JP4850194B2 - Tire assembling apparatus and method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a tire assembling apparatus and method for automatically assembling a tire with respect to a hub bolt of a vehicle.

  In an automobile assembly line, an operation of automatically assembling a tire, which is one of heavy parts, to a car body using a robot is performed.

  A tire assembling apparatus applied to this type of work usually includes a tire gripping part for gripping a tire and a plurality of nut runners for tightening a hub nut to a hub bolt provided on the vehicle body side.

  This type of tire assembling apparatus has, for example, a plurality of nut runners that can arrange nuts corresponding to the number of hub bolts of a vehicle at predetermined circumferential intervals, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, and tires All of the nut runners are arranged around the tire assembling mechanism for automatically assembling the tire, the nut supplying mechanism for supplying the nuts one by one in a vertical posture, and the nut fed from the nut supplying mechanism. A nut arrangement mechanism is provided which is arranged to circulate corresponding to the circumferential interval and which delivers the nut to the nut runner.

JP 2000-210825 A

  In the tire assembling apparatus described above, a single robot is provided with a tire gripping means for gripping a tire and a plurality of nut runners for tightening the tire on a vehicle.

  Recently, it has been desired to downsize and simplify the entire facility, and this kind of request is also made in the tire assembling apparatus.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a tire assembling apparatus and method capable of efficiently performing an automatic assembling operation of a tire with a simple and compact configuration.

  The present invention relates to a tire assembling apparatus for automatically assembling a tire with respect to a hub bolt of a vehicle.

  The tire assembling apparatus includes a tire gripping unit that grips a tire, a first working mechanism that includes a nut bolting unit that temporarily tightens a nut on a hub bolt on which the tire is disposed, and a final tightening of the temporarily tightened nut. And a second working mechanism for providing a final fastening means.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the 2nd working mechanism is provided with the detection sensor which detects the hub bolt position of a vehicle.

  Further, the tire assembling apparatus processes a bolt hole detection sensor for detecting a bolt hole of a tire disposed in the tire supply unit, a hub bolt position information of the vehicle, and a bolt hole position information of the tire, and a first working mechanism. It is preferable to provide a control mechanism for controlling the operation of

  Furthermore, it is preferable that the nut temporary fastening means includes a plurality of detachable nut runners and a single rotation drive source that rotates the plurality of nut runners integrally.

  Moreover, it is preferable that a final fastening means is provided with two nut runners and the space | interval adjustment part which can adjust the space | interval of the two said nut runners.

  Furthermore, this tire assembling apparatus preferably includes a third working mechanism that aligns the nuts in correspondence with the nut temporary fastening means.

  Furthermore, the present invention relates to a tire assembling method for automatically assembling a tire with respect to a hub bolt of a vehicle.

  In this tire assembling method, the tire is gripped by the first working mechanism, the nut is temporarily tightened to the hub bolt on which the tire is disposed, and the first working mechanism is temporarily tightened via the second working mechanism. And tightening the nut.

  Further, it is preferable that the first working mechanism and the second working mechanism perform each work in parallel without interfering with each other.

  Furthermore, this tire assembling method preferably includes a step of detecting the hub bolt position of the vehicle by the second working mechanism.

  Furthermore, the tire assembling method includes a step of detecting a bolt hole of a tire disposed in a tire supply unit, an operation of the first working mechanism based on vehicle hub bolt position information and the tire bolt hole position information. It is preferable to have the process of controlling.

  Further, in this tire assembling method, the first working mechanism and the second working mechanism are arranged at the tire mounting station, and the vehicle includes a front wheel hub bolt and a rear wheel hub bolt at the tire mounting station. It is preferable to intermittently convey so that they are sequentially arranged.

  In the present invention, the first working mechanism is provided with the tire gripping means and the nut temporary fastening means, and the second working mechanism is provided with the final fastening means. For this reason, the first working mechanism and the second working mechanism are effectively reduced in size and simplified as compared with the configuration in which the tire gripping means and the tightening means (nut runner) are provided only in a single working mechanism.

