JP3632474B2 - Assembly apparatus and assembly method - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a technique for improving work space efficiency in assembling work of an assembling member to a member to be assembled, and is particularly suitably applied to vehicle body assembling.
[0002]
[Prior art]
A conventional technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 8-099281 is known with respect to an assembly work of an assembly member to an assembly target member. This relates to a pseudo assembly technique that dynamically introduces the assembly process of assembly parts in full size. As shown in FIG. 5, the specific configuration of the pseudo assembly technique is such that the side body 2 that is one of the assembly members is laterally disposed with respect to the underbody 1 that is the assembly target member supported on the pallet 11. Similarly, the roof 3 and the cowl 4 which are also one of the assembly members are respectively inserted from above, and each assembly member is positioned with respect to the underbody using each jig unit 12 and 13, and each jig unit Assembling is performed by quasi-fixing using the pseudo-welding machines 71 and 72 provided on 12 and 13 and then returning the assembled parts 2, 3 and 4 together with the jig units 12 and 13 to their original positions. It dynamically introduces the assembly process of parts. Although not shown in FIG. 5, in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-099281, in the above assembling process, an upper back, which is another assembling member, is additionally introduced together with the roof 3 and the cowl 4 from the upper side. The member lower back is inserted from the rear (the back side in FIG. 5), positioned with respect to the underbody using a jig unit in charge, and pseudo-fixed using a pseudo welder provided in each jig unit.
As understood from the fact that this technique is a pseudo-assembly technique that accurately mimics the assembly process of actual assembly parts, the positioning and fixing work of the assembly member in the assembly process of actual assembly parts is It is performed through an operation process equivalent to the above technique.
[0003]
The jig unit 12 for positioning the side body 2 with respect to the underbody 1 is placed on the left and right sides of the underbody 1, and performs positioning while gripping the side body 2 from the left and right outer sides.
The jig unit 13 for positioning the roof 3 and the cowl 4 (and the upper back not shown in FIG. 5) with respect to the under body 1 is placed above the under body 1, and the jig unit 13 is mounted on the roof 3 and the cowl 4 (and Positioning is performed while gripping the upper back from above.
Although not shown in FIG. 5, a jig unit for positioning the lower back with respect to the underbody 1 is placed behind the underbody 1 (the back side in FIG. 5), and the jig unit grips the lower back from the rear outside. While positioning.
Each jig unit continues to be gripped from the outside so that each assigned assembly member is placed in a correct position with respect to the assembly target member until the pseudo-fixing by the pseudo welder is completed.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the assembly work of the assembly parts described above, each jig unit performs positioning while grasping each responsible assembly member from the outside of the assembly member, so that the side, upper and rear sides of the assembly member In this case, a space for each jig unit is required. Therefore, when assembling the assembling member, the space occupancy rate of the jig unit around the assembling member is high and it is difficult to efficiently use the working space. In particular, as will be understood from the above-described prior art configuration in which the pseudo-welder must be integrally disposed in the jig unit, a fixing means for welding each assembly member to the assembly member is provided. For this reason, there is a problem that it is difficult to secure the space for the fixing, and it is difficult to optimally arrange the fixing means with respect to the fixing work location.
[0005]
In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention reduces as much as possible the space occupancy required for positioning the assembly member relative to the assembly member in the assembly operation, thereby assembling the assembly member to the assembly member. It is an object of the present invention to provide a technique for improving work space efficiency when attaching.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
Means for solving the above-described problems is configured as the invention of each claim described in the claims.
[0009]
The assembling apparatus described in claim 1 has a pallet, a base, positioning means and fixing means. Then, the underbody of the temporarily assembled body configured by temporarily assembling the underbody, the pair of side bodies, and the horizontal body is positioned and supported on the pallet. That is, the position where the temporary assembly is to be supported on the pallet is specified. The base is movable between the upper retracted position and the approach position for the temporary assembly placed at a predetermined position on the pallet, and the base is provided with positioning means. . The positioning means is configured to be able to expand toward the pair of side bodies with respect to the base in a positional relationship of entering the temporary assembly when the base is placed at the approach position. The expanding operation is preferably performed using, for example, a cylinder. The positioning means grips at least a pair of side bodies and performs a positioning operation with respect to the underbody. The fixing means fixes between the under body and the side body and between the side body and the horizontal body in a state where the gripping operation by the positioning means is maintained. The fixing means is preferably composed of a spot welder, for example.
