JP2712870B2 - Assembly equipment using transfer equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an assembling facility using a transfer device for transferring a cylinder block mounted on an automobile, for example, and assembling various parts to the cylinder block during the transfer. is there.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Hitherto, as a facility for assembling a vehicle body using a transfer device, for example, a structure as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 57-209458 has been 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.

[0003]

According to the above-mentioned conventional type, the operator has to go back and forth between the parts shelf and the carrier many times to carry the parts, which requires a great deal of labor. Furthermore, erroneous parts are likely to be assembled. 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.

[0004] It is an object of the present invention that the entire equipment can be compacted, the walking distance of the operator can be shortened only for the assembling work, and the transport of various parts can be performed automatically and accurately. An object of the present invention is to provide an assembling facility using a device.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, an assembling facility using a transfer device according to the first aspect of the present invention includes a component case for accommodating a large number of the same components and a component case having a large number of components of different types. A temporary placing table device capable of linearly placing the component cases therein, a conveyor disposed in parallel with the temporary placing table device and capable of transporting an assembling case, and the temporary placing table device having the conveyor as a center. A transport device that is disposed on the opposite side to the workpiece and that is capable of transporting an object to be assembled in a direction opposite to the transport direction of the conveyor, and a component case that is disposed between the temporary platform device and the conveyor and is located on the temporary platform device. A plurality of robots capable of picking parts from the group and transferring them to the assembling case, wherein the transfer device is capable of traveling on a fixed path and supporting the to-be-assembled object and the assembling case. It has a movable body.

[0006] In the assembling equipment using the transfer device according to the second aspect of the present invention, the movable body of the transfer device is supported on a monorail so as to be able to run on a fixed path.

[0007]

According to the configuration of the first aspect of the present invention, various components housed in each component case on the temporary placing table device are:
It is picked by the corresponding robot and loaded into the assembling case being transported from start to end on the conveyor. As a result, a group of parts corresponding to the next to-be-assembled object to be conveyed by the conveying device can be automatically set in the assembling case reaching the end of the conveyor. Therefore, the movable body of the transport device can support the to-be-assembled object and the set of parts corresponding thereto.

[0008] Then, while moving the movable body on a fixed path, the parts in the assembly case are taken out in order and assembled into an object to be assembled, whereby an assembly operation without erroneous operation can be performed. In addition, the assembly case that has been emptied after the assembly work is returned to the start end of the conveyor, and the empty component case on the temporary placing table device can be removed, and a new component containing many identical components can be removed. The case is refilled on the temporary storage device.

When the monorail is employed as in the second aspect of the present invention, the entire structure can be constructed so that a space is formed below both sides of the movable body, thereby allowing the operator to take out parts from the assembly case or to remove parts from the assembly case. The assembling of parts with respect to the to-be-assembled object can be easily performed by, for example, positioning the feet of the worker in a space.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In FIG. 5, reference numeral 1 denotes an automatic warehouse as an example of a component storage device, which reciprocates on a pair of shelves 3 in which a large number of storage sections 2 are formed in a vertical direction and a horizontal direction, and on a moving path 4 formed between the two shelves 3. It is composed of a movable loading / unloading device 5, a cargo handling device 6 provided outside the end of the shelf 3, and the like.

The loading / unloading device 5 includes a traveling body 7 supported and guided by rails and the like, an elevating platform 9 guided by a post 8 erected from the traveling body 7, and a horizontally movable elevating platform 9. Of the component case 11 between the target storage unit 2 and the loading / unloading device 6 by a combination of a running motion, a lifting motion, a lifting motion, and a retracting motion. I do. The component case 11 stores a large number of the same components, and a plurality of types of component cases 11 having different types of the components can be stored in the storage unit 2 in case units.

Parts case taken out of the automatic warehouse 1
A transport carriage 16 that supports the vehicle 11 and can travel on a fixed path 15 is provided. The transport cart 16 is automatically guided on a fixed path 15 by being guided by guide rails and guides. A transfer device (fork, conveyor, etc.) for transferring the component case 11 in a horizontal direction is provided at an upper portion of the main body 17. 2) 18 are provided in the front-rear direction.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG.
Is linear in the work place, and a temporary placing table device 20 on which a number of component cases 11 can be placed linearly is disposed on the side. This temporary placing table device 20 is a gantry type,
The upper case receiving portion 21 is configured such that the transfer device 18 for the transporting cart 16 can operate freely, and thus the component case 11 can be freely transferred between the transporting cart 16 and the temporary placing device 20. Becomes

A conveyor 26 capable of transporting the assembling case 25 is provided in parallel with the temporary table device 20. As the conveyor 26, a drive roller conveyor type including a frame 27 and a number of rollers 28 is employed, but this may be a belt conveyor type or the like.

