JP3184727B2 - Work positioning 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 work positioning apparatus for positioning a work formed at a predetermined position on a conveyor to automatically load a work formed by pressing, for example, on a pallet or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, various apparatuses are used for automatically loading a work such as a panel component carried out from a transfer press machine on a predetermined pallet. As this type of apparatus, after a work conveyed intermittently from a transfer press machine in a relatively short time is positioned at a predetermined position on a conveyor, the work is automatically transferred to a pallet via a loading robot or the like. It is known to be configured to be loaded onto a vehicle.

[0003] In this case, it is desired to appropriately position, at a predetermined position, works having various external shapes, such as an outer plate member of an automobile body. For this reason, the present applicant provides a movable frame that can move forward and backward in the transport direction in order to position the work in a direction that intersects the transport direction, and a plurality of pressing members that can individually advance and retract in the movable frame. Has been proposed (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-271061).

[0004]

However, some of the outer panel members of an automobile body have curved surfaces such as skin members (for example, trunk skin, gate skin, foot skin and door skin) and fenders. There are many that have an inclined surface shape. Therefore, when attempting to perform this kind of positioning operation of the outer plate member according to the related art, a curved member or an inclined surface of the outer plate member is pressed by a pressing member that advances and retreats in a direction intersecting the transport direction. There is a possibility that the positioning accuracy of the outer plate member is reduced.

An object of the present invention is to solve such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a work positioning apparatus capable of reliably and easily positioning works of various shapes with a simple configuration. And

[0006]

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a work positioning apparatus for positioning a work conveyed by a conveyor on the conveyor, wherein A work front positioning mechanism provided forward in the conveyance direction, a fixed side guide member arranged on the side in the conveyance direction, and a work side positioning mechanism provided on a side facing the fixed side guide member, Wherein the work front positioning mechanism has a fixed front guide member that engages with a front end of the work in the transfer direction, and at least one locking member that can move forward and backward in the transfer direction, to the shape of the work. The work side positioning mechanism is selectively provided correspondingly,
Can be tilted with respect to the transport direction under the action of a rotary drive source
A support base, and moving means provided on said support base, said Susumu
Provided retreat means, the該進retreat means in tilting position of the support base
And a pressing member that can move forward and backward under the action .

[0007]

In the work positioning device according to the present invention,
The work conveyed via the conveyance conveyer has a fixed front guide member constituting a work front positioning mechanism ,
Anterior positioning is performed by the advance and retreat locking member corresponding to the shape of the workpiece is formed selectively. Then, the pressing member constituting the work side positioning mechanism moves forward and backward in a state where the pressing member is tilted with respect to the transfer direction in accordance with the side surface shape of the work, and positions the work in a direction intersecting the transfer direction. Thus, even if the workpiece has a curved surface or an inclined surface, it can be easily and accurately positioned in the transport direction and a direction intersecting the transport direction.

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A work positioning device according to the present invention will be described.
Embodiments will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings in connection with an automatic transport system for carrying out this.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 denotes an automatic transfer system incorporating a work positioning device according to the present embodiment. The automatic transfer system 10 is a transfer mechanism that sorts a workpiece W transferred in a direction indicated by an arrow X from a transfer press machine 12 through two rows of unloading conveyors 16 and 16a in directions indicated by arrows Y and Ya intersecting the arrow X. 1
8, 18a, the vertical sorting conveyors 20 and 20a for supplying the work W to the transport mechanisms 18 and 18a, and the work W is positioned corresponding to the first loading positions P1 and P1a and the second loading positions P2 and P2a. The first work positioning devices 22 and 22a and the second work positioning device
Work positioning devices 24 and 24a are provided.

[0010] The unloading conveyor 16 and the sorting conveyor 20 are endless belts 28 and 30 which run around in a direction of arrow X by a rotary drive source (not shown).
In addition, the sorting conveyor 20 is configured to be swingable with the end on the side of the unloading conveyor 16 as a fulcrum.

