JP7040375B2 - Transport processing device and transport processing method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a transfer processing device and a transfer processing method for simultaneously performing a plurality of processes at a plurality of stations on a work to be conveyed at the same pitch.

As a transport device used when a product is manufactured by performing a plurality of work processes at separate stations, for example, a transport device as described in Patent Document 1 is known. The transport device described in Patent Document 1 includes a transport line composed of a pair of parallel rails, and a plurality of work stations are provided at positions close to the transport line at predetermined intervals. Then, the workpieces positioned and placed in the pallet are sequentially conveyed to a predetermined station by pitch transfer.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 9-201736

By the way, there are various work processes performed on the work at the station. For example, when welding is performed, if welding is performed multiple times with the welding electrode, the electrode is oxidized, so the welding electrode is used for maintenance. Needs to be brushed. In addition, when cutting is performed, the cutting tool gradually wears when cutting a plurality of times, so it is necessary to replace the cutting tool for maintenance. The so-called "setup process", which corresponds to station maintenance, such as brushing in welding and replacement of cutting tools in cutting, needs to be performed regularly in order to maintain the quality of the product.

For example, if an A station that performs a predetermined A process and a B station that performs a B process are provided on one transport line, and the work is always subjected to two processes, A and B, setup is performed at either station. If the process is being performed, the work cannot be transported during that period, and a waiting time occurs. In particular, if the setup process is executed at each of the A station and the B station at their own timing, a non-operation state will occur each time the setup process is performed, and the operation rate of the entire line will decrease, resulting in poor production efficiency. There was a problem.

The present invention has been created in view of these points, and an object thereof is a transport processing apparatus and transport capable of improving production efficiency by eliminating a waiting time during setup processing of a station. It is to provide a processing method.

The transport processing apparatus of the present invention is provided adjacent to a transport section (10) and a transport section for simultaneous pitch transport in which a plurality of workpieces (W) arranged for each pitch are simultaneously fed by one pitch in the transport direction. Has a plurality of stations (20, 30, 40) for performing predetermined processing, and a control unit (50) for controlling the transport operation of the transport unit and the processing operation of each station, and performs a plurality of processes in parallel at the same time. ..

The control unit has a timing measurement counter (51) that counts the number of pitch feeds by the transport unit. The station is a combined station (30) capable of selectively processing both the first process (20) that performs the first process, the second station (40) that performs the second process, and both the first process and the second process. ) And. Assuming that a predetermined number required for the setup process for performing maintenance accompanying the process at each station is the setup count number Np, the interval between the processing positions (V1, V4, V7) of each station is Np pitch.

Assuming that the number of pitch feeds corresponding to the predetermined number of processing at the station is the processing count number Nw, the control unit counts the processing count number Nw by the timing measurement counter and then counts the setup count number Np by the timing measurement counter. In the meantime, the transfer operation of the transfer unit and the processing operation of each station are controlled so that the setup process is performed at each station while continuing the pitch transfer of the work.

In this configuration, the setup timing at each station is matched, and the setup time is common. For example, when the setup timing is different in each station, if the setup process is performed at a certain station, the work cannot be transported to that station, and the operation is temporarily stopped and the operation rate is lowered.

In that respect, according to this configuration, the timing of the setup processing at each station arranged at the Np pitch interval is the same, and the pitch transfer is continued even during the setup processing executed at the setup count number Np. Even if the work passes through the station being set up without being processed, by having the combined station, the first process and the second process are always completed if the work passes through the entire transport section. can. That is, according to this configuration, there is no waiting time for processing at the time of setup, and production efficiency can be improved.

It is a schematic diagram which shows the whole of the transport processing apparatus by 1st Embodiment of this invention. This is the main flowchart executed by the control unit in the transport process. It is a flowchart which the control part executes about the processing in the dual-purpose station. It is a flowchart which the control part executes about the processing in 2nd station. It is a figure which visually shows the transport and processing state of the work at the pitch feed position, and the processing timing at each station.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
<First Embodiment>
[Constitution]
The configuration of the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, the transport processing device 101 of the present embodiment simultaneously performs two processes of low-pressure welding and high-pressure welding on the work W. As shown in FIG. 1, the transport processing device 101 mainly includes a transport unit 10, a first station 20, a combined station 30, a second station 40, a control unit 50, and the like.

