JPH0679593A - Pallet transfer line - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Structure] The robot stations 1 and 2 are grouped and arranged according to the work content, and the carriages 6 and 7 are provided for each group, and the pallet 13 is provided between each group.
Is provided with a buffer station 3 which is a conveyor device for temporarily holding the. [Effect] By moving the pallets 13 from station to station independently and by moving the pallets 13 in the buffer station 3, when transferring the pallets 13 from the carriage 6 to the carriage 7, a carriage By moving 6 and 7 without interfering with each other, the distance traveled by one carrier truck 6 and 7 and the time required for one carrying operation can be shortened, and the work interruption time at each robot station 1 and 2 can be reduced. It is possible to reduce the amount and improve the productivity.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a pallet transfer line used for automatic welding lines and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a self-propelled carrier is used to transfer a pallet with a workpiece to be fixed to each process-completed robot station. From a loading station to a robot station, from a robot station to a robot station. The pallet is moved to the unloading station by a carrier truck.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional structure, when the types of the workpieces are different, the working time of each process varies greatly for each pallet, and the working start time is different. In many cases, the work is completed on a plurality of pallets almost at the same time, which causes a problem that the waiting time for conveyance becomes long and the productivity is lowered.

Further, when the number of robot stations is increased and the travel distance of the carrier is increased, the time required for the transfer work is increased, and the work waiting time in each robot station is increased.

An object of the present invention is to provide a pallet transfer line capable of improving productivity by reducing work interruption time at a robot station by reducing transfer time and transfer waiting time.

[0006]

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention has a loading station, a unloading station, and a plurality of robot stations. Between the loading station and each robot station, and between each robot station and the unloading station. In the pallet transfer line where the pallets with the workpieces fixed are transferred by the transfer trolley between the robot stations, the robot stations are grouped and arranged according to the work content, and the transfer trolleys are provided for each group. A buffer station consisting of a conveyor device for temporarily holding the pallets is provided between them.

[0007]

With the above construction, when moving pallets between robot stations of different groups, the pallets of the robot station of the previous process are pulled out by the carrier truck corresponding to the group and stored in the buffer station. At this time, in the buffer station, the pallet previously deposited is moved to the next process side by the conveyor device. Then, the pallet deposited in the buffer station is picked up by the carrier truck corresponding to the group of robot stations in the subsequent process and transferred to the robot station in the next process.

Therefore, there are operations for moving the pallet from the loading station to the robot station, moving the pallet from the robot station in the previous process to the robot station in the next process, and moving the pallet from the robot station in the final process to the unloading station. Can be performed independently. Further, in the buffer station, since the pallet is moved by the conveyor device, when transferring the pallet from the carrier to the carrier, the carrier can move without interfering with each other, and the distance traveled by one carrier can be reduced. The time required for one transfer operation can be shortened, the work interruption time at each robot station can be reduced, and the productivity can be improved.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 2, a plurality of robot stations 1 of a first group performing spot welding and a plurality of robot stations 2 of a second group performing arc welding.
Are arranged side by side in a row, and a buffer station 3 is provided between the first group and the second group. Further, a charging station 4 which also serves as a temporary welding station is provided near the outermost side of the first group, and an ejection station 5 is provided near the outermost side of the second group.

On the front side of the robot stations 1 and 2 and the buffer station 3, the first and second stations are provided.
The carrier vehicles 6 and 7 are provided. The first carrier vehicle 6 travels between the loading station 4 and the buffer station 3, and the second carrier vehicle 7 travels between the buffer station 3 and the unloading station 5.

Further, a stacker crane 8 which travels between the loading station 4 and the unloading station 5 is provided on the front side of the carrier vehicles 6 and 7, and the stacker crane 8 is provided.
A component mounting station 9 and a component removing station 10 are provided along the track of.

As shown in FIG. 2, the buffer station 3 is constructed by combining a conveyor device 11 and two lifting tables 12 each having an idler roller forming a part of the conveyor conveyance path. The pallets 13 can be placed at the same time, and the pallets 13 can be sequentially fed by driving the conveyor device 11.

The operation of the above structure will be described below.
A workpiece is fixed to the pallet 13 by a jig or the like at the component mounting station 9, and then the pallet 13 is conveyed to the loading station 4. Then, the pallet 13 is transported by the transport carriage 6 to the robot station 1 of the first group.

When the pallet 13 is moved between the robot stations 1 and 2 of different groups, the pallet 13 of the robot station 1 in the previous process is used.
Is pulled out by the carrier truck 6 corresponding to the group and deposited in the buffer station 3. In the buffer station 3, the corresponding lifting table 12 is lowered to receive the pallet 13 loaded by the carrier 6.
Further, after the pallet 13 is loaded, the lifting table 12 is raised and the conveyor device 11 is driven to sequentially feed the pallet 13. Therefore, even when the work for the two pallets 13 is completed at the robot stations 1 of the first group almost at the same time, the two pallets 13 can be received without causing a waiting time.

Then, the robot station 2 in the subsequent process
The pallet 13 deposited in the buffer station 3 is picked up by the transport carriage 7 corresponding to the second group of and is transported to the robot station 2 of the next process. Further, the pallet 13 is transported from the robot station 2 to the unloading station 5 by the transport vehicle 7, and then the pallet 13 is transported from the unloading station 5 to the component removing station 10.

Therefore, the work of moving the pallet 13 from the loading station 4 to the robot station 1, the work of moving the pallet 13 from the robot station 1 in the previous process to the robot station 2 in the next process, and the unloading station from the robot station 2 in the final process. The work of moving the pallet 13 to 5 can be performed independently. Further, in the buffer station 3, since the pallet 13 is moved by the conveyor device 11,
When the pallet 13 is transferred from the transport carriage 6 to the transport carriage 7, the transport carriages 6 and 7 can be moved without interfering with each other, and the distance traveled by one transport carriage 6 and 7 and one transport work can be performed. The time required can be shortened, the work interruption time in each robot station 1, 2 can be reduced, and productivity can be improved.

[0017]

As described above, according to the present invention, the operation of moving the pallet from the station to the station is independently performed, and the pallet is moved in the buffer station, so that the pallet is moved from the carrier to the carrier. When handing over the carrier, move the carrier vehicles without interfering with each other, reduce the distance traveled by one carrier vehicle and the time required for one transfer operation, and reduce the work interruption time at each robot station. Productivity can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a pallet transport line showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the buffer station according to the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 2 Robot station 3 Buffer station 4 Input station 5 Ejection station 6, 7 Transport cart

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A pallet for transporting a pallet having a loading station, a unloading station, and a plurality of robot stations, and a workpiece to be processed is fixed between the loading station and each robot station and between each robot station and the unloading station. In a pallet transfer line, robot stations are grouped and arranged according to the work content, a transfer trolley is provided for each group, and a buffer station consisting of a conveyor device that temporarily holds pallets between each group. A pallet transport line characterized by the provision of.