supply unit;
A chuck arm that holds the sliding shaft vertically by gripping the shaft portion of the sliding shaft that is pumped by the pumping unit, an opening / closing means that opens and closes the chuck arm, and the chuck arm is opened by the opening / closing means. A movable sliding shaft insertion portion having a pumping means for pumping the sliding shaft when the holding of the sliding shaft is released;
It is characterized by including.

  The invention according to claim 3 is the invention according to claim 2, wherein the pumping portion and the sliding shaft insertion portion are connected by a plurality of flexible tubes, and the inside of the flexible tube is used as a pumping path of the sliding shaft. It is characterized by that.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the second or third aspect of the present invention, a sensor for detecting the presence or absence of the sliding shaft is provided in the vicinity of the chuck arm of the sliding shaft insertion portion.

  According to the first and second aspects of the present invention, the plurality of slide shafts cut out and distributed by the slide shaft supply section are pumped to the slide shaft insertion section by the pumping section, and are pumped to the slide shaft insertion section. The sliding shaft insertion part descends to the position of the in-vehicle operation panel with the shaft part held by the chuck arm and held vertically, so that the tip of the sliding shaft is operated in the in-vehicle operation. If the chuck shaft is opened and the sliding shaft is released while the position is fixed by being inserted into the hole of the panel, the sliding shaft is released from the in-vehicle operation panel by the pressure from the pressure means. It is pushed into the hole and inserted completely. Therefore, the plurality of sliding shafts can be automatically and efficiently inserted into the corresponding holes of the in-vehicle operation panel without being manually performed by the operator, and the assemblability of the in-vehicle operation panel is improved.

  In the sliding shaft insertion portion, since the shaft portion of the sliding shaft is held vertically by the chuck arm, the sliding shaft is always held vertically regardless of the head shape. The sliding shaft can always be accurately inserted into the corresponding hole of the on-vehicle operation panel, and the present invention can be applied to the sliding shaft of any form, and its versatility is enhanced.

  According to the invention described in claim 3, since the pressure feeding portion and the sliding shaft insertion portion are connected by the plurality of flexible tubes, the sliding shaft insertion portion freely moves with respect to the pressure feeding portion and its position is arbitrarily adjusted. Is done. For this reason, the assembling apparatus can be applied to assembling a plurality of types of operation panels having different hole positions, and the versatility thereof is enhanced.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the presence or absence of the sliding shaft can be detected by the sensor provided in the vicinity of the chuck arm of the sliding shaft insertion portion, there is a problem such as forgetting to insert the sliding shaft. It is surely prevented.

It is a whole block diagram of the assembly apparatus of the vehicle-mounted operation panel which concerns on this invention. (A)-(c) is a figure which shows the structure and effect | action of a cutting-out part in the sliding shaft supply part of the assembly apparatus of the vehicle-mounted operation panel which concerns on this invention, Comprising: An upper stage is a top view and a lower stage is a front view. . It is a figure which shows the structure and effect | action of the distribution part in the sliding shaft supply part of the assembly apparatus of the vehicle-mounted operation panel which concerns on this invention, (a) is a top view, (b) is a front view, (c) is a side view FIG. It is a side view which shows the structure and effect | action of the distribution part in the sliding shaft supply part of the assembly apparatus of the vehicle-mounted operation panel which concerns on this invention. It is a side view of the chuck | zipper arm part of the sliding shaft insertion part of the assembly apparatus of the vehicle-mounted operation panel which concerns on this invention. (A) is the sectional view on the AA line of FIG. 5, (b) is the sectional view on the BB line of (a). (A) is a partial side view showing delivery from the guide block of the sliding shaft to the chuck arm, and (b) is a partial side view showing vertical holding by the chuck arm of the sliding shaft. It is a partial side view which shows the state in the middle of inserting a sliding shaft in the hole of a vehicle-mounted apparatus panel. (A) is a top view which shows the insertion state to the hole of the vehicle-mounted apparatus panel of a sliding shaft, (b) is the partial side view. It is a perspective view which shows the prior art example of the insertion operation | movement of the sliding shaft to a vehicle-mounted operation panel. It is a top view which shows the engagement hole and through-hole which were formed in the sliding shaft insertion part of the assembly apparatus of the conventional vehicle-mounted operation panel. (A) is a top view which shows the state in which the sliding shaft was hold | maintained in the 1st position in the assembly apparatus of the conventional vehicle-mounted operation panel, (b) is the same side view. It is a partial side view which shows the state by which the front-end | tip of the sliding shaft hold | maintained in the 1st position in the assembly apparatus of the conventional vehicle-mounted operation panel was inserted in the hole of the vehicle-mounted operation panel. (A) is a top view which shows the state in which the sliding shaft was located in the 2nd position in the assembly apparatus of the conventional vehicle-mounted operation panel, (b) is the partial side view. It is a partial side view which shows the state in which the sliding shaft in a 2nd position is inserted in the hole of the vehicle-mounted operation panel in the conventional vehicle-mounted operation panel assembly apparatus. (A)-(c) is a side view of the sliding shaft from which head shape differs.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of an in-vehicle operation panel assembling apparatus according to the present invention. The assembling apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is an apparatus for automatically inserting a sliding shaft of a push switch into a hole formed in an in-vehicle operation panel. It is. The assembling apparatus according to the present invention has a function of assembling the operation knob to the head of the sliding shaft automatically inserted into the hole of the in-vehicle operation panel, but the illustration and explanation of the apparatus part are omitted.

