JP5954805B2 - Plate-shaped member transport device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a plate-shaped member carrying device that conveys a plate-shaped member.

  The automobile body is manufactured by welding at least a floor, a side panel, and a roof as plate-like members. In recent years, for example, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, an automobile body is automatically assembled by using a jig and a robot.

  The automobile body disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a floor, a side panel, and a roof. The side panel is transported to the assembly destination floor using a set jig that is a transport device.

  That is, the side panel is held by the work receiver and clamper of the setting jig. And a side panel is conveyed to the vicinity of a floor.

  However, the side panel is only placed on the work receiver, and there is a concern that the side panel slides down during transportation. In order to prevent this slipping, the structure of the setting jig becomes complicated and the cost increases.

  While simplification and reliability of a conveying apparatus are calculated | required, the plate-shaped member conveying apparatus which can convey a plate-shaped member stably by simple structure is calculated | required.

JP 2000-203472 A

  The subject of this invention is providing the plate-shaped member conveyance apparatus which can convey a plate-shaped member stably by simple structure.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, in the plate-shaped member transport device comprising the support mechanism that supports the plate-shaped member from the lower edge thereof, and the moving mechanism that moves the support mechanism, the support mechanism is configured to move the moving member. A base supported by the mechanism, a recess provided on the base and having an open upper surface; a swinging member which is retractably accommodated in the recess and is swingably engaged by a pin; An elastic member that protrudes from the recess, and an L-shaped stopper portion that is provided on the base and that forms an accommodation groove for accommodating the lower edge of the plate-like member at the end surface of the swing member, The support mechanism is horizontally advanced relative to the held plate-like member, the swinging member is swung horizontally while compressing the elastic member at the lower edge of the plate-like member, The rocking member is moved forward after the lower edge has passed. Back by the elastic member, characterized in that so as to accommodate the lower edge in the receiving groove.

  In the invention according to claim 1, the support mechanism includes a recess provided in the base and having an upper surface opened, and a swing that is retractably accommodated in the recess and is swingably engaged by a pin on the inlet side of the recess. The moving member, an elastic member that causes the swinging member to protrude from the recess, and an L-shaped stopper portion that forms an accommodation groove for housing the lower edge of the plate-like member with the end surface of the swinging member. The support mechanism is moved forward horizontally relative to the plate-like member held in a standing state, the elastic member is compressed at the lower edge of the plate-like member, the swinging member is swung horizontally, and the lower edge is Since the swinging member is returned by the elastic member after passing, the lower edge can be stored in the storage groove only by moving the support mechanism horizontally. As a result, the movement of the lower edge is restricted, and the plate-like member can be transported stably. In addition, the support mechanism can have a simple configuration, and the cost of parts can be reduced.

It is sectional drawing of a motor vehicle body. It is sectional drawing of the motor vehicle body called an inner frame. It is a top view of the motor vehicle body assembly apparatus in which the plate-shaped member transport device according to the present invention is used. It is a perspective view of a component supply part and a support mechanism. FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of part 5 of FIG. 4. FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line 6-6 of FIG. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing of a plate-shaped member conveying apparatus. It is effect explanatory drawing of a plate-shaped member conveying apparatus. It is a top view of a level reference plane and a side panel pushing mechanism. FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along line 10-10 in FIG. 9; FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 11-11 in FIG. 9. It is principal part sectional drawing of FIG. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing of a level reference plane.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The drawings are viewed in the direction of the reference numerals.

At least two types of vehicle body assembly modes according to the present invention are assumed. These assembly modes will be described.
As shown in FIG. 1 (a), a floor 13 having an upper flange 11 and a lower flange 12 at one end and a similar upper flange 11 and lower flange 12 at the other end, an inner panel 14 and an outer panel 15. A side panel 16 as a plate member and a roof 18 having a roof arch 17 are prepared.

And the lower part of the side panel 16 contacts the upper flange 11 and the lower flange 12 and is welded, and then the roof 18 is placed on the upper part of the side panel 16 and welded.
Thus, the automobile body 10 shown in FIG. 1B is completed.

  In another aspect, as shown in FIG. 2A, the inner panels 14 and 14 are attached to the floor 13 and the roof arch 17 is attached to the inner panels 14 and 14 in the previous step of the present invention. .

As shown in FIG. 2B, the outer panels 15 and 15 are attached and the roof 18 is attached by the device of the present invention.
Thus, a structure equivalent to the automobile body 10 shown in FIG.

