JPH06724A - Automatic pallet reversing device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Purpose] All of the lock release and reversal return of the pallet after component assembly work and the component clamp release to the pallet can be performed automatically and reliably, and bothersome labor and heavy labor of workers are saved. An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic pallet reversing device that can eliminate the inconvenience such as a delay in the supply to the next assembly process due to a forgetting operation. [Construction] The sub-assembly product is mounted and supported, and it is installed in the middle of the transportation path of the pallet 1 sent from the conveyor 30 after being turned over from the upward state to the horizontal state. Of the pallet 1, and the pallet reversing mechanism 60 for reversing and returning the pallet 1 from the sideways state to the upward state in the unlocked state, and the upward direction of the pallet 1. And a clamp releasing mechanism 70 for releasing the component clamping mechanism of the pallet 1 at the time of reversing and returning to the state.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic reversing device for reversible parts assembling pallets, which is mainly used in automobile assembly plants.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, as one of automobile parts assembling work, there is a sub-assembly work of a number 2 (front) cross member (hereinafter simply referred to as a cross member). This is to mount and support the cross member on a dedicated pallet for assembling parts, and while transporting this on a conveyor, assemble a pair of left and right lower arms for wheel support and a steering linkage on the cross member along the way. wear. The left and right lower arms are attached to this cross member by tightening a single shaft pin bolt and nut, and the steering linkage is attached to the cross member by hugging the brackets at the two left and right sides. Tighten the bracket to the cross member with four bolts and four nuts.

During such an assembly operation, the mounting directions of the left and right lower arms and the steering linkage are often different from each other by 90 degrees with respect to the cross member. Therefore, when the steering linkage is fastened, the cross member faces upward. It is indispensable to reverse the state from the state to the sideways state when tightening bolts and nuts.

For this reason, in this type of component assembling pallet, a pair of left and right brackets are erected on a base (pallet base), and the left and right brackets are placed between the left and right brackets in an upward state to a horizontal state via a rotary shaft. The device is mounted so that it can be reversed, and has a reversing lock mechanism that locks it in its upward state and sideways state, and further has a component clamping mechanism that positions and holds the cross member at a predetermined position on the pallet.

Such a pallet for assembling parts is locked in an upward state by a reverse lock mechanism and placed on a conveyor together with a base, and an operator mounts and supports a cross member on the pallet and position-clamps it by a parts clamping mechanism. Set the left and right lower arms on the cross member and fasten them with bolts and nuts. After that, the worker releases the reverse lock mechanism, turns the rotary shaft with the operation handle, reverses the pallet 90 degrees and locks it sideways together with the cross member, and in this state, sets the steering linkage and bracket on the cross member. Then, the bolts and nuts are tightened using a nut runner from directly above to fasten the steering linkage to the cross member.

After the sub-assembly work of the cross member is carried out in this manner, it is carried on the pallet while being conveyed by the conveyor, and the worker once releases the pallet inversion lock mechanism near the end point thereof, and the rotary shaft is previously operated by the operation handle. By rotating it in the opposite direction, the pallet together with the cross member subassembly product is pushed up from the sideways state to reverse and return to the upward state, and the clamp of the crossmember for the pallet is released. In this way, the cross member sub-assembly product is lifted from the pallet by a hanger device or the like and supplied to the next assembly process (main assembly line).

[0007]

By the way, in the above-mentioned cross member sub-assembly work using the conventional pallet for assembling parts, after the sub-assembly work is completed, the worker sends the pallet to the next assembly process. Once the reversing lock mechanism is released, the operation handle pushes up the pallet together with the cross member subassembly from the sideways state to reverse and return to the upward state, and at the same time, the part clamp mechanism that positions and holds the crossmember on the pallet. It is necessary to perform the release operation.

However, it is troublesome and troublesome for a worker to perform such an operation, and in particular, the total weight of the pallet and the sub-assembly products (cross members, left and right lower arms, stabilizer and steering linkage) mounted and supported on the pallet is about. Since it is as heavy as 38 kg, the push-up reversal returning operation by human power is heavy and requires heavy labor. Further, if the worker forgets the reversing operation and the part clamp releasing operation, there arises a problem that the supply of the sub-assembly product to the next assembling process is delayed.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is an object of the present invention to automatically and surely perform unlocking and reversal return of a pallet after component assembly work, and release of a component clamp to a pallet. An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic pallet reversing device capable of eliminating the troublesome labor and heavy labor of a worker and eliminating the inconvenience such as a delay in the supply to the next assembling process due to a forgetting operation.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, an automatic pallet reversing device of the present invention has a pallet conveying path in which parts are mounted and supported, and the pallet is reversed from an upward state to a lateral state and fed by a conveyor. When the pallet is installed on the way, and each pallet arrives on the way, it automatically advances from the retracted state to unlock the reverse lock mechanism of the pallet, and the pallet from the sideways state in this unlocked state. The configuration is characterized by having a pallet reversing mechanism for reversing and returning to the upward state and a unclamping mechanism for releasing the component clamping mechanism of the pallet when the pallet is reversing and returning to the upward state.

