JP4632711B2 - Method and apparatus for assembling axle module - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention is used in a vehicle assembly factory. The present invention relates to a method for assembling an axle module, which is a main part of a vehicle, and an apparatus used in the assembling process. The present invention is used in a process of assembling a vehicle, particularly in a process of attaching a leaf spring to an axle member. The present invention is one of the inventions associated with omitting a large-scale process for vertically turning a vehicle body frame to which an axle module is attached, which is conventionally performed in a vehicle manufacturing process.

  The present invention relates to a prior application (Japanese Patent Application No. 2004-66516, PCT / JP2004 / 003135, both of which have not been disclosed at the time of filing of the present application, the title of the invention “vehicle assembly method and assembly factory”, This is an invention related to “request”. The present invention has been experimentally implemented in the working process of the form disclosed in this prior application, but is not limited to being implemented in the process disclosed in this prior application, and generally can be widely implemented in the vehicle manufacturing process. it can.

  Conventionally, in the process of attaching an axle module to a vehicle body frame, a method of performing work by turning the vehicle body frame upside down once has become widespread. In other words, the body frame is turned upside down (with the body mounting side down) and placed in the work area, and the axle module that is originally located below the frame is suspended from the upper side of the body frame. The process is assembled so as to perform the mounting operation in a state where it is placed on the machine. This is because when the body frame is in the normal position (the body mounting side is up and the axle mounting side is down), the distance between the body frame and the floor surface becomes small, and the operator can One of the main reasons is that it is difficult to access. For this reason, in the conventional vehicle assembly process, after the axle module is attached to the vehicle body frame, the vehicle body frame is once lifted high by a large-scale device including a crane device, and then rotated 180 degrees around the longitudinal axis of the vehicle body frame. In addition, it is necessary to suspend the body frame from the process position.

Edited and published by the Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan “Automotive Technology Handbook” Volume 4 Volume, Production / Quality / Maintenance, published on September 1, 1991, especially on pages 283-286.

  For this purpose, the factory that assembles the vehicle requires a large crane or similar mechanical device in order to be able to lift the body frame completely and to reverse it while holding it firmly in space. is there. And large-scale machinery for this purpose must be designed to be compatible with the largest standard vehicles that can be manufactured in the factory. For this reason, the conventional vehicle assembly line requires an extremely large ceiling space in order to accommodate the large-scale mechanical device above the vehicle assembly line, which increases the scale of the factory building itself.

  The specification of the prior application discloses a method and an apparatus for assembling a vehicle on a rotary assembly table, instead of moving the vehicle to be assembled on a linear production line. That is, an operation mode is described in which the vehicles being assembled are placed one by one or a small number on a disk-shaped table, and the assembly is performed while slowly rotating the table. This disk-shaped rotary assembly table rotates, for example, several tens of minutes. In the meantime, modules necessary for vehicle assembly are supplied one after another from the peripheral preparation area set radially toward the center of the rotary assembly table. Then, when the rotary assembly table has just made one revolution, the vehicle is completed to a state where it can run on its own, and the driver gets into the vehicle, starts the engine, runs on its own, and leaves the rotary assembly table.

  In this specification, the “module” is a general term for parts and materials supplied to the vehicle assembly process, and a plurality of parts are appropriately assembled (for example, an engine module, an axle Module), individual components (eg, wheels, batteries), and liquids such as fuel and lubricants.

  By adopting the vehicle assembly process disclosed in the previous application, it is possible to reduce the scale of the mass production assembly factory, thereby reducing the quantity of work in progress and reducing the time spent in the factory as work in progress. It is understood that the interest rate associated with automobile assembly can be made economical. This new vehicle assembly process is particularly advantageous when the specifications of the vehicle being assembled are not uniform. In this new vehicle assembly process, the crane device disposed in the space above the assembly work place is limited to a simple device sufficient to carry in necessary modules individually, and the vehicle frame itself is lifted and reversed. It has been recognized that it is not appropriate to install a large-scale device for this purpose.

