JPS62160972A - Heavy article transfer device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable shift bases to be easily moved on a smooth fixed base with a small drive power by blowing compressed air in between the smooth top of said fixed base and the smooth bottom surface of said shift bases via a blow hole. CONSTITUTION:A flat plate 23 on top of a fixed base 21 has an upper surface 23a smooth enough and shift bases 22a and 22b have a base plate 24 with a flat bottom surface 24a smooth enough to have a face contact with the upper surface 23 of the flat plate 23. In order to guide the reciprocating motion of the shift bases 22a and 22b, the fixed base 21 is fitted with a guide rail and the shift bases 22a and 22b are fitted with a free roller. A blow hole 38 connected to a compressed air source is provided approximately at the center of the shift bases 22a and 22b. Compressed air is blown from said hole 38 and a mobile air layer is formed, thereby enabling the shift bases 22a and 22b to be moved with a small drive power.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (Industrial Application Field) The present invention is applied to, for example, assembly lines for automobile bodies and other parts, and is applied to assembly lines for automobile bodies and other parts. The present invention relates to an improvement in a heavy object transfer device for transferring heavy objects into and out of a building.

(Prior Art) As a conventional heavy object transfer device of this type, for example,
There is one shown in the figure.

In this device, a movable base 4 is movably disposed on two rails 2゜2 laid on a pedestal 1 via load supporting rollers 3, and the traveling motion of the movable base 4 is transferred to both sides of the movable base 4. Rollers 5, 5 provided in a protruding manner and respective guide plates 6, which are in contact with these rollers 5, 5.
6, and is connected to the motor 11 through a pinion 9 and a speed reducer 10 that mesh with the support 8, which is fixed to the lower surface of the movable base 4. It consists of:

Here, in the figure, 12 indicates a bearing, and 13 indicates a coupling.

In the device configured in this way, for example, the welding device is positioned and placed on the movable base 4, and the motor 11 is moved.
By operating the movable base 4, the position shown in FIG. 6 (b
), it can be transported to a desired position on the pedestal 1.

FIG. 7 is a route plan illustrating a door assembly line to which the above-mentioned device is applied. In this line, in order to be able to assemble two types of doors, work stages A to Of these, work stages B, C, F, G,
A heavy object transfer device comprising a frame 1 (-) and two movable bases 4.4 is disposed at H.

Here, in order to assemble one of the doors, one movable base 4 on which jigs, welding equipment, etc. suitable for assembling that door are mounted is moved to each work stage B,
At C, F, C, , H, the work is transferred into the transport path by the operation of the motor 11. In work stage A, the outer panel of the door is loaded onto a belt conveyor by hand by the worker PI, and in work stage B, the outer panel is welded by an outer panel holder placed on a moving base. In the work stage C, a sealing process is performed on the periphery using a sealing device on a movable base. Stage D is a loading process in which the inner panel is placed on the outer panel by worker P2 or a robot, stage E is a hemming process in which the outer panel and the inner panel are mated, and stage F is a moving base. Perform the welding process of the periphery using the upper welder. Further, in work stage G, a door hinge welding process is carried out, in stage H, automatic inspection is carried out, and in stage (2), the process of unloading the assembled door out of the line by a belt conveyor is carried out.

Note that assembly of other types of doors can be carried out by moving both movable bases 4.4 on the gantry 1 and transferring the welding equipment and other components on the other movable base 4 into the workpiece conveyance line. You can do it in the same way as you did.

As such a door assembly line, a similar one is known, for example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 58-39575.

(Problems to be solved by the invention) However, in such a conventional transfer device,
Since the moving base 4 is configured to move by transferring the load supporting rollers 3, it is necessary to install a high-output driving means in order to transfer heavy welding equipment, sealing equipment, etc. Since a large weight is supported only by the plurality of load supporting rollers 3, there is a problem in that the rigidity of the movable base 4 must be significantly increased.

The present invention advantageously solves this problem of the prior art, and allows the power consumption of the reciprocating drive means to be reduced by eliminating the load-bearing rollers and still allowing reciprocating motion of the moving base. In addition, the present invention provides a heavy object transfer device that makes it possible to reduce the rigidity of the moving base.

