JP5517299B2 - Ribbon body connection structure - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a connecting structure of ribbon bodies used as power transmission means in a transport device of an assembly cart that transports a workpiece.

  Conventionally, assembly carts (assembly jig carts) are used for transporting engines, etc., and in a transport device using this assembly cart, each assembly cart is connected to a transport chain, and the chain is assembled. Accordingly, the assembly carts are moved all at once by moving them in a state of being arranged along the lines.

  In a chassis preparation line 90 shown in Patent Document 1 below, as shown in FIG. 10A, an assembly carriage 91 on which an engine and a chassis are mounted is moved by a drive chain 92 arranged in an annular shape, and the engine and chassis are assembled. The assembly is performed, and the assembled engine assembly is assembled to the vehicle with the engine mounting device.

  The connecting portion of the assembly cart 91 and the transport chain 92 is transported by fixing the chain fixing part of the assembly cart 91 and the assembly portion of the transport chain (assembly cart fixing stay) with a bolt or the like not shown. The chain 92 and the assembly carriage 91 have an integrated structure, and the assembly carriage 91 can also be moved in the conveyance direction by driving (rotating) the conveyance chain 92 with the drive chain of the drive unit.

  Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 10 (B), a plurality of assembly vehicles 91 can be assembled by directly connecting the assembly vehicles 91 before and after each assembly vehicle 91 at front and rear connection parts 93 in the transport direction. The carriage 91 is configured to move on the assembly line. The fixing by the connecting portion 93 is firmly connected so as not to easily come off due to vibration or the like accompanying the movement of the assembly carriage 91.

Japanese Patent No. 4170175

  However, as shown in FIG. 10B, when the front and rear assembly carts 91 are connected at the connecting portion 93, a special mechanism device is used to release the connection by the connecting portion 93 that is firmly connected. There is a need. For this reason, the problem that the front and rear assembly carts 91 cannot be easily separated occurs.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and while having a simple configuration, the carriage can be moved in any direction, and the assembled carriages before and after the transport direction can be easily connected. An object of the present invention is to provide a connecting structure for a ribbon body that can be easily separated.

  A ribbon body coupling structure comprising a carriage coupling portion of an assembly carriage at the upper end and being guided by a slit formed in the rack and housed in the rack. And a stopper pin attached to the rear end of the ribbon body in the transport direction and an arm attached to the end of the ribbon body so as to be tiltable about a horizontal axis perpendicular to the transport direction. The arm has a cam follower and a lower end at the upper end. The stopper pin that engages the stopper pin is provided at the portion, the lower end of the stopper pin is provided with an inclined surface that faces upward in the transport direction, and the arm is connected and held with the cam follower formed along the slit. By tilting against the lower surface of the cam, the tilting angle with respect to the horizontal is reduced, and the stopper bar contacts the rear surface of the stopper pin in the transport direction. Providing a coupling structure of the ribbons, characterized in that it is intended to be fixed at a height. (Claim 1)

  Since the stopper pin is movable in the vertical direction and has an inclined surface at the lower end thereof, the rear ribbon body is moved forward so as to hit the front ribbon body from the rear in the transport direction. Since the inclined surface formed at the lower end of the stopper pin provided on the ribbon body contacts the stopper bar provided on the front ribbon body, the stopper pin is opposed to its own weight as the inclined surface and the stopper bar come into contact with each other. When it gets over this, it moves downward again. When the stopper pin is lowered, the front ribbon body and the rear ribbon body can be connected by bringing the stopper rod into contact with the rear end of the stopper pin.

  For example, the arm is vertically arranged with an axial core provided at an intermediate portion of an arm support attached so as to sandwich the ribbon body at an end of the ribbon body in the conveyance direction rearward and around a horizontal axis perpendicular to the conveyance direction. For example, a pair of plate-like bodies provided on both sides of the ribbon body, and in the open state, the front is inclined upward by its own weight. In addition, the cam follower provided at the upper end of the arm abuts the lower surface of the connecting and holding cam formed along the slit, so that it tilts to reduce the inclination angle with respect to the horizontal, and the stopper provided at the lower end of the arm Since the rod is fixed at a position where it comes into contact with the rear surface of the stopper pin in the conveyance direction, the height of the cam for follower is adjusted by adjusting the height of the cam follower, and the stopper rod and the stopper pin are adjusted. Can be continued or released, and the connected state of the front and rear ribbon bodies can be maintained or released. The cam follower provided at the upper end of the arm is preferably a roller follower, a wheel, or the like that is in rolling contact with the lower surface of the connection holding cam. Further, it is preferable that the stopper bar is also rotatably attached to the lower end portion of the arm.

