JPH1094988A - Article clamping device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily and surely clamp an article by a pair of article abutting parts opposed with each other without being hindered by other articles also when other articles which are adjacent to the article to be clamped one another at extremely small intervals exist. SOLUTION: This article clamping device is provided with a pair of article abutting parts 81, 82 which are supported by an arm member 52 and selectively take mutual opposing states, a sucking pad 95 which is supported by one of the pair of article abutting parts 81, 82 and selectively takes a state that the pad 95 sucks an on-vehicle battery VB placed at a prescribed arrangement location, motors 60, 63 moving the sucking pad 95 to move the on-vehicle battery VB in a state that the sucking pad 95 sucks the on-vehicle battery VB and an air cylinder 80 (79) making the pair of article abutting parts 81, 82 take a state that the article abutting parts 81, 82 are opposed with each other and are abutted on the on-vehicle battery VB which is moved according to the moving of the sucking pad 95 and making a state that the on-vehicle battery VB is clamped by the article abutting parts 81, 82.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an article, such as a battery mounted on a vehicle, which is brought into contact with a pair of article contact portions in a state where the articles come into contact with each other. The present invention relates to an article gripping device that can be gripped by a contact portion and conveyed thereby.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When a specific article, for example, a battery is mounted on each of a plurality of vehicles being assembled which are sequentially conveyed on a vehicle assembly line, a plurality of vehicles are first installed on the vehicle assembly line. For example, a plurality of batteries corresponding to the type of the vehicle being assembled are loaded into each of the article loading sections using the conveyor device. Then, each of the plurality of batteries carried into the article carry-in section is sequentially taken out from the article carry-in section and transported so as to be assembled to a corresponding one of the vehicles under assembly carried along the vehicle assembly line. Is done.

[0003] In an article loading section into which a plurality of batteries are loaded, a pallet as an article mounting table is generally used, and a plurality of pallets are sequentially loaded with a plurality of batteries mounted thereon. As a result, batch import of a plurality of batteries is sequentially performed. The plurality of batteries mounted on the pallet and collectively carried into the article carry-in section are adjacent to each other with a very small interval from the viewpoint of increasing the efficiency of placing the pallet on the pallet. It is arranged to form.

[0004] In this way, for a plurality of batteries carried into the article carry-in section to be mounted on the vehicle being assembled, the order in which the batteries are carried out from the article carry-in section is determined based on the vehicle production program. In the past,
Usually, a worker involved in an assembly line of a vehicle, that is, a manual, sequentially carries out articles from a pallet arranged in an article carrying-in section in accordance with a predetermined carrying-out order.

[0005]

As described above, conventionally,
A battery that is manually carried out of the article carry-in section and mounted on a vehicle being assembled is generally recognized as a person who takes it out of the article carry-in section, i.e., recognizes that the worker is relatively large. Weight. Therefore, it is desired that the operation of sequentially carrying out a plurality of batteries carried into the article carrying-in section to be mounted on a vehicle being assembled is automatically performed by a robot instead of manually.

[0006] As a robot performing such an operation, a pair of abutting portions capable of abutting against a battery is provided as being movably supported by a movable arm portion, and supported by the arm portion. The pair of abutting portions that are moved are brought into a state of gripping the battery by abutting the battery in a state of being opposed to each other across the battery, and the pair of abutting portions holding the battery are moved by the arm portion. Then, an operation of carrying out the operation of carrying out the battery from the pallet arranged in the article carrying-in section can be considered.

However, as described above, a robot having an arm provided with a pair of abutting portions for abutting on a battery and holding the battery in such a state that they face each other is extremely small as described above. It is considered to be adjacent to each other at intervals, for example, when used to grip each of a plurality of batteries placed on a pallet in a plurality of rows, gripping the battery by a pair of contact portions. There is a possibility that a situation where the operation cannot be performed may be copied. That is,
Regarding one of the pair of abutting portions, for example, even if it is possible to easily abut one side surface portion of each battery, a plurality of batteries placed on a pallet are adjacent to each other at a very small interval. By being arranged, it is necessary for the other of the pair of contact portions to take a position facing, for example, the other side surface portion of each battery in opposition to one of the pair of contact portions. In this case, the space between the batteries cannot be obtained, which causes a disadvantage that the battery cannot be gripped by the pair of contact portions.

In view of the above, the present invention has a pair of article contact portions movably supported by a movable member such as a robot arm, and the pair of article contact portions are opposed to each other. In order to contact an article such as a vehicle-mounted battery and hold the article, there is a plurality of articles to be grasped by a pair of article contact sections and they are mutually separated at an extremely small interval. Even in the case of being adjacent to each other, the gripping of each of the plurality of articles by the pair of article abutting portions is easily and without being prevented by the articles adjacent to the article, without enlarging the entire size. Provided is an article gripping device that can be reliably performed.

[0009]

According to the present invention, there is provided an article gripping device supported by a movable member, a first article contact portion for selectively taking a state of contacting an article, and a first article contact portion supported by the movable member. A second article contact portion that selectively takes a state of contacting the article while being opposed to the first article contact portion; and a second article contact section that is supported by the first article contact section and placed at a predetermined arrangement position. A suction unit that selectively takes a state of adsorbing to an article, and a first unit that moves the suction unit to move the article under the state that the suction unit is adsorbed to an article placed at a predetermined arrangement position. The driving means and the first and second article contact portions are brought into a state in which the first and second article contact portions oppose each other and are brought into contact with the article moved with the movement of the suction portion. And a second driving unit which is in a state in which the article is held by the second driving means.

In the article gripping device according to the present invention configured as described above, when gripping an article placed at a predetermined position by the first and second article contact portions,
First, the suction section supported by the first article contact section is
The suction unit, which is in a state of adsorbing the article placed in the predetermined arrangement position, is in a state of adsorbing to the article placed in the predetermined arrangement position, and is driven by the first driving unit by the driving operation of the first driving unit. Is moved with the adsorbed articles. After that, the first and second article contact portions are brought into contact with the articles that have been moved in association with the movement of the suction portion by being driven by the second drive means, Thereby, the article is gripped by the first and second article contact portions.

As described above, the article placed at the predetermined position is moved in accordance with the movement of the suction section adsorbed on the article, and then is brought into a state in which the article is opposed to and abuts on the first. By being gripped by the second article contact portion, the article placed at the predetermined arrangement position becomes one of a plurality of articles that are adjacent to each other at a very small interval. Even if the first and second
Is easily and reliably performed by the article contact portion. Therefore, according to the article gripping device of the present invention, even when there are a plurality of articles to be gripped and they are adjacent to each other with a very small interval, it is possible to increase the overall size. No, first and second
Each of the plurality of articles can be easily and reliably gripped by the article contact portion without being hindered by articles adjacent to the article.

[0012]

FIG. 3 shows a vehicle production facility to which an example of the article gripping device according to the present invention is applied. The production facilities of the vehicle shown in FIG. 3 are distributed and installed on a first floor 1F and a second floor 2F of the building.

A vehicle assembly line is provided on the second floor 2F, and a vehicle battery VB is mounted as a vehicle-mounted article for a vehicle VC being assembled along the vehicle assembly line. An upper facility including a mounting work robot 1 for performing a work for performing the work is installed. The first floor 1F is loaded with a vehicle-mounted battery VB, which is a vehicle-mounted article to be mounted on a vehicle VC that is being transported along a vehicle assembly line provided on the second floor 2F. At the same time, the article transfer apparatus 2, the article lifting apparatus 3, and the loaded in-vehicle battery VB are mounted on the second floor 2F using the article transfer apparatus 2 and the article lifting apparatus 3, and the loading work robot 1 is mounted. A lower facility including a transfer work robot 4 that performs a transfer operation to be transferred to is provided.

The transfer work robot 4 included in the lower facility installed on the first floor 1F grasps each of the plurality of in-vehicle batteries VB carried into the first floor 1F, and transfers it to the article transfer device 2. It is conveyed and placed on the article transfer device 2. The article transfer device 2 sequentially transfers the in-vehicle batteries VB placed one after another by the transfer work robot 4 toward the article lifting device 3, and a predetermined number, for example, two, of each of the article lifting devices 3.
Carry in. The article lifting device 3 lifts the in-vehicle battery VB sequentially carried by the article transfer device 2 from the first floor 1F to the second floor 2F, and is included in the upper equipment installed on the second floor 2F. The mounting work robot 1 can be gripped.

[0015] The lower facilities installed on the first floor 1F include:
As shown in FIG. 4, the article transfer device 2, the article lifting device 3,
In addition to the transfer robot 4 and a pallet lifting device 5 that is disposed opposite to the product lifting device 3 at a predetermined separation distance, the pallet lifting device 5 is provided.
Are arranged so as to extend between the article lifting device 3 and the pallet lifting device 5 so as to connect them. Furthermore, in the lower equipment, it is arranged in parallel along the article transfer device 2,
A plurality of, for example, four large article carry-in sections 6 and a plurality of, for example, six small article carry-in sections 7, and one pallet carry-out section 8 arranged opposite to the article transfer device 2 are included. I have. An article transfer position 9 is set in the article transfer device 2.

A pair of rails 10 extending along the article transfer device 2 is provided above the article transfer device 2 as shown by a dashed line in FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, a transfer work robot 4 is suspended and supported by the pair of rails 10. The transfer work robot 4 is guided by the rails 10 and transfers articles above the article transfer device 2. It can be moved along the device 2. The reference position X of the transfer work robot 4 is set above the article transfer position 9 set in the article transfer device 2, and the transfer work robot 4 is moved by the rail 10 with the reference position X as a base point. By the movement under the guidance, the in-vehicle battery VB and other articles can be gripped within a range Q indicated by a chain line in FIG.

An article transfer apparatus 2, an article lifting apparatus 3, a transfer work robot 4, a pallet lifting apparatus 5, four large article loading sections 6, and six small article loading sections 7 included in the lower facility.
The operation of each of the pallet unloading sections 8 is controlled by the operation of the plurality of control sections 15 connected to a host computer constituting a central production management system (not shown) which is distributed and arranged on the first floor 1F. Corresponding ones control in relation to the various operations performed in the upper equipment and the various operations performed in the lower equipment.

In each of the four large article carry-in sections 6 and each of the six small article carry-in sections 7, a front end side portion close to the article transfer device 2 is an article gripping position 16,
A conveyor device that transports a plurality of in-vehicle batteries toward the article gripping position 16 is used. Such a conveyor device is, for example, a known roller conveyor that conveys articles using a number of rollers rotatably attached to an endless chain driven by a motor.

Although not shown, each of the plurality of in-vehicle batteries conveyed toward the article gripping position 16 has a black upper surface portion, and has a specific position on the upper surface portion. A pair of connection terminals, each of which has a gray upper end surface, are arranged at a predetermined distance from each other, and a yellow caution label is attached to another specific position on the upper surface. It is assumed that.
Then, a plurality of pallets (not shown) each carrying a plurality of in-vehicle batteries are sequentially loaded into each of the four large article carry-in sections 6, and each of the six small article carry-in sections 7 is provided. , A plurality of in-vehicle batteries are sequentially carried in without using a pallet.

In the pallet discharge section 8, a roller conveyor similar to that used in each of the large article carry-in section 6 and the small article carry-in section 7 is used. In the pallet unloading section 8, a front end portion near the article transfer device 2 is a pallet loading position 8A, and a rear end portion is a pallet unloading position 8B.

As shown in FIG. 6, in each of the four large article carrying-in sections 6, a plurality of pallets 17 each having a plurality of in-vehicle batteries mounted thereon (the in-vehicle batteries are not shown). Are sequentially carried in, and an arrow a
Are transported in the direction toward the article gripping position 16 set in the large article carry-in section 6 as indicated by. Two light-emitting elements 19P and two photoelectric switching elements 19S are provided on both sides of the part where the article gripping position 16 is set in the large article carry-in section 6, respectively, and these two light-emitting elements 19P and Two photoelectric switching elements 19S
Are paired with each other in an oblique direction with the article gripping position 16 interposed therebetween.

Therefore, the light beam emitted from each of the two light emitting elements 19P is applied to the article holding position 16 when an article is not placed or when a pallet 17 on which a vehicle-mounted battery is not placed is placed. The two photoelectric switching elements 19S intersect on the article gripping position 16
To arrive at the corresponding one. Each of the two photoelectric switching elements 19S selectively takes an ON state and an OFF state in a state of receiving and not receiving a light beam emitted from each of the two light emitting elements 19P. As a result, the plurality of pallets 17 carried into the large article carry-in section 6
The presence / absence of an in-vehicle battery in the one that reaches the article gripping position 16 is detected.

The large article carry-in section 6 has a fixed stopper member 20 having a portion protruding upward from the front end thereof, and each of which is driven by a drive means (not shown) to operate. Pair of movable stopper members 2
A pair of movable stopper members 22 and a pair of movable stopper members 23 are provided. Each of the pair of movable stopper members 21 and the pair of movable stopper members 22 has a protruding state in which the plurality of pallets 17 in the large article carry-in section 6 protrude upward from a mounting surface, and a retracted state in which they do not protrude. And a pair of movable stopper members 23 are located on both sides of the large article carry-in section 6 and opposed to each other, and each project toward the center of the large article carry-in section 6. A protruding state and a retracted state drawn from the protruding state are selectively selected.

The pallet 17 (17A) which has reached the article gripping position 16 set in the large article carrying-in section 6 has a pair of movable stopper members 21 at its front end and rear end, which project with the fixed stopper member 20. Are brought into contact with each other, and the position is regulated at the article gripping position 16. Then, the pallet 17 whose position is regulated at the article gripping position 16
Each of the plurality of in-vehicle batteries mounted on the device is gripped and carried out by the transfer work robot 4 as described later.

