JP3606510B2 - Body panel assembly line - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an assembly line for vehicle body panels having a circulation conveyance path, and in particular, an efficient supply of body panel parts by a plurality of articulated robots to a previous work area adjacent to a circulation conveyance path supply station. The present invention relates to an assembly line for taking out.
[0002]
[Prior art]
For assembling the vehicle body panel, a support member called a pallet is usually used. This pallet is sequentially conveyed through each assembly station with the body panel parts positioned and mounted. The pallet conveyance path is normally a closed-loop circulation conveyance path, and a supply station and a take-out station for body panel parts are arranged in the circulation conveyance path. In general, a front work area is arranged adjacent to the supply station, and parts that are difficult to assemble on the circulation pallet are attached to the front work area.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The supply and removal of the body panel parts to and from the previous work area is normally performed by an articulated robot. However, since the previous work area is manually operated, it is necessary to secure a predetermined safety distance from the articulated robot. For this reason, a previous work area is set between the articulated robot and the worker. In such a positional relationship, there is a problem of mutual interference between the robots. It is common sense that it cannot be placed. However, with only one articulated robot, it is difficult to increase the working tact time because there is play time between the supply and removal of the body panel parts to the previous work area.
[0004]
The object of the present invention is to arrange a plurality of articulated robots on the same side of the previous work area without interfering with each other, and to supply and take out body panel parts to the previous work area almost simultaneously. It is to greatly improve the tact.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention is provided with a predetermined assembly station and is movable along a circulation conveyance path in which a supply station and an extraction station for vehicle body panel parts are provided. In an assembly line of a vehicle body panel using a pallet having a plurality of types of positioning jigs for positioning and mounting on The circulation conveyance path is provided on one side of a linear movement area where at least two articulated robots move, and a stock yard of a vehicle body panel is provided on the opposite side of the linear movement area. The supply station of the circulation conveyance path and the straight line A first previous work area is provided adjacent to the moving area, a second previous work area for performing manual assembly work is provided outside the first previous work area, and an arm locus of the articulated robot is determined. The first pre-operation is performed by using an articulated robot having a high arm trajectory to supply and take out vehicle body panel parts from the stock yard to the first front work area via the second front work area. The supply and removal of the body panel parts from the area to the supply station is performed by an articulated robot having a low arm trajectory. Vehicle body panel parts can be supplied and taken out independently by each articulated robot without mutual interference, and the body panel parts that have completed the previous work in the first previous work area are Sequentially sent to the supply station It is characterized by that.
[0006]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to an assembly line for a side panel of an automobile will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a vehicle body assembly line according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a circulation conveyance path for a pallet P. The stock yards 3a to 3c of the panel 2 and the linear movement area 6 of the two articulated robots 4 and 5 and the previous work areas 7a, 7b, 8a and 8b are provided. The front work area 7b and the front work area 8b are used for manually performing the side panels 2 of different vehicle types by using a special positioning jig. The articulated robot 5 is supplied to the pallet P positioned at the second station 12 via the previous work areas 7a and 8a.
[0007]
The circulation conveyance path 1 has a rectangular closed loop, and four stations are allocated at equal intervals on two opposite sides, and a plurality of pallets are linearly conveyed between these four stations by a transfer mechanism described later. Yes. Further, there are no assembly stations on the two opposite sides of the circulation conveyance path 1, and the pallet P is linearly conveyed by a traverse mechanism described later.
[0008]
The functions of the first to eighth stations 11 to 18 arranged in the circulation conveyance path 1 are as follows.
[0009]
1st station 11: Switching the positioning jig of pallet P
2nd station 12: Positioning mounting of the vehicle body side panel 2 with respect to the pallet P
Third to sixth stations 13 to 16: Mounting of various parts such as a front pillar to the vehicle body side panel 22
7th station 17: Removal of vehicle body side panel 22
Eighth station 18: Transport of empty pallet P to first station 11
As described above. In FIG. 1, 19 a and 19 b are two articulated robots for jig switching arranged adjacent to the first station 11, and 20 a and 20 b are arranged adjacent to the fourth station 14 and cover the upper edge of the side panel 2. Clamp jigs for positioning and clamping, 21a and 21b are arranged adjacent to the fifth station 15, and clamp jigs for positioning and clamping the side panel 2, and 31a and 31b take out panel parts such as sashes from the stock yard 32 to the side panel 2. It is an articulated robot to be assembled.