FIG. 2 shows a form called an inner skeleton, but the structure shown in FIG. 2A can be assembled in a sub-assembly line. However, the side panel and the roof are composed only of the inner panel 14 and the roof arch 17, but the inner skeleton is the floor 13, and each skin (the roof 18 and the outer panel 15) is each component (assembly, roof). (17, 18), the side panel 16) and the assembly equipment share the assembly device of the present invention described later, which is also effective for assembling with the inner skeleton.
That is, the present invention can be applied to the automobile body 10 shown in FIGS.

  Hereinafter, an automobile body assembly apparatus 20 and an assembly method according to the present invention will be described in detail. Note that the present invention can correspond to the skeletons of FIGS. 1 and 2, but for the sake of convenience of description, FIG. 3 and subsequent drawings will be described using the structure of FIG. 1 as an example.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the vehicle body assembly apparatus 20 is arranged in the center and receives a carriage 21 on which a floor 13 indicated by an imaginary line is placed, and a reference base 22 for determining the three-dimensional position of the carriage 21; Level reference surfaces 52 and 52 that determine the height of the side panels 16 and 16 are arranged on both sides of the reference table 22, respectively, and are arranged on both sides of the reference table 22 so that the side panels 16 and 16 are horizontally arranged. Side panel push mechanisms 30 and 30 that push the extrusion floor 13 with a force that does not deform, and plate-like member carrying devices 70 and 70 and a roof 18 that are arranged around the reference table 22 and carry the side panels 16 and 16. A roof transport robot 91 for transporting, a welding robot 58 including a welding gun 59, and a clamp mechanism 60 for clamping or pressing the roof 18 to the side panels 16 and 16 are provided.

  The reference table 22 includes a plurality of trapezoidal leveling surfaces 23 on the upper surface, for example. When the carriage 21 rides on these leveling surfaces 23, the height position of the carriage 21 is determined.

  Further, for example, positioning members 24, 24 that can be raised and lowered are arranged before and after the reference table 22. The carriage 21 is positioned in the longitudinal direction by sandwiching the carriage 21 between the positioning members 24 and 24.

  Further, for example, the carriage 21 is provided with a positioning roller 25, and the positioning vertical surface 26 is provided at or near the reference table 22. By positioning the positioning roller 25 against the vertical surface 26, the carriage 21 is positioned in the width direction.

  The floor 13 is supported by the carriage 21 with four rocket pins 27. Since the rocket pin 27 exhibits the positioning action in the height, the longitudinal direction, and the width direction, the height, the longitudinal direction, and the width direction position of the floor 13 are determined. That is, by placing the carriage 21 on the reference table 22, the three-dimensional position of the carriage 21 is determined, and as a result, the three-dimensional position of the floor 13 is determined.

The clamp mechanism 60 includes a front spider-type clamp jig 61F (F is a subscript indicating the front, the same applies hereinafter), a front jig robot 62F that carries the clamp jig 61F, and a rear spider-type clamp jig 61R. (R is a subscript indicating the rear. The same applies hereinafter) and a rear jig robot 62R for transporting the clamp jig 61R. Details will be described later.

  The plate-like member conveying devices 70 and 70 are devices that convey the side panels 16 and 16 indicated by imaginary lines conveyed to the side panel supply units 100 and 100 to the assembly position on the floor 13. The side panels 16 and 16 are plate-like members 16 and 16 that are transported in an upright state.

  The plate-shaped member transport device 70 includes at least support mechanisms 80 and 80 that support the lower edge of the side panel 16 and a side panel transport robot 57 as a moving mechanism that moves the support mechanisms 80 and 80.

Hereinafter, main devices and main mechanisms will be described in detail.
As shown in FIG. 4, the side panel 16 includes a flange 16a as a lower edge, door openings 16b and 16b, and a center pillar 16c. The side panel 16 is supplied to the side panel supply unit 100 by the conveying means 101. Specifically, the suspension members 102 and 102 of the conveying means 101 are hung on the upper portions of the door openings 16b and 16b of the side panel 16.

  The plate-like member transporting device 70 is provided with a base 71, arm portions 72, 72 extending downward from the base portion 71, and provided at the tips of these arm portions 72, 72 so as to extend to the side panel 16 side, and supports the flange 16a. Support mechanisms 80 and 80, a clamp mechanism 73 provided on the base 71 to sandwich the center pillar 16c, and a rear end of the outer panel 15 of the side panel 16 provided on the base 71 by suction pads 74 and 74. The suction mechanism 75. Although two suction pads 74 and 74 are provided in order to correspond to the model switching, the suction pads 74 that are not used depending on the model are moved backward by a cylinder or the like.

