JPS63170183A - Mounting method for steering column and device thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To achieve automation for the mounting of a steering column, by carrying the steering column is a car body as keeping positional relations at every part and, after correcting each positional slippage, engaging a yoke part with a pinion shaft. CONSTITUTION:A steering column 4 is carried in a car body as keeping positional relations at every part on a preset block 12. And, a locating pin 110 is inserted into a hole 111, detecting any positional slippage, and a compensating table is moved as far as a proper quantity compensating the slippage. Next, a bolt 44 is clamped and a column part 41 is tightly attached to the car body side. Afterward, a yoke part 43 is engaged with a pinion shaft 145, thus installation is all over. With this constitution, since mounting of the steering column 4 to the car body is automatically performable to the full, manual operation is eliminated, and the promotion of continuation to other assembly lines is also made possible, thus operation efficiency is improved.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a method for automatically attaching a steering column to a vehicle body by an industrial robot, and a device used for this attachment.

(Prior Art) Automobile assembly is performed through many steps, and many of the steps, such as welding the vehicle body, painting, and installing wheels, are automatically performed by industrial robots.

However, the installation of the steering column is generally done after the pedals, instrument panel, etc. have been installed on the vehicle body, and because the installation is located in a narrow space below the dash board, it cannot be automated and must be done manually. It is installed.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) As mentioned above, conventional steering column installation is done by hand, which is extremely inefficient, making it difficult to connect with other assembly lines, and furthermore, the steering column may be misaligned. If you install it with the position shifted like this, you will not be able to engage the yoke part with the pinion shaft on the vehicle body side, and you will have to reassemble it again. Therefore, first engage the yoke part with the pinion shaft. Another method is to attach the column part to the vehicle body after the column has been removed, but in either case, the working position is diagonally upward, which is extremely poor in work efficiency.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to solve the above problems, the present invention attaches a machine frame that can move back and forth, left and right, and up and down to the robot.

This machine frame is provided with a grip part that grasps each of the column part, shaft part, and yoke part of the steering column whose positional relationship is determined in advance, and the position of the vehicle body attached to the machine frame is detected to detect the misalignment between the position and the steering column. A device for tightening the nut runner, etc. that fixes the steering column to the vehicle body, an insertion device for inserting the yoke part into the pinion shaft, and a device for rotating the shaft part of the steering column when inserting the yoke part into the pinion shaft. A rotating device was installed to allow the

(Function) The column part of the steering column is installed on the vehicle body with the same layout as the one set on the preset stand.
Each part of the shaft part and yoke part is grasped by the gripping part of the machine frame, and the steering column is carried into the vehicle body together with the machine frame without disturbing the layout, and then the steering column is installed on the vehicle body by the position detection means after correcting the deviation from the position. The column part of the steering column is fixed to the vehicle body, and then the yoke part is inserted into the pinion shaft provided in the vehicle body while aligning the phase.

(Example) Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a state in which a steering column is attached to a vehicle body using the device according to the present invention.
is placed on a trolley and transported along the rail (2),
The robot (3) installed on the side of the rail (2) will stop once during the transport and move the steering column (
4) is automatically installed.

That is, the robot (3) has a support that rotates around a vertical axis on a base (8) that moves forward and backward with respect to the vehicle body (1) along a rail (5) laid in a direction orthogonal to the rail (2). (7
) is erected, and a plate (8) that rotates around a horizontal axis is attached to the upper end of this support (7).
) with an extendable arm (9) that swings up and down,
The steering column (4) is gripped by the machine frame (lO) provided at the tip of this arm (8), and the steering column (0) is inserted into the vehicle body (1) by the movement of the robot (3) and installed. ing.

In addition, a control box (11) is provided on the side of the robot (3), and by operating the operation buttons of this control box (11), the robot (3) operates as described below. It controls the operation of various devices.

Furthermore, there is a preset table (12) on the side of the robot (3).
is arranged, and the steering column (4) is set on this preset stand (12) in the same layout as the mounting layout to the vehicle body. That is, the preset stand (12
) has a column support (13), a shaft support (14), and a yoke support (15) erected on its upper surface, as shown in FIG. 2, which is a plan view, and FIG. 3, which is a side view. 13) has a steering column (0 column part (4)
1), the steering column (
The yoke part (43) of the steering column (4) is placed on the shaft part (42) and yoke receiver (15) of the 0, respectively, and the mounting holes formed in the bracket etc. of the column part (41) are pre-installed with bolts. (44)... is installed, and positioning is performed by inserting this pole (44) into the positioning hole (1G) of the preset table (12).

