JP2677082B2 - Palletizer attachment replacement method and attachment delivery device used therefor - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a palletizer equipped with a positioning device for positioning a panel conveyed to a predetermined place and a robot for picking up the positioned panel and transferring it to a pallet. The present invention relates to a palletizer attachment exchanging method suitable for exchanging the robot and the attachment of the robot according to the type of the panel, and an attachment delivery device used therefor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a palletizer that transfers a positioned panel to a pallet by using a robot, an attachment for holding the panel by suction or sandwiching is usually attached to the robot. Since it is necessary to change the method according to the type of panel, when changing the type of panel to be transferred, it is necessary to change the holding portion or the abutting portion of the attachment. However, as a method of changing them, there is also a method of replacing them by using a general-purpose attachment having various kinds of holding parts and abutting parts, but such a method increases the weight of the attachment. In particular, it becomes impossible to transfer a panel that is processed at high speed with a press or the like at high speed. Therefore, in the palletizer as described above, generally, a compact and lightweight attachment dedicated to each type of panel is used, and when changing the type of the panel to be transferred, it is exchanged, and the attachment is exchanged. As a conventional method, for example, there is one shown in FIG.

In the method shown in the figure, the panel 2 which has been pressed in the previous step and conveyed to the panel positioning station 1 is positioned there, sucked and held by the attachment 4 of the robot 3, and then positioned at the pallet stop station 5. It is applied to a palletizer that is transferred to the pallet 6 that has been moved, and the movable table 7 provided with two mounting positions side by side in the arm rotation direction of the robot 3 is indicated by a solid line in the drawing. Using the attachment delivery device 8 that moves back and forth between the position inside H and the position outside the working range H shown by the phantom line in the figure, first, as shown by the solid line in FIG. Next, the attachment 4 to be used next is placed, the moving table 6 is moved to a position within the working range H, and then the used attachment 4 is attached to the robot 3.
And place it on the other place of the moving table 7 as shown by the phantom line in the figure, then attach the attachment 4 to be used next and let it pick up from the moving table 7. Is retracted to a position outside the working range H, where the worker picks up the used attachment 4 from the moving table 7 and moves it to a storage location and places the attachment 4 to be used next on the moving table 7. The setup work is performed.

[0004]

By the way, in the palletizer described above, in consideration of the case where the panel 2 needs to be manually transferred to the pallet 6 when the robot 3 is not in operation, the above palletizer is used. Panel positioning station 1
In the figure, the panel transfer conveyor for transferring the panel is extended further to the left and right above the robot 3, and the pallet transfer device for transferring the pallet 6 into and out of the pallet stop station 5 interferes with the panel transfer conveyor. In order to avoid this, the robot may be extended in the left-right direction below the robot 3 in the figure along the panel transfer conveyor. When such a layout is adopted, the moving distance for transferring the panel is shortened to increase the speed. In order to enable transfer and increase the space efficiency of the installation place, the distance between the panel transfer conveyor and the pallet transfer device is minimized by minimizing the size of the base of the robot 3.

However, in the above-mentioned conventional attachment exchanging method, the movable table 7 is set to the working range H of the robot 3.
It is necessary to use a large planar space in the arm turning direction, and a positioning device for positioning the panel 2 transferred to the panel positioning station 1 also uses a dedicated attachment for the same reason as the robot 3. Therefore, the moving base 7 needs more space for the replacement, and therefore, when the space between the panel conveyor and the pallet conveyor is small as described above, the space shown in FIG.
The attachment delivery device 8 as shown in can not be installed,
There was a problem that it became difficult to replace the attachment.

In order to solve this problem, it is difficult to change the layout of the panel conveyer or the pallet conveyer because of the original panel transfer work, equipment cost, and space efficiency as described above. As shown in FIG. 20, a movable table 9 on which the attachments 4 are vertically arranged and whose width in the arm turning direction of the robot 3 is narrower than that of the movable table 7.
It is also conceivable to use the attachment delivery device 10 including the above, or to separately provide the attachment receiving device and the attachment supplying device on the left and right sides of the robot 3.
When the attachment delivery device 10 as shown in FIG. 20 is used, since the mounting place of the used attachment 4 is out of the working range H of the robot 3 as it is, the working range of the robot 3 is only for covering the mounting place. There is a problem that it is necessary to add a moving mechanism that is unnecessary for the original panel transfer work to the robot 3, and the attachment receiving device and the attachment device are provided at different locations. It is necessary to perform the work of moving the used attachment from the receiving device to the storage place and the work of supplying the attachment to be used next to the supply device at different places, and the movement of the worker in those external setup work. There was a problem that the workability deteriorated as the distance increased.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and an apparatus which advantageously solve the problems of the conventional attachment exchanging method and the attachment delivery device used therefor. The attachment exchange method is an attachment of the positioning device and an attachment of the robot of a palletizer including a positioning device that positions a panel conveyed to a predetermined place and a robot that picks up the positioned panel and transfers it to a pallet. When exchanging and according to the type of the panel, a first moving table having an attachment supply section at a lower position and an attachment receiving section at a higher position and the attachment receiving section of the first moving table are provided. The second that can be arranged above the attachment supply unit By using an attachment transfer device capable of independently moving the moving table and the moving table independently on a common orbit, first, the first moving table on which the attachment to be used next is placed on the attachment supply unit, and the first moving table. A second step of moving the movable table together with the second moving table, and performing a first step of arranging the attachment receiving section and the attachment supplying section in a vertically overlapping manner at a position within the working range of the robot;
Then, the robot removes the used attachment from the positioning device and mounts it on the attachment receiving section of the second moving table, and removes the used attachment of the robot itself and mounts it on the attachment receiving section. The second step of placing the attachment is performed, and then only the second movable table is retracted to position the attachment receiving part outside the working range of the robot, and then the robot moves the first movable table of the first movable table. The third step of mounting the attachment to be used next mounted on the attachment supply unit and mounting it on the positioning device, and mounting the attachment to be used next mounted on the attachment supply unit to the robot itself, Then, the first
The fourth step of carrying out the external setup is performed after the movable table is retracted to position the attachment supply unit outside the work range of the robot.

Further, the attachment delivery device of the present invention is the above-mentioned positioning device for a palletizer, which comprises a positioning device for positioning a panel conveyed to a predetermined place, and a robot for picking up the positioned panel and transferring it to a pallet. An attachment delivery device for delivering the attachment of the robot and the attachment of the robot for exchange according to the type of the panel, and a first moving table having an attachment supply unit at a low position,
A second moving table having the attachment receiving section at a high position and capable of stacking the attachment receiving section above the attachment supplying section of the first moving table, and the attachment receiving section and the attachment supplying section are each provided with the second moving table. A common orbit for guiding forward and backward movements of the first and second movable bases so as to move between a position within the working range of the robot and a position outside the working range; It is characterized by comprising a moving table driving means capable of independently moving the moving table and the second moving table forward and backward.

The palletizer according to the present invention comprises a panel positioning station located at an intermediate portion of the panel carrying conveyor and two pallets located adjacent to both sides of the panel positioning station in the carrying direction of the panel carrying conveyor. A stop station, two pallet transfer devices for respectively transferring pallets from the opposite directions along the panel transfer conveyor to the two pallet stop stations, the two pallet transfer devices and the panel transfer conveyor Placed in the gap between the two, facing each other from the straight line connecting the two pallet stop stations on the opposite side, alternately the panels conveyed by the panel conveyor to the panel positioning station, Stop at the two pallet stop stations Two robots transferred to the two pallets, and two attachments for moving the movable table back and forth between the position within the work range of each of the two robots and the position outside the work range. And a device.