The plurality of in-vehicle batteries mounted on the pallet 17 whose position is controlled at the article gripping position 16 are all unloaded, and the pallet 17 whose position is controlled at the article gripping position 16 is in an "empty" state. And that is 2
Light emitting elements 19P and two photoelectric switching elements 19
And S. And two light emitting elements 19
By P and two photoelectric switching elements 19S,
When the pallet 17 in the “empty” state is detected, the pair of movable stopper members 21 are brought into the retracted state, and the pallet 17 in the “empty” state is transported as described later. It is carried out of the large article carrying-in section 6 by the robot 4.

When the pair of movable stopper members 21 are retracted, the pallet 1 unloaded from the large article loading section 6
7 and a pair of movable stopper members 22 in a protruding state in contact with the front end of the pallet 17 (17B).
Assume a retracted state. As a result, the pallet 17 released from the position regulation by the movable stopper member 22 is brought into a retracted state by the pair of movable stopper members 22.
The pallet 17 is conveyed toward the article gripping position 16 while passing over the pallet 17, and at the same time, the pair of movable stopper members 22 having passed the pallet 17 are again in the protruding state. When the pair of movable stopper members 22 assume the protruding state again, the pallets 17 (17C) following the pallet 17 that has passed through the pair of movable stopper members 22 are in a protruding state in which the pallets 17 abut on both sides thereof. When the movable stopper member 23 is in the retracted state, the position regulation by the pair of movable stopper members 23 is released.

The movement of the pallet 17 from the position regulation by the pair of movable stopper members 23 toward the article gripping position 16 is prevented by the pair of movable stopper members 22 which come into contact with the front end of the pallet 17. . At this time, the pallet 17 preceding the pallet 17 whose movement has been prevented by the pair of movable stopper members 22 reaches the article gripping position 16, and the pair of movable stopper members 21 assume the projecting state again, and the article gripping position 16
The pallet 17 that has reached the pair of movable stopper members 2
The position is regulated by 1 and the fixed stopper member 20.

When the pair of movable stopper members 21 assume the projecting state again, the pair of movable stopper members 23 assume the projecting state again, whereby the pallet succeeding the pallet 17 whose position is regulated by the pair of movable stopper members 22. 1
The position of the pallet 7 is regulated, and the movement of the plurality of pallets 17 following the pallet 17 toward the article gripping position 16 is regulated.

Each of the plurality of pallets 17 conveyed in the large article carry-in section 6 as described above is, for example, as shown in FIG. A partition plate 17A serving as a mounting table is used, and is divided into an upper battery and a lower battery, so that they are mounted on a stage. Of the plurality of in-vehicle batteries VB, the lower battery is formed in two rows on the mounting surface of the pallet 17 at a very small interval and adjacent to each other. Be placed. The upper battery of the plurality of in-vehicle batteries VB is provided on the mounting surface of the partition plate 17A mounted on the plurality of in-vehicle batteries VB, which is the lower battery,
2 adjacent to each other at very small intervals
They are arranged in rows.

The plurality of in-vehicle batteries VB mounted on the pallet 17 using the partition plate 17A are, for example, shown in FIGS. The arrangement shown in FIG. As described above, the plurality of vehicle-mounted batteries VB shown in FIGS. 8A to 8E have a black upper surface portion, and a pair of upper end surfaces each of which has a gray color at a specific position on the upper surface portion. The connection terminals 26 are arranged at a predetermined distance from each other, and a yellow caution label 27 is affixed to another specific position on the upper surface.

Under the arrangement shown in FIG. 8A, a group of six in-vehicle batteries VB in the front row near the front end portion 17F of the pallet 17 (or partition plate 17A), and In each of the groups of six in-vehicle batteries VB in the rear row adjacent to the rear end edge 17B of the pallet 17 (or the partition plate 17A), it is closest to the left edge 17L of the pallet 17 (or the partition plate 17A). One vehicle-mounted battery VB is arranged with a pair of connection terminals 26 provided on the upper surface thereof facing the left edge 17L of the pallet 17 (or the partition plate 17A). VB connects the pair of connection terminals 26 provided on each upper surface portion to the pallet 1
7 (or the partition plate 17A) is arranged toward the right side edge portion 17R side.

Under the arrangement shown in FIG. 8B, a group of six on-board batteries VB in the front row and six on-board batteries in the rear row on the pallet 17 (or partition plate 17A). In each of the VB groups, one vehicle-mounted battery VB closest to the right edge 17R of the pallet 17 (or the partition plate 17A).
However, the pair of connection terminals 26 provided on the upper surface thereof is connected to the right edge 17R of the pallet 17 (or the partition plate 17A).
And the other in-vehicle battery VB arranges the pair of connection terminals 26 provided on the respective upper surface portions toward the left edge 17L of the pallet 17 (or the partition plate 17A). Have been.

Under the arrangement shown in FIG. 8C, in the group of four vehicle-mounted batteries VB in the front row on the pallet 17 (or the partition plate 17A), each vehicle-mounted battery VB is The pair of connection terminals 26 provided on the upper surface portion are connected to the pallet 17 (partition plate 17A).
The left edge of the pallet 17 (or the partition plate 17A) is arranged in the rear row on the pallet 17 (or the partition plate 17A). One vehicle-mounted battery VB closest to the portion 17L has a pair of connection terminals 26 provided on the upper surface thereof arranged toward the left edge 17L of the pallet 17 (or the partition plate 17A). , The other vehicle-mounted battery VB is connected to the pallet 1 by a pair of connection terminals 26 provided on each upper surface portion.
7 (or the partition plate 17A) is arranged toward the right side edge portion 17R side.

Under the arrangement shown in FIG. 8D, in the group of four on-board batteries VB in the back row on the pallet 17 (or the partition plate 17A), each on-board battery VB is The pair of connection terminals 26 provided on the upper surface portion are connected to the pallet 17 (partition plate 17A).
The right side of the pallet 17 (or the partition plate 17A) in the group of six in-vehicle batteries VB arranged toward the rear end edge 17B and forming the front row on the pallet 17 (or the partition plate 17A) One in-vehicle battery VB closest to the edge 17R is arranged with the pair of connection terminals 26 provided on the upper surface thereof facing the right edge 17R of the pallet 17 (or the partition plate 17A). At the same time, the other in-vehicle battery VB connects the pair of connection terminals 26 provided on each upper surface portion to the pallet 1
7 (or the partition plate 17A) is arranged toward the left side edge 17L side.

Under the arrangement shown in FIG. 8E, in the group of three on-board batteries VB in the front row on the pallet 17 (or the partition plate 17A), each on-board battery VB is The pair of connection terminals 26 provided in the portion are arranged toward the front edge portion 17F of the pallet 17 (or the partition plate 17A), and
In a group of three vehicle-mounted batteries VB, which form a back row on the pallet 17 (or the partition plate 17A),
Each in-vehicle battery VB is connected to a pair of connection terminals 26 provided on the upper surface of the pallet 17 (or a partition plate 17A).
Are arranged toward the rear edge 17B.

As shown in FIGS. 8A to 8E, the pallet 1
7 (or the partition plate 17A) are mounted on the pallet 17 (or the partition plate 17) in each of the front row and the rear row, for example.
The arrangement positions of the caution labels 27 attached to each of the two pieces placed on the right side edge portion 17R side of A) are different depending on the arrangement of the whole. Therefore, whether the plurality of vehicle-mounted batteries VB placed on the pallet 17 (or the partition plate 17A) adopts any of the arrangements shown in A to E in FIG. From the position of the caution label 27 attached to each of the two in-vehicle batteries placed on the right edge 17R side of the pallet 17 (or the partition plate 17A) in the front row and the rear row on the partition plate 17A). It can be determined.

In addition, in each of FIGS. 8A to 8E, the number attached to each vehicle-mounted battery VB with "" is:
The predetermined gripping order is shown according to the arrangement of the plurality of in-vehicle batteries VB placed on the pallet 17 (or the partition plate 17A). The plurality of in-vehicle batteries VB mounted on the pallet 17 (or the partition plate 17A) are gripped by the transfer work robot 4 in accordance with the gripping order, and are pallet 17 (or the partition plate 17A).
A). Such a gripping order is such that at least one of the side surfaces of the in-vehicle battery VB to be gripped by the transport work robot 4 is substantially parallel to the direction in which the pair of connection terminals 26 are arranged. Is set to be in a state where there is no side portion.

As shown in FIG. 9, each of the plurality of small article carry-in sections 7 has a black upper surface portion, and the upper end surface is located at a specific position on the upper surface portion. A plurality of vehicle-mounted vehicles in which a pair of connection terminals 26 that appear gray are arranged at a predetermined distance from each other, and a yellow caution label 27 is affixed to another specific position on the top surface. The batteries VB are sequentially loaded in the same direction, and are transported in a direction toward an article gripping position 16 set in the small article loading section 7 as indicated by an arrow b. The small article carry-in section 7 also has a fixed stopper member 28 having a portion protruding upward from a front end thereof, a pair of movable stopper members 29 driven and operated by drive means (not shown), and A pair of movable stopper members 30 are provided. The pair of movable stopper members 29 selectively take a protruding state that protrudes upward from a mounting surface on which the plurality of in-vehicle batteries VB are mounted in the small article carry-in section 7 and a retracted state that does not protrude. The pair of movable stopper members 30 are positioned above the mounting surface of the small article carrying-in section 7, and selectively take a protruding state close to the mounting surface and a retracted state separated from the mounting surface. It is said.

The in-vehicle battery VB (VBA) that has reached the article gripping position 16 of the small article carry-in section 7 is positioned at the article gripping position 16 by the fixed stopper member 28 abutting on the front end thereof. And is carried out by the transfer work robot 4. When the in-vehicle battery VB whose position is regulated at the article gripping position 16 is carried out, the pair of movable stopper members 2 that are in a protruding state in contact with the front end of the in-vehicle battery VB (VBB) that follows.
9 is in the retracted state. As a result, the vehicle-mounted battery VB released from the position regulation by the movable stopper member 29 is conveyed while passing over the pair of movable stopper members 29 in the retracted state, reaches the article gripping position 16, and has a front end portion. The position of the fixed stopper member 28 abuts and the position of the movable stopper member 29 is regulated, and the pair of movable stopper members 29 again assume the projected state.

When the pair of movable stopper members 29 assume the projecting state again, the vehicle-mounted battery VB (VBC) following the vehicle-mounted battery VB that has reached the article gripping position 16 is connected to the pair of connection terminals 26 provided on the upper surface thereof. When the pair of movable stopper members 30 that have been in the protruding state that comes into contact with the movable stopper member are in the retracted state, the position regulation by the pair of movable stopper members 30 is released. In this manner, the movement of the vehicle-mounted battery VB released from the position regulation by the pair of movable stopper members 30 and the subsequent plurality of vehicle-mounted batteries VB toward the article gripping position 16 abuts on the front end of the vehicle-mounted battery VB. A pair of movable stopper members 29
Blocked by Then, the pair of movable stopper members 30 are again projected, whereby the position of the vehicle-mounted battery VB following the vehicle-mounted battery VB in contact with the pair of movable stopper members 29 is restricted, and the position-controlled vehicle-mounted battery VB is regulated. After that, the movement of the plurality of in-vehicle batteries VB connected to the article gripping position 16 is restricted.

In the article transfer device 2, as shown in FIG. 10, an inclined portion descending from one end facing the pallet lifting device 5 toward the other end facing the product lifting device 3 is formed. The pallet transfer unit 2A includes a plurality of rollers that are rotatably arranged in parallel and adjacent to each other. Then, a plurality of pallets 33 are sequentially loaded from the pallet lifting device 5 into the pallet transfer unit 2A.
The pallet 33 carried into A is moved on the pallet transfer section 2A in a direction toward the article lifting device 3 (direction c) indicated by an arrow c in FIG. 10 due to its own weight.

The article transfer position 9 shown in FIG.
The article transfer position 9 is set on the pallet transfer section 2A.
, The pallet transport unit 2A
Each of the pallets 33 carried into the vehicle, the transfer work robot 4 transfers two in-vehicle batteries VB from any of the four large article carry-in sections 6 or any of the six small article carry-in sections 7. , And have the same orientation.

Below the pallet transfer section 2A, there is provided a pallet return section 2B extending along the pallet transfer section 2A. The pallet returning section 2B is formed with an inclined portion that descends from one end portion facing the article lifting device 3 toward the other end portion facing the pallet lifting device 5, and includes a plurality of rollers that are rotatably arranged in parallel and adjacent to each other. It is provided with. Then, a plurality of pallets 33 are sequentially loaded into the pallet return section 2B from the article lifting device 3, and the pallets 33 transported to the pallet return section 2B move on the pallet return section 2B in the c direction by their own weight. Move in the direction toward the pallet lifting device 5, which is the opposite direction.

Under such circumstances, in the pallet transfer section 2A, the portion on the article lifting device 3 side and the portion on the pallet lifting device 5 side sandwiching the article transfer position 9 set thereon are respectively formed. , A transfer standby portion and a placement standby portion. Then, as shown in FIG. 10, in the transfer standby portion of the pallet transfer section 2A, each of the two in-vehicle batteries V
A plurality of pallets 33 on which B (one of the two is not shown in the drawing) is placed in the same direction are placed in a standby state for being transferred to the article lifting device 3, and
In the placement standby portion of the pallet transfer section 2A, a plurality of pallets 33 each in the "empty" state are placed in a standby state waiting for the placement of the vehicle-mounted battery VB at the article transfer position 9.