  The side panels 16 are moved from the transport means 101 to the plate-shaped member transport device 70 by the support mechanisms 80 and 80, the clamp mechanism 73 and the suction mechanism 75.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the support mechanism 80 is provided on a base 81 supported by a moving mechanism (FIG. 4, reference numeral 57) via a base (FIG. 4, reference numeral 71) and an arm portion 72, and the base 81. A recess 83 in which an upper surface 82 is cut downward, blocks 86 and 86 provided on end surfaces 84 and 84 formed in parallel to the side of the base 81 and on the side of the recess 83, and supporting the pin 85, and the recess 83 And a swinging member 87 that is swingably engaged by a pin 85 on the inlet side of the recess 83.

  The base 81 is attached to the arm portion 72 with a bolt 76. The blocks 86 and 86 are attached to the base 81 with bolts 77.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the support mechanism 80 is provided with an elastic member 88 that causes the swing member 87 to protrude from the recess 83 in the hole 83 a of the recess 83, and the other end of the elastic member 88 is the hole of the swing member 87. 87a. Further, the support mechanism 80 accommodates the flange (FIG. 4, symbol 16a) of the side panel (FIG. 4, symbol 16a) provided on the base 81 near the outlet of the recess 83 and the end surface 87b of the swing member 87. An L-shaped stopper portion 89 that forms the groove 87c is provided.

  A bush 78 is fitted in the shaft hole 87 d of the swing member 87, and the swing member 87 is pivotally supported by the pin 85 via the bush 78. The swinging member 87 protrudes from the recess 83 by the elastic member 88, and is formed substantially flush with the upper surface 82 or slightly lower than the upper surface 82, and from the rear end of the inlet portion 87d. And an inclined portion 87e that inclines backward. Although the stopper portion 89 is formed integrally with the base 81 in the embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this, and the stopper portion 89 may be formed as a separate part.

The operation of the support mechanism described above will be described.
FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the process until the side panel 16 suspended from the side panel supply unit 100 is mounted on the support mechanism 80. As shown in (a), the support mechanism 80 is moved horizontally as indicated by an arrow (1) toward the flange 16a of the side panel 16.

  As shown in (b), the flange 16a pushes the swing member 87 into the recess 83 as shown by the arrow (2) and moves on the upper surface of the swing member 87. As shown in (c), the movement of the flange 16a is restricted by the stopper portion 89, and the swing member 87 moves as shown by the arrow (3). The flange 16a is stored in the storage portion 87c, and the flange 16a is restricted in movement in the front-rear direction.

  As a result, the side panel 16 shown in FIG. 3 can be stably transported from the side panel supply unit 100 to the assembly position on the floor 13 without fluttering.

  In the embodiment, the side mechanism 16 shown in FIG. 1 is supported and transported by the support mechanism 80. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the support mechanism 80 supports and transports the outer panel 15 shown in FIG. There is no problem.

Next, the effect of the support mechanism will be described in detail.
FIG. 8A shows a support means 120 of a comparative example, and only a recess 121 is formed on the upper surface of the support means 120. In order to store the lower edge of the side panel 122 in the recess 121, the support means 120 is lowered as indicated by the arrow (4), moved forward as indicated by the arrow (5), and raised as indicated by the arrow (6). Then, as shown in the comparative example of (b), the lower edge of the side panel 122 is accommodated in the recess 121, but the movement path of the support means 120 becomes complicated and the carrying man-hour becomes long.

  FIG. 8C shows a support mechanism 80 of the embodiment, and the support mechanism 80 is moved horizontally as indicated by an arrow (7). Then, as shown in the embodiment of (d), the lower edge of the side panel 16 is stored in the storage groove 87c. As described above, since the support mechanism 80 is merely advanced in the horizontal direction, the operation of the moving mechanism (FIG. 3, reference numeral 57) is also simple, and the number of steps for transporting the side panel 16 can be shortened.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the side panel pushing mechanism 30 includes first pressing means 31 that lightly presses the side panel and second pressing means 32 that lightly pushes the side panel.

Rails 34, 34, 35, 35 extending in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body are laid on the bed 33.
The first pressing means 31 can be moved by rails 34 and 34. The second pressing means 32 can be moved by rails 35 and 35.
When the sizes of the carried vehicle bodies are different, the positions of the first pressing means 31, 31 and the second pressing means 32, 32 in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body can be adjusted.

  As shown in FIG. 10, rails 35, 35 extending in the drawing front / back direction (corresponding to the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body) are laid on the bed 33, and a first slider 36 is placed on these rails 35, 35. A rail 37 extending in the left-right direction of the drawing (corresponding to the vehicle width direction) is laid, a second slider 38 is placed on the rail 37, and a column 39 is extended upward from the second slider 38. A vertical rail 41 is provided, a third slider 42 is attached to the vertical rail 41, and a cylinder unit 43 for raising and lowering the third slider 42 is provided. On the third slider 42, the second pressing means 32 is provided. The rocket pin 44 which is the main element of the above is attached.