  In addition, since the first working mechanism is provided with the nut temporary fastening means, the actuator (for example, the motor) is particularly reduced in size and weight at a time as compared with the fastening means that is integrated until the final fastening. Accordingly, it is possible to easily reduce the size and weight of the entire first working mechanism.

  Further, the tire assembling work is shared by the first working mechanism and the second working mechanism. As a result, a plurality of operations can be performed in parallel, and the entire tire assembly operation can be shortened and made more efficient.

  FIG. 1 is an explanatory perspective view of an assembly line 12 in which a tire assembly device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention is arranged.

  The assembly line 12 includes a transport path 16 that pitch transports to a tire assembly position in a state where the automobile body (vehicle) 14 is placed on the carriage 16a, and a pair of tires mounted on both sides of the transport path 16 The device 10 (only one side is shown in FIG. 1) automatically assembles the tire W to the hub bolt 18 of the automobile body 14.

  The tire assembling apparatus 10 includes a first work mechanism 20 and a second work mechanism 22 that are divided according to work contents to be described later. As for the conveyance path 16, the 1st attachment site | part 24a which is the front-wheel side of the motor vehicle body 14, and the 2nd attachment site | part 24b which is the rear-wheel side of the said vehicle body 14 are arrange | positioned sequentially at a tire attachment work station. In addition, the vehicle body 14 is intermittently conveyed.

  In the vicinity of the first working mechanism 20, a tire loading conveyor 26 for arranging the tires W, a nut stock portion 30 for accommodating a nut 28 fastened to the hub bolt 18, and a predetermined number (five) from the nut stock portion 30. Alternatively, a third working mechanism 33 for taking out the four nuts 28 and arranging them on the nut stand 32 is provided.

  The first working mechanism 20 includes a robot main body 34, and a rotatable index table 40 is attached to a wrist portion 38 provided at the tip of an arm portion 36 of the robot main body 34.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the index table 40 includes tire gripping means 42 for gripping the tire W, and nut temporary fastening means 44 for temporarily fastening the nut 28 to the hub bolt 18 on which the tire W is disposed. Provided.

  The tire gripping means 42 includes a mounting plate 46 that is fixed to the index table 40. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a cam ring 50 is rotatably supported on the mounting plate 46 via a plurality of guide rollers 48. The mounting plate 46 is provided with a plurality of, for example, three guide rails 52 that extend in the radial direction while being spaced apart at equal angular intervals.

  A slide base 54 is movably disposed on each guide rail 52, and the slide base 54 and the cam ring 50 are connected via a connecting rod 56. Each slide base 54 is provided with a tire pressing member 58. A cylinder 60 is swingably mounted on the mounting plate 46, and a rod 62 connected to the cylinder 60 is fixed to the cam ring 50.

  The nut temporary fastening means 44 includes a single motor 64 fixed to the mounting plate 46. As shown in FIG. 4, a drive gear 66 is fixed to the rotation drive shaft 64 a of the motor 64, and a gear train 68 meshes with the drive gear 66. A tool unit 70 is detachably attached to the gear train 68.

  The tool unit 70 is attached with five (or four) nut runners 72. Each nut runner 72 is integrally rotated by a motor 64 via a gear train 68 and a drive gear 66.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the second working mechanism 22 is provided with a wrist portion 78 at the tip of an arm portion 76 constituting the robot body 74. An index table 80 is rotatably mounted on the wrist 78. As shown in FIG. 5, the indexing base 80 detects a position of each hub bolt and a final tightening means 82 for finally tightening the nut 28 temporarily tightened to the hub bolt 18 at the first mounting portion 24 a and the second mounting portion 24 b. For this purpose, CCD imaging cameras (hereinafter simply referred to as cameras) (detection sensors) 84 and 86 for taking images of the first attachment part 24a and the second attachment part 24b are mounted.

  The final fastening means 82 includes a first nut runner 90 connected to the first motor 88 and a second nut runner 94 connected to the second motor 92. The first nut runner 90 and the second nut runner 94 can be changed via an interval adjusting portion 98 connected to a rod 96a extending from the pitch switching cylinder 96. The interval adjusting unit 98 is rotatable about the support shaft 99 as a fulcrum. The pitch interval of the first nut runner 90 and the second nut runner 94 can be changed according to the number of nuts for fixing the tire W being five and four.

