JP2012135855A - Centering device and part assembling machine, and centering method and part assembling method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To automatically perform centering of a hole for inserting a part.SOLUTION: Copying mechanisms 12-14 adjusting a position in the X-Y direction and a tilted angle from the vertical direction of a centering shaft 15 are disposed, and a centering tool 16 that expands/reduces in the radial direction of the centering shaft 15 is provided to the lower end of the centering shaft 15. After the centering shaft 15 is lowered and the centering tool 16 is inserted into a hole 22 in a state that the diameter of the centering tool 16 is reduced, the diameter of the centering tool 16 is expanded to make the outer peripheral face of the centering tool 16 abut on the inner peripheral face of the hole 22. Thus, the centering shaft 15 is moved in the X-Y direction so that the center of an axis of the centering shaft 15 coincides with the center of the axis of the hole 22 by the copying mechanisms 12-14, and the tilted angle of the centering shaft 15 is changed and the centering shaft 15 is locked in a centered state, then the diameter of the centering tool 16 is reduced and the centering shaft 15 is raised, and the centering tool 16 is drawn out of the hole 22.

Description

  The present invention relates to a centering device, a part assembling machine, a centering method, and a part assembling method for centering a hole into which a part is inserted.

  For example, in order to automate the operation of inserting a shaft-shaped component such as a spool valve into a hole having a small clearance, as described in Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-26781), a component insertion component is used. The body part in which the hole is formed is fixed to a jig so that the hole is in the vertical direction, and the tip part of the shaft-like part is inserted into the hole in a state where the shaft-like part is grasped by the robot hand, and the robot In some cases, after opening the hand to release the shaft-shaped component, the main-body component is vibrated at a natural frequency so that the shaft-shaped component is inserted into the hole.

JP 2006-26781 A (refer to claim 2 etc.)

  However, since the method of Patent Document 1 does not have a function of automatically centering the hole, the body part in which the part insertion hole is formed is vibrated at the natural frequency, and the position of the hole is searched. A shaft-like part is inserted into the hole. For this reason, there is a possibility that the time for the insertion work varies and the shaft-like component is scratched.

  Therefore, the problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a centering device, a part assembling machine, a centering method and a part assembling method capable of automatically centering a hole into which a part is inserted.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention includes a copying mechanism that adjusts the position of the centering shaft in the X-Y direction and the tilt angle from the vertical direction, and a lifting mechanism that moves the centering shaft up and down. A centering jig that expands and contracts in the radial direction of the centering shaft is provided at the lower end of the centering shaft, and the centering shaft is lowered by the lifting mechanism in a state where the diameter of the centering jig is reduced. After the centering jig is inserted into the hole, the diameter of the centering jig is increased and the outer peripheral surface of the centering jig is brought into contact with the inner peripheral surface of the hole. The centering shaft is moved in the X and Y directions so that the axis of the centering shaft is aligned with the axial center of the hole, and the centering shaft is centered while changing the tilt angle. After locking the shaft, the diameter of the centering jig is reduced and the elevator Raising the core out shaft by is obtained so as to extract the core out jig from the hole. In this way, it is possible to automatically and accurately center the hole into which the component is inserted.

  Furthermore, the present invention includes a chuck for gripping a part to be inserted into the hole, and after centering the centering shaft with respect to the hole, the chuck is centered by gripping the part with the chuck. In this state, the chuck is lowered so that the lower end of the part is aligned with the hole, and then the chuck is opened to insert the part into the hole. In this case, since the centering of the hole is automatically performed accurately before the part is inserted into the hole, the part insertion operation into the hole can be performed automatically and smoothly. Can be reduced. Moreover, it is possible to cope with parts of multiple sizes without changing the setup.

  Further, according to the present invention, the chuck is provided concentrically with the centering shaft, and the centering shaft is provided so as to move up and down in the axial direction of the centering shaft independently of the chuck. After centering the centering shaft, the centering shaft may be raised in the axial direction to make a space for the chuck to grip the part. In this way, while the chuck is configured to be concentric with the centering shaft, the centering jig at the lower end of the centering shaft grips the part when it is gripped by the chuck. be able to.

  By the way, in the configuration in which the centering shaft and the chuck are supported by the head body that moves in the XYZ direction, and the centering shaft and the chuck are integrally moved in the XYZ direction, the head at the time of centering If the Z direction position of the main body and the Z direction position of the head main body at the time of component insertion are different, even if the data of the centering position and tilt angle of the centering shaft with respect to the hole (hereinafter referred to as “centering data”) is used, There is a possibility that the position of the lower end of the part gripped by the chuck when the part is inserted is displaced from the hole.

