JPH0239671Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Industrial application field] This invention is an industrial robot that is arranged along a conveyor line and sequentially processes workpieces conveyed by the conveyor line. Concerning the incorporated conveyor line.

[Conventional technology and its problems] As a conventional example of the conveyor line mentioned above, the
There are those disclosed in JP-A-55-73500, JP-A-57-19211, and JP-A-59-61575 (all filed by the present applicant). However, the conveyor lines disclosed in these publications all position and fix workpieces or transport pallets loaded with workpieces on the conveyor line, so the conveyor line does not operate while the robot is processing the workpieces. must be stopped. Especially when multiple robots are installed along a conveyor line, the machining time of each robot for one workpiece may vary greatly.
Since the conveyor line operates according to the robot that takes the longest processing time, the time when other robots are idle becomes longer, leading to a decrease in the actual operating rate of the entire conveyor line.

[Means for solving problems and their effects]

In the conveyor line according to the present invention, the main conveyor is removed near the robot, and a workpiece fixture is disposed in the removed part so as to be movable in a direction perpendicular to the main conveyor, and the workpiece fixture is attached to the robot in the perpendicular direction. First and second connecting conveyors are provided on the side and the side opposite to the robot, respectively, the first connecting conveyor is equipped with a workpiece positioning and fixing mechanism, and the first and second connecting conveyors move the workpiece fixture to the missing part. The first connecting conveyor can be selectively arranged to form a series of conveyor lines with the main conveyor, and the first connecting conveyor can be placed in the cutout to allow workpieces to be transferred to and from the conveyor line, and the second connecting conveyor can be connected to the The present invention is characterized in that when placed in the missing part, the conveyor line can be operated via the second connecting conveyor, and the robot can automatically process the workpieces mounted on the first connecting conveyor.
Therefore, the conveyor line only stops when transferring workpieces between the main conveyor and the first connecting conveyor, and when the robot is performing processing work, the second connecting conveyor stops when the main conveyor is missing. A conveyor line can be operated to compensate for the removed portion.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, a detailed description will be given based on the embodiments shown in the drawings. For convenience of explanation, the left and right in FIG. 1 will be referred to as "left" and "right", respectively, and the left and right in FIG. 2 will be referred to as "rear" and "front", respectively.

1 is a roller conveyor type conveyor line that circulates and transfers a large number of conveyor pallets P with workpieces W positioned and fixed on the upper surface, and front and rear row conveyors 2,
3. Left and right column conveyors 4, 5, and direction change conveyors 6, 7, 8, 9 at the four corners are arranged in a rectangular loop.

The front row conveyor 2 (hereinafter referred to as main conveyor 2) is divided into five short conveyors 2a to 2f by forming four cutout portions S1 to S4 in the middle. And on the floor F of the missing parts S1 to S4, bases 10 to 1 are placed so as to cross the main conveyor 2 back and forth.
3 is laid, and the bases 10 to 13 protrude long alternately at the front and back, and an articulated welding robot (end effect) as an industrial robot is mounted on the upper surface of the protruding end of the long protruding side of each base 10 to 13. A welding torch T is attached as an exter) 14 to 17 are installed. Also,
Each of the bases 10 to 13 is configured such that the cutout portions S1 to S4 can be moved back and forth in the front and rear directions,
Workpiece fixtures 18 to 21 are installed.

The work fixtures 18 and 20 and the work fixture 1
9 and 21 are symmetrical and have the same configuration, so the workpiece fixture 18 will be representatively explained in more detail with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. Incidentally, the individual parts of the workpiece fixtures 18 to 21 are given the same reference numerals.

Reference numeral 22 denotes a self-propelled trolley, which has two wheels 23 pivoted on the left and right sides, and the wheels 23 can roll freely on two rails 24 laid in the front and back direction spaced apart from the left and right on the base 10. A pair of left and right wheels 23, 23 are driven by a speed reducer and a reversible motor 25 with a brake installed on the truck 22, so that the vehicle travels in the front-rear direction. Reference numeral 26 denotes cart positioning means provided at the center and rear of the base 10 (however, the center side is not shown), which pivotally supports a pair of front and rear opening/closing arms 26a and 26b on the base 10 so as to be horizontally rotatable. The opening/closing arms 26a, 26b each have small rollers 26c, 26d pivotally supported on the top surface of the tip thereof.
6a and 26b are closed, positioning plates (not shown) protruding from the lower surface of the truck 22 are held between the front and rear sides, and the truck 22 is positioned and fixed at a predetermined position.

Reference numeral 27 denotes a pedestal erected on the trolley 22, on which a speed reducer and a reversible motor 28 with a brake are installed.
A face plate 29 rotatable around a horizontal axis H in the front-rear direction is fixed to the end of the output shaft extending forward of the motor 28. 30 connects the vertical portion 30a to the face plate 29
A reducer and a reversible motor 31 with a brake are installed on the lower surface of the horizontal part 30b using an L-shaped member fixed to the
The motor 31 protrudes above the horizontal portion 30b.
A first connecting conveyor 32, which also serves as a jig, is fixed to the output shaft end of the conveyor 32 so as to be horizontally rotatable about a vertical axis N perpendicular to the horizontal axis H.