Each of the two in-vehicle batteries VB, which are in a standby state in the transfer standby portion of the pallet transfer section 2A,
Are placed on the pallets 33 (33A) closest to the article lifting device 3, the stopper mechanism 37 provided on the pallet transfer section 2A. By being locked by c
Movement in the direction is prevented. Further, the pallet transfer section 2A is provided with a stopper mechanism 38 which locks the pallet 33 placed at the article transfer position 9 and regulates the position at a portion where the article transfer position 9 is set. Then, among the plurality of pallets 33 which are put in the standby state in the placing standby portion of the pallet transfer section 2A and each of which is in the “empty” state, the pallet 33 at the head thereof, that is, the article transfer position 9 When the closest pallet 33 (33B) comes into contact with the pallet 33 locked by the stopper mechanism 38 at the article transfer position 9, the movement in the direction c is prevented.

The article lifting device 3 has a movable part 3B on which a lifting base 3A is arranged and a fixed part 3C.
Can be moved up and down with respect to the fixed portion 3C, so that the first floor 1
F can be moved between the lower equipment installed on F and the upper equipment installed on the second floor 2F, and the elevating base 3A can be raised and lowered with respect to the movable part 3B. The lifting base 3A drives a plurality of rollers arranged in parallel in the same direction as the plurality of rollers forming the pallet transfer section 2A in the article transfer device 2, an endless chain to which these rollers are attached, and an endless chain. It is formed by a small conveyor provided with a motor 39.

The pallet lifting device 5 includes a lifting base 5A that moves between one end of the pallet transfer section 2A of the article transfer apparatus 2 and the other end of the pallet return section 2B of the article transfer apparatus 2. ing. This lifting base 5A is
When a position facing one end of the pallet transfer section 2A in the article transfer device 2 is taken by the tilt mechanism including the motor 32 provided therein, the pallet transfer section 2A is tilted in a direction in which the pallet transfer section 2A extends. 2, the pallet returning portion 2B is inclined in the direction in which the pallet returning portion 2B extends.

The lifting base 3A in the article lifting device 3 is
When the position corresponding to the other end of the pallet transfer section 2A of the article transfer device 2 is taken, the stopper mechanism 37 provided on the pallet transfer section 2A is changed from the state of locking the pallet 33 to the state of releasing the lock. It will be migrated. At the same time, the motor 39 provided on the lifting base 3A is operated, and the small conveyor forming the lifting base 3A is driven. As a result, only one pallet 33 on which two in-vehicle batteries VB are placed is transferred from the pallet transfer unit 2A to the lifting base 3A.

When the transfer of the pallet 33 on which the two in-vehicle batteries VB are mounted from the pallet transfer unit 2A to the lift base 3A is completed, the motor 39 provided on the lift base 3A is completed.
Is stopped, and the small conveyor forming the elevating base 3A is stopped. Then, as shown in FIG.
The pallet 33 transferred to the elevating base 3A is
A is brought into contact with the movable stopper member 40 provided at the position A, and the position is regulated. , Is raised toward the second floor 2F.

When the transfer of the pallet 33 on which the two in-vehicle batteries VB are mounted from the pallet transfer section 2A to the lifting base 3A is completed, a stopper provided on the pallet transfer section 2A of the article transfer device 2 is provided. The mechanism 37 is in a state of waiting to lock the pallet 33 next to the pallet 33 transferred to the lifting base 3A on the pallet transfer section 2A. At the same time, the stopper mechanism 38 provided in the pallet transfer section 2A is moved to the article transfer position 9
In this case, the state is shifted from the state in which the pallet 33 on which the two vehicle-mounted batteries VB are mounted by the transfer work robot 4 is locked to the state in which the locking is released.

As a result, in the pallet transfer section 2A of the article transfer device 2, the pallet 33 on which the two in-vehicle batteries VB are mounted moves from the article transfer position 9 to the transfer standby portion. When the movement is completed, the stopper mechanism 38
Are in a standby state to lock the “empty” pallet 33 arriving at the article transfer position 9. At the same time, in the transfer standby portion, the plurality of pallets 33 each having two in-vehicle batteries VB mounted thereon move toward the article lifting device 3, and thereafter, the first one is moved to the pallet transfer section. The movement is stopped by being locked by the stopper mechanism 37 provided on the 2A. Further, in the placement standby portion, the plurality of transport pallets 33 which are in the “empty” state are moved. After moving toward the position 9, the leading object reaches the article transfer position 9 and is locked by the stopper mechanism 38, so that the movement is stopped.

Two pieces which are transferred to the lifting base 3A of the article lifting device 3 and are lifted from the first floor 1F to the second floor 2F by raising the lifting base 3A and the movable part 3B. The pallet 33 on which the in-vehicle battery VB is mounted is
When A reaches the second floor 2F and the operation of the motor 41 constituting the elevating mechanism in the article lifting device 3 is stopped, it is arranged at the position of the upper facility installed on the second floor 2F. Then, as will be described later, the two in-vehicle batteries VB mounted on the pallet 33 in the same direction are removed from the pallet 33 by the mounting work robot 1 included in the upper facility installed on the second floor 2F. Taken out,
The pallet 33 is set to an "empty" state.

When the pallet 33 is set to the "empty" state on the second floor 2F, the motor 41 constituting the elevating mechanism in the article lifting device 3 is operated again,
Elevating base 3 with pallet 33 in "empty" state
A and the movable part 3B are assumed to be in a state of descending from the second floor 2F to the first floor 1F. And the elevating base 3
When A reaches a position facing one end of the pallet return section 2B of the article transfer device 2 included in the lower facility installed on the first floor 1F, the operation of the motor 41 is stopped, and the elevating base 3A and The movable part 3B is stopped.

At the same time, the contact state between the pallet 33 on the lifting base 3A and the movable stopper member 40 is released, and the operation of the motor 39 provided with a small conveyer forming the lifting base 3A is provided. Accordingly, the pallet 33 on which the two in-vehicle batteries VB are placed is driven in a direction opposite to that when the pallet 33 is transferred. Thereby, the pallet 33 in the “empty” state is transferred from the lifting base 3A to the pallet return section 2B of the article transfer device 2.

The "empty" pallet 33 transferred from the lifting base 3A of the article lifting apparatus 3 to the pallet returning section 2B of the article transporting apparatus 2 lifts the pallet on the pallet returning section 2B by its own weight. The pallet is moved toward the device 5 and then stopped by contacting a stopper mechanism 43 provided at the other end of the pallet returning section 2B. It is in a state of waiting to be lifted by the device 5.

The pallet 33 placed in a standby state at the other end of the pallet return section 2B is a pallet in which the stopper mechanism 38 provided in the pallet transfer section 2A of the article transfer apparatus 2 is placed at the article transfer position 9. When the state of releasing the lock with respect to 33 is released, the position regulation by the stopper mechanism 43 is released. The pallet 33 released from the position regulation by the stopper mechanism 43 has its own weight. It is moved to the elevating base 5A, and is transferred to the elevating base 5A in a state in which it comes into contact with a stopper member 45 provided on the elevating base 5A.

The pallet lifting device 5 also has an article lifting device 3
When the pallet 33 in the “empty” state comes into contact with the stopper member 45 provided on the lifting base 5A, the lifting mechanism is activated. Then, the lifting base 5A is raised toward one end of the pallet transfer section 2A of the article transfer device 2. At this time, the stopper mechanism 43 is in a state of waiting to come into contact with the next pallet 33 moving on the pallet return section 2B.

The lifting base 5A in the pallet lifting device 5
Reaches a position facing one end of the pallet transfer unit 2A of the article transfer device 2, the operation of the lifting mechanism provided in the pallet lifting device 5 is stopped, and the lifting of the lifting base 5A is stopped. The motor 32 provided in the pallet lifting device 5 is operated, and the lifting base 5A
Are inclined in the direction in which the pallet transfer section 2A extends. Thereby, the pallet 33 on the elevating base 5A moves by its own weight from the elevating base 5 to the pallet transfer section 2A, and moves the placing standby portion of the pallet transfer section 2A toward the article transfer position 9. It is assumed that.

When the pallet 33 in the “empty” state is transferred from the lifting base 5A to the pallet transfer section 2A of the article transfer device 2 in this manner, the lifting base 5A is moved to the pallet lifting device. 5 is returned to a position opposite to the other end of the pallet return section 2B of the article transfer device 2 by the operation of the lifting mechanism provided in 5, and the state in which the pallet return section 2B is inclined in the direction of extending the pallet return section 2B by the operation of the motor 32. It shall be taken.

As described above, the pallet 33 on which the two in-vehicle batteries VB are mounted is moved from the lower facility installed on the first floor 1F to the second floor by the elevating base 3A of the article lifting device 3. The operation of lifting to the upper equipment installed on the 2nd floor, and the pallet 3 set to the “empty” state in the upper equipment
Pallet transfer section 2A of the article transfer device 2 during a period in which the operation of transporting the article 3 from the upper equipment to the lower equipment is performed.
The loading operation of the two in-vehicle batteries VB on the pallet 33 whose position is restricted to the article transfer position 9 set above is performed by the transfer work robot 4.

One of the four large article carrying-in sections 6 included in the lower facility installed on the first floor 1F, or 6
The two in-vehicle batteries VB are transported from any one of the small article carry-in sections 7 to the article transfer position 9 set on the pallet transfer section 2A of the article transfer apparatus 2, and are transferred to the article transfer position 9
The transfer work robot 4 that performs the operation of mounting the pallet 33 carried into the pallet transfer unit 2A from the pallet lifting device 5 in the above is a teaching / playback type articulated robot. Then, in the transfer work robot 4, control information based on the vehicle production program from the host computer is supplied through one of the plurality of control units 15 for robot control, and operation control according to the control information is performed. Is performed.

As shown in FIG. 5, the transfer work robot 4 includes a base 51 movably engaged with the pair of rails 10, an arm member 52 rotatably attached to the base 51, and An imaging unit 55 and an article gripping unit 75 supported by the distal end of the arm member 52 are provided.
And the whole of the transfer work robot 4 is a pair of rails 1.
0, and the base 51 is attached to an endless chain 57 arranged on a pair of rails 10 via a plurality of rollers 56, as shown in FIG.
When the endless chain 57 is driven by the motor 58, the entirety is moved along the pair of rails 10.

Arm 5 in Transfer Robot 4
2 is a square pipe-shaped first arm 52A, which extends downward from the base 51 and is rotatable with respect to the base 51;
Is attached to the arm portion 52A via a lifting mechanism 59, and extends from the first arm portion 52A in a horizontal direction (a direction substantially perpendicular to a central axis extending in the vertical direction of the first arm portion 52A). Of the second arm portion 52B,
It has a rectangular pipe-shaped third arm 52C fixed to the tip of the second arm 52B and extending downward. A turning portion 54 is supported via a mounting portion 53 on a third arm portion 52C that forms the distal end of the entire arm member 52. The turning portion 54 has an image pickup portion 55
And an article gripping portion 75 are attached.

First arm portion 5 of arm member 52
2A, a motor 60 with a speed reducer for rotating it relative to the base body 51 is built in, and a photoelectric switch 61 composed of a light emitting element and a light receiving element forming a pair is attached. The second arm 52B of the arm member 52 moves up and down along the first arm 52A by the operation of the elevating mechanism 59.

The lifting / lowering mechanism 59 attached to the first arm 52A has a motor 62 built in the first arm 52A and a first arm attached to the side of the first arm 52A. Ball screw 6 extending along the portion 52A
5, pulleys 64 and 67 for transmitting the rotational driving force of the motor 62 to the ball screw 65 and a belt 66, and a movable member 68 fixed to the second arm 52 </ b> B and screwed to the ball screw 65. Have been. The movable member 68 includes a light shielding member 6 for controlling the light emitting / receiving state of the photoelectric switch 61 attached to the first arm 52A.
9 are provided, and the photoelectric switch 61 and the shielding member 6 are provided.
Reference numeral 9 denotes an article presence / absence determination unit, which will be described later. A determination output signal obtained from the photoelectric switch 61 is supplied to one of the plurality of control units 15 for controlling a robot.

Under these circumstances, the movable member 68 moves up and down with respect to the ball screw 65 in accordance with the direction of rotation of the ball screw 65, and as a result, as shown in FIG. The second arm 52B moves up and down along the first arm 52A.

The turning section 54 of the arm member 52 supported by the third arm section 52C via the mounting section 53 has a motor 63 with a speed reducer for rotating the turning section 54 with respect to the third arm section 52C. Is built-in. An elevating mechanism 59 including a motor 60 built in the first arm 52A, a motor 62 built in the first arm 52A,
And the turning part 5 supported by the third arm part 52C
The motor 63 built in 4 forms driving means for the arm member 52.

The third arm 5 of the arm member 52
The imaging unit 55 attached to the swivel unit 54 supported by the 2C via the attachment unit 53 includes a support arm unit 71 extending horizontally from the swivel unit 54 and a support arm unit attached to a distal end of the support arm unit 71. And a video camera 72 supported by 71. Video camera 72
For example, a solid-state imaging device having an imaging surface in which a large number of photoelectric conversion elements are arranged in a matrix and a CCD (charge transfer element) for transferring a signal charge obtained in each photoelectric conversion element is arranged. The solid-state imaging device includes an optical system 72A for introducing image light from an imaging target to an imaging surface portion.