  As a countermeasure against this, the present invention stores the centering data of the centering shaft with respect to the hole in the storage means, and when the lower end of the part gripped by the chuck is aligned with the hole, the head at the time of centering and part insertion You may make it correct | amend centering data according to the difference of the Z direction position of a main body. In this way, even if the position of the head body in the Z direction is different between centering and component insertion, the lower end of the component gripped by the chuck can be accurately aligned with the hole.

  In addition, when the present invention is applied to a parts assembly machine that inserts parts into a plurality of holes having a certain positional relationship, the centering shafts are centered with respect to the plurality of holes, and the centering shafts with respect to the respective holes are aligned. After the centering data is stored in the storage means, the centering data of the centering shaft for each hole is read from the storage means when the lower end of the part gripped by the chuck is aligned with each hole. You may make it adjust the position and inclination | tilt angle of this chuck | zipper with respect to each hole based on data. In this way, it is possible to efficiently perform the operation of inserting components into the plurality of holes having a certain positional relationship.

  Furthermore, according to the present invention, when the lower end of the part gripped by the chuck is aligned with the hole and the part is inserted into the hole, the opening / closing operation of the chuck may be repeated at high speed. Thereby, it is possible to gradually insert the component into the hole by alternately performing free fall and centering of the component at high speed. Such a component insertion method is effective when the height dimension of the component is large or the inclination angle of the hole is large.

  Alternatively, when inserting the component into the hole, the chuck may be moved slightly in the XY direction within the region including the hole and its periphery with the chuck slightly opened. In this way, even if the lower edge of the part is caught on the upper edge of the hole due to the centering error between the part and the hole, the chuck is moved while the chuck is moving. The edge is removed from the top outer edge of the hole and the part is naturally inserted into the hole.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a main part of a component assembling machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a view for explaining the centering shaft lowering operation. FIG. 3 is a view for explaining the centering operation by the centering jig. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the centering pickup operation by the chuck. FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the component insertion operation into the hole.

Hereinafter, an embodiment embodying a mode for carrying out the present invention will be described.
First, the configuration of the component assembling machine will be described with reference to FIG.
The head body 11 is held by an XYZ movement mechanism (not shown) and is configured to move in the X direction, the Y direction, and the Z direction. An X-direction copying mechanism 12, a Y-direction copying mechanism 13, and an inclination angle copying mechanism 14 are provided on the lower surface side of the head main body 11, and the centering shaft 15 is in the XY direction by these three types of copying mechanisms 12-14. And the inclination angle from the vertical direction are adjusted.

  In this case, the X-direction copying mechanism 12 and the Y-direction copying mechanism 13 may move the centering shaft 15 independently in the X direction and the Y direction with an actuator such as a linear motor, or may be without an actuator. It may follow the movement of the centering shaft 15 in the X direction and the Y direction.

  In addition, the inclination angle copying mechanism 14 may be an actuator that changes the inclination angle of the centering shaft 15 from the vertical direction, or follows a change in the inclination angle of the centering shaft 15 without an actuator. In short, what is necessary is just to have a function of locking (holding) the centering shaft 15 at an arbitrary inclination angle with which the centering shaft 15 is centered. As an example of the inclination angle copying mechanism 14, a spherical concave surface and a spherical convex surface are fitted and a positive pressure is introduced between them, thereby enabling adjustment to an arbitrary inclination angle and introducing a negative pressure between the two. By doing so, the thing of the structure which sticks both and locks an inclination angle is mentioned.

  Further, when an actuator is provided in each of the copying mechanisms 12 to 14, position recognition means such as an encoder is provided, and data of the centering position and tilt angle of the centering shaft 15 in the XY direction is stored in the computer (control means). It is good to memorize | store in a means.

The head body 11 is provided with an elevating mechanism (not shown) that moves the centering shaft 15 up and down in the axial direction at an arbitrary inclination angle of the centering shaft 15.
A centering jig 16 is provided at the lower end portion of the centering shaft 15 so as to perform a scaling operation symmetrically in the radial direction of the centering shaft 15. The centering jig 16 is divided into a plurality of parts, and the outer peripheral surface is formed to follow the inner peripheral surface of the hole 22 (see FIG. 4) when the diameter is expanded by a centering operation described later. An air pressure, an electromagnet, or the like may be used as a drive source for the expansion / contraction operation of the centering jig 16.

