JPH0221992B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention is directed to a door installation station on a car body assembly line in which car bodies are separated and stored in a plurality of pallets according to their type and/or installation location. The present invention relates to a door mounting device for an automobile, which is equipped with a door setting robot that selectively takes out a suitable door from a plurality of doors placed in the vehicle and automatically sets it at a door mounting position on a vehicle body.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, when automatically attaching a door to a car body at a door installation station on a car body assembly line, for example, as shown in Japanese Patent Publication No. 57-48334, it is necessary to attach the door to the car body from a door delivery means. After feeding the door to the automatic door setting device,
An automatic door setting device is operated to bring the door close to the vehicle body, and when the door is in a substantially installed position, an operator corrects any misalignment between the vehicle body and the door. As described above, although a certain degree of automation has been achieved with conventional automobile door mounting devices when attaching the door to the vehicle body, it is difficult to mechanically control the positioning of the door to be attached to the vehicle body. Some parts still remain, and therefore new measures are needed to further improve automation and labor-saving.

By the way, in recent years, industrial robots have become widespread in various fields, especially in the manufacturing and processing industry, and it is being considered that they can also be used in the process of attaching doors to automobile bodies. As a robot that can be used to attach a door to a vehicle body, for example, a playback type multi-jointed robot that operates according to a predetermined movement path has already been developed.

However, in order to accommodate the diversification of production vehicle models and specifications, the vehicle body assembly line is made into a mixed flow line, and when installing doors corresponding to each vehicle model on multiple vehicle models transported to the door installation station, or,
When installing multiple doors at different locations (e.g. front door and rear door) on a car body transported to a door installation station on a car body assembly line for a single car model, the car body is When a robot is used to selectively set the corresponding door on the vehicle body depending on the type or attachment location, the following problems arise.

That is, in order to selectively attach multiple types of doors to the vehicle body using a robot as described above, multiple types of doors to be attached to the vehicle body are prepared in advance on a pallet for each door, and the prepared The door is held by a robot and set on the vehicle body. However, the door pallets used in the above-mentioned mixed flow lines, etc., are usually required to be versatile so that they can accommodate different types of doors, and are also movable from the viewpoint of workability and cost when replacing them. Although it is manufactured in the form of a trolley, its dimensional accuracy is not very high. In addition, the doors stored in this pallet are stored in the pallet with some room so that they can be taken out smoothly when attached to the vehicle body, resulting in variations in the storage position. Therefore, if a robot that operates according to a predetermined movement path is used, the robot will grasp the door at a predetermined position regardless of the position of the door. If the position of the door relative to the door or the position of the door within the pallet is not accurate, the grip position of the robot relative to the door will be inaccurate, and when the door is set on the car body, the position of the door will be misaligned with the car body. This may lead to a situation where it becomes impossible to attach the door to the vehicle body.

(Purpose of the Invention) In view of the above, the present invention provides a robot that operates according to a predetermined movement path according to the type and/or attachment location of a vehicle body transported to a door attachment station on a vehicle body assembly line. When selectively taking out multiple doors stored separately in multiple pallets and automatically setting them on the vehicle body, the robot grips the doors in an accurate position to prevent misalignment between the vehicle body and the doors. An object of the present invention is to provide an automobile door mounting device which can reduce the amount of damage caused by the door and which can accurately and reliably set the door on the vehicle body.

(Structure of the Invention) The present invention provides a robot that is mounted on a trolley that moves in a direction along the vehicle body assembly line on the side of the vehicle body assembly line, and that operates according to a predetermined movement path; a plurality of pallets that are sequentially arranged separately from the trolley along the moving direction of the truck and store a plurality of types of doors in sections;
a pair of drawer stands disposed on the trolley at front and back positions that sandwich the robot in the moving direction of the trolley;
a positioning mechanism attached to at least one of the pair of drawer stands on the trolley, and the pair of drawer stands are configured to determine the type of car body to be transported by the robot from one of the plurality of pallets to the door installation station of the car body assembly line. /or The door taken out is placed on one of the locations depending on the installation location, and the positioning mechanism is such that the robot grasps the door placed on the drawer stand and transports it to the door installation station. In order to set the position of the door relative to the robot when it is set in the door mounting portion of the vehicle body, the door placed on the drawer stand is positioned with respect to the drawer stand.

With this configuration, the door can be efficiently taken out by the robot from the pallet, and the taken-out door is positioned by the positioning mechanism to be properly positioned with respect to the robot, so that the robot can easily take out the door. The door gripping position can be maintained at an appropriate position at all times, thereby reducing misalignment of the door relative to the vehicle body when the door is set on the vehicle body.

