JP3413729B2 - Parts supply method - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a component supply method for supplying a plurality of types of components in order to assemble a plurality of components to a work.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When assembling a precise and complicated device such as a tape recorder or a mechanical deck of a VTR, a plurality of types of parts are assembled to a work. Usually, when assembling a large number of types of parts on a work, an assembly robot is used, and parts are supplied to this assembly robot by a part supply device. The number of parts to be assembled in this assembling robot cell is, for example, one or two in the prior art.

Examples of the component supply device include a parts feeder, a tray changer, a magazine feeder, and a hoop feeder. One or two of these component supply devices are usually incorporated in the assembly robot cell. The built-in parts supply device supplies parts to the assembly robot, and the assembly robot assembles parts to the work.

[0004]

However, the structure of such a component supply device is almost peculiar to each component. Therefore, when the parts to be assembled are changed due to the change of the assembling model, it is necessary to manually change or adjust the parts supply device, the robot hand, or the like. Therefore, in such a conventional component supply device,
The following problems occur. When a large number of types of parts are to be assembled on a work in a robot cell, for example, when 14 types of parts are to be assembled on a work, it is necessary to prepare 14 types of parts supply devices. The size of the entire device becomes extremely large. Moreover, it is necessary to assemble the robot so as to increase the amount of movement of the robot so that the assembly robot can take parts from each of these 14 kinds of component supply devices, and the assembly robot body also becomes large.

On the other hand, by dividing the process, if one part or two parts are to be assembled in one assembly robot cell, the line space becomes large and the space efficiency becomes poor. Furthermore, the amount of parts stocked in the parts supply device must be secured in an appropriate amount in order to minimize the supply interval (time) and the number of times the parts are supplied, which increases the parts inventory in the assembly line. . In addition, when switching models, the component supply device and the robot hand of the assembly robot must be manually replaced and adjusted, which requires a very long time to switch models.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in order to solve the above problems, and it is possible to save space, reduce the stock of parts in a line, and easily supply parts that can be switched between models. It is intended to provide a way.

[0007]

According to the present invention, the above object is required for assembly in a parts supply method for supplying the above parts to an assembly main body for assembling a plurality of parts to a work. In addition, a step of loading the tray on which the above-mentioned components are placed into the above-mentioned assembly body, a step of moving the tray on which the above-mentioned components are placed up to a first direction and positioning the tray, and Moving and positioning within the working range of the assembly, and after removing the parts necessary for the assembly by the assembly body from the tray on which the parts positioned within the working range of the assembly are placed, The tray on which the above-mentioned parts are placed or the tray after the above-mentioned parts are removed is moved down to a second direction opposite to the first direction. The method comprising the steps of rises again moved to the first direction a tray loaded with the component is positioned within the operating range of the assembly, discharges the tray was removed the component from within the assembly mainly
This is achieved by a component supply method including

In the present invention, preferably, the tray on which the parts necessary for the assembling are placed is conveyed to the main assembly side by the conveying means, and the tray after the parts are removed is the discharging means. The step of discharging from the inside of the assembling main body is provided. In the present invention, preferably, the first direction is a vertical upward direction and the second direction is a vertical downward direction. In the present invention,
Preferably, the tray on which the parts taken in are placed is
Inside the assembly main body, the assembly main body is circulated and moved with respect to the first direction and the second direction.

In the present invention, preferably, in the step of upwardly moving and positioning the tray, on which the taken-in parts are placed, in the first direction, the parts conveyed into the assembly main body are placed. The tray is loaded by a lifter, the tray on which the component is placed is transferred from the lifter to a separator, and the tray on the separator on which the component is placed is set as a tray setter by a hanger.

In the present invention, preferably, in the step of ejecting the tray from which the parts have been removed from the inside of the assembly body, the tray on which the parts are positioned within the operating range of the assembly body is placed by a hanger. It is moved downward in the second direction and then discharged to the discharging means side.

In the present invention, preferably, the turret head of the assembly main body is a tray on which the parts which are assembled and positioned within the operation range of the main body are placed,
The parts are taken and set for the workpiece. In the present invention, preferably, the tray on which the parts are mounted is supplied to the assembly main body, and the pallet on the work is supplied to the assembly main body.

[0012]

According to the above construction, the tray on which the components necessary for assembly are placed is taken in the assembly main body. The tray on which the taken-in parts are placed is moved up in the first direction and positioned. The tray on which the taken-in parts are placed is further moved and positioned within the operation range of the assembly. The assembling entity picks up the necessary parts from the tray on which the parts thus positioned are placed. After the parts necessary for assembly are removed, the tray on which the parts are placed or the empty tray after the parts are removed is moved downward in the second direction. The tray on which the parts are placed is again moved upward in the first direction to be positioned within the operating range of the assembly, and the empty tray from which the parts have been removed is discharged from the inside of the assembly main body.