  For example, the stopper pin is disposed at the tip of a stopper pin support attached so as to sandwich the ribbon body at the front end in the conveyance direction of the ribbon body, and has a long hole in the vertical direction. It is formed to be movable only in the vertical direction by penetrating the pin. However, the stopper pin is vertically moved by a rotating body supported rotatably around a horizontal axis perpendicular to the conveying direction, a link mechanism formed by combining links made of a plurality of rotating bodies, a linear motion unit (LM guide), and the like. It may be configured to be movable.

  A contact mechanism comprising a first contact portion provided at the end of the ribbon body in the rearward direction of conveyance and a second contact portion provided at the end of the ribbon body in the forward direction of transport is provided. At the position where the stopper pin of the ribbon body located rearward in the direction is in front of the stopper rod of the ribbon body located forward in the transport direction, the rear ribbon body is provided at the first contact portion provided in the front ribbon body. When the distance between the ribbon bodies is made constant by bringing the second contact portion into contact (Claim 2), the distance between the front and rear ribbon bodies connected in the engaged state of the stopper pin and the stopper bar. Is not excessively small, and the interval between the ribbon bodies in the connected state can be made substantially constant. As a result, the conveyance interval of the conveyance device that conveys through the ribbon body can be made constant.

  A first roller provided at the rear end of the ribbon body in the transport direction, and a second roller provided at the front end of the ribbon body in the transport direction. The first roller and the second roller are provided on both sides of the slit. In the case of being guided by a pair of guide cams formed along the guide cams (Claim 3), even when the slit is curved, The connected state can be reliably maintained.

  As described above, according to the present invention, not only can the manufacturing cost be reduced because the structure is simple, but also thin plate-like ribbon bodies can be easily connected to each other, and the connection can be easily released in a predetermined section.

It is a top view which shows the whole structure of the workpiece conveyance apparatus which concerns on the connection structure of the ribbon body of this invention. It is the side view seen from the conveyance direction of the said workpiece conveyance apparatus. It is a figure explaining the structure of the ribbon body of the said workpiece conveyance apparatus, (A) is a top view, (B) is a side view. It is a side view which shows the connection state of the connection structure of the said ribbon body. It is a side view which shows the open state of the connection structure of the said ribbon body. It is sectional drawing which expands and shows the principal part of the connection structure of the said ribbon body. It is a top view explaining operation | movement of the connection structure of the said ribbon body. It is a side view explaining operation | movement of the connection structure of the said ribbon body. It is another side view explaining operation | movement of the connection structure of the said ribbon body. It is a figure which shows the structure of the conventional workpiece conveyance apparatus, (A) uses a drive chain, (B) connects a trolley | bogie.

  Hereinafter, the structure of the connection structure 10 of the ribbon body of this invention is demonstrated using FIGS. The ribbon body connection structure 10 of the present invention constitutes a part of the workpiece transfer device 1. The workpiece transfer device 1 includes a gantry 3 having a slit 2, a ribbon body 4 whose upper portion is guided by the slit 2 of the gantry 3 and accommodated in the gantry 3, and an upper end of the ribbon body 4. A carriage connecting portion 5 protruding above the pedestal 3, a drive portion 6 for supplying power for moving the ribbon body 4 in the transport direction along the slit 2, and an engine or an engine assembly as an example of the workpiece W are supported. It has a connecting portion 8 connected to the support portion 7a and the cart connecting portion 5, and has an assembly cart 7 that travels on the mount 3.

  The workpiece transfer apparatus 1 of the present embodiment is used as an engine transfer apparatus for transferring an engine such as an automobile or an engine assembly as a work W or an engine mounting apparatus for a vehicle.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the slit 2 is configured to include not only a straight portion but also a curved portion, a merging portion, and a branching portion (not shown), and the gantry 3 has a length L1 of the slit 2. A plurality of gantry parts 3pa and 3pb that can be separated by half of the span L2 for one step of the work process, and a gantry part 3pc that can be separated by a length L3 that is ¼ of the span L2, and the slit are merged. It is formed by connecting the formed gantry part 3pd. Further, linear slits 2 are formed on the gantry parts 3pa, 3pc, 3pd, and slits 2 are formed on the gantry parts 3pb, 3pd so as to form a 90 ° arc.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the gantry 3 forms the traveling surface 3a of the assembly carriage 7 on the upper surface thereof, and at least the legs 3b provided at the four corners of the gantry parts 3pa to 3pd An adjuster 3c for absorbing the unevenness of the floor surface F and keeping the surface 3a horizontal is provided. Moreover, it has the sinkle carrier 9 provided with a pair of roller 9a, 9b and the roller 9c which contact | abut to the both sides | surfaces of the lower end part of the ribbon body 4 for every predetermined space | interval. Further, a sinkle carrier 9 that guides the lower end portion of the ribbon body 3 is continuously provided in a portion where the slit 2 is curved as in the gantry parts 3pb and 3pd, and in the front and rear portions thereof.

