JP2986119B2 - Work transfer method and work transfer device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a work transfer method and a work transfer device, and more particularly to a work transfer method and a work transfer device for transferring a work while rotating the work around a substantially horizontal rotation center in a predetermined rotation direction using a carriage. About.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, in a painting process in an automobile manufacturing plant, a plurality of carts supporting a car body and a traveling drive for traveling the carts are used as a conveying method for conveying a car body between work stations such as a painting station and a drying station. The method of carrying using a vehicle body carrying device provided with the means is widely adopted. By the way, in recent years, in car body painting, especially in top coat painting, high quality car body painting has been promoted by applying a paint to a thickness equal to or greater than the sagging limit.
In this case, in order to control the dripping of the paint after the coating, the above-mentioned vehicle body transporting apparatus is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 63-126064 or Japanese Utility Model Application No. 1-341 filed by the present applicant.
No. 00, a rotary support portion rotatably supporting a vehicle body around a substantially horizontal rotation center, wherein the rotation center is configured such that the center of gravity of the vehicle body and the rotation support portion substantially coincides with the rotation center. The support portion is provided on the trolley, and the rotation support portion is provided with a rotation driving means for driving the rotation support portion to rotate in a predetermined rotation direction. 2. Description of the Related Art A transport method in which a truck travels while rotating a vehicle body is used.

[0003]

In the transfer method using the vehicle body transfer device described in the above publication, a large rotation starting force is required when the vehicle body is started to rotate from the upright position.
For this reason, there is a problem that a driving source and a component such as an electric motor of the rotary driving unit are increased in size. In addition, when the rotation is started, a large impact load is applied to the components of the rotation driving means and the components of the rotation support portion, so that the durability of those components is reduced and the durability of the vehicle body transport device is reduced. There's a problem. Further, since the center of gravity of the vehicle body and the rotation support portion is configured to substantially coincide with the center of rotation, when the rotation drive is stopped, the vehicle body does not always stop at the upright position. In order to carry out the vehicle in the upright position with respect to the process, it is necessary to separately provide a rotation driving unit for returning the vehicle body to the upright position, a detecting unit for detecting the upright position during rotation of the vehicle body, etc. in the vehicle body transport device. In addition, there is a problem that the manufacturing cost of the vehicle body transfer device increases and the work efficiency decreases.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to enable a work to be smoothly rotated in a predetermined rotation direction with a small rotation starting force, to reduce the size of a rotation driving means and to improve the durability of a work transfer device. An object of the present invention is to provide a transfer method and a work transfer device.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for transporting a work, wherein the work is rotatably supported on a bogie via a rotation support portion, and the work is rotated about a substantially horizontal rotation center in a predetermined rotation direction. In the work transfer method in which the bogie travels while moving, the work is supported by the rotation support so that the center of gravity of the work and the rotation support at the erect position is eccentric downward in the vertical direction with respect to the center of rotation. When starting the rotation of the work, the work is rotated by a predetermined angle in a direction opposite to the predetermined rotation direction, and then, the rotation driving means for rotationally driving the rotation support portion during the inertial rotation of the work in the predetermined rotation direction by its own weight is provided. To start.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a workpiece transfer apparatus, wherein a rotary support is provided on a carriage for rotatably supporting a workpiece around a substantially horizontal center of rotation, and a rotary drive means for rotating the rotary support in a predetermined rotation direction. And a traveling drive means for traveling and driving the carriage, wherein the work supporting device is configured to travel the carriage while rotating the work in a predetermined rotation direction via the rotation support part, wherein the rotation support part is When the rotation support portion is in the upright position, the center of gravity is configured to be eccentric downward in the vertical direction with respect to the rotation center, and the work is positioned in a predetermined rotation direction near the upstream of the position where the work starts to rotate. A rotating means for rotating a predetermined angle in the opposite direction is provided, and a starting means for activating the rotation driving means while the work rotated by the rotating means is rotating in a predetermined rotating direction by its own weight is provided. It is intended.

