JPH0494758A - Device for positioning windshield - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To accurately position a windshield with the curved surface straightened by providing a roller for positioning the windshield by moving it in the abutting direction, a pusher for positioning the windshield by moving it in the abutting direction and plural straightening members for straightening the windshield to a specified shape. CONSTITUTION:A windshield 1 is introduced into a station 65, where a dam is stuck and the windshield is cleaned, on a turntable 2, and then sent to a primer applying station 66. The windshield 1 is positioned by a positioner 3 and coated with a primer by a robot 4 fixed to a rack 10. The windshield 1 is sent to a first drying station 67 and then to a second drying station 68, stopped at the stations 67 and 68 for specified time and then sent to an adhesive applying station 69. The windshield 1 is positioned by a positioner 8 and coated with a urethane-based adhesive by a robot 9. The windshield 1 coated with the adhesive is sent to a discharge station 70, reversed by a reverser 7 and then conveyed to a car assembling line by a mounting machine. Consequently, the adhesive is extremely accurately applied on the specified position.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a windshield glass positioning device used when applying adhesive to a windshield glass using a robot.

(Prior Art) An automobile windshield glass is attached to a vehicle body after adhesive is applied to its peripheral edge. In addition, dams are applied before cleaning and installation to prevent adhesive from leaking out later.

Automatic application of adhesive to the windshield glass is performed, for example, in a layout as shown in FIG. 13. In this case, the windshield glass l is first carried onto the turntable 2, a dam is pasted by the worker, and the windshield glass l is placed on the transfer machine 3.
4 to a primer application station 66, and a primer is applied by the robot 38. Thereafter, the windshield glass is sent to the first drying station 6F by the transfer machine 41, then to the second drying station 68 by the transfer machine 46, and then sent to the adhesive application station 69 by the chain conveyor 49. Robot 38
urethane adhesive is applied. Thereafter, the windshield glass 1 is transported to a vehicle assembly line by another transfer machine (not shown).

As shown in FIG. 14, the transfer machine 34 and the transfer machine 41 include a parallel link mechanism consisting of links 32, 33 and 39, 40, respectively, vacuum cups 3 and 42 for lifting the glass by suction force, and Lifting cylinders 36 and 36a, swing cylinders 44a and 44 for
A structure consisting of the following is usually used.

In automobile production lines, the application of adhesive to windshield glass is automatically performed by robots, and in this case, positioning of the windshield glass during application is very important. Conventional windshield glass positioning devices generally have a structure as shown in FIGS. 15 and 16 in principle. First, as shown in FIG. 15, the windshield glass 1 is placed on a jig 102, 102, etc., which expands and contracts in the vertical direction by a spring 101, and the actuator is moved as shown in FIG. 103, 104, and 105 are pushers 106, 107 that move in the horizontal direction, and 08 is used to push the glass l toward the reference roller 109 to regulate the outer circumferential position of the glass, thereby positioning the glass in the front, rear, left, and right directions, as shown in FIG. Vacuum cups 111, ], 11... which are raised and lowered by the actuator 110 as shown in FIG.
1... is lowered to a predetermined height to perform vertical positioning. After each pusher 106, 107, 108 retreats, the positioned windshield glass l is held by the suction force of the vacuum cup 111, 111... and the spring force of the jig 102, 102... Ru.

Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 61-161183 proposes a windshield glass positioning device with a simplified structure in which left and right positioning rollers are interlocked by a rotating chain, but this device is also similar to the above. There is no difference from the conventional mechanism in that each row arm that moves horizontally performs front, rear, left, and right positioning, and the vertically moving receiver uses a jig and a vacuum cup to perform up and down positioning.

(Problem to be solved by the invention) If the correct amount of primer or adhesive is not applied to the correct position on the automobile windshield glass, unnecessary removal work of the adhesive may be required, and the automobile may be damaged. This will cause problems with the sealing performance of the windshield glass after it is installed. Therefore, when applying primer or adhesive to the windshield glass using a predetermined vacuum using a robot, high precision is required for three-dimensional positioning of the windshield glass.

