JP6191476B2 - Assembly method of power unit for automobile - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for assembling an automobile power unit, and more particularly to a method for assembling a transmission to an engine which is a main element of the power unit.

  As a technique relating to the assembly of this type of engine and transmission, those described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 have been proposed.

  In the technology described in Patent Document 1, the engine and transmission assembly surfaces supported by independent support means are opposed to each other, and the engine and the transmission are displaced in the axial direction. When connecting the two mirrors, insert two mirrors arranged in a V-shape into the gap between the engine and transmission, and simultaneously image each assembly surface with a single camera. While calculating the relative position error of the assembly reference position at the same time, based on this relative position error information, a correction command is given to the drive system of the support means on the engine side or transmission side to match both assembly reference positions, Based on the driving of the support means, the engine and the transmission are moved closer to each other and assembled together.

  In the technique described in Patent Document 2, an independent phase alignment device is disposed between the opposed engine and the transmission, and the phase adjustment device for rotating the engine-side rotating member is used with the engine phase alignment device. The transmission side rotating member is phase-matched mechanically by a transmission phase-matching device, and then both the phase-matching devices are retracted from the facing gap between the engine and the transmission. The two are brought close together and assembled together.

JP 63-39745 A JP 62-224536 A

  In the technique described in Patent Document 1, a relative position error of both assembly reference positions is detected in a state where the engine and the transmission are opposed to each other, and the engine side or transmission side group is detected based on the detected relative position error information. Since the assembly reference position is corrected by correcting the attachment reference position, and the engine and transmission are assembled by moving closer together for the first time, the cycle time required for coupling the engine and transmission (tact time) ), And there is still room for improvement in terms of productivity.

  In addition, since both the assembly reference positions on the engine side and the transmission side are only detected in a non-contact manner, depending on the accuracy of image processing, the relative position error between the both assembly reference positions remains. When it is assembled by moving it closer, it may become impossible to assemble, and there is still room for improvement in terms of reliability.

Furthermore, the technique described in Patent Document 2 is different from the technique described in Patent Document 1 in that the phase adjustment is performed individually and mechanically by an independent phase adjustment device for each engine and transmission. And the transmission are opposed to each other, and after the phase alignment is completed, the respective phase alignment devices are retracted, and the engine and the transmission are moved close to each other for assembly for the first time. Have the same problems as the technology described in.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to such problems, and the cycle time required for assembling the engine and the transmission while improving the phase alignment between the engine-side rotating body and the transmission-side rotating body. Alternatively, the present invention provides a method for assembling a power unit for an automobile which can shorten the tact time and thereby contribute to the improvement of productivity.

  In the present invention, when the rotors exposed in the joint region on the engine side and the transmission side are fitted and connected to each other, the joint surfaces are closely attached and assembled. One rotating body is provided with a plurality of holes at a specific phase, and the other rotating body is provided with a plurality of protrusions at the same phase as the hole.

  Prior to making the joint surfaces of the engine and the transmission face each other, a pre-process for detecting the rotational phase of the engine-side rotor on the basis of a hole or projection attached to the engine-side rotor The phase detection step and the transmission side rotation by the phase matching means based on the rotation phase information of the engine side rotating body detected in the phase detection step prior to making the joint surfaces of the engine and the transmission face each other. A phase matching step of rotating the body so that the rotational phase of the rotating body on the transmission side coincides with the rotational phase of the rotating body on the engine side; After that, push the transmission against the engine and attach it to both rotating bodies. And assembling steps while holes and irregularities fitted a projecting portion assembled in close contact with the bonding surfaces of the engine and transmission that was intended to include.

  According to the present invention, when the transmission is pressed against the engine with the joint surfaces of the engine and transmission facing each other, the phase alignment between the two rotating bodies has already been completed in the phase alignment process. The engine and the transmission can be quickly assembled while fitting the recesses and projections attached to both of the rotating bodies, and the productivity is improved by shortening the cycle time (tact time).

1 is a diagram showing a specific embodiment of a method for assembling an automobile power unit according to the present invention, and is a schematic plan view of a main part of an assembly line for assembling an AT type power unit and an electric type power unit by a mixed flow production method. Figure. The system block diagram of the control system of the main components in FIG. The schematic explanatory drawing which shows the conveyance form of the engine by a carrying-in conveyor. Schematic explanatory drawing which shows the conveyance form of the electric motor unit by a carrying-in conveyor. Explanatory drawing which shows the relationship between the robot hand of an assembly | attachment robot, and the transmission used as a holding | grip object. Explanatory drawing which shows the state which the robot hand of FIG. 6 hold | gripped the transmission. Explanatory drawing which shows the relationship between the robot hand of an assembly | attachment robot, and EV transmission used as a holding | grip object. Explanatory drawing which shows the state which the robot hand of FIG. 7 grasped the EV transmission. Explanatory drawing which shows the image processing procedure of the image captured with the visual apparatus shown to FIG. Explanatory drawing which shows the outline of the swing mechanism of the temporary phase alignment apparatus shown in FIG. FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the swing mechanism shown in FIG. 10, where (A) is a diagram for explaining the operation in plan view, and (B) is a diagram for explaining the operation in front view corresponding to FIG. . Explanatory drawing which shows the relationship between the transmission which the robot hand of the assembly | attachment robot grasped, and the phase alignment apparatus shown in FIG. Explanatory drawing which shows the state which made the transmission hold | gripped by the robot hand approach the phase alignment apparatus and faced it from the state of FIG. FIG. 13 is an operation explanatory diagram of a centering mechanism and a slide chuck mechanism in the phase matching device of FIG. 12. FIG. 15 is a detailed operation explanatory diagram of each of the centering mechanism and the slide chuck mechanism in the phase matching device shown in FIG. 14. Schematic explanatory drawing of the pressing apparatus incidental to the docking process of FIG.

