JPH0592388A - Transfer device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To precisely position workpieces having been roughly set on a carrier vehicle and then shift the same by providing a center set mechanism which can position and fix a grip part of a robot gripping a workpiece at the center, and a clamp mechanism which can fix the grip part at an arbitrary position. CONSTITUTION:A transfer device which attracts and picks up one of workpieces W such as vehicle trunk lids or the like set on a fixed carrier vehicle 6 with the use of a grip part 20 of a robot 3 and transfers the same onto a processing jig 2, positions the workpiece W with the use of a centering mechanism (which is not shown) provided to the processing jig 2. In this case, when the workpiece 20 is to be gripped by the grip part 20, the grip part 20 is positioned and fixed at the center with the use of a center set mechanism 27 provided to the robot 3. After the workpiece W is shifted to the centering mechanism, the center set mechanism 27 is released so correct the position of the workpiece to a regular position, and thereafter, the grip part 20 is fixed by a clamp mechanism 28 so as to shift the workpiece W onto the processing jig 2.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a transfer device for picking up works mounted on a carriage one by one, accurately aligning them, and then transferring them to a processing jig.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, works such as a vehicle trunk lid or a tailgate have been stacked or hung on a trolley, and such works are set on a processing jig. To do this, the operator must
They were taken out one by one and set on a jig.

[0003]

However, such work by the worker naturally requires manpower, and automation of work has been desired in terms of work efficiency. Also, at this time, if you try to automate all the devices including the dolly, it is necessary to use the existing dolly because it will be unprofitable with enormous cost, so in order to reliably set it on the processing jig Needed special consideration. In other words, many trolleys used in the field are designed so that the loading condition of the work is very rough, and there is no problem when manually picking one by one, but it is automatically taken out and accurately processed. It was difficult to set it on the tool.

[0004]

In order to solve such a problem, according to the present invention, one piece of a work mounted on a trolley is gripped by a gripping part of a robot, and after it is confirmed by a detection mechanism that the number is one, A transfer device was provided to normalize the position of the work by the centering mechanism and transfer the work to the work processing jig. That is, the robot is provided with a central setting mechanism capable of positioning and fixing the grip portion at the center and a clamp mechanism capable of fixing the grip portion at an arbitrary position. After grasping the workpiece and transferring it to the centering mechanism via the detection mechanism, the center setting mechanism is released and the position of the gripping portion that grips the workpiece is corrected to a regular position, and the gripping portion is fixed by the post-clamping mechanism. Then, the work is transferred to the work processing jig. Further, a sensor for changing the approaching speed and approaching direction of the gripping part to the work at a predetermined position is provided, and the gripping part is approached at a high speed along an imaginary line parallel to the tilting direction of the tilted stacked works. After punishment
The first sensor detects that the speed is low, then the next sensor detects that the approach direction has changed to the direction orthogonal to the work surface, and after that, the work gripped by the gripper is swung up and down several times. .. Further, the detection mechanism is provided with a detector equipped with a guide rod, and the detector is supported so as to be vertically movable.

[0005]

When the work on the trolley is taken out, the gripping portion is set to the central position by the central setting mechanism to grip the work, and the work is transferred to the centering mechanism to release the central setting mechanism. Then, after moving the gripping part that has become movable by the centering mechanism and aligning it in a fixed position,
It is fixed by the clamp mechanism and transferred to the processing jig. Further, when the work is taken out, the movement of the gripping portion is controlled by the sensor, so that the gripping can be performed quickly and surely. In other words, by moving the gripping portion initially moved at high speed to a low speed to approach the work and at the same time approaching the work surface in the orthogonal direction, the gripping means such as suction is secured. Further, if the detector can be moved up and down, it is possible to deal with a work whose position is not accurate or a work which is easily deformed such as a thin plate.

[0006]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT An embodiment of the transfer device of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 1 is an overall view of the transfer device, FIGS. 2 and 3 show a gripping mechanism, FIG. 2 is a front view, FIG. 3 is a plan view, FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 3, and FIG. BB of 3
It is a line sectional view.

The transfer device of the present invention is configured as a device for transferring the trunk lid or tailgate of the vehicle from the trolley to the processing jig. As shown in FIG.
Robot 3 located in the middle part of the
(Not shown in FIG. 1) and a centering mechanism 5 (not shown in FIG. 1) provided on the processing jig 2. FIG. 1 shows an example in which a trunk lid is loaded on a truck, and an example in which a tailgate is loaded will be described later.