  On the other hand, on the lower surface side of the tilt angle copying mechanism 14, a chuck 17 that grips a component 21 (see FIG. 4) is assembled concentrically with the centering shaft 15, and the axis of the chuck 17 is always the axis of the centering shaft 15. Both are configured to move together in a state of matching with the core. An air pressure, an electromagnet, or the like may be used as a drive source for the chuck 17.

  The component assembly machine configured as described above controls the centering operation and the component insertion operation of the hole 22 into which the component 21 is inserted by the computer (control means) as follows.

  First, the head body 11 is moved to a position just above the hole 22 by the XYZ moving mechanism, and the centering shaft 15 is moved to a position just above the hole 22. At this time, the position of the hole 22 may be a predetermined position or a position input by an operator. Alternatively, the hole 22 may be imaged by a camera mounted on the component assembly machine, and the position of the hole 22 may be measured by image processing.

  Thereafter, the head main body 11 is lowered to a predetermined position in the Z direction (however, a height position where the lower end of the chuck 17 does not contact the outer peripheral portion of the hole 22) by an XYZ moving mechanism, and then as shown in FIG. In the state where the diameter of the centering jig 16 is reduced, the centering shaft 15 is lowered by the lifting mechanism and the centering jig 16 is inserted into the hole 22. In this case, when the diameter of the centering jig 16 is reduced, the difference between the inner diameter dimension of the hole 22 and the outer diameter dimension of the centering jig 16 is larger than the positional deviation amount between the head body 11 and the hole 22. Thus, the centering jig 16 can be surely inserted into the hole 22 with the diameter reduced.

  Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 3, the centering treatment is performed in the hole 22 in a state where each of the copying mechanisms 12 to 14 is free so that each of the copying mechanisms 12 to 14 can freely follow the movement of the centering shaft 15. The tool 16 is expanded in diameter so that the outer peripheral surface of the centering jig 16 is brought into contact with the inner peripheral surface of the hole 22. As a result, each of the copying mechanisms 12 to 14 follows and moves the centering shaft 15 in the XY direction so that the axis of the centering shaft 15 matches the axis of the hole 22, and the centering shaft 15 The centering shaft 15 is centered with respect to the hole 22 by changing the inclination angle, and in this state, each of the copying mechanisms 12 to 14 is locked and the position of the centering shaft 15 in the XY direction is adjusted. Holds the tilt angle. Thereby, the chuck 17 provided concentrically with the centering shaft 15 is also held in the centered state.

  Thereafter, the diameter of the centering jig 16 is reduced, and then the centering shaft 15 is raised in the axial direction by the elevating mechanism of the head body 11 so that the centering jig 16 is extracted from the hole 22 to the upper limit position. Raise to. As a result, a space for allowing the chuck 17 to grip the component 21 is made.

  Thereafter, the head body 11 is moved in the XYZ direction to the position where the component 21 is supplied by the XYZ moving mechanism, and the component 21 is gripped and picked up by the chuck 17, and then the head body 11 is moved. Return to the position just above the hole 22. Thereafter, the head main body 11 is lowered, and the lowering of the head main body 11 is stopped with the lower end of the component 21 held by the chuck 17 aligned with the upper end opening of the hole 22 as shown in FIG.

  Thereafter, the chuck 17 is opened, the part 21 is released from the chuck 17, and the part 21 is inserted into the hole 22 by its own weight. At this time, the centering shaft 15 may be lowered with a light force in the axial direction, thereby assisting the insertion of the component 21 into the hole 22. Can be inserted into.

  Further, when the component 21 is inserted into the hole 22, the opening / closing operation of the chuck 17 may be repeated at high speed. Accordingly, the component 21 can be gradually inserted into the hole 22 by alternately performing free fall and centering of the component 21 at high speed. Such an insertion method of the component 21 is effective when the height dimension (length dimension) of the component 21 is large or when the inclination angle of the hole 22 is large.

  Alternatively, when the component 21 is inserted into the hole 22, it may be moved, for example, in a spiral shape in the XY direction in the region including the hole 22 and its periphery with the chuck 17 slightly opened. . In this way, at first, even when the lower edge of the component 21 is caught on the upper edge of the hole 22 due to the centering error between the component 21 and the hole 22, the chuck 17 is being moved. The lower edge of the part 21 is disengaged from the outer edge of the upper end of the hole 22, and the part 21 is naturally inserted into the hole 22.

