Workpiece transport device

Abstract

To provide a transport apparatus which can easily set a workpiece at a proper set position.SOLUTION: A transport apparatus 1 comprises: an adsorbent 21 which adsorbs a workpiece W; a support shaft 22 which supports the adsorbent 21 at a tip side; a guide plate 24 which is arranged at a base end of the support shaft 22; a ring plate 30 which accommodates the guide plate 24 in an internal space 31 where the guide plate 24 is movable along a plane face P orthogonal to an axial direction of the support shaft 22; and a chuck device 40 which has a gripping claw 42 gripping the guide plate 24 at a prescribed position on the plane face in the internal space 31 and which can selectively grip and release the guide plate 24 with the gripping claw 42.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a conveying device for conveying a workpiece such as an outer panel of an automobile. [Background technology]

[0002] As an example of this type of conveying device, Patent Document 1 proposes a conveying device equipped with a suction mechanism that adsorbs a workpiece to a device body such as a robot hand. This workpiece conveying device is equipped with an adsorption body that adsorbs the workpiece, and when conveying the workpiece, the adsorption body sucks the workpiece to adsorb it. The conveying device is equipped with a positioning rod that guides the conveying device to an appropriate position before adsorbing the workpiece, and the positioning rod is inserted into a positioning hole provided in the workpiece to guide the conveying device to the appropriate position relative to the workpiece. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 6-1466 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, when a workpiece is transported using the transport device shown in Patent Document 1, the attraction body of the transport device is fixed, and there is no adjustment margin for adjusting the position of the workpiece relative to the transport device (attraction body), so the workpiece may not be set in an appropriate position. In particular, if the stand on which the workpiece is set has a mechanism for guiding the workpiece when setting it, if the workpiece comes off this guiding mechanism, the workpiece may not be set in an appropriate setting position relative to the stand.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object to provide a workpiece transport device that makes it easy to set a workpiece at an appropriate setting position. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In view of the above problems, the work transport device of the present invention is a work transport device that transports a work by suction, and is characterized in that the transport device comprises an adsorption body that adsorbs the work by suction, a support shaft that supports the adsorption body at its tip end, a guide plate attached to the base end of the support shaft, an internal space in which the guide plate is freely movable along a plane perpendicular to the axial direction of the support shaft, a ring plate that houses the guide plate within the internal space, and a chuck device that has gripping claws in the internal space that grip the guide plate at a predetermined position on the plane, and that selectively grips the guide plate with the gripping claws and releases the grip of the guide plate.

[0007] According to the present invention, when the guide plate is gripped by the gripping claws of the chuck device, the workpiece can be adsorbed at a predetermined position relative to the conveying device by the suction body, allowing the workpiece to be transported stably.

[0008] On the other hand, when the check mechanism releases the grip of the guide plate, the guide plate is free to move along a plane perpendicular to the axial direction of the support shaft in the internal space formed in the ring plate. Therefore, in this case, the guide plate is not constrained to the conveying device via the chuck device, and the suction body attached to the guide plate via the support shaft is also free to move within the range of movement of the guide plate.

[0009] Therefore, even if the workpiece is slightly displaced from the set position after being attracted by the attraction body and transported by the transport device while the guide plate is being held, the workpiece can be moved to the appropriate position together with the attraction body by releasing the guide plate. This allows the transport device to absorb any displacement from the set position, making it easier to set the workpiece at the appropriate set position.

[0010] In a more preferred embodiment, the guide plate is a polygonal plate, the gripping claws are provided at positions opposite each side of the guide plate, and the ring plate has an internal space that is a polygonal internal space corresponding to the shape of the guide plate, and a notch groove that allows the gripping claws to move along the plane between a gripping position where the guide plate is gripped and a release position where the gripping of the guide plate is released.

[0011] According to this aspect, the gripping claws are provided at positions facing each side of the polygonal guide plate, so that the guide plate can be stably gripped by gripping claws corresponding to the number of sides of the polygon.

[0012] The ring plate has an internal space that is polygonal in shape to match the shape of the guide plate, so the guide plate will not rotate excessively around the axis of the support shaft after being released from its grip by the gripping claws. Therefore, the gripping claws can be placed opposite each side of the guide plate and can stably grip the guide plate with the gripping claws.

