JPH07106514B2 - Article assembly equipment - Google Patents

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an article assembling apparatus, and more particularly, to setting a plurality of parts on a pallet, transporting the pallet over a plurality of stations, and the stations are sequentially automated. The present invention relates to an article assembling apparatus for assembling.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, an article assembling apparatus has been put into practical use in which a pallet used for assembling articles is conveyed over a plurality of stations and parts are sequentially supplied and assembled at each station.

By the way, in this type of article assembling apparatus, parts are supplied by dedicated parts supplying apparatuses at each station. Therefore, when the design or model of an article is changed, a large number of parts supplying apparatuses of the assembly line are used. It is necessary to change the product, and there is a problem that it lacks flexibility in changing the design of the article.

Therefore, as described in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 57-211430, recently, a plurality of parts are set in advance on a pallet and transported together with the pallet, and each station is sequentially assembled by a robot or an automatic assembling device. An article assembling apparatus adapted to perform work is being adopted.

In this case, in the assembling device for assembling relatively small articles,
As described in the above publication, a plurality of pallets are set on a carrier (carriage), the plurality of pallets are conveyed at the same time, and the same type of assembly is performed on the plurality of pallets at the same time at each station.

On the other hand, in an assembling apparatus for assembling a relatively large article or an article having a complicated structure, it is often the case that a plurality of parts constituting one article are set on each pallet and transported and assembled.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In the article assembling apparatus in which a plurality of parts are set on the pallet and conveyed and the assembling work is sequentially performed at each station as described above, there are the following problems.

That is, at each station, the assembly work is performed by a dedicated automatic assembly apparatus. However, since the dedicated assembly apparatus is a large-sized apparatus to some extent, in the conventional apparatus, as a rule,
At the station, one type of assembly work is performed at the same time. Therefore, a number of stations corresponding to the type of assembling work is required, and there is a problem that the assembling line becomes long and the cycle time required for assembling one article becomes long.

Therefore, it is conceivable to perform two types of assembly work at the same time in one station. In that case, two automatic assembly devices interfere with each other, and if they do not interfere, the structure of the assembly device becomes very complicated. There is a problem.

(Means for Solving Problems) An article assembling apparatus according to the present invention is an article assembling apparatus in which a plurality of parts are set on a pallet, the pallet is conveyed to a plurality of stations, and the stations are automatically assembled in sequence. In the apparatus, each of the supporting jigs for supporting two parts of the at least three parts to be assembled into one article at the same time on any one of the stations on the pallet, and the supporting jig for supporting the other one part. It is arranged in a row with the ingredients sandwiched therebetween.

(Operation) In the article assembling apparatus according to the present invention, two parts which are simultaneously assembled at any one station of at least three articles to be assembled into one article are arranged in a line with the other one part interposed therebetween. Since they are arranged on the pallet likewise, the distance between the two parts becomes large, and the automatic assembling devices that perform similar assembling operations on the two parts do not interfere with each other.

(Effects of the Invention) According to the article assembling apparatus of the present invention, as described above,
Since two similar types of assembling work can be performed at the station, the number of stations can be prevented from increasing, the cycle time required for assembling one article can be shortened, and the factory space can be saved.

Moreover, since two similar automatic assembling devices can be installed in one station, it is possible to share a power source such as a hydraulic power source.

(Example) Hereinafter, the Example of this invention is described based on drawing.

This embodiment is an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to an automatic assembly apparatus (assembly line) AL for a differential device of an automobile.

First, as shown in FIG. 1, the differential device D first includes a carrier 1, a drive pinion 2, a companion flange 3, a gear case 4 including a differential gear,
It consists of main parts such as ring gear 5, bearings, oil seal 6, and various other small parts.
As the bearings, a front bearing 7 and a rear bearing 8 that support the drive pinion 2 and side bearings 9 that support the left and right end portions of the gear case 4 are provided. Other sim 10, distance piece 1
1, a washer 12, a nut 13, and a bearing cap (not shown) for covering the upper half of the side bearing 9 are provided.

