JPH0430951A - Work receiving device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To surely receive a work from a shuttle bar for accurate positioning by determining the dislocation quantity of the stop position of a work following the telescopic motion of the shuttle bar due to the variation of temperature, and moving a received member in the extending direction of the shuttle bar according to the stop position dislocation quantity of the work. CONSTITUTION:A work 8 is positioned in a given position by determining the dislocation quantity of the stop position of the work 8 following the telescopic motion of a shuttle bar 2 based on the variation of ambient temperature, and providing a stop position dislocated quantity output means 20, outputting a signal corresponding to a stop position dislocated quantity, and a receiving position correction means 16 moving a received member 11 in the extending direction of the shuttle bar 2 according to the stop position dislocated quantity of the work 8 based on an outputted signal. Consequently even if dislocation is produced in the stop position of the work 8 following the telescopic motion of the shuttle bar 2 based on the variation of the ambient temperature, the work 8 can be surely received from the shuttle bar 2 for correct positioning without providing a rough guide or moving the fixed position of a finger to the shuttle bar 2.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial Application Field) The present invention is based on the relative rise of a receiving member with respect to a shuttle bar that has moved forward and stopped in a shuttle bar type conveying device. A workpiece that receives the workpiece from the shuttle bar and positions it at a predetermined position by fitting the receiving member from below into a predetermined part of the workpiece that has been conveyed by the shuttle bar, and supporting the workpiece with the receiving member. This relates to a receiving device.

(Prior Art) An example of a shuttle bar type conveying device is a shuttle conveyor used in an automobile body assembly line shown in FIG. 6, for example.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 indicates a shuttle conveyor, and the shuttle conveyor 1 includes a shuttle bar 2 consisting of two long plate members arranged in a horizontal direction and connected to each other in a ladder shape, and a shuttle bar 2 approximately at the center of the shuttle bar 2. The shuttle bar drive device 3 is fixed on the floor below the section, and the shuttle bar 2 is supported and guided by a large number of support rollers (not shown) so as to be movable back and forth in the left and right directions in the figure. ing.

Further, the shuttle bar drive device 3 rotates the pinion 4 with a motor (not shown) to drive the shuttle bar 2.
The shuttleper 2 can be moved forward and backward as shown by the arrows in the figure through a rack 5 fixed along it and meshing with the pinion 4, and the distance of the forward and backward movement is fixed at the center of the shuttleper 2. Due to the contact between the two stopper plates 6 and the stopper block 7 fixed to the floor surface, the pitch distance can be made equal to the pitch distance between the respective work stations indicated by reference numerals #0 to #9 in the figure.

On the shuttleper 2, there are fingers (not shown) that can fit the vehicle body 8 during or after assembly into a predetermined portion thereof and position and hold it with respect to the shuttleper, or fingers (not shown) are arranged at intervals equal to the pitch distance. It is erected in place.

On the other hand, a loader (not shown) is installed at the work station #0 for loading vehicle body parts onto the fingers of the shuttleper 2, and a loader (not shown) is installed at the work station #9 for loading vehicle body parts onto the shuttleper 2 after assembly. An unloader (not shown) is installed for unloading, and each work station #l to #9
A car body receiving device 9 as a work receiving device is installed to receive the car body 8 from the shuttleper 2 (the figure only shows work stations #7 to #9, and the others are omitted).

Here, each vehicle body receiving device 9 sends a message to the shuttleper 2.
A jig base 12 that supports a plurality of columns 11 each having a tapered locating pin 10 as a receiving member can be raised and lowered by an air cylinder 13, and based on this function, the columns 11 are raised and the shuttle These pillars are placed on the fingers of the shuttle par 2 and are transported to the work station from the previous work station by the forward movement and stop of the shuttle par 2, and are placed in the locate holes in the predetermined portions of the bottom of the car body 8, which has stopped. Insert and fit the locate pin 10 on the vehicle body 8 from below.
By supporting these pillars 11, the vehicle body 8 can be received from the shuttleper 2, lifted, and positioned at a predetermined position at each work station.

Work such as assembly of the vehicle body parts assigned to the work station is performed on the vehicle body 8 thus positioned.

