JP7361626B2 - Assembly equipment and electronic equipment manufacturing method - Google Patents

Description

The present disclosure relates to an assembly apparatus for assembling an object to be assembled to an assembly using a robot equipped with a force sensor, and a method for manufacturing an electronic device.

2. Description of the Related Art Assembling devices are known that assemble an object to an object to be assembled using a robot equipped with a force sensor. In an assembly device using a robot equipped with a force sensor, the robot holds the assembly and performs fitting according to a program while sensing the load on the assembly and the position of the assembly. Assemble the assembly to the assembly.

In order to assemble an assembly to an assembly, it is necessary to align the assembly and the assembly. A commonly used method is to align the parts to be assembled and the parts to be assembled by bringing the mating parts of the assembly into contact with the other party from a direction different from the assembly direction. If the assembly is structured such that the protrusion of the other is passed through the hole of one of the objects to be assembled, the fitting portion of the assembly cannot be brought into contact with the other from a direction different from the direction of assembly.

Patent Document 1 discloses a technique that uses a guide to align the assembly and the to-be-assembled object when performing automatic assembly by inserting the assembly held by a robot into the to-be-assembled object. has been done. In the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, it is possible to align the assembly object and the object to be assembled without causing the fitting parts of the assembly to come into contact with each other except during fitting.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2018-103325

However, in the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, the guide that serves as a reference for positioning the assembly and the guide that serves as the reference for positioning the assembled object are separate bodies, so it is difficult to perform precise positioning. Adjustment of the relative position of each guide was necessary.

The present disclosure has been made in view of the above, and provides an assembly device that can easily perform precise positioning and fit together without causing the fitting parts of the assembly to come into contact with each other except during fitting. The purpose is to obtain.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the purpose, an assembly device according to the present disclosure includes a robot equipped with a hand for holding an assembled object and a force sensor that detects the force applied to the hand, and an assembled object. A stage on which an accessory is mounted, an inclined part that is inclined with respect to a plane orthogonal to a plane perpendicular to an assembly direction in which an assembly is assembled to an object to be assembled mounted on the stage and faces the stage, and an inclined part in the assembly direction. a flat part adjacent to the stage and parallel to the assembly direction, and a guide in which the flat part is located between the stage and the inclined part, in each of two different directions in a plane orthogonal to the assembly direction; and a positioning member fixed to the positioning member. The assembly apparatus according to the present disclosure also includes a pressing mechanism that is installed facing each of the flat parts in two different directions, and that generates a force that pushes the object to be assembled in the direction of the flat part, and a pressing mechanism that is mounted by the pressing mechanism. It has a control section that performs control in two different directions of pressing the assembled object against the flat portion and controlling the assembled object held by the hand to move sequentially from the sloped portion to the flat portion.

According to the present disclosure, it is possible to obtain an assembly device that can easily perform accurate positioning and fit without causing the fitting portions of the assembly to come into contact with each other except during fitting.

A diagram showing the configuration of an assembly device according to Embodiment 1 An exploded perspective view of an electronic device assembled by the assembly device according to Embodiment 1 A perspective view of an electronic device assembled by the assembly device according to Embodiment 1. A diagram showing the positional relationship between the guide and the pressing mechanism of the assembly device according to Embodiment 1. Flowchart showing the flow of operations for assembling an object to be assembled to an object to be assembled by the assembly apparatus according to the first embodiment A diagram showing the state of an assembly during the operation of assembling the assembly to an object to be assembled by the assembly apparatus according to the first embodiment. An enlarged view of an assembly assembled to an object to be assembled by the assembly apparatus according to the first embodiment A diagram showing the configuration of an assembly device according to Embodiment 2 Flowchart showing the flow of operations for assembling an object to an object to be assembled by the assembly apparatus according to the second embodiment A top view of an assembly device according to a modification of the second embodiment A diagram showing the configuration of an assembly device according to Embodiment 3 Flowchart illustrating the flow of operations for assembling an object to be assembled to an object to be assembled by the assembly apparatus according to Embodiment 3 A diagram showing a configuration in which the functions of the control unit of the assembly apparatus according to Embodiment 1 to Embodiment 3 are realized by hardware. A diagram showing a configuration in which the functions of the control unit of the assembly apparatus according to Embodiment 1 to Embodiment 3 are realized by software.

