JP5872512B2 - Parts transport equipment and parts transport method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an improvement in equipment for conveying parts to an assembly line.

  Various types of equipment for conveying parts to an assembly line are known (see, for example, Patent Document 1 (FIG. 1)).

In FIG. 1 of Patent Document 1, reference numeral (1) (the numbers in parentheses indicate the reference numerals described in Patent Document 1. The same applies hereinafter) is a production line, and reference numeral (4) is a rack center. Reference numeral (6) is a through box, reference numeral (8) is a parts shelf, reference numeral (11) is a self-propelled conveyance carriage, and reference numeral (14) is a conveyance pallet.
The cart (6) is carried to the rack center (4) by the cart (5). This pass box (6) is put into the parts shelf (8) and stored.

  If necessary, the components in the pass box (6) are moved to the transport pallet (14) by the component shooter (9). The transport pallet (14) is transported to the production line (1). On the other hand, when the pass box (6) becomes empty, it is returned from the parts shelf (8) to the carriage (5).

The parts in the pass box (6) are moved to the transport pallet (14) by the parts shooter (9), but this transfer operation is troublesome. Further, in the plurality of boxes (6), the way of reducing the parts in the box (6) is not uniform, and the box (6) staying on the parts shelf (8) for a long time appears, and the rack center (4) The operation of the box (6) inside is troublesome.
Therefore, a facility that does not transfer parts from the passing box (6) to the transport pallet (14) is required.

Various automatic warehouses suitable for the rack center (4) have been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 2 (FIG. 2)).
As shown in FIG. 2 of Patent Document 2, a plurality of shelves (7) are provided in the rack (4a) (the numbers in parentheses indicate the symbols described in Patent Document 2. The same applies hereinafter). Articles (11) are put in, stored and dispensed.

  When an automatic warehouse is newly installed, a load resistance corresponding to the rack (4a) is set, and a floor that matches this load resistance is struck. That is, the thickness of the concrete slab on the floor and how to insert the reinforcing bars are determined. In this case, an arbitrary automatic warehouse can be installed.

On the other hand, when an automatic warehouse is installed in an existing building, various restrictions are imposed. In an existing assembly line, heavy machines are arranged on the first floor, and workplaces where workers mainly perform manual work are arranged on the second or third floor.
As part of automation, an automated warehouse may be set up in the workplace located on the second floor or higher to encourage automation of work.

Floors on the second or third floor are problematic in terms of load resistance. Even if the floor is reinforced as a countermeasure, the cost of reinforcement increases. Therefore, conventionally, it has been difficult to install an automatic warehouse on the floor of an existing workplace.
However, while automation of work is promoted, there is a need for a technology that can install an automatic warehouse on a floor with different load resistance depending on the site, such as a floor on the second floor or the third floor or more without reinforcement.

JP 2008-15902 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-11004

  The present invention provides an apparatus and a method capable of installing an automatic warehouse on a floor having different load resistance depending on a part while providing an apparatus that does not transfer parts from a through box to a transport pallet. Let it be an issue.

The invention according to claim 1 is a component transportation facility for transporting a component at a first location to a second location in the vicinity of an assembly line where the assembly operation of the component is performed.
A parts box for storing the parts;
A tag attached to this parts box to display the contents of the parts,
A tray on which a plurality of the parts boxes can be placed;
An electronic storage medium attached to the tray;
A read / write mechanism for reading the information on the tag and writing the information to the electronic storage medium;
More than the first shelf, which is placed between the first place and the second place, is installed on a floor with different load resistance depending on the part, and can place an object up to a predetermined weight. An automatic rack apparatus having a plurality of shelves divided into second shelves that can only place light objects, and putting the trays in the shelves and storing and discharging them;
An automatic conveyance carriage that carries the tray paid out from the automatic rack device and conveys the tray unattended to the second place;
Total weight information obtained by totaling the weight of the tray, the weight of the component box placed on the tray, and the weight of the component housed in the component box is acquired, and the tray is based on the total weight information. while performing control to selectively put into the second shelf and the first shelf, from the control and the assembly lines to convey the tray has at least one of said parts box is resting until the automatic rack device request, wherein the control unit with at payout the automatic transport vehicle of the tray required collectively performing control to convey to said second location, in that it consists of the automatic rack device based on.