In the attachment exchanging method, in the first step, together with the first moving table, a second moving table having an attachment exchanging hand mounted on the attachment receiving section is moved forward. In the second step, in the robot, first, the used attachment of the robot itself is removed and placed on the attachment receiving part, and then the robot exchange hand is attached to the robot itself, Using the attachment exchange hand, the used attachment is removed from the positioning device and placed on the attachment receiving part, and in the third step, only the second moving table is retracted to receive the attachment. After placing the part outside the working range of the robot, the robot first Using said replacement hand first
After picking up the attachment to be used next from the attachment supply unit of the movable table of the robot and mounting it on the positioning device, then moving the second movable table forward to return the attachment receiving unit to the working range of the robot. , The robot removes the attachment exchange hand and places it on the attachment receiving part, and then the second hand
After relocating only the moving table of (1) to position the attachment receiving section outside the working range of the robot, the robot mounts the attachment to be used next on the attachment supplying section of the first moving table. It may be attached to the robot itself.

In the attachment replacement method, some of the plurality of pins of the electric circuit connector of the robot attachment are short-circuited with each other, which are determined according to the type of panel to which the attachment is compatible. When the attachment is attached to the robot in the third step, the short-circuited pin is detected by the connection of the electric circuit connectors on the robot side and the attachment side, and the attachment is attached. It is also possible to confirm the type of panel that is compatible with.

Further, in the attachment delivery device, the attachment supply section of the first moving table and the attachment receiving section of the second moving table are respectively
The positioning device attachment and the robot attachment may be held in a vertically overlapping arrangement.

Further, the attachment replacing method of the present invention is carried to a predetermined location by a panel carrying conveyor having two rows of conveyor units and unit position adjusting means for adjusting the widthwise position and height of the conveyor units. The panel is provided with height direction positioning means for moving the height direction positioning attachment up and down in the vicinity of the conveyor line, and horizontal direction positioning means for moving the horizontal direction positioning attachment into and out of the side of the conveyor line. When the attachments of the positioning device of the palletizer that is lifted and positioned by the positioning device, picked up by the robot and transferred to the pallet are replaced according to the type of the panel, the height direction positioning means and the lateral direction positioning means The height direction attachment Moves the bets and lateral positioning attachment in place in the unit position adjusting means, by moving the conveyor unit to the predetermined position, is characterized in that the exchange of the respective attachment.

[0014]

According to such an attachment exchanging method, the attachment receiving portion of the second movable table and the attachment supply portion of the first movable table are vertically overlapped at a position within the working range of the robot of the palletizer. Since they are arranged to receive the used attachments and supply the attachments to be used next, it is possible to extremely reduce the planar space used for receiving and supplying the attachments within the working range of the robot.

Therefore, according to the attachment exchanging method of the present invention, even when the installation space of the attachment delivery device is extremely limited in view of the layout of the panel or pallet transfer device, the layout is not changed.
In addition, since the attachment delivery device can be installed without expanding the work range of the robot, the original panel transfer work, equipment cost, and space efficiency problems do not occur, and the robot's original panel Attachments can be exchanged without adding a moving mechanism that is unnecessary for transfer work, and the attachment receiving device and the supply device can be installed in different locations to deliver the attachments within the robot working range. Since it is not necessary to provide it in the robot, it is possible to improve the workability of the operator in the external setup work outside the working range of the robot.

Further, according to the attachment delivery device of the present invention, since the first moving table and the second moving table can be appropriately moved forward and backward on the common orbit, the palletizer can be moved forward by these movable steps. The attachment receiving part and the attachment supplying part can be arranged vertically on top of each other in a position within the working range of the robot, and the planar space used for receiving and supplying the attachment is extremely small within the working range of the robot. In addition, it is possible to bring the attachment receiving part and the attachment supplying part close to each other and to position them outside the work range of the robot by retreating the moving bases, thereby improving the workability of the external setup work by the worker. You can

According to the palletizer of the present invention, the robots respectively arranged in the gaps between the two pallet transfer devices and the panel transfer conveyor are located on the straight lines connecting the two pallet stop stations to the opposite sides. Since they face each other apart, the work range for panel transfer of these two robots becomes a fan shape that does not expand to 180 °, and the movement time required for the panel transfer can be shortened. Robots alternately transfer panels to the panel positioning station one after another by the panel conveyor, and transfer them to the two pallets transferred to the two pallet stop stations, so the panels can be transferred in a short tact time. Even if it is done, high-speed transfer can be performed correspondingly, and the panel positioning station has a panel transfer conveyor. Since the middle part, it can also be carried out obtained by conveying the panel in its conveyor further to above, the panels out manual in inoperative or the like of the robot.

Further, according to the palletizer of the present invention, since the two robots face each other and the pallet conveying directions of the two pallet conveying devices are opposite to each other,
Two robots and two pallet transfer devices can be arranged in a point-symmetrical manner with the panel positioning station as the center, and even if they have common specifications, even if the panels are asymmetrical, they are placed in two pallets. Two pallets stopped in opposite directions at the stop station can be loaded in the same direction with respect to the pallets, so that the pallets used by the two pallet transfer devices can be shared.

In the above attachment exchanging method, if the attachment exchanging hand placed on the attachment receiving section is used to deliver the attachment of the positioning device, the attachment / detachment mechanism of the robot can be directly attached / detached. Since it is only necessary to provide a costly and expensive adapter only to the attachment replacement hand and not to each attachment of the positioning device, it is possible to reduce the size and simplification of those attachments and to reduce their manufacturing cost. .

In the attachment replacement method, some of the plurality of pins of the electric circuit connector of the robot attachment are short-circuited to each other, and the attachment is attached to the robot in the third step. By detecting the short-circuited pin by connecting the connector and confirming the type of panel to which the attachment is compatible, the panel may not be held properly due to the use of an inappropriate robot attachment, or the panel may not be retained properly. It is possible to effectively prevent the occurrence of deformation.

On the other hand, in the attachment delivery device, if the attachment supply part and the attachment reception part respectively hold the positioning device attachment and the robot attachment in a vertically overlapping arrangement, the attachment supply part and the attachment reception part Since the size of the part becomes more compact, the planar space used for receiving and supplying the attachment can be further reduced within the working range of the robot.

Further, according to the further attachment exchanging method of the present invention, the positioning of the palletizer for picking up by the robot and transferring it to the pallet is performed by lifting and positioning the panel conveyed to the predetermined place by the panel conveyor. When replacing each attachment of the device according to the type of panel, the positions of the height-direction positioning attachment and the horizontal-direction positioning attachment are set to the predetermined positions by the height-direction positioning means and the horizontal-direction positioning means, and Since the row conveyor units are positioned at the predetermined positions by the unit adjusting means and the attachments are exchanged, it is possible to set the two row conveyor units to the optimum widthwise position and height according to the panel type. Deformation of the panel during receipt and transportation At the same time, the palletizer has the function of picking up the panel from the panel conveyor and positioning it at a predetermined position by moving the height locating attachment and the horizontal locating attachment according to the type of panel The robot operation program can be made common regardless of the type of panel, and the man-hours required for program production can be greatly reduced.