The first connecting conveyor 32 is connected to the missing portion S.
1, and is of a size that compensates for the bottom plate 3.
Front and rear side plates 34a, 3 fixed at the front and rear ends of 3
Three rollers 35 with built-in drive sources are supported in parallel between the rollers 4b. Reference numeral 36 denotes a pair of front and rear lift stoppers attached to the left end of the bottom plate 33, which protrudes above the rollers 35 by the operation of an air cylinder (not shown) when the first connecting conveyor 32 is placed in the cutout portion S1. , the conveyance pallet P conveyed from the main conveyor 2 on the upstream side to the first connecting conveyor 32 is stopped.
37a and 37b are a pair of front and rear workpiece positioning and fixing mechanisms provided on the first connecting conveyor 32, and the brackets 37a ₁ and 37b ₁ are connected to the front and rear side plates 34a,
34b, and air cylinders 37a ₂ and 37b ₂ are attached to the upper bent horizontal portions of the brackets 37a ₁ and 37b ₁ . The air cylinders 37a ₂ , 37b ₂
Horizontal pressing plates 37a ₃ and 37b ₃ are fixed to the lower ends of telescopic rods (not labeled) extending vertically downward.
Taper pins 37a ₄ , 37b ₄ for positioning are provided on the lower surface of the inner tips of the press plates 37a ₃ , 37b ₃ (however, 37a ₄
(not shown) is provided protrudingly.

A second connecting conveyor 38 is installed horizontally at the rear of the pedestal 27 with a bracket 39, and is large enough to compensate for the missing portion S1, similar to the first connecting conveyor 32, and is located in front of the bottom plate 40. Front and rear side plates 41a and 41b fixed at the rear end
Three drive source built-in rollers 42 are supported in parallel in between.

Next, the operation of the entire conveyor line constructed as above will be explained.

First, it is assumed that a large number of conveyance pallets P are lined up on the conveyor line 1, and unwelded workpieces W are sequentially positioned and fixed on each conveyance pallet P on the direction change conveyor 6 at the front right corner. These conveyance pallets P are captured by any one of the four workpiece fixtures 18 to 21 while being transferred to the left on the main conveyor 2, and are captured by any one of the four workpiece fixtures 18 to 21.
The welding robots 14 to 17 corresponding to 21 perform welding work on the workpiece W. The conveyor pallet P loaded with the welded workpieces W' is then released from the workpiece fixtures 18 to 21 to the main conveyor 2, and changes direction via the direction change conveyor 7, the left column conveyor 4, the direction change conveyor 8, and the rear row conveyor 3. The welded workpiece W' is removed from the conveyor pellet P by the conveyor 9, and the empty pallet P is sent to the right column conveyor 5, and the welded workpiece W' is removed from the conveyor pellet P.
It is made to return to the direction change conveyor 6 which is a loading place.

Now, a case will be explained in which one transport pallet P is captured by the work fixture 18 while being transported on the main conveyor 2, and the welding robot 14 automatically welds the work W mounted on the transport pallet P. .

As an initial state, the trolley 22 of the workpiece fixture 18
is positioned and fixed at a predetermined position on the rear side by the rear side trolley positioning means 26, and the face plate 29 holds the first connecting conveyor 32 horizontally so that the cutout portion S1
To compensate for this, the lifting stopper 36 is located on the left and raised above the roller 35.

In this state, when the transport pallet P loaded with unwelded workpieces W is carried from the short conveyor 2a to the first connecting conveyor 32, the transport pallet P collides with the lifting stopper 36 and stops. The drive of the conveyor 2a is also stopped. Next, the workpiece positioning and fixing mechanisms 37a and 37b are connected to the air cylinder 3.
When the rods 7a ₂ and 37b ₂ are extended, the taper pins 37a ₄ and 37b ₄ fit into tapered holes (not shown) on the front and rear upper surfaces of the pallet P to position the pallet P, and the press plates 37a ₃ and 37b ₃ The front and rear upper surfaces are pressed against the rollers 35, and the work W is eventually positioned and fixed via the pallet P.

Subsequently, the opening/closing arms 26a and 26b of the rear side truck positioning means 26 open to release the truck 22, and the truck 22 etc. are driven forward by the motor 25, and the front side truck positioning means 26 is activated. The trolley 22 is positioned and fixed at a predetermined position in the front (the state shown by the solid line in Figs. 1 to 3; however, the conveying pallet P and the work W are omitted in Fig. 3).
Thereby, the second connecting conveyor 38 is arranged in the cutout part S1 and forms part of the main conveyor 2.

The first connecting conveyor 32, which has thus positioned and fixed the transport pallet P and the work W, enters the movable range of the welding robot 14, and the welding torch T is moved to the first
Automatic welding is performed on the work W while controlling the relative position with the connecting conveyor 32. Even during this automatic welding, the subsequent conveyance pallet P conveyed from the short conveyor 2a can pass through the second connecting conveyor 38 and be conveyed further downstream.