The automatic assembly line AL has S1 to S20 as shown in FIG.
A loop-shaped transfer line for transferring the pallet P with a conveyor is installed over 20 stations, and each station is equipped with a robot, press-fitting device, parts supply device, nut runner, etc., and 4 types of differential devices are mixed. Each station carries out the following assembling work.

At the S1 to S3 stations, most of the parts are manually set on a predetermined jig on the pallet P (see FIG. 5 to FIG.
(See Figure 11).

In the S4 station, a robot applies a screw lock agent (adhesive) between the gear case 4 and the ring gear 5 with the movable spacer interposed between the gear case 4 and the ring gear 5, and the movable spacer is released by the robot after the application. To be done.

At the S5 station, the inner race 8a with rollers of the rear bearing 8 and the inner race 7a with rollers of the front bearing 7 are simultaneously pressed into the carrier 1 from above and below by the press-fitting device, while the gear case is driven by another press-fitting device. The inner races 9a with rollers of the side bearings 9 are simultaneously press-fitted to both the upper and lower sides of the bearing 4.

At S6 station, dimension measurement is performed to determine the thickness of shim 10. At S7 station, ring gear 5 is set to 10 mm.
For the gear case 4 and the ring gear 5 which are tightened with the bolts 5a of the book, the gear case 4, the ring gear 5 and the pressure and bolt tightening (5
Two times each).

In the S8 station, the ring gear 5 is bolted to the gear case 4 and the ring gear 5 of the type in which the ring gear 5 is tightened with eight bolts 5a, as in the S7 station. In parallel with this, at the S8 station, the shim 10 and the inner race 8a with the roller of the rear bearing 8 are set and supplied to the drive pinion 2.

At the S10 station, the inner race 8a is press-fitted into the drive pinion 2 by the press-fitting device, and the distance piece 11 is assembled to the drive pinion 2 by the robot. Carrier 1
Is reversed and assembled into the drive pinion 2, and after the reversal, the inner race 7a with the roller of the front bearing 7 is press-fitted into the drive pinion 2 by the press-fitting device.

At the S11 station, the oil seal 6 is press-fitted into the carrier 1 by the press-fitting device, and after the press-fitting, the companion flange 3 is press-fitted into the drive pinion 2 by the press-fitting device.

Below, drive pinion 2 at S12 to S20 stations
Assembling washer 12 and nut 13 to, tightening nut 13 and measuring preload, various other measurements, reversing integrated carrier 1 and drive pinion 2, carrier 1
The gear case 4, the ring gear 5, and the outer race 9b of the side bearing 9, an adjusting screw (not shown), a bearing cap, and a lock plate 14 are attached to the above.

Next, the structure of the pallet P used for assembling the differential device D will be described.

Assuming that the conveying direction of the pallet P is the front as shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the pallet P has a rectangular base plate 15 and a carrier set as a supporting jig provided on the front part of the base plate 15. The jig 20, the drive pinion set jig 16 as a support jig provided at the center of the base plate 15, and the gear case / ring gear set jig 30 (as a support jig provided at the rear portion of the base plate 15) , GC / RG set jig), oil seal receiving jig 41, companion flange receiving jig
42 and the inner race receiving jig 43 of the front bearing 7
A distance piece receiving jig 44, four types of press-fitting punch receiving jigs 45 for press-fitting the side bearings 9, a bearing cap receiving portion 46, an outer race receiving portion 47 of the front bearing 7, and an inner race of the side bearing 9. A receiving portion 48 and a pair of front and rear positioning fitting portions 49 for setting the three-dimensional position of the pallet P at each station are provided.

As shown in FIGS. 3 to 6, the carrier setting jig 20 has a pair of symmetrical left and right setting jigs 20A and right and left setting jigs 20A.
It is composed of a locking member 21 which connects them to each other and is received by the receiving member 21a.