(Means for Solving the Problems) This invention provides a movable base that is reciprocated relative to the fixed base, and a guide means that guides the reciprocating motion of the movable base. In a heavy object transfer device provided on a movable base and provided with a driving means for reciprocating the movable base, the top surface of the fixed base and the bottom surface of the movable base opposite to this top surface are both capable of coming into close contact with each other. The movable base is provided, for example, with a smooth surface and a nozzle for spouting compressed air between the top and bottom surfaces.

(Function) According to this device, by jetting compressed air toward the fixed base from the nozzle provided in the movable base, flowing air is formed between the top surface of the fixed base and the bottom surface of the movable base. The layer allows the movable base on which the welding equipment and the like are mounted to be levitated relative to the fixed base, so that in this levitated state, a small power drive means, e.g.
The movable base and, by extension, the welding device and the like can be extremely smoothly transported in a desired direction to a predetermined position by the F or hydraulic cylinder under the action of the guide means.

At the predetermined position, the supply of compressed air is stopped to bring the top surface of the fixed base into surface contact with the bottom surface of the movable base, and in this state, the welding device and the like are positioned and fixed.

Therefore, according to this device, not only can the required output of the driving means be sufficiently reduced to effectively reduce the equipment cost and running cost of the device, but also the fixed base and the movable base are in surface contact with each other. weight,
Since it is supported by both of them, the rigidity of the moving base can be advantageously reduced.

(Example) The present invention will be explained below based on illustrated examples.

FIG. 1(a) is a plan view showing one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure (b) is its front view, and Figure 1 (c) is Figure 1 (a).
21 is a cross-sectional view taken along line C-C of FIG. Two movable bases are shown which are arranged and reciprocated in the length direction of the fixed base 21.

Here, the flat plate 2 provided on the top of the fixed base 21
3 has a sufficiently smooth upper surface 23a, and the movable bases 22a, 22b have smooth bottom surfaces 24a that can come into surface contact with the upper surface 23a of the flat plate 23 as shown in FIG. 1(c).
In addition to the base plate 24 provided with the above, it also has a jig 26 formed on the upper surface of the base plate 24 for positioning and holding a predetermined workpiece 25, or a fixing means for positioning a processing machine or the like as required.

In order to guide the reciprocating motion of the movable bases 22a and 22b, brackets 27 are provided on at least one side of the fixed base 21 (both sides in the figure) at predetermined intervals in the length direction of the fixed base 21. guide rail 28
As is clear from the enlarged view of FIG. position. Therefore, in this case, the guide rail 28 and the pair of free rollers 30, 30 constitute the negative guide means 31. In this example, as shown in FIGS. 1(b) and 1(c), at the installation location of the rodless cylinder 32, which is an example of the driving means for the movable bases 22a and 22b, the bracket 27 on the left side is Although the brackets 27 are formed into a substantially L-shape that bypasses the cylinder 32, all the brackets 27 may have a similar shape.

Further, in the illustrated example, as shown in the partially enlarged plan view in FIG. A bracket 35 is connected to the provided female member 34 by a hook joint, and protrudes downward from the female member 34 as shown in FIG. 3(b).
It is connected by a pin 37 to a bracket 36 that projects upward from a piston (not shown) of the rodless cylinder 32. In addition, when connecting both the brackets 35 and 36 here, either one of the brackets 35 and 36 in this case is connected.
A long hole is formed in the vertical direction, and the long hole allows the removable bases 22a and 22b to move up and down a little with respect to the fixed base 21.

The movable bases 22a and 22b connected to the rodless cylinder 32 in this way have the cylinder side end portions
Based on the operation of the cylinder 32 fixed to the bracket 27, it is reciprocated on the fixed base 1.

And further here, the removable bases 22a, 22
As is clear from the cross section shown in FIG.
are provided with respective nozzles 38, each of which is connectable to a source of compressed air.

In the apparatus configured in this manner, for example, an odor-containing device 26 mounted on the two movable bases 22a and 22b.
If it becomes necessary to position a different type of jig within the workpiece conveyance path, the method shown in FIG. 1(a) may be used.

By hook-jointing another moving base having a required jig to the right moving base 22b shown in (b), and removing the left moving base 22a in the figure from the moving base 22b, the required treatment The tool can be reciprocated on a fixed base, which allows the assembly line of -
It becomes possible to assemble three or more types of articles.