A plurality of robots 30 are disposed between the temporary placing table device 20 and the conveyor 26, and these robots 30
It is composed of a main body 31, an operating arm 32 and the like. Each robot 30
Parts case located in the work area on the temporary storage device 20
The parts 35 are picked from the eleventh group and transferred to the assembly case 25 transported on the conveyor 26. The robot 30 at the end also transfers the assembly case 25.

With the conveyor 26 inside and the robot 30
On the side opposite to the group, a transfer device 40 having a transfer direction B opposite to the transfer direction A of the conveyor 26 is provided. As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the transfer device 40 includes a monorail 41 having a cross section formed in an I-shape, and a movable body 43 supported and guided by the monorail 41 and capable of traveling on a fixed path 42. You. The monorail 41 is supported on the floor via a base body 44, a bracket 45, and the like, and a signal / power supply device 46 is provided on a side surface opposite to a side surface to which the bracket 45 is coupled.

The movable body 43 includes a pair of trolley bodies 47, 48 in the traveling direction, a transmission 49 mounted on an upper portion of one of the trolley bodies 47, and a traveling drive that is interlocked with the transmission 49 and can be driven forward and reverse. A drive wheel 52 attached to a left-right output shaft 51 protruding from the transmission 49 and mountable on the upper surface of the monorail 41; and a left-right shaft protruding from the front trolley body 48. A driven wheel 54 attached to 53 and mounted on the upper surface of the monorail 41, and both trolley bodies 4
A roller 55 is attached to the upper and lower ends of the monorail 41 so as to be able to contact the upper and lower ends of the monorail 41, and a connecting frame 56 for connecting the upper portions of the trolley bodies 47 and 48 in the front-rear direction. You.

A current collector 57 slidably contacting the signal / power supply device 46 is attached to one trolley body 47. The connection frame 56 has a rectangular frame shape, and a case support portion 58 for supporting the assembly case 25 is provided on an upper portion thereof. Further, a control device 59 is provided at a lower portion of one side of the connection frame 56.
Is arranged.

On the other side of the connecting frame 56, there is provided an assembling object support portion 60 capable of supporting the cylinder block 36 which is an example of an assembling object. That is, a vertical holding frame 61 is provided on the other side of the connection frame 56, and an elevating body 63 is provided on the holding frame 61 via a vertical guide portion 62. This lifting body 63
Can be moved by screwing a screw shaft 66 driven forward and reverse by a motor 65 provided on the holding frame 61 to a nut body 64 provided on the lifting body 63.

On the other side of the elevating body 63, a left-right axis 67 is provided.
, A rotatable L-shaped rotating frame 68 is provided via a rotation driving device 69 for rotating the frame. The support portion 60 is provided on a horizontal plate portion of the rotary frame 68 via a turning device 70 so as to be rotatable around a vertical rotation axis 71. A side of the transfer device 40 opposite to the conveyor 26 is formed in a work section 75, and a robot-type automatic assembling apparatus 76 is provided at a predetermined position of the work section 75.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 5, the temporary placing table 20, the conveyor 26, the robot 30 and the like having the above-mentioned structure are provided in the transfer device.
A plurality of blocks (three blocks in the embodiment) are arranged in the direction of the fixed path 42 while sharing 40. In addition, temporary table 20,
The conveyor 26, the robot 30, the transfer device 40, and the like are disposed symmetrically with respect to the fixed path 15 of the transfer cart 16 as the center.

A traverser 80 for transferring the movable body 43 between the monorails 41 of the transfer device 40 located on the left and right sides in the overall configuration symmetrically disposed is provided.
These traversers 80 include a floor rail 81 and the floor rail 81.
And a relay rail 83 which can be connected to the monorail 41.