The transport unit 10 has a transport rail 11 and is a mechanism unit that transports the work W on the transport rail 11 in the transport direction. The transport unit 10 is composed of, for example, a transfer feedr having a transfer bar or a transfer bar drive device. Work Wa, Wb, Wc, and Wd positioned in a pallet (not shown) are arranged on the transport rail 11 so as to be arranged at predetermined intervals (P shown in FIG. 1). When the work is simply referred to widely without specifying the transport position, it is referred to as "work W". The transport unit 10 simultaneously feeds a plurality of workpieces W arranged for each pitch by one pitch in the transport direction at the same time.

The first station 20, the combined station 30, and the second station 40 are arranged adjacent to the transport rail 11 in order from the upstream in the transport direction at predetermined intervals. The distance between the first station 20 and the combined station 30 is the distance between the welding position V1 at the first station 20 and the welding position V4 at the combined station 30. The distance between the combined station 30 and the second station 40 is the distance between the welding position V4 at the combined station 30 and the welding position V7 at the third station. In this embodiment, the intervals between the stations 20, 30, and 40 are 3 pitches. The intervals between the stations 20, 30 and 40 are set to the number of pitches corresponding to the setup count number Np (Np = 3 in this embodiment) described later.

The first station 20 is a station that performs a low-pressure welding process on a predetermined portion of the work W, and has a low-pressure welding electrode 21. The combined station 30 is a station capable of selectively processing both a low-pressure welding process and a high-pressure welding process, and has both a low-pressure welding electrode 31 and a high-pressure welding electrode 32. The second station 40 is a station that performs a high-pressure welding process on a predetermined portion of the work W, and has an electrode 41 for high-pressure welding. The portion to be welded with high pressure and the portion to be welded with low pressure are different portions in the work W.

Further, each station 20, 30, 40 is provided with an electrode polishing brush (not shown), a brush driving motor, a plurality of electrode driving servomotors for three axes, and the like, respectively. When the servomotor for driving the electrodes is driven, the electrodes approach the work W by 3-axis control, and welding is performed on the welding target portion. Brushing with an electrode polishing brush (hereinafter referred to as "polishing treatment") is performed every predetermined number of welding treatments. Regular polishing is required to prevent oxidation of the welding electrodes. The pitch feed number N corresponding to the predetermined number of processing times at each station 20, 30, 40 is defined as the processing count number Nw. The polishing process corresponds to "a setup process for performing maintenance accompanying the process at the station".

The control unit 50 includes a timing measurement counter 51, a CPU (not shown), a ROM, a RAM, a flash memory, and the like. The control unit 50 is electrically connected to the servomotors and electrodes of each station 20, 30, 40, the transport unit 10, and the like. The control unit 50 controls the transfer operation of the transfer unit 10 and the processing operations of the stations 20, 30 and 40 based on the various transfer processing conditions read from the flash memory and the count number counted by the timing measurement counter 51. To control.

The timing measurement counter 51 counts the number of pitch feeds N for pitch-transporting the work W by the transport unit 10. The pitch feed number N corresponds to the number of processes at each of the stations 20, 30, and 40. The timing of the welding process is the same for each station 20, 30, 40. Even if the work W is not transported to an arbitrary station due to a defect of the work W and the welding process is not performed, so-called blank casting is performed, the welding process is executed at another station and the transfer is continued. Therefore, the timing measurement counter 51 counts up the pitch feed number N.

[control]
Next, in the transfer processing device 101 of the present embodiment, the transfer process executed by the control unit 50 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, first, in step 1 (hereinafter, the step is abbreviated as “S”), the drive device of the transport unit 10 is driven to start pitch transport, and the pitch by the timing measurement counter 51 is started. The count of the number of feeds N is started. The pitch feed number N is counted up by 1 each time each work W moves one pitch in the transport direction. Next, in S2, the welding process at each of the stations 20, 30 and 40 is executed. The details of the welding process at each of the stations 20, 30 and 40 in S2 will be described later.

