Storage tool and production line and production method for assembling products

Abstract

The invention relates to the field of product assembling, and particularly discloses a storage tool, a production line for assembling products and a production method. The storage tool comprises a support, a sliding frame slidably connected to the support in the first direction, a driving assembly driving the sliding frame to slide, a storage box arranged on the sliding frame, a detection element connected to the sliding frame and a control unit electrically connected with the driving assembly and the detection element. The detection device is used for detecting the position condition of a person on at least one side of the sliding frame in the width direction and sending the detected information to the control unit, and the control unit is used for controlling the driving assembly according to the information detected by the detection element so that the sliding frame can be kept at the position close to the person. And personnel can take the materials in the storage box conveniently, so that the labor intensity of the personnel is reduced, and the production efficiency is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of product assembly, and in particular to a storage tool, a production line and a production method for assembling products. Background Art

[0002] During the assembly process of white appliances such as refrigerators, freezers, and washing machines, employees need to frequently take materials and assemble them on the products located on the carrying platform to complete the assembly of the entire product. When assembling products, employees will move along the carrying platform according to the production situation. Materials are generally placed on fixed material carts. Employees take materials back and forth between the material cart and the carrying platform. Over time, this will increase employee fatigue, reduce production efficiency, and easily cause quality risks. The existing solution can also be equipped with special feeders to take materials for assembly employees, but in essence, people still need to move around to take materials, and this increases labor costs. Summary of the invention

[0003] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a storage tool, a production line and a production method for assembly products, which can enable employees to take materials conveniently.

[0004] To achieve the above-mentioned objectives, the present invention provides a storage tool, comprising a bracket, a sliding frame slidably connected to the bracket along a first direction, a driving assembly driving the sliding frame to slide, a storage box arranged on the sliding frame, a detection element connected to the sliding frame, and a control unit electrically connected to the driving assembly and the detection element, wherein the detection device is used to detect the position of personnel on at least one side of the width direction of the sliding frame and send the detected information to the control unit, and the control unit is used to control the driving assembly according to the information detected by the detection element so that the sliding frame can be kept in a position close to the personnel.

[0005] As a further improvement of the present invention, the storage tool further includes a first control component electrically connected to the control unit, and the first control component is used to control the opening and closing of the detection element.

[0006] As a further improvement of the present invention, the detection element includes a first detection element and a second detection element respectively located on both sides of the sliding frame in the width direction, and the first control element is provided with two, one of the two first control elements is used to control the opening and closing of the first detection element, and the other is used to control the opening and closing of the second detection element, and the first detection element and the second detection element are arranged so that when one of them is opened, the other is closed.

[0007] As a further improvement of the present invention, the detection element is rotatable relative to the sliding frame and has a first position for detecting toward a first side in the width direction of the sliding frame and a second position for detecting toward a second side in the width direction of the sliding frame after flipping from the first position.

[0008] As a further improvement of the present invention, the storage box includes a first storage box and a second storage box, and the first storage box and the second storage box are respectively arranged on both sides of the sliding frame in the width direction.

[0009] As a further improvement of the present invention, the driving assembly includes two pulleys rotatably connected to the bracket, a conveyor belt transmission-connected to the two pulleys, and a driving member driving one of the pulleys to rotate, the two pulleys are arranged opposite to each other in a first direction, the driving member is electrically connected to the control unit, and the sliding frame is connected to one side of the transmission belt.

[0010] As a further improvement of the present invention, the storage box has a plurality of separated storage spaces, and the plurality of storage spaces are arranged along a first direction.

[0011] As a further improvement of the present invention, the detection element is arranged close to an edge of the sliding frame in the first direction.

[0012] The present invention also provides a production line for assembling products, comprising a carrying device and the above-mentioned storage tooling located above the carrying device.

[0013] The present invention also provides a method for producing an assembled product, the method comprising the following steps:

[0014] Providing a storage box and placing the storage box on a sliding frame that can slide along a first direction;

[0015] Providing a detection element and arranging the detection element on the sliding frame;

[0016] Loading materials into storage boxes;

[0017] The detection element detects the position of a person on at least one side of the sliding frame in the width direction. If the person is within the position range corresponding to the sliding frame, the position of the sliding frame remains unchanged. If the person is not within the position range corresponding to the sliding frame, the sliding frame moves along the first direction. After the detection element detects that the person is within the position range corresponding to the sliding frame, the sliding frame stops moving.

