JP7430461B2 - Vehicle manufacturing method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a vehicle, and particularly to a technique for improving the working environment in processes before and after refueling a vehicle.

For example, in an automobile manufacturing factory, automobiles are assembled by sequentially performing various operations on vehicles or vehicle parts that are transported on a predetermined production line. There is also a process for supplying gasoline to the assembled vehicle.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an automatic refueling device that can refuel by automatically setting a gasoline injection nozzle in the gasoline injection port of a vehicle while moving in synchronization with a vehicle on a production line. There is. Furthermore, in Patent Document 1, a suction port of a recovery duct for recovering gasoline vapor generated during refueling is arranged near a gasoline injection port, and a suction device connected to the recovery duct is used to perform vacuuming during refueling. Accordingly, a technology has been disclosed for collecting gasoline vapor leaking from a gasoline injection port and discharging it outside the factory.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 5-201499

By the way, on the above-mentioned automobile production line, many workers are placed on or to the side of the production line and perform predetermined tasks. Therefore, as described in Patent Document 1, when refueling a car being transported on a production line, there is a problem that the work environment deteriorates due to the smell of gasoline generated around the car being refueled. arise.

Here, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, it is conceivable to install a device that automatically injects gasoline at a location away from the production line. That is, in the manufacturing equipment 100 shown in FIG. 4, a refueling booth 103 for a refueling process is provided at a position away from both the upstream manufacturing line 101 and the downstream manufacturing line 102, and this refueling booth 103 An automatic refueling device 104 such as a refueling robot can be installed inside the tank to automatically refuel the vehicle 1 transferred into the refueling booth 103 from the terminal end 101a of the upstream production line 101, for example. . Furthermore, by transferring the refueled vehicle 1 from inside the refueling booth 103 to the starting end 102a of the downstream manufacturing line 102, post-processes such as an inspection process can be performed on the downstream manufacturing line 102.

When refueling is performed using the manufacturing equipment 100 described above, it is necessary to attach to the vehicle 1 a lid member 2 that closes the fuel filler port 1a of the vehicle 1 after refueling. However, when the manufacturing equipment 100 has a configuration as shown in FIG. 4, the lid member attachment process 105 on the production line 102 immediately after the refueling process (refueling booth 103) is far away, so the lid member attachment process starts immediately after refueling is completed. 105, a situation may arise in which a large amount of gasoline vapor leaks from the fuel filler port 1a.

In order to avoid the above-mentioned situation, for example, a device (such as a robot dedicated to attaching the lid member) for automatically attaching the lid member 2 to the fuel filler port 1a of the vehicle 1 is placed in the refueling booth 103 alongside the automatic refueling device 104. It is also possible. However, such a configuration requires a dedicated device just for attaching the lid member 2, leading to an increase in equipment investment.

In view of the above circumstances, in this specification, the technical problem to be solved is to prevent the deterioration of the working environment due to gasoline odor at a low cost and to perform lubrication work in the vehicle manufacturing process.

The above-mentioned problem is solved by a method for manufacturing a vehicle according to the present invention. That is, in this manufacturing method, when vehicles are manufactured on a production line, a refueling step is provided at a position away from the production line in which a refueling nozzle is inserted into the refueling port of the vehicle to automatically refuel, and Before the refueling process, a jig installation process is provided on the production line to attach a lid-like jig to the vehicle that allows insertion of the refueling nozzle and keeps the refueling port closed when the refueling nozzle is not inserted. , and is characterized by the fact that, after the oil supply process, a replacement process is provided on the production line to replace the lid-shaped jig and the lid member of the oil filler port.

