JPH0731904A - Sealing robot - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To automatically clean a chip (the periphery of an opening) with a simple structure and to enhance the quality of a sealing work. CONSTITUTION:A sealing nozzle 5 at a sealing part 2 ejects a sealer to carry out a sealing work. After completion of the sealing work, a control means (not shown in figure) displaces the seal part 2 to a place where a limit switch 15 turns ON. The limit switch 15 turns ON, when a rotation angle of a movable rod 16 abutted on an actuator 10 of the seal part 2 exceeds a preliminarily set angle, and accordingly an air nozzle 20 ejects compressed air. At this time, a sealer ejecting port 5c of the sealing nozzle 5 is opposed to an air ejecting port of the air nozzle 20 and compressed air is blown to the periphery of the sealer ejecting port 5c.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sealing robot for applying a sealing agent to a joint between members of an automobile body, a door or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a sealing agent (hereinafter referred to as a sealer) is applied to a joint between members of an automobile body or a door, and the joint is water-proofed or dust-proofed by solidifying the sealant. To ensure. In the production process of automobiles, this kind of sealing work is performed by a plurality of (for example, 12) sealing robots. This sealing robot is a sealing nozzle that ejects a mist-like sealer, an arm that holds the nozzle and changes its position and orientation, and an arm that corresponds to pre-taught position coordinates to drive the sealing nozzle. It is composed of a control unit for controlling the ejection of the sealer.

In the above sealing robot, a sealing nozzle is brought close to a joint portion of a member to be sealed (hereinafter referred to as a work) such as a body or a door which is carried in by a conveyor or the like, and the sealing nozzle is moved along a trajectory along the joint portion. To move. At this time, a mist-like sealer is ejected from the opening of the sealing nozzle and applied to the joint of the work. When such a sealing operation is completed, the sealing robot retracts the sealing nozzle to a predetermined position and prepares for the next work to be loaded.

By the way, in the above-mentioned sealing operation, a part of the sealer ejected from the sealing nozzle bounces off the work and adheres to the periphery of the nozzle opening (hereinafter referred to as a tip). If you proceed with the sealing work in this state,
The unnecessary sealer that adheres to the chip and solidifies gradually increases,
Eventually, a cod-solidified sealer lump is formed. If such a sealer lump is formed on the chip, it causes a problem such as deviation of the trajectory of the sealing nozzle, which causes a problem that the sealing quality is deteriorated. Therefore, in order to eliminate such an adverse effect, the sealer attached to the chip is wiped off manually after the operation of the robot is completed.

[0005]

However, since the unnecessary sealer adheres to the chip at each sealing operation, a sealer lump is formed before the end of the robot operation in which the chip wiping operation is performed, which causes the trajectory of the sealing nozzle. Problems such as displacement may occur. In order to avoid such a problem, it is conceivable that a human wipes off the unnecessary sealer during the resting time of the sealing robot (for example, 7 minutes). It is also possible that it cannot be processed. Therefore, a sealing robot capable of improving the quality of the sealing operation by automatically cleaning the tip without human intervention is desired. The present invention has been made in view of such a background, and automatically cleans the tip (around the opening) with a simple configuration,
An object is to provide a sealing robot capable of improving the quality of sealing work.

[0006]

A sealing robot according to the present invention is attached to a robot arm and has a first nozzle for discharging a sealing agent and a rotatable detection member which is always in contact with the robot arm with a constant biasing force. Equipped with a stick,
A detection unit that generates an ON signal when the detection rod that rotates according to the displacement of the robot arm exceeds a preset rotation amount, and compressed air from the second nozzle when the ON signal is supplied. And a drive control means for displacing the robot arm to a position where the detection means generates an ON signal after the sealing work is completed. When the detection means generates the ON signal, the second control means is provided. The nozzle opening and the first nozzle opening face each other,
The compressed gas is blown onto the opening of the first nozzle.