Next, in S3, it is determined whether or not the pitch feed number N becomes the processing count number Nw. If the pitch feed number N matches the processing count number Nw (S3: YES), the process proceeds to S4, and the electrode polishing process is performed. During this electrode polishing process, the pitch transfer up to now is continued in the same manner, and the pitch feed number N is counted. On the other hand, in S3, if the pitch feed number N does not match the processing count number Nw (S3: NO), the process returns to S1 and the processes S1 to S3 are repeatedly executed until N = Nw. In the present embodiment, the processing count number Nw is 6. That is, after welding is performed 6 times with the welding electrodes at each of the stations 20, 30 and 40, the polishing process is executed.

Next to S4, in S5, it is determined whether or not the pitch feed number N has reached the total count number Ns. The total count number Ns is the total number of the processing count number Nw and the setup count number Np. In the present embodiment, the setup count number Np is 3, and the total count number Ns is 9. If the pitch feed number N matches the total count number Ns in S5 (S5: YES), the process proceeds to S6 and the count number is reset. On the other hand, in S5, when the pitch feed number N does not match the total count number Ns (S5: NO), the process returns to S4 and the polishing process of S4 is continued until N = Ns.

S1 to S6 are one cycle, and the pitch feed number N in one cycle is 9 (= total count number Ns). The counter is reset once at the end of one cycle. With the total count number Ns as one cycle, the three stations 20, 30, and 40 always operate at the same timing of the welding process and the electrode polishing process.

When the counter is reset in S6, it is determined in S7 whether or not the predetermined cycle has ended. The predetermined cycle is determined by a predetermined number of processed works, time, and the like. If it is determined in S7 that the predetermined cycle has ended (S7: YES), the transport of the work W is stopped in S8, and this control process ends. On the other hand, if it is determined that the predetermined cycle has not been completed (S7: NO), the process returns to S1 and the processing for the next work W is continuously performed. The pitch transfer is continuously executed until the predetermined cycle is completed, and the processes S2 to S6 are continuously executed at the stations 20, 30, and 40.

Next, in S2, the details of the welding process executed by each of the stations 20, 30, and 40 will be described for each station. The work Wa conveyed to the first station 20 is a work that has not been welded. In the first station 20 where low-pressure welding is performed, low-pressure welding is always performed on the flowing work W except when the first station 20 is performing the electrode polishing process.

Next, regarding the processing in the combined station 30, the control executed by the control unit 50 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, first, in S11, it is determined whether or not the work Wb has been low-pressure welded. The work Wb transported to the combined station 30 is either in a low-pressure welded state or in a non-low-pressure welded state in which the first station 20 is being polished and has not been welded. Then, if it is determined in S11 that the work Wb has been low-pressure welded (S11: YES), high-pressure welding is executed in S12. On the other hand, if it is determined in S11 that the work Wb has not been low-pressure welded (S11: NO), low-pressure welding is executed in S13. In the present embodiment, the low pressure welding process is always performed before the high pressure welding process.

By the above processing, the work Wc that has passed through the combined station 30 is in a state of either low-pressure welding or both low-pressure welding and high-pressure welding. In other words, the work Wc that has passed through the combined station 30 is in a state where at least low-pressure welding has always been completed.

Next, regarding the process at the second station 40 that performs the high-pressure welding process, the control executed by the control unit 50 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, first, in S21, it is determined whether or not the work Wc has been high-pressure welded. If it is determined in S21 that the work Wc has not been high-pressure welded (S21: NO), high-pressure welding is executed in S22, and this control process ends. On the other hand, if it is determined in S21 that the work Wc has been high-pressure welded (S21: YES), no processing is performed at the second station, and this control processing ends.

FIG. 5 shows the transport and processing states of the work W at each pitch feed position V1, V2, V3, V4, V5, V6, V7 on the transport rail 11 shown in FIG. 1, and the processing at the stations 20, 30, and 40. It is a figure which shows the timing visually. The pitch feed position V1 is a welding position at the first station 20 and corresponds to a “processing position”. The pitch feed position V4 is a welding position at the combined station 30, and corresponds to a “processing position”. The pitch feed position V7 is a welding position at the second station 40 and corresponds to a “processing position”.

