JPH0565935U - Parts transfer device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] (Correction) [Purpose] A component having a circular cross-section can be reliably gripped, and the gripping portion corrects the posture of the component to always maintain a stable gripping state. (EN) A component transfer device capable of reliably transferring components without damaging them even when the components are transferred. [Structure] A grip portion 5 for gripping a component by opening and closing a pair of grip claws 58a, 58b each having a recess having a substantially V-shaped cross section.
2, a transport mechanism 23 that transports the component gripped by the grip portion 52, a control device that controls driving of the grip portion 52 and the transport mechanism 23, and the grip portion 52 grips the component and When taking out from the component storage device or when transferring the component to another device, the axial height of the component gripped by the grip portion 52 is slightly smaller than the axial height of the component stored in the component storage device. It has a stop means for stopping the lowering of the grip portion 52 at a high position or at a height at which the component does not contact the other device.

Description

[Detailed description of the device] [Industrial applications]

 The present invention takes out the above-mentioned parts from a parts storage device that stores a large number of parts having a substantially circular cross section, such as an exhaust pipe of an automobile, and transfers the parts, and synchronously transfers the parts without damaging or deforming the parts. The present invention relates to a component transfer device that can be transferred to another device such as a device.

[0001]

[Prior Art]

 2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a component transfer device for transferring a component having a substantially circular cross section, such as an exhaust pipe or a torque tube, from one device to another device has been disclosed in, for example, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 6-42831. A component transfer device is known. This device is provided with a gripping part for gripping the component, and the component is gripped by the gripping part to take out the component from one device, convey it, and transfer the component to the other device.

1 and 2 are schematic views showing an attachment station of an exhaust pipe in an automobile assembly line, FIG. 1 is a plan view thereof, and FIG. 2 is a front view thereof. Reference numeral 1 denotes a vehicle body that is suspended and conveyed at a constant interval on a conveyer conveyor 2. The various vehicle bodies are sequentially conveyed along a guide rail 2a of the conveyer conveyor 2 in a direction indicated by an arrow X in FIG. 1 at a constant speed. It is assembled by attaching parts.

The exhaust pipe mounting station A raises the table 4 by the action of the cylinder 4b, and extends the arm 3 along the guide rail 4a in synchronization with the transport speed of the vehicle body 1 transported by the transport conveyor 2. , A synchronous transfer device B for mounting the exhaust pipe 5 on the lower surface of the vehicle body 1 and a rail 7 which is mounted at a substantially right angle to a rail 6 for mounting the synchronous transfer device B so as to move back and forth. And a component storage device 8 disposed below the rail 7 and arranged side by side with the automobile assembly line.

The component transfer device C grasps the exhaust pipes 5 stored in the component storage device 8 with its gripping parts and takes them out one by one, until the synchronous transfer device B which stands by at a predetermined position. After being conveyed, the gripping portion is lowered and transferred to the holding portion 3a of the synchronous movement conveying device B 1. Driving and stopping of the component transfer device C and the gripping part are controlled by, for example, a control device (not shown) based on a sequence program, and the exhaust pipe 5 in the component storage device 8 stored in advance in the control device is controlled. According to the storage position coordinate value and the position coordinate value of the holding portion 3a of the synchronous transfer device B to which the exhaust pipe 5 is to be transferred, the exhaust pipe 5 is taken out from the component storage device 8 and transferred to perform the synchronous transfer transfer. It is transferred to the device B.

When the exhaust pipe 5 is transferred to the synchronous transfer device B, the position at which the grip portion is lowered or stopped is such that the exhaust pipe 5 contacts the holding part 3 a of the synchronous transfer device B. In order to prevent bending and damage, it is necessary to set a slight gap between the holding portion 3a and the exhaust pipe 5 held by the holding portion. Further, this gap amount is appropriately set so that when the exhaust pipe 5 is transferred from the gripping part to the holding part 3a, the exhaust pipe 5 is surely transferred to a predetermined position of the holding part 3a. It must be.

The component storage device 8 is arranged at a predetermined position by a stopper 8a that can be expanded and contracted from the floor side. However, despite the action of the stopper 8a, the position of the component storage device 8 is arranged. If the exhaust pipe 5 stored in the component storage device 8 is misaligned or the storage position of the exhaust pipe 5 is misaligned, it becomes difficult for the grip portion to securely grip the exhaust pipe 5, and the exhaust pipe 5 cannot be securely gripped. The pipe 5 could be scratched or the grip could be damaged by an excessive load. Further, when the exhaust pipe 5 cannot be taken out from the component storage device 8, or the exhaust pipe 5 is dropped during transportation, or when the exhaust pipe 5 is transferred to the holding portion 3a of the synchronous transfer device B. There was also a problem that it was not possible to transfer it to the company. Therefore, conventionally, for example, the shape of the grip portion is set so that the grip portion of the component transfer device can surely grip the exhaust pipe 5 even if the storage position of the exhaust pipe 5 is slightly displaced due to the above-mentioned reason. We made various efforts, such as forming it into a floating shape.