  According to the present embodiment described above, the copying mechanisms 12 to 14 that adjust the position of the centering shaft 15 in the XY direction and the inclination angle from the vertical direction, and the lifting mechanism that moves the centering shaft 15 up and down. A centering jig 16 that expands and contracts in the radial direction of the centering shaft 15 is provided at the lower end of the centering shaft 15, and the centering jig 16 is contracted by the lifting mechanism in a state in which the diameter is reduced. After the alignment shaft 15 is lowered and the centering jig 16 is inserted into the hole 22, the diameter of the centering jig 16 is increased so that the outer peripheral surface of the centering jig 16 is the inner peripheral surface of the hole 22. The centering shaft 15 is moved in the X-Y direction so that the axial center of the centering shaft 15 matches the axial center of the hole 22 by the copying mechanism, and the centering shaft 15 The centering is performed with the tilt angle changed After locking the shaft 15, the diameter of the centering jig 16 is reduced, and the centering shaft 15 is raised by the elevating mechanism so that the centering jig 16 is extracted from the hole 22. Can be automatically and accurately centered.

  Further, in this embodiment, after the centering shaft 15 is centered in the hole 22, the chuck 16 is held in a state where the chuck 16 is centered by the centering shaft 15 by gripping a part with the chuck 16. After lowering and aligning the lower end of the component 21 with the hole 22, the chuck 16 is opened and the component 21 is inserted into the hole 22. A series of operations up to insertion can be performed automatically and smoothly, and damage to the component 21 when the component 21 is inserted into the hole 22 can be reduced. Moreover, it is possible to cope with a plurality of size parts without changing the setup, thereby improving productivity.

  In this embodiment, the chuck 16 is provided concentrically with the centering shaft 15, and the centering shaft 15 is provided so as to move up and down in the axial direction of the centering shaft 15 independently of the chuck 16. After the centering shaft 15 is centered with respect to the hole 22, the centering shaft 15 is raised in the axial direction so that a space for allowing the chuck 21 to grip the component 21 is opened. When the component 21 is gripped by the chuck 17, the centering jig 16 at the lower end of the centering shaft 15 grips the component 21 without being in the way. Can do.

  However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described configuration. For example, a centering head that holds the centering shaft and a chucking head that holds the chuck are provided separately, and both heads are each in the X direction. , Y direction and tilt direction copying mechanisms are provided, centering data (position and tilt angle in the XY direction) centered by the centering head is stored in the storage means, and then the part is gripped by the chuck When moving the chuck head to a position just above the hole and aligning the lower end of the part gripped by the chuck with the hole, centering data (XY position and tilt angle) is stored from the storage means. Is read out, the actuator of each copying mechanism in the X direction, Y direction and tilt direction of the centering head is driven to adjust the position and tilt angle of the chuck in the XY direction so that the chuck is centered. All right .

  First, centering data (X-Y direction position and inclination angle) for one hole is stored in the storage means, and the centering data is used for a plurality of holes that can be used in common. You may make it insert components in each hole, without performing extraction operation | movement. In this way, for example, by using the common centering data for each lot, it is only necessary to perform the centering operation once per lot, and the productivity can be improved.

  Also, when inserting parts into a plurality of holes in a certain positional relationship, after centering the centering shaft for each of the plurality of holes and storing the centering data for each hole in the storage means, When aligning the lower end of the part gripped by the chuck with each hole, the centering data for each hole is read from the storage means, and the position and inclination angle of the chuck with respect to each hole are adjusted based on the centering data. You may do it. In this way, it is possible to efficiently perform the operation of inserting components into the plurality of holes having a certain positional relationship.

  By the way, as in the present embodiment, the centering shaft and the chuck are supported by the head body that moves in the XYZ direction, and the centering shaft and the chuck are integrally moved in the XYZ direction. Then, if the Z-direction position of the head body at the time of centering is different from the Z-direction position of the head body at the time of component insertion, even if the centering data of the centering shaft with respect to the hole is used, There is a possibility that the position of the lower end is displaced from the hole.

