JP4579839B2 - palette - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a pallet that is transferred along a production line while holding a workpiece such as an engine block.

  In an automobile production line, for example, an operation for assembling a valve mechanism including a camshaft and a valve to an engine block, and an operation for measuring the assembly accuracy are performed. In order to appropriately perform these operations, it is preferable to hold the engine block at a position where the operation can be easily performed. In order to hold the engine block, for example, a pallet transported on a belt conveyor is used.

  FIG. 6 shows an example of a conventional pallet (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The pallet X shown in the figure includes a main body 91, a guide rail 92, a rotary table 93, a fixed engine holding portion 94, a mobile engine holding portion 95, and a mission holding portion 96, and is conveyed by a conveyor not shown. In addition to being transported through the production line, the engine is assembled. The main body 91 constitutes a so-called base of the pallet X, and is a part placed on a conveyor or the like not shown. The rotary table 93 can rotate approximately 90 degrees along the guide rail 92. The fixed engine holding unit 94 holds the engine block in the vicinity of the rotation center of the rotary table 93. On the other hand, the mobile engine holding unit 95 is movable with respect to the main body 91 by the rotation of the rotary table 93. The mission holding unit 96 is for holding a mission assembled with the engine block. According to pallet X, the engine block and the mission can be arranged at a position suitable for transporting the inside of the production line and a position suitable for work for assembling each other. Assembly work can be performed smoothly.

JP-A-6-190650

  However, the engine block and the mission held by the pallet X can only be rotated and moved in a horizontal plane, which is useful for attaching an intake manifold or the like to the side surface of the engine block. The process includes an operation of assembling a valve mechanism including a camshaft and a valve lift to the engine block and an operation of assembling a connecting rod and a connecting rod cap. When performing such work, it is necessary to turn the engine block upside down. Therefore, it has been necessary to change to a pallet suitable for each assembly operation. Further, after the assembling work of the valve mechanism, it is necessary to measure these gaps in order to check whether or not the valve mechanism is properly assembled. This measurement is performed by an automatic measurement unit such as a robot placed above the engine block. However, since the engine block held by the pallet X cannot be moved in the vertical direction, it is difficult to position the engine block with respect to the measurement unit. On the other hand, even if the measurement unit is lowered toward the engine block, an impact is applied to the pallet X when the measurement unit and the engine block come into contact with each other. In such a case, the pallet X may be damaged.

  Furthermore, depending on the parts to be assembled to the engine block, it may be preferable to perform the assembly in a state where the engine block is tilted at a predetermined angle from an upright state. However, in the pallet X, the engine block cannot be tilted to a desired angle, so that the assembly work of such parts cannot be easily performed.

  The present invention has been conceived under the circumstances described above, and an object thereof is to provide a pallet capable of holding a workpiece in a posture and position suitable for work.

Pallet provided by the present invention, holds the workpiece is a work object, a pallet which is transported along the production line, body and, in the vertical direction against the linear guide provided in the main body A column that is slidably attached and extends in the up-down direction, and is rotatably attached to the column around a rotation axis that extends in a direction different from the sliding direction of the column at the upper position of the column. And a work holding part for holding the work , wherein the support and the work holding part are located on opposite sides of the main body, and the support is in contact with the main body. A bracket is provided that is in contact with and defines a sliding lower end position of the support column .

  According to such a configuration, by rotating the workpiece around the rotation axis, the workpiece can be held in various postures, such as a posture tilted from an upright state, or an upside-down posture. is there. Moreover, the position of the said work in the said sliding direction can be adjusted by sliding the said work with respect to the said main body with the said work holding part and the said support | pillar. Accordingly, since the workpiece can be held in a posture and position suitable for work, it is not necessary to replace the pallet with a suitable pallet for each assembling process, and can be used consistently in the engine assembling process. In addition, since the column and the main body are slidable, when adjusting the position of the workpiece, the column is connected to the connection unit between the column and the main unit or the connection unit between the workpiece and the workpiece holding unit. It is possible to avoid the application of excessive force or moment. Therefore, the pallet can be prevented from being damaged.

  Other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the detailed description given below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.

  1 to 5 show an example of a pallet according to the present invention. The pallet A of this embodiment includes a main body 1, a support 2, and a work holding unit 3. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the pallet A is placed on a conveyor Cv and conveyed in the production line, and holds the engine block Eg and the like in a posture suitable for work. It is configured to be able to move in the direction and rotate around the rotation axis O. In FIGS. 1, 2, 3, and 5, the vertical direction is the vertical direction. In FIG. 3, the work mounting bracket 34 is omitted.