The optical system 72A of the video camera 72 is directed downward, and the video camera 72
The imaging device 4 is rotated in accordance with the rotation of the imaging device 4, and performs an imaging operation on an imaging target arranged below the distal end portion of the support arm portion 71. The imaging output signal obtained from the video camera 72 is supplied to one of the plurality of control units 15 for controlling a robot.

Further, the article gripping part 75 attached to the turning part 54 is entirely
It turns together with the video camera 72 in the imaging unit 55.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the article gripping portion 75 is attached to the turning portion 54 and extends in the horizontal direction, and a pair of supporting members attached to both ends of the supporting plate 76. There is provided a gripping operation unit 77 supported by a support plate 76 via a shaft 76A and a support shaft 76B.

In the gripping operation unit 77, a pair of angle members 78A and 78B protruding downward from a flat plate member 78 attached to the lower ends of a pair of support shafts 76A and 76B and facing each other. Two air cylinders 79 and 80 that are arranged in parallel and extend in the horizontal direction are supported. The direction in which the piston rod 79A of the air cylinder 79 projects in the horizontal plane and the direction in which the piston rod 80A of the air cylinder 80 projects in the horizontal plane are opposite to each other. The air cylinder 79 is fixed to the pair of angle members 78A and 78B, but the air cylinder 80 is rotatable with respect to the pair of angle members 78A and 78B.

An article contact portion 81 formed by a bent plate member is attached to the tip of the piston rod 79A of the air cylinder 79. The tip of the piston rod 80A of the air cylinder 80 is attached to the tip of the piston rod 79A. An article contact portion 82 formed by a bent plate member is attached. The article abutting portion 81 and the article abutting portion 82 selectively oppose each other in accordance with the rotation state of the article abutting portion 82 accompanying the rotation of the air cylinder 80 with respect to the pair of angle members 78A and 78B. It is assumed to be taken. A contact pad 81A is fixed to a surface of the article contact portion 81 that faces the article contact portion 82, and faces the article contact portion 81 of the article contact portion 82. The contact pad 82A is fixed to the surface.

A worm wheel 86 is provided on the outer periphery of the air cylinder 80. In the flat member 78, a motor 87 with a speed reducer is disposed in a cutout provided in the worm wheel 86. A worm 87A provided on an output shaft of the motor 87 meshes with a worm wheel 86 provided on an outer peripheral portion of the air cylinder 80. Thereby, when the motor 87 rotates in the operating state,
By the action of the worm 87A and the worm wheel 86, the air cylinder 80 is rotated with respect to the pair of angle members 78A and 78B, and accordingly, the article cylinder attached to the distal end portion of the piston rod 80A in the air cylinder 80. The contact portion 82 is made of the piston rod 8
It can be rotated about 0A as a rotation axis. That is, the motor 8
7, a portion including the worm 87A and the worm wheel 86 forms a rotating mechanism.

The rotation of the article abutment section 82 about the piston rod 80A is performed by rotating the article abutment section 82 in an upper position indicated by a dashed line in FIGS. 1 and 2 and a solid line in FIGS. And the lower position indicated by. That is, the article contact portion 82
Is rotated from the upper position indicated by the alternate long and short dash line in FIGS. 1 and 2 around the piston rod 80 </ b> A to the lower position indicated by the solid line in FIGS. 1 and 2, or 1 and 2, the piston rod 80 </ b> A is rotated from the lower position shown by the solid line to the upper position shown by the dashed line in FIGS. 1 and 2. Will be.

When the article contact portion 82 assumes the lower position shown by the solid line in FIGS. 1 and 2, the article contact portion 81
And the article contact portion 82 are in a state of facing each other with the contact pad 81A and the contact pad 82A facing each other. Then, under such a state, the article abutting portion 81 and the article abutting portion 82 are moved by moving the piston rod 79A of the air cylinder 79 and / or the piston rod 80A of the air cylinder 80 forward and backward. Are close to or separated from each other.

Contact pad 81A in article contact portion 81
An air cylinder 92 and a bearing member 94 that rotatably supports the connecting member 93 at a position below the air cylinder 92 are attached to a portion on the back side of the portion where the is fixed. The connecting member 93 has an intermediate portion attached to the bearing member 94, one end of which is connected to the piston rod 92 </ b> A of the air cylinder 92, and the other end below the article contact portion 81. Is attached.

The air cylinder 92 includes a piston rod 92
By moving A back and forth, as shown by the solid line in FIG. 2, the article abuts on the suction pad 95 attached to the other end of the connecting member 94 having one end connected to the piston rod 92A. The position protruding toward the part 82 and the position retreating toward the rear side of the article contact part 81 as shown by the dashed line in FIG. The suction pad 95 is moved from the article contact portion 81 to the article contact portion 82 as indicated by a solid line in FIG.
When placed in a position protruding to the side, it takes a state of adsorbing to the article, and as shown by a dashed line in FIG.
When it is located at a position retracted toward the back side of the article contact portion 81, it does not stick to the article.

Further, the article contact switch 81 is also provided with an article detection switch 96.
Is provided with a contact 96A that comes into contact with an article that is adsorbed by the suction pad 95 that is located at a position protruding from the article contact section 81 toward the article contact section 82, and detects an article that is adsorbed by the suction pad 95. The detection output signal obtained by the article detection switch 96 is supplied to one of the plurality of control units 15 for controlling a robot.

Below the air cylinders 79 and 80 supported by a pair of angle members 78A and 78B projecting downward from the flat plate member 78, a stopper member 98 made of an elastic material and an article presence / absence discriminating section 99 are provided. And project downward. The article presence / absence determination unit 99
As shown in FIG. 13 and FIG.
00, a contact 101, and a movable connecting member 102 for connecting the limit switch 100 and the contact 101.

The limit switch 100 has a mover 100A disposed at a lower portion thereof and urged by an elastic force in a direction to protrude outside the limit switch 100. The mover 100A causes the limit switch 100 to be turned on when pressed toward the inside of the limit switch 100 against the elastic force urging the mover. A stopper pin 103 and a rotating shaft 104 are provided upright in the vicinity of a portion of the limit switch 100 where the mover 100A is provided.

The contact 101 has a movable arm 101A and a movable arm 101B. Movable arm 1
One end of 01A is supported by a rotating shaft 104 erected on the limit switch 100, and the entire movable arm 101A is rotatable with respect to the limit switch 100. The other end of the movable arm 101A is connected to one end of a movable arm 101B via a rotation shaft 105. A contact end member 101C made of an elastic material is attached to the other end of the movable arm portion 101B.

As shown by a solid line in FIG. 13, the movable arm portion 101A rotates with the rotation shaft 104 as a fulcrum, and one end of the movable arm portion 101A contacts the stopper pin 103, thereby restricting the position. A state where the other end is pushed up by one end of the movable arm portion 101B and one end is separated from the stopper pin 103;
As shown by a dashed line in FIG. 13, the other end is pushed up by one end of the movable arm portion 101B, and the intermediate portion thereof opposes the movable member 100A of the limit switch 100 against the elastic force urging it. And selectively pressing the switch toward the inside of the limit switch 100. Further, the movable arm portion 101B has a stopper member 9 in a state where the movable arm portion 101A has one end abutting against the stopper pin 103 and the position thereof is regulated.
Prior to 8, the contact end member 101C is brought into contact with the article.

The movable connecting member 102 has a slide shaft member 102A which is swingably supported by a rotation pin 106 provided on the limit switch 100, and a locking member whose upper end is provided at an intermediate portion of the slide shaft member 102A. Part 102
C, and the lower end of the contact 101
And a coil spring 102B into which the lower part of the slide shaft member 102A is inserted, and the whole can be swung about the pivot pin 106 as a fulcrum. Coil spring 102B
When the movable arm 101A of the contact 101 is in a state where one end thereof is in contact with the stopper pin 103 and its position is regulated, the contact 1
The angle formed by the movable arm portion 101B of FIG. 01 is maximized, and the contact 101 is maintained in the state shown by the solid line in FIGS.

When the transfer work robot 4 having the article gripping section 75 as described above performs a work under the operation control by the robot controlling one of the plurality of control sections 15, first, the base 51 4 moves along the pair of rails 10 from the reference position X shown in FIG. 4 to approach one of the four large article carry-in sections 6 and the six small article carry-in sections 7. For example, when approaching any one of the four large article carry-in sections 6, a plurality of staged articles are placed on the pallet 17 placed at the article gripping position 16 of the close large article carry-in section 6 using the partition plate 17A. Each of the in-vehicle batteries VB
The articles are sequentially gripped and transported to the article transfer position 9 set on the pallet transfer section 2A of the article transfer apparatus 2, and the article transfer position 9 is set.
Operation on the pallet 33 whose position is restricted, "empty"
The operation of gripping the partition plate 17A in the state of (1) and transporting it to the pallet discharge unit 8 and the operation of gripping the vacant pallet 17 and transporting it to the pallet discharge unit 8 include:
This is performed according to a preset procedure. Further, for example, when approaching any of the six small article carry-in sections 7, the in-vehicle battery VB placed at the article grasping position 16 of the small article carry-in section 7 that is close to the small article carry-in section 7 is grasped. The operation of transporting the article to the article transfer position 9 set on the pallet transfer section 2A and placing the article on the pallet 33 whose position is regulated at the article transfer position 9 is performed according to a preset procedure.

The transfer work robot 4 moves from the reference position X
The movement along the pair of rails 10 that is close to one of the six large article carry-in sections 6 and the six small article carry-in sections 7 is performed under the reference state. Such transfer work robot 4
In the reference state, the second arm portion 52A of the arm member 52 is located at the uppermost position, and the piston rod 79A of the air cylinder 79 and the piston rod 80A of the air cylinder 80 in the article gripping portion 75. Each of them is slightly protruded, the article contact portion 82 is located at an upper position indicated by a dashed line in FIGS. 1 and 2, and the piston rod 92 </ b> A of the air cylinder 92 is advanced. .

The position that the transfer work robot 4 takes close to one of the four large article carry-in sections 6 and the six small article carry-in sections 7 is close to one of the four large article carry-in sections 6. Sometimes, when one of the plurality of in-vehicle batteries VB placed at the article gripping position 16 of the adjacent large article carry-in section 6 is gripped by the article gripping section 75,
Also, when approaching any one of the six small article carry-in sections 7, the article gripping position 16
Gripper 75 for vehicle-mounted battery VB placed in
When the gripping by the first arm portion 52A is restricted within a predetermined rotation range when the gripping is performed, the vehicle-mounted battery VB gripped by the article gripping portion 75 is most efficiently Pallet transfer section 2A of article transfer device 2 quickly
This is the optimum transport position at which the product can be transported to the article transfer position 9 set above.

When the transfer work robot 4 takes an optimum transfer position close to any of the four large article carry-in sections 6, for example, it is set in the large article carry-in section 6 as shown in FIG. Pallet 1 placed at the gripped position 16
7 indicates the layout of the plurality of in-vehicle batteries VB among the plurality of in-vehicle batteries VB stacked using the partition plate 17A, for example, the partition plate 17A.
The video camera 72 of the imaging unit 55 attached to the turning unit 54 supported by the third arm 52C is located above the two right-hand-mounted batteries VB in the front row and the two right-hand-mounted batteries VB in the back row. Position. At the same time, the first arm section 5 is positioned so that the article contact section 81 of the article gripping section 75 is located in the space on the front side of the front row of the plurality of in-vehicle batteries VB.
2A and the turning part 54 are rotated. In this case, the article contact portion 82 of the article gripping section 75 is positioned above the plurality of in-vehicle batteries VB together with the video camera 72 because the article contact section 82 is located at the upper position.

Then, the video camera 72 captures an image of the upper surface of each of the two on-board batteries VB on the right end of the front row and the two on-board batteries VB on the right end of the rear row on the partition plate 17A. Thereby, the video camera 7
2, the right end of the front row on the partition plate 17A
An imaging output signal representing an image of the upper surface of each of the on-vehicle batteries VB and the two on-vehicle batteries VB at the right end of the rear row is supplied to one of the plurality of control units 15 for controlling a robot.

In the control unit 15 for controlling the robot,
By performing image processing according to a video signal formed based on an imaging output signal from the video camera 72, the partition plate 17A
For example, it is determined which of the arrangements of the plurality of on-vehicle batteries VB corresponds to one of the arrangements shown in FIGS. When the arrangement mode of the plurality of in-vehicle batteries VB is determined, the gripping order related to the determined arrangement mode is set in advance. A control signal for controlling the operation of the transfer work robot 4 is formed and supplied to the transfer work robot 4.

As a result, the transfer work robot 4 moves the base 5
With the movement of the first arm portion 52A and the movement of the first arm portion 52A, the video camera 72 is moved from the plurality of in-vehicle batteries VB on the partition plate 17A to be grasped, that is, above the in-vehicle battery VB to be grasped. The moving operation is performed, and the video camera 72 captures an image of the upper surface of the vehicle-mounted battery VB to be gripped. Thereby, an imaging output signal representing an image of the upper surface of the vehicle-mounted battery VB to be gripped on the partition plate 17A, obtained from the video camera 72, is supplied to one of the plurality of control units 15 for controlling a robot. .

In the control unit 15 for controlling the robot,
By performing image processing according to a video signal formed based on an imaging output signal from the video camera 72, the partition plate 17A
The center position and orientation of the onboard battery VB to be grasped above are accurately detected. Then, according to the detected center position and orientation of the in-vehicle battery VB to be grasped, the transfer work robot 4 is operated by the article grasping unit 75 so that the in-vehicle battery VB to be grasped is properly grasped. A gripping operation control signal for performing operation control is formed and supplied to the transfer work robot 4. Thereby, the transfer work robot 4 is controlled by the control unit 1 for robot control.
5 in response to the gripping operation control signal from the
The vehicle-mounted battery V to be gripped on the partition plate 17A
An operation of gripping B is performed.