Each set jig 20A is a cylindrical member 2 installed upright on the base plate 15.
2, the shaft member 23 is vertically movably inserted and mounted, and the reversing arm 25 is connected to the bracket 23a at the upper end of the shaft member 23 via the pivot shaft 24 in the left-right direction, and the reversing arm 25 is provided with a support plate.
26 is rotatably mounted via a vertical support shaft 27, and a clamper 28 is provided above the support plate 26.
The slumper 28 includes a clamper member 28a and a tightening bolt 28b. Positioning support portions are formed on the front, rear, left and right sides of the support plate 26 so that the carrier 1 of four types having different sizes can be positioned and supported, and the support holes are formed in the bolt holes 1a of the carrier 1, respectively. A pair of mating pins 26
a is erected. Then, with the front side of the carrier 1 facing downward and the drive pinion mounting hole of the carrier 1 being kept concentric with the outer race receiving portion 47, the flange portion 16 of the carrier 1 is placed over the left and right support plates 26, and left and right. Positioning is performed by a pair of pins 26a, and the flange portion 1b is fixed by the left and right clampers 28, whereby the carrier 1 is set. When reversing the carrier 1 by the reversing device in S10, the carrier 1 is reversed 180 ° rearward together with the reversing arm 25 through the pivot shaft 24 so that the support base 2
It is supposed to be supported by 9.

The drive pinion set jig 16 includes a lift table 17 that can be moved up and down guided by a pair of guide rods 17a provided upright on the base plate 15 as shown in FIGS. And a holder 18 for holding the drive pinion 2 set upright in the vertical direction so as not to fall down, and an axis setting pin 17b fitted in a recess at the center of the rear end of the drive pinion 2 is provided at the center of the upper end of the lift table 17. The shaft center setting pin 17b is incorporated and is biased by a spring.

The holder 18 is attached to a boulder guide 18a that is erected on the base plate 15 so that the position of the holder 18 can be adjusted in the left-right direction.
A substantially semicircular cutout portion 18b into which the driver pinion 2 is fitted is formed at the tip end portion of the.

The GC / RG setting jig 30 is composed of a pair of left and right symmetrical setting jigs 30A as shown in FIGS. 3 to 5 and 8. Each set jig 30A is a cylindrical member 3 that is erected on the base plate 15.
1.A shaft member 32 is attached to 1 so as to be movable up and down, and an integral support plate 33 is fixed to the upper end of the shaft member 32 over the left and right,
Compression spring with support plate 33 inside spring case 34
The upper end position is restricted by the lower end flange portion 32a of the shaft member 32, and the lower limit position can be restricted by the restricting member 35 provided on the lower side of the support plate 33 on the left and right sides. A positioning regulation plate 37 is provided on the support plate 33 so as to be rotatable around a shaft member 36 standing on the 33.

Then, a rectangular tube member 38a is provided at the upper end of the support rod 38 which is vertically movably mounted on the shaft member 36 and is urged upward by a compression spring.
Is horizontally mounted in the left-right direction, and the rectangular tubular member 38a
Movable spacers 39 are attached to each other so as to face each other, and a vertical handle portion 39a is formed at an outer end portion of the movable spacer 39.

In order to support and position the four types of gear cases 4 and the ring gear 5, the positioning regulation plate 37 is provided with a receiving portion 37a for receiving the tapered end surface of the ring gear 5 and an outer peripheral end portion of the ring gear 5 on the four sides of the front, rear, left and right sides. A positioning regulating portion 37b for regulating is formed. That is, the ring gear 5 is held in a predetermined posture by the receiving portions 37a of the left and right setting jigs 30A, and is set by the positioning regulating portion 37b so that its axial center position is set to a predetermined position with respect to the pallet P.

Press-fitting punches 82 (press-fitting tools) of different sizes are mounted on the four types of press-fitting punch receiving portions 45 provided on the base plate 15 of the pallet P.
The seed press-fitting punch 82 is always equipped on the pallet P as a standard equipment of the pallet P.