[0012]
The assembly method according to claim 2 includes a step of positioning and supporting the underbody of the temporary assembly, a step of positioning the pair of side bodies, and a step of fixing a predetermined member. First, for the temporary assembly in which the underbody, the pair of side bodies, and the horizontal body are temporarily assembled, the underbody is positioned and supported on the pallet. That is, the position where the temporary assembly is to be supported on the pallet is specified. Next, the positioning means provided on the base that can move between the upper retracted position and the approach position with respect to the temporary assembly placed at a predetermined position on the pallet is when the base is placed at the approach position. It expands to a pair of side body side with respect to the base in a positional relationship entering the temporary assembly. The expanding operation is preferably performed using, for example, a cylinder. The positioning means grips at least a pair of side bodies and performs a positioning operation with respect to the underbody. Next, in a state in which the gripping operation by the positioning means is maintained, the fixing means fixes between the under body and the side body and between the side body and the horizontal body. The fixing means is preferably composed of a spot welder, for example.
[0013]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the assembling apparatus 101 generally includes a pallet 111, a base 121, positioning means 131, and a welding robot 150 as viewed generally. For convenience of drawing, the positioning means is not shown in FIG. 1, and the pallet 111 and the welding robot 150 are not shown in FIGS.
The temporary assembly 201 to be put into the assembly apparatus 101 is a work target that is a body of an automobile after positioning and fixing operations, and generally includes an underbody 151, a side body 153, The cowl panel 157, the header panel 159, and the back frame panel 161 are configured. In the present embodiment, a temporary assembly for a body of a hatchback type automobile is set. For convenience of drawing, the cowl panel and header panel are not shown in FIG. 1, and the underbody is not shown in FIGS.
[0014]
The pallet 111 is a member for supporting the underbody 151 of the temporary assembly 201 placed on the top thereof and holding the temporary assembly 201 during the assembly operation. Although not particularly shown, the pallet 111 is a preparation position for placing and setting the temporary assembly 201 to be loaded into the assembling apparatus 101, and the temporary assembling body 201 is loaded into the assembling apparatus 101 and assembled. It is possible to appropriately move between the assembly work position where the assembly is performed and the unloading position where the body of the automobile completed after the assembly work is completed is carried out of the assembly apparatus 101.
[0015]
The base 121 is a member that is movable in the vertical direction between the approach position approaching the temporary assembly 201 and the upper retraction position retracted upward in the upper part of the temporary assembly 201. In FIG. 1, the base 121 in the approach position is shown. The base 121 is provided with positioning means 131 as will be described in detail later. The positioning means 131 is located outside the temporary assembly 201 when the base 121 is in the upper retracted position, and is positioned inside the temporary assembly 201 when the base 121 is in the approaching position. It is placed in a position to enter or at least abut against the temporary assembly 201.
[0016]
2 and 3, the positioning means 131 includes a first positioning means 131a for gripping and positioning the cowl panel 157 in the temporary assembly 201, and a front edge portion of the side body 153. The second positioning means 131b for gripping and positioning the header, the third positioning means 131c for gripping and positioning the header panel 159, and the fourth for gripping and positioning the front upper edge portion of the side body 153. Positioning means 131d, fifth positioning means 131e for gripping and positioning the central portion of the side body 153, sixth positioning means 131f for gripping and positioning the rear upper edge portion of the side body 153, A seventh positioning means 131g for gripping and positioning the back frame panel 161; 153 gripping the edge portions after composed of the eighth positioning means 131h for positioning. The first to eighth positioning means 131 a to 131 h are all attached to the lower surface side of the base 121.