The vehicle body receiving device 9 installed at work stations #1 to #8 uses an air cylinder 13 to lower the support column 11 to the shuttleper 2 which has moved backward and stopped.
By placing the vehicle body 8 that was supported by the shuttle vehicle 1 on the fingers of the shuttle vehicle 2, the vehicle body 8 can be delivered to the shuttle vehicle 2.

Therefore, according to the above line, while sequentially transporting the vehicle body parts placed on the shuttleper 2 by the loader at work station #0 to work stations #l to #9,
The other car body parts are sequentially assembled to the predetermined positions of the car body part to assemble the car body 8, and the car body 8 is moved to the work station #
At 9, it can be picked up from above the shuttleper 2 by an unloader and carried out to the outside of the line.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) By the way, since the shuttleper 2 is made of extremely long steel material, its entire length expands and contracts significantly due to thermal expansion and contraction caused by changes in ambient temperature (for example, if the shuttleper 2 The total length of 2 is 100 meters and the temperature is -10°C to 30°C.
When changing up to 8C, the coefficient of thermal expansion of steel is approximately I
X 10-5/°C, the difference in total length due to expansion and contraction reaches approximately 40 mm).

On the other hand, the conventional vehicle body receiving device 9 is installed on the floor of a work station fixed to the ground via a foundation, and in order to position the vehicle body 8 at a predetermined position on the work station, the locate pin 10 is used. The horizontal position of the upright support 11 is kept constant with respect to the floor surface of the work station, and the support 11 cannot be moved in the direction in which the shuttleper 2 extends.

For this reason, in the conventional vehicle body receiving device 9, the stop position of the shuttleper 2 is determined by the stopper plate 6 in the center and the regular stopper block 7. At the work station near both ends of the shuttle bar 2,
The position of the vehicle body 8, which is positioned by the fin force of the shuttle bar 2 that has moved forward and stopped, with respect to the locate pin 10 on the support column Il, and the position of the locate hole in the vehicle body 8 that fits with the locate pin 10 is determined. There may be cases where the locating pin 10, which is tapered, cannot be fitted into the locating hole due to excessive displacement, and in such a case, it becomes impossible to reliably receive the vehicle body 8 and position it accurately. 11, the jig base 1
2 is provided with rough guides 14 spaced apart above, and when the jig base 12 is raised, the rough guides 14 first move the vehicle body 8.
Correct the positional deviation to some extent, and then remove the locate pin 1.
0 to the locate hole.

In addition, when the rough guide 14 is not provided, as shown in FIG. 7, the fixed position of each finger 15 with respect to the shuttle bar 2 is set to a position closer to the end indicated by the chain double-dashed line in the figure in winter, and a position closer to the end shown by the chain double-dashed line in the figure, as shown in FIG. In the figure, it is moved to a position closer to the center shown by the dotted chain line, and in spring and autumn to an intermediate position shown by the solid line in the figure to prevent the position of the locating hole of the vehicle body 8 shown by the same line from shifting as described above. was.

However, in the above-described method, when the rough guides 14 are provided, there is a problem that when multiple car types are mixedly produced on a car body assembly line, the spacing between the rough guides 14 is too wide or too narrow depending on the car type, and the distance between each finger 15 When moving the fixed position of the finger 15, the number of fingers 15 is large, so the number of man-hours required for moving the finger 15 is large.
There was a problem in that it took an extremely long time to determine an appropriate fixing position.

The present invention provides a work receiving device that advantageously solves this problem.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The work receiving device of the present invention is based on the relative rise of the receiving member with respect to the shuttle bar, which is moved forward and stopped by the shuttle bar type transport device, and is placed on the shuttle bar. The workpiece is received from the shuttle bar and positioned at a predetermined position by fitting the receiving member from below to a predetermined part of the workpiece conveyed by the shuttle bar and supporting the workpiece by the receiving member. a stop position deviation amount output means for determining the deviation amount of the stop position of the workpiece due to expansion and contraction of the shuttle bar based on changes in ambient temperature, and outputting a signal corresponding to the stop position deviation amount; The present invention is characterized by providing a receiving position correcting means for moving the receiving member in the extending direction of the shuttle bar in accordance with the amount of deviation in the stopping position of the workpiece based on the output signal.