[0007]

According to the above construction, the first nozzle attached to the robot arm discharges the sealing agent to perform the sealing operation. After the sealing work is completed, the drive control means displaces the robot arm to the position where the ON signal is generated from the detection means. In the detection means, an ON signal is generated because the detection rod contacting the robot arm rotates beyond a preset rotation amount. The ejection means supplied with the ON signal ejects compressed air from the second nozzle.
At this time, the opening of the second nozzle and the opening of the first nozzle face each other, and the compressed gas is blown onto the opening of the first nozzle. In this way, the periphery of the opening is automatically cleaned with a simple structure, and the quality of the sealing work is improved.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic structure of a sealing robot 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIGS. 2 and 4 are partial sectional views showing a partial structure of the sealing robot 1, and FIG. 3 is an external view thereof. In FIG. 1, 2 is a seal part for performing sealing work, 3 is a cleaning part for removing unnecessary sealer MS, 4 is a sealer tube for supplying a liquid sealer (sealing agent) to the seal part 2, and hereinafter, the seal part 2 and The configuration of the cleaning unit 3 will be described.

In the seal portion 2, 5 is a sealer tube 4.
A sealing nozzle for ejecting a liquid sealer supplied from the atomizer in a mist state. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a nozzle body 5a, a substantially cylindrical sealer ejection pipe 5b, and the ejection pipe 5b.
Sealer spout 5c formed by cutting out a predetermined shape
Have. Next, in FIG. 1, 6 is a bent columnar arm, the lower end of which is joined to the nozzle body 5a. Reference numeral 7 denotes an arm indirect portion, which rotatably supports the arm 6.

Reference numeral 7a is a support member for supporting the arm indirect portion 7, and 8 is an actuator attached to the arm indirect portion 7, which drives the arm 6 to rotate. Reference numeral 9 is an arm having a substantially cylindrical shape, 10 is an actuator mounted between the lower end of the arm 9 and the upper end of the support member 7a, and the actuator 10 connects the arm indirect portion 7 through the support member 7a in the circumferential direction of the arm 9. Drive to rotate. Reference numeral 11 is a substantially columnar arm, 12 is an actuator attached to the lower end of the arm 11 and the upper end of the arm 9, and rotates the arm 9 in the A direction indicated by the arrow in the figure.

Next, in the cleaning unit 3, 13 is a substantially columnar column, 14 is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped housing attached to the upper end of the column 13, and 15 is ON when the seal unit 2 is close to the cleaning unit 3. It is a limit switch. In the limit switch 15, reference numeral 16 is a movable rod bent at a right angle and is composed of a horizontal portion 16a and a vertical portion 16b. Further, 17 is a switch body to which the lower end of the movable rod 16 is rotatably attached, and 18 is a vertical portion 1 of the movable rod 16.
6b is a coil spring mounted on the coil spring 6b.
The lower end of 8 is the switch body 17, and the upper end is the vertical portion 16
It is attached to b.

When the actuator 10 does not contact the horizontal portion 16a of the movable rod 16, the coil spring 18 is
The horizontal portion 16a is attached so as to face the left direction in the figure (hereinafter, this state is referred to as an initial state). When the movable rod 16 is rotationally driven according to the movement of the abutting actuator 10, the coil spring 18 generates an elastic force in a direction opposite to the rotational direction. And further actuator 1
When 0 moves and the engagement between the actuator 10 and the movable rod 16 is released, the movable rod 10 returns to the initial state by the elastic force of the coil spring 18.

Reference numeral 19 is an air pipe for supplying compressed air of a predetermined pressure into the housing 14, and 20 is an air nozzle attached to the housing 14 for ejecting the compressed air supplied from the air pipe 19 downward in the drawing. The structure of the air nozzle 20 will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 4, 21 is an air nozzle main body, 22 is an air passage through which compressed air supplied through the main body 21 passes, and 23
Is an air guide that forms the passage 22 and is attached to the air nozzle body 21, and a thread with a predetermined pitch is screwed around the air nozzle body 21.

