JPH0216865B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to an engine test device for test driving an engine mounted on a pallet midway through a conveyance route.

(Prior art and its problems) A conventional engine test device that uses a test bench equipped with an engine starting motor has a test bench installed beside a main line for transporting the engine, and the main line for transporting the engine from the main line to the engine. The engine was branched and sent to the test bench, and after the test operation was completed, the tested engine was returned to the engine transport main line.

In such conventional engine test equipment, after the engine test is completed, the tested engine is returned from the test bench to the engine transport main line, and the next engine is transferred until the entire branch line from the main line to the test bench is cleared. cannot be brought into the test bench. For this reason,
After the tested engine is removed from the test bench, there is a long loss of time until the next engine is brought in, which has the disadvantage of lowering the operating rate of the test bench.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to solve the conventional problems as described above, the present invention provides a plurality of parallel engine transport paths between the main line for carrying in engines and the main line for carrying out engines. Interposed between each engine conveyance path is a pallet lifting platform that can be raised and lowered to position and support the engine-mounted pallet, and an engine starting motor that starts the engine on the pallet supported by the pallet lifting platform. The engine starting motor is mounted on a frame movable between an operating position in the engine transport path and a retreat position outside the engine transport path, and the frame The present invention proposes an engine testing device configured such that, when the engine is in a position, the engine on a pallet supported by the pallet lifting stand can be started by the engine starting motor.

(Operation of the Invention) According to the above-mentioned test device of the present invention, a pallet equipped with a test engine is transported to an empty test bench via the first half of one selected engine transport path, and the pallet is lifted there. The pallet on which the engine is mounted is lifted and positioned and supported by the stand. On the other hand, the frame on which the engine starting motor is mounted is moved from the retracted position to the working position, and the engine on the pallet positioned and supported on the pallet lifting platform is connected to the engine starting motor, and the engine is started. You can start it up and perform a predetermined test run. When the working position of the frame is below the pallet lifting table, that is, when the crankshaft starting end of the engine on the pallet is facing forward in the conveying direction, the pallet is placed at a suitable time before being carried into the test bench. The frame can be moved from the retracted position to the operating position.

When the engine test is completed, the pallet lifting platform is lowered to return the engine-equipped pallet onto the conveyance path, and then the engine-equipped pallet is sent to the engine unloading main line via the latter half of the engine conveyance path. However, if the frame on which the engine starting motor is mounted is on the pallet delivery side, it is sufficient to move the frame from the operating position to the retreat position and then transport the engine-mounted pallet.

(Embodiment) An embodiment of the present invention will be described below based on the attached illustrative drawings. In FIGS. 1 and 2, 1a
- 1d are test benches arranged in parallel at equal intervals in the lateral direction; 2a is a main line for transporting engines arranged on the loading side of the test bench;
3a to 3d are loading means provided between the main line 2a and each test bench 1a to 1d; 3e to 3h are , transport means 4a to 4d provided between the main line 2b and each test bench 1a to 1d are transport means 3a to 3d for transporting the engine on the main line 2a.
Conveyance turning means for conveying upward in a right angle direction, 4e~
Reference numeral 4h denotes a turning means for carrying out which sends out the engine inherited from the carrying out means 3e to 3h at right angles to the conveying direction of the main line 2b. 5 is the plurality of test benches 1a to 1d, main lines 2a, 2
b, loading/unloading means 3a to 3h, and turning means 4a
This is a conveyor for transporting the engine to the test equipment 6, which consists of 4h to 4h, and is connected to the starting end of the main line 2a. 7 is a conveyor for carrying out the engine from the test equipment 6, and is connected to the terminal end of the main line 2b.

Reference numeral 8 denotes automatic connection means disposed at the terminal end of the engine carry-in path by the conveyor 5, and 9,
This is automatic removal means disposed at the starting end of the engine removal route by the conveyor 7.

As shown in FIGS. 3-6, the engine 10 to be tested is supported in position on a transport pallet 11 via a support attachment 12. As shown in FIGS. This palette 11 includes test benches 1a to 1a.
Piping connection units (sockets) 13 are protruded from the front and rear sides of the conveyor 5 and 7 in the transport direction, and the piping is connected to the pipes. A flexible connecting pipe 15 connecting from the connecting unit 13 to the piping connecting part 14 of the installed engine 10 is connected to the rotary joint 1.
6, and further this flexible connecting pipe 15
Supporting means 18 are provided on both sides of the pallet 11 to protrude from both sides of the pallet 11 for supporting the connector 17 attached to the tip of the pallet 17 in a fixed position.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 9, the tip connector 17 of the flexible connecting tube 15 has a clamped portion 19 having protrusions 19a that protrude on both left and right sides, and a built-in sealing material that is elastic. A slide portion 20 that compresses and reduces the diameter of the sealing material by moving backward against the
It has an operating lever 21 for switching between a sealing material diameter-reduced position and a sealing material enlarged-diameter position (the position shown in FIG. 7), and a positioning hole 22. The slide part 20
Since the internal structure and the like are already known, illustration and explanation will be omitted.

