JP3045843B2 - Bonnet closing method and device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method of automatically closing a bonnet of a vehicle body, which is locked on a hood stay of the vehicle body and conveyed on an automobile assembly line in a state of being opened in advance, by a robot, and a method thereof. Related to the device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As is well known, an automobile assembly line is being automated by introducing a robot, and a car body conveyed along the assembly line is equipped with a robot at each assembly station. Will be automatically assembled. At this time, the car body is initially transported with the hood open so as not to disturb the assembly of the parts in the engine room, etc., but after the assembly of the predetermined parts in the engine room, etc. is completed. On the assembly line,
There are assembly stations that cannot secure the operation range of the robot unless the hood is closed. In such an assembly station that requires the hood to be closed, the hood is closed manually by an operator in advance of the assembly station.

[0003]

However, as described above, since many assembling robots are provided and operated on the assembly line of a car, it is preferable in terms of safety that an operator enters there. Absent. Therefore, it has been considered that a bonnet is automatically opened and closed by a robot. For example, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 63-38938 discloses a method in which a handle jig is attached to a bonnet in advance, and the handle jig is attached to the end of a robot arm. There is disclosed a technique in which the hood is held by a chuck and the hood is opened and closed by a vertical movement of a robot arm.

[0004] However, in the apparatus disclosed in the above-mentioned publication, not only must a handle jig be attached to the bonnet in advance, but finally, the handle jig must be removed, and this must be removed from other parts. There is a problem in that the number of work steps increases and the efficiency is inefficient whether performed by a robot or a worker.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to release the engagement between the bonnet and the bonnet stay without mounting a jig or the like on the bonnet side, and to further reduce the bonnet stay. The present invention provides a method and a device for closing a bonnet which can be stored in a storage portion provided at the periphery of an opening of an engine room to store the hood securely.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the method of the present invention is characterized in that one end is attached to the periphery of an engine room opening of a vehicle body, and a hook portion at the tip of a hood stay that can be turned upside down is provided with a lower surface. When closing the bonnet supported by the engagement groove of the open state is closed by a robot, first, while holding the bonnet stay with the first robot, the second robot is brought into contact with the bonnet from below The bonnet stay held by the first robot is moved in the disengagement direction along the engagement groove, and then the hood is further lifted by the second robot to engage them. Is released, the first robot lowers the bonnet stay to a storage position provided on the periphery of the opening of the engine room, and guides the hood stay. N'netto lowers the characterized by occlusion.

In guiding the bonnet stay to the storage position by the first robot, the hood stay is provided with play by a guide tool provided on the arm of the first robot, and the bonnet stay is moved to the storage position. When the guide tool is tilted downward, it is desirable that the guide tool be pivotally moved toward the storage position while being shifted in the root direction of the bonnet stay.

In order to achieve the above object, in the device of the present invention, an engaging groove on a lower surface is provided at a hook portion at an end of a bonnet stay which is attached at one end to a periphery of an engine room opening of a vehicle body and which can be turned upside down. In a bonnet closing device for closing a bonnet supported by an open state by a robot, the bonnet stay is held, and the bonnet stay being held is aligned with the engagement groove to release the bonnet stay. And a second robot that moves the bonnet stay down to the storage position of the periphery of the engine room opening and guides it, and a second robot that contacts the lower surface of the front end of the hood and raises and lowers the front end of the hood. It is characterized by the following.

The first robot which guides the hood stay by tilting the hood stay into the storage position holds the leading end of the hood stay with play and tilts the hood stay toward the storage position. Sometimes, it is desirable to equip the tip of the arm with a guide tool that is rotated toward the storage position while being shifted in the root direction of the bonnet stay.

[0010]

According to the operation of the present invention, the bonnet stay is lifted by a predetermined amount by the second robot while holding the bonnet stay by the first robot. In this state, the bonnet stay is moved in the disengagement direction by the first robot. Then, the hood is further lifted by the second robot to completely disengage the bonnet from the bonnet stay, and then the bonnet stay is depressed by the first robot and guided to the storage position, and the hood is lifted by the second robot. In this state, the bonnet is lowered by the second robot from the raised state, and the bonnet is automatically and reliably closed by the cooperation of the first robot and the second robot.

When the bonnet stay is stored by the first robot, the guide which holds the leading end of the bonnet stay with play is shifted in the root direction of the bonnet stay toward the storage position. By rotating the robot toward the first robot, the trajectory of the arm of the first robot can be shortened as much as possible, and its operation can be speeded up, and the first robot can be reduced in size and weight.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a plan view of an automobile assembly line showing one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 shows an installation station of a radiator.