Below, an assembly device and an electronic device manufacturing method according to an embodiment will be described in detail based on the drawings. Note that the present disclosure is not limited to this embodiment.

Embodiment 1.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an assembly apparatus according to the first embodiment. The assembly apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment is an apparatus that performs assembly work by assembling an assembly 2 held by a hand 14 to an assembly 1 mounted on a stage 15. The assembly apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment includes a stage 15 on which the object to be assembled 1 is mounted, a robot 12 that holds the object to be assembled 2, and a robot 12 that executes a control program to move the object 2 to the object to be assembled. The robot 12 has a control section 11 that causes the robot 12 to perform an operation of assembling the robot 1 to the robot 1.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of an electronic device assembled by the assembly apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an electronic device assembled by the assembly apparatus according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the object 2 to be assembled is assembled to the object 1 to be assembled, thereby completing the electronic device 5 as shown in FIG. 3. The electronic device 5 is a drive controller such as a servo amplifier. The object to be assembled 1 is a front cover having a rectangular parallelepiped shape. The assembly 2 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape and includes a substrate 2a, a side cover 2b, and an aluminum chassis 2c. The board 2a is screwed to the aluminum chassis 2c. The object to be assembled 1 and the side cover 2b are made of resin material.

The object to be assembled 1 and the object to be assembled 2 are fixed to each other by the concave-convex fitting in the fitting portion 3 . The fitting portion 3 includes a concave snap fit 3a and a convex snap fit 3b. The concave snap fit 3a is provided on the object 1 to be assembled. The convex snap fit 3b is provided on the side cover 2b. When assembling the object 2 to the object 1 to be assembled, the concave snap fit 3a is elastically deformed to cover the convex snap fit 3b due to the force generated by their mutual contact, and the concave and convex portions engage. The fitting is completed.

Connector 4b is mounted on substrate 2a. The connector 4b is an interface for connecting various cables when using the electronic device 5. The connector opening 4a is an opening provided in the assembly object 1, which is a front cover, to enable access to the connector 4b. A portion where the connector 4b passes through the connector opening 4a is referred to as a connector penetration portion 4. Unlike the fitting part 3, the connector penetration part 4 is not a place where the object to be assembled 1 and the object to be assembled 2 come into contact, but the gap between the surface where the connector opening 4a is formed and the connector 4b is , about 0.5 mm, which is narrow.

Since the electronic device 5 has a narrow gap between the surface where the connector opening 4a is formed and the connector 4b in the direction orthogonal to the insertion direction of the connector 4b, it is difficult to move the assembly 2 in a direction other than the assembly direction. In this case, the connector 4b comes into contact with the connector opening 4a in the connector penetration portion 4. Therefore, when assembling the object 2 to the object 1 to be assembled, it is impossible to position the object 2 by bringing the concave snap fit 3a and the convex snap fit 3b into contact with each other.

As shown in FIG. 1, the robot 12 is an industrial robot equipped with a hand 14 capable of holding the assembly 2. The robot 12 is equipped with a force sensor 13 at its hand. The force sensor 13 is a six-axis sensor that can measure loads in three orthogonal axes (x, y, and z) and moments around each axis. The robot 12 also includes a hand 14 that holds the assembly 2. The hand 14 can be selected according to the shape of the assembly 2. In the first embodiment, the hand 14 is a mechanical chuck mechanism equipped with an air cylinder, and holds the assembly 2 by holding the aluminum chassis 2c. Note that the z direction is an assembling direction in which the assembling object 2 is moved when assembling the assembling object 2 to the object to be assembled 1. The x direction and the y direction are two directions that are orthogonal to each other in a plane that is orthogonal to the assembly direction.

A positioning member 18 having guides 16 in two directions, an x direction and a y direction, and a pressing mechanism 17 are provided on the stage 15. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the positional relationship between the guide and the pressing mechanism of the assembly device according to the first embodiment. Although FIG. 4 shows the positional relationship between the guide 16 for positioning in the y direction and the pressing mechanism 17, the guide 16 and pressing mechanism 17 for positioning in the x direction are also arranged in a similar positional relationship. .