As described above, with respect to the base plate 15 of the pallet P, the carrier 1, the drive pinion 2, the gear case 4, the ring gear 5, the oil seal 6, the companion flange 3, the inner race 7a of the front bearing 7, the distance piece 11, the side bearing 9 are attached. The press-fitting punches and the like are set to have predetermined positions and postures, and the pallet P is fitted with the fitting pins of each station in the pair of front and rear positioning fitting holes 49 roughly positioned by each stopper at each station. By combining them, they can be positioned accurately in the front-back, left-right, and up-down directions, so that at each station, the assembly work can proceed almost automatically through various automatic press-fitting devices, robots, nutrunners, and parts supply devices.

By the way, in the assembling apparatus of the differential device of the present embodiment, two simultaneous press-fitting operations of the outer races 7b and 8b into the carrier 1 and the inner races 9a and 9a into the gear case 4 and two kinds of press-fitting operations are performed simultaneously. As described above, the pallet P is used so that the press-fitting devices do not interfere with each other.
Carrier 1 in the front and drive pinion 2 in the center
Set the gear case 4 and ring gear 5 at the rear,
That is, the carrier 1 and the gear case 4 that perform similar assembling work at the same time are arranged in a row with the drive pinion 2 sandwiched therebetween, so that the above two types of press-fitting work can be performed simultaneously at the S5 station. Is.

The two press-fitting devices arranged at the S5 station will be described below with reference to FIGS.

As shown in FIG. 12, the common frame 50 in the S5 station accommodates a first press-fitting device 51 for press-fitting the outer race 8b into the carrier 1 from above and five press-fitting punches 56 of the first press-fitting device 51. And an index device 55 for indexing,
A second press-fitting device 52 for press-fitting the outer race 7b into the carrier 1 from below, a third press-fitting device 53 for press-fitting the inner race 9a into the gear case 4 from above, and a fourth press-fitting device for press-fitting the inner race 9a into the gear case 4 from below. 54 and are provided.

The first press-fitting device 51 and the third press-fitting device 53 are the upper frame 50a above the pallet P on the conveyor (not shown).
And is press-fitted and driven by the first press-fitting cylinder 61 and the third press-fitting cylinder 63, respectively.

The second press-fitting device 52 and the fourth press-fitting device 54 are disposed below the lower frame 50b of the conveyor, and are press-fitted and driven by the second press-fitting cylinder 62 and the fourth press-fitting cylinder 64, respectively.

Press-fitting head 57 and index device 55 of the first press-fitting device 51
This will be described with reference to FIGS. 13 and 14.

As shown in FIG. 14, a table 58 of the indexing device 55 is provided with five kinds of press-fitting punches 56 at five positions on the circumference of a circle, and a notch 59 is formed at the remaining one position. . At the time of press fitting, the notch 59 is indexed just below the press fitting head 57, and the press fitting punch 56 mounted on the press fitting head 57 moves downward through the notch 59.

The press-fitting head 57 includes a head block 60 having an air supply passage 60a, a cylinder member 65 for transmitting a press-fitting load, an air cylinder 66 fitted in the cylinder member 65, and the working chamber 6 from the air passage 60a.
A passage forming member 67 that forms an air passage to 6a, and a cylindrical member 65.
A movable sleeve 68, which is fitted on the outside so as to be vertically movable, and a tubular member 65.
A chucking steel ball 69 mounted in the hole and an air cylinder 70 for moving the movable sleeve 68 up and down.

Each of the press-fitting punches 56 on the index device 55 has a ring-shaped downward force input transmission part 56a, and a protrusion 56b formed at the center of the lower end of the table 58 so as to be fitted to the holder 71 of the table 58,
It has a chucking fitting portion 56c formed in the upper half thereof, and an annular V groove 56d is formed in the fitting portion 56c.

