JPH0455917B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION A. Object of the Invention (1) Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to an automobile assembly conveyance device for conveying vehicle bodies for assembling automobiles.

(2) Prior Art Conventionally, on an automobile assembly line, vehicle bodies are transported and assembled using an overhead conveyor or a slat conveyor.

(3) Problems to be solved by the invention By the way, automobile assembly work involves a large number of parts and many parts that are heavy, so automation has been attempted to reduce the labor burden on workers. It's coming. However, in the conventional transport device described above, the direction of the vehicle body is constant over the entire length of the assembly line, and the movement is complicated and difficult to automate assembly work in, for example, the engine room or trunk room. However, there are problems such as it takes too much time and equipment costs are high.

Also, if it is possible to make the conveyance speed in a certain section in the middle of the assembly line different from the speed in other sections,
It is possible to configure an assembly line efficiently, and there is such a demand.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and is a conveyance device for automobile assembly that allows the direction of the vehicle body to be changed arbitrarily, and in which the conveyance speed in a certain section is different from that in other sections. The purpose is to provide

B. Structure of the Invention (1) Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a traveling trolley for transporting a car body for assembling a car;
A running road surface in which a first running section for making the running bogie run by itself, and a second running section adjacent to this running section, and driving the running bogie to run at high speed in the second running section. The traveling truck has a base on which the vehicle body can be mounted, and a plurality of wheels that are steerably attached to the lower part of the base and can roll on the traveling road surface. wheels, a steering mechanism provided on a base to steer each wheel, and a motor provided on the base and capable of imparting power for self-propulsion to at least a portion of the wheels; The travel drive mechanism includes a plurality of drive wheels that are arranged in parallel in the second travel section, and is rotatably driven around a horizontal axis, and is arranged on a base so as to be movable up and down so as to be in sliding contact with each drive wheel. an upper limit position where the sliding contact plate is positioned above the drive wheel when the wheel is in contact with the running road surface, and a lower limit position where the sliding contact plate is placed in sliding contact with the drive wheel while the wheel is lifted from the running road surface. The present invention is characterized by comprising an elevating and lowering drive means provided on the base to move the sliding contact plate up and down between the positions.

(2) Effect The vehicle body is mounted on the base, and in this state, each wheel is driven by the motor attached to the base, so that the traveling vehicle can self-propel along the first traveling section of the conveyance line while transporting the vehicle body. In particular, the direction of the vehicle body can be changed arbitrarily by steering the vehicle using a steering mechanism.

Moreover, when the traveling truck reaches the second traveling section in the middle of the assembly line, the sliding contact plate is lowered to come into sliding contact with the drive wheel, and the drive wheel is rotated with each wheel lifted off the traveling road surface. As a result, the traveling cart travels at high speed due to the frictional resistance between the drive wheel and the sliding plate.

(3) Embodiment Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. First, in FIGS. 1 and 2, a vehicle body 1 is mounted on a traveling bogie 2 during the assembly process of an automobile, and the vehicle body 1 is mounted on a traveling bogie 2. is transported along the assembly line in the transport direction 3. Moreover, each part is assembled to the car body 1 at a plurality of assembly positions set in the middle of the assembly line, and the traveling bogie 2 adjusts the height of the car body 1 according to the work characteristics at each assembly position. and drive while changing direction. Thus, on the running road surface 40 of the assembly line, a first running section B in which the traveling trolley 2 is self-propelled and a second running section A adjacent to this section B are set. In the traveling section B, by the operation of a high-speed traveling drive mechanism D, which will be described later, the traveling carriage 2 is driven to travel at a higher speed than its self-propelled speed, thereby increasing the transport efficiency.

Referring also to FIG. 2, the traveling carriage 2 is equipped with a base 4, and four wheels 5 are attached to the lower part of the base 4 so as to be steerable. Each wheel 5 is
They are arranged on a virtual circle 11 centered on the center of the base 4 and at each vertex of a rectangle, and by steering these wheels 5, the direction of the running bogie 2, that is, the direction of the vehicle body 1 on the running bogie 2 is controlled. can be changed arbitrarily.

In FIGS. 4 and 5, each wheel 5 is pivotally supported with a horizontal axis on a substantially U-shaped support member 12 that opens downward, and is integrally mounted on the upper part of this support member 12. A protruding support shaft 13 is rotatably supported by a support arm 14 about a vertical axis.
Furthermore, the support arm 14 is fixed to the base 4.

An air motor 7 is supported and fixed to the sides of two support members 12 supported by the base 4 on the rear side of the base 4 when the chassis 1 is oriented along the transport direction 3. , the output shaft 15 of this motor 7
is coaxially connected to the shaft 16 of the wheel 5.