[0017]
As an example of the structure of each of the positioning means 131a to 131h, description will be made below based on the detailed structure of the fourth positioning means 131d shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 4, the fourth positioning means 131d generally includes a pair of left and right movable arms 133 and 133, a first positioning arm 136, a second positioning arm 137, and an arm position determination jig 138. The first cylinder 135 and the second cylinder 139.
[0018]
The movable arms 133 and 133 are rotatably attached to a pair of brackets 132 fixed to the left and right ends of the lower surface of the base 121. Between the bracket 132 and the movable arm 133, a first stopper 134 for uniquely determining the contact position relationship between the two is provided.
[0019]
The movable arms 133 and 133 are connected to each other by the first cylinder 135. When the first cylinder 135 is contracted, the movable arms 133 and 133 are located on the sides close to each other. It is placed at position A. On the other hand, when the first cylinder 135 extends, the movable arms 133 and 133 expand from the base 121 and are placed at the positions indicated by the solid lines in FIG. Since the left and right movable arms 133 and 133 and their end structures are the same, the right part is omitted in FIG. 4 and only the left part is shown.
[0020]
The first positioning arm 136 is attached at the end of the movable arm 133 so as to be rotatable relative to the movable arm 133. An end portion of the second cylinder 139 is attached to the end portion of the first positioning arm 136 so as to be relatively rotatable, and a second positioning arm 137 is attached to the casing portion of the second cylinder 139 so as to be relatively rotatable. ing. In FIG. 4, the state in which the second cylinder 139 is extended is indicated by a solid line.
[0021]
An arm position determination jig 138 is attached to the center portion of the second positioning arm 137 so as to be relatively rotatable. Between the arm position determination jig 138 and the first positioning arm 136, a second stopper 141 for uniquely determining the contact position relationship between the two is provided, and the arm position determination jig 138 and the second position determination jig 136 are provided. A third stopper 142 is provided between the positioning arm 137 and the positioning arm 137 for uniquely determining the contact position relationship between the two.
[0022]
The upper end portions of the first and second positioning arms 136 and 137 are positioned with the member to be positioned 140 (in this case, the front of the side body 153 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3) in cooperation with the arm position determination jig 138. The upper edge portion) can be gripped.
[0023]
FIG. 4 shows a state in which both the first cylinder 135 and the second cylinder 139 are extended. On the contrary, the state of the movable arm 133 when the first cylinder 135 is contracted is indicated by a symbol A. Further, the state of the first positioning arm 136, the second positioning arm 137, and the arm position determination jig 138 when the second cylinder 139 is contracted is indicated by symbol B.
[0024]
The other positioning means 131a to 131c and 131e to 131h all have a structure equivalent to the structure described for the positioning means d. Therefore, those detailed explanations are omitted for convenience.
[0025]
Furthermore, the welding robot 150 which is a member constituting the assembling apparatus 101 is appropriately disposed in a peripheral region of the temporary assembly 201 centering on both the left and right sides of the temporary assembly 201 as well shown in FIG. ing. The welding robot 150 itself has an existing structure, and a detailed description thereof is omitted for convenience.
[0026]
Next, an assembly work method for obtaining a body assembly of an automobile as a final assembly using the assembly apparatus 101 will be described.
First, the pallet 111 is arranged at the preparation position already described, and the temporary assembly 201 is placed on the pallet 111. Although not particularly shown, the pallet 111 is provided with position detecting means for specifying the placement position of the temporary assembly 201. This position detection means is constituted by a limit switch, an optical detection means, or the like, for example. Therefore, it is surely grasped whether or not the temporary assembly 201 is correctly placed at the placement position of the pallet 111.
[0027]
By the way, as already described, the temporary assembly 201 includes the underbody 151, the side body 153, the cowl panel 157, the header panel 159, the back frame panel 161, the lower back panel, and the upper back panel (depending on the vehicle). It may not be). The temporary assembly 201 is literally the assembly of each of the above-described assembly members to the underbody 151 that is the assembly target member. In this embodiment, the body assembly of the hatchback type automobile that is the final assembly product. This is a work-in-process that is put into the assembling apparatus 101 in order to obtain an accessory.
