Automatic assembly device

Abstract

In a continuous transport vehicle assembly line, we provide an automatic assembly device that can automatically assemble workpieces, even large parts, by freely tilting and rotating the workpieces. [Solution] The automated assembly device of the present disclosure is used in a continuous transport vehicle assembly line and comprises a jig 13 for holding a workpiece 200, a collaborative robot 11 for moving and rotating the jig 13, and a balancer 12 for supporting the collaborative robot 11 via the jig 13 holding the workpiece 200 when the jig 13 holds a workpiece 200 that has a weight exceeding the payload capacity of the collaborative robot 11. The jig 13 is equipped with a cancellation mechanism for canceling the moment generated when the jig 13 holding the workpiece 200 is tilted, and the cancellation mechanism includes rotation axes RA, PA, and YA for canceling the roll moment, pitch moment, and yaw moment, respectively.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an automatic assembly device, and more particularly to an automatic assembly device in an assembly line (continuous conveyance vehicle assembly line) that assembles a vehicle while continuously conveying a workpiece.

Background Art

[0002] There is known a conveyance device including a balancer that holds a workpiece as an object to be conveyed and a robot that cooperates with the balancer to convey the workpiece (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In the conveyance device described in Patent Document 1, the balancer supports the load of the workpiece, so that the robot can convey the workpiece without substantially receiving the load from the workpiece.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] By the way, in a continuous conveyance vehicle assembly line, an automatic assembly device is set up to convey large parts such as a window, an instrument panel (IP), and a door as workpieces and assemble them to the frame of a vehicle flowing through the assembly line.

[0005] It is conceivable to apply the conveyance device described in Patent Document 1 to such an automatic assembly device. However, when the balancer that supports the workpiece tilts the workpiece in a strongly pulled state, a load is also applied to the robot, and there is a possibility that the load exceeds the load-carrying capacity of the robot. In such a case, there may occur a problem that the robot becomes inoperable.

[0006] This disclosure was made to solve these problems and aims to provide an automatic assembly device that can automatically assemble workpieces, even large parts, in a continuous transport vehicle assembly line by freely tilting and rotating the workpieces. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The automated assembly device of this disclosure, An automated assembly device for a continuous transport vehicle assembly line, A jig for holding the workpiece, A collaborative robot that moves and rotates the aforementioned jig, When the jig holds a workpiece whose weight exceeds the payload capacity of the collaborative robot, the jig holding the workpiece is connected to a balancer that supports the collaborative robot, A control unit that controls the operation of the collaborative robot and the balancer, Equipped with, The aforementioned jig is A frame connected to the aforementioned collaborative robot and used to hold the workpiece, An auxiliary part provided between the collaborative robot and the frame, A connecting part, one end of which is fixed to the auxiliary part and the other end of which is connected to the balancer, A cancellation mechanism for canceling the moment generated when the jig holding the workpiece tilts, Equipped with, The aforementioned cancellation mechanism is The auxiliary section is provided with a roll-canceling rotation shaft for canceling the roll moment, The auxiliary section is provided with a pitch cancellation rotation shaft for canceling the pitch moment, A yaw canceling rotation shaft is provided at the other end of the aforementioned connecting portion for canceling the yaw moment, including, It is an automated assembly device. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to this disclosure, an automatic assembly device can be provided that can automatically assemble workpieces in a continuous transport vehicle assembly line, even if the workpieces are large parts, by freely tilting and rotating the workpieces. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] This is a conceptual diagram illustrating the challenges of conventional automated assembly equipment. [Figure 2] This is a side view showing the overall configuration of the automated assembly device of this disclosure. [Figure 3] Figure 2 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of the automated assembly device shown. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010] (Embodiment) Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. However, the invention claimed is not limited to the following embodiments. Furthermore, not all of the configurations described in the embodiments are necessarily essential for solving the problem. For clarity of explanation, the following descriptions and drawings have been omitted and simplified as appropriate. In each drawing, the same elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant explanations have been omitted where necessary.

[0011] <Consideration of the issues> To manufacture vehicles by assembling them from finished parts, a continuous transport vehicle assembly line is used, in which the vehicle frame is continuously transported along the assembly line, and large parts such as windows, instrument panels, and doors are attached to the frame using automated assembly equipment. The following describes the challenges of conventional automated assembly equipment.

[0012] FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram for explaining the problems of a conventional automatic assembly device. The automatic assembly device 100 is a device for automatically assembling large parts such as windows, instrument panels (instrument panels), and doors to the frames of vehicles flowing on a continuous conveyance vehicle assembly line. As shown in FIG. 1(a), the automatic assembly device 100 includes a collaborative robot 110, a balancer 120, and a jig 130.