[0007]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 However, even with such a gripping portion, the exhaust pipe 5 can be gripped and taken out even if there is a slight deviation in the storage position of the exhaust pipe 5 in the component storage device 8, but the gripping portion grips the exhaust pipe 5. If the posture and the grip position are not stable and the grip part is lowered to transfer the exhaust pipe 5 to the holding part 3a of the synchronous transfer device B, the exhaust pipe 5 will come earlier than the descent of the grip part is stopped. May come into contact with the holding portion 3a, and there is a problem that the exhaust pipe 5 is damaged or bent. Further, when the gripping part stops descending, the drop between the exhaust pipe 5 gripped by the gripping part and the holding part 3a is large, and when the gripping is released, the exhaust pipe 5 falls onto the holding part 3a. There were problems such as defective transfer and dents on the exhaust pipe 5. Such a problem not only deteriorates the quality, but also causes the assembly line to be stopped and the exhaust pipe 5 to be improperly attached to the vehicle body 1, resulting in a decrease in the facility operation rate.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and its object is to make a slight shift to a storage position of a part having a substantially circular cross section, such as an exhaust pipe, by making a simple improvement. Even if there is a problem, the component can be reliably gripped, and the gripping part can correct the posture of the component to maintain a stable gripping state at all times, even when gripping or transferring the component. The point is to obtain a component transfer device that can reliably transfer components to other devices without damaging them.

[0009]

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention relates to a component transfer device that takes out a component having a substantially circular cross section from a component storage device, conveys it, and transfers it to another device, A gripping portion that grips the component by opening and closing a pair of gripping claws each having a recess having a substantially V-shaped cross section, a transport mechanism that transports the component gripped by the gripping portion, and the gripping portion and the transport mechanism. And a control device for controlling the driving of the component, when the gripper grips the component and takes it out of the component storage device, or when the component is transferred to another device, it is gripped by the gripper. The lowering of the gripping portion is stopped at a position where the axial height of the component is slightly higher than the axial height of the component stored in the component storage device, or at a height where the component does not contact the other device. And a stop means. .

[0010]

[Action]

 Since the present invention is configured as described above, it works as follows. Parts such as the exhaust pipe are stored at predetermined positions in the parts storage device at appropriate intervals. The component transfer device operates the gripping portion to grip the above-mentioned component according to a control command of the control device, and takes out the component from the component storage device. At this time, the gripping part is stopped by the stopping means at a position where the axial height of the component gripped by the gripping part is slightly higher than the axial height of the component stored in the component storage device, and the gripping claw is held. Is closed, the component is lifted from the component storage device and grasped by the grasping portion with the closing operation of the grasping claw. Further, since the parts are centered and positioned by the substantially V-shaped recess formed in the gripping claws when the gripping claws are closed, it is possible to always maintain a constant gripping state.

The component gripped by the gripper is transported by the transport mechanism to a transfer position where another device such as a synchronous transfer transport device stands by. After that, the component transfer device lowers the gripping part to transfer the component to another device such as a synchronous transfer device. At this time, the gripper is stopped by the stopping means at a position where the component does not come into contact with the other device, and the gripping pawl is opened. It is transferred to another device such as a device.

[0012]

【Example】

 Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the embodiments.

FIG. 3 is a front view of a component storage device that stores the exhaust pipe. The component storage device 8 includes a movable frame body 11 having casters 10 and a storage rack 12 that divides the frame body 11 into three stages, and the storage racks 12 are side-viewed at equal intervals. The storage portion 13 having a substantially V shape is formed. The exhaust pipe 5 is positioned and mounted in the V-shaped storage portion 13 in the front-rear direction. In addition, reference numeral 13a in FIG. 3 denotes a positioning member provided on one side of the storage rack 12 so that the end portion of the exhaust pipe 5 accommodated in the storage portion 13 is brought into contact with the exhaust pipe 5 in the left-right direction. Positioning is performed. According to the above aspect, the exhaust pipe 5 is always stored in a predetermined position of the component storage device 8 in a constant state by the storage portion 13 and the positioning member 13a.