By doing so, it is possible to circulate the tray, on which the parts are placed, in the main assembly body as the assembly work requires. Moreover, the empty tray can be discharged from the assembly body. For this reason, the space for the apparatus for assembling work can be saved, the stock of parts in the line can be reduced, and the models can be easily switched.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The examples described below are
Since it is a preferred specific example of the present invention, various technically preferable limitations are attached, but the scope of the present invention is, unless otherwise stated to limit the present invention, in the following description.
It is not limited to these modes.

Assembling System FIG. 1 shows an assembling system for high-mix low-volume production, which comprises a preferred embodiment of a parts supply apparatus for carrying out the parts supply method of the present invention. This assembly system is roughly composed of an assembly robot section 100, a component supply conveyor 14, an assembly conveyor 54, and a component supply device 20.
It has 0 and so on. This assembly system has, for example, one robot cell 51 of the assembly robot unit 100, for example, 14 parts (for example, 1 for the thickness of the tray).
It is a device for high-mix low-volume production capable of assembling these parts to a work in the robot cell 51 while supplying 5 parts and 16 parts). The assembly robot unit 100 has three assembly robot cells 51 in the example of FIG. The robot cell 51 is also called an assembly subject.

A component supply device 200 of the present invention is set in each robot cell 51. The component supply conveyor 14 and the assembly conveyor 54 are arranged in parallel to the assembly robot unit 100.

Component Supply Conveyor 14 The component supply conveyor 14 will be described. The component supply conveyer 14 has, for example, three component supply machines 52, a conveyer 53, return units 55a and 55b, and intermediate return units 56a and 56b. The component supply conveyor 14 includes a tray T on which a component is placed and a pallet P on which another type of component is placed, and a component flow A.
It is for carrying along one direction. The return units 55a and 55b are arranged at the front end and the rear end of the transport conveyor 53, respectively. The intermediate return units 56a and 56b are arranged at the front end and the rear end of the three component feeders 52, respectively. Further, next to the return unit 55a, a charging station 58 is provided.

On the other hand, the assembling conveyor 54 is provided with the work W.
The pallet PA for transporting to each robot cell 51,
It is for carrying in the direction of arrow A2. The assembling conveyor 54 has return units 57a and 57b and a take-out station 59. The take-out station 59 is a part for taking out an assembled finished product obtained by assembling a plurality of types of parts to a work W, for example, a base (chassis) of a VTR device, from the assembling conveyor 54.

The parts to be assembled with respect to the work W are conveyed by the tray T and the supply pallet P. As the tray T, for example, a foam tray can be used. The tray T containing the components and the pallet P for the component feeder 52 can be loaded into the component feeding conveyor 14 from the loading station 58 and are transported by the transport conveyor 53. The conveyed pallet P is taken into a predetermined component feeder 52, aligned, and predetermined types of components are inserted. Then, the pallet P is returned to the conveyor 53 again and supplied to the robot cell 51.
On the other hand, the tray T is directly supplied to the robot cell 51, which is also referred to as an assembly cell, because parts are already placed when the tray T is loaded into the loading station 58.

The assembling pallet PA supplied from the take-out station 59 is positioned in a predetermined robot cell 51. And the work W on the pallet PA
On the other hand, a predetermined type of component placed on the pallet P or the tray T is assembled by the assembly robot 10 of the robot cell 51. Further, when there are no more parts required for assembly during the parts assembly, the tray T or the pallet P is moved from the robot cell 51 to the conveyor 5 for supplying parts.
3, the return unit 55b returns the sheet, and the lower conveyor of the conveyor 53 conveys it in the direction of arrow A3.

The transfer pallet P is returned to the upper stage conveyor of the component supply conveyor 14 by the intermediate return unit 56a and taken into the component supply machine 52. On the other hand, the tray T is returned to the upper conveyor by the return unit 55a, and is replaced with a new tray containing parts at the loading station 58.

The pallet P in which the parts are replenished and the tray T containing the parts are again supplied to the robot cell 51 side by the conveyor 53. At this time, the robot cell 51
Inside, it waits for a pallet P and a tray T required for assembly. When the pallet P and the tray T which are not necessary or are out of order come to a predetermined position, the robot cell 51
And is circulated until required by the return unit 55b and the intermediate return unit 56b.

When it is necessary to switch the model for assembling parts instead of the type of work W, the transfer pallet P and the tray T for the previous model are taken out at the loading station 58, and the pallet P and the tray T for the next model are taken out. Throw in. At this time, the previous model component in the hopper of the component feeder 52 is replaced with the next model component. Also, keep common parts in the hopper. The model can be switched by exchanging the pallet head and the assembling pallet that are stocked in the super pallet changer in the robot cell 51.

Robot Cell 51 Next, refer to FIG. 2 to FIG. 2 to 4 are
2 shows a robot cell 51 (mainly an assembly subject) for assembling parts, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the robot cell 51, FIG. 3 is a side view seen from an arrow Q1 in FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is an arrow in FIG. It is a side view seen from Q2. This robot cell 51
Has the following configuration. The turret head 12 of the robot 10 of the robot cell 51 shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 can carry a maximum of six hands, for example. These hands are for grasping the components mounted on the pallet P or the tray T described above.