In this case, the transfer work robot 4
First, the article gripper 75 should be gripped on the partition plate 17A detected based on the imaging output signal from the video camera 72 by moving the base 51 and rotating the first arm 52A. It is moved to a position corresponding to the position of the vehicle-mounted battery VB. Subsequently, the turning part 54 supported by the third arm part 52C is rotated to move the article gripping part 75.
Then, a direction corresponding to the direction of the vehicle-mounted battery VB to be gripped on the partition plate 17A detected based on the imaging output signal from the video camera 72 is taken. As shown in FIG. 16, the direction of the article gripping portion 75 extends in a direction substantially orthogonal to each of a pair of long side facing side surface portions of the vehicle-mounted battery VB to be gripped by the air cylinders 79 and 80.
The article contact portion 81 faces the side portion VBa which is closer to the connection terminal 26 of the pair of long side facing side portions of the vehicle-mounted battery VB to be gripped, and the article contact portion takes an upper position. 82 is the on-board battery V to be gripped
Connection terminal 26 of the pair of long side opposing side surfaces in FIG.
From the side surface portion VBb, which is farther from the side.

When a state in which the article gripping section 75 takes a direction corresponding to the direction of the vehicle-mounted battery VB to be gripped is obtained, the second arm section 52B is moved to lower the support plate section 76 supporting the gripping operation unit 77. Is lowered.
Then, a contact member 101 constituting a stopper member 98 and an article presence / absence determination unit 99 provided in the gripping operation unit 77
As shown by the solid line in FIG. 13, the contact end member 101C disposed on the upper surface of the vehicle-mounted battery VB to be gripped is obtained. In that case, first,
The contact end member 101C formed of an elastic material abuts on the upper surface of the vehicle-mounted battery VB to be gripped, and the stopper member 98 formed of the elastic material abuts on the upper surface of the vehicle-mounted battery VB to be gripped. This protects the upper surface of the vehicle-mounted battery VB to be gripped.

Contact end member 1 in article presence / absence determining section 99
After the stopper member 98 is brought into contact with the upper surface portion of the vehicle-mounted battery VB to be gripped following 01C, the second state is maintained.
Of the arm portion 52B is continued. As a result, as shown by the dashed line in FIG. 13, in the article presence / absence determining section 99, one end of the movable arm portion 101B on which the contact end member 101C is disposed is connected to the upper surface of the vehicle-mounted battery VB to be gripped by the contact end member 101C. Is pushed up by being in contact with the movable arm portion 101.
A is pushed up, and the movable arm 101A
However, the mover 100A of the limit switch 100 is pressed toward the inside of the limit switch 100 against the elastic force urging the mover 100A by the intermediate portion, and the limit switch 100 is turned on.

In this way, the second switch for turning on the limit switch 100 in the article presence / absence discriminating section 99 is set.
The lowering of the arm 52B is performed by the light shielding member 69 disposed on the movable member 68 which moves down with the second arm 52B.
Is a photoelectric switch 61 disposed on the first arm 52A.
In this case, the light emitting / receiving state of the photoelectric switch 61 is interrupted, and the photoelectric switch 61 is stopped when the photoelectric switch 61 is turned off.

The amount of downward movement of the second arm 52B from when the article presence / absence discriminating section 99 contacts the upper surface of the vehicle-mounted battery VB to be gripped until the photoelectric switch 61 is turned off is determined by the large article carrying section. Item holding position 1 in 6
6 or a difference between the heights of the plurality of in-vehicle batteries VB mounted on the pallet 17 conveyed to the article 6 or the heights of the plurality of pallets 17 sequentially conveyed to the article gripping position 16. The difference in the height position of the vehicle-mounted battery VB on the pallet 17 caused by the difference is absorbed, and the contact 101 of the article presence / absence determination unit 99 is reliably brought into contact with the upper surface of the vehicle-mounted battery VB to be gripped. It is assumed. Then, the limit switch 1 in the article presence / absence determination unit 99
00 is turned on, and the photoelectric switch 61
Is turned off, it is confirmed that the contact 101 in the article presence / absence determination section 99 is in a state of being securely in contact with the upper surface of the vehicle-mounted battery VB to be gripped.

When the photoelectric switch 61 is turned off,
The second arm 52B is separated from the upper surface of the vehicle-mounted battery VB by which the stopper member 98 is to be gripped.
The contact of the contact 101 with the upper surface portion of the vehicle-mounted battery VB to be gripped by the article presence / absence discriminating section 99 is raised within a range where the limit switch 100 is maintained in the ON state to be continued. Thereafter, the lifting of the second arm 52B is stopped within a range in which the limit switch 100 in the article presence / absence determination section 99 is maintained in the ON state, and the contact fixed to the article contact section 81 of the article gripping section 75. The pad 81A faces a portion of the side portion VBa of the vehicle-mounted battery VB to be gripped, which is slightly lower than the upper protruding portion, at a predetermined separation distance.

Subsequently, the air cylinder 92 is put into an operating state in which the piston rod 92A is brought into a retracted state in which the suction pad 95 is brought close to the side surface portion VBa of the vehicle-mounted battery VB to be gripped. 79 is
The piston rod 79A is put into an operating state in which the piston rod 79A assumes a retracted state. By the operation of the air cylinder 92 and the subsequent operation of the air cylinder 79, when the suction pad 95 comes into contact with the side surface portion VBa of the vehicle-mounted battery VB to be gripped, as shown by a dashed line in FIG. The contact 96A of the article detection switch 96 arranged in contact with the side surface portion VBa of the vehicle-mounted battery VB to be gripped, whereby the article detection switch 96
Is turned on. When the article detection switch 96 is turned on, the side portion VB of the vehicle-mounted battery VB to be gripped is set.
The suction pad 95 that has come into contact with the a is assumed to be in a state of being suctioned to the side surface portion VBa of the vehicle-mounted battery VB to be gripped, and the operation of causing the piston rod 79A of the air cylinder 79 to be retracted is stopped.

Subsequently, the suction pad 95 adsorbed to the vehicle-mounted battery VB to be gripped is moved to the vehicle-mounted battery VB to be gripped.
In the direction from the side surface portion VBb toward the side surface portion VBa at a predetermined distance, which is slightly larger than the distance corresponding to the thickness dimension including the contact pad 82A of the article contact portion 82, for example, about 50 mm. When necessary, the base 51 is moved along the pair of rails 10, and the first arm 52A is rotated. As a result, the entire article gripping portion 75 including the suction pad 95 is moved together with the vehicle-mounted battery VB to be gripped by the suction pad 95, and the vehicle-mounted battery VB to be gripped by the suction pad 95 is shown in FIG. At 17, the state is moved from the state indicated by the dashed line to the state indicated by the solid line.

As a result, even if another vehicle-mounted battery VB adjacent to the vehicle-mounted battery VB to be grasped is disposed with a very small interval between the side-surface portion VBb and the vehicle-mounted battery VB, the solid line in FIG. As shown, the vehicle-mounted battery VB to be gripped by the suction pad 95 is moved to a position where the distance between the side portion VBb and the adjacent vehicle-mounted battery VB is, for example, about 50 mm. Become. Then, under such circumstances, the rotating mechanism including the motor 87 is set in an operation state in which the article contact portion 82 in the upper position assumes the lower position.

The shift from the upper position to the lower position of the article contact portion 82 by the operation of the rotation mechanism including the motor 87 is performed by using the suction pad 95 that is sucked by the on-vehicle battery VB to be gripped. Side portion VBa of battery VB
, For example, approximately 50
Since the interval of mm is formed, the article contact portion 82 smoothly enters the side portion VBb of the vehicle-mounted battery VB to be gripped and the adjacent vehicle-mounted battery VB easily and smoothly. Will be Then, as shown in FIG. 18, the contact pad 82A provided on the article contact portion 82 in the lower position is slightly lower than the upper protruding portion in the side surface portion VBb of the vehicle-mounted battery VB to be gripped. They face each other at a predetermined separation distance.

When the article contact portion 82 is located at the lower position in this manner, the piston rod 9 of the air cylinder 92 is
2A is moved to the advanced state, whereby the suction pad 9
5 is released from the state of being attracted to the vehicle-mounted battery VB to be gripped, and is separated from the vehicle-mounted battery VB to be gripped. In addition, the article detection switch 96
However, the contact 96A is brought into a state in which the contact 96A does not come into contact with the vehicle-mounted battery VB to be gripped, and the state is switched from the ON state to the OFF state.

When the article detection switch 96 is turned off, as shown in FIG. 19, the piston rod 79A of the air cylinder 79 is set to the retracted state, and the contact rod 81 fixed to the article contact section 81 is set. The contact pad 81A is brought into contact with the side surface portion VBa of the vehicle-mounted battery VB to be gripped, and the piston rod 80A of the air cylinder 80 is held.
The vehicle-mounted battery VB to be held by the contact pad 82A fixed to the article contact portion 82
In contact with the side surface portion VBb. Thereby,
The in-vehicle battery VB to be grasped is grasped by the article contact section 81 and the article contact section 82.

In this manner, of the plurality of in-vehicle batteries VB placed in a row on the partition plate 17A, the one to be grasped as the in-vehicle battery VB to be grasped is transferred to the article grasping section 75.
In the transfer work robot 4 gripped by the article contact section 81 and the article contact section 82 in the above, the second arm section 5
With the 2B positioned at the uppermost position, the position adjustment of the base 51 with respect to the pair of rails 10 and the first arm 5
The position adjustment of the 2A with respect to the article transfer device 2 is performed by transferring the in-vehicle battery VB gripped by the article contact portion 81 and the article contact portion 82 from the article gripping position 16 in the large article carry-in portion 6 to the pallet of the article transfer device 2. The transfer is performed to the article transfer position 9 set on the section 2A. Thereby, the in-vehicle battery VB gripped by the article contact portion 81 and the article contact portion 82 is regulated in position by the stopper mechanism 38 at the article transfer position 9 on the pallet transfer section 2A of the article transfer device 2. 33.

As shown in FIG. 10, the portion where the article transfer position 9 is set in the pallet transfer section 2A of the article transfer device 2 has two light emitting elements 19P and two photoelectric switching elements shown in FIG. Two light emitting elements 107P (only one appears in the figure) and two photoelectric switching elements 107S (only one appears in the figure), which are the same as the element 19S, are arranged. ing. The light emitting element 107P and the photoelectric switching element 10
By 7S, the placement state of the vehicle-mounted battery VB on the pallet 33 whose position is regulated at the article transfer position 9 is detected.

[0106] The transfer work robot 4 is
In transferring the in-vehicle battery VB gripped by the article contact portion 81 and the article contact portion 82 of FIG. Pallet 3 by the light emitting element 107P and the photoelectric switching element 107S.
When it is detected that the battery 3 is “empty”, the vehicle-mounted battery VB gripped by the article contact portion 81 and the article contact portion 82 is first placed, for example, on the left side of the pallet 33. I do. Further, the light emitting element 107P
When it is detected by the photoelectric switching element 107S that the vehicle-mounted battery VB is already mounted on the left portion of the pallet 33, the operation of mounting the battery VB on the right portion of the pallet 33 is performed.

On the other hand, when it is detected by the light-emitting element 107P and the photoelectric switching element 107S that two pallets 33 are already mounted on the pallet 33, the two batteries VB are mounted. The pallet 33 is released from the position regulation by the stopper mechanism 38, and moves from the article transfer position 9 to the transfer standby portion on the pallet transfer section 2A of the article transfer device 2. In addition, the pallet 33 in the “empty” state is moved from the placement standby portion of the pallet transfer section 2A to the article transfer position 9.
And the position is regulated by the stopper mechanism 38.
Then, the transport work robot 4 keeps the article contact until the pallet 33 whose position is newly regulated at the article transfer position 9 is detected as “empty” by the light emitting element 107P and the photoelectric switching element 107S. The vehicle stands by while holding the in-vehicle battery VB by the contact part 81 and the article contact part 82.

[0108] The transfer work robot 4
When transferring the in-vehicle battery VB gripped by the article contact portion 81 and the article contact portion 82 to the pallet 33 whose position is regulated at the article transfer position 9, first, the second position, which is the uppermost position, is taken. The arm part 52A is lowered until the vehicle-mounted battery VB gripped by the article contact part 81 and the article contact part 82 is placed on the pallet 33. When the in-vehicle battery VB is placed on the pallet 33, the piston rod 79A of the air cylinder 79 and the piston rod 80A of the air cylinder 80 each move the article contact portions 81 and 82 away from each other. It shall be taken. Thereby, the contact pad 81A fixed to the article contact part 81 and the contact pad 82A fixed to the article contact part 82 are separated from the vehicle-mounted battery VB, and the position of the pallet is regulated at the article transfer position 9. The transfer of the vehicle-mounted battery VB to the battery 33 is completed.

Subsequently, the article contact portion 82 is moved from the lower position to the upper position by the operation of the rotating mechanism including the motor 87, and the second arm portion 52A is raised toward the uppermost position. Then, the contact 101 in the article presence / absence determining section 99 is separated from the upper surface of the vehicle-mounted battery VB, the limit switch 100 is switched from the on state to the off state, and the transfer work robot 4 is returned to the reference state. Then, based on the state of the limit switch 100 in the article presence / absence determining section 99, it is determined whether or not the article contact sections 81 and 82 are in a state of securely gripping the vehicle-mounted battery VB. This operation is continuously performed during the period in which the operation of transferring the pallet 33 whose position is regulated at the article transfer position 9 by holding the vehicle-mounted battery VB by the unit 75 is performed.