[0013] Furthermore, the ring plate has a notched groove through which the gripping claws move between a gripping position where they grip the guide plate and a release position where they release their grip on the guide plate, and the gripping claws are accommodated in the notched groove in the release position, which allows the guide plate to move over a wider range within the internal space of the ring plate. [Effects of the Invention]

[0014] According to the workpiece transport device of the present invention, it is easy to set the workpiece at the appropriate set position. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic plan view of a workpiece transport device according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2]FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of a suction mechanism of the transport device shown in FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of a portion including a ring plate of the suction mechanism shown in FIG. 2. [Figure 4] 3 is a schematic perspective view of a portion including a guide plate of the suction mechanism shown in FIG. 2. FIG. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of the suction mechanism shown in FIG. [Figure 6] 2(a) is a side view of the guide plate shown in FIG. 1 in a gripped state, and FIG. 2(b) is a plan view for explaining the position of the guide plate. [Figure 7] 2(a) is a side view of the guide plate shown in FIG. 1 in a released state, and FIG. 2(b) is a plan view for explaining the position of the guide plate. [Figure 8] 2 is a plan view for explaining a setting position of a workpiece using the transport device shown in FIG. 1. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0016] An embodiment of a workpiece transport device according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a schematic plan view of a workpiece transport device according to this embodiment. Fig. 2 is a schematic perspective view of an adsorption mechanism of the transport device shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a schematic perspective view of a portion including a ring plate of the adsorption mechanism shown in Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a schematic perspective view of a portion including a guide plate of the adsorption mechanism shown in Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of the adsorption mechanism shown in Fig. 1.

[0017] The workpiece conveying device 1 according to this embodiment is a conveying device that conveys, for example, outer panels of a vehicle such as a hood. Fig. 1 is a diagram showing a part of the conveying device 1, which includes a pair of suction mechanisms 2, 2 that suction and convey the workpiece, a frame 3 to which the suction mechanisms 2 are attached, and a robot arm (not shown) that moves the frame 3.

[0018] The frame 3 includes, in a plan view, a pair of L-shaped channels 3a, a connecting beam 3b connecting the channels 3a, and a main beam 3c connected to the center of the connecting beam 3b. A suction mechanism 2, which will be described later, is attached to each channel 3a. A connection part 4 is provided on the main beam 3c, and the tip of a robot arm is connected to the frame 3 at the connection part 4.

[0019] By driving the robot arm, the workpiece sucked onto the suction mechanism 2 can be transported via the frame 3. The frame 3 is also fitted with a terminal box 5 that electrically connects to the robot arm, air devices 6 that control the suction mechanism 2, etc., but details of these will be omitted.

[0020] 2 to 4, the suction mechanism 2 includes an attracting body 21 that attracts the workpiece W by suction, a support shaft 22 that supports the attracting body 21 at the tip end, and a guide plate 24 attached to the base end of the support shaft 22. The suction mechanism 2 further includes a ring plate 30 that houses the guide plate 24, and a chuck device 40 that grips the guide plate 24.

[0021] The attracting body 21 is made of an elastic material and has an open tip end that comes into contact with the workpiece. A support shaft 22 is attached to the attracting body 21, which is a bellows-shaped member, and a suction plug 22a is attached to the support shaft 22, which is connected to a suction pump (not shown) via piping. There is communication from the inside of the suction plug 22a to the opening 21a of the attracting body 21. This allows the workpiece W to be attracted to the attracting body 21 by suction of the suction plug 22a.

[0022] A triangular guide plate 24 is attached to the base end of the support shaft 22 via a slip-out prevention plate 25 (described later), and is disposed within a ring plate 30 fixed to a chuck device 40 .

[0023] An internal space 31 is formed in the ring plate 30, in which the guide plate 24 can move freely along a plane P perpendicular to the axial direction (specifically, the axis C) of the support shaft 22, and the guide plate 24 is housed within the internal space 31. The internal space 31 is a triangular internal space corresponding to the guide plate 24. Note that Figures 6(b) and 7(b) show cross-sectional views cut along the plane P perpendicular to the axial direction of the support shaft 22.

[0024] The chuck device 40 is attached to the frame 3, and has three gripping jaws 42 that grip the guide plate 24 at a predetermined position on a plane (the center of the ring plate 30) within the internal space 31. The three gripping jaws 42 are attached to the main body 41 so as to be slidable in the radial direction from the axis C of the support shaft 22. Plugs 43 and 44 that supply air to drive the gripping jaws 42 are attached to the main body 41.

