JPH0829734B2 - Assembly method of car body - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a vehicle body assembly method suitable for use in an automobile vehicle body assembly line.

(Prior Art) In the conventional assembly of an automobile body, generally, a gauge part is fixed to a large number of positions on an assembly stage of an assembly line, and the gauge parts individually carry the stage into the stage. By positioning a plurality of vehicle body panels with respect to each other and joining the vehicle body panels in the positioned state to each other by spot welding or the like and temporarily fixing them, the main body of the vehicle body, which substantially determines the assembly accuracy of the vehicle body, is assembled. After that, spot welding is performed on the main part and a predetermined vehicle body panel is further joined.In this method, the assembly accuracy of the assembled vehicle body is measured, and work is performed based on the measurement result. A worker manually moves or scrapes each of the many gauge parts, adjusts the position by welding, etc., and then assembles the car body again. Was repeated until the assembling accuracy of the vehicle body reached a predetermined accuracy, so that the gauge portion was arranged at an appropriate position.

However, in the manual adjustment as described above, it takes a long time to adjust the position of the gauge portion, and it takes a long time to arrange them at proper positions.

Therefore, the applicant of the present invention previously disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 50-144595, each gauge portion, and a clamp mechanism for fixing the workpiece to these gauge portions and holding the workpiece by a drive mechanism, It has been proposed to install a work positioning device on the assembly stage so that the position of each gauge part can be automatically adjusted based on the operation of those drive mechanisms.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, in the work positioning device,
Since a driving mechanism is provided for each of a large number of gauge parts to move the gauge parts by a small distance, a carrier device for individually carrying in a plurality of vehicle body panels constituting a main part of the vehicle body to the assembly stage. It is extremely difficult to configure the transport device so that the transport space between the transport devices and between the transport devices and the drive mechanism can be avoided.

By the way, the work positioning device also has a clamp mechanism for holding the work, and if the clamp mechanism is moved by the drive mechanism, it is possible to pick up the vehicle body panel carried into the assembly stage in the mounted state.

The present invention provides an assembling method that advantageously solves the above-mentioned problems in view of the function of the work positioning device.

(Means for Solving the Problem) In the method for assembling an automobile body of the present invention, a plurality of gauge portions for positioning a workpiece and a plurality of holding means for holding the workpiece are respectively moved by a drive mechanism to thereby disassemble the automobile body or When assembling an automobile body using a work positioning device that holds and moves a plurality of works that form a main part of the car body that mainly determines the assembly accuracy of the car body, an assembly station in which the work positioning device is installed A mounting step in which all or most of the plurality of workpieces can be picked up as they are on the transfer means at a mounting station provided in a different place from the mounting station, and the work placed on the mounting station is moved by the movement of the transfer means. From the assembly station to the assembly station, and the assembly stay. And a lifting step of picking up the work placed on it from the transfer means by moving the holding means, and moving the holding means and the gauge section after moving the transfer means from the assembly station. It is characterized by sequentially performing a positioning step of bringing the workpieces closer to each other and positioning each other, and an assembly step of joining the workpieces in the positioned state to each other.

(Operation) According to such a method, all or most of the plurality of works constituting the vehicle body or the main part of the vehicle body are carried into the assembling station by one conveying means, and the workpiece positioning device is used at the assembling station to perform the work. Since it is positioned after picking up, the number of transportation means installed in the assembly station can be limited to the above one or a very small number, thus avoiding interference between the transportation means or between the transportation means and the drive mechanism, etc. The conveying means for obtaining can be easily configured.

Moreover, according to this method, the work can be picked up by the transfer means at the mounting station as it is, and the placed work can be picked up from the transfer means at the assembly station. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a work positioning device on the transfer means. Therefore, the transfer means itself can be simply configured, and a power supply path to the work positioning device on the transfer means is not required. In these respects, other transfer operations when the transfer means is removed from the assembly station are also possible. It is possible to easily avoid interference with the means, the drive mechanism, and the like.

Embodiment An embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an assembly line of an automobile body to which an embodiment of a method for assembling an automobile body of the present invention is applied, in which 1 is a carry-in station, 2 is a mounting station, 3 is an assembling station, 4 Indicates a shuttle bar as a transport means.

The carry-in station 1 is for carrying in a floor panel 5, which is one of a plurality of works constituting a main part of the main body that mainly determines the assembly accuracy of the automobile body, into the assembly line. 1, a conveyor (not shown) that conveys the floor panel 5 assembled on another line to this station, a pedestal 6 that receives and holds the floor panel 5 from the conveyor, and a floor held on the pedestal 6 An overhead conveyor 7 is provided for hoisting the panel 5 and carrying it to the next station, the loading station 2.