  FIGS. 1-16 show the more concrete form for implementing the assembly method of the power unit for motor vehicles based on this invention, Here, as the power unit for motor vehicles, it combined the automatic transmission (automatic transmission) with the engine which is a motor | power_engine. When assembling an AT-type power unit and an electric-type power unit for an electric vehicle in which a transmission is combined with an electric motor unit in which a motor control device such as an inverter is integrated into an electric motor as a prime mover into a so-called mixed flow production method An example is shown.

  A transmission in an electric type power unit for an electric vehicle has only a speed reducing function and should be called a speed reducer, but here it is referred to as an EV transmission for convenience in comparison with the automatic transmission. Shall. Further, as the AT type power unit, an automatic transmission is assumed to be a continuously variable transmission (CVT) type, but is not necessarily limited to a continuously variable transmission (CVT) type.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of the main part of an assembly line for assembling the AT type power unit and the electric type power unit by a so-called mixed flow production method. First, an outline of the entire series of operations will be described with reference to FIG.

  In FIG. 1, 2 indicates an engine, 3 indicates an AT type transmission combined with the engine 2, and 1 indicates an AT type power unit in which the engine 2 and the transmission 3 are assembled and integrated. . Similarly, 12 indicates an electric motor unit, 13 indicates an EV transmission combined with the electric motor unit 12, and 11 indicates an electric vehicle for an electric vehicle in which the electric motor unit 12 and the EV transmission 13 are combined and integrated. An electric type power unit is shown.

  Further, 4 is a carry-in conveyor for carrying in the engine, 5 is a carry-out conveyor for carrying out the power units 1 and 11 after the assembly is completed, and 6 is an AT-type transmission 3 before assembly with the engine 2. The storage area in which the EV transmission 13 before assembly with the electric motor unit 11 is stored is shown.

  On the carry-in conveyor 4, at least a docking process S1 as an assembling process and a preceding process S2 in the preceding stage are set. In addition, the assembly robot 7 and the tightening robot 8 are disposed on the conveyor side around the docking step S1, and a temporary phase matching step S12 and a phase matching step S11 are set. Are provided with a temporary phase matching device 9 as a temporary phase matching device, and a phase matching device 10 as a phase matching device is provided in the phase matching step S11. The temporary phase matching device 9 in the temporary phase matching step S12 is responsible for rough phase matching before the phase matching in the phase matching device 10 in the subsequent phase matching step S11 as will be described later.

  The driving state of the carry-in conveyor 4 is controlled by a conveyor control panel 15 having a production instruction device 14 at the upper level as shown in FIG. 2, and similarly, the assembly robot 7 and the tightening robot 8 have a production instruction device 14 at the upper level. Each drive state is controlled by the robot control panel 16. Furthermore, the driving state of the temporary phase matching device 9 and the phase matching device 10 is controlled by a direct command from the higher-order production instruction device 14.

  Therefore, in the docking step S1, the engine 2 and the electric motor unit 12 are mixed by the carry-in conveyor 4, that is, the AT-type power unit engine 2 to be combined with the automatic transmission 3 and the EV transmission 13. The electric motor units 12 for the electric type power units to be provided are mixed and sequentially fed to the carry-in conveyor 4 in the order according to a predetermined production schedule.

  On the other hand, the transmission 3 and the EV transmission 13 combined with the engine 2 and the electric motor unit 12 flowing on the carry-in conveyor 4 are stored in the storage area 6, and in the order according to the production schedule described above, that is, on the carry-in conveyor 4. Are sequentially lifted from the storage area 6 by manual operation using an assisting device (not shown) or automated equipment in the order of the engine 2 and the electric motor unit 12 arranged on the table 17, and then on the table 17 of the temporary phase adjusting device 9 Once transferred.

  When the prime mover loaded in the docking step S1 of FIG. 1 is the engine 2, the transmission 3 is placed on the pedestal 17 of the temporary phase adjusting device 9 accordingly. The transmission 3 placed on 17 is held by the robot hand 26 of the assembling robot 7 and then put into the docking step S1, and the engine waiting as it is in the docking step S1 using the degree of freedom of the assembling robot 7. 2 will be assembled. Details of the robot hand 26 will be described later. Thereafter, the tightening robot 8 is activated to perform the bolt tightening operation, whereby the transmission 3 is integrally coupled to the engine 2 with the bolt tightening. Thereby, the assembly robot 7 functions as a support means for the transmission 3 and the EV transmission 13.

  Prior to the transmission 3 being docked in the docking step S1, provisional phase alignment processing in the temporary phase alignment device 9 and phase alignment processing in the phase alignment device 10 are performed, which will be described later. .

  On the other hand, when the prime mover carried into the docking step S1 of FIG. 1 is the electric motor unit 12, the EV transmission 13 is placed on the table 17 of the temporary phase adjusting device 9 accordingly. The EV transmission 13 placed on the pedestal 13 is held by the robot hand 26 of the assembly robot 7 common to that of the transmission 3 and then put into the docking step S1, and the degree of freedom of the assembly robot 7 is used as it is. Thus, it is assembled to the electric motor unit 13 waiting in the docking step S1. Thereafter, the tightening robot 8 is activated to execute the bolt tightening operation, whereby the EV transmission 13 is integrally coupled to the electric motor unit 12 by bolt tightening.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the engine 2 is stably positioned and supported on the pallet 18 via a plurality of stands 19, and a drive plate 20 is exposed as a rotating body on the joint surface side with the transmission 3 described later. ing. Further, the drive plate 20 is formed with a total of four bolt receiving holes 21 in a 90-degree phase as a plurality of holes. These bolt receiving holes 21 are concentric with the center of the drive plate 20 and are located on a common circle.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a converter housing 22 of a torque converter as a rotating body is exposed on a joint surface with the engine 2 in the transmission 3 to be assembled to the engine 2, and the converter housing 22 is provided with a total of four bolts 23 in a 90-degree phase as a plurality of protrusions. These bolts 23 are concentric with the center of the converter housing 22 and are located on a common circle.

