JP2008260075A - Tray transfer type parts assembly system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a compact tray transfer type parts assembly system capable of achieving excellent productivity and excellent performance for changing the system. <P>SOLUTION: A linear running space extended in the direction for conveying workpiece is provided among many assembly stations 1-6 arranged along workpiece conveyance lines 20, 21 and many tray carriers 8-19 arranged in the direction for conveying workpiece, and a tray handling robot 7 runs linearly in the running space. The tray handling robot 7 delivers a parts storage tray among the tray carriers 8-19 and the assembly stations 1-6. Consequently, the assembly system having excellent flexibility can be constructed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a tray transfer type part assembly system.

In an automatic assembly system and the like, a tray carrier for supplying parts is used to transfer a component storage tray for storing components to be assembled to an assembly station, and an assembly robot of the assembly station attaches components received from the tray carrier. Assemble the work as a body. One or a plurality of these tray carriers can be provided for each assembly station. A tray carrier or a conveyor structure can be used as the tray carrier. Examples of this kind of tray transfer type part assembly system are described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 below.
JP-A-8-165027 JP 2000-5952 A

  The tray carrier used in the assembly system disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2 described above only operates when the tray is changed to the assembly station, despite the complicated apparatus configuration, large required space, and high cost. There was a problem that the effect ratio was inferior. In addition, when the assembly system is constructed by a large number of assembly stations, there arises a problem that the size and required space of the tray carrier system are increased.

  In particular, it is necessary to secure a maintenance space between the tray carriers, and the total width of the tray carriers arranged along the assembly conveyor and the width of the maintenance space between them determine the required length of the work transfer line. To do. Therefore, when the number of assembly stations increases, the required floor area of the assembly system increases.

  In addition, when changing the work to be assembled by the above-described conventional assembly system, it is necessary to change the number of tray carriers coupled to each assembly station or to change the type of tray carrier. There wasn't.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a tray transfer type part assembly system that is compact and has excellent productivity and system changeability.

  The present invention for solving the above-described problems includes a plurality of assembly stations arranged along a workpiece transfer line for transferring a workpiece as an assembly in one direction, and a component storage tray for storing components to be assembled to the workpiece. A tray supply device that sequentially supplies the assembly station, wherein an assembly robot of the assembly station takes out a component from a supplied component storage tray and assembles the component to the workpiece in the tray transfer type component assembly system. Are arranged substantially in parallel with the workpiece transfer line across an empty space of a predetermined width with respect to each assembly station, and are moved away from the empty space and transferred from the component storage tray toward the empty space. Numerous tray carriers that transport empty trays in the direction Each tray carrier and each assembly station disposed in the empty space, and a tray handling robot for exchanging a component storage tray and an empty tray, and the tray handling robot is substantially parallel to the workpiece transfer line. By moving the empty space linearly, the component storage tray taken out from one end of each tray carrier is set in the predetermined assembly station, and the empty tray taken out from each assembly station is set in the predetermined tray carrier. It is characterized by being set at one end.

  In other words, the assembly system of the present invention arranges a tray carrier row composed of a large number of tray carriers in parallel with the assembly station row across the self-propelled tray handling robot. The tray handling robot transfers the component storage tray taken out from a predetermined tray carrier in the tray carrier row to a predetermined assembly station to which it is to be transferred.

  In this way, even if the shape and type of the parts used by each assembly station are significantly changed by changing the product model assembled by the assembly station, the existing tray carrier row can cope with the problem. That is, according to the present invention, the tray handling robot can freely change the tray transfer pattern between each tray carrier in the tray carrier row and each assembly station, and a flexible assembly system can be realized. . In addition, as a tray to be flowed to each assembly station, a tool storage tray for storing a tool used by each assembly station can also be used.

  Further, according to the present invention, a component storage tray tray carrier that transports or temporarily stocks component storage trays, an empty tray carrier that transports or temporarily stocks empty trays, etc. Since there is no need to arrange it around, it is easy to secure a maintenance space around the assembly station.