As shown in the plan view of FIG. 2, the frame 51a of the robot cell 51 passes through the upper conveyor 14a and the lower conveyor 14b of the component supply conveyor 14 described above. Further, an assembling conveyor 54 runs beside the frame 51b. The assembling conveyor 54 also has an upper stage 13a and a lower stage 13b. The turret head is stocked in the super pallet changer 15 in order to correspond to 14 kinds of parts, and a necessary turret head can be automatically exchanged between the super turret changer 15 and the turret head 12.

The pallet lifter 20 of FIG. 2 is for taking the pallet P on which the parts are placed into the robot cell 51 from the upper conveyor 14a of the parts supply conveyor 14. To take in this pallet P, pusher 1
8 is used. A palette buffer 19 for buffering the loaded palette P is provided near the palette lifter 20.

The pallet positioning unit 25 is used by the robot 10
Is a part for positioning the pallet P in order to pick up the components mounted on the pallet P. The component supply device 200 is preferably the frame 5 of the robot cell 51.
The component supply device 200, which is disposed in the la 1a, includes two elevator units 21a and 21b. Each elevator unit 21a, 21 of the component supply device 200
b is for supplying the plurality of trays T described above sequentially or in a cycle in the assembly cell 51. Components are supplied to the pallet P shown in FIG. 1 by vibration in the component feeder 52. On the other hand, the tray T is preferably for supplying components that cannot be vibrated. As shown in FIG. 2, the assembly conveyor 54 is provided with a positioning portion 17 for the assembly pallet. This positioning part 17
Is for positioning the assembling pallet PA for assembling the parts with respect to the work.

The robot cell 51 shown in FIGS. 2 to 4 operates as follows. The sensor of the pallet lifter 20 discriminates the pallet P and the tray T containing the components conveyed by the upper conveyor 14a of the component supply conveyor 14. As a result of the determination, when it is determined that the pallet P on which the necessary parts are placed has arrived at the pallet lifter 20, the pallet P is lifted up (in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 2) and the pallet buffer It is taken into 19 and is transferred to the parts pallet positioning part 25 by the robot 10.

On the other hand, as a result of the determination, when the tray T on which the necessary parts are placed is in the pallet lifter 20, unlike the case of the pallet P, the elevator units 21a and 21b are loaded in the order of assembling steps. It is designed to be positioned.

On the other hand, the assembling pallet P conveyed by the assembling conveyor 54 has the pallet positioning unit 1
Positioned at 7. In this state, assembling of predetermined parts is started with respect to the work W on the assembling pallet P. At the time of this assembly, the trays T are circulated in the assembly order in the elevator units 21a and 21b of the component supply device 200 and positioned at the positioning position DP, so that, for example, 10 types of components are mounted on the pallet head 12 of the robot 10. Can be supplied. When it is necessary to replace the turret head 12 with the supply of components to the elevator units 21a and 21b, the turret head is replaced with the turret head stocked in the super pallet changer 15 to prepare for the next assembly operation. When the assembly progresses and the components on the tray T are exhausted, they are discharged to the lower stage conveyor 14b of the component supply conveyor 14.

On the other hand, when there are no more parts on the transfer pallet P, the pallet P shown in FIG. 2 is transferred to the pallet buffer 19 by the robot 10, and the pallet take-up pusher 18 is used to transfer the pallet P to the pallet lifter. It is returned to 20 and discharged to the upper conveyor 14a of the component supply conveyor 14. When the tray T having no parts is discharged to the lower conveyor 14b, the elevator unit 21
The other tray T in the elevator unit 21a does not circulate and stands by until a new tray T containing components is supplied in a. When a new tray T containing components is supplied, each tray T starts to circulate, and the trays are always supplied without breaking the order of the assembly process, so that a high-mix low-volume production is possible.

Component Supply Device 200 FIG. 5 shows a tray T of the component supply device 200 shown in FIG. 1 for carrying out the component supply method of the present invention.
0A is shown, and FIG. 6 shows the discharge section 200B of the tray T. These intake section 200A and discharge section 20
Reference numeral 0B is a component supply device for circulating the trays T used in combination as shown in FIG. 2, and is arranged in the robot cell 51 as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, this component supply apparatus 200 has a component supply conveyor 14 and a moving and positioning means 200C for the tray T. The moving and positioning means 200C is provided on the tray T.
Of the tray T as a first moving unit, a discharge unit 200B as a second moving unit of the tray T, and a positioning unit 200D of the tray T.

