JPH0976131A - Automatic assembling machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable such means suited to the occasion, that assembling work can be automatically performed at high positional precision without using an expensive free flow conveyor or a conveyor operated intermittently according to process time, the working speed can be freely changed, a once stopped automatic assembling machine can be easily restarted, and work can be manually performed by placing operators instead of an assembling work means. SOLUTION: A positioning member 4 for pressing and moving transferring objects 3 on a belt in the direction approximately perpendicular to the flowing direction of a belt conveyor by the constant amount, a second transferring object detecting sensor 11 positioned downstream from the positioning member 4 and for outputting a detecting signal through a process of detecting that the transferring objects are moved to the specified position in the flowing direction of the belt conveyor, and an assembling means 9 for automatically assembling the transferring objects on the basis of the detected signal are provided on the belt conveyor 2 to be used in a state where operators are placed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an assembly process such as automatically assembling parts into a transfer material that is continuously transferred using a belt conveyor for assembling a staff member who is to be used by being arranged. The present invention relates to an automatic assembling machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an automatic assembler for automatically transferring parts to a transferred object while transferring the transferred object (work) with a conveyor, a belt for transferring the transferred object is used for each assembly process. There is a combination of so-called free flow conveyor or tact conveyor dedicated to automatic assembly that can be positioned and stopped for a predetermined time with assembly processing means for automatically assembling and processing a transported object.

[0003]

However, the free flow conveyor and the tact conveyor used in the conventional automatic assembly machine are excellent ones that can be freely transferred and stopped with high precision according to a program. However, it is extremely expensive as compared with an ordinary belt conveyor, and a large number of jigs are required to hold the work with high positional accuracy.

Further, when the automatic assembly machine is stopped due to some trouble, it takes a great deal of trouble to instruct a control device such as a sequencer what position and time to restart the automatic assembly machine. It was And
Even if the processing speed was increased or decreased, it was necessary to reset the control device such as the sequencer each time. Further, since such an automatic assembler is dedicated to automatic assembly, it is impossible to deal with the situation where personnel are assigned instead of the assembly processing means to continue the work even if a trouble should occur. Met.

Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to assemble and process automatically with excellent positional accuracy without using an expensive free-flow conveyor or tact conveyor.
The processing speed can be changed freely, the stopped automatic assembly machine can be easily restarted, and even if the automatic assembly machine does not function due to a trouble, personnel can be used instead of the assembly processing means. It is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic assembling machine that can be flexibly dealt with by arranging the parts and manually working.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the automatic assembling machine of the present invention is mounted on a belt conveyor for assembling personnel for placing and using personnel. A positioning member that is placed and pushes a certain amount of the transferred material that is transferred from upstream to downstream of the belt conveyor in a direction substantially perpendicular to the flow direction of the belt conveyor, and the positioning member positioned downstream of the positioning member and positioned by the positioning member. A transfer object detection sensor that outputs a detection signal by detecting that the transfer object has moved to a predetermined position in the flow direction of the belt conveyor, and an assembly process for the transfer object by receiving the detection signal from the transfer object detection sensor Assembling and processing means for

Further, a stopper member is provided for temporarily stopping the transfer object being transferred to the belt conveyor upon receiving a detection signal from the transfer object detection sensor, and for the transfer object stopped by the stopper member. The assembly processing means may perform assembly processing.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows an automatic assembly machine according to the present invention. In the present embodiment, the automatic assembly machine 1 will be described by taking as an example the case where parts are assembled to a transfer object. Reference numeral 2 is a belt conveyor for assembling personnel so that personnel can be arranged and used. 3 is a transfer article which is placed on the belt conveyor 2 and is continuously transferred with a space provided. 4 is a guide bar 5 and air. Positioning member consisting of cylinder 6 and 7 is positioning member 4
A first transported object detection sensor which is disposed on the guide bar 5 and detects the transported object 3 transferred to the belt conveyor 2.
8 is located downstream of the positioning member 4 and is the belt conveyor 2
Is a stopper member for stopping the transferred material 3 transferred for a moment, 9 is an assembly processing means which is positioned downstream of the positioning member 4 and automatically assembles the component 10 to the transferred material 3, and 11 is a belt conveyor 2. It is a second transfer object detection sensor for detecting the transfer object 3 to be transferred.

The belt conveyor 2 is a transfer / transport device except that the motor can transfer and drive the belt at a variable speed.
It has a simple function of only stopping, and is for personnel assembly used by arranging a plurality of personnel with a space beside the belt. The positioning member 4, the assembly processing means 9 and the second The transported object detection sensor 11 is detachably attached to the frame on the side of the belt conveyor 2 by using a screw, a bolt, or the like.

When the transfer object 3 placed on the belt and transferred from the upstream side to the downstream side of the belt conveyor 2 passes in front of the first transfer object detection sensor 7, the first transfer object detection sensor 7 emits light. The transported object 3 is detected by utilizing reflection or light shielding, and a signal indicating this is output to a control device (not shown). Then, the control device receiving this signal immediately drives the positioning member 4.

Compressed air is applied to the air cylinder 6 of the positioning member 4 by the control device, and as shown in FIG. 1, a certain amount of the guide bar 5 is pushed horizontally to the belt in the direction perpendicular to the transfer direction of the belt conveyor 2. The pushing amount by the guide bar 5 is always kept constant by using an appropriate stopper or limiter. As a result, the transfer object 3 is positioned in the belt conveyor 2 in a direction perpendicular to the transfer direction of the belt conveyor 2. The guide bar 5 returns to the initial setting position by the control device after positioning the transfer object 3.

