JPH06285730A - Valve assembling device and method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To seal a valve body with a plug without damaging the plug or the valve body when inserting a spring and a spool into an insertion hole of the valve body and sealing an opening end of the insertion hole with the plug. CONSTITUTION:A spring 5 and a spool 5 are inserted in order into an insertion hole 3 formed on a valve body 2 through its opening end, the spool 4 is pushed into a prescribed position of the insertion hole 3 against an energizing force of the spring 5 and a spool holding member 21 is inserted into the insertion hole 3 in that state from an oil passage 8 formed on the valve body 3 to be engaged with the spool 4 to be held at that position. A plug 6 is inserted into the opening end of the insertion hole 3 in that state, and then, holding of the spool 4 is released.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a valve assembling apparatus applied to a control valve unit or the like in an automatic transmission for a vehicle and a valve assembling method using the apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An automatic transmission for a vehicle is equipped with a control valve unit for controlling the supply and discharge of operating hydraulic pressure to a plurality of friction elements to switch the shift stage of the transmission. Basically, the valve body is provided with an oil passage and a spool insertion hole,
The spool is fitted in the hole, and the oil passage is switched by moving the spool with the biasing force of the spring or the hydraulic pressure generated by the solenoid valve.

Therefore, when assembling the control valve unit, the spring and the spool are fitted into the fitting hole formed in the valve body, and the opening end of the fitting hole is sealed with a plug. Will be seen.

As a device for automatically performing this assembling work, for example, according to Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-26432, the valve body is held so that the fitting hole faces upward, and this is vibrated. However, it is disclosed that a spring and a spool are fitted in the fitting insertion hole.

[0005]

By the way, as described above, when the spring and the spool are fitted in the fitting insertion hole of the valve body and then the opening end of the fitting insertion hole is sealed by the plug, the following procedure is performed. Problems can occur.

That is, as shown in FIG. 6, when the spring C and the spool D are simply inserted into the insertion hole B of the valve body A, the head D1 of the spool D is opened at the opening end of the insertion hole B. Since it is in a state of protruding from B1, the opening end B1
In order to fit the plug E into the fitting, the spool D is pushed into the fitting insertion hole B against the biasing force of the spring C from the illustrated state. At this time, the head D1 of the spool D and the end surface of the plug E are strongly pressed against each other by the reaction force of the spring C, so that the plug E tries to enter into the opening end B1 of the insertion hole B. At this time, the plug E cannot be freely moved in the plane orthogonal to the fitting hole B, and it becomes difficult to align the plug E with the opening end B1. Further, if the plug E is forcibly pushed in while the alignment is insufficient, the plug E or the valve body A will be damaged.

Incidentally, such a situation similarly occurs when a chamfer B2 is provided at the opening end B1 of the fitting insertion hole B as shown in the drawing.

The present invention addresses the above problems in the case where a spring and a spool are fitted into the fitting hole of the valve body and then the opening end of the fitting hole is sealed with a plug. The purpose is to seal the valve body with a plug without damaging the body.

[0009]

That is, the valve assembling apparatus according to the invention of claim 1 of the present application (hereinafter referred to as the first invention) has a spring and a spool from an opening end of a fitting insertion hole formed in a valve body. In a valve assembly device that seals the opening end by inserting a plug into the opening end after sequentially inserting the spool, the spool inserting the spool to a predetermined position of the insertion hole against the biasing force of a spring. The fitting and inserting means and the spool inserted into the fitting and inserting hole from the oil passage formed in the valve body and fitted into the fitting and inserting hole up to a predetermined position are fitted to the spool so that the fitting and inserting means is retracted. And a plug fitting means for fitting the plug into the opening end of the fitting hole while the spool is held at a predetermined position by the holding means. And butterflies.

The invention of claim 2 of the present application (hereinafter referred to as the second
The valve assembling device according to the invention) seals the opening end by inserting the spring and the spool from the opening end into the fitting hole formed in the valve body in order and then inserting the plug into the opening end. In the valve assembling apparatus, spool fitting means for fitting the spool to a predetermined position of the fitting hole against the biasing force of the spring, and an oil passage formed in the valve body so as to be projected into the fitting insertion hole, Spool holding means for holding the spool in that position even after the fitting / inserting means is retracted by engaging with the spool inserted to the predetermined position in the fitting hole, and the spool is held in the predetermined position by the holding means. And a plug fitting means for fitting the plug into the opening end of the fitting insertion hole in a state where the spool holding means is engaged with the spool in the fitting insertion hole. The amount is configured to be different depending on the presence / absence of a spool in the fitting / inserting hole, and a spool detecting means for detecting the presence / absence of the spool in the fitting / inserting hole is provided based on the operation amount.

