JP2727871B2 - Pallets for component assembly - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a pallet for assembling parts mainly used for sub-assembly work of a number 2 cross member of a motor vehicle, and more particularly, to an upright state and a sideways state so that equipment mounted and supported can be easily assembled. The present invention relates to a component assembling pallet that can be rotated and held in a state.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As one of the work of assembling a car, a number 2 (front) cross member (hereinafter simply referred to as a cross member) is mounted and supported on a dedicated pallet.
There is a sub-assembly work in which a pair of left and right lower arms for supporting wheels are mounted on the cross member and a steering linkage is mounted on the cross member in the middle of transporting this on a conveyor. The left and right lower arms are attached to the cross member by tightening one shaft pin-shaped bolt and one nut. Attachment of the steering linkage to the cross member is carried out by holding brackets at two places on the left and right sides thereof and tightening both brackets to the cross member with four bolts and nuts.

In such an assembling operation, since the mounting direction of the left and right lower arms with respect to the cross member and the mounting direction of the steering linkage are often different by 90 degrees, it is necessary to change the direction by rotating the cross member.・ Indispensable for tightening nuts.

For this purpose, in the conventional pallet, brackets are erected on both right and left ends of a base, and a pallet plate for supporting component mounting is rotatably mounted between the left and right brackets via a rotating shaft, and the pallet is rotated. A rotation operation handle is provided at one end of the shaft, and a lock device for positioning and locking the rotation of the rotation shaft at a plurality of predetermined angular positions is provided.

A cross member is mounted and supported on a pallet plate locked and held in a predetermined direction, left and right lower arms are set on the cross member, and a bolt / nut tightening operation is performed from directly above the lower arm using a nut runner. Then, the left and right lower arms are attached to the cross member.
Thereafter, the lock device is released, the rotation operation handle is turned, and the pallet plate is rotated by 90 degrees via the rotation shaft to lock the position, thereby changing the direction of the cross member, and in this state, the steering linkage is attached to the cross member. The bracket and the bracket are set, and the bolts and nuts are tightened using a nut runner from directly above, and the steering linkage is attached to the cross member.

[0006]

By the way, in the component assembling pallet of the above-mentioned conventional construction, the pallet plate is rotated by manually turning the rotary operation handle to change the direction of the work mounted and supported on the pallet plate. At this time, the total weight of the pallet plate and the parts (the cross member and the left and right lower arms, the stabilizer and the steering linkage) supported by the pallet plate is as heavy as about 38 kg. You are forced to work hard. Further, at the time of the rotation work, it is necessary to perform the lock operation at a predetermined angle as well as the unlock operation of the lock device, and there is a problem that the workability is poor.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to enable the operation of rotating a mounted and supported part from an upward state to a horizontal state to be performed very easily and easily, and to reduce the weight burden due to human power. Another object of the present invention is to provide a component assembling pallet that can contribute to the efficiency of component assembling work.

[0008]

According to the present invention, there is provided a component assembling pallet comprising a base, a bracket erected on the base, and a horizontal shaft provided on an upper portion of the bracket. A pallet plate that is rotatably mounted in a horizontal state by its own weight from an upward state in which the parts are mounted and supported by a shaft, and the pallet plate is automatically moved to an upward position and a horizontal position as the pallet plate rotates. A lock device having an unlocking operation lever for unlocking the position of the pallet plate and having an unlocking operation lever capable of operating the locking member to an unlocking position by an operation portion extending outside the pallet plate; A locator that is provided at a predetermined position on the pallet plate and is fitted into a hole formed in the component to position the component at a predetermined position on the pallet plate; A pair of right and left clamp mechanisms having a clamp claw for clamping the component positioned in a predetermined position on the pallet plate, and a pair of right and left clamp members arranged in a shape extending substantially right and left along the pallet plate. A rotating shaft, a miter gear for rotating the rotating shafts in synchronization with each other, and an operation handle provided on one of the rotating shafts in the vicinity of the unlocking operation lever; It is characterized by comprising a clamp operating mechanism for driving the clamp claws to a clamp position and an unclamping position, respectively.