The transport mechanism 18 includes a lower conveyor 32 and an upper conveyor 3 for transporting the workpiece W in the direction of arrow X.
As shown in FIG. 2, a pusher 36 is provided above the lower conveyor 32 and the upper conveyor 34 so as to be able to advance and retreat in the arrow Y direction. A transfer conveyor 38 is disposed near the end of the lower conveyor 32 and the end of the first work positioning device 22 (see FIG. 1).

The first work positioning device 22 and the second work positioning device 24 are arranged corresponding to the first loading position P1 and the second loading position P2, respectively, and have the same configuration. The first work positioning device 22 will be described, and the same components of the second work positioning device 24 will be denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 3, the first work positioning device 22 is for positioning the work W on a steel slat belt (transportation conveyor) 40, and in the conveyance direction of the steel slat belt 40 (arrow Y). direction)
A work front positioning mechanism 42 provided in the front, a fixed side guide member 44 provided on the side in the transport direction,
A work side positioning mechanism 46 is provided on the side facing the fixed side guide member 44.

The steel slat belt 40 includes a base 47
A rotating drive source 48 for rotating the steel slat belt 40 around is fixed to the rear side of the base 47. A work front positioning mechanism 42 is mounted on a front end of the base 47. The work front positioning mechanism 42 is moved in the transport direction (arrow Y direction).
Fixed front guide member 50 which is elongated in the direction (arrow X direction) intersecting with
And a pair of movable stoppers 52 that can move back and forth in the transport direction.
And

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the movable stopper 52 is provided on the rear side of the fixed front guide member 50 with the mounting base 5.
A cylinder 54 fixed through the cylinder 3 is provided, and a round bar-shaped locking member 58 extending in the vertical direction is fixed to an end of a rod 56 extending from the cylinder 54. Locking member 58
Has a pair of guide bars 6 positioned above and below the rod 56.
0 is fixed at one end and the guide bar 60
Are supported by the mounting table 53 so as to be able to move forward and backward.

As shown in FIG. 3, the work side positioning mechanism 46 includes guide rails 62a and 62b extending in the direction of arrow Y in the direction of the base 47 and parallel to each other. In the meantime, a ball screw 66 connected to the rotary drive source 64 extends in the arrow Y direction and is supported. As shown in FIG. 5 and FIG.
A pair of guide portions 70a and 70b provided on a slide base 68 are engaged with the slide bases a and 62b, respectively, and the slide base 68 is provided with a nut 72 that is screwed into the ball screw 66.

Guide portions 74a and 74b are fixed to the upper part of the slide base 68 in the direction of arrow X, and a pair of rail members 76a and 76b supported by the guide portions 74a and 74b and elongated in the direction of arrow X are paired. It is provided on the rectangular cylindrical bodies 78a and 78b. The rectangular cylinders 78a and 78b advance and retract integrally in the direction of the arrow X via the driving means 80.

The driving means 80 includes a rotary driving source 82 fixed to the side of the slide table 68 as shown in FIG.
A rotating body 86 is engaged with the rotating drive source 82 via a belt pulley 84, and the rotating body 86 is
The nut member 90 is engaged via the pulley 88. The nut member 90 is rotatably supported by a mounting table 92 fixed to the upper part of the slide table 68. A ball screw 94 is fitted in the nut member 90, and both ends of the ball screw 94 are supported by brackets 96 that are integrated with the rectangular cylinders 78a and 78b (see FIG. 5).

As shown in FIG. 5 and FIG.
A bracket 98 is integrally fixed to the distal ends of the brackets a and 78b, and a rotation drive source 100 is mounted on a side of the bracket 98. The worm 102 is attached to the drive shaft of the rotary drive source 100.
The worm 102 meshes with a worm wheel 104 that can rotate in the horizontal direction. The worm wheel 104 has a rotating shaft 106 extending in a vertical direction.
The rotating shaft 106 is rotatably supported by a bracket 98, and a support base 108 is fixed to an upper portion thereof.