When the transfer object 3 passes in front of the second transfer object detection sensor 11, the second transfer object detection sensor 11 reflects light or shields light like the first transfer object detection sensor 7 described above. The transferred object 3 is detected by utilizing it, and a signal indicating this is output to a control device (not shown). Then, the control device receiving this signal immediately drives the stopper member 8 and the assembly processing means 9.

The stopper member 8 is provided with a flat contact pad 8b at the tip of an air cylinder 8a detachably attached to the frame on the side of the belt conveyor 2 with screws, bolts and the like. Then, the control device causes the air cylinder 8a to extend horizontally to the belt in a direction perpendicular to the transfer direction of the belt conveyor 2, and the contact pad 8b blocks the path of the transfer object 3 to stop the transfer object 3 for a moment. . The time for stopping the transported object 3 is linked to the assembling / working work of the assembling / working means 9 which will be described later, which is an extremely short time of about 0.3 seconds in the present embodiment.

The assembly processing means 9 takes out a plurality of stocked components 10 one by one with a vacuum suction pad or the like and stands by on the belt in advance. By the control device receiving the detection signal, the air cylinder is immediately lowered and the component 10 is assembled to the transfer object 3 in which the stopper member 8 is stopped. Then, at the same time that the assembly processing means 9 returns, the stopper member 8 also returns, and the transfer object 3 is transferred downstream by the belt conveyor 2. At this time, the stopper member 8 moves to the downstream side faster than the transfer speed of the belt conveyor 2,
By returning from the transfer article 3 and then returning, it is possible to operate smoothly without rubbing the side surface of the transfer article 3. In FIG. 1, the component 10 made of a circular object is illustrated as being inserted into the recess of the transfer object 3 in order to simplify and explain the assembly work, but the assembly work is not limited to this. However, it may be more complicated work or two or more work steps, and can be applied to all assembling work operations that can be performed by a so-called industrial robot.

In the automatic assembling machine according to the present invention having the above-mentioned structure, the positioning member 4 positions the transfer object in the direction perpendicular to the transfer direction of the belt conveyor 2.
Further, since the second transferred object detection sensor 11 detects the transferred object and the stopper member 8 performs positioning of the transferred object in the transfer direction of the belt conveyor 2, the position reference of the transferred object necessary for the automatic assembly work can be determined. It is confirmed that the automatic assembly processing can be surely performed without stopping the belt conveyor.

The positioning member 4 and the assembly processing means 9
Since the work start trigger is due to the detection of the position of the transferred object, the speed of the belt conveyor 2 is increased.
The work tact can be freely changed by reducing it.
In addition, even if the belt conveyor 2 is temporarily stopped,
Since the transferred object detection sensor 11, the assembling / processing means 9 and the control device are all kept in the standby state, there is no need to reset the control device and the belt conveyor 2 is restarted as it is. Automatic assembly is also possible.

When the positioning of the belt conveyor 2 in the transfer direction in the transfer object 3 does not need to be very precise, the stopper member 8 is omitted and the transfer object detected by the second transfer object detection sensor 11 is omitted. The position detection may be used as a trigger to start the work of the assembling / processing unit 9 to automatically perform the assembling / processing of the transferred object.

Further, even if the automatic assembly machine 1 fails to function due to some trouble, since the belt conveyor for assembling personnel is used, instead of operating the automatic assembly machine 1, the belt conveyor 2 is used. Personnel can be assigned to continue the manual assembly work.

[0019]

As described in detail above, according to the automatic assembling machine of the present invention, a belt conveyor for assembling personnel for arranging and using personnel without using an expensive free flow conveyor or tact conveyor is provided. It can be used for automatic assembly processing with excellent positional accuracy. Further, the automatic assembly machine of the present invention can change the processing speed freely, and it is easy to restart the automatic assembly machine once stopped, and since a belt conveyor for personnel assembly is used, Even if the automatic assembly machine does not function due to a trouble, it is possible to flexibly cope with the situation in which personnel can be placed in place of the assembly processing means and work can be performed manually.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing an automatic assembly machine of the present invention.

[Explanation of Codes] 1 Automatic Assembly Machine 2 Belt Conveyor 3 Transferred Object 4 Positioning Member 5 Guide Bar 6 Air Cylinder 7 First Transferred Object Detection Sensor 8 Stopper Member 9 Assembly Processing Means 11 Second Transferred Object Detection Sensor

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A belt conveyer for assembling personnel for arranging and using personnel, wherein a transfer material placed on the belt conveyor and transferred from upstream to downstream of the belt conveyor is in a flow direction of the belt conveyor. And a detecting member that is moved by a certain amount in a direction substantially perpendicular to the position detecting member, and detects that the transfer object positioned downstream of the positioning member and positioned by the positioning member has moved to a predetermined position in the flow direction of the belt conveyor. An automatic assembly machine comprising: a transported object detection sensor that outputs a signal; and assembly processing means that receives a detection signal from the transported object detection sensor and assembles and processes the transported object. 2. A stopper member is provided for temporarily stopping the transfer object being transferred to the belt conveyor upon receiving a detection signal from the transfer object detection sensor, and for the transfer object stopped by the stopper member. The automatic assembly machine according to claim 1, wherein the assembly processing means performs assembly processing.