  The circle in which the plurality of bolt receiving holes 21 on the drive plate 20 side is located and the circle in which the plurality of bolts 23 on the converter housing 22 side are located have the same diameter. 6 and 6, the rotational phase of the drive plate 20 on the engine 2 side and the rotational phase of the converter housing 22 on the transmission 3 side, that is, the drive plate 20 side, are assembled. These four bolt receiving holes 21 and the four bolts 23 on the converter housing 22 side need to be fitted in a concave-convex manner, which will be described later.

  The electric motor unit 12 is stably positioned and supported on the pallet 18 in the same support form as the engine 2 as shown in FIG. 4, and a rotating shaft 24 that is an output shaft is provided on the joint surface with the EV transmission 13. The spline shaft part (male spline) 24a at the end of the protrusion protrudes. On the other hand, the EV transmission 13 to be assembled to the electric motor unit 12 has a spline hole (female spline) 25a at the end of the input shaft 25 on the joint surface with the electric motor unit 12 as shown in FIGS. Exposed. In order to assemble the EV transmission 13 to the electric motor unit 12, the rotational phases of the spline shaft portion 24 a of the rotating shaft 24 in the electric motor unit 12 and the spline hole portion 25 a of the input shaft 25 in the EV transmission 13 are matched. Although it is necessary to make both fit by spline above, this is mentioned later.

  Next, details of the robot hand 26 of the assembly robot 7 that is commonly used for the assembly of the transmission 3 to the engine 2 and the assembly of the EV transmission 13 to the electric motor unit 12 will be described.

  FIGS. 5 and 6 show a state where the transmission 3 is held by the robot hand 26, and FIGS. 7 and 8 show a state where the EV transmission 13 is held by the robot hand 26, respectively. The robot hand 26 is attached to a wrist portion at the tip of the robot arm of the assembly robot 7 shown in FIG.

  The robot hand 26 has a hand main body 28 in which a long frame member 28a and a short frame member 28b are joined so as to be substantially T-shaped in plan view, and the position of the grip pin 29 is switched to the long frame member 28a side. Similar to the mechanism, in addition to the position switching mechanism of the grip pin 30 (shown only in FIGS. 7 and 8), a pair of pushers 31 and 32 is provided as a unit via a bracket 33. Further, on the short frame member 28 b side, a unit in which the position switching mechanism of the grip pin 34 and the drive system of the fall prevention arm 35 are integrated is provided via a bracket 36. The grip pin 30 is depicted only in FIGS. 7 and 8 and is not depicted in FIGS. 5 and 6 because the grip pin 30 is used only for gripping the EV transmission 13 and when gripping the transmission 3. This is because it is retracted backward.

  The grip pin 29 on the long frame member 28a side can be arbitrarily switched in the longitudinal direction of the frame member 28a by the operation of an electric cylinder or other direct acting actuator 37, and can be projected and retracted at the arbitrary position. It has become. Further, the grip pin 30 can swing by the operation of an actuator (not shown) between a horizontal position indicated by a solid line in FIGS. 7 and 8 and a retracted position where the grip pin 30 itself faces downward, and can be projected and retracted at least in the horizontal position. It has become.

  On the other hand, the position of the holding pin 34 on the short frame member 28b side in the longitudinal direction of the frame member 28b can be arbitrarily switched by the operation of an electric cylinder or other linear motion actuator 38, and can be projected and retracted at the arbitrary position. It has become. Further, the position of the fall prevention arm 35 in the longitudinal direction of the frame member 28b can be arbitrarily switched by the operation of the electric cylinder or other direct acting actuator 39, and the horizontal position shown in FIG. Swing is possible between the position and the retracted position shown in FIG.

  The robot hand 26 is either the transmission 3 described above or the EV transmission by selectively switching the positions of the three grip pins 29, 30, 34 and the fall prevention arm 35 and selectively using the pushers 31, 32. Regardless of whether it is 13, it has a structure that can selectively and firmly hold them.

  For example, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, when the transmission 3 is gripped, the positions of the two grip pins 29 and 34 are adjusted, and then the two grip pins 29 and 34 are moved to the transmission case 3a. Are inserted into a hole on the opposite side of the joint surface with the engine 2 and held, and the upper part of the transmission 3 is pressed by the pushers 31 and 32. Further, the fall prevention arm 35 is positioned in a horizontal position as shown in FIG. 6, and the transmission 3 can be stably supported by retracting the fall prevention arm 35 so as to contact the joint surface with the engine 2.

  The fall prevention arm 35 is for preventing the posture of the transmission 3 from changing during the transfer based on the autonomous operation of the assembly robot 7. In the phase alignment operation by the phase alignment apparatus 10, it is assumed to be retracted to the retracted position. Further, as will be described later, the same applies to the case where the transmission 3 held by the robot hand 26 is opposed to the engine 2 and the two are moved closer to each other.

  On the other hand, when the EV transmission 13 is gripped by the robot hand 26, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the grip pin 30 is swung to the horizontal position and the position of the grip pin 34 is adjusted. The two grip pins 30 and 34 are inserted into the holes on the opposite side of the joint surface with the electric motor unit 12 in the transmission case 13a and gripped, and the fall prevention arm 35 is placed in a horizontal position as shown in FIG. After being positioned, the EV transmission 13 can be stably supported by retracting it so as to contact the joint surface with the electric motor unit 12. The function of the fall prevention arm 35 is the same as when the transmission 3 is gripped.