  An openable and closable nut chuck portion 87 for taking out the nut 28 accommodated in the nut stock portion 30 and placing it on the nut stand 32 is provided at the arm tip of the third working mechanism 33.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the cameras 84 and 86 of the second working mechanism 22 output image information of the first attachment part 24 a and the second attachment part 24 b to the first image processing apparatus 100.

  The first image processing apparatus 100 further receives image information of the tire W (bolt hole of the tire W) from a camera (bolt hole detection sensor) 102 for photographing the tire W disposed on the tire loading conveyor 26. Entered.

  A camera 104 that captures an image of the nut 28 for conveyance is fixed in the vicinity of the third working mechanism 33. Image information of the nut 28 photographed by the camera 104 is input to the second image processing device 106.

  The first image processing apparatus 100 is connected to the calculation unit 108, in which the hub bolt position of the first attachment site 24 a, the hub bolt position of the second installation site 24 b, and the bolt hole of the tire W on the tire loading conveyor 26. The relative position is calculated and output to the main control device (control mechanism) 110. A second image processing device 106 is connected to the calculation unit 108, and image information of the nut 28 photographed by the camera 104 is calculated by the calculation unit 108 and output to the main control device 110.

  The main control device 110 controls the operation of the first work mechanism 20 and also controls the operation of the second work mechanism 22 and the third work mechanism 33 based on the calculation information input from the calculation unit 108.

  Next, the operation of the tire assembling apparatus 10 configured as described above will be described below along the flowchart shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 and the timing chart shown in FIG. 9 in relation to the assembling method according to the present embodiment. To do.

  The operation of the first working mechanism 20 is shown in FIG. 7, the operation of the second working mechanism 22 is shown in FIG. 8, and the first working mechanism 20, the second working mechanism 22, and the third working mechanism 33 are shown. These operations are performed in association with each other as shown in FIG.

  First, the operation of the first working mechanism 20 will be described. The first working mechanism 20 includes five nut runners 72 that constitute the nut temporary fastening means 44 with the five nuts 28 arranged on the nut stand 32. After gripping, the tire W on the tire loading conveyor 26 is gripped via the tire gripping means 42 (step S1).

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, when the cylinder 60 is driven and the rod 62 advances in the arrow direction, the cam ring 50 fixed to the rod 62 rotates in the arrow direction under the guide action of the guide roller 48. To do. For this reason, each connecting rod 56 having one end connected to the cam ring 50 moves each slide base 54 inward (center side) along the guide rail 52. Therefore, the outer peripheral surface of the tire W is pressed and held by the tire pressing member 58 attached to each slide base 54.

  The first work mechanism 20 holding the nut 28 and the tire W moves to the attachment standby position under the turning action of the robot body 34 (step S2). At that time, the vehicle body 14 has the first attachment portion 24a on the front wheel side disposed at the tire attachment work station.

  Then, as will be described later, when the front wheel correction amount obtained by the calculation processing of the captured image by the cameras 84 and 86 provided in the second working mechanism 22 is input (YES in step S3), step S4. Then, the tire W is set on the first attachment portion 24a.

  Furthermore, it progresses to step S5 and the nut 28 is temporarily tightened to each hub bolt 18. FIG. Specifically, in the nut temporary fastening means 44, as shown in FIG. 4, the nut runners 72 provided in the tool unit 70 rotate integrally with each other through the drive gear 66 and the gear train 68 under the rotating action of the motor 64. . For this reason, each nut 28 is temporarily fastened to each hub bolt 18.

  When the tire W is temporarily fastened as a front wheel to the first attachment site 24a, a front wheel set completion signal is output (step S6). The robot body 34 proceeds to step S7, moves away from the first attachment site 24a, and moves to the nut stand 32 side.