A cylinder 110 which extends in the direction of the arrow X and constitutes an advancing / retracting means is provided substantially at the center of the support table 108, and a plate 114 is fixed to a rod 112 extending from the cylinder 110. Guide rods 116a and 116b are arranged on both sides of the cylinder 110. The guide rods 116a and 116b are supported by the bracket 98 so as to be able to advance and retreat, and their respective tips are fixed to the plate 114. Positioning pushers (pressing members) 118a to 118c extending in the vertical direction are fixed to the plate 114 with their respective intervals adjusted.

Although the structure of the unloading conveyor 16 has been described above, the unloading conveyor 16a is also configured in the same manner. Omitted (see FIGS. 1 and 2).

At each of the first loading positions P1 and P1a and the second loading positions P2 and P2a, loading robots 130 are disposed, and pallets 14 are disposed on both sides of each loading robot 130. An empty pallet arrangement portion 132 is provided near the first work positioning device 22a, and the pallet 14 can be circulated and used.

Next, the operation of the automatic transfer system 10 configured as described above will be described in relation to the first work positioning devices 22, 22a and the second work positioning devices 24, 24a according to the present embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1, the work W sent out from the transfer press machine 12 is transported by a carry-out conveyor 16,
It is placed on 16a and transported in the direction of the arrow X, and inspectors inspect the molding quality and the like. Then, if there is no abnormality, the work W is carried into the sorting conveyors 20 and 20a.

The work W sent from the unloading conveyor 16 is distributed via the sorting conveyor 20 to the first loading position P1.
When the endless belt 30 is conveyed to the endless belt 30 while the front end of the swing of the sorting conveyor 20 is swung downward.
Is driven around. Therefore, the work W sent from the unloading conveyor 16 is placed on the endless belt 30 and is conveyed to the lower conveyor 32.

Next, the pusher 36 is moved in the direction of arrow Y, and the workpiece W is placed on the transfer conveyor 38.
It is transported to the 0 side. At this time, the steel slat belt 40 travels in the direction of the arrow Y under the action of the rotary drive source 48, so that the work W is
The workpiece is conveyed in the direction of arrow Y, and the front end in the conveying direction abuts on a fixed front guide member 50 constituting the work front positioning mechanism 42, and the positioning in the conveying direction is performed.

Here, if the work W is, for example, a trunk skin constituting an automobile body, the work W
As shown in FIG. 4, the workpiece W has a shape that is inclined downward toward the front end in the transport direction.
Is fixed front guide member 50 and steel slat belt 4
0 easily. For this reason, in this embodiment, a pair of movable stoppers 52 constituting the work front positioning mechanism 42 are driven in advance.

That is, in FIGS. 3 and 4, the cylinder 54 is driven and the locking member 58 is
Moves in the direction of arrow Y1. The position of each locking member 58 is set according to the shape of the work W, so that the edge portion Wa of the work W is fixed to the front guide member 5.
It does not get caught in the gap between 0 and the steel slat belt 40. Accordingly, there is obtained an advantage that damage to the work W can be prevented, and a failure in taking out the work W can be reliably avoided.

On the other hand, in the work side positioning mechanism 46,
The positions of the positioning pushers 118a to 118c and the tilting posture with respect to the arrow Y direction are set in advance corresponding to the side shape of the workpiece W to be conveyed. That is, when the ball screw 66 is rotated under the action of the rotary drive source 64, the slide table 68 moves the guide rails 62 a, 62 b and the guide portions 70 a, 70 b via the nut 72 screwed to the ball screw 66. Move in the direction of arrow Y under the guidance action,
The position of the bracket 98 in the direction of the arrow Y is adjusted via the slide table 68.

Further, when the rotary driving source 82 constituting the driving means 80 is driven, the belt pulley 84 and the rotating body 8 are driven.
The nut member 90 is rotated via the belt pulley 88 and the nut 6. For this reason, the ball screw 94 screwed to the nut member 90 moves in the direction of the arrow X under the guiding action of the guide portions 74a, 74b and the rail members 76a, 76b integrally with the rectangular cylinders 78a, 78b. Cylinder 78a, 78
The position adjustment of the bracket 98 provided at the tip of b in the direction of the arrow X is performed.