  The assembling apparatus shown in FIG. 1 includes a sliding shaft supply unit 1 that cuts out and distributes a plurality of aligned sliding shafts 10 (see FIG. 2) one by one, and a slide supplied from the sliding shaft supply unit 1. The pumping unit 2 that pumps the shaft 10 and the sliding shaft 10 that is pumped by the pumping unit 2 are transferred to the in-vehicle operation panel 50, and the holes 51 (see FIGS. 8 and 9) of the in-vehicle operation panel 50 by pressure. The slide shaft insertion portion 3 is provided to be inserted by being pushed into the reference).

  Below, the structure and effect | action of the said sliding shaft supply part 1 are demonstrated based on FIGS.

  2 (a) to 2 (c) are diagrams showing the configuration and operation of the cutout portion of the sliding shaft supply unit, where the upper part is a plan view, the lower part is a front view, and FIG. 3 is the distribution part of the sliding shaft supply part. FIG. 4A is a plan view, FIG. 4B is a front view, FIG. 4C is a side view, and FIG. 4 is a side view showing the configuration and action of the distributing portion of the sliding shaft supply unit. FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a large number of sliding shafts 10 are vertically held in the sliding shaft supply unit 1 in a state of being aligned in a line along the supply rail 4. Here, each sliding shaft 10 is composed of a large-diameter head portion 10a and a small-diameter shaft portion 10b extending perpendicularly from the head portion 10a, and the head portion 10a is engaged with the supply rail 4. Is held vertically.

  The sliding shaft supply unit 1 includes three cutting blades 5, 6, 7 arranged in the vertical direction, and the cutting blades 5, 6 positioned below the uppermost stage are the heads of the sliding shaft 10. They are arranged horizontally in the vicinity of the portion 10a and the shaft portion 10b, and their tip portions are formed in a sharp knife edge shape as shown in FIG. The remaining cutting blade 7 is a thin plate that stands vertically near the end of the supply rail 4 and presses the sliding shaft 10 before being cut out as shown in FIG. It functions to prevent falling off from the supply rail 4.

  Thus, as shown in FIG. 2A, the sliding shaft 10 aligned with the supply rail 4 has the cutting blades 5 to 7 indicated by the arrow a (right side of the drawing) in FIG. When moving horizontally, one located at the end of the supply rail 4 is cut out in the direction of arrow b (downward in the figure) by the knife-edge-like slope at the tip of the cutting blades 5 and 6. When the cutting blades 5 to 7 are further moved in the direction of arrow a, as shown in FIG. 2C, one sliding shaft 10 located at the end of the supply rail 4 is completely cut out in the direction of arrow b. It is.

  One sliding shaft 10 cut out as described above is transferred to a block-shaped shaft receiver 8 arranged in the vicinity of the cutting blades 5 to 7 as shown in FIG. Here, at the center of the shaft receiver 8, a tapered hole 9 that extends upward is provided in the up-down direction. An opening 8 a for receiving the cut-out sliding shaft 10 is formed at the upper end side portion of the shaft receiver 8, and this opening 8 a communicates with the tapered hole 9. Then, one end of a shaft transport tube 12 connected to the tapered hole 9 is connected to the lower end of the shaft receiver 8 through a plug 11. The shaft transport tube 12 extends vertically downward from the shaft receiver 8 to the distributing portion shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 4, an electric actuator 13 is provided in the distribution unit, and a block 15 is attached to the tip of an arm 14 that extends horizontally from the electric actuator 13. The block 15 holds the lower end portion of the shaft transport tube 12 extending vertically from the shaft receiver 8 (see FIG. 3). Although not shown, a plurality of shaft conveying tubes 12 arranged in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG.