  And each nut runner 72 which comprises the nut temporary fastening means 44 grips the five nuts 28 currently arranged on the nut stand 32, Then, the robot main body 34 turns and moves to the tire throwing conveyor 26 side. When the tire gripping means 42 grips the tire W (step S8), the tire gripping means 42 moves to the attachment standby position under the driving action of the robot body 34 (step S9).

  During the above movement, the vehicle body 14 is intermittently conveyed in the direction of the arrow in FIG. For this reason, as for the vehicle body 14, the 2nd attachment site | part 24b which is a rear-wheel side is arrange | positioned at a tire attachment work station.

  On the other hand, as will be described later, the robot main body 34 receives the rear wheel correction amount obtained based on the image signals from the cameras 84 and 86 provided in the second working mechanism 22 (in step S10). , YES), the process proceeds to step S11, and the rear wheel tire W is set in the second attachment portion 24b.

  Further, after the nut 28 is temporarily tightened to the hub bolt 18 of the second attachment site 24b via the nut temporary tightening means 44 (step S12), a rear wheel set completion signal is output (step S13). Thereafter, the first working mechanism 20 moves to the original position (step S14), and the tire temporary fastening work on the automobile body 14 is completed.

  Next, operation | movement of the 2nd working mechanism 22 is demonstrated below along FIG.

  In the second working mechanism 22, the cameras 84 and 86 are arranged corresponding to the tire mounting work station under the action of the robot body 74. Then, when the first mounting portion 24a on the front wheel side of the automobile body 14 is arranged at the tire mounting work station (YES in step S101), the process proceeds to step S102, and the first mounting portion 24a is connected via the cameras 84 and 86. The image information of the front wheel hub bolt 18 at the attachment site 24a is read.

  The images read by the cameras 84 and 86 are output to the first image processing apparatus 100, and the first image processing apparatus 100 calculates the correction amount for the reference position of each hub bolt 18. This correction amount is output from the calculation unit 108 to the main controller 110 (step S103).

  Further, the second working mechanism 22 moves to a position where it does not interfere with the work by the first working mechanism 20 in the first attachment site 24a (step S104). Then, when a front wheel set completion signal is input by the first work mechanism 20 (YES in step S105), the process proceeds to step S106 and moves to the tightening position (first attachment site 24a).

  In the first attachment portion 24 a, five nuts 28 are temporarily fastened to the hub bolt 18, and the first nut runner 90 and the second nut runner 94 constituting the final fastening means 82 are driven by the first motor 88 and the second motor 92. The two nuts 28 are finally tightened by being driven to rotate. Next, the first nut runner 90 and the second nut runner 94 are turned by a predetermined angle and then finally tightened to the other two temporarily tightened nuts 28. Further, after the first nut runner 90 and the second nut runner 94 are turned, the remaining one temporarily tightened nut 28 is finally tightened by the first nut runner 90, for example (step S107).

  After the tire W is attached to the first attachment site 24a, the second working mechanism 22 moves out of interference (step S108). Next, the second working mechanism 22 moves to the rear wheel hub bolt detection position (step S109), and determines whether or not the vehicle body 14 has been transported by a half pitch along the transport path 16 (step S110).

  If it is determined that the vehicle body 14 has been transported by a half pitch (YES in step S110), that is, if it is determined that the second mounting portion 24b on the rear wheel side has been disposed at the tire mounting work station, the process proceeds to step S111. Then, the image information of the rear wheel hub bolt 18 of the second attachment site 24b is read via the cameras 84 and 86. Images captured by the cameras 84 and 86 are output to the first image processing apparatus 100, and a correction amount corresponding to the hub bolt 18 of the second attachment site 24b is output (step S112).

  After the second working mechanism 22 has moved out of the interference of the second attachment site 24b (step S113), the process proceeds to step S114, where it is determined whether or not the rear wheel set has been completed by the first working mechanism 20. When the rear wheel set completion signal is input (YES in step S114), the process proceeds to step S115, and the second working mechanism 22 moves to the tightening position (second attachment portion 24b).

