JPS643611B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] The present invention provides the following features:
The present invention relates to an assembly robot system in which a manipulator automatically assembles a plurality of parts to the workpiece.

This type of robot system is known, for example, from Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 1983
- Like the system disclosed in Publication No. 94183,
An assembly workbench that supports a workpiece is installed at a fixed position in front of the assembly manipulator, and a plurality of parts to be assembled to the workpiece on the assembly workbench are supplied to one of the left and right sides of the assembly manipulator. ,
On the other hand, a plurality of tools necessary for assembling the parts on the pallet to the workpiece are prepared, and the tool prepared at the tool preparation position is selected by the manipulator. It is possible to assemble the parts set on the workpiece on the assembly workbench using the manipulator holding the tool, but the part supply position and the tool preparation position are separated by a considerable distance. Therefore, the work of holding the parts supplied to the parts supply position and setting them on the workpiece on the assembly workbench is as follows:
This has been done using a dedicated manipulator for parts setting, which is separate from the assembly manipulator.

Therefore, a manipulator for assembly and a manipulator dedicated to setting parts are required, which has the drawback of extremely high equipment costs.

The present invention proposes a workpiece stationary assembly robot system that can solve the above-mentioned conventional problems.

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described based on the attached illustrative drawings. In FIGS. 1 to 3, 1
Reference numerals a and 1b are manipulators disposed on both the left and right sides of the assembly workbench 2, which are respectively moved in the directions of arrows 3 parallel to the assembly workbench 2 by a screw shaft 16 driven by a motor 15. Movable stand 4
is installed on top. 5a, 5b are tool supporting means arranged on one side of each manipulator 1a, 1b; 6 is a tool support means disposed on one side of each manipulator 1a, 1b;
A conveyor for conveying parts disposed on the other side conveys a pallet 8 supporting various parts 7 in fixed positions and postures in the direction of arrow 9, to a predetermined position A corresponding to each manipulator 1a, 1b. , B can stop the pallet 8. Reference numeral 10 denotes an engine transport vehicle equipped with engine support attachments 12 that support the lower portions of both ends of the engine, and carries the engine 11 from the main line 13 via a branch line 14 to a predetermined position C beside the assembly workbench 2. Furthermore, the engine 11 after assembly is carried out from the branch line 14 via the main line 13 to a predetermined location. Reference numeral 17 denotes an engine transfer means for transferring the engine 11 between the engine carrier 10 stopped at a predetermined position C and the assembly workbench 2, and is supported by a guide rail 18 and driven by a motor. Arrow 1 is formed by a pair of left and right screw shafts 21.
A movable cart 20 that can be moved in nine directions, an elevating table 24 that is supported by the movable cart 20 via an elevating guide rod 22 so as to be freely movable up and down and moved up and down by a cylinder unit 23, and a hoisting table 24 that is provided on the elevating table 24. It consists of an engine hanging tool 25 that can be opened and closed.

The assembly workbench 2 has a pair of front and rear engine clamps 27 on a turntable 26 that can be rotated by a motor in any forward or reverse direction.
is supported through a pair of front and rear brackets 29 so that it can be rotated at any angle around a common horizontal axis 28 by a motor or the like.

The tool support means 5a, 5b are as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4.
As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 5, a pallet 32 is provided with concave portions 31 arranged in parallel to fit and hold a plurality of various tools 30 in a fixed position, and a support base that removably supports the pallet 32 in a fixed position. 33, and the recess 31 is provided with a tool positioning part 35 into which the prismatic main body 34 of the tool 30 is fitted so that it cannot move or rotate, and each tool 30 is held at a fixed position on the pallet 32 in a fixed posture. Supported. Each tool 30 includes
a tool head 36 provided at one end of the main body 34;
A motor 37 for driving the tool support means 5 is provided at the other end of the main body 34, and
A coupling male member 38 is provided in a protruding manner on the surface that faces upward when supported by a and 5b. This male coupling member 38 has a prismatic shape as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, and has an engaged recess 3 on its side surface.
8a, and a plurality of terminals 40 for supplying power to the motor 37 and transmitting and receiving control signals are provided on its upper end surface.