(Function) In such a device, the stop position deviation amount output means first determines the deviation amount of the stop position of the workpiece due to the expansion and contraction of the shuttle bar based on changes in ambient temperature, and responds to the stop position deviation amount. output a signal to correct the receiving position, and then
The receiving member is moved in the extending direction of the shuttle bar in accordance with the amount of shift in the stop position of the workpiece based on the output signal,
Next, based on the relative rise of the receiving member to the shuttle bar that has moved forward and stopped, the receiving member is fitted from below to a predetermined part of the workpiece that has been placed on the shuttle bar and transported. At the same time, the workpiece is received from the shuttle bar by supporting the workpiece with its receiving member, and then the workpiece is placed in a predetermined position by the receiving position correction means or by moving the receiving member to the original position in the extending direction of the shuttle bar. Position.

Therefore, according to the device of the present invention, even if there is a shift in the stop position of the workpiece due to changes in the ambient temperature (as the shuttle bar expands and contracts, it is possible to install a luff kite or move the fixing position of the fin force to the shuttle bar). Since the workpiece can be reliably received from the shuttle bar and positioned accurately without having to move the workpiece, it is possible to facilitate the mixed production of multiple car models on the car body assembly line. This eliminates the need for a large amount of man-hours and time.

According to this invention, even if the stop position of the fin force shifts due to the expansion and contraction of the shuttle bar, the workpiece can be reliably delivered to the shuttleper by performing the same procedure as above. .

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described in detail based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a route diagram showing the layout of an automobile body assembly line to which an embodiment of the workpiece receiving device of the present invention is applied, and in the figure, parts similar to those in the conventional art are designated by the same reference numerals.

That is, 1 in the figure indicates a shuttle conveyor, and this shuttle conveyor 1 includes a long shuttle bar 2 and a shuttle bar drive device 3 fixed on the floor below the approximate center of the shuttle bar 2. Here, the shuttleper 2 is supported and guided so as to be movable forward and backward in the left and right directions in the figure.

Further, the shuttle bar drive device 3 rotates the pinion 4, thereby providing a rack 5 that meshes with the pinion 4.
The shuttleper 2 can be moved forward and backward as shown by the arrows in the figure, and the distance of the forward and backward movement can be controlled by the two stopper plates 6 fixed to the center of the shuttleper 2 and the two stopper plates 6 fixed to the floor. Due to the contact with the stopper block 7, the pitch distance can be made equal to the pitch distance between the respective work stations indicated by the symbols #0 to #9 in the figure.

On the shuttleper 2, there are nine fingers (not shown) that are capable of fitting the vehicle body 8 during or after assembly into a predetermined portion thereof and positioning and holding it relative to the shuttleper. It is erected in place.

On the other hand, a loader (not shown) is installed at the work station #O for loading vehicle body parts onto the fingers of the shuttleper 2, and at work station #9, a loader (not shown) is used to place vehicle body parts on the shuttleper 2 of the assembled vehicle body 8. An unloader (not shown) is installed for unloading, and each work station #1 to #9
A car body receiving device 16 as a work receiving device is installed to receive the car body 8 from the shuttleper 2 (the figure only shows work stations #1, #2 and #8, 19, and the others are omitted). ).

Here, each vehicle body receiving device 16, as shown in FIG.
each supported by a frame 17 fixed to the floor surface,
It is equipped with a plurality of rectangular coordinate type mouth hots 18 as receiving position correction means, and as shown in FIG. Based on a command signal from the robot control device 19, each robot 18 moves to a support 11 on which a tapered locate pin 10, which serves as a receiving member, is attached to the wrist located at the upper end of the robot 18. can be moved horizontally in the extending direction of the shuttleper 2 and in a direction perpendicular thereto, and
It can be raised and lowered.

Therefore, this vehicle body receiving device 16 raises the column 11 based on the above function, is placed on the fingers of the shuttleper 2, and is transported from the previous work station to that work station by moving forward and stopping the shuttleper 2. By inserting and fitting the locating pins 10 from below into the locating holes in the predetermined portions of the bottom of the vehicle body 8 that has come to a halt, the vehicle body 8 is supported by the pillars 11, and the vehicle body 8 is moved to the shuttle. The vehicle body 8 can be received from /X-2, lifted, and positioned at a predetermined position at each work station.
If there are multiple types of vehicle bodies 8, each of the vehicle bodies 8 is The received vehicle body 8 can be reliably positioned by fitting each of the locating pins 10 into the locating holes.

