JP2688637B2 - Automatic assembly machine for Rzeppa joints - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Object of the Invention (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to an automatic assembly machine for a Rzeppa joint.

(Prior Art) A Rzeppa joint 1 as shown in FIGS. 46 and 47 is used for a constant velocity joint portion of a driving force transmission system of an automobile. The Rzeppa joint 1 includes an outer ring 4 having a shaft portion 2 and a bowl-shaped portion 3, a cage 5 that is swingably housed inside the outer ring 4, and an inner ring 6 that is swingably housed inside the cage 5. And six balls 7 are provided. The ball 7 is fitted into a ball groove 8 provided inside the outer ring 4, an opening window 9 provided in the cage 5, and a ball groove 10 provided in the inner ring 6. An inner tooth-shaped center hole 11 is provided at the center of the inner ring 6. Teeth 12 are provided on the outer peripheral portion of the inner ring 6 at six positions in the circumferential direction at equal intervals. A ridge 13 is provided between the ball grooves 8 of the outer ring 4 in a protruding manner.

(Problems to be solved by the invention) In order to assemble the Rzeppa joint 1 including the outer ring 4, the cage 5, the inner ring 6 and the like as described above, a certain kind of "knack" is required, as when assembling the wheel of wisdom. Therefore, it was thought that automatic assembly by a machine was difficult. For example, when the inner ring 6 is assembled to the cage 5, or when the cage 5 is assembled to the outer ring 4, the inner ring 6 is caught by the cage 5, or a part of the cage 5 is caught by the inner surface of the outer ring 4 and becomes immobile. Sometimes. In the case of manual assembly, assembly can be performed by moving the inner ring 6 and the cage 5 by trial and error. However, in order to automate such assembly work by a rigid machine, the inner ring and It was necessary to establish a smooth assembly method by researching what kind of behavior a cage or the like should be inserted with. In developing an automatic assembly machine for a Rzeppa joint, a means for transferring a large number of parts such as outer ring, cage, and inner ring from the conveyor for loading to the automatic assembly machine, and carrying out the Rzeppa joint after assembly is completed. It is necessary to have means for transferring to a conveyor or the like, and if these transfer means are individually provided, not only the entire equipment becomes large and the configuration becomes complicated, but also the stage for carrying in parts and the stage for carrying out finished products are provided. There is also a problem that it is difficult to incorporate an automatic assembly line for a Rzeppa joint into a production line in an automobile manufacturing plant or the like because the distances are large.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to be able to assemble the Rzeppa joint smoothly and reliably by a machine, and
An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic assembling machine capable of simultaneously handling the loading of the Rzeppa joint parts and the unloading of the finished Rzeppa joint products on the same stage.

[Means for Solving the Problems] (Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention for achieving the above-mentioned object has an aligning and carrying-in function for carrying an outer ring, a cage, and an inner ring into a work waiting section in a predetermined arrangement, and at the same time, the above-mentioned work waiting Next to the part, a work loading / unloading device having a finished product unloading mechanism for unloading the finished product equipped with a finished product transfer body capable of holding the completed Rzeppa joint, and a work loading / unloading device rotatably driven in the horizontal plane and on the upper surface thereof. A holder unit including an outer ring holder that holds an outer ring, a cage holder that holds a cage, and an inner ring holder that holds an inner ring is arranged at predetermined angles in the rotational drive direction and is intermittently driven to rotate by the predetermined angle. The turntable is provided between the turntable and the work loading / unloading device, and is movable up and down, and at a first position and a second position in a horizontal plane. And a part holding means capable of holding each part placed in the work standby part on one end side of the arm and on the turntable on the other end side of the arm. It has a finished product gripping means capable of holding the Rzeppa joint after the assembly is completed, and when the arm pivots to the first position, the component gripping means receives the respective parts on the work standby part and completes the above. The product holding means holds the finished Rzeppa joint on the turntable, and when the arm pivots to the second position, the parts held by the part holding means are transferred to the holders on the turntable. At the same time, the work transfer device that transfers the finished product of the Rzeppa joint held by the finished product gripping means to the finished product transfer body of the work loading / unloading device, and the cage wheel A rotary positioning device for rotating the cage held by the rudder and the inner ring held by the inner ring holder about a vertical axis to a predetermined degree; an inner ring assembly device for taking out the inner ring from the inner ring holder and inserting it into the cage; One ball driving device for obtaining a cage assembly by driving a first ball over the opening window of the cage and the ball groove of the inner ring, and a cage assembly assembling device for taking out the cage assembly from the cage holder and assembling it in the outer ring. And a ball insertion device for sequentially inserting the second and subsequent balls into the cage through the opening window of the cage and the ball groove of the inner ring by inclining the cage assembly in the outer ring, and rotating the work transfer device. Positioning device, inner ring assembly device, single ball driving device, cage assembly assembly device and ball insertion device The door along the periphery of the turntable is characterized in that arranged in intervals corresponding to the predetermined angle.

(Operation) The method of the present invention is an inner ring assembling step of assembling the inner ring at a predetermined position in the cage, and positioning of the cage and the inner ring by press-fitting the first ball over the opening window of the cage and the ball groove of the inner ring. One ball driving step for obtaining the cage assembly, the cage assembly assembling step for assembling the cage assembly in the outer ring, and the second to sixth balls by tilting the cage assembly in the outer ring. Is sequentially assembled through the opening window of the cage and the ball groove of the inner ring, so that the Rzeppa joint is assembled.

(Example) First, a procedure for assembling the Rzeppa joint 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 48 to 76.

48 to 55 show the inner ring assembling process.
As shown in FIGS. 48 and 49, the inner ring 6 is attached to the cage 5
With respect to the vertical direction, the inner ring 6 is held rotatably around the horizontal axis H ₁ . Moreover, the radial center C ₁ of the inner ring 6 is eccentric from the center line OO of the cage 5 by Δ _{1 in} the radial direction of the inner ring 6, and the center C ₂ of the inner ring 6 in the thickness direction is the center line of the cage 5. Position the inner ring 6 so that it is on OO.

