JPH10337619A - Shuttle carrier device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To allow workers to easily cross a process-to-process space between each jig level block in moving backward and forward a shuttle beam along a working line forming the jig level blocks for working processing, and in intermittently transferring the work, using the shuttle beam to a working process position having each jig level block. SOLUTION: A shuttle beam 2 and a guide beam 3 for supporting the shuttle beam 2 are connectably divided into a shuttle body part 2a at a working process zone having jig level blocks 4, a guide body part 3a, a shuttle connecting part 2b at the working process-to-process zone, and a guide connecting part 3b. In normal operation, the shuttle beam 2 is integrated with the guide beam 3 for use as work transfer. When it is necessary for workers to cross a working line, for example, the shuttle connecting part 2b, and the guide connecting part 3b are downwardly separated from the shuttle body part 2a and the guide body part 3a, respectively to form a crossing-allowing space on the working line.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a shuttle transfer device installed in an automobile body manufacturing operation line or the like of an automobile manufacturing plant, and more particularly, to a plurality of jigs for processing a plurality of workpieces installed at equal intervals along the operation line. The present invention relates to a shuttle transfer device for intermittently transferring a work such as an automobile body to a surface plate using a shuttle beam.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an automobile body manufacturing work line, works of an automobile body are sequentially transferred to a plurality of work processing jig bases installed at equal intervals along the work line, and each jig base is used for the transfer. The work is positioned and held at a predetermined work process position, and work processing such as welding is sequentially performed on the work by a welding robot or the like installed around a jig surface plate. As an automatic transfer device for a work in such a work line, there is a shuttle transfer device using a shuttle beam that moves back and forth at a constant pitch along the work line, and a conventional example thereof will be described with reference to FIGS. .

The shuttle transport device shown in FIG. 1 raises, advances, descends, and retreats a long shuttle beam 21 disposed substantially horizontally to move the work 1 intermittently at a constant pitch along a work line. It is a lift and carry conveyor system. The shuttle beam 21 is installed in a series in all sections where a plurality of jig bases 4 installed at equal intervals along the work line, and is provided between the centers of two jig bases 4 adjacent to each other before and after. Forward and backward at an arrangement pitch P of.
Each jig base 4 is fixed on a floor FL of a factory or the like, and a fixed type or up-down driving type jig receiving part for removably positioning and holding the work 1 on a predetermined work process position A, B,. 4 ′. Shuttle beam 2 above each jig platen 4
A work 1 is placed on the shuttle beam 21.
A fixed or vertical drive type work receiver 21 ′ that detachably holds the workpiece 21 ′ from below is provided.

The shuttle beam 21 is supported by a guide beam 22 from above and below so as to be movable back and forth in the direction of the working line. The shuttle beam 21 is driven back and forth by a drive motor 23 connected to the shuttle beam 21. For example, a rack (not shown) is formed on the lower surface of the shuttle beam 21 in the beam length direction, and a pinion (not shown) rotatable in both forward and reverse directions by the drive motor 23 is meshed with the rack. By rotating the pinion in the forward and reverse directions, the shuttle beam 21 moves forward and backward while being supported by the guide beam 22. The guide beam 22 is, for example, a cam follower type guide rail having a length extending over the entire length of the working line.
The guide beam 22 moves up and down between the predetermined lower position S ₁ and upper position S ₂ together with the shuttle beam 21 and the drive motor 23 by synchronously operating the plurality of lifting cylinders 24.

[0005] Figure 6 the solid line position of the shuttle beam 21 is a stationary state in the lower position S ₁ is shown. 6 and 7
FIG. 3 describes an operation when the work 1 is transferred from the jig base 4 at the previous stage holding the work 1 to the jig base 4 at the next stage. As shown by the solid line in FIG. 6, when a predetermined work processing operation such as welding is performed in a state where the work 1 is positioned and held at a predetermined work process position A by the jig receiver 4 'of the jig base 4 in the preceding stage. , elevating cylinder 24 as shown in FIG. 6 chain line in operation, the shuttle beam 21 is raised together with the guide beams 22 and the drive motor 23 to the upper position S _2.
When the beam rises, the work process position A is
Is transferred to the work receiver 21 'of the shuttle beam 21, and the work 1 is moved to the work process position A.
It rises to a fixed position A 'slightly higher.