[0011]

According to the automatic pallet reversing device having the above-mentioned structure, the parts are mounted and supported on the pallet conveyed by the conveyor, and after the parts assembling work such as attaching the accessory parts to the pallet, the pallet is turned upward. When it is conveyed from the state to the sideways in a state of being inverted sideways by the conveyor, the lock release mechanism, the pallet reversing mechanism, and the parts clamping mechanism that have been retracted automatically advance,
Then, first, the lock release mechanism unlocks the reverse lock mechanism of the pallet, and in this state, the pallet reverse mechanism next reverses and returns the pallet from the sideways state to the upward state. The clamp release mechanism releases the component clamp mechanism of the pallet when the pallet is turned upside down and returned. By doing this, the reverse lock release and reverse return of the pallet after the parts assembly work and the parts clamp release to the pallet are all performed automatically, saving bothersome labor and heavy labor of the worker and the next assembly due to forgetting the operation. It is possible to eliminate inconveniences such as supply delay to the process.

[0012]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of an automatic pallet reversing device of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. For convenience of explanation, FIG.
The structure of the pallet (part assembly pallet) 1 which is the object of the present invention will be briefly described first with reference to FIG. First, FIG.
Is a plan view of pallet 1, and FIGS. 7A and 7B are pallet 1
FIG. 3 is a side view showing a state in which is turned upside down and sideways.

This pallet 1 is used for a cross member subassembly work which is one of the parts assembly work of an automobile. It has a flat U-shaped flat plate shape, and is long in the front-rear direction at the left and right edges of the front recess. Elongated support plates 1a are provided upright. By pivotally attaching the upper portions of the left and right support plates 1a to the pair of left and right brackets 4 on the base (pallet base) 3 via the rotating shaft 5, the pallet 1 is lifted from the horizontal upward state by its own weight about the shaft 5. It is mounted so that it can be flipped vertically (sideways). The base 3 is a rectangular plate that is carried on a conveyor, which will be described later.

Further, a reversing lock mechanism 6 is provided for locking the positioning of the pallet 1 in a horizontal upward state and a vertical sideways (backward) state by restricting the rotation. The reversing lock device 6 has a grip portion 7a at the rear end, an unlock operation lever 7, an interlocking link 8, and a lock pin 9
And a lock spring 10. The unlocking lever 7 is pivotally mounted on the upper surface of the base 3 by a pin 11 so as to be rotatable in the left-right direction. The lower end portion of the interlocking link 8 is engaged with the front end U-shaped portion of the unlock operation lever 7. The interlocking link 8 is supported by a pin at an intermediate height of the bracket 4 on the right side, and is pivotally mounted on a vertical plane so as to be rotatable in the left and right directions. A support arm 13 is provided so as to project rearward from the upper end of the interlocking link 8, and the lock pin 9 is connected to the rear end of the interlocking link 8 so as to be orthogonal to each other. The lock pin 9 penetrates through the upper portion of the bracket 4 and is fitted into any of the lock holes 1b and 1c of the support plate 1a of the pallet 1 so that the pallet 1 can be placed in a horizontal upward state and a vertical horizontal state. It is designed to lock each position.

Further, the lock spring 10 is stretched between the lower end side portion of the interlocking link 8 and the left bracket 4, and the lock spring 10 locks the lock pin 9 through the interlocking link 8. 5b (5c) is always urged in a direction to be fitted into the pallet plate 5 and self-locking works as the pallet plate 5 rotates.

Further, in the pallet 1, the workpiece reference positioning locator 16 is provided at the left and right edges of the upper surface so that the cross member A, which is a mounted component, can be accurately positioned and mounted at a predetermined position at the upper fixed position. Are respectively projected, and these are fitted into the processed holes of the cross member A. Further, L-shaped fixed receiving pedestals 17 are erected at right and left portions of the rear edge portion of the upper surface of the pallet plate 5 so as to receive the left and right portions of the rear edge of the cross member A. Further, a component clamping mechanism 18 for clamping and supporting the front end side edge left and right portions of the cross member A is provided.