  The height position of the rocket pin 44 is adjusted according to the side panel to be handled (arrow (8)). In addition, as shown by the arrow (9), it moves forward and pushes the side panel. Furthermore, a jig coupling mechanism 90 is provided at the upper end of the support post 39.

  As shown in FIG. 11, rails 34, 34 extending in the front / back direction of the drawing (corresponding to the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body) are laid on the bed 33, and a fourth slider 46 is placed on these rails 34, 34. The hollow column 47 is extended upward from the upper end, and a leg member 48 is fitted to the hollow column 47 so as to be movable up and down. A mechanism block 49 is attached to the upper end of the leg member 48, and the mechanism block 49 is attached to the cylinder unit 51. Go up and down.

  As shown in FIG. 12, the level reference surface 52 is fixed to the front portion of the mechanism block 49 with screws 53, 53, and the side panel push piece 54 is moved horizontally on the level reference surface 52. Built in. The side panel pressing piece 54 is connected to a piston rod 55, and a pressing cylinder 56 including the piston rod 55 is fixed to a mechanism block 49 as shown in FIG.

Next, operations of the level reference surface 52, the first pressing means 31, and the second pressing means 32 will be described.
In FIG. 11, the level reference surface 52 is moved to a predetermined height (level) by the cylinder unit 51.
As a result, as shown in FIG. 13A, the level reference surface 52 is held directly below the lower flange 12. There, the side panel 16 is transported by the side panel transport robot, and the lower end of the side panel 16 is brought into contact with (places on) the level reference plane 52.

  The outer panel 15 is provided with a hole 15a at a portion that is later covered with a door or a bumper. This hole 15a is a through hole of the harness. A rocket pin 44 is desired in the hole 15a.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 13B, the rocket pin 44 is advanced and inserted into the hole 15a, and the side panel push piece 54 is advanced. As a result, the side panel 16 advances while sliding on the level reference surface 52 and hits the lower flange 12. Since the side panel pushing mechanism is adjusted so that the floor 13 is pushed with a force that does not deform, the floor 13 is not deformed (except for minute deformation) at the time of FIG.

As described above, the side panel 16 is positioned with respect to the floor 13.
Since the side panel transfer robots 57 and 57 as the moving mechanism shown in FIG. 4 have finished their roles, the clamp mechanism 73 releases the holding of the center pillar 16c, and the suction pads 74 and 74 release the suction of the side panel 16. Thereafter, the support mechanism (FIG. 7, reference numeral 80) is operated only to be slightly lowered, so that it can be detached from the side panel 16, and further moved to the side to escape and return to the standby position. Instead, the welding robot 58 on standby can be operated, and welding of the floor 13 and the side panel 16 can be started with the welding gun 59.

  Welding is performed in the state of FIG. That is, since the outer panel 15 is only lightly pressed against the lower flange 12 by the side panel pressing pieces 54, the floor 13 is welded in a state where the floor 13 is not substantially deformed. There is no change in the width dimension of the vehicle body due to compression deformation. Since no compression deformation is involved, the occurrence of distortion can also be suppressed.

  In the support mechanism 80 according to the present invention, the upper surface of the swing member 87 is configured by the inlet portion 87d and the inclined portion 87e. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the flange 16a can be moved along the upper surface of the swing member 87. For example, the upper surface of the swing member 87 may be another shape such as a flat surface or a curved surface.

  The plate-shaped member carrying device of the present invention is suitable for carrying plate-like members.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 16 ... Plate-shaped member (side panel), 16a ... Lower edge (flange), 57 ... Movement mechanism (side panel conveyance robot), 70 ... Plate-shaped member conveyance apparatus, 80 ... Support mechanism, 81 ... Base, 82 ... Top surface, 83: Recess, 87b : End face of swing member, 85: Pin, 87 ... Swing member, 88 ... Elastic member, 87c ... Storage groove, 89 ... Stopper part.

Claims (1)

In a plate-shaped member transport device comprising a support mechanism that supports a plate-shaped member from its lower edge, and a moving mechanism that moves the support mechanism,
The support mechanism includes a base supported by the moving mechanism, a recess provided on the base and having an upper surface opened, and a swinging member that is retractably accommodated in the recess and is swingably engaged by a pin. An elastic member that causes the swinging member to protrude from the recess; and an L-shaped stopper portion that is provided on the base and that forms a storage groove for storing the lower edge of the plate-shaped member with the end surface of the swinging member. Consists of
The support mechanism is moved forward horizontally relative to the plate member held in a standing state, and the swing member is swung while compressing the elastic member at the lower edge of the plate member. A plate-shaped member transporting apparatus characterized in that the swinging member is returned by the elastic member after the lower edge passes, and the lower edge is stored in the storage groove.

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