[0010]
Next, the transfer mechanism disposed in the third to sixth stations 13 to 16 will be described. This transfer mechanism has the transfer rod 22a of FIG. 3 in which linear movement is guided by guide means (not shown), and a rack 23a integrated with the lower surface of the transfer rod 22a is chain-driven by a servo motor 24a. 25a is engaged. A deceleration sensor 26 and a stop sensor 27 are provided at both ends of the transfer rod 22a in the linear movement direction. The transfer rod 22a moves back and forth between the pair of stop sensors 27 and 27 by forward and reverse rotation of the servo motor 24a. As in FIG. 4, the seventh to second stations 17 to 12 are also provided with the same transfer mechanism, and the transfer rod 22b is linearly reciprocated by the servo motor 24b, the pinion 25b, and the rack 23b. FIG. 5 shows another example of the drive mechanism of the transfer rods 22a and 22b. A servomotor 28 with a reduction gear and a pinion 29 are directly connected by a rotating shaft 30, and the pinion 29 is connected to the transfer rods 22a and 22b. Of the racks 23a and 23b.
[0011]
As shown in FIGS. 5 and 7, the pallet P has wheels 34 on the front, back, left and right of the lower surface thereof, and these four wheels 34 are placed on a pair of left and right rails 35 laid on the base surface G.
[0012]
Cup-shaped engaging portions 36 that are opened upward are disposed on the upper surfaces of the rods at the front, middle, and rear ends of the transfer rods 22a and 22b as shown in FIGS. 6 (A) and 6 (B). On the other hand, on the lower surfaces of the front and rear ends of the pallet P, downwardly convex engaged portions 37 that can be fitted into the cup-shaped engaging portions are disposed. Then, as shown in FIG. 6A, the transfer rods 22a and 22b are provided for one station in a state where the engaging portion 36 is engaged with the engaged portion 37 of each pallet P of the third station to the fifth station 13-15. 6B, each pallet P is lifted by a lift mechanism (not shown) and the engagement between the engaging portion 36 and the engaged portion 37 is released. In this state, the transfer rod 22a and 22b move backward by one station. The pallet P is conveyed by repeating the above operation. As the lift mechanism, for example, a vertical air cylinder 38 shown in FIG.
[0013]
Of the eight stations 11 to 18, the four stations 11, 12, 14, and 15 that require precise positioning of the pallet have vertical air cylinders 38 for lifting the pallet P as shown in FIG. It is arranged. The vertical air cylinders 38 are arranged in a total of four so that the piston rods abut on the front, rear, left and right of the lower surface of the pallet P at a uniform height, and the pallet P that has arrived at the stations 11, 12, 14, and 15 Lift up at 38. L-shaped positioning posts 39 are disposed on the left and right sides of the stations 11, 12, 14, and 15, and fixed positioning pins 40 formed downward on the upper ends of the positioning posts 39 are provided on the upper surface of the pallet P. It is fitted into positioning holes 41 formed at the four corners so that the positioning of the pallet P during lift-up is performed.
[0014]
Thus, the method of lifting and positioning the pallet P has advantages such as minimizing the vertical width of the transport path structure and suppressing the equipment cost. That is, (1) In a general conveyance path of a conventional assembly line, a method of positioning the pallet P by lifting it down is the mainstream (see, for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 4-22747 “Automobile Body Assembly Jig”). With the positioning method, if the worker has to work on the workpiece at the positioned position, the positioning height will be close to the operator's waist height due to the work posture. The height is considerably higher than the waist height, and not only the installation space for the equipment but also the frame structure for supporting the transport path structure at a high position is required, which is disadvantageous in terms of equipment costs.