[0013] The collaborative robot 110 is configured to tilt and rotate the jig 130 under the control of a control unit (not shown). The balancer 120 operates following the operation of the collaborative robot 110 under the control of a control unit (not shown). The balancer 120 includes a main body 121, a chain 122, and a connecting part 123.

[0014] The jig 130 is configured to hold a workpiece 200 such as a large part. The jig 130 is also called material handling. The jig 130 includes a frame 131, a plurality (for example, four) of legs 132, and a connecting part 133. The connecting part 123 of the balancer 120 is connected to the connecting part 133 of the jig 130. Each leg 132 is provided with an adsorption part such as a suction cup or a magnet at its tip, and when this adsorption part adsorbs to the workpiece 200, the jig 130 holds the workpiece 200.

[0015] The balancer 120 supports the collaborative robot 110 through the jig 130 holding the workpiece 200 when the jig 130 holds a workpiece 200 having a weight exceeding the load-carrying capacity of the collaborative robot 110. That is, as shown by the white arrow, the balancer 120 is configured to reduce the load applied to the collaborative robot 110 by pulling the jig 130 holding the workpiece 200 upward.

[0016] Here, for example, when the workpiece 200 is a window, in order to assemble the workpiece 200 to a window frame provided on the vehicle frame, the collaborative robot 110 needs to tilt the jig 130 holding the workpiece 200 as shown in Fig. 1(b). If the balancer 120 tilts or rotates the jig 130 while strongly pulling the jig 130, a rotational moment will be generated in the direction indicated by the dotted arrow. This rotational moment will be transmitted to the collaborative robot 110 via the jig 130, and there is a case where this moment exceeds the tolerance limit of the collaborative robot 110. In such a case, the collaborative robot 110 becomes inoperable, and as a result, the continuous transfer vehicle assembly line comes to an emergency stop.

[0017] The automatic assembly device according to the present embodiment is for solving such problems, and is provided with a canceling mechanism for canceling the moment generated by the inclination and rotation of the jig 130 holding the workpiece 200. Hereinafter, the automatic assembly device according to the present embodiment will be described.

[0018] <Configuration of Automatic Assembly Device> The configuration of the automatic assembly device according to the present embodiment will be described. Fig. 2 is a side view showing the overall configuration of the automatic assembly device of the present disclosure. Fig. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of a part of the automatic assembly device shown in Fig. 2. While referring to Figs. 2 and 3, the configuration of the automatic assembly device 1 according to the present embodiment will be described. The automatic assembly device 1 of the present embodiment is a device for automatically assembling large parts such as windows, instrument panels (instrument panels), and doors to the vehicle frame of a vehicle flowing on a continuous transfer vehicle assembly line, similar to the automatic assembly device 100 shown in Fig. 1.

[0019] As shown in Fig. 2, the automatic assembly device 1 includes a collaborative robot 11, a balancer 12, and a jig 130. The collaborative robot 11 is the same as the collaborative robot 110 shown in Fig. 1. Also, the balancer 12 is the same as the balancer 120 shown in Fig. 1. Although not shown, the automatic assembly device 1 further includes a control unit for controlling the operations of the collaborative robot 11 and the balancer 12.

[0020] The jig 13 is configured to hold a workpiece 200 such as a large part. The jig 13 according to this embodiment is connected to the collaborative robot 11 and includes a frame 131 that holds the workpiece 200, an auxiliary part 134 provided between the collaborative robot 11 and the frame 131, a connecting part 133 that connects to the connecting part 123 of the balancer 12, and a cancellation mechanism that cancels the moment generated when the jig 13 holding the workpiece 200 tilts.

[0021] As shown in Figure 3, the auxiliary part 134 has a thick, roughly U-shaped form. When the workpiece 200 is not tilted, the auxiliary part 134 appears roughly U-shaped when viewed from the vertical direction.

[0022] The connecting portion 133 has a thick, roughly J-shaped form. When the workpiece 200 is not tilted, the connecting portion 133 appears roughly J-shaped when viewed from the side. One end of the connecting portion 133 is fixed to the roughly U-shaped bottom of the auxiliary portion 134, and the other end is connected to the connecting portion 123 of the balancer 12.

[0023] The cancellation mechanism includes a roll cancellation rotation axis RA provided at both ends of the approximately U-shaped auxiliary section 134 for canceling the roll moment, a pitch cancellation rotation axis PA provided at the approximately U-shaped bottom of the auxiliary section 134 for canceling the pitch moment, and a yaw cancellation rotation axis YA provided at the other end of the connecting section 133 for canceling the yaw moment. The extension direction of the roll cancellation rotation axis RA is the R direction, the extension direction of the pitch cancellation rotation axis PA is the P direction, and the extension direction of the yaw cancellation rotation axis YA is the Y direction.