[0018] Beneficial effects of the present invention:

[0019] The present invention provides a production line and a production method for storage tooling and assembly products, wherein the sliding frame can move along the trajectory of the operator to maintain a position close to the operator, so that the operator can easily get the materials in the storage box, thereby reducing the labor intensity of the operator and improving production efficiency. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] Figure 1 A production line for assembling products provided by the present invention;

[0021] Figure 2 for Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the structure of the middle storage tooling;

[0022] Figure 3 for Figure 2 The schematic diagram of the structure after the enlargement of A in the middle;

[0023] Figure 4 for Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the structure of the middle sliding rack and the storage box;

[0024] Figure 5 for Figure 1 A front view of the partial structure of the middle storage tooling;

[0025] Figure 6 Schematic diagram of personnel on both sides of the storage tooling. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] The present invention will be described in detail below in conjunction with the embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings. However, the embodiments do not limit the present invention, and any changes in mechanism, method, or function made by a person skilled in the art according to the embodiments are all within the protection scope of the present invention.

[0027] The terms used herein, such as "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "front", "back", etc., which indicate relative spatial positions, are used for the purpose of convenience to describe the relationship between one feature and another feature as shown in the accompanying drawings. It is understood that, depending on the placement of the product, the terms of relative spatial positions may be intended to include different orientations other than those shown in the drawings, and should not be construed as limitations on the claims. In addition, the descriptor "horizontal" used herein is not completely equivalent to being perpendicular to the direction of gravity, and a certain angle of inclination is allowed.

[0028] like Figure 1As shown, one embodiment of the present invention provides a production line 100 for assembling products, which can be used to produce refrigeration equipment. The production line 100 for assembling products includes a carrying device 120 for carrying articles, and a storage tool 110 located above the carrying device 120. The assembled product refers to a product assembled from multiple parts. The carrying device 120 can be a conveying device capable of conveying products or an operating table for placing products. During specific operation, the main body of the assembled product is set on the carrying device 120, and the storage tool 110 contains materials to be assembled on the main body. The operator can take out the materials in the storage tool 110 and assemble them on the main body to complete the assembly of the entire product. Taking the glass door body of the refrigeration equipment as an example, the glass door body usually includes a hollow glass and a plurality of frames surrounding the hollow glass. During assembly, the plurality of frames need to be connected as a whole by fasteners such as screws. During specific production, screws can be placed in the storage tooling 110 , and the hollow glass and the frame can be placed on the carrying device 120 . The operator can take out the screws in the storage tooling 110 , and use the screws to connect multiple frames together on the carrying device 120 .

[0029] Specifically, Figure 2-6 As shown, the storage tool 110 includes a bracket 1, a sliding frame 2 slidably connected to the bracket 1 along a first direction, a driving assembly 3 for driving the sliding frame 2 to slide, a storage box 4 and a detection element 5 provided on the sliding frame 2, and a control unit electrically connected to the driving assembly 3 and the detection element 5. The bracket 1 can be connected to a building or a hanger so that the entire storage tool 110 is maintained at a predetermined height. The detection device is used to detect the position of personnel on at least one side in the width direction of the sliding frame 2 and send the detected information to the control unit, and the control unit is used to control the driving assembly 3 according to the information measured by the detection element 5. For the convenience of description, the storage tool 110 is defined as follows. Figure 1 The left-right direction in the illustrated state is a first direction, and the width direction of the sliding frame 2 is perpendicular to the first direction. The length of the sliding frame 2 is smaller than the length of the bracket 1.

[0030] During the production process, a person is located on one side of the width direction of the sliding frame 2 and randomly moves along the first direction. The detection element 5 detects the position of the person on one side of the width direction of the sliding frame 2. If the person is located within the position range corresponding to the sliding frame 2, it means that the sliding frame 2 is close to the person and the person can easily take the materials in the storage box 4. At this time, the position of the sliding frame 2 remains unchanged. If the person is not located within the position range corresponding to the sliding frame 2, it means that the person is far away from the sliding frame 2 at this time. Then the sliding frame 2 moves along the first direction until the detection element 5 detects that the person is located within the position range corresponding to the sliding frame 2, that is, after the sliding frame 2 is close to the person, the sliding frame 2 stops moving. The above-mentioned "moving along the first direction" should be understood as bidirectional movement along the first direction. The position corresponding to the above-mentioned sliding frame 2 should be understood as when the person is in this position, he can easily take the materials in the storage box 4, and this position is relative to the sliding frame 2 and will change position as the sliding frame 2 slides.

[0031] In this embodiment, the storage tool 110 also includes a first control component electrically connected to the control unit, and the first control component is used to control the opening and closing of the detection element 5. When the sliding frame 2 has slid to a position close to a person, the person can close the detection element 5 through the first control component to prevent the detection element 5 from being in a detection state all the time. When the person moves and needs the sliding frame 2 to follow the movement, the detection element 5 can be opened.