As shown in FIGS. 7 to 10, the support means 18 has a U on the support base 23 that fits into the small diameter portion 24 adjacent to the slide portion 20 of the connector 17.
A letter-shaped fitting member 25 and a pin 26 that fits into the positioning hole 22 are provided in a protruding manner.

The automatic connecting means 8 and the automatic disconnecting means 9 are provided with a pair of manipulators 27a and 27b at the front and rear of the conveyors 5 and 7 in the conveying direction. These pair of manipulators 27a and 27b are each suspended from a support arm 29 that extends back and forth from a portal frame 28 that spans the conveyors 5 and 7, and a clamping tool 30 that can be opened and closed is provided at the tip of the support arm 29. ing. With this clamping tool 30, the parts shown in FIGS.
As shown in the figure, when the clamped portion 19 of the connector 17 is clamped so as not to rotate relative to each other, the U-shaped operating piece 31 that is loosely fitted into the roller 21a that is pivotally supported at the tip of the operating lever 21 of the connector 17. , a cylinder unit 32 that pushes and pulls this U-shaped operating piece 31, and a manipulator tip member 33 that pivotally supports the clamping tool 30 between the clamping tools 30.
It is set in.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a stopper 3 is provided at a location of the conveyor 5, 7 corresponding to the automatic connection means 8 and the automatic disconnection means 9, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.
4, an elevating body 37 equipped with a positioning pin 36 that can be fitted into and removed from a plurality of positioning holes 35 provided in the pallet 11, and cylinder units 38 and 39 for driving these. ing. 40 is a guide roller rail that guides the pallet 11 from side to side.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, each test bench 1a to 1d includes a conveyor 41 that supports and conveys the engine-mounted pallet 11, and a conveyor 41 that supports and conveys the engine-mounted pallet 11.
The pallet 11 is raised and lowered by the cylinder unit 42, and the positioning hole 35 of the pallet 11
a pallet lifting stand 44 equipped with a positioning pin 43 that fits into the pallet lifting stand 44;
When the pallet 11 is lifted to a predetermined height with A stopper 46 that can be moved in and out to stop the engine at a predetermined position, and an engine starting motor (or a driven load absorber, or a combination of both) 48 mounted on an elevating frame 47 are provided.

The automatic piping attachment/detachment means 45 supports a connection plug 49 that can be fitted into and removed from the piping connection unit 13, a flexible piping 50 having the connection plug 49 at its tip, and the connection plug 49. It also includes a movable body 52 that moves in and out by means of a cylinder unit 51. In the illustrated example, for convenience, one piping connection unit 13 is shown on each side of the left and right sides of the pallet 11, but in reality, a plurality of piping connection units 13 are arranged in parallel, so the left and right sides of the test bench are The movable body 52 provided on both sides has a plurality of connection plugs 49 corresponding to each of the plurality of parallel connection units 13.
may be supported, and a plurality of connection plugs 49 can be simultaneously connected to or disconnected from the corresponding piping connection units 13 by advancing and moving one movable body 52.

The elevating frame 47 is pivotally connected to a gate-shaped frame 53 spanning the engine passage path by a horizontal horizontal shaft 54 so as to be able to move up and down, and the cylinder unit 55
As a result, it is switched between an operating position shown by a solid line in FIG. 6 and a retracted position shown by a phantom line, that is, a position above the passage of the engine. The engine starting motor 48 is connected to a guide rod 56 on the elevating frame 47.
It is supported so that it can move forward and backward, and is moved forward and backward by a cylinder unit 57. Further, a clutch disk 60 is provided at the tip of the rotating shaft 58 and can be freely pressed against and separated from the flywheel 59 of the engine 10.

Next, to explain how to use it, the conveyor pallet 11 with the engine 10 supported in a fixed position via the support attachment 12 is moved by the conveyor 5 to the stopper 34 as shown in FIG.
When the pallet 1 is transported to a position where it is stopped, the positioning pin 36 is raised and fitted into the positioning hole 35 of the pallet 11.
1 in place. In this state, the pair of manipulators 27a, 2 of the automatic connection means 8
7b is lowered from the retracted position A that allows the engine 10 to pass, to both sides of the engine 10 on the pallet, and the manipulators 27a and 27b are
Support means 1 on each corresponding side are operated by automatic control based on movement information learned and memorized in advance.
The piping fittings 17 supported on the engine 10 are automatically connected to the piping connections 14 on the same side of the engine 10.