[0024] Here, as shown in Figure 3, the roll cancellation rotation axis RA and the pitch cancellation rotation axis PA are located on the same plane and are perpendicular to each other. The collaborative robot 110 is connected at the intersection of the roll cancellation rotation axis RA and the pitch cancellation rotation axis PA. The yaw cancellation rotation axis YA is located at a position separated from this plane. By separating the yaw cancellation rotation axis YA in this way, the moments generated by the tilt and rotation of the jig 13 can be effectively canceled.

[0025] Although not shown in the diagram, if the workpiece 200 is an instrument panel, the jig 13 may have a frame 131 and an auxiliary part 134 formed integrally, and may not have multiple legs 132. In this case, the jig 13 is configured to hold the instrument panel in the roughly U-shaped space within the auxiliary part 134.

[0026] Furthermore, the roughly J-shaped connecting portion 133 should be configured to have a large shape relative to the frame so as to avoid the frame of the vehicle moving along the assembly line. The position where the balancer 12 lifts the connecting portion 133 of the jig 13, that is, the position of the yaw cancellation rotation axis YA, should be positioned so as to be vertically above and in a straight line with respect to the intersection of the roll cancellation rotation axis RA and the pitch cancellation rotation axis PA.

[0027] By configuring the automatic assembly device 1 in this way when the workpiece 200 is an instrument panel, the moments generated by the tilting and rotation of the jig 13 can be effectively canceled, similar to the case where the workpiece 200 is a window as shown in Figures 2 and 3.

[0028] As described above, the automatic assembly device 1 according to this embodiment is an automatic assembly device for a continuous transport vehicle assembly line, and comprises a jig 13 for holding a workpiece 200, a collaborative robot 11 for moving and rotating the jig 13, a balancer 12 for supporting the collaborative robot 11 via the jig 13 holding the workpiece 200 when the jig 13 holds a workpiece 200 that has a weight exceeding the payload capacity of the collaborative robot 11, and a control unit for controlling the operation of the collaborative robot 11 and the balancer 12. Here, the jig 13 comprises a frame 131 connected to the collaborative robot 11 and holding the workpiece 200, an auxiliary part 134 provided between the collaborative robot 11 and the frame 131, a connecting part 133 with one end fixed to the auxiliary part 134 and the other end connected to the balancer 12, and a cancellation mechanism for canceling the moment generated when the jig 13 holding the workpiece 200 is tilted. The cancellation mechanism is configured to include a roll cancellation rotation axis RA provided in the auxiliary part 134 for canceling roll moment, a pitch cancellation rotation axis PA provided in the auxiliary part 134 for canceling pitch moment, and a yaw cancellation rotation axis YA provided in the connecting part 133 for canceling yaw moment. By configuring the automatic assembly device 1 according to this embodiment in this way, even if the jig 13 holding the workpiece 200 is tilted or rotated, the moment generated by this can be canceled. Therefore, with the automatic assembly device 1 according to this embodiment, even if the workpiece 200 is a large part, the workpiece 200 can be automatically assembled to the frame of a vehicle or the like by freely tilting or rotating the workpiece 200.

[0029] Although the present invention has been described with reference to embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments and can be modified as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the invention. Various modifications can be made to the structure and details of this disclosure that will be understood by those skilled in the art within the scope of this disclosure. [Explanation of symbols]

[0030] 1,100 automatic assembly equipment 11, 110 Collaborative Robots 12, 120 Balancer 121 Main body 122 chain 123 Connecting part 13, 130 jigs 131 frames 132 Legs 133 Connecting part 134 Auxiliary part 200 work

Claims

[Claim 1] An automated assembly device for a continuous transport vehicle assembly line, A jig for holding the workpiece, A collaborative robot that moves and rotates the aforementioned jig, When the jig holds a workpiece whose weight exceeds the payload capacity of the collaborative robot, the jig holding the workpiece is connected to a balancer that supports the collaborative robot, A control unit that controls the operation of the collaborative robot and the balancer, Equipped with, The aforementioned jig is A frame connected to the aforementioned collaborative robot and used to hold the workpiece, An auxiliary part provided between the collaborative robot and the frame, A connecting part, one end of which is fixed to the auxiliary part and the other end of which is connected to the balancer, A cancellation mechanism for canceling the moment generated when the jig holding the workpiece tilts, Equipped with, The aforementioned cancellation mechanism is The auxiliary section is provided with a roll-canceling rotation shaft for canceling the roll moment, The auxiliary section is provided with a pitch cancellation rotation shaft for canceling the pitch moment, A yaw canceling rotation shaft is provided at the other end of the aforementioned connecting portion for canceling the yaw moment, including, Automatic assembly equipment.

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