  The main body 1 supports the column 2 and the work holding unit 3 and includes a bottom plate 10, two side plates 11, a bracket 12, a stopper bolt 13, a linear guide 14, and a stopper bracket 15. The bottom plate 10 is a rectangular plate as shown in FIG. 1, and is fixed to the base Bs with bolts as shown in FIG. Thereby, the pallet A is conveyed on the conveyor Cv with the base Bs.

  The two side plates 11 are joined to both ends of the bottom plate 10 and are erected in the vertical direction. The bracket 12 has a U-shaped cross section extending in the vertical direction, and is joined to the two side plates 11. A stopper bolt 13 is attached to the upper end of the bracket 12 in the figure. The stopper bolt 13 is for defining the lower end position of the column 2. The linear motion guide 14 is attached to the bracket 12 and is fitted to the rail 21 of the column 2 as shown in FIG. The stopper bracket 15 is a band plate attached to a lower portion of the bracket 12 as shown in FIG. 3 and is for defining the upper end position of the column 2. The bottom plate 10, the two side plates 11, the bracket 12, and the stopper bracket 15 are made of, for example, iron or iron alloy.

  The support column 2 includes a vertical plate 20, a rail 21, brackets 22 and 25, stopper bolts 23 and 26, and a bearing 24. The vertical plate 20 is a belt plate extending in the vertical direction. A rail 21 is attached to a central portion of the width of the vertical plate 20. As described above, the support column 2 is slidable in the vertical direction with respect to the main body 1 by fitting the rail 21 and the linear motion guide 14 together.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the bracket 22 is a rectangular plate joined to the vertical plate 20 so as to protrude in the horizontal direction. A stopper bolt 23 is attached to the end of the bracket 22. The stopper bolt 23 is for defining the vertical lower end position of the support column 2 by contacting the stopper bolt 13. The bearing 24 is loaded in a hole formed near the upper end of the vertical plate 20 and supports the work holding unit 3 so as to be rotatable about the rotation axis O.

  The bracket 25 is a rectangular plate attached to the lower end of the vertical plate 20. A stopper bolt 26 is attached to the end of the bracket 25. The stopper bolt 26 is for defining the vertical upper end position of the column 2 by contacting the stopper bracket 15. The vertical plate 20 and the brackets 22 and 25 are made of, for example, iron or iron alloy.

  The work holding unit 3 includes a shaft 30, brackets 31a and 31b, a counterweight 32, a positioning pin 33, and a work mounting bracket 34, and is a part for holding the engine block Eg. Most of the shaft 30 has a substantially cylindrical shape, and is fitted into the bearing 24 as shown in FIG. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 3, the work holding unit 3 is supported so as to be rotatable about the rotation axis O with respect to the support column 2. In order to prevent the engine block Eg from rotating unexpectedly during work, a speed reducer (not shown) may be connected to the shaft 30.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the shaft 30 is formed with a disk portion 30 a. The disc part 30a is used for fixing the work holding part 3 at a desired angle, for example, by forming a depression (not shown) at an appropriate place on the circumference. A bracket 31a is fixed to the disc portion 30a with bolts. As shown in FIG. 2, the bracket 31b is attached to the lower end of the bracket 31a in the figure so as to protrude in the horizontal direction. A counterweight 32 is attached to the end of the bracket 31b. The counterweight 32 is for positioning the center of gravity of the work holding unit 3 in a state where the engine block Eg is held on the rotation axis O or approaching the rotation axis O.

  Two positioning pins 33 are provided near the tip of the bracket 31b. The two positioning pins 33 are used for mounting the work mounting bracket 34 at a predetermined position. The work attachment bracket 34 is a portion to which the engine block Eg is attached. A plurality of types of work mounting brackets 34 are prepared, and are appropriately selected according to the work. Thus, the pallet A of the present embodiment is configured to hold the engine block Eg as a work in a cantilever state.

  Next, a method of using the pallet A will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 2 shows a state in which the engine block Eg is attached to the work holding unit 3 and the support column 2 is in the lower end position in the vertical direction. In the engine block Eg shown in this drawing, the assembly operation of the valve mechanism (not shown) has been completed. The valve mechanism includes a camshaft and a valve lift (both not shown). After the mounting operation of the valve mechanism, the mounting position of the valve mechanism is inspected. This inspection is performed, for example, by measuring a gap between the camshaft and the valve lift. A measurement unit Mn for gap measurement is arranged above the engine block Eg in the drawing.