  A plurality of protrusions 4d are formed at the upper end of the central part of the ribbon body part 4a, and the carriage connecting part 5 can be fixed to the protrusions 4d with screws. Further, the protrusion 4d and the carriage connecting portion 5 protrude from the upper surface of the running surface 3a even when the ribbon body 4 is accommodated in the slit 2.

  As shown in FIG. 3 (A), two carriage connecting portions 5 are attached at an interval in the front and rear directions of the ribbon body 4 in the transport direction X, and these carriage connecting portions 5a and 5b are connected to recesses for connection, respectively. 5c and 5d. In addition, one of the recesses 5d is formed as a long hole so that, for example, a play of 10 mm can be made in the front-rear direction, and the distance between the front and rear recesses 5c, 5d is matched to the length of the assembly carriage 7 in the transport direction X. For example, it is formed so as to be separated by a distance of about 30%.

  The assembly cart 7 includes a connecting portion 8 formed of a rod and a free caster that are connected by being fitted into recesses 5c and 5d provided in the cart connecting portions 5a and 5b, respectively. The drive unit 6 applies tension to the ribbon body 4 and drives it in the transport direction X, and is thus appropriately disposed in front of the ribbon body 4 in the transport direction X. The drive unit 6 includes a pair of rollers that contact the side surface of the ribbon body 4 and a drive motor that supplies a rotational force to the rollers.

  As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the ribbon body 4 is a plate-shaped steel material (ribbon steel) that is thinner than the width of the slit 2, and can be separated in accordance with the span L2 for one process. It is a part of L2. The ribbon body 4 is formed with the connecting structure 10 of the ribbon body 4 according to the embodiment of the present invention at both front and rear ends in the transport direction X. In the present embodiment, the thickness of the ribbon body 4 is, for example, 1 mm, and has a width of over 100 mm in the vertical direction and over 2400 mm in the length direction.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the ribbon body connection structure 10 of the present embodiment includes a stopper pin 11 that is movably attached to the front end of the ribbon body 4 in the transport direction X, and a transport direction of the ribbon body 4. And an arm 12 attached to the rear end of the X so as to be tiltable about a horizontal axis perpendicular to the conveying direction X. The arm 12 engages with the cam follower 13 at the upper end and the stopper pin 11 at the lower end. A stopper bar 14. Further, a contact mechanism 15 including a first contact portion 15a provided at an end of the ribbon body 4 in the rearward direction X and a second contact portion 15b provided at an end of the ribbon body forward in the transport direction X is provided. And a first roller 16 provided at the end of the ribbon body in the transport direction X and a second roller 17 provided at the end of the ribbon body in the transport direction X. Reference numeral 18 denotes a sensor for confirming the presence of the ribbon body 4.

  The stopper pin 11 is provided with an inclined surface 11a facing upward in the transport direction X at the lower end thereof, and the stopper pin 11 is attached so as to sandwich the ribbon body 4 at the front end of the ribbon body 4 in the transport direction X, for example. The stopper pin support 19 is disposed at the front end portion, and is formed with a long hole 11b in the vertical direction. The pin 19a is passed through the long hole 11b so as to be movable only in the vertical direction. Further, the first contact portion 15 a is formed at the distal end portion of the stopper pin support 19. However, the stopper pin 11 is supported by a rotating body supported so as to be rotatable around a horizontal axis perpendicular to the conveyance direction X, a link mechanism formed by combining links composed of a plurality of rotating bodies, a linear motion unit (LM guide), and the like. You may comprise so that a movement to an up-down direction is possible.