Here, preferably, the top surface 23a of the fixed base 21
The first
As shown in Figure (b), one end is connected to each moving base 22a, 22b, and the other end is connected to the fixed base 21.
In addition to covering the top surface 23a with covers 40a and 40b connected to take-up reels 39a and 39b attached to the removable base 22,
The top surface 23a is covered by a cover 41 attached to the connecting portion of the base plate 24, and a cover 41 attached to the lower surface of the base plate 24 as shown in FIG. 1(c).
2 prevents dust from entering between the top surface 23a and the smooth bottom surface 24a from the sides.

More preferably, in addition to these, scrapers 43 are attached to both end faces of the movable bases 22a, 22b in the direction of movement, as shown in FIG. 4, for removing dust and the like on the top face 23a.

Although not shown, it is of course possible to attach a positioning stopper, a locking device, a shock absorber, etc. to this device depending on the assembly accuracy of the article, the weight of the transferred article, etc.

The operation of the apparatus configured as described above will be explained based on FIG. 5.

FIG. 5(a) shows the jig 26 on one movable base 22b.
A specific working state is shown in which the other parts are located within the transport path of the workpiece, and in this state, the jetting of compressed air from the nozzle 38 is stopped. Therefore, the moving base 22
The smooth bottom surface 24a of b is in surface contact with the top surface 23a of the fixed base 21, and the weight on the movable base is supported as a distributed load.

After completing the work in such a state, move the other mobile base 2
When transferring the jig and other objects on the workpiece transport path, first, as shown in FIG. The compressed air passes between the flat plate 23 and the base plate 24 and is released into the atmosphere, causing the removable bases 22a and 22b to float slightly above the flat plate 23, and then the rodless cylinder 32 As shown in FIG. 5(c), as shown in FIG. supply will be stopped.

As a result, the base plate 2 of the movable base 22a
4 will immediately come into surface contact with the flat plate 23 of the fixed base 21, and the jig and the like on the movable base 22a will be positioned and supported at predetermined positions.

Therefore, in this device, the movable bases 22a and 22b floated from the fixed base 21 can be reciprocated sufficiently smoothly with a small output from the rodless cylinder 32, regardless of the amount of weight loaded thereon. The movable base 22a supports the weight loaded onto the movable bases 22a and 22b in a state where the movable bases 22a and 22b and the fixed base 21 are in surface contact with each other.
, 22b can be sufficiently reduced in stiffness.

Although the present invention has been described above based on the illustrated example, the drive means which is a rodless cylinder may be replaced by other known reciprocating drive means mainly including screws, chains, friction wheels, etc. In addition, the number of movable bases on the fixed base can be increased or decreased as required, and grooves can be provided on the bottom of the movable base to create negative pressure in the grooves after the movable base has stopped. It is also possible to bring the movable base into close contact with the fixed base.

(Effects of the Invention) Therefore, according to the present invention, the driving means reciprocates the movable base by jetting compressed air through the nozzle between the top surface of the fixed base and the bottom surface of the movable base, both of which are smooth. The required output can be made sufficiently small, and the rigidity of the moving base can be made sufficiently small by supporting the weight loaded on the moving base in surface contact with the fixed base. .

In addition, by stopping the injection of compressed air from the nozzle, the movable base can be brought to an emergency stop extremely quickly, and the gear mechanism used in the conventional technology is no longer required, which reduces drive noise. An advantageous reduction can result.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an enlarged view illustrating a guide means, and FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a connection structure between movable bases and a connection structure between them and a rodless cylinder. Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the nozzle, Fig. 5 is a process diagram showing the operating state of the device shown in Fig. 1, Fig. 6 is a diagram showing a conventional example, and Fig. 7 is an example of application of this type of device. FIG. 21...Fixed base 22a, 22b...
・Moving base 23...Flat plate 23a...Top surface 24...Base plate) 24a...Smooth bottom surface 25...Work 26...Jig 28...
・Rail 3o...Free roller 31...
・Guide means 32...rodless cylinder 3
8... spout

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A fixed base (21), a movable base (22a, 22b) disposed on the fixed base and reciprocated on the fixed base, and a movable base (22a, 22b) that guides the movement of the movable base. and a driving means (32) for causing the reciprocating movement of the movable base, the top surface (23a) of the fixed base and the bottom surface of the movable base opposing this top surface. (24a) are both smooth surfaces, and a nozzle (38) is provided for ejecting compressed air between the top and bottom surfaces.