JPH08197356A - Assembly and working method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide an assembly and working method which improves work efficiency by equalizing the work time of each work station without needing a large amount of facility expenses. CONSTITUTION: A workpiece is carried, in the condition that it is put on a pallet 34, by a free flow conveyor 32, and it is stopped at each stop position corresponding to each work station ST1-ST7 arranged along a conveyor 32, and specified assembly or working is applied to the workpiece in each work station. One piece or plural pieces of carry pallets 34 preset according to each work station is stopped at each stop position, and in each work station, assembly or working is simultaneously performed to the workpieces on this one piece or plural pieces of pallets 34.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an assembling / processing method for assembling or processing a work while moving a carrying pallet on which the work is placed on a free-flow conveyor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an assembling / processing method for assembling or processing a work while moving a transfer pallet on which a work is placed on a free-flow conveyor, it is possible to assemble or process the work on one transfer pallet. I was working.

The conventional assembling / processing method will be described below with reference to FIG.
28 and FIG. 28.

FIG. 27 is a diagram showing a configuration of an example of a product to be assembled. In FIG. 27, the product 102
Is the main plate 104 and the shaft 1 erected on the main plate 104.
06, 108, 110, 112, and each component assembled to the main plate 104 and the shafts 106 to 112. Each component includes a motor unit 116 to which a pinion gear 114 is attached, a first gear 118 that meshes with the pinion gear 114, a second gear 120 that meshes with the first gear 118, and a main plate 104 independently of the motor 116.
The sprocket gear 122 is attached to the sprocket gear 122, an encoder plate 124 that meshes with the sprocket gear 122, and a photo sensor 126 that detects the rotation of the encoder plate 124.

The product 102 thus constructed is assembled in the following procedure. First, the resin base plate 104
Then, the motor unit 116 in which the pinion gear 114 is press-fitted into the motor shaft is fixed with the two screws 128. At this time, after applying a loosening preventive adhesive to the screw portion of the screw 128, the screw 128 is tightened. The first gear 118 is attached to the shaft 106 of the main plate that meshes with the pinion gear 114 of the motor, and the second gear 1 is attached to the shaft 108 of the main plate that meshes with the first gear 118.
Assemble each 20. And the first gear 11
8. The retaining ring 130 made of resin is used to prevent the second gear 120 from coming off.
Is assembled to the shaft 108 for the second gear 120.

The sprocket gear 122 is attached to the shaft 110 of the same main plate 104, which is located at a position independent of the above-mentioned assembling, and the encoder plate 124 is attached to the shaft 112 of the main plate 104 meshing with the sprocket gear 122. Then, a retaining ring 130 made of resin is attached to the shaft 112 for the encoder plate 124 to prevent the sprocket gear 122 and the encoder plate 124 from coming off. The photosensor 126 is set so as to sandwich the encoder plate 124, and the ultraviolet curable adhesive 132 is applied to both sides of the photosensor 126 and is irradiated with ultraviolet rays to be fixed.

Next, a work flow in the assembling apparatus 200 for assembling the product 102 according to the above procedure will be described.

The assembling apparatus is constructed such that each work station is arranged along the conveyor 202 and the pallet 204 is stopped at a position corresponding to each work station. First, in the first work station ST1 ′, the tray in which the motor units 116 are arranged is supplied into the work area of the cylindrical coordinate type robot by the component supply device, and is positioned on the transfer conveyor 202 by the cylindrical coordinate type robot. One motor unit 116 is assembled on the transport pallet 204. Next, a tray on which the base plate 104 is similarly arranged is supplied into the work area of the cylindrical coordinate type robot by the component supply device, and one base plate 104 is assembled by the cylindrical coordinate type robot. The transfer pallet 204 on which the motor unit 116 and the main plate 104 are placed is transferred to the second work station ST2 '.

At the second work station ST2 ', the screws 128 aligned by the screw supply parts feeder are picked up by a screw tightening driver attached to the Cartesian robot, and then the tips of the screws 128 are put into a petri dish containing adhesive. . After that, the motor unit 116 and the main plate 10
Tighten one of the two screws to secure 4.

At the third work station ST3 ', the same work as the second work station ST2' is performed, and the remaining one of the two screws for fixing the motor unit 116 and the main plate 104 is tightened.