In order to steer each wheel 5, a steering mechanism 6 is provided for each differential wheel 5. This steering mechanism 6 includes an air cylinder 20 that includes a sliding arm 17 whose one end is fixedly connected to the upper end of a support shaft 13, and a piston rod 19 which is connected to the other end of the sliding arm 17 via a pin 18. It consists of The air cylinder 20 is mounted on a bracket 2 fixed to the base 4.
1 via a pin 22.

In such a steering mechanism 6, the support shaft 13, that is, the support member 12, rotates around the axis due to the expansion and contraction operation of the air cylinder 20, thereby steering the wheels 5.

A pair of cylindrical guide posts 8 are erected on the base 4 at an interval larger than the width of the vehicle body 1, and the vehicle body 1 is moved up and down along both guide posts 8 by a pair of receiving members 9. placed on top. Moreover, a lifting mechanism 10 is connected to each receiving member 9.

In FIG. 6, the elevating mechanism 10 includes an elevating tube 23 that is slid into each guide post 8, and an elevating tube 23 that is suspended from the upper end of the elevating tube 23 that protrudes from the upper end of the guide post 8 along the outer surface of the guide post 8. The nut 25 has a support plate 24 on which the receiving member 9 is fixed at the lower end, a nut 25 fixed on the lower end of the elevating tube 23, and a guide member 26 that can slide inside the elevating tube 23 at the upper end. a first bevel gear 28 provided at the lower end of the screw shaft 27; a second bevel gear 29 meshing with the first bevel gear 28; and a second bevel gear 29 of both guide posts 8. A third bevel gear 30 coaxially connected to the gear 29
and a fourth bevel gear 31 that meshes with the third bevel gear 30.

In FIG. 7, on the inner surface of the guide post 8,
A groove 32 extending in the axial direction is provided over the entire length, and a protrusion 33 that slides into the groove 32 is provided on the outer surface of the elevator tube 23 . As a result, the elevator tube 2
3 is prevented from rotating around the axis, but is allowed to move in the axial direction, so that the elevator tube 23 moves up and down in response to the rotation of the screw shaft 27. Moreover, since the receiving member 9 is connected to the elevating cylinder 23 via the support plate 24, the receiving member 9 on which the vehicle body 1 is placed moves up and down in response to the rotational movement of the screw shaft 27.

The lower end of the guide post 8 protrudes into the base 4, and a gear box 34 is fitted and fixed into the lower end of the guide post 8. This gearbox 34
A first bevel gear 28 coaxially connected to the screw shaft 27 is rotatably supported therein. Further, a support tube 35 extending inward of the base 4 is connected to the side of the gearbox 34, and the second bevel gear 29 is rotatably supported by the support tube 35.
meshes with the first bevel gear 29 within the gearbox 34.

A gearbox 36 is fixedly disposed inside the base 4 at the center between both guide posts 8, and a third bevel gear 30 coaxial with the second bevel gear 29 is rotatably supported within the gearbox 36. Ru. Moreover, the third bevel gear 30 and the second bevel gears 29 on both sides are connected to the transmission shaft 3.
They are coaxially connected via 7.

Within the gearbox 36, the fourth bevel gear 31 is rotatably supported with a vertical rotation axis,
The shaft 38 of this fourth bevel gear 31 is connected to the gearbox 36.
protrudes downward from.

At a set position midway in the transport direction 3 by the traveling cart 2, there is a lifting drive source 39 that can be connected to the lifting mechanism 10.
will be placed. That is, a pit 41 is provided at a set position on the traveling road surface 40 on which the traveling trolley 2 travels, and within this pit 41 is a lifting drive source 39 that can be connected to the shaft 38 of the fourth bevel gear 31 in the lifting mechanism 10. will be placed.

The elevating drive source 39 is, for example, an air motor having a vertical output shaft 42, and the upper end of the output shaft 42 is provided with a socket connection portion 43 that can be connected to the shaft 38. The elevating drive source 39 is fixed to a bracket 45, and the bracket 45 is supported by a guide plate 44 extending vertically so as to be movable up and down. Moreover, an air cylinder 46 for lifting is disposed between the base of the guide plate 44 and the bracket 45, and by driving the air cylinder 46 to expand and contract, the lifting drive source 39 moves the socket connecting portion 43 to the shaft 38. It moves up and down between the position where it is connected and the position where it is released.

In FIG. 8, a plurality of positioning holes 47 are provided at the bottom of the base 4, and when the base 4 is in a position where the elevating drive source 39 can be connected to the elevating mechanism 10, the positioning holes 47 are A positioning cylinder 48 is disposed on the traveling road surface 40 correspondingly.
A positioning pin 50 that can be fitted into the positioning hole 47 is projected from the tip of the piston rod 49 in the positioning cylinder 48. When the positioning cylinder 48 is extended, the positioning pin 50
By fitting into the positioning hole 47, the position of the traveling carriage 2 is fixed.

