JP2689185B2 - Assembly equipment using movable bodies - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an assembly facility using a movable body used for assembling a vehicle body of an automobile, for example.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a vehicle body assembling facility using a dolly, which is an example of a movable body, a structure disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 209458/1982 is provided. In this conventional type, the carrier is made to run freely on an endless carrier track, and working sections are provided at a plurality of positions on an endless path. Then, the vehicle body was placed on the carrier, and various parts were assembled to the vehicle body while traveling on the endless route. Thereafter, the vehicle body was unloaded from the carrier. The various components are removed from the component shelves arranged on the side of the endless path and used for assembly.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention According to the above conventional method, for example, when the endless path is formed in a meandering shape, the pitch between the parallel path portions becomes wider due to the existence of the parts shelf, and the entire equipment is compactly and collectively collected. hard. Further, the operator has to repeatedly move back and forth between the parts rack and the carrier in order to carry the parts, which requires a great deal of labor and is more likely to assemble an erroneous part. In addition, replenishment of various parts must be performed over substantially the entire length of the circulation path, which requires a lot of time and is troublesome.

The object of the present invention is to provide an assembly facility using a movable body, in which the entire facility can be compactly packed, a walking distance of an operator can be almost eliminated, and various parts can be easily and accurately supplied. is there.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, an assembly facility using a trolley of the present invention has a large number of movable bodies, an upper working route part and a lower return route part, and the start and end of both route parts. It is configured so that it can move freely on the circulation path that has a lifting path section between the ends,
A support portion for the assembly target and a component storage portion for the component case are provided, a component storage device is provided outside the end of the upper work path portion, and the parts are distributed to both sides of the end portion of the higher work path portion, By providing a component supply unit and a case collection unit for transferring a component case between the storage unit and the component storage device, one assembly line is configured, and a plurality of the assembly lines are provided side by side, and between the assembly lines. A transfer device for the object to be assembled is installed between the adjoining lifting path parts of
There is a moving sidewalk on the side of the upper work route.

According to the configuration of the present invention, the movable body is moved on the circulation path having the parallel portion in the vertical direction, and the movable body located at the end of the adjacent upper work path portion is assembled by the transfer device. By transferring the objects, it is possible to arrange a plurality of assembly lines with the upper work path portions closely parallel to each other, and it is possible to perform the desired assembly while conveying the objects to be assembled in a meandering shape. Furthermore, for a movable body that has reached the end of the upper work path section, the empty component case in the component storage section can be taken out to the case collection section on one side and then collected to the component storage device side. Also, the component case in which various necessary components are set can be taken out from the component storage device to the component supply unit and then supplied to the component storage unit from the other side, which is used for assembly. Then, the worker can return to the original place by using the moving sidewalk after getting off the movable body.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

Reference numeral 1 denotes an automated warehouse, which is an example of a parts storage device. A pair of shelves 3 each having a plurality of storage units 2 formed vertically and laterally and a loading / unloading device 5 that can travel on a fixed path 4 between both shelves 3 Etc. The loading / unloading device 5 includes a traveling machine body 6 that is supported and guided by rails, and a lift 8 that is guided by posts 7 standing upright from the traveling machine body 6.
And a loading / unloading device (fork) 9 which is provided on the lifting table 8 so as to be able to move in and out in the lateral direction, and the like, by a combined operation of running motion, lifting motion, and retracting motion. Then, the parts case 10 is delivered. Each parts case 10
Parts and fixtures used in the work route corresponding to the automatic warehouse 1 are set in the box. An upper work route portion 11 and a lower return route portion 12 are provided outside the end of the automated warehouse 1 and on an extension of the fixed route 4, and both route portions 1
Between the start and end of 1,12, the first lifting path section 13 and the second lifting path section 14
A circulation path 15 having the above is formed, and a large number of carriages 16 that are examples of movable bodies that can travel on the circulation path 15 are provided.

That is, the dolly 16 has a large number of wheels 17 in the lower portion, and a support portion 19 of a vehicle body 18 which is an example of an object to be assembled in the upper portion.
And a component storage section 20 are provided. The support portion 19 is provided at the center, and the component storage portions 20 are provided at a plurality of peripheral locations,
The remaining part becomes a working part 21 on which a worker can freely enter. Then, the component case 10 is loaded into the component storage unit 20. An upper rail 31 is laid on the floor surface 30.
By mounting the wheels 17 on the trolley 16, the dolly 16 is moved to the upper work path 11
You can run on it. In addition, the tunnel part 32 formed under the floor
A lower rail 33 is laid inside, and by placing wheels 17 on the lower rail 33, the truck 16 can travel on the lower return path portion 12. Of the two lifting path portions 13 and 14, the first lifting path portion 13 on the automated warehouse 1 side is provided with a lifting platform 35 via a lifting device 34 composed of, for example, a pantograph mechanism. A relay rail 36 that is freely connectable and separable is provided on the rails 31 and 33. Similarly, the other second elevating path portion 14 is also provided with an elevating device 37, an elevating table 38, and a relay rail 39.