In the fourth work station ST4 ', the tray having the first gears 118 arranged therein is supplied into the work area of the cylindrical coordinate type robot by the component supplying device, and the cylindrical coordinate type robot positions it on the transfer conveyor 202. The first gear 118 is attached to the main plate 104 on the transported pallet 204.
Assemble one.

Next, a tray in which the second gears 120 are similarly arranged is supplied into the work area of the cylindrical coordinate type robot by the component supplying device, and the second gear 1 is supplied by the cylindrical coordinate type robot.
One 20 is attached to the main plate 104. Transport pallet 204 on which the unit assembled up to the second gear 120 is placed
Is transported to the fifth work station ST5 '.

In the fifth work station ST5 ', the tray in which the sprocket gears 122 are arranged is supplied into the work area of the cylindrical coordinate type robot by the component supply device, and is positioned on the transfer conveyor 202 by the cylindrical coordinate type robot. One sprocket gear 122 is attached to the main plate 104 on the transport pallet 204.

Next, a tray in which encoder plates 124 are similarly arranged is supplied into the work area of the cylindrical coordinate type robot by the component supplying device, and one encoder plate 124 is attached to the main plate 104 by the cylindrical coordinate type robot. The transport pallet 204 on which the unit assembled up to the encoder plate 124 is placed is transported to the sixth work station ST6 '.

At the sixth work station ST6 ', a resin snap ring 1 is manufactured by supplying a band-shaped resin material wound on a reel to a press machine and punching it into a predetermined shape with the press machine.
30 is sucked up by a vacuum suction finger attached to the Cartesian coordinate type robot, and is attached to the shaft 108 for the second gear of the main plate 104 and the shaft 112 for the encoder plate. (Repeat twice) In the seventh work station ST7 ′ to the tenth work station ST10 ′, since the work time per work station is long, exactly the same work is performed in parallel in four stations (assembly machines). Let

The transfer pallet 204 transferred by the conveyor 202 is transferred from the conveyor 202 to the work area of each assembling machine. This is to prevent the transportation of the transport pallets 204 from being hindered because the four assembling machines work in parallel. Next, the photosensor 126 is sucked up by a vacuum suction finger attached to one of the Cartesian coordinate type robots, and the photosensor 126 is picked up on the main plate 104.
Assemble. After that, a UV curable adhesive supply dispenser attached to another Cartesian robot was used to apply the UV curable adhesive to both sides of the photosensor 126, and the UV rays were attached to the same Cartesian robot. The tip of the optical fiber guided from the generator is moved over the place where the ultraviolet curable adhesive is applied, and ultraviolet rays are irradiated to cure the adhesive. When the above work is completed,
The transfer pallet 204 is moved from the work area to the conveyor 202.
Return to.

In the eleventh work station ST11 'to the thirteenth work station ST13', since the work time per assembly machine is long, the exactly same work is performed in parallel by the three assembly machines.

The transfer pallet 204 transferred by the conveyor 202 is transferred from the conveyor 202 to the work area of each assembling machine. Next, the inspection connection is applied to the transport pallet 204, and necessary product inspection is performed. As a result of the inspection, if the signal is defective, the signal pin of the transport pallet 204 is set to the defective position. When the above work is completed, the transport pallet 204 is returned from the work area to the conveyor 202.

In the fourteenth work station ST14 ', the position of the signal pin of the transported transport pallet 204 is detected by a sensor to determine whether the finished product on the transport pallet 204 is a good product or a defective product. The determination result is sent to the cylindrical coordinate type robot, and when the cylindrical coordinate type robot is a non-defective product, it is stored in a good product storage tray, and when it is a defective product, it is stored in a defective product storage tray. After this, the signal pin is returned to its original position.

The transfer pallet 204 emptied at the fourteenth work station ST14 'is the first return conveyor.
Is transported to the work station ST1 '.

The operation of the assembling machine is controlled by the control device attached to each assembling machine and the overall control device 206.

[0022]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional assembling apparatus, the working time for one work is long or short depending on the assembling machine or the processing machine. It is necessary to arrange a number of processing machines in parallel and work in parallel to shorten the working time as a whole. In this case, a plurality of the same assembling machines or processing machines are required, resulting in high equipment cost and large installation area. Further, extra operations such as transferring the transport pallet from the conveyor to the work area of each assembling machine or each processing machine are required so as not to hinder the transport of the transport pallet. Further, when the working time is short, a waiting time is required until the work of other assembling machines or processing machines is completed, resulting in a wasteful time in which the apparatus is not operating.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to equalize the work time of each work station without requiring a large equipment cost and to improve work efficiency. An object of the present invention is to provide an assembling / processing method capable of improving the above.