Here, the lifting arm 7a of the overhead conveyor 7 is supported with a large offset to the front, so that the overhead conveyor 7 can be supported inside the support frame provided on the shuttle bar 4 without interfering with the support frame described later. The floor panel 5 can be transferred forward through the.

As shown in FIG. 2, the mounting station 2 is provided with the other works constituting the main part of the vehicle body such as left and right body side panels 8, an air box 9, a roof panel 10, a shelf panel 11 and a rear panel 12, and a shuttle. The floor panel 5 is placed on the hanger 13 provided on the bar 4 and also on the shuttle finger 14 provided below the hanger 13 on the shuttle bar 4,
For this reason, in this loading station 2, overhead conveyors 15 that carry left and right body side panels 8 from other lines to this station by hanging them on hangers 15a, and other works 9 to 12 from the stock location, respectively. A conveyor (not shown) that conveys to the station and the workpieces 8 to 12 are respectively provided to the arm 13a of the hanger 13.
Multiple loading robots that can be hung or placed on the floor 16
And a mount 17 for holding the floor panel 5.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the hanger 13 is cantilevered at one end by a frame-shaped support frame 18, and the lifting arm 7a of the overhead conveyor 7 is attached to the floor panel inside the frame 18 as described above. By passing 5 in a suspended state, the floor panel 5 can be carried in here on the pedestal 17 below the hanger 13 and held there.

The shuttle bar 4 is lifted by a normal drive mechanism,
A cycle consisting of four steps of advancing, descending and retracting is repeatedly executed, whereby the hanger 13 and the shuttle finger 14 can be reciprocated between the mounting station 2 and the assembling station 3.

Further, the assembling station 3 positions the floor panel 5, the left and right body side panels 8, the air box 9, the roof panel 10, the shelf panel 11 and the rear panel 12 with respect to each other, and in that state, they are joined to each other by spot welding. This is for assembling the main part. Therefore, in this assembling station 3, a work positioning device 19, a plurality of welding robots 20 each having a spot welding gun 20a, and a pedestal 21 for holding the floor panel 5 are provided. It is provided.

The work positioning device 19 here is a frame 19a.
The robot 5 has a plurality of robots 19b as a drive mechanism attached thereto and one or more work receiving jigs 19c for each robot 19b as a hand portion thereof. Accordingly, an air cylinder driven work clamp device 19d as a holding means is also provided as a hand portion.

Here, the work receiving jig 19c moves a large number of adjacent strips back and forth one by one in the same direction by a servo motor, and after arranging the tip edges of these strips in a predetermined shape,
By fixing the strips integrally with a fixing device, a gauge portion capable of positioning and holding the work can be formed (for details, see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 59-144595 or Japanese Patent Application No. 62-12193). , The work positioning device using such a function
The shape of the gauge portion of the work receiving jig 19c corresponding to each of the positions of a large number of positions to be positioned for each work constituting the main part of the vehicle body is made to coincide with the shape of each robot 19b. By arranging the work receiving jigs 19c, and by extension, the gauge portions thereof at predetermined positions, the respective body panels are positioned relative to each other, and in that state the respective work clamp devices 19d are operated to move the respective work pieces. Can be fixed.

Further, the work positioning device 19 can pick up and move the work carried into the frame 19a by using the work clamping device 19d as an ordinary hand by the operation of each robot 19b.

In the method of this embodiment, the vehicle body is assembled using the assembly line according to the procedure shown in FIG.

First, in the loading step 31, the floor panel 5 loaded into the loading station 2 and placed on the pedestal 6 is loaded from the rear through the support frame 18 into the loading station 3 by the overhead conveyor 7, and then on the pedestal 17. Place on. Further, in this step 31, the loading robot 16 picks up the left and right body side panels 8, the air box 9, the roof panel 10, the shell panel 11 and the rear panel 12 as they are at the same time as the loading of the floor panel 5 or before and after. Place as much as possible.

Next, here, in the transfer step 32, the shuttle bar 4 is raised, the floor panel 5 is held by the shuttle fingers 14, and then the shuttle bar 4 is moved forward to move the work pieces 5 and 8 to 12 described above. That is, all the works constituting the main part of the vehicle body are collectively carried into the next assembling station 3.

Then, in the subsequent pickup step 33, the work positioning device
The work clamp device 19d is moved toward the shuttle bar 4 by the operation of each of the robots 19b, and the hanger 13
Body side panel 8, air box 9, placed on
Roof panel 10, shelf panel 11 and rear panel 12
Are held by the work clamp device 19d, and then the work clamp device 19d is retracted to pick up those works from the hanger 13 and interfere with the hanger 13 when the hanger 13 is retracted by the shuttle bar 4 retracted. Each work is separated from the shuttle bar 4 to a position where it does not exist. Further, in this step 33, the shuttle bar 4 is lowered to transfer the floor panel 5 on the shuttle finger 14 onto the pedestal 21 at the same time as or before or after picking up each work from the hanger 13.