As described above, in the vehicle manufacturing method according to the present invention, when the refueling process is provided at a location away from the vehicle manufacturing line, the refueling nozzle is allowed to be inserted and the refueling nozzle is inserted before the refueling process. A jig installation process is provided on the production line for attaching a lid-like jig to a vehicle that closes the fuel filler port when it is not inserted. Thereby, in the refueling process, the refueling nozzle is inserted and refueling work is performed, and when the refueling nozzle is pulled out, the refueling port is closed by the lid-like jig. Therefore, the lid-shaped jig reliably prevents gasoline vapor from leaking from the fuel filler port until the vehicle is transferred onto the production line again after the refueling process and the fuel filler port is closed by the lid member. be able to. In addition, before the refueling process, for example, a worker doing other work on the production line only needs to attach a lid-shaped jig to the refueling port, so the operator does not have to approach the refueling process. A jig can be installed. In addition, in the present invention, since a replacement process for replacing the lid-shaped jig and the lid member is provided on the production line after the oiling process, the operator can replace the lid without getting close to the oiling process, similar to the jig installation process. The shaped jig can be removed and the lid member can be attached. Furthermore, if it is on a production line, a worker who is engaged in other work can concurrently perform the replacement work, so there is no need to worry about extra workers being needed. Of course, by capping the fuel filler port with a jig, there is no need to install a special device just for attaching the lid member to the fuel filler port, so you can avoid a rise in equipment costs and achieve a low-cost fuel supply with a good working environment. It becomes possible to construct a process.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the deterioration of the working environment due to gasoline odor at a low cost, and to carry out the lubrication work in the vehicle manufacturing process.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of main parts of a vehicle manufacturing facility according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a lid-shaped jig according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a plan view of a main part of a vehicle manufacturing line according to another embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a plan view of a main part of a manufacturing line for a vehicle according to one invention used for comparison with the present invention; FIG.

Hereinafter, the details of a method for manufacturing a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention will be explained based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a plan view of essential parts of manufacturing equipment according to this embodiment. That is, the manufacturing equipment 10 according to the present embodiment includes a manufacturing line 11 that can carry out work related to manufacturing the vehicle 1 while transporting the vehicle 1, a refueling process 12 provided at a position away from the manufacturing line 11, and a lid. The process includes a jig attachment step 14 in which the shaped jig 13 is attached to the vehicle 1, and a replacement step 15 in which the lid shaped jig 13 and the lid member 2 that closes the fuel filler port 1a of the vehicle 1 are replaced.

In this embodiment, the production line 11 includes an assembly line 16 for vehicles 1 and an inspection line 17 for assembled vehicles 1. In addition, in this manufacturing line 11, an assembly line 16 and an inspection line 17 are arranged parallel to each other, and the manufacturing line 11 as a whole has a shape that is folded back between the assembly line 16 and the inspection line 17. I am doing it.

The refueling process 12 is located at a location away from the production line 11. In this embodiment, the oil supply process 12 is arranged at a location corresponding to an interrupted portion of the production line 11 (a location corresponding to the folded portion 11a of the production line 11, so to speak). In this case, the refueling process 12 involves a worker L1 engaged in a process located at the terminal end 16a of the assembly line 16 (here, the jig installation process 14) and a worker L1 engaged in the process located at the starting end 17a of the inspection line 17 (here, the replacement process). 15) A sufficient distance is maintained from both worker L2 to avoid the smell of gasoline.

The refueling process 12 includes a refueling booth 18 and an automatic refueling device 19 disposed within the refueling booth 18. Here, the configuration of the automatic refueling device 19 is arbitrary, and in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 19 are configured.

The transportation means for the vehicle 1 between the refueling process 12 and the production line 11 (assembly line 16, inspection line 17) is arbitrary in principle. It may be transported by being towed by an automatic transport device. Furthermore, any transfer device (for example, an overhead conveyor) may be used for transferring from the manufacturing line 11 to the conveying device, or from the conveying device to a predetermined position in the refueling booth 18. Good too.

The jig attachment process 14 is provided at a predetermined position on the production line 11 as a process prior to the oil supply process 12. In this embodiment, the jig attachment process 14 is disposed at a position closest to the terminal end 16a of the assembly line 16. That is, the jig attachment process 14 is provided as a subsequent process of a plurality of processes related to a series of assembly operations performed on the assembly line 16.

Here, as shown in FIG. 2, the lid-shaped jig 13 to be attached to the vehicle 1 includes an attachment part 22 to the fuel filler port 1a, a first cylindrical part 23 in which the attachment part 22 is provided at one end in the axial direction. It has a movable lid part 24 that can open and close the other end opening 23a of the first cylindrical part 23. In this embodiment, the lid-shaped jig 13 further includes a guide portion 25 that guides the insertion of the oil supply nozzle 21 (see FIG. 1) into the first cylindrical portion 23.