Further, when the worm 102 is rotated under the action of the rotary drive source 100, the rotating shaft 106 rotates integrally with the worm wheel 104 meshing with the worm.
Accordingly, the positioning pushers 118a to 118c are tilted about the rotation shaft 106 via the support table 108 fixed to the rotation shaft 106, and the positioning pushers 118a to 118c are tilted.
The tilt postures of the a to 118c with respect to the arrow Y direction are set.

When the work W is conveyed in the direction of the arrow Y via the steel slat belt 40, the work W is moved to the front end by the locking member 58 of each movable stopper 52 constituting the work front positioning mechanism 42. (See FIG. 3). Next, the locking member 5 is
8 is retracted, and the workpiece side positioning mechanism 46 is moved.
Is driven, and the rod 112 and the plate 114 project integrally. Thereby, the positioning pushers 118a to 118c advance at the inclined position and press the work W toward the fixed side guide member 44 (in FIG. 7,
See dash-double-dot line).

Therefore, the workpiece W is accurately positioned in the directions of the arrow Y and the arrow X (that is, the first loading position P1), and is automatically loaded on the pallet 14 while being held by the loading robot 130. This pallet 14
After a predetermined number of works W are loaded, an empty pallet 1
Replaced with 4.

On the other hand, when the work W is transported to the second loading position P2, the swinging tip side of the sorting conveyor 20 is swung upward, and the work W is sent out from the sorting conveyor 20 to the upper conveyor 34. . Thereafter, the work W is transported to the second work positioning device 24 via the pusher 36 provided on the upper conveyor 34 (see FIG. 2), and is similarly positioned at the second loading position P2.
It is loaded on a predetermined pallet 14 by the loading robot 130.

The work W sent out to the unloading conveyor 16a is sorted downward or upward by the sorting conveyor 20a in the same manner as the unloading conveyor 16, and then transported in the direction of the arrow Ya under the action of the pusher 36a. Is positioned at the first loading position P1a or the second loading position P2a by the first work positioning device 22a or the second work positioning device 24a. The work W is loaded on the predetermined pallet 14 by the loading robot 130.
To be loaded.

In this embodiment, the work W
In addition, the positioning work can be easily and accurately performed on various works W having different shapes. This is shown in FIG.
When the work W1 as a foot skin shown in FIG. 8 is accommodated in the pallet 14 at the first loading position P1, a rotary shaft constituting the work side positioning mechanism 46 will be described. 106 is separated from the fixed front guide member 50 by a distance L1 in the arrow Y1 direction, and is separated from the fixed side guide member 44 by a distance L2 in the arrow X direction.
Only separated. Then, the positioning pushers 118a-
118c is not tilted and the cylinder 110
, The positioning pushers 118a to 118c may be moved back and forth in the arrow X direction.

A work W2 which is a gate skin shown in FIG.
Is used, the rotary shaft 106 is set at a position separated by a distance L3 from the fixed front guide member 50 and a distance L4 from the fixed side guide member 44, and the positioning pushers 118a to 118c are set in the arrow Y direction. Is tilted by an angle α1 °. In this state, the cylinder 11
By moving the positioning pushers 118a to 118c back and forth through 0, the workpiece W2 is accurately positioned in the arrow Y direction and the arrow Z direction.

In the work W3 which is a front door skin shown in FIG. 10, the rotary shaft 106 is positioned at a distance L5 from the fixed front guide member 50 and a distance L6 from the fixed side guide member 44, and the positioning pusher. 118a to 118c are inclined by an angle α2 ° in the arrow Y1 direction. On the other hand, in the work W4 as a front fender shown in FIG.
L7 from the fixed side guide member 44
The rotation shaft 106 is positioned at a position separated by 8 and does not tilt the positioning pushers 118a to 118c.

As described above, in this embodiment, the work front positioning mechanism 42 includes the fixed front guide member 50 and the movable stopper 52 that can move forward and backward in the transport direction, and the work side positioning mechanism 46 uses the arrows Y and X. A positioning pusher 118a to 118c is provided on a bracket 98 that is movable in the direction via a rotating shaft 106, and the positioning pushers 118a to 118c are configured to be able to advance and retract in this tilted position. For this reason, articles of various shapes having a curved surface or an inclined surface, such as works W, W1 to W4,
Positioning can be performed easily and accurately in the directions of arrows Y and X. Thereby, various works W having different shapes are provided.
The positioning accuracy of (W1 to W4) can be maintained effectively, and an effect of being extremely excellent in versatility can be obtained.