The component supplying apparatus 200 uses the tray T on which the components are mounted in order to supply, for example, 10 types of the types of components necessary for one robot cell 51, to the upper conveyor of the component supplying conveyor 14. Take in from 14a. Then, the plurality of trays T that have been taken in are circulated in the intake portion 200A and the discharge portion 200B of the component supply device 200, and the trays T from which the components have been removed are conveyed to the lower conveyor 14b.
It can be discharged to. The elevator unit 21a in FIGS. 5 and 6 constitutes a right (R) circulation conveyor, and the elevator unit 21b corresponds to a left (L) circulation conveyor. These elevator units 21a and 21b have substantially the same configuration.

Component Supply Conveyor 14 As shown in FIG. 6, each elevator unit 21a, 21
A positioning portion 200D for the tray T is provided on the upper portion of b. As shown in FIG. 2, this positioning portion 200D
Is a positioning unit for positioning the tray T at a positioning position DP within the operating range of the robot 10. The component supply conveyor 14 shown in FIG.
It has a and a lower conveyor 14b. The upper conveyor 14a is shown in FIG. 7, and the lower conveyor 14b is shown in FIG. The upper conveyor 14a in FIG. 7 is a conveyor for introducing the tray T, has a tray detection unit 20, conveyor lifters 53, 51, and conveys the tray T in the direction of arrow A1.

On the other hand, the lower conveyor 14b shown in FIG.
Is a conveyor for discharging the tray T, and is a lifter 6
It has 3,61. The lifter 53 of FIG. 7 and the lifter 63 of FIG. 8 correspond to the elevator unit 21b of FIG. 5 and are located on the left side. The lifter 51 shown in FIG. 7 and the lifter 61 shown in FIG.
It corresponds to a and is located on the right side. The detection unit 20 of FIG. 7 can detect the tray T and the pallet P that are sent, and can perform, for example, model identification, station identification, component identification, and the like.

As described above, in the upper conveyor 14a of FIG. 7, the required tray T is discriminated and pulled in. On the other hand, the lower conveyor 14b is adapted to return the tray T and receive the empty tray T for the elevator unit. Since the elevator units 21a and 21b shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 have the same configuration, the structure of one elevator unit 21 will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 to 11.

FIG. 9 shows the elevator unit 21a. The elevator unit 21a includes the intake section 200A as the first moving section and the discharge section 2 as the second moving section.
Has 00B. In addition, FIG.
11 shows the constituent elements of A, and FIG. 11 shows the constituent elements of the discharge unit 200B.

Tray T Loading Unit 200A First, the loading unit 200A shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 will be described. The intake unit 200A is provided on the upper conveyor 1
It is located above 4a. A separator 52, an elevator hanger 53, a tray setter 55 and the like are provided on the lifter 51 of the upper conveyor 14a.

The separator 52 can be opened and closed in the direction of the arrow X, so that the tray T can be held or opened. The tray setter 55 is located above the support 72 and has its claw portion 55 in the direction of the arrow.
The tray T can be held or opened by opening and closing a and 55b.

On the other hand, the elevator hanger 53 is
It can move up and down along the support 72 in the arrow Z direction. The claw 53a of the elevator hanger 53 can hold or open the tray T by opening and closing in the arrow direction. In addition, a tray pusher 56 is provided in association with the tray setter 55. The tray pusher 56 moves in the direction of the arrow Y to move the tray T held by the tray setter 55 to the tray setter 57 of the discharge section 200B.
Can be moved to the side.

Discharging Section 200B of Tray T Next, the discharging section 200B will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 11. The discharge unit 200B includes a tray setter 57,
It has an elevator hanger 61, a return elevator 60, a return separator 58, a support 70, and the like. The tray setter 57 is also referred to as an upper discharge tray, and can hold or open the tray T by opening and closing the claw 57a. The tray setter 57 is a part of the above-mentioned positioning unit 200D of the tray T. The tray setter 57 can hold or open the tray T by opening and closing in the arrow direction. The return separator 58 is also referred to as a middle discharge tray, and can open or close in the direction of the arrow as shown in FIG. 9 to hold or open the tray T. The elevator hanger 61 of FIG. 11 has a claw 61a, and the tray T can be held or opened by opening and closing the claw 61a.

The return elevator 60 of the discharge part 200B shown in FIG. 12 is movable in the Z direction along the support 70 between the positions P1 and P2 of FIG.
In the state of FIG. 12, this guide 60a is placed, and the tray T indicated by the two-dot chain line is placed on this guide rail 60a. The return elevator 60 is provided with a discharge pusher 59 also called a return pusher.
The discharge pusher 59 can push and move the tray T along the arrow E1 direction to the separator 52 side of the take-in portion 200A as shown in FIG.
That is, the tray T is returned from the discharge section 200B of FIG. 9 to the intake section 200A side. Moreover, when the tray T is returned to the separator 52 of the intake unit 200A in order to circulate the tray T between the intake unit 200A and the discharge unit 200B, the return elevator 60 operates as shown in FIG.
It is located at position P1 as shown in FIG.