  Here, when the engine 2 and the transmission 3 shown in FIG. 6 in addition to FIGS. 1 and 3 are assembled, the rotational phase of the drive plate 20 on the engine 2 side and the rotational phase of the converter housing 22 on the transmission 3 side, that is, the drive plate As described above, the phase positions of the four bolt receiving holes 21 on the 20 side need to coincide with the phase positions of the four bolts 23 on the converter housing 22 side. For this purpose, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, a rotary drive device 40 and a visual device 41 are provided in the pre-process S2 on the carry-in conveyor 4 side, and a temporary phase alignment is performed in the temporary phase alignment step S12 on the conveyor side. In the phase matching step S11, the device 9 is provided with the phase matching device 10, respectively. The rotary drive device 40 forcibly rotates the crankshaft of the engine 2 input in the previous process, and an imaging device such as a CCD camera is used as the visual device 41.

  Therefore, in the pre-process S2 on the carry-in conveyor 4, at least a part of the drive plate 20 on the engine 2 side is imaged by the visual device 41, and as shown in FIG. The crankshaft of the engine 2 is forcibly rotated at a low speed by the rotary drive device 40 until any one of the four bolt receiving holes 21 attached to the drive plate 20 is recognized. . Then, the phase shift of the one bolt hole 21 from the reference position P set in advance as shown in FIG. The quantity α is detected. As will be described later with reference to FIGS. 11 and 15, the reference position P coincides with the reference position for determining the bolt 23 attached to the converter housing 22 on the transmission 3 side.

  Then, information regarding the phase shift amount α of the bolt receiving hole 21 on the drive plate 20 side is sent to the phase adjusting device 10, and the position of the bolt 23 attached to the converter housing 22 on the transmission 3 side is sent to the temporary phase adjusting device 9. In addition to the provisional phase matching process in FIG. 2, the phase matching process in the phase matching device 10 is performed, so that the phase of the bolt receiving hole 21 attached to the drive plate 20 on the engine 2 side and the converter housing 22 on the transmission 3 side The phase of the attached bolt 23 can be matched. Thereby, the pre-process of FIG. 1 functions as a phase detection process of the drive plate 20 on the engine 2 side.

  More specifically, FIGS. 10 and 11 show details of the temporary phase matching device 9 installed in the temporary phase matching step S12 of FIG. FIG. 10 shows a state in which the swing mechanism 43 alone is arranged so as to be close to the cradle 17 of the temporary phasing device 9 of FIG. 1 and constitutes the temporary phasing device 9 together with the cradle 17. Further, FIG. 11 shows an operation explanatory diagram of the swing mechanism 43.

  In the swing mechanism 43 shown in FIG. 10, a swing arm 46 is rotatably supported with respect to a base portion 44 via a hinge pin 45, and the swing arm 46 responds to an expansion / contraction operation of a trunnion type air / air cylinder 47. It turns 90 degrees. The tip of the swing arm 46 is provided with a claw piece 48 that can be projected and retracted in accordance with an expansion / contraction operation of an air cylinder not shown. Then, when the transmission 3 is set on the cradle 17 of the temporary phase adjusting device 9 and the cradle 17 positions and supports the transmission 3, the rotation center and swing arm of the converter housing 22 (see FIG. 6) on the transmission 3 side. 46 is set in advance so as to coincide with the hinge pin 45 which is the turning center.

  Here, as described above, the converter housing 22 on the transmission 3 side has a total of four bolts 23 protruding in a phase of 90 degrees, and the rotation of the claw piece 48 at the tip of the swing arm 46 is as described above. The radius is set to be equal to the radius of the circle where the four bolts 23 on the converter housing 22 side are located.

  Therefore, when the transmission 3 is set on the cradle 17 of the temporary phase adjusting device 9 and the transmission 3 is positioned and supported, the claw piece 48 at the tip of the swing arm 46 faces the converter housing 22 as shown in FIG. Therefore, the claw piece 48 is protruded in this state (the state shown on the left side of FIGS. 11A and 11B). Further, in this state, the swing arm 46 is rotated 90 degrees. Then, since the phase of the bolt 23 on the converter housing 22 side is 90 degrees, the claw piece 48 at the tip of the swing arm 46 always comes into contact with any one bolt 23 in the process of rotating the swing arm 46 90 degrees. As a result, the converter housing 22 is rotated, and as a result, any one bolt 23 is indexed to the rotation limit position of the claw piece 48 (position where the claw piece 48 stops) ((A) in FIG. 11). (The state shown on the left side of (B)).

  As a result, the provisional phase alignment process by the provisional phase alignment device 9 for the purpose of rough phase alignment of the converter housing 22 is completed. Note that the temporary phase adjustment is only rough phase adjustment of the converter housing 22, and there is some variation (position error) in the position of any one bolt 23 that is indexed to the rotation limit position by the claw piece 48. Is also acceptable.

  Here, the position where any one line connecting the two bolts 23, 23 facing each other in the diameter direction of the converter housing 22 is oriented in the vertical direction is set as a reference position, and any one of the reference positions is set. The bolt 23 is indexed. On the other hand, in the phase detection process of the drive plate 20 on the engine 2 side by the visual device 41 shown in FIGS. 1 and 9, any two bolt receiving holes 21 and 21 that face each other in the diameter direction of the drive plate 20 are connected. The phase shift amount α in FIG. 9 is detected with the position where one of the lines is oriented in the horizontal direction as a reference position. Since both the bolt 23 on the converter housing 22 side and the bolt receiving hole 21 on the drive plate 20 side have a 90-degree phase, both rotational phase reference positions are the same.