The opening width W of the opening window 9 of the cage 5 is slightly larger than the thickness t of the inner ring 6. The inner peripheral surface of the cage 5 is a spherical surface having a radius r ₁ . The center C ₃ of the outer peripheral surface (outer sphere) of the inner ring 6 is
The center C _{2 in} the thickness direction is deviated by several mm. The outer radius r ₂ of the inner ring 6 is slightly smaller than the radius r ₁ of the inner spherical surface of the cage 5.

With the above posture maintained, the inner ring 6 is lowered and inserted into the cage 5. By doing so, as shown in FIG. 50, a part 12a of the tooth 12 of the inner ring 6 hits the edge of the end surface 5a of the cage 5,
While the inner ring 6 rotates about the horizontal axis H ₁ , the tip end portions 12b of the teeth of the inner ring 6 enter the opening window 9 of the cage 5. As shown in FIG. 51, the inner ring 6 is lowered to a position where the height of the radial center C ₁ of the inner ring 6 substantially matches the height of the center C ₀ of the cage 5.

Next, as shown in FIG. 52, the inner ring 6 is moved laterally so that the radial center C ₁ of the inner ring 6 coincides with the center C _{0 of the} cage 5. Since in this state, it remains as shown in FIG. 53 is the inner ring 6 outer sphere center C ₃ is eccentric only delta ₂ next to the center C ₀ of the cage 5, the inner ring in order to eliminate the eccentricity delta ₂ By moving 6 in the thickness direction by Δ ₂ , the center C ₃ of the outer sphere of the inner ring 6 and the center C _{0 of the} cage 5 coincide with each other, as shown in FIG. 54.

After that, as shown in FIG. 55, by tilting the inner ring 6 90 ° in the clockwise direction in the figure, the inner ring 6 is placed inside the cage 5.
To fit.

The above-described series of inner ring assembling steps are performed by the inner ring assembling device 26 shown in FIGS. 15 to 21.

The cage 5 with the inner ring 6 assembled through the above process is
The cage assembly 15 is obtained by driving the first ball 7a as shown in the figure. Ball 7a is cage 5
It is driven across the open window 9 and the ball groove 10 of the inner ring 6.

The first ball 7a is driven by the single ball driving device 27 shown in FIGS. 22 to 24. In this specification, the first ball is referred to as 7a for easy understanding.
, And the second and subsequent balls are indicated by reference numerals 7b to 7f, but in reality, they are all the same ball 7. In the cage assembly 15 into which the first ball 7a is driven, the positions of the cage 5 and the inner ring 6 in the circumferential direction are regulated by the ball 7a.

The cage assembly 15 is assembled inside the outer ring 4 through a cage assembly assembling process described below. That is, as shown in FIG. 57, the posture in which the cage assembly 15 is set up with respect to the outer ring 4, that is, the axis O _{1 of the} outer ring 4
The axis O ₂ -O ₂ of the cage 5 is orthogonal to -O ₁ and the ball
With the 7a turned up, the pair of opening windows 9 and 9 are aligned in a horizontal line as shown in FIG. 58.
The cage assembly 15 is dropped into the outer ring 4 from above the outer ring 4. Moreover, at this time, as shown in FIG. 59, the cage assembly 15 is dropped into the outer ring 4 in such a positional relationship that the opening windows 9, 9 pass through the ridges 13, 13 of the outer ring 4.

As shown in FIG. 57, since the opening dimension H of the opening window 9 is slightly larger than the maximum width W ₁ of the ridge 13, the cage assembly 15 is dropped while maintaining the above-mentioned positional relationship, so that the cage 5 is moved to the outer ring. The cage assembly 15 can be smoothly inserted to the position shown in FIG. After inserting the cage assembly 15, the cage assembly 15 is tilted in the direction of fitting the ball 7a into the ball groove 8 of the outer ring 4, but if the cage assembly 15 is tilted in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 7a is the end face of the outer ring 4
It hits 4a. Therefore, it is necessary to rotate the outer ring 4 relative to the cage assembly 15 in the direction of arrow B by θ ₁ = 30 °.

However, in the cage assembly 15 immediately after the above-mentioned cage assembly assembling process, as shown in FIG. 60, the ridges 13 are just positioned inside the opening window 9, so that the outer ring 4 is kept as it is. When rotated in the B direction, the ridge 13
There is a case where the outer ring 4 cannot be rotated because the edge 13a of the outer ring 4 is easily caught by the edge 9a of the opening window 9.

Therefore, before rotating the outer ring 4 in the B direction, the 61st
As shown in the figure, by inclining the cage assembly 15 with respect to the outer ring 4 in the arrow C direction by an angle θ ₂ , the outer ring 4 can be smoothly rotated in the B direction. In the illustrated example, θ ₂ = about 30 °. When this preliminary tilting process is completed, the outer ring 4 is rotated relative to the cage assembly 15 in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 59 by 30 °, so that the positions of the balls 7a and the ball grooves 8 are adjusted as shown in FIG. Correspond. Then, by tilting the cage assembly 13 about 60 ° in the direction of arrow D so that it is horizontal, the 63rd
The ball 7a is fitted into the ball groove 8 as shown in the figure. Then, the outer ring 4 is integrated with the cage assembly 15 in the 59th position.
It is returned to the original reference position as shown in FIG. 64 by rotating it by 30 ° in the direction of arrow E in the figure.

The series of assembling steps from FIG. 57 to FIG. 64 described above,
Cage assembly assembling apparatus shown in FIGS. 25 to 32
Carried out by 28.

The second to sixth balls 7b to 7f are attached to the outer ring 4 in which the cage assembly 15 is incorporated through the series of steps described above.
The balls are sequentially inserted through the process of inserting five balls shown in FIGS. 67 to 76. As shown in FIG. 65, the balls 7b to 7f are inserted one by one with the cage 5 and the inner ring 6 inside the outer ring 4 tilted to an angle at which the balls 7 can be inserted. After the ball is inserted, the inner ring 6 and the cage 5 are rotated in the direction of arrow F in FIG. 66 and returned to their original positions.