Next, the machine frame (10) is attached to the arm (9) of the robot (3).
) will be explained based on FIGS. 4 to 6 UgJ.

Here, Figure 4 is a plan view of the arm (8) and machine frame (lO),
Fig. 5 is a view in the direction of arrow A in Fig. 4, and Fig. 6 is a view from B- in Fig. 4.
This is a sectional view taken along the line B, and the arm (9) has a pipe shape as shown in FIG. 6, and a fixing plate (20
) and a movable plate (21) are provided, and the rail (20a) provided on the fixed plate (20) and the rail (21a) provided on the movable plate (21) are engaged and attached to the tip of the movable plate (21). The first correction table (22) is movable in the vehicle width direction (the left-right direction in FIG. 5, the direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. 6), and as shown in FIG. The rail (23a) provided on the second correction table (23) is engaged with the rail (22a) provided on the second correction table (23). direction)
Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 4, the rails (23b) provided on the second correction table (23) engage the rails (24a) provided on the third correction table (20), and (24) is movable in the vertical direction (perpendicular to the plane of the paper in FIG. 4, vertical direction in FIG. 5), and the machine frame (10) is fixed to this third correction table (24).

By the way, the robot (3) is equipped with a large number of actuators (25) that are driven by signals from the control device, and these actuators (25) pull the inner wire (Zeng). That's what I do.

These wires (1) are used to operate various members. For example, by pulling the inner part of the wire (1), the first correction table (22) is moved backward in the vehicle width direction, and the wire By pulling the inner wire (Trade 2), the first correction table (23) is moved forward in the vehicle width direction, and by further pulling the inner wire (Wire 3) and the wire (W+), the second correction table (23) is moved forward in the vehicle width direction. It is made to move in the longitudinal direction. In addition, the third correction table (
The vertical movement of 20 is performed by a cylinder unit (26) fixed to the second correction table (23).

Next, the structure of the machine frame (10) will be explained based on FIGS. 4 and 7 to 13. Here, FIG. 7 is a side view of the machine frame (10), FIG. 8 is a view taken in the C direction of FIG. 7, FIG. 9 is a view taken in the D direction of FIG. E direction arrow view, 1st
1 is a view taken in the F direction of FIG. 7, FIG. 12 is a view taken in the C direction of FIG. 7, and FIG. 13 is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 7. still,
In Fig. 7, the imaginary line (102) is the front and rear of the door opening, (103) is the dash board, (100 is the pedal,
105) indicates a floor panel.

The machine frame (10) is a plate-shaped main body (10G) that extends in the vehicle length direction.
and a support plate (101) attached perpendicularly to the main body (100).A positioning pin (110) extending upward is attached to the main body (100), and the steering column (4) is mounted inside the vehicle. After loading it into the machine frame (10
), insert the positioning pin (110) into the reference hole (111) formed in the dash board (103), and measure the inclination angle of the positioning bottle (11G) using the sensor (112).
), the vehicle body mounting is done by detecting the machine frame (l) relative to the position.
O) In other words, the positional deviation of the steering column (0) held in the machine frame (10) is detected, and in order to correct this positional deviation, the correction tables (22), (23), and (24) are adjusted based on the vehicle width, vehicle length, and Move up and down.

Then, by the above positioning, the steering column (
0 is in a state where it can be installed on the car body, that is, as mentioned above, the steering column (0 is placed on the preset stand (12) in the same orientation as the layout when it is installed on the car body, and The machine frame (lO) has a grip part (12G) of the column part (41) of the steering column (0), a grip part (13G) of the shaft 1!6 (42), and a yoke part (
43) gripping portions (140) are provided, and these gripping portions (140) are provided.
120), (13G), (140) 2J: The steering column (120) placed on the preset stand (12)
In order to carry the parts (41), (42), and (43) of 0 into the vehicle body, the steering column (1 positioning bin (11G)
If the positional deviation is corrected using the steps above, the steering column (4) can be attached to the vehicle body as is.

Therefore, next, the structure of each of the above-mentioned gripping parts will be explained.

First, the gripping part (120) of the column part (41) is shown in FIG.
As shown in Figures 7 and 8, the main body (1) of the machine frame (10)
A pair of fingers (122) and (122) are swingably attached to the bracket (121) extending laterally from 00), and these fingers (122) and (122) are biased in the opening direction by a spring (123). At the same time, fix the inner wire (Ws) to one finger (122) and the outer wire (Ws) to the other finger (122), and pull the inner wire (Ws) to form the finger (122). Close the steering column (122) and (122) with these fingers (122)
4) is gripped by the column part (41).