The component clamp mechanism 18 is attached to each of the left and right front end corners of the pallet plate 5, and has an inverted L-shape which is rotatably supported between a fixed pedestal 19 and the brackets 20a and 20b. The clamp claw 21 and the toggle link 22 for rotating the clamp claw 21 forward and backward are provided. Moreover, there is provided a clamp operating mechanism 23 for interlocking the left and right component clamping mechanisms 18 with each other to perform clamping and unclamping operations with a single lever. The clamp operating mechanism 23 includes a pair of rotary shafts 25 arranged in a V shape on the lower surface of the pallet plate 5 via a plurality of bearings 24, and both rotary shafts 25.
Miter gears 26 attached to the rear end of the gear and meshing with each other
And one operation shaft 27 protruding upward from the rear end portion of one of the rotating shafts 25. The front ends of the left and right rotary shafts 25 are interlocked with the toggle link 22, and by rotating the operation handle 27 left and right, both rotary shafts 25 are interlocked with each other via a miter gear 26, and the left and right are rotated by this rotation. The toggle link 22 of the clamp mechanism 18 rotates to rotate the clamp claws 21 in the forward and reverse directions so that the front end side edge of the cross member A can be positioned and unclamped (unclamped) by clamping the left and right side portions of the front end side edge. It has become.

Reference numeral B in the drawing denotes a pair of left and right lower arms for supporting wheels, which are accessory parts of a cross member subassembly of an automobile, and each cross member A is tightened by a shaft pin bolt and a nut. Attached to the left and right sides of In the figure, C indicates a steering linkage that is also attached to the cross member A. The brackets D are hugged at two places on the left and right, and both brackets D are fastened to the cross member A with four bolts and four nuts in the left-right direction. Mounted across.

The cross member sub-assembly work using the pallet 1 for assembling the parts having the above-mentioned structure will be described. The pallet 1 is horizontally held in a locked state on the base 3, and the pallet 1 is crossed on the pallet 1 in this state. Member A
The cross member A is positioned and held at a predetermined position by the left and right workpiece reference positioning locators 16 and the left and right component clamp mechanisms 18 and the right and left fixed receiving bases 17.

In this state, the pallet 1 with the base 3
Is placed on the conveyor 30 of the sub-assembly line shown in FIG. 5 and conveyed as indicated by the arrow. Then, at the position P ₁ , a pair of left and right lower arms B are set on the left and right portions of the cross member A on the pallet 1, and the left and right lower arms B are fastened by tightening one shaft pin bolt and one nut. Install on the left and right sides of cross member A.

Next, at the position P ₂ , the unlock operation lever 7 of the reversing lock device 6 is rotated to the right,
The lock pin 9 is retracted against the lock spring 10 to move the support plate 1
Pull out from the lock hole 1b of a. When the pallet 1 is in the unlocked state, the pallet 1 is mounted on and supported by the cross member A, and is changed from the horizontal upward state shown in FIG. 7A to the vertical sideways (backward) state shown in FIG. 7B by its own weight. Then, the lock pin 9 is automatically inserted into the lock hole 1c of the support plate 1a through the interlocking link 8 by the biasing force of the lock spring 10 of the lock device 6 to self-lock the pallet 1 vertically. Positioning lock in a horizontal (backward) state.

As it is, it is moved to the next position P ₃ , the steering linkage C is set on the cross member A there, the brackets D are hugged at the two positions on the left and right, and both the brackets D are hung from directly above the nut runner. Tighten the cross member A with four bolts and nuts (not shown), and then position P _4.
Tighten the bolt and nut with.

After the left and right lower arms B and the steering linkage C are attached to the cross member A mounted and supported on the pallet 1 in this way, when the sub-assembly work is completed,
As shown in FIG. 5, the pallet 1 is conveyed by changing its direction from the lateral conveyance up to that time to a forward direction so as to move forward, and a cross member subassembly for the next assembly process (main assembly line). It is designed to be sent to the take-out device 31 for supplying products.

The pallet automatic reversing device 40 of the present invention is installed at one side of the position P ₅ near the end point of the pallet transportation by the conveyor 30. The automatic pallet reversing device 40, as described above, reverses and returns the pallet 1 that has been inverted from the upward state to the horizontal state and is sent back to the upward state, and is mounted and supported on the pallet 1. This is to automatically perform the preparatory work for allowing the take-out device 31 to pick up the cross member sub-assembly product smoothly and accurately without an unmanned person.