The vehicle body receiving device 16 installed at work stations #1 to #8 lowers the support 11 to the shuttleper 2 that has moved backward and stopped, and the vehicle body 8 that was supported by the support 11 is transferred to the shuttleper. By placing the vehicle body 8 on the finker 2, the vehicle body 8 can also be delivered to the shuttleper 2.

Here, furthermore, a detected member 2a is fixed to the end of the shuttleper 2 on the floor in front of the end of the shuttleper 2 on the work station upper 9 side (on the left side in FIG. 1). A racer-type distance sensor 20 is fixed as a stop position deviation amount output means that can detect distance in a non-contact manner, and this distance sensor 20 and each of the above-mentioned vehicle body receiving devices 1
The robot control device 19 of No. 6 is, as shown in FIG.
Each body receiving device 16 and each work station are connected to a host computer 21 that instructs the work content and operation timing of a large number of welding robots (not shown) at each work station.

According to this automobile body assembly line, in accordance with instructions from the host computer 21, vehicle body parts placed on the shuttleper 2 by the loader at the work station #0 are transferred to the work stations #1 to #1, similarly to the conventional line. #
9, other vehicle body parts are sequentially assembled into predetermined positions of the vehicle body part, and the vehicle body 8 is assembled.The vehicle body 8 is picked up from above the shuttleper 2 by an unloader at work station #9. It can be carried outside the line.

Furthermore, here, since a plurality of types of vehicle bodies 8 can be positioned at each work station as described above, mixed production of a plurality of vehicle types can be easily performed.

Therefore, a shift in the stopping position of the vehicle body 8 due to expansion and contraction of the shuttleper 2 due to changes in ambient temperature is dealt with as follows.

That is, as shown in Fig. 1, the length from the center position C of the shuttleper 2 to both ends at a predetermined reference temperature is determined, and the current expansion/contraction amount of that length based on the change in temperature from the reference temperature is calculated by Δ. Assuming that the distance sensor 2 is
0 detects the distance from the reference member 2a of the shuttleper 2 that has reached the forward limit position to the distance sensor 20, and outputs a signal corresponding to the distance to the host computer 21, as shown in FIG.

Next, the host computer 21 inputs the signal, calculates the expansion/contraction amount ΔL from the difference between the distance at the current temperature based on the signal and the distance at the reference temperature, and calculates the following from the ratio of ΔL and L. According to the formula, the amount of deviation of the stopping position of the vehicle body 8 at each work station, and therefore each robot 1
8, the amount of movement ΔL of the locate pin 10 in the extending direction of the shuttleper 2 is produced. However, n is determined as 1.2.3 for the car body 8 which is positioned and held by the fin force on the shuttleper 2 in the order of the distance from both ends of the shuttleper 2,
Lo is the length of the shuttleper 2 from the reference position P of the n-th vehicle body 8 to the center position C at the reference temperature.

ΔL. =ΔLXL, /L After that, the host computer 21 or each of the above movement amounts ΔL4
outputs a movement amount signal corresponding to the n-th vehicle body 8 to the robot control device 19 of the work station that receives the n-th vehicle body 8;
Based on these movement amount signals, a command signal is given to each robot control device 19 or the robot 18 of each vehicle body receiving device 16 to move each support 11 in the extending direction of the shuttleper 2 as shown in FIG. Move the locating pin 10 horizontally by the amount of movement △L from a predetermined horizontal position (indicated by the virtual line in the figure) at the above-mentioned reference temperature with respect to the station's reference position Q, and position the locating pin 10 below each locating hole of the stopped vehicle body 8. After correcting the position, each support 11 is raised to receive the car body 8, and when either the support 11 or the car body 8 is lifted from above the shuttleper 2, each support 11 is horizontally moved to the above-mentioned predetermined horizontal position. The reference position P of the vehicle body 8 is made to coincide with the reference position Q of the work station, thereby enabling automatic work on the vehicle body 8.