In the invention according to claim 2 , the assembly work of the part is performed based on the information on the contents displayed on the tag attached to the parts box for housing the part and displaying the contents of the part. In the component conveying method of conveying to a second place in the vicinity of the assembly line to be performed,
The method includes a tray on which a plurality of the component boxes can be placed, and the tray is attached with an electronic storage medium, and reads information on the tag and writes the information on the electronic storage medium by a read / write mechanism. While having an information reading and writing process,
The method further includes a first shelf that is disposed between the first place and the second place, is installed on a floor having a load resistance different depending on a part, and can load an object up to a predetermined weight, An automatic rack device having a number of shelves divided into second shelves capable of placing only lighter items than the first shelves and having the trays loaded into the shelves, stored and dispensed, and a control unit The total weight information obtained by totaling the weight of the tray, the weight of the parts box placed on the tray, and the weight of the parts stored in the parts box is obtained, and based on the total weight information. while performing control for selectively introducing said tray and said second shelf and the first shelf, control for conveying the tray has at least one of said parts box is resting until the automatic rack device, and the assembly Based on request from line , By performing collectively control for conveying the trays required from the automatic rack device to said second location in dispensing transport vehicle, the components in the first place the assembly of the component implementation until reaching the second location in the vicinity of the assembly line being, component box for accommodating the component, and having a conveying step to be transported without being unloaded from the tray.

In the invention which concerns on Claim 1, a part is accommodated in a parts box, and it is conveyed from the 1st place to the 2nd place near the assembly line in the form with which the parts box is mounted on the tray. That is, the tray is transported from the first place to the second place as a unit. During this time, the parts box is not lowered from the tray, and the parts are not taken out from the parts box.
Therefore, according to the present invention, there is provided a parts transport facility that does not transfer parts from a through box to a transport pallet.

In addition, in the invention according to claim 1 , the control unit selectively puts the tray into the first shelf and the second shelf based on the total weight information. That is, only lightweight objects whose total weight is a predetermined value or less are put in the second shelf. Since the second shelves are arranged in a portion having a small load resistance, an automatic warehouse (automatic rack apparatus) can be installed on a floor having a different load resistance depending on the portion.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the parts box for storing the parts until the parts at the first place reach the second place in the vicinity of the assembly line where the assembling work of the parts is performed. There is conveyed without being unloaded from the tray.
That is, the tray is transported from the first place to the second place as a unit. During this time, the parts box is not lowered from the tray, and the parts are not taken out from the parts box.
Therefore, according to the present invention, there is provided a component conveying method that does not transfer components from a through box to a conveying pallet.
In addition, in the invention according to claim 2, the control unit selectively puts the tray into the first shelf and the second shelf based on the total weight information. That is, only lightweight objects whose total weight is a predetermined value or less are put in the second shelf. Since the second shelves are arranged at the site where the load resistance is small, an automatic warehouse (automatic rack device) can be installed on the floor where the load resistance varies depending on the site.