The assembling station S includes a mounting robot 1 that carries the radiator A to a predetermined portion of the vehicle body B on the transfer line and holds the radiator A, and a nutrunner that fastens the radiator A held by the mounting robot 1. Robot 2
Are disposed facing the left and right sides of the vehicle body transfer line, respectively. Further, the vehicle body B is transported to the assembling station S from the upstream with the bonnet B1 of the vehicle body B locked and opened by the bonnet stay. That is, the bonnet stay is provided so that one end is attached to the periphery of the opening of the engine room of the vehicle body B so that the hood stay can be turned upside down. The bonnet B1 is supported in an open state.

By the way, on the upstream side of the nut runner robot 2, the bonnet stay in a standing state is held, and the bonnet stay is guided into a storage portion provided along the periphery of the opening of the engine room. The robot 3 is provided, and when the radiator A is assembled, the nut runner robot 2 and the stay robot 3 cooperate to close the bonnet B1.

That is, as shown in FIG. 2, the stay robot 3 has a first clamp 30 and a second clamp 31 provided in the upper and lower stages at the tip of the hand. The bonnet stay B2 is guided by the second clamp 31 while being gripped. As shown in FIG. 3, the first clamp 30 has a configuration in which a pair of levers 300, 300 are opened and closed facing each other, and clamps the bonnet stay B2. As shown in FIG. The pair of levers 310, 310 which are opened and closed in opposition, face the recesses 311 respectively.
311 are formed and both recesses 311 311
, So that the bonnet stay B2 can be swung in the gap defined by the play and is held in a state having play.

As shown in FIG. 5, the nut runner robot 2 has a first nut runner 20 and a second nut runner 21 provided in parallel at the tip of the hand. That is,
A first nut runner 20 is fixed to one end of a support rail member 22 attached to the tip of the hand.
Reference numeral 1 denotes a sliding jig which is slid at the other end of the support rail member 22, and a support jig 23 for supporting the bonnet B1 on the first nut runner 20 side as shown in FIG. Is provided. 6 is an elevation view of FIG. 5, and FIG. 8 is a plan view of FIG.

The support jig 23 is configured such that the contact piece 230 is softly abutted against the bonnet B1 and can be moved by a predetermined stroke by the air cylinder 231. That is, the contact piece 230 is fixed to the tip of the lever 234 supported by the post member 233 suspended on the base 232, and the other end of the lever 234 is urged by the tension spring 235. The base 232 is connected to the air cylinder 231 and slides along the guide member 236.

At the assembling station S, as shown in FIG. 9, the bonnet B1 supported in the open state by the engagement of the bonnet stay B2 is closed after the radiator A has been assembled. For this closing, first, the bonnet stay B2 is firmly gripped by the first clamp 30 of the stay robot 3. And
After the contact piece 230 of the support jig 23 attached to the nut runner robot 2 is brought into contact with the tip of the bonnet B1,
The air cylinder 231 is extended to lift the front end of the bonnet B1 by a predetermined stroke.

When the leading end of the bonnet B1 is lifted by a predetermined stroke and a gap occurs between the leading end of the bonnet stay B2 and the hook at the leading end of the bonnet stay B2, the stay robot 3 then moves the bonnet stay B2 to the engagement formed on the lower surface of the leading end of the bonnet B1. The nut runner robot 2 pulls the bonnet B1
Lift further. Thereby, bonnet stay B2
And the bonnet B1 are completely disengaged.

Next, the first clamp 3 of the stay robot 3
0 and open the bonnet stay B2 to the second clamp 31.
While holding it with play, it is tilted down toward the storage position provided on the periphery of the engine room. At this time, the second clamp 31 does not simply rotate in a circular locus, but also rotates while moving in the root direction of the bonnet stay B2 to guide the bonnet stay B2 to the storage position, as shown in FIG. The control program of the stay robot 3 is configured to store the information. The second clamp 31 is opened at the final stage of the guide, and the bonnet stay B2 is allowed to freely fall at the final portion.

In this embodiment, the bonnet stay B
After the robot 2 is stored in the storage position, the hood B1 is supported by the stay robot 3, and the arm of the nut runner robot 2 is returned to the initial position.
This holding is performed in order to use the nut runner robot 2 for the original work of fastening the nut. The mounting robot 1 carries the radiator A to a predetermined portion of the vehicle body B and supports it, and the nut runner robot 2 fastens the radiator A. . After that, the arm of the mounting robot 1 is returned to the initial position, the bonnet B1 is again supported by the nut runner robot 2, and the arm of the stay robot 3 is returned to the initial position. This re-switching,
When the hood B1 is closed by lowering the hood B1 with the stay robot 3 and closing the hood, the arm of the stay robot 3 interferes with the vehicle body B. This is to avoid this, and the hood B1 is lowered by the nut runner robot 2. Thus, the hood B1 is securely closed without damaging the vehicle body B.