  In order to perform the measurement accurately, it is necessary to place the engine block Eg close to the measurement unit Mn and arrange it at a predetermined measurement position (positioning position). The lifter Lf is for raising the engine block Eg together with the work holding part 3 and the support 2. When the lifter Lf is raised from the state shown in FIG. 2, the upper surface of the lifter Lf in the drawing and the lower surface of the engine block Eg in the drawing contact each other. At this time, the lifter Lf and the engine block Eg are positioned by the positioning pins provided on the lifter Lf. When the lifter Lf is further raised from this state, the engine block Eg contacts the guide Gd as shown in FIG. The guide Gd is arranged below the measurement unit Mn in the drawing. The two protrusions provided on the lower surface of the guide Gd in the drawing have their tips positioned at a predetermined distance from the measurement unit Mn. Therefore, the engine block Eg is brought into the measurement position by bringing the engine block Eg into contact with the guide Gd.

  The measurement unit Mn is provided with, for example, a measurement probe (not shown). The clearance between the camshaft and the valve lift is measured by allowing the measurement probe to enter from above in the drawing of the engine block Eg at the measurement position. If the measured gap is in an appropriate range, the valve mechanism mounting position inspection is completed.

  Next, the operation of the pallet A will be described.

  According to this embodiment, the engine block Eg can be moved in the vertical direction by the lifter Lf. Therefore, the engine block Eg can be held at a position suitable for measurement work. Further, since the engine block Eg is cantilevered by the pallet A, a relatively large part of the engine block Eg is exposed. Therefore, it is convenient for an operator to perform a part attaching operation to each part of the engine block Eg. Furthermore, even if the engine block Eg is raised by the lifter Lf, there is no possibility that an excessive moment acts on the connecting portion between the work holding portion 3 and the support column 2, the connecting portion between the engine block Eg and the work mounting bracket 34, or the like. . Therefore, it is possible to prevent the pallet A from being damaged in an automated operation.

  The engine block Eg held by the workpiece holding unit 3 is rotatable around the rotation axis O. Thereby, it is possible to make the engine block Eg a desired posture suitable for work. In addition, the provision of the counterweight 32 can prevent the engine block Eg from being out of balance and rotating unexpectedly. Furthermore, by providing the speed reducer described above, it is possible to prevent the rotational speed from becoming excessively high when the engine block Eg is rotated.

  For example, if it is confirmed that the engine block Eg is held in the state shown in FIG. 2 by the pallet A after completing the mounting operation of the valve mechanism including manual operation, the lift by the lifter Lf and the measurement by the measurement unit Mn Can be done automatically. Therefore, the pallet A is suitable for use in a production line in which manual work and automated work are mixed.

  The pallet according to the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. The specific configuration of each part of the pallet according to the present invention can be changed in various ways.

Upper Kisurido direction and the rotation axis O is not limited to those in the right-angle relationship may be configured to the rotation axis O is inclined relative to the horizontal direction for example in FIG.

  The work performed on the engine block Eg held on the pallet A includes various work such as a spark plug test, a cooling water line and a hydraulic line leak test in addition to the above-described work. The work referred to in the present invention is not limited to an engine block, and may be various components of an automobile, parts constituting an industrial product other than an automobile, or an industrial product itself. The pallet according to the present invention is not limited to those used in automobile production lines, and can be used in production lines for various industrial products.

It is a whole perspective view which shows an example of the pallet which concerns on this invention. It is sectional drawing which follows the II-II line | wire of FIG. It is a front view of the pallet shown in FIG. It is principal part sectional drawing in alignment with the IV-IV line of FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the use condition of the pallet shown in FIG. It is a top view which shows an example of the conventional pallet.

Explanation of symbols

A Pallet Bs Base Cv Conveyor Eg Engine block (work)
Gd Guide Lf Lifter Mn Measuring unit O Rotating shaft 1 Body 2 Column 3 Workpiece holding part 10 Bottom plate 11 Side plate 12 Bracket 13 Stopper bolt 14 Direct acting guide 15 Stopper bracket 20 Vertical plate 21 Rail 22 Bracket 23 Stopper bolt 24 Bearing 25 Bracket 26 Stopper Bolt 30 Shaft 30a Disk part 31 Bracket 32 Counterweight 33 Positioning pin 34 Workpiece mounting bracket

Claims (1)

A pallet that holds a workpiece to be worked and is transferred along a production line,
The body,
Slidably mounted in the vertical direction against the linear guide provided in the main body, and a post extending vertically,
A work holding portion that is rotatably attached to the support around the rotation axis extending in a direction different from the sliding direction of the support at the upper position of the support, and holds the work;
Equipped with a,
The support column and the work holding unit are located on opposite sides of the main body, and
The pallet is characterized in that the support column is provided with a bracket that abuts the main body and defines a sliding lower end position of the support column .

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