However, the windshield glass itself has relatively large molding errors, and unevenness (distortion of the glass curved surface) with variations in the glass curved surface is unavoidable. Therefore, in the conventional apparatus which performs positioning by regulating the outer peripheral position of the windshield glass as described above, there is a problem in that the robot cannot apply adhesive or the like to an accurate position.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and the object to be solved is to provide an apparatus that can accurately position the windshield glass while correcting the distortion of the curved glass surface.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The windshield glass positioning device of the present invention abuts each of the opposing first side surfaces of a substantially quadrilateral glass,
a roller for moving and positioning the glass in the abutment direction; a pusher that abuts each of the opposing second side surfaces of the glass and for moving and positioning the glass in the abutment direction; a plurality of correction members for correcting the distortion of the glass in contact with one of the front and back surfaces of the glass held between the roller and the pusher into a predetermined shape;
The present invention is characterized by comprising a vacuum cup located on the same side of the glass surface as the correction member and adsorbed to the glass surface so that the glass abuts on the correction member.

Therefore, although there is a pair of each of the rollers and pushers, either the roller or the pusher can be displaced in opposite directions by a single actuator to widen or narrow the width of the windshield glass. It is preferable that it be pressed from both sides so that it approaches the center.

Examples of the plurality of correction members for correcting the distortion of the curved glass surface include a large number of rods that regulate the height from a predetermined position. The height of each of the correction members may be determined so that the windshield glass is corrected to its original shape when the windshield glass is forcibly brought into contact with all of them.

The vacuum cups may be similar to those used in conventional equipment for vertical positioning, and can be placed in as many positions as necessary to bring the windshield glass into contact with all straightening members. It is sufficient if it is provided.

1. The roller, the pusher, and the vacuum cup move in directions perpendicular to each other, but the actuators for operating them include an air cylinder, a photocell, and a phototube, which can be easily adjusted so as not to exert more driving force than necessary. Cell lock cylinder controlled by limit switch,
Alternatively, the windshield glass may be controlled by a motor and an encoder. (Function) In the device configured as described above, the windshield glass is held by a vacuum cup, and can be pushed toward the straightening member by an actuator for raising and lowering the windshield glass.

In addition to the longitudinal and lateral positioning by the rollers and pushers, when the windshield glass surface is corrected by the vacuum cup and correction member, the same surface shape is always reproduced and three-dimensional accurate positioning is achieved.

(Embodiment) The positioning device of the present invention is used in a windshield glass processing line as shown in FIG. The line is connected in a loop to a loading/damping station 65, a primer coating station 66, a first drying station 68, a second drying station 68, an adhesive coating station 69, and an unloading station 70, which are arranged in order in a circle. The glass processing system is simplified compared to the conventional system explained in Fig. 13. . In order to reduce the size of the system, an evacuation trapper 74 is arranged inside the loop-shaped I-knoll 14 to be replaced when the robot mount 10 or the electric trolley 11 breaks down.

In the line shown in FIG. 3, the windshield glass 1 for an automobile is first carried into the carry-in/dam application station 65 by an operator, and after dam application and glass cleaning are performed on the turntable 2, the windshield glass 1 for the automobile is carried into the delivery/dam application station 65. sent to. The glass 1 sent to the primer application station 66 is positioned by the positioning device 3, and a primer is applied by the robot 4 attached to the pedestal 10. After that, the glass 1 was dried with the first dry methion 6,
It is then sent to a second drying station 68, stopped at both stations 67 and 68 for a certain period of time, and then sent to an adhesive application station 69. The glass 1 sent to the adhesive application station 69 is positioned by a positioning device 8, and a urethane adhesive is applied by a robot 9.

The glass 1 coated with the adhesive is sent to an unloading station 70, is turned over by a reversing device 7, and is then transported to a line where it will be assembled into a vehicle by a mounting machine (not shown).

The electric trolley 11 is shown in Fig. 4 (side view) and Fig. 5 (front view).
As shown in Figure 12,
It has a structure in which it is placed in a rough state on a transport table 13 via a carrier 16 and transported by a carrier 16. Furthermore, table 1
A fall prevention device 13a is provided at the end of 3. The carrier 16 is provided with wheels 15 for traveling on the rails 14 and guide rollers 17 for holding. A motor 19 is attached to the drive carrier 16 via a bracket 18, and a chain 20 and sub-blocks] and 21
Power is transmitted at. The power is supplied to the collector 2 from the power supply rails 22, 22, etc. installed next to the rail 14.
3.

