JP2016069144A - Conveyance equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide conveyance equipment which can easily carry out work to a plurality of workpieces in different postures with simple equipment.SOLUTION: Conveyance equipment 1 includes a slider 2, a first rail 3A, a second rail 3B, and a posture changing device 4. The posture changing device 4 includes a posture changing rail 41 which is switched between a first rail posture 401 in which the slider 2 is in a first slide posture 201, and a second rail posture in which the slider 2 is in a second slide posture 202. In the conveyance equipment 1, when the posture changing rail 41 of the posture changing device 4 is in the first rail posture 401, the slider 2 can slide from the first rail 3A to the posture changing rail 41. When the posture changing rail 41 of the posture changing device 4 is in the second rail posture, the slider 2 can slide from the posture changing rail 41 to the second rail 3B.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to a transport facility configured to slide a slider that holds and transports a workpiece with respect to a rail laid in a factory.

  When various kinds of work such as processing, assembly, and inspection are performed in a factory, the work is transported to various processing devices, assembly devices, inspection devices, and the like using a transport facility. And when the surface which works on a workpiece | work in various apparatuses differs, the attitude | position (direction) of a workpiece | work is changed using a dedicated apparatus.

  For example, the transport vehicle for engine assembly of Patent Document 1 includes a transport cart that runs along a guide rail. The transport cart is supported by the swing mechanism and the swing mechanism so as to be able to swing around a horizontal axis. A horizontal support is provided. Further, the horizontal support base is provided with a rotation mechanism and a turntable that can be rotated around the vertical axis by the rotation mechanism, and the turntable is provided with an attachment for supporting the engine. In this engine assembly transport vehicle, the engine parts are supported by the attachment, and the horizontal support table is rotated by the turning mechanism and the turntable is rotated by the rotation mechanism. Assembly is possible.

JP-A-4-310334

  However, in the cited document 1, the posture of the engine parts is changed on the transport carriage, and the assembly work is performed on the engine parts on the transport carriage. Therefore, when a plurality of transport carts are driven with respect to the guide rail, it is necessary to provide a horizontal support base, a turntable, and an attachment for changing the assembly position of the engine parts for each transport cart. Therefore, when the assembly work of a plurality of engines is performed by moving a plurality of transport carriages on the guide rail, the structure of the entire facility becomes complicated.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a background, and has been obtained in an attempt to provide a transport facility that can easily perform work on a plurality of workpieces having different postures with simple equipment.

One aspect of the present invention is a transport facility capable of transporting a workpiece and changing the posture of the workpiece to be transported to a working posture,
A slider configured to hold the workpiece;
A first rail that slides to form a first sliding posture that is a predetermined posture with respect to a horizontal plane;
A first rail position that is disposed adjacent to the first rail and sets the slider to the first slide position; and a second rail position that sets the slider to a second slide position different from the first slide position; A posture change device provided with a posture change rail that switches to
When the posture change rail of the posture change device is in the first rail posture, the slider is slidable from the first rail to the posture change rail.

The transfer facility includes an attitude change device provided with an attitude change rail that switches between two kinds of attitudes of a first slide attitude and a second slide attitude. When the slider slides the first rail or slides the posture changing rail that forms the first rail posture, the machine or the operator works on the workpiece on the slider in the first slide posture. Can do. On the other hand, when the slider slides on the posture change rail that forms the second rail posture, the machine or the operator can work on the workpiece on the slider in the second slide posture.
Thereby, the posture of the workpiece for the machine or the operator to perform work can be changed by a posture changing device different from the slider. Therefore, the structure of the slider can be extremely simplified, and the slider can be miniaturized.

  As described above, in the transfer facility, the structure for changing the posture of the work held by the slider is integrated in the posture changing device. Therefore, especially when a plurality of sliders slide on the first rail at the same time and work is performed on the workpiece in each slider, the structure of the entire transport facility can be simplified, and the cost can be reduced. .

  Therefore, according to the said transfer equipment, the operation | work with respect to the workpiece | work of a several different attitude | position can be easily performed with simple equipment.