Referring again to FIGS. 1 and 2, the traveling road surface 40 is provided with a guide groove 51 extending along the conveyance direction 3, and the guide groove 51 is provided at the lower center of the base 4 of the traveling truck 2. Guide pin 5 that fits into
2 is provided protrudingly. Thereby, the traveling trolley 2 can directly travel along the conveyance direction 3, and can also rotate around the guide pin 52 when changing its direction, thereby preventing the center position from shifting.

Referring also to FIG. 9, in the second traveling section A in the middle of the assembly line, the traveling speed of the traveling cart 2 is made faster than in the first traveling section B along the conveying direction 3. multiple drive wheels 53
are arranged in parallel.

A pit 54 extending along the conveyance direction 3 is provided on the running road surface 40 of the second running section A, and the upper open end of the pit 54 is connected to the running road surface 40.
It is closed by a floor plate 55 which is flush with the floor plate 55. The center part of the floor plate 55 in the width direction is supported by a central support stand 56 provided at the center of the bottom of the pit 54, and the both sides of the floor plate 55 are supported by side support stands 57 provided on both sides of the bottom of the pit 54.
58 is supported. Each of the support stands 56, 57, 5
8 is rotatably supported by a rotating shaft 59 which is horizontal and perpendicular to the conveying direction 3, and a plurality of these rotating shafts 59 are arranged at intervals along the conveying direction 3. Moreover, the support stands 57 and 58 on both sides are formed in a substantially U-shape that is open upward, and the drive wheel 53 is fixed to the rotating shaft 59 within the support stands 57 and 58, respectively. Sprocket wheels 60 are fixedly attached to the ends of the rotating shafts 59 that protrude laterally from one of the side support stands 57, and each sprocket wheel 60 has an endless chain driven by a drive source (not shown). 61 is wrapped. Therefore, each drive wheel 53 is rotated in conjunction with each other.

Each drive wheel 53 has its upper part connected to a floor plate 55.
It is arranged to protrude upward from the floor plate 55.
A guide slit 62 connected to the guide groove 51 in order to guide the guide pin 52 is provided in the center of the conveyance direction 3.
It is installed along the entire length of the road.

On the other hand, in the traveling bogie 2, the drive wheel 5
A pair of sliding contact plates 63 that can be slidably contacted with the housing 3 are provided so as to be movable up and down. That is, the receiving members 9 are located below the base 4 on both end sides in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of both receiving members 9.
Sliding plate 6 that extends long in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of
3 are arranged so that they can be raised and lowered. Furthermore, the positions of each sliding contact plate 63 and each drive wheel 53 are determined so as to correspond to each other.

At the bottom of the base 4, a plurality of air cylinders 64 are fixedly arranged for each sliding plate 63 as a lifting means for driving each sliding plate 63 up and down. Each air cylinder 64 is fixed to the base 4 with its piston rod 65 facing downward, and a sliding contact plate 63 is commonly fixed to the tip or lower end of each piston rod 65. As a result, the sliding plate 63 moves up and down in response to the expansion and contraction of the air cylinder 64.
The length and expansion/contraction amount of the air cylinder 64 are the same as those of the floor plate 5.
Each wheel 5 is mounted on a running road surface 55a formed on the upper surface of 5.
is in contact with the ground, the sliding contact plate 63 is placed on the running road surface 55a.
The sliding contact plate 63 is set to be raised and lowered between an upper limit position in which the sliding contact plate 63 is positioned above the drive wheel 53 and a lower limit position in which the sliding contact plate 63 is slid on the drive wheel 53 with each wheel 5 floating above the running road surface 55a. It will be done.

The drive wheel 53, the sliding contact plate 63, and the air cylinder 64 as a lifting/lowering driving means cooperate with each other to constitute a high-speed traveling drive mechanism D of the present invention.

Next, to explain the operation of this embodiment, the car body 1 is placed on the support member 9 of the traveling trolley 2 with the orientation of the car body 1 orthogonal to the transport direction 3, and in this state, the first traveling In section B, the air motor 7 is operated to allow the traveling trolley 2 to travel by itself at a relatively low speed to transport the vehicle body.

When the traveling trolley 2 reaches the second traveling section A, the air cylinder 64 is extended and the sliding contact plate 63 is moved.
are brought into sliding contact with the drive wheel 53, and each wheel 5 is lifted off the running road surface 55a. When each drive wheel 53 is rotated in this state,
The traveling carriage 2 travels due to the friction between the sliding contact plate 63 and the drive wheel 53. At this time, the air motor 7 as a traveling drive source provided in the traveling carriage 2 is stopped, and the traveling carriage 2 travels in the transport direction 3 at a higher speed than in other sections.