As shown in FIG. 67, the first ball 7a is previously inserted in the one ball inserting step. Ball 5
In the individual ball inserting step, first, as shown in FIG. 68, the second ball 7b is inserted in the first ball inserting step.
Is inserted into the ball groove 8 located 180 ° opposite to the first ball 7a. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 69, the outer ring 4 is rotated 60 ° clockwise in the drawing, and then the 70th
As shown in the figure, in the second ball insertion step, 3
The second ball 7c has a ball groove 8 adjacent to the second ball 7b.
Is inserted into.

As shown in FIG. 71, rotate the outer ring 4 in the clockwise direction as shown in FIG.
After rotating by 0 °, the fourth ball 7d is inserted into the ball groove 8 in the third ball inserting step as shown in FIG.
Insert After that, as shown in FIG. 73, the outer ring 4 is rotated clockwise by 60 ° in the drawing, and the fifth ball 7e is inserted into the ball groove 8 in the fourth ball insertion step as shown in FIG. insert.

Further, as shown in FIG. 75, the outer ring 4 is rotated 180 ° clockwise in the drawing, and then, as shown in FIG. 76, the sixth ball 7f is inserted into the ball groove 8 in the fifth ball inserting step. To insert.

The insertion process for the five balls described above is shown in FIGS.
It is performed by the five-ball insertion device 30 shown in FIG.

Next, the Rzeppa joint automatic assembling machine 20 of the present invention for performing the above assembling method will be described with reference to FIGS.
This will be described with reference to the drawings.

The automatic assembling machine 20 of the present embodiment has a work loading / unloading device 22 and a work transfer device 23 along the circumferential direction of rotation of the turntable 21, as shown in the plan layout in FIG.
And a workpiece rotation positioning device 25 and an inner ring assembly device 26.
The one-ball driving device 27, the cage assembly assembling device 28, the five-ball inserting device 30, the ball supply device 31, and the like are arranged in a 45 ° positional relationship with each other. FIG. 2 is a front view showing a state in which the automatic assembly machine 20 is covered with a protective cover 33. The turntable 21 is controlled by the drive device 32 to be intermittently rotated about the vertical axis by, for example, 45 ° in a clockwise direction.

A total of eight holder units 35 are provided on the turntable 21 at equal intervals of 45 degrees in the circumferential direction. Each holder unit 35 includes an outer ring holder 36, a cage holder 37, and an inner ring holder 38.

The outer ring holder 36 shown in FIG.
The turntable 21 includes a housing 41 rotatably held about a vertical axis, and a chuck 42 incorporated in the housing 41. The chuck 42 holds the shaft portion 2 of the outer ring 4 by the elasticity of the spring 43, and
It is configured to release the shaft portion 2 when pushing up 44.

The cage holder 37 shown in FIG. 4 is a turntable.
It has a housing 50 fixed to 21 and a chuck 51 provided on the upper part of the housing 50. The chuck 51 holds the cage 5 by the elasticity of the spring 52 and holds the cage 5 when the slider 53 is pushed up. It is designed to be released. A grease discharge port 54 for supplying grease to the outer peripheral portion of the cage 5 is provided inside the housing 50.

The inner ring holder 38 shown in FIG. 5 has a hole 57 for accommodating the inner ring 6. A grease discharge port 58 for supplying grease to the outer peripheral portion of the inner ring 6 is provided inside the hole 57. The grease discharge port 58 is provided with a grease supply mechanism when the inner ring holder 38 moves to a rotary positioning device 25 described later.
It is designed to be connected to 59. The grease discharge port 54 of the cage holder 37 described above is also connected to the same grease supply means as the grease supply mechanism 59.

The work carrying-in / carrying-out device 22 includes a work aligning and carrying-in mechanism 61 shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, and a work-piece picking-up and transferring mechanism 62 shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. It is composed of an assembled finished product unloading mechanism 63, a part of which is shown. The assembly finished product unloading mechanism 63 has a transfer body 64 for holding the Rzeppa joint 1 after completion of the assembly. The transfer body 64 is driven by a drive mechanism (not shown) to carry out the Rzeppa joint 1 after completion of assembly.

The work aligning / carrying-in mechanism 61 includes a conveyor 70 that can be run endlessly. Guide members 71 corresponding to the respective heights of the outer ring 4, the cage 5, and the inner ring 6 are provided along the conveyor 70 so as to face each other above the conveyor 70. Conveyor
The outer ring 4, the cage 5, and the inner ring 6, which are successively carried on the 70, are guided by the guide member while being moved by the conveyor 70.
They are divided by 71 and are arranged in the first work waiting section 72 in a predetermined arrangement. The cages 5 and the inner rings 6 lined up in the first work waiting section 72 are carried one by one to the second work waiting section 73 by the single-piece transfer mechanism 62.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 as a representative of the single-piece transfer mechanism 62 for the inner ring, the single-piece transfer mechanism 62 is a slider that reciprocates along a horizontally extending guide shaft 75.
76, a cylinder mechanism 77 that drives the slider 76, a first stopper 78, a second stopper 79, and a third stopper 80.
And so on. When the stopper 76 is in the initial position shown in FIG. 8, the first stopper 78 is in a position to stop the forward movement of the inner ring 6 in the front row. When the slider 76 moves in the forward direction shown in FIG. 9, the first stopper 78 moves up, the second stopper 79 engages with the center hole 11 of the inner ring 6, and the third stopper 80 moves. The structure is such that the inner ring 6 descends to a position where it prevents forward movement of the inner ring 6. When the slider 76 moves to the forward position of FIG. 9, the inner rings 6 move one by one to the second work waiting portion 73. The single-piece transfer mechanism for the cage 5 has the same structure.

As shown in FIG. 10, the work transfer device 23 has a pillar 85.
The arm 6 provided so as to be rotatable about the vertical axis in the range of 180 ° about the vertical axis, the outer ring chuck unit 87 provided on the arm 86, and the cage chuck unit 88.
An inner ring chuck unit 89, a finished product holding chuck unit 90, and an actuator for rotating the arm 86.
It is composed of 91 and so on. Chuck unit 87 ~
The chuck portions 93, 94, 95, 96 provided at the lower portion of 90 are moved up and down by an elevator actuator (not shown).
The arm 86 is pivoted 180 ° by the pivoting actuator 91 from the second position shown in FIG. 10 to the first position shown in FIG.