  Further, even when a plurality of tray carriers are adjacent to this one assembly station so as to supply a plurality of types of parts to one assembly station, the total tray carrier width in the workpiece transfer line direction becomes large and the workpiece transfer line length is increased. It is possible to eliminate the problem of increasing the length.

  Furthermore, it becomes easy to access each assembly station using the traveling space of the tray handling robot during maintenance work of the assembly station or the like.

  In addition, since a tray handling robot is used as a common tray transfer means, there is no need to provide a separate tray transfer means for each assembly station as in the prior art. Even if a robot is employed, the cost increase can be easily borne. For example, by adopting a tray handling robot capable of handling stacked trays, it is possible to economically realize a space saving of a stock yard composed of a tray carrier row.

  In a preferred embodiment, the component storage tray to be supplied to a specific assembly station is supplied from a tray carrier adjacent to the assembly station. Thereby, the traveling distance and traveling speed of the tray handling robot can be reduced.

  In a preferred aspect, at least a part of the plurality of tray carriers has a two-story structure in which an upper tray is disposed above the lower tray carrier, and the lower tray carrier has the upper tray carrier. The tray carrier protrudes toward the empty space by at least the tray handling space. As a result, while using a tray handling robot having a tray gripping raising / lowering type arm that is widely used, it is possible to temporarily stock trays and to arrange tray carriers that transfer trays in one direction at high density. Even when a large number of parts are assembled at a small number of assembly stations, the assembly system can be made compact.

  In a preferred embodiment, the supply tray carrier that is the tray carrier for transferring the predetermined component storage tray and the discharge tray carrier that is the tray carrier for transferring the empty tray of the predetermined component storage tray in the reverse direction are adjacent to each other. Has been placed. Thereby, transfer of a component storage tray and an empty tray is realizable by a compact tray carrier row | line | column.

  In a preferred aspect, the tray handling robot takes out the component receiving trays stacked on the tray carrier from the top and transfers them to the assembly station, and transfers the empty tray received from the assembly station to the tray carrier. Pile up to. Thereby, the space saving of the stock yard which consists of tray carrier rows can be realized economically.

  In a preferred embodiment, before the component storage tray at the top of the stack on the tray carrier is gripped and lifted by the grip lifting / lowering arm of the tray handling robot, and on the empty tray at the top of the stack on the tray carrier Before stacking the empty trays gripped by the gripping lifting arms, the stacking height detection unit detects the upper end height of the uppermost tray in the stacking. As a result, even if an error occurs in the number of stacking trays or poor posture of the stacked trays, the information on the stacking height is used to cause a lifting failure by the grip lifting arm of the tray handling robot. Thus, it is possible to prevent the gripping lifting arm from colliding with the stacked trays.

  In a preferred aspect, there is provided a stacking control unit for instructing to stop the transfer of the component storage tray to the assembly station when the detected distance is less than a predetermined value. Thereby, the safety | security which concerns on handling of a stacking tray can be improved.

  In a preferred aspect, using the detected data of the stacking height, the gripping lifting arm lifts the uppermost stage of the component stacking tray and stacks the empty tray on the empty stack of the uppermost stacking stage. To control. Thereby, the safety | security which concerns on handling of a stacking tray can be improved.

  A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described below. However, the present invention should not be construed as being limited to the following embodiments, and it is needless to say that the technical idea of the present invention may be constructed by combining other known techniques.

  FIG. 1 shows a partial schematic plan view of the assembly system of this embodiment, and FIG. 2 shows a schematic cross-sectional view perpendicular to the workpiece conveyance direction of the assembly system. Reference numerals 1 to 6 denote assembly stations, 7 denotes a tray handling robot, 8 to 19 denote a two-story tray carrier, and 20 and 21 denote work transfer lines arranged in parallel to each other. The tray handling robot 7 and the tray carriers 8 to 19 constitute a tray supply device referred to in the present invention.