  Thus, when the temporary phase alignment processing by the temporary phase alignment device 9 is completed, the transmission 3 on the pedestal 17 is connected to the robot hand of the assembly robot 7 after the claw pieces 48 and the swing arm 46 are returned to their initial positions. 26, and then transferred to the phase matching device 10 of FIG.

  Further, instead of the AT type power unit transmission 3 to be combined with the engine 2, the electric type power unit EV transmission 13 combined with the electric motor unit 12 is picked from the storage area 6 of FIG. 1. In this case, the temporary phase alignment device 9 holds the EV transmission 13 for the electric type power unit with the robot hand 26 of the assembly robot 7. The swing mechanism 43 does not function at all.

  12 to 15 show details of the phase matching apparatus 10 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 12, the phase matching device 10 has a centering mechanism 50 and a slide chuck mechanism 51 arranged close to each other on a common frame 49. As will be described later, the phase adjusting device 10 is directly below the chuck pawl 53 of the centering mechanism 50. The chuck pawls 58 and 59 on the slide chuck mechanism 51 side are positioned. As shown in FIG. 13 in addition to FIG. 12, during the phase alignment operation by the phase alignment device 10, the joint surface with the engine 2 in the transmission 3 held by the robot hand 26 by the autonomous operation of the assembly robot 7. Is positioned so as to face the centering mechanism 50.

  Prior to the phase alignment operation by the slide chuck mechanism 51, the centering mechanism 50 performs centering of the converter housing 22 on the transmission 3 side held by the robot hand 26 as shown in FIGS. The main body 52 is fixed to the bracket 49 in a non-rotatable manner and has three chuck claws (jaws) 53 as shown in FIGS. A roller 53a is provided. Then, with the transmission surface 3 gripped by the robot hand 26 facing the interface with the engine 2 facing the centering mechanism 50, a projection 55 (see FIGS. 5 and 6) at the center of the converter housing 22 by the chuck claw 53. ) Is centered on the converter housing 22.

  As shown in FIG. 14, the slide chuck mechanism 51 that forms the phase matching device 10 together with the centering mechanism 50 has an air cylinder or other direct acting type at the tip of the movable part of the electric cylinder or other direct acting actuator 56. A clamp cylinder 57 as an actuator is provided in series. A flat chuck nail 58 is provided on the cylinder tube side of the clamp cylinder 57, and a flat chuck nail 59 is provided on the rod side of the clamp cylinder 57. 59 can approach and separate from each other.

  In the phase matching operation by the phase matching device 10, as described above, when the joint surface with the engine 2 in the transmission 3 held by the robot hand 26 is opposed to the centering mechanism 50, (A in FIG. ), The converter housing 22 on the transmission 3 side is centered by the chucking operation by the chuck pawl 53 of the centering mechanism 50. When the converter housing 22 is centered, the chuck claws 58 and 59 on the slide chuck mechanism 51 side are separated from each other as shown in FIG. Any one bolt 23 on the converter housing 22 side on which the provisional phase matching processing is performed by the aligning device 9 is always located in the facing gap between the chuck claws 58 and 59.

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 15B, when the chucking operation is performed by bringing the chuck claws 58 and 59 closer together by the operation of the air cylinder 57, any one bolt 23 on the converter housing 22 side is chucked. It will be chucked by the claws 58 and 59. In this chucking state, any one of the bolts 23 on the converter housing 22 side is connected to the reference position described above, that is, one of the wires connecting the two bolts 23, 23 facing each other in the diameter direction of the converter housing 22. Is set in advance so as to be indexed to a position where it is oriented in the vertical direction. That is, the converter housing 22 on the transmission 3 side is indexed to the normal reference position by chucking between the chuck claws 58 and 59 of the slide chuck mechanism 51.

  Thus, after the converter housing 22 on the transmission 3 side is indexed to the reference position, the direct acting actuator 56 of the slide chuck mechanism 51 is expanded and contracted. As shown in FIG. 9 in addition to FIG. 1, this direct acting actuator 56 is the amount of phase shift of the drive plate 20 on the engine 2 side detected in the previous step S2 of FIG. 1, that is, the bolt receiving hole 21 of FIG. 2 is received from the image processing apparatus 42 in FIG. 2, and the chuck claws 58 and 59 are chucked with each other by the amount corresponding to the shift amount α of the bolt receiving hole 21 on the drive plate 20 side. The position of the bolt 23 is corrected. That is, the converter housing 22 is rotated by correcting the position of the bolt 23 that is chucked between the chuck claws 58 and 59 in a direction tangent to the circumferential direction of the converter housing 22.

  Thus, the rotation of the drive plate 20 on the side of the engine 2 shown in FIGS. 3 and 6, regardless of whether the joint surfaces of the engine 2 and the transmission 3 corresponding thereto are not opposed or brought close to each other. The phase and the rotational phase of the converter housing 22 on the transmission 3 side shown in FIG. 6, and the phases of the four bolt receiving holes 21 on the drive plate 20 side and the phases of the four bolts 23 on the converter housing 22 side are completely complete. Matched.

  Thus, the phase alignment of the converter housing 22 on the transmission 3 side by the phase alignment device 10 is completed. In this state, the transmission 3 is still held by the robot hand 26.

  Therefore, after waiting for the chuck claws 53 of the centering mechanism 50 and the chuck claws 58 and 59 of the slide chuck mechanism 51 in the phasing device 10 to perform an unchucking operation, the assembly robot 7 performs the autonomous movement of the robot hand 26. The gripping transmission 3 is put into the docking step S1 of FIG. 1 for the first time.

