JP5963484B2 - Conveying apparatus and method thereof - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a transport apparatus and a method thereof, and more particularly, to a transport apparatus and a method thereof that take out and transport a work to be transported from a plurality of works that are partially fitted and stacked.

  A battery pack (sometimes referred to as a battery module) is obtained by stacking and packaging a plurality of batteries sealed with a laminate sheet in a case. In such a battery pack, in order to keep each battery in a predetermined position in the case, a spacer is attached to each battery and stacked, and the battery is enclosed in the case. Such a spacer is made of resin (for example, Patent Document 1).

  On the other hand, the workpiece is often conveyed by sucking the workpiece using a suction pad (for example, Patent Document 2).

JP 2007-172893 A JP 2000-351443 A

  The above-mentioned spacer is held in a state where a plurality of spacers are overlapped, and one spacer is taken out from there by a suction pad. Moreover, the spacers are stacked with a part of the spacers fitted. For this reason, when taking out, there is a problem that the spacers are engaged with each other, and even though only one of the spacers is sucked by the suction pad, the lower spacer is stuck and taken out and transported.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a transport apparatus and method that can take out only a work to be transported from work parts that are partially fitted and stacked.

In order to achieve the above object, a conveying device of the present invention grips a work piece separated by a claw part that is inserted between a plurality of work pieces that are partially fitted and stacked and separated from each other. a gripper which, have a said workpiece, when stacking the battery, a resin spacer is used to hold the position of the cell, the corner portion at the end of the spacer is oblique or It is cut into an arc shape, and the claw portion is inserted so as to contact the cut portion .

Further, the conveying method of the present invention for achieving the above object is to separate the workpieces by inserting claw portions between a plurality of workpieces partially fitted and stacked, and only the separated workpieces. A conveying method of gripping and taking out and transporting by a gripping unit , wherein the workpiece is a resin spacer used to hold the position of the battery when a plurality of laminated and sealed batteries are stacked. The corner portion at the end portion of the spacer is cut obliquely or in an arc shape, and the claw portion is inserted so as to come into contact with the cut portion .

  According to the present invention, a part of the workpieces that are in a fitted state is separated by inserting a claw portion between the workpieces, and the separated workpiece is gripped. Only the workpiece can be taken out and transported.

It is the schematic for demonstrating the structure of the conveying apparatus to which this invention is applied. It is a perspective view which shows an example of a spacer. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the spacer laminated | stacked. It is explanatory drawing explaining the bent spacer and the spacer under it. It is explanatory drawing explaining operation | movement of the conveying apparatus of this embodiment. It is an enlarged view of the part by which the nail | claw part was inserted between the spacers.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the description of the drawings, the same elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted. Moreover, the size and ratio of each member in the drawings are exaggerated for convenience of explanation, and are different from the actual size and ratio.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram for explaining the configuration of a transport apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

  The transport device 1 is attached to the support unit 11 and the suction pad 12 (gripping unit) that is attached to the support unit 11 and grips the battery spacer 100, and is similarly attached to the support unit 11 to separate the spacer 100. Claw portion 13. The support portion 11 is supported by a vertical arm 15 for moving the support portion 11 up and down. The support portion 11 moves up and down in the drawing along the vertical arm 15. The vertical arm 15 is attached to a moving unit 17 attached to the transport rail 16. The moving unit 17 supports the support unit 11 by the vertical arm 15 and moves it up and down. The moving unit 17 moves the support unit 11 and the entire suction pad 12 and the claw unit 13 attached to the upper and lower arms 15 along the rail 16.

  Therefore, since the suction pad 12 and the claw part 13 are connected to the single support part 11, the support part 11 is moved (up and down movement and lateral movement) so that all of them move integrally.

  The suction pad 12 is attached to the tip of the elastic part 25 extending from the support part 11. A positioning portion 26 extending to the suction pad surface is attached to the side of the suction pad 12. The pad surface of the suction pad 12 slightly protrudes toward the spacer 100 with respect to the tip position of the positioning portion 26. The elastic portion 25 can freely move up and down when the suction surface of the suction pad 12 comes into contact with the spacer 100. The elastic part 25 is, for example, a coil spring, an air damper, an oil damper, or the like.

