JPH056030Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] (Field of industrial application) The present invention accurately places the first workpiece in a predetermined position on the second workpiece, which is coated with a high viscosity liquid such as a sealant, grease, lubricant, or adhesive. The purpose is to place the coating agent without disturbing it, and for example, on an automobile engine assembly line, the oil pan is held in position and then the sealant is applied to the oil pan. This invention relates to a workpiece positioning, gripping and conveying device that is capable of placing the oil pan in a predetermined position after bringing it above the engine block without disturbing the sealant film applied on the engine block. , especially regarding the structure of the positioning rod.

(Prior art and its problems) On an automobile engine assembly line, after applying a sealant to the oil pan surface of the engine block,
The oil pan is mounted, and then bolts are automatically supplied and screwed into the screw holes of the engine block through the oil pan's mounting holes, thereby integrally connecting the oil pan to the engine block. Therefore, it is necessary to place the oil pan on the engine block with the mounting holes of the oil pan completely aligned with the screw holes of the engine block.

Conventionally, the oil pan has been positioned and placed on the engine block by an operator's visual inspection.
However, with this method, work efficiency is low, and since positioning is done by visual measurement, positional deviations are likely to occur.When the oil pan is moved on the engine block to correct the positional deviation, the sealing agent protrudes and seal leaks occur. There was a risk that this would occur.

Another conventional method is settling by vacuum handling. Although this method improves work efficiency, the oil pan is easily misaligned, and as in the case of manual settling described above, it is difficult to ensure that the oil pan mounting holes match the screw holes in the engine block. was difficult.

Furthermore, as a recent positioning method,
"Fitting method" disclosed in Publication No. 59-15779
As shown in the figure, the tip of the guide pin has a maximum diameter part and a constricted part on the rear side, and the guide hole (guided member) into which the guide pin is inserted has a minimum diameter part on the entrance side and a constricted part on the rear side. It has a relief part with a diameter larger than the entrance part at the lower part, and allows the guide pin and the guide hole to engage and guide each other,
The table member is finely adjusted in the horizontal direction using the relief portion of the guide hole to relatively position the shaft component and the object in the horizontal direction within the chamfered range of the hole. Then, the shaft component set on the insertion jig as the elevating body is simply moved down or up to be inserted into the hole of the object.

However, in the invention of Japanese Patent Publication No. 59-15779, the insertion force for inserting the guide pin into the guide pin hole is constant, and this insertion force is applied by a pneumatic cylinder through the plate to the elevating body. A buffer spring is provided between the guide pin and the plate to absorb the buffer force especially when the fitting is completed, that is, when the jig stops for insertion, etc., but this alone is not sufficient. However, when setting parts of the first work onto parts of the second work coated with high viscosity liquid such as sealant, grease lubricant, adhesive, etc. as in the present invention, there is a big problem of disturbing the coating film. .

Furthermore, as mentioned above, when placing a first workpiece on a second workpiece coated with a high viscosity liquid such as a sealant, adhesive, grease lubricant, etc., if the setting pressure is not taken into consideration, the coating film may be disturbed or its performance may be affected. Although it may not be possible to fully demonstrate the
The device disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 15779 does not take the setting pressure into consideration at all.

The present invention has been developed in view of the above facts. For example, as shown in the embodiment, when the mounting hole of the oil pan is reliably aligned with the screw hole of the engine block coated with the sealant, To provide a workpiece positioning, gripping and conveying device that can gently place an oil pan on an engine block without disturbing the engine block.

(Technical Means for Solving the Problems) In order to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, the workpiece positioning, gripping and conveying device of the present invention provides A horizontal movable body 16 that is horizontally movable is provided, an elevating body 19 supported by the horizontal movable body 16 so as to be movable up and down is provided, and a plurality of positioning rods 26 are vertically provided on the elevating body 19. A pawl 36 is provided at the lower part of the body that can be rotated by a predetermined angle to engage and detach from the first workpiece 2 , and a positioning metal fitting 27 is provided at the tip of the positioning rod 26 . a positioning pin 27c that is provided so as to be movable up and down within a predetermined range from the top and that fits into predetermined holes in the first workpiece 2 and second workpiece 1; and a positioning pin 27c that is provided integrally with the positioning pin 27c and contacts the first workpiece 2. Large diameter part 2
7a, and a biasing means 33 for biasing the positioning pin 27c downward.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described based on the drawings. This embodiment relates to a device for mounting an oil pan 2 on an engine block 1.

First, the process of assembling an oil pan in an automobile engine assembly line will be explained based on FIG. The engine block 1 is intermittently transported in the direction of arrow A by a first transport device 3. The oil pan 2 is connected to a second conveying device 4 parallel to the first conveying device 3.
It is intermittently conveyed in the direction of arrow B by.
A three-dimensional robot 5 is provided opposite the first conveyance device 3, and a cleaner head 6,
A sealant application unit 9 having a sealant application nozzle 7 and a sensor head 8 is attached. An oil pan positioning, gripping and conveying device 10 is provided opposite to the second conveying device 4.