The temporary assembly 201 is provided with the side body 153, the cowl panel 157, the header panel 159, and the back frame panel 161 inserted into the underbody 151, and temporarily attached between each member via a mounting bracket (not shown). Constitute. In this state, the members are not completely fixed, and the positional relationship between the members is not strictly determined.
[0028]
Next, with the temporary assembly 201 placed and held, the pallet 111 moves from the preparation position to the assembly work position. For the movement of the pallet 111, for example, a rail or chain drive system is adopted. When the pallet 111 is placed at the assembly work position, the base 121 at the upper retreat position and the positioning means 131 provided on the base 121 are positioned above the temporary assembly 201. The relative positional relationship between the temporary assembly 201 and the base 121 / positioning means 131 is such that the placement position of the temporary assembly 201 on the pallet 111 is detected and the pallet 111 is moved from the preparation position to the assembly work position. It is uniquely determined by the feed amount setting of the moving means.
[0029]
When the pallet 111 is placed at the assembly work position, the base 121 is lowered from the upper retreat position to the approach position. FIG. 1 shows a state in which the base 121 is placed at the approach position. When the base 121 is lowered from the upper retracted position to the approaching position, the positioning means 131a to 131h are arranged so that the roof opening 203, the front window opening 205, the front window opening 205 of the temporary assembly 201, as shown in FIGS. A positional relationship for entering the temporary assembly 201 from the rear window opening 207 is given. The term “entering into the interior” here includes not only a form that literally enters the interior of the temporary assembly 201 but also a form that is placed on the surface layer of the temporary assembly 201. Thus, the positioning means 131a to 131h perform the positioning operation by gripping the respective assembly members in charge through the expanding operation by the cylinder. The details of this work will be described using the previously described fourth positioning means 131d as an example.
[0030]
When the base 121 reaches the approach position, as shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the fourth positioning means 131 d enters the temporary assembly 201 from the roof opening 203 of the temporary assembly 201. Is given. Then, as shown in FIG. 4, the first cylinder 135 extends and the movable arm 133 expands (in FIG. 4, the movable arm 133 changes from the state shown by the symbol A to the state shown by the solid line. ). When the movable arm 133 is expanded, the bracket 132 and the movable arm 133 come into contact with each other via the first stopper 134, and the expansion position of the movable arm 133 is accurately determined.
[0031]
Further, the second cylinder 139 extends and the first positioning arm 136 and the second positioning arm 137 grip the positioned member 140 (in this case, the front upper edge portion of the side body 153) (in FIG. 4). , Each positioning arm changes from a state represented by a symbol B to a state represented by a solid line). At this time, the arm position determining jig 138 correctly grips the positioned member 140 in cooperation with the movement of the first and second positioning arms 136 and 137. Specifically, the first positioning arm 136, the second positioning arm 137, and the arm position determination jig 138 are in contact with each other via the first and second stoppers 141, 142, and the first positioning arm 136, 142 are in contact with each other. The position where the arm 136 and the second positioning arm 137 should grip the positioned member 140 is accurately determined. That is, the operation of gripping the positioned member 140 also serves as the positioning operation of the positioned member 140 at the same time.
[0032]
Similar to the fourth positioning means 131d, the other positioning means 131a to 131c and 131e to 131h grip and position each member to be positioned. That is, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the first positioning means 131a grips and positions the cowl panel 157, the second positioning means 131b grips and positions the front edge portion of the side body 153, and the third positioning means 131b The positioning means 131c grips and positions the header panel 159, the fourth positioning means 131d grips and positions the front upper edge portion of the side body 153, and the fifth positioning means 131e grips the center portion of the side body 153. The sixth positioning means 131f grips and positions the rear upper edge portion of the side body 153, the seventh positioning means 131g grips and positions the back frame panel 161, and the eighth positioning means 131h The rear edge portion of 153 is gripped and positioned.
