JPH0631034B2 - Automobile body assembly equipment - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle body assembly apparatus mainly composed of a self-propelled carriage type transfer device.

2. Description of the Related Art As a so-called parallel production type assembling apparatus capable of assembling a plurality of types of vehicle bodies on one assembly line, for example, there is one disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 57-83328.

The vehicle body assembly apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 57-83328 is
It is composed mainly of a lift & carrier type shuttle bar carrying device, and a plurality of assembly jigs corresponding to each of these are provided on a plurality of stages, and each of these assembly jigs is By providing a receiving portion that can support one type of vehicle body component and a receiving portion that can support another type of vehicle body component and that is offset from the receiving portion by a predetermined amount, Parallel production is possible.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention As represented by Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 57-83328, an assembling apparatus mainly composed of a shuttle bar conveying apparatus has some problems as follows.

One is that since the transfer pitch by the shear bar is constant throughout all stages, the stage pitch and hence the transfer pitch cannot be freely selected according to the work content on the stage.

For example, in the relatively low completion stage, there are many parts to be set for the main parts,
It is necessary to store these parts around the relevant stage. Therefore, in the initial stage, the stage pitch must be as large as possible in order to secure the above storage area. On the other hand, in a relatively high-quality process, for example, in the step of hitting with an industrial robot, there are almost no newly set parts, so a relatively small stage pitch is sufficient to secure a working area for the robot. .

Therefore, even if the required stage pitch is large or small, since the transport bar of the shuttle bar is constant, the transport pitch of the shuttle bar must match the largest stage pitch of all the stages.

The second is that the work balance is poor because the body parts are delivered from the shuttle bar to the jig of the corresponding stage even in the stage where the work is not performed. That is, there is a case where there is no work at two adjacent stages and a case where work is started at the same time on the two stages.

For example, it is assumed that there is a stage Sa for assembling a vehicle type A and a stage Sb for assembling a vehicle type B having the same contents as the stage Sa on the downstream side of the stage Sa. In this case, car type A enters stage Sb and stage B enters stage Sa.
If there are two workers on each stage when the car type is entered, four workers cannot work at all. On the other hand, when the B-type car enters the stage Sb and the A-type car enters the stage Sa, the four workers will start the work all at once, and the work balance will be poor.

Therefore, according to the arrangement of the stages Sa and Sb, the A model,
The vehicle type B is arranged on the line, and the shuttle bars are sent in correspondence with the arrangements of the stages Sa and Sb as a group of the arrangements of the vehicle types. In this case, the vehicle type to be produced is the stage Sa, It is not in line with the current situation, as the planned production volume for each vehicle type cannot be obtained due to the restrictions on the placement of Sb.

Thirdly, the nature of the shuttle bar transporting device is that only a linear layout is possible, and the above-mentioned transporting pitch is constant.

The present invention is intended to solve the above problems by employing a self-propelled carriage type transport device instead of the shuttle bar transport device.

Means for Solving the Problems The present invention relates to an assembly device for an automobile body, which is mainly composed of a transfer device including a rail and a self-propelled carriage that travels while positioning and supporting a vehicle body component of the automobile on the rail. The transfer path of the transfer device is a square with three floor-mounted rails installed on the floor and one ceiling-mounted rail installed on the ceiling for circulating the carriage. A plurality of assembling stages for performing at least assembling work on the vehicle body parts are arranged in series along the three rails that are formed on the floor and are formed in the transportation path.

A turntable that changes the traveling direction of the self-propelled carriage is provided at a corner portion formed by the floor-mounted rails, and a corner portion formed by the floor-mounted rail and the ceiling-mounted rail. Includes a drop lifter that raises and lowers the self-propelled carriage between the height of the floor-mounted rail and the height of the ceiling-mounted rail, and a turn that changes the traveling direction of the self-propelled carriage. It has a structure in which it is placed adjacent to the table.

The assembling work includes assembling parts, welding, bonding, and the like. Further, an idle stage or the like may be provided as a stage other than the assembling work in which no work is performed at all.

