JPH0123259B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a component driving device, and more particularly to an improvement in a component driving device for driving and fixing specially shaped components such as expansion nuts.

Generally, an expansion nut N as a part to be supplied to a component driving device has a substantially rectangular nut base 1, as shown in FIGS. A screw hole 2 for screwing is provided, and a pair of elastically deformable leg pieces 3 are provided at the center of both sides of the nut base 1.
are arranged opposite each other, and each leg piece 3 is formed by slightly projecting outward from its base to its center and bending inward from its center to its tip,
A gap 5 whose width is narrower than the shaft diameter of the screw 4 is formed between the tips of each leg piece 3.

For example, when screwing assembly parts such as various instruments to a base body such as a resin instrument panel I, the expansion nut N is inserted into the mounting hole 6 made in the instrument panel I. 3 is inserted and locked to form a threaded part for the screw 4. In this case, the screw 4 is threaded into the screw hole 2 of the expansion nut N, and the screw 4 is inserted and locked.
Since the tip of the leg 3 pushes into the gap 5 between the leg pieces 3, the leg 3 expands outward, and the base of the leg 3 comes into pressure contact with the edge of the mounting hole 6. The screw 4 is securely fixed to the instrument panel I via the expansion nut N. Thereby, deformation of the instrument panel I that occurs when screwing the screw 4 directly into the instrument panel I can be prevented.

By the way, when attaching such an expansion nut N to the above-mentioned instrument panel I, there is a system in which a parts driving device is attached to an automatic machine, and this automatic machine automates the attachment of the expansion nut N. It is considered. In such a system, it is necessary to set the expansion nut N in the component driving device, but since the expansion nut N has a special shape, the setting posture of the expansion nut N may be irregular. It tends to be stable. For this reason,
During the driving operation of the expansion nut N, the expansion nut N is driven into the mounting hole 6 of the instrument panel I in an unstable position, and the installation of the expansion nut N becomes impossible. A problem arises in that it tends to become complete.

The mounting hole 6 for the expansion nut N of the instrument panel I is formed in a rectangular shape with a long edge 6a and a short edge 6b, as shown in FIGS. The leg side 3 of the expansion nut N is locked to the short edge 6b of the attachment hole 6, and the pair of long edges 6a of the attachment hole 6 are engaged with the expansion nut N in the lateral direction (perpendicular to the long edge). Prevents movement. Therefore, it is necessary to align the mounting hole 6 of the expansion nut N in the same direction as the expansion nut N. Generally, the mounting holes 6 formed in the instrument panel I are not arranged in the same direction as shown in FIG. The orientation of the component driving device must be changed each time to a position that corresponds to the orientation of the mounting hole 6. For this reason,
As the number of teaching points of an automatic machine equipped with a component driving device increases, the operation becomes complicated, and an automatic machine with a large number of rotation axes is required accordingly.

The present invention has been developed based on the above-mentioned viewpoints, and its purpose is to maintain a stable setting posture of specially shaped parts, and to prevent the parts from being assembled into parts during the part driving operation. To provide a component driving device which maintains a good mounting condition of the components and matches the direction of the driven components with the direction of the part to be assembled without moving the automatic machine itself.

The basic structure of the present invention is a component driving device which is attached to an automatic machine and drives and fixes a specially shaped part into a mounting part of a member to be assembled, the driving positional relationship of which is determined with respect to the mounting part. , a base member fixed to an automatic machine; a driving member attached to the base member so as to be movable forward and backward and rotatable; a mounting head provided at the tip of the driving member for positioning and holding the component; a setting member that is swingably attached to the base member and transfers and installs the parts one by one while supporting the parts from the supply side on the mounting head;
a rotation mechanism that rotates the driving member between a first driving position and a second driving position to change the direction of the part; and a rotating mechanism that rotates the driving member between the first and second driving positions. It is equipped with a stopper mechanism that can stop the movement and adjust the first and second driving positions, respectively.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the entire system of the expansion nut driving process. In the figure, an instrument panel I as a base body is positioned and fixed to a rectangular frame 10,
The frame 10 is transported together with the frame 10 to a predetermined position by the shuttle bar 11, and the frame 10 is transferred to a rotating device 12.
It is rotatably supported through. On the other hand, a robot R as an automatic machine equipped with an arm Ra movable in a horizontal direction is installed on a work stage located near the instrument panel I that has been transported. Component driving device A is installed. and,
A parts feeder P containing a large number of expansion nuts N as parts is installed on a work stage near the robot R via a pedestal 13.