  For example, the arm 12 has a horizontal axis perpendicular to the conveyance direction X with an axis 20a provided at an intermediate portion of the arm support 20 attached so as to sandwich the ribbon body 4 at the end of the ribbon body 4 in the conveyance direction X. It is arranged around an axis and can be tilted up and down, for example, a pair of plate-like bodies provided on both sides of the ribbon body 4, and is configured so that the front is inclined upward by its own weight in an open state. Yes. The second contact portion 15 b is formed at the rear end of the arm support 20.

  The cam follower 13 is a roller follower that is in contact with the lower surface of the connection holding cam 21 (see also FIG. 2) on the lower surface of the gantry 3 along the slit and is rotatably formed by a bearing. In other words, since the cam follower 13 is a roller follower to make rolling contact, the frictional resistance can be made as small as possible. It is easily conceivable to form the cam follower 13 with a roller or a wheel.

  The stopper bar 14 is a bar having a circular cross section formed so as to extend between the pair of arms 12, but it may also be a roller to reduce the frictional resistance. Preferably, the first contact portion 15a and the second contact portion 15b are formed of a synthetic resin having elasticity so that the impact of the collision can be reduced.

  The first roller 16 and the second roller 17 are each provided so as to be rotatable about a vertical axis, and the first roller 16 sandwiches the ribbon body 4 at the end of the ribbon body 4 in the transport direction X, for example. The second roller 17 is attached to an intermediate portion of the stopper pin support 19. The second roller 17 is attached to the rear end of the roller support 16 a attached to the stopper pin 19. These rollers 16 and 17 are both disposed between a pair of guide cams 22 shown in FIG. 2, and the guide cams 22 are attached to the lower surface of the gantry 3 along the slits 2.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the cam follower 13 provided at the upper end of the arm 12 abuts on the lower surface of the connecting and holding cam 21 formed along the slit, thereby tilting so as to reduce the inclination angle α with respect to the horizontal. The stopper rod 14 provided at the lower end of the arm 12 is fixed at a position where it comes into contact with the surface of the stopper pin 11 in the conveyance direction X rearward.

  FIG. 5 is a view showing a state in which the height of the connecting and holding cam 21 is raised. As shown in FIG. 5, in a state where the height of the connection holding cam 21 is increased (the connection holding cam 21 is interrupted), the position of the cam follower 13 is increased. By rotating, the engagement between the stopper rod 14 and the stopper pin 11 can be released.

  That is, by changing the height of the connection holding cam 21, the height of the cam follower 13 can be adjusted, and the engagement between the stopper bar 14 and the stopper pin 11 can be continued or released, so that the front and rear ribbon bodies 4 are connected. It is possible to keep or cancel.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the guide cam 22 has a gap between the left and right guide cams 22 that is about several mm larger than the diameter of the rollers 16 and 17 so as to guide the ribbon body in the slit 2, and just It is attached to the lower surface of the gantry 3 so that the intermediate position becomes the position of the slit 2.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the first roller 16 is formed at the front end of the ribbon body 4 in the transport direction X, so that the leading end of the ribbon body 4 accurately moves forward along the curved portion of the slit 2. In addition, since the second roller 17 is formed at the end of the ribbon body 4 in the conveyance direction X, the rear end of the ribbon body 4 can be bent backward along the curved portion of the slit 2. Therefore, in the contact mechanisms 15 provided at both front and rear ends of the ribbon body 4, the first contact portion 15 contacts the second contact portion 15b, and the distance between the front and rear ribbon bodies 4 can be accurately maintained.

  Since the upper end portion of the ribbon body 4 configured as described above is accommodated in the slit 2, the ribbon body 4 moves in the direction in which the slit 2 is formed, and the assembly carriage 7 can be moved in the direction of the slit 2. In addition, since the sinkle carrier 9 that guides the lower end portion of the ribbon body 4 is formed at the portion where the slit 2 is curved and before and after the curved portion, the ribbon body 4 is also detached from the slit 2 at the curved portion of the slit 2. It can move reliably in the direction in which the slit 2 was formed.

  Since the connecting structure 10 is formed on the ribbon body 4, the carriage connecting part 5 attached to the upper end of the ribbon body 4 is arranged with a distance D before and after the transport direction X, and the ribbon body 4 changes its direction at the curved part. Sometimes, the conveyance direction X of the assembly cart 7 can be reliably followed. In the present embodiment, the distance D is not too small compared to the length La of the assembly cart 7 in the transport direction X, and is about 30% of the total length L. However, the present invention is limited to this ratio. It goes without saying that it is not.