The top view which shows the conveyance installation concerning an Example. Explanatory drawing which shows the 1st rail in a conveyance installation concerning an Example in the state seen from the slide direction of the slider. Explanatory drawing which shows the 2nd rail in a conveyance installation concerning an Example in the state seen from the slide direction of the slider. Explanatory drawing which shows the attitude | position change apparatus in a conveyance installation concerning an Example in the state seen from the direction orthogonal to the sliding direction of a slider. Explanatory drawing which shows the attitude | position change apparatus in a 1st rail attitude | position concerning an Example in the state seen from the slide direction of the slider. Explanatory drawing which shows the attitude | position change apparatus which concerns on an Example in the state seen from the slide direction of the slider in the 2nd rail attitude | position.

A preferred embodiment of the above-described transfer facility will be described.
The transfer facility further includes a second rail that is disposed adjacent to the posture changing device and in which the slider slides to form the second slide posture different from the first slide posture, and the posture changing device. When the posture change rail is in the second rail posture, the slider is preferably slidable from the posture change rail to the second rail.
Thereby, when a slider slides a 2nd rail, a machine or an operator can work with respect to the workpiece | work on the slider in a 2nd slide attitude | position. In the transfer device, it is possible to easily work on workpieces having different postures according to the first slide posture of the slider on the first rail and the second slide posture of the slider on the second rail.

The slider is preferably provided with a rotation joint for rotating the workpiece around a rotation center axis directed in a direction orthogonal to the slide direction of the slider.
By making the workpiece pivotable with respect to the slider by the pivot joint, the workpiece arranged on the second rail can be adjusted with respect to various surfaces of the workpiece by adjusting the pivot position of the pivot joint. Work.

  Further, the workpiece is a case of a front-wheel drive automatic transmission, and the case has the case rear surface positioned on the engine mating surface side in a state perpendicular to the rotation center axis of the rotation joint. The slider is opposed to the slider and is held by the slider. In the first sliding posture of the slider, the front of the case located on the opposite side of the back of the case is directed vertically upward. In the second sliding posture, any one of a plurality of case side surfaces other than the case back surface and the case front surface may be directed vertically upward.

  In the case of a front-wheel drive automatic transmission, many parts such as main parts, a valve body, and exterior parts are assembled on the front face of the case and various side faces of the case. And in the attitude | position change rail which forms the 1st rail or the 1st rail attitude | position, the assembly | attachment etc. of the main components of the automatic transmission for front-wheel drive can be performed with respect to a case front from a perpendicular upper direction. In addition, in the posture changing rail that forms the second rail or the second rail posture, other parts of the front-wheel drive automatic transmission are assembled to any one of the side surfaces of the case from the vertically upward direction. be able to. As a result, it is possible to more easily assemble various parts to the case of the front-wheel drive automatic transmission.

The posture change rail may be configured to rotate about a rotation center axis parallel to the sliding direction of the slider.
Thereby, it is easy to change the posture changing rail to the first rail posture and the second rail posture, and the structure of the posture changing device can be further simplified.

Below, the Example concerning a conveyance installation is described with reference to drawings.
The transfer facility 1 of the present example can transfer the workpiece 8 and change the posture of the workpiece 8 to be transferred to a working posture. As shown in FIG. 1, the transport device 1 includes a slider 2, a first rail 3 </ b> A, a second rail 3 </ b> B, and a posture changing device 4.
The slider 2 is configured to slide while holding the workpiece 8. As shown in FIG. 2, the first rail 3 </ b> A is configured such that the slider 2 slides in a first slide posture 201 that is a predetermined posture with respect to a horizontal plane. As shown in FIG. 3, the second rail 3 </ b> B is configured such that the slider 2 slides in a second slide posture 202 that is different from the first slide posture 201. The posture changing device 4 is disposed in a space between the first rail 3A and the second rail 3B.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the posture changing device 4 includes a first rail posture 401 in which the slider 2 is in the first slide posture 201, and a second rail in which the slider 2 is in the second slide posture 202 as shown in FIG. A rail posture 402 and a posture changing rail 41 that switches to a rail posture 402 are provided. In the transport facility 1, as shown in FIG. 4, when the posture changing rail 41 of the posture changing device 4 is in the first rail posture 401, the slider 2 can slide from the first rail 3A to the posture changing rail 41, When the posture change rail 41 of the posture change device 4 is in the second rail posture 402, the slider 2 can slide from the posture change rail 41 to the second rail 3B.