The guide 16 has a sloped part 16a facing the stage 15 at the top, and a flat part 16b at the bottom which is adjacent to the sloped part 16a in the assembly direction and parallel to the assembly direction. Therefore, the flat part 16b is adjacent to the inclined part 16a in the assembly direction, and the flat part 16b is located between the stage 15 and the inclined part 16a. The location where the guide 16 contacts the object 1 or 2 to be assembled can be arbitrarily determined according to the shape of the object 1 or 2 to be assembled. Here, since the outer shapes of the object to be assembled 1 and the object to be assembled 2 are both rectangular parallelepipeds, guides 16 are provided in each of the x direction and the y direction. Further, it is assumed that the guide 16 in the x direction and the guide 16 in the y direction have the same length in the z direction. It is desirable that the guide 16 be placed at a position where it does not come into contact with the fitting portion 3. This is because the guide 16 does not prevent the fitting portion 3 from elastically deforming when the assembly 2 is assembled to the assembly 1 . Although FIG. 1 shows the positioning member 18 in which the x-direction guide 16 and the y-direction guide 16 have separate structures, if there are surfaces that can be imitated in the x-direction and y-direction, the x-direction guide 16 16 and the guide 16 in the y direction may be integrated.

The pressing mechanism 17 is a block-shaped mechanism that can be driven by, for example, an air cylinder, and is disposed at a position facing the guide 16 in the x direction and at a position facing the guide 16 in the y direction. The pressing mechanism 17 applies an external force to the outer surface of the object 1 to be assembled in both the x direction and the y direction, thereby sandwiching the object 1 between the guide 16 and the pressing mechanism 17 . In other words, by driving the pressing mechanism 17, the object 1 to be assembled is held at a fixed position on the stage 15 while being in contact with the guide 16 in both the x direction and the y direction.

The control unit 11 controls the operations of the robot 12 and the pressing mechanism 17 by executing a control program. The control unit 11 is, for example, a robot controller. Since the robot 12 includes the force sensor 13, the control unit 11 can perform force control and tracing control in addition to position control. Position control is a control method for moving the hand 14 to the coordinates instructed by the control unit 11. Force control is a feedback control method in which the hand 14 is moved until the load value instructed by the control unit 11 is output from the force sensor 13. The tracing control is a control method for causing the hand 14 to trace an object. These three types of control methods can be set individually for each axis.

The assembly device 10 can freely move the assembled object 2 using the robot 12 and the control section 11.

The operation of assembling the object 2 to the object 1 to be assembled using the assembly apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the flow of operations for assembling an object to an object to be assembled using the assembly apparatus according to the first embodiment. Prior to starting the assembly operation, the object 1 to be assembled is mounted on the stage 15. In step S1, the object to be assembled 1 is fixed at a fixed position on the stage 15 with the guide 16 as a reference by the pressing mechanism 17. After the object 1 to be assembled is mounted on the stage 15, the outer surface is pressed by the pressing mechanism 17, so that it is pressed against the guide 16 in both the x direction and the y direction. The object to be assembled 1 is held on the stage 15 while being positioned with reference to the guide 16 .

In step S2, the assembly 2 is held by the robot 12 using the hand 14. By holding the assembly 2 with the hand 14, the assembly 2 can be freely moved by the robot 12 and the control section 11.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the state of the assembly during the operation of assembling the assembly to the object to be assembled by the assembly apparatus according to the first embodiment. Although FIG. 6 shows the state of the object 1 and the object 2 to be assembled in the yz plane, the state of the object 1 and the object 2 to be assembled in the xz plane is also the same. In step S3, the robot 12 receives the position control command from the control unit 11 and moves the assembly 2 onto the assembly target 1 as shown in state (a) of FIG. At this time, the control unit 11 moves the assembly 2 not directly above the assembly 1 but to a position shifted toward the inclined portion 16a with respect to the flat portion 16b.