12 to 14 show a rotary positioning device 25 for the work.
Is shown. The positioning device 25 includes an outer ring positioning mechanism 101, a cage positioning mechanism 102, and an inner ring positioning mechanism 103. These three types of positioning mechanism 101
To 103 have claw units 105, 106, and 107 at the bottom, and the configuration and operation of each part other than the claw units 105 to 107 are common to each other, the inner ring positioning mechanism 103 will be described below.
Will be described as a representative. In addition, each positioning mechanism 101 to 1
In 03, common parts are given the same reference numerals.

As shown in Fig. 12 or 13, fixed base
An elevator unit 111 is provided at 110. The elevating unit 111 is configured to be moved up and down by an actuator 113 along a pair of left and right vertical guide members 112.

A hollow spindle 115 is supported by the lift unit 111 so as to be rotatable around a vertical axis. The spindle 115
It is reciprocally rotated in an angle range of 180 ° by the rotation actuator 116. Claw unit 1 at the bottom of the spindle 115
07 is held so that it can move up and down. A claw 117 is provided at the lower end of the claw unit 107. The claw unit 107 is the first spring
It is urged by 118 to move upward.

A friction member 120 is provided below the spindle 115 so as to be able to move up and down. The friction member 120 is held non-rotatably and is urged downward by a spring 121.
A slider 122 is provided inside the spindle 115 so as to be able to move up and down. The slider 122 is biased downward by a second spring 123 having a spring constant larger than that of the first spring 118. A flange 124 is fixed to the slider 122. This flange 124 can be raised by the swing arm 125 shown in FIG. Is the swing arm 125 dependent on the actuator 126? Driven.

When the elevator unit 111 is lowered by the actuator 113, the lower surface of the claw 117 is lowered to a position where it comes into contact with the inner ring 6 as shown in FIG. Rotating actuator
When the spindle 115 is rotated by 116, the pawl 117
Is fitted into the ball groove 10 of the inner ring 6, the spindle 115
Is rotated to a predetermined position, the circumferential position of the inner ring 6 is determined. Moreover, since the grease is supplied to the inside of the inner ring holder 38 through the grease discharge port 58 in advance, the grease can be spread over the entire outer peripheral portion of the inner ring 6 by rotating the inner ring 6 by 180 ° as described above. You can

The claw unit 106 of the positioning mechanism 102 for the cage 5 includes a pair of claws 130 that can be inserted inside the cage 5,
The claw 130 is adapted to be engaged with the opening window 9 of the cage 5. This cage claw unit 106 is also an actuator 1
By rotating the cage 180 by 180 ° to a predetermined position, the cage 5 is positioned in the circumferential direction and the grease supplied from the grease discharge port 54 is spread on the outer peripheral portion of the cage 5. Positioning mechanism 10 for outer ring 4
The first claw unit 105 includes a pair of claws 131 that can be inserted inside the outer ring 4, and the claws 131 are engaged with the ball grooves 8 of the outer ring 4. The claw unit 105 is also rotated to a predetermined position to position the outer ring 4 in the circumferential direction.

Next, referring to FIGS. 15 to 21, the inner ring mounting device 26
Will be described.

As shown in FIG. 15, a pair of left and right guide rails 141 extending in the horizontal direction on the fixed base 140 (only one is shown).
Is provided. A slide unit 142 is provided on the guide rail 141. The slide unit 142 is moved from a retracted position shown in FIG. 15 to an advanced position shown in FIG. 17 by a horizontal fluid actuator 143 such as an air cylinder.

A stopper 144 is provided on the rear end side of the fixed base 140. A push-back mechanism 145 is provided next to the stopper 144. The push-back mechanism 145 can push back the movable shaft 146 by a predetermined stroke Δ ₂ by the elastic force of a built-in spring.

A pair of left and right vertical guide members 151 are provided on the front surface side of a base body 150 erected on the slide unit 142. An elevating unit 152 is provided to be vertically movable along the guide member 151. The elevating unit 152 is vertically moved by a predetermined stroke by a vertical actuator 153 such as an air cylinder.

The lifting unit 152 is provided with a pair of leg members 155. A head assembly 156 is supported on the leg member 155 so as to be rotatable about a horizontal axis. Head assembly 156 is axis 1
Chuck unit 16 for holding the inner ring that can swing around 57
It has 0. The chuck unit 160 is made to swing from a neutral position shown in FIG. 18 to an eccentric position (eccentricity Δ ₁ ) shown in FIG. 19 by a drive mechanism (not shown). A claw 161 is provided at the end of the chuck unit 160. The head assembly 156 is rotated by the actuator 162 in a range of 90 ° from a posture in which the pawl 161 is directed sideways as shown in FIG. 15 to a posture in which the pawl 161 is directed downward as shown in FIG. It can be moved.

Next, the single ball hitting device 27 will be described with reference to FIGS. 22 to 24.

As shown in FIG. 22, a pair of left and right vertical guide members 171 (only one is shown) are provided on the front surface side of the base body 170, and the lifting unit 1 is provided along the guide members 171.
72 is provided so that it can be raised and lowered. The lifting unit 172 is
It is driven up and down by a vertical actuator 173 such as an air cylinder. An elevating unit 172 is provided with an inner ring positioning mechanism 180 and a ball driving mechanism 181. The inner ring positioning mechanism 180 includes a hollow spindle 182 that is rotatable about a vertical axis and an actuator 183 that rotates the spindle 182. The actuator 183 is adapted to reciprocally rotate the spindle 182 within an angle range of 90 °. A claw 185 is provided below the spindle 182. The claw 185 is biased in the downward direction by the first spring 186. Slider 187 inside spindle 182
Is provided so as to be able to move up and down. The slider 187 is biased by the second spring 188 in the descending direction.

As shown in FIG. 24, the ball striking mechanism 181 has a ball passage 191, and a push rod 192 is axially movably inserted into the lower end opening side of the ball passage 191. The push rod 192, via the drive member 193,
It is driven by the actuator 194.