[0032] Furthermore, the detection element 5 includes a first detection element and a second detection element respectively located on both sides of the width direction of the sliding frame 2, the first detection element is used to detect the position of the personnel on the first side of the width direction of the sliding frame 2, and the second detection element is used to detect the position of the components on the second side of the width direction of the sliding frame 2. Two first control members are provided, one of the two first control members is used to control the opening and closing of the first detection unit, and the other is used to control the opening and closing of the second detection unit. When there are personnel on both sides of the width direction of the sliding frame 2, the first detection element and the second detection element can respectively detect the position of the personnel on both sides, so that the sliding frame 2 can move following the positions of the personnel on both sides.

[0033] In specific operation, for example, the first detection element is used to detect the position of a person located on the first side in the width direction of the sliding frame 2, and the second detection element is used to detect the position of a person located on the second side in the width direction of the sliding frame 2. The person located on the first side can control the first detection element to open through a first control member, so that the sliding frame 2 can be kept close to him / her. Similarly, the person located on the second side can control the second detection element to open through another first control member, so that the sliding frame 2 can be kept close to him / her. To prevent conflict, the first detection element and the second detection element are set so that when one of them is turned on, the other is turned off.

[0034] In other embodiments, the following configuration may also be made: the detection element 5 is rotatably arranged relative to the sliding frame 2, and has a first position for detecting toward the first side in the width direction of the sliding frame 2, and a second position for detecting toward the second side in the width direction of the sliding frame 2 after flipping from the first position, and the storage tool 110 further includes a second control member and a rotating assembly for driving the detection element 5 to switch between the first position and the second position, and the rotating assembly and the second control member are both electrically connected to the control unit. With such a configuration, the detection element 5 can also detect the position of personnel on both sides in the width direction of the sliding frame 2, and the personnel on both sides can use the second control member to make the detection element 5 detect toward the side where they are located, so that the sliding frame 2 moves with them.

[0035] In some cases, the rotating assembly and the second control component may not be provided. The storage tooling 110 includes an adjustment bracket connecting the detection element 5 and the sliding frame 2. The position of the detection element 5 on the adjustment bracket can be manually adjusted to switch between the first position and the second position. In this way, when a person needs the sliding frame 2 to move with him / her, the detection element 5 is adjusted to the side where he / she is located for detection.

[0036] In this embodiment, the detection element 5 can use an obstacle sensor, and a person can be sensed as an obstacle to determine the person's position. The detection element 5 can also use a camera, and the camera can capture the situation on at least one side in the width direction of the sliding frame 2, and then the control unit determines the person's position based on the captured image.

[0037] In this embodiment, the storage box 4 includes a first storage box 41 and a second storage box 42, and the first storage box 41 and the second storage box 42 are respectively arranged on both sides of the width direction of the sliding frame 2, so that people located on both sides of the width direction of the sliding frame 2 can take materials. In other embodiments, the storage box 4 can also extend to both sides of the width direction of the sliding frame 2, which is also convenient for people located on both sides of the width direction of the sliding frame 2 to take materials. A plurality of partitions arranged at intervals along the first direction can also be provided in the storage box 4, so that the storage box 4 is divided into a plurality of storage spaces 43 arranged along the first direction, so that different types of materials can be placed in the storage box 4.

[0038] The driving assembly 3 includes two pulleys rotatably connected to the bracket 1, a transmission belt 31 connected to the two pulleys; 32, a driving member 33 driving one of the pulleys to rotate, the two pulleys are arranged opposite to each other in a first direction, the driving member 33 is electrically connected to the control unit, the sliding frame 2 is connected to one side of the conveyor belt, when the driving member 33 drives a pulley to rotate, the conveyor belt starts to transmit, and the sliding frame 2 connected to the conveyor belt will move along the first direction with the conveyor belt, the driving member 33 drives the pulley to rotate forward and reverse, so that the sliding frame 2 can slide in both directions along the first direction.

[0039] As a preferred solution of this embodiment, the detection element 5 is arranged near the edge of the sliding frame 2 in the first direction, so that the detection element 5 can detect the position of the person at the first time when sliding with the sliding frame 2, and there is no blind spot for detection. In some cases, two detection elements 5 can be arranged on each side of the sliding frame 2 in the width direction, and the two detection elements 5 on each side are respectively arranged near the two edges on both sides of the sliding frame 2 in the first direction. In this way, no matter the sliding frame 2 is in the first direction, the detection element 5 can detect the position of the person at the first time. Figure 6 In the state shown, the detection element 5 can detect the position of the person immediately by sliding to the left or right.