In step S4, the robot 12 receiving the command from the control unit 11 lowers the assembly 2 by performing force control in the z direction and tracing control in the x and y directions, and returns to the state (b) in FIG. The assembly 2 is brought into contact with the inclined portion 16a from the x direction and the y direction, as shown in FIG. The control unit 11 makes the load value of the force control in the z direction larger than the load generated by the contact between the assembly 2 and the inclined portion 16a. As a result, the hand 14 continues to descend further while making the assembly 2 follow the guide 16 in the x and y directions. By lowering the hand 14 even after the assembly 2 reaches the lower end of the inclined part 16a, the assembly 2 comes into contact with the flat part 16b. In step S5, the robot 12, which has received a command from the control unit 11, moves the hand 14 toward the workpiece 1 while making the workpiece 2 follow the flat part 16b, as shown in state (c) of FIG. lower it. In state (c) of FIG. 6, not only the object 1 to be assembled fixed on the stage 15 but also the object 2 held by the hand 14 are placed on the flat portion 16b in both the x direction and the y direction. are in contact with each other. Therefore, the object 2 to be assembled follows the flat portion 16b, thereby completing the alignment of the object 1 and the object 2 to be assembled in the x and y directions with reference to the guide 16.

In step S6, the control unit 11 determines whether or not the assembly of the object 2 to be assembled to the object 1 to be assembled is completed. Whether or not the assembly of the object 2 to the object 1 to be assembled is completed can be determined based on the coordinate value of the z-axis of the hand 14. As shown in state (d) of FIG. 6, when the assembly of the object 2 to the object 1 to be assembled is completed, there is no gap in the z direction between the object 1 and the object 2 to be assembled. Therefore, when the hand 14 descends to a position where there is no gap in the z direction between the object 1 and the object 2 to be assembled, it is assumed that the assembly of the object 2 to the object 1 is completed. I can judge. If the assembly of the object 2 to be assembled to the object 1 to be assembled is not completed, the process advances to step S5. If the assembly of the object 2 to the object 1 to be assembled is completed, the control section 11 ends the operation of assembling the object 2 to the object 1 to be assembled.

By first completing the alignment of the object to be assembled 1 and the object 2 to be assembled in a plane perpendicular to the assembly direction, the fitting part 3 can be moved simply by moving the object 2 in the assembly direction. The concave snap fit 3a and the convex snap fit 3b are brought into contact with each other, and the assembly 2 can be assembled to the assembly 1.

According to the assembly device 10 according to the first embodiment, the assembly object 2 can be assembled to the object to be assembled 1 after positioning with reference to the guide 16, so that the fitting parts of the assembly can be adjusted at the time of fitting. It is possible to easily perform precise positioning and assemble without having to make any contact with other objects.

Note that the lengths in the z direction of the guides 16 provided in the x direction and the y direction can also be made different. When the x-direction guide 16 and the y-direction guide 16 are made to have different lengths in the z direction, after the assembled object 2 follows one flat part 16b, It is desirable to have a positional relationship that initiates contact. In the case of such a configuration, since the scanning control can be performed sequentially in each direction, the control of the robot 12 by the control unit 11 becomes easy. That is, since the margin of each control parameter is increased, the assembly operation can be stabilized and speeded up. In addition, when the assembled object 1 and the assembled object 2 require precise alignment in one direction, the guides 16 are arranged only in the one direction that requires precise alignment. The margin of control parameters is increased, and as a result, assembly operations can be stabilized and speeded up.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of an assembly assembled to an object to be assembled by the assembly apparatus according to the first embodiment. It is also possible to provide an inclined portion 2d as shown in FIG. 7 at a portion of the assembly 2 that first comes into contact with the inclined portion 16a. By providing the inclined portion 2d on the assembly 2, it is possible to suppress the attachment 2 and the inclined portion 16a from getting caught during copying control, and prevent the assembly 2 and the inclined portion 16a from being damaged. can.