Next, the cage assembly assembling device 28 will be described with reference to FIGS. 25 to 32.

As shown in FIG. 25, a pair of guide rails 201 (only one is shown) extending in the horizontal direction of the fixed base 200 are provided. A slide unit 202 is provided on a guide rail 201 so as to be horizontally reciprocally movable. The slide unit 202 can be moved from a retracted position shown in FIG. 25 to an advanced position shown in FIG. 26 by a horizontal actuator 203 such as an air cylinder.

A pair of left and right vertical guide members 211 are provided on the front side of the base 210 provided on the slide unit 202. An elevating unit 212 is provided to be vertically movable along the guide member 211. The lifting unit 212 is driven up and down with a predetermined stroke by a vertical actuator 213 such as an air cylinder. The elevating unit 212 has a substrate 215 extending in the horizontal direction, and a pair of leg members 216 is provided on the lower surface side of the substrate 215. Leg member 216
Further, a head unit 217 is supported rotatably around a horizontal axis. The head unit 217 includes a chuck 218. The head unit 217 is moved by the actuator 219 in a range of 90 ° from a posture in which the chuck 218 is oriented horizontally as shown in FIG. 25 to a posture in which the chuck 218 is oriented downward as shown in FIG. It can be rotated.

As shown in FIGS. 27 and 28, the head unit 217 is provided with a ball pressing arm 225. The ball pressing arm 225 can be rotated in the arrow direction of the column shown in FIG. 28 by a swinging link 227 that interlocks with the cam follower 226. The cam follower 226 is rolling on the guide rail 228. The guide rail 228 is fixed to the pair of front and rear slide shafts 230. The slide shaft 230 is axially driven by an actuator (not shown).

Next, the five-ball insertion device 30 will be described with reference to FIGS. 33 to 37.

As shown in FIG. 33, a pair of left and right vertical guide members 241 (only one is shown) are provided on the front surface side of the base body 240, and the elevating unit 242 can be moved up and down along the guide members 241. It is provided. The lifting unit 242 is a vertical actuator 2 such as an air cylinder.
By 43, it is moved up and down with a predetermined stroke.

The elevating unit 242 has a board 245 extending in the horizontal direction, and a pair of leg members 246 is provided on the lower surface side of the board 245. A head unit 247 is supported on the leg member 246 so as to be rotatable about a horizontal axis. The head unit 247 includes a shaft member 250. The shaft member 250 is the inner ring 6
It has a shape that can be inserted into the center hole 11 of the. The head unit 247 is connected to the actuator via the connecting rod 251.
It is designed to be rotated by 252. That is, from the posture in which the shaft member 250 faces downward as shown in FIG. 35, as shown in FIG.
It can be rotated over a position where 0 tilts about 75 °. No. 37
As shown in the drawings, a cage pressing arm 253 is provided at a position facing the upper edge of the cage 5. The cage pressing arm 253 is biased toward the upper edge of the cage 5 by the spring 254.

The lifting unit 242 is provided with a ball insertion mechanism 260. The ball insertion mechanism 260 includes a ball passage 261 and a push rod 262. The push rod 262 is axially driven by an actuator 264 via a driving member 263.

An outer ring rotating mechanism 270 shown in FIG. 38 is provided below the five-ball inserting device 30, that is, below the turntable 21. The outer ring rotating mechanism 270 is used in the outer ring holder 36.
Is selectively rotated about the vertical axis by 60 ° and 180 ° respectively. This rotating mechanism 270 is composed of an actuator 271
It has a lifting shaft 272 that is rotated by. The elevating shaft 272 is adapted to be vertically moved by an actuator 273. The chuck portion 274 provided on the upper end of the elevating shaft 272 is an engaged portion 275 provided on the bottom of the outer ring holder 36.
In contrast, it can be fitted from below.

FIG. 39 shows the ball supply device 31. The ball supply device 31 supplies the first ball 7a to the above-described one-ball driving device 27, and also supplies the second to sixth balls 7b to 7f to the five-ball insertion device 30. belongs to. This ball supply device 31 is a ball storage box.
It has 280. The bottom of the ball storage box 280 is inclined with respect to the horizontal plane in its side view (Fig. 39). On the lower side of the ball storage box 280, which is provided so as to be inclined,
A disk-shaped rotary carrier 281 is provided rotatably around a shaft 282. The rotary carrier 281 is continuously driven to rotate in a direction indicated by an arrow in FIG. 40 by a drive mechanism 283 including a motor unit with a speed reducer. A ball receiving portion 284 is provided on the outer peripheral portion of the rotary carrier 281.

A ball sorter 291 is provided below a ball outlet 290 located above the rotary carrier 281. As shown in FIG. 41, the ball sorter 291 includes a pair of columnar rails 292 that are spaced apart from each other and face each other. The distance W ₂ between the rails 292 on the upstream side of conveyance is narrower than the distance W ₃ on the downstream side of conveyance. Moreover, the transport downstream side of the rail 292 is lower than the transport upstream side. Therefore, from the ball outlet 290 to the rail 292
The ball 7 of the regular size dropped above passes through the space between the rails 292 while rolling in the longitudinal direction of the rails 292, and then moves to the first position.
It falls into the hopper 293. The nonstandard ball 7 ′ larger than the regular ball 7 falls into the second hopper 294.

A ball standby unit 300 is provided on the bottom of the first hopper 293, and a ball distribution mechanism 301 shown in FIGS. 42 to 45 is provided below the ball standby unit 300. The ball distribution mechanism 301 includes a swing member 303 having a ball accommodating portion 302, an actuator 304 that drives the swing member 303, and the like. The swing member 303 has the neutral position P _N shown in FIG.
It is provided so as to reciprocate between a _first position P ₁ shown in FIG. 44 and a second position P ₂ shown in FIG. 45.

That is, when the swing member 303 is located at the neutral position P _N shown in FIG. 43, the ball housing portion 302 is located at the ball standby portion 300. When the swing member 303 is tilted to the first position P ₁ shown in FIG. 44, the ball accommodating portion 302 is located at the first ball distribution port 305. When the swing member 303 is tilted to the second position P ₂ shown in FIG. 45, the ball accommodating portion 302 is located at the second ball distribution port 306.