[0025] The plugs 43, 44 are connected to a compressed air supply source (not shown) via a solenoid valve (not shown), and by operating the solenoid valve, air can be supplied to and discharged from the chuck device 40. By selecting whether to supply air to the plugs 43, 44, it is possible to selectively grip the guide plate 24 with the three gripping jaws 42 (see FIG. 6(b)) or release the grip of the guide plate 24 (see FIG. 7(b)).

[0026] Specifically, when air is supplied to the main body 41, the piston 46 disposed in the main body 41 moves from the state shown in Fig. 5 toward the gripping claws 42 (downward in Fig. 5). This movement of the piston 46 causes the pressing member 45 attached to the tip of the piston 46 to come into contact with the gripping claws 42 and push the three gripping claws 42 apart in the radial direction from the axis C of the support shaft 22. This causes the three gripping claws 42 to release their grip on the guide plate 24, as shown in Fig. 7(b).

[0027] In this state, elastic members 47 such as springs connected to the gripping claws 42 and the main body 41 are stretched within the range of elastic deformation in the radial direction from the axis C of the support shaft 22. On the other hand, when the air pressure in the main body 41 is released, the restoring force of the elastic members 47 moves the three gripping claws 42 closer to the axis C of the support shaft 22, and the three gripping claws 42 grip the guide plate 24 at a predetermined position, as shown in FIG. 6(b).

[0028] The above-mentioned chuck device 40 is not limited to the above-mentioned mechanism, and as long as it can selectively grip the guide plate 24 with the gripping claws 42, the mechanism is not particularly limited and may be a commonly known chuck device that is driven by air pressure.

[0029] The slip-out prevention plate 25 is a plate that is attached integrally to the support shaft 22 and extends in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the support shaft 22. As shown in Figures 4 and 5, the guide plate 24 is attached to the slip-out prevention plate 25 via bolts 88.

[0030] The fall-out prevention plate 25 is held from the attracting body 21 side by a pressing block 51. The pressing block 51 is fixed to the main body 41 via bolts 82. A through hole 52 for inserting the support shaft 22 is formed in the pressing block 51. Specifically, the through hole 52 is formed to have a size that allows the support shaft 22 to move in accordance with the movement range of the guide plate 24.

[0031] The pressing block 51 has an internal space 53 formed therein, in which the slip-out prevention plate 25 can move freely in accordance with the movement range of the guide plate 24. FIG. 3 shows the relative positions of the ring plate 30 and the pressing block 51. As shown in FIG. 3, the peripheral edge of the ring plate 30 engages with the peripheral edge of the pressing block 51, thereby maintaining the internal space 53 of the pressing block 51. The internal space 53 is in communication with the internal space 31 of the ring plate 30.

[0032] A rolling receiver 71 equipped with a sphere that rolls in contact with the fall-out prevention plate 25 is attached to the presser block 51. A plurality of rolling receivers 71 are arranged at intervals around the through hole 52 of the support shaft 22. A rolling receiver 72 equipped with a sphere that rolls in contact with the fall-out prevention plate 25 is also attached to the ring plate 30 described above. A plurality of rolling receivers 72 are arranged at intervals around the opening that forms the internal space 31 of the ring plate 30.

[0033] With this configuration, the rolling receiver 71 of the ring plate 30 and the rolling receiver 72 of the ring plate 30 are arranged to sandwich the slip-out prevention plate 25. As a result, when the gripping of the guide plate 24 by the gripping claws 42 is released, the slip-out prevention plate 25 can be easily moved together with the guide plate 24 along a plane perpendicular to the axial direction of the support shaft 22 within the internal spaces 31, 53 formed in the presser block 51 and the ring plate 30.

[0034] Furthermore, in this embodiment, in a plan view seen from the direction of the axis C, each gripping jaw 42 is provided at a position facing one of the sides of the guide plate 24 (specifically, the planar side surface 24a of the guide plate). Specifically, the gripping jaws 42 are provided at positions facing each of the three sides of the triangular guide plate 24. Therefore, in this embodiment, the chuck device 40 has three gripping jaws 42.

[0035] In this way, the gripping claws 42 are provided at positions opposite each side of the triangular guide plate 24, so that the guide plate 24 can be stably gripped by the gripping claws 42 according to the number of sides of the triangle.

[0036] A triangular internal space 31 is formed in the ring plate 30 in accordance with the shape of the guide plate 24. This internal space 31 is sized so that when the guide plate 24 rotates by a predetermined angle, it comes into contact with the ring plate 30 and restricts the rotation of the guide plate 24.