It is a front view of a parts box. It is sectional drawing of a component box. It is a perspective view of a tray. It is a top view of an automatic rack apparatus. It is a top view of an automatic conveyance cart. It is a side view of an automatic conveyance cart. It is a partial top view of the components conveyance equipment which shows the 1st place and automatic rack apparatus which concern on this invention. It is a partial top view of the components conveyance equipment which shows the 2nd place and assembly line which concern on this invention. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 9-9 in FIG. 7. It is a flowchart explaining the effect | action of the control part which concerns on this invention. It is another flowchart explaining the effect | action of the control part which concerns on this invention.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The drawings are viewed in the direction of the reference numerals.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the component box 10 includes a bottom 12 having legs 11, a wall 13 extending upward from the periphery of the bottom 12, and a flange portion 14 formed at the upper end of the wall 13. It is a box. A tag 15 on which the name, number, weight, etc. of the contents are written is attached to the outer surface of the wall 13.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the component 16 is stored in the component box 10. The distance w between the outer surfaces of the legs 11 and 11 is smaller than the distance W between the inner surfaces of the walls 13 and 13. A plurality of component boxes 10 can be stacked by fitting the legs 11 and 11 into the openings. The component 16 is assumed to be a vehicle component such as an engine component.

As shown in FIG. 3, the tray 20 is a rectangular plate, and for example, two component boxes 10 and 10 can be placed side by side. A plate 21 stands at the corner of the tray 20, and an electronic storage medium 22 is attached to the plate 21.
The tag 15 attached to the parts box 10 is read by a hand tool 24 represented by a bar code reader. When there are a plurality of parts boxes 10, they are read a plurality of times. Thereafter, the hand tool 24 is held over the electronic storage medium 22, and information such as the product name, number, and weight is stored in the electronic storage medium 22.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the automatic rack device 30 includes racks 31 and 32 and a transfer mechanism 34 provided between the racks 31 and 32. The transfer mechanism 34 includes, for example, a moving table 36 that runs on rails 35, 35, a robot 37 attached to the moving table 36, and a fork member 39 attached to a robot arm 38.

The tray 20 carried by the second conveyor 56 is scooped up by the fork member 39. Next, the moving table 36 is run along the rails 35 and 35. Next, as indicated by an imaginary line, the robot 37 turns and places (puts in) the tray 20 at a predetermined location on the rack 31 or 32.
During the series of operations, the component boxes 10 and 10 remain on the tray 20.

As shown in FIG. 5, the automatic conveyance vehicle 40 includes a tow vehicle 42 having a warning light 41 and a towed vehicle 43 towed by the tow vehicle 42.
As shown in FIG. 6, a floor guide 45 represented by a magnetic tape or an optical tape is embedded in the floor 44. The towing vehicle 42 is provided with a detection unit 46 that detects the carriage guide 45 magnetically or optically. The tow vehicle 42 self-travels along the carriage guide 45 while emitting a warning light 41 and emitting a warning sound such as a buzzer. Such a tow vehicle 42 is towed by a towed carriage 43 on which the tray 20 is placed.

The whole structure of the component conveyance equipment formed by integrating the various elements described above will be described with reference to FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 7, in the parts conveying facility 50, the parts box 10 is lowered from the truck 52 at the first place 51. Parts (FIG. 2, reference numeral 16) are already stored in the parts box 10 at the stage of loading on the truck 52.

  A first conveyor 53 extends from the first place 51 to the elevator 54, and an empty tray 20 is placed on the first conveyor 53. The parts box 10 is placed on the tray 20 manually or by a machine. A read / write mechanism 55 including the hand tool 24 is provided at the first location 51. The information on the tag 15 is read and the information is written to the electronic storage medium 22 by the procedure described with reference to FIG.

  The tray 20 on which writing has been completed is sent to the elevator 54 by the first conveyor 53, and is sent to another floor (in this example, the second floor) by the elevator 54. A second conveyor 56 is laid on the second floor, and the tray 20 is horizontally conveyed by the second conveyor 56. The tray 20 is loaded into one of the racks 31 and 32 by the transfer mechanism 34 and stored there.