(2) In the method of lifting and positioning, there is no need to raise and lower the transfer mechanism itself, so that the entire transport path structure becomes compact.
(3) By lifting the pallet P at each station, the transfer rods 22a and 22b can be moved backward while assembling the work on the pallet P to prepare for the next pallet movement, thereby improving the work tact.
(4) By lifting up the pallet P at each station, the pallet P can be cut off from the rail 35, so that it is not necessary to obtain the accuracy of joining the rail 35 and the pallet P.
(5) The pallet can be moved by a device having a simple structure such as a transfer rod, and since the pallet is compact, it is relatively easy for people to pass between stations.
[0015]
Next, the traverse mechanism will be described. As shown in FIGS. 2, 8 </ b> A, and 8 </ b> B, the traverse mechanism is disposed between the second station 12 and the third station 13, and between the sixth station 16 and the seventh station 17. The second and third stations 12 and 13 and the sixth and seventh stations 16 and 17 have six left and right as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, FIGS. 9A and 9B, and FIG. An elevator 45 provided with a horizontal feed mechanism by a single drive roller 44 is disposed (FIG. 10 shows elevators of the third and seventh stations 13 and 17). The elevator 45 can be raised and lowered by a vertical air cylinder (not shown), and the pallet P conveyed by the transfer rods 22a and 22b is placed above one elevator 45 (second and sixth stations 12 and 16). In this state, the drive roller 44 comes into contact with the lower surfaces of the front and rear ends of the pallet P, and the pallet P is sent out horizontally. The other lifting platform 45 (the third and seventh stations 13 and 17) receives the pallet P, which has been horizontally fed via the traverse mechanism, by the driving roller 44 and draws it onto the lifting platform 45. . A pallet stopper 43 with which the front end in the traverse direction of the pallet P abuts is provided on the side of the third and seventh stations 13 and 17 as shown in FIG.
[0016]
In detail, a motor 46 is disposed at the substantially center of the lifting platform 45, and the rotation of the motor 46 is transmitted to the left and right sprockets 49 via a chain 47 and a rotating shaft 48. An endless chain 52 is wound around the sprocket 49 and the sprocket 44a of the six driving rollers 44 on one side and the idle sprockets 50 and 51. When the motor 46 is rotated, a total of twelve driving rollers 44 are simultaneously in the same direction. It is designed to rotate.
[0017]
Between the second station 12 and the third station 13 and between the sixth station 16 and the seventh station 17, horizontal conveyor chain conveyors 56a and 56b schematically shown in FIG. 8 are arranged. The chain conveyors 56a and 56b include a pair of endless chains 57 capable of supporting the lower surfaces of the front and rear ends of the pallet P, sprockets 58 and 59 around which both ends of the endless chain 57 are wound, and a sprocket 58 on the tension side. The motor 60 to drive is comprised.
[0018]
In the longitudinal direction of the horizontal conveyor chain conveyors 56a and 56b, in the vicinity of the connection portion between the second station 12 and the chain conveyor 56a, in the vicinity of the outside of the third station 13, in the vicinity of the connection portion between the sixth station 16 and the chain conveyor 56, In the vicinity of the outside of the seventh station 17, two proximity switches 61 to 68 for detecting the passage of the pallet P are arranged in pairs. The functions of these proximity switches 61-68 are as follows.
[0019]
Proximity switch 61: detects the arrival of the pallet P from the first station 11 to the second station 12, starts the raising of the elevator 45 of the second station 12 and the third station 13 and the drive of the motor 46, and also performs horizontal conveyance The drive of the motor 60 of the chain conveyor 56a is started.
[0020]
Proximity switch 62: detecting that the rear end of the pallet P has passed from the second station 12 to the third station 13, stops the motor 46 of the second station 12, and starts to lower the elevator 45.
[0021]
Proximity switch 63: It detects that the front end of the pallet P has passed, and decelerates the motor 46 of the elevator 45 of the third station 13.
[0022]
Proximity switch 64: detects the passage (arrival) of the front end of the pallet P, and stops driving the horizontal conveyor chain conveyor 56a and the motor 46 of the elevator 45 of the third station 13.