In addition, pull-out stands are provided at the front and rear when viewed in the moving direction of the cart that moves between pallets, and at least one of the pull-out stands is provided with a positioning mechanism, thereby reducing the need for the cart to take out the door from the pallet and position it. The travel distance can be shortened and work efficiency can be improved.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing the configuration of main parts of an example of an automobile door mounting device according to the present invention, and FIGS. 2 to 9 are diagrams showing the configuration of each part in the example shown in FIG. 1. .

In Fig. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a car body assembly line such as a mixed flow line, and in this car body assembly line 1, a plurality of stations ST including a door mounting station ST _D are arranged at a predetermined distance from each other. ing. In this car body assembly line 1,
Vehicle bodies 2A and 2B of different types of vehicles are fixedly conveyed one by one at each station by a suitable conveyance means, for example, a floor conveyor 3. Each component is sequentially assembled or attached at each station in a transport order determined according to the plan, and is assembled into a completed vehicle body.

In this way, the vehicle bodies 2A and 2B, which are assembled while being conveyed on the vehicle body assembly line 1, are assembled at the door installation station ST _D. and a rear door 8 can be attached. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, each of these doors is provided with a hinge portion 6 that engages with a pillar portion of the vehicle body, and a taper pin 16 is provided protruding from the hinge portion 6. .

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the door mounting station ST _D has a bogie 1 running on rails 9 laid parallel to the car body assembly line 1.
A door setting robot 12 mounted on the door is provided. This robot 12 is, for example,
It is a teaching playback type articulated robot, and its list 13 includes figures 3 and 5.
As shown in the figure, a suction cup 1 that attaches the door to the tip
4a, 14b (not shown) and 14c
Three cylinders 14A, 14B with
and 14C, and elastic pads 15a and 15 at the tips.
A hand 17 is attached which has a U-shaped cross section and is configured to grip the door with receiving members 15A and 15B to which the handles 15A and 15B are fixed. Also,
This hand 17 has a plurality of pallets 2 to be described later.
A hook 18 is provided for pulling out each door 5, 7 and 8 from the door. The robot 12 is capable of performing movements similar to those of human upper limbs, and has a hand 17, a wrist 13, and an arm 19 attached to a base fixed to the trolley 10.
The entire handling means consisting of moves according to the joint coordinate system. That is, as shown in FIG. 2, for example, it rotates 300 degrees in the V direction, swings 90 degrees in the W direction, and turns 105 degrees in the U direction. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 3, the hand 17 rotates 360 degrees in the α direction with respect to the wrist 13 and rotates 210 degrees in the β direction, and the wrist 13 rotates in the γ direction with respect to the arm 19.
It is designed to rotate 360°. Therefore, the target position of the hand 17, ie, the movement amount of the robot 12, is determined by six parameters indicating the movement rotation angle in each direction of V, W, U, α, β, and γ. Then, the movement path, ie, movement locus data, etc., are taught by the teaching operation panel, and the teaching content is stored in the memory of the control unit 60. Therefore, the control unit 6
When the robot 12 is supplied with a control signal OCp, which will be described later and which defines each of the above-mentioned six parameters representing the amount of movement, from 0 to the robot 12, the robot 12 follows the teaching content, in other words, follows a predetermined movement path. Accordingly, the necessary operations are performed to set each door 5, 7, and 8 to the vehicle body.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the door mounting station ST _D has a front door 5, a front door 7, and a rear door 8 sequentially installed in predetermined positions along the moving direction of the cart 10 carrying the robot 12 and moving. A plurality of pallets 20, which are placed and stored in parallel at intervals, are arranged and locked in fixed positions. Each of these pallets 20 has wheels attached to the bottom so that it can be moved, and is formed in a box-like structure with side and top openings, so that each door 5, 7, and 8 can be connected to the vehicle body assembly line 1. It is configured so that it can be pulled out from the side.

Further, the above-mentioned trolley 10 has a robot 12 sandwiched between the robot 12 and the robot 12 in front and behind the robot 12 when viewed along the moving direction of the trolley 10.
Drawer stands 24 and 25 are installed. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the drawer stands 24 and 25 are equipped with a bottom portion 21 and a back plate 22, and rollers 51 and 52 are pivotally attached to the bottom portion 21 and the back plate 22. Robot 12 from palette 20
The doors 5, 7 and 8 which are pulled out and placed by the handler are easily moved laterally or upwardly.