That is, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the clamped portion 19 of the connector 17 supported on the support base 23 of the support means 18 is held relative to the left and right sides by the tip clamping tools 30 of the manipulators 27a and 27b. Hold it in such a way that it cannot rotate. At this time, the U-shaped operating piece 31 on the manipulator side is loosely fitted into the tip roller 21a of the operating lever 21 in the connecting tool 17. Then, the connecting tool 17 is connected to the fitting member 25 and the pin 2.
After moving parallel to the top to separate from 6,
Engine 10 as shown by solid lines in FIGS. 3 and 4
The manipulators 27a and 27b are operated so as to fit into the piping connection portion 14 of.

When the end fitting 17 of the connecting pipe 15 is fitted into the piping connection part 14 of the engine 10, the U-shaped operating piece 31 is moved forward by the cylinder unit 32, and the slide part 20 is moved backward via the operating lever 21. As a result, the diameter of the sealing material built into the connecting tool 17 is reduced, thereby fixing the connecting tool 17 to the pipe connecting portion 14 and connecting the two in an airtight state. After this, if there is another connecting pipe 15, connect the connecting fitting 17 to the corresponding pipe connecting part 14 as described above.
When the connection work of all piping connectors 17 that are the work targets of each manipulator 27a, 27b is completed, the manipulators 27a, 27b are connected to
27b back to the original retracted position A.

After the above work is completed, the stopper 34 and the positioning pin 36 are lowered, and the engine-mounted pallet 11 is conveyed again by the carrying conveyor 5 and carried into the main line 2a of the test equipment 6. Then, the turning means 4a to 4d and the carrying means 3a to 3d
Using this, the engine-mounted pallet 11 is sent to a target test bench, for example, test bench 1a. When this pallet 11 is conveyed by the conveyor 41 in the raised position as shown in the right half of FIG. The lifting table 44 is raised, and the engine-mounted pallet 11 is lifted to a predetermined height with the positioning pin 43 fitted into the positioning hole 35 of the pallet 11 (see the left half of FIG. 5 and FIG. 6). As a result,
Each piping connection unit 13 on both sides of the pallet 11 faces the connection plug 49 in the automatic piping attachment/detachment means 45 on the test bench 1a side. In this state, the cylinder unit 5
1, move the movable body 52 forward and insert its connecting plug 49 into the piping connection unit 13 as shown in the left half of FIG. communicate.

Note that the airtight connection between the two may be maintained by fitting and pressing the connection plug 49 into the piping connection unit 13 by the cylinder unit 51 until the engine test is completed. Plug 49 is connection unit 1
It is desirable to apply a known automatic coupling mechanism, which automatically connects the two in an airtight state when the two are fitted to a predetermined depth in the inner part. In addition, when the piping 50 is a fuel or oil supply path or a cooling water circulation path, the connection plug 49, the piping connection unit 13, and the connector 17 are connected to the other party. Therefore, it can be constructed as an automatic open circuit normally closed valve type that automatically opens the circuit.

As described above, each pipe 5 on the test bench 1a side
0 is connected to a predetermined location on the engine 10 via the connecting pipe 15 on the pallet 11. As shown in FIG. Engine starting motor 4
8 forward to the engine 10 side, and the clutch plate 60 is attached to the flywheel 59 of the engine 10.
Press it concentrically with the That motor 48
By operating the engine 10, the engine 10 is started and various tests are performed.

After the test is completed, the movable body 52 is moved backward by the cylinder unit 51 to separate each connection plug 49 from each connection unit 13 on the pallet 11, and the cylinder unit 55 moves the lifting frame 47 as shown by the imaginary line in FIG. After raising it to the retracted position, the engine-mounted pallet 11 is pushed onto the carrying-out means 3e by the carrying conveyor 41 attached to the test bench 1a, and the carrying-out means 3e, the turning means 4e, and the main line 2 are pushed out.
Using b, the engine-mounted pallet 11 is sent onto the conveyor 7.