When one of the press-fitting punches 56 is selected and attached to the press-fitting head 57, the table 58 of the index device 55 rotates to index the press-fitting punch 56 directly below the press-fitting head 57, and then the air cylinder 70 is attached. With the annular groove 68a on the inner circumference of the movable sleeve 68 aligned with the position of the steel ball 69 through the indexing device 55, the index device 55 is moved upward through the index lifting air cylinder 72, and the fitting portion 56c of the press-fitting punch 56 is inserted. Is fitted into the tubular member 65. At this time, since the steel ball 69 is aligned with the V groove 56d, when the movable sleeve 68 is moved downward, the steel ball 69 is fitted in the V groove 56d and the press-fitting punch 56 is fixed to the press-fitting head 57. After the fixing, the index device 55 is lowered and the table 58 is rotated to press the notch 59 into the press-fitting head 57.
It can be press-fitted if it is located directly below.

The outer race 8b is a carrier 1 at S1 to S3 stations.
Is set in advance, and the first press-fit cylinder is used when press-fitting.
The press-fitting head 57 is lowered by 61 and press-fitted from above as shown in FIG.

After press-fitting, press-fit the punch 56 from the press-fitting head 57 to the table.
When transferring to a predetermined holder 71 on the 58, the table 58 is rotated to index the holder 71, and then the index device 55 is moved upward to fit the protrusion 56b into the holder 71, and the annular groove of the movable sleeve 68 is moved. The index device 5 is installed while supplying the air to the working chamber 66a of the air cylinder 66 after matching the 68a with the steel ball 69.
When 5 is moved downward, press-fit punch 56
Are pushed downward and transferred to the table 58 side.

The second press-fitting device 52 is shown in FIGS. 15 (a) and (b).
It will be described with reference to FIG.

The second press-fitting device 52 includes two press-fitting punches 75 obtained by press-fitting two kinds of outer races 7b, a guide member 76 for sliding the press-fitting punch 75 in the front-rear direction, and a switching air cylinder.
77, a set air cylinder 78 for moving the selected press-fitting punch 75 to the press-fitting position (Z2), and the press-fitting punch 75 after press-fitting.
A return air cylinder 79 for moving 75 to the guide member 76 side, the second press-fitting cylinder 62, and a second press-fitting cylinder.
Press-fitting head 80 that transmits the pressure input from 62 to the press-fitting punch 75.
And so on. As shown in FIGS. 15 (b) and 15 (c), the press-fitting punch 75 has a substantially oval cross-sectional shape that can be inserted into the outer race receiving portion 47 on the pallet P side, and the outer race 7b preset in the outer race receiving portion 47 at the time of press-fitting. It is designed to be taken up and pressed in from below as shown in FIG.

In the third press-fitting device 53, the press-fitting head 81 is vertically driven by the third press-fitting cylinder 63 as shown in FIG. The press-fitting punch 82 and the inner race 9a of the third press-fitting device 53 are S1 to S3 depending on the type of the differential device D.
Preliminarily assembled to the upper end of the gear case 4 at the station.

As shown in FIG. 18, the press-fitting punch 82 is composed of a press-fitting punch main body 82a, a fitting member 82b that is vertically fitted in the press-fitting punch main body 82a and projects outside the lower end thereof, and a compression spring 82c.

Regarding the fourth press-fitting device 54, FIG. 15 (a) (b)
It will be described with reference to FIG.

The fourth press-fitting device 54 is similar to the second press-fitting device 52, and has four press-fitting punches 83 corresponding to the four types of differential devices D, a guide member 84 for sliding the press-fitting punch 83 in the front-rear direction, and switching. Air cylinder 85, a set air cylinder 86 for moving the selected press-fitting punch 83 to the press-fitting position (Z4), and a guide member for the press-fitting punch 83 after press-fitting.
A return air cylinder 87 for moving to the 84 side, the fourth press-fitting cylinder 64, a press-fitting head 88 for transmitting a pressure input from the fourth press-fitting cylinder 64 to the press-fitting punch 83, and the like are provided.

The press-fitting punch 83 is an inner race receiving portion on the pallet P side.
It has a substantially oval cross-sectional shape that can be inserted into 48, and at the time of press-fitting, the inner race 9a preset in the inner race receiving portion 48 is picked up and press-fitted from below as shown in FIG.