Reference numeral 24 is an air nozzle cap having an inner peripheral surface on which thread grooves having the same pitch as the thread are engraved.
It is screwed into the air guide 23. 25 is the air passage 22
An air ejection passage 26 communicating with the air ejection passage 26 is an air ejection guide sandwiched between the air guide 23 and the air nozzle cap 24, and an air ejection outlet 27 communicating with the air ejection passage 25 is formed at the tip thereof. In addition, 28 is O- which improves hermeticity so that compressed air does not leak to the outside space.
It's a ring.

By the way, the switch body 17 shown in FIG.
Turns off when the actuator 10 does not contact the movable rod 16, and turns on when the actuator 10 contacts the movable rod 16 and the rotation angle of the vertical portion 16b of the movable rod 16 is greater than or equal to a predetermined angle. Here, the angle at which the switch body 17 is turned on is such that the sealer jet port 5c is the air jet port 27.
It is set in advance according to the position of the actuator 10 when it is located immediately below.

In the housing 14, the air pipe 1
A valve mechanism (not shown) composed of a solenoid valve or the like is attached to the tip of 9 and the valve is opened / closed according to ON / OFF of the switch main body 17 to pass / block the compressed air supplied to the air nozzle 20. To do. The operations of the above-described various actuators and the operation of ejecting the sealer from the sealing nozzle are controlled by a control unit (drive control means) not shown.

Next, the operation of the sealing robot 1 having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the sealing operation of the sealing robot 1 under the control of the control unit. In this figure, C is a counter variable that holds the number of times the sealing operation is continuously performed, and is stored in the control unit. Note that, here, for simplification of description, it is assumed that the sealing work is performed by one sealing robot 1.

When the ceiling line of the automobile starts to operate, the control section carries out the process of step S1. Step S
At 1, 0 is substituted into the counter variable C. Next, in step S2, the conveyor laid in the factory is operated, and the work such as the door and the body is conveyed to the vicinity of the sealing robot 1. Then, this work is fixed at a predetermined position by a fixing jig (not shown).

Next, in step S3, the seal portion 2 operates on the fixed work to apply the sealer to the joint of the work. This operation is performed for all preset joints. Next, in step S4, it is determined whether or not the operation of the sealing robot 1 is stopped. The result of this judgment is "Yes" when the ceiling line stops.
s ”and the process ends. On the contrary, if the ceiling line is operating, the result is "No", and the process proceeds to step S5.

In step S5, 1 is added to the counter variable C. Next, in step S6, it is determined whether the value of the counter variable C is smaller than "10". The process returns to step S2 if the determination result is “Yes”,
In the case of "No", the process proceeds to step S7. Here, the numerical value to be compared with the counter variable C is set to "10", but this numerical value indicates the number of works to be continuously sealed, and is changed according to the characteristics of the works.

In step S7, the control section operates the seal section 2 so that the sealer ejection port 5c of the sealing nozzle 5 passes near the air ejection port 27 under a predetermined speed. At this time, the control unit controls the seal unit 2 so that the sealer jet port 5c faces upward (toward the air jet port 27).

In the process of the above-mentioned operation, the movable rod 16 in which the actuator 10 of the seal portion 2 is in the initial state of the cleaning portion 3
The movable rod 16 rotates in the moving direction of the actuator 10 against the moment applied by the coil spring 18 with the vertical portion 16b as a rotation axis. When the rotation angle of the movable rod 16 reaches a preset angle, the switch body 17 is turned on and the valve in the housing 14 is opened.

As a result, compressed air is supplied from the air pipe 19 to the air nozzle 20 via the valve. In the air nozzle 20, the compressed air supplied is supplied to the air passage 22.
And the air ejection passage 25, and the air ejection port 27
Is ejected at a predetermined pressure. At this time, the air jet 2
The sealer jet port 5c of the sealing nozzle 5 is located immediately below 7 and the unnecessary sealer MS attached to the periphery of the sealer jet port 5c is blown off within a predetermined time.