  Further, since the positioning member 26 presses the spacer 100 by hitting the spacer, it also has a function of correcting the bending when the spacer is bent (described later).

  The claw portion 13 has a wedge-shaped tip, and the tip (thinned portion) of the claw portion 13 can easily enter between the spacer 100 and the spacer 100. However, the wedge-shaped cutting edge is not an acute angle, but is rounded or has a flat surface at the tip. Thereby, even if the wedge tip hits the surface of the end portion of the spacer 100, the wedge tip of the claw portion 13 is prevented from biting into the spacer itself which is a resin member.

  The claw portion 13 is attached to a claw portion arm 31 extending from the support portion 11. The claw portion arm 31 is provided with an air cylinder 32 at a portion where the claw portion arm 31 is attached to the support portion 11, and the claw portion arm 31 is moved in the illustrated horizontal direction by the air cylinder 32. Thereby, it inserts between the spacers where the nail | claw part 13 is laminated | stacked. The positional relationship between the positioning portion 26 and the claw portion 13 is separated by the same thickness as one spacer in the stacking direction of the spacer 100 (described later). This positioning part 26 is provided in order to secure the space between the suction pad 12 and the claw part 13 by the thickness of the spacer 100. Accordingly, the position of the claw portion 13 does not have to be adjusted every time the spacer 100 is taken out, and the claw portion 13 is inserted into the lower position by the thickness of one spacer as the positioning member abuts against the spacer 100. It can be done.

  And the nail | claw part 13 enters between the uppermost spacer 100 in the spacer 100 in which the front-end | tip of the nail | claw part 13 is laminated | stacked by the horizontal movement, and the lower spacer 100, and is the uppermost spacer. 100 is separated from the underlying spacer 100 (details will be described later).

  The moving unit 17 moves the support unit 11 up and down along the vertical arm 15 and moves the support unit 11 along the rail 16. The vertical arm 15 has a multiple tube structure that expands and contracts, and an elevating mechanism is incorporated therein. The elevating mechanism is operated by a servo motor, for example, to lower or raise the support portion 11. Such an elevating mechanism may be an existing one, and various other actuators such as a ball screw mechanism, a pulley and a belt (gear and chain) can be used. And when the support part 11 is sent out below and the front-end | tip of the positioning part 26 contacts the spacer 100, the servomotor in the raising / lowering mechanism in the moving part 17 will detect the resistance, and will stop. For example, the stop position is detected by stopping the rotation of the servo motor (increasing the rotational resistance) in the lifting mechanism. Thus, when the stacked spacers 100 are taken out one by one from the top and the stacked height of the spacers 100 changes, the suction pad 12 automatically contacts the uppermost spacer 100. Stop at. When the spacer 100 is taken out, the support part 11 is raised by the lifting mechanism in the moving part 17.

  In addition to this, the determination of the descent stop may be performed by, for example, attaching a touch sensor to the distal end of the positioning unit 26, detecting that the touch sensor has hit the spacer 100, and stopping. Mechanism can be used.

  The rail 16 continues to the transport destination of the removed spacer 100. In the state where the spacer 100 is gripped, the transfer device 1 moves along the rail 16, stops at a predetermined position (the position of another process), and releases the suction to release the spacer 100. Note that a series of movements of the transport device 1 is controlled by a control device (not shown).

  The operation of the transport apparatus configured as described above will be described.

  First, the spacer 100 will be described. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an example of a spacer.

  The spacer 100 is used to keep individual batteries in a predetermined position when a plurality of laminated and sealed batteries are stacked and packaged in a case.

  As shown in the figure, such a spacer 100 has a bolt hole 101 (through hole) in the vicinity of the end 110 in the longitudinal direction. An annular protrusion 102 is provided around the bolt hole 101 on the first surface side (illustrated upper surface) of the spacer 100. On the other hand, on the second surface side (the lower surface in the drawing) of the spacer 100, the diameter of the bolt hole 101 is formed to be approximately the same (slightly larger) as the outer diameter of the annular protrusion 102 so as to be fitted to the annular protrusion 102. Has been. Further, the corner portion at the end 110 of the spacer 100 is cut obliquely. Instead of the oblique cut, the end may be formed in an arc shape. This cutting of the end portion is to facilitate insertion of the claw portion 13 between the stacked spacers 100.