The oil pan positioning, gripping and conveying device 10 will be explained based on FIGS. 1 to 4. A machine frame 12 is arranged above the final end of the second conveyor 4, and the machine frame 1
A support frame 13 is provided on the side parallel to the second conveying device 4 of 2.
are bolted to the support frame 13, and the directions C and D perpendicular to the directions of arrows A and B are inserted into a pair of through holes formed in the support frame 13.
A guide rod 15 is movably inserted into each boss 14.
A horizontal moving body 1 is attached to the tip of both guide rods 15.
6 is fixed and supported, and this horizontal moving body 16 is attached to the first cylinder 1 attached to the support frame 13.
7, it is adapted to be horizontally moved in the directions of arrows C and D. The horizontal moving body 16 is provided with a pair of vertical shafts 18 whose upper and lower ends are supported by a bottom plate 16a and a top plate 16b. Cylinder part 19
The elevating body 19 includes a connecting plate 19b attached across the connecting plate 19b.
The second cylinder 21 is attached to a bracket 20 extending horizontally from the top and is driven up and down along the vertical axis 18. The connecting plate 19b is provided with a pair of arms 22 that extend horizontally toward the upper side of the second conveying device 4, and an oil pan positioning and gripping device 23 is attached to the arms 22.

The positioning and gripping device 23 is configured as follows. That is, positioning rods 26 are suspended from the lower surface of the horizontal plate 25 fixed to the lower surface of the tip of the arm 22 at positions corresponding to four of the numerous mounting holes 29 of the oil pan 2, and each positioning rod 26 is Rod 2
A positioning metal fitting 27 is disposed on the lower surface of 6. This positioning metal fitting 27 has a central large diameter portion 27a that contacts the lower surface of each positioning rod 26, and a central large diameter portion 27a that contacts the lower surface of each positioning rod 26.
The upper end guide portion 27b is inserted into the guide hole 28 on the lower surface, and the upper end guide portion 27b is provided on the lower surface of the central large diameter portion 27a, and the upper end guide portion 27b is inserted into the predetermined mounting hole 29 of the oil pan 2 and the predetermined screw hole 30 of the engine block 1. It is composed of a positioning pin 27c. Then, with the positioning pin 27c fitted into the mounting hole 29 and the screw hole 30, the oil pan 2
is arranged at a predetermined position on the engine block 1. A long hole 31 communicating with the guide hole 28 is formed in the lower part of each of the positioning rods 26, and both ends of a stopper pin 32 extending horizontally from the upper end guide portion 27b are fitted into the long hole 31 so as to be able to move up and down within a certain range. are doing. Further, a spring 33 is disposed deep inside the guide hole 28 to bias the positioning fitting 27 downward. A T-shaped member 34 is arranged opposite to the lower part of each positioning rod 26, and one end of the upper side of each T-shaped member 34 is rotatably connected to each positioning rod 26 via a pin 35. At the bottom of 34, there is a claw 3 that can be freely engaged and detached from the outer peripheral edge of the oil pan 2.
6 is formed, and an elevating plate 37 is formed below the horizontal plate 25.
and the bearings 38 provided at the four corners thereof are fitted onto each positioning rod 26 so as to be able to rise and fall freely. T-shaped member 34
A connecting rod 40 connected to the pin 39 is provided at the other end of the upper side, and a backlash absorbing spring 41 is provided which fits onto each connecting rod 40 and urges each connecting rod 40 downward. A third cylinder 42 for rotating the pawl is provided, which is bolted to the horizontal plate 25 and has a piston rod connected to the horizontal plate 25.

The operation of the above configuration will be explained. First, the robot 5 in the standby state shown in FIG. 5 is operated and the cleaner head 6 cleans the oil pan surface of the engine block 1 as shown in FIG. 6a. Next, as shown in FIG. 6b, a high viscosity liquid sealant 43 discharged from the nozzle 7 is applied to the oil pan surface. Subsequently, as shown by the imaginary line in Fig. 6c,
The sensor head 8 is moved along the application locus of the sealant 43 to detect whether the sealant 43 is being applied normally. Here, if there is a cut or thinned part 44 in the applied sealant 43, an abnormality is detected from the change in light reflectance and an alarm is issued.

If the application of the sealant 43 is normal, move the oil pan positioning and gripping device 23 shown in solid line in Figure 1 to the second position.
It is lowered by the cylinder 21 and each positioning pin 27c is fitted into the hole 29 of the oil pan 2. Next, the elevating plate 37 is lowered by the third cylinder 42 to engage the pawl 36 with the outer peripheral edge of the oil pan 2 (as shown by the imaginary line on the left side of FIG. 1). Next, the oil pan positioning and gripping device 23 is raised by the second cylinder 21 (solid line state in Figure 1), and then the oil pan positioning and gripping device 23 is moved in the direction of arrow C by the first cylinder 17, and the sealant is applied. (as shown by the imaginary line on the right side of FIG. 1).