[0024]

Means for Solving the Problems The above-mentioned problems are solved,
In order to achieve the object, the assembling / processing method of the present invention is that a work is carried on a pallet by a free-flow conveyor and stopped at each stop position corresponding to each work station arranged along the conveyor. Then, in the assembling / processing method for performing a predetermined assembly or processing on the work at each work station, one or a plurality of transfer pallets preset corresponding to each work station are stopped at the respective stop positions. At the work station, the works on the one or more pallets are simultaneously assembled or processed.

In the assembly / processing method according to the present invention, at least one of the work stations is
A plurality of transfer pallets are stopped at one work station.

Further, in the assembling / processing method according to the present invention, the number of pallets stopped at each of the work stations is different depending on the work station.

[0027]

Since the assembling / processing method according to the present invention is configured as described above, a pallet is conveyed by using a free flow conveyor, and a plurality of pallets preset for each work station are stopped. By simultaneously performing the assembly or processing work, the working time of each work station can be made uniform. Therefore, it is possible to prevent unnecessary waiting time at each work station,
The work efficiency can be improved. Further, since it is not necessary to prepare a plurality of the same assembling or processing machines, it is possible to reduce facility costs.

[0028]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In this embodiment also, the product to be assembled is exactly the same as that shown in FIG.

1 to 3 are views showing the structure of a transport pallet. The transfer pallet 34 is roughly composed of the base plate 14 and the jig portion 16. A positioning reference hole 18 is formed in the base plate 14 as shown in FIG. 2, and a signal pin 20 is provided as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. The signal pin 20 is attached to the base plate 14 so as to be slidable in the vertical direction, and is configured so that the state of being pulled in the base plate 14 and the state of protruding from the base plate 14 can be switched in a click manner. In this embodiment, when the assembly of the product 102 is defective, the signal pin 20 is set to the protruding state, and when the assembly is normal, the signal pin 20 is set to the retracted state. As shown in FIG. 3A, the signal pin 20 in the popped-out state is detected by a good / bad sensor 21, which will be described later, to judge whether the product is good or bad. On the other hand, a positioning pin 22 for positioning the base plate 104 (see FIG. 27) is embedded in the jig portion 16 and escape portions 24a, 24b for the fingers of the assembly robot are formed.

Next, FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the construction of an assembling apparatus to which the assembling / processing method of this embodiment is applied.

The assembling apparatus 30 has
It is arranged along a conveyor 32 and a return conveyor 33, which are free-flow conveyors, and is configured to stop the pallet 34 at a position corresponding to each work station.

Each work station will be described below with reference to FIGS. 5 to 26.

First, FIG. 5 shows the first work station ST.
1 is a plan view seen from above, and FIG. 6 is a side view seen from the left side in FIG.

In FIGS. 5 and 6, the first work station ST1 is a cylindrical coordinate type robot 40 arranged adjacent to the conveyor 32, and a component supply for supplying a component to the cylindrical coordinate type robot 40. And device 41. In the component supply device 41, trays 42 and 43 for supplying different components are arranged on both sides of the cylindrical coordinate type robot 40. In this embodiment, the left tray 42 accommodates the motor unit 116. The bottom plate 104 is stored in the tray 43 on the right side. The cylindrical coordinate type robot 40 uses the trays 42,
The parts are picked up from 43 and assembled on the transfer pallet 34 on the transfer conveyor 32. Cylindrical coordinate type robot 4
A hand 45 is attached to the tip of the arm 44 of No. 0. The hand 45 has a feed screw 45a having reverse threads formed at both ends as shown in FIG.
finger 45b driven by a and lead screw 45a
And a motor 45c for rotationally driving. The hand 45 holds the motor unit 116 and the main plate 104 as shown in FIG. The transfer pallet 34 has a positioning cylinder 46.
The positioning pin 47 provided at the tip of is positioned by being inserted into the positioning reference hole 18 of the base plate 14. Further, the transport pallet 34 is pushed upward by the positioning pin 47 and abuts and is fixed to the rising end stopper 48. FIG. 8 is a partial cross-sectional view of FIG. 7 viewed from the left side, and the positioning pin 47 is
Two of them are arranged at the tip of 6 in the widthwise direction of the conveyor 32.