Further, the structure of the work front positioning mechanism 42 and the work side positioning mechanism 46 does not become complicated, and the equipment cost does not rise. Moreover,
The edge portion Wa of the work W is caught in the gap between the fixed front guide member 50 and the steel slat belt 40, so that damage to the work W and poor removal by the loading robot 130 can be reliably prevented, and the work loading operation can be performed smoothly and efficiently. It has the advantage of being performed.

In this embodiment, the work front positioning mechanism 42 has a pair of movable stoppers 52. However, the pair of movable stoppers 52 may be individually advanced and retracted, and the shape of the work W, etc. Depending on the case, only one movable stopper or two or more pairs of movable stoppers can be used. Further, the fixed front guide member 50 and the movable stopper 52 may be selectively provided.

[0042]

According to the work positioning apparatus of the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.

The work conveyed via the conveyor is selectively provided in accordance with the shape of the work and a fixed front guide member constituting a work front positioning mechanism.
The front-side positioning is performed by the retractable locking member, and the pressing member constituting the work side positioning mechanism moves forward and backward in a state where the pressing member is tilted with respect to the transport direction in accordance with the side shape of the work. The work is positioned in a direction intersecting the transfer direction. Thus, even if the workpiece has a curved surface or an inclined surface, it can be easily and accurately positioned in the transport direction and a direction intersecting the transport direction. Therefore, in particular, various types of works having different shapes can be efficiently and accurately positioned with a simple configuration.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory perspective view of an automatic transfer system incorporating a work positioning device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of a sorting conveyor, an upper conveyor, and the work positioning device that constitute the automatic transfer system.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory plan view of the work positioning device.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory side view of a work front positioning mechanism constituting the work positioning device.

FIG. 5 is a partial sectional side view of a work side positioning mechanism constituting the work positioning device.

FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional rear view of the work side positioning mechanism.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory plan view of the work side positioning mechanism.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory plan view when a foot skin is used as a work.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory plan view when a gate skin is used as a work.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory plan view when a front door skin is used as a work.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory plan view when a front fender is used as a work.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Automatic conveyance system 12 ... Transfer press machine 14 ... Pallet 16, 16a ... Unloading conveyer 18, 18a ... Conveying mechanism 20, 20a ... Sorting conveyer 22, 22a, 24, 24a ... Work positioning device 32 ... Lower conveyor 34 ... Upper side Conveyor 40 Steel slat belt 42 Work front positioning mechanism 44 Fixed side guide member 46 Work side positioning mechanism 50 Fixed front guide member 52 Movable stopper 68 Slide table 78a, 78b Square cylinder 80 Drive Means 96, 98: Bracket 106: Rotating shaft 118a-118c
… Positioning pushers W, W1 to W4… Work

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-62-125958 (JP, A) JP-A-5-178457 (JP, A) JP-A-5-92234 (JP, U) (58) Survey Field (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B65G 47/88 B65G 47/29

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A work positioning device for positioning a work conveyed by a conveyor on the conveyor, a work front positioning mechanism provided in front of the conveyor in the conveying direction, and a lateral side in the conveying direction. And a work side positioning mechanism provided on a side facing the fixed side guide member, wherein the work front positioning mechanism is provided in a direction in which the work is conveyed. with a fixed front guide member engaged to the tip, it said at least one locking member freely advance and retreat in the transport direction, provided selectively in correspondence to the shape of the workpiece, the workpiece lateral positioning mechanism, rotation a support base tiltable relative <br/> the transport direction under the action of the driving source, and moving means provided on said support base, provided in the moving means Is, 該進retreat in tilted position of the support base
Work positioning apparatus characterized by having a pressing member that retractably under the action of means.