  A cart guide 45 is laid along the automatic rack device 30, and the towed cart 43 is guided to the cart guide 45. Based on the control by the control unit 58, the tray 20 paid out by the transfer mechanism 34 is placed on the towed cart 43. The tray 20 is loaded, stored, and dispensed in the automatic rack device 30 by the control unit 58, and a specific example of this control will be described later.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the tray 20 is transported by the automatic transport carriage 40 to the second place 61 in the vicinity of the assembly line 60, and only the parts boxes 10 and 10 are lowered at the second place 61. The tray 20 remains on the towed carriage 43. The assembly line 60 is assumed to be a vehicle assembly line or an engine assembly line.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the empty tray 20 is transported to the vicinity of the second conveyor 56 by the automatic transport cart 40, where it is transferred from the towed cart 43 to the second conveyor 56. The empty tray 20 is conveyed to the elevator 54 by the second conveyor 56, moved from the second floor to the first floor by the elevator 54, and transferred to the first conveyor 53.

  That is, the parts transport equipment 50 of the present invention includes a parts box 10 shown in FIG. 7, a tag (FIG. 1, reference numeral 15) attached to the parts box 10 for displaying the contents of the parts, and a plurality of parts boxes 10. A tray 20 that can be placed, an electronic storage medium attached to the tray 20 (reference numeral 22 in FIG. 3), a read / write mechanism 55 that reads information on a tag and writes information to the electronic storage medium, and a first location 51 And an automatic rack device 30 disposed between the second place (FIG. 8, reference numeral 61) and having a large number of shelves to put the trays 20 into the shelves, store them, and pay them out. A control and assembly line (FIG. 8, FIG. 8), and an automatic transfer carriage 40 for loading the tray 20 unattended to the second place and a tray 20 on which at least one component box 10 is loaded are transferred to the automatic rack device 30. Sign Based on a request from 0) consisting of an automatic rack device 30 The required tray 20 payout automatic conveyance carriage 40 at the second location controller 58. collectively performed a control for conveying to from.

The tray 20 is transported from the first place 51 to the second place as a unit. During this time, the parts box 10 is not lowered from the tray 20 and the parts are not taken out from the parts box 10.
Therefore, according to the present invention, there is no need to transfer parts from the passing box (parts box 10) to the transport pallet (tray 20).

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 9-9 of FIG. 7, and the floor 44 on the second floor is locally thin for various reasons. That is, the floor 44 on the second floor includes a portion P1 having a thickness T1, and portions P2 and P3 having thicknesses T2 and T3 much larger than T1.
The shelf corresponding to the portions P2 and P3 is referred to as a first shelf 63. The shelf corresponding to the portion P1 is referred to as a second shelf 64. From the point of load resistance of the floor, heavy objects cannot be placed on the second shelf 64. On the other hand, a relatively heavy object is placed on the first shelf 63.

  If necessary, the second shelf 64 may include a second shelf 64-11, a second shelf 64-12 on the second shelf 64-11, and a first shelf 64-21 adjacent to the second shelf 64-11. The second shelf 64-22 on the second shelf 64-21 is distinguished from the second shelf 64-22 by increasing the sign.

An example of control corresponding to the automatic rack apparatus 30 having such a restriction condition will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 10, first, the control unit is allowed to read the allowable weight Wb per one second shelf (for example, 40% of the allowable weight Wa of the first shelf) (ST01).
The control unit obtains the tray weight Tw, the weight of the parts box (total weight per tray) Bw, and the weight of the parts (total weight per tray) Pw from the electronic storage medium (FIG. 3, reference numeral 22), and (Tw + Bw + Pw). ) To obtain the total weight Wt (ST02).

The controller checks whether the total weight Wt is less than or equal to the allowable weight Wb (ST03).
If it is equal to or less than the allowable weight Wb, it is checked whether or not there is an empty space on the second shelf (ST04). If there is an empty space, the corresponding tray is loaded on the second shelf (ST05).

  If it is determined in ST03 that the total weight Wt exceeds the allowable weight Wb (40% or less of the allowable weight Wa of the first shelf, for example, 40 kgw), it is confirmed that there is an empty space on the first shelf (ST06). If there is a vacancy, the corresponding tray is put into the first shelf. In ST06, when there is no space in the first shelf, it waits for a certain period of time (ST07), waits until the first shelf is free, and executes ST08 when it is free.