Next, the configuration of the component transfer device C of the present invention will be described. FIG. 4 is a front view of the component transfer device C partially broken, FIG. 5 is an enlarged side view showing a drive mechanism of the component transfer device C, and FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line I-I of the component transfer device C. FIG. 7 and FIG. 7 are explanatory views of the action of the rotary table for attaching the grip portion. The rail 7 to which the component transfer device C is attached so as to be able to move forward and backward is provided with a long base having a substantially rectangular cross section which is supported above the component storage device 8 by being supported by columns 7a (see FIG. 2). The material 14, guide members 15a and 15b provided along the longitudinal direction of both side surfaces of the base material 14, and a rack 17 provided on the upper surface of the base material 14 in parallel with the guide members 15a and 15b. Consists of.

In addition, a pair of brackets 18 and 19 are provided vertically toward the lower side of the component transfer device C in the vicinity of both side ends of the base 16 of the component transfer device C. The slide guide 20 in which a concave groove that can be engaged with the guide member 15a is formed is attached, and the other bracket 19 is attached with a rollable roller 21 that holds the guide member 15b from above and below. ing. A drive motor 23 is mounted on the upper surface of the base 16 via a bracket 22. A pinion 24 is attached to the tip of the rotary shaft 23a of the drive motor 23 and meshes with the rack 17.

A slide guide 25 is attached to the upper surface of the base 16, and a table 27 having a slide rail 26 slidably fitted in the slide guide 25 is attached to the slide guide 25. ing. A guide member 28 is provided upright on both ends of the table 27, and columnar beams 29, 29 are vertically movably inserted in a guide hole 28a that vertically penetrates the guide member 28. Further, a grip portion 52 of the exhaust pipe 5 is attached to the lower ends of the cylindrical beams 29, 29 via an elevating table 44, a rotating table 46, and a rotating shaft 50.

An elevating motor 34, which is a drive source for elevating the grip portion 52 via the cylindrical beams 29, 29, is attached to the upper surface of the table 27. The elevating motor 34 has a rotating shaft 34 a. A pulley 35 is attached to the tip. On the other hand, a lifting table 36 is attached to the upper ends of the cylindrical beams 29, 29 by bridging the cylindrical beams 29, 29, and the lifting table 36 is driven by the lifting motor 34 in the center of the lifting table 36. An elevating device 37 for elevating and lowering is provided.

The lifting device 37 has a bearing 39 fixed to a substantially U-shaped frame 38 provided on the upper surface of the base 16, one end supported by the bearing 39, and a pulley 40 at the other end. It is composed of a rotating screw portion 41 attached and a ball screw portion 42 into which the rotating screw portion 41 is inserted and screwed. A belt 43 is wound between the pulley 40 and the pulley 35 of the lifting motor 34 so that the rotation of the lifting motor 34 can be transmitted to the turning screw portion 41. Reference numeral 30 in the drawing denotes a drive motor for correcting the left and right position of the grip portion 52. The drive motor 30 and the rotary screw portion 32 rotated by the rotational driving of the drive motor 30 via the clutch 31. Bearings 32a and 32a for supporting the rotating screw portion 32, and a ball screw portion 33 for converting the rotational movement of the rotating screw portion 32 into a linear movement along the longitudinal direction of the rotating screw portion 32. Thus, a lateral position correcting mechanism for correcting the lateral position of the grip portion 52 via the table 27 is configured.

Next, the structure of the grip portion 52 of the exhaust pipe 5 will be described. A bearing 45 is attached to substantially the center of an elevating table 44 which is attached by bridging both lower ends of the cylindrical beams 29, 29, and a rotary table 46 provided below the elevating table 44 is provided with the bearing 45. It is rotatably attached to the lifting table 44. A bracket 47 is erected in the vicinity of one end of the rotating table 46, and is connected to the elevating table 44 to the bracket 47 via a connecting member 48 to move the bracket 47 back and forth. An air cylinder 49 is provided. The rotary table 46 is configured to be rotatable about the bearing 45 as an axis by expanding and contracting the rod 49a of the air cylinder 49.

On the lower surface of the rotary table 46, a rotary shaft 50 which is rotatable around a rotary axis line orthogonal to the rotary center line of the rotary table 46 is supported by bearings 62, 62. Grasping portions 52 are attached to both ends of the rotating shaft 50 via arms 55. FIG. 8 is an explanatory view of the configuration of the grip portion, FIG. 9 is an enlarged view of a main part for explaining the action of the grip portion, and FIG. 10 is an explanatory view of the action of the grip portion when transferring parts to the synchronous transfer device. is there. In this embodiment, the grips 52 are provided on both ends of the rotary shaft 50. However, since the structure is the same, only one side will be described, and the other side will be described. The detailed description is omitted.