The dolly 1 comprises a fixed dolly 6 on which a work (trunk lid) W is loaded, and a moving dolly 8 on which the fixed dolly 6 is placed and fixed by positioning pins 7. For example, the dolly 1 is conveyed from the right side in the drawing. After being placed on the pedestal 11 of the lift 10 and positioned by the positioning cylinder unit 12, the lift cylinder unit 13 is lowered to set the position as shown in FIG.

The frame 14 of the lift 10 is provided with a plurality of guide portions 15 so that the guide bar 16 slides therein.

Further, the fixed carriage 6 is provided with a large number of work support plates 17 in a plurality of columns arranged in a row, and these work support plates 17 support, for example, only both sides of the work W, and the robot 3 is provided at the center. The shape is such that it can be grasped, and a predetermined inclination angle is given. Further, in order that the works W whose one end side is bent do not interfere with each other in a stacked state, a difference is provided between the projecting length and the inclination angle of each work supporting plate 17, and the work supporting plates 17 gradually change in one direction. Then, a plurality of works W are stacked on each work support plate 17.

Next, regarding the gripping mechanism 18 of the robot 3,
A description will be given based on FIGS. 2 to 5. The gripping mechanism 18 is provided on the mounting base 21 of the robot 3, and the gripping portion 20 is slidable in a predetermined direction (X direction) with respect to the mounting base 21.
Is equipped with.

That is, the grip portion 20 is an X-sliding body 23 slidable with respect to the linear block 22 on the side of the mounting base 21 shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, and a Y-axis orthogonal to the X-sliding body.
A Y slide body 24 that is slidable in any direction is provided.
4, a rectangular frame 25 shown in FIG. 3 is attached. And each corner of this frame 25 and the opposite 2
Suction cup units 26, 26, ... Are provided in the central portions of the sides.

By the way, the gripping portion 20 is structured such that it can be positioned at the central position of the gripping mechanism 18 by the central setting mechanism 27 and can be fixed at an arbitrary position by the clamp mechanism 28. Detailed description.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the X-slide member 23 is a sliding base 30, a linear rail 31 fixed to the upper surface of the sliding base 30, and a linear rail fixed to the lower surface. It consists of 32 and these linear rails 3 on the top and bottom
1 and 32 are provided orthogonally to each other, and the linear rail 31 on the upper surface is engaged with the linear block 22 on the side of the mounting base 21 described above.

A pair of connecting plates 33, 33 are attached to both ends of the sliding base 30 in the sliding direction, and a bottom plate 34 is provided below the connecting plates 33, 33, and an upper part thereof is provided. A pair of center holding cylinder units 35, 35 are fixed to the. The tip of the cylinder rod of each central holding cylinder unit 35 is movable inward and backward, and both central holding cylinder units 3
When the rods of 5 move at the same time, the tip of the
The X sliding body 23 is struck against the side and is held and fixed at the central position in the X direction with respect to the mounting base 21.

The bottom plate 34 is provided with a pair of central holding cylinder units 40, 40 with their cylinder axes oriented in the Y direction. The central holding cylinder units 40, 40 are offset from their opposing positions in their axial lines. The cylinder rods are fixedly attached to each cylinder rod to move inward and backward.

On the other hand, the Y sliding body 24, as shown in FIG.
The sliding base 36, a linear block 37 fixed to the upper surface of the sliding base 36, and a pair of abutting members 38, 38 fixed to the lower surface are provided.
7 is engaged with the linear rail 32 below the X slide body 23. The positions of the abutting members 38, 38 are the same as those of the central holding cylinder unit 4 fixed to the bottom plate 34.
The positions where the rod tips 0 and 40 can be engaged are set.

Then, by simultaneously extending the rods of the central holding cylinder units 40, 40 fixed to the bottom plate 34, the tips of the cylinder rods are brought into contact with the abutting members 38, 40.
38 is pressed to hold and fix the Y sliding body 24 at the central position of the X sliding body 23.

The X, Y sliding bodies 23, 24 and the central holding cylinder units 35, 40 as described above constitute the central setting mechanism 27.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5, the clamp mechanism 28 comprises a lock cylinder unit 42 fixed to the mounting base 21 side and a lock cylinder unit 43 fixed to the Y sliding body 24. The lock cylinder unit 42 presses the X sliding body 23 in the Y direction and fixes the position of the X sliding body 23 at that position. Therefore, the X sliding body 23 is provided with the contact member 44.

Further, the other lock cylinder unit 43 can be pressed against the bottom plate 34 from above, and the Y sliding body 2
The position 4 can be fixed to the bottom plate 43. The lock cylinder units 42 and 43 are used to clamp the clamp mechanism 28.
Are configured.