Embodiment 2.
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the configuration of an assembly device according to the second embodiment. The assembly apparatus 10 according to the second embodiment is an apparatus that performs assembly work by assembling an assembly 7 held by a hand 14 to an assembly object 6 mounted on a stage 15. In the assembly device 10 according to the second embodiment, the hand 14 is provided with a positioning member 18 having a guide 16 that serves as a reference for positioning the assembly object 6, which is a casing, and the assembly object 7, which is a front cover. ing. The flat portion 16b is adjacent to the sloped portion 16a in the assembly direction, and the sloped portion 16a is located between the stage 15 and the flat portion 16b. The object to be assembled 6 is held via the aluminum chassis 6c by a mechanical chuck mechanism equipped with an air cylinder on the stage 15. Furthermore, the assembly 7 is assembled with the guide 16 as a reference by guides 16 provided in the x and y directions of the hand 14, and pressing mechanisms 17 provided in the x and y directions of the hand 14, respectively. It is held by the hand 14 in the aligned state. Other than this, the assembly apparatus 10 is the same as the assembly apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the flow of operations for assembling an object to an object to be assembled using the assembly apparatus according to the second embodiment. Prior to starting the assembly operation, the object to be assembled 6 is fixed on the stage 15. In step S11, the assembly 7 is held by the hand 14 of the robot 12. The assembly 7 is pressed against the guide 16 in both the x direction and the y direction by having its outer surface pressed by the pressing mechanism 17 . Thereby, the assembly 7 is held by the hand 14 using the guide 16 as a positioning reference.

In step S12, the robot 12 receives the position control command from the control unit 11 and moves the assembly 7 onto the assembly target 6. At this time, the control unit 11 moves the assembly 7 not directly above the assembly 6 but to a position shifted toward the inclined portion 16a with respect to the flat portion 16b.

In step S13, the robot 12 that has received the command from the control unit 11 lowers the hand 14 while performing force control in the z direction and tracing control in the x and y directions to cover the inclined portion 16a from the x and y directions. Bring it into contact with the assembly 6. The control unit 11 makes the load value of the force control in the z direction larger than the load generated when the object to be assembled 6 and the inclined portion 16a come into contact with each other. By lowering the hand 14 even after the object 6 to be assembled reaches the lower end of the inclined portion 16a, the object 6 to be assembled comes into contact with the flat portion 16b.

In step S14, the robot 12 receives a command from the control unit 11 and lowers the hand 14 toward the object 6 while causing the object 6 to follow the flat portion 16b. Not only the assembly 7 held by the hand 14 but also the assembly 6 fixed on the stage 15 are in contact with the flat portion 16b in both the x direction and the y direction. Therefore, when the object 6 to be assembled follows the flat portion 16b of the guide 16, the alignment between the object 6 and the object 7 to be assembled is completed using the guide 16 as a positioning reference.

In step S15, the control unit 11 determines whether the assembly of the object 7 to the object 6 to be assembled has been completed. Whether or not the assembly of the object 7 to the object 6 to be assembled has been completed can be determined based on the coordinate value of the z-axis of the hand 14. If the assembly of the object 7 to the object 6 to be assembled is not completed, the process advances to step S14. If the assembly of the object 7 to the object 6 to be assembled is completed, the control section 11 ends the operation of assembling the object 7 to the object 6 to be assembled.

Similar to the assembly device 10 according to the first embodiment, the assembly device 10 according to the second embodiment can easily perform precise positioning without causing the mating parts of the assembly to come into contact with each other except when mating. It can be assembled with.

Note that, similarly to the assembly device 10 according to the first embodiment, the guide 16 in the x direction and the guide 16 in the y direction may have different lengths in the z direction. A sloped portion that contacts the sloped portion 16a may be provided. Further, the guide 16 may be arranged in one direction.

FIG. 10 is a top view of an assembly apparatus according to a modification of the second embodiment. The assembly device 20 includes a plurality of stages 15. In the assembly device 20, since the guide 16 is provided on the hand 14, there is no need to provide the guide 16 on each stage 15. Therefore, in the assembly device 20, errors caused by slight differences in the fixing position, size, and shape of the guide 16 for each stage 15 are eliminated, so the installation work of the assembly device 20 is facilitated, and maintainability is also improved. .