  When it is determined in ST04 that the tray is to be loaded into the second shelf but there is no space, it is confirmed that there is a space in the first shelf as part of the provisional treatment (ST09). (ST10). By this measure, the transfer mechanism can be used for the next application, and the operating rate of the transfer mechanism can be increased.

Since ST10 is a provisional measure, it is better to take the following measures. That is, in ST12, it is checked whether or not the second shelf is empty. If there is no empty, it waits for a predetermined time (ST13), waits until the second shelf is empty, and if it is empty, the corresponding tray is moved from the first shelf to the second shelf. (ST14).
In ST15, it is checked whether or not the rack operation is continued. When the work is continued, ST02 to ST15 are repeated.

  As described above, it is possible to increase the full rate of the second shelf for light loads and increase the vacancy rate of the first shelf. By increasing the occupancy rate of the second shelf, the automatic rack device 30 can be fully utilized even in the automatic rack device 30 installed on the floor with different load resistance depending on the part.

Moreover, both a light tray and a heavy tray can be put into the first shelf. By making such a first shelf empty, the standby time of the moving mechanism can be reduced and the storage performance of the automatic rack device 30 can be improved.
Although the method of arranging the first shelves was not mentioned, when the corresponding trays are placed in the portions P2 and P3 having relatively large thicknesses T2 and T3, P1 among P2 and far from P1 and P1 among P3 Control is performed such that a relatively heavy tray is first placed at a location far from the delivery side at a location far away, and a relatively light tray is placed at a location near P1 in P2 and a location near P1 in P3. By doing so, the waiting time of the moving mechanism can be reduced.

Next, another example of control corresponding to the automatic rack apparatus 30 will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 11, first, the control unit is allowed to read the allowable weight Wb of the second shelf and the allowable weight Wc per unit area (ST21).
The control unit obtains the tray weight Tw, the weight of the parts box (total weight per tray) Bw, and the weight of the parts (total weight per tray) Pw from the electronic storage medium (FIG. 3, reference numeral 22), and (Tw + Bw + Pw). ) To obtain the total weight Wt (ST22).

The control unit checks whether the total weight Wt is equal to or less than the allowable weight Wb (ST23).
If it is equal to or less than the allowable weight Wb, it is checked whether or not there is an empty space on the second shelf (ST24), and a vertical total of W1 (W1 = W11 + W12) of the total weight Wt of the tray on the second shelf having an empty space at the control unit. And W2 (W2 = W21 + W22) information is acquired. Of course, the empty second shelf is calculated with Wt = 0 (ST25). W11 corresponds to the second shelf 64-11 shown in FIG. Similarly, W12, W21, and W22 respectively correspond to the second shelves 64-12, 64-21, and 64-22 shown in FIG.

  The total weight Wt of the tray acquired in ST22 and the total weight of W1 or W2 is 60% of the allowable weight Wc per unit area (for example, (the allowable weight Wb of the second shelf) × (the number of floors of the second shelf)). For example, 48 kgw) or less (ST26). If it is equal to or less than the permissible weight Wc per unit area, the corresponding tray is loaded into the empty second shelf (ST27).

  If it is determined in ST23 that the total weight Wt exceeds the allowable weight Wb (40% or less of the allowable weight Wa of the first shelf, for example, 40 kgw), it is confirmed that there is an empty space on the first shelf (ST28). If there is a vacancy, the corresponding tray is put into the first shelf. In ST28, when there is no space in the first shelf, it waits for a certain time (ST29), waits until the first shelf is free, and executes ST30 when it is free.