  Here, the phasing device 10 is used only for phasing work of the transmission 3 to be assembled to the engine 2 and not used for the EV transmission 13, similarly to the temporary phasing device 9 described above.

  When the transmission 3 for which the phase alignment operation has been completed in the phase alignment apparatus 10 as described above is put into the docking step S1, the joint surface on the transmission 3 side and the joint surface on the engine 2 side are caused by the autonomous operation of the assembly robot 7. Are made to approach each other based on the movement on the transmission 3 side, that is, the transmission 3 is pressed against the engine 2 side to join them.

  In this case, as described above, the rotational phase of the drive plate 20 on the engine 2 side and the rotational phase of the converter housing 22 on the transmission 3 side already coincide with each other. The four bolt receiving holes 21 and the four bolts 23 attached to the converter housing 22 on the transmission 3 side are engaged with each other, and then the joint surface on the engine 2 side and the transmission 3 side on the transmission 3 side are fitted. The bonding surfaces are bonded in close contact with each other.

  Thereafter, the tightening robot 8 shown in FIG. 1 is activated and approaches the vicinity of the joint between the engine 2 and the transmission 3. A nut runner (not shown) is attached to the tip of the robot arm of the tightening robot 8 as a known bolt tightening means, and the nut runner is fed with bolts necessary for bolting the engine 2 and the transmission 3. Therefore, the bolting operation is performed on a plurality of locations around the joint portion between the engine 2 and the transmission 3. Thus, the transmission 3 is integrally coupled to the engine 2 with bolt fastening, and is assembled as the AT type power unit 1.

  Thus, when the AT type power unit 1 is assembled by assembling the transmission 3 to the engine 2, the clamping robot 8 is first retracted, and then the robot hand 26 of the assembly robot 7 is assembled to the transmission 3 after assembly. Release and evacuate. Waiting for both of these robots 7 and 8 to retract, as shown in FIG. 1, the AT type power unit 1 after completion of assembly is carried out by the carry-out conveyor 5 from the docking step S1 to the subsequent step. Become.

  Note that the bolting operation by the tightening robot 8 in the docking step S1 is the minimum number of bolts to the extent that the integration of the engine 2 and the transmission 3 is not impaired. A bolting operation is performed.

  Next, a case where the EV transmission 13 is assembled to the electric motor unit 12 in the docking step S1 of FIG. 1 will be described.

  When the electric motor unit 12 shown in FIG. 4 is put into the docking step S1 of FIG. 1, the EV transmission 13 shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 is picked from the storage area 6 of FIG. It is temporarily placed on a table 17 of the phase matching device 9. Further, the EV transmission 13 temporarily placed on the stand 17 is gripped by the robot hand 26 of the assembly robot 7 shared with the transmission 3 for the engine 2 and is put into the docking step S1. The

  Here, as shown in FIG. 4, the electric motor unit 12 is assembled to the electric motor unit 12 while a rotating shaft 24 having a spline shaft portion (male spline) 24 a projects from the joint surface with the EV transmission 13. In the EV transmission 13 shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the input shaft 25 having a spline hole (female spline) 25 a is exposed on the joint surface with the electric motor unit 12. Is assembled, the spline shaft portion 24a of the rotating shaft 24 in the electric motor unit 12 and the spline hole portion 25a of the input shaft 25 in the EV transmission 13 are made to coincide with each other and the two are spline-fitted. This is as described above. And unless both are correctly spline-fitted, the joint surface of the motor mace 12a on the electric motor 12 side and the joint surface of the transmission case 13a on the EV transmission 13 side are not in close contact.

  Therefore, in the docking step S1, the joint surface on the EV transmission 13 side and the joint surface on the electric motor unit 12 side are opposed by the autonomous operation of the assembly robot 7 holding the EV transmission 13 with the robot hand 26. Based on the movement on the EV transmission 13 side, the two are moved closer to each other, that is, the EV transmission 13 is pressed against the electric motor unit 12 side to join them. The spline fitting confirmation sensor 60 as the spline fitting confirmation means shown is used to monitor the joining state of both. At the same time, since the pressing device 61 for the EV transmission 13 is provided in the docking step S1 of FIG. 1, the EV transmission 13 is joined to the electric motor unit 12 while using the pressing device 61 together.

  The spline engagement confirmation sensor 60 is, for example, a stroke sensor type that confirms and detects (detects) axial displacement of both the spline shaft portion 24a and the spline hole portion 25a based on the spline engagement. Or a pressing device 61 described later.

  Further, as schematically shown in FIG. 16, the pressing device 61 causes the EV transmission 13 to face the electric motor unit 12 after the bonding surface on the EV transmission 13 side and the bonding surface on the electric motor unit 12 side are opposed to each other. When the two are brought into close motion by being pressed and joined, the EV transmission 13 held by the robot hand 26 faces from the surface opposite to the joining surface with the electric motor unit 12 toward the electric motor unit 12. For example, an air cylinder type is used which has a function of pressing the EV transmission 13.

  The pressing device 61 is used only when assembling the electric motor unit 12 and the EV transmission 13, and is not used when assembling the engine 2 and the transmission 3 described above. Retreats to a standby position that does not hinder work. As shown in FIG. 2, the spline fitting confirmation sensor 60 and the pressing device 61 are connected to the robot control panel 16 that controls the assembly robot 7 and the tightening robot 8 via the interlock panel 62. Necessary signals are exchanged between the two.

  The joint surface on the EV transmission 13 side and the joint surface on the electric motor unit 12 side waiting in the docking step S1 in FIG. 1 are made to face each other, and both are moved closer based on the movement on the EV transmission 13 side. If so, the pressing device 61 is activated to press the EV transmission 13 toward the electric motor unit 12 side.