[0023]
Proximity switch 65: Detects the arrival of the pallet P from the fifth station 15 to the sixth station 16, starts raising the elevator 45 of the sixth station 16 and the seventh station 17 and driving the motor 46, and also transports horizontally. The driving of the motor 60 of the chain conveyor 56b is started.
[0024]
Proximity switch 66: detecting that the rear end of the pallet P has passed from the sixth station 16 to the seventh station 17, stops the motor 46 of the second station 12, and starts to lower the elevator 45.
[0025]
Proximity switch 67: It detects that the front end of the pallet P has passed, and decelerates the motor 46 of the elevator 45 of the seventh station 13.
[0026]
Proximity switch 68: Detects the passage (arrival) of the front end of the pallet P, and stops driving the horizontal conveyor chain conveyor 56b and the motor 46 of the elevator 45 of the seventh station 17.
[0027]
The pallet P is constituted by a horizontal frame body as shown in FIG. 11, for example, and a plurality of slide members 69 are disposed thereon. These slide members 69 basically have a three-layer plate structure in which a pair of LM (linear motion) guides 70 orthogonal to each other in the horizontal direction are sandwiched, and the first layer substrate 71a from the top moves in any horizontal direction. It is possible. A column 73 having a bifurcated bracket 72 at its upper end is erected on the substrate 71 a, and the center of the hexagonal plate 75 is rotatably supported on a horizontal shaft 74 supported by the bracket 72. On every other side of the hexagonal plate 75, there are three types of positioning pins 76 that can be fitted into predetermined positioning holes of the vehicle body side panel 2, or columnar shapes for supporting predetermined portions of the vehicle body side panel 2. Three types of panel receivers 77 are attached radially using bolts. The three types of positioning pins 76 and the panel receiver 77 correspond to three types of predetermined assembly vehicle types, respectively, and are rotated by multi-joint robots 19a and 19b, which will be described later, corresponding to the vehicle types flowing on the assembly line. It can be switched. Since the positioning pins 76 and the panel receiver 77 are attached by bolts, they can be easily replaced with other types as required, and can be used for many vehicle type changes. Even when adjustment finer than the position adjustment unit pitch by the lock means is required, it can be dealt with by replacing the positioning pin 76 and the panel receiver 77 having different dimensions.
[0028]
On the upper surface of one side end of the first and second substrates 71a and 71b, as a first locking means, an L-shape that can swing up and down around a horizontal support shaft 81 as shown in FIG. A lock arm 82 is provided. On the other hand, a lock bar 83 is disposed on the third layer substrate 71c along the moving direction of the first and second layer substrates 71a and 71b. The lock bar 83 is formed with trapezoidal convex portions 85 engageable with the tapered concave portion 84 at the tip of the lock arm 82 at a predetermined pitch. By engaging the lock arm 82 with the trapezoidal convex portion 85, the first layer is formed. The second-layer substrates 71a and 71b are locked so as not to move in the horizontal direction.
[0029]
The lock arm 82 has a mechanism for self-holding itself in either a locked position as shown in FIG. 12A or an unlocked position as shown in FIG. As such a self-holding mechanism, a known toggle mechanism using a winding spring, a compression spring or a tension spring is suitable. FIG. 13 shows a toggle mechanism using a compression spring 86. A compression spring 86 is disposed between the upper end of a column 73 that pivotally supports the lock arm 82 and the lock arm 82, and the compression spring 86 is locked in the locked position. The arm 82 is urged in the lock holding direction, and the compression spring 86 urges the lock arm 82 in the unlocking direction in the unlocked position. By adopting such a self-holding mechanism, once the lock arm 82 is rotated once beyond the neutral point in the locking direction or the non-locking direction by the tip attachment 33 of the multi-joint robot 19a, 19b, the tip attachment is thereafter performed. Even if 33 is separated from the lock arm 82, the locked state or the unlocked state can be continuously maintained. In order to facilitate the operation of the lock arm 82 by the multi-joint robots 19a and 19b, a rod portion 87 or the like that makes it easy to apply the tip attachment 33 of the robot arms 19a and 19b to the lock arm 82 may be provided.