[0110] In this way, the pallet 3 whose position is regulated at the article transfer position 9 by the transfer work robot 4.
When the transfer of the vehicle-mounted battery VB to the pallet 33 is completed, the light-emitting element 107P and the photoelectric switching element 107S complete the transfer of the vehicle-mounted battery VB to the pallet 33.
When it is detected that the number is one, the transport work robot 4 that has returned to the reference state is configured to grip the in-vehicle battery VB having the next gripping order of the in-vehicle battery VB already transferred to the pallet 33, as described above. Is performed again, and the transfer robot 4 moves the article transfer position 9.
The second in-vehicle battery VB is transferred to the pallet 33 whose position has been restricted in the same direction as the first in-vehicle battery VB.

When it is detected by the light emitting element 107P and the photoelectric switching element 107S that the number of the in-vehicle batteries VB placed on the pallet 33 whose position is regulated at the article transfer position 9 is two, the reference state is set. Is moved along the pair of rails 10 so that the base body 51 is returned to the reference position X, and the transfer robot 4 is moved by the stopper mechanism 37 provided in the pallet transfer section 2A of the article transfer apparatus 2. Until the position regulation on the pallet 33 on which the in-vehicle batteries VB are placed is released, the standby state is maintained at the reference position X.

As described above, the transfer work robot 4 causes the partition plate 17A on the pallet 17 placed at the article gripping position 16 in the large article carry-in section 6 to move the plurality of vehicle-mounted batteries VB mounted thereon. When all the unloading is completed and the state is “empty”, or when the pallet 17 placed at the article gripping position 16 is unloaded, all the unloading of the partition plate 17A and the plurality of in-vehicle batteries VB placed thereon is completed. The transfer work robot 4 carries out the "empty" state of the partition plate 17A or the pallet 17 from the article gripping position 16 when the state is completed.

In this case, the fact that the partition plate 17A or the pallet 17 at the article gripping position 16 is in the “empty” state indicates that the two light emitting elements 19P and the two The position regulation by the pair of movable stopper members 21 with respect to the pallet 17 which is detected by the photoelectric switching element 19S and is in the “empty” state is released. Then, the transporting robot 4 carries out the “empty” partition plate 17A or the pallet 17 from the article gripping position 16 by using the article gripping portion 75.

When the partition plate 17A or the pallet 17 in the “empty” state is carried out of the article gripping position 16 using the article gripping portion 75 provided in the transport operation robot 4, the transfer operation robot 4 However, except for the operation of the suction pad 95, the in-vehicle battery VB is gripped by the article contact portion 81 and the article contact portion 82 in the above-described article grip portion 75, and the in-vehicle battery gripped by the article contact portions 81 and 82. The same operation as in the case of transporting the battery VB is performed to grip the partition plate 17A or the pallet 17 which is set to the “empty” state by the article contact section 81 and the article contact section 82 in the article grip section 75, Article contact parts 81 and 82
Partition plate 17A in an “empty” state gripped by
Alternatively, the pallet 17 is transported.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 20, a state in which the pallet 17 in the “empty” state is gripped by the article contact sections 81 and 82 is shown. The contact pad 81A fixed to 81 is brought into contact with the front edge 17F of the pallet 17 in the "empty" state or the front edge of the partition plate 17A in the "empty" state. The contact pad 82A fixed to the contact portion 82 abuts on the rear end edge 17B of the "empty" pallet 17 or the rear end edge of the "empty" partition plate 17A. Then, the pallet 17 in the “empty” state or the partition plate 17A in the “empty” state is gripped by the article contact section 81 and the article contact section 82.

At this time, the distance from the front edge 17F to the rear edge 17F of the pallet 17 or the distance between the partition 1
Since the distance from the front edge to the rear edge in 7A is larger than the distance from the side surface portion VBa to the side surface portion VBb in the vehicle-mounted battery VB, the air having the piston rod 79A to which the article contact portion 81 is attached is provided. Cylinder 79
And rod 8 to which article contact portion 82 is attached
In the air cylinder 80 having 0A, the protrusion length of the piston rod 79A and the protrusion length of the piston rod 80A are relatively large.

The article contact section 81 and the article contact section 82
The partition plate 17 in the “empty” state gripped by
The pallet 17 in the A or “empty” state is attached to the base 51 and the first arm 52 of the transfer work robot 4.
A is moved from the article gripping position 16 to the pallet carry-in position 8A by the movement of the second arm 52B, and then is placed at the pallet carry-in position 8A and is moved to the pallet carry-in position 8A. Is made. The "empty" partition plate 17A or pallet 17 transferred to the pallet carry-in position 8A is conveyed to the pallet carry-out position 8B in the pallet carrying section 8, and is shown from the pallet carry-out position 8B. It is carried out by the omitted means.

When the transfer robot 4 completes the transfer of the partition plate 17A or the pallet 17 in the "empty" state to the pallet carry-in position 8A, the transfer robot 4 is returned to the reference state and returned to the reference position X.

The transfer work robot 4 is, for example, 6
When the optimal transport position is set near any one of the small article carry-in sections 7, the movement of the base body 51 and the first arm section 52A
With the rotation of the video camera 72, the video camera 72 is moved above the in-vehicle battery VB placed at the article gripping position 16 in the adjacent small article carry-in section 7, that is, above the in-vehicle battery VB to be gripped. The camera 72 is caused to take an image of the upper surface of the vehicle-mounted battery VB to be gripped. As a result, an imaging output signal representing an image of the upper surface of the vehicle-mounted battery VB to be grasped, which is obtained from the video camera 72, is supplied to one of the plurality of control units 15 for controlling the robot.

In the control unit 15 for controlling the robot,
The center position and orientation of the vehicle-mounted battery VB to be gripped at the article gripping position 16 in the small article carry-in section 7 by performing image processing according to a video signal formed based on an image pickup output signal from the video camera 72. Are accurately detected. Then, according to the detected center position and orientation of the in-vehicle battery VB to be grasped, the transfer work robot 4 is operated by the article grasping unit 75 so that the in-vehicle battery VB to be grasped is properly grasped. A gripping operation control signal for performing operation control is formed and supplied to the transfer work robot 4. Thereby, the transfer work robot 4
In response to the gripping operation control signal from the robot control unit 15, the article gripping unit 75 grips the vehicle-mounted battery VB to be gripped at the article gripping position 16 in the small article loading unit 7. Let it do.

In this case, the transfer work robot 4
First, by moving the base body 51 and rotating the first arm 52A, the article gripping section 75 detects the article in the small article carry-in section 7 detected based on the imaging output signal from the video camera 72. It is moved to a position corresponding to the position of the vehicle-mounted battery VB to be gripped, which is placed at the grip position 16.
Subsequently, the turning portion 54 supported by the third arm portion 52C
In the direction of the in-vehicle battery VB to be gripped at the article gripping position 16 in the small article loading section 7, which is detected based on the imaging output signal from the video camera 72. Have them take the appropriate direction. The direction of the article gripping portion 75 extends in a direction substantially orthogonal to each of the pair of long-side facing side surfaces of the vehicle-mounted battery VB to be gripped by the air cylinders 79 and 80, and the article contact portion 81
Is opposed to the side surface portion VBa which is closer to the connection terminal 26 of the pair of long side facing side portions of the vehicle-mounted battery VB to be gripped, and the article contact portion 82 which is located at the upper position is gripped. The vehicle-mounted battery VB is to be located above a side surface portion VBb which is farther from the connection terminal 26 of the pair of long-side facing side portions of the battery VB.

When a state in which the article gripping section 75 takes a direction corresponding to the direction of the vehicle-mounted battery VB to be gripped is obtained, the second arm section 52B is moved to lower the support plate section 76 supporting the gripping operation unit 77. Is lowered.
Then, a contact member 101 constituting a stopper member 98 and an article presence / absence determination unit 99 provided in the gripping operation unit 77
Is in contact with the upper surface of the vehicle-mounted battery VB to be gripped. afterwards,
Further, the lowering of the second arm 52B is continued, so that the contact end member 10
One end of the movable arm portion 101B provided with 1C is pushed up by being in contact with the upper surface portion of the vehicle-mounted battery VB to be gripped by the contact end member 101C, and accordingly, the other end portion of the movable arm portion 101A is pushed up. Then, the movable arm portion 101A presses the movable member 100A of the limit switch 100 toward the inside of the limit switch 100 against the elastic force urging the movable member 100A by an intermediate portion thereof. Let it turn on.

The second arm 52B for turning on the limit switch 100 in the article presence / absence determining section 99
When the light shielding member 69 disposed on the movable member 68 descending with the second arm 52B is related to the photoelectric switch 61 disposed on the first arm 52A, the light emission of the photoelectric switch 61 is performed. When the light receiving state is interrupted and the photoelectric switch 61 is turned off, the operation is stopped.
In this way, by turning on the limit switch 100 in the article presence / absence determination section 99 and turning off the photoelectric switch 61, the vehicle 101 to be gripped by the contact 101 in the article presence / absence determination section 99 It is confirmed that the battery VB is securely in contact with the upper surface of the battery VB.

When the photoelectric switch 61 is turned off,
The second arm 52B is separated from the upper surface of the vehicle-mounted battery VB by which the stopper member 98 is to be gripped.
The contact of the contact 101 with the upper surface portion of the vehicle-mounted battery VB to be gripped by the article presence / absence discriminating section 99 is raised within a range where the limit switch 100 is maintained in the ON state to be continued. Thereafter, the lifting of the second arm 52B is stopped within a range in which the limit switch 100 in the article presence / absence determination section 99 is maintained in the ON state, and the contact fixed to the article contact section 81 of the article gripping section 75. The pad 81A faces a portion of the side portion VBa of the vehicle-mounted battery VB to be gripped, which is slightly lower than the upper protruding portion, at a predetermined separation distance.

Subsequently, the rotating mechanism including the motor 87 is set in an operation state in which the article contact portion 82 in the upper position assumes the lower position. Thus, the contact pad 82A provided on the article contact portion 82 which is assumed to be located at a lower position is separated from the upper side protruding portion of the side portion VBb of the vehicle-mounted battery VB to be grasped by a predetermined distance. They face each other at a distance.

In this way, when the article contact portion 82 is located at the lower position, the piston rod 7 of the air cylinder 79 is
9A is assumed to be in the retracted state, and the contact pad 81A fixed to the article contact portion 81 is brought into contact with the side surface portion VBa of the vehicle-mounted battery VB to be gripped,
The piston rod 80A of the air cylinder 80 is also assumed to be in the retracted state, and the side surface portion VB of the vehicle-mounted battery VB to be gripped by the contact pad 82A fixed to the article contact portion 82.
b. Thereby, the vehicle-mounted battery VB to be grasped is grasped by the article contact section 81 and the article contact section 82.

In this manner, the vehicle-mounted battery VB to be grasped, which is placed at the article grasping position 16 in the small article carrying-in section 7, is grasped by the article contact section 81 and the article contact section 82 in the article grasping section 75. The transfer work robot 4 is provided with a vehicle-mounted battery VB on a pallet 17 or a partition plate 17A placed at an article gripping position 16 in the large article carry-in section 6.
In the same manner as when the product is gripped by the product contact portion 81 and the product contact portion 82 in the product holding portion 75.
1 and the in-vehicle battery V gripped by the article contact portion 82
B is conveyed from the article gripping position 16 in the small article carry-in section 7 to the article transfer position 9 set on the pallet transfer section 2A of the article transfer apparatus 2, and the pallet whose position is regulated in the article transfer position 9 33. Thereby,
The in-vehicle battery VB placed at the article gripping position 16 in the small article loading section 7 is replaced with a pallet 17 or a partition plate 17 placed at the article gripping position 16 in the large article loading section 6.
Similar to the plurality of in-vehicle batteries VB placed on the pallet A, the pallet 33 is transferred to the pallet 33 whose position is regulated at the article transfer position 9 set on the pallet transfer section 2A of the article transfer device 2.

As described above, each of the plurality of in-vehicle batteries VB placed on the pallet 17 or the partition plate 17A placed at the article holding position 16 of the large article carry-in section 6, and the large article carry-in section 6 The partition plate 17A or the pallet 1 which is in the “empty” state at the article gripping position 16
7 and the article gripping position 16 of the small article carry-in section 7
A base body 1 that moves along the rails 10 while the transfer work robot 4 that grips the vehicle-mounted battery VB placed on the rails 10 is entirely suspended and supported by the pair of rails 10;
The rotatable first arm 52A, the vertically movable second arm 52B, the third arm 52C fixed to the second arm 52B, and the third arm 52C. Arm member 52 with supported pivot 54
With a relatively simple configuration including (1) and (2), the article gripping section 75 can be moved in any of the up-down direction, the front-back direction, and the left-right direction. In addition, the vertical movement of the second arm 52B is performed within the range restricted by the length of the first arm 52A, so that the space required particularly in the vertical direction is suppressed, and the overall size is reduced. This will be achieved effectively.

Further, the transport work robot 4 is controlled by one of the plurality of control units 15 for robot control, and based on the vehicle production program, the four large article carry-in units 6 or 6 Of the in-vehicle battery VB from the small article carry-in section 7 to the pallet 33, and is installed on the second floor 2F from the lower equipment installed on the first floor 1F by the article lifting device 3. Each of the plurality of pallets 33 sequentially conveyed toward the upper equipment that has been
The two in-vehicle batteries VB will be transported to the upper facility in an order according to the vehicle production program.