[0023]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a plan layout view showing an entire embodiment of a palletizer equipped with an attachment delivery device used for carrying out the attachment exchanging method of the present invention, and FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 are enlarged views of the palletizer. It is the top view, front view, and side view which are shown.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 11 denotes an automobile body panel press-processed by a transfer press device which is located on the left side in FIG. 1, and reference numeral 12 denotes a gripper 12 for the processed panel.
A feed bar which is sandwiched by a and is carried out from the inside of the transfer press device, 13 is a pallet on which a plurality of the panels 11 are stacked by a stacking method such as flat stacking or vertical stacking, and 14 is a panel on which the panel 11 is transferred to the pallet 13. Each of the palletizers to be mounted is shown here.The palletizer 14 in this case transfers the panels 11 successively sent from the transfer press device by the feed bar 12 at short time intervals to the pallet 13 at a high speed, so that the palletizer 11 transfers the panel 11 from the feed bar 12. And a panel transfer conveyor 16 for intermittently feeding the panel 11 to the panel positioning station 15 as indicated by an arrow B in the figure, and a panel transfer conveyor for transporting the panel 11 at the panel positioning station 15.
16 A positioning device 17 that lifts from above and positions it at a predetermined position, and a pallet transport device 20 that loads and unloads the pallet 13 to and from two pallet stop stations 18 and 19 in the figure, which are the upper and lower positions of the panel positioning station 15. 21 and the panel positioned by the positioning device 17
It is equipped with two robots 22 and 23 that transfer 11 to the pallets 13 alternately.

Here, in FIG. 1, the panel transfer conveyor 16 is mounted on a slender elevating frame 30 which horizontally extends from the vicinity of the end of the feed bar 12 to the place where the panel positioning station 15 is located in the left-right direction in FIG. Feed bar
Two belt conveyor units 31 extending from below 12 parallel to the elevating frame 30 and further through the panel positioning station 15, and these belt conveyor units 31 are perpendicular to the extending direction of the elevating frame 30. Direction adjustment mechanism 32 as unit position adjusting means for changing the width direction positions of both belt conveyor units 31 by separately moving the belt conveyor units 31 and the vertical movement of the elevating frame 30.
This also comprises a conveyor unit height adjusting mechanism 33, which also serves as a unit position adjusting means for changing the position in the height direction, and a belt drive mechanism 34 for driving the conveyor belts of both belt conveyor units 31 together.

Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the conveyor unit width direction position adjusting mechanism 32 here moves the two moving tables 35 in the horizontal direction perpendicular to the extending direction of the elevating frame 30. Are guided by a common guide rail that fits with the sliders provided on those moving bases, and the two moving bases 35 are respectively screwed into ball nuts provided on those moving bases. A normal linear moving mechanism 37 for separately moving by rotating the shaft by a separate decelerator 36 is provided at both ends and an intermediate portion of the elevating frame 30 in the extending direction, and a view of the elevating frame 30. In FIG. 1, the input shafts of the respective speed reducers 36 on the upper side are connected to the servo motors 38 provided on the upper side in the figure at the left end portion, respectively, directly or via the intermediate shaft 39, and the left end portion of the elevating frame 30 in the figure at the same time. Provided on the lower side The input shafts of the lower speed reducers 36 are coupled to the servomotors 38 directly or via the intermediate shafts 39, respectively, and further, the upper moving bases 35 support the upper belt conveyor unit 31 in FIG. It is configured to support the belt conveyor unit 31 on the lower side in the figure by each moving base 35, and according to the conveyor unit width direction position adjusting mechanism 32, each linear movement is performed based on the operation of those servo motors 38. By appropriately rotating each ball screw shaft of the mechanism 37, the two belt conveyor units 31 are separately provided in the width direction thereof, and any suitable for supporting the panel 11 capable of preventing deformation during receiving or during transportation. Can be moved to a position.

Further, the conveyor unit height adjusting mechanism 33
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, a ball nut that engages with a ball screw shaft supported so as to be able to move up and down is attached to a worm wheel, and a screw jack 40 that drives the worm wheel with a worm gear to move the ball screw shaft up and down. ,
The worm gears of the screw jacks 40 are provided at both ends in the extending direction of the elevating frame 30 and at some positions in the middle in the width direction, and the worm gears of the screw jacks 40 are provided at the center of the elevating frame 30 at the right end in FIG. Servo motor 41 to reducer 42
And the intermediate shaft 43 are connected to each other, and according to the conveyor unit height adjusting mechanism 33,
By rotating each worm gear based on the operation of the servo motor 41, the ball screw shafts of all the screw jacks 40 are raised and lowered together, the elevation frame 30 is raised and lowered as a whole, and the two belt conveyor units 31 are put together. The panel 11 can be moved from the feed bar 12 to any height suitable for receiving it without being deformed.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the belt drive mechanism 34 includes a servomotor 44 on the right end of the elevating frame 30 in FIG. 1 and a speed reducer 45 having an input shaft connected to its output shaft. And the spline shaft 46 connected to the output shaft of the speed reducer 45 is connected to the two belt conveyor units 31.
And is drivingly coupled to a drive shaft for driving the conveyor belt of the belt conveyor unit 31 so as to be movable in the axial direction. According to the belt drive mechanism 34, the servomotor 44 is intermittently operated. By intermittently rotating the spline shaft 46 based on such an operation, the conveyor belts of both belt conveyor units 31 are intermittently moved by a predetermined distance, and the panel 11 placed on these conveyor belts is pitch-fed. can do.

A large number of electromagnets are fixed to the back side of the conveyor belt of the belt conveyor unit 31 at predetermined intervals. According to the belt conveyor unit 31, the movement of the conveyor belt immediately before the start of the movement is started. By exciting those electromagnets immediately after stopping, it is possible to prevent the panel 11 placed on the conveyor belt from being displaced or dropped by intermittent feeding. A pallet cradle 48 is attached to the right end of each of the belt conveyor units 31 in FIG. 1 so as to pass through a hole provided in a part of the safety fence 47. Two robots 22, etc.
When 23 cannot be operated and it is necessary to manually transfer the panel 11 to the pallet 13, if the panel 11 is transported to the pallet cradle 48, the panel will be moved to the right in the figure manually.
11 can be carried out.

Here, the positioning device 17 is shown in FIG.
5 and a partial phantom line in FIG. 5, the lifter mechanism as a height direction positioning means for lifting the panel 11 from the panel transfer conveyor 16 and positioning it at a predetermined height.
51 and a side guide mechanism 52 as a lateral positioning means for locating the lifted panel 11 at a predetermined lateral position, wherein the lifter mechanism 51 is a linear movement mechanism 37 located at the panel positioning station 15. A belt conveyor unit 31 is provided by each of the two moving platforms 35.
Two lifting rods 53 are formed on both sides of the moving rack 35, and the lifting rods 53 having racks formed on the side portions are supported upright so that they can be raised and lowered.
The pinions inside are engaged with the racks of their lifting rods 53 to raise and lower the four lifting rods 53 together for each of those moving bases 35, and further, those lifting rods 53.
, Which are located on the same side with respect to the belt conveyor unit 31, as a pair, and the attachment holder is provided at the upper end of each pair.
Of the two attachment holders 55 that are fixedly installed on each movable table 35, two or one of the attachment holders 55 located on the outer side of the two belt conveyor units 31 are moved on the outer side and the other side of the movable table 35. A lifter attachment 56 as shown in FIG. 5 is fitted to one of the inner sides of the base 35 by using two pins 58 having different thicknesses and projecting downward on a plate 57 provided on the side thereof. According to such a lifter mechanism 51, by raising the attachment holder 55 based on the operation of the servo motor 54, the lifter attachment 56 moves the panel 11 from the conveyor belt of the belt conveyor unit 31. It can be lifted and positioned at a predetermined height.

The lifter attachment here
As shown in FIGS. 5A to 5C, 56 is a dedicated one having a shape corresponding to the type of panel 11,
When it is lifted, it can be fitted with it and the panel 11 can be positioned at a predetermined position in the transport direction of the panel transport conveyor 16. Also lifter attachment
Although only two of the 56 are used for positioning the panel 11 as described above, they are shown in FIG. 3 as being fitted to all the four attachment holders 55 for reference.