[0007]

In the work transfer method according to the first aspect, when the work is transferred, the work and the rotation supporting portion of the bogie are set in the upright position, and in this state, the center of gravity of the work and the rotation supporting portion is set at the center of rotation. Is supported by the rotation support portion so as to be eccentric downward in the vertical direction. Next, when the rotation of the work is started, the work is rotated by a predetermined angle in a direction opposite to the predetermined rotation direction, and then the work is rotated by activating the rotation driving means during inertial rotation in the predetermined rotation direction by its own weight. The workpiece is continuously rotated in a predetermined rotation direction by rotating the support. As described above, the rotation driving unit is activated by the self-weight while the inertial rotation is being performed in the predetermined rotation direction to rotate the rotation support unit, so that the work can be smoothly rotated in the predetermined rotation direction with an extremely small starting force. As a result, the drive source and the components of the rotary drive unit can be reduced in size. In addition, since a large impact load does not act on the components of the rotation driving means and the components of the rotation support portion when the rotation is started, the durability of those components can be increased, and the durability of the work transfer device can be increased. I can do it. Further, when the center of gravity of the work and the rotation supporting portion in the upright position is eccentric below the vertical center with respect to the rotation center, and when the rotation drive of the work is stopped, the work is always in the substantially upright position. Since the workpiece is stopped, the workpiece can be easily positioned at the upright position, and a means for returning the workpiece to the upright position and a detecting means for detecting the upright position of the workpiece can be omitted. It is possible to reduce the manufacturing cost of the device and improve the work efficiency.

In the work transfer device according to the second aspect, when the work is transferred, the work and the rotation support portion of the carriage are set to the upright position, and the work is supported by the rotation support portion in this state. At this time, the center of gravity of the work and the rotation supporting portion is eccentric vertically downward with respect to the rotation center. Next, when the work is conveyed to the vicinity of the upstream of the position where the rotation is started by the cart, the work is rotated by a predetermined angle in a direction opposite to the predetermined rotation direction by the rotating means. Next, while the work is rotating in the predetermined rotation direction by its own weight, the rotation drive means is started by the start means, and the work is continuously rotated in the predetermined rotation direction. As described above, the rotation driving unit is activated by the self-weight while the inertial rotation is being performed in the predetermined rotation direction to rotate the rotation support unit, so that the work can be smoothly rotated in the predetermined rotation direction with an extremely small starting force. As a result, the rotation driving means and the starting means can be reduced in size. Further, when the rotation is started, a large impact load is not applied to the components such as the rotation driving unit, the starting unit, and the rotation support unit. Therefore, the durability of those components can be increased, and the durability of the work transfer device can be increased. I can do it. Further, when the center of gravity of the work and the rotation support portion in the upright position is eccentric vertically downward with respect to the center of rotation, and when the rotation drive of the work is stopped, the work always stops at the substantially upright position. Therefore, the work can be easily positioned in the upright position, the rotation driving means and the detecting means for returning the work to the upright position can be omitted, the production cost of the work transfer device can be reduced, and the work efficiency can be reduced. Can be improved.

[0009]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, as described in the section of the operation, the rotation supporting means is activated by activating the rotation driving means during the inertial rotation of the work in the predetermined rotation direction by its own weight. Since the workpiece is rotationally driven, the workpiece can be smoothly rotated in a predetermined rotating direction with an extremely small starting force, and the rotary driving means can be reduced in size. Since a large impact load does not act on the parts, the durability of those parts can be increased, and the durability of the work transfer device can be increased. Since the workpiece is stopped at the upright position, the work can be easily positioned at the upright position, and means for returning the work to the upright position and detecting means for detecting the upright position of the work. It can be omitted, reducing the manufacturing cost of the work carrier, being able to improve the work efficiency, effects such as can be obtained.