The trolley has a built-in self-propelled drive mechanism using, for example, an electric motor, and is assumed to be self-propelled by receiving electric energy from a rail. Therefore, the carriage itself can freely stop at the designated position.

Further, all the pitches between the assembling stages do not have to be unified and can be freely set as needed.

Action As is apparent from the above configuration, since the trolley that positions and supports the body parts of the main automobile is a self-propelled system, the entire line is not straight and the pitch between each work stage is uniform. Even if it is not, the assembling work is performed by stopping the carriage on the required stage designated in advance.

Embodiment 1 FIGS. 1 to 12 are views showing a first embodiment of the present invention.
The details will be described below in terms of sections.

a. Outline Description of Entire Device FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an outline of the entire device, and includes rails 10a, which constitute a so-called monorail type transfer device 10.
10b, 10c and 10d are arranged in a rectangular shape. Of these four rails, three rails 10a, 10b,
10c is laid on the floor, while the remaining one rail 10d is installed on the ceiling. Then, on these rails 10a, 10b, 10c, 10d, a self-propelled carriage 20 (see FIG. 2) to be described later travels with basic vehicle body parts mounted thereon, and stops only at a necessary stage. The assembly work is carried out in sequence.

A turntable 30a or 30b is arranged between the adjacent rails, that is, at the four corners of the carrier 10.
These turntables 30a or 30b have a function of changing the course of the carriage 20 by 90 degrees because the radius of curvature at the intersection (corner) of the rails cannot be made sufficiently large. Although the two turntables 30a are installed on the floor, the remaining two turntables 30a are
b is installed on the ceiling together with the rail 10d.

A drop lifter 40a or 40b is provided at each of the terminal end of the rail 10c and the starting end of the rail 10a. The one drop lifter 40a has a function of transferring the carriage 20 from the rail 10c to the turntable 30b, and the other druplifter 40b has a function of transferring the carriage 20 from the turntable 30b to the rail 10a side.

FIG. 1 shows a parallel production type assembling apparatus capable of assembling two types of vehicle bodies, for example, A vehicle type and B vehicle type. Sa ₁ is a floor main assembly stage for A vehicle type, S
b ₁ is a floor main assembling stage for B vehicles, the floor panel of the A model or B models in these floor main assembling stage Sa _1, Sb ₁ is assembled. The assembled floor panel is transferred to the trolley 20 which is waiting in advance in the welding jig 50a or 50b of each stage Sa ₁ or Sb ₁ and is then transferred to the next floor main hitting stage S ₁ , S ₂ or S.
Transported to ₃ . These floor main hitting stages S ₁ , S ₂ , S ₃ are common to both A and B vehicles, and the trolley 20 is sequentially stopped at these floor main hitting stages S ₁ , S ₂ , S ₃ , Spot welding is performed by the robot R ₁ for all welding points that require welding. S
₄ is a body side assembly stage for both A and B vehicles, and an operator clamps the left and right body sides with a vice plier on the floor panel completed in the previous process.

Sa ₂ is a body assembly stage for vehicle type A, Sb ₂ is a main body assembly stage for vehicle type B, and welding jigs 60a, 60b are used for these stages Sa ₂ , Sb ₂ .
The assembly work is performed by. S ₅ and S ₆ are in the work stage that does not require a jig, carriage stops in accordance with the work. All of S ₇ and S _{8 to} S ₁₁ are body main hitting stages, and these stages S ₇ and S ₈ to
S ₁₁ are all A vehicle type, a shared stage both B model, Supotsuto welding is performed by the robot R ₂ for all the RBI requiring welding. In S ₁₂ the idle stage,
The truck 20 is stopped only when a specific work is required.

After passing through the series of stages described above, the assembly work of the vehicle body is completed, the vehicle body and the carriage 20 are separated from each other on the drop lifter 40a, and the vehicle body is handed over to another overhead conveyor 70, while the carriage 20 moves on the rail 10d.
The details will be described later.