(Work transfer line 20, 21)
The workpiece conveyance line 20 is configured by a pallet return conveyor that returns an empty pallet, and the workpiece conveyance line 21 is configured by a workpiece conveyance conveyor that conveys a pallet on which a workpiece for assembly is placed. Needless to say, the workpiece transfer lines 20 and 21 may be configured by other transfer means instead of the transfer conveyor.

(Assembly stations 1-6)
The assembly stations 1 to 6 are arranged in a row in the workpiece conveyance direction adjacent to or covering the workpiece conveyance line 21. In practice, however, a larger number of assembly stations are arranged in the same way. In this embodiment, the assembly stations 1 to 6 have the same structure, and a maintenance work space S is secured for each of the two assembly stations. Each of the assembly stations 1 to 6 has an assembly robot 100 and a tray transfer unit 200.

  The assembly robot 100 includes a horizontal guide 101 that extends perpendicular to the workpiece conveyance direction and extends horizontally, a vertical guide 102 that is slidably supported by the horizontal guide 101 and moves perpendicular to the workpiece conveyance direction, and a vertical guide 102. Since the arm 103 is supported so as to be slidable and moves in the workpiece conveyance direction, the arm 103 takes out components from the component storage tray and places them on the pallet 22 on the workpiece conveyance line 21 as will be described later. Assemble to work W. The configuration of the assembly robot 100 is not limited to the above structure, and various known robot structures can be employed as long as they have a function of taking out components from the tray and attaching them to the workpiece W. .

  The assembly stations 1 to 6 have a tray transfer unit 200 on the opposite side of the workpiece transfer lines 20 and 21 with the assembly robot 100 interposed therebetween. As shown in FIG. 2, the tray transfer unit 200 includes a component storage tray table 201 and an empty tray table 202 that are disposed on the opposite side of the work transfer lines 20 and 21 with the assembly robot 100 interposed therebetween, and these component storage units. There is a swinging tray set table 203 disposed adjacent to the work transfer lines 20 and 21 from the tray table 201 and the empty tray table 202. The component storage tray table 201 and the empty tray table 202 have a two-story structure, and the component storage tray table 201 is disposed above the empty tray table 202.

  The tray handling robot 7, which will be described later, places the component storage tray 400 on the component storage tray mounting table 201, and then moves back slightly to the right (side away from the workpiece transfer line). Push to set table 203 side. As a result, the component storage tray 400 on the component storage tray mounting table 201 slides on the swinging tray set table 203. The tray handling robot 7 takes out components from the component storage tray 400 on the swinging tray set base 203. When the component storage tray 400 on the swinging tray set base 203 becomes empty, the swinging tray set base 203 swings, and the empty tray 401 slides down on the empty tray mounting base 202, so Stops at a predetermined position with a stopper. As shown in FIG. 2, the empty tray mounting table 202 protrudes to the right from the component storage tray mounting table 201, and can hold and lift the empty tray 401 by a tray handling robot 7 described later. .

(Two-story tray carrier 8-19)
The two-story tray carriers 8 to 19 each have a two-story conveyor structure that transports trays in a direction perpendicular to the workpiece conveyance direction, and sandwiches an empty space with a predetermined width with respect to the assembly stations 1 to 6. Are arranged in the workpiece transfer direction. That is, the tray carriers 8 to 19 constitute a tray carrier row arranged in the workpiece conveyance direction. The two-story tray carriers 8 to 19 have a conveyor 300 for transferring the component storage tray 400 on the top and a conveyor 301 for transferring the empty tray 401 on the bottom. The conveyor 300 transfers the component storage tray 400 in a direction approaching the assembly stations 1 to 6, and the conveyor 301 transfers the empty tray 401 in a direction away from the assembly stations 1 to 6. Since the conveyor control itself for transferring the component storage tray 400 to the left end side of the conveyor 300 and transferring the empty tray 401 placed on the left end side of the conveyor 301 to the opposite side by the tray handling robot 7 is simple, further explanation will be given. Is omitted.