FIG. 9 is a plan view of the second work station ST2 seen from above, and FIG. 10 is a side view of FIG. 9 seen from the left side.

In FIG. 9 and FIG. 10, the second work station ST2 comprises a Cartesian robot 50 arranged adjacent to the conveyor 32 and two screw feeder parts feeders 51a and 51b. Has been done. The movable part of the Cartesian coordinate type robot 50 includes
As shown in FIG. 2, two screw tightening drivers 52 are arranged so that the screws 128 can be simultaneously tightened to the two pallets 34 positioned at the second work station ST2. The screw tightening driver 52 is moved up and down by the lifting cylinder 53.
In addition, the parts feeders 51a and 51b and the conveyor 3
A petri dish 54 containing an adhesive for locking the screw is arranged between the two, and the screw 128 is assembled to the pallet 34 after the tip of the screw 128 is once dipped in the adhesive. The mechanism for positioning and fixing the pallet 34 is similar to that of the first work station ST1.

FIG. 12 is a plan view of the third work station ST3 as seen from above, and FIG. 13 is a side view of FIG. 12 as seen from the left side.

In FIG. 12 and FIG. 13, the third work station ST3 is a cylindrical coordinate type robot 56 disposed adjacent to the conveyor 32, and a component supply for supplying a component to the cylindrical coordinate type robot 56. And the device 57. In the component supply device 57, trays 58a to 58d for supplying different components are arranged on both sides of the cylindrical coordinate type robot 56, and in this embodiment, the trays 58a and 58b on the left side each have a first tray. The gear 118 and the second gear 120 are housed, and the trays 58c and 58d on the right side respectively include the sprocket gear 1
22 and the encoder plate 124 are housed. The cylindrical coordinate type robot 56 picks up components from these trays 58 a to 58 d and assembles them on the transport pallet 34 on the transport conveyor 32. A hand 60 is attached to the end of the arm 59 of the cylindrical coordinate type robot 56,
Two vacuum suction fingers 61 are arranged on the hand 60 as shown in FIG. The two suction fingers 61 of the hand 60 suck two pieces of each of the parts and simultaneously assemble the parts to the two pallets 34 positioned at the third work station ST3. The mechanism for positioning and fixing the pallet 34 is similar to that of the first work station ST1.

FIG. 15 shows a fourth work station ST4.
FIG. 16 is a plan view seen from above, and FIG. 16 is a side view showing FIG. 15 seen from the left side.

In FIGS. 15 and 16, the fourth work station ST4 is composed of a Cartesian coordinate type robot 63 disposed adjacent to the conveyor 32 and a press machine 64 for punching and forming the resin retaining ring 130. It is configured. The pressing machine 64 unwinds and presses a belt-shaped resin material from the material reel 65, and punches the resin retaining ring 130. As shown in FIG.
As shown in FIGS. 6 and 17, vacuum suction fingers 66 are arranged, and the punched and molded resin retaining ring 130 is sucked and attached to the pallet 34 positioned at the fourth work station ST4. The mechanism for positioning and fixing the pallet 34 is the first work station ST.
The same as 1.

FIG. 18 shows a fifth work station ST5.
FIG. 19 is a plan view seen from above, and FIG. 19 is a side view seen from the left side of FIG. 18.

In FIGS. 18 and 19, the fifth work station ST5 includes two Cartesian coordinate type robots 68 and 69 arranged adjacent to both sides of the conveyor 32.
It is composed of a component supply device 70. The photo sensor 126 (see FIG. 27) is provided on the tray 71 on the component supply device 70.
(See) are contained. As shown in FIGS. 18 and 19, four vacuum suction fingers 72 are arranged in the movable part of the Cartesian robot 68, and the four pallets 34 positioned at the fifth work station ST5 are simultaneously placed on the four pallets 34. It is configured so that the photo sensor 126 can be attached. On the other hand, in the movable part of the Cartesian robot 69, four UV-curable adhesive supply dispensers 73 are arranged as shown in FIGS. 19 and 20, and the robot 68 arranges them on the four pallets 34. Supplied 4
An ultraviolet curable adhesive is supplied to the side of each photo sensor 126 at the same time. In addition, in the vicinity of the four dispensers 73, each dispenser 73
The optical fibers 74 are arranged corresponding to each book. These four optical fibers 74 are used for the four ultraviolet ray generators 7
5 are respectively connected to the adhesive 5, and ultraviolet rays are simultaneously applied to the adhesive from the tips of the four optical fibers 74, so that the four photosensors 126 are simultaneously adhered and fixed to the four pallets. The mechanism for positioning and fixing the pallet 34 is similar to that of the first work station ST1.