In this system, the parts driving device A is first placed near the parts feeder P based on the teaching motion of the robot R, as shown by the imaginary line in FIG. Receive supply. Then,
As shown by the solid line in FIG. 5, the component driving device A is used to attach an instrument panel I that is transported to a predetermined position based on the teaching operation of the robot R and positioned at a predetermined angular position by the rotation device 12. Expansion nuts N are successively driven and fixed into the holes 6.

In this embodiment, the basic structure of the component driving device A is as shown in FIG. A driving member 30, a mounting head 40 provided at the tip of the driving member 30 for positioning and holding the expansion nut N, and temporarily aligning and storing the expansion nut N to be installed on the base member 20. A stocker 50, a setting member 70 for setting the expansion nut N in the stocker 50 onto the mounting head 40, and the mounting head 40.
It is composed of a rotation mechanism 80 that rotates a part of the rotation mechanism 80 and a stopper mechanism thereof.

The base member 20 is composed of a fixed member 21 and a movable base 22, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. The fixed base 21 includes a lower base 21a extending in the horizontal direction and a lower base 21a extending in the horizontal direction.
Connecting base 21b rising upward from one end of
and the lower base 21 from the upper end of the connection base 21b to face the lower base 21a.
The connecting base 21b is connected and fixed to the robot arm Ra via a support bracket 26. On the other hand, the movable base 2
The movable base 2 is disposed to face the lower base 21a, and is slidably mounted along a guide column 23 spanning between the lower base 21a and the upper base 21c.
2 is a piston rod 25a of an air cylinder 25 supported on a fixed base 21 via a bracket 24.
is connected to.

Further, the driving member 30 is a member extending in the vertical direction, and is fitted into the driving rod 31 and has a protrusion and a groove (not shown) engaged with the driving rod 31. It is composed of a driving pipe 32 that slides relative to each other in the vertical direction depending on the timing. The driving rod 31 passes through the hole 27 of the movable base 22, and its upper end is connected to the movable base 22.
The upper end of the driving pipe 32 is elastically supported by the lower surface of the movable base 22 via a spring 35. , this driven pipe 32 is attached to the lower base 2
It is arranged to penetrate through a guide bush 36 attached to 1a. The movable base 22 also has a piston rod 34a of a driving air cylinder 34.
A limit switch 37 is provided for projecting and operating the limit switch 37, and when the driving pipe 32 moves upward from the normal position, the upper end flange 38 of the driving pipe 32 moves to the roller-equipped switch piece 39 of the limit switch 37.
By pushing up the limit switch 37
is starting to work.

Further, the mounting head 40 is integrally formed with a driving rod 31 and a driving pipe 32, as particularly shown in FIG. That is, the driving rod 31
A positioning protrusion 4 into which the screw hole 2 of the expansion nut N is fitted is protrudingly provided at the center of the tip of the rod, and a positioning protrusion 4 protruding from the tip of the driving rod 31 projects downward from the tip surface of the driving rod 31. A positioning protrusion 42 is formed, and this positioning protrusion 42
is shaped to fit with the outer edge of the expansion nut N. On the other hand, a magnet 43 for attracting and holding the upper surface of the nut base 1 of the expansion nut N is provided on the distal end surface of the driving rod 31. Furthermore, a set state detector 44 is attached to the lower surface of the lower base 21a located near the mounting head 40 to detect whether or not the expansion nut N is set in the mounting head 40. The detector 44 is a so-called photo coupler in which a light-emitting element and a light-receiving element are arranged facing each other with the mounting head 40 interposed therebetween, and determines the set state of the expansion nut N in the mounting head 40 depending on whether or not the light-receiving element receives light. It is now being detected. When the expansion nut N is set on the mounting head 40, a component setting completion signal is sent from the setting state detector 44 to a control device (not shown).