  As a countermeasure, the centering data of the centering shaft with respect to the hole is stored in the storage means, and when the lower end of the part gripped by the chuck is aligned with the hole, the position of the head body in the Z direction when centering and when inserting the part The centering data may be corrected according to the difference. In this way, even if the position of the head body in the Z direction is different between centering and component insertion, the lower end of the component gripped by the chuck can be accurately aligned with the hole.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the said Example, It cannot be overemphasized that it can implement variously.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Head main body, 12 ... X direction copying mechanism, 13 ... Y direction copying mechanism, 14 ... Inclination angle copying mechanism, 15 ... Centering shaft, 16 ... Centering jig, 17 ... Chuck, 21 ... Parts, 22 ... Hole

Claims (9)

In a centering device that performs centering of holes for inserting parts,
A centering shaft;
A copying mechanism for adjusting the position of the centering shaft in the XY direction and the angle of inclination from the vertical direction;
An elevating mechanism for vertically moving the centering shaft;
A centering jig provided at a lower end portion of the centering shaft and performing an expansion / contraction operation in a radial direction of the centering shaft;
With the centering jig reduced in diameter, the centering shaft is lowered by the elevating mechanism and the centering jig is inserted into the hole, and then the diameter of the centering jig is expanded and the centering is performed. By bringing the outer peripheral surface of the jig into contact with the inner peripheral surface of the hole, the centering shaft is aligned with the axial center of the hole by the copying mechanism so that the axis of the centering shaft is aligned with the axial center of the hole. The centering shaft is locked in a state where the centering shaft is shifted by changing the tilt angle of the centering shaft, and then the centering jig is reduced in diameter to raise the centering shaft by the lifting mechanism. And a control means for extracting the centering jig from the hole. In the parts assembly machine provided with the centering device according to claim 1,
A chuck for gripping a part to be inserted into the hole;
The control means, after centering the centering shaft with respect to the hole, grips the component with the chuck and lowers the chuck while the chuck is centered with the centering shaft. A component assembling machine comprising: aligning a lower end of a part with the hole, opening the chuck, and inserting the part into the hole. The chuck is provided concentrically with the centering shaft,
The centering shaft is provided to be movable up and down in the axial direction of the centering shaft independently of the chuck,
The control means, after centering the centering shaft with respect to the hole, raises the centering shaft in the axial direction to make a space for the chuck to grip the component. The component assembly machine according to claim 2. The centering shaft and the chuck are supported by a head body that moves in XYZ directions,
The control means stores data on the centering position and inclination angle of the centering shaft with respect to the hole (hereinafter referred to as “centering data”) in the storage means, and the lower end of the part gripped by the chuck is stored in the hole. 4. The component assembling machine according to claim 2, wherein the centering data is corrected in accordance with a difference in a Z-direction position of the head body between when centering and when inserting a component. . A parts assembly machine that inserts parts into a plurality of holes in a certain positional relationship,
The control means performs centering of the centering shaft for each of the plurality of holes, stores the centering data of the centering shaft for each hole in the storage means, and then stores the parts gripped by the chuck. When aligning the lower end with each hole, the centering data of the centering shaft for each hole is read from the storage means, and the position and inclination angle of the chuck with respect to each hole are adjusted based on the centering data. The parts assembly machine according to claim 4.   6. The control means repeats opening and closing operations of the chuck at a high speed when inserting the component into the hole by aligning the lower end of the component gripped by the chuck with the hole. The part assembly machine according to any one of the above.   When the control means inserts the part into the hole with the lower end of the part gripped by the chuck being aligned with the hole, the control means opens the region including the hole and its periphery with the chuck slightly opened. 6. The parts assembling machine according to claim 2, wherein the parts assembling machine is moved in an XY direction. In the centering method of centering the hole to insert the part,
A centering jig that expands and contracts in the radial direction of the centering shaft is provided at the lower end portion of the centering shaft, and the centering shaft is lowered while the centering jig is contracted to reduce the centering. After inserting the tool into the hole, the diameter of the centering jig is expanded and the outer peripheral surface of the centering jig is brought into contact with the inner peripheral surface of the hole, so that the shaft core of the centering shaft is The centering shaft is locked in a state in which the centering shaft is moved in the X and Y directions so as to match the axial center of the hole and the tilt angle of the centering shaft is changed, and then the centering shaft is locked. A centering method, wherein the diameter of the jig is reduced, the centering shaft is raised, and the centering jig is extracted from the hole.   9. The centering shaft is centered with respect to the hole by the centering method according to claim 8, and then the chuck is held in a state where the part is gripped by the chuck and the chuck is centered by the centering shaft. A method for assembling a part, comprising lowering the part to match the lower end of the part with the hole, opening the chuck, and inserting the part into the hole.

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