In addition, the gripping part (130) of the shaft part (42) has brackets (131), (131) protruding from one main body (100) as shown in FIGS. 4, 7, and 9. Guide rods (132), (132) in the vehicle length direction are installed between these brackets (131), (131), and sliding members (132) are attached to these guide rods (132), (132).
33), (133), and this sliding member (133)
A support plate (134) is fixed to the support plate (130), a cylinder (135) is provided at the upper end of the support plate (130), a socket (13B) is rotatably fitted into this cylinder (135), and a socket (13B) is rotatably fitted into the cylinder (135). An arm (137) extending from (13B) is attached to a support plate (cylinder ninny y fixed to 130) (138
), and the sliding member (133) is connected to the cylinder unit (13B) attached to the side of the main body (10G).
) to move the vehicle in the longitudinal direction.

In order to grasp the rear end of the shaft protruding from the column part (41) of the shaft m (42) of the steering column, the rod of the cylinder unit (13θ) is protruded, and the sliding member (133) and Connecting socket) (
13B) is moved backward, and from this state, pull in the rod of the cylinder unit (139) to connect the socket) (13B).
6) is fitted onto the end of the shaft portion (42). At this time, it is necessary to match the phases of the serrations of the socket (13B) and the shaft portion (42), so the cylinder unit (138) is operated to rotate the socket (13B) slightly to fit them together. This is also done when fitting the yoke part (43) of the cylinder ninny, which will be described later, to the pinion shaft provided on the vehicle body side.

Next, as shown in FIG. 4, the gripping part (14G) of the yoke part (43) is attached to the support plate (101) of the machine frame (10) via an arm mechanism (141). The arm mechanism (141) is aligned with the arrow (a) relative to the support plate (101).
An arm (143) that can rotate in the direction of arrow (b) is attached to the tip of the arm (142) that can rotate in the direction of arrow (C), and an arm (143) that can rotate in the direction of arrow (C) is attached to the lower end of this arm (143). Attach the arm (144) that allows this arm (
144) attached to the vehicle body side.
an insertion device (18) for inserting the yoke portion (43) into the
0), and a part of this insertion device (180) is used as the gripping portion (140). Note that the insertion device gi (1fIO) is not shown in FIG. 4 because it overlaps with the gripping portion (140). The reason why the grip part (140) is supported through the arm mechanism (141) in this way is because the layout of the steering column (0) differs depending on the model.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 13, the insertion device fi (18G) has a fixing plate (181) provided on the arm (144).
Attach a swinging plate (IE13) that swings in the direction of arrow (d) about the shaft (11112) to the swinging plate (013), and fix the inner wire (w6) to this swinging plate (013). Outer fixing plate (1131)
By pulling the inner wire (w6), the swing play (183) is made to swing clockwise in FIG. 7 against the spring (184).

Also, the guide bar (185) is included in the swing play (183).
), and the main base (
18B) is attached so that it can move in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle via a spring (1B?), and the sub-base (189) can be swung approximately horizontally on the shaft (1$8) provided on this main base (le8). Attach a pinion shirt (145) to this sub-base (188) with a pair of gripping fingers (17
0), (170) are attached.

Further, above the sub-base (189) is the yoke portion (43).
) is provided with a gripping portion (140). This grip (
As shown in Fig. 7 and Fig. 1O, guide members (173), (
173) is slidably attached to the guide member (173).
), (173) floating base between (174)
and yoke I! on this floating base (174). (43) t-pair of gripping fingers (175
), (175) are provided.

A wire (Wy) is connected to the sub-base (189) and the floating base (174). That is, the sub-base (189) has a wire (W))
The inner wire (W7) is fixed to the floating base (174), and the outer wire (W7) is fixed to the floating base (174), and by pulling the inner wire (W7), the floating base (170) is moved against the spring (172) and the outer wire (W7) ), i.e. the direction close to )
(145) in the axial direction.

By the way, the finger (170) that grips the above-mentioned pinion shirt (145) and the finger (175) that grips the yoke portion (43) overlap in the downward direction of the road, and their positional relationship is shown in Fig. 1θ and Fig. This will be explained based on FIG. In addition, in FIG. 11, the upper half is about the finger (170), and the lower half is about the finger (175).
).