Further, the side guide mechanism 52 here is provided.
A support base 59 is fixedly installed on each side of the two movable bases 35 of the linear movement mechanism 37 located in the panel positioning station 15, and the linear movement mechanism 37 is mounted on each of the support bases 59.
Similarly, a linear movement mechanism 61 that includes a guide rail for guiding and a ball screw shaft for driving and that rotates the ball screw shaft with a servomotor 60 is provided, and with these linear movement mechanisms 61,
The attachment holders 62 similar to the attachment holder 55 can be individually moved in the horizontal direction (lateral direction) perpendicular to the transport direction of the panel transport conveyor 16, and the attachment holders 62 shown in FIG. )
Dedicated side guide attachments 63 having a shape corresponding to the type of the panel 11 as shown by the phantom line are provided on the side of the same, and the downward protrusions are formed on the bracket 57 similar to that of the lifter attachment 56. Two pins with different
The side guide mechanism 52 is mounted by using the 58, and according to the side guide mechanism 52, the attachment holder 62 is horizontally moved based on the operation of the servo motor 60, and the lifter attachment 56 lifts the attachment holder 62 to a predetermined height. The panel 11 can be pinched from both sides in the lateral direction by the side guide attachments 63 and positioned at a predetermined lateral position.

Further, here, the two pallet transfer devices 20 and 21 for loading and unloading the pallet 13 into and from the pallet stop stations 18 and 19 at two positions above and below the panel positioning station 15 in FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, they have the same specifications and are arranged in opposite directions.
As shown in FIG. 3, the autonomous traveling vehicle 65 is installed at such a height that it can pass thereunder, and holds both sides of the pallet 13 to guide the movement of the pallet 13 in the left-right direction in FIG. Free conveyor with freely rotatable rollers and balls
70 and a guide rail 71 extending along the free conveyor 70 guide the movement of a rack 72 having a not-shown engaging portion that can be engaged with and disengaged from the pallet 13 on the free conveyor 70, and meshes with the rack 72. The pallet transfer mechanism 76 drives the rack 72 by rotating the pinion 73 by the servomotor 75 via the decelerator 74. In the pallet transfer device 20, the empty pallet 13 is equipped with the lifter 64 autonomously. When the traveling carriage 65 conveys the empty pallet 13 onto the free conveyor 70 at the pallet loading station 77 by raising and lowering the lifter 64, the empty pallet 13 is moved onto the free conveyor 70. Pallet transfer mechanism 76
In the figure, the pallet 13 is transferred rightward to the pallet stop station 18 and stopped there, and when the loading of the panel 11 onto the pallet 13 is completed, the pallet transfer mechanism 76 further moves the pallet 13 rightward to the pallet unloading station 78. The autonomous traveling carriage 65, which has been transferred and moved from the pallet loading station 77 to the pallet unloading station 78 under the free conveyor 70 at that location, has its lifter.
The pallet 13 is received by raising and lowering 64 and is conveyed to an assembly line or the like.

Similarly, the other pallet transfer device 21 here also has a free conveyor 70 and a pallet transfer mechanism.
In the pallet transfer device 21 as well, the pallet transfer mechanism 76, on the free conveyor 70, moves the empty pallet 13 transferred by the autonomous traveling vehicle 65 as shown by the arrow D in the figure. In the figure, transfer to the left to the pallet stop station 18 and stop there, where the pallet
When the panel 11 has been loaded onto the 13
The pallet transfer mechanism 76 further transfers the pallet to the left to the pallet unloading station 78, where the free conveyor is
The autonomous traveling carriage 65 that has moved from the pallet carry-in station 77 to the pallet carry-out station 78 under the 70 receives the pallet 13 by moving the lifter 64 up and down and conveys it to the assembly line or the like.

Then, the two robots for transferring the panel 11 positioned by the positioning device 17 onto the empty pallet 13
Reference numerals 22 and 23 are normal articulated robots, respectively, which are arranged in the gaps between the two pallet transfer devices 20 and 21 and the panel transfer conveyor 16, respectively. , 19 facing away from each other on the straight line connecting
Each of the robots 2 and 23 has a robot attachment 80 detachably attached via a general-purpose tool holder 79 as a hand attaching / detaching mechanism provided on the wrists of the robots.

Robot attachment 80 here
As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, a vacuum cup 82 is provided at each tip of an H-shaped arm member 81 that is bent to be suitable for holding the panel member 11 according to the type of the panel 11, and the arm member 81 A sensor 83 for panel detection is provided in the middle part, and a disc-shaped flange 84 provided in the center of the arm member 81 is further provided.
It is dedicated to the type of panel 11, which is fixed to the tool plate 85 as an adapter, which has each connector for air piping and electric circuit, and the tool holder 79 on the robot side protrudes from the tool plate 85. Three pins installed
By hooking 86 to a known cam lock mechanism, the robot attachment 80 can be positioned and attached to the robots 22 and 23, and at the time of attachment, the air piping and electric circuit provided in the tool holder 79 It is possible to connect the air piping from the vacuum cup 82 and the electric circuit from the sensor 83 to the robot side by connecting the respective connectors to the connector on the tool plate 85 side, and to the cam lock mechanism, the pin 86 of the tool plate 85. By opening the robot attachment 80, the robot attachment 80
It can be removed from 23. There are a large number of pins of the connector for the electric circuit provided on the tool plate 85, and there are still a large number of pins even if they are used for the above-mentioned sensor. Attachment for that robot out of the pins
Some things defined according to the kind of the panel 11 to which 80 complies are electrically short-circuited with each other.

According to the palletizer 14 described above, the panels 11, which are successively sent out from the transfer press device by the feed bar 12 at short time intervals, are intermittently transported to the panel positioning station 15 by the panel transport conveyor 16, Therefore, while the positioning device 17 uses the dedicated lifter attachment 56 and the side guide attachment 63 to lift it from the panel transfer conveyor 16 and position it at a predetermined position, two pallet transfer devices 20 and 21 are used to pallet the two pallets 13 respectively. Two robots 2 transferred to the stop stations 18 and 19 and facing each other with the panel positioning station 15 in between.
2, 23, by using the dedicated robot attachment 80, the panel 11 positioned by the panel positioning station 15 can be picked up and transferred to the two pallets 13 at high speed alternately, and a plurality of panels 11 can be transferred. The pallets 13 placed in a predetermined stacking manner depending on the type can be delivered to the autonomous traveling vehicle 65 and supplied to another line or the like.

While the palletizer 14 is supplied with a plurality of types of panels 11 from the transfer press device, the two lifter attachments 56 and the two side guides used for transferring the panels 11 as described above. The attachment 63 and the robot attachment 80 of the two robots 22 and 23 are special products that have a shape according to the type of the panel 11, so when changing the type of the panel 11, the used attachments 56, 63, 80 Must be replaced with the next one, and the palletizer 14 here also comprises two attachment hand-off devices 87, 88 in order to let the two robots 22, 23 perform the attachment exchange work. .

Here, the two attachment delivery devices 87, 88 have substantially the same specifications as each other, and as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the panel delivery conveyor 16 and the two pallet delivery devices 20, 21. 1 are installed along the panel transfer conveyor 16, and among them, the attachment transfer device 87 on the upper side in FIG. 1 is one lifter attachment 56 on the upper side in FIG.
And the side guide attachment 63 and the robot attachment 80 used by the robot 22 itself, and in FIG. 1, the lower attachment delivery device 88.
Is a lifter attachment 56 and a side guide attachment for the robot 23, one on the lower side in the figure.
63 is in charge of delivery between the robot attachment 80 used by the robot 23 itself.