When the automatic welding is completed, the first connection conveyor 32 returns to its original horizontal state, and the cart 22 and the like move backward in the reverse order, and are positioned and fixed at a predetermined position at the rear. As a result, the second connection conveyor 38
The pedestal 27 moves rearward from the missing portion S1, and the first connecting conveyor 32 replaces the missing portion S1.
1 and forms part of the main conveyor 2. Next, by deactivating the workpiece positioning and fixing mechanisms 37a and 37b and lowering the lifting stopper 36, the transport pallet P and the welded workpieces W' are released from fixation, and the roller 35 of the first connecting conveyor 32 is rotated to move the downstream short conveyor 2b. will be carried out.
After that, the conveying pallet P is transferred to each workpiece fixture 1.
9 to 21 first connection conveyor 32 (elevating stopper 36 lowered and retracted state) or second connection conveyor 3
8, and passes through the main conveyor 2 via short conveyors 2c, 2d, 2e, and each conveyor 7, 4,
8 and 3, it reaches a direction change conveyor 9, where the welded workpiece W' is removed.

In addition to the above-described embodiments, the present invention can also be modified as described below.

() In the above embodiment, welding robots 14 to 1
7 are arranged in a staggered manner with respect to the main conveyor 2 to shorten the overall length of the main conveyor 2 without interfering with the movable ranges of adjacent robots 14 to 17. They may be arranged on the same side with a wider interval between them.

() In the above-mentioned embodiment, the conveyor line 1 is formed in a rectangular loop shape, but it may be formed in an elliptical loop shape, or it may be simply a linear conveyor line without drawing an endless loop. In the case of this straight conveyor line, pallets and workpieces are loaded at the starting end of the conveyor line, pallets and workpieces are unloaded together at the terminal end, welded workpieces are removed from the pallets at other locations, and empty pallets are transported as needed by transport means. Accumulate near the starting end. Further, if the workpiece itself has a shape suitable for conveyance on the conveyor line, the workpiece itself may be placed on the conveyor line without using a pallet.

() In the above embodiment, each welding robot 14 to
17 targets one type of work W,
Each robot 14 to 17 may weld a different type of work, and the work fixtures 18 to 21 corresponding to each robot 14 to 17 may selectively capture the work and allow other work to pass. . Alternatively, the welding robots 14 to 17 may take an average processing time and share the role of each welding part of the workpiece while maintaining one type of workpiece W.

() The robots 14 to 17 mentioned above are all welding robots, but they may also be a combination of a fusing robot, a deburring robot, a grinding robot, etc., and welding, fusing, deburring, and polishing can be sequentially performed for one workpiece. .

() All the conveyors used in conveyor line 1 are shown as roller conveyors, but
Other conveyor systems such as belt conveyors can also be used.

[Effect of idea]

As explained above, when using the conveyor line of the present invention, the workpiece fixture is arranged so as to cross the cutout formed in the main conveyor, and the workpiece fixture is connected to the first connecting conveyor that also serves as a jig, and the workpiece fixture is used exclusively for conveyance. The second connecting conveyor is provided on both sides in the moving direction, and the first or second connecting conveyor can be selectively placed in the missing part by positioning the workpiece fixture, so the robot can move the workpiece mounted on the first connecting conveyor. Even during automatic machining work on a workpiece, subsequent workpieces can be passed through the second connecting conveyor, and the conveyor line is not interrupted, improving the actual operating rate of the conveyor line and robot.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 1 is a schematic plan view of the entire conveyor line, Fig. 2 is an enlarged side view taken in the direction of - arrow in Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a welding robot and workpiece fixture. It is a perspective view of the vicinity. In the diagram, 1 is the conveyor line, 2 is the main conveyor,
14 to 17 are welding robots, 18 to 21 are workpiece fixtures, 32 is a first connection conveyor, 38 is a second connection conveyor, S1 to S4 are missing parts, P is a conveyance pallet, and W is a workpiece.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] An industrial robot is disposed along a conveyor line, and workpieces conveyed on the conveyor line are sequentially processed by the robot,
The main conveyor is removed near the robot, and a workpiece fixture is provided in the removed portion so as to be movable in a direction perpendicular to the main conveyor, and the workpiece fixture is placed on the robot side and on the opposite side of the robot in the perpendicular direction. a first and a second connecting conveyor are respectively provided, the first connecting conveyor is provided with a workpiece positioning and fixing mechanism;
The first and second connecting conveyors may be selectively disposed in the cut-out portion by movement of the workpiece fixture to form a series of conveyor lines with a main conveyor, and the first connecting conveyor is disposed in the cut-out portion. When the workpiece is transferred to and from the main conveyor, when the second connecting conveyor is placed in the cutout part, the conveyor line can be operated via the second connecting conveyor, and the robot is connected to the first connecting conveyor. A conveyor line incorporating an industrial robot, which is characterized by being able to automatically process workpieces mounted on the machine.