Next, the structure of the suction cup unit 26 will be outlined. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the suction cup unit 26 includes a connection block 45 integrated with the frame 25,
The shaft 48 is configured to be supported by the connecting plate 46 and has a guide post 47 provided on the connecting plate 46 slidably inserted therein.

A pair of clamp arms 50, 50 for clamping the upper portion of the shaft 48 are provided.
As shown in FIG. 3, one end of the clamp arm 50 on one side is pivotally supported by the guide post 47 by the pins 51, 51, and is connected to the tip of the cylinder rod of the clamp cylinder unit 52, while the clamp on the other side is clamped. One end of the arm 50 is connected to the cylinder base end of the clamp cylinder unit 52. The other ends of the clamp arms 50, 50 sandwich the clamp ring 53 wound around the shaft 48.

As shown in FIG. 2, a suction cup 55 is attached to the tip of the shaft 48 via a metal fitting 54 so as to be swingable around the center, and the metal fitting 54 is constantly urged downward by a spring 56. ing. An air suction hole (not shown) communicates with the suction cup 55.

By the way, a suction cup 55a shown on the left side of FIG.
Is used when the work W is a tailgate, and the arm 58 supporting the shaft 57 is slidable with respect to the frame 25 side by the operation of the cylinder unit 60.

The gripping portion 20 is constructed so that the suction cup 55 (55a) is brought into contact with the surface of the work W by the above construction to adsorb and hold it. Next, the construction of the detection mechanism 4 will be described with reference to FIG. explain. 8 is a perspective view of the detection mechanism 4.

The detection mechanism 4 has a fixing member 62 provided on the pedestal 61, a vertical guide bar 63 provided on the fixing member 62, and a vertical guide bar 63 which is slidable up and down through a spring 64. U-shaped frame 6
5 and a pair of detectors 66, 66 provided on the U-shaped frame 65. Guide rods 67, 67 are provided on the detectors 66, 66, respectively, and have a shape expanding outward. It is said that.

For this reason, the work W grasped by the robot is inserted between the detectors 66, 66 through the guide rod 67, and two overlapping sheets are detected, but the insertion position of the work W is slightly shifted vertically. The U-shaped frame 65 can move up and down to absorb the error.

Next, the structures of the processing jig 2 and the centering mechanism 5 will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7. Here, FIG. 6 is a plan view of the processing jig and the centering mechanism, and FIG. 7 is C of FIG.
-It is a C line sectional view.

The centering mechanism 5 includes a pair of position control units 71, 71 provided on two opposite sides of the base 70 of the processing jig 2, and another pair of positions provided on one side of the base 70. The control units 72, 72 are provided, and the centering work is performed at a position higher by a predetermined height L (FIG. 7) from the normal work set position of the work holding units 75 to 78 of the processing jig 2 described later.

As shown in FIG. 7, the position restricting unit 71 is provided with a work pressing member 73 that moves forward and backward obliquely upward with respect to the base 70 so that it can be pressed against the end surface of the work W. I have to. Further, the other position regulating unit 72 also includes a work pressing member 74 capable of abutting and pressing the end surface of the work W.

The position control units 71, 72
The positions of the works W are regulated to regular positions when all of the workpieces are operated simultaneously.

The lower part of the centering mechanism 5 is a set position for processing a work. That is, the processing jig 2 is provided with a plurality of work holding units 75 to 78, and, for example, a suction cup 8 that sucks and holds the lower surface of the work W.
1 is swingably provided by a cylinder unit 82.

Next, a sensor for controlling the operation of the robot 3 will be described. As shown in FIG. 9, this sensor is for detecting a shift point at B and a change point at C when the robot 3 receives the work W of the carriage 1.
For example, a photoelectric sensor provided in the grip portion 20 of the robot 3 is used to shift or change the needle at a point spaced from the work W by a certain distance.

The grip 20 has a suction cup 55 (55
When the work W is adsorbed and held in point a) (point D), a pressure switch is also provided to detect the adsorption.

The operation of the robot 3 is such that the gripping portion 20 moving forward at high speed is changed at the point A, and thereafter, at high speed along an imaginary line Y parallel to the line X connecting the tips of the inclined work support plates 17. And at the point B, the speed is changed to a low speed, and then at the point C, the needle is changed in a direction orthogonal to the work W surface.

When the work W is gripped, fine vertical movement is repeated several times, and then the work W is pulled out along the work surface. Then, after the work W is pulled out, the robot is turned over to perform an operation such as rotating the wrist. Such a series of operations is programmed in advance.