Next, when the drive motor 23 rotates forward,
Figure in the upper position S ₂ 7, as shown in solid lines shuttle beam 2
1 is guided by the guide beam 22 and the platen pitch P
The work 1 is transferred to a fixed position B ′ above the jig base 4 at the subsequent stage. The elevator cylinder 24 operates in the state of the solid line in FIG. 7, and the shuttle beam 21 is moved to the guide beam 22 and the drive motor 2 as shown by the chain line in FIG.
3 is lowered to a lower position S ₁ with. At the time of this lowering, the work 1 at the fixed position B 'is delivered to the jig receiver 4' of the subsequent jig base 4, and is positioned and held at the next work process position B. Thereafter, when the drive motor 23 of the chain line in FIG. 7 is reversely rotated to retreat the shuttle beam 21 by the platen arrangement pitch P, the shuttle beam 21 returns to the original position before the rise shown by the solid line in FIG. Thereafter, the shuttle beam 21 rises,
The work 1 is intermittently transferred to work process positions A, B,... Along a work line in order by repeatedly performing forward, descending, and retreating beam operations, and desired work processing is performed at each of the work process positions A, B,. Is performed in a flow-like manner.

[0007]

The shuttle beam 21 and the guide beam 22 are long in length corresponding to the entire length of a working line on which a plurality of jig bases 4 are installed in series, and therefore are adjacent in front and rear. When an operator attempts to traverse the inter-process space between the jig bases 4, there is an inconvenience that the shuttle beam 21 and the guide beam 22 existing in the inter-process space hinder the traversal. That is, an automatic machine such as a welding robot is installed around the jig base 4, and most of the work processing such as welding is automatically performed. In some cases, it is desired to cross the space between processes in a work line in order for an operator to perform work such as processing. However, the shuttle beam 21 and the guide beam 22 in the inter-process space are located at a height position where it is difficult for the worker to cross, and it is difficult for the worker to traverse, and the worker has to inevitably have to bypass the end of the long work line. .

[0008] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a shuttle transfer device that enables an operator to easily cross a work line.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, a plurality of work processing jig bases for detachably holding a work at a predetermined work process position are installed along a work line in which a plurality of jigs are arranged at a constant pitch. The shuttle beam is raised from a predetermined lower position to an upper position together with a guide beam that supports the shuttle beam so as to be able to move back and forth in the working line direction. The shuttle beam is advanced with the guide beam, and the shuttle beam is lowered to the original lower position together with the guide beam.At the lower position, only the shuttle beam is retracted to the original position at the arrangement pitch. The work is received from the jig platen at the previous stage of the jig platen, and the work is transferred to the jig platen at the subsequent stage by advancing the shuttle beam. By the work of the shuttle beam was set to pass to the subsequent Osamu Gujo board during arm descent,
The above object is achieved.

In this case, the shuttle connecting portion that can be separated from the shuttle main body of the shuttle beam and the guide connecting portion that can be separated from the guide main body of the guide beam are usually jigs that are arranged in series on the work line. It is a part that exists in the inter-process space between the boards, and by lowering the shuttle connecting portion and the guide connecting portion of this inter-process space further down from the lower position of the shuttle beam, the inter-process space in the work line becomes more vacant. Make it easier for workers to cross.

Further, the present invention provides a main body lifting mechanism for vertically moving the shuttle main body and a guide main body supporting the shuttle main body between upper and lower positions of a shuttle beam, and a shuttle connecting portion and supporting the same. A structure is provided which includes a connecting portion elevating mechanism for intermittently moving the guide connecting portion up and down between the same upper position and lower position as the shuttle main body portion and a lower limit position which is lower than the lower position by a predetermined distance.

Here, as the main body lifting mechanism, an elevator cylinder for vertically moving the shuttle beam of the existing shuttle transport device may be used. In addition, as the connecting portion elevating mechanism, an elevating cylinder or the like newly installed by dividing the shuttle beam is applied,
By setting only the shuttle connection portion and the guide connection portion to the lower limit position equal to or lower than the factory floor position, the worker can cross the work line without straddling the shuttle beam.

In the present invention, a wire for pulling the shuttle beam forward and a wire for pulling the shuttle beam are connected to the split type shuttle beam, and the shuttle connecting portion is connected to the shuttle body to be integrated. It is desirable to move the shuttle beam forward and backward by the front and rear wires in order to make the forward and backward movement of the split shuttle beam smooth.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment applied to a shuttle transport device of the same type as that of FIG. 6 will be described with reference to FIGS. In addition, the same reference numerals are given to the same or corresponding parts in FIGS. 1 to 5 as in FIGS. 6 and 7, and the description is omitted.