On the other hand, when the return elevator 60 shown in FIG. 9 is located at the position P2, the return pusher 59 is actuated so that the empty tray on the return elevator 60 on which no parts are mounted is placed. T
Can be discharged or paid out to the return lifter 61 side in FIG.

Next, please refer to FIG. 13 to FIG. Figure 1
3 shows a structural example of the elevator hanger 53 on the intake section 200A side in FIG. 10 and the elevator hanger 61 on the discharge section 200B side shown in FIG. Hanger 53,
The tray T is mounted on the claws 53a and 61a of the tray 61. The hangers 53 and 61 can be opened and closed in the arrow X direction, for example. As shown in FIG. 28, two hangers 53 and 61 are arranged in each of the elevator units 21a and 21b, four hangers 53 and 61 in total.

FIG. 14 shows an example of the upper separator 55, the lower separator 52, and the upper separator 57 and the middle separator 58 shown in FIG.

Positioning Unit 200D FIG. 15 shows the structure of the positioning unit 200D provided on the upper separator 57 of FIG. That is, the positioning portion 200D includes pushers 201, X in the X direction.
It has a direction positioning block 203 and a Y direction positioning block 205. Then, the tray T pushed in the arrow Y direction by the take-in pusher 56 shown in FIGS. 10 and 15 is pushed against the Y-direction positioning block 205. Moreover, the tray T is moved to the X-direction positioning block 203 by operating the X-direction pusher 201.
Press on. This allows the tray T to be completely positioned in the X and Y directions. This positioning part 200D
Is within the operation range of the robot 10 in FIG. 2, and the hand of the robot 10 can pick up the parts in the tray T positioned.

Referring to FIG. Support 72 of FIG.
Shows a sensor for detecting the position of the hanger 53 of the capturing section 200A. The support 72 includes a hanger upper stop position sensor 72a and a stock area position sensor 72.
b, a hanger lower stage stop position sensor 72c, an upper stage limit 72d, and a lower stage limit 72e are shown.

The hanger upper stop position sensor 72a is as shown in FIG. That is, when there is only one tray T stocked in the hanger 53 of the take-in unit 200A in FIG. 9, the cutting stop position of the tray T to the upper separator 55 is detected. For example, the sensor 72a hits the dock D and the sensor 72a turns on when the lower surface of the tray T of FIG. 17 is 0 to 1 mm before the tray receiving surface of the upper separator 55. Hanger stock area position sensor 72b in FIG.
Is for detecting whether or not the hanger 53 is waiting at a position on the hanger 53 that does not interfere with the tray T when the next tray T is called into the lower separator 52 in FIG.

The hanger lower stop position sensor 72c shown in FIG. 19 detects the stop position of the hanger 53 when the hanger 53 of FIG. 9 goes to pick up the tray T on the lower separator 52. When the hanger 53 descends, the sensor 72c turns on to switch the descending speed of the hanger 53 from high speed to low speed, and the sensor 72c turns off to stop the descending. When the hanger 53 descends, the sensor is turned off when the lower surface of the tray T of the lower separator 52 is, for example, 0 to 1 mm before the lower surface of the tray T.

Hanger upper limit 72d shown in FIG.
Is the tray T from the receiving surface of the tray T of the upper separator 55.
At the position where the lower surface of the vehicle overruns by about 5 mm, it hits the dock D and is turned off. The hanger lower limit 72e of FIG. 21 is designed to be turned off by hitting the dock D when the tray receiving surface of the claw 53a of the hanger 53 is overrun by about 5 mm from the receiving surface of the tray T of the lower separator 52 of FIG. .

Next, FIG. 22 shows a sensor group provided on the support 70 of the discharge side 200B.
The support 70 includes a hanger standby position sensor 70a, a hanger middle stage stop position sensor 70b, a hanger lower stage stop position sensor 70c, an upper limit 70d, and a lower limit 7.
0e.

The hanger standby position sensor 70 shown in FIG.
a is a state in which there is no stock tray T for the hanger 61 on the discharge side 200B in FIG.
The stop position for waiting the hanger 61 is detected under. For example, the sensor 70a hits the dock D and is turned on when the tray receiving surface of the claw 61a of the hanger 61 is, for example, 18 mm before the tray receiving surface of the upper separator 57 in FIG.

Hanger middle stage stop position sensor 70 of FIG.
11b is for detecting the stop position of the hanger 61 when the hanger 61 picks up the tray T on the middle separator 58 in FIG. For example, the sensor 70b hits the dock D and turns on when the tray receiving surface of the claw 61a of the hanger 61 is, for example, 12 mm before the lower surface of the tray T on the middle separator 58.

Hanger lower stop position sensor 70 of FIG.
c is for detecting the stop position of the hanger 61 when the tray T is placed on the guide rail 60a of the tray return section 60. When the hanger 61 descends, the sensor 70
When c is turned on, the descending speed is switched from high speed to low speed, and when the sensor is turned off at dock D, the descending speed is stopped.