[0030]
Instead of using two lock arms 82 to lock and unlock in two orthogonal directions as described above, a positioning plate 79 having a large number of matrix-shaped lock holes 78 as shown in FIG. A lock pin 80 that is fixed to the lowermost substrate 71c and that can be moved up and down is provided on the first layer substrate 71a, and the lock pin 80 is selectively fitted into the lock hole 78, whereby the first layer substrate You may make it change the horizontal direction position of 71a. In this case, the locking and unlocking operations for one slide member 69 become one operation, and the work tact can be further improved.
[0031]
As with the lock arm 82, the hexagonal plate 75 is also capable of holding a rotation lock and a rotation non-lock. Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, a locked member 92 having a V-shaped cut 91 is attached to each side where the positioning jig 77 (76) of the hexagonal plate 75 is not attached. On the other hand, a lock arm 93 as a second lock means is attached to a support column 73 that supports the hexagonal plate 75 so as to be swingable in the vertical direction about the support shaft 94. A compression spring 95 is disposed between the lock arm 93 and the support post 73, and a V-shaped blade section 96 at the tip of the lock arm 93 is fitted into the V-shaped cut 91 of the locked member 92. Thus, the rotation of the hexagonal plate 75 is locked. Then, the compression spring 95 urges the lock arm 93 in the locking direction at the locked position shown by the solid line in FIG. 14 of the lock arm 93, and the compression spring 95 attaches the lock arm 93 to the unlocked position at the unlocked position shown by the chain line. It has come to force. Therefore, once the lock arm 93 is rotated beyond the neutral point in the locking direction or the non-locking direction by the tip attachment 33 of the articulated robot 19a, 19b, the tip attachment 33 can be separated from the lock arm 93 afterwards. The locked state or the unlocked state can be continuously maintained. On the opposite side to the blade portion 96 of the lock arm 93, a rod portion 97 that is easy to apply the tip attachment 33 of the robot arms 19a and 19b is attached.
[0032]
In addition to the self-holding mechanism of the lock arm 93 by the compression spring 95, the hexagonal plate 75 is additionally provided with a mechanism for temporarily holding the rotational position of the hexagonal plate 75. The temporary holding mechanism includes a lock ball 101 provided between the support column 73 and the hexagon plate 75 in FIG. 14, a compression spring 102 that urges the lock ball 101 toward the hexagon plate 75, and a rear surface of the hexagon plate 75. It consists of three circular recesses 103 formed on the side. When the lock ball 101 meets the circular recess 103, the lock ball 101 is fitted into the circular recess 103 by the force of the compression spring 102, and the rotational position of the hexagonal plate 75 is provisionally held temporarily. Of course, the centers of the three circular recesses 103 are located on one circle centered on the horizontal axis 74.
[0033]
As described above, by providing a mechanism for self-holding the slide position of the slide member 69 and the rotation position of the hexagonal plate 75, the movement operation of the slide member 69 and the rotation operation of the hexagonal plate 75 by the multi-joint robot are very much. It will be easy. That is, when the slide member 69 and the hexagonal plate 75 are moved while the lock arms 82 and 93 are continuously held in the unlocked or locked state by the arm tips of the articulated robots 19a and 19b, the arm tips are strictly moved in the moving direction. If they do not coincide with each other, an excessive force may act on the slide member 69 and the hexagonal plate 75 to cause deformation damage. For this reason, in the conventional jig switching pallet, teaching and control of the articulated robot is complicated. However, in the present invention, since it is not necessary to keep holding the lock arms 82 and 93, teaching and control are relatively easy. It is.