[0009]

According to the component assembling pallet of the above construction, a panel-shaped vehicle component such as a cross member mounted on the pallet plate is restrained by the clamp mechanism while being positioned by the locator. When mounted, it is held in an upward state by the lock member. The operation handle of the clamp operation mechanism for manually operating the clamp mechanism and the unlock operation lever of the lock device are
The pair of clamp mechanisms are arranged close to each other facing the worker, and are driven to a clamp position and an unclamping position in synchronization with each other via a miter gear. Then, the pallet plate on which the components are mounted and supported is rotated from the upward state to the horizontal state by its own weight by the unlocking operation of the lock device, and the positioning is automatically locked. This eliminates the need for a rotation operation and a troublesome locking operation that require a heavy weight by human power as in the related art, and makes it easy to change the orientation, thereby increasing the efficiency of the component assembling work.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a pallet for component assembly according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 is a plan view, FIG. 2 is a front view, and FIGS. 3A and 3B are side views of an upward state and a horizontal state.

In the drawing, reference numeral 1 denotes a base of a pallet. The base 1 has a rectangular plate shape, and is conveyed laterally on a conveyor (not shown) of an assembly line. A pair of left and right brackets 2 made of an angle material is erected on the base 1 near the center front side.
The bearing members 3 project from the upper part toward the rear, respectively, and the shafts 4 are arranged at the rear ends of the left and right bearing members 3 via bearings on the same horizontal axis so as to be rotatable. .

In the figure, reference numeral 5 denotes a pallet plate for supporting component mounting.
The pallet plate 5 is a front-facing flat U-shaped flat plate slightly smaller than the cross member A as a component to be mounted.
a, respectively, and the upper ends of the left and right support plates 5a are slightly fitted to the left and right shafts 4 so as to be fitted to the left and right shafts 4 so that the entire pallet plate 5 is shifted from a horizontal upward state by its own weight. It is mounted rotatably in a vertical horizontal (rearward) state.

A lock device 6 is provided for restricting the rotation of the pallet plate 5 to lock the positions of the pallet plate 5 in a horizontal upward state and a vertical horizontal state. The lock device 6 includes an unlock operation lever 7 having a grip 7a at a rear end, an interlocking link 8, a lock pin 9, and a lock spring 10. The unlock operation lever 7
Is mounted on the upper surface of the base 1 in the front-rear direction, and is pivotally mounted at a substantially center thereof by a pin 11 so as to be horizontally rotatable. The lower end of the interlocking link 8 is engaged with the front U-shaped portion of the unlock operation lever 7. As shown in FIG. 2, the interlocking link 8 is pivotally attached to a support plate 2a of an intermediate height of the left bracket 2 standing on the base 1 via a pin 12 so as to be rotatable in the left-right direction on a vertical plane. ing. A support arm 13 protrudes rearward from an upper end of the interlocking link 8, and the lock pin 9 is connected to the rear end in a state of being orthogonal. The lock pin 9 penetrates through the bearing member 3 on the upper part of the bracket 2 and removably fits into one of the lock holes 5b, 5c of the support plate 5a of the pallet plate 5,
The pallet plate 5 is positioned and locked in a horizontal upward state and a vertical horizontal state.

The lock spring 10 is stretched between the lower end of the interlocking link 8 and the bracket 2 on the right side, and the lock spring 10 locks the lock pin 9 through the interlocking link 8 into a lock hole. The pallet plate 5 is always urged in a direction in which the pallet plate 5 is inserted into the pallet plate 5 so that a self-lock is effected.

In the drawing, reference numeral 14 denotes a stopper protruding outwardly of the left bracket 2, and receives the pallet plate 5 when the pallet plate 5 is turned horizontally upward. In the figure, reference numeral 15 denotes a stopper attached to the rear surface of the right bracket 2, and when the pallet plate 5 is turned to a vertical sideways state, the pallet plate 5 is received so as not to rotate any more.