The first ball distribution port 305 is connected to the ball passage 191 of the one-ball driving device 27 via the first ball transfer pipe 307. The second ball distribution port 306 is connected to the ball passage 2 of the five-ball insertion device 30 through the second ball transfer pipe 308.
Connected to 61.

Next, the operation of the Rzeppa joint automatic assembly machine 20 configured as described above will be described.

The outer ring 4, the cage 5, and the inner ring 6 placed on the alignment carry-in mechanism 61 of FIG. 6 move in the direction of the arrow in the drawing by the conveyor 70, and are lined up in the first work waiting section 72 while being aligned with each other. When the single-piece pick-up and transfer mechanism 62 shown in FIG. 8 operates, the pieces are sent one by one to the second work waiting section 73. The outer ring 4, the cage 5, and the inner ring 6 carried to the second work standby part 73 are held by the chuck parts 93 to 95 when the chuck parts 93 to 95 of the work transfer device 23 shown in FIG. 11 descend. At the same time, the chuck portions 93 to 95 rise and the arm 86 pivots 180 °, so that the chuck portions 93 to 95 are transferred to directly above the holders 36, 37 and 38 as shown in FIG. Then, as the chuck portions 93 to 95 descend, the outer ring 4, the cage 5, and the inner ring 6 are held by the holders 36, 3.
Held at 7,38.

After that, when the turntable 21 rotates by 45 °, the outer ring 4, the cage 5 and the inner ring 6 move to the position of the rotary positioning device 25 shown in FIG. In the rotary positioning device 25, the outer ring 4, the cage 5, and the inner ring 6 are rotationally positioned so as to be positions suitable for an inner ring assembling step, a cage assembly assembling step, etc., which will be described later.
At the same time, grease is applied to the outer peripheral portion of the cage 5 and the outer peripheral portion of the inner ring 6.

After the rotational positioning is performed, the turntable 21 is rotated by 45 ° again, so that the outer ring 4, the cage 5, and the inner ring 6 are moved to the inner ring assembly device 26 shown in FIG. In the inner ring assembly device 26, as shown in FIG. 17, the claw 161 is inserted into the center hole 11 of the inner ring 6 with the chuck unit 160 facing downward, and the inner ring 6 is held. Then, as the lifting unit 152 rises, the chuck unit 160 faces sideways as shown in FIG. Then, as shown in FIG. 19, the chuck unit 160 is eccentric.

As shown in FIG. 15, the actuator 143 retracts the slide unit 142 to the position where it hits the stopper 144, and the fluid pressure to the actuator 143 is maintained, so that the slide unit 142 is held at the position where the retract stroke is full. To be done. By doing so, the inner ring 6 held by the chuck unit 160 is
As shown in FIG. 49, the center C ₂ in the thickness direction is located on the center line OO of the cage 5.

After that, the lifting unit 152 is lowered by a predetermined amount, so that the inner ring 6 held by the chuck unit 160 is inserted into the cage 5. At this time, as shown in FIG. 50, a part 12a of the tooth 12 of the inner ring 6 hits the edge of the end surface of the cage 5, so that the inner ring 6 rotates about a horizontal axis and the tip portion 12b of the tooth 12 moves toward the cage. 5 into the open window 9. Then, finally, as shown in FIG. 51, the inner ring 6 is lowered to a position where the height of the center C ₁ of the inner ring 6 and the height of the center C ₀ of the cage 5 substantially match.

After the above steps, the chuck unit 160 is returned to the initial state shown in FIG. 18, so that the radial center C ₁ of the inner ring 6 coincides with the center C _{0 of the} cage 5 as shown in FIG. . In addition, the fluid pressure previously supplied to the actuator 143 is released, so that the push-back mechanism is
The slide unit 142 is pushed back by Δ _{2 in the} forward direction by 145. As a result, as shown in FIG. 54, the center C ₃ of the outer sphere of the inner ring 6 coincides with the center C _{0 of the} cage 5.

Next, the head rotating actuator 162 is operated to rotate the chuck unit 160 by 90 ° around the horizontal axis. As a result, the inner ring 6 falls horizontally in the cage 5 as shown in FIG. After that, the elevating unit 152 rises, and the inner ring 6 and the cage 5 are left in the cage holder 37.

By rotating the turntable 21 again by 45 °, the outer ring 4 and the cage 5 in which the inner ring 6 is incorporated move to the one-ball driving device 27 shown in FIG. Then, as the lifting unit 172 descends, the claws 185 descend to a position where they come into contact with the inner ring 6 as shown in FIG. 23, and the spindle 182 is rotated to a predetermined angle, whereby the inner ring 6 rotates to a predetermined rotational position. That is, it is set at a position where the first ball 7a can be hit (the position shown in FIG. 24). Then, the ball driving actuator 194 is operated to move the push rod 192 forward so that the first ball 7a is driven over the opening window 9 of the cage 5 and the ball groove 10 of the inner ring 6. This one
The cage assembly 15 in which the positions of the cage 5 and the inner ring 6 are regulated by the second ball 7a is obtained.

When the turntable 21 is rotated by 45 ° again, the outer ring 4 and the cage assembly 15 are moved to the cage assembly assembling device 28 shown in FIG. 25. As shown in FIG. 26, the slide unit 202 is advanced and the chuck 218 faces downward. Then, as the lifting unit 212 descends, the chuck 218 is inserted into the inner ring 6 as shown in FIG. Further, the ball pressing arm 225 shown in FIG. 28 moves in the direction of the arrow shown in the figure, so that the ball 7a is clamped and stopped. In this state, the elevating unit 212 is raised and the head unit 217 is rotated by 90 °, so that the cage assembly 15 is in a standing posture as shown in FIG. 25, and the slide unit 202 is moved by the actuator 203. Be retreated.

