JPS6211712B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an automatic spare tire mounting device using an industrial robot.

In recent years, it has been proposed in the industrial world that industrial robots be used to perform predetermined tasks according to a program instead of manual labor, and some have adopted them.
However, these robots are mostly used for tasks that are harsh on humans, such as welding and painting, and in places where the work environment is relatively good, robots are often used in areas such as accuracy, versatility, and cost. Since then, practical application has been delayed. In particular, in cases where the line is continuously transported without stopping, such as the vehicle assembly line of an automobile manufacturing line, there are strong requirements to prevent the impact of a robot failure on the line stoppage, and to work quickly and accurately. It was difficult to meet these demands. As a technology to solve such problems, as described in Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 50-60775, when a spare tire is mounted on a car by a robot, the speed of the transport means is actually measured, so that the robot can be accurately mounted. It is known to synchronize with

However, in recent automobile assembly lines, robots are required to have high working accuracy as described above, and even if vehicles with different specifications are transported to one assembly line in an irregular order, they cannot be accurately performed. Although there is a demand for equipment that can perform these tasks, it has been difficult to provide equipment that can adequately meet this need.

As mentioned above, the present invention uses a microcomputer to calculate in advance movements corresponding to the specifications in a multi-vehicle mixed conveyance line where vehicles with different specifications are conveyed in an irregular order, which has been considered difficult in the past. Therefore, the present invention aims to provide an automatic spare tire mounting device that enables the use of a robot by controlling the operation of the robot, saves labor, and operates accurately.

Next, the present invention will be explained with reference to drawings which are embodiments.

1 to 4 show a first embodiment of an automatic spare tire loading device according to the present invention, in which vehicles 1, 1A, 1B, 1C, etc. of different specifications are transported in an irregular order. In a multi-vehicle mixed conveyance line 4, a spare tire 10 is automatically loaded into a trunk room 3 of a vehicle 1 by a robot 11 from a spare tire supply device 7.

The vehicle 1 is conveyed continuously and without stopping by a hanger arm 5 of a conveyor line 4 consisting of, for example, a hanger conveyor, and its specifications are fixed in accordance with the production speed as in the past. They are arranged in an irregular order. This order and associated vehicle type information (for example, the length and width of the vehicle, the height of the trunk room, the position of the spare tire storage area, etc.) are stored in advance in the central information processing unit 6 as a program.

The spare tire supply device 7 has a gate 9 at the front and is composed of an inclined roller table 8 which is lowered at the front. Vehicles 1 transported in the irregular order are placed on the roller table 8.
Spare tires 10 of a type suitable for the vehicle are sequentially supplied and stored in the same order as the vehicle type.

The robot 11 is of a stationary type, and
It is installed on a trolley 15 that is capable of retracting on a rail 13 extending perpendicularly to the transport line 4 laid on the base 12 by means of a retracting cylinder 14 .

The robot main body 16 is tiltable with respect to the base 17, the first robot arm 18 is extendable and retractable by a cylinder 19, and the second robot arm 20 is tiltable and tiltable around the arm. , is able to swing around a fulcrum a.

Further, the tip of the second robot arm 20 has a tire support 21 that constitutes a tire mounting surface. Three or more (three in this embodiment) tire position holding pins 22, which are regulating members for holding and releasing the tire, are attached to the tire support 21 so as to be able to come out and go in response to the following signals.

In addition, 23 is a sensor consisting of a proximity switch etc. provided on the tire support 21, which detects when the second robot arm 20 approaches the vehicle 1 abnormally, stops the operation of the robot 11, and issues an alarm. be.

Furthermore, the robot 11 is shown in FIGS. 6 and 7.
As shown in the figure, the robot 11 is equipped with a microcomputer 24, and all operations of the robot 11 are performed by instructions from the microcomputer 24.

This microcomputer 24 includes a working position calculation unit 25 that determines the working position of the robot 11 based on the vehicle type, and a first,
It is equipped with a synchronized operation calculation unit 26 that determines when the second robot arms 18 and 20 turn, extend and contract, and tilt in synchronization with the vehicle 1, and a work timing calculation unit 27 that determines the operation timing of the robot 11, and each of these calculation units As shown in FIG. 1, 25, 26, and 27 are installed in front of the robot 11 of the conveyance line 4, and detect vehicle 1 from a detection means 30 consisting of a photoelectric device, for example, which detects that the vehicle 1 has passed. The calculation is started based on the detection signal.

Further, the microcomputer 24 is configured to read vehicle model information for, for example, 12 vehicles from the central information processing unit 6, keep it in a storage section 28, and sequentially retrieve it. When the number of kept vehicles decreases to a predetermined number, new vehicle type information is kept, and this kept number of vehicles is displayed on the work station. Note that the line speed is stored in a storage section 29 of the microcomputer 24.

Therefore, when a confirmation signal indicating that the vehicle 1 has been brought in is input from the detection means 30,
Each of the arithmetic units 25, 26, and 27 operates, and the respective drive units 31 of the robot 11 operate based on their output signals, so that the spare tire 10 is stored in a predetermined location in the trunk room 3 of the vehicle 1.

Next, the operation of the automatic spare tire mounting device will be explained in detail.

First, the robot 11 positions the tire support 21 attached to the tip of the second robot arm 20 in front of the roller table 8, as shown in FIGS. The vehicle receives the spare tire 10, and is on standby with the spare tire 10 held by the protruding position holding pin 22.