[0040] The present invention also provides a production method of an assembled product, comprising the following steps:

[0041] Providing a storage box 4 and placing the storage box 4 on a sliding frame 2 that can slide along a first direction;

[0042] Providing a detection element 5 and arranging the detection element 5 on the sliding frame 2;

[0043] Put materials into the storage box 4;

[0044] The detection element 5 detects the position of the person on at least one side in the width direction of the sliding frame 2. If the person is within the position range corresponding to the sliding frame 2, it means that the sliding frame 2 is close to the person at this time, and the position of the sliding frame 2 remains unchanged. If the person is not within the position range corresponding to the sliding frame 2, it means that the sliding frame 2 is far away from the person at this time, and the sliding frame 2 moves along the first direction. After the detection element 5 detects that the person is within the position range corresponding to the sliding frame 2, that is, the sliding frame 2 is close to the person, the sliding frame 2 stops moving.

[0045] When there are people on both sides of the sliding frame 2 in the width direction, the sliding frame 2 can slide along the first direction so that the detection element 5 detects the positions of the people on both sides, and then the sliding frame 2 stays between the people on both sides of the sliding frame 2 in the width direction in the first direction, or slides back and forth between the people on both sides of the sliding frame 2 in the width direction in the first direction, so that the people on both sides can have equal access to the storage box 4.

[0046] In summary, the present invention provides a storage tool 100, an assembly product production line 100, and an assembly product production method, wherein the sliding rack 2 can move following the trajectory of the operator to maintain a position close to the operator, so that the operator can easily get the materials in the storage box 4, thereby reducing the labor intensity of the operator and improving production efficiency.

[0047] It should be understood that although the present specification is described according to embodiments, not every embodiment contains only one independent technical solution. This narrative method of the specification is only for the sake of clarity. Those skilled in the art should regard the specification as a whole. The technical solutions in each embodiment may also be appropriately combined to form other embodiments that can be understood by those skilled in the art.

[0048] The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solution of the present application and are not intended to limit it. Although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the preferred embodiments, a person skilled in the art should understand that the technical solution of the present application may be modified or replaced by equivalents without departing from the spirit and scope of the technical solution of the present application.

Claims

1. A storage tool, characterized in that: It includes a bracket, a sliding frame connected to the bracket for sliding along a first direction, a driving component for driving the sliding frame to slide, a storage box arranged on the sliding frame, a detection element connected to the sliding frame, and a control unit electrically connected to the driving component and the detection element. The detection device is used to detect the position of a person on at least one side of the width direction of the sliding frame and send the detected information to the control unit. The control unit is used to control the driving component according to the information detected by the detection element so that the sliding frame can be kept in a position close to the person.

2. The storage tool according to claim 1, characterized in that: The storage tool further includes a first control component electrically connected to the control unit, and the first control component is used to control the opening and closing of the detection element.

3. The storage tool according to claim 2, characterized in that: The detection element includes a first detection element and a second detection element respectively located on both sides of the sliding frame in the width direction. Two first control members are provided, one of the two first control members is used to control the opening and closing of the first detection element, and the other is used to control the opening and closing of the second detection element. The first detection element and the second detection element are configured so that when one of them is opened, the other is closed.

4. The storage tool according to claim 2, characterized in that: The detection element is rotatably arranged relative to the sliding frame, and has a first position for detecting toward a first side in the width direction of the sliding frame, and a second position for detecting toward a second side in the width direction of the sliding frame after flipping from the first position.

5. The storage tool according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that: The storage box comprises a first storage box and a second storage box, and the first storage box and the second storage box are respectively arranged on both sides of the sliding frame in the width direction.

6. The storage tool according to claim 1, characterized in that: The driving assembly includes two pulleys rotatably connected to the bracket, a conveyor belt transmission-connected to the two pulleys, and a driving member driving one of the pulleys to rotate. The two pulleys are arranged opposite to each other in a first direction. The driving member is electrically connected to the control unit, and the sliding frame is connected to one side of the transmission belt.

7. The storage tool according to claim 1, characterized in that: The storage box has a plurality of partitioned storage spaces, and the plurality of storage spaces are arranged along a first direction.

8. The storage tool according to claim 1, characterized in that: The detection element is disposed near an edge of the sliding frame in the first direction.

9. A production line for assembling products, characterized in that: It comprises a carrying device and a storage tool as described in any one of claims 1 to 8 located above the carrying device.

10. A method for producing an assembled product, characterized in that: The steps include: Providing a storage box and placing the storage box on a sliding frame that can slide along a first direction; Providing a detection element and arranging the detection element on the sliding frame; Loading materials into storage boxes; The detection element detects the position of a person on at least one side of the sliding frame in the width direction. If the person is within the position range corresponding to the sliding frame, the position of the sliding frame remains unchanged. If the person is not within the position range corresponding to the sliding frame, the sliding frame moves along the first direction. After the detection element detects that the person is within the position range corresponding to the sliding frame, the sliding frame stops moving.

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