Attachment delivery device 87 here
2 to 4 and 8 to 10, a base 89 extending parallel to the panel transfer conveyor 16 from near the bases of the robots 22 and 23 to the end of the panel transfer conveyor 16 is reached. On the top, there is one guide rail 90 and two normal rodless air cylinders 91, 92 located on both sides of the guide rail 90, where the guide rail 90 is the attachment supply section 93.
Supply platform 94 as the first platform with the low position
It is fitted to a slider 95 provided on the above to guide the advancing / retreating movement of the supply moving base 94, and is provided on a receiving moving base 97 as a second moving base having an attachment receiving portion 96 at a high position. The slider 98 is fitted to guide the advancing / retreating movement of the receiving movable base 97, and the rodless air cylinder 91 drives the slide block 99 engaged with the supplying movable base 94 to drive the supplying movable base 94. The rodless air cylinder 92
By driving the slide block 100 engaged with 97, the receiving moving base 97 is moved, whereby the attachment supply section 93 and the attachment receiving section 96 are shown separately by phantom lines in FIG. It is possible to move forward and backward between the forward limit position shown by the phantom line in FIG. 9 and the backward limit position shown by the phantom line in FIG. The advance / retreat positions are specified by the contact of the movable bases 94, 97 with the stopper bolts 101 provided on the base 89, and next to the stopper bolts 101, the positions when the movable bases are stopped are specified. A normal shock absorber 102 for reducing shock is also installed. In addition, a limit switch (not shown) that is activated by the arrival of the receiving mobile stand 97 is provided in the center of the base 89 for stopping the receiving mobile stand 97 at an intermediate position described later and for confirming passage of the intermediate position. There is.

As shown in FIG. 9, the attachment receiving portion 96 of the receiving moving base 97 is supported by the arm portion 104 extending obliquely upward from the base 103 of the receiving moving base 97, while the attachment receiving portion 96 is supplied to the receiving moving base 97. The attachment feeder 93 of the carriage 94 is directly supported by the base 105 of the feeder carriage 94 and is a relief portion 93 for avoiding interference with the arm member 104.
Since the guide rail 90 extends to the vicinity of the base of the robot 22, the attachment supply section 93 and the attachment receiving section 96 are located at the forward limit position as shown in FIG. And the attachment receiving part 96 and the attachment receiving part 96 are vertically overlapped with each other outside the work range F at the retracted limit position. Can be located without overlapping.

Further, in the attachment receiving portion 96 and the attachment supplying portion 93, as shown in FIGS. 6 to 10, the arcuate portion 106a is fitted with the flange 84 of the robot attachment 80 and the escape portion 106b is provided. Avoiding interference with the H-shaped arm member 81 of the attachment 80, the tool plate 85 of the attachment 80 is supported by the flat portion 106c, and the locate pin 106d protruding from the flat portion 106c is connected to the locate hole 85a of the tool plate 85. The robot attachment holding unit 106 capable of holding the robot attachment 80 in a positioned state by fitting the robot attachment 80.
And two of the three pin holes 107a
Two types of lifter attachments for inside and outside 56
And a pair of pin holes, which are capable of holding one of the lifter attachments 56 in a positioned state by fitting with the pair of pins 58.
The side guide attachment 63 is provided with a side guide attachment holding portion 108 capable of holding the side guide attachment 63 in a positioned state by fitting the side guide attachment 63 to the pair of pins 58 of the side guide attachment 63.
The hole intervals between 7a and the pair of pin holes 108a are L ₁ , L ₂ , and L ₃ which are different from each other in order to prevent the worker from setting them in the wrong place during the external setup work. Correspondingly, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, the spacing between the pins 58 of the two types of lifter attachments 56 and the side guide attachments 63 and the attachment holders 55, 62 of the positioning device 17 corresponding to them. The hole intervals of the pin holes are also L ₁ , L ₂ , and L ₃ described above.

Similarly, the other attachment delivery device 88 here also has a supply movable base 94 as a first movable base having an attachment supply section 93 at a lower position on a base 89, and an attachment receiving section 96. Is provided with a single guide rail 90 for guiding the movement with the receiving movable base 97 as the second movable base having a high position, and these movable bases 94, 97 are moved to provide an attachment supply unit 93 and The attachment receiving portions 96 are individually moved to move back and forth between the forward limit position shown by the phantom line in FIGS. 4 and 9 and the backward limit position shown by the phantom line in FIGS. 4 and 9. It is equipped with two rodless air cylinders 91 and 92, and their attachment supply section 93 and attachment reception section 96 are within the working range F of the robot 23 at the forward limit position as shown in FIG. While the position overlapping schematically each other in the vertical direction, it can be positioned without overlapping each other vertically to the working range F out at the retreat limit position. Then, the attachment supply unit 93 and the attachment receiving unit 96 similarly have a robot attachment holding unit 106, a lifter attachment holding unit 107, and
A side guide attachment holder 108 is provided. Each of the attachment delivery devices 87 and 88 includes a sensor (not shown) for detecting the placement of each attachment in the attachment supply section 93 and the attachment reception section 96, and further, in order to omit the wiring of cables from those sensors. , Magnetic coupler on the side of the supply base 94
116 and the magnetic coupler 117 on the side of the receiving carriage 97, while
A magnetic coupler 118 is provided at a position on the base 89 to enable non-contact reception of signals from the above sensors.

By the way, in this embodiment, when the lifter attachment 56 and the side guide attachment 63 are exchanged, the robots 22 and 23 can be detachably attached to the robots as shown in FIGS. 11 to 13. Use hand 110. This attachment replacement hand 110 is used for the robot attachment 80 described above.
A bracket 111 of a substantially inverted T shape is attached below a flange 84 similar to that of the above, and two locate pins 112 and a clamp air cylinder 113 are provided laterally at the bottom of the bracket 111, and the piston rod of the air cylinder 113 is installed. A disk-shaped clamper plate 11 with a step at the tip of 113a
4 and attach the flange 84 to a tool plate 85 similar to that of the robot attachment 80 above.
By attaching the tool plate 85 to the tool holder 79 of the robots 22 and 23, the air pipe of the air cylinder 113 of the attachment replacement hand 110 and the limit switch for detecting its operation can be fixed. The circuit can be connected to the robot side similarly to the robot attachment 80.

And the lifter attachment here
56 and the plate 57 of the side guide attachment 63, as shown in FIG. 5, a stepped U-shaped groove 57a into which the clamper plate 114 can be inserted from above so as to be held by the attachment replacement hand 110, Two locate holes 57 that can be fitted with the above two locate pins 112.
b is formed, and the attachment receiving portion 96 of the receiving pedestal 97 of each of the attachment transfer devices 87 and 88 here is also provided with the attachment replacement hand 11 described above.
As shown in FIGS. 8 to 13, the arc-shaped portion 115a can be held so as to hold 0, similarly to the robot attachment holding portion 106.
Is fitted with the flange 84 of the attachment replacement hand 110, the escape portion 115b avoids interference with the bracket 111 of the hand 110, and the flat portion 115c supports the tool plate 85 of the hand 110, and the flat portion 115c
By attaching the locate pin 115d protruding from the position to the locate hole 85a of the tool plate 85, the attachment replacement hand holding part 115 capable of holding the attachment replacement hand 110 in a positioned state is attached to the robot attachment holding part 106. It is equipped in a position to oppose.