[0010] According to the work transfer device of the second aspect,
As described in the section of the operation, the rotation support portion is configured such that when the work and the rotation support portion are in the upright position, their centers of gravity are eccentric downward in the vertical direction with respect to the rotation center, and the work is formed. With a simple configuration provided with a rotation for rotating a predetermined angle in a direction opposite to the predetermined rotation direction and a starting means for activating the rotation means while the work is rotating in the predetermined rotation direction by its own weight,
The work can be smoothly started with an extremely small rotation starting force, and the rotation driving means and the starting means can be downsized. When the rotation is started, a large impact load is applied to the rotation driving means, the starting means and the rotation support part. Since they do not act, the durability of them can be increased, the durability of the work transfer device can be increased, and when the rotation drive of the work is stopped, the work can be easily positioned in the upright position. Since the means for returning the work to the upright position and the detecting means for detecting the upright position of the work can be omitted, the effects of reducing the manufacturing cost of the work transfer device and improving the work efficiency can be achieved. can get. .

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the present embodiment, in the coating process of a car body painting line in an automobile manufacturing plant, the car body transports the car while rotating the car body supported by the car in a predetermined rotation direction about a substantially horizontal rotation center in the vehicle body length direction. The present invention is applied to a method and a vehicle body transfer device. Note that the front, rear, left and right are defined and described based on the front, rear, left and right of the vehicle body.

First, the overcoating process UP will be briefly described. As shown in FIG. 1, a carry-in station ST1, a top-coating station ST2, an unlocking station ST3, a drying station ST4, and a carry-out station ST5 are provided from the upstream side in the top-coating process UP. A vehicle body transfer device HS including a plurality of carriages 10 (see FIG. 2) for transferring the vehicles to the stations ST1 to ST5 is provided. Note that each carriage 10 is circulated and transported through each of the stations ST1 to ST5. The loading station ST1 is provided with four sets of body fixing devices,
The vehicle body B that has been subjected to the intermediate coating in the intermediate coating process (not shown) is carried into the carry-in station ST1 by a hanger, and is fixed to the trolley 10 at the upright position (see FIG. 2) by the vehicle body fixing device. Next, the vehicle body B is transported to the top coating station ST2, and the vehicle body B is transported downstream, for example, to about 60 μm.
And then transported to the unlocking station ST3. Unlock station ST
3, a lock release device is provided, and the vehicle body B is released from a state in which the vehicle body B is fixed to the upright position by the lock release device so as to be rotatable around a rotation center Cr (see FIG. 2) in the vehicle body length direction. It is conveyed to the drying station ST4 in the state. A guide member 64 constituting the rotating mechanism 60 is provided near the upstream of the drying station ST4, and an endless chain 58 constituting the rotary drive mechanism 50 is provided downstream of the drying station ST4.
In this case, the vehicle body B is rotated clockwise by a predetermined angle around the rotation center Cr from the rear side by the rotation mechanism 60 and then continuously rotated clockwise by the rotation drive mechanism 50 around the rotation center Cr. While being transported downstream, the coating film is dried and baked. Next, the vehicle body B is switched to free rotation and transported to the unloading station ST5. The unloading station ST5 is provided with four sets of vehicle body unlocking devices,
The vehicle body B is positioned at the upright position and released from being fixed to the trolley 10 by the vehicle body fixing release device. Thereafter, the vehicle body B is carried out to the next step by the hanger, and the trolley 10 is transferred to the carry-in station ST1 side. It has become.
In the following description, in the vehicle body transfer device HS,
The trolley 10, the rotation drive mechanism 50, and the rotation mechanism 60 will be described, and descriptions of the vehicle body fixing device, the lock release device, and the vehicle body fixing release device will be omitted.

Next, the carriage 10 will be described. Figure 2
As shown in FIG. 4, each station ST in the coating process UP
The carriage 10 is provided on the transfer line L provided on the floor F in the front-rear direction from 1 to ST5 as follows. The cart 10 includes a base 11 extending in the front-rear direction,
Column portions 1 erected at the rear end and front end of the base portion 11, respectively.
2 and 13 and the vehicle body B provided in the column sections 12 and 13 respectively.
Rotating support 2 for rotatably supporting the rotation about the rotation center Cr
The carriage 10 is movably disposed along the rail 1 laid in the front-rear direction on the transfer line L via the support wheels 14 and 15 mounted on the base portion 11. It is moved and driven by a chain drive mechanism (not shown) provided on the line L.
Reference numeral 16 denotes an auxiliary rolling wheel provided on the base 11, and reference numeral 17 denotes a support wheel that rolls on the rail when the carriage 10 is returned from the unloading station ST5 to the loading station ST1.