In the valve assembling method according to the invention of claim 3 of the present application (hereinafter referred to as the third invention), the spring and the spool are sequentially inserted into the fitting insertion hole formed in the valve body from the opening end thereof. , The spool is pushed to a predetermined position of the fitting insertion hole against the urging force of the spring, and in that state, the engaging member is thrust into the fitting insertion hole from the oil passage formed in the valve body to be engaged with the spool. Thus, the spool is held at that position, then the plug is fitted into the opening end of the fitting insertion hole and fixed, and thereafter, the holding of the spool is released.

[0012]

According to the above construction, the following operation can be obtained.

In any of the valve assembling devices according to the first and second aspects, spool fitting means for fitting the spool into a predetermined position of the fitting hole against the biasing force of the spring,
By engaging the spool that is inserted into the fitting insertion hole from the oil passage formed in the valve body to the predetermined position inside the fitting insertion hole, the spool can be retained even after the fitting insertion means is retracted. Since the spool holding means that keeps holding at that position is provided, when actuating the plug fitting means to fit the plug from the opening end of the valve body, the reaction force by the spring that biases the spool upward is Since it does not affect the plug, the plug can be easily aligned with the opening end of the fitting hole formed in the valve body, and the plug can be fitted smoothly without damaging the valve body or plug. It becomes possible to fit in the hole.

In particular, in the second aspect of the invention, the operation amount when the spool holding means engages with the spool in the fitting insertion hole is different depending on the presence or absence of the spool in the fitting insertion hole. Since the spool detecting means for detecting the presence / absence of the spool in the fitting / inserting hole based on the operation amount of the spool holding means is provided, a defective fitting / inserting of the spool can be easily detected.

The valve assembly method according to the third aspect of the invention can also provide the same operation as the first aspect of the invention.

[0016]

EXAMPLES Examples of the present invention will be described below.

First, the configuration of the valve unit 1 in which the present embodiment is implemented will be briefly described with reference to FIG. The valve body 2 that constitutes the valve unit 1 is provided with a fitting hole 3 having an upper end opened in the vertical direction, and first and second lands 4a and 4b are formed in the middle portion in order from above. The spool 4 and the spring 5 that biases the spool 4 upwards
It is fitted into the fitting insertion hole 3 in a state of being arranged below. Then, the opening end of the fitting insertion hole 3 is
The spool 4 and the spring 5 are fitted inside and are sealed by a plug 6. This plug 6 has a circumferential groove 6a provided at an intermediate portion thereof locked by a pin 7 fitted at a predetermined position of the valve body 2
The valve body 2 is held so as not to come off. Further, the valve body 2 has a plurality of oil passages 8, ... These oil passages 8 ... 8
Is provided so as to penetrate the fitting insertion hole 3 on the other end side.

Next, the valve assembling apparatus 10 used when assembling the valve unit 1 will be described with reference to FIG. The valve assembling apparatus 10 includes a first robot 11 used for assembling a spring 5 and a plug 6, for example.
And the second robot 12 used for assembling the spool 4.
And an assembling auxiliary unit 13 for assisting the assembling work of the plug 6. The first and second robots 11 and 12
Has robot hands 15 and 15 on the lower end sides of rods 14 and 14 which can be moved three-dimensionally in the vertical, front-rear and left-right directions by appropriate means, and each robot hand 15 has a corresponding hand 15. Of the pair of chucks 16 and 16 which are opened and closed in the left-right direction by the operation of an actuator (not shown) incorporated in the body 15a of the main body 15a and an actuator (not shown) also incorporated in the body 15a of the hand 15. A push rod 17 that moves back and forth in the vertical direction by operation is provided.

On the other hand, the assembling auxiliary unit 13 has a mounting frame 19 mounted on a supporting base 18, and an air cylinder 20 having a piston rod 20a which moves back and forth in the horizontal direction is provided at the upper end portion of the mounting frame 19. It is fixed. A spool holding member 21 is attached to the tip end portion of the piston rod 20a that advances and retracts in the horizontal direction by the operation of the air cylinder 20. Also,
The assembly auxiliary unit 13 includes the air cylinder 20.
A stroke sensor 22 for detecting the stroke amount of the piston rod 20a is installed.