  4 is provided with a distribution block 16 that constitutes the pressure-feeding unit 2. The distribution block 16 has a plurality of through holes 17 extending in two rows perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. The upper ends of a plurality of flexible tubes 18 connected to the respective through holes 17 are connected to the lower surface of the sorting block 16 via plugs 19, respectively. The distribution block 16 is formed with a pressure feed nozzle 20 for blowing compressed air into the through holes 17. Each pressure feed nozzle 20 is connected to an air hose (not shown) extending from a pressure supply source (not shown) such as an air compressor.

  A plurality of flexible tubes 18 extending vertically downward from the distribution block 16 are inserted and supported by the shaft insertion block 21 of the sliding shaft insertion portion 3 as shown in FIG.

  Thus, the sliding shaft 10 cut out at the cut-out portion is delivered to the shaft receiver 8 as shown in FIG. That is, the cut-out sliding shaft 10 is introduced from the opening 8a of the shaft receiver 8 into the tapered hole 9 in the shaft receiver 8 and passes through the shaft conveying tube 12 extending vertically downward from the shaft receiver 8 as shown in FIG. To the sorting section shown in FIG.

  In the sorting section, the arm 14 and the block 15 attached to the tip of the arm 14 by the electric actuator 13 reciprocate in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 4 together with the shaft conveyance tube 12, and are conveyed downward in each shaft conveyance tube 12. The sliding shaft 10 is distributed and inserted into the through-holes 17 opened in the distribution block 16.

  As described above, the sliding shaft 10 that has been distributed to the distribution block 16 is inserted into each flexible tube by the pressure of the compressed air supplied from the pressure-feed nozzle 20 formed in the distribution block 16 to the through hole 17. 18 is pumped toward the sliding shaft insertion portion 3.

  As shown in FIG. 1, guide blocks 22 connected to the flexible tubes 18 are respectively attached to the lower portion of the shaft insertion block 21 of the sliding shaft insertion portion 3, and the flexible tubes are attached to the guide blocks 22. A vertical guide hole 23 is formed in a row. An openable / closable chuck arm 24 is attached to the lower portion of each guide block 22, and each chuck arm 24 is provided with an opening / closing means that is driven by an actuator 25 such as an air cylinder to open and close the chuck arm 24. ing.

  Here, details of the configuration of the chuck arm 24 and the opening / closing means for opening and closing the chuck arm 24 will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 is a side view of the chuck arm portion of the sliding shaft insertion portion, FIG. 6A is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 5, and FIG. 6B is a line BB of FIG. 6A. It is sectional drawing.

  The chuck arm 24 includes two pivotable arms 24A whose intermediate portions are pivotally supported on the lower surface of the guide block 22 by a shaft 26. At each end of these arms 24A, a shaft portion of the sliding shaft 10 is provided. A semicircular gripping portion 24a for gripping 10b is formed. Further, as shown in FIG. 6 (b), tapered surfaces 24b extending downward are formed at the other ends of the respective arms 24A of the chuck arm 24, and the tapered surfaces 24b of both arms 24A are formed on the tapered surfaces 24b. A disk-like pin 27 bound to an end portion of a wire 28 described later is engaged.

  Note that the chuck arm 24 is always urged to the closing side by a return spring (not shown) wound around the shaft 26, and when the chuck arm 24 is closed as shown in FIG. The pin 27 is engaged with the lower ends of the tapered surfaces 24b of both arms 24A as shown by the solid line in FIG. Although not shown, an optical sensor that detects the presence or absence of the sliding shaft 10 is provided in the vicinity of the chuck arm 24 of the sliding shaft insertion portion 3.

  By the way, as shown in FIG. 1, each wire 28 to which the pin 27 is bonded at one end extends upward from each pin 27 and is then bent at a right angle by a roller 29 so as to extend horizontally. The actuator 25 is connected to the rod 25a. The actuator 25, the wire 28 and the like constitute an opening / closing means for the chuck arm 24.

  Thus, the pumping portion 2 and the sliding shaft insertion portion 3 can be integrally moved up and down along a guide rail (not shown) that is vertically arranged. These are movable in the horizontal direction, and these are moved in a predetermined direction by a driving means (not shown).