After a lapse of a predetermined time (for example, 2 seconds), the horizontal portion 16a of the movable rod 16 is moved to the actuator 10
When the movable rod 16 is disengaged from the movable rod 16, the movable rod 16 rotates in the direction opposite to the moving direction of the actuator 10 due to the moment of the spring 17, and returns to the initial state. That is, the rotation angle of the movable rod 16 becomes less than the preset angle, and the switch body 17 is turned off. When the switch body 17 is turned off, the housing 14
The inner valve is closed, and the air ejection from the air nozzle 20 is stopped.

When the process of removing the above-mentioned unnecessary sealer MS is completed, the process returns to step S1 and the counter variable C is initialized again. The above-described sealing operation is continuously performed until the sealing line is stopped, the sealing line is stopped, and the determination result in step S4 ends when the determination result is “Yes”.

As described above, the sealing robot 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention can remove the unnecessary sealer MS attached to the sealing nozzle 5 during the operation of the sealing line. For this reason, the necessary and sufficient cleaning work can be performed on the sealing robot 1, and the quality trouble due to the adhesion of the unnecessary sealer MS can be eliminated. Further, it is not necessary for a person to wipe off the unnecessary sealer MS after the sealing line is stopped, and the burden on the worker can be reduced.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, the compressed air is jetted to remove the unnecessary sealer MS, but sandblast or the like may be jetted instead of the compressed air. At this time, if a liquid such as thinner is used, the liquid attached to the sealing nozzle 5 may drop on the work during the sealing operation. Therefore, it is desirable to use gas or solid as the ejected substance.

Of course, the jetting of the compressed air is performed at a position where the blown off unnecessary sealer MS does not drop on the work. Also, a plurality of sealing robots 1 may be operated in the sealing line. At this time, the numbers of the seal portions 2 and the cleaning portions 3 do not have to match, and one cleaning portion 3 may correspond to a plurality of seal portions 2.

[0029]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The first nozzle attached to the robot arm discharges the sealing agent to perform the sealing work. After the sealing work is completed, the drive control means displaces the robot arm to the position where the ON signal is generated from the detection means. In the detection means, an ON signal is generated because the detection rod contacting the robot arm rotates beyond a preset rotation amount. The ejection means supplied with the ON signal ejects compressed air from the second nozzle. At this time, the opening of the second nozzle and the opening of the first nozzle face each other, and the compressed gas is blown onto the opening of the first nozzle. As a result, it is possible to automatically clean the periphery of the opening with a simple structure and improve the quality of the sealing work.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sealing robot 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
It is a figure which shows schematic structure of.

FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a partial structure of the sealing robot 1.

FIG. 3 is an external view showing a partial structure of the sealing robot 1.

FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a partial structure of the sealing robot 1.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a flow of a sealing operation by the sealing robot 1.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Sealing Robot 2 Sealing Part 3 Cleaning Part (Spouting Means) 5 Sealing Nozzle (First Nozzle) 15 Limit Switch (Detecting Means) 20 Air Nozzle (Second Nozzle)

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A robot arm equipped with a first nozzle for discharging a sealing agent, and a rotatable detection rod which is always in contact with the robot arm with a constant urging force. Detecting means for generating an ON signal when the detection rod which rotates by a predetermined amount of rotation exceeds a preset rotation amount, ejection means for ejecting compressed air from the second nozzle when the ON signal is supplied, and seal Drive control means for displacing the robot arm to a position where the detection means generates an ON signal after completion of work, and when the detection means generates an ON signal, the opening of the second nozzle and the A sealing robot that faces the opening of the first nozzle, and the compressed gas is blown to the opening of the first nozzle. 2. The sealing robot according to claim 1, wherein the ejection means ejects sandblast from the second nozzle at a predetermined speed.