After traveling in a certain section A, the air cylinder 6
4 is contracted, each wheel 5 is grounded on the running road surface 55a, and the sliding contact plate 63 is connected to the drive wheel 53.
rise away from. When the air motor 7 is operated, each wheel moves from the running road surface 55a to the running road surface 40.
The vehicle then returns to its original speed.

Further, when the vehicle body 1 is to be transported with its direction aligned with the transport direction 3, each wheel 5 is steered by the steering mechanism 6 so as to follow the virtual circle 11, and the air motor 7 is activated. Then, the traveling carriage 2 can be rotated by 90 degrees around the guide pin 52, and the vehicle body 1 can be driven with its direction aligned with the transport direction 3.

Further, when the traveling carriage 2 reaches the set position, the positioning cylinder 48 is extended to fix the traveling carriage 2, and the elevating drive source 39 is raised and connected to the shaft 38 of the elevating mechanism 10. By operating the elevating drive source 39 in this state, the receiving member 9, that is, the vehicle body 1 can be moved up and down.

In this way, since the orientation of the vehicle body 1 can be changed and the height of the vehicle body 1 can also be adjusted, it becomes easy to assemble parts to the vehicle body 1. Moreover, in the middle of the assembly line, two traveling trolleys
Since the traveling speed of the machine can be changed, the assembly line can be configured efficiently.

C. Effects of the Invention As described above, according to the present invention, in the first running section of a car body assembly line, the traveling bogie can be made to travel by itself at a relatively low speed by operating the motor attached to the bogie, and the By appropriately steering the wheels of the traveling bogie, it is possible to easily change the orientation of the traveling bogie and therefore the car body mounted on it, which makes it easier to assemble parts to the car body as a whole. Assembly automation will also become easier.

In addition, when the traveling trolley reaches the second traveling section, the high-speed traveling drive mechanism is activated to allow the traveling trolley to travel at a higher speed than its own traveling speed, allowing efficient vehicle body transport. Efficient line configuration is possible.

In addition, especially when the above-mentioned high-speed travel drive mechanism is activated, each wheel of the traveling bogie can be lifted off the traveling road surface by the sliding contact between the sliding contact plate and the drive wheel, so there is a rolling resistance between each wheel and the traveling road surface. This can contribute to reducing the running resistance of the traveling truck, and moreover, the entire weight of the traveling truck and the transport vehicle body can be applied to the contact area between the sliding contact plate and the drive wheel. This is also effective in preventing slips between the sliding contact plate and the drive wheel.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a state in which the vehicle body is transported, FIG. 2 is a side view of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway cross-sectional view of the traveling trolley. , Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 3, and Fig. 5
The figure is a - line sectional view of Fig. 4, Fig. 6 is an enlarged - line sectional view of Fig. 3, Fig. 7 is an enlarged - line sectional view of Fig. 6, and Fig. 8 is an enlarged - line sectional view of Fig. 3. The cross-sectional view, FIG. 9, is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along the line -- in FIG. 1... Vehicle body, 4... Base, 5... Wheels, 6...
Steering mechanism, 40, 55a... running road surface,
53...Drive wheel, 63...Sliding contact plate, 64
...Air cylinder as a lifting drive means, A...
Second traveling section, B...First traveling section, D...
High-speed travel drive mechanism.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A running trolley 2 for transporting the car body 1 for assembling a car, a first running section B for making this running trolley 2 run by itself, and a second running section A adjacent to this running section B are set. Driving road surface 4
0, and a high-speed traveling drive mechanism D for driving the traveling truck 2 to travel at high speed in the second traveling section A, and the traveling truck 2 has a base 4 on which the vehicle body 1 can be mounted; , a plurality of wheels 5 which are attached to the lower part of the base 4 in a steerable manner and are rollable on the running road surface 40, and a steering mechanism 6 provided on the base 4 to steer each wheel 5.
and a motor 7 which is also provided on the base 4 and is capable of applying self-propelling power to at least a portion of the wheels 5, and the high-speed travel drive mechanism D is arranged in parallel in the second travel section A. A plurality of drive wheels 53 are arranged in groups and driven to rotate around a horizontal axis, and a sliding contact plate 63 is arranged on the base 4 and is movable up and down to come into sliding contact with each drive wheel 53.
, an upper limit position in which the sliding contact plate 63 is positioned above the drive wheel 53 with the wheel 5 in contact with the traveling road surface 40, and an upper limit position in which the sliding contact plate 63 is positioned above the drive wheel 53 in a state in which the wheel 5 is lifted from the traveling road surface 40. 1. A conveying device for automobile assembly, comprising: a lifting drive means 64 provided on a base 4 for lifting and lowering a sliding contact plate 63 between a lower limit position at which the sliding contact plate 63 is brought into sliding contact with a lower limit position.