Next, the rotation support portion 20 provided on the rear column portion 12 of the carriage 10 and the rotation support portion 20A provided on the front column portion 13 will be described. Since the front and rear rotation support portions 20 and 20A have substantially the same configuration, the rear rotation support portion 20 will be described first, and the front rotation support portion 20 will be described.
Regarding A, the same members as those of the rotation support portion 20 are denoted by the same reference numerals, detailed description thereof will be omitted, and different points will be described. As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the shaft member 23 is rotatable in the gear box 21 provided on the upper portion of the column portion 12 in the front-rear direction via the front and rear bearings 22 so as to match the rotation center Cr. Is provided at the front end of the shaft member 23 that protrudes from the gear box 21. The pivot member 24 has an arm portion 24a extending forward below the rotation center Cr and an extending portion 24b extending downward. At the front end of the arm portion 24a, a supporting member 25 which is extended left and right by a predetermined length is fixed. At the left and right ends of the upper end of the support member 25, circular engagement holes 25a each having a circular shape in plan view are respectively recessed, and at the left and right ends of the front end of the support member 25, toggle-type clamps 30 are respectively provided in the left-right direction. Have been.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, an engagement hole 24c is formed at the lower end of the extension 24b of the pivot support member 24 in the front-rear direction, and the rotation support portion 20 is in the upright position (the pivot support member 24). Of the column portion 12 facing the engagement hole 24c, a toggle type for restraining the rotation of the rotation support portion 20 about the rotation center Cr is provided. The clamp 30 is provided in the front-rear direction. On the other hand, in the pivotal support member 24A of the front rotation support portion 20A, the arm portion 24a is formed to extend rearward below the rotation center Cr, but the extension portion 24b is not formed. At the rear end of the arm portion 24a of the pivotal support member 24A, a support member 25A that extends a predetermined length to the left and right is fixed, and at the left end and the left end of the upper end of the support member 25A, engagement holes 25b that are long in the front-rear direction are formed. The clamp members 30 are provided on the left and right ends of the front end of the support member 25A, respectively, in the left-right direction. The shaft member 23A has a rotation center Cr.
Is provided so as to match. Thus, the rotation support 2
0.2A, as shown in FIG.
When the vehicle body B is supported at the upright position by the rotation support portions 20 at the upright position, the vehicle body B and the rotation support portions 20
Is decentered downward in the vertical direction with respect to the rotation center Cr.

Here, the holding frame 40 attached to the front end and the rear end of the vehicle body B will be described. However, since the front and rear holding frames 40 have the same configuration, the holding frame 40 attached to the rear end will be described. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the holding frame 40 includes a pair of left and right fixing members 41 fixed downward to the rear end of the vehicle body B, and left and right fixing members having substantially the same length as the support member 25. A connecting member 42 fixed to the left and right direction and fixed to 41, an engagement pin 43 fixed to the lower end of each fixing member 41, and a downward fixing to the left end and the right end of the rear end of the connecting member 42, respectively. And the engagement member 44 having an engagement hole 44a formed at the lower end. The distance between the left and right engagement pins 43 is equal to the distance between the left and right engagement holes 25a of the support member 25.