[0034]
As shown in FIGS. 13 and 15, a contact sensor 88 is attached to the tip attachment 33 of the articulated robot 19a, 19b. This sensor 88 is for confirming whether or not the positioning pin 76 and the panel receiver 77 on the pallet P are switched to a predetermined one corresponding to the immediately preceding assembly vehicle type. That is, in the first station 11, the positioning pin 76 and the panel receiver 77 are switched for the next assembled vehicle type, but before that, the positioning pin 76 and the panel receiver 77 are artificially switched by a process stop at the upstream station. If the pallet P is sent while forgetting to return to the position, the positioning pins 76 and the panel receiver 77 are not switched to predetermined ones. Therefore, in the first station 11, the sensor 88 is lightly brought into contact with the positioning pin 76 or the panel receiver 77 to check for unexpected switching.
[0035]
Next, the stockyards 3a to 3c of the vehicle body side panel 2 and the linear movement area 6 and the previous work areas 7a, 7b, 8a and 8b of the two articulated robots 4 and 5 will be described. In the stock yards 3a to 3c, a large number of side panels 2 are stocked for each vehicle type. A linear movement area 6 is provided between the stock yards 3 a to 3 c and the circulation conveyance path 1, and one articulated robot 4 moves linearly from the side of the previous work areas 7 a and 8 a to the seventh station 17. It can be done. The other articulated robot 5 can move linearly from the side of the previous work areas 7a, 8a to the second station 12.
[0036]
One articulated robot 4 is installed on a gantry 104 and can travel as shown in FIG. 16, and the other articulated robot 5 can travel along a base plane G. For this reason, the trajectories of the arms of the two articulated robots 4 and 5 are different from each other, and the two articulated robots 4 and 5 are arranged on the same side with respect to the previous work areas 7a, 7b, 8a and 8b. In spite of this, the vehicle body side panel can be moved independently without mutual interference. As described above, the fact that a plurality of articulated robots can be arranged on the same side with respect to the workpiece supply and removal area has the following advantages.
[0037]
In other words, when there is a need to work with a predetermined safety distance from the multi-joint robot for manual work, for example, the previous work areas 7b and 8b are provided between the multi-joint robot and the worker as shown in FIG. Although it is located, it is common sense that two or more articulated robots cannot be arranged on the same side because there is a problem of mutual interference in such a positional relationship. However, with only one articulated robot, it is difficult to increase the work tact time due to a play time between the supply and removal of the work to and from the work areas 7b and 8b. However, if two or more articulated robots can be arranged on the same side by changing the height of the arm trajectory, the work can be supplied to and taken out from the previous work areas 7b and 8b almost simultaneously, which greatly increases the work tact time. It can be improved.
[0038]
The assembly line of the vehicle body panel is configured as described above, and the side panel 2 is assembled by this assembly line as follows. First, the articulated robot 4 picks up the side panel 2 corresponding to the assembly vehicle type from the stock yards 3a to 3c and sets it on the positioning jig in the previous work area 7b or 8b. When the predetermined assembling work by the worker M is completed in the previous work area 7b or 8b, the side panel 2 is moved to the previous work area 7a or 8a by another articulated robot 5, from which the pallet P of the second station 12 is moved. Set to
[0039]
The pallet P on which the side panel 2 is set at the second station 12 is transported to the third station 13 by a traverse mechanism, and a predetermined assembling operation with respect to the side panel 2 is performed by the worker M. Thereafter, the pallet P on which the side panel 2 is placed is intermittently transported to the fourth and fifth stations 14 and 15 by the transfer mechanism, and the predetermined assembly work by the worker M and the multi-joint are performed at both stations 14 and 15. Parts assembly such as sash is performed by the robots 31a and 31b.
[0040]
After the assembly process for the side panel 2 is completed, the pallet P on which the side panel 2 is placed is transported to the sixth station 16 by the transfer mechanism, and further transported from here to the seventh station 17 by the traverse mechanism. The side panel 2 is taken out of the pallet P by the articulated robot 4 that has moved linearly to the side of the seventh station 17. The empty pallet P from which the side panel 2 has been taken out is conveyed intermittently sequentially to the eighth station 18 and the first station 11 by the transfer mechanism, and is positioned in the lift-up method at the first station 11 in a state where the When there is a position check of positioning jigs such as the positioning pins 76 and the panel receiver 77 by the sensors 88 of the joint robots 19a and 19b, and when there is a vehicle type change next, these positioning jigs 76 and 77 are moved by the articulated robots 19a and 19b. It can be switched to a jig suitable for the following models. When there is no vehicle type change, the empty pallet P is transported to the second station 12 by the transfer mechanism only by checking the position of the positioning jig. Thereafter, the above-described cycle is repeated, and a new side panel 2 is assembled.