On the automated warehouse 1 side, a part supply section 40 and a case collection section 43 are provided from both sides of the end of the upper work path section 11 to both sides of the first elevating path section 13. The component supply unit 40 is composed of a conveyor 41 and a loading robot 42, and the case collection unit 43 is composed of a conveyor 44 and a collection robot 45.

One assembly line 50 is formed by the automated warehouse 1, the circulation path 15, the parts supply section 40, etc., and a plurality of such assembly lines 50 are arranged in parallel to form an assembly facility 60. At that time, the traveling direction in the upper work path portion 11 is set to the opposite direction between the adjacent assembly lines 50.
In addition, the traveling of the truck 16 group is performed densely in a pushing type or a traction type by various driving devices using a motor, a chain, a roller, and the like.

In each assembly line 50, a first transfer device 51 is provided over the upper end of the upper work path portion 11 (on the side of the automated warehouse 1). The first transfer device 51 includes, for example, an elevating body 53 guided by a machine frame 52, a traveling body 54 movably provided on the elevating body 53 side in a line-to-line direction, and a clamp provided on the traveling body 54. It is composed of a type hanger device 55 and the like. Similarly, a second transfer device 56 is provided above the other end of the upper work path portion 11, and the second transfer device 56 also has a machine frame 52, an elevating body 53, a traveling body 54, and a hanger device 55. Etc.

A moving sidewalk 25 is provided on the side of the upper work path unit 11. The moving sidewalk 25 is, for example, of a belt conveyor type, and its moving direction can be freely driven in the reverse direction based on the line setting.

According to the above-described embodiment, for example, a group of parts carried in by a truck or the like is sorted in the sorting place corresponding to each assembly line 50, and then stored in the parts case 10, and then the corresponding storage section of the automated warehouse 1. Can be put in 2. In the assembly line 50 in which the traveling direction of the upper work path part 11 is away from the automated warehouse 1, the first elevating path part
The empty carriage 16 is located on the relay rail 36 of the raised elevator 35 at 13, and the relay rail 36 connects to the upper rail 31. Further, in the automatic warehouse 1, a plurality of target component cases are operated by the operation of the loading / unloading device 5.
After the 10 are sorted, they are taken out onto the conveyor 41 of the component supply unit 40. Parts case 10 on these conveyors 41
Are loaded into a predetermined component storage section 20 of the carriage 16 by the loading robot 42. The trolley 16 loaded with the component cases 10 in this way travels, and travels on the upper work path section 11 by moving from the relay rail 36 to the upper rail 31. And the dolly 16 stopped at the beginning of the upper work route section 11
The vehicle body 18 is loaded against. That is, the traveling body 54 of the first transfer device 51 is stopped above the carriage 16 and the vehicle body 18
The hanger device 55 that supports the vehicle is lowered together with the lifting body 53, and the vehicle body 18 is stacked on the support portion 19. The first stacking may be performed by a self-propelled truck having a fork function. Then, the assembling work for the vehicle body 18 is performed while the dolly 16 travels on the upper work path portion 11 in a state where the hanger device 55 is raised and retracted together with the elevating body 53.
This assembly work is performed by
This can be done by taking out internal parts and fixtures (bolts, etc.), and the worker can only walk on the work unit 21. In this way, the vehicle body 18 which has completed the assembling work in the one upper work path portion 11 is lifted by the second transfer device 56 at the terminal end. As a result, the dolly 16 that has become empty becomes a relay rail 39 that has been raised together with the lifting platform 38 in the second lifting path section 14.
Then, as the elevator table 38 descends, it enters the tunnel portion 32 via the second elevator path portion 14. When the elevator 38 reaches the lower limit, the relay rail 39 is connected to the lower rail 33,
Therefore, the carriage 16 can travel on the lower return path section 12 in the opposite direction to the upper direction. Then, the carriage 16 is transferred onto the lift table 35 of the first lift path section 13, and returns to the initial position by the lift of the lift table 35.
Is collected on the conveyor 44, and then the loading robot 42 receives the supply of a new component case 10 on the conveyor 41.