First, as shown in FIG. 14A, the robots 22 and 23 equipped with the attachment replacement hand 110 descend the attachment replacement hand 110 with the piston rod 113a of the air cylinder 113 advanced. Then insert the clamper plate 114 into the groove 57a of the plate 57 of the lifter attachment 56 or the side guide attachment 63 from above, and then attach the attachment replacement hand 110 to the two locate pins as shown in FIG. The protrusion pins 112 are advanced so that the locate pins 112 are fitted into the two locate holes 57b of the plate 57 and the bracket 111 is brought into close contact with the plate 57, and thereafter, as shown in FIG.
By performing a series of steps of retracting the piston rod 113a of 3 and sandwiching the plate 57 between the clamper plate 114 and the bracket 111, it is possible to hold the lifter attachment 56 or the side guide attachment 63 in a positioned state, Attachment holders 55 and 62 of the positioning device 17 and an attachment supply unit of the supply base 94.
Mounting and picking up of the attachments 56 and 63 with respect to the attachment receiving portion 96 of the 93 and the receiving carriage 97, and the positioning device 17 and the attachment delivery device 87, 88.
It is possible to transfer the attachments 56 and 63 to and from the lifter attachment 56 or the side guide attachment 63 by performing the procedure reverse to the above.
Can be opened.

In the attachment exchanging method according to this embodiment, however, the two robots 22 and 23 and the two attachment transfer devices 87 and 88 are used to carry out the steps shown in FIGS.
The attachment is replaced according to the procedure shown in. That is, here, as shown in FIG.
94 and the receiving pedestal 97 are moved backward to position the attachment supply section 93 and the attachment receiving section 96 at the retracted limit position, and at that position, the operator attaches the robot attachment holding section 106 of the attachment supply section 93 to the attachment holding section 106. Lifter attachment holder 107 and side guide attachment holder
108, the robot attachment 80, the lifter attachment 56, and the side guide attachment 63, which are suitable for the panel 11 of the type to be used next, that is, the type to be transferred next, are set, and the attachment of the attachment receiving portion 96 is exchanged. The external setup work for setting the attachment replacement hand 110 to the hand holding portion 115 is performed, and then, as the first step, as shown in FIG. 7B, each attachment to be used next is supplied with the attachment. A supply movable table 94 placed on the section 93,
Move the attachment replacement hand 110 together with the receiving pedestal 97 mounted on the attachment receiving section 96,
A step of vertically arranging the attachment receiving portion 96 and the attachment supplying portion 93 at positions within the work ranges E and F of the robot is performed. Since the external setup work is performed outside the work ranges E and F of the robots 22 and 23, it can be performed in parallel while the robots are performing the transfer work of the panel 11.

Next, as a second step, here, as shown in FIG. 3, the lifter attachment 56 is lifted to the upper limit position by the lifter mechanism 51, and the side guide attachment 63 is moved to the conveyor unit 31 most by the side guide mechanism 52. Then, the two conveyor units 31 and the two lifter attachments 56 are simultaneously moved to a position closest to each other by the conveyor unit width direction position adjusting mechanism 32 and the conveyor unit height adjusting mechanism 33.
Then, the robots 22 and 23 are first detached from the used robot attachments 80 of the robots 22 and 23 and placed on the attachment receiving portion 96, as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 16 (a),
Attachment replacement hands for those robots 22 and 23.
Attach the 110 and replace the attachment 110
The used lifter attachment 56 and the side guide attachment 63 are removed from the positioning device 17 by using the step of placing the attachments 56 and 63 on the attachment receiving portion 96 as shown in FIG.

In this embodiment, since the distance between the lifter attachment 56 and the side guide attachment 63 in the mounted state is not always the same in the positioning device 17 and the attachment receiving portion 96, the single attachment as described above is used. Using the attachment exchange hand 110 that holds the above, the above steps are not performed for both attachments at the same time, but one of them is removed from the positioning device 17 and placed on the attachment receiving part 96, and the other is then positioned.
The procedure is to remove them from the rack and place them on the attachment receiving part 96.
The above steps may be performed at one time by using an attachment exchange hand provided with two sets of an air cylinder driven clamper plate and an air cylinder driven locate pin so that both attachments can be held simultaneously with their intervals maintained. .

Next, as a third step, in FIG.
As shown in (a), only the receiving moving base 97 is retracted to the intermediate position and the attachment receiving section 96 is moved to the robot 22, 23.
First, the robots 22 and 23 are moved to the outside of the work ranges E and F, and then the attachment replacement hand 110 is used by the robots 22 and 23 from the attachment supply section 93 of the supply base 94 and the lifter attachment 56 and the side to be used next. Pick up the guide attachment 63 and those attachments 56,
After mounting the 63 on the positioning device 17, as shown in FIG. 17 (b), the receiving moving base 97 is again moved forward to return the attachment receiving portion 96 to the working ranges E and F of the robots 22 and 23. , The robots 22 and 23 remove the attachment exchange hand 110 and place it on the attachment receiving section 96, and then, as shown in FIG. 18 (a), only the receiving moving base 97 is retracted to the retracted limit position, When the receiving moving table 97 passes through the intermediate position where the attachment receiving section 96 goes out of the work range E, F of the robot 22, 23, the robot 22, 23
A process of mounting the robot attachment 80 to be used next mounted on the attachment supply unit 93 of the supply movable table 94 to the robots 22 and 23 themselves is performed.

It should be noted that the robot attachment 80 here is determined according to the type of the panel 11 to which the robot attachment 80 is compatible among the many pins of the electrical circuit connector provided on the tool plate 85. Some of them are electrically short-circuited to each other, and at the end of the third step, the robot attachment
When mounting the 80, here, the type of the compatible panel of the robot attachment 80 actually mounted on the robots 22 and 23 is confirmed by detecting pins short-circuited to each other on the robot side. By such a method, it is possible to confirm here whether the robot attachment 80 mounted on the robot is suitable for the panel 11 of the type to be transferred next, and the inappropriate robot attachment 80 is used. It is possible to effectively prevent the failure of holding the panel 11 and the occurrence of deformation of the panel 11 due to this.

Then, as a fourth step, here, FIG.
As shown in (b), the supply base 94 is retreated to the retreat limit position to position the attachment supply section 93 outside the work ranges E and F of the robots 22 and 23, and then the worker It is said that each attachment 56, 63, 80 is removed from the attachment receiving section 96 and moved to a storage location, and if necessary, each attachment 56, 63, 80 to be used next is set in the attachment supply section 93 for external setup. Carry out the process.

According to the attachment exchanging method of the above embodiment, when changing the type of the panel 11 to be transferred, the robot 2
2, 23 and the attachment transfer device 87, 88 can be used to replace the attachments 56, 63, 80.
Moreover, according to this method, the robot 22 of the palletizer 14,
The attachment receiving portion 96 of the receiving movable base 97 and the attachment supplying portion 93 of the supplying movable base 94 are arranged in the work ranges E and F of 23 at the upper and lower sides as required, and the used attachment 56 , 63, 80 is received and the attachments 56, 63, 80 to be used next are supplied. Therefore, in the work ranges E and F of the robots 22 and 23, the planes used to receive and supply the attachments are used. The space can be extremely reduced.

Therefore, according to the attachment exchanging method of the above embodiment, the panel conveying conveyor 16 and the pallet conveying device are
Even if the installation space of the attachment delivery device is extremely limited from the layout of 20, 21, the attachment delivery device 87, 88 can be used without changing the layout and without expanding the work range of the robots 22, 23.
Since it is possible to install the panel 11, it does not cause the problem of the original panel 11 transfer operation, equipment cost, and space efficiency, and the robot 22 and 23 does not require the original panel 11 transfer operation. The attachment can be exchanged without adding the attachment, and the attachment receiving device and the feeding device can be installed at different locations for the delivery of the attachments 56, 63, 80 within the working range of the robots 22, 23. Since it is not necessary to provide the work range E of the robots 22 and 23,
The workability of the worker in the external setup work outside the F can be improved.