On the support table 18 located on the side of the auxiliary assembly unit 13, the side surface 2a of the valve body 2 in which the oil passages 8 ... 8 are opened is provided with the air cylinder 20.
It is designed to be installed facing the. At this time, the valve body 2 has a spool in which a predetermined oil passage 8 (the second oil passage from the top in the figure) communicating with the vertical insertion hole 3 is attached to the piston rod 20a of the air cylinder 20. The holding member 21 is positioned so as to face the holding member 21.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, a controller 30 for controlling the first and second robots 11 and 12 and the auxiliary assembly unit 13 is provided. The controller 30 includes an input unit 3 to which various commands and data are input.
1 and the stroke signal from the stroke sensor 22 provided in the assembly auxiliary unit 13, and the first and second robots 1 based on these signals.
1, 12 and the auxiliary assembly unit 13 are output control signals, and various messages are displayed on the display unit 32.

Next, a method of assembling the valve unit 1 using the valve assembling apparatus 10 configured as described above will be described.

That is, as shown in FIG. 2, the controller 30 causes the first robot 1 to connect one end of the spring 5 supplied from a spring-supplied parts feeder for spring supply.
After being held by the chucks 16 provided on the robot hand 15 of No. 1, the spring 5 is moved above the fitting hole 3 of the valve body 2 while holding the spring 5 in the vertical posture. At that time, the controller 30 causes the chucks 16 and 16 provided on the robot hand 15 of the second robot 12 to grip the head of the spool 4 which is also supplied from a spool-supplied parts feeder (not shown). so,
The spool 4 is held by the side of the first robot 11 with the spool 4 held vertically.

Then, the controller 30 first lowers the robot hand 15 of the first robot 11 located above the fitting hole 3 in the valve body 2 so that the chuck 16 of the hand 15 grips the robot hand 15. The spring 5 is pushed into the fitting hole 3, and when the robot hand 15 descends to a predetermined position, the chucks 16 and 16 are opened to drop the spring 5 into the fitting hole 3.

Next, the controller 30 sets the spring 5
After retracting the first robot 11 after releasing the valve, the second robot 12 is moved this time so that the spool 4 gripped by the chucks 16 of the robot hand 15 is inserted into the valve body 2. Move it above the hole 3. Then, by lowering the robot hand 15 of the second robot 12, the chuck 16 of the hand 15
The spool 4 held by 16 is inserted into the fitting hole 3, and when the robot hand 15 descends to a predetermined position, the chucks 16 and 16 are opened and at the same time, the push rod 17 is extended to extend the spool 4. By pressing the head of the spool 4, the spool 4 is inserted into the insertion hole 3 against the biasing force of the spring 5.

Then, as shown in FIG. 4, when the upper surface of the first land 4a of the spool 4 passes through the second oil passage 8 from the top formed in the valve body 2, the push rod 1
7 is stopped, and at the same time, the air cylinder 20 in the assembling auxiliary unit 13 arranged on the side of the valve body 2 is actuated so that the spool holding member 21 attached to the tip of the piston rod 20a is moved to the oil passage. Plunge inside. At this time, if the spool 4 is fitted in the regular position as shown in the figure, the spool holding member 21 abuts on the shaft portion 4c of the spool 4 and stops.
As a result, even if the second robot 12 is retracted upward, the spool 4 is held at that position without being pushed by the spring 5 and moving upward.

On the other hand, when the spool 4 is not fitted in the proper position, the spool holding member 21 passes through the fitting hole 3 and enters the depth of the oil passage as shown by a chain line, for example. In that case, the stroke sensor 2
The stroke signal output from 2 also indicates the excessive stroke amount of the piston rod 20a in the air cylinder 20, and the controller 30 compares the stroke amount indicated by the stroke signal with a predetermined reference value,
If deviating from the allowable range, the first and second robots 11, 1
2 and the auxiliary assembly unit 13 are stopped, and an error message is displayed on the display unit 32.