After that, the raising / lowering unit 212 descends by a predetermined amount, so that the cage assembly 15 is dropped inside the outer ring 4 as shown in FIG. The above steps are the steps of inserting the cage assembly 15 shown in FIGS. 57 to 60.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 31 and 61, the head unit 217 is tilted by about 30 °, and then the outer ring 4 is rotated clockwise by 30 ° to the state shown in FIG. 62. Further, as shown in FIG. 28, the ball pressing arm 225 is driven in the unclamping direction to release the ball 7a. After that, the cage assembly 15 is tilted horizontally as shown in FIGS. 32 and 63. After that, the raising / lowering unit 212 is raised and the outer ring holder 36 is rotated 30 ° counterclockwise, whereby the cage assembly is rotated.
Fifteen built-in outer ring 4 returns to the original reference position.

After that, when the turntable 21 is rotated again by 45 °, the outer ring 4 in which the cage assembly 15 is incorporated moves to the 5-ball insertion device 30 in FIG. 33. Then, the lifting unit 242 descends and the head unit 2
When 47 is lowered, the shaft member 250 is inserted into the center hole 11 of the inner ring 6 as shown in FIG.
By operating the actuator 252 in this state,
As shown in FIG. 36, the head unit 247 is tilted down by 75 °. Therefore, the inner ring 6 is tilted by 75 °, and the tip of the cage pressing arm 253 contacts the upper edge of the cage 5, whereby the cage 5 is tilted by 37.5 °. In this state, the push rod 262 is advanced by the ball driving actuator 264 (see FIG. 33), and the ball 7 is inserted into the opening window 9 of the cage 5 and the ball groove 10 of the inner ring 6. After that, the tilting actuator 252 operates in the opposite direction to the above, whereby the cage 5 and the inner ring 6 are returned to the original horizontal state as shown in FIGS. 35 and 66. Each time one ball 7 is hit, the outer ring rotating mechanism 270 shown in FIG.
By selectively rotating the outer ring 4 by 60 ° or 180 °, the five balls 7b to 7f are inserted in the order shown in FIGS. 68 to 76.

The six balls 7a to 7f described above are distributed to the one-ball driving device 27 and the five-ball inserting device 30 by the ball supply device 31 shown in FIG. That is, as shown in FIG. 43, the swing member 303 is moved to the neutral position P.
Ball 7 that was in the ball waiting part 300 when it was in _N
Enters the ball accommodating portion 302 of the swing member 303. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 44, the swing member 303 is rotated to the first position P ₁ so that the first ball 7a is dropped into the first ball distribution port 305 and the first ball 7a is dropped. One ball is sent to the driving device 27 through the transfer pipe 307. Thereafter, the swing member 303 is returned to the neutral position P _N in FIG. 43, so that a new ball 7 enters the ball accommodating portion 302. The ball distribution operation in this direction is performed only once for each Rzeppa joint.

As shown in FIG. 45, the swing member 303 is the second
By rotating to position P ₂ ,
The balls 7 contained in 302 are dropped into the second ball distribution port 306, and are sent to the five-ball insertion device 30 through the second ball transfer pipe 308. Then, the swing member 303 is returned to the neutral position P _N in FIG. 43 again, so that a new ball 7 enters the ball accommodating portion 302. The ball distributing operation in this direction is repeated 5 times each time one Rzeppa joint is assembled, and a total of 5 balls 7b to 5f are obtained.
Are sent to the five-ball insertion device 30.

[Advantages of the Invention] According to the present invention, the assembly work of the Rzeppa joint, which conventionally had to rely on manual work, can be automated by a machine. Then, using a common work transfer device, the work of loading the pre-assembled parts (outer ring, inner ring, cage) into the holder unit on the turntable and the work of unloading the finished Rzeppa joint product from the turntable are completed. Since they can be handled at the same time, the stage for loading parts and the stage for unloading finished products are integrated, and the process of assembling these parts is performed while the turntable makes one rotation while intermittently sending each part together with the turntable in the circumferential direction. Since it can be completed in a short time, the entire automatic assembly machine can be configured compactly centering on the turntable, the floor area occupying in the factory can be reduced, and the configuration can be simplified. It becomes easy to incorporate an automatic assembly line for Rzeppa joints into the production line.

[Brief description of the drawings]