The vehicle body for which the assembly work has been completed may also be a vehicle body component. That is, the vehicle body assembled through the series of stages may be carried to another process and a new vehicle body assembly operation may be performed.

b. Detailed Description of Rails and Carts The rails 10a of the transfer device 10 have a substantially T-shaped cross section as shown in FIGS.
The power supply track 102 is fixed to the side member 103, while the rack 104 is fixed to the one side member 103. The above rail structure is the same for the other rails 10b to 10d and the rail (FIG. 1) attached to the turntable 30a or 30b.

As shown in FIG. 5 in addition to FIGS. 2 and 4, in the dolly 20, the dolly main body 201 has a sectional road box shape so as to surround the rail 10a from both sides thereof, and the body parts are provided on the upper surface. A gauge plate 202 for positioning and supporting W is fixed. Inside the trolley body 201, an electric motor 203, a speed reducer 204, and a current collecting brush 205 are arranged. Since the current collecting brush 205 is in sliding contact with the power feeding track 102, the electric energy from the power feeding track 102 is reduced. Is received, the electric motor 203 is driven. In addition, the output shaft of the reducer 204,
A pinion 206 that meshes with the rack 104 is provided, and the carriage main body 201 itself includes a plurality of rollers 207, 207 ... Rotating about a horizontal axis and a plurality of rollers 208, 208 ... Rotating about a vertical axis. There is. Therefore, as the pinion 206 is rotationally driven, the carriage 20 is self-propelled along the rail 10a.

2 and 3 at the front end and the rear end of the carriage main body 201.
As shown in the figure, bumper rod 2 as a rear-end collision prevention device
09 and 210 are attached. The limit switch 211 is attached to the bumper rod 209 on the front end side, while the bumper rod 210 on the rear end side is attached.
A shock absorbing mechanism 212 is attached to the. As shown in FIG. 3, the shock absorbing mechanism 212 is composed of a rod 214 that is movable along an elongated hole 213 and a coil spring 215 that biases the rod 214 to the rear side. It absorbs the impact of a collision. That is,
When the carriages approach each other and collide with each other, the carriage on the back side of the collision is stopped while the drive of the electric motor 203 is stopped by the ON operation of the limit switch 211.
The front carriage that has collided absorbs the impact by the impact absorbing mechanism 212 described above. Therefore, in the case of this embodiment,
It is also possible to store a plurality of carriages 20 side by side on the rail like a power & free conveyor, so-called storage.

c. Detailed Description of Turntable Next, the details of the turntables 30a and 30b will be described by taking one turntable 30a as an example.

In FIGS. 7 and 8, 301 is a base and 302 is
Is a circular guide rail installed on the base 301,
Reference numeral 03 is a table. A rotary shaft 304 at the center of the table 303 is rotatably supported by the base 301, and wheels 305 that roll on the guide rails 302 are attached to the lower surface of the table 303. And table 30
A rail 306 having the same shape as that shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 is fixed to the upper surface of 3.

A trunnion type air cylinder 307 is attached to the base 301, and a piston rod 308 of the air cylinder 307 has a link 30 fixed to a rotating shaft 304.
It is connected to one end of 9. Therefore, the function of the air cylinder 307 causes the table 303 to rotate 90 degrees. Here, in the state shown in FIG. 8, the rotation limit position of the table 303 in the Q ₁ direction is restricted by the contact between the dog 310 provided on the table 303 side and the stopper 311 provided on the base 301 side. In the Q ₂ direction, the rotation limit position is regulated by the contact between the other dog 312 and the stopper 313. Incidentally, 314 and 315 are shock absorbers.

The above turntable 30a operates as follows in FIG. In other words, for example, the carriage 20 traveling along the rail 10a is replaced by the rail 30 on the turntable 30a.
6 (FIG. 7), the table 30 is rotated by 90 degrees so that the rail 30 on which the carriage 20 is mounted is mounted.
6 is separated from the rail 10a and connected to the other rail 10b. As a result, the carriage 20 can change its course by 90 degrees and travel along the other rail 10b.

d. Detailed Description of the Drott Lifter The details of the Drott lifter 40a and 40b will be described by taking one of the Drott lifters 40a as an example.