In the above-described example, the transfer work robot 4 uses the plurality of in-vehicle batteries VB mounted on the pallet 17 placed at the article gripping position 16 of the large article carry-in section 6.
Of the vehicle battery VB adjacent to the vehicle battery VB to be gripped.
Regardless of the presence or absence of B, the vehicle-mounted battery VB to be gripped is moved with the suction pad 95 being suctioned to the side surface portion VBa of the vehicle-mounted battery VB to be gripped.
Although the article contact section 82 is moved from the upper position to the lower position, in the article gripping device according to the present invention, the pallet 17 placed at the article gripping position 16 of the large article loading section 6 is used.
In the above, when the vehicle-mounted battery VB to be gripped is in a state where there is no other vehicle-mounted battery VB adjacent thereto, the vehicle-mounted battery to be gripped with the suction pad 95 suctioned to the side surface portion VBa of the vehicle-mounted battery VB to be gripped. The article contact portion 82 may be moved from the upper position to the lower position without performing the operation of moving the battery VB.

FIG. 21 and FIG.
14 shows another example of the article gripping portion 75 provided in the device. The article gripping portion 75 'shown in FIGS. 21 and 22 is such that the article gripping portion 75 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 uses a lifting mechanism instead of a rotating mechanism including a motor 87 used therein. Is equivalent to In FIGS. 21 and 22, parts and members corresponding to the parts and members shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals as those in FIGS. Are omitted.

The article gripping part 7 shown in FIGS. 21 and 22
5 ', the gripping operation unit 77 is provided with an air cylinder 80' arranged horizontally in a state parallel to the air cylinder 79. The air cylinder 80 ′ is attached to a movable member 111 that can move up and down with respect to a plate member 109 connected to the support plate portion 76 via a pair of support shafts 76 </ b> A and 76 </ b> B ′. It is fixed to the member 111.

The piston rod 80A ′ of the air cylinder 80 ′ projecting outward from one end of the movable member 111
As in the piston rod 80A of the air cylinder 80 shown in FIG. 2, an article contact portion 82 is attached to the distal end. Projection direction of piston rod 79A in horizontal plane of air cylinder 79 and air cylinder 8
The projecting directions of the piston rod 80A 'in the horizontal plane at 0' are opposite to each other.

The movable member 111 to which the air cylinder 80 'is attached is supported by the support shaft 76 penetrating the plate-like member 109.
The lower end of B ′ is attached, and the lower end of the piston rod 110A of the elevating air cylinder 110 attached to the plate member 109 is attached,
It is possible to move along a pair of guide shafts 112 extending in the vertical direction. Accordingly, the movable member 111 and the air cylinder 80 'attached thereto move up and down as the piston rod 110A of the elevating air cylinder 110 advances downward and retreats upward. An elevating mechanism is configured by a portion including the movable member 111 to which the elevating air cylinder 110 and the air cylinder 80 'are attached.

The article contact portion 82 is provided with an air cylinder 8 associated with the operation of the lifting air cylinder 110 constituting the lifting mechanism.
By moving up and down 0 ', a lower position as shown by the solid line in FIG. 21 and as shown by the dashed line in FIG. 22 and an upper position as shown by the dashed line in FIG. 21 and as shown by the solid line in FIG. 22 are selected. Specifically, when the air cylinder 79 is in the lower position, it faces the article contact portion 81 attached to the tip of the piston rod 79A of the air cylinder 79.

Another configuration of the article gripping section 75 'provided with an elevating mechanism including such an elevating air cylinder 110 is a rotating mechanism including a motor 87 shown in FIGS. It is the same as the article gripping section 75 provided with the moving mechanism, and when the in-vehicle battery is gripped by the article abutting sections 81 and 82, the article abutting section 82 is positioned above the in-vehicle battery in the upper position. I'm sullen.
The article gripping position 1 of the large article carry-in section 6 by the article abutting section 81 and the article abutting section 82 in the article gripping section 75 '.
The pallet 17 placed on the pallet 17 or the partition plate 17A placed on the partition 17A or the pallet 17A or the pallet placed in the "empty" state at the article gripping position 16 of the large article carry-in section 6, respectively. 17 grips, and
The grip of the vehicle-mounted battery VB placed at the article gripping position 16 of the small article carrying-in section 7 is performed in the same manner as the gripping of the article gripping section 75 by the article abutting section 81 and the article abutting section 82 described above.

FIG. 23 and FIG. 24 show the upper facilities installed on the second floor 2F where the vehicle assembly line is arranged. In the upper equipment shown in FIGS. 23 and 24, a slat conveyor 130 constituting an assembly line of a vehicle, and a vehicle under assembly transported according to a vehicle production program preset by the slat conveyor 130, A mounting work robot 1 for performing a work for mounting the vehicle-mounted battery VB is provided.

The slat conveyor 130 sequentially carries a plurality of vehicles under assembly into the vehicle stop position set therein in a predetermined order, and stops the vehicle under assembly at the vehicle stop position. Remove from location. The mounting work robot 1 has a beam member 13 extending along the width direction of the slat conveyor 130 above the vehicle stop position set on the slat conveyor 130.
1 and is movable with respect to the vehicle stop position.

Each of the beam members 131 extends in the up-down direction, and the lower end thereof is positioned on the left and right sides of the vehicle under assembly which has reached the vehicle stop position set on the slat conveyor 130. A pair of columnar support members 132L
And 132R are attached. Furthermore, beam member 1
Below the 31, a pair of girder members 133 </ b> L and 133 </ b> R extending along the slat conveyor 130 are arranged facing each other across the slat conveyor 130. The beam member 133L is connected to the distal end of the columnar support member 132L and is supported by the beam member 131.
Is connected to the tip of the columnar support member 132R and supported by the beam member 131. And a pair of girder members 1
Both ends of a support member 134 extending in a direction along the beam member 131 are attached to 33L and 133R, respectively, and are also extended in the same direction as the beam member 131 to reach a vehicle stop position set on the slat conveyor 130 during assembly. Both ends of a guide member 135 located on the front side of the support member 134 with respect to this vehicle are respectively attached.

The entire mounting work robot 1 is suspended and supported by a beam member 131 via a support member 134. Then, the mounting work robot 1 includes the support member 13.
4, a pair of movable guide members 152 and a pair of movable guide members 152 each having both ends attached to the movable member 151, the guide member 135, and the movable member 151 and extending in the direction along the slat conveyor 130. The lifting and lowering air cylinder 1 supported by the movable parts 153 and 153 movably disposed with respect to
54, piston rod 15 of air cylinder 154 for elevating
4A, a rotating part 155 attached to the tip end, and a rotating arm 156 attached to the rotating part 155.
The vehicle contact mechanism 16 attached to an intermediate portion of the support member 134 opposite to the side on which the movable portion 151 is disposed
0 and an article gripping portion 170 supported by the rotating arm 156.

The movable section 151 is indicated by an arrow AL in FIG.
And AR can be moved in the direction along the support member 134, and can be moved by moving in the direction indicated by the arrow AL (AL direction) or the direction indicated by the arrow AR (AR direction). Guide member 15
2. The movable part 153 and the lifting / lowering air cylinder 154 are moved along the width direction of the slat conveyor 130. The movable section 153 can move in the direction along the movable guide member 152 as shown by arrows AF and AB in FIG. 23, and can move in the direction (A) shown by arrow AF.
By moving in the direction (F direction) or the direction indicated by the arrow AB (AB direction), the elevating air cylinder 154 is moved along the direction in which the slat conveyor 130 extends.
The rotation unit 155 causes the rotation arm 156 to perform rotation about the piston rod 154 of the air cylinder 154 for lifting and lowering as a rotation center axis.

The piston rod 154A of the elevating air cylinder 154 can move forward and backward by a predetermined amount by receiving an external force. In addition, the rotating arm 156
Is not only turned by the turning unit 155, but also can perform a predetermined amount of turning motion by receiving an external force.

The vehicle contact mechanism 160 includes a shaft member 161, which is supported by a protruding portion 134A protruding from the support member 134, and which extends in the vertical direction. The piston rod 1 of the air cylinder 162 for lifting
The movable guide member 163 sliding along the shaft member 161 with the advance and retreat of 62A,
2 piston rod 162A and movable guide member 163
Attached to each lower end of the slat conveyor 13
It comprises an arm member 164 extending along 0 and a contact end member 165 formed of an elastic material that is swingably attached to the tip of the arm member 164.

When the vehicle being assembled reaches the vehicle stop position set on the slat conveyor 130 with the piston rod 162A of the lifting / lowering air cylinder 162 in the advanced state, the abutting end member 165 turns the vehicle. Contact the left side pillar. The contact of the contact end member 165 with the left side pillar of such a vehicle is ensured regardless of the type of the vehicle because the contact end member 165 can swing.

As shown in FIG. 25 and FIG. 26, the article gripping section 170 is inserted into the tip of the rotating arm 156 and has four movable rods 171 and 17 arranged in parallel with each other.
2, 173 and 174 and a pinion 175. The movable rods 172 and 173 have diameters slightly larger than the movable rods 171 and 174, respectively, and are arranged to face each other with the pinion 175 interposed therebetween.

As shown in FIG. 27, each of the movable rods 171 to 174 has a movable rod 172 or 174 whose distal end projects outward from one of the opposing side surfaces of the rotating arm 156 so as to come into contact with the article. 176 is attached, and the distal ends of the movable rods 171 and 173 project outward from the other of the opposing side surfaces of the rotating arm 156 to attach the article contact portion 177. The article contact portions 176 and 177 are a contact pad 176A made of an elastic material fixed to a lower portion of the article contact portion 176 and a contact pad 177A made of an elastic material fixed to a lower portion of the article contact portion 177. And face each other.

Pinion 175 in movable rod 172
A rack 179A is provided in a portion facing the
A rack 179B is provided at a portion of the movable rod 173 facing the pinion 175. Each of these racks 179A and 179B has a pinion 17
5 is engaged, and the pinion 175 is rotated in a direction corresponding to the rotation direction of the motor (not shown),
The movable rod 172 provided with the rack 179A and the movable rod 17 connected to the movable rod 172 via an article contact portion 176
4 to move the rotation arm 156 to increase or decrease the amount of protrusion from one of the opposing side surfaces, and is connected via a movable rod 173 provided with a rack 179B and an article contact portion 177 to the movable rod 173. The movable rod 171 is moved to increase or decrease the amount of protrusion of the rotating arm 156 from the other of the opposing side surfaces.

The article contact portions 176 and 177 move the movable rods 172 and 174 and the movable rods 171 and 173 to increase the amount of protrusion from the respective rotating arms 156 as the pinion 175 rotates. As a result, as shown by a dashed line in FIG. 25, the distance between them is relatively large, and the movable rods 172 and 174 and the movable rods 171 and 17
3 moves in accordance with the rotation of the pinion 175 to reduce the amount of protrusion from each of the rotation arms 156, and as shown by the solid line in FIG. 25, the mutual separation distance becomes relatively small. It is in a state to be done.

In the vicinity of the mounting work robot 1 having the vehicle contact mechanism 160 and the article gripping section 170 as described above,
The position where the upper part of the movable part 3B in the article lifting device 3 and the elevating base 3A disposed thereon rises and reaches is set. The upper part of the movable part 3B and the first floor 1F to the second floor 2F of the lifting base 3A in the article lifting device 3
, The pallet 33 on which the two in-vehicle batteries VB are placed in the same direction is carried into the upper facility installed on the second floor 2F. The pallet 33 carried into such an upper facility is transported by the transfer work robot 4 in the lower facility installed on the first floor 1F, among the four large article carry-in sections 6 and the six small article carry-in sections 7. Of the plurality of pallets 33 on which the two in-vehicle batteries VB carried out from any of them are placed in the same direction, the pallets 33 are transferred from the article transfer apparatus 2 to the lifting base 3A of the article lifting apparatus 3. is there.

In the mounting work robot 1, when the upper part of the movable part 3B and the lifting base 3A reach the upper equipment, the movable part 3B
After the lifting of the lifting base 3A is stopped, the lifting base 3A is stopped.
The two in-vehicle batteries VB placed on the upper pallet 33 are sequentially grasped from the one having the fastest grasping order, and are conveyed to the assembled vehicle that has reached the vehicle stop position set on the slat conveyor 130. . The gripping order of the two in-vehicle batteries VB placed on the pallet 33 on the elevating base 3A is assumed to correspond to the type of the vehicle under assembly reaching the vehicle stop position set on the slat conveyor 130. You.

When the pallet 33 on which the two in-vehicle batteries VB are placed in the same direction by the lifting base 3A is carried into the upper facility, the loading robot 1 uses the piston rod 15 of the lifting air cylinder 154.
4A and piston rod 1 of air cylinder 162 for lifting
Each of 62A is in the retracted state. Also,
At the same time, the lifting / lowering air cylinder 154 moves the article gripping part 170 supported by the rotating arm 156 from the two on-vehicle batteries VB placed on the pallet 33 on the lifting base 3A, in which the gripping order is earlier. 23, the first reference position as shown by the solid line in FIG. Further, the article contact sections 176 and 177 of the article gripping section 170 are placed in a state where the mutual separation distance is relatively large, and the rotating section 155
Causes the pivot arm 156 to assume a reference pivot position in which the article gripping portion 170 supported thereby assumes a direction corresponding to the orientation of the two in-vehicle batteries VB placed on the pallet 33. .