FIG. 21 shows a sixth work station ST6.
22 is a plan view seen from above, and FIG. 22 is a side view seen from the left side of FIG.

In FIGS. 21 and 22, the sixth work station ST6 includes three inspection devices 77 arranged adjacent to the conveyor 32, and a control unit 7 of the inspection device.
And 8. Each of the three inspection devices 77 is provided with an inspection connection portion 79, and can inspect simultaneously the finished products on the three pallets 34 positioned corresponding to the sixth work station ST6. Is configured. The three inspection connecting portions 79 are vertically moved by the cylinder 80. Further, when it is determined that the finished product is defective in the sixth work station ST6, the signal pin 20 is set in a state of protruding from the base plate as shown in FIG. . The mechanism for positioning and fixing the pallet 34 is similar to that of the first work station ST1.

FIG. 24 is a plan view of the seventh work station ST7 viewed from above, and FIG. 25 is a side view of FIG. 24 viewed from the left side.

24 and 25, the seventh work station ST7 stores the cylindrical coordinate type robot 82 arranged adjacent to the conveyor 32 and the product removed from the pallet 34 by the cylindrical coordinate type robot 82. It is composed of a storage device 83 for storing. At positions on both sides of the cylindrical coordinate type robot 82 of the storage device 83, a good product storage tray 84a for storing normal products and a defective product storage tray 84b for storing defective products are arranged. The cylindrical coordinate type robot 82 picks up the product from the pallet 34 and stores the good product in the good product storage tray 84a and the defective product in the defective product storage tray 84b. A hand 86 is attached to the tip of the arm 85 of the cylindrical coordinate type robot 82. The hand 86 includes a feed screw 86a having reverse threads formed on both ends, and a finger 86b driven by the feed screw 86a. , And a motor 86c that rotationally drives the feed screw 86a. Hand 86
The product 102 is gripped as shown in FIG. 26 and stored in the good product storage tray 84a or the defective product storage tray 84b. In the 7th work station, the decision as to whether the product is good or bad is shown in FIG.
Good / bad sensor 2 provided in the state as shown in FIG.
It is performed by 1. The mechanism for positioning and fixing the pallet 34 is similar to that of the first work station ST1.

In the assembling apparatus thus constructed, the product 102 is assembled in the following procedure.

First, in the first work station ST1, the tray 42 in which the motor units 116 are arranged is
It is supplied into the work area of the cylindrical coordinate type robot 40 by the component supply device 41, and the cylindrical coordinate type robot 40 assembles one motor unit 116 to the transfer pallet 34 positioned on the conveyor 32. The positioning and fixing of the transfer pallet 34 is performed by inserting the positioning pin 47 of the positioning cylinder 46 installed in the lower part of the conveyor 32 into the positioning reference hole 18 of the base plate 14, and pushing up the base plate 14 by this pin 47 to raise it. This is done by abutting the end stopper 48.
Next, the tray 43 in which the main plate 104 is similarly arranged is supplied into the work area of the cylindrical coordinate type robot 40 by the component supply device 41, and the main plate 10 is supplied by the cylindrical coordinate type robot 40.
Attach 4 pieces. Motor unit 116 and main plate 1
The transport pallet 34 on which 04 is placed is transported to the second work station ST2. Up to this point, the process is the same as the conventional assembling apparatus.

Next, at the second work station ST2, two transfer pallets 34 are simultaneously positioned. This is two sets of sensors (not shown),
It is performed after detecting that two of the two have arrived. The screws 128 aligned by the two screw supply parts feeders 51a and 51b are picked up by the two screw tightening drivers 52 attached to the Cartesian robot 50, and the tips of the screws 128 are put into the petri dish 54 containing the adhesive. After that, one of the two screws 128 for fixing the motor unit 116 and the base plate 104 is fastened to the work on each of the transfer pallets.

Next, in the same work, the motor unit 11
6 and the other one of the two screws 128 for fixing the base plate 104 are tightened to the work on the respective transport pallets 34.

Next, also in the third work station ST3, two transfer pallets 34 are simultaneously positioned.