Further, according to the attachment transfer devices 87, 88 of the above-described embodiment, the receiving moving base 97 and the supplying moving base 94 can be appropriately moved forward and backward on the common guide rail 90, so that they are moved. By the forward movement of the platforms 94, 97, the attachment receiving section 96 and the attachment supplying section 93 can be arranged vertically in a position within the working range E, F of the robot 22, 23 of the palletizer 14, and the robots The planar space used for receiving and supplying the attachments 56, 63, 80 within the working range can be extremely reduced, and the movement of the movable bases 94, 97 causes the attachment receiving portion 96 and the attachment supplying portion 93 to be separated. Can be positioned close to each other and outside the work ranges E and F of the robots 22 and 23, and the workability of the external setup work by the worker can be improved.

According to the palletizer 14 of the above embodiment, the robots 22 and 23 arranged in the gaps between the two pallet transfer devices 20 and 21 and the panel transfer conveyor 16 respectively.
However, since the robots 22 and 23 face each other on the straight line connecting the two pallet stop stations 18 and 19 opposite to each other, the work range for panel transfer of those robots 22 and 23 does not expand to 180 °, forming a fan shape. It is possible to shorten the moving time required for the panel transfer by the robots 22 and 23, and the robots 22 and 23 alternately transfer the panels 11 which are successively transferred to the panel positioning station 15 by the panel transfer conveyor 16 to the panel positioning station 15. Since the pallets are transferred to the two pallets 13 transferred to the pallet stop stations 18 and 19 at some locations, even if the panel 11 is conveyed in a short tact time, high-speed transfer can be performed correspondingly.

Further, according to the palletizer 14 of the above-described embodiment, the two robots 22 and 23 are opposed to each other and the pallet transporting directions of the two pallet transporting devices 20 and 21 are opposite to each other. The robots 22 and 23 and the two pallet transfer devices 20 and 21 can be arranged substantially in point symmetry with the panel positioning station 15 as the center, and they can be used as common specifications or even if the panel 11 is asymmetrical. Two pallets stopping in opposite directions at two pallet stop stations 18, 19.
The pallets 13 can be stacked on the pallets 13 in the same direction, so that the pallets 13 used by the two pallet transfer devices 20, 21 can be shared.

In the above attachment replacement method, since the attachments 56 and 63 of the positioning device 17 are delivered using the attachment exchange hand 110 placed on the attachment receiving portion 96, the attachments 56 and 63 of the positioning device 17 are delivered to the tool holder 79 of the robots 22 and 23. A large and expensive tool plate 85 that can be directly attached / detached to / from the attachment replacement hand 110 only needs to be provided.
Since it is not necessary to provide the attachments 56 and 63, the attachments 56 and 63 can be downsized and simplified, high-speed transfer can be facilitated, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

On the other hand, the attachment transfer device 87, 88
In the above, since the attachment supply unit 93 and the attachment reception unit 96 respectively hold the lifter attachment 56, the side guide attachment 63, and the robot attachment 80 in a vertically overlapping arrangement, the attachment supply unit 93 and the attachment reception unit 96 are held. Can be made even more compact, and the planar space used for receiving and supplying the attachments of the robots 22, 23 in the working ranges E, F can be further reduced.

According to the attachment exchanging method of the above embodiment, when exchanging the attachments 56 and 63 of the positioning device 17 of the palletizer 14 according to the type of the panel 11, the positions of the lifter attachment 56 and the side guide attachment 63 are predetermined. In addition to setting the position, the two rows of conveyor units 31 of the panel transfer conveyor 16 are positioned at predetermined positions to exchange the attachments, so the operation programs of the robots 22 and 23 for performing the attachment exchanges are common regardless of the panel type. The number of man-hours required to create a program can be significantly reduced.

Although the present invention has been described above based on the illustrated example, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned example, and, for example, the type of robot, the structure of each drive mechanism, etc. are changed as required within the scope of the present invention. You can also do it.

[0062]

As described above, according to the attachment exchanging method of the present invention, even if the installation space for the attachment delivery device is extremely limited in view of the layout of the panel or pallet transfer device, the layout is not changed, and the robot is not changed. Since the attachment delivery device can be installed without expanding the work range of, the original panel transfer work and equipment cost and space efficiency problems do not occur, and the robot panel transfer work is not required. Attachments can be exchanged without adding an unnecessary moving mechanism, and it is not necessary to provide the attachment receiving device and the attachment device at separate locations for the delivery of the attachments within the working range of the robot. Therefore, the workability of the worker in the external setup work outside the work range of the robot It is possible that makes it good.

Further, according to the attachment delivery device of the present invention, the attachment receiving part and the attachment supplying part are provided at the positions within the working range of the robot of the palletizer by the forward movement of the first moving table and the second moving table, as required. They can be placed one on top of the other to minimize the planar space used for receiving and supplying attachments within the robot's working range, and by retreating their moving bases, the attachment receiving part and attachment supplying part can be brought close to each other. Thus, the robot can be placed outside the work range of the robot, and the workability of the external setup work by the worker can be improved.

According to the palletizer of the present invention, the work range for panel transfer of the two robots is a fan shape that does not expand to 180 °, so that the moving time required for the panel transfer is short. Moreover, since these two robots transfer the panels transferred to the panel positioning station to two pallets alternately, even if the panels are transferred in a short tact time, they can be transferred at high speed. Since the panel positioning station is located in the middle of the panel transfer conveyor, the panel can be transferred further to the conveyor, and the panel can be unloaded manually when the robot is not operating. it can.

Further, according to the palletizer of the present invention, since the two robots and the two pallet transfer devices can be arranged in the point-symmetrical positions with the panel positioning station at the center, even if they have common specifications,
Even if the panel is asymmetrical, it can be loaded on two pallets that are stopped in opposite directions at two pallet stop stations in the same direction with respect to the pallets, and therefore two pallet transfer devices are provided. The pallet used in can be shared.

In the attachment exchanging method, if the attachment exchanging hand placed on the attachment receiving section is used to deliver the attachment of the positioning device, the attachment / detachment mechanism of the robot can be directly attached / detached. Since it is only necessary to provide a costly and expensive adapter only to the attachment replacement hand and not to each attachment of the positioning device, it is possible to reduce the size and simplification of those attachments and to reduce their manufacturing cost. .

In the attachment exchange method, some of the plurality of pins of the electric circuit connector of the robot attachment are short-circuited to each other to attach the attachment to the robot in the third step. By detecting the short-circuited pin by connecting the connector and confirming the type of panel to which the attachment is compatible, the panel may not be held properly due to the use of an inappropriate robot attachment, or the panel may not be retained properly. It is possible to effectively prevent the occurrence of deformation.

On the other hand, in the attachment delivery device, if the attachment supply part and the attachment reception part respectively hold the attachment for the positioning device and the attachment for the robot in a vertically overlapping arrangement, the attachment supply part and the attachment reception part Due to the smaller size of the part, it is possible to further reduce the planar space used for receiving and supplying the attachment within the working range of the robot.

According to the further attachment exchanging method of the present invention, the two rows of conveyor units are set to the optimum position and height in the width direction according to the type of the panel, so that the panel is deformed at the time of receiving or conveying. The palletizer has a function to prevent the above-mentioned problem and to move the height-direction positioning attachment and the horizontal-direction positioning attachment according to the type of panel to pick up the panel from the panel transport conveyor and position it at a predetermined position. It is possible to standardize the robot operation program regardless of the type of panel,
The man-hours required for program production can be significantly reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a layout diagram showing an entire embodiment of a palletizer equipped with an attachment delivery device used for carrying out an attachment exchanging method of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged plan view showing the palletizer.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing the palletizer as viewed in the direction of arrow A in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing the palletizer as viewed in the direction of arrow B in FIG.