The grip portion 52 is openably and closably attached to an air chuck cylinder 56, which is a basic portion attached to one end of the rotating shaft 50 via an arm 55, and a drive rod 57 of the air chuck cylinder 56. It is composed of a pair of upper and lower grip claws 58a and 58b. Further, as shown in FIG. 9, the gripping claws 58a, 58b are provided with a pair of upper and lower L-shaped mounting members 59, 59 mounted on the drive rod 57, and have substantially V-shaped recesses 60a, 61a. Clamping members 60 and 61 formed so as to face each other are attached. The other end of the air chuck cylinder 56 is connected to a cylinder rod 54a of an air cylinder 54 attached to a bracket 53 vertically extending from the lower surface of the rotary table 46. Thus, the grip portion 52 can be turned up and down about the turning shaft 50.

When the air chuck cylinder 56 is operated in the above mode, the grip claw 58 is opened and closed vertically via the drive rod 57, as shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. The exhaust pipe 5 located between the upper and lower gripping claws 58a and 58b is formed in the V-shaped recesses 60a and 61a formed in the sandwiching members 60 and 61 by the closing movement of the gripping claws 58a and 58b. It is guided to perform centering and positioning, and is gripped by the upper and lower grip claws 58a and 58b.

The operation of the component transfer device C configured as described above will be described. The component storage device 8 that stores a large number of exhaust pipes 5 in the storage portion 13 of the storage rack 12 is transported to a predetermined position below the rail 7 by an operator or automatic transportation. A carriage fixing device such as a stopper 8a (see FIG. 2) is provided at the predetermined position, and a part of the caster 10 or the frame body 11 is engaged with the stopper 8a so that the parts storage carriage 8 is secured. Lock in place. In this embodiment, the component transfer device C is controlled in its movement and stop by the control of a sequence program, etc. Therefore, the control of raising, lowering and stopping of the grip portion 52 is also preset in this control device. It is controlled according to the executed program. To this control device, the storage position coordinates of the exhaust pipes 5 stored in the component storage device 8 and the position coordinates of the holding portion 3a of the synchronous transfer device B that receives the exhaust pipes 5 are input. This coordinate value is used as a target value to control the movement and stop of the component transfer device C and the grip portion 52.

When taking out the exhaust pipe 5 from the component storage device 8, the control device drives the drive motor 23 to move the component transfer device C to the vicinity of the component storage device 8 and then the lifting motor. 34 is driven to rotate the turning screw portion 41, and the grip portion 52 is lowered via the ball screw portion 42 and the lifting table 44. Since the storage position coordinates of the exhaust pipe 5 to be taken out are stored in the control device, the grip portion 52 descends with this coordinate value as a target, and the grip center line Y of the grip portion 52 (see FIG. 9). When the vehicle reaches a position slightly higher than the center line of the exhaust pipe 5 stored in the storage rack 12, the elevating motor 34 stops and the descent stops.

Next, when the air chuck cylinder 56 is driven to close the upper and lower gripping claws 58 a and 58 b, the exhaust pipe 5 stored in the storage rack 12 is moved by the holding member 61 of the lower holding claw 58 b. While being lifted from the storage rack 12, it is guided to the center of a V-shaped recess 61a formed in the holding member 61, centered and positioned, and held by the holding members 60 and 61. When the grip portion 52 grips the exhaust pipe 5, the elevating motor 34 is driven again by the control command of the control device to raise the grip portion 52. By the way, in order to attach the exhaust pipe 5 to the vehicle body 1, it is necessary to invert the exhaust pipe 5 taken out from the component storage device 90 by 90 degrees and transfer and hold it on the holding portion 3a of the synchronous transfer device B. As shown in FIG. 10, the attitude of the exhaust pipe 5 is changed by operating the air cylinder 54 to extend the cylinder rod 54a and rotating the grip portion 52 upward by 90 degrees about the rotary shaft 50. Done by. Then, the component transfer device C holding the exhaust pipe 5 in the holding portion 52 moves along the rail 7 to the standby position of the synchronous transfer device B.

When the component transfer device C reaches the standby position of the synchronous transfer device B and stops, the control device drives the lifting motor 34 again to grip the holding part 3 a of the synchronous transfer device B. The part 52 is lowered. Since the position coordinates of the holding portion 3a are stored in the control device, the gripping portion 52 descends with this coordinate value as a target, and the exhaust pipe 5 gripped by the gripping portion 52 is stored in the holding portion 3a. When the height reaches the height at which it does not come into contact, the lifting motor 34 is stopped and the descent is stopped. Next, when the air chuck cylinder 56 is driven to open the gripping claws 58a and 58b in the left and right directions (directions indicated by arrows in FIG. 10), the exhaust pipe 5 gripped by the gripping portion 52 is moved to the gripping claws 58a and 58a. Along with the opening operation of 58b, it is lowered along the inner surface of the V-shaped groove formed by the two concave portions 60a and 61a facing each other, and is placed on the holding portion 3a.