As shown in FIG. 9, the slot lifter 40a is provided with the support 4
01 and a lifter table 402 that moves up and down along the column 401. A rail 403 is fixed to the lifter table 402. This rail 403 is connected to the rail 10c shown in FIG. 1 when the lifter table 402 is at the lower limit position, and on the other hand,
When the lifter table 402 is at the upper limit position, it is connected to the rail 306 of the turntable 30b. Further, another overhead conveyor 70 is provided directly above the lifter table 402.

Therefore, the truck 20 equipped with the vehicle body W ₃ is mounted on the rail 40.
When the lifter table 402 is lifted to the lift limit position in the state of being positioned above the rail 3, the rail 403 is connected to the rail 306 on the turntable 30b side shown in FIG. At the ascending limit position, the overhead conveyor 70 receives and conveys only the vehicle body W ₃ from the trolley 20, while the trolley 20 in the empty state is self-propelled and transferred to the lifter table 30b side. Become.

e. Detailed Description of Welding Jigs Welding jigs 50a, 50b and 60a shown in FIG.
Details of 60b will be described by taking the welding jig 60a of the body main assembly stage Sa ₂ as an example.

In FIGS. 10 and 11, 601 is a jig base, 602 is a so-called 4-post type jig frame which is erected on the jig base 601, 603 is a workbench, and 60
Reference numeral 4 is a lifter device provided in the jig base 601.

On the jig base 601 and the jig frame 602, a plurality of gauge posts 605 that control the positioning of the floor portion that is the vehicle body component W, and a plurality of gauges (including a clamper) 606 that also control the positioning of the body side panel are installed. In addition, several simple welding robots are installed. Although these welding robots are not shown in order to avoid complication of the drawing, for example, Japanese Patent Publication No.
It is a conventionally known one as disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 29463.

The lifter device 604 includes a base plate 607, a lifter table 608 parallel to the base plate 607,
It is composed of an air cylinder 609 and an X-shaped link 610 for maintaining the parallel state of the base plate 607 and the lifter table 608. The air cylinder 609 is supported by the base plate 607, and its piston rod 611 is connected to the lifter table 608, and the lifter table 608 moves up and down by the action of the air cylinder 609. Lifter table 60
A rail 612 having the same structure as that shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 is fixed on the rail 8, and this rail 612 is on the same plane as the rails 10b before and after the chimney at the upper limit position of the lifter table 608. Is set to be located in.

Therefore, the truck 20 on which the vehicle body component W is mounted enters the welding jig 60a, and the lifter table 608 is lowered while the truck 20 is transferred onto the rail 612. As a result, the vehicle body W, which was previously supported by the carriage 20, is transferred and positioned on the gauge post 605 on the jig base 601 side. Then, the trolley 2 which is in an empty state
0 is the lower limit position of the lifter table 608 and waits until the welding work is completed. That is, FIG. 10 and FIG.
In the figure, the position indicated by W ₁₁ is the transport position of the vehicle body, and the position indicated by W ₁₂ is the working position of the vehicle body component W.

After the welding work is completed, the lifter table 608 moves up so that the rails 612 again coincide with the rails 10b before and after the lifter table 608, and the vehicle body W is again supported by the gauge plate 202 on the dolly 20 side, and the next stage. Be transported to.

The welding jig 60a may be a floor-standing stationary type,
In the present embodiment, a movable structure is adopted so that the welding jigs can be replaced in consideration of model change of the vehicle body or ease of maintenance.

Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the bracket 6 having wheels 613 at four positions on the jig base 601.
14 is attached, and a rail 615 is provided below the wheel 613. Bracket 614 is bolt 6
Although it is fixed by 16, the bolt 616 can be moved up and down with respect to the jig base 601 within the range of the elongated hole 617.

Therefore, when pulling out the entire welding jig 60a from the fixed position in the line, the following operation is performed. In the state shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, since the jig base 601 is positioned at a fixed position on the base 619 by the locate pin 618, the entire welding jig 60a is floated by a fork lift or the like and positioned by the locate pin 618. To cancel. Then, the bracket 614 is lowered to the lowermost limit position within the range of the elongated hole 617, and the bolt 616 is tightened. After that, the welding jig 60a is gently lowered to lower the wheel 61.
The welding jig 60a as a whole can be pulled out from the line by landing 3 on the rail 615 and pushing with a forklift or pulling with a winch. In this case, since the rail 612 is originally separated from the rails 10b before and after the rail 612, there is no obstacle in moving the welding jig 60a. When the welding jig is carried into the line, the procedure is the reverse of the above.