5 (a), (b) and (c) are a plan view, a front view and a side view showing a lifter attachment and a side guide attachment used by a positioning device included in the palletizer.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a robot attachment used by a robot included in the palletizer.

FIG. 7 is a front view showing the robot attachment.

8 (a) and 8 (b) are a plan view showing a part of an attachment delivery device included in the palletizer in an enlarged manner and a cross-sectional view taken along line GG thereof.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged front view showing a part of the attachment delivery device.

FIG. 10 is a side view showing a part of the attachment delivery device in an enlarged manner.

FIG. 11 is a plan view showing an attachment exchange hand used by the robot provided in the palletizer.

FIG. 12 is a front view showing the attachment exchange hand.

FIG. 13 is a side view showing the attachment exchange hand.

14 (a), (b) and (c) are explanatory views showing each stage of a method of using the attachment exchange hand.

15 (a) and 15 (b) are explanatory views showing each stage of one embodiment using the palletizer of the attachment exchanging method of the present invention.

16 (a) and 16 (b) are explanatory views showing each step of the method of the above embodiment.

17 (a) and 17 (b) are explanatory views showing each step of the method of the above-mentioned embodiment.

18 (a) and 18 (b) are explanatory views showing each step of the method of the above-mentioned embodiment.

FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a conventional attachment exchange method.

FIG. 20 is an explanatory diagram showing another example of a conventional attachment exchange method.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 panel 13 pallet 14 palletizer 15 panel positioning station 16 panel transfer conveyor 17 positioning device 18 pallet stop station 19 pallet stop station 20 pallet transfer device 21 pallet transfer device 22 robot 23 robot 31 belt conveyor unit 32 conveyor unit position adjustment mechanism 33 Conveyor unit height adjustment mechanism 51 Lifter mechanism 52 Side guide mechanism 56 Lifter attachment 63 Side guide attachment 80 Robot attachment 87 Attachment delivery device 88 Attachment delivery device 90 Guide rail 91 Rodless air cylinder 92 Rodless air cylinder 93 Attachment receiving part 94 Receiving carriage 96 Attachment feeder 97 Feeding carriage 110 Attachment replacement hand E Working range F Working range

Claims (7)

(57) [Claims] 1. An attachment of the positioning device and an attachment of the robot of a palletizer, comprising: a positioning device for positioning a panel conveyed to a predetermined place; and a robot for picking up the positioned panel and transferring it to a pallet. When exchanging and according to the type of the panel, a first moving table having an attachment supply section at a lower position and an attachment receiving section at a higher position and the attachment receiving section of the first moving table are provided. By using an attachment transfer device capable of independently advancing and retreating a second movable table which can be arranged above the attachment supply unit on a common orbit, first, the attachment to be used next is supplied to the attachment. Forward the first moving table and the second moving table mounted on the section together, Performing a first step of vertically arranging the attachment receiving portion and the attachment supplying portion at a position within a work range of the robot, and then using the robot, removing a used attachment from the positioning device, The second step of placing the robot on the attachment receiving section of the second moving table and removing the used attachment of the robot itself and placing it on the attachment receiving section is then performed. After retreating to position the attachment receiving portion outside the working range of the robot, the robot mounts the attachment to be used next on the attachment supply portion of the first moving table and uses it for the positioning device. Attach the attachment and place the attachment to be used next placed on the attachment supply section. The third step of mounting the robot on the robot itself is performed, and then the fourth step of performing the external setup after retracting the first moving table to position the attachment supply unit outside the working range of the robot. A method for exchanging palletizer attachments, which is characterized in that 2. A panel (11) which has been transported to a predetermined place.
An attachment (56, 63) for the positioning device and a palletizer comprising a positioning device (17) for positioning the robot and a robot (22, 23) for picking up the positioned panel and transferring it to the pallet (13). Attachment transfer device (87, 8) for transferring the robot attachment (80) to and from the robot according to the type of the panel.
In 8), a first moving table (94) having an attachment supply section (93) at a lower position and an attachment receiving section (96) at a higher position, and the attachment receiving section having the attachment receiving section attached to the first moving table. A second movable table (97) that can be arranged above the supply unit, and the attachment receiving unit and the attachment supply unit move between a position within the work range of the robot and a position outside the work range. As described above, a common orbit (9
0), and a movable table driving means (91, 92) capable of independently moving the first movable table and the second movable table forward and backward, the attachment delivering device. 3. A panel positioning station (15) located at an intermediate portion of the panel carrying conveyor, and two pallet stop stations located adjacent to both sides of the panel positioning station in the carrying direction of the panel carrying conveyor. (18, 19) and two pallet transfer devices (20, 2) for transferring the pallets (13) from opposite directions along the panel transfer conveyor to the two pallet stop stations, respectively.
1), and the panels which are respectively disposed in the gaps between the two pallet transport devices and the panel transport conveyor, and which face away from each other on a straight line connecting the two pallet stop stations to face each other. Two robots (22, 23) that alternately transfer the panels (11) transferred by the panel transfer conveyor to the positioning station, and transfer them to the two pallets stopped at the two pallet stop stations.
And two attachment delivery devices (87, 88) for moving the movable table back and forth between a position within the work range of each of the two robots and a position outside the work range. Palletizer. 4. In the first step, together with the first moving table, a second moving table having an attachment exchange hand placed on the attachment receiving section is moved forward, and in the second step, In the robot, first, the used attachment of the robot itself is removed and placed on the attachment receiving section, and then the attachment exchange hand is attached to the robot itself, and the attachment exchange hand is used. Remove the used attachment from the positioning device and place it on the attachment receiving section, and in the third step, only the second moving table is retracted to move the attachment receiving section to the working range of the robot. After being positioned outside, the robot first uses the attachment exchange hand to attach the first movable table. The attachment to be used next is picked up from the attachment supply unit and mounted on the positioning device, and then the second moving table is moved forward to return the attachment receiving unit to the working range of the robot, and then the robot is operated by the robot. After removing the attachment exchange hand and placing it on the attachment receiving part, and then retreating only the second moving table again to position the attachment receiving part outside the working range of the robot, The attachment exchange method for a palletizer according to claim 1, wherein the robot mounts an attachment to be used next mounted on the attachment supply unit of the first moving table to the robot itself. 5. Among the plurality of pins of the electric circuit connector of the robot attachment, some of the pins determined according to the type of panel to which the attachment is suitable are short-circuited to each other, and the third step is performed. At the time of mounting the attachment to the robot, the electrical circuit connector on the robot side and the attachment side is connected to detect the shorted pin and confirm the type of panel to which the attachment is compatible. 5. The method according to claim 1 or 4, wherein
How to replace the palletizer attachment described in. 6. The attachment supply section of the first moving table and the attachment receiving section of the second moving table are each
The attachment delivery device according to claim 2, wherein the positioning device attachment and the robot attachment are held in a vertically overlapping arrangement. 7. The height of a panel which has been conveyed to a predetermined place by a panel conveyor having two rows of conveyor units and unit position adjusting means for adjusting the widthwise position and height of the conveyor units. The positioning device is provided with a height direction positioning means for raising and lowering the directional positioning attachment in the vicinity of the conveyor line, and a lateral positioning means for moving the lateral positioning attachment in and out of the side of the conveyor line. When the attachments of the positioning device of the palletizer picked up by the robot and transferred to the pallet are replaced according to the type of the panel, the height direction positioning means and the lateral direction positioning means perform the height direction positioning. Alignment attachment and lateral positioning attachment It is moved, in the unit position adjusting means, wherein the conveyor unit is moved to a predetermined position, and performs exchange of the respective attachment, attachment replacing the palletizers.