One of the drawer stands 24 and 25 is provided with a positioning mechanism 26 for positioning each of the doors 5, 7, and 8 placed thereon. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, this positioning mechanism 26 is connected to the back plate 22 of the drawer base 24.
Guided by the cylinder 28 fixed to the support portion 22a extending from the support member 30 and the guide bar 31 of the support member 30, the piston rod 29 of the cylinder 28 moves the cylinder 28 forward and backward in the direction shown by the arrow S in FIG. It has a positioning plate 33. This positioning plate 33 has a positioning hole 33a that engages with a taper pin 16 protruding from the hinge portion 6 of each door 5, 7, and 8 to be placed.
The doors 5, 7, and 8 are positioned with respect to the grasping position of the robot 12. Note that 32A and 32B are reference pads that come into contact with each door 5, 7, or 8, and are fixed to the support portion 22a.

In the above configuration, when the vehicle body 2A or 2B is conveyed to the door mounting station ST _D and stopped,
The center deviation due to the inaccuracy of the floor conveyor 3 or the loading deviation of the vehicle body 2A or 2B with respect to the floor conveyor 3 accumulates, and the stopping position varies, causing the front door 5, front door 7, or rear door 8 to Vehicle body 2A or 2B
The position of the door 5,
7 or 8 may not be able to be attached to the vehicle body 2A or 2B. Therefore, in this example, the vehicle body measurement device 38 that measures the position of the vehicle body 2A or 2B from both left and right sides of the vehicle body 2A or 2B stopped at the door mounting station ST _D is installed at the door mounting station ST D.
It is attached to ST _D. This vehicle body measurement device 38
As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the vehicle has a slide table 39 that is movable in parallel along the vehicle body assembly line 1, and vehicle body position detection units 40A and 40B are mounted on this slide table 39. They are arranged at a predetermined distance from each other. The vehicle body position detecting parts 40A and 40B have tapered tips, and as shown in FIG.
A detection pin 42 which is adapted to engage with a hole 47 provided in A or 2B and a detection pin 42 on a side surface of the vehicle body 2A or 2B at a predetermined distance from each other in the height direction and length direction of the vehicle body 2A or 2B, respectively. Position sensors 44 and 45 are provided which are in contact with two points. In the vehicle body measurement device 38 configured in this way, when measuring the position of the door 2A or 2B, the detection pin 42 is protruded and inserted into the hole 47, and the position sensors 44 and 45 are protruded to measure the position of the vehicle body. 2A or 2B. The detection pin 42 inserted into the hole 47 is connected to the door mounting station.
It expands, contracts, and tilts in accordance with the positional deviation of the hole 47 caused by the positional deviation of the vehicle body 2A or 2B from its proper position in _STD . Then, the amount of positional deviation Δθx of the vehicle body 2A or 2B in the X direction is detected based on the protrusion length of the detection pin 42 and the inclination angle with respect to the
The amount of displacement Δθy of A or 2B in the Y direction is detected based on the protrusion length of the detection pin 42 and the inclination angle with respect to the Y coordinate axis passing through its base. Furthermore, the amount of displacement Δθz of the vehicle body 2A or 2B in the Z direction is detected based on the protrusion length of the detection pin 42 and the amount of displacement Δθx and Δθy in the X and Y directions.

On the other hand, the position sensors 44 and 45 expand and contract according to the inclination of the vehicle body 2A or 2B in the P direction and the Q direction in FIG. 9, and maintain a state of contact with the vehicle body 2A or 2B. Then, the amount of inclination Δθp in the P direction and the amount Δθq of inclination in the Q direction of the vehicle body 2A or 2B are as follows.
Detection is performed based on the respective protrusion lengths of two sets of position sensors 44 and 45 arranged on both sides of the vehicle body 2A or 2B.

The positional deviation amounts Δθx, Δθy, and Δθz in the X, Y, and Z directions and the tilt amounts Δθp and Δθq in the P and Q directions detected in this way are detected by the detection signal IS as shown in FIG. ₁ , _IS2 , _IS3 , _IS4 , and _IS5 and are input to the control unit 60, and the control unit 60 calculates the actual vehicle body position based on these detection signals _IS1 to _IS5 . , stored in memory. The motion trajectory data etc. taught to the robot 12 are corrected in correspondence with the actual position of the vehicle body 2A or 2B, and the robot 12
A control signal OCp is supplied to the As a result, the robot 12 moves according to a predetermined movement path, and the amount of movement (represented by the six parameters described above) is fed back to the control unit 60.