Hanger upper limit 70d shown in FIG.
Is for detecting an overrun of the stop position of the hanger 61 with respect to the upper separator 57. The lower surface of the tray T is, for example, 6 m from the tray receiving surface of the upper separator 57.
The sensor 70d is adapted to be turned off by the dock D at a position where m is overrun.

The lower limit hanger 70e of FIG.
The overrun at the lower stop position is detected. From the guide rail 60a of the tray return section 60,
The tray receiving surface of the claw 61a of the hanger 61 is, for example, 5 m.
The sensor 70e hits the dog D and is turned off at a position where m is overrun.

Next, FIG. 29 shows the elevator unit 21.
It is the figure which looked at a and 21b from the top, and has shown the sensor group for detecting tray T. In FIG. 28, the discharge section upper separator tray detection sensor 101, the discharging middle separator tray detection sensor 103, the discharge stock tray upper end detection sensor 102, the intake stock tray upper end detection sensor 104, the intake hanger stage deceleration detection sensor 105, and the intake upper separator. Tray detection sensor 10
6 shows the intake lower-stage separator tray arrival sensor 107.

As shown in FIG. 28, the sensor 101 detects the arrival of the tray T from the intake section 200A to the upper separator 57 of the discharge section 200B, and the tray T.
It is to detect the lifting of the tray by the hanger 61 at the time of discharging. Upper stage separator 5 of discharge section 200B
The sensor 101 is turned on when the tray T is placed on the sheet 7, and the sensor is turned off when the tray T is lifted by about 1 mm from the upper separator 57.

The sensors 102 and 104 in FIG. 28 are for detecting the standby position of the hanger in front of the upper separator 57 when there is a stocked tray T on the hangers 53 and 61. The sensor 103 of FIG.
Reference numeral 106 is for detecting the tray T when one sheet is cut out from the trays T stacked in the middle discharging separator 58 and the intake upper separator 57 by the separator.

The sensor 105 shown in FIG.
Tray T stocked on 0A hanger 53
For detecting the deceleration position of the hanger 53 when stacking the trays on the hanger 53 on the tray T on the lower separator 52 when the tray T of the lower separator 52 is taken in Is. The sensor 107 detects arrival of the tray T returned from the discharge lifter to the lower separator.

Of the parts supply method by the parts supply device 200
Preferred Embodiment Next, referring to FIGS. 31 to 37, the component supply device 20 will be described.
A preferred embodiment of the component supply method in No. 0 will be described.
In FIG. 31, the intake unit 200 of the component supply device 200 is shown.
A, discharge section 200B, and component supply conveyor 104
And the robot 10 for taking the part PB.

The operation of FIGS. 31-37 will be described in connection with these elements. In FIG. 31, the capturing unit 2
00A lower separator 52, elevator hanger 5
3, and the trays T1 to T3 are arranged on the upper separator 55, respectively. In FIG. 31, each tray T1 to T3 initially contains a plurality of, for example, four parts PB.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 31, a tray T4 on which a plurality of, for example, four parts PB are placed is placed on the upper separator 57 of the discharging section 200B. The tray T4 is in the state of being positioned by the positioning unit 200D. That is, in the state of FIG. 31, the capturing unit 2
00A and the discharge unit 200B, a plurality of, for example, four trays T1 to T4 are circulated.

As shown in FIG. 31, the turret head 12 of the robot 10 picks up one part PB of this tray T4, and the robot 10 turns as shown in FIG. Then, the robot 10 assembles the held part PB with respect to the work W on the assembly pallet PA arranged in the assembly pallet positioning portion 17 of FIG.
Therefore, the tray T4 has a plurality of, for example, three parts PB.
Is left.

In this way, the positioning portion 20 of FIG.
When the predetermined component PB is taken from the tray T positioned at the positioning position DP of 0D, the hanger 61 moves the arrow Z1.
The tray T4 on the upper separator 57 is picked up. Open the upper separator 57 and hanger 6
Pass tray T4 to 1. The hanger 61 descends in the Z2 direction. As a result, the tray T4 is placed on the return elevator 60 as shown in FIG. Then, the hanger 61 again rises in the Z1 direction as shown in FIG. 32 and stands by at the position indicated by the chain double-dashed line in FIG.

On the other hand, returning to FIG. 31, the tray T3 placed on the upper separator 55 of the take-in unit 200A of FIG. 31 is moved to the vacant upper separator 57 side by the operation of the pusher 56 of the positioning unit 200D.
Pushed by. As a result, as shown in FIG.
4 moves onto the upper separator 57 of the discharging section 200B and is positioned by the positioning section 200D. Then, as shown in FIG. 32, since the upper separator 55 is empty, the hanger 53 moves up in the Z1 direction, and the tray T2 is transferred to the hanger 55. At this time, the hanger 55 is open, and by closing it, the tray T2 can be placed.