  The final fastening means 82 finally tightens the nut 28 to the hub bolt 18 in the order of two, two and one under the rotating action of the first nut runner 90 and the second nut runner 94 (step S116), and then proceeds to step S117. And move out of interference.

  On the other hand, the third working mechanism 33 is configured to convey and align the front wheel nut 28 and the rear wheel nut 28 from the nut stock portion 30 to the nut stand 32 via the nut chuck portion 87. And repeatedly.

  In the assembly line 12, tire assembling apparatuses 10 are arranged on both sides of the automobile body 14, and the same operation as described above is performed substantially simultaneously.

  In this case, in this embodiment, the tire assembling apparatus 10 is divided into a first working mechanism 20 and a second working mechanism 22. The first working mechanism 20 is provided with a tire gripping means 42 and a temporary nut fastening means 44, and the second working mechanism 22 is provided with a final fastening means 82.

  For this reason, the first working mechanism 20 and the second working mechanism 22 have an advantage that the first working mechanism 20 and the second working mechanism 22 are effectively reduced in size and simplified as compared with the configuration in which the tire gripping means and the tightening means are provided only in a single working mechanism.

  Moreover, the first working mechanism 20 need only include a single motor 64 in order to provide the nut temporary fastening means 44. Accordingly, the motor 64 can be reduced in size and weight at a stroke as compared with the fastening means that is integrated until the final fastening, and the entire first working mechanism 20 can be easily reduced in size and weight.

  Furthermore, the tire assembly work is shared by the first work mechanism 20 and the second work mechanism 22. Thereby, a plurality of operations can be performed in parallel, and the effect of shortening and increasing the efficiency of the entire tire assembly control can be obtained.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 9, while the first work mechanism 20 is performing an operation of receiving the rear wheel nut 28 and the tire W, the second work mechanism 22 is a first attachment that is a front wheel. An operation of fully tightening the nut 28 to the hub bolt 18 of the part 24a is performed. As a result, there is an effect that the entire tire assembling work can be easily and surely shortened and made efficient.

  On the other hand, the tire assembling apparatus 10 includes a third working mechanism 33 that takes out a predetermined number (five or four) of nuts 28 from the nut stock portion 30 and arranges the nuts in alignment with the nut stand 32. Therefore, the first working mechanism 20 and the second working mechanism 22 can eliminate the need for arranging the nuts 28, and the work of the first working mechanism 20 and the second working mechanism 22 is further simplified and made efficient. Is done.

  Furthermore, the conveyance path 16 intermittently conveys the automobile body 14 so that the first attachment part 24a and the second attachment part 24b of the automobile body 14 are sequentially arranged at the tire attachment work station. . Therefore, it is possible to satisfactorily cope with the front and rear wheels of the vehicle body 14 only by arranging the first working mechanism 20 and the second working mechanism 22 one by one at the tire mounting work station (one on the left and the right). become.

  In addition, when the number of bolt holes of the tire W is changed in accordance with the change in the type of the vehicle body 14, the tool unit 70 of the nut temporary fastening means 44 constituting the first working mechanism 20 is replaced. Specifically, the tool unit 70 to which the five nut runners 72 are fixed is replaced with a new tool unit 70 to which the four nut runners 72 are attached.

  On the other hand, in the second working mechanism 22, the cylinder 96 constituting the final fastening means 82 is driven, and the interval adjusting unit 98 rotates around the support shaft 99, thereby adjusting the interval (pitch adjustment) by the interval adjusting unit 98. ) Is performed. Therefore, the pitch between the first nut runner 90 and the second nut runner 94 is changed corresponding to the four hub bolts 18.