The finger (170) is provided with an arm (17B), the inner wire (w8) is fixed to this arm (17111), and the outer wire (w8) is attached to the protrusion (17?) of the sub-base (189). ), and a spring (
178) is provided to bias the finger (170) in the opening direction. Also, the finger (175) has an arm (1
79), an inner wire (Ws) is fixed to this arm (179), and this wire (w9)
The outer part is the protrusion (174) of the floating base (174).
180), and the left and right fingers (175)
, (175) is provided with a tension spring (181).

By pulling the inner part of the wire (-8), the fingers (170) and (170) become springs (
17B), and by pulling the inner part of the wire (w9), the fingers (175) and (175) are opened.

Furthermore, in the state shown in FIG.
G), (170) is open and pinion shirt)
(45) is not gripped, so the pinion shirt)
(145) as a reference, the yoke part (43) is not positioned, and as shown in the figure, the pinion shirt) (14
5) and the yoke part (43) do not match in center,
In FIG. 11, (182) and (183) are stoppers that regulate the opening degrees of fingers (170) and (175).

In addition, a bracket (20G) is provided on the main body (100) of the machine frame (10) as shown in FIGS. 4 and 7.
Guide bars (201), (201) in the downward direction on the road are installed between these brackets (200), and a sliding member (202) is fitted onto each guide bar (201). A support plate (203) is attached to the member (202), a nut runner (204) is attached to this support plate (203), an inner wire (Wlo) is fixed to the support plate (203), and a wire (Wlo) is attached to the support plate (203). The nut runner (204) is moved upward against the spring (205) by fixing the 7 outer to the main body (100) and pulling the inner wire (Ilto).

Furthermore, a nut runner (20B) is attached to the support plate (101) of the machine frame (10) as shown in FIG.

That is, the support plate (101) has a bracket (20?).
...A pair of guide bars (208) and (208) are installed between them, and a sliding member (209) is installed between these guide bars (208) and (208).

A support plate (210) is provided through the support plate (209), a nut runner (20B) is attached to this support plate (210), and an inner wire (Wo) is fixed to the support plate (210), and a wire (Mu) is attached to the support plate (210). The outer part of the nut runner (20B) is fixed to the support plate (101) side, and by pulling the inner part of the wire (Wu), the nut runner (20B) is moved diagonally upward against the spring (211).

The overall installation process for the steering column having the above-mentioned structure will be explained below.

First, the steering column (4) set on the preset table (12) is held on the machine frame (10) by operating the robot (3). At this time, the column part (41) of the steering column (0) is held by the grip part (130) by the finger (122) of the grip part (12G) of the machine frame (lO).
) with the socket (13B) of the steering column (0), and the grip (140) with the finger (175) of the steering column (0).
grip the yoke part (43) of. In this way, the machine frame (lO
) to each part (41) of the steering column (4),
By grasping the steering column (42) and (43), the steering column (0) is carried into the vehicle body while maintaining the positional relationship of each part on the preset base (12). .

Then, the machine frame (l) grips the steering column (4).
Once the O) has entered the vehicle body (1), move the machine frame (lO) upward and insert the positioning pin (110) provided on the machine frame (10).
is inserted into the reference hole (111) on the vehicle body side, and the vehicle body mounting detects the positional deviation of the steering column (4) relative to the position, and wires (豐1), (Zeng 2), (Ws) +'
(Tension the innerwear such as WJ and correct the amount of deviation (22).

The deviation is corrected by moving (23) and (24) and moving the machine frame (lO).

Next, after correcting the misalignment of the steering column (0) with respect to the vehicle body (1), the wire (Wlo),
(Wu) and pull the inner part of the nut runner (2).
04), (20G) to the vehicle body, and tighten the bolt (44) that was previously attached to the steering column (4).
)... to the vehicle body (dash board), and fix the column part (41) of the steering column (0) to the vehicle body side.

After fixing the column part (41) to the vehicle body in this way, attach the yoke part (43) to the pinion shaft (145).
The installation is completed by engaging the insertion device (tea), and the method of engagement using the insertion device (tea) will be explained below.

First, to engage the yoke part (43) with the pinion shaft (145), as shown in Fig. 14, pull the inner part of the wire (W8) and connect the main base (18B).
diagonally upward, and the finger (170) and yoke part (43) are placed above the pinion shaft (145).
In this case, the finger (17
0) and (170) are open, and the fingers (17
5) and (175) grip the yoke portion (43).

In this state, as shown in FIG. 11, the pinion shirt (145) and the yoke portion (43) are misaligned.