Next, as shown in FIG. 33, the empty hanger 53 descends to the lower separator 52 side, and the thin tray T21 and tray T1 are stacked and lifted in the direction of arrow Z1. As a result, the hanger 53 is positioned at the position shown by the broken line in FIG. 33, and the tray T21 and the tray T1 are positioned immediately below the tray T2.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG.
By operating the pusher 59 of B, the tray T4 above the return elevator 60 is transferred to the empty lower separator 52. In this way trays T1, T
21, T2, T3, T4 are sequentially circulated or circulated,
The trays T1, T21, T2, T3, T4 can be positioned on the positioning unit 200D. Therefore, the pallet head 12 of the robot 10 can take the necessary part PB from the required tray T.

Next, refer to FIG. When the work of taking out (picking up) the parts PB progresses to generate an empty pallet TN in which all the parts PB are taken out, the return elevator 60 moves from position P1 in FIG.
The position P2 of 5 is lowered and positioned. Then, the pusher 59 operates to move the empty tray TN to the lifter 61 of the lower conveyor 104b. Then, the lower conveyor 104b moves in the direction of the arrow A3 (from the front side to the other side of the drawing) to be conveyed by the conveyor unit 53 in FIG.

When the empty tray TN is discharged in this way, a new tray T on which an additional component PB is placed is placed.
0 from the capture unit 200A, and capture unit 2
It circulates between 00A and the discharge part 200B. This new tray T0 is taken in as shown in FIGS. 36 and 37. That is, by the upper conveyor 104a, the arrow A1
The new tray T0 containing the parts PB is conveyed along the direction (front direction in the drawing). And this tray T
When the type of 0 is discriminated by the pallet lifter 20 of FIG. 2 and it is determined that the tray T0 is a tray on which necessary components are placed, the tray T0 is positioned on the lifter 51 as it should be circulated.

The lifter 51 lifts up the new tray T0 in the Z1 direction. The lifted-up tray T0 is placed on the separator 52, and the tray T0 is separated from the lifter 51.

Next, the claws 53a, 53a of the hanger 53
With the open state (see FIG. 9), the new tray T0 is lowered to the lower separator 52, the claw 53a is closed, and the new tray T0 is lifted up in the Z1 direction.
In the example of FIG. 36, since another tray T is placed on the upper separator 55, the elevator hanger 53 stops before the upper separator 55 so as not to interfere with each other. Then, the tray T on the upper separator 55 is on standby until it moves to the next upper separator 57 and disappears.

As shown in FIG. 35, the next tray is placed on the return elevator 60, if necessary, until a new tray containing the same type of components in the returned tray TN is received. Waiting Then, the subsequent trays T can be stopped on the return separator 58 shown in FIG. 9, so that the components can be supplied without breaking the sequential circulation of the tray T.

As described above, the tray T can repeatedly supply, for example, 10 kinds or more than 10 kinds of parts to the robot 10, and the pallet supplied from the parts feeder 52 in FIG. For example, four types of parts can be supplied. Therefore, in this embodiment, a total of 14 types of parts can be supplied to the robot 10 and these parts can be assembled on a work.

When changing the model to be assembled, it is possible to deal with it by exchanging these trays and pallets and exchanging the pallet head, and it is possible to carry out small-lot production of various products. By providing such a circulation type component supply device for each assembling robot cell, for example, the device size and line space can be reduced by 50 compared with the conventional one.
% Or more and space can be saved.

Further, it is possible to reduce the parts inventory in the assembly line. Furthermore, the capacity of utilities such as air pressure and electric power can be reduced, and labor can be saved. Further, as described above, it is possible to easily cope with the change of the model, and the flexibility is improved. Also, the quality of assembly can be improved.

The parts supply method of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. In the above-described embodiment, the intake unit and the discharge unit circulate by vertically moving the tray vertically and vertically, but not limited to this.
It is of course possible to form a substantially trapezoidal or diamond-shaped circulation loop that rises in a direction having an angle with respect to the vertical direction or descends in a direction having an angle with respect to the vertical direction.

Further, although the assembly robot of the embodiment is provided with the turret head for taking out parts, the invention is not limited to this, and a robot hand may be provided, for example. Although the component supply device of the embodiment includes two pairs of intake units and discharge units, the present invention is not limited to this, and may include one or more pairs of intake units and discharge units.

[0080]

As described above, according to the present invention, the space can be saved, and the stock of parts in the line can be reduced.
It is possible to easily switch models.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a high-mix low-volume production type assembly system including a preferred embodiment of a component supply apparatus for carrying out the component supply method of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an assembly cell (robot cell) including a preferred embodiment of the component supply apparatus provided in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the robot cell viewed from the direction of Q1 in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the robot cell seen from the direction of Q2 in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a take-in portion of the component supply device.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a discharge portion of the component supply device.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing an upper conveyor of a component supply conveyor.

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a lower conveyor of the component supply conveyor.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing an example of some components of the component supply device.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing an example of a part of the elements of the intake unit of the component supply device.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing an example of a part of the elements of the discharge part of the component supply device.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing a return elevator of a discharge part.