Embodiment 3.
FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the configuration of an assembly device according to the third embodiment. The assembly device 10 according to the third embodiment includes a guide 16 that serves as a reference for positioning the assembly object 8, which is a cylindrical cover, and the assembly object 9, which is a cylindrical casing, in the r direction and the θ direction. A positioning member 18, a pushing mechanism 17a that is installed opposite to the guide 16 and capable of pushing an object toward the guide 16, and a force that rotates the object mounted on the stage 15 parallel to the stage 15. It has a pressing mechanism 17b that applies pressure. The flat part 16b is adjacent to the inclined part 16a in the assembly direction, and the flat part 16b is located between the stage 15 and the inclined part 16a. The assembly apparatus 10 according to the third embodiment is an apparatus that performs assembly work by assembling an assembly 9 held by a hand 14 onto an assembly 8 mounted on a stage 15.

The object to be assembled 8 is provided with a rotation stopper 8a that protrudes in the radial direction from the cylindrical portion. Furthermore, the assembly 9 is provided with a rotation stopper 9a that projects in the radial direction from the cylindrical portion. In the third embodiment, the rotation stop 8a and the rotation stop 9a are rectangular parallelepiped structures extending in the z direction, as shown in FIG. The pressing mechanism 17b rotates the assembly object 8 mounted on the stage 15 in parallel with the stage 15 by pressing the rotation stopper 8a against the guide 16.

The object to be assembled 8 is held on the stage 15 by the pressing mechanism 17a and the pressing mechanism 17b while being aligned with respect to the guide 16. On the other hand, the assembly 9 is held by the hand 14 by a mechanical chuck mechanism equipped with an air cylinder.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the flow of operations for assembling an object to an object to be assembled by the assembly apparatus according to the third embodiment. Prior to starting the assembly operation, the object to be assembled 8 is mounted on the stage 15. In step S21, by pressing the outer surface of the object 8 with the pressing mechanism 17a and pushing the rotation stopper 8a with the pressing mechanism 17b, the object 8 to be assembled is guided into the guide 16 in each of the r direction and the θ direction. to press against. As a result, the object to be assembled 8 is fixed on the stage 15 with the guide 16 as a reference by the pressing mechanisms 17a and 17b. In step S22, the assembly 9 is held by the robot 12 using the hand 14. By holding the assembly 9 with the hand 14, the assembly 9 can be freely moved by the robot 12 and the control section 11.

In step S23, the robot 12 receives the position control command from the control unit 11 and moves the object 9 to be assembled onto the object 8 to be assembled. At this time, the control unit 11 moves the assembly object 9 not directly above the assembly object 8 but to a position shifted toward the inclined section 16a with respect to the flat section 16b of the guide 16.

In step S24, the robot 12, which has received the command from the control unit 11, lowers the assembly 9 by performing force control in the z direction and tracing control in the r and θ directions, and performs assembly from the r and θ directions. The attachment 9 is brought into contact with the inclined portion 16a. The control unit 11 makes the force control load value in the z direction larger than the load generated by the contact between the assembly 9 and the inclined portion 16a, so that the hand 14 of the robot 12 can move the r of the assembly 9. It continues to descend further while following the guide 16 in the direction and the θ direction. By lowering the hand 14 even after the assembly 9 reaches the lower end of the sloped part 16a of the guide 16, the assembly 9 comes into contact with the flat part 16b of the guide 16.

In step S25, the robot 12 receiving the command from the control unit 11 lowers the hand 14 toward the object to be assembled 8 while causing the object 9 to follow the flat portion 16b. Not only the object 8 to be assembled fixed on the stage 15 but also the object 9 held by the hand 14 of the robot 12 are in contact with the flat portion 16b of the guide 16 in both the r direction and the θ direction. Therefore, the object 9 to be assembled follows the flat portion 16b of the guide 16, and the alignment of the object 8 and the object 9 to be assembled is completed using the guide 16 as a positioning reference.

In step S26, the control unit 11 determines whether or not the assembly of the object 9 to the object 8 to be assembled has been completed. Whether or not the assembly of the object 9 to the object 8 to be assembled has been completed can be determined based on the coordinate value of the z-axis of the hand 14. If the assembly of the object 9 to be assembled to the object 8 has not been completed, the process advances to step S25. If the assembly of the object 9 to the object 8 has been completed, the control section 11 ends the operation of fitting the object 8 and the object 9 together.