In this example configured as described above, each door 5, 7 and 8 is fitted to the vehicle bodies 2A and 2B, respectively.
When selectively attaching, the following sequence of operations is performed.

In this example, the car bodies 2A and 2B are delivered to the door mounting station ST _D in a predetermined order according to the production plan for that day, and the car body 2A or 2B is transported to the door mounting station ST _D and stopped. Then, first, in order to measure the position of the stopped vehicle body 2A or 2B, the slide table 39 of the vehicle body measurement device 38 moves and stops at a predetermined measurement position (indicated by a chain line in FIG. 1). The detection pin 42 and position sensors 44 and 45 are made to protrude. As a result, the detection pin 42 is inserted into the hole 47 of the vehicle body 2A or 2B and tilted according to the position of the vehicle body 2A or 2B, and as described above, the positional deviation amounts Δθx, Δθy and Δθz is detected, and its detection signals IS ₁ to _{IS 3} are supplied to the control unit 60, and the position sensors 44 and 45 come into contact with the vehicle body 2A or 2B, and as described above, the amount of inclination in the P direction and the Q direction is determined. Δθp and Δθq are detected, and their detection signals IS ₄ and IS ₅ are supplied to the control unit 60. Based on these detection signals _IS1 to _IS5 , the control unit 60 calculates the actual position of the vehicle body 2A or 2B and corrects the teaching content of the robot 12 stored in the memory.

As described above, after the vehicle body measurement device 38 measures the position of the vehicle body 2A or 2B, the vehicle body measurement device 38
The slide table 39 moves backward, and the process of attaching the front door 5 to the vehicle body 2A or the process of attaching the front door 7 and the rear door 8 to the vehicle body 2B is started. In this installation process, first, door 5, 7 or 8
A trolley 10 carrying a robot 12 to take out the
moves, and the drawer table 24 or 25 is placed on the pallet 20.
It stops at a position located right next to the last door 5, 7, or 8 stored in the interior (see Figure 2).

Next, the robot 12 is actuated and the arm 19 pivots to open the door 5, 7 or 8, as shown in FIG.
engage the hook 18 with the frame of the door 5,
7 or 8 from the pallet 20, and pull it out from the drawer stand 2.
4 or 25. At this time, the drawer stand 24
and 25 indicate the robot 1 when viewed in the moving direction of the trolley 10.
For example, the front door 5 of the car body 2A or the front door 7 of the car body 2B can be pulled out and placed on the drawer stand 24, and the rear door 8 of the car body 2B can be placed on the drawer stand 25. If the doors 5, 7, and 8 are pulled out and placed on the pull-out base 24 or 25, the trolley 10
The moving distance can be shortened, and the working time can be shortened.

Among the doors 5, 7 and 8 which are pulled out and placed on the drawer stands 24 and 25 in this way, the drawer stand 2
The rear door 8 placed on the
C is activated to remove the suction parts 14a, 14b and 14c.
protrude and grasp the rear door 8 at a predetermined position.
By turning 180 degrees, the front doors 5 and 7 are transferred to the pull-out stand 24, and the front doors 5 and 7 placed on the pull-out stand 24 are left as they are, and when the front door 5 is set on the vehicle body 2A, or A positioning mechanism 26 positions each door 5, 7, and 8 relative to the robot 12 when setting the front door 7 and rear door 8 on the vehicle body 2B.

That is, when the cylinder 28 of the positioning mechanism 26 is actuated, the piston rod 29 is retracted and the taper pin 1 of the hinge portion 6 attached to the door 5, 7 or 8 is pulled in, as shown in FIGS.
6 and the positioning hole 33a of the positioning plate 33 engage with each other. At this time, if the door 5, 7, or 8 is out of position with respect to the robot 12, the door 5, 7, or 8 slides on the drawer base 24 in the T direction in the figure and is moved to the correct position. .