FIG. 13 is a plan view showing a hanger of the intake unit and the discharge unit.

FIG. 14 is a plan view showing the separators of the intake unit and the discharge unit.

FIG. 15 is a plan view showing an upper stage separator and a positioning unit of a discharging unit.

FIG. 16 is a side view showing a sensor group of a capturing unit.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing the hanger upper stage stop position sensor of FIG. 16;

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a hanger stock area position sensor.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing a hanger lower stage stop position sensor.

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing a hanger upper limit.

FIG. 21 is a diagram showing a hanger lower limit.

FIG. 22 is a side view showing a sensor group of the discharge unit.

FIG. 23 is a view showing a hanger standby position sensor.

FIG. 24 is a diagram showing a hanger middle stage stop position sensor.

FIG. 25 is a view showing a hanger lower stage stop position sensor.

FIG. 26 is a diagram showing a hanger upper limit.

FIG. 27 is a diagram showing a hanger lower limit.

FIG. 28 is a plan view showing a tray detection sensor group in the loading unit and the discharging unit.

FIG. 29 is a diagram showing the detection of the tray in the upper discharge separator.

FIG. 30 is a view showing tray detection of a middle discharge stage and an intake upper stage separator.

FIG. 31 is a view showing an operation example of the component supply device and showing a state in which components are taken out from the tray in the positioning unit by the robot turret head.

FIG. 32 is a view showing a state in which the tray is transferred from the upper separator of the take-in unit to the upper separator of the discharge unit.

FIG. 33 is a view showing a state in which the tray is moved to the upper separator by a hanger in the take-in section.

FIG. 34 is a view showing a state in which the tray is moved from the return elevator to the lower separator of the intake section in the discharge section.

FIG. 35 is a view showing a tray in which parts are gone, which is being transferred to a lower conveyor and being discharged to the outside.

FIG. 36 is a view showing a state in which a new tray is about to be added from the outside to the circulation loop composed of the intake section and the discharge section.

FIG. 37 is a view showing a state in which a newly added tray is circulated by a circulation loop.

[Explanation of symbols]

14 Parts supply conveyor (conveying means) 51 Robot cell (mainly assembled) 54 (Work) Assembly conveyor 100 Assembly robot section 200 parts feeder 200A capture unit (first moving unit) 200B discharge part (second moving part) 200C moving and positioning means 200D positioning part 21a Right elevator unit 21b Left elevator unit T tray Parts on PB tray Z1 upward direction (first direction) Z2 descending direction (second direction) DP positioning position

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-5-8130 (JP, A) JP-A 1-115526 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B65G 1 / 02,57 / 00

Claims (7)

(57) [Claims] 1. A method of supplying a component to an assembling body for assembling a plurality of components to a work, wherein a tray on which the component necessary for assembly is placed is taken into the assembling body. A step of raising and positioning the tray on which the taken-in parts are placed in a first direction, and a step of further moving the tray on which the taken-in parts are placed and positioning the tray within the operating range of the assembly subject. After the parts necessary for the assembly are removed by the assembly main body from the tray on which the parts positioned within the operating range of the assembly main body are mounted, the tray on which the parts are mounted or the tray after the parts are removed To
A step of descending in a second direction opposite to the first direction, and a tray on which the component is placed is again moved upward in the first direction to position the tray within an operating range of the assembly main body; comprising the steps of: discharging tray removed parts from within the assembly mainly a person tray loaded with the said part taken of the first
In the step of moving upward and positioning in the direction, the parts conveyed in the assembly main body are placed.
Take in the tray with a lifter and separate the tray with the above parts from the lifter into a separator.
The tray on which the parts in the separator are placed, and
Parts supply method characterized by setting to tray setter by gar . 2. A tray on which the parts necessary for the assembly are placed is conveyed to the main assembly side by a conveying means, and the tray after the parts are removed is discharged from the inside of the main body by the discharging means. The component supply method according to claim 1, further comprising: 3. The component supply method according to claim 1, wherein the first direction is a vertically upward direction, and the second direction is a vertically downward direction. 4. The tray on which the taken-in parts are placed is circulated and moved in the first and second directions inside the assembly main body.
The component supply method according to claim 3. 5. The step of ejecting the tray from which the parts have been removed from the inside of the assembling body is lowered in the second direction by a hanger on the tray on which the parts positioned in the operating range of the assembling body are placed. The component supplying method according to claim 1, wherein the component is moved and then discharged to the discharging means side. 6. The assembly-based turret head comprises:
4. The component supply method according to claim 1, wherein the component is taken from a tray on which the component is mounted and positioned within the operation range of the main body, and the component is set on the work. 7. The tray according to claim 1, wherein the tray on which the parts are placed is supplied to the assembling body, and the pallet placed on the work is supplied to the assembling body. Parts supply method.