JPH0463638A - Automatic screw feeding/fastening device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain an automatic screw feeding/fastening device by selectively holding a sleeve for a bolt corresponding to the fastening subject of a work with a robot to move it to the fastening position, and selectively holding a socket corresponding to the bolt to fasten the bolt. CONSTITUTION:A robot 8 selects a sleeve 11 for a bolt corresponding to the fastening position of a work 3 conveyed on a conveyance path 4, holds it with a hand 9, and moves it to the fastening position of the work 3. The robot 8 selects a socket 23 corresponding to the selected bolt at a bolt fastening station 2, couples and holds the angular shaft section 28 of a runner shaft 27 to an angular hole 26, conveys it to the fastening position, and aligns the lower end of the sleeve 11 to a bolt hole. The bolt fed from a parts feeder 5 is inserted into the bolt hole at the fastening position through a flexible hose 7 from a bolt feeding means 6 by the pressure of compressed air, and it is fastened by the rotation of the runner shaft 27.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to an automatic screw feeding and tightening device used in an automatic assembly machine.

(Prior Art) In recent years, automatic assembly machines using robots have been widely used in the assembly process of various types of machinery, including the automobile industry, and have greatly contributed to labor savings.

To tighten the screws on this Nichido assembly machine, a robot equipped with a nut runner equipped with a bolt pressure feeding hose is used.
The screws are tightened in the middle of one axis.

(Problem to be solved by the invention) However, in conventional devices, the tightening of screws is made flexible by robot teaching in response to changes in position; Robots were installed for the different types of bolts and used for different types of bolts, making it impossible for a single robot to tighten multiple types of screws.

In view of this, the present invention has developed an automatic screw supply tightening method that allows the robot to select the bolt to be applied and supply the tightening to the position, and the bolt to be applied to the socket to be selected and the bolt to be tightened. This was done for the purpose of providing equipment.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to solve the problems of the prior art described above, the present invention includes a bolt supply station and a bolt tightening station, and the bolt supply station has a plurality of parts feeders and a bolt tightening station. The parts feeder has a bolt feeding means for feeding bolts under pressure, a sleeve connected to the bolt feeding means via a flexible tube and gripped by a robot hand, and a sleeve stocker for stocking these sleeves. The attached station has a socket stocker that arranges and holds multiple types of sockets corresponding to the types of supplied bolts, and the robot tightens the workpiece by selectively holding and tightening the sleeve for the bolt corresponding to the object. The bolt is moved to a certain position, and the socket corresponding to the bolt is selectively held and the bolt is tightened.

(Function) With the above configuration, the workpiece is tightened by selecting the sleeve for the bolt corresponding to the location using the robot and grasping it with its hand, and tightening the workpiece by moving it to the hole position while also tightening the bolt. The robot selects a socket to fit and hold onto the runner shaft, and tightens the bolt, which is pressure-fed from the parts feeder through the pressure-feeding means, flexible hose, and sleeve, with the socket. After that work, each robot's hand returns to its original position and prepares for the next tightening.

(Example) The present invention will be described below with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings.

The automatic screw feeding and tightening device according to the invention has a bolt feeding station 1 and a bolt tightening station 2,
They are sequentially arranged along the conveyance path 4 of the workpiece 3.

The bolt supply station 1 includes a plurality of (three in the figure) parts feeders 5, 5, which store a plurality of types of bolts and are ready to supply them at any time, and each part feeder 5. 5. Bolt force feeding means 6, 6.6 for force feeding the bolts from 5, and flexible hoses 7, 7 connected to these bolt force feeding means 6, 6.6. 7 and
Connected to the tip of this hose 7.7°7 are hose fixing sleeves 11, 11.11 having a robot gripping jig portion 10 that is gripped by the hand of the robot 8, and these sleeves 11, 11. 11 is a sleeve stocker 12
are inserted and held in a predetermined arrangement.

As an example of the bolt feeding means 6 is shown in FIG.
5 is provided with a vertical groove 16 (which may also be a hole).

On the other hand, the upper part of the outer casing 13 is provided with an inlet hole 18 that selectively matches the groove 16 and communicates with the parts feeder 5 via a hose 17, and an outlet hole to which the flexible hose 7 is connected. A pneumatic feed hole 2 for supplying compressed air is provided in the outer casing 13 on the opposite side of the outlet hole 19.
0 is provided, and a compressed air supply source is connected through this hole through a hose 21. The front side is sealed with a transparent plate 22 so that the inside can be seen through.