Next, here, the process proceeds to the positioning step 34, the shuttle bar 4 is retracted, the hanger 13 and the shuttle finger 14 are retracted from the work positioning device 19, and then each robot 19 is moved.
By the operation of b, the work clamp device 19d, by extension, the body side panel 8, the air box 9, the roof panel.
10, the shelf panel 11 and the rear panel 12 are moved toward the floor panel 5 on the pedestal 21 and toward each other, and at the same time, the work is positioned and held by each work receiving jig 19c. A predetermined gauge portion to be obtained is formed, whereby the respective work receiving jigs 19c mutually position the respective works at predetermined positions and the respective work clamp devices 19d fix the respective works.

In the above-mentioned picking-up step 33 and positioning step 34, when the work is moved by each robot 19b, the robots 19b that move the work are moved cooperatively for each work and between the works, thereby deforming the work. And prevent mutual interference of workpieces.

Thereafter, in the assembling process 35, the welding robot 20 performs the positioning of the body side panel 8, the air box 9, the roof panel 10, the shelf panel 11 and the rear panel 12 with respect to the floor panel 5 by the work positioning device 19 in the assembling step 35. These work pieces are spot-welded together to assemble the main parts of the vehicle body.

After that, the shuttle bar 4 is operated to convey the main body of the vehicle to a station (not shown) thereafter,
The assembling of the vehicle body is completed by performing additional spot welding and joining a predetermined vehicle body panel.

Therefore, according to the method of this example, the shuttle bar 4 which is a transport means for all the plurality of works constituting the main part of the vehicle body is one.
Are collectively carried into the assembling station 3 by means of the workpiece positioning device 19 and the workpieces are picked up and positioned by the workpiece positioning device 19 at the assembling station.
Therefore, it is possible to easily configure the transporting means that can avoid the interference between the transporting means and between the transporting means and the drive mechanism.

Although the present invention has been described above based on the illustrated example, the present invention is not limited to the above-described example. For example, all or most of the work constituting the vehicle body, not the main part of the vehicle body, is collectively carried into the assembly station, and the assembly station is assembled. The vehicle body may be assembled only by itself.

Further, as the transportation means, a self-propelled carriage or the like can be used instead of the shuttle bar 4.

(Effects of the Invention) Thus, according to the method of assembling the vehicle body of the invention, the number of the transportation means installed in the assembling station can be reduced to one or very few. It is possible to easily configure a conveying unit that can avoid interference between the two.

Moreover, according to this method, the work is placed on the carrying means so that it can be picked up by the carrying means as it is, and the placed work is picked up from the carrying means at the assembling station, so there is no need to provide a work positioning device on the carrying means. Therefore, the transfer means itself can be simply configured, and a power supply path to the work positioning device on the transfer means is not necessary. In these points as well, it is possible to prevent the transfer means from moving away from the assembly station. It is possible to easily avoid interference with the transporting means, the driving mechanism and the like.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an assembly line of an automobile body to which an embodiment of the method for assembling an automobile body of the present invention is applied, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state of mounting a work on a shuttle bar in the above apparatus, FIG. 3 is a process drawing showing the process of the above embodiment. 1 ... Carry-in station, 2 ... Loading station 3 ... Assembly station 4 ... Shuttle bar, 5 ... Floor panel 8 ... Body side panel 9 ... Air box, 10 ... Roof panel 11 ... Shelf panel, 12 …… Rear panel 13 …… Hanger, 14 …… Shuttle finger 19 …… Work positioning device 19c …… Work receiving jig, 19d …… Work clamping device

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A vehicle body or a vehicle body main portion which mainly determines an assembly precision of the vehicle body by moving a plurality of work positioning gauges and a plurality of work holding means by a drive mechanism. When assembling an automobile body using a work positioning device that holds and moves a plurality of constituent works and positions them relative to each other, the plurality of transfer means are installed in a loading station provided at a place different from the assembly station in which the work positioning device is installed. A mounting step of placing all or most of the work as it is so that it can be picked up as it is, a transfer step of collectively transferring the work placed on the work piece from the mounting station to the assembly station by moving the transfer means, At the assembling station, the work placed on it from the transport means is A picking-up step by moving the holding means; a positioning step of moving the holding means and the gauge section to move the holding means and the gauge section to bring the workpieces closer to each other after the conveying means is withdrawn from the assembling station; A method of assembling an automobile body, which comprises sequentially performing an assembling step of joining workpieces in a state of being connected to each other, and the assembling step.