Further, the stocker 50 is attached to the fixed base 21 via a support arm 51, as shown in FIGS. 6, 7, and 10. This stocker 50 is the shooter 52 of the parts feeder P.
The flange portions 1a of the nut base 1, which are disposed opposite to each other so as to sandwich the leg piece 3 of the expansion nut N and which protrudes from both sides of the leg piece 3, can be slid on. The supporting side rail 53 and the side rail 53 are arranged so as to prevent the expansion nut N from lifting up.
and an upper rail 54 extending along the upper part between the two. A connecting protrusion 55 having a conical guide surface is protruded from the end of the stocker 50 on the shooter 52 side, while a connecting recess 56 into which the connecting protrusion 55 fits is provided on the shooter 52 side. is provided, and the connecting protrusion 55 and the connecting recess 56 constitute a positioning connecting mechanism,
The stocker 50 is abuttingly connected to the shooter 52 via the connecting mechanism. Further, a full detector 57 is attached to the end of the stocker 50 on the shooter 52 side for detecting that the storage amount of expansion nuts N in the stocker 50 is full.
is a so-called photo coupler in which a light-emitting element and a light-receiving element are arranged facing each other so as to sandwich the expansion nut N in the stocker 50, and the expansion nut N is adjusted depending on whether or not the light-receiving element receives light. It is designed to detect whether the storage amount is full or not, and when the storage amount of expansion nuts N in the stocker 50 becomes full, the fullness detector sends a fullness detection signal to a control device (not shown). It is now being sent out. Incidentally, the reference numeral 58 indicates the shooter 5.
Expansion nut N provided at the tip of 2
59 is a cylinder for actuating the stopper 58; 60 is a connecting switch built in the connecting recess 56 and detecting the connected state of the two when the connecting protrusion 55 is fitted into the connecting recess 56; , 61 are holes for light passage formed in the side rail 53 facing the fullness detector 57.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the setting member 7
0 is disposed at a portion facing the lower opening of the stocker 50, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 11. The setting member 70 includes a receiving part 71 that positions and receives the expansion nut N from the stocker 50, and a supporting arm part 72 that integrally extends from the receiving part 71. The set preparation position S1 is pivotally supported by a shaft pin 74 on a support bracket 73 attached to the lower base 21a, and the receiving portion 71 receives the expansion nut N from the stocker 50 (see FIG. 10).
and a setting position S2 (see FIG. 11) where the expansion nut N is set in the mounting head 40, along a predetermined rotation locus. A protrusion 75 is formed near the rotation axis of the support arm 72 and projects radially with respect to the rotation axis, and the end of the protrusion 75 is connected to the fixed base 21 via a bracket 76. It is connected to the piston rod 77a of the attached air cylinder 77. Also, the setting member 7
0 has a stopper portion 78 adjacent to the receiving portion 71.
is formed, and this stopper part 78 faces the lower opening of the stocker 50 when the receiving part 71 moves from the set preparation position S1,
It has a curved surface shape that follows the rotation locus of the setting member 70.

Further, the rotation mechanism 80 is shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 3, it includes an air cylinder 85 and a rotating plate 82. The base end of the air cylinder 85 is supported by a pin on a bracket 86 fixed to the support bracket 26, while its piston rod 85a is supported by a pin at one end of the rotating plate 82. The rotary plate 82 is fixed to a cylindrical bush 89 with bolts 90, and the bush 89 is rotatably fitted into the guide bush 36. Further, the rotary plate 82 has a through hole 82a coaxial with the through hole 89a of the bush 89, and the through hole 89a is coaxial with the through hole 89a of the bush 89.
A groove 84 is formed in the axial direction in the a and through hole 82a, while a rail 81 is laid along the axial direction on the outside of the driven pipe 32, and the rail 81 can slide into the groove 84. The driving pipe 32 is fitted into the insertion hole 89a and the through hole 82.
A is slidably disposed therethrough. Furthermore, to explain the stopper mechanism, a stopper plate 83 is formed hanging from the end of the rotating plate 82, and stopper bolts 88 are provided on the left and right sides on the upper surface of the flange 36a of the guide bush 36 attached to the lower base 21a. A stopper bracket 87 is attached, and the stopper plate 83 is made to stop at the tip of the stopper bolt 88. Therefore, the rotary plate 82 rotates within the range between the tips of the stopper bolts 88 as the piston rod 85a of the air cylinder 85 moves back and forth, and as shown in FIG. But stoppa bolt 8
It is designed to be positioned at one of a first driving position _B1 and a second driving position B2, B1 and _B2 , in contact with the tip of the blade 8. Along with this, the driving pipe 32 also rotates, so the positioning protrusion 42 of the mounting head 40 formed at the tip of the driving pipe 32 also rotates. The direction of the expansion nut N, which is fitted into the expansion nut N, can be changed. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the stopper bolt 88 is adjusted so that its direction can be changed by 90 degrees.