With the door 5, 7 or 8 positioned at the correct position, the robot 12 moves the door 5, 7 or 8 to the correct position.
Or grasp and lift 8, and at the same time lift the trolley 1.
0 moves to the door set position, and the door 5, 7 or 8 is moved from the state shown in FIG. 2 to the vehicle body 2A or 2.
Then, the arm 19, wrist 13, and hand 17 are rotated or swiveled by a predetermined angle according to the corrected movement locus data, etc. as described above. , door 5, 7 or 8 on vehicle body 2A
Or attach it to the door attachment part of 2B and attach it to the vehicle body 2.
Press it on A or 2B. At this time, doors 5 and 7
Or, 8 has its relative position with respect to the robot 12 corrected by the positioning mechanism 26, and based on the detection signals IS ₁ to IS ₅ obtained by the vehicle body measurement device 38, the movement locus data of the robot 12, that is,
Since the movement path is corrected to correspond to the actual position of the vehicle body, the door 5, 7 or 8 and the door attachment part of the vehicle body 2A or 2B stopped at the door attachment station ST _D will not be misaligned. This allows the door 5, 7 or 8 to be smoothly set on the vehicle body 2A or 2B. As a result, the work for fixing the door 5, 7 or 8 to the vehicle body 2A or 2B after setting the door 5, 7 or 8 to the mounting portion of the vehicle body 2A or 2B can be carried out without any hindrance. 7 or 8 can be attached to the vehicle body 2A or 2B accurately and reliably.

In the example described above, the positioning mechanism 26 is attached to the drawer stand 24 provided on the trolley 10, but the automobile door attachment device according to the present invention does not necessarily have to have such a configuration. For example, the positioning mechanism 26 may be attached to the drawer stand 25 provided on the cart 10, and furthermore, the positioning mechanism 26 may be attached to both the drawer stands 24 and 25, respectively, so that the robot 12 can take out the objects from the pallet 20. The door 5, 7 or 8 may be placed on these positioning mechanisms 26 to position the door 5, 7 or 8.

(Effects of the Invention) As is clear from the above description, according to the automobile door mounting device according to the present invention, the vehicle door mounting device according to the present invention can adjust the speed according to the type and/or mounting location of the vehicle body that has been conveyed to the door mounting station of the vehicle body assembly line and stopped. , doors that fit the door are selectively taken out by the robot from a plurality of pallets, and after the taken-out doors are positioned by a positioning mechanism, they are gripped by the robot and set on the vehicle body. , the position of the door relative to the robot is set to be appropriate, and the door gripping position of the robot can be kept constant at the correct position at all times, thereby reducing the misalignment of the door relative to the car body that occurs when the door is set on the car body. can be reduced. As a result, the work to secure the door to the car body after setting it on the car body can be done smoothly, and the door can be attached to the car body accurately.
And it will be certain.

In addition, a pair of drawer stands are provided between the robot in the direction along the moving direction of the cart that moves between pallets, and a positioning mechanism is provided on at least one of these drawer stands, making it easy to take out the door from the pallet. In addition, the amount of movement of the robot and the distance traveled by the trolley can be made relatively small, which improves work efficiency when setting the door on the car body, and allows the pallets used to be mass-produced. It can be made into a versatile and inexpensive product.

Furthermore, according to the automobile door mounting device of the present invention, the precise positioning when installing the door on the vehicle body is automatically performed by the robot. This eliminates the need for an operator to correct the position of the door relative to the vehicle body, thereby promoting automation or labor saving in the entire automobile body assembly line.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing the configuration of essential parts of an example of an automobile door mounting device according to the present invention, and FIG.
FIG. 9 is a partial detailed diagram showing the configuration of each part of the example shown in FIG. 1 and providing an explanation of its operation;
FIG. 10 is a block diagram for explaining the configuration of the example shown in FIG. 1. In the figure, 1 is a car body assembly line, 2A and 2B are car bodies, 3 is a floor conveyor, 5 and 7 are front doors, 8 is a rear door, 10 is a trolley, 12 is a robot, 17 is a hand, 18 is a hook, and 20 is a pallet. , 24 and 25 are drawer stands, 26 is a positioning mechanism, 38 is a vehicle body measurement device, 40A and 40B are vehicle body position detectors, 60 is a control unit,
ST _D is the door mounting station.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A robot that is mounted on a trolley that moves in a direction along the vehicle body assembly line at the side of the vehicle body assembly line and that operates according to a predetermined movement path; a plurality of pallets that are sequentially arranged in a manner distinct from the cart along the direction of movement and store a plurality of types of doors in sections; and front and rear positions on the cart that sandwich the robot in the direction of movement of the cart. A door is placed on one of the plurality of pallets according to the type and/or attachment location of the vehicle body to be transported by the robot from one of the plurality of pallets to the door attachment station of the vehicle body assembly line. and a pair of drawer stands attached to at least one of the pair of drawer stands on the trolley, and the robot grasps the door placed on the drawer stand and is transported to the door mounting station. A door mounting device for an automobile, comprising: a positioning mechanism for positioning the door relative to the drawer stand in order to set the position of the door relative to the robot when setting the door in a door mounting portion of a vehicle body.