(Tray handling robot 7)
The tray handling robot 7 is a self-running robot that is located between the assembly stations 1 to 6 and the tray carriers 8 to 19 and is disposed in a linear empty space that extends in the workpiece transfer direction. .

  The tray handling robot 7 includes a base column portion 71 that is self-propelled in the workpiece conveyance direction, an arm portion 72 that is supported by the base column portion 71 so as to be movable up and down, and a hand that is supported by the arm portion 72 so as to be able to advance and retreat and grips the tray. A portion 73 is provided. Details of the hand unit 73 will be described with reference to FIG.

  The hand part 73 protrudes downward from the horizontal base part 731 extending horizontally, the inward L-shaped fixed claw part 732 projecting downward from one end part of the horizontal base part 731, and the other end part of the horizontal base part 731, In addition, it has a movable claw portion 734 that is urged by the cylinder 733 and moves forward and backward so that the distance from the horizontal base portion 731 is variable. The cylinder 733 is fixed on the horizontal base 731. The hand portion 73 moves the movable claw portion 734 forward and backward to grip and lift the lower portion of the collar portion at the upper peripheral edge of the tray 400. Since the tray handling robot 7 itself having this kind of tray gripping hand portion is the same as a normal one, further explanation is omitted. Of course, another tray handling robot 7 may be used.

(Description of the operation of the tray handling robot 7)
For example, a tray transfer step for transferring the component storage tray 400 on the conveyor 300 of the tray carrier 16 to the assembly station 2 will be described below.

  After the tray handling robot 7 travels in the straight empty space 500 to the side of the tray carrier 16 in the workpiece transfer direction, the tray handling robot 7 grips and lifts the component storage tray 400 on the conveyor 300 above the tray carrier 16, It moves forward and backward to the position 71 and travels along the straight empty space 500 to the side of the assembly station 2, and then places the component storage tray 400 on the component storage tray mounting table 201 of the assembly station 16.

  Thereafter, the empty tray 401 is grasped and lifted from the empty tray mounting table 202 of the assembly station 16, and then moved forward and backward to the position of the base pillar 71, and then travels to the side of the tray carrier 16, and then the empty tray 401 is moved to the tray. Place on the conveyor 301 below the carrier 16.

  The tray transfer cycle between the assembly station and the tray carrier is sequentially performed for each assembly station in accordance with a program stored in advance.

(effect)
According to this embodiment described above, the following effects can be obtained.

  According to this embodiment, since tray transfer can be performed between an arbitrary assembly station and an arbitrary tray carrier, even if a work change or a change in the type of parts required by the assembly station occurs, It is possible to configure an assembly system that can be easily handled, has excellent flexibility, and can shorten the length of the work transfer line. For example, a tray can be supplied in a compact configuration with respect to a multi-type mixed conveyance type work conveyance line on which various workpieces are placed for each pallet to be fed to the workpiece conveyance line 21.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 1, since the tray carriers 8 to 19 do not exist around the assembly stations 1 to 6, maintenance work of the assembly stations 1 to 6 is facilitated, and the lengths of the work transfer lines 20 and 21 are shortened. be able to.

  An expensive and highly functional tray handling robot 7 can be adopted while suppressing an additional cost per assembly station, and high-level tray handling is possible. For example, an advanced stacking tray structure can be adopted.

  In this embodiment, the tray carriers 8 to 19 have a two-story structure in which the upper tray is disposed above the lower tray carrier, and the lower tray carrier is at least more than the upper tray carrier. Since it protrudes toward the empty space 500 by the amount of the tray handling space, the tray handling robot 7 having a simple structure can perform tray transfer with the lower tray carrier, and the tray carrier rows are arranged at high density. Can do.