The manipulators 1a and 1b are provided with an automatic tool attachment/detachment coupling portion 39 at the tip of their arm. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, this tool automatic attachment/detachment coupling part 39 has a coupling female hole 41 into which the coupling male member 38 of the tool 30 is fitted in a relatively non-rotatable manner, and a coupling female hole 41 which is fitted into the female hole 41. A lock pin 42 that can be freely fitted into and removed from the engaged recess 38a of the male coupling member 38
a cylinder unit 43 that moves the lock pin 42 in and out; and a power supply unit that presses against each terminal 40 when the male coupling member 38 is fitted into the female hole 41 and locked by the lock pin 42. , and a signal exchange terminal 44.

Next, to explain how to use it, the engine 11 to be assembled is moved to the assembly workbench 2 by the conveyor truck 10.
The transport vehicle 1 is transported to a predetermined position C on the side, and then the transport vehicle 1
The engine 11 on the 0 is transferred between a pair of engine clamps 27 on the assembly workbench 2, and the engine 11 is moved by the operation of the engine clamps 27.
It is supported between the clamps 27.

On the other hand, the pallet 8 on which the necessary parts 7 are set
are conveyed by the conveyor 6 to each manipulator 1a,
It is being transported to predetermined positions A and B beside 1b. In this state, both manipulators 1a and 1b
However, by using the tool 30 set in the automatic tool attachment/detachment connection part 39 at the tip of the arm, the manipulator 1a attaches the part 7 on the pallet 8 at the predetermined position A.
Then, the manipulator 1b takes out the parts 7 on the pallet 8 at the predetermined position B and assembles them to the predetermined locations of the engine 11 on the assembly workbench 2, based on a motion program that has been learned and memorized in advance. It will be driven automatically.

In the automatic assembly work of the parts 7 by the manipulators 1a and 1b, each manipulator:
Handles various parts 7 of different sizes and shapes, and performs different types of work. For example, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, a large part 7a is clamped and transferred to a predetermined position on the engine 11, a small part 7b such as a bolt is clamped and set in a predetermined position, or Work such as screwing in the set bolts is performed. Therefore, it is necessary to use different tools depending on the type of work to be performed, such as a tool 30a equipped with a large clamp claw 36a, a tool 30b equipped with a small clamp claw 36b, or a tool 30c equipped with a bolt runner 36c. These various tools 30 (30a to 30c, etc.) are set in advance in the pallet 32 of the tool support means 5a, 5b. Then, based on the tool exchange commands incorporated in the parts assembly work program in advance,
The manipulators 1a and 1b fit the tool 30 they are holding into the empty recess 31 of the pallet 32 in the tool support means 5a and 5b, and in this state, the cylinder unit 43 extracts and moves the lock pin 42, and then In order to extract the coupling male member 38 of the tool 30 from the female hole 41 of the automatic tool attachment/detachment coupling part 39, the coupling part 39 is moved directly above.

After returning the tool 30 held in this manner to the predetermined position of the tool support means 5a, 5b, the manipulators 1a, 1b move the tool 30 to be attached next.
0 to its automatic tool attachment/detachment coupling section 39. That is, the female hole 4 of the automatic tool attachment/detachment connection part 39
In order to fit the coupling male member 38 of the tool 30 into the tool 30, the tool automatic attachment/detachment coupling part 39 is inserted into the target tool 30.
After descending toward the position, the cylinder unit 43 operates to fit the lock pin 42 into the engaged recess 38a. As a result, the terminal 44 of the automatic tool attachment/detachment coupling section 39 and the terminal 40 on the tool 30 side come into pressure contact, and the tool 30 drive motor 37 can operate the tool head 36 according to the program.

As mentioned above, each manipulator 1a, 1b is
Using various tools 30, 30a to 30c, etc.,
Various parts 7, 7a, 7b, etc. are automatically assembled to the engine 11, but in order to compensate for the lack of freedom of the manipulators 1a, 1b or to increase the work speed, a turntable 26 on the assembly workbench 2 is used.
Due to the rotation of the engine clamp 27 and the rotation of the engine clamp 27,
The engine 11 can be automatically changed to a posture suitable for the work at that time. Furthermore, it is also possible to change the positions of the manipulators 1a and 1b in the three directions of the arrows by moving the movable base 4.
Manipulators 1a and 1b are tool support means 5
When going to pick up the tool 30 from a or 5b or
When returning the manipulator 1a,
1b is moved closer to the tool support means 5a, 5b, and when the manipulators 1a, 1b go to pick up the parts 7 onto the pallet 8 on the parts conveyor 6, the manipulators 1a, 1b are moved closer to the tool supporting means 5a, 5b. It can be moved closer to pallet 8.