Assembly line adjacent to assembly line 50 described above
At 50, the flow is in the opposite direction. That is, the empty robot case 16 is transferred from the terminal end of the upper work path section 11 onto the lift 35 of the first lift path section 13 by the collection robot 45, and the empty component case 10 is collected and loaded. A new component case 10 is loaded by the robot 42. Then, the carriage 16 descends together with the elevator 35 and then travels on the lower return path section 12 to move onto the elevator 38 of the second elevator path section 14. Next, in a state where the carriage 16 is opposed to the upper work path portion 11 by the elevation of the lifting platform 38, the vehicle body 18 lifted by the second transfer device 56 as described above is lowered to lower the support portion 19.
Stow on. Then, the assembling work for the vehicle body 18 is performed while the dolly 16 is traveling on the upper work path portion 11 with the hanger device 55 being raised and retracted. After that, from the top of the dolly 16 that has reached the end of the upper work route section 11,
The vehicle body 18 is lifted by the first transfer device 51. As a result, the emptied carriage 16 gets on the elevator 35 of the first elevating path section 13 and becomes the initial state.

In this way, in the working equipment in which the upper working path portions 11 are closely parallel to each other, the components supplied from one side can be assembled while moving the vehicle body 18 in a meandering manner.

In order to perform the assembling work as described above, the worker who rides on the trolley 16 and moves on the upper work path part 11 from the automated warehouse 1 side to the other end side is trolleyed on the adjacent assembly line 50.
Move to 16 and move to the upper warehouse route side 11 to the automatic warehouse 1 side, or transfer to the moving sidewalk 25 and move to the automatic warehouse 1
It can be returned by moving it to the side, but this return can also be made from the middle part of the upper work path part 11 depending on the work situation. Alternatively, the line may be set according to the work situation, and return may be made on the sidewalk 25 that moves from the automated warehouse 1 side to the other end side.

Although the dolly 16 is shown as a movable body in the above-described embodiment, it may be a combination type of a pallet and a conveyor, or a self-propelled trolley type (train type) supported and guided by rails. Further, although the automated warehouse 1 is shown as the component storage device, it may have a configuration in which storage conveyors are arranged in a plurality of upper and lower stages.

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention having the above-described configuration, the movable body is moved on the circulation path having the parallel portion in the vertical direction, and the movable body is positioned between the movable bodies positioned at the ends of the adjacent upper work path portions by the transfer device. By moving the assembly, it is possible to arrange the assembly line with the upper work path parts in parallel, and it is possible to perform the desired assembly while conveying the assembly target in a meandering manner Can be compactly and collectively collected. Then, for the movable body that has reached the end of the upper work path part, the empty part case in the part storage part is taken out to the case collection part on one side and then collected to the part storage device side. In addition, after taking out the parts case in which various necessary parts are set from the parts storage device to the parts supply part, it can be supplied to the parts storage part from the other side. The case can be replaced easily, accurately and quickly. Moreover, the worker can perform all the work on the dolly and can return to the original place by the moving sidewalk after getting off the movable body.
Therefore, the labor for shortening the walking distance can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

1 is a partially cutaway side view, FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway plan view, and FIG. 3 is an overall schematic plan view. 1 ... Automatic warehouse (parts storage device), 3 ... shelves, 5
...... Ejecting / retracting device, 10 ...... Parts case, 11 ...... Higher work path part, 12 ...... Lower return path part, 13 ...... First elevating path part, 14 ...... Second elevating path part, 15 ...... Circulating path , 16 dolly (movable body), 18 …… vehicle body (object to be assembled), 19 …… support section, 20 …… parts storage section, 21 …… work section, 25 …… moving sidewalk, 35, 38 …… Lifting platform, 40 ... Parts supply unit, 42 ... Loading robot, 43 ... Case collecting unit, 45 ... Collection robot, 50 ... Assembling line, 51 ... First transfer device, 56 ...
… Second transfer device, 60… Assembling equipment.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code Office reference number FI technical display location B65G 47/52 101 B65G 47/52 101B 47/90 47/90 A

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A large number of movable bodies are configured to be movable on a circulation path having an upper work path portion and a lower return path portion and an elevating path portion between the start and end of the both path portions, and each movable body is movable. On the body,
A support portion for the assembly target and a component storage portion for the component case are provided, a component storage device is provided outside the end of the upper work path portion, and the parts are distributed to both sides of the end portion of the higher work path portion, By providing a component supply unit and a case collection unit for transferring a component case between the storage unit and the component storage device, one assembly line is configured, and a plurality of the assembly lines are provided side by side, and between the assembly lines. A transfer device for the object to be assembled is installed between the adjoining lifting path parts of
Assembly equipment using movable bodies, characterized by a sidewalk that moves to the side of the upper work route.