  In the illustrated spacer 100, the bolt hole 101 including the annular protrusion 102 has a notch. This is for reducing the size of the battery pack as much as possible and reducing the weight. Therefore, such a notch may not be provided depending on the shape and configuration of the battery pack.

  FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram for explaining stacked spacers.

  As shown in the drawing, the spacer 100 is carried in a state where the pin member 200 is passed through the bolt holes 101 of the plurality of spacers 100 and stacked. In this state, the plurality of spacers 100 are fitted to each other at the bolt hole portions. In this state, the uppermost spacer 100 is taken out. However, when the spacers are strongly fitted together and an attempt is made to take out the uppermost spacer 100a, the lower spacer 100b may stick to it. This is due to the bending of the spacer 100 itself.

  FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the bent spacer 100a and the spacer 100b below the bent spacer 100a. Since the bent spacer 100a is bent, the length is shorter than the spacer 100b below. For this reason, the lower spacer 100b fitted in the bolt hole 101 portion of the upper spacer 100a is stretched. For this reason, when it is going to take out the upper spacer 100a, a spacer 100b will adhere, without a fitting part removing.

  FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the operation of the transport apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment.

  First, as shown in FIG. 5A, the support portion 11 is lowered from above with respect to the plurality of stacked spacers 100 (see FIG. 3), and the positioning portion 26 is placed on the uppermost spacer 100. When hit, the descent stops there.

  After the descent stop, as shown in FIG. 5B, the suction operation by the suction pad 12 is started, and the claw portion 13 moves from the side toward the spacer 100. Thereby, the nail | claw part 13 penetrates between the spacer 100a and the spacer 100b, and pulls them apart. Thereafter, the support portion 11 is lifted and moved along the rail 16, so that only the uppermost spacer 100 a, which is the conveyance target gripped by the suction pad 12, is conveyed.

  FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of a portion where the claw portion 13 is inserted between the spacers. As shown in the drawing, the tip of the wedge-shaped claw portion 13 enters between the spacer 100a and the spacer 100b. Thereby, even if the uppermost spacer 100a and the lower spacer 100b are bitten, they can be separated.

  During conveyance (that is, from when the support portion 11 starts to rise until it reaches the destination), the claw portion 13 remains under the spacer 100 as it is, so that the grip of the spacer 100 is assisted. Good. Thereby, even if the suction force by the suction pad 12 is insufficient, the spacer 100 can be prevented from falling during the conveyance.

  The order of the spacer suction operation by the suction pad 12 and the insertion of the claw portion 13 may be reversed. That is, after the positioning portion 26 hits the upper surface of the spacer 100a and the descent stops, the claw portion 13 is inserted, and after the spacer 100a is separated from the lower spacer 100b, the suction operation by the suction pad 12 is watched. Also good.

  According to this embodiment described above, the following effects are obtained.

  Since the spacer 100 taken out by the claw portion 13 is separated from the spacer 100 below it, it is possible to reliably take out only one spacer 100 that is a conveyance target.

  Moreover, since the spacer 100 is adsorbed by the adsorption pad 12 from above, only one spacer 100 separated by the claw portion can be reliably taken out.

  Further, since the laminated spacers 100 are held in the bolt holes (through holes) as the pin members 200, the spacers 100 can be taken out in order from the top without breaking the laminated state.

  Further, even if the bolt holes are fitted and strongly adhered, the claw portion 13 is inserted into the end portion 110 near the bolt hole 101. Therefore, the spacer 100 can be reliably separated without applying as much force as possible (for example, when the central portion of the spacer 100 is lifted and separated, the central portion is lifted with respect to the bolt hole 101 at the end. The spacer 100 may be deformed).

  Moreover, since the nail | claw part 13 was made into the wedge shape, it becomes easy to insert the nail | claw part 13 between the spacers 100, and the spacers are separated from each other by a wedge-shaped shape that gradually becomes thicker.

  Moreover, since the nail | claw part 13 and the suction pad 12 are attached to the one support part 11, it can support and convey the spacer 100 reliably by always moving together.

  Furthermore, by cutting the corners of the end portions of the spacers 100 into an oblique or arc shape, the claw portions 13 can be easily inserted between the stacked spacers.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to such embodiment.