1 to 45 show an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a plan view of an automatic Rzeppa joint assembly machine, FIG. 2 is a front view of the automatic Rzeppa joint assembly machine, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view of the cage holder, FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view of the inner ring holder, FIG. 6 is a plan view of the aligning and carrying-in mechanism, and FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the aligning and carrying-in mechanism. , FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 are side views showing different operating states of the single work transfer mechanism, respectively, FIG. 10 is a side view showing a partial cross section of the work transfer device, and FIG. 11 is a view of the work transfer device. FIG. 12 is a side view of the rotary positioning device, FIG. 13 is a side view of the rotary positioning device, and FIG.
FIG. 14 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the inner ring positioning mechanism, FIG. 15 is a side view showing a partial cross-section of the inner ring assembly device, FIG. 16 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of part of the inner ring assembly device, and FIG. 17 is the inner ring. A side view showing a state in which the slide unit of the assembling device has advanced in a partial cross section, FIG.
The figure shows the front view of the head assembly in the inner ring assembly device.
FIG. 19 is a front view showing the head assembly displaced,
FIG. 20 and FIG. 21 are sectional views showing the operating mode of the head assembly, FIG. 22 is a side view partially showing the one-ball driving device, and FIG. 23 is the inner ring positioning mechanism of the one-ball driving device. Sectional view, FIG. 24 is a sectional view of the ball driving mechanism, FIG. 25 is a side view showing a partial cross-section of the cage assembly assembling apparatus, and FIG. 26 is a state in which the slide unit of the cage assembly assembling apparatus is advanced. FIG. 27 is a front view of the head unit in the cage assembly assembling apparatus, FIG. 28 is a rear view showing the head unit in a partial cross section, and FIGS. 29 to 32 are views of the head unit, respectively. FIG. 33 is a cross-sectional view showing an operating mode, FIG. 33 is a side view partially showing the 5-ball insertion device, and FIG. 34 is a front view of a head unit in the 5-ball insertion device, FIGS.
Each of the figures is a cross-sectional view showing an operation mode of the ball insertion mechanism,
FIG. 37 is a plan view showing the ball insertion mechanism in a partial cross section,
Figure is a cross-sectional view of the outer ring rotating mechanism, Figure 39 is a cross-sectional view of the ball feeding device, Figure 40 is a front view of the rotary carrier in the ball feeding apparatus, Figure 41 is a plan view of the ball sorter, Figure 42 is A cross-sectional view of the ball distributing mechanism, FIGS. 43 to 45 are front views showing the operating modes of the ball distributing mechanism, FIG. 46 is a perspective view of the Rzeppa joint, and FIG. 47 is an exploded perspective view of the Rzeppa joint. Fig. 48 is a front view showing a partial cross-section of the relationship between the inner ring and the cage before the inner ring is inserted, Fig. 49 is a sectional view taken along the line I-I in Fig. 48, and Figs. Sectional views showing the relationship between the inner ring and the cage in the inner ring assembly process, respectively, FIG. 53 is a sectional view taken along the line II-II in FIG. 52, and FIGS. 54 and 55 are the inner ring in the inner ring assembly process, respectively. Fig. 56 is a perspective view of the cage assembly, and Fig. 57 is a cage assembly. FIG. 58 is a sectional view showing a state immediately before being inserted into the outer ring, FIG. 58 is a sectional view showing a state during the cage assembly assembling process, and FIG. 59 is a plan view showing a state during the cage assembly assembling process. The figure is a cross-sectional view taken along the line III-III in FIG. 59, FIGS. 61 to 64 are vertical cross-sectional views showing the relationship between the cage assembly and the outer ring in the process of assembling the cage assembly in the order of steps, and FIG. 65 is the ball. Fig. 66 is a perspective view showing a state where the cage assembly is tilted in the process of inserting five balls, Fig. 66 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state in which balls are inserted, and Figs. 67 to 76 show the outer ring and the cage assembly in the process of inserting five balls. It is a cross-sectional view shown in the order of steps. 1 ... Rzeppa joint, 4 ... Outer ring, 5 ... Cage, 6 ... Inner ring, 7 ... Ball, 7a ... First ball, 7b to 7f ... Second and subsequent balls, 8 ... … Outer ring ball groove, 9 …… Opening window, 10 …… Inner ring ball groove, 15 …… Cage assembly, 20 …… Automatic Rzeppa joint assembly machine, 21 …… Turntable, 22 …… Work loading / unloading device , 23 …… Work transfer device, 25 …… Rotary positioning device,
26 …… Inner ring assembly device, 27 …… One ball driving device, 28
...... Cage assembly assembling device, 30 …… 5 balls inserting device, 31 …… Ball supply device, 36 …… Outer ring holder, 37 ・ ・ ・
… Cage holder, 38 …… Inner ring holder, 59 …… Grease supply mechanism, 270 …… Outer ring rotation mechanism.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Hamabe Lighting 5-3-8 Shiba, Minato-ku, Tokyo Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (72) Inventor Yuichi Hazaki 1 Nakasiri, Hashime-cho, Okazaki-shi, Aichi Address Sanritsu Automobile Engineering Co., Ltd. Okazaki Plant (56) Reference JP-A 1-210234 (JP, A) JP-A 64-45536 (JP, A) JP-A 62-292333 (JP, A) JP Sho 62-37520 (JP, A) JP-A 63-114835 (JP, A)

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. An aligning and carrying-in mechanism (61) for carrying in an outer ring, a cage and an inner ring in a predetermined arrangement into a work waiting section (73), and next to the work waiting section (73) after the assembly is completed. Finished product unloading mechanism (6) for carrying out a Rzeppa joint equipped with a finished product transfer body (64) capable of holding a joint.
3), a work loading / unloading device (22), an outer ring holder (36) that is rotatably driven in a horizontal plane and holds an outer ring on its upper surface, and a cage holder (3) that holds a cage.
A turntable (21) in which holder units (35) each including an inner ring holder (38) for holding an inner ring and an inner ring are arranged at predetermined angles in the rotation driving direction and are intermittently driven by the predetermined angles. And an arm (86) which is provided between the turntable (21) and the work loading / unloading device (22) and which can be moved up and down and is rotatable in a horizontal plane between a first position and a second position. In addition to the arm (86), it has a component gripping means (93, 94, 95) capable of gripping each component placed on the workpiece standby portion (73) on one end side of the arm (86). The end side has a finished product gripping means (96) capable of holding a Rzeppa joint on the turntable after completion of assembly, and the component gripping means when the arm (86) is swung to the first position. (93,94,95) by the work waiting section (73)
Receiving each of the above parts and holding means for the finished product (96)
The finished product of the Rzeppa joint on the turntable is grasped by the turntable, and each component held by the component grasping means (93, 94, 95) when the arm (86) pivots to the second position is turnedtable. The work carrying-in / carrying-out device (22) transfers the finished product of the Rzeppa joint, which is passed to each of the above holders (36, 37, 38) and held by the finished product gripping means (96).
The work transfer device (23) to be delivered to the finished product transfer body (64), the cage held by the cage holder (37) and the inner ring held by the inner ring holder (38) are rotated about a vertical axis to a predetermined position. A rotation positioning device (25) for rotating, an inner ring assembly device (26) for taking out the inner ring from the inner ring holder (38) and inserting it into the cage, and a first opening over the opening window of the cage and the ball groove of the inner ring. One ball driving device (27) for obtaining a cage assembly by driving a ball, and a cage assembly assembling device (28) for taking out the cage assembly from the cage holder (37) and assembling it in the outer ring.
And a ball inserting device (30) for sequentially inserting the second and subsequent balls into the cage through the opening window of the cage and the ball groove of the inner ring by tilting the cage assembly in the outer ring, and the work transfer described above. Device (23), rotational positioning device (25), inner ring assembly device (26), single ball driving device (27), cage assembly assembly device (28), ball insertion device (30)
An automatic assembly machine for a Rzeppa joint, characterized in that and are arranged at intervals according to the predetermined angle along the periphery of the turntable (21).