Therefore, with the device of this embodiment, even if the stop position of the vehicle body 8 deviates due to the expansion and contraction of the shuttleper 2 based on changes in the ambient temperature, it is possible to prevent the problem by providing a rough guide or by providing a rough guide.
Since the vehicle body 8 can be reliably received from the shuttleper 2 and accurately positioned without moving the fixed position of the finger 15, the mixed production of multiple vehicle models on the vehicle body assembly line is facilitated. In addition, it is possible to eliminate the need for a large amount of man-hours and time for moving each fin force 15.

In addition, at the work stations #1 to #8, the vehicle body 8 is
When transferring from the strut 11 to the shuttleper 2, the same procedure as above is used to first move the strut 11 supporting the vehicle body 8 in its extending direction based on the expansion and contraction of the shuttleper 2. As a result, the vehicle body 8 can be reliably fitted and placed on the fingers 15 of the shuttle bar 2 which has moved backward and stopped.

4 and 5 respectively show other embodiments of the present invention. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the same vehicle body receiving device 16, robot control device 19 and host Although it is equipped with a computer 21,
A member to be detected 2b is fixed near each vehicle body mounting position of the shuttle bar 2, and the moving distance of the member to be detected 2b is detected by a change in magnetism emitted from the member to be detected 2b on the floor surface of each work station. Based on the output signals from these position sensors 22, each robot control device 19 calculates the amount of deviation of the stopping position of the vehicle body 8 at the work station and moves the locate pin by the amount of position deviation. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the position of the shuttleper 2 or A temperature sensor 23 for detecting the air temperature is provided on the floor in the vicinity thereof, and based on the signal corresponding to the current air temperature output by the temperature sensor 23, the host computer 21 or the shuttle bar 2 is placed at each vehicle body mounting position. The calculation result is given to each robot control device 19 as in the first embodiment, and each robot control device 19 moves the locate pin 10 based on the given position deviation amount.
Move the position horizontally.

Therefore, these embodiments can also provide the same effects as the previous embodiments.

Although the present invention has been described above based on the illustrated example, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned example, and can be applied to works other than the automobile body 8, for example.

(Effects of the Invention) Thus, according to the work receiving device of the present invention, even if the stop position of the work shifts due to expansion and contraction of the shuttle bar due to changes in ambient temperature, it is possible to prevent the work by providing a rough guide or adjusting the shuttle bar. Since the workpiece can be reliably received from the shuttle bar and positioned accurately without moving the fixed position of the fingers, it is possible to facilitate the mixed production of multiple car models on the car body assembly line. It is possible to eliminate the need for a large amount of man-hours and time for moving each finger.

According to the present invention, even if the stop position of the fingers shifts due to expansion and contraction of the shuttle bar, the workpiece can be reliably transferred to the shuttle bar by performing the same procedure as described above.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a route map showing the layout of an automobile body assembly line to which an embodiment of the work receiving device of the present invention is applied, and FIG. 2 is a route map showing the vehicle body receiving device installed at a work station of the vehicle body assembly line. , FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the control system of the apparatus of the above embodiment, FIGS. 4 and 5 are block diagrams showing the control system of other embodiments of the invention, and FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the control system of the apparatus of the above embodiment. FIG. 7 is a route map showing the layout of an automobile body assembly line equipped with the apparatus, and FIG. 7 is a route map showing the state in which vehicle bodies are placed on the shuttle bar in the vehicle body assembly line. 2 Shuttle bar Vehicle body 11 Support 16゛Vehicle body receiving device 20
Distance sensor 22 Position sensor 23 Temperature sensor (Fig. 2 1t) Fig. 3

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Based on the relative rise of the receiving member (11) with respect to the shuttle bar (2) which has moved forward and stopped in the shuttle bar type conveyance device, the receiving member (11) is placed on the shuttle bar and conveyed. A workpiece that receives the workpiece from the shuttle bar and positions it at a predetermined position by fitting the receiving member from below into a predetermined part of the workpiece (8) and supporting the workpiece with the receiving member. In the receiving device, a stop position deviation amount output means (for determining the deviation amount of the stop position of the workpiece due to expansion and contraction of the shuttle bar based on changes in ambient temperature, and outputting a signal corresponding to the stop position deviation amount);
20, 22, 23), and receiving position correcting means (1) for moving the receiving member in the extending direction of the shuttle bar in accordance with the amount of shift in the stop position of the workpiece based on the output signal.
6) A workpiece receiving device comprising: