JP7077742B2 - Transport method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a transport method in which a vehicle door (hereinafter, may be simply referred to as a door) is gripped by a robot arm and transported.

Conventionally, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, as a door assembly (building) process in an automobile production line, pink protruding from a robot arm of a transfer robot into a reference pin hole formed in a door inner panel. It is known to insert a lamp and thereby grip the door. Then, this door is conveyed to a predetermined position (the position of the door opening) of the vehicle body frame and assembled to the vehicle body frame.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2005-125456 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 8-188186

However, in the transport method disclosed in Patent Document 1, the robot arm is located on the door inner panel side of the door, and it is difficult to assemble the door from the outside to the vehicle body frame (completed vehicle body frame). , The degree of freedom in the door assembly process was greatly limited. Further, as a means for assembling the door from the outside of the vehicle body frame, the door outer panel is sucked (vacuum sucked) to the robot arm and transported (see, for example, Patent Document 2), but the surface of the door outer panel is used. Is a design surface, so it is not preferable to use this surface for gripping. Moreover, this means is not versatile for a plurality of types of doors.

The present invention has been made in view of this point, and an object of the present invention is to provide a transport method capable of assembling a door from the outside of a vehicle body frame while gripping the door inner panel side of the door. To do.

The solution of the present invention for achieving the above object is a door outer panel constituting the design surface, a door inner panel integrally assembled to the door outer panel and having a plurality of reference pin holes, and an inner sash frame. The subject is a transport method in which a vehicle door having a window opening is gripped and conveyed by a robot arm having a plurality of pin clamps inserted into each reference pin hole at the tip thereof. In this transfer method, each of the pin clamps is provided with a plurality of grippers that can move in a direction intersecting the insertion direction with respect to the reference pin hole, and each of the grippers has a tip portion in the insertion direction. A diameter-expanded portion is provided on the outside at one location, and the robot arm passes through the window opening from the door outer panel side of the vehicle door toward the door inner panel side. The plurality of reference pins of the door inner panel in a state where the grippers of the pin clamp are brought close to each other and the dimension between the outer ends of the enlarged diameter portions is smaller than the inner diameter of the reference pin hole. Each gripper of each pin clamp is inserted into each hole, and then the grippers of the pin clamp are separated from each other, and the dimension between the outer ends of the enlarged diameter portions is the inner diameter dimension of the reference pin hole. By moving each of the pin clamps with respect to the door inner panel in a direction of exiting from each of the reference pin holes in a state of being larger than the above, the surface of each of the enlarged diameter portions facing the exit direction side. , The surface of the opening edge of the reference pin hole facing the side opposite to the exiting direction is in contact with the robot arm from a state of being separated in the exiting direction. It is characterized in that the vehicle door is gripped and conveyed in a state where the vehicle door is positioned.

Due to this specific matter, the transfer robot is located on the door outer panel side of the vehicle door, but the robot arm passes through the window opening inside the sash frame, and multiple pin clamps are inserted into the reference pin holes of the door inner panel. This causes the vehicle door to be gripped. Therefore, it is possible to assemble the vehicle door from the outside of the vehicle body frame while gripping the door inner panel.
Further, the robot arm does not start transporting the vehicle door until the enlarged diameter portion of each gripper of each pin clamp abuts on the opening edge of the reference pin hole and grips the vehicle door.

In the present invention, when the robot arm passes through the window opening, its tip portion is located on the door inner panel side, and a plurality of pin clamps are inserted into the plurality of reference pin holes of the door inner panel. The vehicle door is gripped and transported. Therefore, it is possible to assemble the vehicle door from the outside of the vehicle body frame while gripping the door inner panel.

It is a perspective view which shows the door assembly station in the production line of an automobile. It is the figure which looked at the front side door from the door inner panel side. It is a perspective view which shows the gripping state of the front side door by a robot arm. It is a figure for demonstrating the clamp operation of a pink lamp. It is a front view of the door assembling station for demonstrating the assembling process of a front side door. It is a figure which shows the door hinge fastening part in the body frame. It is a perspective view of the door assembling station for demonstrating the assembling process of a front side door.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The present embodiment describes a case where the present invention is applied as a transport method for transporting the front side door when the front side door of the vehicle is assembled to a vehicle body frame (for example, a vehicle body frame having a monocoque structure).

-Outline of door assembly station-
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a door assembly station in an automobile production line. As shown in this figure, the door assembly station is for assembling the front side door 3 to the vehicle body frame 2 conveyed by the conveyor 1. A transfer robot 4 is arranged at this door assembly station. The transfer robot 4 is composed of an articulated robot, grips the front side door 3 with the tip of the robot arm 41, and moves the front side door 3 to a predetermined position of the vehicle body frame 2 (the position of the door opening 21). It is transported and assembled to the vehicle body frame 2. More specifically, a door hinge (not shown) attached to the front end of the front side door 3 is fastened to the pillar portion (front pillar) 22 at the front end of the door opening 21 of the vehicle body frame 2.

Note that FIG. 1 shows a transfer robot 4 for assembling the right front side door 3 to the vehicle body frame 2, but the transfer robot for assembling the left front side door (not shown) to the vehicle body frame 2 is the opposite of the conveyor 1. It is arranged on the side (the back side in FIG. 1), and the front side door on the left side is conveyed by this transfer robot.

-Front side door configuration-
FIG. 2 is a view of the front side door 3 as viewed from the door inner panel 31 side. As shown in this figure, the front side door 3 includes a door inner panel 31, a door outer panel 32 (see FIG. 3), a sash frame 33, a hinge side panel 34, and the like, and these are integrally assembled. It has become.

Further, circular reference pin holes 31a to 31c are formed at three positions of the door inner panel 31 of the front side door 3. The reference pin holes 31a to 31c are portions that are gripped by the robot arm 41 by inserting pin clamps 43a to 43c (see FIG. 3) provided at the tip of the robot arm 41, which will be described later.

The reference pin holes 31a to 31c include a first reference pin hole 31a, a second reference pin hole 31b, and a third reference pin hole 31c.

The first reference pin hole 31a is the upper portion of the door inner panel 31 (the lower portion having a predetermined dimension from the belt line BL) and is in front of the center position in the front-rear direction of the door inner panel 31 (left side in FIG. 2). It is arranged in. The second reference pin hole 31b is arranged at substantially the same height as the first reference pin hole 31a and behind the center position in the front-rear direction of the door inner panel 31 (on the right side in FIG. 2). There is. The third reference pin hole 31c is a lower portion of the door inner panel 31 (an upper portion having a predetermined dimension from the lower end of the door inner panel 31) and is arranged at a substantially central portion in the front-rear direction of the door inner panel 31. .. The positions of these reference pin holes 31a to 31c are not limited to this. Further, the positions of the reference pin holes 31a to 31c are the same in each of the plurality of types of front side doors 3 which are different for each vehicle type.

-Clamp unit configuration-
As a feature of this embodiment, a clamp unit 42 provided with pin clamps 43a to 43c for gripping the door inner panel 31 of the front side door 3 is provided at the tip end portion of the robot arm 41. Hereinafter, the clamp unit 42 will be described.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a gripping state of the front side door 3 by the robot arm 41. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, a clamp unit 42 is provided at the tip of the robot arm 41. The clamp unit 42 has a base portion 42a attached to the tip of the robot arm 41 and a direction (FIGS. 1 and 3) orthogonal to the extending direction (horizontal direction in FIGS. 1 and 3) of the base portion 42a. The first frame 42b and the second frame 42c extending in the vertical direction), and the intermediate portion 42d extending in the direction orthogonal to the extending direction of these frames 42b and 42c (horizontal direction in FIGS. 1 and 3). A third frame 42e extending in a direction orthogonal to the extending direction of the intermediate portion 42d (vertical direction in FIGS. 1 and 3) is provided.

Further, as the outer shape of the clamp unit 42, the outer shape of the portion including the respective frames 42b, 42c, 42e and the intermediate portion 42d (hereinafter, this portion is referred to as the window opening passing portion 40) is inside the sash frame 33. It is set smaller than the opening shape of a certain window opening 35. Specifically, each dimension (each dimension in the front-rear direction and the width direction of the front side door 3) in the window opening passing portion 40 in the plan view shape of the clamp unit 42 in FIG. 3 is from each dimension of the window opening 35. Is also set small. That is, the dimension in the front-rear direction (left-right direction in FIG. 1) of the window opening passing portion 40 is set smaller than the dimension in the front-rear direction of the window opening 35. Further, the dimension in the width direction (depth direction in FIG. 1) of the window opening passing portion 40 is set smaller than the dimension in the height direction of the window opening 35. This allows the window opening passage portion 40 to pass through the window opening 35, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3.

Each of the intermediate portion 42d and the third frame 42e is provided with pin clamps 43a to 43c that can move forward and backward from the intermediate portion 42d and the third frame 42e, respectively. Specifically, pin clamps 43a and 43b are provided at two locations in the intermediate portion 42d, and these pin clamps 43a and 43b are provided in the first reference pin hole 31a and the second reference pin hole 31b of the door inner panel 31, respectively. It is arranged at the corresponding position. Further, the third frame 42e is provided with a pin clamp 43c, which is arranged at a position corresponding to the third reference pin hole 31c of the door inner panel 31. Since the configurations of the pin clamps 43a to 43c provided in the intermediate portion 42d and the third frame 42e are the same, one pin clamp 43a provided in the intermediate portion 42d will be described here as a representative.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the clamping operation of the pin clamp 43a. As shown in FIG. 4, the pin clamp 43a includes a pair of grippers 44, 44 that are movable in the left-right direction, and a diameter-expanding rod 45 located inside the grippers 44, 44.

The grippers 44, 44 are provided at the main body portions 44a, 44a having a substantially semi-cylindrical shape and the tip portions of the main body portions 44a, 44a, and the diameter is expanded outward from the outer surface of the main body portions 44a, 44a. The portions 44b and 44b are provided.

The diameter-expanding rod 45 is movable back and forth inside the grippers 44 and 44. An air cylinder can be mentioned as a drive source for moving the diameter-expanding rod 45 forward and backward. Inside the grippers 44, 44, inclined surfaces 44c, 44c are formed, which are separated from the gripper 44 on the other side toward the tip side (upper side in FIG. 4). Further, the outer surface of the diameter-expanding rod 45 is also an inclined surface 45a, 45a that abuts on the inclined surfaces 44c, 44c of the grippers 44, 44. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4A, when the diameter-expanding rod 45 is in the forward position, the grippers 44, 44 are in close proximity to each other. The dimension between the left and right ends of each gripper 44, 44 (the dimension between the left and right ends of the enlarged diameter portions 44b, 44b) in this state is smaller than the inner diameter dimension of the first reference pin hole 31a. On the other hand, when the diameter-expanding rod 45 moves to the retracted position as shown in FIG. 4B, the grippers 44, 44 are separated from each other. In this state, the dimension between the left and right ends of each gripper 44, 44 becomes large.

Further, a cover member 46 having a tapered shape is attached to the tips of the grippers 44, 44 so as to serve as a guide when the pin clamp 43a is inserted into the first reference pin hole 31a.

-Front side door assembly process-
Next, the assembly process of the front side door 3 will be described. As the assembling step of the front side door 3, the clamping operation of the front side door 3 by the clamp unit 42, the conveying operation of the front side door 3, and the assembling operation of fastening the front side door 3 to the vehicle body frame 2 are performed in order.

As for the clamping operation of the front side door 3 by the clamping unit 42, the window opening 35 is provided from the door outer panel 32 side with respect to the front side door 3 placed in a predetermined position (placed on a work carrier or the like) in advance. The window opening passing portion 40 (the portion including the respective frames 42b, 42c, 42e and the intermediate portion 42d) is passed toward the door inner panel 31 side. That is, the robot arm 41 of the transfer robot 4 is operated so that the extending direction of the base portion 42a of the clamp unit 42 is the vertical direction, that is, the extending directions of the frames 42b, 42c, 42e are the horizontal direction and the middle. The robot arm 41 is operated so that the extending direction of the portion 42d is the vertical direction, and the window opening passing portion 40 is passed through the window opening 35.

After that, as shown in FIG. 3, the extending direction of the base portion 42a of the clamp unit 42 is the horizontal direction, that is, the extending direction of each frame 42b, 42c, 42e is the vertical direction, and the extending direction of the intermediate portion 42d. The robot arm 41 is operated so that the current direction is the horizontal direction.

Further, the pin clamps 43a to 43c provided in the frames 42b, 42c, 42e are opposed to the reference pin holes 31a to 31c, and the pin clamps 43a to 43c are inserted into the reference pin holes 31a to 31c, respectively. (See the state shown in FIG. 4 (a)). At this time, the diameter-expanding rods 45 of the pin clamps 43a to 43c are in the forward position, and the dimension between the left and right ends of the grippers 44 and 44 is smaller than the inner diameter of the reference pin holes 31a to 31c. The pin clamps 43a to 43c are inserted into the reference pin holes 31a to 31c without causing galling of the reference pin holes 31a to 31c.

After that, as shown in FIG. 4B, the diameter-expanding rod 45 is moved to the retracted position, and the grippers 44, 44 are separated from each other. After that, the robot arm 41 is operated in the direction in which the pin clamps 43a to 43c come out of the reference pin holes 31a to 31c. At this time, as described above, since the pin clamps 43a to 43c are provided with the diameter-expanded portions 44b, 44b whose diameters are expanded outward from the outer surface of the main body portions 44a, 44a, the diameter-expanded portions 44b, 44b are provided. Abuts on the open edges of the reference pin holes 31a-31c (see FIG. 4C). As a result, the relative positions of the robot arm 41 and the front side door 3 are positioned as a predetermined positional relationship.

With the front side door 3 gripped by the robot arm 41 in this way, the robot arm 41 is operated, and as shown in FIG. 5, the front side door 3 is placed at a predetermined position of the vehicle body frame 2 (the position of the door opening 21). ), And the door hinge (not shown) attached to the front end of the front side door 3 and the front pillar 22 at the front end of the door opening 21 (see FIG. 1) of the vehicle body frame 2 are aligned with each other. FIG. 6 shows the front pillar 22, which has fastening holes 22a and 22a for fastening the upper hinge and fastening holes 22b, 22b and 22b for fastening the lower hinge, respectively. It is formed. In the transport operation of the front side door 3, the fastening holes of the hinges attached to the front side door 3 and the fastening holes 22a and 22b formed in the front pillar 22 are aligned with each other. As a means for this alignment, a well-known laser sensor or the like is used. That is, the position and orientation of the vehicle body frame 2 are measured by the sensor, the transport position of the front side door 3 is corrected based on the position, and the front side door 3 is transported to the predetermined position of the vehicle body frame 2. FIG. 7 shows a state in which the front side door 3 is conveyed to a predetermined position of the vehicle body frame 2.

Then, by a fastening robot (not shown), bolts are inserted through the fastening holes of the hinges attached to the front side door 3 and the fastening holes 22a and 22b formed in the front pillar 22, and the front side door 3 is used. Is attached to the vehicle body frame 2 via each hinge. In this case as well, the bolt insertion position by the fastening robot is corrected based on the measured value by the sensor.

In this way, when the assembling step of the front side door 3 is completed, the diameter-expanding rods 45 of the pin clamps 43a to 43c are moved to the forward positions, and the clamp state of the front side door 3 by the clamp unit 42 is released. Then, the window opening 35 is passed through the window opening passing portion 40 (separated from the front side door 3) from the door inner panel 31 side toward the door outer panel 32 side, and in the door assembly station, the next work ( It waits for the vehicle body frame 2) to be conveyed by the conveyor 1.