Below, the conveyance equipment 1 of this example is explained in full detail with reference to FIGS.
The workpiece 8 in this example is a case of an automatic transmission for driving front wheels as a part for an automobile, and the transfer equipment 1 in this example is used in a production line in a factory for producing an automatic transmission for driving front wheels. . In the factory, various machines 5 for processing, assembling, and inspection of the front-wheel drive automatic transmission are arranged, and the transport facility 1 is a case of the front-wheel drive automatic transmission as a work 8. Is conveyed to various machines 5. The various machines 5 perform operations such as processing, assembly, and inspection on the case on the slider 2 disposed on the first rail 3A or the second rail 3B in the transport facility 1. In addition to the various machines 5, an operator can work on the case on the slider 2. FIG. 1 shows a case where various machines 5 assemble the workpiece 8 on the first rail 3A. Also in the second rail 3 </ b> B, various machines 5 may perform assembly or the like on the workpiece 8.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the workpiece 8 is held on the pallet 7 and is transported together with the pallet 7 in the transport facility 1. The front wheel drive automatic transmission case as the work 8 includes a case front 81 located on the engine mating surface side, a case back 82 located on the opposite side of the case front 81, the case front 81, and the rest other than the case back 82. A plurality of case side surfaces 83 are formed. The case as the work 8 is held on the pallet 7 with the case back 82 facing the pallet 7. In the first slide posture 201 of the slider 2, the case front surface 81 is directed in the vertically upward direction F, and in the second slide posture 202 of the slider 2, any of the plurality of case side surfaces 83 is directed in the vertically upward direction F. .

  The first rail 3A is formed in a state where the slider 2 is arranged and slid upward (vertically upward direction F), and the second rail 3B is formed in a state where the slider 2 is arranged and slid sideways. ing. The slider 2 is provided with a roller (such as a cam follower) 22 that is in rolling contact with each rail portion 31 of the first rail 3A and the second rail 3B. The first rail 3A and the second rail 3B are provided with a drive mechanism for sliding the slider 2. The drive mechanism includes a chain that circulates in the rail formation direction, a sprocket that spans the chain, a motor that rotates the sprocket, and a locking portion that locks and pushes the slider 2 at predetermined intervals on the chain. And have. And when a chain circulates by a motor, each latching | locking part each latches the slider 2, and can slide each slider 2 with respect to the 1st rail 3A or the 2nd rail 3B.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the slider 2 has a rotation joint 21 for rotating the workpiece 8 around a rotation center axis C <b> 1 oriented in a direction orthogonal to the slide direction S. Is provided. The rotary joint 21 is configured by a bearing that can receive a radial load and a thrust load. The pallet 7 on which the workpiece 8 is held is attached to the slider 2 via a rotation joint 21. The case back surface 82 of the work 8 held by the slider 2 via the pallet 7 is directed toward the slider 2 in a state perpendicular to the rotation center axis C1 of the rotation joint 21.
The workpiece 8 on the slider 2 disposed on the second rail 3B can turn a specific case side surface 83 of the plurality of case side surfaces 83 in the vertical upward direction F by rotating the rotation joint 21. . The pallet 7 or the slider 2 is provided with a lock portion for preventing the pallet 7 from rotating with respect to the slider 2 via the rotation joint 21.