  Next, the holding method of the sliding shaft 10 by the sliding shaft insertion portion 3 and the automatic insertion method into the hole 51 of the on-vehicle operation panel 50 will be described with reference to FIGS. 7A is a partial side view showing delivery of the sliding shaft from the guide block to the chuck arm, FIG. 7B is a partial side view showing vertical holding of the sliding shaft by the chuck arm, and FIG. FIG. 9A is a partial side view showing a state in the middle of inserting the sliding shaft into the hole of the in-vehicle device panel. FIG. 9A is a plan view showing the state of inserting the sliding shaft into the hole of the in-vehicle device panel. b) is a partial side view of the same.

  As described above, as shown in FIG. 7 (a), the sliding shaft 10 that is pressure-fed from the pressure-feeding part 2 to the sliding-shaft insertion part 3 in each flexible tube 18 by the pressure of compressed air is guided from the flexible tube. The chuck arm 24 is passed through the guide hole 23 of the block 22 to the chuck arm 24. At this time, the chuck arm 24 is closed as shown in FIG. 6A, and the shaft portion 10b of the sliding shaft 10 is chucked. The arm 24 is inserted by the pressure of compressed air.

  Here, the sliding shaft 10 has a horizontal seating surface on the head 10a as shown in FIG. 16 (a), and an R-shaped seat on the head 10a as shown in FIG. 16 (b). 16 (c), the head 10a has a taper-shaped seat surface, but in any sliding shaft 10, the shaft portion 10b The outer diameter is set slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the grip portion 24a of the chuck arm 24 in the closed state, and the outer diameter of the head portion 10a is set larger than the inner diameter of the grip portion 24a of the chuck arm 24. Accordingly, only the shaft portion 10b of the sliding shaft 10 is inserted into the grip portion 24a of the chuck arm 24 and is gripped by the grip portion 24a, and the head portion 10a cannot pass through the grip portion 24a. As shown in FIG. 4, the vertical support is provided and the posture is properly maintained. At this time, since the sliding shaft 10 is pressurized by the pressure of the compressed air at the head 10a, the posture thereof is stabilized.

  Thus, when the sliding shaft 10 is gripped by the chuck arm 24 and supported vertically as shown in FIG. 7B and the posture thereof is properly maintained as described above. While maintaining the state, the pressure-feeding portion 2 and the sliding shaft insertion portion 3 move downward along a guide rail (not shown), and the sliding shaft 10 is positioned at the position of the on-vehicle operation panel 50 as shown by a chain line in FIG. 8, as shown in FIG. 8, the tip end portion of the sliding shaft 10 is inserted into the hole 51 formed in the in-vehicle operation panel 50 by a predetermined length L, and the position is fixed.

  When the actuator 25 is driven and the rod 25a is pulled rightward in FIG. 1 while maintaining the state shown in FIG. 8, the wire 28 connected to the rod 25a is pulled, and the pin 27 connected to the end of the wire 27 is pulled. Moves up as indicated by the chain line in FIG. As described above, when the pin 27 engaged with the tapered surface 24b of each arm 24A of the chuck arm 24 moves upward, the ends of both the arms 24A of the chuck arm 24 are pushed to the left and right. 9a, the chuck arm 24 opens as shown in FIG. 9A, and the gripping of the shaft portion 10b of the sliding shaft 10 by the chuck arm 24 is released.

  Thus, when the gripping of the shaft portion 10b of the sliding shaft 10 by the chuck arm 24 is released as described above, the sliding shaft 10 applies the pressure of compressed air supplied by pressure means (not shown) to the head 10a. As shown in FIG. 9B, the sliding shaft 10 falls from the chuck arm 24 and is pushed into a hole 51 formed in the on-vehicle operation panel 50 to be completely inserted.

  As described above, according to the assembling apparatus according to the present invention, the plurality of sliding shafts 10 are automatically and efficiently and accurately inserted into the holes 51 formed in the in-vehicle operation panel 50 without the manual operation of the operator. Since it can be inserted, the working time is shortened, labor saving is achieved, and the assembling workability of the in-vehicle operation panel 50 is remarkably improved.