(Modification)
In the above embodiment, the conveyor 300 for transferring the component storage tray 400 is provided on the upper side, and the conveyor 301 for transferring the empty tray 401 is provided on the lower side. A conveyor 301 for transferring 401 may be provided on the top. In this case, when the component weight is heavy, the operator can set the component storage tray 400 on the conveyor 300 without lifting it to a high position.

(Modification)
In the above embodiment, one tray handling robot 7 is arranged in an empty space (traveling space) 500, and the tray supply work to dozens of assembly stations 1 to 6 is performed by this one tray handling robot 7. . However, a plurality of tray handling robots 7 can be arranged in the empty space 500 to share the tray supply to the assembly stations 1 to 6. In this case, if one of the tray handling robots 7 breaks down, the failed tray handling robot 7 is removed from the empty space 500 and the other tray handling robots 7 share the work of the failed tray handling robot 7. It can also be made.

(Modification)
Preferably, the assembly station is supplied with parts from a tray carrier as close as possible. Thereby, the working efficiency of the tray handling robot 7 can be improved.

(Modification)
A modification of the tray carriers 8 to 19 is shown in FIG. In FIG. 4, the tray carriers 11 to 15 adopt a two-story conveyor structure, but the tray carriers 16 and 17 adopt a one-story conveyor structure. The tray carrier 16 stacks and transfers large empty trays 401, and the tray carrier 17 stacks and transfers large component storage trays 400. That is, the tray carriers 8 to 19 do not have to have the same shape, and can have an appropriate structure according to the size of the tray to be transferred, the transfer frequency, and the like.

(Modification)
A modification will be described below with reference to FIG. This modified mode is preferably used in a mode in which the component storage tray 400 or the empty tray 401 is stacked on the tray carriers 8 to 19, and detects a stacking failure.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram in which a distance sensor 800 is provided in the hand unit 73 of the tray handling robot 7 shown in FIG. The distance sensor 800 is attached to the fixed claw portion 732 of the hand portion 73, but the attachment position can be changed as appropriate. Moreover, you may provide in other parts instead of the hand part 73. FIG.

  The distance sensor 800 is, for example, a non-contact distance sensor using a reflective laser, but can be changed to various known non-contact distance sensors or contact distance sensors.

  The distance sensor 800 measures the distance to the upper end surface of the uppermost empty tray 401 among the empty trays 401 stacked on the tray carriers 8 to 19. This measurement is performed before stacking the empty tray 401 held by the hand unit 73 on the uppermost empty tray 401.

  It is checked whether or not the measured distance is within an allowable range. If it is within the range, the hand unit 73 is lowered according to the height of the uppermost empty tray 401. If the measured distance is outside the allowable range, an alarm is output assuming the possibility of previous stacking failure, and a work interruption command is issued (FIG. 6).

  In any case, in this modified embodiment, the stacking failure can be prevented because the hand unit 73 performs the next empty tray stacking operation after confirming the upper end height of the uppermost tray 401 in the stacking. .

  Similarly, the component storage tray 400 can be lifted using the distance data to the component storage tray 400 at the top of the stack detected by the distance sensor 800. For example, before the hand unit 73 grips and lifts the component storage tray 400, the distance from the upper part of the stacked component storage tray 400 to the upper end of the uppermost component storage tray 400 is measured. If it is within the allowable range, the hand unit 73 is lowered by a predetermined distance, and the uppermost component storage tray 400 is gripped and then lifted. If the distance is outside the allowable range, an alarm is output. Further, the amount of descent of the hand unit 73 can be set according to the measurement distance. Furthermore, by arranging a plurality of distance sensors 800 or moving the distance sensor 800 horizontally, the heights of the upper ends of the component storage tray 400 and the empty tray 401 are measured at a plurality of locations, and the level is confirmed. Is also possible. In any case, since the distance sensor 800 is provided in the hand unit 73 in this aspect, it is not necessary to provide the stacked state detection function in each of the tray carriers 8 to 19, and the apparatus configuration is simplified.