  As shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, the posture changing rail 41 is configured to rotate around the rotation center axis C <b> 2 parallel to the sliding direction S of the slider 2 oriented in the horizontal direction in the posture changing device 4. Has been. The rotation center axis C <b> 2 of the posture change rail 41 is set through a range including the workpiece 8, the pallet 7, the rotation joint 21, and the slider 2. The rotation center axis C <b> 2 of the posture change rail 41 in this example is set through a range including the workpiece 8 and the pallet 7. The center-of-gravity position of the entire rotation target 40 including the posture change rail 41, the slider 2, the rotation joint 21, the pallet 7, and the work 8 is within the range including the work 8 and the pallet 7, and the rotation center axis C <b> 2. Is near the center of gravity. Thereby, the posture changing device 4 can rotate the entire rotation target 40 around the vicinity of the center of gravity position. Thereby, the attitude | position of the rotation object 40 can be changed with little power.

The posture changing device 4 includes a guide rail portion 42 that has an angle of 90 ° or more and is formed in a circular arc shape from below to the side, and a slide portion 43 that can move while rolling along the guide rail portion 42. And a drive unit 44 for driving the slide unit 43. The posture change rail 41 is attached to the slide portion 43. The drive unit 44 of this example is configured by a cylinder.
The posture change device 4 is provided with a gravity balancer 45 that applies a balance force to the rotation target 40 in a direction opposite to the direction of gravity applied to the rotation target 40. The gravity balancer 45 is configured by a balance weight, and the wire attached to the balance weight is attached to the slide portion 43.

  As shown in FIG. 5, when the posture changing device 4 forms the first rail posture 401, the slide portion 43 and the posture changing rail 41 are positioned below the guide rail portion 42, and as shown in FIG. When the device 4 forms the second rail posture 402, the slide portion 43 and the posture changing rail 41 are located on the side of the guide rail portion. When the rotation target 40 is lifted from the lower side of the guide rail portion 42 to the side by the drive unit 44, the balance force by the gravity balancer 45 can be applied in the direction of lifting the rotation target 40.

  In each slider 2 on which the workpiece 8 is mounted, the pallet 7 holding the workpiece 8 is separated from the slider 2 after passing the second rail 3B. Then, the pallet 7 holding the workpiece 8 is loaded onto the carrying-out pallet and carried out. On the other hand, the slider 2 is circulated again to the first rail 3A, and another pallet 7 on which the workpiece 8 is mounted is attached and used repeatedly.

Next, operation | movement of the conveyance equipment 1 of this example and its effect are demonstrated.
The transfer equipment 1 of the present example includes a first rail 3A that enables work on the case front surface 81 of the work 8 and a second rail 3B that enables work on the case side surface 83 of the work 8. Further, a posture changing device 4 having a posture changing rail 41 is disposed in a space between the first rail 3A and the second rail 3B. And the conveyance equipment 1 is made so that the operation | work with respect to the case front 81 and the case side surface 83 of the workpiece | work 8 can be performed in the continuous conveyance line.

  As shown in FIG. 2, in the first rail 3 </ b> A, the pallet 7 that holds the workpiece 8 is attached to the slider 2 via the rotation joint 21. In the first rail 3A, the plurality of sliders 2 on which the workpieces 8 are mounted sequentially flow, and the case front 81 of each workpiece 8 from the vertically upward direction F by a machine 5 or the like disposed facing the first rail 3A. Are sequentially performed.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the posture changing rail 41 of the posture changing device 4 forms the first rail posture 401, and the posture of the posture changing rail 41 is adjusted to the posture of the first rail 3 </ b> A, and the posture is changed. Rail 41 is connected to first rail 3A. Then, the slider 2 mounted with the workpiece 8 that has passed through the first rail 3 </ b> A is transferred to the posture change rail 41.
Next, as shown in FIG. 6, in the posture changing device 4, the slide portion 43 is moved from the lower side of the guide rail portion 42 to the side by the drive portion 44, and the slider 2 on which the workpiece 8 is mounted is moved to the posture changing rail. In the state of being arranged at 41, the posture change rail 41 is changed to the second rail posture 402. At this time, the posture of the posture changing rail 41 is matched with the posture of the second rail 3B, and the posture changing rail 41 is connected to the second rail 3B. Further, the case side surface 83 of the work 8 mounted on the slider 2 is directed in the vertically upward direction F. Then, in a state where the posture change rail 41 is in the second rail posture 402, the slider 2 on which the workpiece 8 is mounted is transferred from the posture change rail 41 to the second rail 3B.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 3, in the slider 2 disposed on the second rail 3 </ b> B, the pallet 7 holding the workpiece 8 is rotated by the rotating joint 21, and the plurality of case side surfaces 83 of the workpiece 8 are rotated. One of the case side surfaces 83 is directed in the vertically upward direction F. Then, in the second rail 3B, the plurality of sliders 2 on which the workpieces 8 are mounted sequentially flow, and sequentially from the vertically upward direction F to each case side surface 83 by a machine or the like disposed facing the second rail 3B. Work is done.