When it is determined in ST24 that the tray is to be loaded into the second shelf but there is no space, it is confirmed that there is a space in the first shelf as part of the provisional treatment (ST31). (ST30). And it waits for a fixed time (ST32).
If the load condition cannot be cleared in ST26, it is confirmed that there is an empty space on the first shelf (ST33), and if there is an empty space, the corresponding tray is loaded on the first shelf (ST34). If there is no space in the first shelf in ST33, the process waits for a certain time (ST35).

  In ST36, it is checked whether or not the rack operation is continued. When the operation is continued, ST22 to ST36 are repeated.

The transfer mechanism 34 is merely an example, and the structure and type of the transfer mechanism 34 are arbitrary as long as the mechanism moves the tray three-dimensionally.
Further, the automatic conveyance cart 40 may be a vehicle in which a tow vehicle and a towed vehicle are integrated.

  The present invention is suitable for an engine assembly line and a vehicle assembly line.

10 ... parts box, 15 ... tag, 16 ... parts, 20 ... tray, 22 ... electronic storage medium, 30 ... Rack automated device, 31 ... rack 40 ... automatic transport vehicle, 42 ... tractor, 43 ... to be Towing cart, 44 ... floor, 50 ... parts transport equipment, 51 ... first place, 55 ... read / write mechanism, 58 ... control unit, 60 ... assembly line, 61 ... second place, 63 ... first shelf, 64 ... Second shelf.

Claims (2)

In a parts transport facility for transporting a part at a first place to a second place in the vicinity of an assembly line where the assembly work of the part is performed,
A parts box for storing the parts;
A tag attached to this parts box to display the contents of the parts,
A tray on which a plurality of the parts boxes can be placed;
An electronic storage medium attached to the tray;
A read / write mechanism for reading the information on the tag and writing the information to the electronic storage medium;
More than the first shelf, which is placed between the first place and the second place, is installed on a floor with different load resistance depending on the part, and can place an object up to a predetermined weight. An automatic rack apparatus having a plurality of shelves divided into second shelves that can only place light objects, and putting the trays in the shelves and storing and discharging them;
An automatic conveyance carriage that carries the tray paid out from the automatic rack device and conveys the tray unattended to the second place;
Total weight information obtained by totaling the weight of the tray, the weight of the component box placed on the tray, and the weight of the component housed in the component box is acquired, and the tray is based on the total weight information. while performing control to selectively put into the second shelf and the first shelf, from the control and the assembly lines to convey the tray has at least one of said parts box is resting until the automatic rack device parts conveying, wherein the control unit performs collectively control for conveying to said second location said tray required from the automatic rack apparatus in dispensing the automatic transport vehicle based on the request, in that it consists of Facility. Based on the information on the content display on the tag attached to the component box that stores the component and displaying the content of the component, the component at the first location is located near the assembly line where the assembly operation of the component is performed. In the parts conveying method for conveying to the second place,
The method includes a tray on which a plurality of the component boxes can be placed, and the tray is attached with an electronic storage medium, and reads information on the tag and writes the information on the electronic storage medium by a read / write mechanism. While having an information reading and writing process,
The method further includes a first shelf that is disposed between the first place and the second place, is installed on a floor having a load resistance different depending on a part, and can load an object up to a predetermined weight, An automatic rack device having a number of shelves divided into second shelves capable of placing only lighter items than the first shelves and having the trays loaded into the shelves, stored and dispensed, and a control unit The total weight information obtained by totaling the weight of the tray, the weight of the parts box placed on the tray, and the weight of the parts stored in the parts box is obtained, and based on the total weight information. while performing control for selectively introducing said tray and said second shelf and the first shelf, control for conveying the tray has at least one of said parts box is resting until the automatic rack device, and the assembly Based on request from line , By performing collectively control for conveying the trays required from the automatic rack device to said second location in dispensing transport vehicle, the components in the first place the assembly of the component implementation until reaching the second location in the vicinity of the assembly line to be, the parts conveying the component box for housing the component, and having a conveying step to be transported without being unloaded from the tray Method.

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