Turntable 2 at the delivery/dam pasting station
The operation will be explained with reference to FIG. 6 (side view) and FIG. 7 (front view). When the electric trolley 11 arrives, compressed air is supplied to the sill 25 fixed to the frame 24, and the glass 1
The rotating part 27 of the turntable 2, which has the vacuum cup 26 for holding, moves forward. Subsequently, compressed air is supplied to the sill 28, and the rotating part 27 of the turntable 2 is raised, so that the windshield glass 1 is lifted off the transport table 13 and placed on the turntable 2. This makes it possible to attach the dam. Note that when the work is completed, the windshield glass 1 is returned to the transport table 13 of the electric trolley by the reverse operation.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the retractable trapper 74. The rail 75 for storing the spare electric trolley 11 is connected to the bracket 76
It is fixed to the frame 77 at. This frame 77
has a structure in which it is inserted into two rows of rails 78 fixed on the ground via rollers 79. There are two frames 77, each of which is independent, and can be pushed by hand using caster wheels 80 provided at the bottom. Note that a positioning pin 82 is inserted into a hole 81 provided in a part of the frame 77.
It is designed to be inserted and fixed to the ground.

In this way, the evacuation trapper 74 uses a cartridge type frame 77, and when a malfunctioning electric trolley 11 occurs,
Since it can be taken out and moved to another location, there is no need to secure space for the trapazer 74 outside the Zirkle Line equipment, and space can be saved. The spare electric trolley 11 is stored in the back frame 77, and its position is between the stopper 83 fixed on the ground and the front frame 77.
It is maintained at

The windshield glass positioning devices 3 and 8 used in the primer application station and the adhesive application station have the same structure, and the top view and front view of the positioning device 3 installed on the motorized trolley are shown in the first and second views, respectively. It is shown as FIG. When applying primer and adhesive to the windshield glass using a robot, high positioning accuracy is required, so the positioning device 3 is fixed to the ground. When the electric trolley 11 transporting the windshield glass l arrives at the coating station, the rail 51 separated from the traveling rail 14 is moved to the air cylinder 52.
Accordingly, the windshield glass 1 is lowered together with the carriage 11 while being regulated by the guide 53, and the windshield glass 1 is left on the positioning device 3.

Since the accuracy of the glass 1 is generally guaranteed only for the parts other than the peripheral edge thereof, the positioning device 3 has rod-shaped correction jigs 54, 54, etc. so that they come into contact with the peripheral edge of the windshield glass 1. It is provided. In order to position a plurality of types of glasses 1a and 1b, correction jigs 5454 corresponding to the types are provided.

Windshield glass 1 that was transported in rough condition
After the ball bearing 55, which has a lifting sill 55a at the bottom, is taken off, the upper side of the glass (the side that will be above when you can get to the car) is moved to the tip of the roller 56, which can be moved. The air cylinder 5 is pushed to the reference position by the pusher 5 operated by the air cylinder 57.Then, the air cylinder 5 has a removable roller 58 at its tip.
Windshield glass 1 with pusher 6 operated at 9
The lower side of the glass 1 is pushed, and both sides of the glass 1 are further pinched by left and right interlocking rollers 60, 60 that move symmetrically by levers 61 and links 62, 62. Note that the interlocking roller 6
The 0.60 actuation is done with air sill 63.

After the front, rear, left and right positioning is done in this way, the vacuum cups 64, 64 and 64 are raised and lowered by the air cylinder 64a.
... rises and the vacuum starts when it comes into contact with glass 1, and the vacuum cup 64.64...
Holds by adsorption. Thereafter, the pusher 5.6 and the interlocking roller 60.60 return to their original positions, followed by the vacuum cups 64.64... and the ball bearings 55.54...
are lowered at the same time, and the glass 1 is straightened by the straightening jig 54, 54...
to be pressed against. At this point, vertical positioning of the windshield glass 1 and correction of distortion on the glass surface are achieved.