Therefore, according to the component driving device according to this embodiment, first, the component driving device A receives the expansion nut N from the parts feeder P. In this process, as shown in FIG. 10, the parts driving device A approaches the parts feeder P based on the teaching information of the robot R, and the stocker 50 moves toward the shooter 52 of the parts feeder P. . At this time, even if the teaching accuracy of the robot R is not so high, the presence of the coupling mechanism composed of the coupling protrusion 55 and the coupling recess 56 ensures that the stocker 50 and shooter 52 are abutted and coupled. , connection switch 60
The robot R is stopped by a command signal from a control device (not shown) based on the ON operation. Then, the stopper 58 attached to the shooter 52 opens, and the expansion nuts N in the shooter 52 sequentially slide into the stocker 50, and the expansion nuts N are sequentially aligned and stored starting from the setting member 70. When the storage amount of expansion nuts N in the stocker 50 becomes full, the stopper 5
8 closes. As a result, the supply of expansion nuts N from the shooter 52 to the stocker 50 is stopped, and the empty shooter 52 is replenished with expansion nuts N by the operation of the parts feeder P. In this state, the process of supplying the expansion nut N to the component supply device A is completed, and the robot R is started for the next process.

In this state, when the robot R starts to start up, one of the expansion nuts N in the stocker 50 is set in the mounting head 40. In this case, as shown in FIG.
The piston rod 85a of No. 5 is operating backward,
The rotating plate 82 is positioned at the B1 position. In this setting process, as shown in FIG. 11, first, the piston rod 77a of the air cylinder 77 is operated to protrude, and as a result, the setting member 70 is rotated counterclockwise in the figure about the shaft pin 74. I will do it. At this time, the setting member 70
One expansion nut N is positioned and received in the receiving portion 71 of the rotary plate 82 in a direction corresponding to the direction of the mounting head 40 at the B1 position. The expansion nut N is transferred from the set preparation position S1 (see FIG. 7) to the set position S2, and the expansion nut N is supplied to the mounting head 40. In this state, the expansion nut N is positioned by the positioning protrusion 41 and the positioning protrusion 42 of the mounting head 40, and is also attracted and held by the magnet 43, so that the expansion nut N does not tilt. It is set on the mounting head 40 while maintaining a predetermined posture. On the other hand, as the setting member 70 rotates, the receiving portion 71 of the setting member 70 moves from the setting preparation position S1.
Expansion nut N in 0 is set member 7
Since the expansion nut N in the stocker 50 is blocked by the stopper portion 78 of 0, a situation in which the expansion nut N in the stocker 50 falls out of the stocker 50 does not occur. In addition, if the mounting head 40
If the expansion nut N is not yet set, the setting member 70 continues its setting operation until the expansion nut N is set in the mounting head 40 by the action of the setting state detector 44. Then, at the stage when the expansion nut N is set on the mounting head 40,
Preparations for the driving work are now complete, and the robot R is started for the next step in response to a command signal from the control device based on the signal from the set state detector 44.