In the vertical columns of the welding positions V1, V4, and V7 shown in FIG. 5, the descriptions of "low", "high", and "polish" indicate the processes performed at the stations 20, 30, and 40, respectively. The description of "low" means the low pressure welding process, and the description of "high" means the high pressure welding process. The description of "polish" means a polishing process. As can be seen in the vertical columns of the pitch feed positions V1, V4, and V7, when the welding process is performed 6 times at any of the stations, the polishing process is started. The timing of this polishing process is the same for each of the stations 20, 30, and 40.

In the first cycle of the start of the routine, the work W is sequentially conveyed from the first station 20, so that the work W has not yet been conveyed to the welding positions V4 and V7 of the combined station 30 and the second station 40. , Processing may not be done. However, in the first station 20, since the first low-pressure welding process is executed from the time when the pitch feed number N is 1, it is counted as the count number of the process count number Nw.

In the vertical columns of the pitch feed positions V2, V3, V5, and V6, the description of "not", "low", and "high" indicates the welding process state of the work W. The description of "not yet" means a state in which low-pressure welding is not completed, and the description of "low" means a state in which only low-pressure welding is completed. Further, the description of "high" means a state in which both low-pressure welding and high-pressure welding are completed.

For example, the work W indicated by the flow of the arrow A1 is low-pressure welded at the first station 20, and since the combined station 30 is being polished, it passes through without being welded and is high-pressure welded at the second station 40. Further, since the work W indicated by the flow of the arrow A2 is being polished at the first station 20, it passes through without being welded, is low-pressure welded at the combined station 30, and is high-pressure welded at the second station 40. As described above, in the present embodiment, the workpieces that have passed through the stations 20, 30, and 40 have been subjected to both the low-pressure welding process and the high-pressure welding process.

[effect]
In the transfer processing method by the transfer processing device 101, one timing measurement counter 51 is used, and the operation patterns of a plurality of stations 20, 30 and 40 are fixed and controlled, and each station 20, 30 and 40 has a fixed and controlled operation pattern. The polishing processing timing is common. For example, when the polishing processing timing is different in each station 20, 30, 40, if the polishing processing is performed at a certain station, the work W cannot be transported to that station, and the transport is temporarily stopped. It will be out of service and the operating rate will drop.

In that respect, in the present embodiment, the timing of the polishing process at each of the stations 20, 30, and 40 is the same. Then, as shown in S4, pitch transfer is continued even during electrode polishing. Then, even if the work W is not processed and passes through the station being polished, by having the combined station 30, if the work W passes through three stations, the two processes of low pressure welding process and high pressure welding process are always performed. Can be completed. Then, since the work W for which the two processes have been completed is sequentially carried out without stopping, a state of non-operation as a transport line does not occur.

That is, there is no waiting time during the polishing process, the operating rate of the entire transport line is increased, and the production efficiency can be improved. Further, as the device configuration, it is only necessary to add the combined station 30, and the device configuration is easy.

Further, for example, having a plurality of individual counters for each station complicates control, and when the transport line is stopped, it takes time to recover, and the non-operation time becomes long. In that respect, in the present embodiment, the number of times of processing is grasped by counting the number of pitch feeds N by one timing measurement counter 51, and the operation of a plurality of stations 20, 30, and 40 is managed. Is easy and quick to return.

In particular, the pitch transfer and processing of the work W are repeated with the total count number Ns, which is the sum of the processing count number Nw and the setup count number Np, as one cycle. Since of such a simple control configuration, it is easy to restore the operation patterns of the stations 20, 30, and 40 at once even when the transport line is stopped in an emergency. The control system itself can be simplified.

<Other embodiments>
In the above embodiment, the combined station 30 is located between the first station 20 and the second station 40, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the order of the stations 20, 30, and 40 can be appropriately changed. Is.

In the above embodiment, the first process executed by the transport processing device 101 is "low pressure welding process", the second process is "high pressure welding process", and the setup process is "electrode polishing process". The process applied to the work W is not limited to the welding process. For example, the process to be applied may be "cutting process", the setup process may be "cutting tool replacement process", the process to be applied may be "grinding process", and the setup process may be "dressing process". Further, the process to be applied may be referred to as "painting process", the setup process may be referred to as "paint nozzle cleaning process", the process to be applied may be referred to as "cleaning process", and the setup process may be referred to as "cleaning nozzle cleaning process".