[0037] By matching the shape of the internal space 31 to the shape of the guide plate 24, the guide plate 24, which has been released from the gripping claws 42, will not rotate excessively around the axis of the support shaft 22. Therefore, the gripping claws 42 can be placed opposite each side of the guide plate 24 and the guide plate 24 can be stably gripped by the gripping claws 42.

[0038] Furthermore, in this embodiment, notch grooves 33 are formed in the ring plate 30 so that the gripping claws 42 can move freely along a plane P perpendicular to the axis C of the support shaft 22 between a gripping position (see FIG. 6(b)) where the guide plate 24 is gripped and a release position (see FIG. 7(b)) where the gripping of the guide plate 24 is released. The notch grooves 33 are connected to the internal space 31 and extend outward from the internal space 31. The notch grooves 33 are formed in a shape and size that allows each gripping claw 42 to fit within the notch groove 33 at the release position where the gripping of the guide plate 24 is released.

[0039] As a result, the ring plate 30 is provided with the notched grooves 33 through which the gripping claws 42 move, so that in the release position, the gripping claws 42 can be accommodated in the notched grooves 33. This allows the guide plate 24 to move over a wider range within the internal space 31 of the ring plate 30.

[0040] The workpiece W is transported using the transport device 1 described above. In this embodiment, the robot arm is driven to bring the attraction body 21 into contact with a position facing the workpiece W, and the workpiece W is sucked in. At this time, as shown in FIGS. 6(a) and 6(b), the guide plate 24 is gripped by the three gripping claws 42. As a result, the workpiece W is completely fixed to the transport device 1, and as shown in FIG. 8, the workpiece W can be stably transported to the stand 90.

[0041] 8, the base 90 is provided with a plurality of guide members (positioning members) 91 for setting the workpiece W in an appropriate position. The transport device 1 releases the grip of the three gripping jaws 42 after transporting the workpiece W to the vicinity of the set position on the base 90.

[0042] 7(a) and 7(b), the guide plate 24 is not constrained and is free to move in the internal space 31 of the ring plate 30. Specifically, the adsorptive body 21 can be moved in a direction along the plane P together with the guide plate 24, and can also be rotated along the plane P.

[0043] Therefore, even if the workpiece W adsorbed by the attraction body 21 is transported by the transport device 1 while the guide plate 24 is being gripped and the workpiece W deviates slightly from the set position on the platform 90, by releasing the grip of the guide plate 24 by the gripping claws 42, the workpiece W can be aligned with the attraction body 21 and the plurality of guide members 91 to the appropriate position. This allows the transport device 1 to absorb any deviation of the workpiece W from the set position and set the workpiece W in the appropriate set position in alignment with the guide members 91.

[0044] Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various design modifications can be made within the scope of the spirit of the present invention as set forth in the claims.

[0045] In this embodiment, the guide plate is a triangular plate, but it may also be circular (specifically, disk-shaped). Alternatively, the guide plate may be rectangular or have a polygonal shape with more sides. In this case, the internal space of the ring plate may be a polygonal internal space corresponding to the shape of the guide plate. [Explanation of symbols]

[0046] 1: conveying device, 2: suction mechanism, 3: frame, 21: suction body, 22: support shaft, 24: guide plate, 25: slip-out prevention plate, 30: ring plate, 31: internal space, 33: notch groove, 40: chuck device, 42: gripping jaws

Claims

[Claim 1] A workpiece conveying device that adsorbs and conveys a workpiece, The conveying device is an adsorption body that adsorbs the work by suction; a support shaft that supports the adsorption body at a tip end thereof; a guide plate attached to a base end of the support shaft; a ring plate having an internal space formed along a plane perpendicular to the axial direction of the support shaft, in which the guide plate is movable, and accommodating the guide plate within the internal space; a chuck device having gripping claws in the internal space that grip the guide plate at a predetermined position on the plane, the chuck device selectively gripping the guide plate with the gripping claws and releasing the grip of the guide plate, the guide plate is a polygonal plate, The gripping claws are provided at positions facing each side of the guide plate, The ring plate has: The internal space has a polygonal shape corresponding to the shape of the guide plate; A workpiece transport device characterized in that a notch groove is formed through which the gripping claws move along the plane between a gripping position where they grip the guide plate and a release position where they release the gripping of the guide plate.

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