At this time, the robot R moves the component driving device A to an upper position corresponding to the instrument panel I mounting hole 6 based on the teaching information and then stops. Then, the component driving device A starts driving the expansion nut N. In this process, first, a command to set the direction of the expansion nut N is issued from a control device (not shown). In this case, assuming that the expansion nut N and the mounting hole 6 are in the same position, the rotary plate 82 is positioned at the B1 position, so the piston rod 85a of the air cylinder 85 maintains the retracted position. I will do it. next,
A command signal to start the driving operation is issued from the control device, and the component driving device A begins to operate. That is, as shown in FIG. 15, the piston rod 25a of the air cylinder 25 operates to project, and the movable base 22 moves downward by a predetermined amount. Then, the driving member 30 descends, and if the expansion nut N position in the mounting head 40 matches the mounting hole 6 position of the instrument panel I, as shown in FIG. 17a. The leg piece 3 of the expansion nut N in the mounting head 40 is slightly inserted into the mounting hole 6 of the instrument panel I. In this state, the positioning protrusion 42 provided on the driving pipe 32 reaches the edge of the mounting hole 6 of the instrument panel I, as shown in FIG. 17b. At this time,
The driving pipe 32 is elastically supported by a spring 35 with respect to the movable base 22, and the downward movement of the driving pipe 32 is restricted, so the driving pipe 32 is driven while compressing the spring 35. Since it slides upward relative to the insertion rod 31, there is no possibility that excessive force is applied to the edge of the mounting hole 6 by the insertion pipe 32. At this time, since the driving pipe 32 approaches the movable base 22 relatively, the limit switch 37 is activated, which causes the piston rod 34a of the driving air cylinder 34 to protrude and move the driving rod 31 downward. Protrusion works. Then, as shown in FIG. 17c, the expansion nut N is pushed into the driving rod 31 and inserted into the mounting hole 6.
It can be securely fitted and installed inside.

Furthermore, if the position of the expansion nut N in the mounting head 40 does not match the position of the mounting hole 6, the leg piece 3 of the expansion nut N will come into contact with the edge of the mounting hole 6. Therefore, the driving pipe 32 does not reach the edge of the mounting hole 6, and the limit switch 37 does not operate. For this reason, the piston rod 34a of the driving air cylinder 34 will not protrude, and the edge of the mounting hole 6 will not be destroyed. After this, drive rod 31
When the driving cylinder 34 reaches the lowest point, a driving operation completion signal is issued from a control device (not shown), and the driving cylinder 34
As the piston rod 34a of the piston rod 34a moves backward,
The piston rod 25a of the air cylinder 25 moves backward, and the driving member 30 moves upward while separating from the expansion nut N.
At this stage, the process of driving one expansion nut N is completed. Here, for example, if the outer periphery of the mounting hole 6 of the instrument panel I is cut C as shown by the dotted line in FIG. 17, the poor fitting can be resolved even if a slight misalignment occurs.

Next, the component driving device A drives the expansion nut N into the next mounting hole 6 based on the robot's teaching information. In this case, the positional relationship between the expansion nut N and the mounting hole 6 is
Assuming that they are different by 90 degrees, even after the expansion nut N is mounted on the mounting head by the setting member 70, a command to set the direction of the expansion nut N is issued from a control device (not shown), and the direction of the expansion nut N is set in the 14th direction. As shown in the figure, the piston rod 85a of the air cylinder 85 operates to protrude. At this time,
The rotating plate 82 is rotated and set at the B2 position, but since the rail 81 of the driving pipe 32 is restrained by the rotating plate 82 and the groove 84 of the bush 89, the driving pipe 32 is rotated and set at the B2 position. It will rotate together with 82. Along with this, the positioning protrusion 42 of the mounting head 40 also rotates, so that the direction of the expansion nut N coincides with the direction of the mounting hole 6. In this state, as described above, the component driving device A
is activated, and as shown in FIGS. 16 and 17,
An expansion nut N is driven into the mounting hole 6.

After that, based on the teaching information of robot R, component driving device A moves to instrument panel I.
Expansion nuts N are sequentially driven and fixed into several mounting holes 6 in accordance with the procedure described above.