That is, the automatic pallet reversing device 40 is
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the pallet 1 is installed on the pedestal 41 installed next to the conveyor 30, and the pallet 1 is installed on the conveyor 31.
When the pallet inversion return position P ₅ near the end point of the pallet is reached, the lock release mechanism 50 that automatically advances from the retracted state to unlock the reverse lock mechanism 6 of the pallet 1 and the pallet 1 in this unlocked state. Pallet reversing mechanism 6 that reverses and returns the machine from the sideways state to the upside state
0 and a clamp release mechanism 70 for releasing the component clamp mechanism 18 of the pallet 1 when the pallet is turned up and returned.

More specifically, first, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the gantry 41 is provided with a pair of front and rear guides 4 on the upper part thereof.
The movable table 43 is provided so as to be capable of reciprocatingly sliding in the left-right direction (the forward / backward direction orthogonal to the conveyor 30) via 2, and the sliding air cylinder 44 for driving the forward / backward movement of the movable table 43.

The lock releasing mechanism 50 is mounted on the moving table 43. This lock release mechanism 5
Reference numeral 0 denotes a two-step telescopic type long unlocking air cylinder 52 that is tiltable via a floating joint 51 at a portion of the moving tail portion 43 on the front side in the conveyor traveling direction, and a piston protruding from the air cylinder 52. A tip fitting 54 is connected to the tip of the rod 53. The tip fitting 54 has a T-shape with the tip end facing sideways. Further, a tilting air cylinder 55 for tilting the lock releasing air cylinder 52 slightly up and down is provided upright on the moving table 43, and this piston rod is provided behind the lock releasing air cylinder 52 via a connecting member 56. It is a structure linked to the end.

In the pallet reversing mechanism 60, a bearing stand 61 is erected on the moving table 43 toward the conveyor advancing direction side, and a rotary shaft 62 is supported by an upper bearing portion of the bearing stand 61. Attach the crank arm 63 at the right angle to the tip of the
A push-up rotation rod 64 is attached to the tip of the above with the rotation shaft 62 as the center and in parallel with the axis. The push-up rotation bar 64 has a slightly bent tip and has a pressure roller 65 at the tip. A rotary lever 66 is fixed to the rear end of the rotary shaft 62, and a bracket 67 is mounted on the moving table 43.
The pallet reversing air cylinder 68 is swingably attached to the upper and lower sides via the, and the tip of this piston rod is attached to the rotating lever 6.
It is a structure that is pivotally connected to 6.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4, the clamp releasing mechanism 70 has a gate-shaped frame 71 standing upright on the front side of the pedestal 41 in the conveyor traveling direction, and the rear surface of the gate-shaped frame 71. An elevating horizontal beam 73 is provided on the side so as to be vertically movable via a guide 72, and an elevating air cylinder 74 for elevating the elevating horizontal beam 73 is attached to the gate frame 71. In addition, a clamp release air cylinder 76 is obliquely attached to the tip of the elevating horizontal beam 73 via a support plate 75, and a push fitting 77 is provided at the tip of the piston rod of the air cylinder 76 so as to be able to move forward and backward together with a guide rod 78. is there.

The sliding air cylinder 44 of the moving table 43, the lock releasing air cylinder 52 of the lock releasing mechanism 50, the tilting air cylinder 55, the reversing air cylinder 68 of the pallet reversing mechanism 60, and the clamp releasing mechanism 70. The lifting air cylinder 74 and the unclamping air cylinder 76 are provided with limit switches (not shown) to restrict the reciprocating operation range, and to move and reverse the pallet reversal return position P ₅ on the conveyor 31. It is controlled by a control device (not shown) that receives a signal from a sensor for detecting, and reciprocates at a timing in the order described later.

Further, reference numeral 80 in FIG. 1 denotes a positioning clamp mechanism for positioning and holding the base 3 of the pallet 1 which has come to the pallet inversion return position P ₅ of the conveyor 30, which are installed on the left and right sides of the conveyor 31, respectively. Until the operation of the automatic clamp reversing device 40 is completed, the base 3
It is designed to stably clamp and position.

Here, the pallet automatic reversing device 4 described above is used.
The action of 0 will be described. After the parts assembly work is completed, the vertical pallet 1 which is in the vertical rearward direction with the cross member sub-assembly product mounted and supported is sent to the pallet inversion return position P ₅ near the end on the conveyor 30, and the base of the pallet 1 is there. When 3 is positioned by the left and right positioning clamp mechanism 80, the moving table 43 of the pallet automatic reversing device 40, which has been retracted until then, is moved by the sliding air cylinder 44 toward the conveyor 30 side by a predetermined stroke. As a result, the tip fitting 54 of the unlocking mechanism 50 and the push-up rotating rod 64 of the pallet reversing mechanism 60 advance to a position slightly above the base 3 on the conveyor 30.