  The present invention has been widely used in the vehicle assembly process, and (a) the vehicle frame is once lifted in a space, (b) upside down in the space, and (c) again on the floor or on the production line. The purpose is to omit the returning process. An object of the present invention is to eliminate the need for a large-scale mechanical device including a crane device that has been necessary for executing these conventional processes. An object of the present invention is to simplify and economicalize the vehicle assembly process. An object of the present invention is to reduce the number of work steps in the process of mounting an axle module on a vehicle body frame. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an axle module assembling process and an apparatus therefor that can uniformly cope with a vehicle model having a part of the specification. It is an object of the present invention to reduce the time during which work-in-process items stay in the vehicle assembly process and to make the vehicle assembly cost more economical. An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle assembly method and apparatus suitable for carrying out the invention disclosed in the above-mentioned prior application. More particularly, the present invention provides a method and apparatus for reducing the number of man-hours required to adjust the mutual positional relationship between a leaf spring and an axle member before assembly in an axle module assembly process. For the purpose. It is another object of the present invention to avoid tightening in a state where unnecessary stress is applied to a leaf spring or an axle member in an assembly process of an axle module.

  The first of the present invention is a method for assembling an axle module. That is, according to the present invention, the first step of placing the axle member and the leaf spring in the normal position on the workbench, and the tips of the U bolts spanned over the leaf spring are passed through the back side of the axle member. In the method of assembling an axle module, including a second step and a third step of tightening a nut to each tip of the U-bolt from the back side of the axle member, the axle member is positioned vertically on the workbench. It is characterized in that a period for enabling movement in the horizontal direction (XY direction) is provided while maintaining the position (height) in the direction.

  As described in the conventional method, the above-mentioned “normal position” means that the axle module is in a position equivalent to the vertical relation position of the completed vehicle without taking the inverted position in which the axle module is turned upside down. The above "providing a period allowing horizontal movement" means that a period during which horizontal movement is allowed is provided continuously, intermittently, temporarily provided, repeatedly provided, or all periods If it is continuously provided, it means that either may be provided. Although there is no claim in the process of laying the U-bolt on the leaf spring, this process may be performed at any time before the second process of penetrating the tip of the U-bolt to the back side of the axle member or the second process. Can be performed simultaneously with the process. For example, this can be done before or after the axle member is brought in as material, and this can be done just before this second step or during the execution of this second step.

  The period in which the horizontal movement is allowed can be set to include a period in which the first step of placing the axle member and the leaf spring on the work table in the normal position is executed. With this configuration, when the axle member is placed on the work table, for example, when the axle member is suspended on the work table using a crane, it is not necessary to perform the alignment with high accuracy. Can be made extremely small.

  The period in which the horizontal movement is allowed can be set so as to include a period in which a second step of passing each tip of the U-bolt through the back side of the axle member is performed. By adopting such a process operation, the relative position between the U bolt and the leaf spring can be freely changed by the horizontal movement of the axle member to be tightened, so that the bolt can be easily inserted. Man-hours can be reduced.

  The period in which the horizontal movement is allowed can be set to include a period in which a third step of tightening the nut is performed. By making such a setting, even if an unexpected situation occurs, for example, unnecessary stress is applied to some members before tightening due to some cause, the horizontal mutual position is free. By being changed, the stress is naturally eliminated or distributed, and the stress is not maintained in the screw, the nut, or the device component while the nut is tightened as it is.

  A second aspect of the present invention is an assembly device for an axle module, which is provided on a work table (1), an axle member mounting table (2) provided on the work table (1), and the work table (1). A pair of leaf springs (11) supported above the axle member (13) mounted on the axle member mounting table (2) so that the longitudinal direction thereof is orthogonal to the axial direction of the axle member. The axle member mounting table (2) includes a movable support (4) in a horizontal direction with respect to the work table (1).

  The numbers in the parentheses are reference numbers for the embodiment drawings to be described later. This is provided to facilitate understanding of the configuration of the invention, and is not intended to limit the configuration of the invention to the embodiments. The same applies to the following description.

  Although the work table (1) is expressed by a single number, a plurality of members may be combined into one work table. Rather, in a practical form in an assembly factory for large vehicles, the shape of the work table is too large to be composed of a single member, and material is wasted, so a plurality of divided members are placed on a surface plate. And connecting them with a rigid member to form one work table. The “horizontal direction” is a direction of a straight line (x direction) orthogonal to the gravity direction (z direction) or a plane (x, y) orthogonal to the gravity direction. Although the structure is practically complicated, it is convenient to provide movable means in the plane (x, y) direction.

  The movable means may include two horizontally disposed flat plates and a large number of ball bearings interposed between the two flat plates. Furthermore, the structure can be provided with means for temporarily prohibiting the operation of the movable means and setting the axle member (2) to a standard position (eg, X = 0, Y = 0).