As described above, the bonnet B1 can be reliably closed by the cooperative operation of the nut runner robot 2 and the stay robot 3, and is basically the same as the manual closing. It is not particularly necessary to attach a jig, and since the robot is used, the efficiency is high. Therefore, it can be preferably applied to an automatic assembly line.

When the stay robot 3 stores the bonnet stay B2, the second clamp 31 holding the tip of the bonnet stay B2 with play is provided.
Is rotated while also shifting in the root direction of the bonnet stay B2, so that the movement trajectory of the arm of the stay robot 3 can be shortened as much as possible, and the operation can be quickly performed. Therefore, the stay robot 3 can be reduced in size and weight, which is advantageous in terms of cost.

[0024]

As described in detail in the above embodiments, according to the bonnet closing method and apparatus according to the present invention, the second robot raises the hood by a predetermined amount while holding the hood stay by the first robot. In this state, the hood stay is moved in the disengagement direction by the first robot, and then the hood is further lifted by the second robot to completely disengage the hood from the hood stay. The first robot and the second robot cooperate with each other by lowering the bonnet stay, guiding the hood to the storage position, placing the bonnet in a lifting state by the second robot, and lowering the hood by the second robot from the lifting state. As a result, the hood can be automatically and reliably closed.

When storing the bonnet stay with the first robot, the guide tool holding the front end of the bonnet stay with play is shifted toward the root position of the bonnet stay toward the storage position. , The trajectory of the arm of the first robot can be shortened as much as possible.
The size and weight of the first robot can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an automobile assembly line showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an elevation view showing the tip of the hand of the stay robot.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a first clamp at the tip of the hand of the stay robot.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a second clamp at the tip of the hand of the stay robot.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a tip end of a hand of the nutrunner robot.

FIG. 6 is an elevational view of the tip of the hand of the nutrunner robot shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is an elevation view showing a support jig at the tip of the hand of the nutrunner robot.

8 is a plan view of the support jig shown in FIG.

FIG. 9 is a side view showing a front portion of the vehicle body on a transport line.

FIG. 10 is a front view of the vehicle body shown in FIG. 9;

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Second robot (nut runner robot) 3 First robot (stay robot) 31 Guide tool (second clamp) A Work (radiator) B1 Bonnet B2 Bonnet stay

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-2-141374 (JP, A) JP-A-63-28775 (JP, A) JP-A-3-165875 (JP, A) 38938 (JP, Y2) (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B62D 65/06

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A bonnet whose one end is attached to the periphery of an engine room opening of a vehicle body and which is supported in an open state by engaging an engaging groove on a lower surface with a hook portion at an end of a bonnet stay which can be turned upside down. First, the hood stay is held by the first robot, and the second robot is brought into contact with the bonnet from below to lift the hood stay by a predetermined amount. After moving the bonnet further by the second robot to disengage them, the bonnet stay is moved to the periphery of the engine room opening by the first robot. Closing the bonnet by lowering the bonnet with the second robot and guiding the bonnet after the bonnet is guided to the provided storage position. Method. 2. When the first robot guides the hood stay to the storage position, the hood stay is provided with play by a guide tool provided on an arm of the first robot, and the hood stay is held. 2. The hood closing method according to claim 1, wherein the guide tool is pivotally moved toward the storage position while being shifted in a root direction of the bonnet stay when tilted toward the storage position. 3. A bonnet whose one end is attached to the periphery of an engine room opening of a vehicle body and which is supported in an open state by engaging an engaging groove on a lower surface with a hook portion at the tip of a bonnet stay which can be turned upside down. In the hood closing device, the hood stay is held and the held hood stay is moved in the disengagement direction along the engagement groove, and the hood stay is stored in the periphery of the opening of the engine room. A hood closing device, comprising: a first robot that is guided to fall into a position; and a second robot that contacts the lower surface of the front end of the bonnet and raises and lowers the front end of the hood. 4. A first robot which guides the hood stay by tilting the hood stay to a storage position, holds the leading end of the hood stay with play, and tilts the hood stay toward the storage position. 4. The hood closing device according to claim 3, wherein a guide tool which is sometimes shifted toward the storage position while being shifted in the root direction of the bonnet stay is provided at the tip of the arm.