In the assembly device 10 according to the third embodiment, when an assembly object 8, which is a cylindrical cover, and an assembly object 9, which is a cylindrical casing, are fitted together, the fitting portions are brought into contact at times other than when they are fitted. Even if this is not possible, precise positioning can be easily performed before assembly.

Note that, similarly to the assembly device 10 according to the first embodiment, the guide 16 in the x direction and the guide 16 in the y direction may have different lengths in the z direction. A sloped portion that contacts the sloped portion 16a may be provided. Further, similarly to the assembly device 10 according to the second embodiment, the guide 16 may be provided on the hand 14 side.

The functions of the control unit 11 of the assembly apparatuses 10 and 20 according to the first to third embodiments described above are realized by a processing circuit. The processing circuit may be dedicated hardware or a processing device that executes a program stored in a storage device.

If the processing circuitry is dedicated hardware, the processing circuitry may be a single circuit, a composite circuit, a programmed processor, a parallel programmed processor, an application-specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array, or a combination thereof. is applicable. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a configuration in which the functions of the control section of the assembly apparatus according to Embodiments 1 to 3 are realized by hardware. The processing circuit 29 includes a logic circuit 29a that implements the functions of the control section 11.

When the processing circuit 29 is a processing device, the functions of the control unit 11 are realized by software, firmware, or a combination of software and firmware.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a configuration in which the functions of the control unit of the assembly apparatus according to Embodiments 1 to 3 are realized by software. The processing circuit 29 includes a processor 291 that executes a program 29b, a random access memory 292 that the processor 291 uses as a work area, and a storage device 293 that stores the program 29b. The functions of the control unit 11 are realized by the processor 291 loading the program 29b stored in the storage device 293 onto the random access memory 292 and executing it. Software or firmware is written in a programming language and stored in storage device 293. The processor 291 can be, for example, a central processing unit, but is not limited thereto. The storage device 293 is a semiconductor memory such as RAM (Random Access Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), flash memory, EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory), or EEPROM (registered trademark) (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory). can. The semiconductor memory may be a non-volatile memory or a volatile memory. In addition to the semiconductor memory, the storage device 293 can be a magnetic disk, a flexible disk, an optical disk, a compact disk, a mini disk, or a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc). Note that the processor 291 may output data such as calculation results to the storage device 293 for storage, or may store the data in an auxiliary storage device (not shown) via the random access memory 292. By integrating the processor 291, random access memory 292, and storage device 293 into one chip, the functions of the control section 11 can be realized by a microcomputer.

The processing circuit 29 realizes the functions of the control unit 11 by reading and executing the program 29b stored in the storage device 293. It can also be said that the program 29b causes the computer to execute procedures and methods for realizing the functions of the control unit 11.

Note that the processing circuit 29 may implement some of the functions of the control unit 11 using dedicated hardware, and may implement some of the functions of the control unit 11 using software or firmware.

In this way, the processing circuit 29 can implement each of the above functions using hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof.

The configuration shown in the above embodiments is an example, and it is possible to combine it with another known technology, and a part of the configuration can be omitted or changed without departing from the gist. It is possible.

1, 6, 8 Part to be assembled, 2, 7, 9 Part to be assembled, 2a Board, 2b Side cover, 2c, 6c Aluminum chassis, 2d, 16a Inclined part, 3 Fitting part, 3a Concave snap fit, 3b Convex Type snap fit, 4 Connector penetration part, 4a Connector opening, 4b Connector, 5 Electronic device, 8a, 9a Rotation stopper, 10, 20 Assembly device, 11 Control unit, 12 Robot, 13 Force sensor, 14 Hand, 15 stage, 16 guide, 16b flat portion, 17, 17a, 17b pressing mechanism, 18 positioning member, 29 processing circuit, 29a logic circuit, 29b program, 291 processor, 292 random access memory, 293 storage device.