The pallet plate 5 is provided with a work reference positioning locator 16 on the left and right edges of the upper surface so that the cross member A, which is a component to be mounted, can be accurately positioned at a predetermined position and mounted and supported. Each is protruding,
This fits into the processing hole of the cross member A. Also, L-shaped fixed receiving bases 17 are provided upright on the left and right portions of the rear edge portion of the upper surface of the pallet plate 5, respectively, to receive the rear end side edge left and right portions of the cross member A. Further, a clamp mechanism 18 for clamping and supporting the front end side left and right portions of the cross member A is provided.

The clamp mechanism 18 is mounted on each of the left and right front corners of the pallet plate 5 and is fixed to the receiving table 1.
9, an inverted L-shaped clamp claw 21 rotatably supported between the brackets 20a and 20b, and a toggle link 22 for rotating the clamp claw 21 forward and reverse. In addition, a clamp operating mechanism 23 is provided which allows the left and right clamp mechanisms 18 to interlock with each other to perform a clamping and unclamping operation with one lever. The clamp operating mechanism 23 is provided with a pair of rotating shafts 25 arranged in a reverse V-shape via a plurality of bearings 24 on the lower surface of the pallet plate 5 and attached to the rear ends of the rotating shafts 25 to mesh with each other. Miter gear 26 and an operation handle 27 protruding upward from a rear end portion of one of the rotating shafts 25. The front ends of the left and right rotating shafts 25 are linked with the toggle link 22, and by rotating the operation handle 27 right and left, the two rotating shafts 25 rotate in conjunction with each other via the miter gear 26. Clamp mechanism 18
The toggle link 22 is rotated to rotate the clamp claw 21 forward and backward so that the front end side edge of the cross member A can be clamped and positioned or unclamped (unclamped). . Miter gear (mi
The ter gear 26 is a kind of bevel gear. The pair of gears mesh with each other with their axes crossing each other and have the same number of teeth, so that the pair of rotating shafts 25 can rotate in synchronization with each other.

FIG. 1B shows a pair of left and right lower arms for supporting wheels, which are accessories of the cross member sub-assembly of the automobile, and each cross member A is tightened with a single shaft pin-shaped bolt and nut. Attached to the left and right parts of the. In the figure, C indicates a steering linkage similarly attached to the cross member A. A bracket D is held at two places on the left and right sides, and both brackets D are fastened to the cross member A by four bolts and nuts in the left-right direction. Mounted over. Note that E in FIG.
Is a rotary valve with an input shaft provided on the steering linkage C.

In the figure, reference numeral 30 denotes stoppers which are provided upright on the rear portion of the base 1 near the left and right, respectively.
When the is rotated to the vertical sideways state, the tip of the input shaft of the rotary valve E of the steering linkage C is received.

According to the component assembling pallet having such a construction, when the pallet is put on the conveyor of the assembly line and transported to a predetermined location, the cross member A is placed on the upper surface of the pallet plate 5 which is locked and held in the horizontal state of the pallet. Is supported. At this time, the left and right workpiece reference positioning locators 16 are fitted into the processing holes of the cross member A, and the clamp operating mechanism 23 is rotated to operate the left and right clamp mechanisms 1.
The clamp member 21 of No. 8 is rotated in the closing direction by the toggle link 22 to clamp the cross member A in a state where the right and left portions of the front end side edge are resiliently pressed. With this, the cross member A abuts the right and left edge portions on the rear end side to the fixed receiving base 17,
It can be accurately positioned and supported at a predetermined position without falling off.

In this state, a pair of left and right lower arms B is set on the left and right portions of the cross member A, and each of the left and right lower arms B is tightened with one shaft pin-shaped bolt and nut. Attach to the part.