  By assembling the axle module using the method of the present invention or the apparatus of the present invention, the axle module is completed in the normal position on the workbench, so that the conventional method or apparatus is used. In addition, after assembling the axle module, there is no need to lift and reverse it in the air. Therefore, the factory ceiling space can be set small, and no large-scale equipment is required. Furthermore, according to the present invention, it is possible to perform vehicle assembly by an economical and rational method using a rotary assembly table.

  By assembling the axle module using the method of the present invention or the apparatus of the present invention, the number of work steps in the assembly process of the axle module can be reduced. Furthermore, according to the present invention, in the assembly process of the axle module, there is an effect that tightening is not performed in a state where unnecessary stress is applied to the leaf spring or the axle member.

(Example)
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view for explaining the outline of the construction method of the embodiment of the present invention and the apparatus used therefor. That is, a pair of U-bolts 12 is bridged over a leaf spring 11 that is one of the parts to be mounted on the vehicle to be assembled. And each front-end | tip of this U volt | bolt 12 is penetrated to the back side of the axle member 13. FIG. Nuts 14 are tightened from the back side of the axle member 13 to the respective ends of the U bolts 12. In the embodiment of the present invention, the axle member 13 and the leaf spring 11 are placed on the work table 1 in the normal position. In other words, it is not turned over like conventional methods, but is placed in the up-down direction equal to the up-down direction attached to the assembled vehicle.

  Further, the pair of leaf springs 11 are respectively placed on the leaf spring support 3 in the direction perpendicular to the axle member 13 in the normal position. Then, the two pins 6 are respectively inserted into the mounting holes formed at the respective ends of the two leaf springs 11 so that the pair of leaf springs 11 correctly form a quadrilateral at a fixed position. A separate patent application will be filed for the assembly method using these two pins. These two pins 6 are auxiliary tools for assembling work and are removed after the assembly of the axle module is completed.

  Here, in the construction method and apparatus of the present invention, when the axle member 13 is placed on the axle member mounting table 2 provided on the work table 1, the axle member mounting table 2 is provided with the movable means 4 and supported. The entire axle member 13 can be moved planarly in the horizontal direction. This is the greatest feature of the present invention. That is, as described above, the two leaf springs 11 are fixedly placed on the two pairs of leaf spring support bases 3, but the axle member mounting base 2 is movable in a plane. The relative position of the spring 11 and the axle member 13 can be changed in a plane.

  The movable structure of the axle member mounting table 2 will be described with reference to FIG. The axle member mounting table 2 is attached to the work table 1 via the movable means 4. The movable means 4 has a configuration in which a large number of ball bearings are interposed between two flat plates, and the two flat plates can be changed in plane while maintaining their parallel state. The lower plate of the two flat plates is fixed to the work table 1 so as to maintain its level, that is, orthogonal to the direction of gravity. Therefore, the upper plate of the flat plates is formed so as to be movable in a plane with respect to the work table 1. Although the axle member 13 is a component having a corresponding weight, the axle member 13 is placed on the axle member mounting table 2 and can be moved freely in the horizontal direction by being lightly pressed by the operator. Yes. In the apparatus of this embodiment, the movable width that can move in the horizontal direction is several centimeters to tens of centimeters in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction, respectively.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the axle member 13 placed on the axle member placing table 2 by this structure is movable in a plane with respect to the leaf spring 11. Therefore, in the process of suspending the axle member 13 with a crane and placing it on the work table 1, even if the position with respect to the work table 1 is slightly shifted, it can be corrected later. Next, when the U-bolts 12 are respectively bridged over the leaf springs 11 and the tips of the U-bolts 12 are to be inserted into the holes formed in the axle member, the positioning can be performed quickly. Furthermore, when the nut 14 is tightened from the back side of the axle member 13 using a tightening tool, there is a state in which proper tightening is not performed, such as an inclination in the direction of the U bolt 12 inserted into the scale. However, since the movable means 4 of the leaf spring support 3 allows a slight change in position, the positions of the inserted U-bolts 12 are determined at appropriate positions without stress, and the tightening is performed. .

  FIG. 3 is a top view in a state where the axle member 13 is placed on the axle member placing table 2. FIG. 3 is a diagram for understanding the overall positional relationship, and each member is schematically shown and its detailed shape is omitted. As can be seen in FIG. 3, the pair of pins 6 are respectively inserted into the end portions of the leaf springs 11, and the leaf springs 11 are maintained parallel to each other and perpendicular to the mounted axle member 13. . This pin 6 is a steel round bar, which is one of the tools only used in this process, and is removed when the tightening of the U bolt is completed.