Next, when the detection means 30 detects that the vehicle 1 has been transported, this detection signal is input to the microcomputer 24, which activates each calculation section 25, 26, 27, and the output is used to drive the robot. 31, the robot main body 16 rises to a predetermined height and then rotates while extending and contracting the first robot arm 18 to follow the vehicle 1 in synchronization with the vehicle 1.
At position A in FIG. 1, as shown in FIG.
By tilting the tire support 21 and simultaneously retracting the position holding pin 22, the spare tire 10 is supplied by its own weight to a predetermined position in the trunk room 3 of the vehicle 1 with the trunk lid 2 open. Thereafter, the second robot arm 20 and the robot main body 16 return to their original states, are supplied with the next spare tire 10, and wait until the next vehicle 1 is brought in.

In the above case, if the vehicle 1 to be brought in is of a different model from the one programmed, the second robot arm 20 will come abnormally close to the vehicle 1, and this abnormal approach will be caused by the activation of the sensor 23. Upon detection, the robot 11 immediately stops its operation to prevent damage to the vehicle 1 or the robot 11.

In addition, as mentioned above, during normal operation, the microcomputer 24 stores information on a certain number of vehicles or more, but if the robot does not receive vehicle type information from the central information processing unit, the robot will stop, so the buzzer, etc. This notification is sent to the worker, who then manually enters the vehicle model information. This allows work to be carried out without stopping the conveyor.

Furthermore, if the robot 11 breaks down during operation, the task of mounting the spare tire 10 will be done manually, and in order to prevent damage to the following vehicle 1, if the robot 11 stops operating and breaks down, the failure will occur. Detection means (for example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 55-120994, a comparator compares actual measured values from encoders installed in various parts of the robot with theoretical values output from memory, and detects a predetermined value. The retracting cylinder 14 is driven in a separate system by means for detecting outward deflection of the envelope surface, and the robot 11 and the cart 15 are retracted with their arms 20 out of the conveyor line 4, thereby causing no hindrance to the production line. I've learned not to give. The robot 11 will be repaired in the reverse position, and after the simulated operation, will return to its original position and carry out the task of mounting the spare tire 10.

FIG. 5 shows a second embodiment of the present invention, in which the tire receiver 21 and position holding pin 2 in the first embodiment are shown.
2 is a finger 32, and the other configurations and operations are substantially the same as those of the first embodiment, and therefore their explanation will be omitted.

In addition, in the above description, the case where the conveyance line is a vehicle assembly line was described, but the present invention is not limited to this.
Moreover, it does not necessarily have to be a hanger conveyor line.

Furthermore, it goes without saying that the robot 11 may also be of a traveling type that travels along the transport line 4.

As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, an industrial robot is synchronized with a vehicle using a microcomputer based on vehicle type information from a central information processing unit, and a spare tire is supplied from a spare tire supply device. Since it is automatically mounted on the vehicle, it is possible to provide an automatic spare tire mounting device that operates reliably and saves labor.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a schematic plan view of an automatic spare tire mounting device according to the present invention, Fig. 2 is an enlarged plan view of main parts of Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a side view of Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 is a schematic plan view of a spare tire automatic loading device according to the present invention. Explanatory diagram showing the state of supplying tires, fifth
The figure is a front view showing the second embodiment, FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a microcomputer built into the robot, and FIG. 7 is a flowchart of automatic spare tire mounting. 1 (1A, 1B, 1C......)...Vehicle, 3...
...Trunk room, 4...Transport line, 5...Hanger arm, 6...Central information processing unit, 7...
Spare tire supply device, 10... Spare tire,
11...Industrial robot, 13...Reverse rail, 14...Reverse cylinder, 15...Dolly, 1
8...First robot arm, 20...Second robot arm, 21...Tire support, 22...Tire position holding pin, 23...Sensor, 24...Microcomputer, 25-27...Calculation unit, 28,
29...Storage unit, 30...Vehicle detection device, 32...
...finger.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. In an automatic spare tire loading device in a multi-vehicle mixed conveyance line in which vehicles with different specifications are conveyed in an irregular order, information for each vehicle according to the conveyance order of the vehicles is stored as a program. a central information processing unit that stores spare tires of the vehicle type in an order corresponding to the vehicles being transported, and a spare tire supply device that stores spare tires of the vehicle type in an order corresponding to the vehicles being transported; a detection means, a storage means for reading out and keeping vehicle model information for a predetermined number of vehicles according to the vehicle transport order from the central information processing unit, and vehicle model information for reading out the transport speed of the transport line and keeping it in the storage means. A calculation means for calculating the work position, synchronous operation, and work timing by comparing with the vehicle, and a signal from the detection means and a calculation output from the calculation means to move the vehicle over a predetermined area in synchronization with the vehicle, during which the spare tire is supplied. An industrial robot is equipped with an arm that supplies and stores spare tires received from the device into a pre-opened trunk of a predetermined vehicle, and is connected to a base on which the robot is placed, so that when the robot malfunctions,
An automatic spare tire mounting device comprising: drive means for retracting a base in response to a signal from the robot so that the robot arm does not stop within the transfer line. 2. The automatic spare tire mounting device according to claim 1, wherein the conveyance line is a vehicle assembly line. 3. The spare tire automatic loading device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the conveyance line is a hanger conveyor line. 4. The industrial robot is of a stationary type, with an arm protruding from the main body that rotates and a tip end of the arm that moves parallel to the conveyance line. The spare tire automatic loading device described in any of the paragraphs. 5. Any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a sensor is provided near the tip of the industrial robot to detect and notify abnormal approach between the vehicle and the arm. Spare tire automatic loading device described in . 6. A spare tire mounting surface with a substantially flat spare tire receiving portion at the tip of the industrial robot, and a regulating member that holds and releases the mounted spare tire;
The spare tire automatic mounting device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the spare tire automatic mounting device is equipped with the following.