It is a partial schematic plan view of the assembly system of the embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view perpendicular to the workpiece conveyance direction of the assembly system of FIG. 1. It is a side view of the hand part of the tray handling robot of FIG. It is a front view which shows the deformation | transformation aspect of a tray carrier row | line | column. It is a side view which shows the deformation | transformation aspect of the hand part of a tray handling robot. It is a flowchart which shows the safety routine using the distance data which the distance sensor of FIG. 5 detected.

Explanation of symbols

S Maintenance work space W Work 1-6 Assembly station 7 Tray handling robot 8-19 Tray carrier 20 Work transport line 21 Work transport line 22 Pallet 71 Base pillar 72 Arm part 73 Hand part 100 Assembly robot 101 Horizontal guide 102 Vertical guide DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 103 Arm 200 Tray transfer part 201 Component storage tray stand 202 Empty tray stand 203 Oscillating tray set stand 300 Conveyor 301 Conveyor 400 Component storage tray 401 Empty tray 500 Space 731 Horizontal base 732 Fixed claw part 733 Cylinder 734 Movable claw part 800 distance sensor

Claims (8)

A tray supply for sequentially supplying a number of assembly stations arranged along a workpiece transfer line for transferring a workpiece as an assembly in one direction and a component storage tray for storing components to be assembled to the workpiece to the assembly station. An assembly robot of the assembly station, wherein the assembly robot of the assembly station takes out a component from a supplied component storage tray and assembles the component to the workpiece.
The tray supply device
Arranged substantially parallel to the work transfer line across an empty space of a predetermined width with respect to each assembly station, and transporting the component storage tray toward the empty space and away from the empty space A number of tray carriers for transferring empty trays,
A tray handling robot that is arranged in the empty space and exchanges the tray carrier and the assembly stations with the component storage tray and the empty tray;
Have
The tray handling robot is
By linearly moving the empty space substantially parallel to the work transfer line, the component storage tray taken out from one end of each tray carrier is set in the predetermined assembly station, and the empty space taken out from each assembly station is set. A tray transfer type part assembly system, wherein a tray is set at one end of a predetermined tray carrier. The tray transfer type part assembly system according to claim 1,
A tray transporting type component assembly system in which a component storage tray supplied to a specific assembly station is supplied from a tray carrier adjacent to the assembly station. The tray transfer type part assembly system according to claim 1,
At least a part of the plurality of tray carriers has a two-story structure in which an upper tray is disposed above the lower tray carrier,
The tray transfer type part assembly system, wherein the lower tray carrier protrudes toward the empty space by at least the tray handling space from the upper tray carrier. The tray transfer type part assembly system according to claim 1,
The supply tray carrier that is the tray carrier for transferring the predetermined component storage tray and the discharge tray carrier that is the tray carrier for transferring the empty tray of the predetermined component storage tray in the reverse direction are adjacent to each other. Transportable parts assembly system. The tray transfer type part assembly system according to claim 1,
The tray handling robot is
A tray transfer type part assembling system for taking out the component storage trays stacked on the tray carrier from above and transferring them to the assembly station, and stacking the empty trays received from the assembly station on the tray carrier. In the tray transfer type part assembly system according to claim 5,
Before gripping and lifting the uppermost component storage tray on the tray carrier by the grip lift arm of the tray handling robot, and on the grip lift arm on the empty stack at the top stack on the tray carrier A tray transfer type part assembling system having a stacking height detecting unit for detecting the upper end height of the uppermost tray in the stacking before stacking the gripped empty trays. The tray transfer type part assembly system according to claim 6,
A tray transfer type part assembly system having a stacking control unit for instructing to stop the transfer of the part storage tray to the assembly station when the detected distance is less than a predetermined value. The tray transfer type part assembly system according to claim 6,
Using the detected data of the stacking height, tray transfer for controlling the lifting of the uppermost component stacking tray by the gripping lifting arm and stacking of empty trays on the empty stacking uppermost stack Type parts assembly system.

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