Therefore, the bolt enters ll516 of the slide member 15 from the parts feeder 5 through the inlet hole 18, and when the slide member 15 slides to the left in the figure by the cylinder 14 and 416 and the outlet hole 19 match, the bolt is passed through the flexible hose 7 by compressed air. It is fed under pressure in the direction of the sleeve 11.

The bolt tightening station 2 has nut runner bolts for tightening bolts, and bolt tightening sockets 23, 23, etc. for bolt tightening of types corresponding to the types of bolts.
It has a socket stocker 24.24 for stocking sockets 23, and the robot selects a socket 23 from this socket stocker 24.24 and moves it to the tightening position.

The sockets 23 are housed one by one in a recess 25 provided in a socket stocker 24, as shown in FIG.
The square shaft portion 28 at the shaft end of No. 7 is fitted into the shaft.
When not in use, the socket anti-rotation pin 29 provided in the socket stocker 24 and extending into the recess 25 enters and exits the hole 30 on the side surface of the socket 23 to determine the position of the square hole 26, and is fitted into the launch shaft 27. At this time, the bottle 29 is removed by conventional means (not shown).

The shaded areas in FIG. 2 each indicate the operating range of the robot.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be explained.

To tighten the workpiece 3 carried through the conveyance path 4, the robot 8 selects the bolt sleeve 11 corresponding to the location, grips the robot chuck jig part 10 of the sleeve 11 with its hand 9, and tightens the workpiece. Tightening in step 3 moves it to position. On the other hand, for bolt tightening, at station 2, the robot selects the socket 23 corresponding to the selected bolt, fits it into the square shaft part 28 or square hole 26 of the runner shaft 27, and holds it. The tightening is moved into position to align the lower end of the sleeve 11 with the bolt hole.

The bolt sent from the parts feeder 5 enters the hole 16 of the slide member 15 through the inlet hole 18 of the bolt feeding means 6, and
When the slide member 15 slides due to the operation of the cylinder 14 and the groove 16 moves to the position of the outlet hole 19, the bolt is tightened through the flexible hose 7 due to the pressure of the compressed air and fits into the bolt hole at the location, and then the launch axis 2
It is fitted onto the head of the bolt in place of the socket 23 held at 7, and the bolt is tightened by rotation of the launch shaft 27.

When this work is completed, each robot's hand returns to its original position, and when using a bolt of a different type than the one described above, the sleeve 11 is changed, and the robot at station 2 tightens the bolt by using the socket 23 corresponding to the bolt. , and tighten in the same way as above.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the present invention, it is possible to use a type of robot to tighten multiple types of bolts of different types, so it can be easily handled with small-scale equipment, and tightening can be done by adding workpieces, etc. Even if the bolt is changed, it can be handled by simply adding a bolt feeding means for the bolt feeding station and a socket.

Furthermore, since the number of robots may be small, equipment costs are reduced, and maintenance is easier than in conventional bolt supply and tightening systems, among other benefits.

6 are sectional views showing the relationship between the stocker and the runner shaft.

1... Bolt supply station, 2... Bolt tightening station, 3... Workpiece, 4... Conveyance path, 5
... parts feeder, 6... bolt pressure feeding means, 7.
...Flexible hose, 11...Sleeve, 12.
...Sleeve stocker, 15...Slide member, 16
... Groove, 23 ... Socket, 24 ... Socket stocker, 27 ... Launch shaft.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a front view of the bolt supply station portion of an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the arrangement relationship between the bolt supply station and the bolt tightening station, and Fig. 3 is a bolt feeding means, flexible An explanatory view showing the hose and sleeve portions, Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing a specific example of the configuration of the bolt feeding means, and Fig. 5 is a plan view showing one of the socket stockers. Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 6

Claims (1)

[Claims] The bolt supply station is equipped with a bolt supply station and a bolt tightening station, and the bolt supply station is connected to a plurality of parts feeders, a bolt pressure feeding means provided in each part feeder for pressure feeding bolts, and the bolt pressure feeding means via a flexible tube. The bolt tightening station includes a sleeve gripped by a robot hand and a sleeve stocker for stocking these sleeves, and the bolt tightening station has a socket stocker for arranging and holding a plurality of types of sockets corresponding to the types of the supplied bolts. , an automatic screw supply characterized in that a robot selects and holds a sleeve for a bolt corresponding to an object to be tightened on a workpiece and moves it to a tightening position, and selects and holds a socket corresponding to the bolt to tighten the bolt. Tightening device.