The controller 30 is, for example, a spring 5
The first robot 11 which has been retracted after the opening is moved to a plug feeder parts feeder (not shown), and the plug 6 supplied from the parts feeder is provided on the robot hand 15 of the first robot 11. The chucks 16 and 16 are gripped, and then moved again above the fitting hole 3 of the valve body 2. Then, by lowering the robot hand 15 of the first robot 11, as shown in FIG. 5, the plug 6 held by the chucks 16 and 16 is press-fitted into the open end of the fitting insertion hole 3. In that case, since the spool 4 is engaged with the spool holding member 21 and is retained while being fitted into the fitting insertion hole 3, the plug 6 can be easily aligned. .

Then, when the plug 6 is further press-fitted than in the state shown in FIG. 5, the controller 30 causes the chuck 16 in the robot hand 15 of the first robot 11 to move.
At the same time that the plug 16 is expanded, the push rod 17 is extended to press the plug 6, so that the plug 6 is pressed into a predetermined position.

When the plug 6 is press-fitted to a predetermined position, the pin 7 is inserted into a predetermined position of the valve body 2 by the operation of another robot, for example, and the intermediate portion of the plug 6 is shown as shown in the completed state of FIG. Is engaged with the circumferential groove 6a provided on the. After that, the piston rod 20a of the air cylinder 20 in the assembly auxiliary unit 13 is contracted, and the spool holding member 21 at the leading end is retracted.

[0031]

As described above, according to the present invention, the spring and the spool are sequentially inserted into the fitting hole formed in the valve body from the opening end thereof, and then the plug is fitted into the opening end. When sealing the open end, the spool inserted into the predetermined position of the insertion hole against the biasing force of the spring is engaged with the engagement member that is inserted from the oil passage of the valve body into the insertion hole. Therefore, when the plug is inserted from the open end of the valve body, the reaction force of the spring that urges the spool upward does not act on the plug. The position of the plug with respect to the open end of the hole can be easily adjusted, and the plug can be smoothly fitted into the fitting insertion hole without damaging the valve body or the plug.

In particular, if the presence or absence of the spool is detected by detecting the movement amount of the engaging member as in the embodiment, it is possible to easily detect the fitting failure of the spool.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway front view showing a completed state of a valve unit.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing a part of a valve assembly device.

FIG. 3 is a control system diagram of the valve assembly apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an operating state of the valve assembly apparatus.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing an operating state of the valve assembling apparatus.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a conventional valve assembling method.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 valve body 3 fitting hole 4 spool 5 spring 6 plug 10 valve assembling device 11 first robot 12 second robot 13 assembly auxiliary unit 17 push rod 20 air cylinder 21 spool holding member

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A spring and a spool are sequentially inserted into an insertion hole formed in a valve body from an opening end thereof,
A valve assembly device that seals an opening end by inserting a plug into the opening end, comprising: spool fitting means for fitting the spool to a predetermined position of a fitting hole against a biasing force of a spring. , Even after the fitting / retracting means is retracted by engaging the spool inserted from the oil passage formed on the valve body into the fitting / inserting hole to the predetermined position of the fitting / inserting hole, A valve assembling device comprising: spool holding means for holding the spool at a position; and plug fitting means for fitting the plug into the open end of the fitting insertion hole while the spool is held at a predetermined position by the holding means. . 2. A spring and a spool are sequentially fitted into the fitting hole formed in the valve body from the opening end thereof,
A valve assembly device that seals an opening end by inserting a plug into the opening end, comprising: spool fitting means for fitting the spool to a predetermined position of a fitting hole against a biasing force of a spring. , Even after the fitting / retracting means is retracted by engaging the spool inserted from the oil passage formed on the valve body into the fitting / inserting hole to the predetermined position of the fitting / inserting hole, The spool holding means and the plug fitting means for fitting the plug into the open end of the fitting hole while the spool is held at the predetermined position by the holding means. The operation amount at the time of engaging operation with the spool in the fitting insertion hole is configured to be different depending on the presence or absence of the spool in the fitting insertion hole, and the spout in the fitting insertion hole is based on the operation amount. Valve assembly apparatus, wherein a spool sensing means for sensing the presence or absence of Le are provided. 3. A spring and a spool are sequentially fitted into the fitting insertion hole formed in the valve body from the opening end thereof, and the spool is pushed to a predetermined position of the fitting insertion hole against the urging force of the spring. In this state, the engaging member is pushed into the fitting insertion hole from the oil passage formed in the valve body to engage with the spool, thereby holding the spool in that position, and then inserting the plug into the opening end of the fitting insertion hole. And then fixing, and then releasing the holding of the spool.