  If the spline fitting confirmation sensor 60 confirms and detects that the spline shaft portion 24a of the rotating shaft 24 in the electric motor unit 12 and the spline hole portion 25a of the input shaft 25 in the EV transmission 13 are correctly fitted. For example, the EV transmission 13 held by the robot hand 26 of the assembly robot 7 is further advanced together with the robot hand 26. Thereby, the joint surfaces of the electric motor unit 12 side and the EV transmission 13 side are in close contact with each other, and both are joined.

  Here, even if the EV transmission 13 held by the robot hand 26 is pressed against the electric motor unit 12 side by the pressing device 61, the EV transmission 13 has two holding pins 29, 30 (see FIG. 7 and 8), the pressing force by the pressing device 61 is nothing but the force in the direction in which the EV transmission 13 is pulled out from the holding pins 29 and 30 on the robot hand 26 side. There is no negative impact on behavior.

  Further, when the spline shaft portion 24a of the rotating shaft 24 in the electric motor unit 12 and the spline hole portion 25a of the input shaft 25 in the EV transmission 13 are not correctly fitted by the spline, this is confirmed by the spline fitting confirmation sensor 60. -Since it is detected, the pressing force is once released by the pressing device 61. Then, the EV transmission 13 held by the robot hand 26 of the assembly robot 7 is slightly rotated together with the robot hand 26 by using the degree of freedom of rotation in the wrist portion of the robot arm, and is held by the robot hand 26. The attitude of the EV transmission 13 is tilted. The rotation angle here is, for example, an angle corresponding to one mountain of the spline shaft portion 24a and the spline hole portion 25a. Then, the pressing device 61 is activated again to press the EV transmission 13 toward the electric motor unit 12 side.

  By repeating such an operation several times, the phases of the spline shaft portion 24a of the rotating shaft 24 in the electric motor unit 12 and the spline hole portion 25a of the input shaft 25 in the EV transmission 13 coincide with each other so that both are correctly fitted with the spline. Will match. By doing so, the spline shaft portion 24a and the peak portion of the spline hole portion 25a are not damaged.

  If both of them are spline-fitted in this way, the robot hand 26 is rotated in the opposite direction by rotating the EV transmission 13 together with the robot hand 26 using the degree of freedom of rotation in the wrist portion of the robot arm. The posture of the EV transmission 13 held by the hand 26 is returned to the original position.

  In this case, the spline shaft portion 24a of the rotating shaft 24 in the electric motor unit 12 and the spline hole portion 25a of the input shaft 25 in the EV transmission 13 remain spline-fitted, and the electric motor unit 12 energizes the electric motor. Since the rotation is impossible unless the robot hand 26 is rotated in the reverse direction, the transmission case 13a of the EV transmission 13 held by the robot hand 26 and the input shaft 25 are forcibly rotated relative to each other. means. As a result, the joint surfaces of both the electric motor unit 12 and the EV transmission 13 face each other again.

  Thereafter, in the same manner as described above, the EV transmission 13 held by the robot hand 26 of the assembly robot 7 is further advanced so that the joint surfaces of the electric motor unit 12 and the EV transmission 13 are brought into close contact with each other. Will be joined.

  Note that the spline shaft portion 24a and the spline hole portion 25a are not correctly fitted to the spline even if the rotation for each angle of the spline shaft portion 24a and the spline hole portion 25a is repeated n times, for example, about 5 times. In this case, an alarm is issued considering that “spline fitting is impossible”. Then, the subsequent work is stopped, for example, waiting for a backup by the worker.

  Thereafter, when the joining of the electric motor unit 12 and the EV transmission 13 is completed, the tightening robot 8 of FIG. 1 is activated and approaches the vicinity of the joining portion of the electric motor unit 12 and the EV transmission 13. A nut runner (not shown) is mounted as a well-known bolt fastening means at the tip of the robot arm of the fastening robot 7, and the nut runner has bolts necessary for fastening the bolts between the electric motor unit 12 and the EV transmission 13. Since it is fed and held, a bolting operation is performed on a plurality of locations around the joint between the electric motor unit 12 and the EV transmission 13. Thus, the EV transmission 13 is integrally coupled to the electric motor unit 12 with bolt fastening, and is assembled as an electric type power unit 11.

  Thus, when the electric power unit 11 is assembled by assembling the EV transmission 13 to the electric motor unit 12, the tightening robot 8 is retracted, and the EV hand 13 after the bolt is tightened is released by the robot hand 26 and assembled. The attached robot 7 is also retracted. Waiting for both of these robots 7 and 8 to be retracted, as shown in FIG. 1, the electric type power unit 11 after completion of assembly is carried out by the carry-out conveyor 5 from the docking step S11 to the subsequent step.

  Here, in the present embodiment, as described above, as an automobile power unit, an example in which an AT type power unit 1 and an electric type power unit 11 for an electric vehicle are assembled by a so-called mixed production method. Although shown, it is also possible to assemble by the mixed flow production method in the form of including an MT type power unit in which a manual transmission (manual transmission) is combined with an engine as a prime mover.

  In this case, the robot hand 26 can be shared, and the output shaft portion on the engine side and the input shaft portion on the manual transmission side are connected to the electric motor unit 12 and the EV transmission 13. Therefore, when the engine and the manual transmission are joined, the pressing device 61 described above is used in combination. Furthermore, the crankshaft of the manual transmission is forcibly rotated by a motor or other rotational drive means, and as a result, the output shaft portion on the engine side that is spline-fitted with the input shaft portion on the manual transmission side is rotated. Can be smoothly fitted to the spline. Note that rotating the crankshaft when assembling the engine and transmission is described in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-265789.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, at least the assembly of the engine 2 and the transmission 3 and the assembly of the electric motor unit 12 and the EV transmission 13 are performed using the common assembly robot 7 and the tightening robot 8. This is a method of assembling in a so-called mixed flow production mode, so that the flexibility of the assembly line is high, and even in the mixed flow production mode, the cycle time can be shortened and the productivity can be improved.