The attachment portion 22 has the same structure as the attachment structure of the lid member 2 to the fuel filler port 1a. That is, in this embodiment, the attachment portion 22 has a male threaded portion 22a on the outer periphery that engages with a female threaded portion (not shown) provided on the inner periphery of the fuel filler port 1a. Of course, as long as it can be attached to a different part of the vehicle 1 than the lid member 2, the attachment part 22 may have a structure that can be attached to a part other than the fuel filler port 1a.

In this embodiment, the movable lid portion 24 is attached to the other axial end of the first cylindrical portion 23 via a biasing portion 26 such as a torsion spring. In this case, the movable lid part 24 is configured to be rotatable within a predetermined phase range around a rotation axis set on the biasing part 26 side. For example, in the case of the configuration shown in FIG. From a position where the other end opening 23a can be closed (the position shown by the solid line in FIG. 2), to a position where the refueling nozzle 21 can be inserted to a predetermined depth position in the first cylindrical part 23 (the position shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 2) It is configured to be rotatable between the positions shown in the figure.

Further, at this time, the movable lid portion 24 is constantly urged by the urging portion 26 to rotate counterclockwise. Thereby, when the refueling nozzle 21 is pulled out, the movable lid part 24 returns to a position where the other end opening 23a of the first cylinder part 23 can be closed. At this time, the return (rotation) operation of the movable lid part 24 can be restricted by the restriction part 27 at a predetermined position (in FIG. 2, a position where the other end opening 23a can be closed without a gap).

Further, in this embodiment, the guide portion 25 is provided on the other axial end side of the second cylindrical portion 28, and has a tapered surface shape whose inner diameter increases from one axial end side to the other end side. ing. The second cylindrical part 28 is attached to the outside of the first cylindrical part 23, and is in a position where rotation of the movable lid part 24 can be restricted when it is attached to the first cylindrical part 23 among the second cylindrical parts 28. A regulating portion 27 (here, a stepped portion) is provided.

In the jig attachment step 14, the lid-shaped jig 13 having the above structure is attached to the fuel filler port 1a of the vehicle 1. This installation work is performed by a predetermined worker L1. In addition, since the work in the jig installation process 14 can be performed in a relatively short time, the predetermined worker L1 may concurrently perform the process related to other work and the jig installation process 14 in relation to takt time, etc. You may.

The replacement process 15 is provided at a predetermined position on the production line 11 as a process subsequent to the oil supply process 12. In this embodiment, the replacement process 15 is arranged at a position closest to the starting end 17a of the inspection line 17. That is, the replacement process 15 is provided as a pre-process to a series of inspection processes performed on the inspection line 17. Note that since the replacement process 15 can also be performed in a relatively short time, the predetermined worker L2 who is engaged in the replacement process 15 may also perform the replacement process 15 and a process related to another work.

Hereinafter, an example of a method for manufacturing the vehicle 1 using the manufacturing equipment 10 having the above configuration will be described.

First, a plurality of assembly steps are performed on the vehicle 1 (including vehicles before or under assembly) on the production line 11, and the vehicle 1 is assembled. When the assembled vehicle 1 is transported on the assembly line 16 and reaches the jig installation step 14 disposed near the end 16a of the assembly line 16, the hand of a predetermined worker L1 is inserted into the fuel filler port 1a of the vehicle 1. Attach the lid-shaped jig 13 with the steps. Note that when the lid-like jig 13 is attached to the fuel filler port 1a, the movable lid portion 24 of the lid-like jig 13 is in a state in which the other end opening 23a of the first cylindrical portion 23 communicating with the fuel filler port 1a is closed. .

Next, the vehicle 1 with the lid-shaped jig 13 attached thereto is carried out of the assembly line 16 and is transported toward the refueling process 12 by a predetermined transport device (not shown). Then, after the vehicle 1 is carried into a predetermined position in the refueling booth 18 installed in the refueling process 12, refueling work is performed using the automatic refueling device 19. In this embodiment, the refueling robot 20 is driven to move the refueling nozzle 21 attached to the tip of the arm of the refueling robot 20 toward the refueling port 1a. Here, since the lid-shaped jig 13 is attached to the fuel supply port 1a, by moving the fuel supply nozzle 21 toward the fuel supply port 1a, the movable lid portion 24 of the lid-shaped jig 13 is attached to the fuel supply nozzle 21. The tip of the oil supply nozzle 21 is pushed down by the insertion operation, and the tip of the oil supply nozzle 21 is inserted into the oil supply port 1a. After that, gasoline is supplied from the refueling nozzle 21 to carry out refueling work. This refueling work is automatically performed by the automatic refueling device 19, so there is no need for an operator (there is no need to be nearby). Furthermore, since the refueling booth 18 is located away from the production line 11, it is very unlikely that the workers L1 and L2 on or near the production line 11 will strongly feel the smell of gasoline generated during refueling. Furthermore, since the refueling booth 18 is completely independent from the production line 11, it is possible to create a more airtight structure compared to a case where the refueling booth is provided on the production line 11, which further reduces gasoline odor. can prevent its spread to the surrounding area.