The major difference between the shuttle transfer apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 and the apparatus shown in FIG. 6 is that the shuttle beam 2 and the guide beam 3 are divided. That is, work 1
A plurality of work processing jig bases 4 for positioning and holding at predetermined work process positions A, B,... A shuttle body 2a having a length corresponding to a work process section of the jig base 4 and a shuttle connecting portion 2b having a length corresponding to an inter-process section between the adjacent jig bases 4 are provided.
2b. The guide beam 3 supporting the shuttle beam 2 from above and below is arranged adjacent to guide body portions 3a, 3a,... Having a length corresponding to the work process section of each jig platen 4 in correspondence with the split type shuttle beam 2. Guide connecting portions 3b, 3 having a length corresponding to the section between processes between the jig bases 4
b.

[0016] When the split type shuttle beam 2 as shown in FIG. 1 the solid line is in the lower position S ₁ of the previous rise, shuttle body portion 2a is supported by the corresponding guide main body 3a, the shuttle connecting portion 2b corresponding It is supported by the guide connecting portion 3b. An end of the shuttle connecting portion 2b is connected to an end of the shuttle main body 2a so as to be separable downward, and similarly, an end of the guide connecting portion 3b is connected to an end of the guide main body 3a so as to be separable downward. Is done.

FIGS. 4 and 5 show specific examples of the split shuttle beam 2 and the guide beam 3.
a, a trapezoidal notch 5 is formed at the center of both ends, and a trapezoidal projection 6 is formed at the center of both ends of the shuttle connecting portion 2b.
The shuttle main body 2a and the shuttle connecting portion 2b are vertically detachably connected to each other by detachably fitting the projection 6 to the notch 5. Also, as shown in FIG. 5, both end surfaces of the shuttle connecting portion 2b are formed in a C-shaped tapered surface m, and the corresponding end surface of the shuttle main body portion 2a is also formed as a tapered surface n. The shuttle connecting portion 2b is connected to the shuttle main body portion 2a such that the tapered surface m of the shuttle connecting portion 2b is joined from directly below. With the connection structure using the two tapered surfaces n and m, the shuttle body 2
a is connected to the shuttle body 2.
There is no deviation above a, and stable and accurate connection is easily performed.

The split type guide beam 3 is, for example, of a cam follower type, and includes a plurality of lower cam followers 7 supporting the lower surface of the shuttle beam 2 at a plurality of points and a plurality of lower cam followers 7 supporting the upper surface of the shuttle beam 2 at a plurality of points. It has an upper cam follower 8, and these cam followers 7, 8 are arranged side by side at a constant pitch sufficiently shorter than the length of the shuttle connecting portion 2b to form the divided guide beam 3.

The guide body 3a of the split type guide beam 3
Moves up and down between the Figure 1 the solid line in the lower position S ₁ and Figure 1 chain line in the upper position S ₂ at the main portion elevator mechanism 11. The main body section elevating mechanism 11 has a plurality of elevating cylinders 12 similar to the apparatus shown in FIG. 6, for example. The guide connecting portion 3b is provided with the connecting portion elevating mechanism 1
3 at the same upper position as the guide body portion 3a S ₁ and the lower position S
_2, and the lower limit position S of the further downward from the lower position S _1
0 , for example, intermittently move up and down between floor positions where the floor FL exists. The connecting portion elevating mechanism 13 is, for example, an inter-process elevating cylinder 14 that supports and vertically moves the guide connecting portion 3b from below, and is installed below the floor FL together with the elevating cylinder 12 of the guide body 3a.

The forward and backward movements of the split shuttle beam 2 are as follows.
Wires 15 and 16 and winding motors 17 and 18 to be described next
What should be done is. Shuttle beam 2 integrated by connecting shuttle connecting portion 2b to shuttle main body 2a
The wires 15 and 16 extending in the front-rear direction are connected to each other, and the unified shuttle beam 2 is pulled forward by winding the wire 15 extending forward by the shuttle forward winding motor 17, and is forwardly moved backward. The unified shuttle beam 2 is retracted by retracting the unified shuttle beam 2 by winding the extending wire 16 by a shuttle retraction winding motor 18.