-Effect of embodiment-
As described above, in the present embodiment, the robot arm 41 passes through the window opening 35 from the door outer panel 32 side of the front side door 3 toward the door inner panel 31 side, and a plurality of door inner panels 31. By inserting a plurality of pin clamps 43a to 43c into the reference pin holes 31a to 31c, the front side door 3 is gripped and conveyed. Therefore, the front side door 3 can be assembled from the outside of the vehicle body frame 2 while gripping the door inner panel 31. As a result, the degree of freedom in the assembly process of the front side door 3 is not limited, and the surface of the door outer panel 32, which is the design surface, does not need to be used for gripping, which deteriorates the design of the vehicle. Nor.

Further, as described above, the positions of the reference pin holes 31a to 31c are the same in each of the plurality of types of front side doors 3 which are different for each vehicle type. That is, in the present embodiment, even when different types of vehicle body frames 2 are transported to the door assembly station, the same transport robot 4 can grip and transport the front side door 3. ing. That is, it is not necessary to replace the clamp unit 42 according to the different types of the vehicle body frame 2 and the front side door 3, and the versatility can be enhanced.

-Other embodiments-
It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and all modifications and applications included in the claims and the range equivalent to the claims are possible.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied as a transport method for transporting the front side door 3 when assembling the front side door 3 to the vehicle body frame 2 having a monocoque structure has been described. The present invention is not limited to this, and may be applied as a transport method for transporting the rear side door or the back door when assembling the vehicle body frame. Further, the vehicle body frame 2 is not limited to the one having a monocoque structure.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the reference pin holes 31a to 31c are formed at three locations of the front side door 3. That is, the pin clamps 43a to 43c are used to clamp three places. In the present invention, the number of clamp points is not limited, and may be two or four or more.

Further, in the above embodiment, the case where the front side door 3 is closed (assembly with the door closed) has been described, but it can also be applied to the case of semi-open construction (assembly with the door half open). It is possible.

The present invention is applicable to a transport method in which a vehicle door is gripped by a robot arm and transported.

3 Front side door (vehicle door)
31 Door inner panel 31a 1st reference pin hole 31b 2nd reference pin hole 31c 3rd reference pin hole 32 Door outer panel 33 Sash frame 35 Window opening 4 Transfer robot 40 Window opening passing part 41 Robot arm 42 Clamp unit 43a to 43c Pink Lamp 44 gripper

Claims (2)

The door outer panel constituting the design surface, the door inner panel integrally assembled to the door outer panel and having a plurality of reference pin holes, and the vehicle door having the window opening inside the sash frame are provided with the reference pin holes. It is a transport method in which a robot arm having a plurality of pin clamps inserted into each of the doors is gripped and transported.
Each of the pin clamps is provided with a plurality of grippers that are movable in a direction intersecting the insertion direction with respect to the reference pin hole, and each of the grippers is located on the outside at one point of the tip portion in the insertion direction. An enlarged diameter part is provided, and the diameter is expanded.
The robot arm passes through the window opening from the door outer panel side of the vehicle door toward the door inner panel side.
The plurality of reference pins of the door inner panel in a state where the grippers of the pin clamp are brought close to each other and the dimension between the outer ends of the enlarged diameter portions is smaller than the inner diameter of the reference pin hole. Each gripper of each pin clamp is inserted into each hole, and then the grippers of the pin clamp are separated from each other, and the dimension between the outer ends of the enlarged diameter portions is the inner diameter dimension of the reference pin hole. By moving each of the pin clamps with respect to the door inner panel in a direction of exiting from each of the reference pin holes in a larger state, the surface of each of the enlarged diameter portions facing the exit direction side. , The surface of the opening edge of the reference pin hole facing the side opposite to the exiting direction is in contact with the robot arm from a state of being separated in the exiting direction. A transport method comprising gripping and transporting the vehicle door in a state where the vehicle door is positioned. In the transport method according to claim 1,
The robot arm is characterized in that the transfer of the vehicle door is not started until the enlarged diameter portion of the gripper of each pin clamp abuts on the opening edge of the reference pin hole and grips the vehicle door. Transport method.

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