After the gasoline supply operation from the refueling nozzle 21 is completed, the refueling nozzle 21 is pulled out from the refueling port 1a (furthermore, the insertion portion of the lid-shaped jig 13) to complete the refueling operation. At this time, the movable lid part 24 of the lid-shaped jig 13 is rotated in a direction to close the other end opening 23a of the lid-shaped jig 13 due to the urging force from the urging part 26 as the refueling nozzle 21 is pulled out. and close the other end opening 23a. Therefore, when the refueling nozzle 21 is pulled out, gasoline vapor can be prevented from leaking to the outside of the refueling port 1a.

After completing the refueling work as described above, the vehicle 1 is transported toward the replacement process 15 on the inspection line 17 by a predetermined transport device (not shown). After the vehicle 1 is transported to a predetermined position for the replacement process 15 on the inspection line 17, the operator L2 manually replaces the lid-shaped jig 13 and the lid member 2. Note that even while being transported from the refueling step 12 to the replacement step 15, the movable lid portion 24 of the lid-shaped jig 13 maintains a state in which the other end opening 23a communicating with the refueling port 1a is closed. Therefore, the smell of gasoline felt by the worker L2 during the replacement work is minimal. After the replacement work has been completed, the vehicle 1 is transported as it is on the inspection line 17, and a predetermined inspection process is carried out to complete the vehicle 1 that can be shipped.

As described above, in the vehicle manufacturing method according to the present embodiment, the refueling process 12 is provided at a location away from the manufacturing line 11 for the vehicle 1, and the refueling nozzle 21 is allowed to be inserted before the refueling process 12. In addition, since the jig installation step 14 for attaching the lid-shaped jig 13 that closes the fuel filler port 1a to the vehicle 1 when the fuel filler nozzle 21 is not inserted is provided on the production line 11 (16), In the refueling process 12, the refueling nozzle 21 is inserted to perform refueling work, and when the refueling nozzle 21 is pulled out, the lid-shaped jig 13 closes the refueling port 1a. Therefore, until the vehicle 1 that has completed the refueling process 12 is transferred onto the production line 11 (17) again and the refueling port 1a is closed by the lid member 2, the lid-shaped jig 13 is used to prevent the refueling from the refueling port 1a. Leakage of gasoline vapor can be reliably prevented. Furthermore, before the refueling process 12, the operator L1 who is doing other work on the production line 11 (16) only needs to attach the lid-like jig 13 to the refueling port 1a. There is no need to approach the refueling process 12. Furthermore, by providing a replacement step 15 for replacing the lid-shaped jig 13 and the lid member 2 on the production line 11 (17) after the oiling step 12, the operator L2 can refuel the oil as well as in the jig installation step 14. The lid-like jig 13 can be removed and the lid member 2 can be attached without approaching step 12. Furthermore, if it is on the manufacturing line 11 (17), the worker L2 who is engaged in other work can concurrently perform the replacement work, so there is no need for an extra worker. Of course, by covering the fuel filler port 1a with this lid-shaped jig 13, there is no need to provide a device just for attaching the lid member 2 to the fuel filler port 1a, so a rise in equipment costs can be avoided and the work can be carried out at a low cost. It becomes possible to construct an environmentally friendly refueling process 12.

In addition, since the position of the fuel filler port 1a generally differs depending on the vehicle model, for example, when the installation operation of the lid member 2 is performed by a dedicated robot as described above, the position is corrected every time the installation operation is performed. The need arises, and an increase in costs is unavoidable. On the other hand, according to the vehicle manufacturing method according to the present embodiment, the lid member 2 is installed manually by the worker L2, so there is no increase in cost due to differences in the position of the fuel filler port 1a depending on the vehicle model. .