On one side of the starting end of one of the transfer devices 40, there is provided a carry-in truck 86 which can automatically travel on a fixed route 85,
Further, a robot-type transfer device 87 for transferring the cylinder block 36 carried by the carry-in carriage 86 to the assembly supporting portion 60 of the movable body 43 is provided. On the side of the terminal end of the other transfer device 40, an unloading vehicle 91 is provided which is capable of automatically traveling on a fixed path 90, and the finished product 37 carried by the movable body 43 is transferred to the unloading vehicle 91. A transfer device 92 of the crane type is provided.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described.
For example, a part group carried by truck or the like is sorted at a sorting place, the same parts 35 are put together in a parts case 10, and then the parts case 10 is put in a corresponding storage unit 2 of the automatic warehouse 1. .

The transport vehicle 16 traveling on the fixed path 15 from the work unit 75 while supporting the empty component case 11 is stopped facing the cargo handling device 6 in the automatic warehouse 1. The empty component case 11 is transferred to the handling device 6 by the operation of the transfer device 18. The empty component case 11 on the cargo handling device 6 is moved by a combination of the running motion of the loading / unloading device 5, the lifting / lowering motion of the lifting / lowering table 9, and the retracting motion of the loading / unloading device 10.
It is returned to the target empty storage unit 2.

A new real component case 11 containing the same type of component 35 as the component 35 contained in the returned empty component case 11 is moved from the storage section 2 by the loading / unloading device 5 to the unloading device. 6 and transferred onto the transport trolley 16 by the operation of the transfer device 18.

In this state, the transport carriage 16 is automatically moved on the fixed path 15 and enters the working section 75 to enter the temporary placing apparatus 20.
Is stopped on the side of the case receiving portion 21 for the purpose of (1). The case receiving part 21 for this purpose is an empty part case in the previous process.
11 has been removed, and a new actual component case 11 is refilled by the operation of the transfer device 18 at the removal mark. Thereafter, the transport cart 16 receives the empty component case 11 generated in another case receiving portion 21 and transports the empty component case 11 to the automatic warehouse 1, whereby the same operation as described above is repeated.

An empty assembly case 25 is supplied to the start end of the conveyor 26, and the assembly case 25 is sequentially conveyed to the end side. The various parts 35 housed in each part case 11 on the temporary placing table device 20 are picked by the corresponding robot 30, and are transferred to the assembling case 25 being conveyed on the conveyor 26 as described above. It is thrown in. As a result, a group of parts 35 corresponding to the next cylinder block 36 to be conveyed by the conveying device 40 can be automatically set in the assembly case 25 reaching the end of the conveyor 26.

In the transfer device 40, a corresponding cylinder block 36 and an assembling case 25 are supplied to the empty movable body 43 that has reached the start end. That is, the cylinder block 36 transported by the carry-in carriage 86 is transferred by the transfer device 87 onto the assembly support 60 of the movable body 43, and a group of parts 35 corresponding to the type of the cylinder block 36 is set. The assembling case 25
The robot 30 supports the case support 58 from the end of the conveyor 26.
Passed on.

The movable body 43 supporting the cylinder block 36 and the assembling case 25 as described above is supported and guided by the monorail 41 and travels on a fixed path 42. In this traveling, the traveling drive unit 50 is operated to forcibly rotate the driving wheel body 52, thereby being supported on the monorail 41 by the two wheel bodies 52 and 54, and the lateral vibration is prevented by the plurality of lateral vibration preventing rollers 55. It is performed in the state where it was.

Then, while moving the movable body 43 on the fixed path 42, the operator and the automatic assembling device 76 take out the components 35 in the assembling case 25 in a predetermined order, and assemble them to the cylinder block 36. Do. At that time, the cylinder block 36 can adjust the level with respect to the floor surface by raising and lowering the lifting frame 63 with respect to the holding frame 61, and the rotary driving device 69 moves the rotary frame 68 around the left-right axis 67. It can be tilted by turning, and the turning axis is further turned by the turning device 70.
Turning around 71 can change the direction. Therefore, the assembling work by the operator and the automatic assembling device 76 can be easily performed.

The assembly case 25 that has been emptied after assembly in one block has been completed is replaced with the robot 30.
Is taken out of the case supporting portion 58 and returned to the start end of the conveyor 26. This makes the assembly case 25
Can be used in a circulating manner between the conveyor 26 and the transporting device 40, so that a shape capable of efficiently storing a group of components 35 corresponding to the type of the cylinder block 36 can be used.