  The ribbon body 4 configured as described above is configured to be separable at the same length as the span L2 of each process, and each of the gantry parts 3pa, 3pb, 3pc is 1/2 or 1/4 of the span L2. The length is separable. Therefore, by appropriately adjusting the combination of the gantry parts 3pa, 3pb, 3pc and appropriately increasing / decreasing the ribbon body 4, the workpiece transfer device 1 for a new work process can be easily reassembled.

  In addition, since the connection structure 10 of the ribbon body 4 according to the present invention can freely switch between connection and release of the ribbon body 4, it is possible to selectively join to or disconnect from the line. Separation from the line can be easily performed in a state where the connection is released by the connection holding cam 21, and joining to the line is easy by bringing the rear ribbon body 4 into contact with the front ribbon body 4. Can be done.

  In the case of the example shown in FIG. 1, an example is shown in which assembly carts 7x, 7y, and 7z on which three types of workpieces are mounted on the line are flowed to the line. In this case, the gantry part in which slits 2 to be joined are formed When the rear ribbon body 4 passes 3 pd again, this is confirmed by the sensor 18, and the ribbon body 4 that transports the assembly carts 7 x, 7 y, 7 z is transported from behind and connected to the ribbon body 4. it can.

  8 and 9 are views for explaining the operation of the connecting structure 10 of the ribbon body when the rear ribbon body 4 is connected to the front ribbon body 4 in the transport direction X. FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 8, when the cam follower 13 is in contact with the connection holding cam 21, the stopper bar 14 is positioned upward, so that the height of the stopper bar 14 is conveyed from the rear to the front in the conveying direction X. It is in a position where it abuts on the inclined surface 11 a formed at the lower end of the stopper pin 11 formed on the ribbon body 4. Therefore, the inclined surface 11 a comes into contact with the stopper bar 14 when the rear ribbon body 4 is brought closer to the front ribbon body 4.

  As shown in FIG. 9, when the inclined surface 11a comes into contact with the stopper bar 14, the inclined surface 11a comes into contact with the stopper bar 14 while sliding, the stopper pin 11 moves upward, and can get over the stopper bar 14, By moving further forward, as shown in FIG. 4, the connecting structure 10 of the ribbon body is in a connected state. That is, the connection is completed simply by abutting the ribbon body 4 forward from the rear, and thereafter, the front ribbon body 4 and the rear ribbon body 4 can be conveyed at a predetermined interval.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Work conveying apparatus 2 Slit 3 Base 4 Ribbon body 5 Carriage connection part 7 Assembly carriage 10 Ribbon body connection structure 11 Stopper pin 11a Inclined surface 12 Arm 13 Cam follower 14 Stopper bar 15 Contact mechanism 15a First contact part 15b First 2 abutting portion 16 first roller 17 second roller 21 connecting and holding cam 22 guide cam W work X transport direction

Claims (3)

A connecting structure of a ribbon body that is provided with a carriage connecting portion of an assembly carriage at the upper end, is guided by a slit formed in the base, and is accommodated in the base,
A stopper pin attached to the front end of the ribbon body in the transport direction so as to be movable up and down;
An arm attached to the rear end of the ribbon body in the transport direction so as to be tiltable about a horizontal axis perpendicular to the transport direction;
While this arm has a cam follower at its upper end and a stopper bar that engages with the stopper pin at its lower end,
The lower end of the stopper pin has an upward inclined surface toward the front in the conveying direction,
The arm is tilted so as to reduce the inclination angle with respect to the horizontal when the cam follower comes into contact with the lower surface of the connecting and holding cam formed along the slit, and the stopper rod is placed on the rear surface in the conveyance direction of the stopper pin. A connecting structure for a ribbon body, characterized in that the ribbon body is fixed at a contact height.   A contact mechanism comprising a first contact portion provided at the end of the ribbon body in the rearward direction of conveyance and a second contact portion provided at the end of the ribbon body in the forward direction of transport is provided. At the position where the stopper pin of the ribbon body located rearward in the direction is in front of the stopper rod of the ribbon body located forward in the transport direction, the rear ribbon body is provided at the first contact portion provided in the front ribbon body. The ribbon body connection structure according to claim 1, wherein the interval between the ribbon bodies is made constant by abutting the second abutting portion.   A first roller provided at the rear end of the ribbon body in the transport direction, and a second roller provided at the front end of the ribbon body in the transport direction. The first roller and the second roller are provided on both sides of the slit. The connecting structure for a ribbon body according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the ribbon body is guided between the pair of guide cams formed along the guide cams.

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