  For example, the claw portion 13 is slid horizontally in the horizontal direction (spacer direction), but instead of this, it may be configured to have a fulcrum above the spacer end and open and close in an arc shape. Thus, the claw portion 13 is inserted between the spacer 100 and the spacer by closing and closing the spacer 100 in the opened state.

  Moreover, although the form which cut | disconnected the edge part of the spacer 100 in diagonal or circular arc shape was demonstrated, the nail | claw part 13 can be inserted between the spacers 100, even if there is no such cut part. Since the spacer 100 is a resin member, when it is pushed from the end by the claw portion 13, the spacer 100 is changed, and a gap is formed in that portion. Therefore, the claw portion 13 can enter the gap and the spacers can be pulled apart.

  Moreover, although the positioning part 26 is provided beside the suction pad 12 so as to contact the upper part of the spacer 100, the positioning part 26 may not be provided. When the positioning portion 26 is not provided, the distance between the pad surface of the suction pad 12 and the claw portion 13 is set to be separated by the thickness of one spacer.

  In addition, the movement of the entire apparatus (vertical movement and conveyance) is performed by the moving unit 17, but instead, the support unit 11 is attached to the robot arm so that the vertical movement and conveyance are performed by the robot arm. May be. Alternatively, the moving unit 17 may be an elevating mechanism unit that has only an elevating mechanism and only moves up and down, and this elevating mechanism unit is attached to a robot arm, and the elevating mechanism unit is moved up and down, and the movement for transport is performed by the robot Also good.

  Moreover, although the laminated spacer 100 illustrated what was fitted by the cyclic | annular protrusion 102 provided in the circumference | surroundings of the bolt hole 101, the shape of a fitting part is not limited to such a shape. For example, a flat portion may be provided with a convex portion for fitting spacers and a concave portion (or hole) fitted therein, and the spacer 100 may have any shape. Good.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the battery spacer 100 is described as a workpiece, but the present invention is not limited to the spacer 100 as a workpiece, and a resin component (product) laminated so that a part thereof is fitted. It can be applied to workpieces such as

  In addition, as long as the present invention has a configuration defined in the scope of claims, a configuration other than those described here may be added or a configuration may not exist, and various forms are possible. Needless to say, it is included in

1 Conveying device,
11 Support part,
12 suction pads,
13 nails,
15 Vertical arm,
16 rails,
17 Moving part
25 elastic part,
26 positioning part,
31 Claw arm,
32 air cylinder,
100, 100a, 100b spacer,
101 bolt holes,
102 annular projection,
200 Pin member.

Claims (12)

A claw portion that is inserted between a plurality of workpieces that are partially fitted and stacked, and separates the workpiece;
Have a, a grip portion for gripping the workpiece which are spaced apart by the claw portion,
The workpiece is a resin spacer used to hold the position of the battery when the batteries are stacked, and the corner portion at the end of the spacer is cut obliquely or in an arc shape, The conveying device , wherein the claw portion is inserted so as to contact the cut portion .   The transport apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the grip portion is a suction pad that sucks the workpiece.   The conveying device according to claim 1, wherein the workpiece has a through hole, and the through holes are fitted together and a common pin member is passed therethrough.   The conveying device according to claim 3, wherein the claw portion is inserted at a position near the through hole of the workpiece.   The conveyance device according to claim 1, wherein the claw portion has a wedge shape.   The conveying device according to claim 1, wherein the claw portion moves together with the grip portion. This is a conveying method in which a claw portion is inserted between a plurality of workpieces that are partially fitted and stacked, the workpiece is separated, and only the separated workpiece is grasped and taken out by a grasping portion. And
The workpiece is a resin spacer used to hold the position of the battery when laminating a plurality of laminated and sealed batteries, and the corner portion of the end of the spacer is oblique or arc-shaped. And the claw portion is inserted so as to come into contact with the cut portion . The transport method according to claim 7 , wherein the grip portion is a suction pad that sucks the workpiece. The transport method according to claim 7 or 8 , wherein the work has a through hole, and the through holes are fitted and the common pin member is passed therethrough. The conveying method according to claim 9, wherein the claw portion is inserted at a position near the through hole of the workpiece. Conveying method according to any one of claims 7-10 wherein the claw portion, characterized in that has a wedge shape. The claw portion carrying method according to any one of claims 7 to 11, characterized in that move with the grip portion.

Images