  Next, a standard position setting mechanism, which is another feature of the apparatus of the present invention, will be described. FIG. 4 is a plan view of an essential part of the standard position setting mechanism according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a side view of the same. As described above, the axle member mounting table 2 is configured such that its position can be freely changed in a plane with respect to the work table by the movable means 4 in which a large number of ball bearings are arranged in a plane. . When the axle member is placed on the axle member mounting table 2 at the beginning of this step, it is convenient that the table is fixed at a fixed position (X = 0, Y = 0). This standard position setting mechanism is provided for that purpose, and the leaf spring support 3 is returned to its home position by manually pushing the setting knob 5 in the direction of the arrow. That is, when the setting knob 5 is pushed in the direction of the arrow, the acute angle portion of the setting knob 5 is engaged with the notch of the axle member mounting table 2, and the position in the x direction is corrected and set to the zero position (X = 0). Is done. Further, when the setting knob 5 is pushed in the direction of the arrow, the end of the axle member mounting table 2 comes into contact with the stopper 7, and the position in the y direction is set to the zero position (Y = 0). In this way, each time one axle member is placed, the zero position setting described above is performed immediately before the arrival of the axle member suspended by the crane device. By such an operation, the variable range of the standard position setting mechanism can be effectively used both in the X direction and in the Y direction.

  Although the above description has described the assembly of the axle for the non-driving wheels, the assembly of the axle for the driving wheels can be similarly performed. However, the method and apparatus of the present invention are only tested on the axle for non-drive wheels (for front wheels in general cargo vehicles) at the applicant's factory. This is because the drive wheel axle (for the rear wheel) has many irregularities, such as a differential gear housing case, and this shape varies depending on the vehicle model, which complicates the shape of the axle member mounting table. by. On the other hand, by utilizing the complicated uneven shape on the contrary, it is possible to perform accurate alignment relatively easily even by a conventionally known centering technique.

  The method and apparatus disclosed herein can be widely implemented, not limited to the process of using a rotary assembly as described above. If it is applied to a production line that has been widely known from the past, it is possible to eliminate the need for large-scale equipment such as lifting and reversing the vehicle frame.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the construction method of an embodiment of the present invention and the structure of an apparatus used therefor. The perspective view of this invention Example apparatus. The top view explaining the positional relationship of this invention Example apparatus. The principal part top view of this invention Example apparatus. The principal part side view of this invention Example apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Work table 2 Axle member mounting table 3 Leaf spring support table 4 Movable means 5 Setting knob 6 Pin 7 Stopper 11 Leaf spring 12 U bolt 13 Axle member 14 Nut

Claims (2)

The first step of placing the axle member and leaf spring on the workbench with the body mounting side facing up and the axle member mounting side facing down, and each tip of the U bolt spanned over the leaf spring In a method of assembling an axle module, comprising: a second step of penetrating through the back side of the axle member; and a third step of fastening a nut to each tip of the U-bolt from the back side of the axle member.
In the first step, the axle member is mounted on a mounting table in which a ball bearing is inserted between two flat plates and the upper plate is horizontally movable, and then the leaf spring is used as a work table. Including the step of fixing,
In the second step, in a state where the leaf spring is fixed on the work table, an operator presses the mounting table on which the axle member is mounted to move in a horizontal direction so that the axle member and the leaf are moved. -A method for assembling an axle module, characterized by providing a period for alignment with the spring . A work table (1), an axle member mounting table (2) provided on the work table (1), and a pair of leaf springs (11) provided on the work table (1) are connected to the axle member mounting table ( A leaf spring support (3) for supporting the longitudinal direction of the axle member (13) placed on 2) so that its longitudinal direction is orthogonal to the axial direction of the axle member;
The axle member mounting table (2), in a state where the leaf spring is fixed to the front Symbol leaf spring support base includes a movable means (4) for the movable axle member mounting table in a horizontal direction,
The movable means has a structure in which a ball bearing is interposed between two planar plates and the upper plate is movable in a planar manner, and when the operator pushes it, the axle member mounting table is moved in the horizontal direction, and the leaf An assembly apparatus for an axle module, wherein alignment is performed so that a U-bolt hung over a spring passes through the back side of the axle member .

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