After that, the unlocking lever 7 of the locking device 6 of the pallet plate 5 is turned to rotate the lock pin 9 against the lock spring 10 and pull it out of the lock hole 5b of the support plate 5a. When the lock member is unlocked, the pallet plate 5 holds the cross member A and supports the pallet plate 5 from the horizontal upward state shown in FIG. 3 (a) to the vertical horizontal (rearward) state shown in FIG. 3 (b) by its own weight. And hits the stopper 15. Here, by releasing the unlocking operation lever 7 of the lock device 6 and leaving it free, the lock pin 9 is moved through the interlocking link 8 by the urging of the lock spring 10 of the lock device 6 so that the lock hole of the support plate 5a is locked. 5
c is automatically fitted into the pallet plate 5 and self-locked.
Is locked in the vertical horizontal position.

In this state, the steering linkage C is set on the cross member A as shown in FIG. 3 (b), and brackets D are held at two places on the left and right sides, and the nut runner ( (Not shown)
, And fasten to the cross member A with four bolts and nuts.

After the left and right lower arms B and the steering linkage C have been mounted on the cross member A mounted and supported on the pallet plate 5, the cross member sub-assembly is transported to the next assembling process by a conveyor while being mounted on the pallet. Then, although not shown, the pallet plate 5 is returned to a horizontal upward state while releasing the lock device 6 by an automatic reversing device or the like, and the clamp operation mechanism 23 is rotated to operate the left and right clamp mechanisms 18.
Is opened to release the clamp. And
Although not shown, the cross member sub-assembly is picked up from the pallet plate 5 by an automatic unloading device or the like and is carried to the next assembling step. The empty pallet is returned to the initial position by the conveyor and reused for the cross member subassembly operation.

[0025]

Since the component assembling pallet of the present invention is configured as described above, the operation of rotating the mounted and supported component from the upward state to the horizontal state can be performed very easily and easily, and the weight burden due to human power. And the effect of contributing to the efficiency of the component assembling work can be obtained. Also,
The operation handle of the clamp operation mechanism for manually operating the clamp mechanism and the unlock operation lever of the lock device are arranged near each other facing the operator side, and a pair of clamp mechanisms are synchronized with each other via a miter gear to clamp the clamp position. The pallet is a component assembling pallet having good operability since it is driven between the pallet and the unclamping position.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of a pallet for component assembly according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the embodiment.

FIG. 3A is a side view when the pallet plate of the component assembling pallet according to the embodiment is positioned and locked in a horizontal upward state, and FIG. 3B is a side view when the pallet plate is positioned and locked in a vertical horizontal state. Side view.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Base, 2 ... Bracket, 4 ... Shaft, 5 ... Pallet board, 6 ... Locking device, 7 ... Unlocking operation lever, 9 ...
Lock pin, 10: lock spring, A: cross member,
B: Lower arm, C: Steering linkage.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] A pallet for assembling parts used for mounting and supporting accessories by mounting and supporting parts, comprising: a base (1); and a bracket (11) erected on the base (1). A pallet plate (5) rotatably mounted on the upper part of this bracket (2) so that it can be rotated from its upward state, which is supported by a horizontal shaft (4) and is mounted and supported by a horizontal shaft (4), to its horizontal state by its own weight.
And an unlockable lock member (9) for automatically positioning and locking the pallet plate (5) at each of the upward and sideways positions as the pallet plate (5) rotates. Operation unit (7a) extending outward from pallet plate (5)
A lock device (6) having an unlocking operation lever (7) capable of operating the lock member (9) to an unlock position by the
A locator (16) provided at a plurality of predetermined positions on the pallet plate (5) and fitted into holes formed in the component to position the component at a predetermined position on the pallet plate (5); (5) A pair of right and left clamp mechanisms (18) having clamp claws (21) for clamping the parts positioned in the predetermined position of (5), and left and right in a substantially V shape along the pallet plate (5). A pair of rotating shafts (25) arranged in a shape that spreads out and a miter gear that rotates these rotating shafts (25) in synchronization with each other
(26) and an operating handle (27) provided on one of the rotating shafts (25) in the vicinity of the unlocking operating lever (7). A pallet for component assembly, comprising: a clamp operating mechanism (23) for driving a clamp claw (21) of a mechanism (18) to a clamp position and an unclamping position, respectively.