Since the structures of the welding jigs 50a, 50b, 60b are basically the same as the structure of the welding jig 60a described above, detailed description thereof will be omitted here.

f. Operation of Embodiment 1 In FIG. 1, since the carriage 20 has a self-propelled mechanism as described above, it is possible to stop only at the designated necessary stage by receiving a production instruction from the outside. become. For example, when there is a production instruction for the vehicle type A, the carriage 20 is stopped in the floor main assembly stage Sa ₁ welding jig 50b and is on standby. Similarly if the production instruction B model has been filed, carriage 20 waits in the welding fixture 50a of the floor main assembling stage Sb _1. Here, prior to the stand-by of the carriage 20, the carriage 20 from the slot lifter 40b to the floor main assembly stage Sa ₁ or Sb ₁
Is moved as follows. That is, in the floor main assembly stages Sa ₁ and Sb ₁ , the welding jig 50
The a and 50b lifter devices 604 (see FIG. 10) are waiting in advance at the lower limit position (which is different from waiting at the upper limit position in other stages). Table 402 (9th
(Fig.) Also descends to the lower limit position R ₂ which is lower than the lower limit position R ₁ of the other drift lifter 40a. As a result, the rail 403 on the side of the drott lifter 40b and the rail 612 on the side of the lifter device 604 (see FIG. 10) are aligned, and the carriage 20 travels from the drott lifter 40b to the stage Sa ₁ or Sb ₁ and stands by.

Stage Sa _1, peculiarities of Sb ₁ as described above, since the stage Sa _1, Sb ₁ is the first stage, immediately work without lifter operation to carriage 20 that has been forwarded empty mounting state Based on consideration to try to be able to do. These floor main assembly stages Sa ₁ or Sb ₁
In this case, after an operator carries in and positions the engine compartment, the front floor panel, etc., which are floor constituents, into the welding jig 50a or 50b, spot welding is performed by, for example, a portable type spot welding gun.

When the work on the floor main assembly stage Sa ₁ or Sb ₁ is completed, the floor panel, which is the vehicle body component W, moves from the welding jig 50a or 50b to the carriage 20 as described with reference to FIG.
Is handed over to. Then, for example, the trolley 20 equipped with the floor panel of the vehicle type A is the floor main assembly stage Sa ₁
After passing through the next stage Sb ₁ (the lifter device 604 of the stage Sb ₁ is rising at the same time as that of the stage Sa ₁ ), self-propelled to the floor main hitting stage S ₁ and stopped. Further, in the case of the B type, the trolley 20 moves from the floor main assembling stage Sb ₁ to the floor main hitting stage S ₁
(In this case, the lifter device of the stage Sa ₁ does not move up.). Floor main boost stage S ₁ , S ₂ ,
Since S ₃ is a boosting work by the robot on the stage shared by the A and B vehicle types, the trolley 20 is stopped at each stage S ₁ , S ₂ , S ₃ in both the A and B vehicle types,
Welding work is performed by the robot R ₁ .

The trolley 20 that has passed through the final floor main boosting stage S ₃ also stops at the body side assembly stage S _{4 that is} also shared by the A and B vehicles, and the body sides on the left and right of the floor panel mounted on the trolley 20 are stopped. Temporarily attached.

Next, the carriage 20 stops at the turntable 30a, where the course of the carriage 20 is turned by 90 degrees. Then, the mounted body parts W (here, the assembly of the floor panel and the body side assembled in the previous steps)
If the vehicle type is A, the dolly 20 stops at the body main assembly stage Sa ₂ , while if the vehicle body mounted is B type, the dolly 20 passes through the stage Sa ₂ and goes to the next body main assembly stage Sb ₂ Stop at.