The work transfer by the shuttle transfer apparatus having the split shuttle beam 2 and the guide beam 3 is performed as follows. Figure 1 solid line state shuttle beam 2 and the guide beam 3, which is one of is in the lower position S ₁ is shown. In this case, the inter-process lifting cylinder 14 moves the guide connecting portion 3b and the shuttle connecting portion 2b to the lower position S _1.
And the shuttle connecting portion 2b is connected to the shuttle main body 2a.
And the guide connecting portion 3b is connected to the guide body 3a. The unified shuttle beam 2 and the guide beam 3 repeat a series of operations of ascending, advancing, descending, and retreating while being unified, thereby fixing the work 1 along the work line. The beam is intermittently moved at a pitch, and the beam is split and divided only when necessary, as shown in FIG.

In the state of the solid line in FIG.
3 performs a beam rising operation at the same synchronous speed, and the unified guide beam 3 and shuttle beam 2 as shown by the solid line in FIG.
There was raised to the upper position S _2, each wire 15, 16 and the respective winding motor 17, 18 is also increased. The beam raising is performed in the same manner as in the case of the apparatus shown in FIG. 6, and the work 1 held at the work process position A on the former jig platen 4 is
Is transferred to the shuttle body 2a, and the work 1 rises to the home position A '.

Next, the shuttle forward winding motor 17 is driven to advance the unified shuttle beam 2 by the platen pitch P. The shuttle beam 2 at this time is
It is guided by the unified guide beam 3 and moves forward,
The work 1 is transferred from the fixed position A 'to the fixed position B'. Then, the elevating cylinders 12 and 14 by the beam downward movement synchronously same speed, descending guide beam 3 and the shuttle beam 2 unification until the lower position S _1, the wires 15 and 16
The respective winding motors 17 and 18 also descend. When the beam descends, the work 1 is transferred to the jig base 4 at the subsequent stage, and the work 1 is positioned at the work process position B. Thereafter, the shuttle retreating take-up motor 18 is driven to retreat the unified shuttle beam 2 at the platen arrangement pitch P and return to the original pre-elevation position shown by the chain line in FIG.

Thereafter, the above-described ascending, advancing, descending and retreating operations are repeated while the shuttle beam 2 is unified, and the ascending and descending operations are repeated while the guide beam 3 is unified as shown in FIG. Intermittent transfer of the work 1 to the respective work process positions A, B,... Similar to the apparatus is performed. Then, when a worker wants to cross the work line for repair inspection of the work line or when the shuttle is required to be disassembled, the shuttle beam 2 and the guide beam 3 are separated and divided as shown in FIG.

That is, when the unified shuttle beam 2 and guide beam 3 are at the fixed position (the solid line position in FIG. 1) before the lower position S ₁ is raised, only the inter-process lifting cylinder 14 is operated. a guide connecting portion 3b of the guide beam 3, to lower the supported shuttle beam 2 shuttle connecting portion 2b from the lower position S ₁ thereto to the lower limit position S _0. Thereby separated from the shuttle body portion 2a of the shuttle coupling portion 2b is lower position S ₁ below, the guide coupling portion 3b is separated from the lower position S ₁ of the guide body portion 3a downward, the lower the position S ₁ shuttle body part 2a and the guide main body 3a-process space is vacant widely between, so this time the shuttle connecting portion 2b and the guide coupling portion 3b is lowered to the lower limit position S ₀ of the position of the floor FL, vacated the workers Floor FL in the space between processes
You can easily cross on foot.

Also, as shown in FIG.
When the shuttle main body 2
a and the guide main body 3a, and the shuttle connecting part 2b and the guide connecting part 3b can be treated as short and lightweight articles.
Handling such as disassembly becomes more convenient than a long shuttle beam and guide beam in the apparatus.

The shuttle connecting portion 2b and the guide connecting portion 3b of the split type shuttle beam 2 and guide beam 3 are used.
May be installed in all of the inter-process sections existing in the work line, or may be installed only in the necessary section where the worker crosses the work line. Further, the forward and backward movement of the unified shuttle beam 2 is controlled by wires 15, 16 and a winding motor 17,
Although the processing is performed at step 18, the processing may be performed by another method, for example, a rack and pinion mechanism using a drive motor similarly to the apparatus shown in FIG. However, in the case of the rack and pinion mechanism, care must be taken to ensure that the rack and the pinion are always accurately meshed at the joint of the split shuttle beam. This is not required for the backward operation.