  In the sliding shaft insertion portion 3, since the shaft portion 10b of the sliding shaft 10 is held vertically by the chuck arm 24, the sliding shaft 10 is independent of the shape of the head portion 10a. Always kept vertical. For this reason, the sliding shaft 10 can always be accurately inserted into the corresponding hole 51 of the on-vehicle operation panel 50, and the sliding shaft of any form, for example, the head 10a, can be used in the present invention. It can be applied to the sliding shaft 10 having a shape as shown in (c), and its versatility is enhanced.

  Further, in this embodiment, since the pressure feeding part 2 and the sliding shaft insertion part 3 are connected by a plurality of flexible tubes 18, the sliding shaft insertion part 3 moves freely with respect to the pressure feeding part 2 and its position is changed. Adjusted arbitrarily. For this reason, the assembling apparatus can be applied to assembling a plurality of types of in-vehicle operation panels 50 having different positions of the holes 51, and the versatility thereof is enhanced.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, an optical sensor for optically detecting the presence or absence of the sliding shaft 10 is provided in the vicinity of the chuck arm 24 of the sliding shaft insertion portion 3, so that the insertion of the sliding shaft 10 is forgotten. The occurrence of defects is reliably prevented.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the pressure feeding section 2 and the flexible tube 18 as the supply path and the chuck arm 24 of the sliding shaft insertion section 3 are determined depending on the type (the difference in length and thickness) of the sliding shaft 10 to be inserted. Therefore, the proper sliding shaft 10 is always correctly inserted without erroneously inserting the sliding shaft 10 having a different diameter and length that should not be inserted.

  The present invention is applicable to the assembly of an air conditioner operation panel, an audio operation panel, a car navigation operation panel, and any other vehicle-mounted operation panel.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Manual shaft supply part 2 Pumping part 3 Sliding shaft insertion part 4 Supply rail 5-7 Cutting blade 8 Shaft receiver 8a Opening part of shaft receiver 9 Taper hole 10 Sliding shaft 10a Sliding shaft head 10b Sliding shaft head Shaft 11 Plug 12 Shaft Conveying Tube 13 Electric Actuator 14 Arm 15 Block 16 Distribution Block 17 Through Hole 18 Flexible Tube 19 Plug 20 Pumping Nozzle 21 Shaft Insertion Block 22 Guide Block 23 Guide Hole 24 Chuck Arm 24A Chuck Arm 24a Chuck Arm 24b Chuck arm taper surface 25 Actuator 25a Actuator rod 26 Chuck arm shaft 27 Pin 28 Wire 29 Roller 50 In-vehicle operation Panel 51 holes of automotive control panel

Claims (4)

A method of assembling an in-vehicle operation panel by automatically inserting a sliding shaft into a hole formed in the in-vehicle operation panel and then assembling an operation knob on the head of the sliding shaft,
A plurality of sliding shafts cut and distributed by the sliding shaft supply section can be pumped to the sliding shaft insertion section by the pumping section, and the shaft section of the sliding shaft pumped to the sliding shaft insertion section can be opened and closed. The sliding shaft insertion portion is lowered to the position of the on-vehicle operation panel in a state where the sliding shaft is held vertically by holding with a simple chuck arm, and the tip of the sliding shaft is inserted into the hole of the on-vehicle operation panel Thereafter, the chuck arm is opened to release the holding of the sliding shaft, and the released sliding shaft is inserted into the hole of the on-vehicle operation panel by pressure. Panel assembly method. After automatically inserting the sliding shaft into the hole formed in the in-vehicle operation panel, an apparatus for assembling the in-vehicle operation panel by assembling the operation knob on the head of the sliding shaft,
A sliding shaft supply section that cuts out and distributes a plurality of aligned sliding shafts one by one;
A pumping unit for pumping the sliding shaft supplied from the sliding shaft supply unit;
A chuck arm that holds the sliding shaft vertically by gripping the shaft portion of the sliding shaft that is pumped by the pumping unit, an opening / closing means that opens and closes the chuck arm, and the chuck arm is opened by the opening / closing means. A movable sliding shaft insertion portion having a pumping means for pumping the sliding shaft when the holding of the sliding shaft is released;
An in-vehicle operation panel assembling apparatus, comprising:   3. The assembly of an on-vehicle operation panel according to claim 2, wherein the pressure feeding portion and the sliding shaft insertion portion are connected by a plurality of flexible tubes, and the inside of the flexible tube is used as a pressure feeding path for the sliding shaft. apparatus. 4. The in-vehicle operation panel assembling apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a sensor for detecting the presence or absence of the sliding shaft is provided in the vicinity of the chuck arm of the sliding shaft insertion portion.

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