Then, the first gear 118 and the second gear 120
The trays 58a and 58b having the arrangement of
To the work area of the cylindrical coordinate type robot 56, and by the cylindrical coordinate type robot 56, the main plate 10 on the two transfer pallets 34 positioned on the transfer conveyor 32.
Two first gears 118 are simultaneously attached to No. 4. In this case, the positioning interval of the two transfer pallets 34 and the work interval on the tray are the same, or if they are different, the robot hand needs to have a variable structure capable of correcting the work holding interval. Next, by the same work, two second gears 120 are assembled at the same time.

Next, the trays 58c and 58d, on which the sprocket gear 122 and the encoder plate 124 are arranged, are supplied into the work area of the cylindrical coordinate type robot 56 by the parts supply device 57, and the cylindrical coordinate robot 56 causes the conveyor 3 to move.
Two sprocket gears 122 are simultaneously attached to the main plate 104 on the two transfer pallets 34 positioned on the two. Next, by the same operation, two encoder plates 124 are assembled at the same time.

The transfer pallet 34 on which the unit assembled up to the encoder plate 124 is placed is transferred to the fourth work station ST4.

At the fourth work station ST4, the belt-shaped resin material wound around the reel 65 is supplied to the press machine 64, and punched into a predetermined shape by the press machine 64 to manufacture.
The resin retaining ring 130 is sucked up by the vacuum suction finger 66 attached to the Cartesian coordinate type robot 63, and is attached to the shaft 108 for the second gear of the main plate 104 and the shaft 108 for the encoder plate (repeated twice). The work from the fourth work station ST4 is the same as the conventional work.

Next, at the fifth work station ST5, four transfer pallets 34 are simultaneously positioned.

Tray 71 on which photosensors 126 are arranged
Is supplied to the work area of one Cartesian coordinate type robot 68 by the component supply device 70, and the four photosensors 12 are attached by the vacuum suction fingers 72 attached to the robot 68.
6 is sucked up and the base plate 104 on the four transfer pallets 34
Four photosensors 126 are simultaneously attached to. After that, it was attached to another Cartesian robot 69 4
4 with the UV curable adhesive supply dispenser 73
An ultraviolet curable adhesive is simultaneously applied to both sides of the photo sensor 126 on each carrier pallet 34, and the optical fiber 74 attached to the same Cartesian coordinate type robot 69 is further installed on each of the four carrier pallets. The adhesive is moved to a space above the place where the adhesive is applied, and ultraviolet rays are irradiated to cure the adhesive. Then, the pallet 34 is conveyed to the next sixth work station ST6.

At the sixth work station ST6, three transfer pallets 34 are simultaneously positioned.

The inspection connecting portion 7 is attached to the three transfer pallets 34.
Apply 9 and perform necessary product inspections at the same time. If the inspection result indicates that the signal is defective, the signal pin 20 of the transport pallet 34 is set to the defective position. When the above work is completed, the pallet 34 is transported to the seventh work station ST7.

At the seventh work station ST7, the position of the signal pin 20 of the transported transport pallet 34 is detected by the good / defective sensor 21 to judge whether the finished product on the transport pallet 34 is a good product or a defective product. . The determination result is sent to the cylindrical coordinate type robot 82, and when the cylindrical coordinate type robot 82 is a non-defective item, it is stored in the non-defective item storage tray 84a, and when it is a defective item, it is stored in the defective item storage tray 84b.
After this, the signal pin is returned to its original position.

The transfer pallet 34 emptied at the seventh work station ST7 is transferred to the first work station ST7 by the return conveyor 33.

The operation of the assembly machine is controlled by a control device (not shown) attached to each assembly machine and the overall control device 36.

As described above, according to the above-mentioned embodiment, since the working time which is lengthened by the assembling machine or the processing machine can be leveled, the problem when working on the work of one transfer pallet, that is, (1) If the work time for one work is long,
It is necessary to arrange a large number of assembling machines or processing machines to work in parallel and shorten the working time as a whole. Therefore, a plurality of the same assembling machines or processing machines are required, which increases the facility cost and increases the installation area. In order not to hinder the transportation of the transport pallet, it is necessary to perform an extra operation such as transferring the transport pallet from the conveyor to the work area of each assembling machine or each processing machine. (2) If the work time for one work is short,
The operation of the apparatus is stopped until the work of the other assembling machine or the processing machine is completed, resulting in unnecessary waiting time. The problem is solved.