In the above embodiment, the parts driving device A is equipped with the stocker 50, but the invention is not limited to this, and the expansion nut N is directly connected to the shooter 52 of the parts feeder P. There is no problem in receiving the supply of Furthermore, the specific configurations of the mounting head 40 and the setting member 70 are not limited to those shown in the above embodiments, and may be modified as appropriate. Furthermore, it goes without saying that the design of the base member 20, the driving member 30, etc. can be changed as appropriate. Further, in the above embodiment, the rotation mechanism 80 is configured to change the direction of the expansion nut N by 90 degrees, but the angle is not limited to this, and the rotation mechanism 80 is configured to change the direction of the expansion nut N by 90 degrees. The rotation range of the rotary plate 82 can be changed by adjusting the stroke of the stopper bolt 88 according to the direction shown in FIG. 6, and may be changed as appropriate. Further, in the above embodiment, the expansion nut N is used as an example of the part, but the invention is not necessarily limited to this, and it goes without saying that parts of special shapes can be selected as appropriate.

As explained above, according to the component driving device according to the present invention, it is possible to set a specially shaped component such as an expansion nut in a stable posture at all times on the mounting head. Therefore, when the parts are driven into the parts by the parts driving device, there is no risk that the parts will be driven into the assembled parts in an unstable position, and the attachment condition of the parts to the assembled parts is always kept in good condition. This increases component attachment reliability and makes it possible to omit a confirmation process after component attachment. Moreover, even if the mounting portion is oriented in two different directions, the component can be positioned in either position by rotating the driving member, so that the component can be driven in accordance with the orientation of the mounting portion. Therefore, it is easy to match the orientation of the component and the assembled component, so there is no need to change the orientation of the component driving device itself each time, and teaching of the automatic machine can be easily performed. This makes it possible to use automatic machines with fewer axes.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is an overall perspective view of the expansion nut, Fig. 2 is a sectional explanatory view showing how the expansion nut is installed, Fig. 3 is an overall perspective view showing the installation hole of the expansion nut, and Fig. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the arrangement of the expansion nut mounting holes,
FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the entire system of the expansion nut driving process using the component driving device according to the present invention, and FIG. 6 shows an embodiment of the component driving device according to the present invention. An overall schematic diagram, FIG. 7 is a front explanatory view of the component driving device, FIG. 8 is a view taken from the direction of the arrow in FIG. 7, and FIG. 9 is a perspective view of essential parts showing the relationship between the mounting head and the component. , Fig. 10 is an explanatory view showing the process of supplying parts to the parts driving device, Fig. 11 is an explanatory view showing the state when parts are set, and Fig. 12 is a cross section of the main part showing the rotation mechanism of the parts driving device. Explanatory diagram, 1st
Figure 3 is a view from the middle direction of Figure 12,
Figure 4 is an explanatory diagram corresponding to Figure 13 showing the operating state of the rotation mechanism, Figure 15 is an explanatory diagram showing the state during component driving work, and Figure 16 is component driving work with the direction of the component changed. FIGS. 17a to 17c are explanatory views in cross-section of essential parts showing the state of parts being driven in during part driving work. R...Robot (automatic machine), I...Instrument panel (assembled member), N...Expansion nut (parts), 20...Base member, 30...Drive member, 40...Mounting head, 41...Positioning protrusion (positioning part), 42... positioning protrusion (positioning part), 43... magnet, 50... stocker, 70
...Set member, 80...Rotation mechanism.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In a component driving device that is attached to an automatic machine and drives and fixes a specially shaped component in a mounting portion of a member to be assembled, the driving positional relationship with respect to the mounting portion being determined,
A base member fixed to an automatic machine, a driving member attached to the base member so as to be movable forward and backward and rotatable, a mounting head provided at the tip of the driving member to position and hold the above-mentioned component, and the base. A setting member that is swingably attached to the member and transfers and installs the parts from the supply side one by one while supporting the parts from the supply side to the mounting head; A rotation mechanism that rotates the driving member to change the direction of the component, and a rotation mechanism that stops the rotation of the driving member at first and second driving positions and adjusts the first and second driving positions, respectively. A parts driving device equipped with a wet stopper mechanism.