When the inner race 9a is press-fitted into the gear case 4 from above and below by the third press-fitting device 53 and the fourth press-fitting device 54, the press-fitting head 81 of the third press-fitting device 53 as shown in FIG.
As the pressure is lowered, the press-fitting head 81 fits into the press-fitting punch 82, the gear case 4 and the ring gear 5, which are spring-supported via the press-fitting punch 82 and the inner race 9a, move downward, and the restricting member 35 moves the base plate. Abuts 15 and reaches the lower limit position.

Next, when the press-fitting punch 83 of the fourth press-fitting device 54 is raised, the inner races 9a are press-fitted into the gear case 4 by the press-fitting punches 82 and 83, respectively.

Next, the lower press-fitting punch 83 is lowered, and then the upper press-fitting punch 82 is raised.

It goes without saying that the press-fitting work performed by the first press-fitting device and the second press-fitting device and the press-fitting work performed by the third press-fitting device and the fourth press-fitting device are simultaneously and automatically performed in parallel.

The article assembling apparatus of the present application can be similarly applied to the assembly of various mechanical devices other than the differential device D.

As described above, the carrier setting jig 20 is provided in the front part of the pallet P, and the drive pinion setting jig 16 is provided in the center part.
Is equipped with a gear case / ring gear set jig 30 at the rear, and the carrier 1, the drive pinion 2, and the gear case 4
Since the ring gears 5 are arranged side by side, mutual interference between the first press-fitting device 51 / second press-fitting device 52 and the third press-fitting device 53 / fourth press-fitting device 54 at the S5 station does not occur, and at the same station Two types of press-fitting operations can be performed at the same time, and the hydraulic pressure sources of the first to fourth press-fitting devices 51 to 54 can be shared.

[Brief description of drawings]

The drawings show an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a differential device, FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of an automatic assembly line of the differential device, FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of a pallet, and FIG. Figure is a plan view of the pallet, Figure 5 is a vertical sectional side view of the pallet, Figure 6 is a sectional view taken along the line VI-VI in Figure 4, Figure 7 is a sectional view taken along the line VII-VII in Figure 4, and Figure 8 is shown in Figure 8. 4 Figure VIII-
VIII sectional view, Figure 9, Figure 10, Figure 11 are the rear view of companion flange receiving jig, inner race receiving jig, distance piece receiving jig, respectively, and Figure 12 is the S5 station installed 1 to 4 side views of the press-fitting device, FIG. 13 is a rear view of the press-fitting head of the first press-fitting device and a partly cutaway longitudinal view of the index device, FIG. 14 is a plan view of the index device, FIG. 15 (a) Is a side view of the second press-fitting device and the fourth press-fitting device, FIG. 15 (b) is a view from the arrow B of FIG. 15 (a), and FIG. 15 (c) is a plan view of the press-fitting punch of the second press-fitting device. FIG. 16 is a plan view of the second press-fitting device and the fourth press-fitting device, FIG. 17 is a vertical sectional view of the carrier and the like after press-fitting the outer race, and FIG. 18 is a press-fitting punch and a third press-fitting device of the third press-fitting device in the press-fitting completed state. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view with the principal part of the press-fitting punch of the 4-press-fitting device. D: differential device, P: palette, 1 ...
Carrier, 2 …… Drive pinion, 4 …… Gear case, 5 …… Ring gear, 16 …… Drive pinion set jig, 20 …… Carrier set jig, 30 …… Gear case ・
Ring gear set jig.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An article assembling apparatus for setting a plurality of parts on a pallet, transporting the pallet to a plurality of stations, and automatically assembling at each of the stations, wherein one article is assembled on the pallet. At least 3
Each of the supporting jigs for supporting two parts to be simultaneously assembled in any one of the parts is arranged in a row with a supporting jig for supporting the other one part interposed therebetween. Article assembly equipment.