[0033]
As described above, the welding robot 150 shown in FIG. 1 performs welding of each member to be positioned in a state in which each positioning means 131a to 131h grips and positions each member to be positioned.
At this time, the peripheral region including the left and right sides of the temporary assembly 201 is free without positioning means except for the upper region of the temporary assembly 201. The degree of freedom is very high. As an example, when the positioning means occupies both the left and right sides of the temporary assembly as in the prior art, the number of weldable points is limited to about 60 points. When the system was introduced, the number of weldable points was increased to 400 points, making it easy to place the optimal welding position.
[0034]
The welding of the member to be assembled by the welding robot 150 is completed, and an automobile body assembly product is obtained. Then, the pallet 111 is transferred from the assembling work position to the carry-out position (not shown for convenience). Then, the body assembly of the automobile is taken out from the pallet 111 and put into another work process or put into another work process while being placed on the pallet 111.
[0035]
According to the present embodiment, the base 121 and the positioning means 131 a to 131 h attached to the base 121 occupy only the upper region of the temporary assembly 201, and the temporary assembly is performed from above the temporary assembly 201. Since the positioning means 131a to 131h perform positioning work of the respective members to be assembled in the positional relationship of entering the inside of the attachment 201, the space occupancy rate of the positioning means around the temporary assembly 201 during the assembly work Can be minimized. As a result, a large amount of work space around the temporary assembly 201 can be allocated to other work members such as the welding robot 150, and the work space efficiency can be improved when the assembly member is assembled to the member to be assembled. Achieved. Such an improvement in work space efficiency leads to an improvement in the assembly work efficiency, which leads to a reduction in labor required for the assembly work. As an example, in the vehicle body assembling work according to the present embodiment, 12 assembling lines are formed with 12 units of the assembling apparatus. The assembly work per unit is about 600 seconds, and a tact time of about 50 seconds is realized.
[0036]
Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, the positioning means attached to the base and the base is configured so that the lower opening of the underbody 151, both the left and right side bodies, or one side window opening. The approach path into the temporary assembly 201 can be freely selected, such as a form of entering the temporary assembly 201 from the part.
[0037]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, it is possible to minimize the space occupancy rate of the positioning means of the assembly member in the vicinity of the assembly member during the assembly operation of the assembly member. Space can be assigned to other work members, and therefore, the work space efficiency can be improved when the assembly member is assembled to the member to be assembled.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing details of an assembling apparatus structure and assembling method according to the present embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a plan view of FIG. 1 viewed from above.
FIG. 3 is a side view of FIG. 1 viewed from the right side.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a detailed structure of positioning means in the present embodiment.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing details of a conventional assembling technique.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 Assembly apparatus 111 Pallet 121 Base 131 Positioning means 150 Welding robot 151 Under body 153 Side body 157 Cowl panel 159 Header panel 161 Back frame panel 201 Temporary assembly

Claims (2)

A device for assembling at least one horizontal body spanning a pair of side bodies and the side bodies to the under body, wherein the under body, the pair of side bodies and the horizontal body are temporarily assembled. A pallet that positions and supports the underbody of the body, a base that is movable between an upward retracted position and an approach position of the temporary assembly, and an interior of the temporary assembly at the approach position of the base A pair of positioning means that can be expanded to the side of the pair of side bodies with respect to the base, and provided between the under body and the side body and between the under body and the side body. And a fixing means for fixing between the horizontal bodies. A method of assembling at least one horizontal body spanning a pair of side bodies and the side bodies to the under body, wherein the under body, the pair of side bodies, and the horizontal body are temporarily assembled. A step of positioning and supporting the underbody of the body with a pallet, and a pair of positioning means provided on the base movable between the upper retracted position and the approaching position of the temporary assembly. A step of expanding toward the pair of side bodies in a positional relationship of entering the temporary assembly in the approach position, and a step of gripping and positioning the pair of side bodies; provided outside the pair of side bodies An assembling method including a step of fixing between the under body and the side body and between the side body and the horizontal body by a fixing means;

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