[0041]
Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible. For example, the above-described embodiment is applied to an assembly line for a vehicle body panel. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and can be similarly applied to assembly of a wide variety of workpieces.
[0042]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, since the pallet positioning jig is switched by the robot on the side of the conveyance path, it is not necessary to equip the pallet itself with switching power means, and the structure is simple and low-cost general-purpose jig pallet. The body panel assembly line can be realized.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a plan view of an assembly line for a vehicle body panel according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a plan view of a circulation conveyance path.
FIG. 3 is a side view of a first transfer rod.
FIG. 4 is a side view of a second transfer rod.
FIG. 5 is a side view of driving means for a transfer rod.
FIGS. 6A and 6B are schematic side views for explaining conveyance of a pallet P by a transfer rod.
7 is a side view of a lift-up positioning mechanism for a pallet P. FIG.
FIGS. 8A and 8B are schematic side views for explaining conveyance of a pallet P by a traverse mechanism.
9A is a plan view of a roller lifter, and FIG. 9B is a side view of the roller lifter in the short direction.
FIG. 10 is a longitudinal side view of a roller lifter.
11 is a schematic perspective view of a pallet P. FIG.
12A is a perspective view of a slide member locking mechanism, FIG. 12B is a side view of the slide member locking mechanism, and FIG. 12C is a plan view showing another example of the slide member locking mechanism;
FIG. 13 is a side view of a modified example of the lock mechanism of the slide member.
FIG. 14 is a side view of a rotation switching type positioning jig.
FIG. 15 is a side view showing a lock mechanism of a rotation switching type positioning jig.
FIG. 16 is a side view of an articulated robot that performs supply and extraction of vehicle body panel parts with respect to the previous work area.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Circulation transport path
2 Vehicle side panel
4,5 Articulated robot
11-18 stations
22a, 22b Transfer rod
23a, 23b rack
24a, 24b Servo motor
25a, 25b pinion
34 wheels
35 rails
36 engaging part
37 engaged parts
38 Vertical Air Cylinder
39 Positioning post
40 Fixed positioning pin
41 Positioning hole
44 Drive roller
45 Lifting platform
46 motor
56a, 56b Chain conveyor for horizontal conveyance
57 Endless chain
61-68 Proximity switch
69 Slide member
70 LM Guide
75 Hexagon plate
76 Positioning pin
77 Panel holder
82 Lock arm (first locking means)
83 Lock bar
86 Compression spring
88 Contact sensor
92 Locked member
93 Lock arm (second locking means)
95 Compression spring
101 rock ball
102 Compression spring
103 circular recess
104 frame

Claims (1)

A predetermined assembly station is provided, and the vehicle body panel parts supply station and a take-out station are movable along a circulating conveyance path, and a plurality of types of body panel parts are selectively positioned and placed. In a body panel assembly line using a pallet having multiple types of positioning jigs,
The circulation conveyance path is provided on one side of a linear movement area where at least two articulated robots move, and a stock yard of a vehicle body panel is provided on the opposite side of the linear movement area. The supply station of the circulation conveyance path and the straight line A first previous work area is provided adjacent to the moving area, a second previous work area for performing manual assembly work is provided outside the first previous work area, and an arm locus of the articulated robot is determined. The first pre-operation is performed by using an articulated robot having a high arm trajectory to supply and take out vehicle body panel parts from the stock yard to the first front work area via the second front work area. The supply and removal of the body panel parts from the area to the supply station is performed by an articulated robot having a low arm trajectory. Vehicle body panel parts can be supplied and taken out independently by each articulated robot without mutual interference, and the body panel parts that have completed the previous work in the first previous work area are An assembly line for vehicle body panels, which is sequentially sent to the supply station .

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