[0028]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the shuttle beam and the guide beam are at the lower position of the work line, the shuttle connecting portion of the shuttle beam is moved from the shuttle main body to the guide beam guide. By separating the connecting portion downward from the guide main body, the space between the steps between the jig bases of the work line is widely vacant, and the worker can walk and cross the space between the steps. Thus, the work such as maintenance and inspection of the work line by the worker can be performed conveniently and with high efficiency in terms of time. In addition, by dividing the shuttle beam and the guide beam, handling such as disassembly of the long shuttle beam and the guide beam becomes convenient.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, an existing lifting cylinder or the like can be used for the shuttle main body of the shuttle beam and the guide beam and a main body lifting mechanism for vertically moving the guide main body. Effective use of the transport device becomes possible. In addition, by lowering the shuttle connecting part and guide connecting part to the lower limit of the factory floor height by the connecting part elevating mechanism, workers can be more conveniently crossed in the work space between processes. Become.

According to the shuttle transport device of the third aspect, the shuttle connecting portion is connected to the shuttle main body portion, so that the unified shuttle beam can accurately move forward and backward by the wire, so that the split shuttle beam can be divided. Operation reliability is ensured.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a main part of a shuttle transfer device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1 during a work lifting operation;

FIG. 3 is a side view of the apparatus of FIG. 1 when a shuttle beam and a guide beam are separated and divided.

4 (I) is a partially enlarged plan view of a shuttle main body and a shuttle connecting portion in the apparatus of FIG. 1, and (II) is a side view of the shuttle main body and the shuttle connecting portion of (I).

FIG. 5 is a side view when the shuttle connecting portion is separated from the shuttle main body of FIG. 4 (II).

FIG. 6 is a side view of a main part of a conventional shuttle transport device.

FIG. 7 is a side view of the apparatus in FIG. 6 during a work moving operation.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 shuttle 2 shuttle beam 2a shuttle main body 2b shuttle connection part 3 guide beam 3a guide main body part 3b guide connection part 4 jig surface plate 11 main body part elevating mechanism 13 connecting part elevating mechanism 15 shuttle advance wire 16 shuttle retreat wire

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A shuttle beam installed along a work line in which a plurality of work processing jig bases for removably holding a work at a predetermined work process position are arranged at a constant pitch. With the guide beam supported to be able to move back and forth in the working line direction, it is raised from the predetermined lower position to the upper position, and only the shuttle beam is advanced at the upper position at the arrangement pitch of the adjacent jig platen in the front and rear, and the shuttle beam is advanced. Is lowered to the original lower position together with the guide beam, and only the shuttle beam is retracted to the original position at the lower position at the arrangement pitch. The work is received from the fixture surface plate, the work is transferred to the jig surface plate at the next stage by advancing the shuttle beam, and the shuttle beam is moved when the shuttle beam descends. In the shuttle transfer device that transfers the workpiece to the jig surface plate at the subsequent stage, the stationary shuttle beam is transferred to the shuttle main body having a length corresponding to the work process section of each jig surface plate and the adjacent jig. The guide beam is divided into a shuttle connecting portion having a length corresponding to an inter-process section between the setting plates, and the guide beam is divided into a guide main body supporting the shuttle main body and a guide connecting portion supporting the shuttle connecting portion. A shuttle connecting device, wherein the shuttle connecting portion and the guide connecting portion are vertically detachably connected to the corresponding shuttle main body portion and guide main body portion. 2. A shuttle body comprising: a main body lifting mechanism for vertically moving the shuttle main body and a guide main body supporting the shuttle main body at upper and lower positions of a shuttle beam; and a shuttle main body and a guide main body supporting the shuttle main body. 2. A shuttle transport device according to claim 1, further comprising a connecting portion elevating mechanism for intermittently moving up and down between an upper position, a lower position, and a lower limit position lower by a predetermined distance from the lower position. . 3. The shuttle beam is connected to a wire that pulls the shuttle beam forward and a wire that pulls the shuttle beam backward, and a shuttle connecting portion is connected to the shuttle main body to unite the shuttle beam with each of the wires. 3. The shuttle transport device according to claim 1, wherein the shuttle transport device is moved forward and backward.