Further, the order of the treatments can be changed as appropriate, and for example, the same low-pressure welding treatment may be applied to different parts of the work W.

Although the transport processing device 101 of the above embodiment is assumed to have three stations 20, 30, 40, it may be configured as a transport processing device having a plurality of combinations of these three stations. In this case, it is possible to sequentially apply different processes to the work W for each station.

In the above embodiment, the processing count number Nw = 6, the setup count number Np = 3, and the total count number Ns = 9 in one cycle. The interval between each station is Np pitch, and by controlling multiple stations collectively, it is sufficient if multiple processes are performed on the work after passing the line without stopping the transfer, and each count number is set appropriately. It can be changed.

In the above embodiment, the transport unit 10 only needs to be able to transport a plurality of work Ws at the same pitch, and the specific configuration thereof can be variously changed.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be implemented in various forms without departing from the spirit of the invention.

10 ・ ・ ・ Transfer unit 20 ・ ・ ・ First station 30 ・ ・ ・ Combined station 40 ・ ・ ・ Second station 50 ・ ・ ・ Control unit 51 ・ ・ ・ Timing measurement counter 101 ・ ・ ・ Transfer processing equipment V1, V4 V7 ・ ・ ・ Pitch feed position (processing position)
W, Wa, Wb, Wc, Wd ... Work

Claims (4)

A transport unit (10) that performs simultaneous pitch transport that simultaneously feeds a plurality of workpieces (W) arranged for each pitch by one pitch in the transport direction, is provided adjacent to the transport unit and performs a predetermined process on the work. A transport processing device having a plurality of stations (20, 30, 40), a control unit (50) for controlling the transport operation of the transport unit and the processing operation of each of the stations, and performing a plurality of processes in parallel at the same time. There,
The control unit has a timing measurement counter (51) for counting the number of pitch feeds by the transport unit.
The station can selectively process both the first station (20) that performs the first processing, the second station (40) that performs the second processing, and the first processing and the second processing. Assuming that the setup count number Np is a predetermined number required for the setup process for performing maintenance accompanying the process at each station including the station (30), the process positions (V1, V4, V7) of each station. The interval is Np pitch,
Assuming that the number of pitch feeds corresponding to the predetermined number of processes at the station is the process count number Nw, the control unit counts the process count number Nw by the timing measurement counter and then sets the setup count number Np. Until the timing measurement counter counts, the transfer operation of the transfer unit and the transfer of controlling the processing operation of each station are performed so that the setup process is performed at each station while continuing the pitch transfer of the work. Processing equipment. The first aspect of claim 1 is in which the control unit controls to repeat the pitch transfer and processing of the work with the total count number Ns, which is the total number of the processing count number Nw and the setup count number Np, as one cycle. Conveyance processing equipment. The transport processing device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the combined station is located between the first station and the second station. A transport unit (10) that performs simultaneous pitch transport that simultaneously feeds a plurality of workpieces (W) arranged for each pitch by one pitch in the transport direction, is provided adjacent to the transport unit and performs a predetermined process on the work. A plurality of processes are simultaneously performed in parallel by a transport processing apparatus (101) having a plurality of stations (20, 30, 40) and a control unit (50) for controlling the transport operation of the transport unit and the processing operation of each of the stations. It is a transport processing method performed by
The control unit has a timing measurement counter (51) for counting the number of pitch feeds by the transport unit.
The station can selectively process both the first station (20) that performs the first processing, the second station (40) that performs the second processing, and the first processing and the second processing. Assuming that the number of counts required for the setup process for performing maintenance accompanying the process at each station including the station (30) and the predetermined number of setup counts is the setup count number Np, the process at each station The position spacing is Np pitch,
Assuming that the predetermined number of processes at the station is the process count number Nw, the process count number Nw is counted by the timing measurement counter, and then the setup count number Np is counted by the timing measurement counter. In addition, a transfer processing method in which the setup process is performed at each of the stations while continuing the pitch transfer of the work.

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