Next, the rotation drive mechanism 50 will be described. As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG.
A shaft member 51 is provided at the rear end of the shaft member 51 so as to be rotatable in the left-right direction, and a sprocket 52 is mounted on the right end of the shaft member 51. A shaft member 53 is provided on the column portion 12 of the carriage 10.
Are provided rotatably in the vertical direction, a bevel gear 54 is attached to the lower end of the shaft member 53, and the bevel gear 54 is
, A bevel gear 56 is mounted on the upper end of the shaft member 53, and the bevel gear 56 is meshed with a bevel gear 57 mounted on the shaft member 23. On the other hand, in the transfer line L corresponding to the drying station ST4, an endless chain 58 is provided on the right side of a portion excluding the vicinity of the upstream of the drying station ST4 in a front-rear direction, and the endless chain 58 is a driving device (not shown). , And is driven to rotate in a direction opposite to the transport direction of the vehicle body B. Reference numeral 59 denotes a guide wheel provided on the endless chain 58.

The car body B carried by the hanger to the predetermined position of the carry-in station ST1 at the upright position is transferred to the carriage 10 stopped at the carry-in station ST1. At this time, the front and rear rotation support portions 20 and 20A are in the upright position, and the vehicle body B is engaged with the engagement pins 43 of the front and rear holding frames 40.
Are engaged with the corresponding engagement holes 25a and 25b of the front and rear rotation support portions 20 and 20A, respectively, whereby the carriage 10 is positioned. Then, the clamp 30 of the column part 12 and the front and rear rotation support parts 20
The operation lever 31 of the clamp 30 of FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, the engaging pin 32 of the clamp 30 of the column portion 12 is retracted into the sleeve 33 in the unlocked position (2).
The position is switched from the dotted line (shown by a dashed line) to the lock position (shown by a solid line) projecting from the sleeve 33, and the engagement hole 24 of the extension portion 24b is
c, the engagement of the engagement pin 32 with the rotation support portion 2
0 is locked in the upright position, and similarly,
The engagement pins 32 of the 0.20A clamp device 30 are switched from the unlocked position to the locked position, and each engagement pin 32 engages with the corresponding engagement hole 44a of the connecting member 44, thereby turning the rotation support portion 20. -Even when 20A is rotationally driven, it is fixed to the bogie 10 so that the vehicle body B does not fall off.
After the vehicle body B is fixed to the trolley 10, the trolley 10
Is moved downstream to apply a topcoat to the vehicle body B in the upright position at the topcoating station ST2, and then, at the unlocking station ST3, the engaging pin 32 of the clamp 30 of the column portion 12 is disengaged by the unlocking device. The position is switched to the lock position, and the vehicle body can rotate around the rotation center Cr.

Next, the rotation mechanism 60 will be described. As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG.
A lever member 61 attached to the left end of the shaft member 51 protruding from the rear end, and front and rear support members 62 and 63 fixed vertically to the left end of the transfer line L near the upstream of the drying station ST4. , A guide member 64 having an L-shaped cross section and a predetermined length.
The upper wall portion 64a is fixed to the upper inner surface of the upper portion 2/63 so as to be inclined downward and forward so as to be in contact with the lever member 61, and the lever member 61 is vertically upward when the rotation support portion 20 is in the upright position. It is attached to the shaft member 51 so that still,
The interval between the rear end of the endless chain 58 and the front end of the guide member 64 is set to a predetermined interval.

Next, a description will be given of a vehicle body transfer method using the vehicle body transfer device HS. As described above, in the unlocking station ST3, when the vehicle body B becomes rotatable around the rotation center Cr by the unlocking device and is conveyed to near the upstream of the drying station ST4, the lever member 61 The lever member 61 is rotated in the clockwise direction to rotate the shaft member 51 during the contact with the upper wall portion 64a, and the rotating force is transmitted through the bevel gears 54 and 55, the shaft member 53, and the bevel gears 56 and 57. The power is transmitted to the shaft member 23 to rotate the shaft member 23, and as shown by an arrow in FIG.
5 °) rotate. Thereafter, when the lever member 61 passes through the guide member 64, as shown by an arrow in FIG.
Is conveyed to the downstream side by inertial rotation in the counterclockwise direction due to its own weight, and as shown in FIG. ), The sprocket 71 is driven to rotate and the shaft member 51 is rotated, and this rotational force is transmitted to the shaft member 23 in the same manner as described above, and the shaft member 23 is driven to rotate. B continuously rotates clockwise. Thereafter, when the carriage 10 moves to the downstream end of the drying station ST4, the engagement between the sprocket 52 and the endless chain 58 is released, the rotation drive of the vehicle body B is stopped, and the vehicle body B is switched to free rotation. Next, at the unloading station ST5, the vehicle B
Is positioned at the upright position by the vehicle body fixing release device and is released from being fixed to the carriage 10.