Under the circumstances, in the mounting work robot 1, the piston rod 15 of the air cylinder 154 for lifting and lowering is used.
4A sets the article contact portions 176 and 177 in the article gripping section 170 to the on-board battery V in which the gripping order is earlier.
B will be respectively opposed to the long side facing side surfaces,
In FIG. 23, it is indicated by a dashed line and FIG.
At a protruding state as shown by a solid line. Also, the pinion 175 in the article gripping section 170
Are rotated to bring the article abutments 176 and 177 closer together, so that FIGS. 25, 26 and 2
As shown in FIG. 7, the article contact portions 176 and 177
The contact pads 176A and 177A fixed to each are brought into contact with the long side facing side surfaces of the vehicle-mounted battery VB, respectively, so that the vehicle-mounted battery VB is gripped.

When the in-vehicle battery VB is gripped by the article contact portions 176 and 177, as shown by the solid line in FIG. 23, the piston rod 154A of the elevating / lowering air cylinder 154 is retracted and the elevating / lowering air cylinder The 162 piston rod 162A assumes a protruding state.

Thus, the article contact portions 176 and 1
77 holds the vehicle-mounted battery VB, the piston rod 154A of the lifting / lowering air cylinder 154 is retracted, and the piston rod 162 of the lifting / lowering air cylinder 162
The mounting work robot 1 in which A is in the protruding state is at the vehicle stop position set on the slat conveyor 130,
When the vehicle VC being assembled, which is located at a position where the hood BN opens the engine room ER, arrives and is stopped, first, the piston rod 162A which is in the projected state
End member 16 connected to arm member 164 via arm member 164
5 is brought into contact with the left side pillar PL of the vehicle VC, and thereafter, the operations of the movable part 151, the movable part 153, and the rotating part 155 are started.

The movable section 151 is a slat conveyor 130
The lifting / lowering air cylinder 154 is moved by the amount corresponding to the type of the vehicle VC stopped at the vehicle stop position set at
Move in the direction. As a result, the lifting air cylinder 1
24 moves along the support member 134 as shown by a dashed line in FIG. 24, and approaches the engine room ER provided in the vehicle VC. Also, the movable part 15
3 moves the lift air cylinder 154 in the AB direction by an amount corresponding to the type of the vehicle VC stopped at the vehicle stop position set on the slat conveyor 130. As a result, the lifting / lowering air cylinder 154 moves along the girder member 133L, and the engine room E provided in the vehicle VC is moved.
Close to R.

Movable part 151 of lifting air cylinder 154
And 153, the lifting air cylinder 1
The 54 piston rods 154A are in a protruding state. At the same time, the rotating arm 156 is turned in a direction approaching the engine room ER provided in the vehicle VC stopped at the vehicle stop position, and thereby the vehicle mounted grasped by the article contact portions 176 and 177. The battery VB is transported above the engine room ER of the vehicle VC stopped at the vehicle stop position, as indicated by a dashed line in FIG.
It is arranged in R.

Under these circumstances, the worker adjusts the amount of protrusion of the piston rod 154A of the lifting / lowering air cylinder 154 and adjusts the amount of rotation of the rotating arm 156, and the on-board battery VB in the engine room ER is adjusted. Is performed. Then, when the positioning of the vehicle-mounted battery VB in the engine room ER is completed, the pinion 175 of the article gripping section 170 is operated to separate the article contact sections 176 and 177 from each other, and the article contact sections 176 and 177 mount the vehicle. The gripping state with respect to battery VB is released, and as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG.
And the mounting of the vehicle-mounted battery VB on the vehicle VC is completed.

When the mounting of the vehicle-mounted battery VB on the vehicle VC is completed in this manner, the lifting air cylinder 1
The piston rod 154A is retracted in response to the operation by the operator, and subsequently, the rotating arm 156
Is returned to the reference rotation position according to the operation by the operator. The piston rod 162A of the lifting / lowering air cylinder 162 is assumed to be retracted, the contact end member 165 is separated from the left side pillar PL of the vehicle VC stopped at the vehicle stopping position, and the lifting / lowering air cylinder 154 is provided. The piston rod 154A is also in the retracted state, and the article gripping section 170 is separated from the engine room ER of the vehicle VC stopped at the vehicle stop position.

Subsequently, the operation of the movable parts 151 and 153 in the mounting work robot 1 is started, and the slat conveyor 130 moves the vehicle VC on which the vehicle-mounted battery VB is mounted to a position where the next process is performed. A vehicle VC that is carried out and mounted with an on-vehicle battery VB
Is transported toward the vehicle stop position.

The movable parts 151 and 153 whose operation has been started
Moves the lifting / lowering air cylinder 154 in the AL direction and the AF direction so that the lifting / lowering air cylinder 154 takes a second reference position set near the first reference position. The second reference position is such that the article gripper 170 is moved to the pallet 3
3 is a position where it can face the second vehicle-mounted battery VB placed on the third vehicle.

When the lifting / lowering air cylinder 154 is placed at the second reference position, the pallet 33
Of the second in-vehicle battery VB placed on the first vehicle-mounted battery VB is performed in the same manner as in the case of gripping the first in-vehicle battery VB described above. Then, the piston rod 154A of the lifting air cylinder 154 is retracted, and the piston rod 162 of the lifting air cylinder 162 is moved.
With A in the protruding state, the vehicle-mounted battery VB gripped by the article contact portions 176 and 177 in the article gripping section 170 is transported to the vehicle stop position set on the slat conveyor 130, and is moved to the vehicle stop position. It is transferred to the engine room of the stopped vehicle being assembled. When the transfer of the second one of the two in-vehicle batteries VB placed on the pallet 33 to the assembled vehicle stopped at the vehicle stop position is completed, the lifting air cylinder 154 is returned to the first reference position by the movable parts 151 and 153.

In this way, the operation for transferring the two in-vehicle batteries VB to the vehicle being assembled by the mounting work robot 1 is performed, and the pallet 33 in the “empty” state is set.
Is a lifting base 3A and a movable part 3 in the article lifting device 3.
As B descends, it is returned to the lower facility installed on the first floor 1F. Each time a pallet on which two in-vehicle batteries are successively mounted in the same direction following the pallet 33 is carried into the upper facility by the lifting base 3A and the movable part 3B, the above-described operation by the mounting work robot 1 is performed. The operation is repeated.

[0163]

As is apparent from the above description, the article gripping device according to the present invention is a vehicle-mounted battery or the like which is placed at a predetermined position by a pair of opposed article contact portions. In gripping the article, first, the suction section supported by one of the article contact sections is assumed to be in a state of adsorbing the article placed at the predetermined arrangement position, and then is placed at the predetermined arrangement position. The suction unit that is in a state of being adsorbed by the placed article is moved together with the adsorbed article.
Thereafter, the pair of article abutting sections are opposed to each other, and assume a state of abutting on the article moved along with the movement of the suction section, whereby the article is gripped by the pair of article abutting sections. Is done.

As described above, the article placed at the predetermined arrangement position is moved in accordance with the movement of the suction section adsorbed on the article, and then comes into contact with the article facing each other. By being gripped by a pair of article abutting parts, when an article placed at a predetermined arrangement position is one of a plurality of articles that are considered to be adjacent to each other at a very small interval. Even so, the gripping by the pair of article contact portions can be easily and reliably performed. Therefore, according to the article gripping device of the present invention, even when there are a plurality of articles to be gripped and they are adjacent to each other with a very small interval, it is necessary to increase the size of the whole. In addition, each of the plurality of articles can be easily and reliably gripped by the pair of article contact portions facing each other without being blocked by the articles adjacent to the article.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a main part of an example of an article gripping device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing a main part of an example of the article gripping device according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a production facility to which an example of the article gripping device according to the present invention is applied.

FIG. 4 is a plan view schematically showing lower equipment in the production equipment shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a side view for explaining a configuration of an example of an article gripping device according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a plan view for explaining a large article carrying-in section in the lower facility shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a mounted state of a vehicle-mounted battery gripped by an example of the article gripping device according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram for explaining an arrangement mode of a vehicle-mounted battery gripped by an example of the article gripping device according to the present invention.

9 is a plan view for explaining a small article carrying-in section in the lower facility shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 10 is a schematic configuration diagram for explaining an article transfer device, an article lifting device, a pallet lifting device, and the like in the lower facility shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 11 is a schematic configuration diagram for explaining an article lifting device in the lower facility shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 12 is a side view showing a part of a robot to which an example of the article gripping device according to the present invention is applied.

FIG. 13 is a side view showing an article presence / absence determining unit in an example of the article gripping device according to the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a side view showing an article presence / absence determining unit in an example of the article gripping device according to the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a schematic side view used for explaining the operation of an example of the article gripping device according to the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a schematic side view used for describing the operation of an example of the article gripping device according to the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a schematic side view used for explaining the operation of an example of the article gripping device according to the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a schematic side view used for describing the operation of an example of the article gripping device according to the present invention.

FIG. 19 is a schematic side view used for explaining the operation of an example of the article gripping device according to the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a perspective view for explaining the operation of an example of the article gripping device according to the present invention.

FIG. 21 is a perspective view showing another example of a main part of an example of the article gripping device according to the present invention.

FIG. 22 is a side view showing another example of a main part of an example of the article gripping device according to the present invention.

FIG. 23 is a schematic side view for explaining a robot included in an upper facility in the production facility shown in FIG. 3;

24 is a schematic side view for explaining a robot included in an upper facility in the production facility shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 25 is a schematic side view for explaining an article gripping portion provided in the robot shown in FIGS. 23 and 24;

FIG. 26 is a cross-sectional view used for describing an article gripping portion provided in the robot shown in FIGS. 23 and 24.

FIG. 27 is a schematic side view for explaining an article gripping means provided in the robot shown in FIGS. 23 and 24;

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 loading work robot 2 article transfer device 3 article lift device 4 transfer work robot 5 pallet lift device 6 large article carry-in section 7 small article carry-in section 8 pallet carry-out section 9 article transfer position 10 rail 15 control section 16 article gripping position 17, 33 Pallet 17A Partition plate 33 Pallet 51 Base 52 Arm member 52A First arm 52B Second arm 52C Third arm 54 Revolving part 55 Imaging part 58, 60, 62, 63, 87 Motor 59 Elevation Mechanism 72 Video camera 75, 75 ', 170 Article gripping part 76 Support plate part 79, 80, 80', 92 Air cylinder 81, 82, 176, 177 Article contact part 86 Worm wheel 87A Worm 95 Suction pad 99 Article presence / absence discrimination Part 100 limit switch 101 contact 110 air lift Sunda 111 movable member 171, 172, 173, and 174 movable rod 175 pinions 179A, 179B rack VB-vehicle battery

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. A first article contact portion supported by a movable member and selectively taking a state of contacting an article, and an article supported by the movable member and opposed to the first article contact portion. A second article contact portion for selectively taking a state of contacting the first contact portion; and a suction portion supported by the first article contact portion for selectively taking a state of adsorbing to an article placed at a predetermined arrangement position. And a first drive unit for moving the suction unit to move the article while the suction unit is in suction with the article placed at the predetermined arrangement position; In the second article contact portion, facing each other,
A second driving means for bringing a state in which the article is brought into contact with the article moved with the movement of the suction section, and in a state in which the article is gripped by the first and second article contact sections;
An article gripping device comprising: A first article contact portion supporting a suction section driving means for selectively taking a state of being separated from an article placed at a predetermined position on the suction section and a state of being sucked by the article; 2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein
An article gripping device according to claim 1. A first driving means for driving the movable member to move the suction portion adsorbed on the article while the suction portion is adsorbed on the article placed at a predetermined position; 2. The article gripping device according to claim 1, wherein: 4. A second driving means comprising a pair of forward / backward driving sections provided respectively for the first and second article contact sections,
2. The article gripping device according to claim 1, wherein said pair of advance / retreat drive sections respectively move said first and second article contact portions in a predetermined direction. 5. A state in which the second article contact portion is turned around a rotation axis extending along a predetermined direction in which the second article contact portion moves forward and backward, and selectively faces the first article contact portion. The article gripping device according to claim 4, wherein 6. A second article contact portion is supported by a movable member so as to be able to move up and down, and a second driving means is an elevating mechanism for selectively moving up and down the second article contact portion. 2. The article gripping device according to claim 1, wherein: 7. A second drive unit wherein the first and second article contact portions grip an article placed on an article mounting table at a predetermined arrangement position and transport the article to a predetermined position. The means
In the first and second article contact portions, a state in which the article placed on the article placement table is gripped and transported to the predetermined position, and then the article placement table is gripped and transported. 2. The article gripping device according to claim 1, wherein 8. An article gripped by the first and second article contact portions is a battery mounted on a vehicle,
2. The article gripping device according to claim 1, wherein the second article abutting section selectively takes a state in which the second article abutting section abuts on the opposite side face of the battery. 3. 9. An article in which a movable member supports the first and second article contact portions so as to be able to move up and down, and determines whether or not there is an article to be gripped by the first and second article contact sections. The article presence / absence determination means is placed in a state in which the article presence / absence determination means comes into contact with the article while the first and second article contact portions are moved up and down within a predetermined range by the movable member. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a contact portion; and a limit switch that is activated while the contact portion maintains the contact state with the article.
An article gripping device according to claim 1. 10. A first arm having a central axis extending vertically and rotatably supported by a base, and a center extending horizontally with respect to the central axis of the first arm. A second arm having an axis and supported by the first arm so as to be capable of ascending and descending; and a first and second article contacting portion supported rotatably by the second arm. The article gripping device according to claim 1, further comprising a turning portion for supporting the article. 11. The rotation of the turning part of the movable member,
11. The article gripping device according to claim 10, wherein directions of the first and second article contact portions supported by the turning portion with respect to the article are adjusted.