Claims (10)

a robot equipped with a hand for holding an assembly and a force sensor for detecting force applied to the hand;
a stage on which the object to be assembled is mounted;
an inclined part that is inclined with respect to a plane perpendicular to an assembly direction in which the object to be assembled is assembled to the object to be assembled mounted on the stage and faces the stage; and an inclined part that is adjacent to the inclined part in the assembly direction. and a flat part parallel to the assembling direction, the flat part being located between the stage and the inclined part, the guide in two different directions within a plane perpendicular to the assembling direction. a positioning member fixed to the stage;
a pressing mechanism that is installed opposite to the flat portion in each of the two different directions and generates a force that presses the object to be assembled in the direction of the flat portion;
Control of pressing the object to be assembled onto the flat part by the pressing mechanism and control of causing the object to be assembled held by the hand to follow the slope part to the flat part in order in each of the two different directions. An assembly device characterized by having a control unit that performs the assembly process. a robot equipped with a hand for holding an assembly and a force sensor for detecting force applied to the hand;
a stage on which the object to be assembled is mounted;
an inclined part that is inclined with respect to a plane perpendicular to an assembly direction in which the assembly held by the hand is assembled to the assembly object, and faces the stage; and an inclined part that is adjacent to the inclined part in the assembly direction. and a flat part parallel to the assembly direction, the guide having the inclined part located between the stage and the flat part, in each of two different directions within a plane perpendicular to the assembly direction. a positioning member provided with the
a pressing mechanism that is installed opposite to the flat portion in each of the two different directions and generates a force that pushes the assembled object in the direction of the flat portion;
The pressing mechanism presses the assembled object against the flat part, and the assembled object mounted on the stage is moved sequentially from the inclined part to the flat part in the two different directions. An assembly device characterized by having a control section for each. The assembly apparatus according to claim 2, comprising a plurality of the stages. The assembly apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the two different directions are perpendicular to each other in a plane perpendicular to the assembly direction. The assembly apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the two different directions are a circumferential direction and a radial direction of rotation within a plane orthogonal to the assembly direction. The assembly apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the guides in the two different directions have different lengths in the assembly direction. a robot equipped with a hand for holding an assembly and a force sensor for detecting force applied to the hand;
a stage on which the object to be assembled is mounted;
an inclined part that is inclined with respect to a plane perpendicular to an assembly direction in which the object to be assembled is assembled to the object to be assembled mounted on the stage and faces the stage; and an inclined part that is adjacent to the inclined part in the assembly direction. and a guide including a flat part parallel to the assembly direction, the flat part being located between the stage and the inclined part, in one direction within a plane orthogonal to the assembly direction, a positioning member fixed to the stage;
a pressing mechanism that is installed opposite to the flat part and generates a force that pushes the object to be assembled in the direction of the flat part;
a control unit that controls the pressing mechanism to press the object to be assembled against the flat portion; and controls the object to be assembled held by the hand to move along the flat portion sequentially from the inclined portion. An assembly device characterized by: a robot equipped with a hand for holding an assembly and a force sensor for detecting force applied to the hand;
a stage on which the object to be assembled is mounted;
an inclined part that is inclined with respect to a plane perpendicular to an assembly direction in which the assembly held by the hand is assembled to the assembly object, and faces the stage; and an inclined part that is adjacent to the inclined part in the assembly direction. and a flat part parallel to the assembly direction, and a guide in which the inclined part is located between the stage and the flat part in one direction within a plane orthogonal to the assembly direction. parts and
a pressing mechanism that is installed opposite to the flat part and generates a force that pushes the assembled object in the direction of the flat part;
a control unit that controls the pressing mechanism to press the assembled object against the flat portion; and controls the assembled object mounted on the stage to sequentially move from the inclined portion to the flat portion; An assembly device comprising: The assembly apparatus according to claim 8, comprising a plurality of the stages. holding the housing with a robot hand equipped with a force sensor;
positioning the cover to be fitted to the casing by snap-fitting with a guide in each of two different directions in a plane perpendicular to the assembly direction, and fixing it on a stage;
a step in which the robot moves the casing close to the cover while following the guide in each of the two different directions;
A method of manufacturing an electronic device, comprising the step of: the robot presses the casing, which is made to follow the guide, against the cover in each of the two different directions, and engages the snap fit.

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