In this state, first, the unlocking air cylinder 52 of the unlocking mechanism 50 operates in an obliquely upward state, and the piston rod 53 is greatly advanced together with the tip fitting 54. Then, the unlocking air cylinder 52 and the tilting air cylinder 55 operate, whereby the tip fitting 54 is moved together with the piston rod 53 in the order of arrows a, b, c, d, e, and f of FIG. By letting
The unlocking operation lever 7 of the reversing lock mechanism 6 of the pallet 1 shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 is rotated once to the left as if hooked, and the lock pin 9 of the reversing lock mechanism 6 is thus moved from the lock hole 1c. Pull out and unlock. And the piston rod 53 and the tip fitting 54 are the conveyor 3
0 From side to side to evacuate.

When the reversing lock mechanism 6 of the pallet 1 is unlocked in this way, the pallet reversing air cylinder 68 of the pallet reversing mechanism 60 operates to rotate the rotary shaft 62 via the rotary lever 66, and the rotary shaft 62 is rotated. The rotation causes the push-up rotation bar 64 to rotate through the crank arm 63 as shown by the arrow in FIG. 2, and the pressure contact roller 65 at the tip of the push-up rotation bar 64 pushes and returns the pallet 1 from the vertical sideways (backward) state to the horizontal upward state. Let

When the pallet 1 is reversed and returned to the horizontal upward state, the reverse lock mechanism 6 causes the lock spring 10 to rotate.
Thus, the pallet 1 is locked by the self-locking operation in a horizontal state.

In this state, the lifting air cylinder 74 of the clamp release mechanism 70 operates, and the lifting horizontal beam 73 descends from the position of the imaginary line shown in FIGS. 2 and 4 to the position of the solid line. Air cylinder 7 for unclamping the tip
6 operates to push the pushing metal fitting 77 at the tip of the piston rod together with the guide rod 78. This is pallet 1
The operation handle 27 (see FIG. 1) of the clamp operating mechanism 23 of the component clamping mechanism 18 is pushed up and rotated to unclamp the component clamping mechanism 18.

Thus, the reverse lock release and the reverse return of the pallet 1 after the parts assembly work and the release of the parts clamp to the pallet 1 are all automatically performed.
The troublesome labor and heavy labor of the worker can be saved, and the operation is not forgotten.

As shown in FIG. 5, the pallet 1 having the cross-member sub-assemblies mounted horizontally upward is sent to the final take-out device 31 by the conveyor 30, and the take-out device 31 is automatically operated. Then, the cross-member sub-assembly product on the pallet 1 is properly picked up, for example, and carried to the next assembling step (for example, the main assembly line) although not shown. In addition,
The empty pallet 1 is returned to the initial position by the conveyor and is reused in the cross member sub-assembly.

[0039]

Since the automatic pallet reversing device of the present invention is constructed as described above, it is possible to automatically and reliably perform all the unlocking of the pallet, the reversal of the pallet after the parts assembly work, and the unclamping of the parts to the pallet. As a result, it is possible to eliminate the troublesome labor and heavy labor of the worker and to eliminate the inconvenience such as the delay in the supply to the next assembly process due to the forgetting of the operation.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway plan view showing an embodiment of an automatic pallet reversing device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the above embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an operation explanatory view of the pallet reversal lock release mechanism and the pallet reversal mechanism of the above embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the component clamp release mechanism of the above embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a sub-assembly line conveyor to which the pallet automatic reversing device of the present invention is attached.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing an example of a component assembly pallet targeted by the pallet automatic reversing device of the present invention.

FIG. 7 (a) is a side view when the pallet plate of the component assembly pallet of the above example is positioned and locked in a horizontal upward state, and FIG. 7 (b) is a side view when the pallet plate is positionally locked in a vertical lateral direction. Fig.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Pallet, 6 ... Pallet reversing lock mechanism, 18 ... Parts clamping mechanism, 30 ... Conveyor, 50 ... Unlocking mechanism, 60 ... Pallet reversing mechanism, 70 ... Clamp releasing mechanism, A ... Cross member, B ... Lower arm, C ... Steering linkage.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A pallet is installed in the midway of a pallet that is loaded and supported and is turned over from an upward state to a horizontal state and sent by a conveyor. When a pallet arrives in the midway of the pallet, each pallet is automatically moved from the retracted state. A lock release mechanism that advances and unlocks the reverse lock mechanism of the pallet, a pallet reverse mechanism that reverses and returns the pallet from the sideways state to the upward state in the unlocked state, and a point when the pallet reversely returns to the upward state And an automatic pallet reversing device having a clamp releasing mechanism for releasing the component clamping mechanism of the pallet.