FIG. 12 shows the work table S ₆ from the turntable 30a.
It is a side view of up to, in the body main assembling stage Sa ₂ or Sb ₂ is or weld fixture 60a by the panel parts worker required as shown in FIG. 10 60
A predetermined type of welding work is carried out by using a portable type spot welding gun or a robot. Then, carriage 20 passing through the body main assembly stage Sa ₂ for A model moves to a common working stage S ₅ through the stage Sb _2, also carriage 20 that has passed through the body main assembly stage Sb ₂ for B vehicles also Move to work stage S ₅ ,
Required work is performed for each. In this way, the trolley 2
Since 0 will stop only at the designated required stage, work will not be performed simultaneously on the body main assembly stages Sa ₂ and Sb _2, and both stages Sa ₂ and Sb ₂ will not be performed at all. The situation that cannot be done cannot occur. Therefore, both stages Sa ₂ and Sb ₂ may be combined and a worker for one stage may be arranged. This also applies to the stages Sa ₁ and Sb ₁ .

Further, in the case where the C vehicle type is added to the A vehicle type and the B vehicle type to perform parallel production of three vehicle types, a predetermined welding jig may be installed on the stage S ₅ .

Further, in FIG. 1, for example, when the work of the A vehicle type is being performed at the body main assembly stage Sa ₂ , and the trolley 20 having the next B vehicle type body part W mounted thereon has already left the stage S ₄ , The succeeding trolley 20 waits for the completion of the work on the stage Sa ₂ while keeping its direction changed on the turntable 30a. Therefore, when the work on the stage Sa ₂ is completed, the carriage 20 on the stage Sa ₂ at that time is completed.
Then, the cart 20 waiting on the turntable 30a is simultaneously activated. At this time, if there is a speed difference between the two bogies and the bogie interval is narrowed, the succeeding bogies are temporarily stopped and stored on the rails as described with reference to FIG.

On the other hand, the work on the work stages S ₅ and S ₆ is mainly an additional work that does not require a welding jig.
The work time is likely to be shorter than a ₂ and Sb ₂ . In that case, the carriage 20 is completed at the time when the work on the stages S ₅ and S ₆ is completed without having the work on the stages Sa ₂ and Sb ₂ completed.
Is moved to the next stage S ₇ . By doing so, it is possible to secure a long working time on the stage mainly including the subsequent robot work. That is, the trolley 20
Can select either simultaneous activation or individual activation depending on how the movement instruction is given. Of course, for example, in the case of the independent production of the B car type, when the work is performed on the stage Sb ₂ , the succeeding carriage 20 is made to stand by on the stage Sa ₂ instead of on the turntable 30a, and the carriage 20 at the time of restarting. The moving distance of the turntable 30a and the stage S
It is also possible to shorten the time by shortening by the amount between a ₂ and.

After passing through the work stage S ₆ , the carriage 20 is stopped at the next body main hitting stage S ₇ , and the welding work is performed by the robot R ₂ . Then, after being diverted by further turn table 30a, the body main increase striking stage S ₈ ~
Increasing droplet operation by similarly robot R ₂ and the stop to the respective S ₁₁ is performed.

By passing through the series of stages described above, the assembly work of the vehicle body W ₃ is completed, and the truck 20 passes through the idle stage S ₁₂ and travels to the drott lifter 40 a unless otherwise required. Then, the trolley 20 equipped with the vehicle body W ₃ is
As shown in the figure, the slide lifter 40a moves up to the upper limit position. When the trolley 20 moves up, the vehicle body W
₃ is taken over by an overhead conveyor 70 (FIG. 9) and conveyed, while the trolley 20 which has been placed in an empty state travels to the turntable 30b to change its direction. Further, the trolley 20 travels on the rail 10d and shifts to the other turntable 30b, where it turns again and then shifts to the slot lifter 40b. And
When the drop lifter 40b descends, the drop lifter 40b is returned to its original position, and the above series of operations is repeated. Of course, a plurality of trucks 20 can be stored on the rail 10d.