  Also, at least when the AT type power unit 1 is assembled in the docking step S1, the phase alignment between the drive plate 20 on the engine 2 side and the converter housing 22 on the transmission 3 side, which is a rotating body, is completed in the previous step. Will be. For this reason, in the docking step S1, both the engine 2 and the transmission 3 can be immediately assembled by making the joint surfaces of the engine 2 and the transmission 3 face each other, and both of them can be immediately assembled. This also shortens the cycle time. it can.

  Furthermore, when phase matching between the drive plate 20 on the engine 2 side and the converter housing 22 on the transmission 3 side is a method of matching the rotational phase on the converter housing 22 side with the rotational phase on the drive plate 20 side as a reference, In addition, the phase alignment of the converter housing 22 is divided into two steps, a temporary phase alignment step S12 and a phase alignment step S11, and the converter housing 22 is forcibly rotated by holding the bolts 23 that are protrusions by mechanical means. . For this reason, the reliability of the phase alignment accuracy is high, and this can further contribute to the reduction of the cycle time.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... AT type power unit 2 ... Engine 3 ... Automatic transmission 7 ... Assembly robot (support means)
8 ... Clamping robot 9 ... Temporary phase alignment device 10 ... Phase alignment device (phase alignment means)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Electric type power unit 12 ... Electric motor unit 13 ... EV transmission 20 ... Drive plate (rotating body)
21 ... Bolt receiving hole (hole)
22 ... Converter housing (rotating body)
23 ... Bolt (projection)
41 ... Visual device S1 ... Docking process (assembly process)
S2: Previous process (phase detection process)
S11 ... Phase alignment step S12 ... Temporary phase alignment step

Claims (9)

The transmission side is pressed against the engine with the transmission side joint surface facing the joint surface of the engine conveyed by the conveyor, and the rotating bodies exposed in the joint area on the engine side and the transmission side are brought together. An assembly method for a power unit for automobiles, in which both joint surfaces are assembled while being fitted and connected,
One of the engine-side and transmission-side rotors has a plurality of holes in a specific phase, and the other rotor has a plurality of protrusions in the same phase as the holes. Being
Prior to making the joint surfaces of the engine and the transmission face each other, as a pre-process for detecting the rotational phase of the engine-side rotor on the basis of the hole or protrusion attached to the engine-side rotor. A phase detection step;
Prior to making the joint surfaces of the engine and the transmission face each other, based on the rotational phase information of the engine-side rotator detected in the phase detection step, the transmission-side rotator is rotated by phase adjusting means. A phase matching step for matching the rotational phase of the rotating body on the side with the rotational phase of the rotating body on the engine side;
After the phase alignment of the rotating bodies is completed, the transmission and the transmission are pressed against the engine with the joint surfaces of the engine and transmission facing each other. An assembly process in which the joint surfaces of the engine and the transmission are brought into close contact with each other while being assembled,
A method for assembling a power unit for automobiles.   2. The transmission is pressed against the engine with the joint surface of the transmission supported by another support means facing the joint surface of the engine positioned and supported by the conveyor. Assembly method for automobile power unit. In the phase detection step, by rotating a rotating body on the engine side, any one hole or protrusion attached to the rotating body is recognized by a visual device, and the recognized one hole or protrusion is recognized. While detecting the amount of phase deviation from the reference position for the part,
In the phase alignment step, the phase alignment is performed by rotating the transmission-side rotator with the phase shift amount as a correction amount, and determining any one protrusion or hole at the reference position. The method of assembling a power unit for an automobile according to claim 2.   Prior to the phase alignment in the phase alignment step, a temporary phase alignment step is included in which the transmission-side rotating body is rotated by the temporary phase alignment means to determine any one protrusion or hole near the reference position. The method for assembling a power unit for an automobile according to claim 3.   In the assembling step, the transmission-side joint surface held by the robot hand of the assembly robot is opposed to the engine-side joint surface positioned and supported on the conveyor, and then the transmission to the engine. 5. The method of assembling a power unit for automobiles according to claim 4, wherein the power unit is pressed by an operation of an assembly robot.   In the phasing step, the transmission side on which provisional phasing has been performed is gripped by the robot hand before the transmission side joint surface is opposed to the joint surface on the engine side, 6. The method of assembling a power unit for an automobile according to claim 5, wherein phase alignment of the transmission-side rotating body is performed by causing the rotating body to face the phase adjusting means. The engine-side rotor has a hole, and the transmission-side rotor has a protrusion,
In the phase detection step, while detecting the rotational phase of the engine-side rotor on the basis of any one hole attached to the engine-side rotor,
In the temporary phase alignment step, any one protrusion is positioned near the reference position by rotating the transmission-side rotator using the one protrusion as a contact portion with the temporary phase adjustment means,
In the phase matching step, one of the protrusions attached to the transmission-side rotator is sandwiched from both sides and moved in the circumferential direction of the rotator to rotate the rotator. The method of assembling a power unit for an automobile according to claim 6, wherein phase alignment is performed by indexing two protrusions to a reference position.   8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising a fastening step of connecting the engine and the transmission, whose joint surfaces are in close contact with each other, by bolt fastening subsequent to the assembly step. A method for assembling the automobile power unit.   9. The method for assembling an automobile power unit according to claim 8, wherein the bolt fastening in the fastening step is performed by a robot operation by a fastening robot different from the assembly robot.

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