The present invention can be applied to modifications and variations of the above embodiments without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

For example, in the above embodiment, the case where the assembling machine is arranged around the free flow conveyor has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and an operator may be arranged instead of the processing machine or machine. .

Further, although it has been described that one set of works is held and assembled in one transfer pallet, the present invention is not limited to this, and a plurality of sets of works are held and assembled or processed. Is also good.

[0068]

As described above, according to the assembling / processing method of the present invention, a pallet is conveyed by using a free flow conveyor, and a plurality of pallets preset for each work station are stopped. By performing the assembling or processing work at the same time, the working time of each work station can be made uniform. Therefore, it is possible to prevent useless waiting time from occurring in each work station and improve work efficiency. Further, since it is not necessary to prepare a plurality of the same assembling or processing machines, it is possible to reduce facility costs.

[0069]

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a structure of a transport pallet.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a structure of a transport pallet.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a structure of a transport pallet.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of an assembling apparatus to which the assembling / processing method of the present embodiment is applied.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the first work station ST1 viewed from above.

FIG. 6 is a side view of FIG. 5 viewed from the left side.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged view showing a hand portion.

8 is a partial cross-sectional view of FIG. 7 viewed from the left side.

FIG. 9 is a plan view of a second work station ST2 viewed from above.

FIG. 10 is a side view of FIG. 9 as viewed from the left side.

FIG. 11 is an enlarged view showing a portion of a screw tightening driver.

FIG. 12 is a plan view of a third work station ST3 viewed from above.

13 is a side view of FIG. 12 viewed from the left side.

FIG. 14 is an enlarged view of a portion of a vacuum suction finger.

FIG. 15 is a plan view of a fourth work station ST4 as seen from above.

16 is a side view of FIG. 15 as viewed from the left side.

FIG. 17 is an enlarged view showing a portion of a vacuum suction finger.

FIG. 18 is a plan view of a fifth work station ST5 viewed from above.

FIG. 19 is a side view of FIG. 18 as viewed from the left side.

FIG. 20 is an enlarged view showing a portion of a UV-curable adhesive supply dispenser.

FIG. 21 is a plan view of a sixth work station ST6 viewed from above.

22 is a side view of FIG. 21 viewed from the left side.

FIG. 23 is an enlarged view showing a portion of an inspection connecting portion.

FIG. 24 is a plan view of a seventh work station ST7 viewed from above.

FIG. 25 is a side view of FIG. 24 as viewed from the left side.

FIG. 26 is an enlarged view showing a finger portion.

FIG. 27 is a diagram showing a configuration of an example of a product to be assembled.

FIG. 28 is a diagram showing a configuration of a conventional assembling apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 14 base plate 16 jig part 18 positioning reference hole 20 signal pin 21 good / defective sensor 22 positioning pin 30 assembly device 32 transfer conveyor 33 return conveyor 34 transfer pallet 36 control device 40,56,82 cylindrical coordinate type robot 41,70, 83 Parts Supply Device 42, 43, 58, 84 Tray 44, 59, 85 Robot Arm 45, 60, 86 Hand 46 Positioning Cylinder 47 Positioning Pin 48 Ascending End Stopper 50, 63, 68 Cartesian Robot 52 Screw Tightening Driver 53 Lifting Cylinder 57 Parts supply device 61,66,72 Vacuum suction finger 64 Press machine 65 Material reel 73 UV curable adhesive supply dispenser 74 Optical fiber 75 UV generator 77 Inspection device 78 Control device 79 Inspection connection 80 Lifting cylinder 1 2 Product 104 base plate 106, 108, 110, 112 shaft 114 pinion gear 116 motor 118 first gear 120 second gear 122 sprocket 124 encoder plate 126 photosensor 128 screws 130 resin snap ring 202 conveyor 204 conveying pallet

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A work is carried on a pallet by a free-flow conveyor, stopped at each stop position corresponding to each work station arranged along the conveyor, and a predetermined assembly of the work is performed at each work station. Alternatively, in an assembling / processing method for performing processing, one or a plurality of transfer pallets preset corresponding to the respective work stations are stopped at the respective stop positions, and the respective one or a plurality of the work pallets are stopped at each work station. A method of assembling / machining, characterized in that work pieces on a pallet are simultaneously assembled or machined. 2. The assembly / assembly according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of transfer pallets are stopped at at least one of the work stations.
Processing method. 3. The assembling / processing method according to claim 1, wherein the number of pallets stopped at each work station differs depending on the work station.