Since the windshield glass 1 is positioned with the distortion corrected, the robot can apply the primer or adhesive to the windshield glass 1 without error.

After coating, the vacuum in the vacuum cuff 4 is released, and the windshield glass is transported to the next station by an electric truck 11 running on an elevated floor 5.

Application example The structure for installing the windshield glass 1 on the vehicle body is as shown in Figure 9 (al).
There are two types: an adhesive type, which is attached to the vehicle body 98 after applying an adhesive 94, and a gasket type, which is attached to the vehicle body 98 via a weather strip (made of rubber) 92, as shown in FIG. 9 (1). The work of attaching the weather strip 92 to the glass 1 and the work of pasting the dam 93 cannot be done by the same worker due to quality control issues, and automating both tasks requires extremely precise positioning of the windshield glass. As a result, lines for both types of glass installation have required separate lines. By using the apparatus of the present invention for three-dimensionally very precisely correcting and positioning a windshield glass, the word processing of the windshield glass can be carried out fully automatically. In lines where adhesive type and gasket type glass coexist, the turntable 2 is installed in the adhesive type drying station 67 and 68, as shown in Figure 10, and the weather strip installation is done here. If it is shifted, there is no need to expand the equipment space.

Further, as shown in FIG. 11, the positioning device 95 of the present invention
It is also possible to provide a cleaning station 71 in an existing line that automatically cleans the glass 1 using a robot 96 and a robot 96.

Furthermore, by combining the new electric trolley, evacuation traverser, and positioning device adopted in the above embodiment, the entire process from transporting the glass to attaching it to the automobile can be carried out on the same line as shown in Fig. 12. The work and cost required for transportation can be reduced. When adding a process that requires manual labor, most of the equipment is placed on the pedestal 98,
If only the steps requiring manual work are performed below using the lifter 97, the space occupied on the line side does not need to be expanded.

(Effects of the Invention) According to the windshield glass positioning device of the present invention, the glass can be corrected and positioned three-dimensionally with great precision. Therefore, when the positioning device of the present invention is used to automatically apply adhesive to a windshield glass by a robot, for example, the adhesive can be applied to a very precise position.

In addition, since the glass is positioned with high precision, there is no possibility of glass breakage due to contact between the glass and the robot.
Program-controlled robots will be able to perform various treatments on windshield glass. As explained in the application example above, it is possible to improve the efficiency of the glass processing system.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a windshield glass positioning device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side view of the same, FIG. 3 is a layout diagram of an adhesive application line in which the device is used, and FIG. The figure is a front view showing the electric trolley installed on the line, Figure 5 is a side view of the same, Figure 6 is a front view of the windshield glass being conveyed to the rotary table, and Figure 7 is a side view of the same. , Figure 8 is a plan view showing the evacuation traverser, Figure 9 (a)
(b) is a diagram showing how windshield glass is attached to a car; Figures 1O, 11 and 12 are layout diagrams of different windshield glass processing lines; Figure 13 is a conventional adhesive Layout diagram of the coating system, Figure 14 is a front view of a conventionally used transfer machine, Figure 15 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the front/back/left/right positioning method, and Figure 16 is an example of the vertical positioning method. FIG. In the figure, 1... Windshield glass, 3... Positioning device, 5... Front pusher, 6
... Rear pusher, 8... Positioning device, 14.
...Rail 54...Correction jig, 60...
- Interlocking roller, 64...Vacuum cup. Patent applicant Toyoku Automobile Co., Ltd. ■ ≦

Claims (1)

[Claims] a roller that abuts each of the opposing first side surfaces of the substantially quadrangular glass and moves the glass in the abutment direction to position it; and a roller that abuts each of the opposing second side surfaces of the glass; a pusher for moving and positioning the glass in the abutment direction; and a pusher for correcting distortion of the glass that abuts against one of the front and back surfaces of the glass held between the roller and the pusher into a predetermined shape. The present invention includes a plurality of correction members, and a vacuum cup positioned on the same side of the glass surface as the correction members and adsorbed to the glass surface so as to bring the glass into contact with the correction members. Features a windshield glass positioning device.