In addition to independently assembling parts, the manipulators 1a and 1b cooperate with each other to perform the following complex operations. That is, as shown in FIG. 8, one manipulator 1a holds a large part 7a clamped by a tool 30a set in its automatic tool attachment/detachment joint 39 at a predetermined position on the engine 11 (the bolt holes of both are aligned). The other manipulator 1b has the tool 30 set in its automatic tool attachment/detachment part 39.
The bolt 7b clamped by the bolt 7b is fitted into the bolt hole of the component 7a held by the manipulator 1a, and the manipulator 1b is further equipped with a tool 30b and a bolt runner 36c. The work of replacing the bolt 7b with a new tool 30c and the tool 30c
and bolt tightening work. Through such complex operations, for example, the manipulator 1a
Without the work of holding the part 7a, the work of attaching the part in a place where the part 7a might fall can be carried out without any problem.

The robot system of the present invention can be implemented as described above, and its features include an assembly workbench that supports a workpiece installed at a fixed position in front of the assembly manipulator, and One of the left and right sides is provided with a conveying means for supplying a pallet supporting a plurality of parts to be assembled to the workpiece on the assembly workbench to a lateral position of the manipulator, and the other side is provided with a conveying means for supplying the pallet to a side position of the manipulator. A tool support means is arranged to support a plurality of tools necessary for assembling the upper part to the workpiece, and the manipulator is movable so as to be able to move laterally in a direction connecting the conveyance means and the tool support means. It is installed on a table, and by moving the manipulator to the side of the conveyance means, parts can be picked up from the pallet on the conveyance means, and the manipulator is moved to the side of the tool support means. This makes it possible to pick up the tool from the tool support means.

According to the robot system of the present invention, even if the component transport means and the tool support means are separated beyond the action range of the assembly manipulator due to the installation space of the assembly workbench, the manipulator can Utilizing the lateral movement of the movable table that supports the parts, one assembly manipulator can supply parts to the work set on the assembly workbench and assemble the parts using tools. Compared to the case where a dedicated manipulator for setting is required, equipment costs can be significantly reduced. Further, by lateral movement of the assembly manipulator by this movable table, it is possible to compensate for the lack of freedom of the manipulator and to increase the work speed.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is an overall plan view, Fig. 2 is a partially cutaway front view, Fig. 3 is a partially cutaway side view, and Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional side view showing the tool support means and the tip of the arm of the manipulator. , Figure 5 is the longitudinal front view of the same, Figure 6
The figure is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing a joint between the tool and the manipulator, FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view thereof, and FIGS. 8 and 9 are side views showing working conditions. 1a, 1b...manipulator, 2...assembly workbench, 5a, 5b...tool support means, 6...parts conveyor, 7, 7a, 7b...parts, 8...
...Pallet, 10...Engine carrier, 11...
...Engine, 17...Engine transfer means, 20...
...Moving trolley, 24... Lifting platform, 25... Engine hanging tool, 26... Turntable, 27...
Engine clamp, 30, 30a-30c...Tool, 31...Tool fitting recess, 36, 36a-36
c...Tool head, 37...Tool head drive motor, 38...Male member for coupling, 39...Tool automatic attachment/detachment coupling part, 40, 44...Power supply, signal exchange terminal, 41...Female for coupling Hole, 42...Lock pin.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An assembly workbench that supports a workpiece is installed in a fixed position in front of the assembly manipulator, and a plurality of parts to be assembled to the workpiece on the assembly workbench are installed on one of the left and right sides of the assembly manipulator. A conveying means is provided for supplying the supported pallet to a lateral position of the manipulator, and on the other hand, a tool support is provided for supporting a plurality of tools necessary for assembling the parts on the pallet to the workpiece. arranging means, said manipulator;
The tool is installed on a movable table that can be moved laterally in a direction connecting the conveyance means and the tool support means, and the manipulator is moved to the side of the conveyance means to pick up parts from the pallet on the conveyance means. A workpiece stationary assembly robot system that is capable of picking up a tool from the tool support means by moving the manipulator to the side of the tool support means.