Further, in this embodiment, a guide whose inner diameter increases toward the other end (the oil filler port 1a) than the other end opening 23a of the lid-like jig 13 that serves as the insertion port for the fuel nozzle 21 is provided. Since the portion 25 is provided (see FIG. 2), even if there is a variation in the position of the fuel filler port 1a, the variation is absorbed and the fuel filler nozzle 21 is reliably and smoothly connected to the other end opening 23a and then the other end opening 23a. It becomes possible to introduce the fuel into the fuel filler port 1a. In addition, by being able to mechanically correct the position of the refueling nozzle 21 in this way, it is possible to save the effort of correcting the operation of the refueling robot 20 using image processing every time refueling work is performed, thereby further improving the efficiency of refueling work. It becomes possible to achieve this goal.

Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the method for manufacturing a vehicle according to the present invention can also adopt configurations other than the above without departing from the spirit thereof.

For example, in the above embodiment, the manufacturing line 11 is composed of the assembly line 16 and the inspection line 17 that are parallel to each other, and the refueling process 12 is arranged at a location corresponding to the folded part 11a of the manufacturing line 11. (See FIG. 1), the arrangement of the oil supply process 12 is not limited to this. For example, as in the manufacturing facility 30 shown in FIG. 4, the oil supply process 12 may be arranged at a position separated to the side of a manufacturing line 31 extending along a predetermined direction. In this case, for example, the jig attachment process 14 may be provided on the production line 31a upstream of the oil supply process 12 on the production line 31, and the replacement process 15 may be provided on the production line 31b downstream of the oil supply process 12. . In any case, by arranging the refueling process 12 at a location away from the production line 31 (31a, 31b), deterioration of the working environment due to gasoline odor can be effectively prevented. Further, by providing the step 14 of attaching the lid-shaped jig 13 and the step 15 of replacing the lid member 2 before and after the oil supply step 12, the working environment can be improved with a simple configuration and at low cost.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the lid-shaped jig 13 is exemplified as one that includes a mounting portion 22, a first cylindrical portion 23, a movable lid portion 24, a guide portion 25, and a second cylindrical portion 28. However, the present invention is not limited thereto (see FIG. 2). The configuration of each element is arbitrary or can be omitted as long as at least the movable lid part 24 is provided and the fuel filler port 1a can be closed by the movable lid part 24.

Further, in the above embodiment, the case where the worker L1 engaged in the jig installation process 14 and the worker L2 engaged in the replacement process 15 are different people (see FIG. 1), but of course other It is also possible to take an arrangement mode. That is, for example, with the assembly line 16 and inspection line 17 arranged as shown in FIG. The person may also be in charge of (concurrently serve) the replacement process 15.

Furthermore, in the above description, the case where the manufacturing method according to the present invention is applied to the vehicle 1 (see FIG. 1, etc.) in which the fuel filler port 1a is located on the right side in the vehicle width direction has been exemplified, but of course it is not limited to this. . The present invention is applicable regardless of the position of the fuel filler port 1a with respect to the vehicle 1, such as a vehicle in which the fuel filler port 1a is located on the left side in the vehicle width direction (not shown).

1 Vehicle 1a Fuel filler port 2 Lid members 10, 30 Manufacturing equipment 11, 31 Manufacturing line 11a Turning section 12 Refueling process 13 Lid-shaped jig 14 Jig installation process 15 Replacement process 16 Assembly line 17 Inspection line 18 Refueling booth 19 Automatic refueling device 20 Refueling robot 21 Refueling nozzle 22 Mounting part 22a Male thread part 23 First cylindrical part 23a Other end opening 24 Movable lid part 25 Guide part 26 Biasing part 27 Regulating part 28 Second cylindrical part 100 Manufacturing equipment 101, 102 Manufacturing Line 103 Refueling booth 104 Automatic refueling device 105 Lid member installation process L1, L2 Operator

Claims (1)

In a vehicle manufacturing method in which vehicles are manufactured on a production line,
A refueling process is provided at a location away from the production line for automatically refueling by inserting a refueling nozzle into the refueling port of the vehicle, and
Before the refueling step, a jig installation step of attaching to the vehicle a lid-like jig that allows insertion of the refueling nozzle and closes the refueling port when the refueling nozzle is not inserted. A method for manufacturing a vehicle, characterized in that the method is provided on a manufacturing line, and further includes a replacement step for replacing the lid-like jig and the lid member of the fuel filler port after the refueling step.

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