It is a perspective explanatory view of an assembly line where a tire assembly device according to an embodiment of the present invention is arranged. It is principal part perspective explanatory drawing of the 1st working mechanism which comprises the said tire assembly apparatus. It is principal part front explanatory drawing of a said 1st working mechanism. It is principal part side explanatory drawing of a said 1st working mechanism. It is principal part perspective explanatory drawing of the 2nd working mechanism which comprises the said tire assembly | attachment apparatus. It is a block diagram of the tire assembling apparatus. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the first working mechanism in the assembling method of the present invention. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the second working mechanism in the assembling method. It is a timing chart of the said assembling method.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Tire assembly apparatus 12 ... Assembly line 14 ... Automobile body 16 ... Conveyance path 18 ... Hub bolt 20, 22, 33 ... Working mechanism 24a, 24b ... Installation part 26 ... Tire injection conveyor 28 ... Nut 30 ... Nut stock part 32 ... Nut Table 34, 74 ... Robot main body 42 ... Tire gripping means 44 ... Nut temporary fastening means 58 ... Tire pressing member 60, 96 ... Cylinders 64, 88, 92 ... Motor 70 ... Tool units 72, 90, 94 ... Nutrunner 82 ... Fastening means
84, 86, 102, 104 ... Camera 98 ... Interval adjustment unit 100, 106 ... Image processing unit 108 ... Calculation unit 110 ... Main control unit W ... Tire

Claims (11)

A tire assembly device for automatically assembling a tire with respect to a vehicle hub bolt,
A hub bolts for the front wheel of the hub bolts and the rear wheel side of the vehicle is intermittently conveyed, are sequentially arranged in the work station, to the hub bolts of the hub bolts and the rear wheel side of the said front wheel tire is arranged sequentially nut A first working mechanism for providing a nut temporary fastening means for temporarily fastening,
After temporary tightening of the nut, and the front wheel side hub bolts and the rear-wheel hub bolts of the vehicle being intermittently conveyed, the tightening of are sequentially disposed in said work station, sequentially tightened provisionally tightened by said nut A second working mechanism providing means;
With
A tire assembling apparatus, wherein the tire gripping means for gripping the tire is provided only in the first working mechanism.   The tire assembling apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second working mechanism is provided with a detection sensor for detecting a hub bolt position of the vehicle. The tire assembly apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a bolt hole detection sensor that detects a bolt hole of the tire arranged in a tire supply unit;
A control mechanism that processes hub bolt position information of the vehicle and bolt hole position information of the tire and controls operation of the first working mechanism;
A tire assembling apparatus comprising: The tire assembly device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the nut temporary fastening means includes a plurality of detachable nut runners,
A single rotational drive source for integrally rotating a plurality of the nut runners;
A tire assembling apparatus comprising: The tire assembly apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the final fastening means includes two nut runners,
An interval adjusting unit capable of adjusting an interval between the two nut runners;
A tire assembling apparatus comprising:   The tire assembling apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising a third working mechanism that aligns the nut corresponding to the nut temporary fastening means. A tire assembly method for automatically assembling a tire with respect to a hub bolt of a vehicle,
A hub bolt on the front wheel side and a hub bolt on the rear wheel side of the vehicle that are intermittently conveyed are sequentially arranged at a work station, and the tire is gripped by tire gripping means provided in a first work mechanism. Temporarily tightening nuts sequentially to the front wheel hub bolt and the rear wheel hub bolt arranged;
A second working mechanism in which the front wheel-side hub bolt and the rear wheel-side hub bolt of the vehicle that are intermittently transported after the nut is temporarily tightened are sequentially arranged at the work station, and the tire gripping means is not provided. Through the step of sequentially tightening the nuts temporarily tightened by the first working mechanism,
A method for assembling a tire, comprising:   The tire assembling method according to claim 7, wherein the first working mechanism and the second working mechanism perform each work in parallel without interfering with each other.   9. The tire assembling method according to claim 7, further comprising a step of detecting a hub bolt position of the vehicle by the second working mechanism. The tire assembling method according to any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein a step of detecting a bolt hole of the tire arranged in a tire supply unit;
Controlling the operation of the first working mechanism based on the hub bolt position information of the vehicle and the bolt hole position information of the tire;
A method for assembling a tire, comprising: The tire assembling method according to any one of claims 7 to 10, wherein the first working mechanism and the second working mechanism are arranged at a tire mounting station,
The tire assembly method according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle is intermittently conveyed so that the hub bolt for a front wheel and the hub bolt for a rear wheel are sequentially arranged at the tire mounting station.

Images