The synchronous movement transfer device B that has received the exhaust pipe 5 moves to the transfer conveyor 2 side along the rail 6 and extends the arm 3 in synchronization with the transfer speed of the vehicle body 1 transferred by the transfer conveyor 2. At the same time, the air cylinder 4b raises the table 4 to attach the exhaust pipe 5 held by the holding portion 3a to the lower surface of the vehicle body 1. After mounting the exhaust pipe 5 on the lower surface of the vehicle body 1, the synchronous transfer device B moves along the rail 6 and returns to the standby position.

In the component transfer device according to the above-described embodiment, the drive motor 30 is driven to move the table 27 in either the left or right direction to correct the left or right position of the grip portion 52. Since the correction mechanism and the direction correction mechanism that operates the air cylinder 49 to rotate the rotary table 46 to correct the direction of the grip portion 52 are provided, the component storage device 8 and the synchronous transfer conveyance are performed for the convenience of the factory layout. Even if the arrangement of the exhaust pipe 5 is slightly different from that of the device B, the drive motor 30 and the air cylinder 49 are appropriately driven or operated to correct the position and direction of the grip portion 52 to securely grip the exhaust pipe 5. However, it can be transferred to the synchronous transfer device B.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the stopping means is described as being based on the sequence program of the control device that controls the stop and movement of the component transfer device 8 and the grip portion 52, but the grip portion 52 at an appropriate position. Needless to say, a mechanical switch such as a micro switch may be used instead of the control device as long as it can stop the descent.

[0030]

[Effect of the device]

 Since the present invention is configured as described above, it has the following effects. Even if there is some deviation in the storage position of the parts such as the exhaust pipe stored in the parts storage device, the position of the parts can be corrected by the V-shaped recess formed in the grip of the parts transfer device. As a result, the component is always held by the holding portion in a constant state. Therefore, even when removing a component from the component storage device or when transferring a component from the component transfer device to another device such as a synchronous transfer device, the component can be transferred reliably without being damaged. can do. Further, the component transfer device of the present invention has a stop means for stopping the gripping portion at a position where the component does not come into contact with the other device. Since it can be transferred to the other device by being guided by the gripping claws, it prevents the parts from being bent or scratched due to the parts falling or abutting against the other device during the transfer. It is possible to improve the quality and facility utilization rate. Further, since the present invention has a simple structure, it can be manufactured at a very low cost by merely making a simple modification to the conventional component transfer device.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view illustrating an outline of an exhaust pipe mounting station.

FIG. 2 is a front view of an exhaust pipe mounting station.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing an example of a component storage device.

FIG. 4 is a front view illustrating the outline of the component transfer device.

FIG. 5 is a partially cutaway side view illustrating a drive mechanism of the component transfer device.

6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line I-I of FIG.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view of the action of the rotary table for attaching the grip portion.

FIG. 8 is a side view illustrating a configuration of a grip portion.

FIG. 9 is a partially enlarged view illustrating the operation of the grip portion.

FIG. 10 is a side view of the grip portion showing a state in which the exhaust pipe is inverted by 90 degrees.

[Explanation of symbols]

A Exhaust pipe mounting station B Synchronous transfer device C Parts transfer device 1 Vehicle body 2 Conveyor 3 Arm 4 Table 5 Exhaust pipe (parts) 6, 7 Rail 8 Parts storage device 12 Storage rack 13 Storage parts 15a, 15b Guide member 17 Rack 23 Drive motor 24 Pinion 52 Grip 60, 61 Clamping member 60a, 61a Recess

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A component transfer device for picking up a component having a substantially circular cross section from a component storage device, transporting it, and transferring it to another device, wherein a pair of gripping claws having a recess having a substantially V-shaped cross section is formed. A gripper that opens and closes to grip the component, a transport mechanism that transports the component gripped by the gripper, a controller that controls the driving of the gripper and the transport mechanism, and the gripper grips the component. When gripping and taking out from the component storage device, or when transferring the component to the other device, the axial height of the component gripped by the gripping part is different from that of the component stored in the component storage device. A component transfer device comprising: stop means for stopping the lowering of the gripper at a position slightly higher than the axial height or at a height at which the component does not contact the other device. [0001]