Next, the oil pan positioning and gripping device 23 is lowered by the second cylinder 21. Then, as shown in FIG. 3, the positioning pin 27c is fitted into the screw hole 30, and the oil pan 2 is positioned with respect to the engine block 1. What is important here is to leave some space between the oil pan 2 and the engine block 1. As a result, no impact is applied to the oil pan positioning and gripping device 23, etc., the sealant 43 is not crushed, and the claw 36 is not pinched between the oil pan 2 and the engine block 1. At this time, since the positioning pin 27c is fitted into the screw hole 30, the oil pan 2 will not be displaced.

Subsequently, when the elevating plate 37 is raised by the third cylinder 42, the T-shaped frame 34 rotates upward about the pin 35, and the pawl 36 comes off from the oil pan 2, as shown by the imaginary line in FIG. the oil pan 2
is gently and accurately placed on a predetermined position of the engine block 1 without applying any impact force while being guided by the guide pin 27c. Thereafter, the oil pan 2 is pressed against the engine block 1 by the spring 33 with a preset pressure.

Next, when the oil pan positioning and gripping device 23 is raised by the second cylinder 21, the setting of the oil pan 2 to the engine block 1 is completed.

The engine block 1 with the oil pan 2 mounted thereon is carried to the next process, and a bolt is screwed into the threaded hole 30 of the engine block 1 through the mounting hole 29 of the oil pan 2, whereby the oil pan 2 is attached to the engine block 1. are integrally connected to complete the assembly.
At this time, since the hole 29 and the screw hole 30 are completely aligned, the bolt can be screwed in securely.

(Operation and Effect of the Invention) As described above, according to the present invention, the first workpiece can be reliably gripped by the positioning rod and the claw and transported to the second workpiece, and the tip of the positioning rod can be moved to the second workpiece. 1. By fitting into the hole of the second work, the positioning of both works can be ensured. In this case, (1) First, as a preliminary step, just before inserting the positioning pin 27c into the hole 30 of the second workpiece 1, the elevating body 19 that grips the first workpiece 2 is stopped and the first workpiece 2 is slightly moved in the vertical direction to allow insertion. Make sure that Next, as a first step, before placing the first work 2 on the second work 1 coated with a high viscosity liquid such as a sealant, grease lubricant, or adhesive,
The elevating body 19 is stopped with a clearance slightly longer than the width of the tip of the claw 36. At this time, the positioning pin 27c is partially fitted into the hole 30 of the second workpiece 1.

Next, in the second step, when placing the first work 2 on the second work 1, the claw 36 simply rotates by a certain angle and escapes from the first work 2, and the first work 2 is positioned. The second workpiece is guided by the pin 27c due to the gravity of the first workpiece 2 itself and the biasing force of the large diameter portion 27a of the positioning pin 27c that biases the first workpiece 2 downward by the biasing means 33. Since it is set at the top, the second
No impact force is applied to the workpiece.

Therefore, the first workpiece can be placed gently and accurately at a predetermined position on the second workpiece without disturbing the applied high-viscosity liquid.

(2) As described above, the first workpiece 2 can be held by the simple configuration of the pressing force by the urging means 33 from the upper side and the engagement by the claws 36 from the lower side, and the claws 36 can be held. Since the first work 2 can be pressed against the second work 1 by simply letting it escape from the first work 2, there is an advantage that there is no need to adjust the pressing force by an unnecessary elevating body.

(3) Furthermore, by simply adjusting the biasing force of the biasing means 33, the optimum holding force and pressing force for the first workpiece can be obtained, and from this point of view as well, the configuration is extremely simple.

Therefore, the setting pressure of the first workpiece is adjusted by the setting force of the biasing means, and the performance of high viscosity liquids such as sealants, grease lubricants, adhesives, etc. can be fully exhibited.

Therefore, it is ideal for accurately positioning and placing, for example, an oil pan as a first work onto an engine block as a second work coated with a sealant.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The figures show one embodiment of the present invention, in which Fig. 1 is a partially cutaway front view, Fig. 2 is a partially cutaway plan view, Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view of the main part, and Fig. 4 is the same main part. Fig. 5 is a schematic plan view of the oil pan assembly process; Fig. 6 is a side view of the oil pan assembly process;
Figures a to c are schematic plan views showing the steps of cleaning, sealant application, and application state detection. 1...Engine block, 2...Oil pan,
16...Horizontal moving body, 19...Elevating body, 26...
Positioning rod, 27c...Positioning pin, 29...
Mounting hole, 30...screw hole, 33...biasing means,
36...Claws.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A horizontal movable body capable of horizontal movement between the upper part of the first work and the upper part of the second work is provided, and a plurality of positioning rods are vertically disposed on the elevating body supported by the horizontal movable body so as to be movable up and down. A pawl is provided at the bottom of the positioning rod that can be rotated by a predetermined angle to engage and detach from the first workpiece, and a positioning metal fitting is provided at the tip of the positioning rod, and the positioning metal fitting can be rotated at a predetermined angle from the tip of the positioning rod. a locating pin that is movable up and down within a range and that fits into predetermined holes of the first workpiece and the second workpiece; a large diameter portion that is integrally provided with the locating pin and contacts the first workpiece; A workpiece positioning, gripping and conveying device comprising: a biasing means for biasing downward;