The engine-mounted pallet 11 sent out as described above is transferred to the automatic connecting means 8 between the pair of manipulators 27a and 27b in the automatic removing means 9 disposed at the starting end of the conveyor 7 for carrying out.
Then, the manipulators 27a and 27b are operated by automatic control based on movement information that has been learned and memorized in advance, and the tip clamping tool 30 is held in place, and the automatic connection means 8 is stopped. The manipulators 27a and 27b perform a connecting tool removal movement in the opposite direction to the movement of the tip clamping tool 30 during the connection work. However, in the manipulators 27a and 27b of this automatic removal means 9, the U-shaped operation piece 31 is at the extension limit position, and the tip clamping tool 30
When the connectors 17, which are connected to the engine-side piping connection part 14, are clamped, the tip roller 2 of the operating lever 21 is in the operating position shown by the imaginary line in FIG.
Fits into 1a. In this state, by moving the U-shaped operation piece 31 backward using the cylinder unit 32, the operation lever 21 is returned to the non-operating position shown by the solid line in FIG. 6, the slide portion 20 is returned forward, and the sealing material is The diameter is expanded and the fixation of the connecting tool 17 is released.

The connector 17 that has been separated from the piping connector 14 of the engine 10 is moved to the manipulators 27a, 2
7b, it is returned onto the original support means 18, and the fitting member 25 is fitted into the small diameter portion 24, and the pin 26 is fitted into the positioning hole 22, thereby holding it in a fixed position. After the connecting pipe 15 is disconnected from the engine 10 in this manner, the engine-mounted pallet 11 is transported to a predetermined location by the unloading conveyor 7.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, according to the engine test device of the present invention, the engine is transported on completely different routes before and after the test, so as long as the test bench is empty, the next engine is transported immediately. You can. In addition, multiple engine transport paths with test benches along the way are installed in parallel between the main line for carrying in engines and the main line for carrying out engines, making it possible to test multiple engines at the same time and to free up space. The next engine can be immediately loaded into the test bench from the main line, regardless of whether other test benches are in operation, reducing the amount of time lost when the test bench remains empty. As a result, the operating rate of the test bench can be sufficiently increased.

However, on each test bench, a test run can be performed with the engine-equipped pallet positioned and supported on a lifting platform, so even though the engine is test run in the middle of the transport route, engine vibrations are not transmitted to the transport conveyor, etc. This also avoids inconveniences such as the inconvenience caused by vibrations and the position of the engine fluctuating due to vibration during test operation.

Furthermore, even though the engine is tested during the transport route, the engine starting motor for starting the engine is placed at the front in the direction of transport to the test bench, as in conventional general engine test benches. Since it can be connected to the starting end of the engine's crankshaft located in the opposite direction,
The orientation of the engine on the test bench, various piping,
The orientation can be convenient for wiring connections and other work, that is, the orientation can be such that the left and right side walls of the engine, to which various accessory devices are attached, are located on both the left and right sides of the engine transport path.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a schematic plan view of the whole, Fig. 2 is a side view of the same, Fig. 3 is a partially cutaway front view showing the working state of the automatic connection means, Fig. 4 is a side view of the same, Fig. 5 is a test A front view showing the state of pipe connection work on a bench, Fig. 6 is a vertical side view showing the relationship between the engine starting motor and the engine on a test bench, and Fig. 7 shows a fitting at the tip of the piping and a manipulator that holds it. FIG. 8 is a front view thereof, and FIGS. 9 and 10 are longitudinal sectional front views of the connector supported by the support means. 1a to 1d, 61a to 61b... Test bench, 2a... Main line for carrying in, 2b... Main line for carrying out, 3a to 3d... Carrying means, 3e
~3h...Export means, 4a~4h...Turning means,
5... Carrying conveyor, 6... Test equipment, 7...
...Export conveyor, 8...Automatic connection means, 9...
Automatic removal means, 10...Engine, 11...Transportation pallet, 13...Piping connection unit (socket), 14...Piping connection part on the engine side, 15
... Flexible connecting pipe, 17 ... Connector, 18 ... Supporting means, 27a, 27b ... Manipulator, 3
0... Holding tool that can be opened and closed, 45... Piping automatic attachment/detachment means, 47... Elevating frame, 48... Engine starting motor, 49... Connection plug, 50...
Flexible piping, 52...Movable body, 55...Cylinder unit for driving the lifting frame, 57...Cylinder unit for forward and backward movement of engine starting motor,
59...Engine flywheel, 60...Clutch board.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 A plurality of parallel engine transport routes are interposed between the main line for carrying in engines and the main line for carrying out engines, and in the middle of each engine transport route, there is a pallet that can be lifted and lowered to position and support the engine-mounted pallet. A test bench equipped with a lifting platform and an engine starting motor for starting an engine on a pallet supported by the pallet lifting platform is provided, and the engine starting motor is located at a working position in the engine transport path and at a working position in the engine transport path. It is mounted on a frame that is movable between a retracted position outside the engine transport path, and when the frame is in the operating position, the engine on the pallet supported by the pallet lifting stand is started by the engine starting motor. An engine test device configured to allow