Embodiment 2 FIG. 13 shows another structure of a rail and a carriage as a second embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the rail has a two-rail structure, and the rail and the power feeding track are separate bodies. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 13, two rails 231 are arranged side by side on a base 230, and a power supply track 232 having a substantially T-shaped cross section is provided between the two rails 231 to cover these three. Covered with 233. Then, the pinion 2 is connected to the power supply track 232.
The rack 235 that meshes with the gear 34 is fixed. The structure other than that is basically the same as that shown in FIG. 5, and has the same effect as the first embodiment.

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION As described above, according to the present invention, the transportation path of the transportation device including the rail and the self-propelled carriage that travels while positioning and supporting the body parts on the rail is used as three floor-installed rails. And one ceiling-mountable rail are used to form a square shape, and a plurality of assembly stages that perform at least assembly work for body parts are serially arranged along the three floor-mountable rails in the transport route. By arranging it, it is possible to stop the dolly only on the necessary stage, so it is possible to freely select the pitch between stages, and thus the transport pitch,
Work balance is also improved.

Also, even if the entire transport path is bent in a square shape, since the linearity is maintained at each side of the square shape,
In addition to ensuring the same workability as if the entire line were straight, the total length of the line can be shortened and the restrictions on the installation location are greatly eased. There is an effect that can be organized the line.

Further, even if the entire transportation route is formed in a square shape as described above, since one rail is a ceiling-mounted type, it is not a complete closed loop line, but an internal region surrounded by the transportation route. For example, it is possible to use a forklift or the like for transporting components and at the same time, to effectively use it as a component storage area, which is extremely advantageous in terms of space efficiency.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall plan view showing a first embodiment of the present invention,
FIG. 2 is a detailed side view of the transfer device, and FIG. 3 is II of FIG.
A sectional view taken along the line I-III, FIG. 4 is a side view of the bogie of FIG. 2, FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line VV of FIG. 4, and FIG. 6 is a VI-VI of FIG. FIG. 7 is a front view of the turntable, FIG. 8 is a plan view of FIG. 7, FIG. 9 is an explanatory view of the drott lifter, FIG. 10 is a front view of a welding jig, and FIG. 10 is a right side view of FIG. 10, FIG. 12 is an explanatory view seen from the direction C of FIG. 1, and FIG. 13 is an explanatory view showing another structure of the conveying device as a second embodiment of the present invention. 10 ... Transport device, 10a, 10b, 10c, 10d ...
... rails, 20 ... trucks, 30a, 30b ... turntables, 40a, 40b ... drott lifters, 50
a, 50b, 60a, 60b ...... weld fixture, 70 ...... over head conveyor, Sa _1, Sa ₂ ...... floor main assembling _{stage, S 1, S 2, S} 3 ...... floor main increase punching stage, S ₄ ...... Body side assembly stage, Sa ₂ , Sb ₂
…… Body main assembly stage, S _{7 to} S ₁₁ …… Body main boost stage, W …… Body parts, W ₃ …… Body (body parts).

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Takashi Kumagai 2 Takaracho, Kanagawa-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A-58-93682 (JP, A) JP-A-59- 186756 (JP, A) JP 58-22633 (JP, A) JP 57-71741 (JP, A)

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An apparatus for assembling a vehicle body, which is mainly composed of a carrier apparatus comprising a rail and a self-propelled carriage that travels while positioning and supporting vehicle body parts of the vehicle on the rail. The transportation route of the above is formed in a square shape by three floor-mounted rails installed on the floor and one ceiling-mounted rail installed on the ceiling for circulating the carriage, and Along the three floor-mounted rails, a plurality of assembly stages for performing at least assembly work for body parts are arranged in series, and the corners formed by the floor-mounted rails are self-propelled. While a turntable for changing the traveling direction of the carriage is provided, the height position of the floor-mounted rail and the ceiling-mounted rail are provided at the corner portion formed by the floor-mounted rail and the ceiling-mounted rail. On the rail An apparatus for assembling an automobile body, wherein a drop lifter for raising and lowering a self-propelled carriage between a height position and a turntable for changing the traveling direction of the self-propelled carriage are arranged adjacent to each other.