The operation and effects of the transfer device having the above-described structure are as follows. First, the work W loaded on the carriage 1 is gripped by the gripping portion 20 of the robot 3. At this time, the grip 20
Is fixed to the central position of the gripping mechanism 18 by the central setting mechanism 27. That is, each of the center holding cylinder units 35, 35, 40, 40 in FIG. 3 extends the cylinder rod.

Further, the approaching path of the gripping portion 20 of the robot 3 is as described above, and it is swift and quick by moving forward along a virtual line Y while advancing to a predetermined position at high speed and thereafter moving to low speed. It is possible to make a reliable approach.
Further, since the final path is in the direction orthogonal to the work surface, the suction by the suction cups 55 (55a) approaching while sucking is sure.

Further, the positions of the works W loaded on the work supporting plate 17 are in the front-back direction (left and right in FIG. 9) between the uppermost one and the very lower one of the one work supporting plate 17. There is a displacement of the position, and it is grasped with a variation.

After gripping the work W, the robot 3 repeats the vertical movement several times as described above. This is for preventing the two works W from overlapping each other. Drop the sticking and trying to be lifted.

Next, it is confirmed by the detection mechanism 4 shown in FIG. 8 whether or not the number of the workpieces W is one. At this time, as described above, the configuration of the vertically movable detector 66 enables reliable detection of deformation of the work W that is easily bent.

When the detection is completed, the work W is accurately positioned by the centering mechanism 5 at a position with a space L directly above the processing jig 2. That is, after the central setting mechanism 27 that has been operating until then is released and the gripping portion 20 is allowed to move freely, the position regulating unit 7 shown in FIG.
The work pressing members 73 and 74 of Nos. 1 and 72 press the work W and set it at an accurate position.

When the setting is completed, the lock cylinder units 42 and 43 of the clamp mechanism 28 shown in FIG. 5 are operated to fix the grip portion 20 at that position. Then, the work W is lowered onto the processing jig 2 below, and the work holding unit 7
If fixed by 5 to 78, it can be positioned at an accurate position.

Next, FIG. 10 shows a case where the work W is a tailgate. That is, the tailgate is suspended by the support member 83 of the carriage 1, and after the gripping portion 20 of the robot 3 grips the lower portion of the work W, the tailgate is pulled out and aligned by the centering mechanism 5 in the same procedure. And transfer to the processing jig 2.

[0046]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to take out a work on a carriage mounted at a considerably rough position, accurately position it, and transfer it to a processing jig. It can be used in the state of, and the cost can be reduced. In addition, automation has the effect of increasing work efficiency and leading to labor saving.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 Overall view of transfer device

FIG. 2 is a front view of a gripping mechanism.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a gripping mechanism.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG.

5 is a sectional view taken along line BB of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a processing jig and a centering mechanism.

7 is a sectional view taken along line CC of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a detection mechanism.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the robot.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory view showing taking out from a trolley on which another work is mounted.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 trolley 2 processing jig 3 robot 4 detection mechanism 5 centering mechanism 27 center setting mechanism 28 clamp mechanism 66 detector 67 guide rod

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A workpiece mounted on a trolley is gripped by a gripping portion of a robot, the number of workpieces is confirmed by a detection mechanism, and then the centering mechanism normalizes the position of the workpiece, and the workpiece is transferred to a workpiece machining jig. In the transfer device configured to be mounted, the robot includes a central setting mechanism capable of positioning and fixing the grip portion at the center and a clamp mechanism capable of fixing the grip portion at an arbitrary position, and the grip portion is configured by the central setting mechanism. Fixed to the center position to grip the work on the trolley, transfer it to the centering mechanism via the detection mechanism, then release the center setting mechanism to correct the work position to the normal position, and then clamp mechanism. The transfer device is characterized in that the gripping part is fixed by means of which the work is transferred to the work processing jig. 2. The apparatus includes a sensor for changing an approaching speed and an approaching direction of a gripping part with respect to works at a predetermined position, and the gripping part is a virtual body parallel to a tilting direction of works stacked in a tilted manner. After approaching at high speed along the line, the speed is changed to low speed by the detection of the first sensor, then the approach direction is changed to the direction orthogonal to the work surface by the detection of the next sensor, and the work gripped by the gripping part is moved after that. 2. The structure is rocked up and down several times.
The transfer device described in. 3. The transfer device according to claim 1, wherein the detection mechanism for checking the number of works supports a detector provided with a guide rod so as to be vertically movable.