Next, release the tension on the inner part of the wire (w6), and use the elastic force of the spring (1B4) to attach the main base (Ill
) is swung downward so that the fingers (170) and (170) are positioned on the left and right sides of the pinion shaft (145), and the inner wire (Ws) is pulled.

Then, the fingers (170) and (170) close, and the sub-base (on which the fingers (170) and (170) are attached follows the position of the pinion shaft (145)).
IH) swings around the axis (188). and,
The sub-base (189) has fingers (175), (1
75) is supported, and the centers of the tip gripping parts of the fingers (170) and (175) are set to coincide, so the floating base (174) is also attached to the sub-base ( 16
9), and as shown in FIG. 15, the centers of the pinion shirt (145) and the yoke portion (43) coincide.

Then, the pinion shaft (145) and the yoke part (43
) are aligned, pull the inner part of the wire to lower the floating base (174) toward the sub-base (189), and lower the pinion shaft (14).
5) Insert and engage the yoke portion (43).

Here, the yoke part (43) and the pinion shaft (145
) are fitted with splines (serrations) to transmit rotational motion, and they cannot be fitted unless they are in phase with each other. Therefore, the yoke part (43) is fitted with a binion When inserting the shirt into the shaft part (145), the shaft part (42 ) while rotating the yoke part (43) and the pinion shaft (14
5). This state is shown in FIGS. 7 and 13.

After this, the fingers (170) and (175) hold the pinion shirt (145) and the yoke part (43).

The column part (41) is held by the finger (122), the socket (138) is disengaged from the shaft part (42), and the nut runner (204) is released.

(20El) is lowered and the first machine frame (10) is pulled out of the vehicle body, and the installation of the steering column (4) is completed.

(Effects of the Invention) As explained above, according to the present invention, the steering column can be completely attached to the vehicle body automatically, which eliminates the disadvantage of having to attach it manually in a narrow space as in the past.
It has many benefits, including the ability to connect with other assembly lines.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is an overall view showing the state in which the steering column is attached to the vehicle body, Figure 2 is a plan view of the preset base, Figure 3 is a side view of the preset base, Figure 4 is a plan view of the machine frame, and Figure 5 is a plan view of the machine frame.
The figure is a view taken in the direction of arrow A in Figure 4 °, and Figure 6 is a view taken from B-B in Figure 4.
Line sectional view, Figure 7 is a side view of the machine frame, Figure 8 is C in Figure 7.
9 is a view in the D direction of FIG. 7, FIG. 1O is a view in the E direction of FIG. 7, $11 is a view in the F direction of FIG. 7, and FIG. 12 13 is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 7, FIG. 14 is a diagram showing the state before insertion by the insertion device, and FIG. 15 is a view taken in the direction of arrow H in FIG. 13. This is a perspective view. In the drawings, (1) is the vehicle body, (3) is the robot, (0 is the steering column, (1O) is the machine frame, (12) is the preset table, and (22), (23), and (24) are the correction tables. , (41) is the column part, (42) is the shaft part, (
43) is the yoke part, (110) is the positioning pin, (12)
0), (130), (140) are the gripping parts, (1
22), (170), (175) are fingers, (
13B) is a socket, and (145) is a pinion shaft. (180) is an insertion device, and (204) and (208) are nut runners. Patent applicant Patent attorney representing Honda Motor Co., Ltd. 1) Part 1
Patent Attorney Kuni Ohashi Tobirama
Patent Attorney Koyama Fuma Patent Attorney
Field 1) Shigeru Figure 8 Figure 9 Figure 10

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) Set a steering column consisting of a column, shaft, and yoke on a preset table, grasp the column, shaft, and yoke of the steering column set on the preset table, and check the positional relationship of each part. Carrying the steering column into the vehicle body while maintaining it,
Next, after correcting the misalignment of the steering column with respect to the vehicle body mounting position, the column part of the steering column is fixed to the vehicle body, and after this, the shaft part is rotated and the yoke part is engaged with the pinion shaft provided on the vehicle body. A method of installing a steering column characterized by the following. (2) A device for attaching a steering column consisting of a column section, a shaft section, and a yoke section to a vehicle body. is movable back and forth, left and right, and up and down in order to correct misalignment of the steering column with respect to the vehicle body mounting position detected by the position detection means.The machine frame also includes a tightening device for fixing the steering column to the vehicle body, and a tightening device for fixing the steering column to the vehicle body. A steering column mounting device comprising: an insertion device for inserting a yoke portion into a provided pinion shaft; and a rotation device for rotating the shaft portion when inserting the yoke portion.