  Thus, in the transfer facility 1 of this example, in addition to the first rail 3A and the second rail 3B that enable the work 8 held on the slider 2 to work on the case front surface 81 and the plurality of case side surfaces 83. The posture changing device 4 provided with the posture changing rail 41 is used. In the transfer facility 1, the structure for changing the posture of the work 8 held by the slider 2 is integrated in the posture changing device 4. Then, when the plurality of sliders 2 are slid with respect to the first rail 3 </ b> A and the second rail 3 </ b> B and work is performed on the workpieces 8 respectively held by the plurality of sliders 2, a device that changes the posture for each slider 2 is provided. There is no need to provide it.

  Further, the posture of the work 8 for the machine 5 or the operator to perform the work is the same as the posture changing rail 41 on which the slider 2 holding the workpiece 8 is arranged by the posture changing device 4 different from the slider 2. It can be changed by turning. Therefore, the structure of the slider 2 can be extremely simplified, and the slider 2 can be downsized. Moreover, the structure of the whole conveyance equipment 1 can be simplified, and the cost reduction can be achieved.

  Therefore, according to the transfer facility 1 of this example, the work on the workpieces 8 having different postures can be easily performed with a simple facility.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Transfer equipment 2 Slider 201 1st slide attitude | position 202 2nd slide attitude | position 21 Rotating joint 3A 1st rail 3B 2nd rail 4 Attitude change apparatus 401 1st rail attitude | position 402 2nd rail attitude | position 41 Attitude change rail 7 Pallet 8 Workpiece | work ( Front wheel drive automatic transmission case)
81 Case front 82 Case back 83 Case side

Claims (5)

A transport facility that transports a workpiece and is capable of changing the posture of the workpiece to be transported to a working posture.
A slider configured to hold the workpiece;
A first rail that slides to form a first sliding posture that is a predetermined posture with respect to a horizontal plane;
A first rail position that is disposed adjacent to the first rail and sets the slider to the first slide position; and a second rail position that sets the slider to a second slide position different from the first slide position; A posture change device provided with a posture change rail that switches to
The transporting facility, wherein the slider is slidable from the first rail to the posture changing rail when the posture changing rail of the posture changing device is in the first rail posture. A second rail disposed adjacent to the posture changing device, wherein the slider slides to form the second slide posture different from the first slide posture;
2. The transfer equipment according to claim 1, wherein when the posture change rail of the posture change device is in the second rail posture, the slider is slidable from the posture change rail to the second rail.   The slider is provided with a rotation joint for rotating the workpiece around a rotation center axis directed in a direction orthogonal to the sliding direction of the slider. The transfer facility according to 1 or 2. The work is the case of a front wheel drive automatic transmission,
The case held by the slider has a case rear surface located on the side opposite to the engine mating surface side facing the slider side in a state perpendicular to the rotation center axis of the rotation joint,
In the first slide posture of the slider, the front of the case located on the engine mating surface side is directed vertically upward, and in the second slide posture of the slider, a plurality of other than the front of the case and the back of the case The conveying device according to claim 3, wherein any one of the side surfaces of the case is directed vertically upward.   The conveyance equipment according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the posture change rail is configured to rotate around a rotation center axis parallel to a sliding direction of the slider.

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