As described above, since the rotation drive mechanism 50 is activated during the inertial rotation of the vehicle body B in the clockwise direction due to its own weight to rotate the rotation support portions 20 and 20A, the vehicle body B is activated very small in the clockwise direction. The rotation can be started smoothly by force, and the rotation drive mechanism 50 can be downsized. In addition, when the rotation is started, a large impact load does not act on the components of the rotation drive mechanism 50 and the rotation supporting portions 20 and 20A, so that the durability of those components can be increased, and the durability of the vehicle body transfer device HS can be improved. Can be increased.
Further, the vehicle body B and the rotation support portions 20 in the upright position are
When the center of gravity Cw with A is eccentric downward in the vertical direction with respect to the rotation center Cr and the rotation of the body B is stopped, the body B always stops at the substantially upright position. The vehicle body B can be easily positioned at the upright position, and a rotation drive mechanism and a detection mechanism for returning the vehicle body B to the upright position can be omitted.
The manufacturing cost can be reduced and work efficiency can be improved. Note that it is also possible to configure the carriage 10 to be self-propelled. Further, an extension portion 24b is formed on the pivotal support member 24A of the rotation support portion 20A, and the extension member 2 is attached to the column portion 13.
4b, a clamp member 30 may be provided, and when the vehicle body B is transferred to the carriage 10 at the loading station ST1, the rotation supporting portions 20 and 20A may be locked by the clamp members 30 so as not to rotate.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view of a topcoating step.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway side view of a truck.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the cart.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a side view of the clamp device.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing rotation of a vehicle body by a rotation mechanism.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing inertial rotation of a vehicle body in a predetermined direction.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory view showing rotation start of a vehicle body in a predetermined direction.

[Explanation of symbols]

 B vehicle body Cr rotation center Cw center of gravity HS vehicle body transfer device 10 bogie 20 ・ 20A rotation support part 50 rotation drive mechanism 60 rotation mechanism

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Fields surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) B61B 10/02 B61B 10/04 B61B 13/04 B23P 19/00 302 B23P 21/00 303 B62D 65/00

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A workpiece transfer method for rotatably supporting a work on a bogie via a rotation support portion thereof and moving the bogie while rotating the work around a substantially horizontal center of rotation in a predetermined rotation direction. The work is supported by the rotation support so that the center of gravity of the work and the rotation support at the time of eccentricity is eccentric downward in the vertical direction with respect to the center of rotation, and when the rotation of the work is started, the work is defined as a predetermined rotation direction. A work transfer method, comprising: rotating a work by a predetermined angle in an opposite direction; and then activating a rotation drive unit that rotates the rotation support portion while the work is inertially rotated in a predetermined rotation direction by its own weight. 2. A trolley is provided with a rotary support for rotatably supporting a work around a substantially horizontal center of rotation, a rotary drive means for rotating the rotary support in a predetermined rotation direction, and a travel drive for driving the trolley. Means, the work carrier is configured to run the carriage while rotating the work in a predetermined rotation direction via the rotation support portion, wherein the rotation support portion is configured such that the work and the rotation support portion are in the upright position. Sometimes, the center of gravity is configured to be eccentric downward in the vertical direction with respect to the center of rotation, and the work is rotated by a predetermined angle in a direction opposite to the predetermined rotation direction near the upstream of the position where the rotation of the work starts. A workpiece transfer device provided with a rotating means, and a starting means for activating a rotation driving means while the work rotated by the rotating means is rotating in a predetermined rotation direction by its own weight. .