As described above, the cylinder block 36, which has been assembled in one block, is conveyed to the next block by the movable body 43, and is similarly subjected to the next assembly operation. After completing the assembly work on one row,
Of the movable body 43 that has reached the end of the relay rail 83 is connected to the relay rail 83 connected to the monorail 41. Next, the movable body 43 is traversed to the other row side by the traveling of the carriage 82. Then, in a state where the relay rail 83 is connected to the monorail 41 in the other row, the movable body 43 is run on the monorail 41 in the other row, and the next assembling work is performed in the same manner as described above. At this time, the movable body 43 runs in the opposite direction to that described above.

The movable body 43 which has completed all the assembling operations in this way reaches the end of the monorail 41 in the other row, and the finished product 37 on the to-be-assembled support portion 60 is taken out by the transfer device 92 and taken out. It is loaded on the trolley 91. The emptied movable body 43 is returned to the initial position via the traverser 80.

In the first aspect of the present invention, the guide for supporting the movable body 43 is
It may be done by a book rail. However, by employing the monorail 41 for supporting and guiding the movable body 43 as in the present embodiment (the second invention), the whole can be configured so that a space is created below both sides of the movable body 43. As a result, the feet of the worker can be positioned in the space, and the worker can easily take out the part 35 from the inside of the assembling case 25 and assemble the part 35 to the cylinder block 36.

In the above embodiment, the automatic warehouse 1 is shown as a parts storage device, but it may have a configuration in which storage conveyors are arranged in a plurality of upper and lower stages.

[0037]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, various parts housed in each part case on the temporary placing table device are picked by the corresponding robot, and the starting point is moved from the starting point to the end point on the conveyor. Can be put into the assembly case being transported. This makes it possible to automatically set a group of parts corresponding to the next to-be-assembled object to be conveyed by the conveyor in the assembling case that has reached the end of the conveyor. Therefore, the movable body of the transport device can support the to-be-assembled object and the correspondingly set component group, so that the worker does not need to walk to take out the component.

Then, while moving the movable body on a fixed route, the components in the assembly case can be taken out in order and assembled into an object to be assembled, so that an assembly operation without erroneous operation can be performed. In addition, the assembly case that has become empty after assembly can be returned to the beginning of the conveyor, the empty component case on the temporary placing table device can be removed, and a new component case containing many identical components can be added. It can be refilled on the temporary storage device.

When the monorail is adopted as in the configuration of the second aspect of the present invention, the entire structure can be formed so that a space is formed below both sides of the movable body, and thereby the worker's feet can be positioned in the space. In this way, it is possible to easily take out the parts from the assembling case and assemble the parts to the assembly object.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the present invention, showing an assembling facility using a transfer device.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the transport device.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the transport device.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the transport device.

FIG. 5 is a schematic plan view showing an entire assembly facility using the transfer device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Automatic warehouse (parts storage device) 2 Storage part 3 Shelf 5 Loading / unloading device 11 Parts case 15 Constant path 16 Transporting trolley 18 Delivery device 20 Temporary placing table device 21 Case receiving part 25 Assembly case 26 Conveyor 30 Robot 35 Parts 36 Cylinder Block (assembled object) 37 Finished product 40 Transport device 41 Monorail 42 Constant path 43 Movable body 50 Traveling drive device 58 Case support unit 60 Support unit 75 Working unit 76 Automatic assembly device 80 Traverser 83 Relay rail 86 Carrying vehicle 91 Carriage truck A Conveyor transfer direction B Transfer device transfer direction

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A component case containing a large number of the same components, a temporary storage device capable of linearly mounting a large number of component cases of different types of components, and a parallel device parallel to the temporary storage device. And a conveyor capable of transporting the assembling case and being disposed on the opposite side of the temporary placing table with the conveyor as the center, capable of transporting the assembled object in a direction opposite to the transport direction of the conveyor. A transfer device, and a plurality of robots disposed between the temporary placing table device and the conveyor, the plurality of robots being capable of picking parts from a group of component cases on the temporary placing table device and being transferable to an assembling case, An assembling facility using a transport device, characterized in that the transport device has a plurality of movable bodies that can travel on a fixed route and that can support an object to be assembled and an assembling case. 2. The assembling equipment according to claim 1, wherein the movable body of the transfer device is supported on a monorail so as to be able to run on a fixed path.